Mountain of Dire diamonds on the soles of her shoes

Belladonna, you cannot see more than a few feet in front of you because of the fog.

The memories had come back as a torrent at first, the obvious things; what it was like to wake up and have the expansive lake be the first thing she saw; the sunrise and sunset; the way the air smelled up here; how it felt to sit on her favourite boulder; the shape and colour of the forests and plains far below. It had almost been too much, as though these old loves were so strong as to overpower the memories she had made since. For a short time she had struggled to clearly remember what Crystherium Lake had been like, the plants and rocks and views that she had fallen in love with there. It had been a strange thing to find that she did miss the range in Lacerta, deeply missed it, with a longing she had only before felt for this mountain. She had had to calmly tell herself that it was okay.

Other, lesser recollections had come back in a slower but steady stream, minor things which didn't usually feature in a trip down nostalgia road. The way that rock had always looked like a bird taking off, or that family of goats which were always standing on that impossibly steep part of the mountain she could never reach, or that small tunnel under the overhang which looked well-kept but whose owner had always remained a mystery. These things were spotted and recalled with a smile or laugh, usually, for as a youth Bella had naively sought nothing but the beautiful and amusing, her gaze blind to all else. That had changed when they came for her, souring her pure love with doubt and guilt, but Wolesh had whisked her away before she could form any bitter memories.

The smallest memories came almost unnoticed, though she was thankful for them this day. The sky had been dense with clouds when she had awoken, and, having spent her day seeking the highest point of the mountain, her patience had been rewarded by the unique experience of being swallowed by white. The fog had been thin at first, a mere blur which obscured distant details, but had thickened with incredible speed, and within half an hour Bella could barely make out her own front paws. Where once the world had been laid at her feet, at this highest of points, now there was nothing but damp, cool, soft white. Was this what it was like to be blind?

Though she could have sat for hours, utterly content, Belladonna only permitted herself brief personal excursions these days, for she had more than just herself to think about. Though her children had their own plans for the day, she knew, the mother felt most comforted when she was within easy access of them. Independent though they were - well, most of them - she would not forgive herself if they had need of her and she was not there. As such, and with no end in sight of the low clouds, she was forced to make her way back down, effectively blinded. The smallest memories came back at that moment, the memories she had unconsciously forged during her uncountable adventures and excursions all over this mountain, the subtle snippets of knowledge which guided her feet safely down the mountain's peak without need for her eye's assistance. She caught on quickly, realising how her feet knew where to go before she even thought about it, and took great pleasure in it. Though she knew that her familiarity with the pathways and passages of the Dire was immense, it was a marvel to see it realised in such a pure way.

At ease with her movements, stepping lightly from rock to rock, foothold to foothold, she fell into an easy autopilot, humming softly to herself.

ooc: Hope you don't mind me jumpin' in! :3

Rico was not ready for his heart to stop being bothered, remembering the day that he had interfered with his brother's better intentions. Out of sync, that was what the pair felt like. Perhaps @Nico's near death experience had just been too much for the pair to handle, perhaps it had left them crippled. As it stood, they had not found where to send their paws right away, and such was why ears were almost perpetually back against his head as he walked... moping, to say the least. The fact remained that he had not wanted to scare @Duckweed, but the happening had left him feeling a bit bitter. His brother was frightened of almost everything too, expected him to stand by and be able to protect everyone. It was such that his head was half dipping as he walked, and the rockiness was starting to beckon him. To climb higher and higher, to succumb to the hearty cries of the altitude with the pressure that was on his mind. Such was not a burden, it was a pleasure in many ways - but no one was going to miss such hardships. Feeling like he was in the way was not a pleasant way to act, not at all. What should have been a flirtatious nature was even dampened, and such was why he was feeling like things needed to be sorted out with Nico before it was too late. Not that the brother was particularly useful at an emotionally charged conversation, but most assuredly he could manage it for his brother. All of these thoughts were just consuming him, eating him alive as the air grew thinner and the fog seemed to come creeping in. The mountain was becoming as easily recognized as his original home, although it had been quite a time. Such was why tail seemed to swish back and forth as he climbed the stones, struggling to make sense of what was brushing through his mind. While he was youthful at heart, he was not naive. It had been such a long time since he had been forced into some sort of chaos. Nose was on the air, but it was so deliciously thick that he could hardly make sense of the things that were going to be happen in a favorable method. Such was why his tail seemed to come alive, and the eagerness of a faint trace of someone else on the air - and it brought him to call out, rather boldly on the issue. "Fe, fi, fo, fum... I smell the scent of a lady from...?" "This is speech."

You are very welcome :D

The air was clearing, slowly. The clouds had come low today, though she imagined that they remained at a lofty, unreachable height to those wolves who lived on the ground, obvious to the fog which had embraced the mountain so wholeheartedly. How many others were lost in this fog, she wondered, or how many had chosen not to venture out because of it? How many were using it to their advantage, whether to hunt or trespass or sneak unseen? The eyes were the only disabled feature in one's head, though, and their removal meant that the others were forced to heighten else the whole diminished, and as such her ears did pick up a faint voice, one which might have been otherwise missed.

