[Closed] A little close to home

[lezard_valeth]

Characters: Lily Ivory and Lezard Valeth
Location: Medicine Creek, Oklahoma
Rating: PG
Time: July 7th, Noon
Description: Locals are having trouble with a marauding... Deer Woman. It's too strange and interesting not to investigate! It's been years since Lezard has seen a centaur.


Medicine Park had been closed for investigation after a string of animal attacks, the countless fishermen and kayaks usually seen dotting the Creek long gone for the time being. Some were driven off by police when they didn't care and wanted their leisure time anyway, the fools, but most didn't want to handle the lacerations and mortal injuries that had been occurring in an increasing number lately. They were the smart ones.

Mount Scott watched silently in the distance on the bright and sunny day, the breeze kicking up the colorful yellow blooms that spread across the landscape. It almost begged you to lay down a blanket, soak in the sunshine and maybe cast a few lines, pull out a few fat little trout to have for dinner tonight. The lodges they'd passed by, inactive and quiet, seemed to gush about the population of fish swimming in the Creek, or invited visitors to rent a kayak and paddle down the current.

"The tracks continue here," Lezard noted, stooped to examine the soft earth. "Cloven hooves as well. She seems to have moved leisurely through here recently."

He looked up, stood and dusted off. Grinned. "Shall we proceed and hope they trek south, all the way to your Texas...? Surely, you feel a little homesick."

Comments

[vintage_magic]

Lily was thoroughly sick of sand, of how it buried her ruined garden in the park, of how it was being tracked into the shop by customers, of how she had to sweep the sidewalk multiple times a day after gusts rearranged the grit piled along the curb. If she never saw another pile of sand that had to be cleared away again, it would be too soon! So much so that the thought of leaving Death City to go demon hunting was semi-appealing. She'd left arranging for the mission to Lezard but couldn't help wondering why he choose this one and raised an eyebrow at his observations.

"Are you sure those tracks belong to this... Deer Woman who's been attacking people? We don't want to end up on a wild goose chase after a real deer." Even with the small community nearby, the area was rustic enough that a non-demonic deer straying in seemed possible. "Like that saying a friend mentioned to me once, 'When you hear hooves, think horses, not zebras.'"

"And the part of Texas where I grew up was much closer to New Mexico. I reckon we're a good five hundred miles or more away." She did miss it sometimes but... "It's not as if my grandma or my mama would be there." Did he pick this mission just because he was curious about where she was from?

[lezard_valeth]

"But to wander about with no leads at all burns daylight. Whether a deer or our quarry, I'll take any cloven tracks over none," he replied loftily. Lily had some awfully interesting friends. Then again, wasn't he one of them?

"Of course, but to travel to Scandinavia granted me a sort of nostalgia... perhaps this world's Texas may offer but a small comfort for your own homesickness. I had looked for something close to San Francisco but saw nothing of the sort. But they do allow trips," he noted.

"Ah, but vacation can wait, now can it? I'm quite interested in the Deer Woman. A centaur, perhaps...? It has been years since I lay eyes on one!" He sounded... excited. That was hardly good.

[vintage_magic]

Well, she supposed he had a point. With the area being closed to the public, there was a lack of possible witnesses to be questioned. So, she shrugged and followed along after the tracks. It was rather scenic here with the mountain in the distance although not quite peaceful with this demon problem. Hopefully, they would be able to take care of that...

"I can't say I have too much of a desire to see Texas again but I'm curious what San Francisco is like here. And it can wait until another time. I'm also disturbed how many demons have been attacking children lately." Another mission or two was probably in order after they dealt with the Deer Woman and cleaning up in the city.

"You met a centaur in your world? Why are you so interested in them?" He sounded much too excited about meeting one here. Lily had glimpsed them a couple of times herself back home but they were rather gamey and, like most woodsfolk, tended to hide from human eyes. She wrinkled her nose at the memory.

[lezard_valeth]

Filing away a trip to this world's San Francisco in his mind, he considered her query. "Why...?"

"Well, I suppose it is one of my rare moments of homesickness. We face demons and malevolent witches frequently, yet the ghouls, dragons and varied creatures I am accustomed to are nowhere to be seen. To get a glimpse of such a creature would be a welcome sight... before it is eradicated, of course. How I wish it were a buck rather than a doe, to collect but a few chips of antlers for alchemical use...!" Oh he was gushing.

[vintage_magic]

Well, the tracks seemed to lead into the woods. Made sense since they were after a Deer Woman who reportedly liked to lure young men into the forest. Or they were following a real deer's tracks by mistake.

"The woodspeople tended to hide from humans back in my world. Goblins, brownies, fairies, and the like. They existed but most normal folks weren't aware of them. Thought they were just fairy tales. Did they just roam freely where you came from?" But then magic seemed accepted in his world so maybe it wasn't so strange there...

