The Furry Forums
Creative Arts and Media => Roleplay => Serious RP => Topic started by: Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy on March 26, 2011, 03:46:49 PM
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(Okay, guys. This is where the 2nd party starts. You will be heading north.)
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(I guess Rigor and I? I would think it'd be just us. >.>)
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(don't forget me amd macid. the order was rigor, you, macid then me. so we're waitin on mortis to start.)
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The apothecary who had helped Macid and his father heard the commotion outside of their home and came right out in the middle of the argument and watched in a speechless wonder. At that point, the two of them seemed to almost panic, Oh dear god, they're not even working together as a team. We're doomed! Damn that Filadius! He messed up again! Suddenly, the map in Constance's hands began to shake and the image of Filadius came into sight. "Hiya kids! How are you all fairing so... Where is Kiral, Mahi and White?"
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"Gone off in another direction." Mortis blurted. At this point, she didn't care if she was doing something wrong, she was angry enough just to see the old man's face. Her shaking had subsided a little, but when she Filadius's face showed, it started back up again. Seeing his face made her feel bad for being angry, now the shaking was from the full effect of anxiety. "Kiral thinks we're peons and treats us like we can't do anything and that we should just kiss his feet and hope that we'll be rewarded for listening... He's an pompous jack ass. I hate him." Her words seem to flow out of her without really thinking about it. "Meanwhile, if we get attacked, we're pretty screwed. We have all support members here." She placed her hand on her head, closing her eyes, a bit flustered. "Why did you do this, Filadius? You know I'm not good with other people..."
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When Filadius seemed to pop out of the map in Constances' hand she stopped to listen to him. "Hiya Filadius!" she responded to his greeting. She then listened to Mortis answer his question about the others. "Yeeeeaah....We kinda had a falling out. SOO...I have a few questions. What's the deal with my animals? Where do they come from? Do they have their own crazy realm full of animals? Can they talk somehow?" as she got to that question Hero returned with the stick, causing her to kneel down putting her hands on both sides of his face looking at him. "Hero, speak." Hero barked after dropping the stick and panted happily. "Not what I was hoping for..." she said before standing back up. Constance then drew her dirk and faced the side of the blade with the runes on them at Filadius. "And what's with these symbols?" she asked, pointing at them. "Why wasn't I given an instruction manual for this thing?! It's crazy." She seemed very energetic, speaking at a rapid rate showing too many emotions in her tone to follow. She was actually somewhat thrilled to be there, growing more accustomed to it and going back to her casual and quirky self. "Also, can you feed my cat at home? You know where the spare key. I have a stock of your favorite drink in the fridge if you do! But ya know...If you're too busy, just call Jesse, she can do it too." She didn't even really notice Hero had ran over Max retrieving his stick. Nor that they had even been following.
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As Macid was let down, he grabbed Max's arm for support, just in case he couldn't stand on his own. When he did, he let go and took his things from Max. "Thanks." Just then, a stick flew out of nowhere and knocked Max in the back of the head. Macid turned in time to see a large dog barreling towards them. It tackled Max and startled Macid so much that he fell over on his butt. Though he had recovered fast in the short while since the battle, Macid was still quite sore and groaned loudly in pain, as did Max. He slowly got up and turned again to see where the dog came from. "Hey, its that chameleon and that cat that was with us. HEY!" He shouted at them to get their attention.
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((@ srgntcuddles: following? me and macid are in front of you and mortis.))
max groaned in pain while sitting back up, holding the back of his head as he looked over to macid, who was obviously still in pain. "you ok macid?" he stood up and helped macid back up and let him lean on his shoulders if he needed to while looking for who threw the stick when he saw mortis and constance walking along with both filadus' hologram and the dog. when they were closer he called out to them in case they hadn't seen macid waving. "hay, over here! and mind watching where you throw that stick?! it hurts!" he started walking closer to the girls while helping macid along slowly, making sure that neither of them was hurt any more than when they left the village.
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Filadius chuckled nervously a bit, "Yes, well. My magic was limited, so I didn't have the time to explain. First off, your animals are magically summoned from nothing. It's magic, after all. The three runes on the dagger represent the monkey, wolf, and dog. Your dagger has the magical property to bring those runes to life. After you etch in the magical rune, you merely need to release to magic by placing your hand on it. You'll be able to find more runes throughout the world's temples, which would allow you to summon more powerful creatures. As for your cat, you won't have to worry about it. I'm suspended in time right now, time has stopped here, but my magic won't allow this for too long. Now back to the urgent news that I didn't have the time to tell you all before. You were all brought back to the moment that I left, but there's a problem. Since those previous people took over, the timeline has been slowly reassembling itself. You kids only have 2 years of time over there before the timeline change becomes permanent, in which case all of us will cease to exist! You have to make sure you don't take too long. Head on north for now, and you might possibly bump into-" The old man's image disappeared again, the black gem falling out of the map onto the floor.
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"Two years?" Mortis shouted. Both of her hands covered her face now. "Dear god, what the hell? That's too long." She heard the others calling, but she didn't much care for reacting, she was too busy taking in the information the old man had given. She turned away from Constance and the others coming towards them, thinking. "Damnit, I should have asked if I can control my drawings... This sucks." She grew quiet as she stared at a point on the ground, plopping down.
Two years... How are we supposed to adjust to time again if two years pass here, but only a small amount of time passes in our world? Her hands slowly shifted from her cheeks to in her lap as she readjusted to sitting indian style. This is ridiculous, it's too much, and every one else seems to be taking all this pretty willy nilly as if it's not that big of a deal. UGH, what is wrong with me? What's wrong with that old man, just throwing us out here as if we're going to actually get the job done? She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, trying to relax. Not only is his time screwed, but not he's jeopardizing everything we live in and probably much more. Selfish if you ask me, messing up everything for generations to come on a stupid gamble like us... He'd have probably been better off just coming to our time and letting whatever happen. Hell, he didn't even have the right group the first time. For once in her life, she was beginning to sully her view on the old man that she had once considered a close friend, even a savior to her old life.
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"Wow...That's a long time. But what was that last part? We were about to bump into someone or something?" Constance said grabbing the gem from off the ground. She spotted Max and Macid walking towards them after that. Hearing what they said she realized she hit them with the stick. "Sorry!" she said waving at them innocently. She then looked at Mortis who seemed to be in a fog. She pushed the thought of Filadius betraying them out of her mind. He had a reason for picking them, he wasn't truly bad. Was he? Constance knelt down to pet Hero and examined the side of the dirk with the runes. "So this last one must be the monkey...I wonder what kinds of other animals I'm going to be able to summon? And I wonder where these temples are...And he didn't tell me if I can communicate with my animals! Nyaaa!" "Hero. Speak. You are a magical animal." she said, shaking his head slightly. Again he merely barked, leaving Constance to sigh.
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"Yeah, I'm all right." Max helped Macid up and began walking with him towards the others, letting him lean on him for support. "Thanks. Did I ever get your name? Sorry, I'm having a little trouble remembering things right now." Max was saying his own things at the two before they got there. When they reached them, Macid patted Max. "I'm all right now. I can stand on my own." As he stood on his own, he wobbled a bit getting his bearings before he could stand straight. He looked at Constance and Mortis. "Its Constant, right? And I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name. Where did everyone else go?"
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"it's max." he smiled to macid just before they met up with mortis and constance. "i see it's just us four for a while. guess we're going to be more of a stealthy group, judging from what each of us gained from the old man." he new they might not take what he had said as inocently as he had intended but it was true, after all the group was made up of a mind reader, a scetch summiner, a summiner with a small blade and himself with his colection of blades. he looked at constance and smiled lightly. "don't worry about it so much, if you hadn't aimed so well, macid and i would in all likelyhood ended up wondering around lost while the two of you would loose ground and have to run away from any close combat fights with any more than maybe three guards." he looked across to the map and sighed when he realised what mortis was shouting about. "two years...no rush then."
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From within the trees of the northern forest, a pair of eyes watched the group very carefully, particularly the black gem that laid in the company of this group. Its eyes were piercing and stalked the group. Before it would be noticed, it disappeared back into the forest, though being so far away, the eyes doubted being able to be seen anyways. It then laid in wait for the group, walking among cluttered piles of bloody armour at its feet.
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"All I know is we're supposed to head north." She looked over her shoulder, noticing the other two arrive. "I don't know how good you all are at disappearing, but I'm damn good at it, so I don't have much to worry about. I can't really use my book." She seemed disappointed in saying so, but it was true. "I don't have a clue on how I'm supposed to be controlling what I summon. About the only thing I can offer for the group is healing." She reached into her bag and pulled out the container with the goo in it, shaking it to indicate that it was what was used on Macid. She then put the liquid into the bag again, under the bread and ham. Casually, she unraveled her makeshift shirt and put in the bag as well, allowing the sun to warm her back. At least I know if I have to split from them, I'll be fine... Mortis thought, though she quickly tried to dismiss it. "If I summon something, if it's anything like that plant, it will attack everyone, not just our enemies.
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"It's Constance. Not Constant. But yeah..." said Constance to Macid. "But yeah, they went somewhere...In that direction. I think." she said pointing the way they came. "I'm not sure about stealth however...A da-...dirk is still a weapon. It may be small but..." she stopped, thinking about the guard she killed. "It will work. I can learn how to fight or something...I have my animals to help me now. Right, Hero?" she said turning to him. Hero was looking North intently. "Hero?" Constance questioned walking towards him. He barked and took off. "Hero! Come back!" she shouted for him running after him. Se didn't now but Hero picked up on a smell of blood.
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"Constance, sorry." Macid looked in the direction that she had pointed, wondering why they had split up. As she talked about fighting, Macid rummaged around in his bag that Max gave him. Some bread and ham, and his book. He took a slice of ham out and took a bite. While Macid wasn't particular to ham, this particular ham was delicious. He hurridly ate the rest of the slice and sighed contently when he was done. "Have you guys tried this ham? Its delicious!" At that time, Hero took off from the group in a rush. "Was it something I said?"
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max saw hero run off and followed constance to try and stop him. he jumped on hero's back and tryed to hold on but was caried a good twenty feet before being thrown off and sliding another five. "get back here." he saw constance run past him and wondered what she would do while getting up and starting to run after hero again. he looks back at the others for a second, realising that they probibly wern't going to follow he decided that they would have to stop hero before he got into trouble, and draged constance and himself into it aswell.
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Hero ran straight into the forest in a matter of minutes, though the others took a while to catch up. He sniffed around the large piles of armour pieces drenched in blood. He growled, barking all over the place, unable to find where the scent trailed off to, since it covered all over the forest. Bones of all species littered the floor all around the armour pieces as well.
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When Hero took off, she merely stood there for a moment, looking to the lynx as if wondering what to do. "Augh, that dog is going to get us lost." Mortis mumbled. She gathered her things, looking around to make sure she had everything. After that, she rose from the ground beginning to walk in the direction the others had taken off to. She stopped for a moment, waiting on the lynx. "You coming? We've already split once, we don't need to split again." She could still see the other feline and reptile in the distance.
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"Hero! Hero?!" Constance called out as she made her way into the treeline. She followed Hero's barking and when she got there she screamed at the sight. "W-What the hell? Hero get away from them!" Instead of listening Hero growled and barked at the treeline trying to find something. Constance was beginning to feel an overwhelming fear, trembling slightly feeling the uneasiness. Hero was clearly sensing something which made her even more unnerved, not knowing what was out there. She came to the conclusion it was something dangerous judging by the bones and blood everywhere. "Wha-...What is all this?!" She covered her mouth at this point and stumbled back, the smell making her sick to her stomach.
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"Yeah, I'm coming." Macid put away his belongings and massaged his head. He still had a slight headache from all that happened, but was mostly fine otherwise. That goo must have been some kind of miracle cure to heal him this fast. He walked up to Mortis and followed along side her. "I'm sorry, but I can't run until this headache goes away." He then noticed that she wasn't wearing a shirt and quickly looked forward, blushing through his fur. *cough* "I don't remember much after I went into the Tiger's house, but I do remember your plant, thing, stopped the guard that was about to kill me." He put his hand where the wound would have been. "So thank you, for saving me, uhmm... I'm sorry, I can't remember your name." He put his hand back on his head in embarrassment. That went better than I usually do, but not by much. Just then, he heard a scream coming from the forest that Constance and Max ran off to. Without thinking, Macid started to jog towards the scream, only to stumble and fall very shortly afterwards, his bag landing a bit in front of him. Ow. That hurt. Grabbing his bag and slowly making his way up, groaning as he did, he got back on his feet and began walking again. "Why does there have to be screaming now?" He didn't speak to anyone in particular, rather out loud to himself.
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max quickly grabbed the handle of section of ramsey on his back, ready in case something came at them. "stay close, and be ready. i saw what you were like eirlier so it's probibly better if you let me and your dog handle anything that comes out at us." max whispered watching the treeline after walking over to constance, he stood cautiously watching everything he could, waiting for movement. he kept seeing eyes appear, watching them out of the corner of his own, then vanishing seconds later when he looked in their direction. "we should get away from this forest, quickly" he said standing infront of constance, watching both the trees and hero who was still carrying on at the tree line. deep down he hoped the others we're safe and that mortis and maicd didn't follow them there to closely.
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Hero finally listened and whimpered, heading north from the grotesque scene. Hero stopped near the end of the forest at sunset. The whole time, he led them, but circled around and around the group from time to time, particularly sniffing Macid's wound, but did it less and less frequent as the hours passed. At the destination, Hero circled a couple times before sitting down, wagging his tail as he looked at the group, almost to say that he was ready to settle in for the night.
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Mortis tagged along after Macid, "It's fine, not a problem," she replied hastening her pace so that she could catch up when she heard the scream. "We'll deal with pleasantries later, though." I hope no one got hurt or died, she thought, eventually passing the lynx and arriving at the scene. Her colors had changed to blend in with her surroundings just in case something went wrong. She grabbed a limb and swung upwards, traveling in the canopy to keep out of view until she came to a clearing. She felt uneasy seeing the scene before her, but at the same time fascinated. She hopped down momentarily, springing from the trees and landing behind the other two.
In response, Max unsheathed Ramsey, ready to attack. "Whoa, whoa. It's me." Mortis threw her hands up as if to show she was unarmed, despite already knowing they were allies. "God, I wonder what happened here..." She looked around at the bones, nearly jumping when the Lynx joined them. The lynx seemed equally surprised and as fearful as the others as he took in the scene. Mortis bent down, touching one of the skeletons as if to make sure it was real. She felt the need to take a piece of one with her, but figured that the urge could wait until no one was looking. Without thinking too much on it, she began to snatch up some of the armor pieces, mainly looking for something light and dexterous. She didn't care there was blood on it, she merely wrapped what she could in her shirt and carried it separate from her bag with the food. "I'm going to salvage what I can and take to the trees. So if you hear something above you, it's me."
With that, she disappeared into the trees, following Hero and the group from above until he got to a point where he seemed intent on settling. She really wanted to go on and get as much distance as she could between the scene they had arrived to and herself, but it seemed as if the dog wasn't going to budge from his decision. She jumped down from the trees, looking to Constance. "Do you know where we are in reference to the map?" The chameleon seemed exhausted as she asked, but again, she didn't care. She would continue along if the dog would keep going.
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Constance moved away from the sight, not having the stomach to stay very long. She payed little attention to what ever was going on around her being in somewhat of a shock. Following Hero where he went she sat down against a tree with her legs bent against her chest wrapping her arms around them. She did that and said nothing, almost completely missing Mortis say something. "W-What? Oh...Uhm...Map..." She looked through her bag which she set down beside her and pulled out the map which had been folded up. She unfolded it and laid it out on the floor, though she was still seeming really shaky. "Uhm...I'm not sure but I think we're...Like right here." Constance said, pointing at a little ahead of the town they were at. "I don't know though...It looks like we went North. We're somewhere around there though." she continued, circling around the spot she pointed at. "I'm not a great navigator though...I could be wrong."
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As Macid joined up with the rest of the group, he noticed something was wrong immediately. Max had Mortis held up with his knife and Constance looked like she was in shock. "What's going on heroh my god." Macid had just looked past them to see the pile of bodies and just as quickly turned away covering his mouth to keep from gagging. He stumbled to a nearby tree to lean on and to catch his breath from the gruesome sight. He heard the light clinking of metal and prayed that it wasn't what he thought it was. He dared not turn his head to find out and instead walked over to Constance and sat down next to her. As she pulled out the map and tried to tell everyone where they were, he noticed she was off by a little. "If that's the town down there, and if we went north, then we should be right over here actually." Using his pen ring, he pointed on the map just a little ways away from where Constance had said. "You were close though." He added that part to try and make her feel better as she seemed more disturbed than he was about this.
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max heard something land behind constance and himself, he quickly drew ramsey and spun, stoping the oversized knife mere millimeters from mortis' neck as she responded, "Whoa, whoa. It's me." "sorry, can't be to carefull." he re-sheathed ramsey and watched constance and macid walk of after hero before mortis took to the trees, he followed closely behind and once ther got to the clearing hero had chosen he set to work making a fire. moments later the fire was lit, his gear neatly bathing in it's angery red glow from it's resting place next to max who was looking over at constance and macid talk over the map. slowly getting up he walked over and sat down in front of the pair, "how you two holdng up? you gonna be ok?"
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Hero continued to wag his tail as the others settled down around him. As the sun went all the way down and the sky was completely dark, he stared up at the sun, but then put his head down, falling asleep. The moon shown bright that night, alongside the many stars in the sky, forming the all too familiar constellations, and looked more radiant than anywhere could have seen it back in their own time.
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Mortis climbed into a tree once again after listening to the others, finding a bough in a tree that suited what she considered to be comfortable. Above her, she hung her bag, then decided against it and held it close under her arm in case someone or something attempted to get into it. She ate a slice of her ham, leaving one more piece left, then yawned. She was beat, and she wanted to try and get some sleep, though she couldn't deny that she was a little nervous about sleeping out in the open.
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"Oh..." Constance said when Macid corrected her on where they were. When he continued to go on and say how she was close it made her feel a little better. She was happy to see the others caring, even more so when Max asked if they were going to be okay. "I'll be fine...Thank you." she said softly, though it sounded sincere enough. Before Hero fell asleep he came over to Constance to lay down beside her. She pet him a bit before folding the map back up and putting it in her bag. She had the gem in there too, picking it up when it fell earlier. After putting the map away she laid down using Hero as a pillow which he seemed to be fine with. She didn't have an apatite or she might have eaten some of the ham, the sight bothering her that much. The only thing she could remember eating was breakfast that morning in her own world. Unfortunately she was about to go on her lunch break when she went to Filadius' mansion. She didn't have too hard a time to fall asleep, but she slept lightly as she usually did. More often she would nap rather than sleep.
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When Max came by and asked if they would be all right, he thought for a minute, then smiled and answered. "Well considering I'm still alive after I was dumped into a completely different world with people I've never met, got kicked in the face, almost got beheaded, experienced pain like no other, blacked out from said pain, came across a pile of, well you know, I think I'll be all right" Macid didn't want to mention the bodies any more than he could to spare Constance's feelings. He feigned a chuckle to try and make the others believe he was so easy going about all this, but inside he was terrified. He had no idea what he was going to do in this world to survive once their rations ran out. He wanted to curl up in a ball and cry like he used to do back home, but fought back the urge. Hearing a rustling in a nearby tree, he turned quickly to see that it was just Mortis settling down for the night. He noticed that Constance was doing the same, using Hero for a pillow. He turned to Max, getting up slowly as he did, and made his way towards the fire. "I'm gonna stay up for a little bit more. I'm not as tired as I thought I would be after all this. You gonna stay up or go to bed?"
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"i'll stay up and keep watch. thanks to a little kwerk i've developed i can use a form of photosynthisis, i can't live of it and over exposire to a heat source i can...well...get a bit hyper...as you've seen. but as a plus if i stay close to the fire i should be able to stay up all night and be as fresh as ever for most of tomorrow." max said quietly so he wouldn't wake either constance or mortis while he walked over and sat down next to macid. he reached over to his bag and pulled out the meat. he quietly folded the slices loosly before putting a stick through both peices and using his tail to hold the stick over the fire. "so care to tell me a bit about yourself. what did you do back in our time?" he asked trying not to be to invasive. after a while he removed the ham from the heat when it was nice and warm, carefully removing the first slice from the stick he offered it to macid before taking the second for himself.
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The next morning, Hero perked up quickly, shooting up from laying down to full alert. He barked extremely loudly up at the tree just next to the one that Mortis was in. From within the tree a pair of large eyes could be seen, alongside the sound of a reptilian coo and growling. However, nothing more than the eyes can be seen, since it was so deep in the trees.
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The chameleon slept soundly until Hero's barking woke her. She opened her eyes slowly, losing her balance for a moment since she had nearly forgotten she had slept in a tree during the night. She was able to recover quickly by grabbing a limb with her tail. However, before she had the chance to notice that there was something in the tree, she swung down using her tail landing shakily with her supplies beside the dog, attempting to calm him. Although she was functioning alright, the chameleon was still in a haze having just woken up and was oblivious to the noises aside from the dog.
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Constance woke up when her pillow left her, causing her to hit the ground. When Hero started barking she woke up more and looked at him. She heard a rustling after Mortis had jumped out of her tree, she didn't notice she had even went to sleep in a tree. Hazily she looked up at the tree she heard the noise from seeing a pair of eyes. She was scared into standing up quickly and scrambling for Lych which was on the ground where she slept. "Uhm...There is something in that tree." she said nervously. She pointed to the eyes in the tree, trying to stay calm.
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Macid kept his hands to himself, shaking his head when offered the ham slice. "I was assistant Librarian at the public library. I've been there for several years now." Memories floated up from when he was first introduced to the head librarian as a kitten. They soon turned to when he was taken in after his parents death. He rubbed his wrists as he stared into the fire. Suddenly he didn't feel so awake anymore. "I don't feel so awake anymore. *yawns* I think I'm gonna take a quick nap." With that, he slumped over next to the fire and dozed off quite quickly.
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After a night of restless sleep, due to nightmares about his parents, Macid was rudely awakened by Hero barking. He slowly worked his way to a sitting position, feeling better than last night. He rubbed his eyes and turned to see what the commotion was. "What's going on?" "Uhm...There is something in that tree." Macid looked up to see a pair of eyes looking down at him. He decided to remain silent and as still as possible, hoping that it was like a T-Rex and couldn't see him if it stood still.
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"i noticed it a sec ago. you should stop pointing and staring at it...it might be hungry." max joked getting up and walking past macid, he threw the stick to the side and walked over to the oversized knife handle sticking out of the ground with about a foot of the blade sticking out. he pulled ramsey free with a loud metal on metal scraping. "it looks loke the same set of eyes that i saw back when we found those bodys. it might have followed us" he kept his eyes on ramseys blade, watching the eyes in the reflection. he walked around the camp pulling one of his knifes out of some of the trees as he walked past adding them to their holsters with ramsey on his shoulder, still watching the eyes. "if your wondering, i put these up in case anything tried to sneak u on us. we should get going soon. mortis, constance, where's the next stop on the map?"
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The reptilian cooing continued and gave a little call, almost like a squeak, and a whole, dead buffalo fell out of the tree, quite bloodied, but very much whole. The giant blue eyes continued to stare at them and squeaked again, when a branch broke underneath the creature. It let out a little squeak and fell to the ground, its rump landing with a loud thud. When the dust cleared, the scales and body of a yellow baby dragon. It coughed as the dust cleared and even sneezed. After shaking it off, it looked at the group and smiled, giving another babyish, reptilian coo.
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Mortis's eyes about bulged out of her skull (even more so) when the buffalo fell from the tree. When the branch snapped, it finally hit her that whatever it was could be hostile, but the thought was quickly pushed out of her head as the creature accidentally revealed itself. She was still somewhat in a daze from sleeping, but she couldn't help but walk forward with her hand outstretched towards the animal. She wanted to pet it. If it was going to eat her, it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to her, she supposed. "Hey little guy." She cooed, closing the distance between them, being careful not to make sudden movements. She wasn't sure how dragons were in this world, but without thinking she was treating it like the black rat snakes she always found back home when she had to move them back into the woods. Being a reptile, she found it hard not to like other reptilians. Especially feral ones.
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Constance nearly jumped from her skin when the buffalo fell from the tree, so much so she went behind Macid. When a dragon fell from the tree she too was surprised at it. Then it sneezed. "Aww...It's so cute. It's just a baby." You could tell she was still a little frightened as she walked, considering she was pushing Macid along trapping him in her vice like grip around his shoulders. As she maneuvered around the buffalo a thought occurred. "What is a baby dragon doing out here? Alone...Without it's..." "Uhm...Wonder where it's parents are." she said looking around cautiously. The thought of someone being the owner of this thing had popped into her mind, but she figured no one would be able to control a dragon so she pushed the thought aside.
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As the buffalo fell out of the tree, Macid yelped in surprise. When Constance ran behind him, he almost swallowed his tounge. Then when the dragon fell out, he just stood there. Out of the 3 things that just happened, he wasn't sure which one surprised him the most. He was snapped out of his stupor when he felt Constance pushing him from his shoulders. He tried to move away but her grip was like iron and wasn't letting him move any way but towards it. As he got closer, he got a better look at it. The scales were a yellowish color, like sunflowers, it's body looked quite young, like a baby. He remembered a book the old man had him read once about the anatomy of dragons and other facts. He thought it was just written for fun, so he didn't pay much attention to it. He was kicking himself on the inside for not remembering most of it. When Constance mentioned it's parents, his heart stopped for a second. "You mean, like, big dragons? That breath fire or lightning or something?" He looked around hastily, fearing that he might see a giant pair of wings coming to protect its young. A soft coo brought his eyes back to the dragon. It smiled up at him, as if it wanted to say play with me.
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max looked at the buffalo then at the small dragon, he wasn't as taken by it as the others and just looked as it blankly. "cute." he walked over and started to inspect the buffalo and found it was pritty much intact with almost no bite wounds, the body was still slightly warm meaning it either haddn't been dead for as long as it looked like it had or the baby could make a flame. "we shouldn't get to close to it, if it's parents decide to come looking for it then we quite possibly would end up like this buffalo....or worse." he walked over to the dragon and looked across to mortis, constance and macid before knealing down in front of the baby. he looked it in the eyes and half expected it to lunge at him.
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The dragon saw Mortis' outstretched hand and ran towards it, bowling over and running over Max. It raised its head to her hand and cooed at being stroked. After a little bit, it went back to the buffalo, picking it up and bringing the bloody corpse over to Constance, smiling and eying the map in her hand, particularly the small glimpse of the stone. Impatient, it nudged the buffalo towards her and eyed the stone again, but more intensely.
-
Mortis enjoyed petting the dragon, it almost made her want to keep it, but again there was the question of the creature's parents. She half wondered how Hero was going to react to the reptile, but she shrugged it off. As quickly as the dragon had come to her, it made its way to Constance. Mortis chuckled at the dragon's behavior, she couldn't help it because of how boisterous it was. "Well, personally I think this dragon is a fair trade for Kiral's rotten attitude, but it seems to want to trade for that stone. As much as I'd love to give it to him, we still need it." She dropped her hands down to her hips, merely watching.
-
Constance gulped when the dragon pushed the buffalo to her, turning to face it she let go of Macid. "Uhm...Good boy...?" she said nervously. She didn't really know what to think of the gesture, surely it didn't want her to throw the buffalo. When Mortis mentioned the gem she held it in front herself to inspect it. Afterward she extended it cautiously to the dragon. "Is...This what you want? Are you a friend of Filadius' or something, magically bound to the gem?" She asked, curious herself as to why she even asked it or where it came from. She was still nervous as to what was going to happen, at least regarding the buffalo.
-
Macid watched as the dragon ran towards Mortis to be petted, knocking over Max int he process. He chuckled at its antics. It was definitely a child. As Mortis mentioned a trade for Kiral, He thought back to why she would think that. He was a little rough putting his bandage on but besides that he didn't seem too bad. Perhaps something had happened while he was unconscious that led to their separation? He made a mental note to ask her later after they had figured out what to do about the dragon. As it came over and nudged the buffalo towards Constance, he felt her grip loosen on him enough that he could relax his shoulders. When she offered the gem and asked if it was with Filadius, his mind thought of an idea. Making sure not to move too fast, he backed up to where his bag was and pulled out Anon. "Maybe this book works on dragons too. What is your name?" He pointed the ring part of Anon at the dragon, hoping it would start writing on its own.
-
max looked back at mortis for a second then turned back to the dragon in time to see it bowling him over. <why do large animals insist on using me as a doormat?...> ran through his head while laying face up on the ground, just like when hero was playing fetch...he sat up painfully and looked over in time to watch the dragon walk from mortis over to constance with the buffalo. "i think he wants you to eat it, as a trade for the gem....and yes....it's a boy." max got up holding both his ribs and just below his ribs where the dragon had stepped leaving him both in pain and winded. he walked over to the now dead fire and sat down next to it and decided to watch quietly while macid tried Anon on the dragon.
-
The baby dragon was about to grab the gem with its mouth, but turned angrily at Max for calling it a boy and gave out a high-pitched roar, insulted by him saying so. When Macid asked for its name, it just stared at it blankly, the finger gauntlet pen unable to write anything. Just then, Filadius' image popped up out of the black gem, "Children! How are you all? How far have you all gone?" The old wizard's image surveyed the area, when he heard the baby dragon excitedly squeak for him, and he looked down. "Ah! My little friend! That means, you kids must have gone several kilometers already. Oh, Macid, your pen only works if the person you're asking understands you. This little thing doesn't know the word, 'name' yet, so it wouldn't work on it, but that's why you have Constance. This little girl is the one I wanted you all to run into. Constance, why don't you place the gem on the little guy's bellly? You'll find the spot on ithere, it looks like a belly button, so you don't put it in the wrong place. That way, I'll be able to talk to you kids more frequently by borrowing her unused magic. Right now, little Moon here is still a baby, so it doesn't breathe anything but smoke, and she can't fly either, and she especially hates it when someone tries to ride her. However, she's still strong, so take good care of her, and treat her well. However, don't think that she's indestructable as your culture would have you believe. Dragons scales are indeed stronger than armour, but they're still quite killable, especially so when they're still young. Unlike Constance's and Mortis' summons, she won't come back after being killed."
-
"Well, I'll be sure not to let her be as expendable." Mortis replied, looking back to the dragon, still in a little awe. "Uh, Filadus, how do I control what comes out of this book?" The chameleon questioned, patting her bag where the book was. "I'm kind of scared to even use it because I can't seem to control whatever it is I make. I can control them, can't I?" She crossed her arms, awaiting an answer, eying the buffalo, then looking back to the gem.
-
"Woo! Nailed it." Constance cheered with a little fist pump. She was excited to be right and know that the dragon was actually on their side. After Filadius was done speaking she made her way around the buffalo to the dragon. Kneeling down she she stuck the gem in the appropriate spot on her belly. She was surprisingly okay with sticking something in a creature that could very well kill her for it. She had been all too familiar with the task, having done it several times at the zoo. One incident was with an alligator, it had something stuck in it's teeth which she got out. Strangely nothing happened, the croc just opened it's mouth and was very calm about the whole ordeal. "So...What's her name? Moon? Also, why do you say that's why they have me? I can't really talk to animals......Can I?" she questioned as she stood up. "I know I talk to animals but I never knew it worked." She put her finger to her chin in thought. Meanwhile Hero was lowly growling at the dragon as the spectacle continued on. However he stopped, shortly after Constance had rid herself of the fear she had of the dragon.
-
Macid was sorely dissapointed that Anon wouldn't work on the dragon. He looked at his pen with a sour look. "Lotta good you are." He turned and tossed the book at his bag, seeing no current use for it. He scratched the back of his neck as he watched Constance get close to the dragon and insert the crystal into its belly. He turned his head to the sky, still having a fear of a bigger dragon coming down and breathing fire everywhere. Mortis raised a good question about her book, whether or not she could control her summons. In spite of saving his life, not being able to control such things could be extremely dangerous to the entire group. He waited anxiously for Filadius' reply, hoping that she could control them.
-
max was hissing back at the baby dragon when Filadius apeared. once mortis had asked her question he decided now would be a good time to ask his. "one thing. why send us back to this date? if your a time wizard then couldn't you have sent up back to before you got the first evil group? or even just stoped yourself from getting the first group? i mean if we're supposed to be able to stop your first team then we should've been able to do whatever it was they did." he asked not just filadius but the others aswell.
-
Filadius looked over to Mortis first, "Well, like I said before, the summoned creatures from your book get stronger the more accurately you draw them. Also, they start listening to you once you draw them well to a certain degree. Constance, you understand animals better than anyone here. While you may not know the specifics, but you understand what animals want, generally." Finally, he turned to Max, "I'm only a positive time wizard, I can only move forward in time. That black gem is my marker, it's like a safety line. I created that gem with the blood of the negative time wizard who threatened our land's safety, initially. It brings you back to where I left off."
-
Convenient, Mortis thought at the old man's explanation. She merely took her book out and looked at it. How am I supposed to draw something to the tee so quickly? I'm better off not even using the damned thing. I'm a good artist, but I'd rather not put people's lives at stake for whether or not I can draw something properly. The chameleon had an almost disgusted look on her face as she scanned the book over.
-
Constance walked over to Hero to pet him after Filadius spoke. Kneeling beside him she put her hands around his face and shook him playfully. "Hero, what do you think of our new friend?" she asked. Hero merely let out a low bark and whimper, seeming unsure or scared. "Aww...It's okay, she won't eat you." Constance said with a reassuring head rub. "I guess I can really understand them to a degree. Thought it was apparent in most cases...Hmm...I wonder what else I'd be able to do? This...Dirk...Lych...Makes me a druid? From what I gather they're good with animals? I think I remember seeing something about them in a game..."
-
"If we got in trouble and needed her help, there's no way she could draw something good enough to control fast enough. Lovely." Macid thought to himself as he sighed. His stomach growled, reminding him that he missed breakfast because of this dragon. He turned and went back to his bag and took out his last slice of ham and the loaf of bread. He went back to the group, food in hand and mouth, and listened and watched the others.
-
"well can you at least tell us what we're up against? like how many were in the first group? what sorts of weapons you gave them? a better explination of both why it has to be us and what our gear can do?" max asked not really expecting straight answers. years of riddles and meanings within meanings had taught him to never expect anymore than three straight answers in a row. he looked from mortis to constance then across to macid before finaly meeting the old mans eyes as he finished speaking. he jumped up and drew ramsey, stabbing him into the ground garefully. "and finaly, what happens if one of us dies? is that the end of that being of do they wake up back in your dining room?"
-
Filadius frowned, "Unfortunately, if you die, you die. As for the first seven, I brought them here with their own weapons, and merely enchanted them. Their names are the same as yours, but the boxes didn't open for them, which is why I enchanted their weapons. They were all around the same age, about 3 years older than you all by now, so I took them here. However, I was pressed for time, so I sent them on the mission instead of sending them back. Unlike you all, though, they had just under a year before the negative time wizard's presence and reign would permanently change the timeline. They're all soldiers and-" The old man's image fizzled out once again, and Moon seemed sad for a little while before turning her attention back at the group. Seeing as there was no fire to cook his present to them, she grabbed the buffalo and dragged it, signalling that they should continue on north.
-
Mortis was tempted to toss the book over her shoulder and just leave it seeing how it was practically useless for her to use. At least, she thought so. She tucked it away in her bag again, however, and looked to the others as if waiting on them to do something. Why would he give me something so stupid? Geeze. I guess I'll just be a medic or something. Hell, I'm very tempted to leave them. All I am is another mouth to feed since I have nothing to offer. Mortis looked down to the dragon. "I guess we should just keep moving." Her voice sounded as disappointed as she felt with her gift as she shrugged and gathered her things up. "Let's go." The chameleon began to walk in the direction the dragon was pulling the carcass.
-
"It looks like Moon wants us to go." Constance said as she stood up. She walked back to her bag, grabbed it and started off, eying the buffalo. "Uhm...Think we should do something with this? Like...Cut it into smaller pieces for her or something? I mean...I don't know how people in this time will react to dragons as is...But one dragging a dead animal around? Not to mention...It's starting to smell funny..." she said eventually looking over to Max. "This is right up your alley, Max. Since you have the sharpest blades around! You can do it!" she cheered somewhat, trying to sound enthusiastic so he would actually do it. She would if nothing else, but she didn't enjoy cutting up animals even if they were going to be used for food.
-
"If we cut it into smaller pieces, how will we carry them? A dragon dragging, hehe dragon dragging, uhm *cough* but dragging a dead animal is one thing, but all of us carrying parts of it is way worse." He had finished his ham and bread, leaving nothing else in the bag except his book. What Filadius said about the others having the same names as them made him wonder how could there have been a group like them with the exact same names that knew the exact same person. His head begun to hurt just thinking about it all. As they walked, he noticed that Mortis looked amd sounded rather sad. He wanted to make her feel better, but didn't know what to say. He already thanked for for saving his life, and beyond a generic it'll be ok speech, he had nothing else. He decided to leave her be, but kept an open mind about how he could help. With the sun rising high, Macid begun to feel hot rather fast. His thick fur and shirt were giving him early signs of heat exhaustion. "If anyone finds a lake or pond or something, let me know 'kay? I could really use a drink." To help ease himself from the heat, he took his shirt off and made a makeshift turban around his head, wrapping the sleeves around his ears so they wouldn't get in the way. Doing so had uncovered his scars on his wrists, and still not being fully trusting of his new acquaintances, he did his best to hide them by holding his book with both hands across his chest.
-
max yawned a bit and nodded to constance. leaving ramsey where he was max got the buffalo of moon, he layed it down in front of the large sword and grabbed ramsey's handle. with one pricise pull he removed it's head. he pulled out his other, smaller, knifes and started cutting away what wasn't needed. "think that thing will let us sell some of this? we could sell some of the meat, the head and the skin. keep the entrails for hero, and eat what we need. and by selling some of it we could kill two birds with one stone, lighten our load and get some coin for things we'll need." he spoke not deviating from his work, laying out large chunks of meat that could easily feed two or more of the group if prepared properly.
-
Moon watched as Max cut up the buffalo and tilted her head from side to side, wondering why in the world he was cutting it up. She then recognized the word eat and bit into one of the large chunks, chewing it and swallowing. She then chomped on that same piece and brought it over to Max, assuming he was hungry and wanted to eat it, looking at him with her big eyes.
-
"I'll carry a lot of it, nothing I can't handle...But uhm..." she paused, looking towards Mortis who was still walking. "Maybe we should hurry. I don't think we are all up to waiting." she continued. When Max started to cut up the meat she agreed with his ideas. "Yeah! Good thinking! Maybe we can buy something to drink...Or find something..." At the thought of food her stomach growled which made her take out her food from her bag. "I can't eat this all myself..." she thought, looking it all over. "Ma-" she stopped after seeing Macid without a shirt, her eyes widening a bit. "Eep! No shirt...UHM..." "Hero! Here boy." she said kneeling down to him. She gave him a whole ham and loaf of bread and he happily gobbled it down as she ate her loaf of bread and ham in a timely fashion. After Constance had finished her food she tucked away the map under her belt taking it from the bag. She then got up to go put the chunks of meat in her now empty bag. As she walked she saw Moon eat one of the chunks rather easily and take one to Max. "Aww....She thinks you're hungry. Cuuuute!" she said giving her a pat on the head. Kneeling down she started stowing the meat into her bag as quickly and efficiently as she could.
-
Macid stopped walking as Max began cutting up the carcass. He wiped his brow, slicking his fur in the process. When Constance spoke the first part of his name, he looked at her just in time to see her turn away and call for hero. When she started to pack the meat into her bag, he decided he'd better do the same. Walking over to the slabs of meat, he picked up what he could and stashed it in his bag. As he did, he watched Moon offer some meat to Max. He chuckled as he spoke. "Go on Max. Take a bite. It would be rude to refuse."
-
max sighed, looking up from his work he took the chunk of meat from moon, using the remains of the carcass he sliced off a few bit sized peices and started eating one every now and then after thanking moon and returning to his work. he had a reeling the others would have something to say about him eating the meat raw but he already knew his emune system could take it. he looked up at the others and started packing st much of what they we're taking of the buffalo into his bag, throwing the rest over his shoulder. "what, never seen a lizard eat raw meat before?"
-
Moon made almost a barking sound with his squeak and continued up north with the party. Since this was the northern direction that they were heading for, the nearest village was another day away, so it was a long trek for the group. By late afternoon, Moon's stomach started growling and she whimpered as she sat down on her rump, looking sad. She started breathing out puffs of smoke rings, but her upset demure was disrupted by the sound of metal clanging. However, her stomach growled loud enough that she sat back down, but looked warningly in to the east, where the sound of metal clanging was getting closer.
-
Mortis, for the most part, had walked silently in front of the rest of the group, only stopping a moment when she heard clanging in the distance. She had made it a good ways ahead of the rest of the group since she had taken somewhat of a head start. She tilted her head trying to listen better. As the others caught up with her, she put a hand out, trying to direct their attention to the noise in the distance. She was debating on using her natural stealth to scout ahead, at least in attempts to make herself feel better or more useful. "Wonder what that is..." She muttered, looking to the rest of the group. "I could check it out in case it's something we need to avoid." She looked ahead again, then back to the group, her scales rippling, making her almost invisible to the naked eye with the exception of the green specs that were her eyes, the bag hanging over her shoulder, and her shorts.
-
Having caught up to Mortis farther ahead Constance turned to the noise Mortis had mentioned. Hero too was looking in the direction with a low growl. Constance diverted her attention to Moon who seemed to be hungry and trying to be of use. "Should we have to fight it would be good to have her fully capable..." she thought, taking her heavy bag off her back. It made a loud thud on the ground, creating a little puff of smoke from underneath. She took out a hunk of meat and tossed it to Moon who caught it. "Eat up, little one. Gotta keep your strength up." "I'm getting a tad hungry again myself...I've only eaten once since we got here. Not to mention thirsty...We need to find water. It's pretty hot...And so is-...Erm...Macid looks hot. No...Overheated. Yeah. That's it. Overheated. Better word. Am I the only one with a shirt on?! Sheesh..."
-
Macid watched disgusted as Max ate the raw meat. "I wasn't serious. eugh." Hefting up his bag onto his back and resuming holding his book with arms crossed, he walked until he caught up with Mortis and Constance. He caught Constance looking at him until she noticed he was looking back and quickly turned away. "I wonder what's wrong with her? She seemed fine until... oh." Realizing that she must have been checking him out, he thought about how to go about it. "Should I ask her to be sure? But what if she wasn't? Am I really that good looking? I'm not even that in shape. Why does it have to be so hot?" He decided not to ask and instead pretended that she was checking him out. At that time, Mortis pointed to the distance with her head tilted as if she was listening. Macid looked in the direction and heard a soft clanging of metal in the distance. "I could check it out in case it's something we need to avoid." As she turned near invisible, Macid let out a small wimper and gripped his book tighter. "y-yeah, g-g-good idea. y-you do th-that."
-
max smirked holding a peice of the meat just above his mouth, "don't know what your missing." he quickly ate the strip and kept walking, not really paying the others any attention till the group stoped. he looked over at mortis as she disappeared "I could check it out in case it's something we need to avoid." max couldn't help but smirk again at macid's reaction "y-yeah, g-g-good idea. y-you do th-that." "what, you scared she'll be watchin' you when you think your alone?" he joked looking into the distance where the noise was coming from.
-
Just around the tree that Mortis was hiding around, a small squad of armoured patrolmen were heading towards their direction, heading for the village that they had all come from. Moon swallowed the meat and stood behind a thick brush next to some of the trees and watched through branches of the bushes. However, Hero didn't want to hold back and ran straight for the squad of guards barking ferociously and lunged at the first one in front. The man guarded himself with his gauntlets as his helmet came off when he landed on his back. The others kicked Hero off, and another ran a spear through him. The dog whimpered as it was run through before falling limp and slowly melted. The guards were then on full guard, "That was a magic creature. There must be a summoner somewhere around here." Before they could set up a proper guard to start searching, Moon quickly left her hiding place and rammed right into the group, bowling them over like pins. However, it wasn't long before they quickly got back up and readied themselves. "A dragon! Quickly! Get rid of it and find the summoner!"