Pausing in her travel, Bella turned her head towards the sound, ears pushing forwards, eyes open but only able to make out the shape of the ground nearest to her. Her nose sought the air but found nothing; whoever was singing of her scent, the wind must have been working in his favour alone. Curiosity piqued at the oddity, and head swirling with the excitement of the entire cloud-swallowing experience, Bella did not hesitate.

"From a dead place!" she laughed, concentrating on any response so she could accurately pinpoint the stranger's direction. "I would be careful, this sort of weather is known to herald the non-living."

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Ears seemed to swish on his head as he tried to make sense of what was going on in his head, the eagerness was playing on his lips. He wanted to find the damsel who might have found more distress in actually meeting him, although his mind was already on finding his brother again. Such was supposed to be an impressionable thought, and his eyes attempted to squint through the fogs that were beckoning him. Alas, there was no such luck. The thought made him want to pout, but there was just no reason for him to take a reasonable turn of events on his mind. But the voice that called out struck him, and it rolled down his spine - it made his breath hitch for a moment, and then a husky laugh called out. She was still above him, that fiendish woman! It was fine, he was quite content to bottom - so long as he was lucky with the beautiful woman and did not send her running. That was the sort of thing to focus on, yes indeed. "Ah, another spectral of my imagination - the last woman I met was called Angele, so I daresay it's my lucky stride to still be breathing touching so close to the thinning worlds we walk!" Hearty words, drug out of his chest on a husky voice as his tail swished at the notion that he was being charming. Such was the way of the Barreda, but there was almost a need to turn around - to reach out and see if he could start climbing a bit higher. Scattering a few stones as he went, he attempted to hop up from one small platform of stone to the next, although he still could not get a visual. "What sort of ethereal appearance will I find? That of a youthful woman, who never crested - or a seasoned woman with battle scars sliding over her triumphs?" Playing the game, his mind reels at the taunt, eager to hear the words that would be a gesture of sweet word play. "This is speech."

@Rico

There - she found him, by voice at least, as he sang out his own exuberant response to the game that she had happily continued. Bella laughed softly at the disembodied words that floated through the fog at her, enjoying the folly and ridiculousness. Truly there was no way of knowing who awaited her further below, for the voice was that of a stranger and, save for his gender (and perhaps age, she believed he might be youthful still) she could hazard no guesses as to the man's appearance or status. How mysterious, how appropriate for this setting! It amused her that he seemed to be thinking the same thing of her, if out-loud, but it was no surprise; hidden from each other, by cloud and distance and rock, she wondered what images he was concocting in his mind of this laughing spectral woman.

It wasn't long until she found out that question exactly; hearing the clatter of stones as he walked, she slowly resumed her own path down, hoping to stumble upon this man in their shared blindness. Or perhaps he was far enough down to not be so swathed in white? He threw out two possibilities as to Bella's identity, and she almost laughed again at them, for were these the two versions of his mysterious wraith that he hoped for? Somehow she thought that he would enjoy a youthful, blushing companion, someone to giggle at how cleverly he wound his words.

"My battle scars are as real but invisible as I am," she called back with a touch of sobriety, continuing to leisurely pursue the direction that she had last heard his voice. "You are brave to engage a phantom so boldly, boy. What if I was forged to be a malevolent spirit, shackled here to lure young men to their untimely end? What if you find no angels here?"

This sort of an engagement of conversation with some of the most beautiful touch within the world seemed to mock him, seemed to call him home. The fog would not be lifting, not at the height that they were at - but everything else promised that there was something be so worthy of a conversation with a spectral floating on the breeze. He wanted her; he wanted to see her, he wanted to commit her appearance to memory - he wanted that voice close to his ear. Not a clue what he could find, but he was being driven with those words. Bravery. It tickled him, it mocked him as he climbed the stones. She was coming closer as she eased the song back to him, and he was careless in the spraying of stones. Twisting himself over the treacherous pathways, he deemed it a necessity. It was a sin to keep a woman wondering, and their conversation was going to swimmingly at present that he could not help but imagine what might have been waiting for him. What would have been reachable. Tongue hung out of his mouth for a moment, goofy and tongue-tied as he roused himself into finding a solution of answer; "Then you can lure me to my end." Gravelly voice crooned flawlessly to the foggy spectrum around him; wishing he could find some sort of figure that would break up the stone and snow-grey coasts; it was maddening. His body pushed along the side of the rocks though as he moved, heeding her warning. "For a soul's only meant to be here so long, and if you've got malevolence within you - then your voice denies it; it's a siren's song I've not heard in a decade..." It mattered not if the woman was old or young, so long as she was true. If his mind was to prove that the foggy stones could torment him into hearing things that were not there, perhaps he would truly be thrown to his death. Not a pleasant thought, but if he survived the fall - he'd warn @Nico of the woman of the mountain. If she came to him, he'd tell his brother all the same - undoubtedly of a dream come to pass. "This is speech."

