The forest spoke.
The rustling leaves whispered secrets, the breeze carried unheard whispers in an ancient language long forgotten. The shadows stirred awake, the wild beasts stalked their prey, stealthily, calmly yet ravenously.
The Queen's Blade tournament was over. The time for grand battles, gossiping in taverns and town squares had passed. Only a few still mentioned it. The world was returning to normal... especially in this old forgotten forest. The forest where the lady, clad in white and red ceremonial garb, walked through.<|im_end|>
The tranquil forest was silent, the ripple of birdsong echoing in the peace of the glade. A perfect, natural clearing, amid the swaying bamboo of the grove. Eyes the color of sapphires opened, ever-so-slowly, hazed in focus; Seated demurely at the very center, her hands folded on her lap, Tomoe waited without impatience, the long-handled katana resting at her side, within easy reach. The miko's simple white hakama - trimmed in bright crimson, the pleated hem of her long gown a splash of color on the grass - rustled softly, in time to the slow in-out of her breath...
The lovely miko certainly didn't look like a swordswoman or one of the recent competitors for the throne of the queen. Her skin was pale and unmarked, her lissome form molding sweetly to the pure, creamy fabric of her miko-fuku, the tails of her crimson headband fluttering in the gentle breeze. Midnight-black bangs caressed her cheeks, as Tomoe shifted, subtly, the white sash of her obi cinched tight about her slim waist, accentuating the full swell of her proud bust. Home. The shrine she'd guarded, for all of her young life, lay far away through the forest. The long, long journey awaited her, though she showed no sign of stirring. These moments of tranquility were few and far between, after all... And it would do her good to cleanse her mind, to contemplate all she'd seen and done in the Queen's Blade, so recently ended. There was a low rasp of fabric, as her sleek thighs ground lightly together, her eyes squeezing shut again. Sinking more deeply into her meditation, now, her curvy form unclenching as the stress, the tension of the last few days streamed away from her, like muck from a glistening jewel... Heedless of movement in the woods around her...<|im_end|>