-
"Ah shit." Mortis mumbled quietly to herself. She had already scouted ahead and seen the guards but they were already on high alert, so she was unable to make it back to the group unless she was willing to chance being seen. And that stupid dragon went barreling in, I can't do anything to save it. Mortis stayed hidden, crouched, silently taking her book out and looking at it. As much as she wanted to use it, she didn't want to risk hurting the others or putting something in battle that could go against them. The chameleon bit her lip for a moment, then flipped to a page where there was a picture of a komodo dragon. Knowing she couldn't be seen, she began to draw, more relaxed and with precision. If this doesn't serve as a distraction to buy the others time, I don't know what will. If this doesn't work, I'll throw this damned book in a river.
-
"Hero don't!" shouted Constance when Hero bolted off. She chased after him, however she tripped this time just out of sight of the guards. She heard Hero be impaled, realizing her animal had just perished. "Hero...Damnit! I knew it was bound to happen...But..." she thought as she rose to a sitting position off the ground. An anger was rising, quickly she drew the first rune she saw on the blade into the dirt, happening to be the monkey. Placing her palm on it she rose to her feet.
-
Macid attempted to pull his head into his body, as a turtle would, at Max's comment. He had always been afraid of ghosts and Mortis' appearance wasn't helping. He didn't say anything more as he didn't want to hurt her feelings. When Hero bolted off and alerted the guards, he stomped his foot and cursed loud enough to let the next town hear him. He stashed his book in the belt of his pants and grabbed his bag, quickly tying it up so that he could swing the meat around and had a nice grip on it. Taking a stance with his bag of meat at the ready, he ranted softly so that it would be hard for anyone to hear, but not impossible. "I come into this world with no means to defend myself and you attack us with no rhyme or reason, try and kill me because he ran around a bit, and almost cost me my arm. I will not let you kick me around so easily this time. Come and get me you worthless sacks of meat. COME AND GET ME!!!!" He yelled the last part of his rant, the stress of yesterday and today pouring out.
-
by the time macid had finished his little rant max was already gone, leaving everything other than ramsey and his shorts next to macid along with a mesage in the dirt. 'once your finished mumbling could you take care of this stuff for me? thanks. ^_^'
max walked up next to constance and looked at the rune, deep down hoping that something usefull was on its way. "see if you can find mortis, she'll be the closest to them." he walked out into the open ahead of the soldiers, ramsey glistening in the hot sunlight. max let out a loud whistle to get the mens attentions before holding one of his hands up, palm facing himself, and lazily moved his fingers in the traditional 'bring it' way. his other hand resting on the handle of the second largest section of ramsey.
-
There was a small flash like before and a spider monkey appeared. It climbed up onto Constance's shoulder, waiting on her command. Moon kept charging in and out, keeping the guards busy, but her ability to weave in and out were diminishing. The patrolmen were adapting to Moon's habits and attacking pattern, and it made it harder for her to attack without escaping the attacks.
-
She was beginning to be impressed by her own work as she continued scribbling frivolously. She worked loosely this time with her pen, marking all the fine details from the picture above, half wondering in her mind how the book judged what was "good" in terms of how she drew something to summon it. Mortis hoped desperately that this would work to at least incapacitate a few of the guards or to at least distract them enough to take off. Unfortunately, she couldn't possibly communicate with the group to tell them this, but she continued with her plan anyway. She assumed that it wouldn't hurt to try this one last time.
-
Constance couldn't hide her sudden disappointment at the size of what she summoned, but she thought it was cute so it made up for it. Having gotten to her feet she was ready to charge at them. However Max went instead, instead of letting her anger get the better of her she fled into the forest nearby. Part of her wanted to just send the monkey straight in but she didn't want to see another animal die right now. Instead she decided to use it as a bit of a distraction and range support, though it could only throw rocks and things. When she saw Moon in the fray she lunged out to help. However, with them distracted on both Moon and Max she was able to sneak up behind one. As she did this she reached to cut his throat from behind.
-
After his rant, Macid looked around to find that he was left alone with the buffalo carcass and a note from Max, written in the ground. "Once you're finished mumbling could you take care of oh come on." He kicked at the message, trying to erase it, but only managed to erase a small bit. In frustration, he knelt down and rubbed his hands in the dirt, effectively erasing it. He got up and looked around again to make sure no guards we're sneaking up on him. With none in sight, he looked at the buffalo. "I couldn't even pick up Max, how am I supposed to 'take care of' this?"
-
max ran forward after e few seconds of sunlight, drawing the main section of ramsey with one hand as he went. he dashed past the guards, slicing two of them clean in half as he want with little resistance. he turned to face the others while putting away ramsey and drew the second and third largest peices, holding them backhand he stoped moon from attacking by blocking her off, leaving the remaining guards attentions on him. "come get some."
-
A patrolman pointed over to one of their fallen, "Look! I think that's the summoner! She's killed Jordan!" The other patrolmen turned towards her with their swords at the ready. Moon then rushed in for another pass, but only bowled over one of them, while two others tackled her and held her down. Moon whined frantically as the patrolmen were about to cut her head head. Meanwhile, the komodo dragon had slithered its way out of the book and landed on its four legs, looking at Mortis for orders.
-
Mortis looked at the pages, then the komodo, not quite believing that she had made it, but without questioning it any further, she pointed to Moon and the patrolman. "Keep that dragon alive. Get rid of the guards if you can." She seemed unsure, still surprised that she had been able to draw that creature. Still taking advantage of being out of view, she flipped through the pages again, looking for something else useful for her to sketch up. "Hnnng. I always hated gnomes in D&D, but I wonder how useful they'll be here. They can at least serve as a distraction." She began sketching as she did before, a little more confidently this time. I just hope this thing doesn't limit on what I can put out.. I really don't know if it does. The least I can do is try. the chameleon thought.
-
Constance succeeded in slitting one of the guard's throats with relative disregard for his life. She was quickly adapting to this new lifestyle, however it was also due to the loss of her animals she desperately wanted to protect. She knew they weren't technically real, they were just magical creatures who's only purpose was to do as she said. When the guards turned to her she was staring them down. When Moon had bowled one over and was pinned the spider monkey had gathered various things to throw. It began to pummel them with stones and fruit, one apple hitting a guard hard enough in the face to splat. However it was hard to see where it was coming from, the monkey was well hidden high in the trees.
-
"ok.....i'm here to!" max called to the guards, who seemed more intrested in constance and moon. he walked forward throwing one of his blades which hit the guard about to kill moon, he then started running and finished off the guard with a flick of his wrist, sending the second blade through the wounded soldiers helmet and brain. he quickly dodged another blade, which he quickly sliced in half. he moved into the small area between the guards, who were now being pelted with rocks and fruit, and moon that he created.
-
The komodo dragon nodded and made its way into the fray, though very slowly. In a split second, it rushed with lightning speed and bit a large chunk out of the back of the patrolman who was about to kill Moon. The man screamed and Moon took the opportunity to wriggle free from being pinned and bit another one in the neck. The komodo then took the opportunity to bite the third one, taking a large chunk out of the back of that one's leg, where the greaves didn't cover.
-
She continued sketching out the details of the Gnome she was hellbent on doing. She felt a little more confident now that the komodo had entered in the fray. It made her feel somewhat useful, less inadequate, but it still didn't mean that she was adapting well to being thrown into this time. She looked up occasionally to make sure she was still unseen, and that her komodo had not suddenly decided to attack the people whom she was attempting to protect.
-
Constance went after the guard that was hit with the apple thrown by the monkey. She took the opportunity as he was wiping the apple from his face to stick her dirk into his back. Without a rage fueled strength it was hard to take out the dirk even with twisting and jerking it around. The guard was still very much alive as Constance was latched onto his back like a wild animal. "Jerk! This is for killing Hero!" she shouted out as the guard was trying to get her off his back.
-
Macid could hear the scuffle from his spot, still trying to move the carcass somewhere else. "Everyone else gets to fight except me. I don't have any kind of weapons. Not that I want to get injured but Id rather be fighting than trying to lift this piece of buffalo pooey." He had managed to inch it away towards the forest, but was still a long ways away. The sun beating down on him wasn't helping as his body temperature slowly rose. His panting had become more pronounced not only from the sun but from his strenuous work. He needed water, and needed it soon.
-
max franticly dodging swings from two remaining guards, he raised one of his blades and smiled as it sliced through one of the metal swords more like lava than a hot knife. he kicked the guard in the stomach and dodged another swing from the other guard. "i know the old man said these things were shard but seriously, ever heard of to sharp?" as he finished his coment he jumped back to avoid another slash, he lept forward while the guards sword was out of the way due to the follow through of his missed attack. max quickly stabbed the second guard through the neck, the second guard fell to the ground dead almost instantly once max freed the blade. the first guard started getting to his feat again grabbing his fallen comerads sword and throwing what was left of his at max with suprising accuricy. the stump sliced open max's side, blood flowed out as he grabbed the gash about three ribs from the bottom of his ribcage. "foul scaled peasant! how dare you even breath the same air!" "this guy needs a chill pill......"
-
The komodo dragon turned towards the guard who slashed Max and opened its mouth, letting its exceptionally long tongue and pulled the patrolman's foot from underneath him. Meanwhile, the simple-to-draw gnome popped out and hobbled over to where the action was, like a living lawn gnome. It went over to the guard that just had his leg pulled from under him and hopped onto his chest. The man was confused for a second until the gnome turned to face him. It made a midget-like laugh as it hopped about a bit and exploded.
-
Mortis was once again surprised to see her creations doing her dirty work. She was impressed, and somewhat sad, knowing that their summons didn't last long. She almost wished they could last like Hero could. She sat back, watching the action, unsure if she should continue drawing. She wanted to, but at the same time, she was scared that "the magic would run out" so to speak. She looked down, scribbling down notes on the behaviors of what came out as she observed that way she could keep tabs on what was good to summon given certain circumstances.
-
Constance, still stabbing into a man whilst riding him eventually bit into his neck as if she were a vampire. This made him finally fall over on top of her dead. She pushed him off herself, despite the fact he was very heavy. Being covered in his blood made her somewhat freak out and she managed to push him so she could get back up. Standing up she could taste the blood in her mouth and quickly spat it out. "Ew! Why did I do that?!" she cried out to herself. She couldn't place an odd feeling she felt when she bit him and shook her head to clear it from her mind. She was soon realizing she was covered in blood as she looked herself over. "Made a mess of myself..."
-
As he pulled and pushed and strained to move the buffalo, his fur began to slick with sweat. He was about 10 feet from a nearby tree that offered shade when he finally collapsed from exhaustion. He lay over the carcass breathing heavily. "I think I pushed myself too far. Why did I have to be a book worm? Why couldn't I go to the gym once in a while?" Opening his eyes to see how close he was, he saw that he wasn't that far. With great effort, he lifted himself up and stumbled to the shade beneath the tree and collapsed once more, this time rolling onto his back. He smacked his lips as he wished for something to drink.
-
max jumped back with a shocked scream. he dived behind moon when the explosion went off and the guard was ripped limb from limb. max looked over moon and saw that the patrole was pritty much taken care of, bar a little bt if twitching. "is that the last of them? of so we should head back to macid, see what he's done with that little bit of free time." max said walking over to constance in time to hear her comment on the blood covering her. "next time we find a river or something we can clean up and get rid of all this mess."
-
Moon calmed down and saw the blood on itself as well as the others. She then went off in search of a nearby river or reservoir for her and the others to clean off with. She went, first, to sniff out Mortis. After finding her, she tugged on her pants, wanting her to follow and help find water. The komodo dragon continued to eat the flesh of the patrolmen until its time was up and it poofed into thin air. All while this was going on, one of the bound pages of Mortis' book had been blinking blue every time her summon killed a victim. It was also glowing while the komodo was eating their flesh, too. When it finished eating the last one before it disappeared, the page had begun blinking yellow.
-
Mortis closed her book for the time being when moon tugged on her pants. "Geeze, you're a mess." She commented, patting moon on the head. She stood to her feet, her colors flowing back into her as her scales rippled back to their normal state. She noticed the page blinking, and curiosity tore at her as she put her book back into her bag, but she figured that was something she'd best explore when she was alone. She grabbed up her things, including the armor she had gathered back at the first bloody scene. Before looking for the others, she began to search the bodies, looking for money and anything else that could be of use to her or the group.
-
"Yeah...That would be nice." Constance said to Max when he mentioned finding a river. "And something to drink too...I-...Need it." Constance didn't want to say she just bit into someone, it felt weird to her and she figured the others would think so too. So far she didn't think any of them noticed she did it. She had a deep down feeling inside her, for some reason it felt right. Though she couldn't place the feeling, however. The spider monkey jumped down from the tree and landed beside Constance and crawled up onto her shoulder. It dropped a small pouch into her hand and made seemingly happy noises. "What's this?" she asked, reaching her hand up to pet the cheeky little monkey. The pouch was closed via a leather string through a series of holes. It looked as it was a coin purse, making jingling noises; something was inside.
-
Macid closed his eyes as he tried to rest. He brought his hands to his face to try and block more sunlight, but groaned loudly when he remembered his hands were still dirty from erasing Max's message in the ground. "Great. Now I'm dirty too. As if things coulnd't be bad enough, now I have to be dirty too. ****." Pulling his hands away and laying them to his side, he listened to a bird chirping in the distance. "Wait a minute. I don't hear them fighting anymore. Did they win?" Macid turned his head to the side to try and find the others, but forgot which way they went. He rolled his head back to looking up and groaned very loudly again.
-
"cheaky little bugger, you summoned a thief. at least we have some cash now. lets go get macid, i'm sure he's bored and wouldn't mind going for a swim." max said turning back towards where he left macid complaining. "you should see if your 'friend' there can find mortis. we're going to need her and those exploading lawn gnomes if we're attacking a castle. and she's kind of taken the leadership role here." he commented as he started to walk away backwards, turning again once he finished talking.
he smiled at he walked up behind macid. "you didn't have to move it, but thanks. you look tired." he lifted macid carefully and sat him calmly against a tree in the shade while trying to not cover him in blood. "don't worry, most of it isn't mine. but that goo mortis has would be welcome for this...." he said lifting his arm to reveal the five inch gash in his scales, revealing the soft pink skin and flesh slowly gushing blood down his side. "well once i get this fixed up we're going looking for a river or something to clean up in, you wanna come with us? you wont have to carry that stuff again."
-
Moon whimpered a little as Mortis ignored her urge for her to follow, and then rushed off, trying to find water. She eventually found a small reservoir off the path and rinsed her face in it. Not too long after that, rushed off with her wet, clean face. Moon appeared before the group and let out her little squeak and shook her head, splashing water on the others and turning, squeaking at them to follow her.
-
Mortis had managed to find something that looked like a change purse. It jingled, and she figured she knew what was inside, so she pocketed it without so much as looking as she continued searching the bodies. "At least D&D has taught me to be useful." She murmured, somewhat chuckling to herself on the inside. She couldn't help but feel like doing such a thing was wrong, but then again, she never expected to be in the position she was. There was almost an appealing rush to thieving. "Maybe I could be a rogue." the chameleon said silently, speaking to herself with a grin plastered on her face. "I certainly can disappear well enough." Moon didn't stay long. Mortis was somewhat surprised at how rushed the dragon was and at the same time disappointed that the dragon couldn't wait until she was done scavenging to leave. She stood up when she heard the others' voices, and followed after Moon when she came back, not able to avoid getting wet when the dragon shook off.
-
Constance flinched when Moon had ran out on them and got her wet. However it wasn't a big deal since she wanted to get cleaned off anyway. "I think Moon found water." she said looking at her, she seemed excited. "I think she wants us to follow." she continued as she went with her. When she saw the water she became giddy and ran over to it to take a drink. She spat out the first drink into the dirt and wiped her mouth of the blood. The water she spat out was red itself, looking at it you would think she spit out her own blood. She didn't care to think that's how it would look and took a real drink before she began to groom herself. "Ugh...I could use a bath. Too bad this thing wasn't bigger...Could find some privacy. I wish I could take this water. If only I had a canteen or something. Hmm..." she thought, eventually looking at her monkey. "Hey, can you go find something to put this water in?" The monkey squeaked and leaped into the trees disappearing from view. "Did he understand me?" Constance thought as she continued to clean herself. The blood wasn't coming out of her clothes very well, however. After a few minutes the monkey returned with a helmet and set it down beside her. She looked at it, almost face palming. "Uhm...Not quite. Try again." she said petting him on the head. Again the monkey set off.
-
"Oh well excuuuuuuse me princess, I thought take care of it meant to move it somewhere!" Macid was still sour about this whole ordeal, but when Max lifted him to a sitting position and noticed his wound, he felt like a jerk. His ears went flat as he apologized to Max. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to act like a jerk. I'm just tired and really thirsty. The goo would certainly help heal that wound. It helped me. Alot." When Moon came back and splashed water over everyone, Macid tried to cover himself before he got hit. "It's like a dog or something." When Constance started to follow Moon, a surge of adrenaline started to pump into Macid. The mere thought of having water was invigorating to his body and spirit. He got up and jogged to catch up. As soon as he saw the water, he sprinted towards the water. Taking off his clothes in the process, along with Anon and the glove, he jumped into the reservoir, not bothering to check how deep it was.
-
"don't be sorry. i wasn't exactly clear on what i ment." max smiled calmly. when macid ran off after constance and moon he quickly set about gathering his things and hoisting the bufallo onto his good side. he followed after the three and ran into mortis along the way, not realising straight away what she was doing. "there you are, i was wondering where you got to. a few questions though, one, what are you doing here? the others are going to go and clean up. are you going to join us? two, did you know the gnome was going to explode?.....and most importantly.....for me anyway.....wheres that gel that was used on macid's arm?.....time may be a factor......"
-
Moon squeaked happily as everyone finally paid attention to her and followed to the small reservoir. She covered her eyes when Macid stripped down and jumped into the reservoir. Unfortunately, the reservoir was very shallow, so his legs sunk into the floor of the reservoir all the way up to his knees, the water up to his belly. Meanwhile the spider monkey went through the patrolmen's maimed bodies and came back to Constance with a wooden cup.
-
Mortis watched as the others ran off excitedly. She was also excited, though she could mask it better than the others. She wouldn't mind bathing. In fact, she was very particular about her hygiene and it had been bothering her that she couldn't wash up given everything going on. Water also meant that she could have the chance to wash up the armor she had scavenged. Her train of thought was derailed when Max spoke up. Her attention averted from the group to him. As he asked his questions, she couldn't help get somewhat irate with him. She didn't know everything, even if he may have thought so. She, just like him, had only been here for a day or so. "Well, firstly, I was catching up with you guys. I couldn't communicate back with you guys once I went to go scout unless I wanted to get killed, which, I wasn't going to do. The only thing I could do is stay out of sight and summon things to distract the guards or help you guys. I do plan to clean up, I'm a mess just as much as everyone else is. As for the gnome, no. I had no idea what it did. Same goes for everything else in this damned book. I mean, I was able to make notes after I summoned them, but before that, no. I had no idea." She shrugged. Her tone was slightly hostile, but she really wasn't trying to be, she just didn't appreciate being interrogated. "I have the gel, but whatever wound you may have, it might be best to clean it first. That's what the guy did to Macid before he put the stuff in there. It's probably our best bet." Mortis began to walk to the reservoir, gesturing for Max to follow. "C'mon, we should get washed up." She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, as she began walking, eying the book's glowing page. "I promise, I'll look at you once we settle for camp tonight. When things have calmed down..." she whispered. She knew the book wouldn't respond, but she still talked to it as if it were sentient.
Once at the reservoir, she sat by the edge and dipped her feet into the water, sighing with relief at the familiar, wet, cool feeling that was enveloping her feet. She took her bag off and sat it beside her taking out some bread and nibbling on a little of it. She looked at the others, watching them as they enjoyed their water while she ate, still waiting for Max. When she had finished with her bread, she carefully placed it on top of the stack she had made in her bag and retrieved the container that had the goop in it as well as her old shirt that she had ripped into one long wrap. She sat both items beside her, preparing to clean the monitor's wound. Beside that, she placed the armor, also preparing to clean it once she had taken care of Max. She seemed to be deep in thought as she worked. There were so many things she was still questioning in her mind, mainly the intent of the old man.
-
Constance quickly turned around when Macid came rushing in taking his clothes off. Once turned around she saw Mortis venture over with Max along with the spider monkey. Seeing the cup arose a question. "What was a patrolling guard doing with this? Maybe they were camping out somewhere. If so...They must have been on a long journey. Ooor...I'm over thinking. Hmm..." She pet the monkey on the head and thanked him even though it wasn't what she had in mind. "I should probably get my bag...But it's heavy and it's nice here. I can get it later." Constance looked a small patch of dirt hit by the splash of Macid jumping in. It was turning to mud which gave her an idea. She scooped some dirt into the helmet the monkey brought and put some water in it to make it turn to mud. She smoothed out the surface with her hand and waited for it to harden a bit. "I wonder if I could make a tablet of my runes? Mud won't cut it but I can at least try. Hmm...I already have the monkey though...I don't want to kill him myself, maybe I can...Un...Summon him? Maybe if I drew the rune again..." she questioned to herself. The mud had hardened enough to hold a shape so she etched the monkey rune into it with her finger. However, she didn't touch it afterward, she wanted to wait until it dried out. After that she took out Lych and began practicing drawing the runes in a patch of dirt. She had mostly committed them to memory but wanted to reinforce it a bit and work on how fast she could draw them. The thought of working on her fighting skills had also crossed her mind.
-
As he sunk into the water, he was slightly dissapointed that it wasn't deeper, but the coolness of the water quickly made him forget as he dipped his entire body into it. Still under, he started to drink as fast as he could before he had to go back up for air. However, he drank too fast and started to choke. Bringing his head back up, he coughed up some water and sputtered for air. Once he was breathing again, he started to clean himself, being sure to get his face especially clean. He wasn't very vain, but liked to keep his face ruffs as clean as they could be.
-
max walked along just ahead of mortis when they got closer to the water, he casualy took of the belt containing the smaller sections of ramsey so that only the large holster held it on. he carefully removed that to, making sure not to hit his wound. once he had ramsey off he plased him carefully so that the sun caught the blade but not the holster, which would more than likely bleach in the sunlight. he looked up in time to see macid jerk up and stard coughing, "you ok? don't choke." he mused walkng over wading into the shallow water and crouched down before slowly pushing himself forward head first walking along the bottom with his hands for a few seconds, he rolled over and just floated there for a little while contently before remembering why his side was hurting. he calmly got up and walked over to mortis who he sat infront of so she could see the cut properly. "i think it's clean enough. can i get some of the gel now?" he asked calmly, not realy sure if she was really listening or just day dreaming.
-
The spider monkey was confused as it watched Constance do her thing. Moon was curious with everyone's things, smelling many scents that she had never experienced before, particularly the smell of the gelatinous liquid inside the deerskin container. She made a disgusted *blech* sound in her little high-pitched voice and started sniffing everything else.
-
"Oh, uh, yeah." Mortis said, coming out of her haze. "You'll have to lie on your side, the wound up." She took the deerskin container and opened it, taking a sniff herself after Moon. Once Max layed down, she carefully poured the gel in the wound, copying what the man had done to Macid. She wondered how badly it would hurt for him if just a gash on Macid's hand had been enough to make him pass out. When she finished, she sealed the deerskin container and replaced it back into her bag.
-
After thoroughly washing himself, he checked himself over to make sure he got everywhere before getting out. He tried to raise his legs to move, but found that they were stuck in the mud. On top of that, he noticed he didn't have a towel to dry himself either. "Hmm, I could go shirtless I guess and use that for a towel. That still leaves getting me out. I cant ask Mortis or Constance, that's way too embarrassing. Maybe Max can..." He turned around to see Mortis applying the salve to Max's wound. "Oh god, please don't pass out. I'm stuck and need help getting out."
-
max did as instructed and layed down. a second later a chill went down his spine as the cold gel touched his scales, followed quickly by an almost crippling serge of pain, making the actual wound seem like nothing more than a slight pinch in comparison. he looked over at macid as macid looked over at him. his right eye twitching violently, a tear rolling from his left eye and a weak smile at macid. "it's not that bad....but from now on....i really recomend not getting hurt....cos the wound is nothing compared the the cure." max noticed the look of distress on macid's face. "hay macid. you stuck?"
-
Moon went over to the reservoir and flapped her little wings, roughly flying over Macid and nipped on his fur, trying to pull him up, but her wings couldn't generate enough lift, and she ended up letting go and landing back on land, panting heavily as she did. Moon leaned back and sat on her rump, whimpering a little from her disappointment that she couldn't pull Macid out. She looked up into the sky, and she knew that they had to go.
-
"You can wrap with that." Mortis said, pointing to her ripped shirt. "If you need to." Without much hesitation, she went behind some brush and slid off her shorts, crouching in the water and bathing. When she finished cleaning herself, she retrieved the armor, and used one of her striped socks to wash the blood off of it with, but careful enough not to soak it completely, due to what it was made from. She dried it with another cloth, and without thinking much on it, slid into the armor over her shorts. It was padded leather armor. Not the best, but enough to protect her and keep her movements rather free. She wondered if the others would get angry at the way she scavenged around any time she found something dead, but disregarded it. Mortis knew that she didn't want to die out here.
-
After awhile of practicing Constance looked up at the doings of the others. She saw Mortis patched up Max who was hurt and Moon try to help Macid who appeared to be stuck. She found it humorous that he was stuck but kept it inside and looked at Mortis as she left curious what she was doing. She always seemed to keep her distance from everyone else. She contemplated getting up but her attention went back to the helmet with the mud in it. Inspecting it she found out the mud was dry so she carefully took it out. She used Lych to chisel away at it and made it more thin and in the shape somewhat of a tablet. Resting it in one palm Constance put her other palm on top of it, hoping for something to happen.
-
As Moon tried to lift him out, he winced in pain at her tugging. As she landed and wimpered from her failure, he tried to console her. "Don't feel bad, at least you tried right?" He thanked Mortis for offering her shirt to him to dry off and turned towards Max. "Yeah, I'm stuck up to me knees in mud. Can you help me out?
-
((sorry if it's late, i only just got my internet back on.))
max sat up, wincing slightly as mortis left. "be there in a sec macid. just better let this stuff set." he sat there smiling at macid for a few seconds before getting up and wading over to him. "so how did you manage this anyway? cos you seem to get into alot of these sorts of situations. not that i mind helping you out." he moved around behind macid and looped his arms under his, and started pulling him free. "oh this hurts....." he said while pulling, his side practicly screaming at his to stop. he finaly got macid free the two fell backwords into the shallow water. "i don't mean to be rude, but what is it with you mamels and landing on top of me?" he asked holding his side smiling happiny while slightly laughing at himself and macid, causing himself even more pain.
-
Unfortunately, for Constance, nothing happened, not even a faint glimmer, since she etched it with her finger. The spider monkey still sat on her shoulder and watched in curiosity, scratching its head. The sound of carriages could be heard in the distance, and not just a few. It sounded like a LOT of carriages. Moon quickly squeaked at the others, running into some thick brush, since there weren't many trees around.
-
Mortis perked up when Moon shot into the brush. She heard the carriages in the distance, knowing there was no way everyone would be able to disappear in time. "Guys, disappear." She whispered loudly enough for the others to hear despite her current knowlege. Quickly, she swiped up her bag and wondered if she would be able to blend in given her current clothing. The armor had covered her shorts enough to make it seem like regular peasant's cloth underneath. The chameleon swallowed hard, weighing out decisions in her mind. If she attempted to look "normal" she might could buy the others time and also leave a spot open for the others to hide. But at the same time, that was a pretty big risk. Mortis merely stood there, bag around her shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of what was coming.
-
Constance frowned when nothing happened, aside from the mud tablet crumbling. "Dang it...I thought it would work. Maybe I did something wrong?" she pondered. When Macid was going to get out of the water she quickly got up to go retrieve her bag. He was out by the time she got back, she also saw Moon hide in some brush. The sound of carriages made her ears perk up, listening. "I think we have company..." Just as she said that she heard Mortis telling them to disappear. Constance quickly stowed her bag into a bush and promptly ran up a tree to hide in. Climbing trees was like walking to her, being she was feline.
-
"Sorry. Guess I have a tendency to get into sticky situations huh?" He chuckled alongside Max when he realized he was exposed. He quickly covered himself and ran to pick up his clothing and belongings. Luckily the mud covering his legs wasn't dried so it came off rather easy on his shirt and the one Mortis offered him. He was putting Anon back on his hand when Moon ran into a brush. "Guys, disappear." Macid cursed under his breath as he tried to find a place to hide. The brush Moon went into wasn't big enough to hide both of them, but the tree Constance went up into seemed like it could hide both of them. Besides, the next tree seemed too far away to be safe. He ran and jumped up to a branch and clambered his way up just below Constance, slowing his breathing and remaining as still as possible.
-
max sighed as everyone disapeared, leaving him alone in the water. "curse my lower sence of hearing....." he said as part of one of the carages came into view through the bushes. he quietly hurried back to his gear, eger to not start another fight. he feached ramsey and slid into the bushes, making sure he was as hidden as posible while looking for the others through the twigs. "they had better not see us. and if they do they had better be freindly......"
-
The carriages came passed by where the others were hiding. The caravan was composed of over 20 large carriages, over 30 soldiers in each one. One carriage in the front was made of gold, and a voice came from inside, but it wasn't angry or mad, merely irritated. The door opened and a trembling soldier shakily walked out and started shouting orders to the soldiers make haste to the next town, where the others had just come from. "And make sure they are found and executed!" After that, a tall, dark figure emerged from within the golden carriage. This time it was a black cat, and she sported an extremely large sniper rifle that would make anyone wonder how it fit in the carriage in the first place. "No. Take them alive. Wesker wants to question them, but if they resist, feel free to kill them. We only need the ones named Macid, Kiral, and Mortis. The rest can be wasted if necessary. I'm heading back to Lamasari, so make sure you all do your job well, or else you might have to put up with Jackson. God knows how many people's heads have been blown off by that shotgun psychopath."
-
As quickly as the idea popped into her head, Mortis quickly dismissed her temporary moment of stupidity. She found herself in the tree with the other two, camouflaged for safety's sake. She slid the top part of her armor off and hung downward, her legs hooked around a limb, her tail coiled around another sturdy branch to steady her. The chameleon had hung her leather top as well as her bag in another limb, tied to make sure they wouldn't fall while she was sneaking. She was listening in on what was going on, taking note of the feline's appearance and the names mentioned. So they're headed to Lamasari. I wonder if that's where we're headed... We'll have to check the map. And why just us three? The hell?
-
"How did that thing fit in there...?" Constance thought about the large sniper rifle. "Better yet...How are we supposed to fight someone like that?! And he said someone had a shotgun?? I don't think anyone on the team is an archer! How could Filadius do this?! And why do they only want those three??" Part of her wanted to just surrender, seeing them so outmatched was overwhelming to her. "Oh man...How would we even fight them? They have an army! We have...Two books, sharp cutting knives and a dagger! They would shoot us before we got clooose! Nya! This sucks...." Constance slumped over on her branch, lost in thought as to what they were going to do.
-
Macid was frozen in terror. They wanted him alive for questioning. He had watched many war movies and his mind raced thinking about what kind of tortures they had planned for him. "Oh god, what do they want? I hardly know anything about this place or where we're going. The only thing I could tell them is about this book." His eyes moved to Anon on his hand and back to the carriages. "If only I could get their full name, but even then I'd probably only write how much they want us and nothing useful. Why me? Why did you have to drag me into this? He was on the verge of tears now, but did not dare shed any nor make a sound, lest they hear him. He clung to the tree with all his might, watching vigilantly.
-
max watched in awe as the cat emerged with her rifle. <50 cal....semi-auto....obviously highly trained....man i'd hate to admit it but she looks like shes more of a background support. mortis all over....wonder if they share a namesake.> he thought to himself silently watching from his hiding spot less than fifteen meters away. <i wonder if this wesker is kiral, but who would jackson be....> he couldn't help but try to match bio's as he watched, hoping none of the others drew attention to the small weak group hiding nearby. <if we get spoted....i'm going after that sniper.....and spliting her in two....>
-
The cat snapped her fingers over to a pretty heavily armoured man, who responded and ran straight for her, saluting. "Commander, get your men to move it double-time, and get that coward who gave us the report to head over here. Lead your men, and come back with good news, or dead. Remember." The man saluted and ran towards the caravan. After a few seconds, the caravan started moving, while one lone soldier ran over to the cat's direction. "Remind me of your rank and job." "Private, ma'am! In the infantry!" "And what is your responsibility?" "To fight to kill my enemies or die trying, ma'am!" Fear was beginning to fill the man's face. "So why did you run and come back?" "Because the enemy that your Lordships have been waiting for have arrived!" "That's the scout's job. Are you a scout?" The man was near tears at this point, "No ma'am!" She sighed, "You should probably be one. It was good to hear the report. Run back to the last town we passed and talk to Lieutenant Laori. Tell him I'll be on my way to confirm your change of M.O." The man saluted and turned and ran down the field, happier and even smiling. However, the cat girl readied her rifle, not even resting the monster on anything, and fired. The shot made many in the caravan jump, and those who quickly turned back, were just in time to watch the man's body explode in the distance. "May that be a lesson to everyone! You are given a job, and you are expected to do it! Do I make myself clear!" The unison of all the soldiers was loud enough, "YES MA'AM!" And the caravan double-timed towards the village the party had come from. When they were gone, the cat girl snapped her fingers, and specially armoured soldiers came out of her carriage and bowed, opening a way for her to get in. She entered inside, gun first, and the soldiers closed the door, piling into the rear of the carriage, and it pulled away, heading north.
-
Damn, I'm sort of glad that I didn't wait around... I wonder if they know what we look like or if they're just going off of clothing and weapons to tip them off. Mortis quietly thought to herself as she watched what had happened to the soldier who "got out of line." The gunshot made her flinch only slightly. Again, she began to mentally scorn the old man, but by the time the soldier hit the ground from the shot, she was feeling rather numb as if all of this was not really happening. She scratched her chin, and arched her back, allowing her to see the others. I wonder how they're gonna hold up after seeing and hearing all of this... I know I'm certainly intimidated. They have guns. We are stuck with old enchanted weapons. Weapons that are ranged or useless in any kind of fight. Weapons... she exhaled deeply, closing her eyes. Weapons like my book. When she opened them, she noticed that Constance and Macid seemed pretty shaken up by the ordeal. Her attention towards them was brief, however. The noise from the caravan getting on the move again caused her to turn and watch silently. God, I wonder how many there are in the next town... It would be nice to avoid going into town, but I don't know what we're supposed to do. I just want to survive... I don't give a shit what that old man wants at this point. Yeah, he may have been a nice guy and all back in my time... But this... We could die out here and he was quick to throw us out here.
-
Constance was listening to the woman speak to the soldier, she was nervous for him as well as he was. She practically sighed in relief when she told him to run off, what she didn't expect was a gunshot to ring out. It made her jump, so much so she fell off the branch she was sitting on. She only barely managed to hold onto the branch, making it shake. However she didn't make a noise, but the shaking did. "Oh crap! Oh my God! Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Did they hear that? I hope they didn't! I bet they did! Oh my God! I'm dead. My friends are dead. We're all dead. Dead dead dead! AH! I BET THAT PSYCHOTIC BITCH HEARD MEEE-EEE-EEE!!!!" The monkey with Constance sense her distress and had a bright idea of all things. It jumped from the branch onto the carriage the woman got out of. If they had heard something maybe they would think it was just the monkey and go along their way. Constance saw the monkey's act of bravery, getting his idea she was thankful and hopeful nothing would happen to the little guy. Tears were welling up in her eyes and she was biting her lower lip to stifle her sniffling. Along with being on the verge of tears and bawling she was clinging desperately to the bottom of the branch she was once sitting on. Even after the people had gone she wouldn't likely come down.
-
Macid watched as the cat executed the soldier. He had been watching her the entire time so did not flinch when the gunshot rang out, but was deeply disturbed by it. So much so that when Constance fell down to the branch right above him, he didn't move a muscle despite being surprised. "They're going to kill us. They're not going to even think about it. They'll just do it." He watched as the carriages left back the way they came while the golden one with the cat went north. When he couldn't see them anymore, he spoke out loud to himself. "How the hell are we supposed to get rid of that? What the, what the hell are we supposed to do? What was he thinking sending us back here? Tears began to well up inside his eyes. "If we're supposed to fix his **** mistake, why couldn't he give us something better than a book? Why did he even bring us here if he knew what we were up against? What did we ever do to him? Macid was full out crying now.
-
As the golden carriage disappeared, Moon quickly ran over to Constance, standing under her. She squeaked for Constance to let go and braced herself. Meanwhile, the little monkey ran back over to the group, particularly to check on its master. All the while, the gem on Moon's belly began to glow, and as she stood waiting for Constance, Filadius' image popped out in front of Moon.
-
Mortis was thankful that they weren't noticed, despite Constance almost falling right on top of carriage. "I don't know, it seems more like an execution sentence to me." The chameleon shook her head, the color coming back into her as she talked to Macid. She swung back right side up on the limb and climbed up the tree to get her armor and bag, merely stuffing the armor in the bag. Stealth is going to get me further, that's for sure. she thought as she did so. She was back to being shirtless in a pair of black cargo shorts. "Especially for people like Macid and I who can only rely on books. Personally, I say screw the old man, I just want to survive. He's got us stuck here for two years. It seems impossible at this point. It makes me wonder if people like that cat know what we look like or if they are relying on modern clothing and such to tip them off." Mortis seemed upset herself, but more angry and frustrated. "We need to check our map and mark the places that we know are swarmed with these soldiers and such."
When the gem flickered with Filadus's image, Mortis merely turned her head and stayed in the tree. She wasn't in a talking mood and she assumed that the others were perfectly capable of relaying the information to her once he was gone.
-
Constance didn't want to let go of the branch, even with Moon below her. The thought of what they were facing made her just want to give up. However, when Filadius appeared she let go and fell from the tree landing on all fours right in front of him. "You jerk!" she barked. "How could you DO this to us?! What were you thinking?!" she continued. She was clearly very upset. "They have GUNS! Why couldn't you find an archer or something!? At least then we would stand a chance! But no! You give us two books some cooking knives and a DAGGER! We're going to be killed, Filadius! If that's even your real name! You-...I-...Ugh!" She threw her arms into the air and walked off in a huff. She was beyond sounding angry. The tears were still in her eyes, she was actually scared. It's not every day someone in flung to another time to fight gun toting bad guys.
-
Macid's crying had turned to sniffles as he slowly climbed down the tree. Mortis' words of an execution sentence did not help make him feel better at all. When he noticed Filadius' image appear out of Moon's belly, he sat down and crossed his arms while Constance yelled at him. He wanted answers and he wasn't going to let him leave without them.
-
max rolled out from under the bushes once the convoy was gone and walked over to the tree as filadius appeared. he stayed back while constance went off and decided it was safe to approach when she stoemed off. "explain. now. exactly what are we up against and how the [removed] we're suposed to beat these soldiers YOU brought here." he looked filadius in the eyes as he spoke, the sections of ramsey now secured back in their places around his waist and across his back.
-
Filadius sighed as he scratched the back of his head, "As much as I'd like to tell you, I can't. If I were to divulge that information, it may affect your ability to take them down, ensuring the permanent change of time. Yes, it was my mistake for being so desperate as to bring them back and then enchant their weapons. But to be fair, I thought that the gem, when it brought me back, would traverse the same amount of time that I had spent in theirs. I had no idea it would bring me back the very second that I had left, so I was in a hurry. It's no excuse, merely why I did what I did. However, their weapons were not created by magic. You will discover that when the time comes for you to face them, you will be more than adequately equipped to kill them, in both experience and equipment. You are destined to be the heroes that rise to the top, but I can't reveal anything that might jeopardize your quest. I'm very sorry. Is there anything else that has nothing to do with badgering this old man?"
-
Mortis climbed upward as high as she could into the tree. She felt distracted... Angry, and upset. She perched herself on a higher limb, using her tail to steady herself. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and sighed as she heard yelling below her. "Macid's crying, Constance.." She stopped in order to confirm it was indeed Constance yelling. She couldn't make out what it was she was saying, but it was her, for sure. "Constance is angry. I don't know what Max's deal is..." She tapped her palm on her forehead, thinking. "I don't know how we're going to keep together after all of this." It was then that the lizard remembered her book. "May as well take a look while everyone is busy." She muttered. She felt just as defeated as the others did, but she wasn't going to let it get in the way of surviving. "I'll handle the fireworks once they finish handling Filadus, figure out what to do from there..." She was now beginning to talk to herself almost methodically. She pulled her book out of her bag, inspecting it before she opened it. The page that had been glowing before was still giving off a beacon. Carefully, she flipped through the pages to see what the book was fussing about.
-
Constance had wandered off a bit, behind a tree a little ways away. She was still within earshot, however. She curled up, pressing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She rested her forehead on her knees to think. The tears had stopped for now at least. When the monkey came over to her she gave it a hug, which she felt she needed. Though the monkey was small and didn't do well to hug it still made her feel better knowing it wasn't killed. "I have to pull myself together...If not for me for the others. I'm the only other one with an actual weapon...I...Can't be such a coward."
-
Macid stared daggers at Filadius. He was infuriated that he acted so carelessly. But when he said that they would be adequately prepared to take them down when the time came to kill them, he was intruiged. "Will their weapons no longer work after a time? or will something else happen?" When he was finished talking, Macid piped up, wiping the tears from his face. "Can you at least tell us who they are and what their weapons are? So we know who we're up against?" Macid fumbled around in his bag to get out Anon, ready to write down names and weapons. He doubted that the old man would give him full names, but at least he could keep track of their names and weapons.
-
"at the very least, can you tell us more about our weapons? or how the other group is doing if you know." max asked sitting down at the edge of the water facing away from the others. he was staring over to where the remains of the soldier still layed which he could still see through the trees. "surely none of those questions will effect our 'quest'. and has anyone seen mortis?" he looked around a little bit only half-caring at that moment.
-
The old man sighed, and thought for a moment, before crossing his arms, "Well, for starters, I can't tell you the status of the other team, as I am not with them, I'm with you. As for their names, I'm sure you'll find them out as you go along. And I guess telling you the weapons they have wouldn't affect your quest too much, but save to say that their weapons are indefinite because of the enchantments. But their weapons are a modified M82A2 .50-caliber sniper rifle with a longer and larger barrel, as well as a larger size modification so it has 2 magazines and can be shot without recoil. There's also a High Standard 10 semi-automatic shotgun. Another has a Long-Barrel Desert Eagle with a laser sight and reflex sight. Another carries a Russian SVD Dragunov sniper rifle with intra- er, infrared sensor scope. Another carries the American M60E4 heavy machine gun with an ACOG sight and a modified dual-drum feed for extremely high firing rate. One carries an MGL-140 grenade launcher, but he can change his ammunition type by writing the rune of the type with his blood. Finally, the last weapon they have is a set of military knives with a katana. That's all I can divulge to you kids. I'm sorry." Moon went over to Constance during the whole speech and nudged her, trying to cheer her up. Meanwhile, the next two pages, remained sealed in Mortis' book, but they continued to glow.
-
Mortis groaned lowly when the pages remained stuck together. "Damnit, book... Boreas. Now you're just going to be like one glowing target for that sniper bitch if anything." The chameleon wrapped her book back up and placed it in the bag, looking through the limbs and out into the sky. Her posture was that of someone who was very exhausted, and in all honesty, she did feel exhausted, at the very least mentally. "I really don't like relying on the old man for answers. He put us here, it wouldn't be hard to manipulate what we 'know' in a world we don't know anything about."
-
When Moon nudged Constance she almost fell over. However she gave her a hug around her neck. Even though her scales were cold she felt warm, the thought of the gesture making her feel better. Good enough to stand up. Doing so she gave Moon a pat on the head. "Thanks, Moon..." she said softly. The monkey jumped onto her shoulder and huged her too around her neck. "Aww...Thank you, too, little guy. I didn't forget you." she said giving the monkey a small hug with one arm. Constance walked back over to where the group was, mostly, with Moon following her. "Alright. We should go. We can't sit here forever, we need to get to the next town." she said, faking a strong tone. She was trying to be the brave one at this point. After speaking she went for her bag and hefted it onto her back.
-
"...with a katana." Macid had finished copying what Filadius' had said in Anon and marked the first sniper rifle with black cat and the shotgun with Jackson. He closed the book and wiped the tears from his eyes. He got up in time to see Constance coming back. He did a small wave as he turned to Max. "She's up in the tree. Does anyone have an idea what to do now? The nearest towns will probably get us killed before we even step inside." He tried to keep an eye on the road and his ears open for any more sounds of danger.
