Tittle: The Night Walkers Chapter One: Night Walker Author: Lady Hiko Email: ladyhiko@yahoo.com Rating: PG. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Flash<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< It all happened so fast. Our powers glowing, growing. Red... "Rei! No!" Crimson light... And then... ````` Darkness. That's all I could feel for hours on end. No longer could I feel the light that surrounded me, engulfed me...comforted me. No, it was all gone. I all ways felt cold, so cold. I never saw the sun anymore, never felt the warm breeze of dawn. I only saw the cold, harsh moon, or no moon at all. That's a funny thing after all, for you see they believe that * I * am the moon goddess, Selene. As you have probably guessed by now, I am the 'Night Walker,' Serenity. It is funny to be the Keeper of Light and be kept forever in the realm of darkness. Yep, just my luck. I honestly wouldn't believe it myself, except for that everytime I would awake, I would find food and various gifts at my feet, buried in rubble. I would be in the middle of the forest to find these items too. I thank whoever does this, for without them, I'd starve. I honestly cannot get a job with my "condition". Oh yeah, what would I say? "Sorry sir, I must go. I..." and then turn into stone? Oh yeah, that would go over well. Now you're probably wondering, why am I talking like this? I am supposed to be an "ancient one", and, by all logical terms, I should be dead. Well, my petrified state has preserved me all of these years. I guess the stone keeps me from aging, as well as all of my friends. Poor Ami, she tried to warn Rei, but she too was caught by the blast. Now there is a point to our dreary existence, and a reason why we migrate northward, even if we've been separated by accident the past few hundred years. As every one hundred years go by, the magic within our world decreases, disappears. It didn't seem bad at first. I mean, at first, it was just the unicorns, but then it was the griffins, and finally, the only dragons left were the Kimonos. The only place left in the world, untouched by the depletion of magic, was way up in the north...a place called Olympia. So this is why we travel, and hopefully we will all meet there. Perhaps and hopefully someone there will be able to help us with our... "predicament," before all of the magic is gone, and so are we. ~~~~~Endymion~~~~~ The illustrious moon shone brilliantly tonight, perfect for the hunt. It is mid to late June, the time for the annual hunt of the Prongs. Prongs are mystical deer-like creatures. Their bodies are a ghostly silver-white and they only come out at night. They're barely visible to the naked eye, so you more like sense them by the glistening pale white wisps of themselves they sometimes leave behind. They move like shadows within the night, leaving nary a sound nor footprint. That's what makes them such challenging game. My bow stretched across my chest, quiver full of arrows, and my sword dangling at my flank, I set out for the hunt. The world is so different after the sun has set. The night, it has a rhythm, a life all of its own. Velvet purple dances on past in wisps in the wind, while heart thundering blue creeps from the shadows and thunders within you. It is filled with music that you hear not with your ears, but with your heart, with your soul. That is night. So fragile that the moonbeams weaken it. Destroys the magic of night with magic of its own. The magic of light destroys night. But you see, without darkness, there is no light, no day. Yet it has been told, that without light, without day, darkness, night in its truest form can still exist. That is where the Prongs exist. So that is why I hunt in near darkness, save the light of the effulgent moon. Sweet music, not of the night fills my ears. It sounds so sad, yet so divine...enchanting...like a siren's song. Beautiful. I must follow it. The sweet song gets louder and louder as I near the river. A radiating white glow clouds my vision. A prong! My bow bounds from my chest, an arrow within as I turn to take aim at the wispy glow. The enthralling music stops and my vision clears. No Prong exists in front of me, but a glorious maiden. One so pale that she melded within the moonlight, radiating its heavenly glow. Had she not ever been within the light of the sun? Oh, but her hair, that was equivalent enough. It appeared to be made of the light of the sun itself. Even within the light of the moon, it radiated gold, as though mid day. Was that music her voice? Was she truly a siren? Those eyes, those beautiful jeweled saffire eyes...they're looking at me in uttermost terror, panic, planning...Possibly planning an escape route?! What have I done?! I don't want this apparition to leave! I look down and realize I still have my arrow pointed at her. ~*~*~*~Serenity~*~*~*~ It was a pitiful moon out tonight. Not even full. Oh well, at least no one should see me while I bathe. The water is so cold, it chills me to my bones, but it is not as cold as when I sleep...nothing could be as cold as that. Oh, maybe I am just depressed; a few hundred years of solitude can do that to a person, you know. I just feel so sorrowed, and a melody fills my heart, a melody I learned so long ago, within a language I have almost forgotten. I release that melody through my voice, savoring each sorrowful note. It soothes me, just like the wind, the wind of morning of which I'll never feel again. (Author's note: Think of the ending music to Outlaw Star. If anyone has the lyrics, please send them to me. Arigatou) Suddenly I snap out of my trance. Something is wrong. Something is coming...something is near. I hear, no, more like feel the bushes wavering not to far. Shit! I cannot run to my clothes, they are on the other side of the bank. A nearby rock! Perhaps I can hide my form behind there! An arrow peeks between the brush, then a bow, until I can see a man heavily suited within luminous raven armor. It is too dark to distinctly see his face though. He's spotted me! Shit! Gotta get out of here! Gotta go! He begins to walk towards me. Don't tell me he...he's...gonna... ~~~~~Endymion~~~~~ My eyes grow wide, my jaw falls off its hinge, and my bow and arrow fall to the floor at the vision before me. The maiden is no longer in concealment, but charging at me...completely nude. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she yelled, streaking past. (Author's note: Think of a woman yelling like a full-blown linebacker charging past.) *~*~*~*~Serenity~*~*~*~* He is *not* going to get me. Not him, not anyone ever again! There's only one thing left for me to do... CHARGE! I stuck my arm out, trying to knock him down, but missed. Oh well, my clothes are only a few more feet ahead... Got them! I ran, streaking through the trees, while putting my clothes on, my heart racing as I am almost out of range... My heart sinks as I try to stop my flight, for a wall of thorns loom over me. Skid... Crash... Thud... The pain...it's all around me, within my every limb...I have to get out...get free! I try to get up, to get out of my entangled predicament, but the burning, searing pain within my ankle keeps me from standing. ~~~Endymion~~~ I was awoken from my stunned stupor by a sudden cry, a cry of pain, agony...a cry of defeat. Where had that maiden gone? The sun was beginning to rise; something within me urged me to find her before then. Gold began to peak above the hilltops, and I could hear her no more.