oh god how did i get here Anonymous 2011/07/17 (Sun) 01:26 No. 35 ▼ File 131086598580.jpg - (329.75KB, 800x800 , c81c9192e37fd9d070e6655c9efda030.jpg)
It was another opressively hot summer night in Gensokyo. The sort of night that follows an oppressively hot day, where the sun and the humidity are enough to kill an unprepared man. The full moon hung high in the sky; one of the brightest of the year. For the youkai of Gensokyo, however, this was a wonderful night. A near-perfect night, in fact - and, like the rest of her youkai sisters and brothers, little Phobe intended to enjoy it to the fullest.
She was alone tonight. It would be much easier for her, she decided, to creep up and examine all those strange noises if she didn't have her friends around. They're nice, but they're also a little loud - not well suited to stealth missions like this. The moon would provide the much needed light, and the forest the entertainment. There's so many things that snap and chirp, but, human-sighted as she was, she only had a few days each month to examine them all.
Tonight, she wanted to see what's been making all that noise lately. Crickets, Wriggle had said when offering to point one out, but it wasn't any fun to find them like that. This would be a hunt. She would find what she was looking for, but, on the way, would find a lot more. That's always how it went.
She had only been wandering for about an hour before the first detour presented itself. Snaps. The kind that only a careless animal would make. Whether it was careless because it was big enough to not care, or because it was just silly - that was what she wanted to learn.
As she drew closer, though, there was another sound that she could hear. Speaking. Nervous half-whispering. And, as she drew closer yet, she could hardly believe her eyes. Humans! Small ones, at that. And out so late!
Humans were not an uncommon sight during they day. There were a lot of things, many plants and mushrooms and animals, that they used in this forest, and they would often venture out to gather them. Only rarely did she play with them, although it was fun to watch them regardless. At night, however... in all of her moons, she had never seen this before.
"Come on, are you scared?"
"I'm not scared! Are you scared?"
"Nu-uh!"
The three small humans were talking about guts, and not being scared. She didn't get it at all. Why would they be out so late? The forest at night was much different from the forest in the day. In the day, most of the youkai are asleep. The forest belongs to the humans in the day, even if some don't admit it. But, at night, this is a dangerous place. It's even dangerous for her, at times.
With the moon like this... there was no way she could just let them be. The only reason humans would be out this late, in the forest, would be if they wanted to play with youkai. That's the only reason. She grinned. So, playing with them is definitely ok. It's what they want. Not kill... that's bad, and she'd die if she did that. She had other ways to play with humans, though.
Quietly, she crept closer, being careful not to make any snaps or chirps of her own. It's not as fun if they notice her right away. She needs to creep behind them for a while, and be herself. Beside them. Let them feel her, but not be able to see her. Let herself seep into that thing that they call a mind and mess it up, little by little.
Slowly, their talking begins to get more shaky. They continue to say that they're not scared, but to Phobe, it's all to obvious that they are. So blue - their fear is almost as bright as the moon. How much longer can they last, she wonders? Should she show herself yet?
They make their way towards a clearing in the forest. Lightning had struck here, a few moons ago, splitting a great tree and scorching a few of the ones nearby. This would be where she struck, she decided. She'd say hi, and laugh as they all ran in fear of their lives. And she'd give chase, asking them to wait, to come and play... and they'd run faster and faster. Ah, she could hardly wait.
She crept ahead of the group, to circle around to the other side of the clearing before they got there. Yes, this would be perfect. It's so much more fun to play with humans at night! All that energy...
"... ah?"
But, it seems that there's even more here than her and these children. Up in the sky... she can sense someone else. A youkai? That much she can tell. She can't see it, though. Where is it? The humans enter the clearing. Should she move? So blue. She should move... in a few steps. Wait. Wai---
In an instant, the sky goes dark. Her head snaps skyward. No, not the whole sky. Whatever youkai this is, it has the power to eat the moon, she decided. The stars still hang in the sky, but the moon is nowhere to be seen. There is only a black spot where it should be.
The humans start to scream. What else can they do? They're just humans, after all. Phobe, on the other hand, can't help but watch. This is even more than she had hoped for. What's going on? Without her light, all she can do is watch.
And what a show it is! The dark spot spits a brilliant bolt of lightning straight into the clearing, but, when it lands, there is no explosion. It gives birth to a burning wolf, but... that's not right. The head is wrong, and the tail is wrong, and in a minute it vanishes with a laugh. A deep, warbling laugh - the stuff scary dreams are made of.
It's all Phobe can do to keep from calling out to this strange youkai. That would ruin it's performance, though, so she watches patiently. The entire clearing wraps itself in flames, but only for a few moments. Branches snap all around as a whirlwind passes through, only to vanish in a few seconds. Ah, and those screams! Humans normally only scream like that when they're dying. Such a rare treat!
The tiger-thing reappears, and let's loose the loudest roar that Phobe's ever heard. The entire forest - humans, bugs, wind - all of it stops at the sound. Then, the humans, deciding that they've had enough, turn around and run. They're positively glowing now. Although she tries, Phobe can't stop herself any more. This is wonderful! Her laughs echo through the forest.
After a few moments, Phobe calls out.
"That was really cool! Where are you, though? You're not that fire thing, right?"
That laugh warbles through the forest once more. Something else, something very large moves through the forest towards her. "My, my. Why don't you run, little one? I could eat you in one gulp!"
"Because,"She says, proudly, "I want to see what you are! That was really good. I want to scare like that some day."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
She firmly nods. "So cool~"
The moon suddenly returns to the sky, it's pale light forcing it's way through the dark cloud that had eaten it only minutes before. Before her, Phobe sees a bear. No, not a bear. It's quite a bit larger than a bear. She meets it's gaze for a few seconds, before it roars again.
GROAAAAAR
And, again, the forest goes entirely quiet. Even Phobe finds herself unable to speak. So powerful. But, as always, that grin returns to her face, and she manages a laugh.
"So cool! So, what are you?"
The beast sighs and, as it does, loses some of it's mass. "It's hopeless, isn't it? You're not afraid."
"Hmm? Only a little!"
She was afraid, of course. Dying wasn't fun. And something like this could kill her, really fast. This was too rare to be scared of, however. If she ran now, that would be even less of it that she'd see. Less of a story to tell Mystia and Wriggle, once she woke up.
The beast smiles, as best as a beast can manage, and begins to walk away. "Maybe we'll meet again, kid. I like you."
She nods. "You're leaving? But, we didn't even have proper introductions!"