-
"we should wait for mortis to come down. then we can decide on a course of action." max said to oth constance and macid. he looked from one to the other and down to moon. "at any rate, i think meeting up with the others, dispite what happened yesterday, should be a priotity before trying to take these guys on." he curled his tail loosely around his feet forming a circle before sighing and looking back to the old man. "we can camp here tonight if you three want. the trees over there should give us cover from the road and we still have plenty of food."
-
Moon squeaked happily at Max's idea of taking a rest without moving on, on top of being loved by Constance. She quickly ran around, looking for dry leaves and as many branches as she could fit into her mouth and brought it over to the brush near the big tree. The clearing behind the brush was nice and open, but the brush was thick enough to hide them. She then took a big breath and puffed as hard as she could, blowing only smoke. Moon coughed upon inhaling some of it herself, and sighed, running over to the tree where Mortis was hiding. She then squeaked up to her before headbutting the trunk of the tree.
-
When the tree shook a bit, she looked down from the tree, hearing Moon squeak. I guess I should come down. I just hope Filadus is gone when I do. He should be, it's not like he stays around us for long with out conveniently running out of magic. she thought dryly as she began to descend from her limb. When she got down, she went to the others, seeing that there was already a start on a fire. "Settling for camp seems like a good idea. I don't know how long we're going to last in a town." she mumbled. "The soldiers in the caravan were heading to the town we came from, and that cat girl was heading to the town we're probably going to... Constance, you need to check the map to see. I believe she said it was called... Lama.. Lamasari? I don't know if the place is swarmed with soldiers or not, but we do know that at the very least it's going to be her and her two soldiers, plus whoever is driving the carriage. She might be meeting up with the Jackson guy with the shotgun. Again, it's just speculation, but we should probably be prepared to avoid town for now." She felt a little regretful coming down the trees and barking orders out, but she had to make sure everyone was on the same page. Communication was key when it came to keeping a group together. They had better chances if they stuck together now. She wanted to say something to comfort them all since she knew they were all taking things hard, especially Constance and Macid, but she didn't know what to say. She was never good at making people feel better because she was always blunt and never really sugar coated things. Instead of thinking on it too much more, she plopped down in front of the sticks and leaves for the fire. "Now, does anyone know how to light this thing? I don't suppose any of you smoked and have a lighter on hand, do you?" She eyed they them all as if to judge if they were smokers or not.
-
Constance felt defeated when her idea of moving was basically rejected. She didn't like how far they got the whole day. Sitting down she slipped the map from her pocket, opened it and set it out in front of herself. She looked for "Lamasari" on the map around the general area where they were. "It's not here...Hmm..." After not finding it she searched the rest of the map eventually finding it. "Found it. Geez that's far..." she thought. "I think this is it..." she said in a fairly flat tone. She had her finger pointed to it on the map, resting her chin on the palm of her other hand. Constance had ideas she wanted to say but felt intimidated now, deciding to keep them to herself. She figured they wouldn't be any help anyway.
-
Macid put Anon back in his bag as he crawled over to where the fire was being made. "I've never actually done it, but I've read how to start a fire by spinning a stick." Setting his bag aside, he looked through the pile to find a nice sized stick to start with. Finding one, he stuck it in the pile and began to rub it between his paws. After a while, he noticed he wasn't getting anywhere and examined his set up. "Hmm, I think I need a flat piece of wood to lay it on. Like a piece of bark." He looked at the tree and saw that it was in fine health so he couldn't just rip a piece off. "Max? Could you cut off a piece of bark for me please?"
-
max smiled drawing the second largest section of ramsey and running it down a section of the bark. a few seconds later he plled off the section he had been cutting loose. he gave the peice (it was a good foot wide and about six inches long) to macid and moved to behind the others, watching the others actions before looking at the map with constance. "sorry if i kindof shot down your idea. it's just it's been a long day, and now knowing what we're up against. we're in no condition to be openly traveling while tired." after getting a good look at where they were on the map he got back up and tended to his thinks, and his side, checking that they and the buffalo were ready to go at a moments notice. he already know what he was going to do. but he knew the others wouldnt like it.
-
Moon made a sad face when Macid failed to start the fire and went up beside him, taking a deep breath and blew hard, making a bigger cloud of smoke that she did before. She coughed hard in her little high-pitched voice, lifting off the ground by flapping her little wings. Moon landed a ways away from the smoke cloud and sat on her rump, depressed and whimpering. She was not happy that she couldn't contribute.
-
"Won't the bark be too live to--" Mortis stopped and stared blankly at the pile, drawing her knees up to her chin and hugging them. It was then that she realized she was always the person in the group being critical of everything. She watched Moon's attempt to light the fire, but didn't follow Moon for fear of stepping on Constance's toes. After all, she was the animal expert. Mortis merely sighed, finding her mind still rehashing all of the events that had happened so far. She felt depressed again. Attempting to tune out how she felt, she continued to stare at the leaves. She didn't want to take any action, she figured it was time for the others to take their own actions. As much as she wanted to step up the the plate of "being the leader" she also wanted to see what the others felt or had to say. In a sense, she just wanted to observe and think.
-
Constance left a stone where she was pointing and stood up and went towards Moon. Kneeling down next to her she patted her on the head. "You did your best, and it's appreciated. Don't give up, you'll get there eventually." she said trying to console her. After that she walked away, she wanted to gather her thoughts and something more dry to aid in the making of the fire. After what seemed to be several minutes of walking she came across a dead tree that had fallen over. It still had several of it's branches on it, however, which she had an idea for. She helped the monkey off her shoulder and set him on the ground. "Okay, little guy. I want you to go find some fruit or something. Whatever you can. Okay? Now go." she said scooting him along. The monkey took to the trees and disappeared. Constance looked at the branches on the tree and drew Lych from her belt. "Lets see..." She messed around with the position of the dirk in her hand, trying to make it comfortable. She stuck with it pointing up and swung it around in the air a little. Afterward she swung at a few thin branches slicing them off. It made her feel good so she tried a slightly thicker branch. However it didn't go all the way through, she wasn't strong enough to cut it completely. She stopped to gather some dried leaves and such, setting them off to the side. After that she went back to her little combat practice session. She was planning on doing until her monkey returned.
-
"Thank you." Macid took the bark and set it on the ground, placing his pile of leaves and branches on top of it. He continued to rub the stick into the pile and answered Mortis' question without looking up. "A live tree will have moisture making a fire harder yes, but not impossible. Besides, unless there's a dead tree you know of or someone's got some flint and tinder I don't see much of another option." Macid had been sniffling the entire time since he came down from the tree, his hands shaking even as he worked the stick. He wanted to curl up in a ball and cry his eyes out like when he did for his parents, but he knew he was their best bet for a fire right now and pushed those feelings aside. After several minutes, he looked at the piece of bark to see if he had made any progress. The indentation where the stick had been twisting into had a slightly darkened hue to it. It was working. He went back to spinning the stick, determined to make the group a fire before nightfall.
-
max looded around once he had finished gathering his things. mortis was just sitting there watching over the others and himself, macid was still working on the fire, but he still sounded upset, moon looked depresed and constance and her monkey had wondered off. he rose to his feet calmly and walked over to macid. "want me to take over? just tell me what need's to be done and i'll call you when something happens." he said calmly sitting down across from macid and looking at him over the yet to be fire. he looked over at moon for a second nd had an idea. "ha macid, doesn't blowing air on the embers help make fire? if it does we could call moon over and she could use her wings. then it should be easier to get the fire started. shouldn't it?"
-
The monkey searched around for quite a while past sunset. It followed scents it left behind to find its way back to Constance. The monkey dropped off a few fruits that it found, but it wasn't much. Moon sighed, feeling a little better with Constance's consoling. From the looks of it, they wouldn't be getting fire or light that night, so she made sure she went over to where most of the group was, and laid down. She sighed as she snuggled up against Macid, since he was the furriest one in the group that was there at the moment.
-
Mortis decided to stay with the group to sleep. She put her bag over her shoulder and crossed her arms over it, leaning on the tree to sleep. However after a few moments, she felt as if her mind was too caught up in thinking to sleep. She didn't really say much to the others past watching them, as if to deduce what kind of people they were. She wondered what they all must have been thinking about the old man, also she wondered if they were concerned about the other group. The chameleon, in all honesty, somewhat wished that they hadn't split, mainly because there was no offensive people aside from Max, and he was already injured. Plus, there was another chance that maybe the others knew how to make a fire or happen to smoke.
-
Constance continued to practice with her blade until the monkey had returned. She wasn't aware of how dark it had gotten by the time he did return. She knelt down exhausted and looked at what the monkey had brought. She smiled and gave him a little pat on the head. "Good job, thank you." she said as gingerly as she could. It was hard since she was tired. "Alright, now do you think you can carry what I got? I'll take these things." The monkey nodded as if he understood and gathered a few sticks she had chopped up and some of the dead leaves and stuff. She grabbed the food and stood up and headed off back to the camp. She eventually found her way back using her feline eyes to aid her in seeing in the dark. She noticed them turning in for the night so she tried to stay quiet. Constance took note that there was no fire so she was kind sad. She left what she had gathered next to a tree. The monkey set it's stuff down and returned to Constance's shoulder. "I'll take guard duty tonight. Moon looks too comfortable with you, Macid and Max you should get what rest you can. You're still injured and need your rest if you want to heal up quick. I haven't been doing much so I'll be fine, if you're hungry...There is some fruit and berries right here by this tree. I probably wouldn't trust the berries...They might be poisonous." After speaking she went up a high tree to rest on a branch that overlooked the clearing they were in. She had to push herself to get up the tree, almost collapsing on the branch. She also tried to force herself to stay up but it wouldn't last long.
-
Macid checked his progress again. The black dust that was appearing on the bark was still there, while the stick was losing its form. He tossed the stick to the ground as Max asked him about lighting an ember. "It would if I had an ember to begin with. It's useless, there's no fire tonight." He rubbed his arms, as they were sore from all his stick rubbing. He was in a sour mood from not having been able to make a fire for everyone. When Moon came up and snuggled against him, he sighed as he scratched behind her ear. He made himself comfortable against Moon as Constance offered guard duty. He nodded and yawned as he dozed off to sleep against the dragon.
-
max sighed quietly, quickly following it with a loud yawn. "sounds good constance. wake me if you need me." he got up and layed down with his head resting on some of the buffalo skin and his feet proped up on his bag. he looked down and examined his side, the cast had cracked when he was helping macid, he pulled out the other half of his shirt and tied it around his waist like a belt. once his makeshift bandage was secured he pulled out the smallest section of ramsey and cut himself a small chunk of the raw meat and ate it sparingly.
-
Moon awoke the next morning yawning, and stretched her wings. However, she ended up knocking Macid over, since her wings seemed to have grown overnight. Moon checked her wings and smiled, then checked the sky. It was morning twilight, and almost dawn. The sound of carriages and the caravan could be heard in the distance, and let out a low growl. She quickly went around the little camp, waking everyone up, hoping they won't make too much noise. The caravan was getting closer by the minute, and dangerously so.
-
Mortis mumbled lowly as Moon nudged her. She had apparently succumbed to sleep, but she could tell by how she felt that it wasn't enough. She yawned and stretched, wondering what the dragon wanted until she heard the caravan. "Damnit." She muttered. "Can't get a freaking break." She scooped up her things as she stood, attempting to help Moon wake the others. As she woke them up, she whispered the word, "Caravan," then drew her finger to her mouth. It was still somewhat dark out, she only hoped they could use it to their advantage. She silently prayed that the caravan wasn't that of the feline's, because then it wouldn't matter if it was dark or not.
-
Constance awoke from her sleep she had drifted into late last night. She didn't do very good at standing guard, but she was tired. She heard the carriages making her think of the whole ordeal the day before. She somewhat lost her nerve again. The thought crossed her mind about which direction the caravan went, from what she could remember it was to the town they came from. Her heart sank when she came to the conclusion something bad happened to those nice people. "I hope that's not the case...Please don't let them have been hurt. They were nice to us. But the guards...I hope they were able to take care of themselves..." she thought wrapping her arms around her legs holding them to her chest.
-
Macid dreamed he was back in the library. He was sitting at the front desk with the head librarian when a robed man came and dropped off a package. He opened the package to find the heads of Max, Mortis and Constance staring back at him. He dropped the box screaming as he fell down a black hole landing on his back. He awoke on the ground as Moon was scambling to wake everyone. As he tried to get his bearings, Mortis came over and whispered caravan to him. His expression went flat as he scrambled to get up and hide. He grabbed his bag and was about to climb the tree when he saw the place that Max had cut the bark from. "Crap. They'll see that. Gotta find another place to hide quick."
-
max layed there asleep, his dreams just blank sections of darkness as usuall. when mortis woke him up and whispered "caravan" to him he started to sit up. still half asleep he draged his things carefully over to the bushes he had hid in earlier and hid them. he climbed the nearest tree that looked like it could both hold and hide him and layed down in a fork between the tree trunk and one of the higher branches and started to drift back to sleep while looking down at the clearing the grup had slept in. "damn early mornings....." was all he said as he proped his head up in his hands trying to not fall asleep, knowing that with his luck he'd fall out off the tree when the caravan was rolling past.
-
Moon hid in the bushes, too, trying to keep her wings from twitching, that they would show. The carriages finally got to their area, and kept rolling slowly, the commander yelling out orders, still, "Stay sharp, men! They left Karson only yesterday! They cannot have gone too far! At the quickest on foot, they would be hiding out in Loriad, unless they managed to steal horses or a carriage! We'll continue on north and scan the areas!" The caravan finally passed where they were hiding, but Moon's anger caused her wings to twitch enough to make one of the bush branches shake. A lone soldier that was watching the rear, perked his ears and turned. He signaled for another to follow him, and the two of them drew their swords, inching closer to where they were all hiding. As they got almost into the brush, a voice came from the distance, "What in blazes are you knaves doing!? Get a move on!" The two men sheathed their swords and ran back up towards the caravan.
-
As Mortis hid in the brush, her stomach was in knots as the two soldiers went back to look. She held her breath until they turned away. When they got to a reasonable distance, she exhaled in relief. "God they're moving fast." she whispered to herself. "We are so screwed. How can we compete with that? And again, I wonder what will tip them off on us? I bet the villagers told them what we look like if they know what direction we're headed in." Mortis crossed her arms and buried her face into them tiredly. She was lying on her stomach in the brush. Eventually, she convinced herself to get up. She looked to Moon as she waited for the others to come down. "Where do we go now? Do we keep going North?"
-
When the two soldiers came to investigate the noise Moon had made she positioned herself to jump off onto one of them. She wasn't about to let the hurt her. Though when they left she took a deep breath and exhaled in relief. She was glad she didn't have to kill someone, she would have likely caused more trouble for everyone than any good. Either way her heart was racing, the adrenaline coursing through her body had woke her up plenty. When they left she jumped down and put her Dirk back under her belt not realizing she had even taken it out. "We have to keep going North. We have nowhere else to go."
-
Panicking, Macid ducked behind the same bush the others were in and covered his head with his hands, hoping they wouldn't see him. When Moon shook the bush, his heart leapt up into his throat as he shook in fear. Luckily, they did not fully investigate and left. When the others got up after they had left, he did the same. He rummaged in his bag and ate what was left of his ham and bread. He didn't really want to talk at the moment so after he was finished eating, he checked his book and waited for everyone else to move.
-
max strugled to stay awake as the slodiers aproached the others underneath him, "if they spot the others we're screwed, i'm in neather a position nor a state to be any help......" once the two soldiers left he relxaxed a little, and that was enough. he began to drift off to sleep again almost instantly. "no, gotta....*yawn*..stay awake" he tryed to climb out of the tree and almost made it down, reaching the last branch, a good two meters off the ground at that point, and sliped, landing in a small patch of bushes near the others........almost instantly falling back to sleep once he hit the ground.
-
Moon whimpered when Mortis looked at her, not knowing if she was going to be scolded or not for almost getting the group into another skirmish. She retreated behind Constance, but jumped when Max fell out of the tree and into the bushes. She quickly turned around and saw him sleeping there. She nearly puffed her cheeks at the sight, and temporarily forgot about her fear of being scolded and went over to the sleeping monitor and bit him in the leg to wake him up.
-
Mortis looked at Moon quizzically when she hid behind Constance. She didn't understand why she was suddenly fearful of her... The chameleon merely ignored when Max fell out of the tree. Mortis crossed her arms and looked to Constance. "They know we're headed North. If we head this way, we're gonna get caught. Them combing by us twice in one day should be evidence enough of that. I don't know if I can take having to deal with dodging patrolmen that often." She rubbed her head and sighed, frustrated. "We need to do something to go off of their trail. Maybe we can head a little out of our way, then North later."
-
Constance looked at Moon when she scrambled behind her. "Hey, hey. What's wrong, Moon?" she asked looking at her then to Mortis. "Did she scare you? There's nothin-" Just then Max fell from the tree. "Eep!" she blurted out. The fall had startled her enough to make her jump. She didn't know Max would have been able to climb in his condition. At the same time she didn't blame him given the circumstances. When Moon bit Max she walked over to them. "Max, you okay? What are you doing climbing trees in your condition??" she asked in a sort of parent-like tone, crossing her arms. When Mortis spoke she turned back to her somewhat casually. "Then what do you think? What could we possibly do? It's not like we have anything we can distract such a large amount of people with. We need to get to a town, we have no equipment to live off of. We couldn't even start a fire. I'm still covered in blood, so we need clothes. Not to mention more edible food. Or at least be able to get a fire started. I mean...We can hunt...I can use my wolf to help. And...I don't know..." she said calmly until the end. She lost her mojo feeling list she was being bossy.
-
Macid watched as Constance scolded Max and talked about how they couldn't survive out here without help. "She has a point, but so does Mortis. If they came from the last town, then the villagers would have tipped them off so we can't trust them, but we can't survive for much longer without someone's help." He groaned as he massaged his temples. He was getting a headache just thinking about it all. "Is there another town nearby? Maybe we can go to a different one instead of the one that cat lady went to?" He remembered he wrote down the list of names Filadius gave him and decided to check on them. Opening his book, he found the pages to be empty. With a heavy sigh, he closed the book and put it back in his bag. "Great. Just great." He rubbed his arms where his scars were, thinking about how he felt before and comparing it to now.
-
max groaned awake slightly, sudenly feeling the bite that had woken him. he quickly sat up to see what it was and saw moon before falling back into his laying position with a head spin. after a few seconds he looked up and saw constance standing over him "Max, you okay? What are you doing climbing trees in your condition??" he heard her scolding at him and sighed droping his head into the leaves. "i'm soo not a morning person....." he groaned again sitting up slowly, feeling his back crack a few times at he streached. he rubbed his head and looked down at his sore leg. "did she bite me?"
-
As a response, Moon bit Max in the leg again, but a little harder so it would jolt him up. Around the same time when they were wondering what to do, Filadius' image came back up, "Perhaps I can be of assistance. However, it will require risk. The next town, Loriad, is the only town you're going to see for days. So you'll have no choice but to stop there for supplies. But I have a plan to help you all, but you will have to listen closely to my instructions, because it's going to require a lot of magic for this."
-
Mortis look less than thrilled as Filadius's image came up. She crossed her arms as he spoke, letting out a flat "I'm listening." She didn't want to take his help, but at this point she knew just as well as the others that they didn't really have a choice in the matter. That's right old man, do something to redeem yourself, you wouldn't want your sheep going astray would you? she thought bitterly. I'm sure the others will fall back into your good graces and forget how screwed we are.
-
As Macid rubbed his arms, he was interrupted when the image of Filadius appeared out of Moon's belly and spoke. He wasn't in the mood to talk to him or anyone else at the moment, but if he had a solid plan to help them survive in this new world, he didn't feel like he had much of a choice except to sit there and listen to what he had to say. He held his bag cross armed again and listened to Filadius explain his plan to use magic to help them in the next town.
-
upon being bitten again max yelled "OI!!" and sent himself flying into moon, he tackled her as best he could. after a few seconds he got back up and dusted himself off. "why do i have to be the one that nature hates......" at that moment he looked up and noticed filadius talking to mortis and macid. "i wonder why he's here this time." he walked over and sat down next to the bush that had all of his stuff under it and started grabbing it all out and putting it on.
-
Filadius sighed, "Well, since you all ignored me, and I had to leave, I do have extra magic to do this. But here's what the plan is. We're going to go to town as planned, but stay off the main road, and be in hiding as much as possible. Then, I want you to sneak over to the eastern wall of the town, and look about 300 feet to the east. There's a rock formation over there that looks like a garden, but the largest rock there isn't a rock, but rather an illusion. Walk down into there, and it will come up inside town in the kitchen of the inn. There, you will have to explain that I sent you. Once Moon is able to get up with you all, I'll talk to the innkeeper and get you all food and supplies. But you must be cautious. The innkeeper here is very high strung and will kill you on the spot if you do anything that would make him think you were a spy. So make haste, children. I will see you at the inn." Filadius' image vanished and Moon looked at her belly for a little before squeaking and ready to go.
-
"Well, I guess that's what we're going to do, then." Mortis announced, though, she was sure the others knew they didn't really have a choice in the matter. She gathered up her things and began to walk. She stopped for a moment. "Constance, you're going to have to navigate unless Moon doesn't mind it. Provided she knows the place." Mortis looked down at Moon and did her best to smile. She really held no resentment for the dragon, though, she couldn't help but wonder how the old man got her and what happened to her parents.
-
"I'm sure we can work together...I mean...I know the general direction we should be heading." Constance said. She had a slight grin, feeling a bit happier since they were going where she wanted to go. She gathered the map from the ground and put it back into her pocket. After that she grabbed the bag of meat which was seeming increasingly light from having to do it so much. "Come on, guys lets get moving. We have a lot of ground to cover." she said as she walked over to the fruit the monkey had gathered the other night. She grabbed an apple and started to munch on it as she headed parallel to the main road going North through the woods.
-
Macid checked his bag to see how much he had left of the ham and bread. The bag was empty, save for Anon, as he had forgotten he ate it all already. He sighed as he stuffed the handle of the bag into his pants so he wouldn't have to carry it and set off behind Constance. "If we're going to an inn, maybe we'll be able to sleep in a nice bed instead of in the dirt for once while we're here. Maybe some hot soup and some bread too." The thought of having a bed to sleep in and warm food made Macid smile slightly as he looked to the sky. His smile vanished when he realized what he said about sleeping well. He looked at Moon to see if she heard him, knowing that she was sensitive about helping the group along.
-
max slinked along, still yawning. "something warm sounds really nice right about now...." max sighed moving across so he was walking next to macid. he looked around at the others, survaying how tired each one looked. "so how did you sleep macid?" he asked rubbing his left eye and yawning again. he reached down and adjusted the straps holding ramseys sheaths to his body. "so what happens if this innkeper gets the wrong idea and attacks? who should handle it?"
-
Moon merely gave a confused look when Mortis asked if she knew the way, and just sat there until Constance started moving. She followed her closely at the heels, looking up at Constance constantly. One would have thought that Moon was actually a dog in a dragon's body. The monkey rode on Moon's back, enjoying getting the room to lay down while it was being carried.
-
The chameleon followed behind the others, taking the back of the party. She didn't really know what to do at this point aside from following Constance. She had to agree with the others, a bed seemed really nice, but she wondered how they'd be greeted given most of their clothing was covered in blood. When Max spoke up, Mortis responded without hesitation, "Well, you, probably unless you want Macid and I to beat him with our books until Constance's monkey strangles him to death." She chuckled at the thought, though, she was sure it probably wasn't as funny to the others as it was to her. She tended to have an overactive imagination, so when she said it, she couldn't help but visualize it.
-
Constance went along leading the party with a smirk she couldn't hold back. She felt Moon behind her, or at least her presence was clear. Looking back to confirm it she found it slightly strange, like a sixth sense thing. She thought Moon following her was cute, as well as the monkey enjoying the free ride. It seemed to make her carefree being in the company of animals, as if she never heard of the gun toting villains they would one day be facing. Growing up she spent a abnormally large amount of time with animals over humans. A lot of the time sleeping outside the orphanage she grew up in. The thought of nature always thrilled her, though in the city and swamped with work she could never really be out in it as often as when she was a kid. Being in this new realm seemed to be bringing out a side of her that she had long since lost.
-
"All right, I guess. Not as good as the night before though." Macid kept along as Max asked about the innkeeper. Mortis' reply seemed like she was trying to lighten the mood, but he was in no mood to laugh. He kept thinking back to the library and his life before this happened. He wasn't exactly the happiest person in the world at the time, but he was at least happier than he was now. He grabbed his bag and hugged it close to his chest. He wanted to just stop in his tracks, curl up in a ball and cry. He knew though, that if he did, he would set the group back and possibly get them captured. He kept as strong a face as he could and kept walking with the group to the next town.
-
"you know.....that could work......." max joked at mortis' response. he thought for a second then smiled as the idea of him sitting back and watching mortis, macid and constance's monkey take on the innkepper. "but i was more under the impression that killing him would be a bad idea. seeing as we're trying to keep a low profile at the moment."he looked at macid and sighed. "so....if he does attack us can i borrow your book macid? that hard cover looks like it should do something."
-
Moon continued to follow Constance, when the town came into sight. The smell of burning metal from the smithy and the smell of pastries from the many food shops and inns could be smelled, and it made Moon drool with anticipation as she ran straight for the town. She squeaked happily and ran straight for the town, forgetting to be cautious about possibly getting spotted.
-
Mortis walked quietly until the town came unto sight. The smells were intoxicating and made her stomach grumble lowly as she took them in. For a moment, she almost followed Moon until she remembered what the old man had said. She stopped in mid-step before she got anywhere, however, Moon did not. "Shit! Moon! Stop!" Mortis shouted, attempting to get the dragon's attention. She reached into her bag, retrieving the second piece of ham she had not yet eaten and waved it, hoping that Moon was making a beeline for town because she was hungry. She almost seemed to be talking to a dog as she did so. "Moon, I'll give you my ham and the rest of my bread!" She looked to Constance as she did this. "Come on animal wrangler, get a hold on your animals, here. The last thing we need is another folly because of you and your animals." The last bit of her words came out bitterly, but Mortis couldn't help getting irritated when she though about it. They could have avoided a lot of their conflicts if Constance's animals had been controlled properly. "I know you didn't summon Moon, but you may as well say you did considering how up your ass she's been." The chameleon silently recounted in her head, Hero almost got us killed because he rushed at soldiers we could have avoided, Constance almost had us caught by the caravan because she about fell out of the tree and her monkey jumped on the carriage... The second time we almost got caught because of Moon, and here again, Moon is going to get us killed if we can't get her. Her expression was irritated, but she tried to shift it into something less pissed off as she waved the ham, hoping Moon would respond.
-
Constance was relieved when the town was finally in sight. However when Moon had taken off that had changed. She knew the danger that they had to get around. When Mortis went after her and said what she did she couldn't help but to scowl at her. "Well excuse me for being such a hindrance to your team! At least my summons didn't attack our allies!" she spat back at her as she started to chase after Moon as well. She felt it was uncalled for to attack her like that, it's not like she was a master of the animal kingdom all of a sudden. Her bag of meat was weighing her down a lot so she couldn't keep up. She took a chunk of the meat and ditched the bag to catch up. Giving it her all she managed to jump onto Moon, she knew she didn't like it but it was for her own good. Hopefully with the meat she had she wouldn't care too much.
-
Macid looked down at Anon when Max asked to borrow it for the innkeeper. "What could my book do better then your knives couldn't?" When Moon took off and Mortis and Constance started yelling at each other, Macid just kept walking toward town, not paying any heed to their bickering or to the danger that Moon could have put them in. Macid then began talking out loud to himself. "Its better for them to let it out now than when we're inside the town. Not that it matters what happens to me anyway. Why should I be concerned with what happens to me here? Its not like there's anyone waiting for me back home, if I can even call it that. There's no point." He didn't care if they heard him, or if anyone did for that matter. He simply did not care about this world anymore.
-
max stayed with macid, thinking it best not to get in the way of either of the two women. "well knocking out the guy for starters. do you see me being able to get a good swing out of ramsey that will knock someone out?" he smiled he lissened quietly to macid and his mood instantly droped. "wow, your life must have sucked....alot. if we ever make it out of this, you could stop by my place if you wanted to....see if we can prevent you getting anymore of those scars on your wrists." he looked at macid calmly, grabbing constances bag off the ground as he passed it.
-
Moon grunted in her little high-pitched voice, as Constance's pounce stopped her, making her fall on her belly. Suddenly, what Mortis said to her finally caught up and she turned her head around, seeing the meat and bread. She squeaked and jumped up, pretty much flipping Constance off of her, and ran straight for Mortis, mouth wide open and ready to chomp down on the munchies that Mortis offered.
-
"My mistake to your four!" Mortis shot back. She only stopped focusing on being angry at Constance when Moon flipped her off. She didn't bother to check to see if the cat was okay, in fact, she thought it was somewhat funny that she got flipped off of the dragon, but she didn't laugh or show it because she knew it would even further the argument. The chameleon only took the bread and meat and gave it to Moon, as she promised. She looked at Moon as she ate the food, "You can't go rushing into things like that or we could get into big trouble, Moon." She wasn't exactly scolding the dragon, but she was concerned. She rubbed the dragon on the top of the head, then turned to try at catch up with the other so that they would wait for everyone else.
-
Constance yelped as she was thrown off Moon and landed on the ground with a thud. She let loose a swear as she laid there defeated. She thought more at Mortis being sore at her for several reasons now. "I'd like to see her survive without my map. My dragon. And MY animals. WHOOPDIE ******* DOO! SHE CAN GO INVISIBLE! *****...******* ridiculous...I can at least hunt with my animals. What can she do with her monsters?! Blow up buildings with lawn gnomes?!" she continued to think as she got up, dusting herself off. She decided to head back for her bag, as she did she saw that Max had scooped it up to carry. "Max..." she sighed. "That thing is heavy, you shouldn't be carrying it in your condition." she continued as she relieved him of the bag. "Thanks though." Her tone, despite being upset with Mortis, was calm and sincere; almost motherly. Without saying anything she started off towards the East of the town to find the place they needed to find. Her monkey swung in the trees above, following her but keeping it's distance sensing an anger in Constance.
-
Macid was caught off guard when Max mentioned his wrists. He didn't think anyone saw his scars, but remembered how often he rubbed them. He wanted to say something to Max about his wrists, but didn't know what to say, or if he could say it and not burst into tears. He hugged his book tighter as he kept walking towards the east to where the secret entrance was supposed to be. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he tried to look for the three rocks. He didn't want to let the others know he was crying, so he let his eyes and nose run, trying not to make a sound to alert the others.
-
max looked at constance and smiled. "just cos i shouldn't doesn't mean i can't." he joked hapily before she turned away. he cought upto macid and walked next to him quietly and looked over, he could see macid crying quietly and felt bad. "hay, constance, mortis, you two go on ahead, the innkeper shouldn't be as inclined to attack two mostly unarmed women. macid and i'll wait just out here with moon if you want, and you could send your monkey to get us once you've spoken to the innkeeper. sound like a plan?"
-
Moon ate the food happily, despite it being cold already. She cooed as she finished eating and gulped it all down. Moon then followed along with the others east of the city, towards where the rock garden was. As she made her way over to where Macid and Max were, she walked right through the illusion rock and fell backwards right down the stairs, landing on her back. Moon sat up, but couldn't do much else as she was dazed from the fall.
-
Mortis looked back behind her when Max suggested something. "I think we might all need to go in together. He may think it suspicious if you both stay out here. He might think we're plotting or something. And according to Filadus, that'll cost us our heads and I rather like my head. I'm sure you all feel the same about yours." She watched Moon go through the illusion, but waited outside for the others to come to a conclusion. "I mean, we could do that if you want, but I'd rather not chance it." As she said that, she noticed Macid crying. She wanted to do something to comfort him, but she knew that she couldn't. "Look, all we have to do is get this room for tonight... We'll be fine, we can get supplies, we'll be good to go." She sighed outwardly, now speaking to the entire group, though it was more directed towards Macid than anyone else. "Look, I know we're all at wits end and we're tired... We all are, whether we want to admit it or not. Being thrown into this situation with a bunch of strangers and a lack of knowledge is scary... But we need to go in here and get this done. Maybe we can actually rest without having to worry about looking out for caravans tonight, we can get together and get to know each other so we're not all confused and upset and eat some good food." At this point she wasn't sure how much she was talking out of her ass and how much she meant, but she felt as if something needed to be said to make them all feel better. At the very least so they could cooperate and make this one thing work.
-
Constance listened to Mortis' pep talk before heading after Moon. "I think we should make sure our skeptical friend in question won't make lunch meat out of Moon..." she said as she walked towards the rock illusion. However her concern for Moon outweighed her cautiousness and she took a step the wrong way and tumbled down the stairs to land next to Moon with a thud. Luckily her bag fell off and didn't crush her or it might have done some damage. Her monkey was smart enough not to walk blindly into the rock and just stood outside.
-
Macid could barely keep his composure. He knew the others could see him crying but still tried to act like he wasn't. As he listened to Mortis talk about how they should just get a room and figure everything else out later, he started to feel slightly better, but not much. He just wanted to go to bed and never wake up. He walked to the rock illusion and sat down. Carefully prodding his feet in, he found the stairs and carefully made his way down to where Constance and Moon were sitting. Part of him wanted to help them up, but the other part just didn't care at the moment and stood there waiting for the others.
-
max walked past mortis smiling lightly. "i hope everything goes alright, or this little stop could be close to our graves. just cos your on the list of ones they want alive, don't gamble with our lives to save your own." he continued walking and waited untill macid had gone inside before slowly following him. once he reached the bottom he held out a hand for constance to grab and looked over to macid. "you going to be ok? we can talk about it later if you want."
-
Moon finally shook herself out of it and got up. She nudged at Constance to get up, and finally gave up, taking the lead. It wasn't hard, since there was only one way to go. At the other end, there was another door, and she pushed it open with her head, since it was a trap-door-like entrance. Immediately, she was met with spears, and she quickly ran in between two of the men and raised her belly, and Filadius' image popped up, "Hold it!" The men pointed their spears over and one spoke up, "Lord Filadius?" "Please calm down. This dragon is my pet, and the children coming up from the path are the real Destined Ones. Please restrain yourselves."
-
The chameleon followed in after the others, somewhat scowling given the group was starting to get a little unruly with their comments. She wasn't gambling with anyone's life, she had honestly been so scatterbrained about the whole affair that she had forgotten they didn't want her dead. She was more focused on surviving to worry about her temporary immunity to death. As she arrived at the back of the group, she decided to clear the air, "I'm not gambling with anyone's life. I don't care if they want me alive, do you think I want to be caught? And besides, I wouldn't do something knowing it would get one of you killed. Why do you think I've been getting so annoyed when we can't stay out of sight?" Mortis crossed her arms, still insulted by Max's comment. "Even if I were to do that, getting you killed wouldn't save me." She pushed past the others, going after Moon. When she entered the room, she had caught the end of Filadius explaining that they were the 'Destined Ones.' The only thing she could do at this point is stand with Moon and wait for judgement, so she didn't say anything.
-
Constance sat up when nudged by Moon and collected her thoughts after the fall. When Max came down she took his helping hand up. "Thanks." she said once standing. She was going to dust herself off but decided against it, her clothes were covered in blood anyway what was dust going to do. He grabbed her bag and looked around to see Moon gone. Mortis walked down the hall to where she figured Moon was and followed. Once inside she saw the men with spears pointed at Moon and the image of Filadius.
-
Macid wanted to talk to Max about everything, to let it all out, but something inside told him to keep it to himself. He tried to withdraw his head like a turtle would and hugged his book even tighter as he fought back his tears. He walked along the passageway until he caught up with Mortis, Constance, and Moon with spears pointed at them. "Good. Maybe one of them will be hasty and decide to kill me before listening to us. Then it'd be over." He stood next to Mortis waiting for what the soldiers would do.
-
max watched mortis walk off after going off he found himself admiring her straight forwardnes and just smirked as she walked off ahead. he helped constance up, "don't mention it." he watched her walk off aswell leaving macid and himself. he looked over at macid who looked like he was trying to break the spine of his book in his arms. he followed macid closely and stayed next to the entrance to the tunnel once in the next room with the others. he looked at the armed soldiers and started thinging to himself <great, one guess at who the first one they'll probibly impale is....heck if it was me i'd kill me first aswell. go for the injered guy with the large blade, end him, and then just wipe the floor with all our less-ofencive members..> he didn't like the way he was thinking and instead concentrated on trying to look as non-threatening as posible.
-
Filadius was nervous as the men turned with their spears pointed at the party, "Calm down, I said! Please, they are the real Ones, not like the current Lords. They possess the mythical items from the Prophecy Chests. Please just give them the lodging they need. We're extremely pressed for time." Finally, the largest one, a bear, sighed and lowered his weapon, "Okay. You kids will stay down here, then. I will bring bedding and food, but only for one night. If you want food to go, you will have to pay for it. Soldiers are all over the city, so keep your mouths shut and NEVER leave this room. If you need anything, I will have someone stay down here with you."
-
When the bear lowered her spear, she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you very much, sir." She said, trying to sound as polite as she could. She couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous due to the fact that they were all in a different time. She wasn't sure of their customs, or what they considered polite, so she just followed what she knew. Acknowledging that they were staying in the room that they were in, Mortis merely took a seat in the floor. When she sat down, she took all the baggage she was carrying off of her and sat it aside, stretching her arms upwards and wiggling her toes to make sure they hadn't fallen off with all the walking she had been doing over the past couple of days. Her stomach growled lowly as she did so, and it made her think of the bear mentioning food. The thought of good hot food was enough to make her mouth water.
-
Constance sat down as well after ditching her bag. She sat in the corner against the wall to relax. She took her shoes off and began to rub her feet. "Oooooh....My feeeeeeeeeet.....My clothes. My body. Ugh. I want a shower. I'm filthy." she complained in her head. He monkey too seemed tired as it mimicked her, sitting down and rubbing it's feet. The thought of food did sound nice, but sitting down without falling to get there felt nice too. Especially not in dirt.
-
Having finally felt at least somewhat safe, Macid slowly lowered himself to the floor and went into a fetal position to cry. He did his best to cry softly so as not to upset the bear by making noise. He had kept on a strong face for the most of the time while they were all in this strange new world, but all the cuts and bruises and guards and responsibility finally caught up with him. His entire body ached as he lay on the floor, as if he had just done a full body workout for 4 hours. His stomach was growling as well. Very little else could happen to him to make him feel worse than he did right then.
-
max walked over and sat next to macid in an attempt to comfort him. "you ok? do you need any thing?" he asked quietly not paying any attention to the men with spears. he calmly took off ramsey and set him down carefully on the other side of himself before slowly untieing the knotted fabric around his waist, he removed the cloth and looked at the mostly healed gash, happy that the cracked cast was still holding. he retied the cloth tightly, not careing if any of the locals saw his wound as he turnned his attention back to macid. "looks like your wound healed faster than mine is." he smiled calmly looking at macid.
-
Within about half an hour, several men came in with what looked like cot frames, and then another few came in with soft mattresses. They didn't say anything to the group, but rather stayed quiet as they did everything, including placing the beds. Filadius' image had vanished since they had to remain silent, and the echo of voices and noise from the large wine barrels would attract unwanted attention. Another hour passed by before anyone else showed up. Moon was doing her best not to whimper the whole time, her stomach gurgling as she lay there, all sad. Finally, several women and the bear came in through the door. The women placed platters of half a pheasant, mashed potatoes, fried fish, and corn along with a single mug of water on a box near each person. The bear carried in an entire roasted pig and laid it next to Moon, petting her. He whispered in a very soft voice, "The soldiers just got back as we were coming down here, so be absolutely quiet, and absolutely no talking. If you're going to whisper, muffle it with your covers so that it doesn't echo too badly. We'll be coming down here often, since those bastards drink so much every time. If you are compromised, we won't take responsibility."
-
When the mattresses were brought down, Mortis immediately sat down on one and laid back stretching. She sighed, relaxing and looking up at the ceiling. Most of the time, she just wondered when all of this would end. Morale in the group was low. She was no leader, but she knew good and well that it wouldn't be long before the group began to fall apart if something good didn't happen soon. She felt as if there was nothing she could do since the group was either suspicious of her, or flat out didn't like her and for good reason, she supposed. She didn't even like herself as far as she was concerned. There was no telling what happened to the other group, and no telling what was going to happen to them. For all she knew the folks helping them could turn them over for some kind of reward and loot them for their things in the process. Then there was also the matter of Filadius. Whose side was he really on? All of the thoughts bouncing around in her mind began to make her anxious, and as she laid there, her chest began to hurt. She shifted positions, now balled up, clutching her chest. Beads of sweat formed on her brow, and her breathing became ragged as she silently suffered through an anxiety attack. After what seemed like an eternity, she shut her eyes tightly, attempting to get a hold on herself without passing out from the ordeal to at least keep herself from shaking. I'm surprised I could hold it off this long, I guess I've just been too busy surviving to extensively think. She shifted positions from clutching her chest to hugging herself in the same balled up position, facing away from the group. She was so busy trying to stop the shakes that she was completely unaware that the food had even arrived as she laid there in her own personal prison. It wasn't obvious what was wrong with her, but anyone sitting there would have realized something was wrong.
-
When the beds came in she got onto hers and sat there looking over the group. "Some heroes we are...Macid is crying...Mortis...Is Mortis...Max is injured...And I'm apparently messing up our ever so perfect group dynamics." she thought sighing. The atmosphere of the room was depressing, which was bringing her down. Everyone was either sad or in pain. When the food came in she kinda stared at it blankly at it. She was hungry but at the same time had no appetite. The smell of it was heavenly compared to what they had recently to eat, which was almost nothing. Constance, however, couldn't help herself when she saw clean drinking water. She took a big drink from the mug being so thirsty. She almost couldn't stop herself from drinking it all up, though she wanted to save some to wash the food down. When they were told not to talk she was fine with it, it wasn't like they were going to be doing much of it. After taking a deep breath she began to dig into her food, she knew she had to eat to keep her strength up regardless if she wanted to eat or not. She broke off a piece of the corn and handed it to her monkey who happily ate the kernels off it one by one.
-
Macid's crying had turned into quiet sniveling by the time the food came. His stomach growled in anticipation of the hot meal he would soon be eating. He wiped his eyes with his bag before looking back at Max. He looked as if to say thank you for trying, but couldn't find the strength to speak. He crawled over to the makeshift buffet and grabbed the fried fish and began to eat slowly so he wouldn't make too much noise. The warm fish flesh dropping into his stomach felt amazing as he continued to eat what he thought would be his only real meal for a long time. As he ate, he surveyed the group and their doings. "Some saviors we turned out to be."
-
max slid over to his bed, grabbing his food on the way. he was perfectly fine with not talking seeing as the only one he thought would really have anything to say was macid, who didn't look like he was going to any time soon. he slowly started eating, savouring every bite and thinking about what was to come, and how they were going to get to the next town, with or without the second group. once he was finished eating he layed back, just staring at the ceiling and thinking to himself. <i hope everything goes alright, and that none of the soldiers gets thirsty through the night.>
-
Moon didn't even bother with anything and just dug into the roasted pig in front of her. She chomped away and swallowed chunks whole cooing quietly after every swallow. As said from before, large amounts of workers continually came down and went back up, filling pitchers and pitchers of whine. Meanwhile, a lone figure had been sitting on top of one of the large barrels, eating and drinking, and keeping watch over the group. He meant no harm, and was the man mentioned to tend to their needs, but he was a butt ugly fox that looked like a mugger.
-
After a while, she managed to get a grip on herself, the small sounds of the others eating and the workers filtering in and out bringing her back to reality. She sat up on her cot and sighed, rubbing her head, finally taking a look at her food. She managed to gulp down about half of her water, its cool contents soothing her throat before she had even managed to start on her food. She looked at it, almost as if it wasn't real, but without much hesitation began to dig in. She was still hungry despite her stomach churning from her anxiety attack. As she ate, her eyes darted around in different directions, taking in her environment. She almost seemed as if the anxiety attack had not happened, as if that one moment of dread had managed to bring about a catharsis of her emotions. She wasn't happy, still, but she was able to function, and at the moment, that's all that mattered. She almost jumped when she noticed a figure on top of the barrels, but she didn't say anything. It was strange, but she knew she couldn't talk, so she just stared at him with one eye while she ate.
-
When he finished the first fish, Macid almost leapt to the other ones in hunger. It had only been 2 days with some meat and bread, but this was a full blown meal that he wouldn't have for a long time afterwards. He gathered up the rest of the fried fish and began eating the rest. Taking a sip of water from the jug, he noticed a fox sitting on one of the barrels in the room. "He must be the one who that bear said would be down here with us if we needed anything." When the fox turned to look at Macid, he quickly looked down and continued to eat, avoiding eye contact. He wasn't sure about having someone they didn't know be with them, but he was enjoying his meal too much to care at the moment.
