#//also a little cameo from that one ghost tabaxi kid that sent an ask a while back lol

[opheliajupiter99]

The Shadow Man (OUAW Horror Fanfic)

*The edges of the faded parchment of a missing poster flickered in a soft breeze, nailed into a post in the neon-tinged streets of Agwe, most walking past it without a second thought. The poster held the sketched image of a small Tabaxi boy, the writing beneath it detailing the boy to be of only six years of age, gone missing near the Magnolia Promenade, after his mother only briefly lost track of him while busy at the market*

*Soon, a pair of man walked past, standing close to each other as they glanced around the city. They were Kremy Lecroux and Gideon Coal; they had managed, by some twist of fate, to escape the Feywild with their lives, and while they did not fulfill their originally assigned quest, they escaped with enough treasures to pay off their debt. The plan was still to reopen the Carnivale, but Kremy, having reevaluated his past dirty deeds, deciding to take a year to relax, just himself and Gideon, to try and figure things out first*

*As they passed the post, Gideon's gaze caught sight of the poster, and stopped in his walk, nudging Kremy, who also turned to look at it* "Poor boy." *Gideon said softly, walking over towards the post to get a better look at the picture. He still couldn't really read, but he tried to memorize what the boy looked like, just in case* "Hmph." *Kremy said, thinking as he looked at the details* "The Promenade? That's odd...that's where the rich folk live, guards usually pay attention down there." *He thinks for another moment, then scowls* "Unless somebody pays em off, anyways..."

*A somber silence fell between the two of them at the thought. Gideon huffed* "Well...I wanna look around there, just in case, a'ight?" *Kremy nods* "Of course, Gid." *They did precisely that, walking down the cracked and faded streets that slowly dipped into the pristine, sparkling streets of the noble families of Agwe. They walked a bit, trying to figure out the spot closet to the market mentioned on the poster, looking up and down to try and find...well, anything really*

*Suddenly, they froze in their tracks at a sudden sound. It was a meow, fairly loud, the way a kitten might cry out when it's lost its mother, but it didn't quite sound like a normal cat either. They both whipped around towards the noise, and saw the tail end, quite literally, of what looked indeed like a young Tabaxi running past some neatly trimmed hedges and out of sight*

"Hey, kid! Wait!" *Kremy shouted, running off towards the child; he didn't want to spook them, but he swore to the Baron, even with that brief glance he could feel in his gut that was him. Gideon was about to run after as well, but he saw something yellow out of the corner of his eye, and for just a brief moment, for one of the few times in his life, he felt cold. He stopped, looking around, not sure what to do with the feeling, as fleeting as it was*

*Then he felt something tug at his left chain, not hard, but enough to make it lift up a bit before falling back to his side with a metallic jangle. He looked to his left, and saw standing there, a young Gatorfolk girl, in a bright yellow dress tied cutely with a bow around her waist, matching shoes, and a matching, wide brimmed flower hat, that she had to raise her head fully to look past and up towards him*

*They stood there, staring at each other in silence for a few moments. She looked normal, but he still felt cold - which perhaps if he wasn't a Fire Genasi wouldn't have put him off quite so much - and her expression seemed so oddly somber* "...Sweetie, a-are you okay?" *He began, still a bit unsettling but didn't want to show it when she was already upset* "I don't think it's safe to be around these parts right now. If ya need some help, I-"

*He was interrupted by Kremy returning, walking back up to him with a haunted look of his own, turning to face him* "What is it?" *Kremy was silent for a moment, fiddling with his clawed fingers* "I...I-I dunno. I tried to follow after that kid, at least ask him what he might've seen but..." *Even with trying to be more open, he was still hesitant to be open in these kinds of situations. What was he supposed to tell Gid, anyways? That he couldn't find the kid that should've been right ahead of him and got a weird feeling? The kid probably just ran a different direction, that's all..*

*He thought this, until he noticed Gideon looked similarly unsettled* "What's wrong, Gid?" *He stood there frozen for a moment, before he slowly looked towards his left side once more. The girl was gone. Of course, she could've indeed just run off, but...he couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. And while he might've not believed his own hunch on the matter, he certainly believed Kremy's. He looked back to Kremy, and two stared at each other in silence*