Dawn Breaks Through the Gloom [closed]

Lost. Could one ever be truly lost if they had no home to return to? Did wandering around aimlessly even count as being lost in that case? Emily did not know. Did not care, even. The only thing on her mind was the crystalline pillars sticking out from the sand, the odd beams of moonlight breaking through the sands that made up the ceiling of this grand forest above.

When had she first wandered here? Why, even? It had been days now, though that word was awfully unfitting in a place such as Hueco Mundo, especially in the Menos Forest. Her first days started out as any other. Foolish weaker hollow who knew not the strength of an arrancar dared approach her. Dared touch her perfect skin, dared cut her perfect dress. Five seconds. Five seconds was all it took for Emily to whip out her zanpakuto, ram it straight into the hollow's mask and swing him against one of the crystals that littered the place. A moment later, she had retracted the umbrella and bashed its head in with her heel.

Other hollow dared try the same, many suffering the same fate as the first who had tried. It wasn't long until they began actively avoiding the arrancar marching around through the forest, especially now that she had been here for numerous days already. It wasn't unusual for Emily to notice a gathering of spiritual energy at the edge of her vision. Hollow who had not the guts to approach, but did have the curiosity to keep staring. It hadn't been long until Emily chose to ignore any of her spiritual senses. The only sound in her presence now being the crunch of her boots and the occasional sigh, it had gotten awfully gloomy. Had she grown lonely? Not exactly, though without action, the repetitive scenery of the forest soon grew stale. Nothing ever changed, nothing ever happened.

Until a figure crossed her path.

A lass, appearing no older than her early twenties, striding towards her with an elegance the likes of which Emily had never seen before. It almost felt as though the beams of light shining from the sands above followed the girl, acting as her own personal spotlight. Another enemy? Emily squinted at her features, taking a moment to eye the girl up and down. Arrancar.

One arrancar in the forest was a rare sight on its own, let alone when it met another one. Two arrancar in a forest of hollow. It almost seemed like a prelude to a genocide. These two arrancar, however, seemed to have no such intentions, instead more curious about each other. A small frown appeared on Emily's face. She wasn't good in these situations, not good at all. Despite how much she desired to get this over with as soon as possible, she did find herself intrigued by the other arrancar's sense of fashion. Donned in a beautiful dress much to Emily's taste, she found herself left with a positive first impression of the figure. She couldn't let her guard down just yet, though. What if this was a vassal of the king, sent to track her down?

Oh, how delusional Emily could be. She wasn't even important enough for anyone to care about her, let alone the king of Las Noches. It was just a combination of her aspect and her fears playing with her mind.

"Newly turned?", she repeated in surprised tone of voice, apparently forgetting to return the polite greeting. What was that supposed to mean? Newly turned, as though she was a baby. Emily had at least half a year under her belt! Half a year of doing absolutely nothing of relevance. It was only natural for Anastasia not to know about her. "I'm not.", she bluntly stated, staring the girl in the eyes, "And weakness isn't one of my traits either." A lie. A beautifully tailored lie that even Emily herself had begun to believe, and thus spoke it with complete confidence. "I can handle myself. And you? I take it you are not here by chance. Let me guess.", she muttered in reply, her voice echoing much like Anastasia's had. "Las Noches?"

Emily was curious, though sceptical. It wasn't often that she was approached in friendly fashion and thus she found it hard to believe that this would be one such cases.