Winter Grey Ocean Bay

Arachne paused in her wanderings, a sudden sensation of being watched washing over her. Her gaze was drawn to a figure standing ahead on the beach. Beneath the brightened sun, it was hard to see his alabaster form standing against the bleached sand. But as she narrowed her eyes, he was certainly there. Uncertainty gripped her but she projected composed confidence. As she looked toward him, the man’s curious expression mirrored her own. He held a certain charm that veiled the edges of his hardened features, a trickle of something unsettling lurking beneath his friendly facade- but perhaps that was just her imagination.

Her pace didn’t falter, her path didn’t change. Arachne continued directly towards the stranger, her mind suddenly a whirlwind of thoughts. The silence was punctuated only by the rhythmic crash of waves and the sharp cry of a distant seagull. The man still did not move, but she could see his eyes following her, bright crimson orbs locked onto her own. She swallowed hard, maintaining eye contact with an unwavering gaze of her own.

“Hello,” Arachne murmured when she was close enough to speak without raising her voice. Her tone was collected, soft yet unwavering in its stoic calmness.

"Arachne Klein"