@Rico

"Then you can lure me to my end," he replied after a pause, and his gumption made her peals of laughter ring out again. It felt strangely appropriate to be playing the part of a spirit tied to the mountain, as though she was re-incorporating the part of herself which had always been left here.

Apparently her voice belied her true nature, a notion which tickled Bella pink. Was she so easily read to everyone she met, or was this a unique circumstance? Did a voice, and choice of words, carry the essence of a being, there to uncover if you paid attention? At the notion, she made sure to pay closer attention to her mystery company's intonation, though she was fairly sure she had a good understanding of his character already.

"It seems you've found me out," she cooed, her body still effortlessly finding the next safe foothold despite the preoccupation of the fore of her mind. Those tiny, subtle memories were thoroughly well-established. "I'll take the role of mountain spirit, but I promise my song won't lead you to your doom. Only to beautiful things." If the fog had not loomed, she would have eagerly shared those beautiful things, those which lingered in her mind at all times, but without the dense white air, this encounter would not have happened. That would have been an opportunity missed. It occurred to her that this was the first playful, lighthearted exchange she had experienced while back on the mountain, a break from the weight of nostalgia and realisation that so much had changed. Her favourite meetings with strangers had all happened on the ground, with @Veho and @Mirren and @Ash and @Kenelm and - none so happy on the mountain, none so fondly remembered. Perhaps it was because she spent most of her time with her children up here, but that didn't deny that all her passing social delights had been down there, save for this...

Was her mountain trying to tell her something?

Ears seemed to swing on his head, and there was a soft smile that played on his features when laughter rang out. There was something so valuable, so perfect in hearing the reasoning that he could pull out the charm and make a difference; such was why Rico could not help but keep going. Perhaps he would be sentenced to the end, perhaps he would be targeted to the falling rocks that were hungrily waiting for him to go. When it seemed like he was about to win the lottery for his attachment to the ability to reach out to another, she spoke. That melodic voice was all but purring through his ears, and the clumsy look seemed to cross over the features for a long moment. Beautiful things? What sort of things would that be? What sort of promise was about to come out of this wraith of the mountain? Heart hounding his chest, and he allowed his head to drop to score trails along the stone path. There would be no need for him to deny that Rico was growing famished, he was beginning to edge toward something dangerous on the tongue. It was why his paws seemed to come off the ground, and he leaned forward with eagerness; she was getting closer, was that her? Was that scent that trickled into his nose and blossom steal him away belonging to her? No need to be too-too eager, but it was when the dark coat finally caught an outline that orange eyes seemed to narrow, tail swishing from side to side. "You are in luck then," He grumbled with anticipation, amusement was playing across his features, "I am a man who knows how to appreciate the beautiful things in life." "This is speech."

@Rico

The lack of immediate response, at first, made her worry that the game had been dropped, but then she paused to listen. His eager footfalls were clear to an attentive ear, and they were definitely approaching. She grinned to herself, amused that the siren had caught her target, and that he was so keenly searching for her. The boy was just lucky that she was a benevolent spirit.

She chose to stop, to let him come upon her, and the air was slightly less thick and oppressive here. She searched through the mist with eyes, ears and nose, waiting for a closer sign, hearing him stumble around towards her, and finally a faint shape emerged - first a figure, then, as he drew closer, a face. Somehow he looked exactly as she expected, excited expression and all.

Smiling, she slinked towards him, thoroughly enjoying the part that they had mutually agreed she play. His words were all charm and awe and now she had to make good on her promise, but how? To buy herself some time, Bella slid past the boy and circled him closely, brushing herself lightly against him, flicking her tail into his face as she passed. By the time she came up on his other side, shoulders touching, the solution had come to her. She pressed her lips to his ear. "Follow me," she whispered, and began to ascend again, deeper into the mist.

She neither waited to see if he would follow, nor checked that he had during her climb. She made sure to move swiftly, letting her feet follow her well-established memories, forcing him to struggle to keep up if he wanted that prize.

At the same time, she deliberately chose safer pathways where possible, not wanting to risk the boy chasing her to his demise, for she was definitely not that kind of spirit.

Finally, her goal was reached, a point close to the one she had started - at the highest point she could find. And her mountain had gifted to her the very thing which she had hoped for. As she ascended the last few metres, the mist began to clear, until she crested the top of the cloud and was left with clear sky - and glorious view, bathed in soft, rolling white and distant greens. Just these very highest points of the mountain were above the cloud, which covered the rest like a blanket. She marvelled at the wispy, fluid shapes left by the cloud, at how it almost seemed to be a living thing.

Resting her haunches on clear ground, Bella waited for the boy to catch her, as utterly content as she could ever be.