After what seemed liked ages, he walked back into the enchanted forest. It was not a place he missed, but it was somewhere he liked to come back to - to relax, if nothing else - war, the very concept, was in his blood, and any place which guarded against it in the manner the forest did, was not his kind of place. Making his way straight to the bank of the pond, Cloud took a moment to survey his surroundings.

Footsteps; dry leaves being crunched underfoot; and above all, a tingling sensation in the back of his neck - was all the indication he needed to know that someone was approaching.

Without a second thought, his hand traveled to the hilt of the great sword hanging on his back. It was not so much of a conscious thought, but more of an instinctive reaction. But then he remembered that this was the forest. Not 'a' forest, but the enchanted forest - a place where 'war' was not allowed.

He was not certain whether the enchantments were still intact, but he did not feel interested in finding out either. For now, he was slightly weary, and needed to relax.

Slowly relaxing his grip on the hilt, Cloud let his hand find its way back into the pockets of his dark blue overcoat.

'So what have I become ...' He wondered, as he let out a soft sigh.

"Hello." He muttered, meaning for it to be heard by the person approaching, but not quite caring whether it is heard.

Though he was here to relax, he knew that he could not lose track of his prey.

The forest air was vibrant with a serenity that is rarely perceived in this world these days. The forest has got more than just magic in it, thought Phantom, breathing in the fresh forest air as deeply as her innards would allow. The constant chirping of birds and soft buzzing noise made by critters made her feel tranquil and light-headed.

She knew not for how long she had been walking through the forest, so enchanted was she by its beauty, when she came upon this stranger standing by the pond. Handsome would be a rather shallow word to describe this stranger , for he appeared to radiate an angelic aura; the long golden sword that dangled from down his waist shimmered in the pale afternoon sunlight which only managed to add to his charm rather than make him appear deadly. He must be some high born Knight, thought Phantom with a twinge of fear, or at least by the looks of him he did not look like the kind who looked down kindly upon witches.

She could see the stranger mutter something inaudible in what appeared to be a friendly gesture. But she had not missed how quickly his hand had reached for the hilt and she decided not to tempt fate. Friend or foe, she could not let anything distract her from her mission - she had to find the children. Thus covering her face with a hood and wrapping the cloak around herself tightly, she hurriedly tried to put as much distance as possible between herself and this stranger, hoping against hope that he had not recognized her true identity.

o

'... hm.. was it something I said.' He wondered, as the noise of hurried footsteps and crunching leaves quickly carried away the presence of whoever had approached.

'Perhaps this one could give me some information.' He thought, even though he was not exactly looking for company.

In fact, he was keen to avoid company for the rest of the day if possible, with the exception of the one he was searching for - the one whose head he was to take as bounty - the one who had been abducting children from the nearby villages, to the extent that the various village heads had come together to post a rather massive bounty on the head of the abductor - dead or alive.

The catch though, was that none had seen the abductor, or even seen any trace of the person, neither head nor tail. But these were the kind of bounties Cloud preferred. More often than not, it was the strange sixth sense he had developed over the years that led him to the prey, and perhaps a bit of luck, rather than any specialization in tracking or the like.

Turning away from the bank, Cloud started heading in the direction of the nearest village, which is where the last abduction had taken place. He assumed that it would be as good a place to start as any. It just so happened that the hurried footsteps he heard also seemed to head in the same direction.

He was not looking for company, but he figured it would not be a bad idea to ask the traveler some questions, and perhaps some directions.

