Abandoned

Keeping pace with the others bored Lunis, especially as alive he felt jumping between trees. So, he went on ahead. The others could keep an eye on Kendrik and Jaron, who could probably take care of themselves anyways. As for himself being in danger, well, he wouldn't let that happen again.

He shredded bark, vaulted over branches, and rustled huge leaves in the trees. The cacophony made him smile; the speed made his heart race in excitement. The wind howled around him, but he ignored how much it ruffled his fur and battered his ears. Besides, in only a minute, the treeline abruptly ended.

Clinging onto the last tree with both feet and one hand, Lunis used the other hand as a balance while he peered out at the clearing beyond. A shape appeared to rise up from a huge mass of moss, shrubs, and vines. "Is that the temple?" he called, hoping the others would be close enough to hear him. That old familiar dread returned, crawling up his skin. He hated temples.

It was difficult for the others to make out the temple through the foliage, but Sloth could easily see what Lunis had pointed out - after all, he towered above everyone in their group. From his very limited knowledge, he guessed that was the temple. It certainly stood out from the other buildings they had seen. Even as they drew closer to the building, the foliage remained as thick as before.

They came to a stop at its steps. Reyes and Envy were clearly to assess the danger of the situation, while Greed was marveling at the sight of it. Sloth wasn't quite sure why he had stopped.

Lunis slid his way down the tree, landing gracefully on the ground. He was a little annoyed that everyone else, already walking ahead, hadn't noticed, but chose not to say anything. The panther merely caught up to the rest of the group.

Kendrik and Jaron stopped alongside the others. They stared up at the mess of vines and bushes that hid a temple inside. The hound couldn't help but feel intimidated by the size of the building. Considering how Jaron merely sat down on the first row of steps and stared at the ground, Kendrik guessed he had a different opinion.

While Lunis walked up the first few steps, eyes darting around in an effort to take in his surroundings and spot any threats, Kendrik sat beside Jaron. "Somethin' wrong?" the hound said, setting a hand on Jaron's knee.

"Just thinking," Jaron whispered, placing his hand over Kendrik's. "Maybe we should start looking for a place to settle down in."

After a few seconds, Kendrik rested his head on Jaron's shoulder. "Sure's about time, ain't it," he said. He ruffled the fur on Jaron's head with his other hand. "Let's go for it when we get back from this place."

Sallow studied the temple, tilting her head. She had never physically been here before, only learned about it through her plants.

"So I guess there are some sort of records here- might be other things to help you too."

She shrugged and sprouted a few vines to break open any windows. No use trapping herself.

"Please don't do that," a quiet voice begged the nymph.

Envy spun around to face the owner of the voice, only to find that she had not only snuck behind them but had now slipped in front of them without him even noticing. He prepared himself for a fight, but something about the woman in front of him told him that he didn't even need to.

Though he could tell she was young, it was difficult to pinpoint an exact age. Her eerily white hair, paired with her silver eyes and pale skin, made her appear to be a living ghost. Even her outfit - a simple white sundress and a pair of plain sandals - contributed to the illusion. His gaze lingered on her hair; it was cut into a short bob, with a small braid running down one side of her face. He had never seen something quite like it before.

"Who are you?" Envy asked - demanding an answer almost seemed too harsh. He had the strangest idea that if he tried to raise his voice, the fragile woman before him would break.

"Thymea," she meekly answered, her voice little more than a whisper. She took a step towards the group. "Please don't destroy the temple. It's all I've been able to preserve of this city."

Sallow's vines retreated at the arrival of the other spirit- at least, that was the air she was sensing of the woman. At Thymea's words, she felt a pang of guilt, which she quickly squelched in annoyance.

"So, you're the reason my plants have shied away from this area." She looked the lady up and down.

"Sorry about the windows." She finally mumbled, succeeding.

After all, they were both alike- she could see that- each working hard toward goals that they believed in, though those goals were opposites. She respected this woman for that.

Jaron screamed when the pale lady appeared out of nowhere. Kendrik, feeling his hackles rise and his ears lift up - curse Jaron's high-pitched shouts - instinctively stood up and moved in front of Jaron. The pale lady didn't appear armed or dangerous, so he wasn't about to pull his rapier out. Still, he didn't trust anybody who could show up like that.

Kendrik gestured back to the partly-hidden temple. "Yer doin' a great job of it, then," he said, more bitterly than he would've liked. But, if Jaron was freaked out, so was he. "What d'ya want to keep a place like that around fer?"

Greed watched as the strange woman clamped her hands over her ears at the sound of Jaron's scream, a noticeably frightened look flickering across her face as she took a small step back from them. Though he couldn't know it, he had come to the same conclusion that his brother had - she wasn't a foe. He didn't know why she was here, but it certainly wasn't to cause them harm.

"I'm sorry for scaring you," she apologized, ducking her head down in an apology. "I-I've been told that I can look frightening sometimes..."

She tucked her braid behind her ear and looked shyly back up at them. Her voice was once again a soft whisper. "This city has been forgotten. It's been centuries since its people called it home. It's my duty to make sure someone cares for it, even with..." She trailed off, looking noticeably uncomfortable as she glanced at the path they had come down.

"Who are you?" Sallow bluntly scrutinized the woman. In all her years dwelling in this city, she had never once noticed her presence, which, now that she was here, was subtle but very defined.

"I'm the goddess of lost memories," she quietly said, taking a step back at the sound of Sallow's voice. Sloth was overcome by the urge to embrace the poor woman in a hug; everything they did seemed to frighten her. "This place was on the verge of being forgotten, and I can't let that happen. The people...the people who lived here deserve to be remembered."

"s 'kay," Kendrik said. "Plenty a things scare him, 's normal." He said that as much for Jaron's benefit as anyone else's, because the fox had wrapped his arm around his knees and lowered his head. Probably from spotting the pale lady covering her ears. If that wasn't a standard response, Kendrik would've been more hostile. As it stood, Thymea looked and acted fairly innocent, even if a few things she said were strange to the hound. "And goddess? Can't say I believe in those much, much less seen one, but it ain't been a normal day. So, what's worth rememberin' 'bout these guys? And what was with that nervous look on yer face? And where's Lunis gone off to?" He looked around, but the panther had vanished from view. Kendrik grimaced; he hated when Lunis did that.

"They were just good people," Thymea said, the sentiment being something that Reyes easily found himself agreeing with. Sometimes people didn't have to be special to be memorable. They just had to be people.

He couldn't see why she would lie about being something like a goddess, but Reyes still decided to be play things safe and not immediately accept what had been said. In the meantime, he would wait for more proof of what she had said - or something that disproved it.

The woman nervously looked up at Kendrik. "This place is dangerous..."

Sallow stayed silent, not wanting to scare Thymea. Though she seemed like a wispy, vague goddess, Sallow would respect her like her title deserved. Far too many of her sisters and kinsman ended up trapped in nasty curses for disrespecting deities, especially of the female variety. She knew better than to follow in their footsteps.

"What kind of dangerous?" She finally inquired. She made sure to talk slowly and to make eye contact before she spoke.

"There's something here," Thymea said, hesitantly meeting Sallow's gaze. She wrung her hands together. "It's why this place is forgotten..."

She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, not doubting the goddess. Any superiority that she had possessed was slowly ebbing away. She was learning that there was little about this place that she actually knew.