[Sarah]

Midday settled slowly over Whisper Forest. The constant low fog didn’t evaporate with the heat. The forest was cool amongst the fog and a slight breeze ruffled through the trees. From the cover of the mixed pine and leafy trees and the fog little could be seen in the distance. From the outside the fog spilled into the ground like dry ice before evaporating. The forest was rather ominous especially with all of the stories of people entering and never returning. That didn’t seem to stop many from adventuring though and those who came back told wild stories of their encounters with other worlds and lost species. It was all too delightful for adventurers and scientists to hear. Few travel into the forest now but it still calls many big names into its depths.

[Sarah]

Lila was not one of the big names to enter the forest. Lila was a bright young woman with a thirst to make a name for herself. Luckily for Lila she grew up in a wealthy family of scientists. As a girl she had many resources available to her and she had a knack for sensing non-mortals. This brought great wealth to her family as hunters lined up at her family’s doorstep looking for an easy way to kill monsters. As Lila got older she became more comfortable with her senses and sometimes actively looked out for supernatural beings. Since she could sense them she had a great fascination with what set them apart to human beings and with what happened to her to make her see through their disguises.

[Sarah]

Lila became her own sort of scientist and was given plenty of backing by different companies to discover the secrets of supernatural creatures. She set off immediately to explore the world and find the rarest creatures. Sometimes she even had to kill them if they proved too hostile to study properly. Typically Lila would approach them with questions but she wasn’t against a good knock out dart or killing shot. Lila couldn’t believe her luck when, after being stuck in a snow storm for months in the Tuun Mountains, a plane arrived ready to carry her to the fabled Whisper Forest. Thrilled at the chance to get out of the cold and to go into a place with plenty of cryptic stories surrounding it Lila didn’t hesitate to leave her things behind and board the plane.

[Sarah]

On the plane she met two people: Subject 97 “Niner” and her benefactor that refused to give his name. Her benefactor told her that he’d provide whatever she needed before she entered the forest but once she went in he wouldn’t see her again until she came back out. Lila didn’t think those were bad terms but said that Niner must accompany her into the forest so she could get an up-close look at his body and its workings. Her benefactor didn’t even ask Niner if he wanted to go and instead pulled out a large folder of information. It held a poorly drawn map and some information about what she was looking for. It only took her reading through the folder to identify one of the beings as an angel from another world called 'Earth' but she claimed she didn’t know what the other could be. Lila didn’t tell the man what she knew about the first one and set down the folder with a shrug. So long as he really got her everything she needed it would be a piece of cake trying to find the angel and its ‘friend’.

[Sarah]

Now Lila stood outside the forest watching as fog spilled out from an unknown source. Her dark violet hair was shoved back into a pony tail and was the only sign of her late-started rebellion. Otherwise her finely tanned skin and average figure was nothing to write home about. Beside her Niner was checking out the forest coldly. His skin was too pale and his hair was snow white and fell messily into his face. The only part of him that was obviously cybernetic was the two pipes that stuck out like tails and the blade scythes attached to them. He was taller than average and thin as a stick with piercing ice blue eyes.

[Sarah]

Lila was busy drawing symbols into the ground with white spray paint. She had two circles, one inside the other with many different symbols filling the space in between them. She had hoped she could summon a beast she had met years ago in order to help them traverse the forest. Lila didn’t have any doubts about summoning the demon but her benefactor had not been pleased with the idea. Lila had told him she wouldn’t summon the demon if he didn’t want but once her benefactor left she pulled out the can of paint that she carried around with her.

[Sarah]

“Will you tell on me?” Lila asked not looking up from her work. Niner’s head jerked down to look at her.

“Yes, but not now,” he replied in his oddly monotone voice. Lila frowned but nodded.

“Good enough for me,” She huffed standing up to look at the whole of her work. “This should be good enough. I just hope he is home,” She said smirking but noticed instantly that Niner wouldn’t be one to be amused by anything. With a sigh she began to chant not caring that Niner could translate her words in his head. Lila couldn’t access her magic without talking and when she didn’t need a spell she typically talked gibberish or practiced talking in whatever language she was trying to learn. In this case she was trying to describe the forest in Italian. She wasn’t doing a very good job at it considering the condescending look Niner had.

[Sarah]

It only took a moment before the demon had ‘poofed’ into the center circle in a cloud of blackness. It bowed low to Lila, its red hair braided and hanging almost down to its feet. Its skin was tinted black and almost as dark as a night sky. “Kry at your service ma’am,” it said straightening. Niner looked unnerved but didn’t say anything.

“It’s been a long time Kry,” she said smiling. “I am glad to see you are still in good health,” she added forcing him to remember that she knew him better than he probably knew himself. Lila was able to see right through his human guise and instead saw the utter blackness that was his demon self. Lila knew how to protect herself from him and wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if he proved more trouble than he was worth.

