Just a Shard in the Still

Winter was dead.

Well, mostly dead. There were no signs of life as is common to most areas of wildnerness. Not a chitter or chirp from any creature in the evergreens, not even a soft breeze to rustle the pines as they stood watch on the edge of the clearing. The Still lived up to its name, it was as if the entire world was holding its breath in wait. Nothing moved. The bright moon had almost already made its full cycle through winter's bite and the shine from it was lost beneath the glow of the ancient streetlamp, along with any trace of star in the cold, black sky.

Winter was dead, aside from a solitary creature emerging from the trees to sit at the lonely bench under the lamp post.

His name was Shard, and he was a little bit of a legend. Nobody knew where he came from, nobody had ever gotten close enough to the frozen boy to find out where he called home. Good of nature and brave, he was quick to help lost creatures back on their path to safety, and known to appear out of thin air to defend the helpless; always in the Still, he was linked to this particular area down to his very soul and he would not (could not?) ever leave this quiet winter midnight. Many thought he was just a faerie tale, they did not believe in the stories of the silver haired boy in the dark hood come to aid of distressed strangers... Though there he was. Almost of the age to be a young man, the blush of youth was still clear on his face. His dark blue hood, worn and warm, was pulled forward but his wild silver locks escaped it and his bright blue eyes gleamed luminous from under his bangs as he made his way with nimble feet from the forest to the circle of lamplight in the clearing. On his back was strapped a fine bow and a quiver of arrows tipped with silvery white feathers that gleamed in the soft light as he sat on the ornate park bench with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his clasped hands.

He could feel a change on the air, it was subtle and he couldn't quite explain it but it was heavy in his head. Shard was usually the carefree sort, cheerful and light-hearted but it was plain to see that he was troubled as he sat on the bench in quiet contemplation. It showed in his posture; in the way his shoulders stooped, his young face so weary as he stared across the silent Still. It had been an easy moon, boring even, without rustle of the powdered snow nor whisper in the midnight air, nothing to validate his unease. There was no reason the icy youth should feel such worry crease his brow. Had he someone to even ask him of his sorrows, he would be at a loss for the words to articulate this mood upon him, upon the very air. Lost to his melancholy reverie, he paid no mind to the flakes that began to fall softly around him. It didn't register to him that although the Still was always blanketed in snow, it never actually fell here. All along the icy mountains and through the land up to this particular area, yes, but never inside of it. Not until now.

:The darkness travels slowly emitting from the corner of the realm, traveling from the tower Edged on the tip of the world. The spoken Locked door swelling with the intent of awakening as a light shade dusted the ground traveling over the bench and the area of the Still, and suddenly a Pop was heard as the light over head, literally Exploded along with the sudden Fall of Snow. What could be the reasons for such a occurrence one would not know as the echoing winds blew the snow to touch the ground and landing on Shard's body. Hmmm Snow never fell but was that happening before or after the light blew? did the snow Cause it to Break or was it something else?

She had been in the shadows of the evergreens on the edge of the snowy clearing, staring at the quiet figure on the bench and trying to figure out if and how to approach him for many moments. Across the midnight winter, Nyx could see the lurking shadows of the ominous tower looming high on the edge of the horizon and she shivered from something other than the cold. As she looked upon the boy sitting forlornly on the bench and made up her mind to draw close, a biting wind drove through the Still with a flurry of snow and with a loud 'pop' the lamp went out. The darkness was haunting, no normal obscurity fell across the land but something else was hidden within those shadows and it whispered promises of misery that caused her hesitation about this entire situation. She could turn away now and go back to her haven, safe and warm under the roots of the Mother Tree to never think of this place again... But she knew that was not an option as she tightened her grip around the ever frozen snowflake that was now thrumming in her hand, pulling her forward with an intensity that caused her to burn with an unspoken need she didn't quite understand. With a ruffle of her feathered wings, she banished her doubts and darted forward into the open and into those dismal shadows towards the boy she could still clearly see. Her tender eyes were finally suited to her favour, she could see clearly in this lack of light and she tore the trappings away from her face as she approached the startled youth.

He had been lost in thought but the noise in combination with the sudden loss of light was plenty to snap him out of his reverie. In a snap, he was standing at alert, eyes wide with the realization that there was snowfall -actual snowfall- for the first time here that he had ever seen. It only enhanced the trouble he felt, his initial startle from the burnt out lamp post was quickly turned to expectation of something worse. Unable to see in the whispering darkness, Shard drew his bow and notched an arrow to ready himself though he did not yet pull it taut. Something rustled in the air from the pines and he squinted, unable to make out more than a vague outline of some small bird-like creature coming quickly towards him. Something inside of him told him that this was not the source of his worries but the source of their undoing instead, a small light of hope in the dim of his heart. So Shard stilled his instinct to draw and waited to see what else had come with this snow and shadow, though he did not put away his weapon just quite yet.

