Thread:Kusindlerp123/@comment-37242682-20181127213244/@comment-30921738-20181211024243

Noctis looked up at the smoke drifting into the dark sky. He had to hurry, or his mission would fail. He had to do it under the cover of darkness.

He climbed down the tree, surprisingly agile for a deer covered in rotting flesh and matted fur. He landed on his hooves with a crunch from the dried leaves and pine needles beneath. He sniffed the air, just to be sure he was going the right way, and headed out. The forest was dark and mysterious, with a thick canopy of leaves above him blocking out the moons light. Any second, a light mage could jump out of the darkness and kill him.

But Noctis was not afraid of the darkness. While he should be nervous about wandering into enemy territory, he knew he had a strong advantage there. He was a creature of darkness, and the shadows in the forest were his allies. He would use them to his advantage. With his pale yellow bones covered in dried mud, and his naturally dark fur, he was nearly invisible.

Noctis got down on all fours and ran through the forest. He went on for several minutes before he heard chattering. He froze and slowly rose to his hind legs. After looking around for the glowing symbols of the light mages and spotting none, he continued forward. He hauled himself into a tree, digging his claws into the bark, but winced when his hooves clattered loudly on the wood.

He jumped to the next tree and waited quietly. No one had heard him, or at least, no one had come looking for what was making the noise. Through the trees and bushes, Noctis saw a faint red glow that was undoubtedly the firelight of the camp he had been sent to find. But for him, this was bad news. It meant that someone was awake.

Noctis looked up at the moon and stars, and calculated that it was probably 5:40. Of course, he should have guessed it. Those pathetic light creatures were obviously early birds and would wake up sooner than any ordinary creatures.

His mission was clear. He had been sent to the Light side's territory in search of a camp housing a strong general in the Light army. According to spies and a few sneaky kitsunes, Noctis's boss knew that there was a camp near the outskirts of the Light side's territory who were planning to sneak in. The info was vague and didn't contain many details, but the Dark side knew it would be bad if the Light's succeeded. They would be leaving this morning to claim more territory and probably kill several important mages and Dark creatures. Noctis's boss, one of the very few black wendigoes, had ordered Noctis to assasinate the leader of the infiltration, who was also a powerful general and a great threat to the Dark side's success in the war.

They didn't know his or her's gender, what they looked like, what their weaknesses were, and almost everything else. They only knew two things: his or her's name and species. They were named Hunter, and they were a dragon. Of course, a dragon would be difficult to assasinate, especially one named Hunter. But Noctis was a powerful opponent, with deadly horns, unusually large size, above average strength and agility, and most of all; the element of surprise.

Noctis inched closer to the glowing firelight, cursing himself for his stupidity. He'd probably just wasted twenty minutes thinking about how terrible his reputation would be if he failed his most important mission. Assasination was what he was best at, that and scaring prisoners into quitting whining. If he went back to his boss and told him that he had failed, he would be endlessly bashed for his failiature and weakness. Noctis couldn't show any sign of weakness. He would rather die at the claws of a Light creature then go back to the Dark kingdom and announce his failiature.

He licked his red-stained teeth with his long black tongue. The firelight was getting closer, until finally, Noctis peered through the leaves and saw the camp. There were several tents and supplies arranged in a circle around a firepit. The firepit had a few small flames, barely enough to cook a peice of steak. But the darkness made the fire seem brighter. A manticore was cleaning something off his barbed tail. It was probably blood, but it was difficult to guess because the manticore's tail was bright red. He was talking to someone who was standing in a tree farthest from Noctis. The leaves made the figure in the tree seem invisible, and it was impossible to tell what kind of creature it was. From the voice, it sounded like a girl.

Noctis leaned closer, then regretted it when the branch beneath him snapped. Noctis jumped backward and pressed himself against the trunk. Luckily, the branch had only cracked, but the manticore had heard it.

So much for the element of surprise.