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Description
The leaves drifted, careful, crisp bodies of shadow, silvery-white light peeking between the holes carved in them. Paper thin flesh hissed together, roiled as a wave of decay around corners, carrying the echoing howl of a cold breeze. He walked, footsteps reverberating in the gloom, but even they felt muffled, the silence deafening. He could hear his heart throb in his ears, a nigh painful pulse against the cage of his ribs, taking a sharp inhale through cracked lips. He licked them pitifully, sucking them into his mouth in an effort to fight off the cold, soothe the burn from them. He tasted iron.

He rounded out of the tunnel, releasing a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, shaky hands clenching on his elbows. Goosebumps rose on his neck, a painful tingle of unease running up his spine, the worn cotton of his sweater catching on blunt nails. He shook his head, told himself it was just the winter wind, and cupped his hands over his mouth to breathe warm exhales over them.

Crack!

His breath caught, a hard pulse behind his eyes, color speckling his vision as he whipped his head around. He waited, fog forming before his face, flashes of grey against the glistening dew that covered the boxed in trees. He turned back around, scanning the brick buildings, towers of stone and steel that rose towards the night's sky, fashioning a labyrinth of winding corridors and stairways. Once more, his footsteps cried out, boots sliding over the damp cobblestone walk.

His head rose, dark eyes scanning over the dome of a nearby roof, black iron reaching through the starlight, an ominous hand to snatch Selene from her cradle. An occasional light flickered from nearby windows, slanting streams of gold that made the road shine under heel. He walked, steps light and guarded, fear and worry gnawing in the pit of his belly. What is wrong with me? He pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling the chilled sweat there, and wiped it away with a futile pull of his palm.

He'd taken strolls at night before, finding comfort in the crisp air, and smell of smoke from the chimneys. Of the silence and at the same time, the subtle roll of the leaves as they caught in his clothes. But tonight, shortly after leaving his home, he'd felt dread settle upon his shoulders. Unable to shake it, he'd curved around, taken a detour that seemed longer than her remembered. He'd felt dizzy, steps heavy, eyes much the same, and tried to rub the fatigue from his arms.

In the flash of an instant, he'd seen something... Something that, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't forget it. While at the same time, he was unable to place it in his mind once more. Skin as black as pitch, beady eyes from beneath a cowl, and that smell - god, it smelled of rot. Mold and an acidic tang that made his gag reflex spasm, enough that he stumbled away, back from whence he'd came. Now... Now he found himself in an older part of town, richer individuals in fancy penthouses made from old buildings.

He continued on, wrapping his arms around himself once more. He wasn't wearing enough layers, he thought he'd be home by now, curled up in his bed. What had he been thinking? A trick of the mind, nothing more, he should go back, and -

Click.

It was faint, the shift in the air, a prickle of adrenaline down the spine to worm and curl around his heart. The previous thunder rose to a roar, the crescendo that robbed him of breath for a few precious seconds. He turned his head, brow furrowed -

Click.

Once more, it sounded, almost lost in the ringing that had started in the shells of his ears. They burned, tipped with pink, pulse jumping along the line of his throat. What is that? Something moved, a form made entirely of shadows writhing this way and that, nearly lost in the shade the buildings cast. But there it was, flowing between the cracks, approaching with a slow but steadily faster gait. His eyes narrowed, trying to catch even a hint of realness to it, as if to banish it from his sight, but it remained - ever incorporeal.

Description
The leaves drifted, careful, crisp bodies of shadow, silvery-white light peeking between the holes carved in them. Paper thin flesh hissed together, roiled as a wave of decay around corners, carrying the echoing howl of a cold breeze. He walked, footsteps reverberating in the gloom, but even they felt muffled, the silence deafening. He could hear his heart throb in his ears, a nigh painful pulse against the cage of his ribs, taking a sharp inhale through cracked lips. He licked them pitifully, sucking them into his mouth in an effort to fight off the cold, soothe the burn from them. He tasted iron.

He rounded out of the tunnel, releasing a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, shaky hands clenching on his elbows. Goosebumps rose on his neck, a painful tingle of unease running up his spine, the worn cotton of his sweater catching on blunt nails. He shook his head, told himself it was just the winter wind, and cupped his hands over his mouth to breathe warm exhales over them.

Crack!

His breath caught, a hard pulse behind his eyes, color speckling his vision as he whipped his head around. He waited, fog forming before his face, flashes of grey against the glistening dew that covered the boxed in trees. He turned back around, scanning the brick buildings, towers of stone and steel that rose towards the night's sky, fashioning a labyrinth of winding corridors and stairways. Once more, his footsteps cried out, boots sliding over the damp cobblestone walk.

His head rose, dark eyes scanning over the dome of a nearby roof, black iron reaching through the starlight, an ominous hand to snatch Selene from her cradle. An occasional light flickered from nearby windows, slanting streams of gold that made the road shine under heel. He walked, steps light and guarded, fear and worry gnawing in the pit of his belly. What is wrong with me? He pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling the chilled sweat there, and wiped it away with a futile pull of his palm.

He'd taken strolls at night before, finding comfort in the crisp air, and smell of smoke from the chimneys. Of the silence and at the same time, the subtle roll of the leaves as they caught in his clothes. But tonight, shortly after leaving his home, he'd felt dread settle upon his shoulders. Unable to shake it, he'd curved around, taken a detour that seemed longer than her remembered. He'd felt dizzy, steps heavy, eyes much the same, and tried to rub the fatigue from his arms.

In the flash of an instant, he'd seen something... Something that, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't forget it. While at the same time, he was unable to place it in his mind once more. Skin as black as pitch, beady eyes from beneath a cowl, and that smell - god, it smelled of rot. Mold and an acidic tang that made his gag reflex spasm, enough that he stumbled away, back from whence he'd came. Now... Now he found himself in an older part of town, richer individuals in fancy penthouses made from old buildings.

He continued on, wrapping his arms around himself once more. He wasn't wearing enough layers, he thought he'd be home by now, curled up in his bed. What had he been thinking? A trick of the mind, nothing more, he should go back, and -

Click.

It was faint, the shift in the air, a prickle of adrenaline down the spine to worm and curl around his heart. The previous thunder rose to a roar, the crescendo that robbed him of breath for a few precious seconds. He turned his head, brow furrowed -

Click.

Once more, it sounded, almost lost in the ringing that had started in the shells of his ears. They burned, tipped with pink, pulse jumping along the line of his throat. What is that? Something moved, a form made entirely of shadows writhing this way and that, nearly lost in the shade the buildings cast. But there it was, flowing between the cracks, approaching with a slow but steadily faster gait. His eyes narrowed, trying to catch even a hint of realness to it, as if to banish it from his sight, but it remained - ever incorporeal.