Snippet #2689699

"Perhaps we should get on with the hunt. Can't let our friends have all the fun..." He trailed off for a moment. Then, a smile came to his face and a giggle burbled up and out of his throat. "Or, I could simply have a little more fun. That'd be the thing wouldn't it? Walking right on up to that vicious Hunter and giving him a great, big hug."

He broke into laughter again. "Only imagine the surprise when I sink a claw into his chest."

Then, finally looking back over at Rafar, he simply smiled. "Perhaps I'll take you up on your offer. Though... it wouldn't quite be fair, now would it? You've got at least several hundred years over me, and what sort of, monster would dare hurt their own Father? Certainly not I... Not, yet anyway."

He stepped onto the very edge of the overlook. "Perhaps we shall meet again once inside the city, I'll be sure to deliver you something nice. Farewell!"

And with that, he stepped over the edge of the cliff. Only a single black feather remained.

The darkness swallowed him immediately, soon after the trees consumed him as well, and in the cover of darkness, nobody was able to see his skin peel away, and have his humanity taken, replaced by a covering of black feathers. Before he hit the ground, two powerful, ragged black wings pushed him back from it. He redirected his course, now moving through the forest, dipping in between the trees as the rest of his raven-like form pushed through.

A sharp, pointed beak jutted from his head, forming through a covering, almost like bone, that traced his skull perfectly. Beneath it, darkened feathers poked through, rippling across his body like smoke, and weaving with the wind like dust in a cloud. No longer was he bound to the ground, now he was free, able to twist and careen through the air at his wish. He dodged between the trees, flying violently fast, with no concern for safety. In this way, he hurtled towards the outer walls of Ironsguard, with complete reckless abandon, thinly veiled by the cover of the moonless night.

Soaring up and beyond the wall, Val easily landed within the city's borders. He kept low, tracing his frame over rooftops and just missing chimneys. Finding a single, lone tower, he spiraled up around the sides, coming to perch upon the eastern edge. Below him, a great clock hummed and ticked slowly, vibrations pulsing through the walls as the hands slowly recounted the time, the powerful gears hidden just below the surface. Just above the clock, the tower twisted up into a pointed roof, warped and battered from weather and time. From there, sat Val; a great monstrous raven, surveying the city of which he would begin his game. Thousands upon thousands of little lights sprawled out beneath him. Each and every light held a home, which in turn held families, noblemen, prostitutes, and somewhere among them all... a clan of Hunters.

If Val had possessed lips, they would have been twisted up into a wicked smile.

'So many delightful little treats.'