Akeet

Tallow Candle Trinkets A thick tallow candle to read creepy stories by. Let's hope it doesn't blow out. 47 Bottlesnake Familiar There's a snake in my bottle! 0 Old World Rabbit Meat This species has managed to thrive even in the aftermath of two apocalypses. All divergent species of rabbit claim Old World rabbits as their living ancestors. 50 5

Akeet Local Tavern/Teashop Owner Please read this before you start reading the lore This story is split up amongst 5 different dragons. If you want the full story, then please start on Natasha's profile. Each section of the story will have an arrow at the bottom of it that, when clicked, will lead you to the next section of the story. I know that this isn't how stories are typically formatted, but it made sense when I was writing it. If you do not like this spread out format, you can view the full story here as well. Enjoy. Night That evening, it was quiet. Peaceful. Most of the village had settled in for the night already. Well, except for Rigel & Akeet. Come on, Rigel." Akeet said. "You know its time for me to close the doors for tonight. You've been sitting at this bar for hours; go home and get some sleep, okay?" The skydancer replied, "...Alright. You know I can't say no to you, but I'll be back tomorrow." Akeet nodded at him as he stepped out through the tavern door. Rigel's a nice guy... but he shouldn't spend all day hanging out at the bar. Granted, with how much time he spends here, I'm probably making a fortune off of him. Oh well. I should probably go home for the night too. I'm sure I'm not the only one of my siblings that's wide awake right now. She lit her trusty lantern on her way to the back door. Some of the townsfolk probably think I'm strange for not using the main road, but I know every hidden footpath in these woods by heart. I enjoy seeing what mysteries the night has to show me. Akeet closed the door on her way out, taking care to shut it quietly so as not to disturb those resting nearby. However, before she turned around, Akeet sensed something... wrong. Unnatural. She could sense a foul presence just behind her. Half scared, half curious, Akeet slowly turned around to face whatever nightmare was waiting for her. Nothing could have prepared her for that sight. It was a large, hulking shadow, vaguely dragon-like in shape. Easily twice Akeet's size. It was lithely slinking its way through the grass behind the tavern, taking no notice of her. Stricken by fear, she stood silently, her hand still grasping the lantern's handle. Okay. OKAY. It hasn't attacked yet, so maybe it d-doesn't want to eat me? I just need to back away without provoking it... y-yeah. That might work. She put her frantic plan into action, cautiously stepping backwards. Akeet was more terrified now than she had ever been, but she wouldn't dare turn her back on a possible threat. One step at a time... She slowly inched away from the horrifying creature. It still hadn't noticed her. But how? I'm standing only a few paces away from this thing. It is the dead of night and I am LITERALLY holding a LANTERN next to it! *crack A twig snapped beneath her shaky talons. There was no way of knowing that it was there, and there are no words to express the sheer terror she felt in that moment. The beastly figure snapped its head around to face her. Its unmoving gaze was fixed on Akeet's location. For the first time, she saw its face. "It" was a dragon, or, at least... it used to be. As it continued staring, she stared back. Akeet timidly outstretched her free arm and waved it up and down a few times, but it didn't flinch or reach in any way. Its murky, dead eyes showed no movement. That's why it didn't notice when I came out of the tavern. Its... blind. Almost as soon as she reached this realization about the shadowy dragon-beast, it resumed prowling back into the woods. Why- Why is that thing here? Here of all places? Is it stalking someone else in the village? Is it stalking the whole village?! She breathed a silent sigh of relief when it disappeared from her sight. I'm just a little tavernkeep in the middle of nowhere! I'm not built to handle this kind of pressure! But... why is it really here? Am I sure that it's searching for someone, or it it just searching for something? Should- should I follow it in case it is here for someone? Against her better judgement, Akeet climbed into the tree canopy to tail the dragon-thing (from a safe distance, of course). It stalked through the dense underbrush with the stealth and grace of a truly expert hunter. It left inky prints in its wake, foul markings that stained the plant life a sickly shade. This thing should not be here. Does it even realize what it's doing? Then it abruptly stopped. Stopped? Wait a minute, let me see the script... yeah, its not supposed to stop. Says right here in the very real script that it wanders straight out of the Gladeveins, never to scare any unsuspecting Mirrors ever again. Says it right there, clear as day. But what kind of narrator/writer listens to a script anyways? The beastly dragon stopped in front of a vine-covered cliff face. It took a sniff at the vines before tearing them away with its inked claws. A tunnel opening of sorts was suddenly revealed. Since when were there tunnels and caves around here? I've been scouting these forests since the day I hatched! The sun was beginning to rise. After a small moment of hesitation, the draconic shadow descended into the opening of the cave. Akeet waited outside for a few moments. Whatever that thing was, it doesn't seem to be coming out of there anytime soon. Hopefully not. Sunlight draped over the valley in the early dawn. The darkened tracks vanished upon contact with the light, and almost all of the evidence of the creature's visit disappeared along with them. Akeet hadn't gotten any sleep last night, and it was already time to open the tavern doors again. I am never using that back door again. NEVER. AGAIN.

---

It was a slow day at the tavern. Rigel was asleep at the bar midday as usual. Maybe I should go check on those two out back. They said they had come on some kind of nighttime researching expedition. Pretty sure that The Viridian Labyrinth is the wrong region for that, but what do I know about night research?