As she made her way through the forest she couldnt help but wonder if it was indeed wise of her not to approach the stranger and perhaps ask for help. was she actually foolish enough to think she could really make this journey alone? she thought, tiny bits of perspiration now visible on her forehead.
'Alas! what other choice do I have?' she wondered aloud, trying to smile resignedly yet somehow all she could managed was a grimace. She had gone without a proper meal for weeks; and the constant fear that weighed down upon her shoulders was slowing transforming her youth and beauty into something twisted and old.-something she did not wish to explore or ponder over for fear of losing her grip on sanity.
In a rush to get away from the stranger she had not truly paid enough attention as to which direction she was heading off to, but he seemed to have arrived at a rather secluded part of the forest. Nevertheless, it was not trudging through the dark forest nor the eerie silence that surrounded her that agitated her so greatly but the fear of being burnt into a crisp or slaughtered like a poor animal at the hands of the people she used to think of as friends and allies. She could feel weariness creeping up her spine and engulfing her entire body, but she was the Phantom, the wanted witch murderer, the abductor of little children and dreams of relaxing or having a good night's sleep was all but forbidden for her.
As weariness took over, she slowly collapsed under a huge tree; its branches forming a canopy overhead blocking what little sunlight that tried to sneak through; slowly she reached into her pocket and brought out a battered piece of rag which was in fact a map of the entire forest. no matter what she had to make her way towards the cave, for it was the only lead she had at the moment. there were a few villages nearby but as luck would have it she had managed to only increase the distance between herself and the destination.

[Theme:Stranger]

The serenity of the place made him experience a strange sense of calm as he continued walking through the forest. He could almost disbelieve that this was a land torn by war and strife, that is, if he had not seen it with his own eyes. The thing that surprised him the most about this land was the fact that magic was looked down upon, in spite of the existence of places such as the Enchanted Forest.

Where he came from, everyone used magic, even himself; but the spells were no inborn talent, but rather came from crystals consisting of life force of the Earth, known as materia, which went into slots of one's equipment, which then empowered one to cast wondrous spells, for offence, defence, or utility. In fact, he carried a few materia with him right this moment, but had decided not to expose this to the villagers in the surrounding lands, given their deathly fear of magic.

He wondered about this fear as he continued walking in the direction the footsteps had disappeared towards, It made no sense that the people here would hate mages so much without any particular reason. He figured that something must have happened in the past to create this fear.

But that was none of his business.

A smirk appeared on his face as he remembered the reaction of the first village he had walked into. He found it strange that the people here did not find him suspicious at all - it was as if the sword on his back relieved him of all kinds of suspicion of being a magic user.

"Foolish..." he muttered, as he approached a rather huge tree that blocked his vision.

As he made to cross over the tree, he noticed the huge branches that were blocking off the sunlight.

'Not a bad place for a siesta...' He thought, as he unlatched the blade from his back and made it over to the other side of the tree.

Just as he was about sit down, he noticed that someone was already occupying the other side. A quick glance revealed naught, as the figure was wrapped in a cloak and hood.

"Hey..." He muttered, wondering if it was the same person who had approached him at the bank.

'Oh dear...' she muttered aloud in frustration, scanning the map once more making sure her eyes were not deceiving her. The ancient cave of horrors (as the villagers like to call it) was at least another ten miles away from where she presently sat; it was a wonder she had made it this far without stealing food or supplies from the villages. Surely, it would only further taint her reputation were she to resort to thievery, and she had no wish to create another uproar among the village folks.

Alas, the forest has always been kind to her where the villagers have not; the trees have dropped their berries and fruits along her path as a sign of greeting and welcome; the forest magic had always bend to her will. However, she would never use the pure magic that flowed through her veins to force the trees to do so; she only accepted their offering if it was meant as a gift; the forest was her friend and she was willing to give up her life to ensure that no harm ever came to this enchanted forest and the creatures who called it their home. Yet as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, she was increasingly feel her magic dwindling for her anxiety, lack of food and slumber was slowly draining her magic and energy and along with it her strength to move on.

Lost in thoughts of the long journey ahead and her own misfortune she knew not when the weariness had treacherously creeped into her eyelids urging them to close, like a mothers rocks a baby to sleep through her lullabies. Some people have a strong connection to dreamworld, they say, but whether it was because she was a witch or because she had the gift of vision, her dreams had always acted as premonitions of danger; this was how she was able to escape the angry mob of villagers before they could send her to the gallows. However, despite no lack of trying she could not control this gift any more than she could control her own misfortunes. So as fate would have it, she could not sense that a stranger was approaching and indeed it was the same handsome boy she had met near the pond, until it was too late.