-
max finished off his food slowly, than drank his water. he made sure to put the plate and cup somewhere they wouldn't be knocked over. he quietly stood up and walked over to where he had left ramsey a few feet away and picked him up. he walked back to the bed and layed ramsey down carefully next to the bed, carefully pushing the majority of him under the cot so he was less obvious. max then layed back down on the bed and started slowly drifting off to sleep.
-
The fox had his food brought and taken from him every so often. The look on his face was still disturbing, but what was more eerie was the fact that despite eating and drinking, he sat in the exact same position with the exact same look whenever something wasn't in his mouth. Moon felt her belly burst with fullness, and went straight to sleep as well. The day wore on with very little activity, and the bear came down after sunset, carrying a large pile of robes and clothes. However, he kept his voice down, figuring everyone was probably still sleeping or just in a daze, "I have some clothes for you all, and cloaks to cover you up as you travel. You may stay the rest of this night, but you must be absolutely quiet. No whispering this time. The staff is going home, save the late night waiting staff, so the slightest peep will give you away. I will come and see you off in the morning."
-
When the chameleon finished eating, she layed back on her cot, not taking her one eye off of the fox as she laid there. Not until the bear came down with the clothing. Mortis grabbed an outfit and a robe from the pile of clothing, and examined them. She wondered if they were allowed to wander, but dismissed the thought, sure that the bear might think she was plotting or something. When the bear left back up the stairs, she half wondered when or how they were supposed to let them know if they needed something if they couldn't talk. She shrugged, again, picking up the clothes. She wanted to change, but she wasn't entirely comfortable with doing so in front of the others. After a few moments of debating, she stood up and changed, doing her best to be somewhat discreet about it, facing away from the others. She felt rather self conscious despite not being bothered by being shirtless, so she did her best to cover up as she did so, hoping no one was looking at her.
-
Constance had finished eating, it boosting her spirits a bit. She yawned, stretching out and lying down on her cot. She let out a satisfied sigh as she laid there curling into a little ball. When the clothes came in she was hesitant to get up to look at them. She soon did, wiping some tears from her eyes she had gotten from yawning. She was tired, but she would like some new clothes. She grabbed the most appealing ones to her and set them next to her to go back to her previously planned catnap. She had noticed their silent observer but payed him no mind, being to occupied with her food.
-
Macid had finished his meal of fish and rubbed his stomach in satisfaction. When the clothes came, Macid waited until everyone had gotten thiers before grabbing some for himself. Finding a pair of pants and a robe to cover himself with, he put them on immediately with no regard for decency. "There is no point in being shy about this. Its not like that fox would let us out of his sight or let us rummage around to make a cover to change behind." The robe fit nice enough around his body, but the head cover was a little small, and couldn't cover his ears unless he folded them down. He made a mental note to ask for some needle and thread in the morning so he could try and alter it later. He yawned as he lied down on his cot and curled up in a ball for the night. He hugged Anon like a teddy bear and quickly drifted off to sleep, the exhaustion from the day finally catching up with him.
-
The night loomed over the sky without a cloud, but was completely black, being moonless. Moon didn't stir from her sleep at all, despite the women coming downstairs from time to time with their cnadles, fetching wine for the men that were still awake, and needed drink. All the while, One would drop off a pitcher of water each time they came down, replacing the one that's either warmed or finished off. The fox that was in the room with them all didn't change, still.
-
Mortis layed down again after changing. It seemed as if when she wasn't doing something, she was laying on her cot as a default position. Her eyes didn't leave the fox when she did things. She didn't know why, but she felt intimidated just slightly due to his appearance. She crossed her arms across her chest, laying face up at the ceiling, the silence finally killing her somewhat. She rolled over onto her stomach and looked up at the figure. "Are you the one that they're leaving with us tonight?" she whispered lowly, being sure to talk when the women left. If he doesn't answer, I'm going to sleep, but it's at least good to find out who he is. she thought, looking up. She wondered if he would even answer her or if he would reprimand her for whispering against what the others had told her.
-
After finishing her food Constance decided to continue her catnap. She heard Mortis question the fox but payed it little mind as she fell fast asleep. She rolled around in her sleep, often forcing the monkey to move. He eventually went to sleep with Moon to avoid harm. Constance was dreaming, in this dream she wasn't exactly herself. She knew it was her, but she felt weird. She was a lioness in the dream. Stalking a gazelle through some brush, stealthily making her way to it. Once close enough she pounced, sinking her teeth into it's hind end. It frantically kicked and tried to get free but Constance was easily able to over power the animal and soon brought it down. She waited until it was too tired to move and went in to bite it's neck, making a clean kill before getting to eating the creature.
-
"EVERYBODY GET THE ****** OUT OF HERE, NOW!" The loud voice even startled Moon to wake up. Over at the doorway, lay a dead, bloodied soldier, and the fox that had been watching them, holding a pair of bloody daggers. "Hurry back out the way you came! They know you're here! The manager and his men are doing their best to hold off the soldiers upstairs! Now go!" Suddenly another couple soldiers came down, the fox jumped over the door before they routed into the room, and dug his daggers into the backs of the necks, running the blades down and through their spines. "Go!"
-
Mortis had fallen asleep that night without an answer from the fox. When she awoke, all she heard was various screaming, and that she needed to get out. Without thinking much on it, she grabbed a hold of all of her things and began to run out of the room. She didn't check to see if the others were following, she was sure they'd get going in time. As she ran outside the rock illusion, she hesitated, looking back. She could hardly function having just woken up, but she was shaking out of fear.
-
Constance awoke to the screaming, quickly sitting up on her cot. "What? Huh?" She realized what was happening when the fox had stabbed two soldiers that had stormed into the room. She quickly gathered her bag, and tucked her robes under her arm and got ready to leave. She Saw Mortis had already taken off. "Guys lets get moving!" she yelled to the others. Her monkey jumped onto her shoulder as she got Moon to get going. "Come on Moon, we have to move now. Bad people are coming." she explained. She went along after Mortis to the exit. Once out she took a look around to make sure there wasn't an ambush or anything. However her nerves were so shaky it was hard to tell anything. Not to mention she was worried about the others.
-
Macid awoke just in time to hear the fox yell at him to get out. Mortis had hustled out first, with Constance behind her, also yelling at them to move. He quickly got out of bed, stumbling to the floor as he did. "******* mornings." He grabbed his bag and shoved Anon in it. Making his way towards the rear entrance, he wiped his face with his paw, trying to wake himself up further. Macid never liked mornings and always liked to sleep in. Being woken up in a matter such as this was irritating to say the least. When he made it to the rock entrance, he poked his head out and saw Mortis and Constance standing there. He climbed out and stretched his legs and arms, yawning as he did so, knowing that they would have to run soon.
-
max was awakened by the comotion, he quickly grabbed the clothes he assumed were for him on the end of the bed and grabbed ramsey. he was the last one to the exit and looked back at the fox thankfully then disapeared through the passage. he stoped just behind macid when he reached the other side, he waited for macid to move then slowly followed him outside. "looks like we can't even get a good nights sleep anymore."
-
A voice came out from behind the group as they each were still looking at the secret passage, "Hurry up, kids! Before they see us here!" The rain was pouring on this moonless night, but since they were still fairly close to the city, it wouldn't be hard to spot them. Moon tugged on Mortis' pants, trying to get her to go towards the canvased carriage waiting for them.
-
We're so gonna die. Mortis thought as she looked down to moon and started to run in the direction she was pulling her. The rain was slowly but surely pulling her out of the haze of sleep, but she still wasn't fully functioning on a high level. When she noticed the carriage, she didn't think much about it, she just hopped inside, hoping it wasn't something set up for them to get killed. At this point she almost didn't care. If she got killed, she just got killed and that was that.
-
Constance was relieved when the others made it out. She heard the voice behind them and turned to it not expecting to see a waiting carriage. She noticed Moon was getting Mortis to move. She had also realized it was raining, unaware of it before. "Looks like we had a ride." She said before making her way to the carriage, doing her best to keep her robes dry by holding them to her chest as she went. Once in the carriage she set her bag down and sat in a corner waiting for the rest of the group. She saw Mortis already in it, noticing Moon not in. She hoped she could get in on her own accord, if she can climb a tree she could get into this.
-
Macid quickly turned around at the sound of the voice telling him to hurry. He saw a covered carriage waiting for them in the rain. "Wait, its raining? And is it still nighttime? How long did we sleep?" As Mortis and Constance got inside the carriage, he hesitated as a thought crossed his mind. "This could be a trap. That carriage could take us to that cat lady, or someone worse. But if we stay here we'd get killed anyway. Damit, they're already inside." With a groan, he jogged towards the waiting carriage, letting his head get damp with the rain. He got inside as best he could and sat down next to Constance, shaking his head to get the water off and splashing her slightly. "We're gonna die here anyway, might as well be dry when it happens."
-
max heard the voice and turned around, throwing his new robe over himself to try and keep warm enough to stay awake. he saw the carriage the others wereheading towards and ran over, quickly jumping in after macid. "why does it have to be raining? i wonder if the other group is having this much trouble." he looked at the others quietly before putting ramsey's holsters on properly and putting the robe over him losely, not bothering with the sleaves. he didn't like how it sat over ramsey so he used the smallest part of ramsey to cut a slit into the robe for his handle to protude through, makeing it easy to draw him and throw off the robe incase of a fight whilst still hiding the shape of the blade. "so who's supposed to be driving this thing?
-
The man in the front of the carriage that wasn't under the canvas turned and waved, "The name's Lincoln Pavo. My family owns the only carriaging chain in the land! The Masons in this town hired me to get you kids out of here. From what I'm told, you folks aren't very combat savvy yet, so they wanted me to transport you all and fast. Hang on, because the carriage likes to wobble from side to side in this weather!" Lincoln popped the reigns, and off they went.
-
Mortis held her head, squinting her eyes shut. "Thank you." She muttered to Lincoln. She gripped her belongings tight, finally mustering the effort to speak. "I don't know. I wonder if we'll ever meet up with them again, honestly. As it stands, we're at this guy's mercy, and he knows that we suck at fighting." she whispered to Max. The chameleon was merely preparing for the worst. Despite the fact that Lincoln had not done anything compromising so far, she was still suspicious of him. "I wonder how much money is on our head." she thought aloud.
-
Macid was far too grumpy, having being woken up so suddenly, to respond to the others comments about the carriage driver. He checked his bag to see if the rain had damaged his book at all. The bag had protected it from most of the rain, but the cover was a little wet. Opening the book, he tried to write something to see if the pages were still usable. Luckily for him, they were. The ink flowed from his pen as easily as it did the other times, and faded as quickly. He smiled slightly as he closed the book. He rubbed his eyes as he bobbed in the carriage, the many bumps causing him to poke himself in the eye. He winced back as he put his hand to the wall to steady himself.
-
max listened to the drivers explination and sighed. "well, at least we should be able to trust him. max sat back, sliding down a little in his seat. "feel free to wake me up if anything happens." he tried to fall asleep but each time he would get close the carriage would rock and the wooden wall nearest him would conect with part of his head, waking him up again. "you know what....nevermind. i'll just sleep next time we stoop."
-
Upon Mortis' question, Lincoln laughed aloud, shouting back at her, "If you want an exact number, your heads are worth over 500,000 Zeny a piece! That brings it to a total of 3,500,000 Zeny for your whole group! But don't worry! My family's carriaging brings in more than that in a year! That money doesn't mean anything to us. We may be rich, but we're not corrupted." Meanwhile, Moon had been left behind, and she had to spread her wings and fly to catch up, landing heavily next to the driver, taking up most of the driving bench, and gave the driver a mean look.
-
"I guess that's good to know." Mortis said. It finally struck her to check her things. As she looked down she inspected everything that mattered. Thankfully because of her bag, her things had not gotten wet. Shifting herself, she figured that she might bug the driver a little more. "So Zenny. What's a Zenny? Is it one of these?" As she said that a thud made her jump seeing that it was Moon. She reached into her bag and picked out the small bag of whatever it was she had managed to take from the soldier and looked inside to see the bars of various metals. She jingled the bag. "Is Zenny the currency or what?"
-
Constance was going to say something about Moon being left behind, however she took it into her own hands and got onto the carriage herself. She was still a little skeptical about the driver, which gave her an idea. She leaned her head on Macid's shoulder to try to be inconspicuous about whispering something in his ear. "You should try your book out on him...I'm not too sure about this guy..." she whispered. She continued to lean her head on his shoulder so he could return the whisper.
-
When Constance leaned her head on his shoulder, Macid went beet red with embarrassment. "You should try your book out on him...I'm not too sure about this guy..." His ears drooped as he realized she was just trying to look inconspicuous and got out Anon from his bag. He wasn't sure how well it would write with all the bumps from the carriage but figured he'd might as well try. Pointing the finger pen at the driver he said aloud, "What's your name? Pelvis?" He remembered full well that he mentioned his name was Lincoln Pavo, but also remembered he needed his full name to work, and besides he wouldn't have put it past him for lying about his name and how much money he makes. He looked down at his book, waiting to see what would be written.
-
(i'm posting from a friends phone so i'm sorry if it's a bit short.)
max looked around quietly, not really caring about the bounty on their heads and just ignoring the talk about currency. He heard moon land with the driver and realised that he had forgoten that she was with the group and was thankfull she had caught up. he just looked blankly out the window, ignoring macid pulling out anon after growing bored of everything in the carriage and started watching the scenery roll by, letting his mind drift into another world where everything was normal again and he was still in his nice warm, messy bed.
-
The pen on Macid's finger wrote the name in the air, glowing for a good amount of time "Lincoln Pavo" for Macid to read. Lincoln turn around quickly and grabbed the little metal stick from Mortis' hand and then tossed it backwards back to her. "Yea! Copper ones are worth one Zeny, silver is 20, and the golden ones are worth 100." Meanwhile, the ride was long and rough, until finally, in the late afternoon, the clouds finally dispersed, and the sun was shown. Lincoln turned around in his seat, "Okay, folks. It's the end of the line. I can't take you any closer without arousing suspicion since there's checkpoints up ahead. Tread lightly, it's not even a kilometer north of here."
-
"Thanks." She said, looking at the little change pouch. She counted how many she had on the ride, careful not to drop them whenever they hit bumps. When she was finished, she closed the pouch and placed it into her bag again where it belonged. When he stopped to let them off, Mortis looked at him. "Well, which direction should we go..? We've been going North this whole time, we can't exactly keep going north if there's a checkpoint ahead. Where are we right now?" She scratched her chin, running her fingers along the spines on her neck.
-
Constance continued to lay her head on Macid's shoulder, slowly beginning to drift off to sleep again. "You make a good pillow, Macid..." she said softly. She heard the explanation of money before passing out. Before she knew it they were at their destination. She woke up and sat up straight ceasing to lean on Macid. "Oops, sorry, Macid. I hope you didn't mind me falling asleep on you." she said looking at him realizing she leaned on his shoulder the whole trip.
-
Macid watched as the pen wrote the name Lincoln Palvo in the air. He watched as it glowed for a while then faded. He eyed the blank page of Anon and back to Lincoln. He closed the book and held it in his lap. "He didn't lie about his name, I don't think he's lying about the money either." Constance's words of him being a good pillow caused him to blush beet red, as he turned to look at her. She was slowly drifting off to sleep, and a yawn from Macid meant he was still sleepy as well. He neatly folded up his bag, which was empty without anon, and put it on Constance's head. He payed no attention to what Mortis or Max were doing and lightly rested his head on Constance's, the bag was to make sure that any bumps they came across didn't cause them to knock heads together. He awoke later when Constance pulled away and apologized for falling asleep on him. He rubbed his eyes and groaned as he responded. "It's allright. We need our rest so we can make it through the day right?" He chuckled lightly, trying to break up the awkward tension he felt between them. He stretched and yawned loudly as he heard Mortis ask where to go.
-
max climbed oout of the carriage last, carefully lookong around for any potential trouble as he did. he remained silent for the moment, anything he felt needed to be really said had been so he was more focused on just staying woth the others. he was more than happy to be back on solid ground again, the ride had left him feeling nautious and with a headache from contact with the side of the carriage. he heard mortis ask about the direction they should travel and looked over to constance. "do you still have the map?"
-
Lincoln pointed to a large plain to the east, "Well, you can head out through the Sacatoma Plains, but you'll have to be extra careful. There's a checkpoint about halfway through it that is against the edge of the plain. If you're not careful, they'll spot you. After that, it'll be smooth sailing through the Cherry Fields, the grass there is extremely high, so even a random patrol won't be able to spot you without really paying attention. But be careful, there is one small downside to going through there. There is a small nest of Behemoths somewhere out there. If you encounter them, either run like hell, or die. They are just too strong, even for many of the world's strongest warriors. They'll be easy to spot, though, the adults. Their fur is purple, and they walk on all fours. They have large, black horns on their heads, and their faces look like a dog's."
-
"Well, that's wonderful to know." Mortis said in an almost musically sarcastic tone. "So, we're either going to be killed by soldiers or by some big beastie." She seemed not too thrilled about heading north again. "So, if I lay my head under the wheel of your carriage would you do the honors?" She asked, again in the same tone, to Lincoln. "I mean, we're going to get killed either way, I might as well just save the soldiers and whatever-you-called-them's some trouble and just..." She tilted her head, as if laying it on the ground, "Let you run me over. At least the others can chuckle when my head pops like a watermelon." Honestly, she was getting very tired of their rotten luck. The whole time they had split up, they had yet to get a decent break in anything. She just wanted one night of peace, one night of not having to be on their toes and alert constantly. It was at that time she wished that she was back in their own time, where she could just curl up on her bed at the dorm and sketch until she no longer felt upset. She wanted to be where there were no soldiers or no beasts, just college. At least college wasn't a life or death situation even if it did stress her out as badly as this had so far.
-
"Yeah, I suppose." said Constance to Macid. She got out of the carriage and began to get out the map when Max asked for it. As she did so she listened to Mortis being a downer. "I wouldn't enjoy it. The less people we have, the harder it will be. If we stick together we can handle it somehow...Stiff upper lip!" she said trying to boost the morale a little. "We can handle some wild animals. And guards. I mean hell...You can go invisible, Mortis. If we can't sneak around a guard post we can think of a plan. Macid's smart. We have a good...Strategic team. We just have to think more, rather than fight. And Lincoln said it's smooth sailing once we get passed it, so there's something to look forward to." she contnued. She hoped Mortis wouldn't actually kill herself. "Besides. We have Moon! She can handle any beastie we come across, can't ya girl?" she said to Moon.
-
Macid watched as Mortis complained about their situation. Her less than bright attitude was beginning to wear on his nerves. He knew more than any of them what death could feel like, and he was about to try and talk some sense into her when Constance spoke up and tried a morale boost. She tried to play up the groups strengths instead of focusing on their lack of fighters and bad luck. At the mention of smooth sailing, Macid's mind caught those words and repeated them like an echo. He looked down at Anon and slowly opened it. He wrote slowly in the open pages, Lincoln Palvo, and hoped it would give more information on where they were going. He found it hard to believe that it would be smooth sailing anywhere for them, and thought that Lincoln might not be telling them everything they should know about the fields and what lies beyond.
-
max listened to lincoln's directions so he wouldn't be left out or behind. mortis' comments made him roll his eyes and sigh tuning out the conversation till constance began to speak. he agreed with her logic of the situation. "i agree with constance. we need to start thinking things through more." he slid a hand over his injery and winced slightly feeling a tender spot. "and if what he told us is true then we just need to get through that one part befor we're in the clear. so what's the call? are we going to get this over with or not?"
-
Moon cood happily at Constance's question, and then looked at Mortis with her head in front of the carriage wheel. She meandered over and bit down on Mortis' pants at the rear and tried to pull her away. After only an inch, she ended up pulling off Mortis' pants down to her ankles, and she let go since the sudden fast movement surprised her and she rolled back into a tree. Lincoln blushed at the sight and turned away. "Umm... I won't be the one to kill a Hero. From what I've heard, you are all our only hope."
-
Mortis stopped a moment when her pants came down. Part of her felt embarrassed, but another part of her didn't since she didn't really have anything to show given her androgynous appearance. She stood up for a moment, quickly pulling her pants up and looking to Lincoln playing it off, "Well buddy, I feel sorry for you," she chuckled in disbelief, "And weren't we supposed to be in the clear when we got to the Inn? I mean, how many times were we ACTUALLY supposed to have been in the clear?" She crossed her arms, looking to everyone as if expecting an answer. "I mean, I'll play along and go, but I'm not gonna like it." The chameleon was very aware of her Debbie Downer status within the group, but she was always one to expect the worst of things, her motto being, If you expect the worst, you'll never be disappointed. She was almost talking in a joking manner because she could not believe that the others believed in actually being in the clear or that Lincoln actually believed they were going to save them.
-
Constance facepawed at what happened to Mortis, and to how she was still being a downer. "I suppose we should get moving then?" she said putting her paws together. She grabbed her things from the carriage and walked over to a tree to hide behind. She quickly changed out of her clothing into the robes she was given last night and reappeared. She had put her old clothes in her bag which still contained meat. "Uhm...Lincoln, before you go. I have a lot of meat in my bag...I just had the thought...Me with raw meat equals moving target for those...Behemoths. Think we could pawn it off on you? We wanted to sell it in the town, but ya know...Evil bad guys came and tried to kill us." she said with a joking tone. "Whaddaya say?" she said setting the bag on the carriage. "If not, we could just keep feeding it to Moon. Either way, I'd like to get it off my hands. Or at least some of it. Also, on the topic of food, how's the game around these lands? We don't exactly have provisions. We have a chef on our team, so I'm sure we can make something out of what ever is around." Constance continued. She was trying to point out the pluses on the team, to hopefully boost the spirits of Mortis a bit. "AND! On the topic of provisions, hows about something to help us light fires? That seems to be something we're lacking." she said raising a finger in exclamation. "I would trade this meat for something to cook food with later down the road. Or even provide warmth in the night."
-
Macid stared intently at the book, waiting for something to be written. He was so focused he didn't hear anything that anyone else said. When nothing came up, he turned the book upside down as if to see if it was broken. He shook the book like he would an etch a sketch to try and jump start it, but nothing worked. He slammed the book shut and threw it to the ground, swearing loudly. "Goddam piece of mother lovin' buck shoving junk! The one time I want you to really work you decide to stop working! God Damnit!" He breathed heavily, as he looked around at the others. "What?!" Bending down, he picked up Anon and threw it into his bag. He decided to sit down and wait for everyone to be ready to leave, for as mad as he was, he knew it would be suicide to leave the group.
-
max looked away out of comman curtesy when moon pulled down mortis' pants, and instead looked over at macid intime to see him shake anon before throwing him on the ground and looking around. "what?!" "nothing. i wasn't going to say a word." max looked back to mortis once she had her pants. he looked from mortis to constance then to lincoln. something to help start fires would be a huge help. and maybe some tips on what not to eat....my imune systom might be good, but it's far from perfect."
-
Lincoln thought for a minute and then fished out behind him in the carriage, and tossed two small satchels, one looking like a coin purse. "The small one has a few week's worth of flint and magnesium bars. Try to use the flint up first. Magnesium bars are far too rare, but they start fires better. However, the magnesium needs metal to produce sparks, and it makes a LOT of sparks. And consider the other bag a gift for our first business. There's 100 Zeny in there in copper and silver."
-
"Thanks for the kindness." Mortis said. She honestly meant it even if she had been a downer the whole time. Small things like that meant a lot to her, even if it was a trade. She bowed slightly to the others, "Shall we get a move on then?" She still felt suspicious of Lincoln despite his kindness, but only because of what had happened to them so far. It wasn't Lincoln himself, exactly, but the fact that he had done something nice for them. Usually after that, the next event was bad for them. "Constance, we need to locate ourselves, then figure out where we need to go before we're in the clear." Mortis said, making quotes in the air with her fingers at the "in the clear" part.
-
Constance handed over the meat as offered, leaving two hunks for themselves. It was starting to smell a little funny anyway so it was a good thing to get rid of. Not to mention it was much lighter. She put the bag back on her back reveling in the fact of how light it was now. After that she unfolded the map and held it open in front of her to look at it. "Well. We're here, if the information is correct." she said motioning to the spot with her head. "And...That's the Sacatoma plains, I'm assuming the check point is along the road. Passed it, Cherry fields. With the big beasties. Then the smooth sailing." she continued. "So What can we expect in the next town? Do you know, Lincoln?"
-
max walked over and looked at the map with constance. he examined it while listening to constance. looks good, to bad this map doesn't show us exactly where all the cheakpoints are, then avoiding them would be alot easyer." he looked away from the map and over to mortis calmly. "would you like me to carry the flint and magnesium?" he asked walking away from constances side and over to mortis calmly. he stoped about a meter away from her and waited for her responce, while feeling stupid for forgetting to grab his bag back at the tavern.
-
Lincoln turned the carriage around and was about to head out, but indulged them the information before parting. "There is a small town called Carpathia past the fields. It's a small fishing town, but it's very high traffic for the military. You might find quite a bit of trouble out there. But then again, that's why you were given those clothes. I hope to see you in the future." The carriage sprinted off into the opposite direction at the crack of Lincoln's whip.
-
"Sure, I mean do what you want." Mortis was waiting on the others but feeling a little impatient. She looked around locating some thickets of trees. "Either way, we need to get moving, I mean, you never know when a patrol might wander. Let's at least get out of view, then we can figure out where to go." She began to walk towards them, gesturing for the others to follow. "I don't like being in the open even if Lincoln says we're good for now."
-
"Mortis is right. Let's get moving. No time like the present!" Constance said somewhat cheery. She put the map away and went over to Macid offering her hand to him. "Come on. No time to sit around, we have a long trip ahead of us." she said with a warm smile. She was trying to be more positive, hopefully the others would be able to use her positive energy to be more happy. If the group would be happier their performance would be better.
-
Macid looked up at Constance's hand for a bit before getting up on his own. He didn't want to be so rude to Constance, but he was still sour about his book not working. His furrowed his brow and his mind raced as he walked towards the thicket where Mortis was going. "Why didn't it work? I wrote the name down like I saw, it should have started writing his thoughts. It worked when I tested it the first time, back when we first got here, and the words disappeared when I wrote down the weapons the first heroes had, why the ***** didn't it work this time?"
-
Moon cooed and followed close after Mortis. She rubber her face against her leg and stayed at her side. The brisk breeze blew over the air and mixed well with the morning sun. As they progressed, it was very silent, almost too silent, save for the rustling of the tall fields. After a couple hours, though, the loud sound of a low snoring could be heard, as well as two large, black horns sticking up in the air.
-
Mortis put her hand down and pet the dragon as she walked. She wondered why Moon was suddenly affectionate, but didn't mind it. She paused when she heard the snoring. It made her nervous as she located its source. She brought the hand that wasn't preoccupied with petting moon up to her lips as she faced the others, again indicating silence without shooshing. She then proceeded to point to the horns poking up out of the grass.
-
Constance walked along with the others watching Moon's playful antics towards Mortis. Luckily she didn't seem to be sour at it considering the previous day she didn't seem to want anything to do with her and "her animals". When Mortis silently hushed them suddenly she looked to where she was pointing and saw horns protruding from the tall grass. Her heart practically jumped into her chest at the sight. "Is that one of those behemoths? Is it all that big? Maybe it just has really long horns. But...The snoring. This could be bad...My animals have a knack for stirring up trouble." she thought. She looked at her monkey on her shoulder who gave a big toothy grin trying to act innocent. "No funny stuff outta you." she whispered sternly at the monkey.
-
The several hours of walking and venting in his head helped Macid calm down without outwardly showing it. The silence that surrounded them made him uneasy, causing him to look around every so often to try and see if they were bring watched, but never saw anyone or anything. When they made their way to the tall grass, he was hesitant to go in. Any animal or those behemoths could come charging at them, and they wouldn't know it until it was too late. The fear of being left alone was worse than being killed by surprise though, so he followed in after the others. When he heard the loud snoring, and saw the sign from Mortis, he hunkered down and tried to slow his breathing to remain calm. He didn't know what these behemoths looked like, but decided he didn't really want to know.
-
max followed the others into the grass slowly, he madew sure to watch off to the sides, he had feeling that something bad was going to happen soon and wished he knew wether to trust his gut or if he was just hungry. he ended up passing macid quietly before hearing what sounded like snoring. he crouched down when mortis signaled for them to be quiet and seeing the two horns she was pointing out was a heck of an insenive to do as he was told. he watched constance telling her monkey to behave and couldn't help buy smile at it's reaction before moving closer to moris and quietly whispering to her, "what do you think we should do? we could go around it but there might be more not far from here."
-
True to Max's guess, there were more, after they walked past the first one. There were behemoths of all different sizes. Moon was so scared herself, that she was barely able to make step after step. As they continued to trek on slowly, they even saw a couple that were sleeping that most of their bodies were over the grass, and up to 15 feet in height from the ground to the top of their backs. Some of them stirred, making Moon completely stop and give off a small "meep!".
-
Mortis merely looked at Max and shrugged before she began to move on again. She wanted to use her natural camouflaging, but she thought that it would seem insensitive to do so. She crept along, trying to get Moon to move when she stopped, petting her when she got scared to comfort her. She looked around at all the creatures, a little intimidated herself, but said nothing and kept going. The faster she could move the group along, the faster they could get out of their situation.
-
Macid kept along, being the rear of the group as the marched through the grass. As they neared the larger ones, with their backs rising out of the grass, Macid kept his eyes and ears open, being careful to not bump into any. "These things are huge. Guess that's why they're called behemoths. I kinda wish I could see one up close, just to see what it looks like." When Moon meeped at one of them stirring, Macid froze in spot. He didnt dare move a muscle, for fear of disturbing them anymore than they already were. The group kept going however, and Macid hurridly as quietly as he could to catch up.
-
max returned mortis' look before continuing, through the grass, seeing the other behemoths. "i hate being right sometimes..." he whispered as the group continued. he tensed up almost everytime one of the beasts stirred. max gulped quietly, his hand resting on Ramsey's handle ready for if he was needed. max hoped he didn't need to draw Ramsey but rathered the thought of the group actually getting past an obstacle without something trying to make it as hard as possible. all of a sudden he heard moons meep, a cold shiver traveled the length of his spine as he continued, carefull to make as little noise as possible.
-
After an hour or so, they finally made it past the nest, and were in the clear. Moon was so relieved, she almost fell backwards, which would have landed her on top of a baby behemoth. However, her swaying kept her from falling thus and fell straight forward. The sun bore down now, and the unexpected happened. The yawning of almost 20 behemoths could be heard, as well as the rumble of their feet as they started getting up.
-
"Ah shit, c'mon!" Mortis whispered loudly. She had been able to hold herself together calmly until she heard the behemoths moving. That alone made her skittish, and she began walking faster until walking faster broke out into a full sprint. She looked behind her trying to get the others to hurry because she didn't even want to risk seeing one of those things up close. "Lincoln said to run, so I'm running." she added over her shoulder.
-
Constance crept along with the others for what seemed to be forever. When she heard the movement of the behemoths she froze, hair standing on end. "Eep!" she let out. When Mortis started hurrying she did, too. Eventually they were running. "I thought these things were AFTER the checkpoint! I swear, we have all the bad luck! Someone is totally conspiring against us! Like...Like this is all some sick story and the creator hates us!" he thought, rather upset.
-
Macid crept along the back of the group until the sun started to set. At the sound of the behemoths waking, he did not hesitate and sprinted forward like his life depended on it. He quickly surpassed the others and kept going, not bothering to look where he was going. "I am not going to let these things kill me because they want an evening snack." He slowed down a bit to catch his breath and look behind, making sure he hadn't gone too far ahead and to let the others catch up.
-
max followed mortis, moon and constance silently, he looked from behemoth to behemoth as the group walked through the field. he sighed a breath of relief as they reached the edge of the field. he was about to say something along the lines of 'thank god that's over' quietly when he noticed the others running. "hay whats the hurry?" that's when he noticed the behemoths getting up and gulped looking behind him. he started running as fast as physically possible at the sight of the waking behemoths silently cursing his luck.
-
Moon spread her wings and took off at the first sound of stirring and flew right up. One of the behemoths roared even louder after Moon took flight. She ended up catching the attention of the nearby checkpoint and the soldiers came investigating, tripping over baby behemoths, and upsetting the other ones that were still sleeping. Some of the larger ones were even stood up on their hind legs, doubling in height.
-
The chameleon continued running faster until she saw the soldiers. She attempted to cloak herself, but her nerves were so shot at this point, her scales just jittered between random colors instead of conforming to their stealthy state. Mortis just sprinted on without looking back to see if the others were following. Between the soldiers and the behemoths, she didn't want to take her chances staying put. When she stopped, she doubled over putting her hands on her knees, gasping for air. She had never run that much in her entire life.
-
Constance continued running taking note of the behemoths stirring now which freaked her out. "I am so glad I got rid of most of the meat! I can run now!" she thought to herself thankfully. She was also glad the soldiers seemed distracted enough they could slip by without incident. On the other side of the checkpoint she collapsed next to Mortis to catch her breath. "Oh man...My legs are killing me!" she said tiredly laying sprawled out on the ground.
-
When Macid looked behind to check on the others, the sight of a behemoth standing up and roaring sent chills up his spine. He turned around and sprinted as fast as he could away from the creature as fast as he could, praying his stamina would last just a little longer. When he ran past the checkpoint, he tripped on a rock and tumbled over himself until coming to a stop lying face up on his back. He panted heavily as his lungs felt like they were on fire, as did the rest of his body. He hoped he ran fast enough to escape from the behemoths, but also hoped everyone else did too. Despite his sour mood, he didn't want anything bad to happen to them. They we're the closest things to friends he had ever had besides the old man and the Librarian. Mortis and Constance soon came to rest near him and he sighed, thankful that they made it. Max was still behind them though, so he asked between breaths if anyone had seen him. "Has any *puff* anyone seen *wheeze* Max?"
-
Max ran as far as he could, the added weight from both Ramsey and the cloak causing him to tire faster than normal. he stopped for breath not far from the cheakpoint, bent over holding his chest he looked over at the behemoths in time to see some of them rising to their hind legs. <i'd hate to be whatever's got them upset.> he thought to himself, his throat burning to much to talk. he looked around as the burning throughout his body started to sooth. he looked around and noticed that he wat alone. "Mortis?...Constance?...Macid?...moon?...guys?! man, i got outrun by all of them? man i really need to get back into shape."
He walked over to the checkpoint slowly and looked around. "looks like nobodys here. maybe my luck is turning around." he searched around the checkpoint for a few seconds before deciding he should try to find the others first. he left everything as he found it and walked out off the checkpoint and noticed the others not to far away. "hay guys, over here!" he called walking over towards them waving one of his aching arms to get their attention.
-
Moon landed next to Mortis and stuck to her for a while as she panted, trying to catch her breath since it's the second time she's used her wings. Meanwhile, the screams of the guards could be heard in the distance alongside the roars of the behemoth herd that had woken up. Moon then pulled on Mortis' leg, then Constance's, trying to get them to move. It was a quiet journey for the rest of the afternoon. When it came to sunset, Moon yawned, not wanting to walk anymore and just find a place to sleep.
-
Mortis hesitated for a moment, still catching her breath, waving tiredly back at Max to acknowledge him. She wasn't about to move until she felt better, she had decided, until Moon tugged on her pants. She sighed, sucking in a deep breath after and tried her best to follow Moon without a second thought. The damned dragon has a better clue than we do, she thought tiredly. By the time sunset rolled around, Mortis didn't really mind where they were necessarily. She laid on the ground, belly down and sighed, taking in how peaceful it was at the moment. She was glad to stop.
-
Constance was too tired to comprehend anyone speaking as she laid there. She somewhat snapped back to reality when Moon tugged on her robes. She got up and blindly followed the others. Around sunset she saw Mortis fall down, she thought it seemed like a great idea. "I agree." she said tiredly falling beside her. "I vote this be camp tonight. Max start a fire. Moon don't get into trouble. Macid..." she spoke, trailing off to silence at the end of her speaking. "Give me a back rub..." he continued, though in her head.
-
Macid was relieved to see Max waving through the grass, though the screams and roars behind him quickly erased any good feelings left and replaced them with fear once again. As Moon tugged on the others to get them going, Macid stood up and started jogging with them, glad to be getting away from the behemoths as soon as possible. As the sun set, his legs were on fire and his lungs felt like they were 3 sizes too small for his body. He collapsed with the others, falling on his hands and knees, wheezing heavily. Without time to rest, Constance started telling everyone what to do except him. Part of him wanted to scream in her face for barking orders so soon, another wanted to do whatever he could to help the group and liked that she was taking this seriously. He was too tired to think about what to do, let alone argue with anyone, and turned and asked Constance what she wanted him to do. "Yes? What should I do?"
-
max noticed some of the others acknowledging him as he walked over, he was blocking out the sounds of the soldiers and the behemoths as he got closer to the others in time to see them start heading off to hopefully-one-of-them-knows-where, he quickly jogged over to them and started walking not far from macid for the rest of the trip. when they stopped, two of the three girls on the ground before he could even think about sitting down. he made it halfway to the ground before constance gave him the job of starting a fire. "will do" he yawned getting back up and quietly collecting things he could burn for the fire.
-
Over the night sky, the sound of wild animals could be heard all throughout the air. It didn't bother Moon, who yawned from time to time and rolled into different positions. However, something did catch her attention. She got up and looked off into the skies. Out in the distance, there was a stream of light that seemed to be getting closer. That stream of light soon showed itself to be a majestically beautiful, glowing white dragon, shaped like ones you would find in Chinese folklore. It flew overhead, not even paying attention to the group or anything else, for that matter. Further out in the distance, atop one of the tallest mountains, one could see fire being shot in several directions, probably dragons fighting each other or just frying an unfortunate trespasser and/or treasure hunter. Moon whimpered to herself as she watched the beautiful displays, feeling inferior as a small dragon.
-
Mortis rolled over on her back looking up at the sky. She honestly didn't mind the sounds of the woods. It made her think of when she lived with her parents out in the middle of the woods, though a little more untamed. She felt like drifting off, but her mind wouldn't allow it. After a few moments she sat up, watching Max until she noticed Moon watching something. She looked up to catch a glimpse of another dragon. Following it, she saw the flames shooting in different directions. Mortis vaguely wondered if maybe the dragon was another that Moon may have known. She put a hand on Moon's head again, petting her, unsure of what she was being reassuring of, but she was going to be reassuring nonetheless.
-
"Help Max..." Constance said tiredly. She honestly didn't expect anyone to listen, or go out of the way to get something to do from her. "...He's injured...Get some fire wood...Please..." she continued. "I'd rather have a back rub...But a fire will be good." she thought, drifting off into a light sleep. She was later stirred from her sleep by Moon. She opened her eyes to see her looking at something, looking in the same direction with only her eyes she saw another dragon flying through the sky. "Lovely..." she thought drifting back to sleep.
-
Macid yawned and stretched, drained from the entire day of running and nodded in response to Constance. He slowly got up and walked towards Max, who had by this time a small assortment of twigs for kindling. "Well Max, everyone knows I can't make fire to save our lives. What do you want me to do to help? He swayed back and forth as he spoke, trying to keep his balance and not fall flat on his face. His mind drifted to the carriage ride and Constance. It felt nice for the time she was sleeping on him. If she knew my darker side, she wouldn't want to be near me anymore I bet." Macid was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear anything Max said to him, or notice the other dragons in the sky and mountain top.
-
"you can help me gather some wood if you want." max said before turning to macid, he looked over him quietly, <he looks like he's going to pass out...> he thought to himself while walking over to macid. he stopped a few feet away from the obviously tired macid and smiled softly. "on second thought i should be fine on my own, you can go relax if you want." max looked at him and noticed the glazed over look in his eyes. he snapped his fingers a few times between the two of them to snap macid out of his day dream. "i said you could go relax if you want, i can handle this." as soon as he finished talking he saw the flames up on the mountain. he watched it for a few moments before calmly going back to colecting wood for the fire.
-
After the fire was started, Moon got up from her spot and walked over to it, keeping herself warm. She felt a little better, having been pet by Mortis. Moon yawned, but stared at the fire. She took another deep breath and tried her best shot and let go, blowing only smoke like last time. At least it didn't blow out the fire. She whimpered a little before circling to lay down.
-
Mortis rolled back over lazily to her stomach, watching as Max built the fire. When it was built, she didn't really move. She enjoyed it being cool outside, but after a while the cool began to chill her, so she crawled over to the fire and plopped back down on her belly. She watched Moon as she tried to breathe fire again, only to let out a bunch of smoke. She sat up and leaned brought her palm to her chin, leaning on it. "Moon, if it makes you feel better, I'm no good with my book either. I'm no hero. I mean, look at this rag tag group." Mortis looked down, half realizing what she said could be taken wrong. To lighten the mood, she took in a deep breath and puffed out into the dirt causing a cloud of dust to kick up. "I can't breathe fire either. Hell, yesterday we couldn't even start a fire" she coughed between laughs, waving the dust with her free hand. She adjusted her bag to where it was on its side again reaching out to pet Moon. She didn't know why she felt compelled to comfort the dragon, she supposed it was because Moon didn't really hold anything against her at the moment.
-
Macid was snapped out of his day dreaming when Max snapped his fingers in front of him. "Ugh, what?" "i said you could go relax if you want, i can handle this." "Oh, allright." Macid turned and shuffled towards the others like a zombie, and plopped down next to Constance. He didn't move at all while Max built the fire and when Mortis spoke he didn't respond in any way. He was drained of most energy from the day, both physically and mentally. His thoughts turned once again to Constance, and noticed her sleeping next to him. "I wish I could find out for sure what she thought of me, so I wouldn't keep thinking about it. Even if she didn't like me, it'd be better than not knowing." He went to scratch his shoulder when he felt the bag handle, remembering Anon sitting in it. He thought about it for a moment, remembering how it seemed to work when it wanted to. He decided to try and pulled it out, opening to the first page. "I need their full name I think. If I ask her what it is, the others will see. I'm enough of a dead weight without them thinking I'm some sort of sicko. If it doesn't work with her first name, I'll wait till everyone's asleep and try it." He wrote in the first page Constance, expecting nothing to appear as it did with Lincoln.
-
max chuckled softly looking up and watching macid shuffle over to constances side while he collected wood. he saw mortis watching him out of the corner of his eye but passed it off as her more than likely either looking at something on the other side of him or her being to bored to do anything else. once he had a rough fire pit built he pulled out the flint and sat down next to the pile of wood with the kindling "right.....now to figure this out...."
after a good five minutes of trying, and a small bit of cursing after he somehow managed to hurt his thumb, max got the kindling alight and used it to light the fire. he sat next to the fire holding his now slightly bleeding thumb in a small wrap of the cloth from around his waist watching the others as mortis moved closer. he watched moon and smiled softly at moon as she circled and listened to mortis, nodding in agreement as the small cloud of dust settled. "your right, none of us are heroes, were quite possibly the least functional team that will ever walk the earth. but if it wasn't for you moon, we might not have even made it to the second town let alone out here." he said calmly, his top half laying back while his lags stayed folded where they were. "and mortis, you shouldn't sell yourself short. your obviously going to be a key part of how this turns out. why do you think the first group wants you." he sighed deeply, for some reason feeling way to relaxed as he looked at the stars. "by the way i seem to be in an abnormally good mood so if you want me to try and say something inspirational you better hurry." he joked lifting his head so he could see mortis.
-
Moon cooed from Mortis' comforting, and laid happily next to the fire. She stirred from time to time throughout the night, unknowingly having some spikes coming out of the back of her head. They didn't know it, but how they were treating and raising Moon had been contributing to her growth, like her larger wings and now her growing horns. The yellow on her scales were also getting paler as her body was getting ready to shed them.
-
Mortis rolled back over on her back and sighed. She was glad that Moon felt better and it allowed her to relax a little bit more aside from how relaxed she already was with the environment. "Man, I just want all of this to be over with so that we can go home." Mortis muttered, not really speaking to anyone in particular. She held the back of her head, her elbows now pointing upward. "So.. How do you guys feel about the old man?" she blurted out. She was curious.
-
Constance continued to sleep, unaware of Macid sitting down next to her as she did so. She curled up into a ball feeling a little cold in the night. She was dreaming again of being a lioness. Once again she was stalking a gazelle through some thick brush. The gazelle was silently sipping some water at the edge of a pond. She burst from the brush and took the animal down in moments. She circled her kill slowly licking her lips, savoring the adrenaline rush of another successful kill. She crept up to the gazelle slowly, looming over it's neck before biting into it.
