The East Forest, located just outside the Eastern gate of the town, was a place of real beauty and wonder. Many never stopped and gave the nearby splash of nature much credit, and it was easy to understand why. Mankind had long since cooped themselves together with only the members of their own species, creating cities much like bees with their hives. With their mastery over agriculture, their need to venture outside of civilization nearly completely eliminated, securing a level of isolation from the natural pacing of the world around them. Even the travels between major settlements happened in paved and protected roadways, an assurance that mankind's hive would continue to grow unabated.

And yet here was the forest, scraping the outer gates with its encompassing sprawl. It was not a manmade garden emulating the outside world, and it certainly wasn't well regulated and traveled by the citizens of Magnolia; At least, not beyond the first hundred meters or so.

No, out beyond that intangible line was a world of untamed wilderness and creatures. Any long term human activity within there were likely bandits or the few who chose to separate themselves from the colony, both of which were far too nomadic to settle down and destroy.

The forests trees were thick trunked and tall, canopies encompassing and full. Smaller oaks and adolescent saplings filled in chunks of space, their own leaves helping minimize the amount of light that actually reached the forest floor, and even still the shrubbery and grass grew healthily. The sound of the lands ecosystem going about their business surrounded anyone who entered, and yet it had a calming effect nothing alike the sounds of man and their cities. Birds songs instead of stalls and the sound of carriage. The rustling of branches accompanied by the echoing of dead branches snapping, rather than ambient background frequency of the guards doing their rounds and the murmur of the crowd.

And they watch your every fucking move.



It was the exact sort of place that Tanuki needed to find himself in, especially in moments such as these. The world around him was vividly beautiful, and fully indistinguishable from the hidden layer in which he'd grown accustomed. Demons and Angels, unknown to the annals of time, congregated in his mind in order to take turns in spotlight. Their voices shifted, changes in pitch rather than tone to describe whatever their equivalent to a mood was. The way the sound of their voices slid octaves in perfect monotone took years to grow fully acquainted with, and yet never fully accustomed to.

They know they're never safe; Not with us here.

He could feel it. The sound of its hot breath on the back of his ear and down the nape of his neck. He knew better than anyone how this one operated- As if it was pulling aside the fabric of reality like one would do to the curtain on their window. He knew how dead those eyes would be, opened to the point that he couldn't believe its eyelids had not been long since lost.

He just had to get through this time. He couldn't force the entity away, of course, that much was still impossible. Only by ignoring it completely could he hope it'd get bored enough to leave. It was a shot in the dark, but better than leaving one in the chamber.

It spoke again, slowly rotating around the back of his head and coming to a rest over his opposite ear. Still out of vision, the pace continued to shift up and down, a multitude of voices shifting in a single pitch over the course of three or four seconds whilst it moved.

You have to always remind yourself what you are. One slip up, one of those little meltdowns, and we'll end them all. Right, Tanuki? Right?

It couldn't make up its mind if it were stoic and callous or childish and fiendish. Perhaps it didn't have a personality at all, and simply worked to tune its frequency to the proper trigger for the day. Completely without modus operandi, and wanting only the goal of seeing him crumble like the weak man they both knew he was.

The sound of running water came into existence in a very sudden and explosive manner, as if the volume around him had become unmuted all at once. His face shot downwards in an instant, stopping in his tracks a few feet from the edge away from this stream. His eyes were wide in shock and wonder, dropping to a knee in another rather jerking motion- As if he were hesitating in doubt at multiple points, and stopping for just a second to reassure himself of his decision. He reached his hand forward, letting the cool water run through his fingers.

They're gaining on you, Tanuki! "It sure is beautiful out here." The voices clashed with one another, though only they would be aware of that fact. At least it was only this much for now. He could still distinguish that only he could hear this hellspawn right now. That's how it wanted things to be for now.

"So peaceful."

Why was she here, smelling the intoxicating food that swung with the wind currents? Magnolia had nothing for her, or so she felt while being here for the few days. There was nothing she couldn't receive or experience in Joya besides freedom due to current politics. Soon that will all change once she's done with her plans and goals. She will now experience peace and relaxation in the Forest of Magnolia. The quietness was joyous compared to the constant yapping of citizens. The sound of nature was musical to her ears, all except the animals that won't shut up and sound like dying beasts or nails against the chalkboard. Her blackened eyes with red crosses were unseen as she had them closed. Mishiko followed her instincts and her Companion, who floated in the air like a puffy cloud with large eyes.

She wore a black sweater made of pure cotton and baggy sweatpants that made it easier to move her legs. Her white hair and a single stripe of black were just a mess, but she didn't care. She wasn't known to be a stylist, nor did she care to. Her hands rested in her pockets while walking forward in the land of trees. Even after Winter cried their dusty white tears of sorrow, the grass was still healthy. It was a pleasant sight as nature preserved itself with the sun's warmth to defeat the cold in other locations. No guards, no people to spy and watch her every move, all nature made her feel peace as did the night sky or even resting on the ground with the sun rays grazing against her delicate pale skin.

Nature and animals were better than people as people will always leave you, but then again, so will all life as life has an ending called Death. As the Demigoddess of Death, War and Madness, does that mean they all come back to her in a full circle? She lifted her hands to now open her eyes to gaze at them. Her hands have killed so many, both innocent and bastards, who partook in her dark past. Was it wrong that she was ready to kill once more for her cause? The Heavenly Kami willed it, and her family willed it, so it was okay, right? She chuckled darkly at herself at the thought.

Her thoughts were distracted by the sound of running water. "Ooo~ water! I'm thirsty, Mistress, may we go?", they wondered in their childish. Her dark eyes gazed at them and sighed in relief that she was pulled from those thoughts, the thoughts that drove her insane sometimes. "Might as well; perhaps we will have enough sun to relax with the basket of things we brought," she loved the feeling of water, so maybe it was enough water to have a little dip or clean enough to drink. Out of all the things she forgot, she forgot to bring drinks with the food she brought. She walked silently towards the sound but suddenly stopped when Ohta stopped with a small backing motion. "There's someone here," Ohta whispered to their mistress. "A Joyan assassin? A normal person?" she wondered quietly as her eyes bored and looked behind the brustles in her way.

It was a man who was feeling the water. What approach should she take? Her eyes wandered left and right, thinking on the matter quickly. He could be dangerous or an average person. Ohta had her stuff if things became dire.

Beauty and Peace

Those keywords left the person's lips. She sighed in relief as maybe he was someone like her who enjoyed peace and beauty every once in a while. She bit her lip anxiously, unsure how to engage in a human conversation in Fiorian as it wasn't her first language. "I hope you don't mind us passing; the peace and beauty here are better than the town itself," she approached with a simple question and statement. She and Ohta stayed a couple of meters away just in case.