"But isn't this Deer Woman supposed to have a human torso? I reckon there wouldn't be antlers even if it was male."

She paused peering through the summer foliage. Was that bit of light brown in the distance just part of a tree trunk or something else?

[lezard_valeth]

"Very freely. All but the boldest remained in their villages and cities, lest they encounter such creatures and wind up tricked, cursed or outright hunted," he explained.

"'Tis a level of savagery quite common in Midgard. To learn to wield a blade, magic, bow or even a dagger gave you an edge."

Ah, but she had a point about the antler thing. Were they really so different here, or in her world? They certainly had them back home, both male and female. But the females' antlers were smaller, used primarily for show. The sharp hooves were plenty for self-defense.

He followed her gaze when she suddenly stopped, and furrowed a brow. Immediately pausing at her side, he reached out and seized her hand, the blue light growing. Better safe than sorry, and his senses were keener while in his Weapon form.

"Any hint of our quarry ought be treated with the utmost scrutiny. Whatever that is, we will surprise it. Keep low and draw closer."

[vintage_magic]

"Doesn't exactly sound like a nice place to live." No wonder he thought this world didn't seem bad in comparison. "But I take it that didn't stop you from venturing into the woods back there if you've seen enough of them to actually miss them."

She'd grown somewhat used to Lezard suddenly grabbing her hand during these missions so she didn't protest when he seized her hand and transformed. With a nod at his words, she ducked her head and crept closer, using the trees as cover.

When they were about ten yards away, the creature became clear. Hooves, a white tail, reddish brown coat, a deer's head. Then, Lily felt a bit foolish, whispering to the book, "It's just a normal deer."

Or so she thought. The witch hadn't heard the part of the myth about the Deer Woman being able to shift forms...

[lezard_valeth]

"Of course not. My research would grind to a halt if I didn't turn and take my chances in the wilds."

But she moved closer and he fell silent, reaching with his soul's energy to try and gather more information on the shape ahead of them. Even when they reached the creature in question, he didn't feel much of anything. The deer felt agitated, but all deer felt like that when the scent of something dangerous was so close. Little did he know.

"A false alarm. Let's find a way to cross the creek and examine the opposing bank before the trail runs cold." But he was suspicious. He knew nothing of the myth, but he wordlessly kept a bead on the doe. Their hooves were sharp and they had no qualms against kicking. He was in no mood to have his Meister trampled by a forest creature.

[vintage_magic]

Lily moved through the trees and towards the water, dismissing thought of the doe for now. "All right. There must be a bridge somewhere, I reckon. I can't see the bottom and the creek's too wide to easily cross otherwise."

As she looked up and down the creek, movement among the trees on the opposite bank caught her eyes and she lifted a hand to shade her eyes. "Huh. Is that a couple more deer on the other side? Sure seem to be a lot of these critters around today..."

Thus distracted, the witch didn't realize the one from earlier had started following them and was trying to sneak up on them, the deer head and neck shifting, elongating to become a woman's head and torso as she did so...

[lezard_valeth]

"...Indeed." Suspicious. Kishin eggs enjoyed their ambushes, and the Deer Woman fit the bill in a sense. But did she have accomplices? The report never did say. He would simply keep the possibility in mi-

He turned his head, felt a malevolence growing behind them. Kishin eggs... were they capable of hiding their true nature right down to the soul's level!?

"I do believe we're being hunted. But do not let our pursuer know we're aware... perhaps we'll set a lovely trap of runes, hm?"

[vintage_magic]

She gripped the book a bit more tightly at his warning. Dag nab it! Something followed them? She had to resist the urge to whirl around to see what was stalking them. If it charged, they'd more than likely end up in the water and up the creek without a paddle, as the saying went. Although this was risky as well.

Looking down at Lezard, Lily began muttering a chant and visualized the Fire Storm runes appearing on the ground about ten feet behind her. Of course, she didn't have eyes in the back of her head so he'd have to help with the placement. And let her know when to spring the trap...

[lezard_valeth]

"Move as you are. I'll give the signal to ignite them. It is unaware that we've noticed."

He could easily do so, keeping a bead on one... wait... two? Ah, three. Their lovely Deer Woman brought friends. His eyes narrowed. They followed neatly right behind, ready to charge and trample.

"Three paces, then fire at will. We can engulf the lot in one fell swoop. Two, one...!"

[vintage_magic]

The lot? There was more than one of those critters following them? Great.

Lily tried to pretend that there wasn't anything wrong, taking the three steps forward as he instructed and then willing the pillar of fire to rise from the ground. A trio of shrieks disrupted the quiet and she whirled around to find three of the half-woman, half-deer creatures within the flames. But they were getting over the surprise attack and didn't look like they intended to give up without a fight. She broke into a run along the shoreline as the Deer Women charged out of the fire and towards the creek to extinguish themselves.