Akeet exited through the front door instead of the back one. Not the best route to the clearing behind the tavern, but that back door was never going to see use again. Not after what happened last time. She rounded the corner of the building and locked eyes with Hezrou, one of the researchers. He seemed to have just been in deep thought.

"Why don't you take the backdoor?" He questioned. "I didn't accidentally lock it from the outside, did I?"

"Well... its just that..." Akeet glanced into the dense forest where the nightmare creature had prowled away. "I- I left the tavern through that door at night not long ago and saw some pretty spooky stuff. I promised myself that I would never use that door again. Never ever never."

"This spooky stuff you saw, was there a shadow-looking thing involved?"

As Hezrou said that, Akeet grew tense. Like she could see the beast all over again. He knows? He knows what that horrible thing looked like? She responded, "A- Actually, there was. It was this huge shadow, only... it wasn't a shadow. It stared at me with such terrifying eyes- I'm still hoping that it was just some apparition or nightmare. ...How did you know about the shadow-beast?"

"That 'shadow-beast' is the reason Natasha and I are here." Hezrou shouted over his shoulder, "Natasha, you might want to hear this."

Natasha glanced away from her jumble of notes in response. "What seems to be the matter?" she asked them both.

"Well," replied Hezrou, "I believe we may have just found a break in the case. Seems our host has information possibly relevant to the hunt."

This is what they were researching? Akeet quickly piped up. "Yeah, about a week before you two arrived, I saw a big shadowy monster behind my tavern. It was really scary, and creepy, and just... unnatural. And the way it looked at me- it sent shivers down my spine. I tracked it a good distance from the village until it entered some kind of cave. I've tried retracing how I got there, but the beast's tracks had completely disappeared by morning."

Natasha turned to the woods. "I'll begin searching the area right away." she said. She's actually trying to find it?!

"Wait a second," Akeet blurted out. " Whatever that thing was... I don't think it wants to be found." Trust me, you don't want to find it. Not something that terrifying...

Natasha bluntly replied, "You don't need to worry. Hunting down monsters that don't want to be caught is my specialty.

With that, she bounded away into the forest.

Natasha had no hesitation whatsoever. Is she really that prepared, or does she not have a clue what she's dealing with?

"You said that it had frightening eyes; could you tell me about that part?" Hezrou said. Its eyes? They were creepy, just like the rest of the shadow-beast. Why does he sound so curious about those specifically?

"...Sure." She uncertainly replied. "The beast's eyes were absolutely soulless looking. When it stared directly at me, I though I was done for. But it didn't do anything. I tried waving my arm up and down, but it didn't even notice. Now that I think back on it... I'm not sure that it could see me at all. Is that really the only other thing you wanted to ask about?"

"Yes, that was all. Thank you for your help."

"Alright, well, I'm glad I could be of help somehow." Akeet muttered as she walked back around to the front of the tavern. These dragons were insane. To go hunting after something like that without fear- that's crazy. And of course I had to be the one to get involved.

What have I gotten myself into?

---

Those Gaolers are leaving Greenbriar today. They say that they've finished their monster hunting expedition and are heading off to hunt monsters somewhere else. I'm glad they came, but I'm glad they're leaving too.

Hezrou left what he saw as a small pouch of treasure on the bar. "This should pay for the room we rented. Oh, and thank you for letting us use the area behind the tavern. It was very hospitable of you." He said.

No problem!" Akeet cheerfully replied. THAT IS A HUGE POUCH OF TREASURE! "And if you ever come back, you can have two rooms for the price of one. Consider it as thanks for everything." And as thanks for that HUGE POUCH OF TREASURE.

As Hezrou turned around to leave, Akeet saw that a large section of his shoulder was bandaged. Natasha came down the stairs with another Gaoler, also about to leave. I don't recognize that other dragon behind her... who is that?

The second Gaoler made eye contact with Akeet. A familiar shiver ran down her spine.

"You haven't been prowling around the forest at night time lately, have you?" She asked him.

"Actually, I have been. How did- I don't recognize you, have we met before?" He curiously replied.

"Well, we haven't met officially. You were slinking through the woods a while back, and I happened to catch your attention. Scariest staring contest of my life. Of course, you were a lot scarier that night than you are now."

"Yeah... sorry about that, Akeet." He apologized. "At that point I couldn't see much of anything, so I didn't mean to stare you down." So he was blind.

"Its alright, really. Its good to know that your life is going in a better direction now. Take care!"

"I will." Wait a minute- he said "Sorry about that, Akeet", how did he know what my name was?

The Gaoler left as quickly as he had arrived. Akeet opened up that HUGE POUCH OF TREASURE and spread its contents on the bar. There was easily enough there to pay for the room and the rest of the tavern and probably half of the village, along with a note. The handwriting was scribbly, but it was still legible.

Akite,

Natasha and Hezrou told me about what you saw. I know that must have been terrifying for you, but thanks for telling them about it. If you hadn't done that, I might have gotten killed. Seriously. I can't thank you enough. I'll never forget what you did for me. (Also sorry I have no clue how to write your name)


I- I did that? Me? Just by telling some weirdos a spooky story?

I wonder what other stories I'll get to tell someday.

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