“That’s better. Nice red walls are far better than silly plain wood!”
Jing’s ugly little face was stained with a self satisfied grin. The chicken coop where he found himself was no longer a hive of squawking, feather filled chaos. Its poultry residents no longer filled the air with their shrill clucking and instead an ominous silence reigned. Strewn about the place were the semi-devoured remains of the coops previous tenants, their blood haphazardly coating the walls of the room. From out of the nonsensical ramblings tumbling from his mouth Jing mumbled “Why do humans make paint? Blood works far better.” He paused momentarily to pull a small feather from between two if his razor sharp little teeth before adding “and you get a free meal!”
With all of the chickens dead and his belly full the goblin grew bored of the coop. Scooping up a largely whole corpse for later he scrambled clumsily out into the crisp night air. The starlight caused Jing’s eyes to glint disturbingly as he surveyed the scene but it was his ears that detected that all was not well. Sharply pointed green ears twitched at the soft sound of a boot pulling free from a particularly adhesive section of mud. It seemed the farmer was a little unhappy with Jing for killing his livestock. Jing couldn’t help but think the farmer would have been happier if he’d just stayed in his house. The necromancer stood still, apparently enjoying the night air but in actuality keeping track of the approaching human and waiting for the opportune moment. Under his breath Jing began uttering a litany of harsh language and the tongue he spoke in would cause a shiver down the spine.
Air whistled from the shovel head as it sped through the air, accompanied by a grunt of effort from the farmer wielding it. Mere millisecond before it was about to impact with the back of Jings skull he ducked low. Instead of easily destroyed bone the rusted iron struck nothing but air. Thrown off balance the farmer could do nothing but look on in horror whilst goblin necromancer turned. His insane gaze bored into the humans mind and like a rabbit in the headlights the assailant became the victim. The murmuring of ancient syllables stopped and almost instantly afterwards the half eaten chicken corpse in Jings hand twitched. Undeath took a hold of the small creature and with a helping throw from Jing it began to furiously peck at the farmers face and eyes. As he screamed and tried desperately to get the blood stained talons and beak away from his face the shovel in the farmers hand fell softly to the floor. A wealth of possibilities sprung to life in the goblins sick mind and his shrill laughter mingled with the farmers cries of pain. Green fingers grasped the discarded tool with menacing purpose and the cries of the human abruptly stopped just after a sickeningly wet squelch.
A shadow over Shim
The sun was shining dimly over Shim while the faint twittering of birds filled the quiet of the farmlands. This particular farm lied a bit closer to the woods than the other farms, probably from irreverence and lack of fear. The residents were just the kind of people to put some of that fear of the supernatural into.
A pure white horse with a mane and tail of golden blonde jumped over a fence into a corral. The space inside wasn't very big but it had some nice patches of grass that Coinneach had seen from behind the wooden fence. A few horses were in the corral chomping on that grass. They looked up, mostly uninterested, and then continued to eat. He had been here numerous times; the first few they had sensed he wasn't really a horse and ran away, but now they just didn't care. He had never tried to harm them, after all.
He pranced over to a particularly good patch of grass he saw with his dimly glowing eyes. In this amount of light it was hard to tell if indeed they glowed or not. The goldenrod orbs kept a wary eye out for the farmers. Lately they hadn't taken too kindly to him; stories were floating around that the kelpie had killed a girl named Margretta. And he had, but why they cared was beyond him. Most of the residents of Shim only knew him in his horse form except for the tavern employees and a few of the elders in the town, who also knew his human form. Most everyone would recognize him on sight at the moment, so he might have to scare them or bolt. But this grass was always so good and he couldn't resist.
As he chomped contentedly, and only slightly on edge because he was calmed by the peaceful sense in the air, there was a shriek. In synchrony his head raised along with the mares and he danced a bit, unsure, while they went back to eating. There appeared to be someone he hadn't noticed having a scuffle with someone else near the chicken coop.
Curious now, he decided to approach, not caring if they were farmers (like they most probably would be) or not. The stallion jumped the fence and trotted over, which took a moment because it was on almost the other side of the farm. As he approached he smelled blood and paused cautiously and danced a bit on his feet. His ears were perked and his nostrils flared from the stench. The scene he came upon was bizarre. There was a wounded chicken pecking and scratching at a farmer he recognized and a shovel--held by a short green person--was embedded in him. The farmer was definitely dead, now.