-
Macid closed the book and set it back inside his bag. He knew it wouldn't work with just her first name but he felt he had to try. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as he felt his fatigue catching up with him. He was about to lay down, when he looked over at Constance. When he noticed her curled up in a ball, he figured she must have been cold, depsite having a fire this time. His fur was thicker than hers, so he took off his robe and lay it over her, leaving him in his pants from the inn. "So.. How do you guys feel about the old man?" Macid yawned before replying to Mortis. "I owe him a lot, but to be thrown into this so suddenly, I don't know. It would have been nice to have a little warning you know?" His eyes slowly shut closed as he nodded off to sleep sitting up, finally giving in to his lack of energy. You wouldn't have known he fell asleep so quickly if you weren't watching him.
-
max rested his head back down on his arms while listening to macid. once macid fell asleep max waited a few seconds before speaking himself. "the old man is all i have left. he's the closest thin I've had to a father for a long time. he's the only person who didn't give up on me. yea he and i don't always get along perfectly but he's one of the only people to ever earn my respect. as for lately, he may have just cost me my job and thrown us all back in time, and i can't say that i entirely trust either him or any of you guys.....but i still respect him, and I'm starting to warm up to you." he sighed closing his eyes, unsure if anyone had been listening while he started drifting off to sleep.
-
The next morning was quiet, but so was Moon, who was already up, but had grown a little larger, and had a total of 2 smooth and curved horns protruding from within her head plate. She was very alert as she watched a lone behemoth venturing by itself around them. It hadn't noticed them, yet, so she did her best to stay quiet and out of sight, but she still wanted to protect her new friends.
-
After everyone had spoken, the chameleon had fallen asleep, sprawled out face up. Over the night she rolled around restlessly, but it was sleep nonetheless. She didn't wake until the next morning when her stomach gurgled, waking her. She sat up bringing her hands to her face, rubbing it, mainly her eyes as she yawned and stretched in attempts to make herself fully awake. Looking around, she saw Moon, but she seemed different, though as tired as she was, she couldn't place what it was.
-
Constance awoke the next morning, sitting up Macid's clothing fell off her. She looked at them confused as she yawned stretching. She noticed Macid shirtless and put the two together. "He gave me his shirt? How sweet..." she thought as she placed his clothes back on him. She then looked at Moon noticing she had some changes. "Moon...? Are you okay?" she asked scooting over to her to pet her.
-
Macid groaned as he felt something being put on him. Slowly opening his eyes and feeling around his back he found his robe to be back on him. Constance had gone over to Moon without a word to him, not even a thank you. He sighed in disappointment as he stretched his arms and neck, being a little sore from falling asleep sitting up. He rose to his feet and finished his stretching routine as he eyed the rest of the group. Everything seemed normal, at least as normal as the situation could call for, except for a behemoth wandering nearby. Slowly, he got down on his belly and tried to hide from the beast, whispering to the others about it. "Behemoth. Get down."
-
max stirred in his sleep, yawning as he started to wake up. he sat up slowly rubbing his eyes before stopping as his back cracked a few times from sleeping on Ramsey. he thought he heard macid say something but wasn't sure so he looked over and spotted him on the ground. "wha?..." he asked quietly looking down still half asleep. he rubbed the back of his neck stretching till he heard another louder crack, opening his eyes and starting to relax again he froze seeing the behemoth. "please tell me I'm still asleep and that's not really there."
-
The behemoth's head turned towards the group in anger as it heard Max's voice, and charged them. Thankfully, they were far enough away from the herd that their battle wouldn't be heard by them. Moon took flight and flew as high as she could, doing a diving tackle and headbutted the behemoth's head, bouncing off, but deterring it enough to try to get her. However, to her surprise, the behemoth was able to stand on its hind legs like a human for a few seconds to claw at her, but she luckily dodged it, flying high enough.
-
In her stupor, she realized what was going on and began to quickly pat around herself, looking for her book. She found it, finally waking up fully when the behemoth charged. "Shit, shit shit." She muttered flipping the book open and drawing. The chameleon didn't even realize what she was drawing at first, as if she was just drawing on instinct. She was working on an ogre. "Someone better cover my ass, Max, you better do something." She said in a matter-of-factly tone as she drew.
-
Constance continued to examine Moon looking at what was new about her. She heard Macid getting up and looked over to him. "Morning, Macid. Did you-..." she noticed him getting down and looked behind her. She saw the behemoth and Moon take flight. "Oh crap..." she thought. About then she heard Mortis telling Max to do something, noticing she was drawing. It sparked the idea to get an animal out to help. She looked around for her monkey seeing it up a tree. It jumped and landed on the behemoth and held onto it's horns like it was a bucking bronco after Moon hit it. "That little one is so reckless..." she thought standing up. She drew Lych just in case she needed to use it.
-
Macid stayed low to the ground, not sure what to do to about the behemoth. As Moon fought against it and Mortis yelled at Max, he ran his thoughts trying to think of something. "What do I do what do I do what do I do? Can't fight, can't run, gotta do something. Think! damit!" He ran his hands through his fur as he thought when he felt his bag around his neck. He pulled it up and over, looking it over, and looking back at the Behemoth. His idea struck and he got up off the ground and yelled to Constance. "Constance! I have an idea. I need your help!" He ran over to her and began telling her his idea. "If your monkey can get on the behemoth again, but with my bag, we can blind it and get away safely. What do you think?"
-
max quickly jumped up running, he stumbled and face planting into the burned-out fire pit as his legs, numb from being crossed all night quickly regaining enough feeling to burn with pins and needles as he ran holding Ramsey's handle. at the last second he jumped and shoulder charged the behemoth in the gut before kicking off it and trying to land but instead tripping, rolling and quickly jumping back to his feet wobbling while drawing Ramsey with one hand and holding his head with the other. "oh god....head spin..."
-
The behemoth didn't even budge at Max's shoulder ram, but was irritated with the small spider monkey on its horn and shook its head violently as it landed back on all fours. After a few violent shakes, it tossed the monkey up, opening its great maw and chomped down as it landed in its mouth. Moon circled around again, hoping to find an opening for another headbutt.
-
When Macid ran up to Constance she listened to his idea and looked over to the behemoth. "I like it, sounds-!" just then the behemoth flung her monkey into the air and ate it. "No! You big bastard!!" she roared. After that she charged at it blindly out of rage from her lost animal. She drew Lych and jumped onto the behemoth's back digging in with her claws and Lych stuck into it, she was even biting it, though it was ineffective. "How about I eat you! How does it feel!?" she screamed as she chewed on it. Her words were muffled due to her trying to eat the behemoth. She was clearly very angry. By the time she had come to her senses she realized there was no going back from here.
-
Macid watched as the behemoth flipped and ate the monkey in one gulp. "There goes my idea." When Constance yelled and charged after it, he reached out after her to try and stop her. "No! Constance come back!" He stood there with a very panicked and worried look on his face. He had finally found someone who he had genuinely liked and she had just jumped into the lion's den. His hand remained stretched out as he watched as Constance dug her dagger into the beasts back and began to bite it, hoping that the beast would merely buck her off instead of trying to eat her too.
-
"theres an idea." max smirked watching constance trying to eat the behemoth. he put away Ramsey and ran up jumping onto the behemoth not far from constance. "here, try these." he called reaching out carefully holding two of the smaller knives for constance to grab. with his other hand he grab out another knife and stabbed it into the behemoths back so he could hold on. he looked over to mortis, hoping whatever she was drawing was strong enough to take the behemoth down.
-
The behemoth roared as Constance jumped on his back, and even more so with Max. However, for Max, his blades did not stay in as the behemoth twisted around, since the blades were so sharp. The behemoth stood on its hind legs again, but this time, jumped back, hoping to crush Constance, who was on his back. Moon took the opportunity and dove in for another headbutt, hitting the behemoth in midair and had it land on its side, but the impact with the ground shot Constance of its back, and a few meters away.
-
"By the time I get this thing drawn, the damned thing isn't going to be needed." She muttered to herself as she drew a little faster, hoping to compensate for lost time. "I mean those things are strong, right? It's gonna take more than a few bites and a headbutt." Mortis probably looked comical as she talked to herself while she drew, not really paying attention to what was going on around her. Her colors were fluctuating between being really dark to really bright as different emotions swam through her all at once as she drew.
-
As the behemoth romped about to try and get Constance off she had switched to attacking it to holding on for dear life. She had let her emotions get the better of her again, which got her into trouble, again. When Max had decided to climb on as well she barely noticed him speak to her to give her a knife. She only noticed him get tossed off, fearing for her life seeming to get in the way of anything else. When the behemoth stood up on it's hind legs to essentially crush her she closed her eyes tightly holding her breath preparing for the worst. She felt a sudden shift in the behemoth's movements, opening her eyes in time to crash to the ground and be flung sever meters away. She tumbled and rolled the whole way before finally stopping on her face. "Ow..." she groaned as she slowly sat up. "I'm...Alive...?" she mumbled after wards as she looked down at her paws in somewhat of a daze.
-
Macid watched as the beast stood up on its hind legs, preparing to try and crush Constance and Max. He covered his eyes and looked away, for he could not bear to see the inevitable. When he didn't hear a scream, he opened his eyes and saw that the behemoth was fighting with Moon, and Constance and Max we're thrown off to the side. "Constance!" He rushed over to where she was and tried to lift her up to carry her out of the way of the raging behemoth. He picked her up farther than he did with Max, but was not able to fully lift her, setting her back down and pleading with her. "Constance, please we have to let the others handle this. Please get up!"
-
After setting Constance down, Anon began to glow, as did the finger-guantlet pen on Macid's finger. Anon's golden color molded itself and formed a golden, bestial eye at the top of the front cover. The pages flew open, fluttering to the middle of the book. The finger-gauntlet didn't undergo as much of a change, merely a small ruby filled up one of the five empty slots that were on the back.
-
max felt the blade shift and slip as the behemoth shock him off, one of the small blades falling from his hand and coming so close to slicing him open he watched in slow motion and a few of the scales on his wrist were cut in half by the tip of the blade. he was thrown off and slamed into the ground, the peices of ramsey landing around him, some buryed halfway into the ground not far from where he landed. mex looked up after regaining his sences and went visibly pale as he looked at the looming behemoth on in mid air, falling towards him. he was able to roll out of the way in time, barely, before he realised. "wait, RAMSEY!!" he turned around, all but the two smaller sections of ramsey that hadn't been knocked loose were now under the behemoth. "i can't beleve i'm saying this but....please tell me that thing is getting back up......"
-
The behemoth did more than just get up. In fact, it was extremely enraged. It was almost as if a heat wave was surrounding the mountainous beast and it roared loudly, causing any ground within a meter from it to shake. Noticing Max being the closest target, the giant beast turned towards him and prepped once before charging full speed at him.
-
Mortis stopped to look over her work as she finished the drawing of the Ogre, however she snapped out of it when she remembered that the creature was going to come out of the book after it was done. With that thought, she pointed the book away from herself and in the direction of the behemoth, "Please kill it, get the behemoth before it kills anyone, please please please," she chanted as if it would actually have an effect on the book.
-
When Constance was set down by Macid she looked up at him. "Macid? So I'm not dead....Unless you're dead too. Thanks for carrying me away...Unless you are dead, then sorry I guess." she rambled on beginning to look at the ground. She coughed suddenly, a bit of fur escaped from her mouth; the behemoth's fur. "Ew! Did I really bite that thing?!" she said trying to spit more of it out and rubbing her mouth to try and get it out. She soon noticed the behemoth charge at Max and frantically searched for Lych, which was nowhere to be found. "Oh no is it-..." she stopped to looked at the behemoth. Lodged in the behemoth's back was Lych, sticking half way out of it. "Dang it...Gotta get it back." she said standing up quickly. She took one step and quickly retracted it due to a sudden pain in her foot. "Ow!" she said as she hobbled over to a tree. Constance leaned her hand against the tree and looked at her foot, seeing nothing visibly wrong. "No...Did I sprain my ankle?! No...No, no no no! I can't be injured!" she thought to herself. Her left foot was slightly elevated off the ground as she leaned against the tree. She slowly pressed it back on the ground, again a searing pain shot through her body. She grunted to herself and looked up, tears welling up in her eyes. "Dang it...This can't be happening...I...Have to hide it. How? Play it off. Everything is cool. You can do this. It's just a sprain...Just say it's a little sore or something." she continued to think.
-
Macid dropped Anon with a yelp as it flew open to the middle of itself. He did not hear Constane's thank you nor did he see her hobble towards the tree. His gaze was solely focused on his book, watching it to see if it would do anything else. "Whats with this book? Is it suddenly possessed?" When the behemoth roared, Macid was snapped away from his book to see it charge towards Max with all its speed and strength.With the behemoth attack, his feelings for Constance, and now his book acting weird, Macid could no longer handle the ensuing chaos and fainted backwards onto the grass.
-
Max's life flashed before his eyes as the behemoth charged at him. that's when it hit him, all his wrongs were insignificant, all his hardships were nothing. suddenly a faint glimmer of light snapped him back to reality as Ramsey caught the light from his spot behind the behemoth. he was sticking halfway out of the ground gleaming in the sunlight. his mind cleared as he made up his mind, he lept out of the way, ensuring that it would turn to charge him again. he ran over and grabbed Ramsey before it could do anything to stop him and turned around. "you after me? i ain't got much to live for." he called with Ramsey resting over his shoulder ready to react when and if the behemoth made it's move.
-
The ogre had rushed over to the behemoth and started beating it with its club after Max had dodged. The behemoth merely growled and pushed the ogre aside with its head, but the ogre kept coming back. Like before, the locked pages of Mortis' book was glowing blue, but this time, it turned green after a while of the ogre beating at the giant beast.
-
Mortis watched, fascinated. Once she realized that the Ogre would be a good distraction, she shouted to the others, "That would be a good distraction for us to leave!" She pointed at her Ogre. "C'mon let's go." She directed as she began to take off, only to trip over Macid. "Crap." She muttered. She looked around for his things, and gathered his book, placing it in his bag. "We need to get him up." She was oblivious at Constance's condition, as she had hardly seen anything that went on due to her having to draw.
-
Constance took a deep breath and looked back to Macid seeing that he had fainted. "Oh great...It just keeps getting better." she muttered. When Mortis came over only to trip over Macid she looked at her seemingly unamused when she asked for help and said they needed to leave. "Sorry, but my weapon is stuck in that thing and I'm not leaving without it." she said trying to sound calm despite the pain she was in. With that said she walked awkwardly towards Max. "Max! I need your help to get Lych back. It's stuck in that thing's back." she continued, giving no regard to her injury.
-
max heard mortis' call for help and looked over seeing constance, noticing something odd about the way she walked. "stay back, I'll get it for you!" he called quickly grabbing all of his knives and running towards the two creatures. he jumped onto the behemoths back when it was distracted, grabbed her dagger and pulled it free before putting as much space between himself and the two. he ran over to constance and gave her the blade, "you alright?" he asked walking over and scooping up macid and grabbing his things.
-
"Alright, if everything's good, let's go before my ogre wears off." she muttered, taking off, not looking back. The thought of the behemoth stomping their brains in made her want to stay as far away from that thing as she could. As she walked a little ahead of the others, she looked down to her book again and tried to open the pages that were flashing green. "I bet you won't be nice enough to open for me." she said to the book.
-
Constance gladly listened to Max when he said to stay put. She watched him get her knife from the behemoth's back and took it when handed to her. She followed after them, tailing behind them as she walked awkwardly. Her teeth were clenched tightly from the pain as she tried to keep up with the others, thought her best efforts were for not. "I can't believe I was so careless...I just...Lost control...This time I got hurt. What if someone else got hurt? I...Need to be more careful." she reprimanded herself in her head.
-
max could hear constances footsteps and he cold tell something wasn't right. "hay constance, are you OK?" he asked turning around. he saw her face and sighed walking over moving macid so he was hanging over his shoulder while he held his legs against his chest. "what happened? and don't say nothing cos the way you look at the moment you wouldn't fool anyone." he crouched down and set down macid carefully and finished walking over to constance. "sit down and let me see." he sighed standing in front of her.
-
The behemoth noticed its lunch running away and pushed past the ogre towards the partially fleeing group. His sights, however, were on the furthest one, a lizard that was holding a book. The behemoth charged towards her at full speed. Moon noticed it from her vantage point and dove in to cover and headbutt the behemoth in the back of the head, but the behemoth stopped and raised its head, causing Moon to falter, and it caught Moon in its mouth. Moon squealed in pain as the behemoth's jowls clamped down onto her. Though her growth has allotted her some of the impenetrable scales of adult dragons, it only covered a couple places, so some of the teeth did sink into her flesh.
-
Mortis turned around when she heard Moon's squeals, and utter shock set in. She quit messing with her book and snapped, running past the others, in fact almost barreling over them both enraged and scared for Moon. Without thinking, she jammed her book into her bag and jumped onto the thing's back, using her smaller size to her advantage to climb the thing's back. She grabbed onto its horns and bounced her feet on its head kicking as hard as she could. "Let go, you big jackass!" she yelled. "You've got to have a weak point somewhere!" She looked around trying to find her ogre, hoping it would come to help her. Her chest hurt when she realized just how stupid her move had been and remembered how fast Constance had been tossed off, fear beginning to fester in her mind. Oh well, I did want to die anyway, may as well go out in style... God, why did I do this again? she thought, not relenting with her kicks to the thing's skull. If it tried to toss her off, she had reinforced her grip with her tail on another horn. "Max, or someone, go for it's throat!" She hoped that her ogre hadn't gone anywhere and that it would respond to her request in time... She also hoped the thing would drop Moon as well and that she wouldn't die. "It's got to be vulnerable there..." she shouted between the behemoth's movements, "Everything is vulnerable at the throat!"
-
Constance stopped when Max approached her. When he basically caught her she kinda froze. "Uh..." was the only thing she could say. However she turned around hearing something, seeing that Moon was in trouble. "Moon!" she cried out. Mortis barreled passed her, springing into action by jumping onto the behemoth's back in a similar fashion as she had done earlier. "Gotta help somehow..." she said kneeling down to etch a rune into the ground. Pressing her palm to it she summoned a wolf. "Go help my friend!" she ordered, making the wolf take off at the behemoth. When Mortis made and opening for it's throat and called for Max she turned to him. "Go! Don't worry about me. I'm fine." she said moving to take Macid. She took her bag off her back and tossed it at a tree a few yards away. Constance lifted him up, draping his arms over his shoulder and struggled to stand up. She slowly piggy backed him over to the tree next to her bag and set him down. Upon doing so collapsed against the tree next to him. "Okay, no more of that..." She said to herself.
-
Macid blinked his eyes as he regained consciousness. He looked around to get his bearings, finding that he was sitting against a tree with Constance next to him. He rubbed his head thinking to himself, "I gotta stop doing that." He saw the group fighting the behemoth with Moon in its mouth. It took a while for it to register, but when it did his eyes went wide as he turned to Constance. "That things trying to eat Moon! We gotta help!" He hoisted himself up and got several feet before remembering he had no means of attacking such a monster. His ears drooped as he walked back to Constance and sat down next to her, figuring he could at least try and protect her. "This is horrible Constance."
-
max groaned getting to his feet again. he drew Ramsey and started running towards the behemoth. as soon as he was close enough he jumped into the air "open wide you overgrown soon to be throw rug!" he swung down cutting the behemoths lower lip and down along the skin between the sides of it's lower jaw. he then stabbed Ramsey into the beast's jaw bone, hoping to hit a few nerves and make it open it's mouth for moon. he held Ramsey firmly hoping the behemoth didn't get the idea to slam it's head down and that he hadn't hit moon.
-
The kicking on its head did not affect the behemoth, but it did annoy it enough to sway a bit. When stabbed in the jaw, the behemoth roared as it let go of Moon and shook its head, trying to loose Ramsey and to try to shake off Mortis. It bled profusely as it was unsuccessful, and finally collapsed onto its side, which ended up sending Mortis skidding a couple meters. It let out a low growl in its throat before finally silencing in its death. Moon whimpered as she laid not too far away, bleeding.
-
Everything seemed to go by in a blur until Mortis was ejected from the behemoth. She laid there for a moment, tensing up when she heard the thing growl. She felt as if she had landed wrong on her wrist as she went down. And I think it's my right wrist, too.. I hope I didn't break it, that's what I draw with... The chameleon groaned, sitting up and grunting from the pain that was shooting through her body. Along with her wrist screaming at her, the pain was indicating some new injuries, namely scrapes and bruises. She was covered in dirt from her toss, but despite all that had happened, she didn't hesitate to rush to Moon's side when she heard her whimper. She ran over, almost falling at first from getting up too fast and placed her hands on the dragon's head to pet her. She winced when her wrist came to rest, but played it off attempting to comfort Moon. She looked her over, and managed to utter a thank you to Moon, but Mortis was more focused on looking over Moon's injuries to see if she could use that goo on her.
-
Constance felt sick to her stomach as she watched the fight unable to do anything to help Moon. She saw Macid wake up and begin to panic about needing to help Moon which made her feel worse. "We can't do anything..." she said lowly, looking down at her lap. After a few moments she heard the thud and looked up to see the behemoth on the ground. She shot up from where she sat and moved towards Moon but stopped short grasping her leg. She collapsed onto all fours, with a pained expression on her face. The wolf she had summoned returned to her side, standing firmly beside her so she could use him to get up. She managed to get to her knees and then stand up using the wolf as a bit if a crutch. However it still hurt to much to move quickly without help from someone taller and not walking on all fours.
-
Macid watched as the behemoth thrashed with the rest of the group, feeling terrible he couldn't help. He held his arms across his chest, suddenly realizing he did not have his book. He was relieved to find it was in his bag the whole time. He took it out and hugged it tight, like a child and a teddy bear. He saw the behemoth topple and everyone get tossed off, Moon whimpering a few meters away from it. Constance was the first to get up and rush over to help, only to stumble and fall. Her wolf came quickly to help her up, but wasn't a very good crutch. "Constance!" Macid rushed over and kneeled down next to her, stuffing his book into his bag again and draping her arm around his neck. "Ready? 1, 2, 3." With her and her wolf's help, He hoisted her up to her feet and helped her make their way towards Moon and Mortis. Macid had not forgotten about Max however, and once he set Constance down near Mortis, he went over to where Max was to help him up. "Max! Are you allright?"
-
max got to his feet, his jaw stinging from when Ramsey had caught him on the chin. he rubbed it his jaw and walking over to the dead behemoth. he used a foot for leverage to pull Ramsey out as macid ran over. "Max! Are you allright?" "yea, better than this thing." he looked around at the others while pressing a hand to hes side. "well macid, looks like you and i are the only two not injured." he sighed taking the cast of his now healed wound. "we should help them. don't worry about me, I'm fine.
-
Moon continued to whimper as the others gathered around her, her purple blood oozing slowly from her wounds. Meanwhile, Ramsey glowed blue as did the smaller ones and they floated over to the one in Max's hand. The smaller Ramsey circled around the main one faster and faster, as they melded into it. The blade began to curve forward and the underside of the curve gained a serrated edge.
-
Mortis reached into her bag, retrieving the goo and looked Moon over. "Moon, this may hurt, but I gotta do it." She said, not sure if Moon would react. Without waiting much longer, she squeezed the goo out of the bag and into Moon's wounds, trying to hide the pain of her injured wrist as she worked. When she finished, she tossed the bag aside, the goo pretty much expended due to Moon's size.
-
Constance took Macid's help with walking not having much choice in the matter. When he set her down next to Moon she turned to thank him. "Thank Ma-..." by the time she had said anything he had run off to help Max. With a small sigh she turned to the injured Moon to pet her while Mortis applied the healing gel stuff. "You're gonna be okay, girl. Just hang in there. That mean old behemoth is gone. You're okay now." she said trying to console her. She couldn't really do much else and she knew it so she did what she could.
-
"If you say so Max." Macid began to walk back towards the others when he stopped to look at the behemoth. It was hard to believe that just a few minutes ago it was trying to kill them. He spat in its general direction and went over to kneel down next to Moon and the others. He watched as Mortis applied the goo that had been used on Max before and discard the bag it was kept in, while Constance tried to sooth her through the healing. He put his hand on Moon to try and help Constance pet her when he noticed the ruby on Anon and the other notches next to it. He brought it closer to his face so he could examine it better. He spoke out loud to himself. "First my book acts up, then the pen gets this little jewel. What does it mean?" He was so entranced by the gem that he had forgotten about the others momentarily.
-
max was startled when Ramsey started reacting. "what in the?" once Ramsey had finished reshaping he looked over his new form, running his fingers over the smooth side of the blade while looking at the new serrated blade edge. "this could be usefull. i wonder what triggered the change." he walked over to the others quietly, Ramsey still in hand as he reached the others. "you three going to be OK?" he asked mortis, constance and moon, noticing macid in his own little world again.
-
Moon squealed at the application of the goo, as it accelerated her healing by filling up the bite wounds. Like Macid, the pain eventually sent her right into shock and she fainted. Not too long after that, the image of Filadius popped out from the gem on her belly, "Whew! Finally, my magic is no longer blocked! How are you kids doing? Making progress?"
-
Mortis felt bad for putting Moon through so much pain, but her expression shifted to a less than thrilled look when Filadius's image showed up. "Yeah, progress.." She mumbled, turning and sitting on the ground leaning against Moon. She wasn't using Moon as a rest so much as she was preparing to sit with her until she woke up again. She crossed her arms and looked away from Filadius, still rather irate with him.
-
Constance continued to console Moon up until she fainted. "I think we'll be fine." she responded to Max. She hid her sadness surprisingly well for the situation. When Filadius' image popped up she looked at it. "You couldn't tell us to go a different direction? Seriously, we went through a massive patrol, an evil soldier infested town and now behemoths!" she vented a bit. "Moon is hurt. Everyone's weapons are on the fritz and we can't seem to catch a break." she continued, unsure why she was letting these things out. She actually didn't notice but she was putting pressure on her ankle making it hurt. Though she stopped soon enough.
-
Macid was snapped back to reality when Filadius appeared. He waited until Constance was done yelling before putting his hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her. She was right that they had gone through alot because of his directions and was irritated at him too, but something he said caught his attention. He started asking questions to Filadius quickly, as he knew his visits were always short here. "What did you mean your magic is no longer blocked? And what's going on with our weapons? Anon just started flipping pages on its own and grew some kind of eye on the cover, and my pen has a ruby attached to it now. What goes in the other holes and why did the first one appear? What other kinds of monsters are here besides those behemoths? We could have been killed by that thing Damnit! What else haven't you told us about this place, or would the time stream unravel if you did so its a secret?!" He started out calm but ended yelling as Constance did, gripping her shoulder tightly now instead of just resting on it.
-
max sat down near mortis, still looking over Ramsey when filadius appeared. max looked up for a second, looking back down at Ramsey and listening to the others drilling the old man. he sighed looking up at the old man before standing up and resting Ramsey on his shoulder. "and whats with this? anything new here other than shredding rather than slicing?" he asked yawning and lifting Ramsey slightly while finishing his first question. he looked down at moon and mortis at his feet then over at constance and macid on the other side of moon along with the old man.
-
Filadius made an almost pushing motion, "Take it easy! I'm sorry, Constance, but I'm only leading you through your destiny, and that's all. You just have to trust me. Also, Moon blocks my magic when she deems it necessary, so I don't pop up at wrong times, like say if you were hiding and there was a patrol near you. She also blocks my magic if her reserve magic is running on empty, or else I start using the magic that she actually can use. As for your weapons, it seems some of you have fulfilled certain conditions. Macid, Anon had grown what's called the Bestial Eye. It allows you to read the thoughts of any animal without a name. However, since it just evolved now, you can only use it once in a long while. After using it on one animal, the eye will close until it has recharged itself. I think it takes about 8 hours or so to recharge, so use it sparingly. As for you, Max, well, let's just say the sharpest weapon in the world just got deadlier and easier to manage. Has anyone else's weapons evolved or acted strange?"
-
"My book keeps glowing." Mortis mumbled, still looking away. She almost seemed to be staring through everything and her voice seemed flat. She took her book out, not breaking her gaze and hugged it in her lap. "If Moon was blocking you, should you even be talking to us? I mean, she can't block you if she's unconscious and she was blocking you for some reason." Finally after an eternity, she turned to look at Filadius. Despite feeling that he shouldn't be calling, she held her book out to show its pages were glowing. "It's been doing that since I used it and it worked the first time."
-
Constance looked at Macid's paw when he put it on her shoulder. She put her paw on it and sat there as he spoke. She felt his anger, his grip on her shoulder being all the sign she needed. "Macid...It's okay." she said, trying to calm him down. She didn't say that he was hurting her, rather ignore it so he didn't get more upset. Her ankle throbbed in pain but even that she was playing off. "I wonder if that gel would work on this injury...? That would be nice...But I think it's all gone." she thought, trying to take her mind off things.
-
"Macid...It's okay." He looked at her and realized he might have been hurting Constance's shoulder. He breathed slowly as he released his grip and began to rub it to try and show he was sorry. "I'm sorry. I just... we've been through hell and I don't see it getting any better any time soon and its just... I needed to let that out." He was speaking to everybody but it may have seemed to the others that he was talking to Constance. He had never felt such strong feelings for a group of people before, so he wasn't sure how to act around them. He took his hand off Constance and showed the ruby to Filadius. "I'm sorry. Please. Can you tell me what this means too?"
-
Filadius' image walked over to Mortis and he examined the glowing pages that soon stopped glowing again, not too long after, "Well, now. It seems it is signalling that you're getting closer to unlocking more pages. The book must be getting close to accepting you. Whenever you fulfill a certain condition with your summons, the book accepts you more and more as its owner, and unlocks more summons for you. As you may have noticed, it might have changed colors a few times. I'm not sure what the conditions are, nor do I know how many color changes are needed for the pages to unlock." He then walked over to Macid and examined the gem, "Well, the pen is doubled as a defensive counter-measure. It allows you barrier for a few seconds, and forms a 1-sided shield that can protect only you. Since this is a ruby, I'm willing to bet that it's a fire-element shield. After you use it, it'll turn clear until it's fully recharged."
-
Mortis looked her book over as Filadius explained the book to her. She eventually felt her wrist hurt again, so she pulled her book back and placed it back into her bag. She rubbed her wrist, only half listening to what the old man had to say to Macid. "So, uh, can she block you if she's unconscious?" Mortis asked again, not liking the fact that he had brushed off her question about Moon. "Should you be calling us right now?"
-
"It's fine..." said Constance to Macid. She held her ankle in pain though she wasn't looking at it. "Is Moon going to be okay...? She looks different now. Is she growing up?" she asked Filadius. Her wolf sat beside her scanning the area for any danger that could potentially harm Constance. "Is there anything we need to do? I've never raised a dragon before." she added in, petting Moon's head as she was unconscious.
-
Macid eyed the ruby again, now knowing what it would do. "A flame shield. I wonder how I activate it. Maybe by thinking about it?" His eyes went wide as he shook his head, trying to think of something else. Having it go off now would be a disaster he didn't want to even think about. He put his hand back on Constance's shoulder and waited for Filadius to answer about Moon. Her new features intrigued him, but also scared him slightly. Just how big she could get and other dragons here even stronger than her made his stomach uneasy.
-
max sheathed Ramsey carefully. looking back at mortis he sat back down. he wasn't sure why but he felt closer to mortis than the others, he had been keeping his distance and tried to gauge her reactions but most of the time he had found himself admiring her. he quickly shock his head to clear his thoughts before turning his attention to moon oping she would be OK. he saw mortis rubbing her wrist and decided he should try and help, after all she had helped him. "here, let me see your wrist, i might be able to help."
-
Filadius looked over at Moon and pet her, though he was just an image, "She released the lock on me before she fainted, but yes, she can block me even if she were unconscious. The magic lock Moon uses is on and off by conscious decision. If she's unconscious and doesn't unblock my magic, then I would be unable to communicate. As for raising her, there's no 101 on raising dragons. You have to take care of her and raise her as you see fit. That includes baths, feeding, how you interact with her, and so forth. Everything that happens to her will affect every little bit of her growth until she becomes an adolescent dragon, in which case, her raising will be set in stone on what she turns out to be. However, the most difficult part is when they become adults. That's when you see different types of forms and powers."
-
The chameleon nodded and then looked away from his image. She didn't really respond or bother with anyone until Max asked to see her wrist. "It's fine, I, uh," She grabbed it, feeling the bones in it. "I think I just popped it out of place." For the first time she had actually started to concern herself with her injuries. Either way she let Max look at it. "I think all we have to do is jerk it back in place." She made it seem like it was nothing, but she knew doing that would be painful from the time she had dislocated her shoulder. "Though, I may not be able to draw for a bit, it would figure I would land wrong on the hand I need." She didn't know why she was prattling on. She figured they would have to make camp where they were for the night until Moon was able to move again.
-
When Filadius mentioned the word "Bath" Constance drifted off into her own world. "Baaaaath~!" she thought. She pictured a large bath, filled with bubbles and her in it. She was relaxing in it, the bubbles up to her neck. She hadn't gotten the chance for a bath yet, or a good chance to clean herself. She snapped back to reality and looked at Filadius. "Is there a hot spring around? We're in...Cherry fields I think..." she said, praying on the inside he would say yes.
-
Macid sighed as he looked down at Moon. The thought of caring and raising this dragon and affecting its growth made him feel somewhat like a father taking care of a child. The thought scared him slightly but he did his best to hide it from the group. At the mention of a hot spring from Constance, he started to imagine what it would be like to have one right now. He closed his eyes and dreamed of sitting in a mountain lake, with a bath house next to it and a wooden wall separating the lake in half for girls and boys. He imagined the water being just the right temperature and melting away all his troubles. He got so into his dream that when he started to clean himself in his dream, he started rubbing his hand across Constance's neck and shoulders.
-
max gently took mortis' hand and inspected her wrist, gently proding it with his fingers. he could feel the bone intact as he examined her arm. "feels like your right, not that I'm a doctor but we should be able to pull it back into place. but I'll hurt." he though for a moment then remembered something from back in the first town. he drove his free hand into one of his pockets and pulled out a small, water worn, cardboard box. "i had forgotten about these. i gave one to macid back in the first town. their the painkillers from where i work, they should help." he opened the box and looked at the thin silver sheet, "looks like theres only two left, one for you and one for constance. if you want one just hold out your good hand."
-
Filadius' face showed an almost apologetic look, "I'm sorry, Constance, but the discovery and usage of hot springs won't be applied for another 300 years, when the Dragon Wars causes the continent to split up into the world that you know and grew up with. However, if you want to get cleaned, there is another city about 2 days north that has an inn. But you should be able to get mildly clean from the two small villages up ahead. Paliria City has the most relaxed security out of all major cities in the world, but there are also a lot of bounty hunters that inhabit and visit the city, so there was never a need for it, so you will have to be extra careful."
-
The chameleon put her good hand up but not to take the pill. Instead it was held upright as if to push the idea away. "No, I'm good. I just.. I'll get it back in place and deal with it. I've had to do this before." At this point she wasn't even paying attention to Filadius. She figured anything that was important could be said to her later, or that Macid would tell her at least since Constance wasn't too fond of her. "Max, just grab my good hand and pull and I'll work it back into place."
-
Constance was crossing her fingers on the inside, waiting for Filadius' response. However she felt hands on her, not knowing who's they were for a moment it felt nice. Then she realized they were Macid's. "Macid! What are you doing??" she blurted out, sounding somewhat angry. She wasn't angry, rather having too many emotions at one time, confusion, embarrassment, surprise, and others. She didn't say anything in regards to Filadius' comment about hot springs not being around, she just sat there in an awkward silence.
-
When Constance asked Macid what he was doing, he came to his senses and realized he was rubbing her neck. Even with his thick fur, you could easily tell he was blushing from embarrassment. He quickly withdrew his hand and started apologizing to her. "Oh god, I'm so sorry, I, I just, I, oh god." He turned away from the others and tried to hide himself by sticking his head inside his empty bag. "Oh god, she hates me now. Awww god." While in his stupor, he managed to hear Filadius say something about a city 2 days north, smaller villages along the way, and bounty hunters.
-
"if your sure. just ask if you want one." max put the pills back into his pocket before taking mortis' hand in his, trying to hurt her as little as possible. he was half listening to filadius but getting distracted when macid snapped back to reality again. he looked mortis in the eyes, sure that he was more worried than her about putting her wrist back in place. he heard the old man say something about bounty hunters in the next major town and couldn't help but comment "oh come on, are we really that unlucky? or does this entire time in history really hates us that much?"
-
Filadius frowned, "You really are too used to the city life. You need to learn to be more active and get out more. I know it's not much, but this is my time, and your world's past. Well, if you kids have no more need for me, I should just conserve as much magic as possible." The sun set as they all rested up after the little skirmish. Even now, though no one really noticed, some of Moon's yellow scales were turning black.
-
Mortis looked at Max back. After a few moments of awkward staring, she mumbled, "Take a picture it lasts longer. OH WAIT. We don't have cameras because we're stuck in this stupid time." She threw her free hand up and without warning jolted her wrist forward twisting and cringing until it went back in place. To double check her handiwork she gave her wrist a roll when she freed it of Max's grip and grimaced. It hurt, but sure enough it was back in place. "Thanks." She said to him continuing to make circles with her hand until the pain got a little duller. "Let's hope I won't be useless for too long." With that she leaned against Moon again. She knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep the night away.
-
Constance didn't say anything to Macid, instead she looked around for her bag. When she spotted it she turned to her wolf who was looking around. With a pat on the head she got his attention. "Can you go get my bag?" she asked, pointing at her bag in the distance. The wolf took off to retrieve it. Constance was holding back from looking at Macid, she was embarrassed, too. "Should I say something? What would I say? "Oh no it's fine"...That would be awkward. He probably thinks I hate him...Hrm..." she went over in her head. The wolf returned, however it didn't have the bag, rather a chunk of meat in the bag. "That's definitely not what I asked for!" she snapped. The wolf's actions frustrated her, the pain in her ankle making her more irritable. She stood up quickly to go get her bag herself. "I'm going to go gather some fire wood. I don't think we'll be going very far right now." she said as she walked off, limping slightly. Her wolf walked a little ways behind her, sensing her frustration.
-
Macid could sense the frustration in Constance's voice as she claimed to go get firewood. "I knew it. She does hate me. Why am I so awkward?" He removed his head out of the bag and dabbed his eyes with it, as they had begun to tear up slightly. When he was done, he crawled up next to Moon, on the other side of Motis, and curled into a ball. All these emotions he was feeling were so new to him, he didn't know how to handle them all. All he was used to was sadness and fear, with an occasional happiness, and now he was feeling love for his friends, especially Constance. He shuddered and tried to cry as softly as he could so the others wouldn't notice, and they wouldn't unless they were looking at him.
-
max smirked at mortis' comment and went to say something back when she pulled her hand back into place suddenly causing him to bit his tongue. as soon as mortis' wrist was back in place he let go and grabbed his mouth in momentary pain. he heard her thank him and looked up, his mouth feeling better, "no problem, just call me if you need anything else." he saw constance get up and start walking off, he quickly jumped up ran after her, "wait up, I'll help." leaving macid and mortis with moon. he caught up to constance quickly and started walking next to her. "you going to be OK? you can lean on my shoulders if you want."
-
The night was quiet, but once in a while, one could see lights of various colors out in the distance, some of which were from dragons, while the others were reflections off of the glacier mountains out in the far north. Unbeknownst to the group, the way they had been raising Moon had already become permanent to her growth, and that how she would grow had become set in stone. Filadius' image receded into the black gem and back into his void between time. Filadius was able to sense what kind of dragon Moon has been set to become, but he didn't find it necessary to tell them. A baby dragon's childhood is short, but its growth slows down the older it gets, but it also becomes exponentially stronger. It's should be either tomorrow morning or evening. God help them.
-
When Constance and Max shot off to go find firewood, Mortis merely slid down Moon's belly where she had been laying with her fingers laced. She reached behind her and ran her hand down her stomach, petting her as best as she could while laying the way she was. Her eyes wandered the landscape, then over to Macid who was balled up. "Hey, you okay?" She asked. She half expected an answer. For some reason she didn't think he would answer if he was too upset, especially to her of all people.
-
Constance looked behind her when she heard someone coming. She expected, or at least hoped, it was Macid. She saw it was Max and felt a little disappointed. "No, I can walk just fi-" Just then she stepped on her foot wrong making a pain run through it. "Fine! I'm fine!" she blurted out as she got her balance. "I'm glad my prince charming came to help. Maybe I should have said something to Macid...He probably thinks I hate him." she thought as she leaned against a tree. "Go ahead and cut down some firewood...I'll let you help me with that." she said somewhat grumpily. "Why am I being so rude? It's not like it's a big deal...He's trying to help. I feel like I'm losing who I am..." she thought, sinking her face into her arms resting on her knees.
-
Macid was now sniffling as he curled up tighter to himself. When Mortis asked if he was okay, he couldn't help himself. He crawled over to her as fast as he could and started crying into her shoulder and hugging her as tight as he could. He wasn't sure how she'd react, but with all his emotions letting themselves out, he just needed someone to hug at that moment. He weeped openly as he tried to talk between sobs. "Constance hates me and I didn't know what I was doing and I like her and you and Max and Moon and I don't want any of you to go away cause you're the closest thing to a family I have!" Tears and mucus were running down his face and onto Mortis' shoulder all the while he was crying on her.
-
max went to grab constance when she started to lose her balance, but quickly pulled back when she said she was fine. "if your fine then I'm a rabbit." he joked drawing Ramsey and walking over to a dead tree, using his new form to saw through the trunk. eventually getting it to a point where he could push it over and start sawing through the branches. "so what happened with macid? i thought you would have asked him to come with you." he asked knowing full well that something had happened that he had missed while with mortis. he walked over carrying some wood, he put it down next to constance and reached into his pocket. "try one of these. there the pain killers i gave to macid back in the first town. it should help you walk at least." he passed the packet to her before she could say anything and walked back to the tree to start cutting more wood.
-
Mortis was surprised when Macid grabbed her and hugged her, and at first she had no idea what to do, but after a few moments, she allowed it and patted his back as she hugged him back. She didn't have any idea what to say because she was always bad at trying to cheer people up, and Macid was already crying. She felt like if she were to say something she could make it worse, but at the same time if she didn't, she'd look like a jerk. After a few moments of Macid crying, she finally attempted to say something hoping it wouldn't end up in disaster. "Look, it's gonna be alright. We're not going anywhere. We have to stick together. And Moon is going to be okay, I patched her up with that goo. Constance probably is just tired. I mean, realistically if she doesn't like anyone, it's me."
-
Constance took the pill and put it in her pocket for later. "Thanks...I'll take it in the morning if I still feel anything after tonight. In all honesty I should stay off my foot. I would...Like it if you could help me walk this once." she said as nicely as she could. Her foot still hurt, she knew she was being a bit of a jerk and tried her best to be nicer. "I hope Macid is going to be okay...He seems kind of emotional...Maybe I should sleep next to him or something...Show I don't hate him. Or just tell him it's okay. Something...If he believes I hate him it could interfere with the group's efficiency. And Mortis...Hrm...I have nothing to apologize for. She's the one who blew up at me! Hmph..."
-
After crying for several minutes, Macid finally calmed down enough to the point where he was sniveling. He slowly let go of Mortis and sat on his knees, wiping away his tears and cleaning his face the best he could with his robe. He was able to get most of it off, but his fur was now matted from the tears and made him look like he hadn't washed his face in a week. Having Mortis hug him and tell him everything all right made him feel even more like this group was a family to him. He wiped his nose one last time before talking to Mortis. "Thank you, Mortis, that means alot to me. I'm sorry I did it so suddenly. Do you really think she doesn't hate me Mortis? Is it really just because she's tired?"
-
max walked over calmly with some more wood. he sheathed Ramsey and collected all the wood with his tail before extending a hand for constance to take. he helped her up carefully and pulled her arm up over his shoulders. the two walked back to the camp and he sat constance down and walked over to a nearby spot to start the fire. once it was lit he walked over to the others and sat down "so whats the next thing we have to do? i heard the old man say something about a town, anyone able to fill in the rest?"
