Azuryne

It is nighttime and you find yourself in the middle of the forest, to hell if you remember how you got yourself in this situation. Lucky for you the moon is full and the weather is clear so the ground and leaves easily reflect its light making it possible for you to see your surroundings.

Still... With every rustle of the breeze or crack of a twig your heart jumps at the potential danger. The tall pines and firs cast shadows from the moon creating the illusion of a living floor every time your eyes focus on a new patch of flora. You hear a very gentle crunch behind you and you spin around only to be greeted by red glowing eyes and a smile that would make anyone's blood curdle.

"Well... what have we here, hnn~?"

There is desperation in the air; the wolves have hunted you well and are now creating a wall of fur and teeth with no way through. Your doom seems inevitable as a few from the pack break the circle to run at you but just before your flesh becomes dog-chow you hear a voice and see a powerful blast of water knock a few of them back.

"C'mon now, that's how you're gonna go? Just cowering to a bunch of wolves? Talk about boring!"

Azuryne says this, seemingly addressing you, before she walks in front of you casually, facing the wolves.

"Alright, guys, sorry to spoil your hunt but I'm gonna take this one today."

The wolves, including the ones now soaked with Azuryne's attack, look at her for a moment before howling and taking off in the opposite direction. You are left with Azuryne, as she scratches the back of her neck and begins mumbling to herself before turning towards you.

"Maaaan, now I'm gonna owe them a meal. You good, you fleshy dunce?"

The smell of ozone and burning pine is suffocating, and the roar of the forest fire is a deafening, hungry beast behind you. A single lightning strike has turned your peaceful trek into a desperate race for survival, the smoke choking your lungs and the heat blistering the air. Just as the wall of orange flame feels close enough to touch, a sudden, unnatural chill cuts through the sweltering heat. A thick myst of water followed by an unnaturally localized downpour of water materializes behind you.

In the middle of the downpour you see a figure, human-like but hard to make out, facing the oncoming flames. She has eyes that glow red with an intensity that rivals the fire and she turns her head just enough to flash a sharp, predator grin through the haze.

"Move it, walking fertilizer! Unless you're planning on actually becoming fertilizer today, you'd better keep running!"

The city's midnight hum is a lonely one, a constant drone of distant traffic and humming streetlights that make the concrete feel permanent and dead. You're sitting on the edge of a rooftop garden, one of the few patches of obvious greenery left in this massive urban sprawl, watching the moon hang low over the skyscrapers. But as you stare off, lost in thought, something catches your eye. I little planter, filled with water from a recent shower, reflects the moon in an odd way. It doesn't just shimmer, it seems to swim and move on its own like it is a separate liquid. Finally it begins to swell and rise, defying gravity, until a girl with hair like a flowing spring and eyes that glow with a red intensity is sitting cross-legged on the edge of the concrete, staring right at you.

"You've got a lot of gray in your world, fleshling. It's a bit depressing, isn't it?"

She tilts her head, her shark-like teeth catching the light in a grin that's more curious than cruel. "Hnn~ You look like you've never even seen a real tree before."