Midgardia series 03: Stalker

    Hours go by and Mirai and Nikkie are headed home after school, their friend Luke however has extra curricular activities he has to attend to. Although one wanders if he just does them so he has an excuse to go home after dark; to patrol the neighborhoods on his way home. Evil it seems is less prone to appear in his neighborhood than the streets between it and the school. This night however he is not aware as something else is following him home, something that has remained hidden near his school all day, watching him with eyes that can zoom in and out like expensive binoculars, and even focus on specific auras. Despite Luke's keen senses the figure in the white kimono and long black wig; whose face is covered by an ornate fan remains hidden to him; specifically atuned to be so. However even as she keeps her distance, she is not so well hidden from others that stalk the night.

    As Luke leaps out of sight just over a roof top hidden in this dark alley, in a neighborhood she has neve been before; and had been expressly told not to journey into by her mother's clan, something small leaps down in front of the girl. She would act surprised if she had not sensed that something else had been following her the moment she left her clan's territory, and had been getting closer the further away she went. The scent of this area however tells her she is near the edge of this thing's territory as well; her own quarry had passed through un-molested, and may have been perhaps the reason this thing had stayed back.

   The short ugly man, with a nose proposteriously long with huge long nostrils lands before her; "Kee Kee Kee Kee," laughs the strange little man as he *sniffs* the air, "what have we hear?" *sniff*, "Ah, a Futakuchi-onna...so far outside your territory, kee kee kee kee, such a yummy little thing too...low class yokai should know better than to wander into Tengu territory, kee kee kee kee," *sniiiiffff*, "Awww, but you not pure yokai either," *sniiiiffff*, "not know this other thing, but it smell," *sniff*, "foreign, kee kee kee kee, you half-breed with some weak foreign...monster...kee kee kee kee, I enjoy, thi..."

   Two large white tentacles emerge from the womans back, with squid whip like tips they press against the ground lifting her up. A second pair emerges and waves above her like a pair of snakes ready to strike as she drops her fan and tosses her black wig aside to reveal her stark white face, eyes of solid red, shark like teeth, and wavy white tendrils for hair around the second fang filled mouth on the back of her head.

   "Uh," starts the small Tengu as it look up at this.

  "You made me lose the trail," says the woman known as Albia, "ridicilous little creature, my prey...hmmm...that man...he has alluded me now..."

  She looks down at the tengu as electric sparks flash between her tentacles, as even smaller tentacles come out of the four suction cups on each of the raised tentacles, also flashing with electricity, her lower tentacles grip the concrete breaking it, "I will enjoy this...little thing."

   "Wa...wait..." stammers the tengu, "I...uh...joke...wait...prey...you hunting...that guy...that guy...you...you crazy...I...wait..."

  He shakes his head, "kee kee kee kee, trick, you tricky, squid....kee kee kee kee, I not fall for scare trick, you still weak Futakuchi-onna, weak yokai, I enjoy..."

   A large black feathered figure leaps down between them with a head like a crow. His black eyes turn to the small man, "You fool, do you want this neighborhood destroyed? Can you not smell an Eldritch when one is before you?"

  He does a bow before Albia, "My apologies mighty Eldritch, this low class vassal of our clan did not recognize your grace."

  "But...smell..." starts the small one.

  "Be silent you fool," says the larger elite Tengu, "She is an Eldritch, clearly masked as a yokai."

  He turns to Albia, "I will insure my subordinates recognize your scent mighty Albia...contestant of the Dark Tournament, although I heard....never mind, my apologies again."

  In a flash of black smoke both Tengu vanish.

  Albia sneers, "Dark Tournament, oh yes, he heard, the tournament was cancelled, one contestant killed, another a spy, and some other Eldritch destroyed their precious obelisk, heh, oh yes....my Luke, you were in that too weren't you....mmmm, but our chance is not lost."

  She retracts her tentacles and replaces her wig and fan, "I know where you go to school, I know this path you took....tomorrow night then, then we can have our date."