She opened her eyelids and saw the boy mutter something inaudible and she was instantly on her guard; no way could she afford to let him see her face for there may already be bounty on her set head and posters spread across the villages. She had used her magic to transform her youthful looks to resemble a harmless middle-aged lady with greying hairs at the temple, but the transformation magic came at a great cost; not only would it drain her energy but it would make her feel frail and old and would require her to drink water from the enchanted stream which was located in the far corner of the forest. She had a small canteen full of the magic water, but there was only a little bit left in it and as such this was the best disguise she could have afford at the moment, what with her dwindling magic.

She slowly sat up and leaned against the tree and looked upon the stranger asking "What business do you have here, boy? Clear off before them undead gets you. "

Cloud raised his eyebrow slightly at the response of the individual sitting before him.

Though her cloaked and hooded figure were enigmas at first, it was easy enough to figure out her gender from her voice, and her age from the graying hair sticking out of the hood; and to cap that, she looked rather frail.

In spite of all that, something in the back of his mind told him not to mess with her; and after all these years, Cloud had learned that his senses were his best friend in every strange new land he traveled to. So he always made sure to pay heed to their warnings -- which was quite fine, since he wanted little to do with the woman besides asking for some directions, and perhaps occupy a side of the tree trunk for a bit and grab his forty winks.

But her looks and bearings aside, what interested him the most was the mention of...

"Undead...?" He muttered, a little louder this time, as a smirk found its way to his face.

Cloud closed his eyes momentarily.

The word brought back many memories. Memories of old times and new -- of encounters with undead, born dead, and puppets -- lots and lots of puppets.

He sighed softly, and opened his eyes, and allowed them to focus on the part of the elderly lady's face which was visible.

"Ah yes... undead." He said.

Where he came from, undead were not objects of fear, but rather something to be eliminated as a mere hindrance, much like the rest of the monsters which infested the lands. Subduing undead was all in a days work, and one would barely get a chance to notice whether they were any different from the rest of the monsters.

But this land was different -- there were undead hunters, witch hunters, heretic hunters -- the land fostered many different kind of hunters and organisations. Their customs were all strange and foreign to him. But they mattered little.

The mention of undead also brought back memories of blood, so much blood that the dark red was the only color prevalent in his mind's eye for a bit. Vampires, necrodragons, the land where he came from had them all, and it had a certain someone who simply, would, not, die.

But that was all in the past.

Looking away, Cloud balanced the unlatched sword against the tree, and let his weary body lean back against it as well, slightly further away from the lady, before eventually letting himself relax in a sitting position.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about undead..." He muttered, just loud enough for her to hear, but not exactly in the form of a question.

Though his mind remained slightly wary, his body and muscles had already rated the woman as harmless for the time being. So he leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes momentarily.

"My business is in the villages." He said. "Perhaps.... you know the way there.."

The Phantom surveyed the boy with her piercing gaze which held a great power on its own; for she had this rare gift of perceiving lies; so long as she was close enough to detect the vibes emitting from them when they spoke; it was as if the very act of falsehood creates an imbalance in the magical field surrounding them,

But this was a strange lad for certain; she had hoped the mere mention of the undead would scare away a pretty lad like him but the brat had the audacity to show amusement instead. She could feel a twinge of annoyance at this for he was but a mere boy, perhaps much younger than even her true self. She had been blessed with features that would perhaps have been the subject matter of envy for most women, however living a lone life in the forest and only dedicating her life to practicing the magical craft meant that she had never spared a thought as to her looks.

She, however, envied the lad's naivety and youth and there was something in this boy that made her decide he was a good soul at heart; what was more fortunate -he did not appear to have recognized her at all, or seen through her disguise which made her heave a sigh filled with relief - for now. If times had been different, she would perhaps have liked to get to know this lad better and reveal her true identity to him, but alas the world had taught her not to trust people anymore than she had to. She had not even the slightest doubt that he would take her head without batting a single eyelash were he to even suspect that she might be more than what she appeared to be...