He snorted and pawed the ground with a hoof, looking at the scene with one eye. The gold mane hung on the right side of his face almost in the way. Suddenly he said, "Well, that's not something you see everyday. Cool."
A pure white horse with a mane and tail of golden blonde jumped over a fence into a corral. The space inside wasn't very big but it had some nice patches of grass that Coinneach had seen from behind the wooden fence. A few horses were in the corral chomping on that grass. They looked up, mostly uninterested, and then continued to eat. He had been here numerous times; the first few they had sensed he wasn't really a horse and ran away, but now they just didn't care. He had never tried to harm them, after all.
He pranced over to a particularly good patch of grass he saw with his dimly glowing eyes. In this amount of light it was hard to tell if indeed they glowed or not. The goldenrod orbs kept a wary eye out for the farmers. Lately they hadn't taken too kindly to him; stories were floating around that the kelpie had killed a girl named Margretta. And he had, but why they cared was beyond him. Most of the residents of Shim only knew him in his horse form except for the tavern employees and a few of the elders in the town, who also knew his human form. Most everyone would recognize him on sight at the moment, so he might have to scare them or bolt. But this grass was always so good and he couldn't resist.
As he chomped contentedly, and only slightly on edge because he was calmed by the peaceful sense in the air, there was a shriek. In synchrony his head raised along with the mares and he danced a bit, unsure, while they went back to eating. There appeared to be someone he hadn't noticed having a scuffle with someone else near the chicken coop.
Curious now, he decided to approach, not caring if they were farmers (like they most probably would be) or not. The stallion jumped the fence and trotted over, which took a moment because it was on almost the other side of the farm. As he approached he smelled blood and paused cautiously and danced a bit on his feet. His ears were perked and his nostrils flared from the stench. The scene he came upon was bizarre. There was a wounded chicken pecking and scratching at a farmer he recognized and a shovel--held by a short green person--was embedded in him. The farmer was definitely dead, now.
He snorted and pawed the ground with a hoof, looking at the scene with one eye. The gold mane hung on the right side of his face almost in the way. Suddenly he said, "Well, that's not something you see everyday. Cool."
Taken by surprise Jing instinctively went to snatch up the shovel. It was embedded deeper than he had thought though and he had to push bodily down on the humans corpse with his foot to rip it free.
As he wrentched the tool out a fountain of blood erupted from the now gaping wound in the farmers flesh and a crimson rain coated the goblins face. For a moment Jing found the whole thing highly amusing but then he remember the reason he wanted to be armed in the first place and turned quickly to face the huge stallion. His vicious eyes glared out from behind the waving metal shovel head and he shouted
"Who do you think you are sneaking up on people? And when did horses start talking?"
Without waiting for a reply he began to chant once more and shimmering black and red energy appeared around the mutilated corpse behind him. Meanwhile the animated chicken half flew, half stumbled onto the end of the shovel and stood on the end of it. It's dead eyes starting intently at Coinneach.
As he wrentched the tool out a fountain of blood erupted from the now gaping wound in the farmers flesh and a crimson rain coated the goblins face. For a moment Jing found the whole thing highly amusing but then he remember the reason he wanted to be armed in the first place and turned quickly to face the huge stallion. His vicious eyes glared out from behind the waving metal shovel head and he shouted
"Who do you think you are sneaking up on people? And when did horses start talking?"
Without waiting for a reply he began to chant once more and shimmering black and red energy appeared around the mutilated corpse behind him. Meanwhile the animated chicken half flew, half stumbled onto the end of the shovel and stood on the end of it. It's dead eyes starting intently at Coinneach.
Mali'Ara sauntered around the area, her high stiletto shoes making a dull clack in the dirt. Her hood covered her raven locks, her red eyes glancing around slowly. This area was not very interesting, she sighed airily.
A shriek broke her zoned out daze and she scowled, looking up. What...?
She took a moment to stand there before shrugging, heading in the direction of the noise. A farm. How entertaining. She rolled her eyes and started to walk away when something else caught her eye...
A horse was standing near something, blood seeping out and staining the ground. She wandered closer, curious of if the animal had been hurt.
"Well, that's not something you see everyday. Cool."
She stalled and almost gaped in amazement. Talking animals...now that was something. Maybe things were interesting here...
A goblin leapt into the scene out of nowhere, staring the horse over.
