there are many paths to tread
He arrives as any good monster should: in the dead of night with the stars as his only witness. They smile down at him, winking in tandem with his heartbeat, and for a moment it is as if he’s sharing some grand secret with the heavens, and has a million co-conspirators.
For a moment he smiles back, a wicked, toothy grin that flashes in the moonlight and shines near as bright as the stars.
Then he ducks his head again, as if in reverence for the heavens, and continues his trek along the desert.
He has only the word of an underground merchant to guide him, something that could easily have led to his death amongst the endless dunes and sands of the Mors. But Toulouse is patient, persistent, and will never accept failure. And so it is that he finally, finally, arrives at the banks of the oasis.
Just in time to see a shadow drop from the sky - or is it two? He can’t tell for sure, but he knows the mystery fell right into the oasis like a gift from the heavens, wrapped up nice and pretty just for him.
The water is warm as he dips his fetlocks into it, breaking the shimmering mirror that is its surface with two quick steps. The splash he makes is loud and careless and intentional above all else. The ripples go running in even directions, smooth and even, and it seems to him that the water is black, not silver as water should be. Unperturbed, heedless and uncaring, he pulls the scarves from his body, leaving them in a red pile on the shore behind him.
He takes one more step, than another, and another, until all four legs are sunken up to the knee. His eyes cast back the moonlight like a wolf’s, predatory and hungry as they scan the surface of the water. ’It’s smooth,’ too smooth, he realizes - but the figures on the opposite bank answer the mystery for him.
“It is a nice night for a swim.” It is not a question, nor is it quiet. Toulouse takes another step, wading now through the water. “If only it was not quite so, so, dark.”
A smile twists the corners of his mouth with delight, small and toothless and wicked.
