Thread: Kiss of the Beast [::Haru|barb::]

Standing in the forest where nothing breathes Beyond the lands of the living, hidden deep in the black trees made from silks of black and blue The Belladonna's Circus waits for you You may think you have a clue, but when you attend her show the magic will flow, and she will show you a world entirely new. This was the poem printed on thousands of tiny pieces of blue parchment that circulated through the world of Harrow, attracting many to the circus, as well as making many too scared to even approach the shadowlands. Not that, the latter was anything new. Many gathered in the large amphitheater, the main show was about to begin. The Amphitheater was built of black wood and stone, unlike a stereotypical circus, the main show didn't take place in one of the many tents, the Belladonna needed a lot of space, and the trees needed access to the audience. Everyone gathered around and sat on the benches which stood in the grass. A deep, slow, macabre tune played from somewhere that nobody could see, and skulls hung from the trees with blue lights glowing from inside. The moon was high above the stage and illuminated it perfectly, which is why the main star's entrance scared everyone half to death. Suddenly a spout of pure darkness shot up from the stage roiling and writhing like it was alive. The moving and pulsating shadow suddenly burst like a bubble and where it had been there stood a short figure of a girl in an exaggerated bow. Clinging to her body was a tunic made of a smoky see through material, the color of midnight blue. Easily seen under this tunic was a skimpy uniform similar to a bikini, a golden color with silver jeweled chains running up from either side of the bottom piece to meet in the middle of her breasts on the top piece. She had a belly button piercing and two anklets, her feet bare. A simple mask of midnight blue with black feathers covered her eyes. Quickly moving up with her arms spread she released a volley of white orbs from each hand, she waited for a moment letting the audience gasp as the ghostly spheres floated out and above them, then the mysterious woman with the pastel pink hair snapped her fingers and the orbs exploded into ribbons of white fire slithering around in the air like eels. As the belladonna moved her arms the fire snaked around and then to everyone's amazement she dropped to the floor and rolled into a ball, ending the roll with her back arched and her torso pointing up into the air, her head resting between her feet. She remained in the contortion as the fire suddenly conjoined into two separate tendrils and snaked down to The Belladonna who opened her mouth and swallowed each of them. Then she rolled out of the pose and blew out a stream of white sparks from her mouth. The audience clapped and then the music changed and the girl started to slowly and gracefully dance on the stage for a small moment before suddenly all around her shadows began to rise, shadows shaped just like her that began to dance with their commander in unison. The tension in the theater changed, people were becoming unnerved. The Belladonna went for the grand finale of her dance going into a spin and gently bending herself until one of her legs rose up and she grabbed her foot arching it over her head, executing a perfect needle pointe spin, the shadow figures did this too. The audience was mystified, and disturbed. She smiled and with her so did the shadows, revealing perfect white teeth on their dark forms and receiving a horrified gasp from the patrons. In their distraction they didn't notice the small vines, weaving down from the trees. The moment they touched a person's skin, said being fell into a trance and remained silent and calm as more vines came down and wrapped around their necks and shoulders, slowly beginning to lift their victim into the tree. The girl's smile grew wider, she wasn't a psycho, or a serial killer, but this was how her forest remained the way it was, how it stayed alive. Nymphs were genetically built to do whatever they had to do to protect and maintain their territories. While not all were lifted the Belladonna made sure to distract those who weren't being taken. Besides, most of the people who dared to come here were crooks or people who had something to run away from. The girl smiled and as her spin began to wind down she started to bring her leg down and lower her back spinning like a flat top for a moment, the shadow clones suddenly burst and began to flow around the performer, into her, before finally one they were all gone she raised herself straight and gently stopped herself and bowed.