“Ah, but it’s always a pleasure to see you,” he replied after some thought. Kry would have to be careful around this woman and he hated it. Like most immortals he thought of humans as lesser and hated when they tried to control him.

[Sarah]

“Shall we get started then?” Kry asked holding out a hand. Within the circle he had no powers and could do little but stand there waiting for Lila.

“Right away,” Lila replied seriously taking the demon’s hand. “Hopefully you can prove your worth once we get lost in this forest,” she said helping him out of the magic seal.

“I am yours to command,” Kry replied dutifully. He couldn’t help but eye the cyborg Lila had brought with her.

“Ah,” Lila said noticing his wandering eyes. “Kry this is Subject Ninety Seven,” she introduced the very uncomfortable cyborg.

“Niner,” he corrected gruffly not hiding his distaste for the demon who smiled slyly at him.

[Sarah]

“Mmm,” Lila mumbled before they set off. “I just remembered. Kry you should know we are going up against an angel and an unknown so be ready for that,” it was a visible process for the demon to calm his anger before he replied.

“So you’re using me as bait too,” he said with a sigh as if disappointed. Lila could only smirk at him and he had to continue on with her.

“You will lead, as bait. And Niner will bring up the rear in case we are attacked from behind,” Lila said looking at the very narrow path ahead of them. “Do not get out of sight,” she growled in warning. “Getting lost means you are dead,” she said knowing that Kry couldn’t leave her side but she didn’t want Niner to go wandering off and then getting lost. She didn’t think her benefactor would be very pleased with that.

[Sarah]

Lila shoved her fingers though her hair. She had to admit she wasn’t so thrilled now that she saw the vast expanse of forest in front of her. “I should have summoned a water elemental,” she mumbled setting off down the path.

“Do you know of a water elemental milady?” Kry asked though he didn’t bother to look back at her.

“No unfortunately I only know you well enough to summon,” Lila said trailing her eyes over what little she could see.

“Unfortunately?” Kry asked sounding almost offended.

“You know what I mean,” Lila waved her hand dismissively. He wasn’t the greatest to have in the situation but at least he could get them out if they got lost. Lila took the time to glance down at the map. It didn’t do them any good because it made no sense and Lila doubted it was even a map of the area they were in. it was hard to tell considering the path had no signs or landmarks.

[Sarah]

The farther they traveled into the forest the quieter it got. Lila assumed it was because the fog muffled the sounds of the forest critters. Even the wind had died so they walked amongst unmoving fog and tall looming trees. The pathway didn’t widen at all and the underbrush grew so thickly it would have been uncomfortable to walk side by side.

“Since we’re going after an angel I would think that they’d make their home off the pathway. They could simply fly above the brush and it’d keep them out of sight of any wanderers,” Niner chimed in shocking both Lila and Kry.

“I did not think you had any knowledge of angels,” Lila said frustrated that he’d keep information to himself. Niner merely shrugged and kept walking. “Ok, well this map has gotten me nowhere. Maybe you can make sense of it and tell us where we should begin our search,” Lila said shoving the map into Niner’s hands.

[Sarah]

There was a full minute of process before Niner looked up from the map. “I’ll lead?” He asked handing the map back to Lila, who could only nod astonished he had been able to figure the map out. It was no time before they were knee deep in wet undergrowth. The fog was almost choking and it couldn’t be helped but feel claustrophobic. The trees grew even closer together off the trail and the branches hung heavy and low. Kry walked next to Niner holding a ball of fire. It didn’t seem to do much but reflect light off the fog and make it harder to see. Every so often Lila would mumble something under her breath and the flames in the orb would change color or move differently. Niner had no idea what they were doing; he’d grown up around only science. He could say for sure he trusted magic more than science though.

[Sarah]

“There it is,” Lila said sounding satisfied. The orb glowed dully and the fog let up for about ten feet around them and then became a wall of thick greyness again. Lila hated that she had to follow a stranger into a possibly hostile situation. Especially considering she wouldn’t have a quick escape if worst came to worst. But from where she was she could work her magic to set up traps and shields around them. Not to mention the fog reduction she and Kry had worked out.

[Sarah]

“I can feel them,” Lila said stopping abruptly. “They are not far, I think the forest may have suppressed their auras or they could just be really good at warding themselves, but it is not likely,” she said trying to figure out how much farther they had to go. “Kry put the flames out for now. There is no reason to be caught for just a few feet of visibility,” she instructed taking the lead now.

“Can you tell where they are?” Niner whispered behind her.

“I think so. I can at least bring us to their hideout,” Lila replied trying to focus on her powers. She blocked out the others and tried to hold onto the auras ahead. It was too late when she felt another presence come into play. She heard Kry and Niner drop behind her and could only think to turn around right as someone punched her in the face. It dropped her like a stone but didn’t knock her out.