"Who do you think you are sneaking up on people? And when did horses start talking?"
REALLY interesting...
The chicken leaping on the shovel kind of startled her and she suddenly was provoked to laugh. This was horribly amusing. What was even going on? It was crazy.
"Huh...who knew this place would be any fun?" she purred to herself.
A shriek broke her zoned out daze and she scowled, looking up. What...?
She took a moment to stand there before shrugging, heading in the direction of the noise. A farm. How entertaining. She rolled her eyes and started to walk away when something else caught her eye...
A horse was standing near something, blood seeping out and staining the ground. She wandered closer, curious of if the animal had been hurt.
"Well, that's not something you see everyday. Cool."
She stalled and almost gaped in amazement. Talking animals...now that was something. Maybe things were interesting here...
A goblin leapt into the scene out of nowhere, staring the horse over.
"Who do you think you are sneaking up on people? And when did horses start talking?"
REALLY interesting...
The chicken leaping on the shovel kind of startled her and she suddenly was provoked to laugh. This was horribly amusing. What was even going on? It was crazy.
"Huh...who knew this place would be any fun?" she purred to herself.
Coinneach snorted and pawed the ground at the obvious use of magic. It was eerie, like a kind of magic that should not be used. He noticed the woman approaching but right now he had to pay attention to the potential threat in front of him. He bucked his head at the little man and growled, "What do you think you're doing?" It was amusing how the little man was alarmed at him speaking, and he hoped to continue to disrupt. Coin knew he was a goblin and that was a rare race to see in these parts, so he wasn't going to just run away from this opportunity. Though if the magic proved too dangerous, he might.
The woman said something quietly to herself from a safe distance and his attention went to her instead. She was beautiful, with red eyes, but she was out in the day. However, it was easy to tell she was some sort of demon. This was getting weirder and more interesting by the second, he decided, and he felt an excitement he hadn't felt for quite awhile. "Well, good afternoon, beautiful," he said politely, almost seeming as if he was smiling. Until the magic was done it was impossible to tell what it would do, so for now he'd rather look at the lady.
The woman said something quietly to herself from a safe distance and his attention went to her instead. She was beautiful, with red eyes, but she was out in the day. However, it was easy to tell she was some sort of demon. This was getting weirder and more interesting by the second, he decided, and he felt an excitement he hadn't felt for quite awhile. "Well, good afternoon, beautiful," he said politely, almost seeming as if he was smiling. Until the magic was done it was impossible to tell what it would do, so for now he'd rather look at the lady.
The quiet chanting that had been coming from Jing slowly trailed to a stop. As it did so the miasma of enegy surrounding the mutilated farmer seeped into his bloodied flesh. The last tendrils of darkness dissapeared from sight and the corpse flared once more from the energy inside it before lurching into a sitting position.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"What I think I'm doing is getting angry at your insistent talking for starters!"
shrieked Jing. The chicken on the end of the shovel found itself thrown to the ground as it's pearch was waved visciously at both Coineach and the newcomer. By the time Jing had finished his little outburst the undead corpse had clawed up onto it's feet. It lumbered forward and positioned itself between it's creator and the other two. Although it had no real way to make itself look menacing on purpose the fact that it was an unliving beast served to do this quiet well. Almost unnoticed the chicken clawed up onto the zombies shoulder and stood there swaying some more.
"Now why don't you both tell me why your here for a start and then maybe enlighten me as to why I should care? My friends here are very hungry and your flesh is as good as anyone elses."
"What do you think you're doing?"
"What I think I'm doing is getting angry at your insistent talking for starters!"
shrieked Jing. The chicken on the end of the shovel found itself thrown to the ground as it's pearch was waved visciously at both Coineach and the newcomer. By the time Jing had finished his little outburst the undead corpse had clawed up onto it's feet. It lumbered forward and positioned itself between it's creator and the other two. Although it had no real way to make itself look menacing on purpose the fact that it was an unliving beast served to do this quiet well. Almost unnoticed the chicken clawed up onto the zombies shoulder and stood there swaying some more.
"Now why don't you both tell me why your here for a start and then maybe enlighten me as to why I should care? My friends here are very hungry and your flesh is as good as anyone elses."
Mali'Ara had to keep herself from laughing at the talking creature. She'd been flirted with my many an interested man, but never had she been flirted with by, well, a horse. She started to say that he or it wasn't, er, her type. As adventurous as she could be, she wasn't that adventurous. Even a succubus could have her limits.
