Crumbled Ideals - World of Atonement

Sirius Woods

Golden sunlight shone over the thick, primeval forest. Only a dappled haze permeated the emerald foliage. Sirius Woods, a labyrinth like forest that separated the walled city Aldebaran from the rest of the world. Visitors unfamiliar with the area would immediately get lost amongst the overbearing sorrel tree trunks. The rays that penetrated the thick grove caused optical illusions, distorting ones senses until it's too late. Ample wildlife lived within the primitive forest. Careless tracks were the only signs of humans once one would enter, and would disappear instantly if not careful.

Amongst the foliage at the top of the mighty trees, a 21 year old man with black hair with a white patch on the left side rested on a bulky tree branch. He slept deeply with his arms cushioning his head. Lightweight silver gauntlets and shin guards covered his arms and legs respectively. A midnight blue scarf covered his copper skin from the nose down. A large ebony cloak covered the top half of his body, and dark grey pants covered his legs. His light boots had iron soles at the bottom. A sudden rustle woke the sleeping young man. In an instant, he took out a revolver and pointed it in the direction of the disturbance. "Vania," the young man groaned. His voice was soft and powerful, yet devoid of emotion.  It would captivate anyone who would hear it.

Sitting casually on the opposite branch was a young woman with auburn hair tied in a braid. She wore a white, button up shirt covered by an open olive jacket. Black trousers covered her legs up to her tan boots, and she wore fingerless tan gloves. Finally, a large pair of goggles with white frames dangled around her neck. A silver pocket watch in her coat pocket reflected the slight sunshine that permeated the emerald grove. "Yo, Drac. Feels like forever since I last saw ya," Vania greeted. Vania, the woman who can only be described as an enigma. She has an open personality that sometimes makes it difficult to ascertain whether she has an ulterior motive or not. Vania never reveals too much about herself, an enjoys meddling whenever she can. She is known to have a strange ability to appear wherever whenever she is called. While not an intimate or interesting one, she and Drac have a minor history together.

Vania often equated Drac to the ocean at night. A deep and beautiful sight that would cause one to forget about their worries at the moment. It appears to spread infinitely towards the horizon, painting an unparalleled masterpiece with the crystallized dreams in the midnight sky. However the evening winds bring a gentle and glorious cool, one that has a sad grace to it. Whoever gets too close should tread carefully against its treacherous waves. Its depths do not always reflect the same magnificence. Drowning within their vicious torrents, one can only wait for inevitable death within the chilling abyss.

Drac tucked his gun away underneath his cloak at the sight of the enigma. He positioned his body upright in order to face her directly. "So what do you want?" Drac was matter-of-fact in speech, saying only what's necessary unless its something really important to him.

Vania let out a deep sigh. "Man, you've really gotta work on that attitude of yours, man." Feeling disappointed, Vania continued speaking. "After all this time you still don't trust me. Well I guess that you're right on that point." In an almost singing voice, Vania stared intently at Drac's right shoulder. "How've you been, Iridim? Surely you can put up more of a conversation than this borderline misanthrope over here."

In response to the statement, a beautiful dragon with silvery blue scales and four wings manifested on Drac's shoulder. Her gentle white eyes stared intently at Vania. "How right you are, Vania," Iridim responded. "Sometimes I wish that he would open up to me more like he used to. These days he keeps everything bottled up inside of him." Her motherly voice showed more concern than cynicism.

"Right!" Vania replied in a giddy voice. She took simple pleasure in her short exchange with the miniature dragon. "Funny thing though, I just met this dude named Burster. Man he was interesting. He glowed all purple n' stuff, even his magic was interesting as hell. But I guess the way that he uses it is pretty bland when you look at the big picture. Even funnier thing though, I just can't imagine you getting along with Burster in any way, shape, or form, Drac. I dunno why, but whenever I think of you two in the same room together I just imagine you dudes restraining yourselves from beating the crap outta the other." Her amber eyes soon became locked on Drac's empty grey ones. "That reminds me." Her tone suddenly grew more serious with those three words. All presence of the playful banter ended as their eyes met. The tension grew between Drac and Vania as they continued their stare down. "I came here because I wanted to push you out of a tree." Golden distortions in space appeared next to Vania and behind Drac. The enigmatic woman pushed her slender hand into the ripple, pushing Drac out of the branch that he rested on. Vania stared in glee as she watched the young man fall into the labyrinth like forest. Satisfied, she stretched as while standing on top of the bulky branch, letting out a long groan in the process. "Sheesh, Laurice, will it kill ya to call me by my actual name for once? Bye Iridim, hope we get to talk again soon." Another golden distortion appeared at Vania's feet. With an exaggerated flip, she dove straight into the ripple, disappearing without a trace.