It was a beautiful day out today, of that there was no doubt. The whole world seemed to be full of life, light, and song, and the whole forest seemed to echo with its refrain, creating an almost cacophonic effect, despite the general quietude. Everything seemed to fit together and be in harmony with the world around it…everything except for one thing. If one thing was true, it was that stark navy and gold stood out against a background of soft greens and browns. A lot. Apparently, the passage of a fully armor-clad figure through this neck of the woods was not a common occurrence, if the sudden quiet that followed in its wake was anything to judge by. The birds would instantly halt their songs as the stranger passed, the resulting silence seeming both offended and accusing at the same time and lasted until the man was well past. Then, the songs would slowly pick up once again, as if he had never existed in the first place.
Shatter was, for lack of a better word, bored. He felt out of his element out here on his own, alone with no one but a sunny day and lovely weather for company. Admittedly, he’d never been out just for a stroll through the woods before; he’d always had a purpose and a set destination and route to go by. This, though, just felt like meaningless meandering as he wandered, seemingly aimlessly, through the undergrowth. Theoretically, he was out here for a reason, looking for, well…something. To be completely truthful, he couldn’t be entirely sure that what he was looking for even truly existed. Sure, he had heard rumors, and yes, he had what intel could be offered before he set out, but really, what was the chance that the rumored tribe of wolf-shifting people really existed out here in the middle of this seemingly empty forest? He snorted; they were probably just a bunch of civvies who’d gone off the deep end and decided to move out into the middle of nowhere, just for kicks.
The mission that he’d been assigned though, was to find the one who they apparently identified as their ‘healer’, supposedly a woman of great power who could heal with just a mere touch. Or so he heard. Having been out here for the past few hours now, Shatter was beginning to believe that this was something of a fool’s mission: first of all, the intel was sketchy at best, and they had no idea who they were looking for, and secondly, how in the world was he supposed to find this one particular person in this huge expanse of forest? He sighed exasperatedly to himself. Of course, he, of all his brothers, was the one who got stuck with the mission that no one else wanted. Maybe it was because he was arguably the most patient and level-headed of his squadmates.
More like the most sane, he grumbled to himself as he trekked along, looking for something that he was convinced wasn’t there,
although at this rate, that probably won't be true after this mission is over.
A few minutes later, he came to an opening in the dense trees which widened into a small clearing. With a sigh that was both exasperated and relieved, he emerged into the open area, glad to be able to see the sky once again, unobstructed by thick foliage. He scanned the clearing around him, and spotting a small pond a little ways away, began to walk towards it, only to come to a dead stop in his tracks. There was one minor detail which he’d failed to notice upon his entrance, and that was the fact that this clearing was already occupied when he got here. A figure lay by the pond, apparently relaxing in the sun, and that particular
someone just happened to be a woman. It wasn’t that particular fact that bothered Shatter though…it was that she wore nothing but the most basic of coverings, and her whole body was gilt with bright tattoos in a shade of blue that matched the sky above. He hesitated, having not expected to come across any other living being during his little outing, other than the birds and bees and all, perhaps. He was unsure of whether or not to approach this strange woman, worried that she might just be a civilian, out here in the middle of the forest, trying to enjoy some privacy. Finally, he decided on a compromise between the two.
"Excuse me, miss? Could I have a word?" Shatter was surprised that he sounded more confident than he felt; right now was about as awkward as he had ever felt in his (albeit short) life.