WC: 524
Bris was taking an enormous risk, and she knew it. It had been nearly a month since she'd pressed herself beyond Dahlia's borders once more. Fear had kept her prisoner; as lovely a prison as her chosen home was, it was still a prison. Bris knew for sure now, after the second attack by Hybrid, that the mottle-furred Infernian had to be stalking her. The first encounter could have been put off to random chance, but the way he toyed with her that second time, here in this very forest to the southwest of Dahlia, revealed that he was enjoying his little game. Hybrid's twisted sense of fun had a lasting effect on Bris, and she couldn't remember a morning in weeks that she hadn't awakened with the ghost of the monster still sharp in her mind.
Bris had never been foolish enough to be fearless, true fearlessness led to recklessness, but she'd never before felt the sharpness of fear that Hybrid brought out in her. Something about him just wasn't...right. He seemed more monster than wolf, like there was a supernatural air to him that made the woman's fear more potent, more paralyzing. With Conor's help, she was trying to overcome that terror, but it was a lengthy process. In that sense, the very fact that Bris was wandering around in Ethereal Eclipse was a huge milestone for her. From a distance, there was no way to tell that, as her body language was outwardly one of confidence and general alertness. Should anyone get close enough or manage to surprise her, however, the taut anxiety that lined her eyes would be apparent.
Thankfully, it was Bris who first spotted someone else in the woods, and not the stranger spotting her. This single fact put the woman squarely in control when it came to the kneeling male, giving the Stormbringer's confidence a note of truth as she decided to investigate. After all, she was still a Dahlian, and this stranger was close enough to her borders for Bris to interrupt him. Protecting her home was far more important than indulging the fear that desired to consume her. Bris was careful to swallow down her fear, forcing her confidence and manners back into place. Though they were still in neutral territory, the woman raised her chin and rolled her shoulders back slightly, as she was approaching as a guard rather than someone looking to make friends. Her tone was polite and friendly; it was altogether possible that this stranger carrying the scent of the Valley had a legitimate reason to be lingering just beyond Dahlia's boundaries. "Afternoon stranger. Is there something that Dahlia de Mai can help you with?" The woman paused a polite distance from the male, placing herself between him and the scent-marked border of her home. The ever-present brown leather satchel she carried was slung comfortably over her shoulder, the thick strap helping to cover the series of scars that peeked through the white fur of her right collarbone. There was no sign of the fear that had been plaguing her trip in the Eclipse. This Valley male was not Hybrid.
Table by James!