( hope you don't mind. <3 )

Autumn wasn't fast enough in its coming. Trees still clung to their verdant greens, the sun still blazed in the pale blue skies, scorching the ground with its harsh, hot breath. Heat hazes hung shimmering across horizons, and rivers ran dry. The deep forest still offered him protection, relief from the maddening heat of day. Cool breezes sighed through the pine trees, rustling needles and swaying vegetation in its wake. The impressive crowns seemed to trap the chill of shadows with its heavy boughs, and Belial didn't mind. The only thing he, strangely enough, regretted, was not seeing the strange, black mare more often, the child in a woman's body who had played with wolf-leaves and crooned to him in a singsong voice that made him both wary and pleased. Sometimes he came across her peculiar scent, but he never found enough justification to follow it. He'd put his trust in fate to cross their paths again, but it hadn't happened, and what brief belief he'd had in the good of things was waning again. Restless, he kept haunting the forest, waiting for crisp autumn and cool frost to open the rest of Helovia to him.

During such a restless venture he found himself spying upon a familiar mare. Belial, wings clutched to his sides, was skulking through the bushes, tall frame pressed low and fallen leaves softening the sound of his paws. He was her silent shadow, downwind, blue eyes shimmering in the darkness. His mind kept telling him to stop, to move away again, and leave her be - what reason did he have to stalk her, to follow her? He had absolutely no interest in eating her, that was for certain, and he most certainly did not want her company. (Right?) So why did he keep telling himself, just a few more steps? Was he waiting for some miracle, something interesting, to happen? He was a predator. Being bored usually wasn't part of his vocabulary: hunting required patience, and so he ought to be able to withstand long periods of inactivity. So why was he there, in the bushes, and why did he, all of a sudden, slip out of them?

His gray-and-brown mottling became even more obvious in the dappled shadows as he slid out, bony wings pressing against his ribs; mouth half-open, blue eyes fixed on her. She was just like the last time - taller than he, dark with white legs, and that long, dangerous-looking horn which perpetually looked as if she'd just stabbed someone. For a moment he remained motionless, but then a very humorless smirk crept onto his face, lips pulling back to reveal a hint of sharp teeth. "Ktulu," he greeted her in a mirthless baritone voice.