In the depths of the brackish water soft golden strands of hair splayed out around the pale woman. The crackling of fire echoed from the muddy shore, her dress, pack, and ax shimmered in the shadowed light. The dark cave around her gave little ground to the flourishing flames, the scent of cooking meat clinging slightly to the air. A ripple in the water as the girl shifted to stay afloat, a gentle movement in stark contrast to the harshness of her prison. Her skin glistened softly as ribbons of red gently trickled down into the water, a small laceration decorated her side. A gift from a crazed man, adorned in ancient armor,  screeching something about someone having stolen her; whoever her was Shimmer didn't have the faintest of clues. It had been a few hours since the blonde hair girl had seen anything with a living soul, twice in one day made her uneasy, the beast in the shadows were really enough for her to know she wasn't alone. Clear blue eyes started up at the ever stagnant sky, the hints of cloud and ever bearing sun, the memories of the days event pushing to the front of her mind, reminders of how much she had changed in such few months. Changed from what she couldn't recall.

[center][b]~~~~[/b][/center] 

[I]The hollow thunk of the ax digging into the skeleton's head echoed through the ever winding corridor, a disgruntled sigh escaping the strange girl's lip as yet again it proved a fruitless scavenge. The hunger clawing its way up through her stomach was a distracting concern that had been building for weeks. A shattering crack broke the stiffing silence as the corpse's skull cracked into tiny little pieces, the light shimmering on the dust of it, it seems it couldn't hold the force of the flat of the blade brought sharply down across its surface. A soft giggle followed the echo as the girl coaxed the shimmering dust to swirl in small circles between her hands, the soft glow of the ring hanging loosely on her neck mimicking their sheen. [b]”Pretty things don't last here..”[/b] She chided the dust softly, a self-decrepit smile toying at the corners of her lip, a slight hollow look, eyes hazed as she wandered off into the flashing images of memory, a hand reaching up to toy with the ring softly. It wasn't the first time in the past few months that the girl would loose herself to her own thoughts. As fortunate as she was to be left alone by the beast below, there was always the nagging doubt that one day she'd meet him. The one that stalked her shadow made himself known often, not all ending in death, no this one had a desire to play with his food it seems. The shiver at the thought of her constant watcher drew Shimmer from her thoughts as she looked around spinning slightly as she tried to see every corner, a harrowed look taking over her serene and calm look.

Hugging her arms as if to keep her tattered dress from falling off, the chill of the cave piercing through her once more, yet this place held no wind. No wind, and a chilling cold. Another thing to add to the never-ending list of things wrong with this place. A way to past the time, if you will. Her slender fingers pulled at the small bag on her wrist, the last of her provisions, a small handful of berries and little meat at that. Grimacing slightly as her stomach growled in protest at the offered meal, Shimmer continued to walk down her intended path, there was a bright light at the end of the tunnel but it never seemed to come any closer. Perhaps that was its intent, to make you walk for eternity contemplating each step you took and if you truly ever went anywhere here or in the little bit of life you scrambled to hold on to. Pondering these thoughts the small woman meticulously ate one berry at a time, trying to extend the use of her rations; the tattered shoes on her feet torn and tied to her, though parts of them still glitter with the color of silver and showed signs of once holding a heel, long broken off still clattered against the harsh stone path. 

Stone, all of it was stone, only thing that seemed well was the abundant pools of water though not all were free of life. It was a game of chance, she had soon learned remembering her first time dying. 

'She had been suffocating on the dust and dry roots she had torn up from the beds of mushrooms. The soft sparkle of the dull depths, too naive she was as she greedily drank from it, held more then just dirt and grime. A dark shimmer rippled through the deep water, a warning she ignored for the feel of sweet release for her harsh throat. A second ripple and the dark creature lunged eliciting a screech from the blonde, short lived and quickly silenced as larger razor teeth sunk into her flesh, her arm to be precise as it pulled. She toppled gracefully into the pool floating briefly before being drug down and down into the water depth the coils of the creature wrapping around her as she struggled briefly for breath. Bubbles of air dancing their way back up to the surface, how it shimmered from below, the lights on the water so much clearer from underneath. Then she awoke in a rock circle missing nothing more but another memory of him. Whoever he was.' 

So lost in her thoughts, Shimmer forgot to watch where she stepped and presently found herself sprawled out against the cold coarse floor, her ax clattering a few feet to the left of her. Gasping slightly she let out the slightest whimper as she continued to lay there trying to breath through the growing pain in her side. Seems her folly would cost her at the least a bruised rib, though the feeling of uneasiness coursing through her sent her crawling for her weapons the pain in her side spreading and screaming like a white hot iron hitting water. Hissing as her hand curled around her ax she curled up around it, for a time she had forgotten just how fragile she really was, leave it to this place to cruelly remind her of her own fragility.   Pressing her free hand against the offending rib she cringed at the heat radiating off it, a soft press sent her into a fresh round of whimpering as the pain slowly started to ebb into nausea. She wasn't sure how long she had lain there, an hour, a day, she had the hardest time keeping track of the day's passings.