-
"It's alright. And no, she doesn't hate you. I mean, we've had a long day and she hurt her ankle. You'd know if she hates you. She hates me not you." In truth, Mortis didn't care if Constance hated her, but she didn't want Macid torn up the entire time they were here. She honestly didn't think that she was mad at him. A few moments later Max and Constance came with wood. "I don't know what to do next. I'm honestly really tired of that old man. For all we know he could have gotten together a band of future people to take over for him. It's really easy for him to manipulate us if you think about it given that we don't know anything about here and we're supposed to... Blindly trust him since he's helped us." The chameleon was always a cynic when it came to things. "I mean, yeah, those people we saw were.. Pretty bad, but he brought them here, too. We're just here to fix his screw up. We're supposed to head to a town or something, but god knows what kind of information he's with holding from us."
-
Constance took Max's hand up and went with him back to the others. Once she was sat down she looked at Macid next to Mortis. "Was he always next to her?" she thought. When Max spoke she looked over to him. "Well we can't do much until Moon wakes up. Hopefully she will be okay by morning. Hopefully we can get some more food in one of these next two villages to help us last until we get to the city. And hopefully they aren't filled with soldiers...I suppose we'll have to take if from there. That's just my thought anyway...Mortis is supposed to be our leader last time I checked. It's up to her." she said. After that she yawned and started petting her wolf who was sitting next to her. "I should talk to Macid tomorrow...Let him know I don't hate him." she thought. She kinda wanted to just lay down and go to sleep, but she wanted to hear what the others thought of her plan.
-
Macid wiped his nose one last time. "Thanks Mortis. I'm sure she doesn't hate you either. Like you said, we've had a long day right?" He had forgotten about their fighting the other day and was just trying to make her feel better when the others came back. He averted his eyes from them to try and hide his face that was matted with his tears. He wanted to apologize to Constance, but was embarrassed to do so in front of the others. He made a mental note to do so in the morning. As the others talked about what to do, he layed down and got comfortable in the grass next to Moon and Mortis. "We should eat what we can from the behemoth. Who knows when *yawn* when we'll eat again." He scooched over until his head was resting against Mortis' leg and his back against Moon and tried to go to sleep.
-
max laid down listening to the others, nodding slightly and looking at the stars. he yawned quietly after macid did and started drifting off to sleep. "sounds like a *yawn* plan, I'll see what i can get from the behemoth in the morning. you think you could help me mortis? Constance and macid i would ask you but i don't think either of you are up to it." he said looking at each person sleepily as he spoke to them. "any way, I'm sure that what ever happens *yawns....again* we'll get through it somehow."
-
Mortis's fingers remained laced as she laid against Moon. When Macid laid his head on her leg, she didn't bother to tell him no. She usually didn't like being touched, but the day had been long. "Leader my ass," she mumbled looking upward at the stars. She couldn't tell if Constance was making a snarky comment or not, but she dismissed it, not much caring at this point as tiredness began to settle in. "We can handle whatever in the morning, I'll help with the behemoth." With that she closed her eyes drifting off into a slightly meditative state between consciousness and sleep. Although she appeared to be sleeping, she could hear everything going on around her. It was no different than when she listened to her iPod on long car rides, the only difference was that nature was the composer.
-
Constance saw Macid lay down on Mortis' leg, a bit surprised. "I must have missed something..." she thought as she laid down using her wolf as a pillow. "Well, at least I can sort things out in privacy in the morning...Though it already seems he's going after Mortis-...Wow, am I getting jealous? Ugh...Long day...Very long day..." she continued to think. She soon drifted off to sleep.
-
max lazily got up and drew Ramsey, walking over to the fire he stabed Ramsey into the ground and laid down next to him and the fire. "sounds like it's going to be a long day tomorrow, see you all in the morning." he laid there looking up at the stars quietly, thinking of what other forms Ramsey could have, and what he might have to do to acheive them. his mind started to drift over everything that had happened, the others, his old life, his past, the old man.....and finally his mind settled on one person, and with a small hidden smile he sliped off to sleep.
-
By the morning, Moon awoke and yawned, her voice no longer the high-pitched squeaky one that everyone had been used to. It was a little on the low side, not very, and not too loud, either. Over the night, her scales had all darkened, and at this point are almost all black, the tips of the scales still a dirty yellow. Her jowls have extended and her body had spurted in size like before, and was now twice the size of Mortis. Her fangs even went over her lower jaws. She got up, and the goo crumbled as she did, her wounds now fully healed.
-
When Moon got up, Mortis didn't wake. She fell backward onto the grass where Moon had been lying, still asleep. She had not actually fallen asleep until late in the night. That coupled with the times she had been up at night seemed to be catching up with her as heavily as she was sleeping. She shifted briefly, tucking her arm under her head to use as a pillow, not realizing that Moon was up and about.
-
Constance woke up to Moon's movement. She took a lazy look at her, seeing her difference in appearance but nothing registering. Her eyes remained half open as she sat up a little bit propped up on her elbows. She rested her head back down on her wolf for a moment before shooting up suddenly. "Moon?!" she said allowed, though barely above talking level. She quickly got up to examine her, walking a semi-circle around her. "Oh my God, Moon. You...Grew! Your wings..." she said grabbing one of her wings to examine it. "...Your teeth..." she said poking her protruding teeth. "Even your jaw size." she continued, grabbing her bottom jaw. "Your scales even changed colors! These must be your dragon scales." she said giving her a long pet from head to tail. She was pretty excited about her change, which was obvious if anyone was awake to watch her. A moment later Constance went to give Moon a hug. "Congratulations, girl! You're growing up!" She giggled happily as she clung to her neck.
-
Macid shuffled in his sleep as he tried to get comfortable again. Something felt wrong with his back so he reached behind to feel for Moon, who was not there. He blinked slowly, adjusting his eyes to the morning as he yawned loudly and stretched on the grass. He hadn't slept that good for as long as he can remember. He scratched his stomach, which growled back in hunger, as he slowly got to his feet. He looked around, half asleep, when he saw Moon. His eyes sprung open as he screamed at the top of his lungs and ran backwards, surprised at her new growth and color. He tripped over Mortis and fell forward, this time bracing his face with his arms and not hurting as much. He turned around on his back as he began to scoot away, but saw Constance hugging Moon. His brain quickly put 2 and 2 together and figured Moon must have grown again. His breathing slowed as he calmed down, clutching his chest. "Sorry. I just got surprised seeing her like that." He turned to Mortis. "Sorry Mortis, for running over you."
-
"how about me?" asked max waking up in time to hear macid apologise to mortis. he sleepily pushed macid off him and sat up rubbing his eyes. he looked over and froze seeing moon and constance "what is that thing? and why do i keep waking up when theres something that looks and or is life threatening?......." he asked macid quietly barely moving, this time not wanting to be the reason for another fight. at that moment he noticed constance and started getting confused "wait......why is constance hugging it?......"
-
Moon gave off a low, happy roar to acknowledge Constance, and again when she hugged her. She raised her wings to stretch them and brought them down slowly and used them to hug Constance back. However, it wasn't long before she felt smothered and pulled away from Constance. Right after she did, Filadius appeared, "Well, now. It seems that you were able to save her after all. And I see that she has finally reached her adolescent age, and... oh, dear." Before he could say much else, Moon locked the magic and Filadius disappeared, though no one else really would know since it's all in her subconscious that she blocks Filadius' transmissions.
-
Mortis sleepily rubbed her head, sitting up. She didn't really know Macid had fallen over her, but she did know that she hurt. For a moment she looked around at the others, then Moon. Mortis yawned, then stood up, stretching, then it finally set in that Moon was bigger, which caused her to do a double take. She also heard Filadius until he was cut short. She shrugged, "Well that was short." She muttered walking over to Moon, smiling. "Man, he's not kidding, you grow fast, girl." In truth, she was excited about Moon having gotten bigger, but she attempted to hold it back since she noticed her pull away from Constance. Instead of hugging her, she merely ran her hand down Moon's side, petting her and checking her for the wounds she had the previous day. "Looks like you healed up alright, too. I was worried that goo wouldn't work." She said to Moon as she looked. Even though Mortis was somewhat coherent, she probably sounded as if she were in a haze from having just woken up. In fact, when she continued to expect Moon, her knees gave out and she flopped forward on the ground from exhaustion.
-
Constance smiled when Moon used her wings to hug her back. She stood up when Moon pulled out of her hug. "Kids these days..." she said jokingly to herself chuckling a bit. When Filadius popped out and mentioned she was an adolescent she had that feeling she was in the back of her head. However she was curious as to why he disappeared so quickly. However a pain in her foot snapped her away from her wandering mind. "Ow..." she thought. She sat back down, this time a few steps away from Moon. "Maybe I should take that pill...Hmm...Maybe I'll save it for walking. For now I should think of what to say to Macid."
-
Macid got up and slowly walked over to Moon. He noticed she pulled away from Constance and decided not to try and pet her, feeling that she didn't want to be petted at this time. When Filadius mentioned Adolescent age, he began to wonder just how big she would get. Already she was twice as tall as Mortis, her height could be a problem for the group stealth wise. He noticed Constance sit down and moved next to her. "Um, Constance?" As he spoke, he rubbed his neck and averted his eyes away from her in embarrassment. He didn't really know quite what to say to her, so he just said the first thing that came to his mind. "I'm sorry about, you know, about last night. I understand if you hate me now, but I just wanted to know that I didn't mean to hurt you."
-
max got up and grabbed Ramsey then walked over, still unsure about moon, and picked up mortis when he saw macid sit down next to constance, "you OK?" he looked over his shoulder at the two sitting down "come on, lets give them some privacy. you can come supervise." he carried mortis over to near where the behemoth was and sat her down against a tree before setting to work cutting open the behemoth. he worked quietly, ignoring the smells and guts that poured out when he cut it open and started to cut away the meat.
-
Moon spread her wings and took flight upwards as Max decided to slice up the behemoth from the day before. She had no problem with rotting meat, but she wanted to stretch out her wings and get used to her new body. Moon soared quickly through the air and let out a happy roar, though anyone who wasn't a dragon wouldn't know that.
-
Mortis seemed insulted when Max picked her up and carried her, but she was too sleepy to argue, and it was apparent that she was going to be carried whether she liked it or not. When he sat her down, she brushed herself off. "I could have walked, you know. I mean, I know I'm tired, but I could have." She yawned, closing her eyes for a moment until the smell from the corpse caught her attention. "Is this thing even edible?" She asked. "I mean, what if it has like, I don't know, something bad for us in the meat. Also it's been sitting here for a while. Is it even okay for us to eat?" She was more or less thinking out loud at this point because she didn't really expect for Max to answer her.
-
Constance looked at Macid when he came over to her. She listened to him as he spoke about what happened the previous day. "It's fine, really. I don't hate you. Honestly. I...Kinda didn't know how to react myself...It was a little embarrassing for me, too." she explained. After that she extended her hand to him. "Help me up? I want to go get my bag. It's by the tree over there." she said, motioning to a tree a few yards away with her head. She smiled at him while she waited for his response, hopefully she would believe him.
-
Macid sighed contently at Constance's response. Knowing that she wasn't mad at him made him feel a whole lot better. He grabbed her hand and gently helped her up. He didn't let go at first, and stared into her eyes for a bit before coming back to reality. He coughed and quickly looked for the tree she mentioned as he stammered out an apology. "Sorry. You have nice eyes." He wasn't sure why, but he always liked people's eyes, Constance's were the most beautiful he'd ever seen. His hand was shaking as he led Constance slowly to the tree to get her bag. When they arrived, he bent down and picked it up. "Here you go Constance." He handed it to her, smiling sheepishly.
-
max looks over holding a slice of the meat. yea, i know you could have walked. but you look like you could use some more rest." he flinched hearing moon roar. he turned back to the behemoth in time to hear mortis question the meat. "only one way to find out." he stabbed Ramsey into the ground again after slicing off a bite size piece of meat, he ate it quickly and almost instantly doubled over dry-heaving, "salty.....really, salty" after a moment he stood back up still dry-heaving every now and then. "i think it's fine if you like allot of salt, other than that it seems fine.....you wanna try some?"
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Contrary to what Max believed was fine, his stomach soon ensued with some grumbling, followed by the urge of diarrhea. Moon had come back from her flight and dropped off a large buck, but it had flowers and leaves on its horns, and it was exceptionally larger than what anyone had ever seen. She went over to the rotting behemoth corpse and sniffed it. As much as she used to not like it, Moon's appetite seemed to be ripened by the ripeness of the corpse.
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"Uh, I'm fine, but thank you. If I want salt, I'll uh... Get a salt lick or something." Mortis insisted, again putting her hand out as if to indicate that he should stop. When Moon returned she merely looked at the buck. She managed to stand this time without falling now that she was waking up a little more. "Thank you, Moon." She said, somewhat confused about what exactly was up with the buck. Mortis rushed over to Moon when she began to sniff it. "Girl, you don't want to eat that. I don't trust it." The lizard was genuinely concerned that Moon might consider eating the behemoth.
-
Constance was looking at Macid as he looked into her eyes and held onto her hand. She looked away when he did blushing a little. "Uhm. Yeah. Thanks, heh..." she said embarrassingly. When she was helped over there she stood there as Macid got her bag. When he handed to her she put it on her back. "Thanks..." she said with a smile. "So...What did you do before all this?" she asked, somewhat hoping to start a conversation.
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Macid noticed Moon dropping off a deer with flowers in its antlers. Mortis and Max seemed to have her under control so he decided to stay with Constance a while longer until they came over and got them both. "Well before we got sent here, I worked at a library. I was assistant Librarian ever since I was 16. I used to go there everyday when I could and just read, ever since I was just a kitten. Catherine even let me stay in her spare room when my parents died. She's the head librarian. I'd work at the library, sorting books and helping check them out in exchange for food, clothes, and shelter. Now that I think about it, she was almost like a second mom to me." Macid paused briefly, thinking about what Catherine was doing. He thought about wether or not she missed him, or knew he was gone for long. He looked back at Constance and realized he may have said more than she wanted to know. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go on about it. Wh-what did you do before this?" He tried to change the subject as quick as he could to avoid any more awkwardness.
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max watched as moon dropped the dear nearby, his stomach starting to grumble. ""hmm...that's odd..... and that is the weirdest dear i have ever seen..." he walked over and knelt down starting to inspect the dear. max suddenly felt razor sharp pains in his stomach, he grabbed his gut in pain. "that's not good" he struggles to his feet and started running off towards the tree line leaving Ramsey stabbed into the ground, calling back over his shoulder to mortis. "I'll be right back!"
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Moon continued to ingest the behemoth corpse, and after she had eaten a fourth of it, she belched. She then backed up a little and took a deep breath and let it out, shooting out a solid stream that didn't deviate from its path. The stream was purple and black, and the liquid seemed to almost bubble as it shot out. It hit a large patch of grass, which withered upon contact, and spread another foot around the initial area, turning purple. The breath had contained severely potent and strong poison. She then looked at Mortis to say that it doesn't affect her.
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When Max ran off, it left Mortis and Moon alone. Mortis looked a little shocked when Moon continued to eat the behemoth, and even moreso when she shot out the stream of poison from her mouth. When Moon looked at her, she felt a little uneasy if only because of her little display. They really had managed to raise her into a large and rather dangerous beast. However, the chameleon still chuckled, looking at Moon, remembering that she was still the same dragon that they had been dealing with before. "I give that a 20 out of 10, girl." She somewhat understood what Moon was saying to her, though she wasn't entirely sure herself. The only thing she could really think about was back a couple nights ago when Moon had attempted to help start the fire. "Man, who needs fire. This is just as useful, if not better." She smiled. "If we can, we can use your poison to put on the tips of our weapons. If it's as potent as that," she looked over to the grass, "All we'd have to do is manage to scratch whatever it is attacking us." Mortis didn't know whether to walk over to Moon or the poison first, but after a few moments, she was able to get herself moving, and she came over to Moon, still smiling. "You're going to kick some serious ass, girl... I just hope we can all, in our own sense, grow just like you have so we can kick as much ass as you." She seemed to almost drift off into her own excitement for Moon until she remembered she needed to figure out the poison as well. "Will it hurt the others?" She asked. "You did mean it wouldn't hurt me right?" She patted Moon's side, awaiting an answer.
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Constance frowned a little and looked away when Macid mentioned his parents. When he apologized for talking so much she chuckled a bit to try and force her feelings down. "It's fine...I don't mind. It helps to know about my comrades." she said sitting down. "I worked at the county zoo before all this..." she said, leaning back on her elbows looking up into the sky. "I cleaned and fed the animals, cleaned up their pens, I have even assisted on a few operations for the animals. Our vet is amazing...She's really smart. I enjoyed watching her work in my free time. I learned quite a bit from her, all I know about healing animals I got from her." she continued. She took a deep breath and exhaled before brushing her hair from her face. "Were your parents nice?" she blurted out. "I mean...What do you remember about them?"
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Macid began to hug Anon as a security blanket again as he remembered what he could about his parents. His voice was low, almost a whisper, as he tried to maintain his composure the best he could. "My parents were wealthy, but they didn't spoil me. We didn't have servants or anything but we had a nice house and plenty of cool things. They raised me to be kind to others and to not squander what I had and be thankful for it. My mother used to sing to my dad and me. She'd just sing while she cooked or while she knitted and we'd just sit there and listen to her." Macid began to tear up at the memory of his parents. "But then someone came and killed them. I was told it was a rival business partner, but I don't know of anyone who would hate them so much to do such a thing. I had to leave everything because Filadius and Catherine thought that they might come looking for me." Macid slowly let go of Anon and rolled up one of his sleeves to look at his scars on his wrists. "I miss them so much Constance. I used to cut myself to try and ease the pain, but it never worked. It always came back. Even with the journal I wrote in to stop this, it still hurt as much as it ever did." Tears were once again rolling down his face as he quietly cried to himself. He really wanted to hug Constance and cry like he did with Mortis, but thought she still might have some feelings about him touching her she may not be telling him. His stomach growled while he was crying, causing him to hug his stomach in an attempt to quiet it.
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Moon shook her head at Mortis' question and took a deep breath, shooting another stream of liquid poison at a nearby tree and let Mortis see that it can eat through enything and make it whither. The part of the tree that was hit withered and a little squirrel that came down wondering what was going on with its home touched the poisoned section, and it died right on the spot, falling straight to the ground. Moon then shook her head a bit, feeling a bit woozy using her magic so soon in succession.
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"Oh," she chuckled a bit sheepishly. "Then maybe we shouldn't toy with it. God forbid one of us accidentally touched it." Mortis rubbed the back of her head nervously. She was still very happy that Moon had found what her ability was, but now thinking on what she had said before, she shivered a bit, a cold chill running through her as she thought of what would happen with just one scratch. The chameleon reached into her bag, pulling out Boreas, temporarily forgetting about Moon. "Why won't you let me see what you're hiding..." She mumbled, again trying to flip through the pages.
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Constance listened to Macid's story about his parents and how much he missed them. When he showed her his scars from cutting himself she said nothing. However when he started cry she reached over and pulled him closer with one arms. He was on her left, she was using her right arm to wrap around his shoulders. She then brought up her right hand to the other side of his face holding him closely. "There there, sweetie...It's okay. I don't see why you're crying, you at least have memories. I'm...An orphan. I don't even know who my parents were. I don't even know why...Could they help it? Maybe they didn't even want me...I'll never have any memories of them. I'm a little jealous of you." she explained, trying to console him. She smiled a bit at the end and remained quiet.
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Being pulled over and embraced by Constance made Macid calm down a bit. He listened intently to what Constance had to say about her lack of parents. He didn't understand how she could be jealous of him and smile at the same time. He brought his arms around her as best he could without making her move and embraced her as well. His crying had turned into quiet sobs as they sat there together. He finally calmed down enough to form a coherent sentence. "Constance. I'm sorry. I didn't know. But thank you. For everything. I..." He wanted to say what he really felt about her, that he loved her, but was still too shy and embarrassed to say it. His stomach growled once again, reminding him of his hunger. He whispered into her ear "Maybe we should check up on the others and see if they've cut up that behemoth yet." He pulled her hand off his head and gently patted it, whispering another thank you as he slowly stood up and wiped away his tears. He smiled softly as he offered his hand to help her up.
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max stagered out from behind the trees, still clutching his stomach as he slowly walked over to the tree he had sat mortis against. he walked straight passed the poisoned tree without noticing it. he sat down clumsily, grabbing at his gut as the pain returned momentarily before settling down again. he looked across to mortis and moon, not seeing the dead grass and smirked "next time something needs a test.....get one of the others to do it......" he limply looked across to Ramsey and smirked again thinking <i bet...if you could speak you'd be mocking me for the fun of it.>
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Moon noticed Max returning and went over to the deer that she had brought over and picked it up with her neck, laying it in front of Max. She snorted and walked away, the look on her face saying, "Eat this one, idiot." Moon headed back over to the rotting behemoth and ate the rest of it, sighing in relief, but not in the way someone who ate too much would.
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Constance just smiled warmly when Macid was being sympathetic to her. When he suggested to go to the others she nodded. "Okay." she said softly. When he got up and offered his hand to help him up she took it to get to her feet. "Thanks." she said. After standing up she put and arm around his shoulder for support and started walking with him to the others. She saw Moon give a strange looking deer to Max and go back to eating the behemoth. "Is that thing even safe to eat? I'm sure it's rotten by now..." she thought to herself.
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Macid walked slow with Constance as they made their way towards the others. He put his arm around her waist to try and help support her as they did so. When they finally arrived, he noticed Moon eating the Behemoth, while Mortis and Max were sitting down watching. He gently let go of Constance, letting her sit as he looked at the flowered deer that had appeared, and then the patch of dead grass. "What happened there? And where did this deer come from? Is it ok to eat? Max, did you try some already?" Gosh, we're alone for 5 minutes and all this happens. His curiosity got the better of him and he made his way over to the purple spot of grass to inspect it. He wasn't so curious, nor stupid, to touch it, but merely looked from a close safe distance, momentarily forgetting about his hunger.
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max looked back at moon blankly, wanting to ague with her moon about the way she acted but wasn't feeling well enough to bother. he heard macid and constance walk over and looked up at them with a slight green tint to his scales from the light. he smirked weakly as macid asked about the food. "looks like the deer's good, the behemoth is fine to eat if you have constipation....otherwise i wouldn't recommend eating it." he sat there still feeling like his stomach was eating itself.
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Mortis looked up from her book momentarily and crammed it into her bag when the others returned. "They're both from Moon. Don't touch the grass or that tree, though. Its poisonous." She moved over to the deer when they began to talk about it. "I think it should be alright to eat. Max, you should cut it up and we should cook what we can and eat before we get going. I feel like I'm going to starve." The chameleon patted her belly as she thought about eating the deer. "Though we should probably do it quickly. Who knows when someone might pass by."
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Constance sat down after Macid let go of her and look at the the purple stuff Macid was looking at. When Mortis mentioned it was poisonous she grew curious. Though her hunger pushed her curiosity aside when Mortis mentioned food. "Food does sound nice...I know I'm hungry. And Macid has been trying to hide it. Do you know how to smoke meat, Max? Maybe we can get some for the road." she said. She looked at Mortis afterwards, there was no change in her facial expression but she felt a little irked deep down that she was giving orders.
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Upon hearing that the grass was poisonous and came from Moon, Macid backed away and headed back towards the group, his stomach growling very loudly. When he made his way over to the group, he sat down next to Constance, just in time to hear her ask Max aboust smoking meat. He said nothing and looked at the deer. The flowers on his antlers reminded him of a book Filadius once had him read on mythical creatures. Dryads were supposed to be protectors of the forest, with dominance over nature and able to call on the animals of the wild to assist them in battle or other dutys. While the picture in the book was of a 2 legged creature, it did say that often times they would disguise themselves as woodland animals to hide from would be hunters. He looked over at Moon, still eating at the behemoth, to try and make himself feel safe from the possible wrath of other dryads and made a mental note to ask Filadius about them next time he appeared.
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max looked up at the others blankly. feeling the urge to tell them where to shove their dear. "Ramsey's over their, knock yourselves out." he fell onto his side and looking in his reflection on Ramsey's side " if you cut it up I'll tell you about how to smoke it." he sighed forcing himself back up, "if you bring Ramsey over here i'll try to cut it up, but no promises." he Lent against the tree feeling his stomach settle to the point where he made it to his feet, still uneasy and like he was still going to vomit.
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Mortis sighed and walked over to Ramsey, looking at it. "I dunno. I don't feel right using your weapon, even if it's not from combat. It would be like you using my book." Nevertheless, she pulled it out of the ground and brought it over to Max. "But that's just me. If the others want to use it, by all means, don't let me stop you." She said looking over her shoulder. She still wanted to get moving. She wasn't entirely sure why, she just had that urge. When she made sure Max had the sword, she wandered away from the group. She was within the line of sight of them, but she was scanning the area and pacing.
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Constance stood up and went over to Ramsey when Mortis set it down. "I'll do it." she said grabbing it. She went over and got on her knees next to the deer and looked at it holding Ramsey. Her right hand, with Ramsey in it, started to shake as she stared at the deer. "Oh man...I can't cut this little guy up. He's so cute! AUGH WHY DID I SAY ANYTHING!? Come on...You can do this...It's dead...It's only purpose now is to nourish our bodies...Ugh...It's probably gonna smell. No. No one else is going to do it. So I have to, otherwise we'll starve. It's simple as that." she thought. She took a deep breath and looked over her shoulders to the others. "Macid, get the fire going again. Max, get over here and make sure I'm doing this right." she said a bit commandingly. "Please." She added in at the end. She turned back to the deer and pulled her robe over up over her nose and mouth. After that she started skinning the it. She was doing it sloppily since she wasn't used to handling Max's weapon.
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Macid raised his eyebrow at Constance when she asked him to start the fire. The last time didn't go so well so he didn't know why he had to do it again. He got Anon out of his bag and set it down on the grass, got up and went to gather some sticks, not wanting to say anything to make her feel bad. He began to pick up sticks and put them in his bag until he had a nice amount and made his way back to the group. He noticed Mortis pacing by herself away from everyone else. "I hope she's allright. Maybe I told her too much. I'll leave her alone for now and ask her later." Back with the others, he saw how Constance was skinning the deer, quite sloppily at that. He wasn't quite used to seeing such actions and turned away quickly so he wouldn't hurl at the sight. He dumped the sticks out of the bag and picked the stragglers clinging to the inside before piling them up for a small fire. He knew he wouldn't be able to get it started so he asked for Max without turning around. "Hey, uhm, Max? When you have a second, can you show me how you start a fire? I don't know how."
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max smiled and thanked mortis as she walked away, turning back to Ramsey when constance picked him up. he saw her expression and sat down on the other side of the deer. "this is why i wasn't going to get you to help. it's a gross job if your not used to it." he gently grabbed back of the blade too steady it. "try putting your other hand here to help guide the cutting edge." he stood up and walked over to macid once he had set up the wood and pulled out the flint. he started to use it, showing macid how to do it before stopping and handing him the flint. "just watch your fingers, that thing hurts."
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Constance nodded when Max instructed her. "Yeah...Someone has to do it though..." Her cuts became slightly better as she used both hands. She soon skinned the whole side of the deer and started cutting off strips of the meat. After she had a few she stopped and looked at Max. "Now what? Do we have to skewer them or something?" she asked. She figured it had to be something, because she wasn't going to cook with her hands.
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Macid watched and listened intently to Max as he showed him how to use the flint to start a fire. When Max gave it to him, he thanked him and began working on the pile of sticks. Several minutes went by as he struck the flint, sending red hot sparks flying away from him. He missed once and struck his thumb, dropping the flint and sputtering in pain. "Aughfffffffffffffffffff. Gah, jesus." His thumb was throbbing, but he picked up the flint and carefully continued. Finally, he was able to get the small pile to light and smiled as he watched the flame slowly grow. As the fire grew bigger and bigger, he quickly realized that he did not bring nearly enough sticks to cook with and ran to go find some more, dropping the flint next to Max and Constance before he left. "WatchthefireIneedmorewoodberightback!"
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"hmm. if we wanted to just cook the meat we could posibly yes Ramsey as an improvised hotplate, and your dagger could skewer some but come to think about it i don't know how we would go about smoking it Indra these conditions." max smiled lightly when macid hurt himself, just knowing that he wasn't the only one to hurt himself starting a fire, when macid ran passed he picked up the flint and putt it away till it was needed again.
(sorry if it's a bit short, i'm over a friends place and he only has this small screened laptop i can pots from )
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"I suppose it's just a big meal then. Hopefully it will hold us over." Constance said when Max said they couldn't smoke it. When Macid ran over dropping the flint she looked at him curiously. She was oblivious to him having hurt himself. "Uhm...I suppose we wait for him to get some more wood." she said resting her paws on her legs. "So...You're a chef then? How long have you been in that line of work?" she asked to pass the time.
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Macid quickly picked up whatever wood he could carry and brought it back to his dwindling fire. His thumb was still throbbing, but was had numbed enough so that the pain wasn't as bad. He threw all he had on it and watched as it slowly grew again. He continued this for about 5 minutes before he had a nice supply of wood and the fire was going strong. His arms and legs hurt from doing so much running back and forth, and with his growling stomach, began to feel a churning sensation in his stomach. He lurched as he hunched over and threw up a small amount of bile. He panted heavily as he wiped his face clean and turned towards the others. "Can we eat now? Please?"
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"to be honest i don't really know, from what i heard both my parents were high class chefs, but my dad stopped when my mother died....after that he lost all his passion for cooking, my brothers taught me what they could before....well everyone called it 'the April of blood and tears'. after that i just stuck to what was in my blood." he never looked up from the deer while speaking to constance, only looking up when he heard macid throw up."Can we eat now? Please?" "I'll start cooking. if i do it right it shouldn't take to long to have something for the two of you to eat." he gently took Ramsey back and sat a large stick under the far end of the blade and held him above the fire to heat up.
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"I see..." said Constance acknowledging Max. "I'll go get Mortis." she said standing up. She decided to take the painkiller Max had given her before she started to hobble over there. As she went she looked at Moon. "I wonder if she would let me ride her now...? That would be so cool. Not to mention it would be a break from my dang foot...I should be less reckless. Why didn't we get a healer in our group or something?!" she thought as she got close enough for Mortis to hear her. "Hey, foods gonna start cooking. If you're hungry come on." she said, keeping it short. She didn't try and converse with her because she felt she didn't care to anyway.
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Macid sat as patiently as he could while Max cooked the flanks of the deer Constance and him skinned. The aroma that emanated from the meat filled his nose and made his mouth water with anticipation. He began to fantasize about how good it would taste, to have hot food inside his stomach, and to be full once again. His stomach rumbling fiercely snapped him back to reality and whimpered softly as he held his stomach with his hands. He brought his eyes away from the meat for a second to look around the landscape. Nothing caught his attention, but a thought crept up into his mind. "What if someone or something sees our fire, or smells our cooking?" He looked around a bit more frantic this time, making sure no-one was around except them. Again, his stomach brought his attention to the meat. "*whining noise* Is it done yet? I feel like I'm going to collapse from hunger."
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max started cooking the meat, looking around between checking the pieces and moving them with a Long stick which he would use to turn them every now and then to cook it through. he moved to more cooked pieces closer to the tip which was further from the fire and closer to macid. max looked over to constance and mortis then back to macid when he spoke. " theres the thin piece on the end there is cooked for you. just be carefull getting it." he held Ramsey closer to macid so he could grab the piece.
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Mortis ceased her pacing when Constance came up. She didn't respond to her verbally, she just nodded and followed. The smell of the food made her stomach remind her that she was indeed hungry. She came over by the fire and took a seat, her knees drawn up to her chest as she watched Max cook. She wondered how they were going to hold or eat the meat coming off the fire. It was going to be hot.
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Constance went back with Mortis and sat down next to Macid Indian style watching Max cook. She sat there silently enjoying the smell of the meat. "Looks yummy...I wonder if he would teach me? Hmm...Well, I already learned to skin an animal..." she thought looking at her paws. "...I suppose I will just absorb what I've learned and ask him later..." she continued to think. Soon she stopped examining her paws and set them in her lap while she waited for the food.
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Macid's mouth was watering as he eyed the piece of meat offered to him by Max. He used the pen of Anon to slip the piece of meat off and into his hand, promptly tossing it between both hands to try and cool it down. When it was cool enough, he bit into it and savored the flavor going down into his gullet. He ravashly ate the entire piece in a very short time, going at it like a wild animal would. He patted his stomach when he was finished and eyed the rest of the meat cooking. He wanted to take all the meat he could and devour it all, but knew the others had to eat as well. While he waited for his next piece, he took out Anon and flipped through the pages, wondering how to activate his new power.
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max calmly kept tending to the meat, looking around he saw something that could be usefull. "hay macid, think i can trust you to hold Ramsey up and not eat everything for a sec?" he joked moving Ramsey so he wasn't over the fire but was still resting on the log, the meat almost completely cooked. once he handed Ramsey to one of the others he walked over to one of the trees and pulled off a large piece of the bark. he walked back over to the fire and started to burn the inside till it was all black, and started to move the meat onto it to cool. "OK guys, dig in, I'll be back in a sec i just need to put Ramsey aside to cool."
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Constance didn't wait to dig into the food, she was hungry, too. She bit one of the pieces of meat in half before devouring the rest. Her second piece was eaten with a bit more finesse, however. "Mmm. Delicious." she said savoring the flavor of this piece. "Could use a little salt though..." she thought. She was happy that they could have something in their stomachs for the road ahead.
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Macid grabbed Ramsey and held it up as best he could while Max went to get his bark. When he got back and moved the rest of the meat on it, Macid handed Ramsey back to Max and took another piece of meat and chowed down. He ate with as much fervor as last time, still excited to have some good food to eat. He watched as Constance bit a piece in half and finish the rest. He finished chewing before he spoke to her. "Gee Constance, you're going at it like a wild animal." Macid began to smile from ear to ear as he ate and laughed slightly at Constance's appetite. The combination of letting out his emotions to Mortis and Constance and the feeling of being with friends and almost hanging out with them made him feel happier than he had ever been.
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max walked over to what was left of the dead behemoth and stabbed Ramsey into it's head to cool, smirking as a form of revenge for making him sick after he killed it for attacking the group. he walked back to the group and sat down, grabbing a piece of meat and bit into it, ripping a chunk off and swallowing it. he grabbed another piece and held it up for mortis. "it's cool enough to eat, and i know you must be hungry." he took another bite of his piece, never looking up from the ground after sitting down.
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Mortis took the piece of meat from Max and ate it alongside the others. While it wasn't seasoned like things she had back at home, she still enjoyed it as it was like eating what she liked to call "real food." She kind of snickered to herself thinking about how when she got a cooked meal in college it was called "real food" as if everything else was a joke or something. "Thanks, Max." She said gratefully as she savored the flavor of the meat.
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Constance was half way through her second piece when Macid made his comment. She looked at him angrily blushing. "Look who's talking." she said back punching him in the shoulder playfully. She continued gnawing on her piece up until Mortis thanked Max. "Yeah, thanks, Max. It's good." she said. After that she gobbled up the rest of her piece, deciding against grabbing another. She just sat silently and stared into the fire.
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Macid smiled and laughed as Constance hit him. After finishing his piece, he took one more piece and ate it a bit slower, getting full from the meal. He scratched his belly contently when he was finished, letting out a long sigh. All the troubles and worries that he had about being here for 2 years had vanished from his mind, for now. He decided to get up and stretch his legs for a bit so he wouldn't be so tired when they moved to the next area. He walked over to Moon and started to pet her. "I think if everyone is done eating, we should head out to the next area. What do you guys think?" He walked back to the group and picked up his bag and Anon, waiting for their response.
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max looked up when the others thanked him, swallowing another bite of the piece of meat. "it was nothing, you don't have to thank me." he grabbed another piece and stood up, biting a chunk off while walking over and pulling out Ramsey. "if we could find some herbs and spices i can do more with the meat, but till then this is the best i can do." he said calmly turning back around and starting to walk back to the fire. he looked up at macid when he spoke, not even noticing that he had moved. "yea it sounds like a plan, what do you two think?" he asked looking back at the two girls.
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Moon looked up from where she was laying, about a meter from the behemoth carcass, which was mostly bones at this point. The looked on her face almost conveyed exactly what she was thinking. "Finally, we can go." Moon got up and stretched, yawning, which almost sounded like a roar. She even stretched her wings again, getting it ready, though with her weight, she still walked more than fly.
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I think it's a good idea, given I've been suggesting it the whole time. Mortis thought, her face not short of saying it for her. It didn't take her long to grab up her things. Her bag was just about the only thing she kept on her constantly. It was almost as if it were surgically attached. She merely stood up and waited near Moon. That urge of wanting to get going renewed now that she wasn't hungry. "It's about time. Why do you think I was pacing?" She mumbled.
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"Well, we do have to eat. Which takes time." Constance said to Mortis' apparent impatience. She didn't say anything further though she could have, she didn't want to have to fight the whole walk to the next stop. At the very best she hoped she could be on her neutral list. "Maybe I should be the bigger ma-...Person and talk to her. Meh...I have nothing to apologize for. She was a bitch first. I mean it's not like she could control her brand new powers her first time. Could have cut me some slack...Maybe I should apologize..." she thought as she got ready to leave as well.
-
Macid ignored Constance and Mortis bickering and started to kick dirt into the fire he made. He didn't want to cause a fire to the meadow, nor did he want to leave a trail for anyone to follow them. He checked his bag, making sure he had his book and met up with the others. As Moon yawned and stretched, he went up to her again and began to pet her again. "I bet you're ready to go. You've been so good waiting for us Moon. You're such a good dragon." He patted her head before going over to Constance. He put his hand on her shoulder, asking her about the map. "You have the map, right Constance? Where's the nearest landmark to here?"
-
Moon let Macid pat her on the head since he was short about it, and twisted her neck in a couple directions to get the crick out of her neck. She jumped up and flapped her wings, flying up and checking up ahead. Moon quickly turned back around to the ground, having spotted a large pack of feral wolves heading straight for the group. She landed next to the group and let out a small warning roar that something bad was on the way. One could hear the howls of the wolves on the way. There was a full pack, numbering in almost 30, half of which were the larger types.
-
I had a feeling we had dawdled for too long... Mortis thought to herself quietly. She wasn't really sure what to do because of the howling, but quickly, she scaled a tree and opened her book flipping to a page just in case she needed to do something. She hoped the others would get what was going on because she wasn't going to sit around and give out a list of orders. As a last thought, she whispered loudly enough for the others to hear. "Leave the deer meat. It might keep whatever or whoever it is distracted from us."
-
Constance listened to the wolves howling in the distance, grumbling a little. "Great..." she said unamused. "Not only are there wolves, but now Mortis can gloat and say "I told you so"...When will it end?!" she thought. Her wolf stood next to her and growled into the distance. She knelt down and held onto the scruff of it's neck, she didn't want it to bolt off like the dog before. "Maybe they will leave us alone? Maybe my wolf can talk to them or something..." she said. She looked at her wolf and spoke. "Whaddya say? Can you talk to them? Or something?" she asked as if it could understand her. The wolf continued to growl for a few seconds before howling. "I hope that was good..."
-
Macid was about to try and ask Moon what the matter was when he heard the howl of wolves. His good mood dissolved as he kicked himself for jinxing their good fortune. He thought about the situation to himself. "If these wolves are enything like the ones back in our time, then we cant outrun them unless we all got on Moon, and I'm not sure if we'd all fit, let alone if she could support us all anyway." "Leave the deer meat. It might keep whatever or whoever it is distracted from us." Macid looked at the deer carcass. There was some meat left, but only enough for maybe 2-3 wolves, maybe more. Macid wasn't sure how many were coming, but he'd bet on Mortis' idea that they smelled the meat and were coming for food. "Mortis is right. I think those wolves are coming because they smell the deer, we should go before they get here and think we're food too."
-
max groaned hearing the wolves in the not to far off distance. "i swear i must have been born with bad luck.....that or I'm a natural s*** magnet..." he wined walking over to a nearby tree and climbing it, laying down in a high up fork in the branches and looking down. "whats the bet we'll be stuck here for ages?" he asked sarcastically not expecting the others to be listening to him. he sighed and just laid down and looked down at the meat he had cooked, waiting to see what the wolves would look like.
-
It wasn't long before the wolves came within sight, and even less time for them to bare down upon the group. There were 15 of the exceptionally larger wolves, and 12 normal ones. The normal ones kept their sights on the cooked deer, but the large ones were concentrating on the group members. However, out of the larger ones, there was one really large, it towered at 10 feet high on all fours, whereas the others were at 4 feet on all fours, the normal wolves 2 1/2 feet. The largest one's face was flatter, horizontally speaking, and was almost in the shape of an axe. Moon roared as she took flight against and dove down, tackling one of the large wolves and flying back up into the air.
-
Mortis flipped back to the page with the Komodo on it and began to draw. She almost didn't care that they had seen her, but she wanted to do something. All she could offer was her book, so that's what she did assuming that the others would be able to distract them. She had hoped to not draw any attention to the group, but it was clear that it was going to happen despite her efforts, especially when Moon dove down at them. Part of Mortis couldn't help but wonder why she didn't spit her poison down on them.
-
"Those do not look like normal wolves..." Constance said as the wolves made it to them. "If these are anything like normal wolves they have a hierarchy, which means they have an alpha male. Take him down and we prove that we are stronger then them and they will back down." she said as confident as she could. "I would suspect the largest one there to be the alpha. So we need to take him down." she continued, pointing out the obvious large one. Really all she could do is pitch ideas, she wouldn't be able to fight exceptionally well do to her ankle. Again she cursed her previous stupidity and reckless actions. Still knelt down to her ever growling wolf not wanting to let go of it knowing there was a chance it would just go off and die without purpose. She watched as Moon sprung into action and scooped up one of the larger wolves into the air. She pointed at the suspected alpha and let her wolf go. "Get that one, but be careful!" she commanded. She hoped Moon could have served as some form of distraction even if only for a second.
-
Macid watched as the wolves closed in and realized they were far from what he thought they might be. The tallest one with the axe-like head drew his attention the most, as it came straight towards them, paying no mind to the deer as some of the others had. He stood near Constance as her wolf and Moon took off to try and defend against the pack. If one of them tried to attack them head on, he wasn't sure what he would do to stop it aside from his fire wall, but didn't even know if it would stop such beasts, let alone how to even use it. He remembered Anon could read animal minds and decided to try it out. He pulled out the book and rubbed his paw over the cover, looking at the eye. He opened it to the first page and pointed the pen gauntlet at the largest wolf. "Here goes nothing. What do you want?!" He made sure to say it loud enough that the wolf would hear him, as he figured it worked similarly to reading people's minds.
-
"so, anyone got any bright ideas on how we're going to get out of this one? we could just kill the pack leader and see if that does anything" he continued to watch from his perch above them, he sighed as the smaller wolves devoured the meat without a second thought, all his, constance's and macids work being eaten by creatures that weren't even stopping to taste it. "man, it's like watching half the customers back at my old job." he said calmly, not really talking to anyone.
-
Macid's attempt activated the eye, however, the eye had been pointed at one of the wolves attacking the deer carcass to the left of the direction he was looking, so everything that showed up on Macid's book were pictures of the wolf devouring the deer. The alpha wolf let out a roar and spat out a large, liquid ball. However, since it was still running, it narrowly missed Mortis and hit a bush near her. The liquid splashed onto the leaves and dissolved them. Acid, not like the poison that Moon spits.
-
Mortis jerked when the bush near her dissolved, but she continued to draw, hoping once again that someone was going to distract the damned thing while she drew. She hoped that Constance's wolf or Max could hassle around the creature and distract it. Without thinking much on it, she flipped the page again, this time attempting to summon another gnome like before. It was something she could do more quickly and it could maybe be useful until she could finish the komodo.
-
Constance's wolf made a dash for the alpha wolf, though before he could get to him another wolf took her wolf up in it's mouth. Before closing it's jowls it was clawed in the eyes and forced to let go. Once on his own feet the wolf bit into the larger wolf's throat and began to shake it's head violently to rip it clean out. The wolf was getting covered in blood from his actions but soon he was flung away from the wolf leaving it to choke and gasp as it's injuries were fatal.
-
Macid looked at his book in confusion. He was sure he pointed at the large wolf with Anon, but the pictures did not correspond with it. He closed the book and looked at the eye, which was now closed, and realized the eye had to have been looking at a wolf eating the carcass. He made a mental note for next time and watched helplessly as the battle ensued. He watched as the wolf spat a large glob of what looked like acid towards the tree where Mortis was. It missed and hit a bush, dissolving it almost instantly. "Lovely, acid wolves. What's next, fire bees?" Macid made sure to stay near Constance in case one of the wolves decided to go for them. He remembered Filadius say that his fire shield would only protect him, but he figured if he could stay really close to Constance, it'd protect her too.
