Unmasqued

[Maí Lé Rosà]

A vertiginously acidic narcosis;
a pierced seduction.

A pair of rich, polished-black stiletto's, stood at the edge of the forest, toes positioned in a concise manner, directly in line with the first row of naturally enormous trees. Taught laces strung themselves with practice up the fronts of these leather knee-highs, waltzing into a bow at their peak to compliment the tight curve of her kneecaps.

Her kneecaps. Free of the faint shadows that muscles created in flesh, the figure of grace stood with a chilling stillness, her boots sitting rigid against the slush of settled white snowflakes underneath them. A coal-black garter strap snaked up her thigh, disappearing under the mid-thigh ripple of a smokey-cream material; the short layers of skirt on her new dress.

Swimming up her figure, as close to her porcelain frame as it could manage, the misty-rose dress kissed each and every one of her many curves delicately, skimming her shoulders in miniature wisps of sleeves which only reached a quarter of the way down her upper arms. Gorgeous.

A soft breath slipping over cherry lips.

Under the plump of her breasts sat a faint shadow, leading one's eye to the intricate fineries of lace and satin cord that was woven right up the center of her corsétted garment, again, the colour of her boots; black. A fragrant breath escaped the void that was her untouchable couplet of rose-painted lips, as supple as they ever were.

Her ever so long locks floated around her body with an air of their own vanity, licking the snowflakes from the air as though their mistress was Medusa and they were her serpents. Dark lashes gave way to smokey sills as the creature opened her unmatchable soul, blinking a few times before those unchanged, flecked-blood orbs surveyed the white entrance to her old abode.

A delicious scent of inexorable gore.

A soft smirk settled placidly in the corner of her lips, as unreachable as Mrs. Darling's kiss in the tale of a boy who refused to bid his childhood adieu. Glittering spiderwebs seemed to vanish into emptiness in her ever-active mind, giving way to that malicious sense of irresistible danger she held so well in her spider-like fingers.

Those fingers were slimmer now, pushed deep into the inviting warmth of glovettes, as black as the lace adorning her corsét. Inhaling the icy winter's air, the woman brought her lips together once more and gazed on inside the forest from her distance, each eye reflecting a lovely shade of ruby-red sincerity. Oh, how she missed this forest, her forest.

A painful memory;
a bullet to the cerebral cortex.

Her gloved palms came up to press gently against her rouge cheeks, before she lowered them to her sides again and hastily snapped each finger-bone, bringing a melodic flow of reality back to the present. Taking a leisurely breath, the woman directed her kneecap forward, bending her leg and stepping forward into the forest. She walked on, feeling it's chilled interior welcoming her in silent arms.

Welcoming her.
The Demoness, Maí Lé Rosà had returned once more.

A demonic angel in a fallen vortex.

[/i][/center]

[† Cealla †]

[OOC: I do hope I'm welcome...]

I'm wading along
in the sunlight--
and I'm sure I can see the fields and the ponds shining
days ahead--
I can see the light spilling
like a shower of meteors
into next week's trees,
and I plan to be there soon--
and, so far, I am just that lucky,
my legs splashing
over the edge of darkness,
my heart on fire.

[/center]

Perhaps it was a pitiful mix of lonliness and a yearning for adventure that drove her here. Whatever it was, she felt as though she wanted more. Always more. At first it was more than her parents could offer her, and now it was more than her grandfather could. Either way, the Tunnel clan was dead to her. She hadn't seen any sign of them for weeks upon end, besides the faint scent of Xavier and a young human girl beside the lake. But she didn't care to indulge in his reasoning behind that, seeing as he hadn't even bothered to find her. And one part of her didn't care at all. No. She didn't care anymore. The cold and indifferent child of the past had, if anything, only grown to be colder and even more indifferent.

Though she hadn't grown much. Eventually, she hoped her human body would grow taller, though she didn't really expect it. And after living off of nothing but rabbits, she was quite literally nothing but skin and bones. Not quite starved, but not exactly the slender mix of muscle and bones that she had been before. Dinner was whatever could be caught, and she was turning into more of an animal and less of a person as the days passed on. She didn't have the desire to do much of anything as of late- though she had spoken with a few wandering students when she dared, it could not bring her the company of a family.

So now she crept through the forest, with no destination and not really caring about how she was going to find her way back home. Due to the pitiful condition of her previous attire, she had changed into a set of school robes that she had found abandoned by the lakeside. Though it was obvious that she wasn't a student, for the robes were much too big and she was obviously much too young to even be allowed to attend classes. However, her lack of common sense at the moment drove her to wander, in human form, though this forest. Unwise. Most unwise.

Cracking a few twigs as she walked, her head was constantly up and alert. Blue eyes darted back and forth over the trees and into the little clearings, suddenly chancing upon the form of another being walking. Someone- or something- else.

Poem Credit goes to Mary Oliver.

[Maí Lé Rosà]

{ooc}: Why, of course.

{bic}:

Bang.

A gunshot.[/i] That bullet to the cerebral cortex. Mai's gaze snapped sidelong in just as much time as a cocked rifle would fire after it's trigger was teased toward a heart. Her finger even twitched at this thought, and a darling smirk sifted it's smooth self onto her irreplaceable features; why, already she had company.

Shock-blue eyes caught Mai's own and she stopped walking immediately, so fast that her heel was caught in action, partially lifted off the forest floor with it's toe pointing on an angle to the snow below. The demoness manipulated her cheek muscles, causing her smile to widen without a look of much effort at all. In fact, almost as if someone were puppeteering her porcelain features, as though she were nothing more than a...

"Doll, what are you doing out here all alone?" Her voice was drawn out with a thick sympathy. For a moment there was even a twinkle in Mai's eye, though of course that was only the cold aggrivating her tear ducts. Blinking, she looked along at the near-invisible path she had just walked down and frowned a delicate frown.

Stretching out an arm in the direction, she spread out her fingers, before giving her hand a simple wave, and in that moment, each finely printed impression of her boots melted together to the slushy substance of snow; as picturesque and untainted as it had been before she chose to stroll down it. Turning back to face the young child in an apparel which was instantly deemed far too large for her, Mai started to pace toward her; each boot print dissolving and disappearing in a hiss of heat behind her.

The red of her irises most likely stood out more than anything else in the surrounding area. Like the flame on a white candle, the fallen rose bud on snow, the drop of blood on pale flesh, or even scarlet fabric on royalty. The pale ripples of skirt material she wore ruffled by their own accord as she lowered herself by a bend at the knees to reach a height closer to that of the lycaness - she sensed.

Smiling a momentary smile, Mai whipped out a hand and grasped the child's chin in her gloved fingers, massaging her thumb firmly - but not forcefully - against the girl's jawline, just enough to move the flesh by her cheekbone. She awaited an answer.