Children of the Trees [OPEN]

Yes, you can just start a scene.

The stars twinkle high above, and the moon glows a soft red. A blood moon. I smile at the irony of that, though I know none will notice due to my cloak shadowing my face. We all agreed to come here alone and incognito, because we all have many enemies. I may be standing next to one, for all I know. Twenty people in this clearing wait for the forest to tell us why it called.

Spoiler

Vague enough to give you a start but allow the next poster to take this in whatever direction they want.

I pull my mess of tangled red hair out of my face as I approach the others. We shouldn't be here, not all together anyway; it's too dangerous. If they were to find us here unprotected... I shudder at the thought. No, It wasn't safe to be meeting like this, not until we'd come of age.

Still, the pull that had summoned us here had seemed nearly impossible to resist. The tree spirits must've done it, dam fey; I'd told them they were gonna get us all killed. For all we knew that might even be their plan.

I push the thought away, dismissing it. No, if the fey had wanted us dead they would've done it already.

I look up at the blood moon. The symbol of death and darkness, how ironic. I catch a glimpse of a familiar hooded face across the clearing. My own cloak's hood is pulled back away from my face. I can tell he's already seen my ink black eyes, they're rather hard to miss. They're also one of the physical traits that mark me as what I am; A Darkling.

And seems as if I'm not the only one here either...

I step over to the Darkling who has her hood down and hiss under my breath, "Cover your head! None of us should know what the others look like!" I turn away, not bothering to see what she does. Either the Darkling has sense or she doesn't. She could ruin it for all us us, though.

I step to the center of the circle and light a brand. Someone breaths a sharp gasp. Probably afraid we'll be seen. Then again, the trees will hide us. I inhale the smoke before I speak again, my voice hoarse. "This will change your voice enough for a short while to make it unrecognizable. There is always the possibilities of traitors, or even of humans sneaking their way in." I pass the torch to the nearest member and waited for everyone to inhale. Afterwards, I extinguish it on the ground. "Tonight, the trees have spoken to their various children across the world, and they have all gathered in groves like this. Let us wait to hear what they shall say." I bowed my head, hoping this time my green hair would stay hidden. We wanted to show as few clues to each other as possible of what we each were.

Everyone has their heads bowed low, but something is drawing me to look up. The curiosity is swirling restlessly in me. I have to look up. At least take a little peek. How can everyone remain so secretive when we were all part of the same cult? We were all Darklings.

Picking my head up a fraction of an inch, I take a look around the group. There were so many of us. Everyone bore deep, inky cloaks. The only thing visible besides the robes, was the tips of red hair, coming from what I assumed, was another female. Her hands were clasped together, constantly twiddling her thumbs. Was she nervous like I was?

I'd pulled my hood back into place; he/she was right, there was a great possibility that mortals could've infiltrated us. They'd been trying rather persistently for quite some time now.

I clasp my hands tightly as I inhale the smoke. I've never been comfortable around these types of brands, I'd seen it go wrong far too many times with those less experienced.

I glance up as a chilling voice fills the air. It's not the Fey Queen this time though; It's someone else.

"Welcome, my children, we have been expecting you..." The voice trails off. "It is as we have suspected... His highness has begun his crusade. Even now he is hunting you. There were... disagreements in the decision to draw you all here unprotected, but it was the only way we had of contacting you."

Someone speaks up from the crowd."He's been hunting us for centuries, what could possibly have changed?"

"Because child, he no longer wants you dead, he wants you all alive. He seeks to gather an immortal army."

I take in a breath, my mind is still absorbing what's just happened. This changes everything. An army... but against what? His majesty had gathered many enemies over the years, but his mortal army had been enough to conquer them in the past; Why now?

There's something she's not telling us.

An uncomfortable silence fills the chilly air. Daring to steal a glance, I look up once more, to see their reactions. Other Darklings are doing the exact same thing I am. They're all shifting from foot to foot, clearly nervous. All except one.

A Darkling with green hair, bowed low, not moving at all. She was completely still, almost as if she was made of stone. How can she remain so calm? She's not phased by any of this. She stood, her emerald hair, escaping. The wind pulled tiny wisps from her large hood.

A low murmur broke out amongst us all. Something that was very rare to happen. We usually remained silent the whole meeting. But this time was different. Although no one directly looked, Darklings were quietly chatting. We all had questions; questions that didn't have answers.

"Silence," the voice hissed.

Silence, the fey stranger whispers. I raise my head a fraction of an inch. Her voice wasn't quite right. Almost as if...