By the time the pain receded enough for her to move, the slender woman had drifted off slight to sleep. The echoes of a forest surrounded her, as she smelt flowers, a pleasant smile finding its way to her face, the feeling's of excitement bubbling through her. A shadow was with her, she could never see his face but she knew him, or at least she believed she knew him, that she had to know him. The ring, her ring, glittered as he placed it on her hand, the soft whispers of love fell on deaf ears as a ragging scream shattered her escaped reality. The scream startled the girl into a sitting position, looking around her frantically once more. [b]”What was that...”[/b] She whispered softly crawling to the edge of the path, peering over the rock tops to see a man attacking another woman, she was rather plump as if she had just joined this hell. But he looked ancient as if he had wandered these paths longer then the girl had been alive for, or at least how long she had thought she lived. The strange woman let another small whimper while the man attacked her screeching about the woman having stole someone. The woman looked as confused as Shimmer did watching the scene below; she held up her hands as if to wards of the mans sword, as if her hands would stop the rusted blade on its intended path.

The scent of blood reawakened the blondes hunger, her stomach grumbled at the idea of fresh meat. A strange gleam entered the girl's eye, as she kept closure hefting her ax so her hand gripped loosely around the end of the handle, it was small enough to make for a decent throwing ax. If she could distract the man at the same time he hit the woman, perhaps it wouldn't kill her. If she was quick enough she could take a  piece of meat before she died and disappeared. She continued with desperate and hungry eyes creeping closure slowly arching the ax behind her, it mattered little if she hurt him, she need the woman alive. So ample, so plump, so ripe. The thought sent shivers down her spine, fresh food not berries and roots. How long had it been since she had proper meat. The dead owner of her ax. Three months. A dark grin slowly spreading across her face as the madman attacked drawing his sword across the woman in a beautiful arc of blood that followed. Shimmer could appreciate the mans work, as her ax left her hand flying true to its path, a loud clang ringing out as it struck the back of his chest plating. 

The warning that perhaps she should have held on to her weapon came too late, the man had a new target, a currently unarmed target, a target on a time limit. [b]”Now now we can be civil..”'[/b] Shimmer said smiling sweetly, scooping up a small handful of dirt before flinging it out towards the man making a lunge for her weapon, barely missing the tip of the handle before his blade found its mark, leaving a bright red stain across her dress. The searing pain drew a whimper from her, but the cut was shallow and superficial, unfortunately  it seemed she was destined to destroy the right side of her ribs today. A soft growl echoed from her lips as she grabbed her ax whirling around, but the man was gone running off down the corridor chasing after some fleck in the sky. She shook her head slowly bringing herself up to her feet, each breath ragged and painful as she stumbled over to the girl. [b]”P-please...h-help me..”[/b] The girl whimpered reaching out of with a bloody hand towards the approaching figure, visibly relaxing as she noticed it was another woman. 

Shimmer smiled softly petting the woman's hair whispered sweet reassurances, as she slowly counted the seconds. She would have at the most ten seconds, to make her move. Her eyes trailed slowly over the woman's body.  Her ample frame, but it was the blood rolling down her outstretched arm that caught the girls attention, nudging her hungry. Taking the woman's hand softly she smiled telling her everything would be okay before casually bringing her ax down on the woman's arm effectively separating it from the rest of her. The look of horror on the woman's face as she disappeared was almost enough to sate the blonde woman's appetite as she looked at her new found food. It would take some cleaning and skinning. She never liked the skin. Or at least she thinks she doesn't like the skin. Dragging the ax slowly against the arm, a quick flick of the wrist separated the hand from the forearm, it had too much bone for her taste. The next flick of the wrist neatly severed the forearm from the upper arm, she would save the larger selection of meat for later as she ripped a section of her dress hem humming as she wrapped the two pieces up neatly placing them in her bad. It wouldn't do well to linger where there was fresh blood, more so when someone of its her own. [/i]

[b]~~~~[/b]

The water rippled once more as the girl moved towards the shore, the warm flickering of the flame welcomed and beckoned her as did the smell of cooked meat. Her stomach growled once more in anticipation.   The water fell away in waves across her slender frame, there was something alluring about her jutting ribs and the taunt way the skin stretched over her muscles and scars. The red gash on her side ugly and sore, blemishing the strange smoothness of her body, the dirt and grime momentarily washed away from her. A slight reprieve from the decaying world around her gentle pool. The murky waters had adsorbed the offering of red, returning back to its dark colors, as she stepped back onto the shore. Her dress laid splayed out next to the fire, the red washed clean regaining its white color. Wringing her hair out she ran her fingers vainly through her hair trying to untangle the knots and tangles residing in the golden strands; they shone and glimmered in the fire like bright threads of gold.  Her movement's were slow and sluggish, her side still making its displeasure with her known as she inched the dress up over her hips hissing slightly as the fabric brushed against the newest wound on her body. 

[b]”Perhaps I should rest..”[/b] 

She mused softly biting down into the crisp meat, the juice from it overflowed and ran down her chin, a quick wipe from the back of her hand saw it gone as she continued to devour the meet. It would be a strangle serene sight to see someone dressed cleaned devouring what looked like a leg of meat in the flickering fire. With each bite her mood lightened, it was a rare treat, something that wasn't simple berries and grubs, her eyes wandered aimlessly around her surroundings taking in the shadows the fire did cast. There in the earth, where those foot prints..perhaps they belonged to the madman from earlier, but what if he found a way out. Though she dreaded the idea of running into the man again, she did owe him for the damage to her side and she did intend to collect should he show himself again. Pleased that she had a plan, something to do besides aimlessly wander the pools Shimmer set to breaking camp. If not the madman perhaps she would find something else out here in this world. Something new.