(OOC: Ok, um, just wanted to play with this intro I made for a character I'm working with. Please keep the magical abilities to reasonable levels and be literate (I mean no sparkly vampires, super-powerful dragons or whatever) - oh, and NO PROFILES! Describe your character in-post; I will not reply to people who post profiles!!!)


The pounding wouldn't stop.

The drums rumbled in time to the thunder, the flashes of lightning joining with the fires encircling her. The rain seemed to threaten the fires, drenching the surrounding woods, turning the paths into mud and the land into a swamp. Yet the dirt she danced upon did not cling to her feet, and indeed, she seemed virtually untouched as she moved, spinning and leaping about a bowl filled with ingredients for her spell, the dark liquid glinting in the flickering light of the storm and the fires.

She was dancing in the open space of a clearing, with five torches surrounding her at equal intervals. The bowl that sat at the very center of the circle was filled with herbs and bones, drenched in red. It seemed barbaric; her eyes rolled back up in her head, seeming to chant nonsensically at a glance. If given a chance to echo in the ears, however, the chanting was reminiscent of a pattern, flowing up and down, every pause and shriek hauntingly echoed by the flash of fire and the cascade of thunder. The bones on her necklace looked like they came from small animals, combined with feathers and beads of wood, possibly the other pieces of the animals that were sitting in the old, misshapen wooden bowl. Her chanting and dancing grew more and more frantic as the storm began to spin and snarl, the leaves being torn from their branches.

Lightning roared from the sky as the scene reached its climax, striking all five of the torches at the same instant. She started laughing hysterically, softly at first, letting it echo in unison with the cackling thunder. Even as she laughed, the chanting continued, as if the storm itself had taken it up for her.

Her arm lazily came up to cover her face as the sun began to shine in her eyes, a soft groan escaping her. Why was her head pounding so? Did it not go as planned? She peered at the sky through the cracks between her fingers, seeing the peaceful blue sky of day. The storm was gone, a distant memory of a tumultuous night. She stretched out along the dirt and grass luxuriously, feeling where she must have landed after her frenzied dance had ended. Eyes finally adjusted to the bright sunlight, she looked around her, seeing that her five torches had been put out. She sat up slowly, peering at the bowl she had been dancing around, her lips curling into a pleased smile at seeing the result.

The herbs and bones were gone, leaving only a single, black claw that was sticky from the red that still lined the bowl. "Ah… I did manage it, you little imp," she whispered, and threw her head back for a cackle that seemed to very much be in spirit with her wild appearance. She pulled the claw out of the bowl, and walked over to where a pile of clothes sat, settling herself in next to the hole she had dug the night before. It was also lined in herbs, and into this little hole she tossed the claw, speaking another chant. The claw's landing on the leaves seemed to echo, and yet not; why would it echo after a toss of only a few inches? But the look of relief coming over her seemed to say there was more to the dance and the bones than there looked at first.

Hurriedly, she covered the claw and herbs, pushing the earth flat beneath her hands before feeling confident in her burial. She took a moment to look over herself, covered in the mud that still clung to the earth around the untouched circle, and little else. Her laugh this time was a mix of her relief, and also at the sheer absurdity of her appearance. Pulling the necklace of bones and beads off, she picked up the long cloak that had kept her clothes mostly dry, shaking the remaining dew off of it before starting to walk, relocating the river she had crossed the night before. It was a powerful, roaring monster after the storm, the little puddle from before now a swirling, restless pool. Leaving her cloak on the shore, she stepped down to the water, pleased to find she easily fit in the pool. Dunking herself in, she came back up with a spray of water, the dirt already beginning to come off. She settled herself in on a rock, and began to gently rub water over her skin, washing off the mud and grass stains. She seemed completely content on her own there, her empty eyes unable to echo the faint smile she held on her lips, glad that the dirty deed was done. She simply hadn't expected it to be quite so literally dirty.

Fae was quiet the entire time she washed, which seemed unusual; so many needed to hear something familiar in order to feel comfortable. She was happy listening to the various calls of the birds, few of which she could actually recognize. The gurgling of her pool was almost drowned out by the roar of the river itself, rushing over fallen logs and sedentary stones in a flourish of white caps and sprays. The water felt cold to the touch, but refreshed her, helping to ease the pounding in her head. The spell had taken more out of her than she had expected; to take this long after the summoning of the storm was not normal for her. Usually, she was mostly recovered by morning. Even so, she was happy. The demon she had gone after that night was now locked away in a little shrine to a forest guardian, and she could spell the hole to make it seamless to the mortal eye. She took a moment to stretch again, flipping over to rest on the long, smooth rock that rose up out of the water like a chair, allowing her to curl up against it, the warm sun glittering off of the beads of water on her pale back as she folded her arms, resting her head against them on the stone. Within moments, her breathing was slow and even, the amused smile fading from her lips as she fell back asleep, letting the swirling water play with her long, earth-brown hair as she enjoyed the sunlight.