But the goblin replied to the horse creature's question angrily, "What I think I'm doing is getting angry at your insistent talking for starters!"
How rude, Mali'Ara pouted before realizing that horse's usually don't ask questions or...talk. But she flinched back a little when the dead farmer started to twitch before actually coming to his feet. She raised an eyebrow. What the hell was going on?
"Now why don't you both tell me why your here for a start and then maybe enlighten me as to why I should care? My friends here are very hungry and your flesh is as good as anyone elses."
Mali' Ara glanced at the horse creature before glancing at the goblin, her stance remotely mocking as she laughed, "I was just curious. And believe me, your friend might want to find another meal because being eaten isn't on the top of my list of things to do."
But the goblin replied to the horse creature's question angrily, "What I think I'm doing is getting angry at your insistent talking for starters!"
How rude, Mali'Ara pouted before realizing that horse's usually don't ask questions or...talk. But she flinched back a little when the dead farmer started to twitch before actually coming to his feet. She raised an eyebrow. What the hell was going on?
"Now why don't you both tell me why your here for a start and then maybe enlighten me as to why I should care? My friends here are very hungry and your flesh is as good as anyone elses."
Mali' Ara glanced at the horse creature before glancing at the goblin, her stance remotely mocking as she laughed, "I was just curious. And believe me, your friend might want to find another meal because being eaten isn't on the top of my list of things to do."
"Oh my, are you disturbed by a talking horse?" He whinnied as if laughing, a more human gesture that he mimicked well even as a stallion. The threats didn't bother him, coming from a goblin. However, the moving corpses were just creepy. He took an involuntary step back when the corpse lumbered forward and then realizing what he did corrected his action by dancing forward a step. He bucked his head up and down and pawed the ground, part aggression and part mocking.
Coinneach was not one to be intimidated, mainly because he was so fickle and agile. The regular farmer couldn't catch him, so a dead one had no chance. Yet, Coin was also one to diffuse tense situations. Fighting just wasn't as fun as being friendly—and then seeing the shock of betrayal on their faces as they plunged into the water.
A large, vaguely glowing eye rested on [Jing] intensely as Coin regarded him. "I'm Coinneach and of course you should care, I'm a very wonderful being. And I'm fascinating already, aren't I?" He posed with a hoof in the air and his head to the side with eyes closed, still mocking and very playful. He opened his eyes and watched both of them. "All I'm here for is the grass, and the show you so kindly provided for me." He snorted and put his foot down. "But if you are so put-off by an animal capable of humanoid speech..."
A bluish-white glow enveloped his large stallion body and shrank. In a moment it faded away and instead of a pale horse a pale man stood. His hair was the same length, flowing down his back and covering most of the right side of his face. His eyes were still the same, large and goldenrod in color, with long eyelashes. Even skin tone was the same alabaster color as the short fur of his coat. And, as before, he was completely naked. It didn't bother him at all, and in fact he hardly noticed he was nude in front of a lady. Instead all he did was fold his arms and raise an eyebrow in readiness for their reactions to shapeshifting.
Coinneach was not one to be intimidated, mainly because he was so fickle and agile. The regular farmer couldn't catch him, so a dead one had no chance. Yet, Coin was also one to diffuse tense situations. Fighting just wasn't as fun as being friendly—and then seeing the shock of betrayal on their faces as they plunged into the water.
A large, vaguely glowing eye rested on [Jing] intensely as Coin regarded him. "I'm Coinneach and of course you should care, I'm a very wonderful being. And I'm fascinating already, aren't I?" He posed with a hoof in the air and his head to the side with eyes closed, still mocking and very playful. He opened his eyes and watched both of them. "All I'm here for is the grass, and the show you so kindly provided for me." He snorted and put his foot down. "But if you are so put-off by an animal capable of humanoid speech..."
A bluish-white glow enveloped his large stallion body and shrank. In a moment it faded away and instead of a pale horse a pale man stood. His hair was the same length, flowing down his back and covering most of the right side of his face. His eyes were still the same, large and goldenrod in color, with long eyelashes. Even skin tone was the same alabaster color as the short fur of his coat. And, as before, he was completely naked. It didn't bother him at all, and in fact he hardly noticed he was nude in front of a lady. Instead all he did was fold his arms and raise an eyebrow in readiness for their reactions to shapeshifting.