: the winds blowing gently by as the two neared each other the ground covered in snow made the shadows that formed from the popping bulb move to fill that area, yes it was eerie the sudden events of what came as such a rush but it was clearly over for now. What is to come from the strangeness? nothing but questions, but questions often fuel the fire of events to come, and that question is, What is to come from there? Yes nothing was really their because the darkness and the shadow really dont have a ownership but it does not mean something else can not make lights flicker or even for them to fully be taken out if needed, this was all a Dream maybe even someones else's or just mixed with something bigger. The sudden motions of the weapon drawn and the wind movement dying slowly cpmbined as everything seemed normal again but it still not not change much as they both could see the shadows around them drawing clearly back to the tower as a echo in the wind seemed to speak: " pl.....eas....e.....un...loc...k...Me........." :oddly it almost spoke like a child trapped in the winds mixed with a echo of maybe a wine cellar door.:

Not wind nor weapon faltered her approach but when the breeze drew back to leave a cry of distress in the air, she knew immediately that she wanted nothing to do with any of this. Nyx had spent her entire life in a comfortable simplicity, her mother had given her very honor to ensure that she would never know the troubles of this place. The Bite would never harbor anything but sorrow.

Nyxadora closed the distance between them and settled lightly on the arm of the bench the where boy had previously been sat. She reached into the moleskin bag slung at her hip and fished out a small crystal, small but gently aglow with soft light enough to illuminate her form. Not even a foot tall, her black hair was unbound down her back between her silky black feathered wings. A thick fur cloak was drawn snug about her shoulders, just a gleam of intricately scrolled breastplate showed beneath it. She wasn't really sure what to say at this point, for this had already started turning into something completely different than she was prepared for. In her other hand, she still grasped that small shard of ice and she reached out with her palm up to show the young man the remnant of her dreaming. About the size of a berry, the little snowflake half still thrummed but much slower now, almost as if it were breathing whilst it lay in her hand in wait for him to take it.  A flash of fang as she opened her lips to speak, and quickly she shut her mouth again as nothing really came to mind that could even begin to approach any of this. The shadows here made her nervous, the air itself carried a foreboding of dread; nagging little sharp teeth gnawing at a worry so deeply rooted within her that she couldn't quite articulate. Perhaps she was just being skittish, but she really did have a bad feeling here.

" pl.....eas....e.....un...loc...k...Me........."

It echoed through the air, a cry for help he could hardly ignore. The winterlands were a treacherous place where it was far too easy to find trouble. Since Shard was never to leave, he would do what he could for those who crossed his path here. He hadn't forgotten the movement in the air, he turned as a fluttering shadow came to rest atop his bench, surprised when a faint light revealed a solitary Thystle. He was familiar enough with the race to be wary of them in their packs and on their hunts but also knew well enough to see one alone and bare-faced was not to be a threat. She looked unsure and unsettled and she held out her hand as if to offer him something she had been clutching close to her. He leaned close, squinting to see in this vague light what bauble this tiny creature was trying to show him and a gasp escaped him when he realized what it was. Quickly he slung his bow back to his back and fumbled in the neck of his worn, blue hood to retrieve a charm from around his neck to expose a simple silver disc on a simple silver chain with a shattered half of a snowflake embedded to the center. He gingerly plucked the matching piece from her outstretched reach and fit it perfectly together, a soft sigh seemed to fill the air as if the still itself was finally relieved of a long endured ache. He looked up at the Thystle for a moment and then turned his back to her before he pulled a knife from his belt and pressed the tip of the blade to prick his thumb, the blood that welled up he wiped along the broken seam in the snowflake and rather than smear across it, his blood soaked into the crack and welded it back together as if it were new again. Shard felt a sense of completion fall into place within him, that sensation of having something missing in his life was cast away, his hero heart refreshed with newfound vitality.

He made sure there was no trace of blood left to the superficial wound and then he turned back to the tiny godsend with a spark of excitement in his bright eyes though there was still a crease of worry to his brow. When he spoke, his voice was clear and strong, no trace of fear to his tone. "I don't know who you are or how you've brought this back to me, but I shall be ever in you debt. It sounds as though we have no time for pleasantries yet... Will you be coming with me?" He gestured to the shadowy outline of the distant tower against the midnight sky and the source of the muffled plea that had crept out with the falling snow. He didn't really wait for a response, as though he either expected she would follow him or didn't care if she did not as he made quick pace to the ends of the earth to investigate.

: The Shadows pulling back into their Original Position of the tower only laying a decent distance away, being like it has always been, yes it was dark but any filters of light would make it appear how it commonly always stood, it was Still. The Trees in the area returned almost like a fluke occurred but then just disappeared as quickly as it came, Also making those Remain the Same. The voice in the Shadows still seemed to ring out Traveling with a faint sound. " Pl....ease....Un....Lock....Me....." it Grew more clean the closer Shard got to it, making it obvious that he was going in the right direction. Did they both go? it was unsure at this point, but something that one of them was Carrying, did in fact make this Dark Entity know and desired to be seeked out, and be released. Was this Entity a child, the spoken winds made that confusing but it did sound like a Child thus playing against Shards Desire to Save Lifestyle he lived. Was this a Rescue mission or just something to Regret later down the Strings of time. All it seemed like was Shard was bound to be the Hero again. :

Nyx stood there perched on the bench, her blue eyes wide with concern to the back of the quickly retreating back. To follow along or be left here alone with the whispering shadows... the choice was a clear one to make. She didn't want to see what caused this disruption but she wanted less to be left behind. It only took a few mighty flaps of her ravenlike wings to take air enough to track him easily, she tucked her luminous crystal back into its place as she flew. No sense in making an easy target of herself. Her previous worries continued to nag at her, she felt a sense of de ja vous in the worst of ways. All she could do now was follow along and watch it unfold, whatever this icy youth was bent on pursuing. That call in the dark chilled her to the bone and the sparse words tugged at something too far back in her memory to recall. She knew this, she just couldn't quite remember. She had been here before...