-
max sighed and rolled his eyes before jumping down behind constance and macid, Ramsey resting on his shoulders. "i swear someone is just creating these sort of animals just to annoy us..." he sighed again walking past them. he twitched his shoulder and flicked Ramsey down to his side before starting to run forwards to help constance's smaller wolf take down the alpha. a few of the larger 'normall-er' wolves blocked him, forcing him to stop and try to deal with them. he lunged at the closest one in the hopes of killing it but instead only grazing it, drawing blood but doing not much else other than making it angrier.
-
Even though Constance's wolf managed to kill one, the alpha came in by surprise and bit down on it, maiming it in half. The alpha roared, and the larger wolves turned their attention to Max, who had been holding the large bladed weapon. The normal wolves finished off the deer carcass, and they were still very hungry. As a pack, they turned towards Constance and Macid. A gnome popped out of Mortis' book, and hobbled around. Unfortunately, for Mortis, when she turned the page, what she had done for the komodo was erased.
-
When the gnome came out of the book Mortis quickly instructed it. "If you can, go for the Alpha," she pointed to the big weird looking wolf. "If not take out as many of the small ones as you can." When she flipped the page back to work on the komodo again, she let out a string of curses under her breath seeing that her progress had been erased. "Really? I can't work on more than one?" she mumbled exasperated. However because of the urgency of the situation, she gathered herself and started to draw again, "I guess I won't be doing that again..." she told herself as she worked.
-
Constance averted her eyes when she saw her wolf get bitten in half. She felt herself losing it and stabbed the ground with Lych to prevent herself from running at it wildly. "That...Damned mut..." she said angrily through her clenched teeth. She took deep breathes to calm herself, knowing she couldn't do anything herself in this condition. She looked up to see the other, smaller wolves turning to her and Macid who was next to her. Knowing it would be trouble she quickly etched out the dog rune and summoned a dog. It stayed near the two to defend them. On of the smaller wolves came at them and the dog quickly took it down and growled fiercely at the others.
-
Macid's heart beat like a freight train as he watched the wolves close in on Constance and him. When he saw the large wolf take Constance's wolf by surprise and bit it in half, his heart skipped a beat. He wasn't feeling anywhere near as confident as before and slowly put Anon back in his bag. Suddenly, a dog appeared before him and met with one of the closer wolves to defend them. He looked at Constance to see that she had just finished summoning it and was visibly angry, probably at losing the wolf. He slowly took her hand and squeezed it, too scared to speak but wanting to show that he was there for her. He had his right hand with Anon's pen at the ready to use the fire wall if one of the wolves got close enough.
-
max was showered with blood from constances wolf as it was ripped apart, he tried to get at the alpha but was blocked by the larger wolves again, he suddenly looked behind him and saw macid and constance behind her new dog, "macid, constance, get up into the tree, at least the little ones shouldn't be able to get you." he turned his full attention back to the wolves blocking him, getting ready to attack while waiting for one of them too make the first move. "this is going to suck........"
-
The normal wolf that was knocked over got back up, growling more intensely at them, the dog returned the angry growls, holding its ground to protect Constance and Macid. The bulldog was large and fierce, but the wolves were still larger by a bit. The gnome hobbled over to the wall of wolves and exploded, knocking a couple of them back, having blown the face off one of them, who laid there slowly dying. 5 others then rushed for Mortis, planning to push right through Max, if not devour him on the way to Mortis.
-
Mortis grinned when she noticed her gnome doing some damage over the top of her book as she sketched, but it was quickly wiped from her face as she noticed the wolves advancing towards Max, eying her. Without thinking twice, she began to climb further up the tree, careful to keep her book open so her work on the komodo wouldn't be erased. "Please tell me these bastards can't climb," she said to herself, as she began to climb dangerously high. It was hard climbing with her one hand keeping the book from closing but somehow she managed until she lost her footing and dropped. Thankfully, she managed to grab one of the lower limbs with her tail which prevented her from falling too far down and her bag managed to catch on a limb without spilling out, however her book wasn't so lucky. It was now bouncing off the limbs until it landed on the ground, open to the half finished komodo.
Goddamnit! she thought, angry beyond comprehension at herself for allowing the book to escape her grip. Tears began to well up in her eyes, fear having a nasty hold on her momentarily until an idea shot through her head...Let's hope the bastards can't find me, either. Again, without thinking, she regained her composure and began to take off her clothes as her scales rippled to match her environment. She threw her clothes upward, not caring if they landed on a limb or not and within the short minute she had been hanging, she was suddenly nowhere to be found.
-
Constance felt a hand on her hand and looked to see Macid. It soothed her a bit. "Macid..." she spoke softly. She snapped back to the fight when the gnome exploded. That's when she saw some of the wolves move to Max and it was at this point she saw Mortis in the tree. "Go help Max!" she shouted to her dog. She saw he could use a little help. She would have went up a tree like Max suggested but there was no way she was going up a tree with her ankle. She may be able to get up, but getting down would be troublesome.
-
Macid looked into Constance's eyes as she said his name. He wanted to tell her that everything would be allright and he would protect her, but before he could think an explosion shook him back to reality. "macid, constance, get up into the tree, at least the little ones shouldn't be able to get you." Macid looked back at Constance and down at her ankle. He knew she wouldn't be able to climb it on her own, and he wasn't strong enough to help her up without help. He didn't want to sit out in the open either, so he spoke to Constance. "I know you can't climb the tree with your ankle, but if you can get next to the tree, maybe it can give some cover for your back. Come on." He brought his arm around her and underneath her left arm, ready to help her up. "Whenever you're ready Constance, we'll move."
-
max watched the wolves calmly, not even noticing the gnome till the explosion. he was instantly effected and almost knocked to the ground by one of the wolves that was knocked away. his hearing dulled by the explosion due to the structure oh his head. he shock his head slightly and blinked hard a few times truing to get his balance properly and he slightly swayed feeling dizzy. licking the air he could smell the wolves getting closer while he stumbled back a bit, knowing that like this he would be ripped to shreds everytime he tried to attack, he stumbled on something and fell against the tree mortis was in, looking down and seeing her book, his vision just clear enough to make out a half drawn komodo before looking back up at the still advancing wolves. <i hope this wears off soon or i'm sunk>
-
The bulldog refused to go to Max as it didn't want to leave its summoner open to attack, and jumped into the fray of attacking wolves, getting bitten a few times itself, but able to repel the wolves, not enough to really hurt them. While Mortis had been busy climbing, she didn't notice that the pages had been blinking red very fast until after it hit the floor. After Max opened his eyes, the red flash slowed down and turned into a white glow as the book turned the pages itself and revealed a new page. The page opened just as the band of larger wolves came charging at Max. When the page opened, the book grew to an enormous size, with enough room for a person to crawl on it. From the page, a giant dragon's head came out. It looked like Moon's head when she was still a baby dragon, but it was bulkier, had green scales, and was a 10-foot high head. There was a large, chained collar on its neck that prevented more than the head coming out. With that, the dragon let out a large ball of fire from its mouth, which engulfed the large wolves and turned them to dust, while the alpha that had stayed back, narrowly dodged it. The fireball had shot out like a bullet, and almost just as fast. The fireball hit a patch of plain not too far away and exploded just before the dragon head roared and disappeared back into the book. After disappearing, the book turned back into normal size, the page with the dragon's picture now an indent in the page instead of ink as it needed recharging. The bulldog and normal wolves had stopped their fighting at the sound of the explosion, and the roar of the dragon caused them to run away. The bulldog headed back over to Constance, but it wasn't about to relax since the alpha was now starting to slowly walk over to the group, an angry and very hungry look in its eyes. Moon had come back for another roundabout, but when she tackled the large wolf, she barely nudged him and was knocked back, since he towered well over all of them. Angry, Moon flew up again to dodge its charge at her and turned her head around and shot a stream of her poison breath and hit him directly, but it barely hindered him. Despite being poisoned, the alpha was merely enraged and ran straight for Moon, who had just landed a little ways from the group. She was tired now since she still hadn't recovered her magic from using her poison breath earlier.
-
The chameleon had stopped exactly where she was, just touching down on the ground beneath the tree when her book began to do something on its own. She watched, her eyes large with fear until the dragon's head came out of the book and destroyed a good majority of the wolves, scaring off the rest. Her pair of pants came floating back down from where she threw them, covering her vision until she batted it away, still stiff as a statue in shock. She didn't move until the alpha began to walk towards them again. She quickly threw on the pair of pants and grabbed her book, thanking it several times as she came back into view, her scales now taking on their usual colors. She looked down to Max and grabbed him by his shoulder to help him up. It's all that she could do until Moon took on the Alpha herself. Despite her hitting the creature directly with her poison, it didn't slow the thing down, only redirected its anger. As it ran toward Moon, Mortis ran forward, still gripping Max on the shoulder and yelled. "Hey you big oaf! FORGETTING SOME UNFINISHED BUSINESS OVER HERE?" She knew it was a stupid move that probably wouldn't work, but she wasn't going to allow Moon to be a sitting duck.
-
Constance agreed to the move to the tree from Macid. She also saw that her dog didn't want to go and remained to protect her and Macid. About half way to the tree she watched as Mortis' book grew and a dragon head popped out and shot a fireball that turned the wolves into dust. "Woah...I should have been an artist." she said in disbelief. She saw the alpha coming towards them and Moon engage it and shoot poison at it making it angry with her. She saw Moon was now in a tight spot and Mortis start yelling at the alpha. "Attack that thing! Go!" she commanded the dog. "I don't need protection right now!"
-
Macid nearly dropped Constance from surprise when the dragon head came out of Mortis' book. He was even more surprised to see a pair of pants land on something in thin air. He figured it must have been Mortis being invisible and watched as the dragon head spat a giant fireball at the pack of wolves, hitting many and scaring more, except the alpha who walked slowly towards them. He hugged Constance tight to try and protect her when Moon tried to tackle the alpha, but instead reeled back from the blow. He felt powerless as he watched the alpha fight with Moon, her attacks not seeming to do anything to it. "This thing is worse than the behemoth."
-
max looked stunned as the dragon head appeared in front of him and either destroyed or scared away all of the wolves other than the alpha before disappearing back into mortis' book. he thought he heard blurred talking nearby but couldn't make out who or what it was till a pair of pants walked out in front of him, mortis soon appearing in them hugging her book. he tryed to get up, soon feeling her helping him up then running with him in tow. when she stopped he ended up right next to her, his good ear right next to her mouth as she yelled loudly, worsening the hearing in his good ear. he dropped Ramsey and fell to his knees clasped his hands over his ears in momentary pain.
-
The alpha wolf opened up its maw as it closed in on Moon, but it was distracted as Mortis yelled at it. It roared and turned towards them, rushing forward and lowered its head, opening up its mouth, revealing its jagged teeth. It shot out some more acid balls, but due to the poison finally eating its way into its system, the aim was off, and landed in areas around the fleeing Mortis and Max.
-
Mortis turned and ran when the thing charged, again grabbing Max up off the ground, but having a hard time with carrying his weight. She was getting a tad frustrated with not being able to do anything but run away. When she sneaked a glance over her shoulder, she saw the acid balls splashing on the ground around her, and just the sight of the all the life on the ground dissolving was enough to scare her. She hoped desperately that the alpha was getting weak from the poison, but she didn't want to turn around to make sure. Instead, she continued to drag Max along until she got to the others.
-
The bulldog ran at the alpha to try it's best in this grim situation. It latched onto it's leg in hopes to distract it even a little to help the others. "Hopefully that poison will do something more...I don't know what else to do. Especially in my condition...I can't do anything!" she thought to herself. "There's nothing I can do...Damn it! I wish I could find a better rune or something. Summon my own (removed) dragon. Everyone else gets something powerful...I'm becoming useless." she fell a little limp in self pity and doubt, just barely holding back tears.
-
Macid watched as Mortis and Max ran away form the giant wolf towards them. It's acid spit narrowly missing them was enough to cause great worry in him. Moon could barely do anything to it and even Mortis' dragon head didn't hit it. He was beginning to become less hopeful that they would make it out of this one alive. He looked at Constance to check up on her and could tell she was as distraught as he was, maybe even more. He brought her in close for a side hug, still allowing her to see everything as he whispered to her. "It's going to be ok Constance. Don't worry. We'll make it through this." He was having trouble keeping his voice from cracking with fear.
-
max deafly followed mortis, all the sounds around him nothing much more than a dull humming. he looked over his shoulder and saw Ramsey still back where he had dropped him, and ducked down slightly while stopping to shake mortis off, still more than a little off balance, before turning back and heading back towards Ramsey. he made it back to Ramsey and scooped him up to stand his ground with moon and the bulldog. obviously not thinking straight he started moving closer to it, being more lucky than smart thus far in not getting his or stepping in the acid he was barely aware of as he walked with Ramsey over his shoulder and an out of it look on his face as heat from Ramsey washed over him and his body functions started to speed up like back in the first town.
-
The alpha shook off the bulldog since it was barely even the size of its leg bone, and leaped right at Max. Moon squealed as it jumped in the way and got in front of Max. In midair, the alpha opened its maw, but it was then crushed almost instantly under a large, purple foot. There, in front of Max and Moon, stood a Quetzalcoatl. It stared down at Max, whom Moon was protecting and surveyed the others. Moon's fatigue was apparent, as was her determination to guard her party. The Quetzalcoatl exchanged words with Moon, though no one could interpret the roars between them. After a while, the Quetzalcoatl lit up bright blue as lightning surrounded and covered its body from its mouth and it flew away. Its figure was exactly like that night that Moon had been just a baby still, and was looking into the sky at other dragons, and a Quetzalcoatl had been what flew overhead. Moon collapsed onto the floor, but remained conscious for the most part, and just laid there. It was a whole hour before the Quetzalcoatl came back, and dropped down a small treasure chest before giving a gruff roar and flying away. Inside the chest laid very few and small items, despite the size of the chest: An unknown stone which seems like it was once part of a pillar of some kind with a lot of sediments and other minerals covering its surface, a single bar of gold worth around 300,000 Zeny, a silver bracer worth about 20,000 Zeny, and a couple apples.
-
Rigor turned when Max took off, reaching out to grab at him but missing him. She stopped when the Alpha charged, and flinched when the large creature came down, crushing it. For a few moments, it seemed like everything was playing out like a movie at the bottom of the ocean; untouchable by any action she could take. She just watched in awe at the Quetzalcoatl until it sped off and Moon collapsed. As if on cue, when Moon hit the ground, Mortis rushed over, the sound of Moon's body was enough to jar the chameleon out of her state of wonder. "Moon, are you alright, girl?" Her words seemed to come out in a panic until she put her hand on the dragon's head, petting her and also realizing that she was still conscious. Mortis crouched down to get on Moon's level. "Thank you Moon..." She didn't know what else to say other than to thank her... "We'd probably be dead if you hadn't..." She looked over her shoulder as if expecting something else to come out and attack them, also drifting off on her sentence. She was so busy with Moon, she hardly noticed the Quetzalcoatl's return until it roared again making her jump.
-
When the alpha shook off her bulldog she lost hope. Though Macid's words kept her from losing it. Everything seemed to go in slow motion when the alpha lunged at Max. Then the Quetzalcoatl stomped on the alpha everything returned to normal. The whole situation left her in shock and awe, unable to move. A few minutes passed and the Quetzalcoatl left and she saw Moon tired. "Come on, Macid...Help me over to Moon." she said softly. When she got to her she pet her along with Mortis, when she saw she was okay she just leaned up against her tired. When the Quetzalcoatl finally came back she was a little startled, thinking it was coming back to eat them or something. Though when it dropped a chest of some sort she thought otherwise. Curiosity got the better of the feline and she stumbled over to open the chest. She watched the Quetzalcoatl fly away before examining it. "Wonder what's in it..."
-
Macid closed his eyes when the alpha charged, not wanting to see what would happen. When he heard a loud thud, he was confused. He opened his eyes to see a giant creature towering over them. His mouth dropped open and eyes went wide in shock at the size of it. He was like this until Constance asked him to help her walk to Moon. He shook himself out of his stupor and helped her over towards Moon. He helped set Constance down and looked at Max. "What the hell was that?" As if on cue, it returned with a chest and a roar, leaving the group once again. "Wonder what's in it..." Macid walked over to the chest and slowly tried to open it. It opened easily and Macid, again, stood there gawking at the items.
-
max jumped into the air as the wolf charged at him, instincts taking over he raised Ramsey over his head ready to attack. he started his swing as the giant foot came into view and crushed the wolf. luckily in his disoriented state max hadn't checked if he was holding Ramsey the right way, he slammed into the leg and bounced off unnoticed, the back of Ramsey hitting the leg and doing nothing More than falling down next to max. he looked stunned at the leg till it flew off, leaving him sitting there. when macid spoke he turned, seeing his mouth move but not being able to understand what came out of it. once the chest was dropped off max took the opportunity to get up and shake his head again, hoping his hearing was going to come back soon if at all.
-
After a little bit of petting, Moon was already feeling smothered and shook her head a bit, but then was hugged and just gave up. She waited for a while before the Quetzalcoatl came back. When she could, Moon got up and sifted her muzzle into the chest and pulled out the slab of stone that was thickly covered in crud, and gave it to Constance. Even with tools, it would take a long time to clean it up since the crud on it was literally hundreds of years old.
-
Mortis stopped petting Moon when she shook her head and merely sat beside her, crouched until she got up. It finally dawned on her that there was a chest, but she didn't bother to look in it. She figured she could see everything once everyone was done crowding around it. Instead, she flipped through the pages of her book and found where the dragon head was. There was only an imprint on the page, and she couldn't help but run her fingers over the lines out of a certain degree of amazement. She felt a little more confident, though, she still was a little resentful towards Filadius.
-
Constance looked at the items when Macid opened the chest. She noticed a dirty stone, though before she could grab it Moon did it for her. "Is this for me...?" she asked Moon as if to get an answer. She examined it in her hands, taking note of how dirty it really was. "This thing is filthy." she said, holding it awkwardly. She tried to chip away at the ancient filth caked on it, managing to get a chip off of it to show it was possible but hard.
-
Macid moved aside to let Moon take out the dirty stone out and hand it to Constance. He went back and lifted the gold bar out of the chest, having to use both hands due to it's weight. He hefted it in his hand and marveled at it. "This is real gold. An actual gold bar. How much do you think it's worth you guys? I bet we could get supplies for months with just this one bar. Food, tools, water bottles, heck maybe even a pack mule to carry everything." Macid was speaking before he was thinking and was just spouting out ideas of how to use their newfound wealth.
-
Moon walked away from Constance after giving her the stone and walked back to where they had been disturbed and turned north, where they were supposed to be going. She turned back to the group and gave a light growl, for them to get up and follow her. Moon's face and expression pretty much said it all, she didn't want to have to wait too long.
-
Mortis looked up and followed after Moon when she growled, closing her book, still paying no mind to whatever was in the chest. It seemed like the others were taking care of it, anyway. She tucked her book away into her bag, cocking an eye at Moon. She wasn't quite sure if she liked the changes in Moon or not, but she didn't show her uncertainty in her expression. She kind of missed back when Moon was a baby, though, she probably wouldn't admit it if she was asked.
-
"I'm sure it's worth a lot...I mean...It's a gold bar." Constance said about Macid finding the bar. She looked in the chest to see some apples and a silver bracer. "I wonder if these apples are even good..." she said to herself. "Well, best not let them go to waste." she said and gathered the things into her bag. When Moon seemed ready to go she hobbled after her. "I need a walking stick or something..." she complained to herself.
-
Macid let Constance carry the apples and the silver bracelet while he carried the gold bar. He walked towards Moon when he heard her growl, stopping by Constance to help her walk. "I need a walking stick or something..." "In the meantime, how about a friendly shoulder to lean on?" He put the bar in his bag and lifted her arm around his neck to help her walk, keeping an eye out for a stick to help her. "Does anyone remember where we're supposed to go? Moon seems to know the way but didn't Filadius say something about a town after the fields or something?"
-
max sheathed Ramsey, watching macid and constance examin the contents of the chest, the dull humming becoming a quiet high pitched squeal. he watched them put everything in their bags and walk off. he followed them quietly, seeing their lips move but only hearing blurred tones, this time he could at least tell the two voices apart, even if it was just by pitch. as he followed the group his hearing started to clear up more, everything starting to sound like his ears were full of water
-
Moon led the way, but flew up from time to time to survey the area ahead, plus, not being much for patience. The closest city was still a way's a away, but the village was only another league away. Moon stayed behind when they came into view of the village, motioning them to it without her with her head. She flew up and went east, in search of her own food and lodging. As accepted that dragons were, many still looked down upon black dragons as evil and a sign of bad luck.
-
Before the group set off, Mortis remembered her bag and clothes, and ran to the tree to go get it as everyone was packing up their things from the chest. She stuffed her clothes into her bag, settling on just a pair of pants for the moment being. When she returned, she walked close to Moon. She kept a weary eye on Moon as they walked, feeling a bit uneasy as she left the group after motioning to the village. For a moment, the chameleon stopped and hugged her bag to her chest as the small town came into view. In all honesty, she wasn't ready to go into the place. Every time they had gone into a village, nothing good had come of it. She took in a deep breath and sighed, looking over her shoulder at the others. "Well, this is it." She rubbed the back of her neck, and dug into her bag, grabbing her shirt and sliding it on. "Excuse me if I don't seem too thrilled to see civilization again."
-
Constance smiled when Macid came over to help her walk. She put her arm over his neck to support herself. "I can live with that." she said with a smirk. She walked with him, watching Moon fly off to what she figured was scouting, or getting the hang of flight. When Mortis spoke she could understand her unamused outlook. "Well, lets hope this one isn't filled with people who want our heads on a stick." she said, joking somewhat.
-
As they neared the village, Macid noticed Moon flew off on her own, leaving them alone. He remembered in one of his books that black dragons were a sign of bad luck and generally evil so he didn't blame her for letting them go into the village alone. Still, if they needed Filadius to vouch for them, they'd be sunk. He wasn't too keen on everyone's sour mood on the village but couldn't blame them, given their track record. He decided to try and act like the leader this time to try and get everyone feeling a little better. "Surely at least one village has to treat us nicely. All we have to do is explain who we are to the chief and hopefully we can at least get a place to sleep for the night and a nice meal. Maybe they can tell us how much our treasure is worth." Macid thought for a moment about the last sentence. "On second thought, lets keep our treasure to ourselves for the time being, just to be safe and so no-one steals it."
-
max walked up on the other side of macid, by this point his hearing Had cleared up enough to understand what was being said, not that it was clear. "no offence macid but if you think about it, so far every town we've been to had been nice to us, but we've manager to somehow draw unwanted attention to ourselves because they know who we are. if we try to just look like normal travelers for a change we might be able to avoid getting attacked for a few hours so we can sleep." he looked at the town sighing and rubbing his temple, the high pitched screeching now gone leaving a headache behind.
-
The village was quaint and quiet, but they were cautious as well. When the party reached the village, they were welcomed warmly, but discreetly. Unlike many places the inhabitants of this village were always overly cautious,and they kept it that way. The party was brought to the mayor's hut and his family fed the group. The village was poor, but it was lively and safe.
-
Mortis continued to feel nervous despite the village's kindness. It felt as if the towns people were uneasy with them being there as well, which didn't sit well with her. She wondered why they were so uneasy, and her mind filled with different scenarios. Maybe they're nervous because those leaders check up on them every so often and they know we're not supposed to be here. I wonder if they'd turn us over if that's the case... She seemed a bit distracted as she ate, though she thanked the Mayor and his family several times over for being kind enough to take them in.
-
Constance looked about the village when they entered, noticing how the people were acting. "They don't seem evil...Just scared..." she thought. When she was guided into the mayor's house and fed she didn't object. Food was always a good thing and now that she wasn't being carried around she could finally clean her rock a bit more now that she wasn't focused on walking. After she ate she thanked them for it and took the rock from her bag and began to chip away at it with her paws at first. After that she began to use Lych, not worrying about it becoming dull since it was forever sharp.
-
Macid noticed that the villagers seemed rather quiet about their arrival. He agreed with Constance that they must be scared by them and they guards coming for them. The look of the houses told him that it wasn't a very rich village, but a poor and peaceful one. He made sure to try and not let anyone see into his bag and the gold bar he had inside it. As they went into the mayor's hut and began to eat, he thanked them for their generosity and began to eat the meal provided for him. It wasn't a huge meal, but it was warm and tasted good as it went down his throat. He looked over at Constance picking away at the stone they found in the chest, and remembered her leg. "Uhm, excuse me, but would you happen to have a walking stick of some sort for my friend here? Please?"
-
max didn't really pay any mind to the people of the small town, looking around and letting his ears re-adjust to being able to hear. when the group was lead into the mayor's hut he looked around at the inside of the hut, not really paying attention to anything that was said or done by the others till the group was brought food. he ate slowly, not really feeling hungry he only ate half of the small meal then thanked the mayor and walked outside, finding constance and macid outside with a large stone. "what you got there?"
-
The mayor merely made a shushing motion, finger to the mouth, and nodded, leaving the room. The little boy, a young eagle with no fully grown wing feathers yet, leaned on the table and whispered over to the group, "Daddy says we can't speak above a whisper. Even on normal days, we have to. Rumor has it is that there's a magic user in the area who can hear anything at normal volume all around this place. You know, you guys should wear better disguises. Everyone here knew who you were the second you were in view. Even I'm not that stupid, and I'm only 8." The mayor came back with a walking cane that was made of polished oak, and his head's likeness carved into the head.
-
Mortis shrugged, looking at the bird. "It's hard to find disguises. We've been having the crappiest luck while traveling. Anything that can go wrong, has gone wrong, and we've only managed to keep alive because of dumb luck. This is the first time we've had a rest... And it wouldn't surprise me if something cut this short.." She whispered, then buried her face into her palms while leaning on the table. "So when I say we appreciate this, we really do." She added, only audible enough for the boy to hear.
-
Constance was sitting and chipping away when she heard Macid ask for a walking stick for her. She smiled to herself but said nothing about the sweet gesture. When Max asked what the stone was she put it down with a sigh. "I'm not sure to be honest..." she said quietly. "I just feel compelled to try and clean it, but it's REALLY dirty. Like...Ancient filth, from years and years...It's insane..." she whispered.
-
Macid was taken back by the mayor's shushing, almost insulted, but quickly realized why he did it when the eagle boy explained about the magic user. When he commented on their disguises, he looked down at his robes and back up at the boy. "Well then, if you're so smart, what would you suggest we do? We don't have the means to make our own disguises and Mortis is right about our luck. Everytime we sit down, something is trying to catch us or eat us." He spoke in a whisper and didn't mention that having a dragon with them kind of defeated the purpose of a disguise, but was interested in what the boy had to say, if anything, about their predicament.
-
The boy's mother almost walked right up to Macid, and slapped him across the face, "Don't you dare take that tone with my son. He was merely stating the obvious. We already have someone working on a disguise for you that will be more convincing. You may be the prophecy children, but I will not stand for that kind of behavior in my home." The mayor chuckled softly as he handed the cane to Macid, "My family is very much raised on manners. I am a little more tolerant than my wife, but please do mind your manners in our home. I have prepared two beds in the other room for you all. I'm sorry, but that's all we can provide, given our village's financial troubles. Remember, please keep the noise and talking down to a minimum. Around here, the walls really do have ears."
-
Mortis had looked up just in time to see Macid get slapped. She had to cover her mouth to keep her laughter from escaping. She wasn't sure why it was so funny, but it was probably because of all the rough patches they had been hitting combined with how tired she was. At the mention of disguises, and a bed she thanked the woman, smiling sheepishly. She had some worry at the back of her mind that maybe her manners were different from the manners in this time. "We really do appreciate this. I do." She whispered. She wasn't very concerned about the two beds other than the fact that she wanted to sleep in one; it wouldn't be the first time she had to share a bed with someone.
-
Constance looked over at Macid when he was slapped. She didn't see how he was disrespecting anyone, but bit her tongue instead of saying anything. She knew they were in no position to do anything. When they were given the two beds she thanked them for them, grabbed her things and hobbled over next to one and plopped down on the floor. "I'm fine with the floor, if you want you can have the bed, Macid." she whispered as she set her sprained ankle on the bed, elevating it. "It should help my ankle anyway...When an animal breaks a leg it needs to be elevated, I suppose it works both ways." she said setting Lych and the rock down beside her. After that she put her paws behind her head to rest on and looked up at the ceiling. The thought of Macid insisting she took it or at least shared it with him crossed her mind, but she acted as it it were an impossibility.
-
Macid reeled back from the slap, holding his paw against his cheek and mouth agape in a silent ow face. A tear began to roll down his cheek as the mayor handed him the cane. He didn't mean to sound insulting to the child, but didn't want to push their luck and did his best ashamed look as he looked towards the ground. When the mayor was finished and the others went to the beds, he went up to the mayor and whispered. "I'm sorry if I insulted you or your family. I didn't mean to and I really appreciate everything you're doing for us. Thank you." He left to the beds and listened to Constance offer the bed to him and rested her foot on the bed. He set the cane down next to her and sat on the bed, slowly putting his paw on her foot and rubbing it very softly. "You know more about healing than I do, but if you change your mind, the bed is yours." He set aside his bag and lied down on the bed, hoping to get a peaceful nights sleep.
-
max watched silently, holding back a smirk when macid got slapped, he ended up walking out after hearing there was only two beds, figuring that the others could use them more than him. he walked around the town silently, looking around and getting a feel for where things were. he ended up laying on the side of a small hill looking over the town, half wondering if moon would either find him or come to him where he was. before to long he started to drift off into a state of half reality, staring at the sky and blocking out everything else.
-
While the others stayed in the mayor's hut and relaxed, the local patrol was passing by and spotted Max laying down. They whispered to each other and crept up behind Max. With swift movement, five of them grabbed his limbs and tail, while the last one grabbed Ramsey. The six of them swiftly took Max away, binding him in rope and disarmed him, placing Ramsey in one of their 3 tents, holding Max in one of the others.
-
Mortis crawled into one of the beds, being sure to leave enough room for one of the others to use it if they wanted. "Just wake me up if something happens," she grumbled lowly, seemingly half asleep already and speaking to no one in particular. For once, she fell straight asleep without much dawdling since she was so tired. All the times she hadn't slept well seemed to be catching up to her at this one moment. She slept somewhat soundly, lying on her belly using her arms crossed as a pillow. She often laid like this while she was relaxing, not needing a blanket or pillow to satisfy her comfort, the bed doing just enough by existing.
-
As Macid tried to sleep, he dreamed of being back in the bookstore. He was sitting at the reception counter as he always was, checking out books and checking them in. He was smiling and enjoying himself until two small cats ran up to him. "Daddy! Daddy!" "Daddy! Daddy!" They ran up and tackled him, giggling as he toppled over. Macid was surprised that they called him dad, and even more surprised at what he heard next. "Allright, you two, get off your father." He looked up and saw Constance standing above him, smiling at him and the kids. The kids collectively whined at Constance, who shushed them. "Daddy works at a library, remember? We have to be quiet. Now run along and go read a book." The kids got off Macid and ran off into the library. Macid got up and watched them run off. "Beautiful, aren't they?" Macid turned to Constance, admiring her beautiful face. "Yes... you are." In the real world, Macid was smiling and sleeping the best sleep he had had in a while.
-
max instantly tried to struggle when he was grabbed, getting out a single call for help before getting silenced by one of the six. he woke up on his side a few hours later, his head throbbing madly as the ropes ground against his scales, he could feel the stinging of dirt dried into the small openings in his skin where scales Had been riped out during the struggle. his vision was blurry and unfocused, his mouth tied shut, the ropes just out of reach of his small claws an his tail tied tightly around his body like another simple rope. he passed back out shortly after waking up, a single guard watching him from just inside the door being the last thing he saw.
-
The party slept well that night, but not for Max. About half way through the night, the guards kicked him up, and sat him in front of the camp fire, the light and heat keeping him from falling back asleep. The guards would punch and kick Max, yelling at him, "Where art the others!? Where are thy comrades!? Talk, you foreign dog!" About the same time, the mayor walked into the room where the party had been resting and shook Mortis awake, whispering softly, "I don't mean to bother you, but it seems the last one of your party has yet to return, and no one in the village has seen him. I am very worried."
-
Mortis groggily fought waking up until she realized that the mayor was the one waking her. "What?" She asked, seeming to come out of a fog. She wasn't annoyed so much as she was tired. She looked around the room after realizing what he said, figures coming into focus as she wiped her eyes. "Macid, Constance..." She grumbled as she took role in her head. "Max." She looked to the mayor, "Max isn't here." She was stating the obvious, again mainly because she was so tired. "Did he go out?" She slung her legs off the side of the bed after she sat up, grabbing her bag. She wasn't thinking too clearly, "I'll go out and check for him," she slurred. The chameleon stood up and stretched, pulling the bag over her head, her hand on the Mayor's shoulder as if to reassure him that she knew what she was doing, despite the fact that she didn't. She was still half asleep, not realizing that she wasn't dreaming.
-
Constance didn't fall asleep for a little while, she eventually used her bag as a pillow since her paws became numb from laying on them. She got to sleep soon after that. It was going to be a bit awkward to sleep since he didn't only just sleep on her back the whole night. This time she would have to since her leg was propped up. She drifted into a dream where she was standing in an open field with the sun beating down on her. She turned to see Macid standing there, he used Anon on her, saying her full name to see her thoughts. He didn't say anything, but she could see his lips moving to form the words. "Constance Nightingale" he said while pointing at her. She was confused as he looked down to see what the book would write. She looked away nervously and when she looked back Max and Mortis were there standing next to him. He looked up from Anon in disbelief, his hands weakly dropped to his sides and he dropped Anon on the ground. "Why?" formed in his silent mouth before he turned and walked away. He began to blur and fade away. Mortis shook her head and walked off to her right and went invisible, disappearing from view. She watched her go up until she vanished and then looked at Max who walked towards her. He put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head before walking passed her and fading away like smoke on the wind. Constance stood there alone, collapsing to her knees and curling into a ball and started to cry.
-
max started to laugh as the guards beat him, the heat starting to get to him, making him more hyperactive in his restraints "do you really think i know, i didn't have the map, i don't know where we are and the last thing i payed attention to was the hill you grabbed me on, out of the entire group I'm probably the worst one for you to grab!" he shouted in their faces, making sure to spit blood in one of the soldiers faces once he was done just to get a reaction. the soldier kicked him hard in the gut knocking him to the ground winded "you'll.......get no.....nothing.....from me...." he panted still smiling menacingly from his place in the dirt.
-
After a couple hours of interrogating Max, the leader of the pack finally spoke up. "Just kill him. It doesn't really matter if he talks or not. The main point is that they don't succeed in taking down our masters, correct? Well, they need everyone to do that. So if we just kill one, we will win. They won't be able to stand a chance against our masters as long as they don't have a full party. Now make it quick. The sooner we kill this one, the sooner we can go back to our spouses."
-
Mortis stumbled outside of the Mayor's hut, looking around to see if anyone was awake to ask if they had seen Max. She knew the mayor said no one had seen them, but she wondered if maybe the others had seen anything unusual. She caught sight of smoke rising in the distance and scratched her chin, wondering if there were citizens there she could interrogate. She suddenly wished that Moon was there, knowing that her flight would help her see what was ahead. Again, scanning the area, she saw a pile of hay that was stacked against one of the huts. She headed towards it, using the hay bales to get on the roof of the hut to see if she could see who exactly was around the fire. Her scales rippled just in case, camouflaging her all except her pair of trousers that she was wearing. She was somewhat thankful that they were dark in color, still staying out of visibility against the dark night. I wonder if he got a wench and ran off or something... Mortis thought somewhat amused, a smirk creeping on her face despite how serious the situation was. She still was in a daze.
-
Constance woke up from her nightmare and sat up, propping herself up on her elbows. She looked at Macid who was still sleeping away before hugging her legs to her chest, burying her face. She thought about the dream, thinking everyone was going away. "No one's gonna leave...It was just a bad dream..." she thought to herself, trying to find some assurance. She looked up at Mortis' bed and her heart sank when she saw she wasn't there. She looked around the rest of the room not seeing Max either. Looking back to make sure Macid was still there she practically jumped into the bed with him and embraced him. "Macid! Don't disappear! I'm sorry!" she almost forgot where she was and shouted, but she managed to keep it at a loud whisper.
-
Macid was enjoying his dream, being married to Constance with two kids and living happily together, until the real Constance woke him up. He squawked slightly at his abrupt awakening, slowly blinking and yawning as he did so as he slowly grew aware of her embracing him and telling him not to dissapear. He blushed slightly as he turned himself around so that he could hug her and comfort her, talking to her in a whisper. "What are you talking about? I'm not gonna dissapear." He brushed her hair with his paw as he looked around the room, his eyesight slowly returning to normal from sleeping. He noticed that Mortis and Max weren't in the room, and it was just him and Constance. He blushed even redder as he whispered to her again, "Constance, do you know where Mortis and Max are? Are they outside?"
-
max laughed louder, the build up of excess energy not getting burnt off while he was restrained numbing his body and causing him to fidget and writhe on the ground laughing like a straitjacketed maniac after hearing the leaders comment about his worthlessness "stab me one, stab me twice, stab me thrice, and see me singing with the mice. jump around the fire, arms for hire, yo-ho ha ha!" he started singing between laughs, more than likely sounding like he was already insane. he managed to end up on his back looking at the leader upside down still smiling "does it look like i care if you kill me?! up until a few days ago my life sucked, then since getting here it's just been going from bad to worse, you think I'm expecting to last another few weeks out here?!" he broke out into another fit of laughter, this one echoing into the distance. ever so slowly his writhing taking him closer to the fire heating him up more.
-
She saw that there were several tents around the fire, but she couldn't really see if there was anyone out. She grabbed her book to draw, but then grumbled, unable to see in the dark. She shakily stood up on the hut, careful to keep her balance and wobbled down to the other side to get near the tents, almost falling. Her eyes grew wide as she heard laughter. She didn't recognize it, but she did recognize the voice as Max's. She grabbed a stick from the roof of the hut and threw it over near the fire, attempting to direct attention away from Max if she could. It was hard to tell where he might be just going off of sound. When the stick clattered against some nearby bushes, she slid off the roof, landing behind one of the tents. Thankfully the light inside shone a little through the cloth of the tent, just enough for her to see. Mortis opened her book and began to draw a gnome, looking up every now and then to make sure no one was near or around her.
-
Constance continued to embrace Macid, when he asked what was wrong she didn't speak. When he mentioned they were the others were gone she held him tighter. "I know. They're gone. And...And you're going to disappear. They all are...I saw it. In my dream." she said. She probably sounded insane but she was really paranoid at the moment from her dream. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I did...I don't want you to go away." she continued. She was on the verge of tears at this point.
-
Macid hushed Constance and began to stroke her hair to try and comfort her. He remembered to continue to talk in a whisper, as per the warnings of the mayor. "It's ok Constance. No-one is gonna disappear, I'm sure they've just gone outside for some air. Come on now." Macid took his hand and lifted her head by her chin until he was looking straight into her eyes. He could tell she was on the verge of tears as he looked at her. He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek to reassure her he wasn't leaving. "Come on, lets go find the others. I'll show you that they're just outside and they haven't disappeared."
-
Max's smile grew wider as he felt the greatest thing short of morphine at this point, his constand writhing and movement had worked one of the knots loose, he waited till the guards were distracted with a noise outside to use his tail to slip between the ropes holding his hands, loosening them while keeping them tight so the guards didn't notice. he kept laughing knowing full well what would happen if he stayed tied up like that for much longer. "go get ramsey from the other tent then come get me!" he yelled, hoping the guards would teke it as a chalenge rather than instructions for anyone willing to help
-
As Max yelled, one of the men got around him and knocked him in the back of the head with the scabbard of his claymore, knocking him out. "Thank you for that, Mason. Now remove his head before I have to listen to that insolent whelp anymore." The man nodded and drew his claymore from its scabbard and laid the blade on Max's neck to take aim and raised the blade over his head, ready to drop the blade and remove Max's head.
-
She began to rush when she heard the guard giving orders to remove someone's head. It was challenging, but she finished the drawing, if only because she was getting more familiar with its strokes. Mortis held the book out pointing it away from her. "Go blow one of them up, or something, get the guards to go away, I dunno, just don't hurt Max," she whispered. She hoped that her drawing was good enough to do some kind of damage. She was beginning to realize what she was doing at this point, and more importantly that she wasn't sleeping.
-
Constance looked Macid in the eyes when he raised her head up. The peck on the cheek was unexpected but she smirked and blushed a bit. She was glad she met another feline like her, it made things easier. She sat up and wiped her eyes with her wrist. "Okay...Let's go find them..." she said softly. She forgot she had a cane now and stood up, trying to walk without it.
-
Macid helped Constance up from her sitting position. When she tried walking, he held her steady. "Easy, let me get your cane." Making sure he was still quiet, he reached down and picked up the cane the mayor had given him and gave it to Constance. "There you go, much better. Let's get our bags and go look for the others now." Macid went and picked up his bag with Anon and the gold bar and Constance's bag with the silver bracelet and gave it to her. He held her free hand and looked at her. "Whenever you're ready Constance."
-
The little gnome hobbled over behind the executioner, but had to explode prematurely, just before the blade reached Max's neck. The explosion was enough to throw soldier over off balance and over Max, face digging into the ground. The captain got up, sword drawn right away, "Dammit! He has reinforcements! Quickly! Find them! Kill them all! Yanis! Grab take the boy away and execute him quickly!"
-
Mortis eventually went from second guessing herself to all out worrying. What the hell am I doing? she thought, after hearing what the guard had said. Oh well, I'm this far into it, I better make it worth it. She closed her book and put it inside of her bag, stashing it beside the building, her heart practically leaping through her chest. She hoped that Max would get away seeing how she remembered that they weren't allowed to kill her... It would at least buy time for the others to come help, if they even realized that she was in trouble... IF Max did get away. There were so many what if scenarios running through her mind that she just completely shut down on coming up with a plan and ran through the side of the tent. Her action pulled the wall inward until the whole thing collapsed on top of the people inside, including Max. She laid there for a moment in the pile of cloth and camoflauged, slipping out of her pants again so that she would be completely invisible. God I hope these guards are dumb, please let them be dumb, she pleaded mentally as she began to squirm within the folds of the tent, looking for a way out or waiting for someone else to move.
-
Constance took the cane and grimaced a little. "This makes me feel old..." she said with a light chuckled. She took her back when Macid handed it to her and put it on. "Thanks." she said before he took her hand. Once outside Constance's ears perked at the sound of a far off noise, sounding like an explosion. "Did you hear that?" she asked Macid, looking towards where the sound came from. "You don't think...Mortis?" she continued. She was growing worried now, putting two and two together.
-
Macid turned his head towards the explosion, hearing Constance ask what is was. "It sounded like Mortis' gnome, didn't it?" He tried to reassure her that Mortis was allright. "Mortis is fine, but we should check it out anyway. Can you summon one of your animals? Just in case." Macid was beginning to become a little worried too, wondering if Max and Mortis were allright. He did his best to hide it and tried to seem brave so Constance wouldn't have a panic attack. That would be the last thing they needed now and they had no time for it.
-
Far off from the village, the camp was turning into chaos. The two soldiers in the tent cursed as they got tangled in the tent, having lost sight of where they dropped Max. "Captain! One is over here! They're trying to get him out of here! Quickly! Before they escape!" The captain ran over, seeing the mess of tent flying all over the place and unable to see any distinct bodies. He waited and thrusted forward as he could guess, but it would clank against one of his men's armor, and he would have to back out as a sword would thrust back through the portion of the crazy tent. "They're attacking us, sir! Help us!"
-
Shit, shit shit! Mortis cursed in her mind. She ducked just in time to avoid getting slashed and laid still on the ground under the tent. She almost felt like crying, but at this point doing such a thing wouldn't help her at all. Where the hell is Max? She thought, doing her best to scoot a path under the tent without being noticed. She knew there would be no way of getting to him since there was going to be a wall between them even if she was under one of the folds. She also knew that it wouldn't be long before the men found her. Without thinking she noticed an exit from the tent and two legs. Without much thinking, she grabbed the pair of ankles and jerked, attempting to make the soldier fall. If they were going to catch her, she sure as hell wasn't going to go out with a fight. At this point her panic began to cause her adrenaline to take over, which was a relief because even though she was attempting to be offensive, she was still shaking. These men had swords; the only thing she had was the advantage of them being blind and not knowing where she was. From the men's shouts she assumed she grabbed the captain, which could be the worst, or best decision she had made so far.
