Hitting the town

The darkness was all consuming. Linnea could not escape its vice like grip, like clawed hands pulling her beneath a sea of blackness. She could not move. She could not breathe. Any power she once had had been sucked from her; a horrid feeling dropped in her stomach that she would always be this way... or always had been. Maybe she has just always had an illusion of power, maybe she's only exerted dominance over the weak, maybe... her thoughts were interrupted by more hands that suddenly grasped her. They clawed at her body, her most intimate areas; it felt like they intended to tear the meat off her bones. Her mouth filled with rancid water when she screamed. A dog barked. Then, she fell. The hands mercifully disappeared, but now, no longer suspended in water, air resistance clawed at her. The darkness meant she could not see the ground rushing up to meet her until she, well, met it. The impact rang in her bones. The dog barked again; she climbed to her feet, glad for solid ground for it gave her a measly semblance of control. In the gloom, she saw great, elongated shadows of hounds stalking her, their growls and snarls echoing from no where yet everywhere at once. She could not pinpoint where they were, so she picked a direction and ran. That direction proved not much better. Pale faces formed like smoke in the dark. They were people she knew, loved, lay with. Hope swelled in her chest until their expressions turned sour looking at her. Accusations fell from their lips. Each one spoke differently, but the underlying meaning was always the same: We don't want you. Who would want you? Their words were knives in her skin. She ran again. Her dreams persisted still, she did not know how long for. An eternity later, her eyes burst open and she gasped for breath, covered in a sheen of cold sweat. She assumed it to be yet another dream.

Cold air rushed into her lungs , waking her up quickly as the sleep dissipated from her eyes , immediately her body began to reflexively shiver in the freezing cold that surrounded her , not helped by the frigid packed mud of the ground. Surely a dozen and one questions were rushing through the Fey's mind as the frigid cruel wind whipped against her skin. Suddenly a voice broke through the confusion "Prastitye , apologies...it did not cross my mind that you may not be so used to the cold." The voice was of a Slavic accent , perhaps Russian or Ukrainian , but definitely from Eastern Europe , and was deep , but not sinister , sounding more fatherly then threatening...a warm respite from her frigid surroundings .

She blinked around, the feeling of fear still remaining from her nightmares. The unfamiliar area sent more fear and panic that coiled and writhed in her stomach. She quite visibly jumped when the voice spoke, and her head snapped around to the source. Cold prickled at her skin, sending light shivers all over her body.

"Ah yes , the nightmares , an unfortunate side effect of an already unpleasant affair....oh well." The figure noted with a chuckle . He was of an imposing height , powerful built with a strong frame , and dressed in a dark black silken coat of some kind , a strelets to be precise. His stance was firm and commanding , arms tucked neatly behind his back ,piercing eyes staring down at her . Yet none of this caught her eye so much as his skin , it was an inky almost opaque black , with a certain shine to it like fine leather , and not African black either , an almost pitch black tone really . Yet his features we're distinctly Caucasian in look , straight hair (which was of the same pitch black shade) well groomed , lips thin , nose strong yet not wide. His eyes , which pierced like those of a hawk , we're pure black with no Iris nor pupi. Dark as a moonlit night , to the point where at first it looked as though his sockets were empty . "Get up ,this position does not speak well of a fey of your age."

At his command, she stood up... which also did not exactly speak well for her. Still he towered over her. "Alright, hun, you're going to need to explain why I'm here and who the hell are you," She said. Her attempt at sounding brave almost shocked her from how sincere it sounded. She had to admit, however, she had exceedingly limited experience in anything more stressful than sex in the past couple decades. She was no longer used to battle. The fear in her chest, and  if he looked closely in her eyes too were proof of this.

For a while he remained quiet , silently studying her with those dark inkwells that were his eyes ,it made her feel uncomfortable , as though her every molecule was being studied by a microscope. Then it stopped , and after a short pause he spoke " Out of courtesy , I will answer , because I cannot out of respect." The words were gentle but in a way cutting , the inkwells had gazed right through her mask.

She saw that he knew of her deep fear, yet instead of giving up it instead made her more determined. She set her jaw stubbornly. "You better have a damn good reason for this, 'cause I was having so much fun todya before your little goons showed up and ruined everything," she forced the anger, repressed the fear. Her finger jabbed at his chest. "You must think yourself so high and mighty."

"High and might." He mused , a small smirk on his ebon face " I suppose I could give off that air , I am not known for my humility after all , regardless ...you asked why you are here? Simple , you're a good tool to be used in the undertaking of my quest."

"Yeah. .. no ill pass thanks. Drop me off wherever, I can walk the rest of the way home."

" Look around you , do you think you can walk home from here ?" He questioned as he gestured about their surroundings , a quiet frozen forest .

"What makes you think I would even want to be used by you?"

"Want?" He replied , brow raising as he put a hand on her shoulder ,imposing stature towering over her "Want is a luxury , one you do not have.... I do not wish to force you , but...my quest comes above any such things , and .....unseemly actions may need to be taken to liberate my people."

She pulled her shoulder away from his grip. "You won't convince me to do anything for you."

His grip simply tightened , her shoulder stinging in pain as powerful fingers hooked in "Well then I suppose I'll have to force you." He replied , remorse clear in his expression as with a snap of his fingers a circular portal appeared at of nowhere , and without warning he threw Lin in headfirst.

She locked her own hand onto his wrist when his fingers dug into her, her strength rater impressive. "Let go of-" she cut off with a yell when she tossed her in, but tried to keep a grip on his wrist.

"Well you asked me to let go." He quipped as he swiftly snapped his wrist from her grip and she fell through the circular portal. With a rough thud she landed on hard stone sprinkled with bits of hay, a horrid stench hitting her nose soon after as she tried to reiorient herself to her new surroundings.

Her bones shook when she landed, with an "oof!" She breathed in and immediately gagged on the smell. She jumped to her feet.

The air was stuffy and humid , seeming to stick to her skin , the very drawing of breath becoming a source of discomfort in the humidity.

She crinkled her nose but otherwise tried to ignore it best she could. She bent down to draw a sharp silver pin from her shoe. It wasn't much but it was better than ntohing. She wished she had her staff.

end