((Solo))
It was dark. Torches along the smoothly cut stone walls set the area ablaze, turning the grey rock into a shade of orange. Yet even so, the shadows lurked in the corners of a ceiling high above her head, making it hard for her see everything. Why weren’t her eyes cutting through the darkness like they always did? She could not remember the last time she had actually seen darkness like this. It was as if she had the eyes of a human. There had been many times when she had thought about exactly how humans viewed the world and she figured it would be something like this. For when there was any source of light around, her eyes would naturally use it to pierce through the deepest shadows. Only now they weren’t adjusting. That wasn’t the only thing either. Colours were not as vibrant and she could not perceive the great detail she normally could. She knew the stone was porous, but she couldn’t actually see it. She knew there were imperfections along the wood and metal torches and yet they looked smoother to her. Not to mention she couldn’t see the end of this hallway. It stretched out before her as pockets of darkness, broken only by the meagre light of torches too many feet apart.
She wasn’t alone either. Instead of feeling them—sensing or smelling them—she saw them as they walked passed. They were shrouded in dark brown robes that covered most of their bodies from her view. Even their faces were hidden from her. Deep hoods hid their heads and cast dark shadows over their faces until nothing could be distinguished. The only time she caught a glimpse of them was when the light from the flames caught their faces at just the right angle. But they were merely glances. Never could she properly see their features.
She stopped walking to…to…where had she been going? She couldn’t remember anymore. One of the robed people passing by turned their head towards her and the light flooded across their visage. Her eyes widening slightly as she saw tanned skin, light blue hair and black eyes that observed her for but a moment before continuing on. She felt her heart skip a beat and flutter within the confines of her chest. There had been no pupil, no iris or eyeball definition, just black. There had only been a black so deep it could swallow her. Was this fear this she was feeling? The emotion was so alien to her she wasn’t even sure. Then why was she feeling it now all because some person stopped to look at her? It didn’t make any sense.
Those eyes had not belonged to a human. She wasn’t sure how she knew…she just knew. Though their bodies had a humanoid shape, they weren’t human. Just like Demos and Elves weren’t human. None of the beings that passed by her were. Even though she originally suspected they were, something within her was just telling her that they were something far different.
Turning her gaze from the hallway before her, she looked down. Unlike the others walking around Witch found herself wearing a pristine white robe that was trimmed in a shimmering silver thread. It was quite beautiful and felt wondrously soft against her skin, bit also a little cold. As if the material didn’t hold heat very well. Cold, that was strange. The temperature never bothered her skin before, not like it did other creatures. She rarely felt the cold unless it was freezing and the heat unless it was blistering.
Lifting her arms, she felt the material slide down her skin, caressing her and making her shiver. It revealed slightly tanned skin and hands that were scarred by many battles. Her knuckles were littered with white lines, some of which were raised and others indented. The index finger on her right hand looked deformed as if it had been broken in battle and not properly set, or perhaps it had never properly healed. Healed… the thought of her body not quickly and perfectly healing was disconcerting, but she didn’t know why. It was just a tickle in the back of her mind that was trying to tell her something and failing miserably.
Something lightly caressed her right shoulder, resting there for a moment before travelling across her back and coming to rest on her left arm. The motion reminded her of a snake, coiling and wrapping itself around her. Her entire body tensed, every muscle springing to life and begging to do something but her mind not knowing what. Even her stomach turned, roiling around as if filled with rotten food. Then she watched as someone rounded her line of sight. A male wearing the same thick and heavy looking robes that everyone else wore, concealing his form from her. The first thing she noticed was his long white hair and too gentle face that smiled at her. But his eyes were cold, just as the light blue colour suggested they were. As cold as ice. She didn’t want him touching her. It sickened her.
He opened his mouth to speak. His lips moving and making the notion of speech as he showed off perfectly white, straight teeth. But she couldn’t hear anything. There was a roaring sound that seemed to drown out all noise. Even the gentle crackle of the torches, ambient noise she had barely noticed until its absence and the soft thuds of multiple feet on stone. When she didn’t respond to him, the fake smile faded away, replaced by a genuine look of concern. But why was he concerned? She just couldn’t hear him, maybe if he would speak up over that roaring noise she would be able to understand what he was trying to tell her. He spoke again, her eyes focusing on his lips trying to make it out. But it didn’t help and the sound was only growing louder, blocking out everything around her to a deafening state. She took a step forward to get away from him; she wanted to get away from him…
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