Thread: Water's Edge [Quin x vmpdevil101]

Keogh Lake. A virginal pool, set deep in an old forest, surrounded by massive trees, thick and ancient with winding, curling roots that snaked over the ground untamed. Nature's architect had been hard at work at this place, the north side of the lake dominated by a craggy, vine swathed outcropping, from which water gushed through the slit in the rock's side, trickling with the remains of the Keogh River. Large branches, weighted with feathered leaves slung over the water's edge on all sides, as if the trees weren't content to let only their roots dip within the depths to get a drink. Wildlife could be felt in this place, even when it was not seen. Birdsong lilted over the sound of insects humming, competing with the cascading laughter of the falls, the occasional avian swooping low with colored wings spread to catch glimmers of the sunlight that sparkled on the water's surface. Golden rays broke from the cover of the clouds to kiss the rippled mirror and coax the fish within into warm, dreamy slumbers. This was his home. Beautiful, untainted, and innocent, Keogh was his mother, his sister, his soul. Every piece of this land, but especially the Keogh's water were a part of him and gave him life, and he felt every movement that was made on his territory. Even as precious as she was, she was as cruel and wild as an ferocious beast with the taste for spilled blood. Very few human eyes had lived to see the glen once they entered and Howe wouldn't have it any other way. Through the depths of her heart he swam now, letting out a chuckle like rushing water as the fish glanced at his ethereal form through the murk before scurrying away. And there were other things in the water here with him. Through the crystal clear liquid, he watched as a woman's face appeared near him. Her hair was golden-green through the water, her flesh the color of ash, and her eyes a snowy blue, blank and forever unable to see what was before them. Because she was dead. A human spirit whose life he'd claimed in greedy lust, trapped here forever within his waters. Howe smiled in renewed desire, gently letting a hand cradle her incorporeal visage as she floated beside him. She belonged to him and she always would. Her and all the others... Further in the depths still, more spirits faded into existence, even as the yellow light from above filtered down in broad strokes. Men and women were among their ranks. His treasures. His victims. He felt no sympathy for the unwary traveler or the overly-trusting maiden that fell for his guises as he tempted them to the water's edge. Sometimes, an elderly man would be lost in his woods for hours and Howe would appear to the exhausted Irishman as a horse. His back, sleek and black, inviting as respite from the man's tired feet, as soon as he mounted Howe, would take off running, plunging headfirst into the water, where the frightened man would choke on his last breathes in a burst of bubbles. Or the beautiful youth, incautious when faced with another beautiful youth such as themselves, welcomed to Keogh's edge with a smile and cold skin, only to be pulled under with an unforgiving embrace. Gaily, he kicked away from the beautiful lost looks they gave him, his body twisting freely as he snaked his way up the falls and squirmed and slithered through the river, rushing against the current as he made his way north. As he did with every deer that leaped across his river or every fox that stopped in it's hunt to take a few laps from the gurgling edge, he felt the presence of another on his land. Another visitor, somewhere nearby. Someone new to cradle in his arms and pull into the murky depths with him. Even without seeing them yet, he felt his body prickle and tingle with the familiar excitement in anticipation of their thrashing and eventual stillness as they gave into the water's will. Someone new to add to his collection. He couldn't wait to meet them.