A Visit [open]

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Hunting was one of those things Hanna either loved or regretted. She would love it if she was able to take something down by herself and enjoy her own meal without interruption. Or she'd hate it if she couldn't find anything. Or if said prey was too quick for her tired body to keep up with. All too often she had gotten the thought of heading into the city and scavenging for food.

Or hang around the butcher shop for some scraps. But with her appearance as a normal-looking wolf, anyone could tell just by her size that she was no regular dog. and her eyes... Though not golden, looked human enough in a way to get many suspicious. But it didn't stop her from being somewhat daring and driven by hunger to stick around the roads and pick off any animals that were straying from their keepers. Like a sheep or goat or duck or whatever she could probably get her teeth around.

She was a stealthy critter however and she had managed to pluck out a baby goat from a passing man who had been bringing them to market to sell. She might get lucky in the passing months, seeing as all the spring babies were coming up. This was no exception. And the meat was delicious. Honestly, it had to be the best meal she had in weeks. If not a couple months or so. It filled her belly and she laid herself down to sleep that afternoon next to the carcass.

And she slept peacefully until night fell and the full moon rose above her, giving light to the entire forest. The gleaming, silver beams stretched across the landscape and shine above her when she opened her eyes. She blinked, her nose instantly picking up the scent of her meal she had feasted on earlier. The remnants of the carcass had been picked at by foxes and other small creatures that dared to take a bite while she was sleeping. But that didn't bother her.

She stretched her furry body, gave a squeaking yawn that exposed her large teeth and gaping maw. and soon, she stood there, looking up at the night sky and catching sight of the stars above through the forest canopy. And from the darkness across the lands and wilderness, she heard howls. Celebratory mostly. Every full moon was like that wherever she went. But unlike packs of the usual wolves, Hanna never felt the control of the moon over her. Therefore, she had never once howled.

She started walking in the darkness, guided by what light the moon gave out through the forest, seeing things she had come across before but failed to notice the detail. Like the trees and the animals wandering about. Possums, foxes, raccoons... The normal sort of nocturnal critters like herself. She had slept well and would be up all night. Which, on a night like this, she didn't mind.

But she noticed something. She was coming into a part of the forest that she had never seen before. It smelled old, but beautiful. She knew the ruins of the old castle were out in the west area of Avaleur somewhere. But she had never smelled this place before. Gently, she trekked on and it wasn't long before she came upon the forest shrine. From the edge of the small clearing, she could see the statue of a woman.

Over her was a roof held by four pillars. Flowers, candles, incense and small gifts of sorts rested at the base of the statue. A place of worship to a goddess. Hanna didn't believe in such things. Gods and goddesses... To her, it was like folklore. She blinked and stepped quietly out of the brush, approaching the statue. A heavy sigh came from her lungs before she sat a few feet from the platform the statue rested upon.

Her blue eyes were fixated on the stone woman's face, studying it carefully. As if it would give her a reason why she was there in the first place. But nothing except the slight wind and insects and creatures in the woods made any noise this night. Hanna remained quiet in her wolf form, soon looking to the moon with a great feeling in the pit of her heart. Her wolf wanted to run soon. They would. And be basked in the light of the full moon. But for the time being, this statue had her curiosity completely.

[Walter Grace]

It wasn't rare for an avaleurian to trek the forest in the hours of the night. Many were bold, and daring like that. But it was odd that one would trek the night on a full moon- most of Avaleur hated, and feared the werewolves. And coming out during this time was a death sentence.

One man walked in the midst of the forest, looking as stupid as could be- and for good reason. He seemed not to have any decent weapons with him- only a very small dagger attacked to the side of his leg. His body had no protection on it- most knew that the man often wore heavy armor, and as a knight that was normal. But the silly knight wore only a dark tunic with simple pants and shoes, things that would only protect his skin from dirt and the wind.
He looked even more senseless up-close, where large scars were spread across his entire body- at that moment, you could see scars that ran up the left side of his neck, and a long, deep scar that ran down from the top of his left eyebrow, all the way down to his chin. A stupid looking man, indeed. One would think he had no sense.

Walter Grace was never one to think thoroughly about what he was doing. To him, this was a simple walk in the forest. To clear his head. The cool air whisked through his hair that seemed to be getting longer with each passing day. He breathed the air in, and let out a sigh of enjoyment. The knight welcomed the night with open arms, remembering his time in Cresthunt that seemed so long ago.
Did he miss those days? Sometimes. After all, a demon that lived underground for most of his days would probably miss his home sometimes. But after all, he did make a home for himself here. He had friends- or so it seemed. He still was not sure if his demon form was truly as it seemed right now. Did it really enjoy the company of the people he had met?

Not to mention he was to be wed soon- which began to scare him. He had no idea what he was doing. One day, he even had to ask himself- was he just marrying Denzel to make sure she did not leave him, or Avaleur again? He had to shake the thought out of his head, kicking a stone on the forest floor as he walked. Get your head together, Walt. This'll be good for you, he shook a bit with a cool breeze passing him by, staring at the ground.

A small light shined ahead, and still keeping his head down he began walking towards it. He finally stopped, and looked up, and for the first time saw the forest shrine. It seemed rather beautiful, even to Walter- whom shouldn't have been near a shrine dedicated to his Lord's enemies. Or enemy, in this case. His attention slowly turned to something else, and his eyebrow went up. It was a wolf- a normal thing in a forest, he was sure. But it seemed odd.
He had to think to himself, did all wolves stare at statues?