He seeks to gather an immortal army. The tree repeated. And we, children, have agreed to help him. Branches intertwine around the edges of the clearing and brambles grow to fill the gaps. Somewhere near me a girl screams, and that unleashes a panic in my fellow darklings. The scramble towards the edges of the clearings, tearing their skin and cloaks on the inch long thorns.

I stand stock still, the eye of the storm. "My peers. Stop this mindless fear. We are the Darklings."

I raise a hand to the sky and it shines like it's coated in glass. Or more accurately, water. "We are the Darklings, and we can fight." The tree closest to me, the traitor who pretended to be a friend like our parent trees, groans as I make the transpiration in it's leaves speed so it wilts instantly. "We are the Darklings, made to help the trees with various life giving powers, but our abilities also may be used for harm."

My hood falls from my head as I face the Darkling. "Trust me, we know." My dark eyes glisten in the light of the brand; The mark of Blooded Darkling (Only visible in a Blood Moon). They now know that I have killed before. I pay no mind to any of the shocked expressions throughout the clearing as I turn to answer the Fey.

"The oath we made with your kind was only to protect, not to slaughter. But I would only be a fool not to realize that this a far better alternative to what happened in Salem." I turn back to the crowd. "The king is not to be trusted, as I'm sure most of you are aware. Because of this, I believe we should send some of us to infiltrate his court; We need to be certain this is not a trap."

The Fey doesn't answer for a while, as if it has just occurred to it that its plan might be flawed. Typical. "Very well, I shall contact some of our... supporters, to arrange an infiltration." The voice grows louder, and a burning sensation begins on the palm of my hand. "Those of you who have just been branded may travel to the inn of Mundus, there you will find all that you require."

We all wait for a few more minutes in the clearing. The moon's red haze is faint now; clouds starting to cover it. This symbolizes that the meeting has come to an end. Darklings start to disperse, weaving in and out of the tall trees.

I look up at the now covered moon. The wind has died down; only a low breeze now. I realize I am not the only one left. There is two other Darklings staring off in the distance. I recognize the emerald haired one, but the other is a mystery to me.

"Are you going to the Inn?" I ask slowly, trying to see if my voice is still masked.

Instantly, both of their heads snap up as if they too, thought they were alone. I catch a quick glimpse of the unkown Darkling; her hair is red. She's trying to pull her hood down further then it can go.

"We c-cannont r-reveal our identities," she stutters frantically.

A girl stands in front of me and pulls back her hood. "Trust me, we know." The mark of a Blooded Darkling shone on her face. I only raise an eyebrow. Our family has all types. She demands that we be allowed to visit the king, and I smile grimly as a red circle burns onto the palm of my hand. A blood moon. Fitting.

The clearing empties until only I, the girl who spoke, and another remain. The other darkling says quietly, "Are you going to the Inn?" I look up, observing that the smoke already wore off.

The girl who spoke previously tugs her hood farther over her face. "We c-cannont r-reveal our identities."

I throw back my hood, exposing my dark green hair, yellowed skin, and pitch black eyes. "Oh, give it up. It's all a sham anyway. Each of us has probably been homeschooled since infancy, because we don't look like people. We have far worse things to worry about. I stretch out my hand. "Willow. Or at least that's the name I've taken for myself."

She stares at me. "You're not branded."

I just shrug. "If what you mean is that I'm not a Blooded Darkling, yeah."

"But you destroyed that tree..."

"And you think that meant I'd done something like that before? Nope. No brand until I go to sleep, then I have a very painful night." I smile again, although I wasn't feeling it inside. You have nothing left to lose, I remind myself. I'm probably the safest person here.

I stare at the outstretched hand, and hesitate a little before shaking it. "Shade", I say. It feels strange on my mouth, it's been far too long since I've given my name to anyone; Let alone a stranger.

I wonder if they will recognize my face from the stories; The Darkling named guardian of the Sacred Grove only moments after her birth. I wasn't the only one though, there'd been three others. Of coarse, I had never met any of them before.

I turn to face the other Darkling standing a short distance away, he/she seems skittish, not so much afraid as cautious. No doubt he/she now knows who I am.

Spoiler

I'm confused, are all our characters girls or...

Spoiler

Seems like it. Actually, I originally intended Cara to be a boy, but you guys figured since I'm a girl, she is I wasn't about to contradict your posts.

I raised an eyebrow. Shade, the guardian of the Sacred Grove? A Blooded Darkling cared for the Grove. This day was just full of surprises. Of course, she could be lying with her name or have chosen it herself, like my own. One can never tell.

I turned to the last Darkling. "So, what's your name? No reason to hide it anymore."