Her years have taught her to be anything but foolish, so she replied cautiously pointing towards a path leading far south-east, 'there's a village that way, sonny, all you gotta do is follow that path over there'. The lad nodded but did not seem in any hurry to leave causing her agitation to skyrocket and making her feel dizzier and fluttery.

She stood up still leaning against the tree for support as muttered in a rush, "So I'd best be going, its almost sundown. Careful there now, the forest can be dangerous for a wee lad like yourself" she added casually in a motherly tone and then after a slight pause went on to add, "you wouldnt perchance happen to know whats happening in them villages , would you? Been hearing some batty ol' witch's been takin' children. Children! what is this world coming to, I ask you? Dont wanna live no more in a place like this!"

She hoped the question sounded innocuous enough and complimented her 'harmless-woman' disguise and peered sideways at him awaiting his response for she longed to know what was going on in those villages now that all fingers were pointed in her direction.

Although there wasn't much of a reaction at first besides a few nods as she spoke, Cloud's eyes had burst open at the mention of the witch, and for a moment, his eyes looked ravenous, hungry, violent - but all that disappeared as quickly as they had arrived, and was replaced by a rather lazy gaze in the very next moment.

"So a witch is taking them, is it?" He muttered, closing his eyes again.

'Guess I've been away from the villages for too long.' He thought. 'Well, maybe the bounty's still there.'

Opening his eyes again, Cloud regarded the woman with an amused look in his eyes. "I know even less than you ma'am."

"What can you tell me about this witch, hm?" He asked. "Any idea why she's abducting little kids?"

The witch was taken aback at his response but was quick to compose herself. She stared down thoughtfully at the ground and took a moment to respond to his query. She had presumed that by now every soul that walked this forest had but one intention - to look for the wicked witch.This was a very interesting development and one she could use to her advantage especially given that the boy knew nothing about the wanted witch murderer, incredible as it was -yet.

She did not, however, miss the violent glint which flickered across his eyes when she spoke of 'the witch', and this only made her sadness grow for realized that this handsome youth was no stranger to war and suffering. At least his mind was not yet poisoned by the village gossip and it was a stroke of good luck that he ran into her first and not the villagers. Could she trust him? Could this boy be an ally - the one to save her from a disgraceful death at the gallows? She asked herself inwardly as she regarded him thoughtfully. Not that she got a closer look she noticed that despite all that beauty there was however something missing from his face that prevented him from looking perfect - something she couldn't quite pinpoint.

'you do not know anything, do you?' she replied, glancing sideways in the direction of the villages. 'the folks say that its a witch who's been taking their children! Poppycock!! I say.' she added with vigor hoping it matched her disguise. A flicker ran trough the boy's eyes as he listened to her outburst and so she went on to say,

'She was a life-saver that one, gave me loads of potions to help with my back pain. And now she goes meddling in affairs that doesn't concern her, and earns herself a bounty on her pretty head. Poor girl, trusted the wrong sorts and now dug herself into a grave she cant crawl out of.'

Cloud was never much of a thinker -- his trade mostly involved gut instinct, a form of sixth sense gained from experience, and a bit of brute force here and there; however, even he had noticed the delay in the elderly woman's reply. Nor had he missed the fact that she was observing him intently -- which was not necessarily a good thing -- while normally such things would normally not have bothered him, he had been careful not to let the local populace notice the greenish glow resultant from mako infusion in his eyes, as it may lead to misunderstandings.

The delayed answer of course, meant that all was not as they seemed -- meaning his personal features should be of secondary concern -- and now that he had detected one flaw, Cloud started paying more attention to all things going on around him, including the personal features of the lady, and the way she moved and spoke.

'She seems very normal,' he thought, 'except for the fact that she is an old lady prancing around in a forest where there should be undead...... according to her warning.'

'Maybe....' he thought, the edge of his mouth curling into a smirk for a brief moment, 'maybe ... she is too normal.'

"I see..." He muttered, as the lady explained the current circumstances of the witch.

"You two are close... are you?" He asked.

"What sort of people did she trust..... and what did she trust them with?"