Walter leaned against a tree, taking his hands out of his pockets and folding them across his chest. A wild animal was not a threat to him- he figured that if it was really bothered by his presence, it would chase him off.
The demon watched the wolf with curiosity, just as the wolf watched the statue with curiosity.

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She really didn't move too much from the front of the statue, continuing to look upon it with a childish fascination. Her blue eyes took on a silverish appearance, having caught a glint from the moonlight. Her nails dug into the grassy dirt gently and her ears tuned out everything for the time being. Such a place.. She wished she had come across it sooner. It was such a peaceful area indeed. Basked in the moonlight. Not a soul around to stir the air.

Hanna respected such places. Though she didn't worship anything herself, something such as this were a rare and welcomed sight. No one would spill blood on the platform of this beautiful statue, would they? Hanna would hope not. She lay her rump in the grass and leaves, wrapping her tail around her paws in a cat-like fashion. She barely blinked, watching the shrine as if something would happen to it. But nothing did. Not for a number of minutes.

It looked as though she were nothing but a regular, run-of-the-mill wolf in the woods. But she was paying her respects to this shrine. A bow of her furry head and some inner words were all she felt she needed to express. Nothing more and nothing less. she looked up towards the stone idol, cocking her head to the side once more. Her body suddenly shifted and soon, she stood as a human, naked and quiet. She wasn't aware of the man watching her.

Which could be a fatal mistake if by chance he was ready to hunt her down. But while her curiosity robbed her of common sense, she reached up and gently touched the statue. The cold stone made her shiver slightly. But she smiled, as if a sense of peace came over her. "Hmm.. Thank you." she whispered and took a step back from the statue. Again, she lifted her chin and looked up towards the moon above. She had such a quiet mind in the matter and barely a care in the world.

But the wind shifted only slightly, but it was just enough for her to catch the scent of someone nearby. She gasped and twisted her upper body, eyes instantly landing on the man leaning on the tree. She was caught... And if he had been standing there long enough to see her shift, she assumed this may just spell out trouble. She didn't look him directly in the eyes, but instead kept still, waiting for him to have the first word.

[Walter Grace]

It was the oddest thing, this wolf. The way it was looking at the statue was fascinating to him. After all, it wasn't every day that he saw a wolf- and it certainly wasn't every day that that wolf was being, well, non-wolf like.
And that was completely understandable, Walter realized, as a woman soon took the place of the wolf.

The demon knew he should have looked away, or walked away, even. The girl was naked, after all. But curiosity got the best of him- questions filled his brain. Was she a shape shifter? Why did she not have clothes when she shifted back to a human? Why was she walking around in wolf form at this time? Why was she out at this time of night in the first place?

But his face turned a rather red colour as she turned a bit to face him, clearly in shock. Still, he kept his gaze.
Finally, the man smiled slightly, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Not to pry on your business, miss, but what are you doing out here?" He kept his gaze on her face, wishing he had brought something to cover her with. It was a rather cool night, for one, he believed she must have been freezing. Not to mention she was probably rather embarrassed being near a man, naked.

Walter couldn't help but imagine how Denzel would react if she had seen him in this situation- after all, his fiance was probably not one to enjoy the fact that her lover was looking at a naked woman.

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It wasn't the first time she had been caught in the nude. Something that was rather comfortable for her anyway. But it wasn't often she shifted between her forms in front of someone. She had let her guard down and hadn't heard him approaching. Now, she was standing still, caught red-handed and left the next move up to the man watching her. What would he be thinking? Werewolves weren't very well liked and she knew that about Avaleur.

Blinking, she didn't move, but kept her eyes a bit low on his legs. She never looked anyone in the eyes unless she felt completely comfortable. And that was never really common of her around men overall. She could only hope that perhaps he would just turn around and leave or maybe shoo her off elsewhere. Her hands came together and she nervously rubbed the back of one of her hands. Inside, her wolf was trying to calm her, but it wasn't working too well.

The man blushed red, but she didn't. Nakedness was common amongst werewolves and it was as natural as a baby at birth. Clothing? Well she didn't expect to be caught so she never really carried any around with her. She swallowed a lump in her throat as the man spoke to her. He didn't smell human and that only made her far more wary. She didn't move suddenly at all. She just stood there.

Skinny she was. hungry-looking. But it wasn't on her mind as she answered the man. "Exploring.." she stated quietly. "Just... wandering around.. Never knew this was here." she explained and saw the statue out of the corner of her eye. But she wasn't about to turn her back on him either. she wasn't stupid. "What are you doing out here?" she repeated his question back to him, curious of his presence. "I don't really see too many people coming out here, you know." she stated, tilting her head a bit.

[Walter Grace]

This woman, in Walter's opinion, was rather odd. Who just 'wandered around' at this time of night? Not to mentioned she didn't seem at all embarrassed about being naked in front of him. Another thing that bothered him slightly, was how skinny she looked. Was she poor? Did she not have a job? Still, he did not ask any questions as he responded to hers.

"Just...clearing my head, I suppose," he coughed, placing his hands in his pockets once more. "Having one of those nights, is all."
He felt fairly awkward as he kept his eyes on her head- not wishing to be rude, and not look at her. At the same time not wanting to accidentally look down.

"I just find it rather curious that there is a naked woman in front of me in the middle of the forest at this time of night," or any time, for that matter.