over the river and through the woods | blind witch

[kindestod]

A small group of children - approximately four of them - had managed to get themselves lost. Not only were they lost, but one of them was ill. Unbeknownst to the children, a tall figure was slowly chasing after them. The four stopped to rest at a large tree, allowing Der Kindestod to catch up with them. As soon as he did, the sick children froze in horror. For a few brief moments the boy stood there, mouth agape, wondering what was going on. Eventually the boy screamed. The other children stared at him and began bombarding the poor boy with questions.

Der Kindestod's trademark fanged grin appeared as he slowly approached the child. The screams intensified as he approached, making the other children even more frenzied in their questions. As Kindestod grabbed the ill child and began sucking the life force out of him. In mere seconds, the child stopped flailing and screaming. Kindestod let the limp body fall to the ground as the other children fled. Becoming visible, Kindestod let out a deep chuckle and began to walk away.

[missginger]

It was such a beautiful day. The wind carried a slight chill as it blew, but the sun shone with a brightness that warmed her skin, making the temperature pleasant enough. And what was even more wonderful was the distinct scent the breeze carried - the delightful, unmistakable aroma that signaled the nearby presence of human children. Several of them, in fact - she could hear them from here, screaming in terror...wait. What? That wasn't quite right. They didn't have any reason to be screaming. Yet. Actually somewhat taken aback by this, the Blind Witch paused for a moment. The good news was, whatever it was that had frightened these children had effectively driven them right towards her.

The children seemed to take the sight of an adult - albeit a blind, rather creepily dressed one - as immediate comfort. At any rate they made a beeline for her, a particularly shaken young girl even running up and burying her face in the Witch's dress. "Shh. Children! Please calm down a moment." she cooed, gently running a hand comfortingly through the little girl's hair as her two companions gathered around. "It's alright...I won't let anything hurt you. Now would one of you please tell me what's wrong?" Her soft, maternal way of speaking had its intended effect - the children immediately seemed to calm a bit, though she still sensed their shock and terror what whatever they had seen.

"There's a monster back there." the voice of a little boy spoke up. "It...it..."

"It killed our friend." the girl whimpered into the Blind Witch's dress. At this, the Witch stiffened slightly. A monster? Killing children? Surely they were just imagining things - and yet, their fear seemed so real. Whatever the case, before she could properly begin her meal...this was something she needed to look into. "Alright," she told them quietly. "I'm going to go take a look. You three wait here, where it's safe. But you really mustn't worry - there are no such things as monsters..." A slight smirk crossed her features at the irony of her statement as she pried herself away from the girl and left her and the other remaining children to fretfully watch her go.

Indeed, the scent of a fourth child wasn't difficult to pick up - but the air also reeked of death. She couldn't smell blood, however...that was odd. Surely a 'monster' would cause some sort of gory, messy death? But really...she couldn't sense much of anything at all, besides the faint lingering smell of sickness. Nothing that would have killed the child, though nothing - at least, she didn't think so. And that was when another, particularly strong and distinctive scent caught her attention - and this one was definitely not human. She straightened up attentively in time to hear the fading footsteps of a being walking away from the scene - walking on two legs. It was humanoid. How...interesting.

"Well well," the Blind Witch mused lightly after him. "You certainly gave those children quite a scare. The funny thing is, though...there's not a scratch on this one...." Her hazy blue eyes swept calculatingly from spot to spot as she stared unseeingly in front of her. "...How ever did you do it?"

[kindestod]

A dark chuckle could be heard throughout the woods as Der Kindestod watched the children fleeing. Their life force would have been useful - and he could have obtained it if he wished to - but it was just more entertaining to watch them flee and tell stories about how a monster killed their friend. It would be almost as amusing as seeing the future Slayer watch helplessly as her cousin died.

The sound of someone approaching at first amused Der Kindestod. The thought that some human thought they could hunt a demon successfully was something considered humorous among demons. But, as the presence drew closer, Der Kindestod began to sense a strange magical presence to it. Then kind of magic that even he, a demon, had not seen...

In fact, it was so unfamiliar that Der Kindestod began to believe that he should be running from it. And so he did. The demon took off into the nearby woods... only to be stopped by the witch's voice. Turning around, he realized that, because she was blind, he wouldn't need to be visible or invisible. With a chuckle, Der Kindestod spoke. "There are ways of killing demons have that... most humans are unaware of."

[missginger]

The quickening of the being's footsteps informed her of the fact that he was trying to avoid her - afraid of what? Being caught after killing the children? That hardly seemed likely...perhaps he had some way of sensing that she was far from a normal human herself. With an amused little giggle, the Blind Witch paused. She had no particular reason to give chase, so she supposed she could afford to allow him to escape...though she was curious now. A moment later, however, he surprised her by deciding to turn and speak to her after all. Tilting her head slightly to one side, she listened to his words - and he smile widened a fraction. This just might prove to be even more interesting than she'd originally made it out to be!

"A demon....mmm...so that's what you are...." How curious! Demons existed in this world as well! So far the Blind Witch had yet to run into anything remotely non-human, and while she hadn't been complaining...this would ensure that things around here didn't get too boring. She wondered briefly what sort of demon he was - but then decided it didn't matter much. Not as much as the fact that he'd been hunting children, at least - she found that little detail to be particularly interesting. Was it just because they'd been the first people to cross his path, or did he make a habit out of it? Something that she intended to discover in due time...and perhaps, while she was investigating him on those grounds, she'd even be able to learn more about what sort of supernatural creatures inhabited this world. Unlike the enchanted forest, magic didn't seem particularly commonplace or accepted into society here. But it did undoubtedly exist.

"Were you going somewhere?" she asked almost playfully, turning her sightless gaze in the direction he'd been heading - there were trees, she determined as she scented the air. A forest, perhaps? "Because I'd very much like for you to stay and chat with me awhile, if you have the time..." Her words were spoken with a smooth, almost pleasant honey-sweetness, her demeanor mostly docile...for now, at least. She didn't see any reason to create conflict with this being if it could be avoided, but you never knew with demons. "By the way, may I ask why you killed the child? For fun?" The Blind Witch was careful not to sound any less politely curious than she had a moment ago, but a slight prickle of irritability ran through her at the thought. She wouldn't have put it past a demon to slaughter humans simply for their own personal entertainment, but...if that had been the case, then it really was a waste. And she couldn't say the thought pleased her too much.