Almost like a Fairytale

[Corporal Light]

Ballad remained totally silent as the man actually complied, watching him rear his horse back away from the entrance to the field. Ballad felt a cool wave wash over him, as if the man's obedience was lifting some kind of weight off of his shoulders. That, or the large gust of wind blowing through the area, creating an eerie whistle as the man hopped off of his horse. He wasn't looking at Ballad, most likely due to him being partially shrouded in darkness underneath the tree. He kept still in his position under the tree limb he had fallen off of; it was the only thing that didn't threaten to reveal his position to the intruder.

Thankfully, it didn't seem like the intruder would be much of an issue anyway. He had moved his horse a safe distance away from his trap, preventing anything catastrophic from happening to either him or Ballad. Ballad loosened his shoulders, pulling his revolver back towards his chest, only to snap it back forward as the glint of steel sliced the blackness. The man didn't appear to have the eyesight Ballad was blessed with, else he would've been spotted by now. The tree limb wasn't so wide that it could hide a man of Ballad's stature for long, and he knew it. He quickly scanned the area around him in the few seconds he still had, deducing that the man and him were at least similar in one regard: both preferred the company of no one.

Ballad kept his mouth closed, not letting even a muffle escape the confines of his red scarf as he took several steps forward. The man easily noticed Ballad as blue light shone against his coat, and flickered off of the metal of his revolver. Ballad's overall appearance was hard to distinguish, but the man could clearly see his glowing eyes staring straight through him with an intimidating glare.

That seemed to do the job. Ballad watched with caution as the man sheathed his sword and spoke with a wavering quiver. Finally, someone with working ears. thought Ballad as he stalked forward, his footsteps crunching dead leaves as he closed in on the man's position.

Ballad stopped just short of the entryway, keeping his revolver aimed at the man. The encroacher wasn't making any sudden movements. Only staring at the hole that was the end of Ballad's gun. Ballad caught a glimpse of the man's stare, smirking behind his scarf as he slowly crouched down. Ballad rolled his eyes towards the end of the grass-line, seeing specks of white crumpled up in a line all around the entryway. That was the trap.

Ballad carefully moved his left hand towards his blood-red scarf; his right thumb covering the hammer of his weapon. He unwrapped his scarf, displaying an array of sharp, yellow teeth as he gently set it down on the ground. His glove tasted like moist leather as he ran it against his tongue, covering it in sticky saliva. His eyes closed shut as he spit into the ground, letting out a disgusted groan. The man must've been very confused as he witnessed Ballad rub his hand against the white line. As he reached the end of the line, Ballad closed his fist, morphing the dust into a solid, wet ball.

His work complete, Ballad continued aiming his pistol at the rider as he slithered his left hand down towards his waist. He separated his coat, revealing another weapon within a brown holster before unzipping a single bag. He rolled the wick ball into the bag before zipping it back up again.

"Alright... you're not gonna die now.." Ballad said, his voice almost condescending before wrapping his winter scarf around his mouth. He pushed his left hand against the ground, looking back towards the man for another moment. He pulled his revolver towards his right side, sliding it into its respective holster. Then, without a word, Ballad turned around, and headed for the tree. Unbeknownst to the man, however, Ballad slowly slid a surprise down his left sleeve, ready to spring it out if necessary.