-
Constance agreed that it did sound like Mortis' gnome. "I'm sure they're alright...Max has his sword. He can protect Mortis." she said to assure herself. She knelt down and etched the wolf rune into the ground and placed her palm on it to summon it. "I don't know how fast we'll get there...I don't think I can run. Too bad Moon wasn't here, maybe she could just carry me. Heh..." She said, trying to make light of the situation. She got back to her feet and started off with Macid as quickly as she could go. "Damn my injuries...I'm the next most capable fight in the group. I'm letting two of my friends down." she cursed at herself in her head.
-
Macid nodded as he walked beside Constance towards the sounds off in the distance. "Yea, they can take care of themselves." Macid really wished he was strong enough to carry Constance so they could get there faster, but figured he'd be tired when they got there anyway so it was better the slow way. He looked up to the night sky when she mentioned Moon, hoping to see a silhouette of her flying. "Where is she? I hope she is all right too." Macid forgot about trying to be brave and was now starting to worry about everyone else with Constance.
-
max started to wake up, a familiar ringing in his ears for an unknown reason, the back of his head aching and throbbing, his scaled skin crawling with pent up energy, he tried to look around but couldn't see much more than the fabric covering him. he tried to crawl away from the voice of the captain slowly progressing towards the edge of the fallen tent.
-
The captain finally spotted a figure crawling away distinctly, it was Max. He roared as he leaped towards him, sword facing down, and thrust into the sheets. The sword pierced Max's tail, and pretty much nailed him to the ground. He then pulled out a knife from his sash, "'Tis the end for you, knave." He was about to kill Max when out of no where, he was swept right off the ground and into 50 feet in the air, where he was dropped and died upon impact, not even 5 feet from where he had been standing.
-
Mortis jumped ontop of the soldier she jerked to his feet and began to punch him repeatedly in the face. She didn't have any other weapons on her, so it was all that she could do; she was just thankful that their helmets left their faces open. Her heart was thumping out of her chest as she did so. The element of surprise had been on her side this time, the soldier hardly having time to react. She only stopped bashing his face in when the soldier stopped jerking around.
The chameleon almost dropped dead from fear when the captain shouted, and even moreso when she turned to see that he was swooped off his feet and dropped in the distance. Oh god if that's not Moon... was the only thing she could think as she grabbed the unconscious soldier's sword and stabbed it into his neck with a cold expression on her face. She just wanted all of this to stop. She grabbed the sword again and jerked it out of the soldier's new orifice, using her foot to anchor the soldier's body down as she pulled upward. She probably looked crazy at this point, stark naked with a sword in hand. She probably would have been a little more self conscious if she didn't just look like a sexless over grown lizard, but even that couldn't concern her at this point.
-
max screamed out in pain as the sword was trust through his tail, he instinctive reached backand grabbed the blade, ending up cutting his palm through the cloth as he pulled it out of his tail. he slowly kept crawling till he reached the edge of the fallen tent, pulling himself slowly out from under it and getting up groggily, swaying as he stumbled forwards towards the tent with Ramsey in it, his mind completely blank, oblivious to mortis' presence
-
Another three of the soldiers who had gone out for food, and heard the noise, had come back and spotted Max stumbling over to the tent with Ramsey, and they drew their swords, charging at him. The first one got to Max before he reached the tent, and pulled him by the tail, gripping the wound hard, and raised his sword. However, before he could kill Max, he was immediately crushed, his arm no longer part of the mush of a body he has left. It was Moon, and it shocked the other two soldiers enough for her to cover them in her poison breath. Meanwhile, the last soldier was still trying to get out of the mess of a tent.
-
After Mortis saw that the others were taken care of, she noticed the soldier clambering around in the cloth tent. Without really hesitating, she charged forward and leaped on him, poking her newly acquired sword into the cloth, hoping to jab into flesh, though striking metal a few times in the process. She was very displeased, irritated with the whole situation as well as everything else. After she was sure the soldier was at least too injured to move, she went and retrieved her book.
-
Constance trudged along until they got the the camp, looking at what was left. She saw Mortis stabbing at what looked like someone under a tent and Max with a bloody tail. She also saw Moon near Max as well. "What happened here?!" she asked worried. "Are you guys alright?" she continued as she walked over to them.
-
Macid had heard the struggle at the camp a ways before they reached it, but had to stay with Constance the entire way there. When they finally reached it and saw the carnage that was left. Bodies everywhere, coated in blood; it looked like a slasher film. Macid merely stood there, his mouth agape in shock. His mind raced at the possibilities of what could have happened otherwise. "We can't even rest for a single night. How are we supposed to change the world if we can't barely survive a single night?"
-
max instinctively spun around and swung at the soldier, missing moon by no less than a foot, he lost his footing and kept spining ending up face first in the dirt. his breathing shallow and his heart beat slowwing as the cold night air drained away his body heat. he was able to stay awake long enough to see macid and constance arive before finally passing out.
-
The men covered in Moon's poison screamed as boils had festered and were popping all over their bodies, making it seem like their bodies were melting, which in a way, they were. One of them actually had an arm fall off, letting out whatever was supposed to be coursing into it when it was still attached. Another just plain collapsed into a pool of what used to be his skin and scales.
-
"From the looks of things, soldiers grabbed Max." The chameleon said without skipping a beat. She kept the sword in hand and grabbed her bag, beginning to sift through the tent to find her clothing. She was a bit angry, but not at anyone in particular. She figured the others would tend to Max. It wasn't that she didn't care so much as she figured she had done her part.
-
Constance made her way over to Max, ignoring the melting soldiers from Moon's poison. It was a gruesome sight which she didn't want to see or hear. Just before she got to Max he passed out. She hurriedly got over to him. "Max? Max! Are you okay?" she said, kneeling down over him. She put her ear to his mouth to check for breathing, retracing when she heard it. "Well, he's not dead...That's a good sign."
-
Macid walked over to Max as well, noticing how badly in shape he was from the fight. He was no doctor, and had no idea how to help him so he decided to rummage through the camp to see if he could find any supplies they could use. He searched throughout the tents and any soldiers that weren't covered in poison in hopes of finding medicine or coins, anything of value. He wasn't able to find much of anything he could salvage, and went back to Max, sitting down next to him and sighing.
-
Moon watched as Constance and Macid seemed to panic for a bit to help the passed out Max. She went over to one of the tents and bit down, tearing off a portion of it and walking right over to them and dropping it onto the ground, and letting out a low growl. Moon had no interest in whether or not they would use it and went over to the dead soldiers she had killed with her portion. Despite how they looked, they had been separated from their armour, and they looked appetizing enough that she dined on them.
-
Mortis slid on her clothing and looked over to the others to see what they were doing. When she saw Moon take the torn part of the tent, she flatly spoke, "You gotta wrap whatever injuries he has." She watched Moon dining on the soldiers. As odd as it seemed, it didn't really unnerve her so much as it made her hungry again, but she shrugged it off. Although Moon was eating, Mortis came up close to her, keeping in mind that she probably needed her space. She didn't pet her, but she did speak to her. "Thank you for the help, Moon." She crossed her arms behind her back and walked off a little awkwardly to the others to see if they had begun to wrap Max's injury. We gotta get out of here soon before people find out... She thought, waiting for what the others were going to say. Although it was hard to say, something inside Mortis seemed to have changed after she actually got out and did some physical fighting. It was as if she was on the verge of letting go of her more logical side in favor of something that would help her survive. It was that same feeling from before when she had been looting the soldiers' bodies from before when they had first arrived, except this time, it seemed more welcome.
-
Constance saw Moon tear a piece of the tent off and throw it to them. She took it, somewhat in a fog. When Mortis mentioned wrapping up the wound it was clear, despite that she knew what had to be done. She wrapped the wound tightly as she could before sighing. "So what now? Do we leave town? Someone's going to have to carry Max. Or wait until he wakes up."
-
Macid stared at Max's wounds as Constance wrapped them, not really looking at them but staring into space. He responded to Constance but not to her directly. "What's the point of going back to town? There's nothing they could do for us anyway. We'll put Max on Moon and move to the next landmark. If what the mayor said was true, and there is a wizard that can hear everything in town, I'll be he heard all this and is on his way here now so we should be going." Macid got up and walked a bit, staring down into the town while he waited for the others to get ready.
-
max could hear voices, everything around him was black and cold before fading into a bright room with him standing in the center. "my, look how my boy has grown. i never did get to see you with my own eyes." "m...mom?" "yes my dear, we have watched over you for as long as we have been gone from you" "we?" "yea, bro. you think we'd just leave you on your own?" max spun around, looking for the sources of the voices, but finding nothing more than an empty room. "mom! jake! dad! where are you?!" he awoke in the field where he passed out, weakly looking up at constance, his eyes glazed over more stareing through her as he layed there in to much pain to try to move
-
Moon acknowledged Mortis before finishing off her meal, wolfing down one last arm before belching and roaring. She then turned and walked over to where Max was. When she saw that he wasn't able to walk, Moon lowered her head and nonchalantly hefted him onto her back and snorted, moving her head for the others to move. Out in the distance where the village was, there was a small glow that progressively got larger. It was being burned down.
-
Mortis followed behind Moon, stopping momentarily when something caught her eye. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the glow, but not quite realizing what it was until after she had looked at it for a minute. He stomach sunk when she realized it was fire, but she turned her head and kept walking behind Moon, as if to push the thought away. Not like we could do anything even if we wanted to... she reassured herself, looking down.
-
Constance got up after Moon picked up Max. She followed after Moon silently, noticing something out of the corner of her eye. It was a faint glow in the distance which grew. "They...Burned the village? Why...? To get us? Damn those people...Dirty bastards......We can barely stand on our own without trouble finding us." she thought angrily.
-
Macid saw the town start to glow with flame and said nothing as he turned away to follow Moon. He wondered weather or not it was the wizard that could hear everything in the town, or the first heros that came looking for them; perhaps they were one and the same. In any case, Macid did not care who did it, they were going away fro the town either way towards who knows where. "So does anyone know where we're going? Or are we just going to wander aimlessly until something else happens?" His voice was obviously sour and very obvious signal that he was in a bad mood.
-
max watched the glowing, mainly because he didn't want to waist the energy on looking away. he called out to macid weakly, making sure he heard him before continuing "macid.....macid.....find Ramsey....." he turned away slowly, relaxing on moons back quietly, his whole body aching as he stared blankly, mortise soon walking into view causing him to smile slightly.
-
Moon sighed and stopped, turning around as Filadius' image popped up. "Whew! It's about time! Bad Moon! Bad girl!" She sputtered with indifference and just laid down, letting him speak. "How are you doing now, children? I don't have any time concept where I am, since I'm stuck in the middle. Is there any way you can update me on how you have all been doing? Max doesn't look so well, either."
-
Mortis glanced up to see Max smiling at her, which caused her to look directly back down. She wasn't very happy at the moment, especially given their situation. When Filadius's image came up again, she looked at him blankly. "Well, the village we just left from is being burned to the ground as we speak and we're currently just wandering aimlessly like we have been for.. Oh... I dunno. Since we got here?" She crossed her arms and looked away from him, "And there's no telling if who or whatever that's burning down the village knows which direction we went or if they're following us."
-
Constance looked at the image of Filadius when he popped up. "Long time no see..." she said somewhat flatly. "We've had a really bad string of luck these passed couple days...I sprained my ankle, Max was captured and almost killed, every village we go to suffers...It's been crazy to say the least." she continued on.
-
Macid chimed in after Constance. "To put it simply Filadius, it's been hell for us since we got here and it's not going to get any better." Macid turned around to go back and look for Ramsey for Max. He found it lying just outside one of the tents and came back to the group, holding it for Max while he was on Moon's back. "Every time we rest, we wake up to some kind of trouble that endangers our lives, be it guards or monsters. We've been here less than a week and we have 2 years to go. We're not soldiers Filadius. We can't keep this up for that long." Macid's tone was low and serious. He was tired of all this running and near death experiences for the group and wondered how they could possibly change the land again.
-
Max calmly looked around when the old man showed up again, staring at him while the others spoke. "So old man, whats your next bright idea that will end with at least one of us in mortal danger?" He spoke almpst sarcasticly, partualy because his blood loss was starting to effect his thinking. He looked over andd saw macid with ramsey, smiling again before turning back and waiting for answers.
-
Even Moon scoffed at Max's statement, grumbling in her own tongue. "Well, I may have been late, but Moon is complaining about Max not staying with the group. So I'm guessing you got yourself in this predicament. I did warn you to stay hidden. In any case, you had better head out quickly. If it has been as long as I think it has been, you won't have much time left. There is shelter in the next village. You'll be able to rest there for a few days. The Inn-keepers there will provide you well with food and lodgings. Unlike other cities, Pinerton is an almost lawless city. It's filled with mercenaries, but there's a secret entrance at the largest oak tree on the east side."
-
Mortis half wondered what it was that Moon was saying, but found it odd that Max would blame his own stupid actions on the old man. She was just irate with still feeling like she was being lead blindly into a situation she had no real grasp on. Mortis sighed, taking in a deep breath and exhaling as if trying to keep her composure. A lawless city, eh? We'll have to be extra guarded there, even if there is actually a safe area. So much bad shit has happened, I don't even want to risk relaxing, even if we're allowed to. She rubbed her forehead, already feeling a headache creeping up on her as scenarios played out in her head.
-
Macid sighed as he listened to Filadius explain their next destination. Ignored. Typical. I knew he didn't have an answer. He didn't know what to think about going into a lawless city for a few days. The aspect of having bounty hunters everywhere and a huge price on their heads seemed like as good an idea as walking up to the police and saying I killed a person arrest me. Even though he didn't like any part of this journey, he thought it was a better idea than staying where they currently were and just nodded along with the old man. "Oak tree on the east side. Anything else we should know?"
-
Max laughed again, his attention span dropping the longer he stayed awake. By the time fladious aswered him he was already not listening "mind carrying that for me macid...i don't think i can for a while." He gave a goofy smile and another less than sane laugh which faded away with his cociousness, again passing out from bloodloss.
-
Filadius frowned and sighed, "Well, you better get going children. I don't mean to sound repetitive, but the future of the world is on all your shoulders, that includes the other party." With that, his image faded back into Moon's belly, and she got back up, picking up Max again and started heading north. She didn't bother to look behind her to see if the others will follow.
-
When Filadius's image disappeared, Mortis began to walk again, attempting to stay close to Moon. She was beginning to feel as if the dragon was detached from them unlike before. It didn't help her feel any better, if anything, it only contributed to her headache. She said nothing, however and walked on, her head feeling as if it had a pulse of its own.
-
Constance didn't say anything when Filadius spoke and disappeared. "Couldn't magically fix my foot? Okay..." she thought, somewhat angry. She knew he couldn't do anything. She followed after Moon when she started off, noting her somewhat evasive attitude. She seemed like she was wanting to avoid them and in more of a hurry.
-
Macid looked at Max when he asked him to carry Ramsey for him, watching him laugh and pass out. He sighed as Filadius said his goodbye and followed after Moon and the others. He looked at Ramsey as he walked, the thought of ending his life crept up in his mind as he admired the blade. No more Filadius, no more everyone dying wherever we go, no more worrying or nothing. No care at all. He looked up and at Mortis and Constance and frowned, dropping the knife down to his hip. No more friends either. I guess despite all that has happened I'm still glad I have friends out of it.
-
Moon brought the group to the designated location, which was thick in forest, one that wasn't visible beyond the treeline. At the base of the largest tree, they entered, and out popped a man with an enormous halberd in tow. "State your business, you-" He stopped short when he noticed a couple of members of the group were dressed not from this time. Before he could say more, Filadius came to being, "They are who you think they are, Volgus. However, one is in dire need of medical attention. The others need a lot of rest and food. They have been through quite the ordeal." The human nodded, "Yes, sir. Understood." Filadius then disappeared, and Moon walked over, dropping off Max into Volgus' arms, who motioned the others with his head and led them next to one of the large roots. Moon walked away, leaving the group with him as he kicked open a passage that was just big enough for two people to enter at a time. The stairs led them down a passage that went for a long distance before it opened up to a very accommodating-looking room. It looked like an almost modern day hotel, minus technology, and there were two rows of 20 beds and several long, dining tables in the center. The place was lit very brightly with torches. There were only 2 patrons already in there, one in torn armour, and the other in torn, peasant's clothing. "Welcome to Rakuen*."
*Japanese for Paradise
-
Mortis followed silently until they got to the human that was called Volgus. She remained silent as Filadius did most of the talking, and barely really interacted past looking back to see Moon heading off in another direction and thanking Volgus for taking them in. Her head hurt too badly to even take in the scene. She merely stood behind the others waiting to be told what to do, if anything. She wanted to lie down in a bed, but she didn't want to disturb any order that may have already been set up. She closed her eyes from the pain.
-
Constance trudged along with the group until they got to where they were supposed to go. She was too tired to be intimidated by the man's weapon. "Rakuen?" she thought. She was already day dreaming about what she would do, first being lay down. She then wanted to clean that hunk of rock she had. She didn't even think about food, her curiosity was taking over and she wanted to know about the stone.
-
Macid said nothing as they approached the man with the halberd. He let Filadius explain who they were to him and followed him down the stairs into the large room. He looked around the room, eying the two others there and the dining tables. His stomach growled loudly as he thought about food, not having eaten since the last town. The thought of a nice bed made him realize just how sleepy he was too, as his eyes began to grow heavy and the soreness of his muscles began to become noticeable. He walked over to one of the beds, removing his bag and setting it down next to him and Ramsey on another bed as he fell face first into his bed.
-
Volgus walked over to where Macid was, on the last bed, and laid Max on the bed next to his. Immediately, many women in white nun clothing came in and half placed boxes down while others moved him around and positioned him on the bed as they began to examine his wound. "Rakuen mean 'paradise'. This place is a sanctuary for those still loyal to our world, and to Lord Filadius. It is one of over 20 around the world, each run by us, his personal guard back in the day. Feel free to do as you wish. If you are ever hungry, Damien *points to a small fox standing in the middle of the tables* will be happy to run orders and your food. No one is aware of this place's existence, nor can any type of magic penetrate the walls of this cavern."
-
As if on que, Mortis crept over to a bed that was one bed over from anyone occupying one and plopped down. She didn't even bother taking off her bag or anything for that matter. She sighed out and curled up, attempting to sleep again. She supposed her headache might have also been from her not sleeping the whole night through the night before when she was exhausted as well as the recent stresses that had been placed on the group.
-
Constance heard the mention of food as she made it to the beds, which snapped her out of her daydreaming. She set her things down next to a bed and went over to Damien. "Meat. Chicken, ham, beef, whatever you got. Please." she said, smiling at the end. "And something to drink, please." she added in. When she got all her food on a platter she carried it back to her bed, despite going slow from her ankle. She plopped down on her bed with her food in front of her, practically drooling. There was a lot of it, so much it seemed too much for her to eat. Constance licked her lips before digging in. After a minute or two she stopped, half of it gone. That's when she got out the rock and Lych to start carving away at it. Still though, she ate, slowly but surely.
-
Macid wanted to eat, his stomach growling in testament, but he was too tired to move. He tried to lift himself from the bed to talk to Damien, but they buckled under his weight and he simply was too tired to move. He let himself slowly drift off to sleep, praying that they don't get interrupted again. I'm not getting up this time. Let them come and what they will. I'm just too tired to run anymore. He began to snore as he started to dream of simpler times.
-
The staff in the room took care of all their injuries for the next three days, major and minor. Volgus came in from time to time, but never lingered, just to get some food and water, and went back to his post. The peasant patron had left their second day there, never really paying attention to the group. The medical staff continued to nurse the group constantly, always monitoring the injured, mainly Constance's ankle, Max's tail, and even a friar continually checked up on Mortis to address her psychological needs, though to no avail. Damien ended up liking Macid a little more than the rest of them, talking with him once the party was the only patrons remaining, wanting to know about the world that the Heroes had come from.
-
Mortis enjoyed her days of rest for the most part, using them mainly to sleep. She had a habit of staying detached from the group not really conversing with them. She was more or less using the time to get a grip on herself mentally, as if someone had hit a reset button on her, though most of her perspectives on the situation stayed cemented, including her uncomfortably primal mentality of the idea of just surviving. She didn't enjoy company when she was bothered, being so used to handling things on her own, she didn't want help.
-
Constance ate and slept heartily as the days went on. Though most of the time she chipped away at the rock, trying to work on cleaning it. She didn't get terribly far with it despite her efforts. On the final day she asked someone. "Do you guys have any cleaning things to get off decades of dirt?" In her mind she was thinking of some oxyclean, or super powerful cleaning agents, but she knew she wasn't in that time zone anymore.
-
Macid was woken in the middle of the night by his rumbling stomach. He found he could lift himself a little more due to resting, but still couldn't stand. He motioned to Damien, who came over and took his order for some meat, bread and water. Eating his fill, he went back to bed and slept soundly through the night. The rest of the time passed by uneventfully, to Macid's approval. He was so happy to have some time to rest without having to fight for their lives for a change. He and Damien often talked for hours; most of the time it was just Macid telling him of their world and all the technology they had. He enjoyed talking to Damien, as it reminded of his times in the library when he would do story time for the children.
-
On the morning of the 4th day, Volgus stayed longer during breakfast, looking over at Max, "I think someone had better be waking him up to eat, I hope. With the blood loss that he's had, he should be eating twice as much as anyone. Every time I come down here, he's laying in the same position. Are you all sure your friend is alive? The prophecy calls for 7 heroes, not 6."
-
Mortis had been generally unconcerned about much until Volgus pointed out Max's condition. Her first reaction was to ask, "Has nobody checked on him?" She hadn't really been paying much attention to the others, and that included Max, so she wasn't sure if anyone had checked on him or not. She looked to Constance and Macid, somewhat confused, but also seemingly in a mental fog.
-
Constance was a tad annoyed she didn't get a response, but didn't let it get to her. She was making it well enough with Lych. When Max was brought up she looked up from her cleaning and looked him, then to the others. "Uhm..I guess I've been busy cleaning my pet rock. And getting my own treatment..." she said. She looked down to see her wolf who she had summoned all that time ago crawl out from under her bed. "Hey, boy. Go give Max a big wet kiss for me." she said jokingly. The wolf waltz over and put its front legs on his bed and started to lick his face. She wasn't too worried that he was dead, they would have noticed a lot sooner, she thought.
-
Macid looked down at his feet, embarrassed at the realization that he forgot about Max. He turned around in his bed to see Constance's wolf start licking at his face. "I haven't checked on him at all either. I just... forgot I guess. I've been talking with Damien so much I guess I just tuned everything else out kinda." Macid got up and walked over to Max, stepping around the wolf and kneeling down next to Max's head and lightly slapping him. "C'mon man, time to wake up. We got all sorts of things here. Bacon, ham, bread, fish, you name it."
-
On the same day that the original party had gathered at Filadius' home, Septar Ocatari, an orphaned Pharmacist, had also received a message to gather at his home, but was asked to get there 5 minutes after the others. All the others' cars were still there, but the house was empty. When she entered, Filadius' voice came to life after she entered into the living area where everyone else had been. "Ah, welcome Septar. You are just in time." Filadius informed Septar of the same as he informed the others, about the mistake he made, and what was needed to stop the permanent changing of time, all the while, Septar had been searching for where his voice was coming from. He also let her know that she was to take Max's place as the 7th Hero to help bring order and protect the future. Without letting her speak, the vortex that engulfed everyone before took her in and sent her through a void of pure light.
Volgus watched as the medics came down to administer their usual treatment to Max, however, they became worried when they noticed something odd about Ramsay as they neared. The handle was missing, and upon further speculation, the blade had been dissolving into miniature bits, floating up at an increasing rate. The nuns quickly started checking Max's body and his vitals, which were dropping fast. They did everything they could to at least try and wake him up. Another nun had even started to check his tail, which had the most blood flow, and felt his blood pressure drop into nothing. After doing whatever they could, the nuns retreated from his body as one brought the blanket over his head, declaring Max dead. The women wept, as they realized one of the seven Heroes of Prophecy was dead. Even Volgus couldn't help but fall on his knees halfway to the bed, as he was about to go help with reviving him. Ramsay burst into dust and the bits gathered overhead, and fell to the ground, now resembling the box in which all their weapons had been in before. At that point, a circle of light opened above it and shined a solid beam, and disappeared, revealing Septar, her name engraved on the new box.
-
Mortis watched as everything seemed to be falling away before her eyes. She was upset and scared, but she couldn't show any kind of emotion through the mere amount of shock that she was experiencing as the nurses pronounced Max dead. She merely stood there, her color somewhat paling as she looked on. Oh god, what are we going to do now? Volgus said we can't do it if one of us dies... The prophecy calls for seven of us. We're going to be picked off like flies. It was as if Max's death was setting in stone how real and dire the situation really was. Goddamn that old man... All the progress she had seemed to make in her days of rest emotionally were slowly going out the window. She swallowed hard, looking to the others.
-
Constance's heart sank as she watched the women check out Max, she felt something was wrong. It was confirmed when they announced him dead. "Wh-...What do you mean he's dead? He was barely hurt. And now..." she said, a growing sadness coming to her voice. "Why didn't you do something?! You're doctors! How could you let this happen?!" she shouted at them. She was upset, but when when something started happening to Ramsey she grew confused. She didn't know what to think at this point.
-
Macid was growing concerned that his actions weren't waking up Max. He stepped aside as the nurses gently pushed him away and began to work on him. Something told him at that point that Max was gone, and was not surprised when they declared him thusly. Macid merely sat down on a nearby bed in shock. Max had been a friend, and now he was gone, just like that. He looked over towards Mortis, who met his gaze, and stared at her for a little while before turning to Constance, now shouting at the nurses for failing to save him. He didn't blame her for feeling so bad, but thought that the women did the best that they could. He thought he would have been sadder about the whole ordeal, but figured he was getting use to the times and thus desensitized as a result. He hung his head just as Septar appeared in the flash of light. He looked up and saw the dragon standing there, unsure of what to say or think.
-
Septar's eyes were wide as a rush of sheer panic ran through her body as she appeared in a room with 3 others she didn't know. She clenched her wings tightly to her back, and wrapped her tail around her waist grabbing onto the spiked tip, which was something she did when she was very nervous, and swallowed hard. "Wha-what the hell just happened? Where am I? And who are all of you?" She said as she backed away from them tripping over the box, and falling to the ground on her bottom. The box had her name engraved on it. "What is this?!" she asked looking back up to the others, her panic very apparent. Everything had seemed to be so rushed, the last thing she remembered was being at the pharmacy, the old man calling her about some emergency and leaving work in a hurry, seeing a ton of cars in his driveway, being told some story about 7 heroes from another time she didn't fully absorb, and then being sucked into a vortex.
-
Volgus was, despite his demeanor and experience as a warrior, was utterly shocked to see someone completely new appear before them. He cautious walked up to her with his sword drawn, but lowered it when he noticed that her clothes were indeed not from his time, and didn't resemble the Rulers'. "My name is Volgus, and I think your questions can be answered if you follow me up on the surface. Moon has been waiting up there for the last few days..." He led the way out of the cavern, but not before turning back around, "By the way, that's the name of your party's pet dragon."
-
"So is that it? If one of us dies we just get replaced?" Mortis blurted, upset still. "We're gonna go parading around at this time, possibly die in the process, just to be replaced?" She couldn't hold in her anger, but she was trying desperately. She was shaking at this point. There was nothing she could do. She was here and there was no getting away from it. She felt her distrust for the old man grow tenfold as she began to shakily try and follow Volgus. She needed some air. Some nature. Some kind of something to comfort her.
-
Constance fell back onto her bed after seeing Septar appear. She listened to Mortis' angry words and was thinking the same now. "Fantastic. How valuable ARE we to Filadius? He was different back then...Why did this have to happen?!" she thought as she stared up at the ceiling. Her wolf came over to her and started to lick her paw which was hanging off the side of the bed. It was feling her frustration and wanted to comfort her.
-
Macid went over to Constance and layed down beside her. Mortis had a very good point. How valuableare we if we can just be replaced? Maybe he foresaw one of us dying and had a back up just in case? Or maybe she isn't a replacement and she's just reinforcements? Augh, this is making my head spin. His hand wandered over to Constance's and grabbed it, turning over and looking into her eyes with a look that was trying to say its gonna be allright.
-
Septar shied back shielding her face with her arm and closing her eyes tightly when Volgus had his sword pointed directly at her, but eased up a bit when he sheathed again. She noticed how tense the atmosphere was now, and she knew she was there to replace a "Max," but she hadn't known that he had died. Hearing the others words made her feel even more nervous than she already was, especially the chameleon. Grabbing the box that had her name on it she got up from the ground, and followed Volgus out of the cavern. "My party?" her face squished up on one side as she rubbed her forehead trying to absorb everything. "Pet Dragon?!" she said in a caustic, yet questioning tone, being a dragon herself. Maybe he means a feral dragon, she wondered, and then started to think about how a feral dragon would react to an anthro dragon. She squeaked a bit as they reached the end of the cavern. She couldn't even imagine what was going to happen next.
-
Volgus had looked back at Mortis when she had her outburst, "Don't be mad at Lord Filadius. He is the only one who knows the Prophecy in its fullest. He kept you all secluded from each other for a reason. Even more so, we all only know the basics of the Prophecy. We didn't even know names until you told us. Being the most knowledgeable is a curse, contrary to popular belief. Filadius doesn't wish anyone's destined ill fate, but he has to weigh the life of the timeline over one. He bears a huge burden, so please..." When he led them all outside, Moon laid there waiting for them, and stood up, alert more at the presence of Septar than the fact that there was more than Volgus coming out of the tree entrance. She cautiously walked up to the small dragon who stood as tall as she was on all fours, and sniffed her. After catching faint scents of Filadius on Septar, Moon backed up and pushed herself up, letting the image of Filadius come out.
-
Mortis merely shook her head and walked past the others when they got outside. She didn't go too far, she was still able to be seen as she stood outside and stretched. She took in deep breaths of the fresh air, attempting to clear her head from thinking too much. The most knowledgeable one is often the one in control of everything. To do as they wish and manipulate all of us to do their bidding. Her expression was of disgust, but then it shifted to a more neutral state. She felt like she wanted to believe that everything was going to be okay, but something in her just wouldn't allow her to do so. She crouched down and looked up at the sky.
-
Constance didn't move from the bed when Macid layed down next to her. When he took her hand and looked at her she gave a weak grin before sitting up. She pat her wolf on the head, scooting her legs off the bed to plant then on the floor. "Maybe the new girl can heal my ankle. At the very least, she better be able to fight. With...Max gone...And me still too injured to fight efficiently...We are in a bit of a bind." she said, giving a slight chuckle at the end. She got up and grabbed her cane beginning to head the way the others went. "I'm sure Filadius will try to explain everything. Might as well have a listen." she said, motioning for Macid to follow.
-
Macid said nothing as he got up and followed Constance. There was nothing he could say to make the situation better, or so he thought anyway. A bind is putting it nicely. Constance is the only one right now, not counting Moon, that can actually fight hand to hand with someone. Mortis can summon things but that takes time and I only have this fire wall for defense. Macid looked at the ruby in Anon as he thought. I sure hope she can fight as good as Max did, or its gonna get alot harder for us.
-
Septar was unsure of the feral dragon as she sniffed her. Moon stood the same height as her on the ground. She stood behind Volgus as the image of Fladius appeared. She turned around and looked at the cat and the lynx appeared from inside the cavern.
-
Filadius bowed to the group after appearing, "Let me first send my condolences. Unfortunately, there was nothing I can do. In order to save the future, YOUR future, I cannot tell you anything, and must fulfill your destiny. I had tried to bring up Max correctly, hopefully delaying or changing his destiny to perish by making him more agreeable with others and less pigheaded to walk away from the group, but I guess destiny takes what it must."
-
Constance stood and listened to Filadius. She was not amused by his secrecy like he normally spoke. "So you KNEW he was going to die? And you sent him anyway? What exactly IS in store for us?! Are we all just going to DIE?! We are not in good standing right now if you haven't noticed! We just lost our best fighter. And you KNEW it was going to happen! You couldn't prepare us for this?!" She sounded very angry as she went on her rant. Her wolf who was next to her whimpered a bit, being a bit scared, which was her true feelings which she was hiding.
-
Macid said nothing as Constance barraged Fliadius yet again with her words. He was starting to feel bad for Filadius a bit, since every time he appeared he was being yelled at by them. He put his paws on Constance's shoulders before trying to calm her down. "It's gonna be ok Constance. Don't let it all out on Filadius, he can't tell us everything. Maybe the new girl has another weapon that can work better than Max's." He turned his head towards Septar and looked at her with a very serious gaze. "I'm Macid. This is Constance, that's Mortis, and you've already met Moon. We just lost our friend who has been with us since the beginning of our journey and it's hard for all of us. What is your name?"
-
"I'm Septar, It's nice to meet you Macid, but I'm very sorry that it's under such unfortunate circumstances, and I'm sorry about your loss.... really I am. I know what it's like to lose someone you care about. I'm really unsure why I'm here right now. The old, er- Filadius," she glanced at his image and Moon, and then back to Macid, "told me the story, but I don't completely understand what's happening. Nor do I know what you all have been through already. Hearing Constance, and Mortis' words are very unsettling to me. I don't have any weapons, unless there's something in this box with my name on it." She held the box up with both hands and walked towards Filadius, the opening facing her. She was unsure if she could open it or not, partially because of fear of what could be inside of it, and partly because she was terrified that it wouldn't be up to Macid, Mortis, and Constance's approval. Septar didn't have a fighting background, maybe getting beat up a couple of times at school, but overall she was just a home schooled orphan, and kept quiet most of the time. On top of that she was a pharmacist, how is that helpful in a battle to save the world? "Filadius, is it safe to open this box?" the dragon questioned, her wings were beginning to release from her back a little bit, starting to at least feel less threatened.
-
Filadius sighed, "As I said, I thought that trying to raise Max better would help him, but it failed. I can't tell any of you what will happen or else the plan will fail and your future will be lost forever, making you cease to exist." When Septar walked up to him with the box, he raised a hand over the box and what looked like a yellow barrier appeared and dissipated. The lid lifted and revealed a single, elbow-length gauntlet. "Septar, your commitment and ability to work under pressure to help people, destiny bestows Lariat to you. This gauntlet has 2 powers. The first, is that it gives your arm mighty strength, enough to break boulders and stone. The second is that it can heal minor injuries, by placing an open palm on the wound. However, beware, it does NOT heal poisons. If you heal a poisoned wound, you're sealing in the poison into the person's body."
-
Constance put her paw to her face, mainly to hide her misty eyes. She felt a little better when Macid put his paw on her shoulder. She listened silently to everything else, her ears perking up when Septar's weapon was described. Her tears had gone as she looked at her. "You can try it out on my ankle. The healing part that is." she said.
-
Macid was surprised at the description of Septar's weapon. It was just what the group needed, a healer and a fighter, all in one. When Constance mentioned her ankle, Macid nodded and spoke to Septar. "We've had a string of bad luck, to say the least. We've been beaten and knocked around by both guards and behemoths. Having a healer would certainly help out alot. Would you please try it on Constance?" He stepped back from Constance to allow room for Septar, giving her a genuine smile to try and say it was allright.
-
Septar took the gauntlet out of the box and slid it onto her right arm, fastening it securely. It fit perfectly, and she flexed her fingers and wrists to test out the flexibility. "Lariat," she said aloud, admiring the gleam of the armor that had special powers, the armor that gave her special powers of strength and healing. She looked over to Macid as he gave a brief run-down of what they've been through, and then looked back to Filadius, "H-how exactly does the healing work?" she asked him. She then walked over to Constance and looked to Macid again, "Please hold her for balance, because I don't know what's going to happen next." Placing her open palm onto Constance's left ankle, the one she had noticed she'd been favoring since she arrived out of the cavern. She closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself in case anything extreme was about to happen.
-
A gentle light emitted from the point of contact, which stayed there for about 10 seconds before disappearing. After fading, ten small lights glowed on the side of the gauntlet, 5 were rubies and 5 were sapphires. Filadius noticed it and walked over, pointing at them, "These are the limiters of your abilities. The rubies represent how many power hits you can use. Please keep it in mind. Whenever you strike anything with this arm, you use up 1 ruby, which takes 12 hours to recharge from the time you use EACH. If you strike more than 5 times, it will take up 2 sapphires. Each time you heal, it uses up 1 sapphire, but you cannot heal more than the number of sapphires you have."
-
Mortis had only stopped looking at the sky when she caught a glow in her peripheral that hadn't been there prior. Glancing over, she saw the dragon doing something to Constance's leg. A healer, maybe? Hmmm. She was still pretty upset altogether with the whole situation even if the old man had given them a healer. She finally stood up and started to make her way to the group, still visibly upset.
-
Constance looked down at Septara as she reached for her ankle. When the lights started coming out there was a pain in her ankle which made her clench her teeth and grab Macid's paw tightly. She listened to Filadius as he explained how her gauntlet work, trying to not focus on the pain. She also gripped the head of her cane tighter and twisted it into the ground. "Stings a little..." she said, trying to hide the pain.
-
Macid nodded and held Constance so she wouldn't fall over while Septar tried to heal her. He payed attention to Filadius on how her gauntlet worked, so he would be aware of her limitations for later. When Mortis came over, he looked over to her and gave a smile to her as well. He wanted to give her a hug, to show her that even though Max was gone, everyone else was still here, but would wait until Constance was done first. He gripped her paw back when she gripped his paw, looking down and watching as the gauntlet glowed around her ankle. He could tell she was in pain, but knew it would end shortly and she would feel much better afterwards.
-
Septar watched the light beam out of the gauntlet, through her hand, and into Constance's ankle. Looking at the rubies and sapphires, she watched one of the sapphires fade out until it was dark. She looked up at Macid, and Constance, who was in pain from the sprain being healed, and after the gauntlet finished glowing she removed her palm from Constance's ankle. Looking at her own hand again, this time palm facing her, and then turning it back around to look at the jewels, flexing her fingers. "So I can only use this method of healing four more times? If I don't hit anything more than 5 times with this arm? I mean, minor injuries can range from anything from a sprain like this to a-" she stopped herself short before she got into all of the medical mumbo-jumbo she didn't need to get into, accompanied by nervous rambling. She looked over and questioned Filadius, in reference to the 12 hour recharge on the rubies for power hits. It seemed to her that if the rubies could recharge, so could the sapphires. She finally noticed that Mortis had moved over to the group, and had been watching. Septar stood up, and tucked her wings in a little bit tighter again, because she could feel that Mortis wasn't in the best of moods. Though, why would she be? Everything was changing, but somehow Septar cared only about healing Constance at that moment, and following all of these strangers in an unknown world, with a feral dragon, and a wizard, until it was over. The reality of the situation finally hitting Septar, she felt a little dizzy, and knelt down on the ground to recompose herself. "I could use some water," she managed to get out.
-
Volgus nodded and went down into the passage, coming back in 5 minutes with a pitcher of water and a large, wooden mug. "Here." Filadius was watching all the others, a very sad and worried look on his face. Knowing everything that was to transpire, and what he had to do and being unable to tell them hurt him very much so, especially like Max's prophesied death. He had searched throughout the centuries in search of them, and did his best to raise them, they were like his children.
-
Mortis merely watched as the others interacted, then looked to Filadius, noticing his visible worry. As quickly as she had looked at him, she looked away, then squatted down attempting to focus on something else. "Well, at least your ankle is better, right?" She said looking it over before standing up. She looked to the dragon. "Thanks."
-
When everything looked over with Constance rotated her foot around freely. There was no pain from her ankle anymore, which brought a smirk to her face. "Alright, now we're talkin'. Thanks. Uh...Septar was it?" she said, looking down at her ankle. When she mentioned Septar she looked up at her to hear her response. She let go of Macid's paw, oblivious to how hard she had a grip on it. "So where are we going next?" she asked, looking towards Filadius.
-
Macid was relieved to see that Constance's ankle was better, but even more relieved that she let go of his hand. Making sure she wouldn't see, he shook his hand and massaged it to bring back the feeling in it. She's got an iron grip, good god. He then walked over to Mortis as Septar rambled about her healing and sat down next to her as Constance asked Filadius about their next location. As much as he liked it here, he knew they had to leave eventually. He just hoped they weren't led into another behemoth's nest and to another town.
-
Septar took the wooden mug from Volgus, and drank sort of hastily, drips of water dribbling down her chin as she gasped for air once she had finished gulping some of it down. She sat down fully before responding to Mortis and Constance while wiping her chin off with the top of her left wrist, "You're welcome, yes, Septar. Hopefully my knowledge will come in handy too. I, uh, am a pharmacist...err, was..I guess." She said to them rubbing the back of her neck, and then looked over at Macid who sat down next to her, waiting for Filadius to reply to Constance's question. She watched his facial expressions for a moment to try and grasp a bit of his personality, but looked away before it became obvious that she was studying him. She brought the mug back up to her mouth, and drank a bit more of the water, but this time much slower. Sitting the cup down beside her she pulled her legs in and wrapped her tail around herself to touch the hardened tip of it with her fingers, a nervous habit of hers. Her wings were starting to cramp from being clenched up so tightly so she at least let them relax, and lay normally on her back relieving some of the pressure.
-
Filadius rubbed the back of his head and forced a smile, "I want you all to take another two day's rest. Also, use this time to get to know Septar. She's a pleasant child when she was growing up, and she's quite a serious one, too. However, the most important thing is to increase the bond between all of you. If you all can do that, then your battles will be a little easier for you, being able to know what each person will do and understand each other. If you'd like, I'm sure Volgus would have no problem helping some of you in tactics. Septar, if you'd like, he can teach you how to guard yourself, since you can't use the super strength often."
-
Mortis nodded at Filadius and gave a fake smile, disappearing back into the passageway in which they had emerged. She let out a deep sigh as she went down the stairs and wandered back toward her bed where her things were. She felt more lost than anything now. She had always looked to Filadius for guidance when her parents couldn't give her anything, but now she just felt upset. She supposed it was that lingering feeling that maybe more of the group would die just as Max had, and no one would know or be able to prevent it. She plopped down on her bed and picked up her book, thumbing through the pages.
-
"Combat practice sounds fun. Now that my ankle is all better I'm going to try to get better." Constance said when Filadius mentioned training. "Train at night...Clean the rock during travels...Perfect!" she thought. Thinking of the rock brought another question to mind since Filadius was still there. She quickly pulled the rock out and held it so Filadius could see. "Some dragon gave this to me. What is it?" she asked. She had a more positive outlook now that her ankle was healed.
-
Macid looked at Anon at the mention of practice, eyeing the ruby in particular. Since Filadius said to be here for a couple more days, I should use my fire wall to see what it's parameters are and how to use it effectively. I could also practice writing as well, I don't see why not. Macid had nothing left to do outside, nor anymore questions for Filadius at the moment and decided to get something to eat. He walked back down into the large room, trusting Constance to tell him if Filadius said anything important. He saw Mortis on her bed and decided now was the time to give her that hug. He went over to her and sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her in a side hug. "Don't worry Mortis. It's gonna be allright."
-
After listening to Filadius speak about bonding, and how the others should get to know her a bit more her yellow eyes followed Mortis down and into the cavern, followed by Macid. Two more days sounded pretty good, because moving straight out on the same day that she arrived, or rather, appeared, seemed to be a little bit overwhelming to Septar. "I could definietly use some help in learning how to guard myself, and I'd also like to see how strong this arm of mine really is now." She looked over to Volgus giving a bit of a grin, hoping that she looked tough enough to train, but on the inside she knew she was going to be up for a hard time. "Volgus, can you show me a few basic things now?" She asked rising to her feet and stretching her arms and wings out completely for the first time since she arrived. For such a small dragon, only standing at 5'7" and weighing about 155lbs she had a little over a 9 and a half foot wingspan, and her wings had a redish-purple hue to them. A totally different color than the rest of her blueish-green body. She never knew why the leathery portion of her wings were a totally different color than the rest of her, but she never thought to question it either. They worked so why did it matter?
-
Filadius examined the rock in Constance's hands, "Hmmm... interesting. It's one of the 19 runes for ancient summoning magic, the same as yours. Throughout time, every generation has only had 1 summoner, and despite their means of summoning had differed every time, they still relied on the presence of runes, and had the same basic three runes to start with: wolf, dog and monkey. The original summoner from around 12,000 years ago had crafted 19 runes that were able to summon very powerful creatures, but during the dragon wars back 8,200 years ago, when the world almost faced Armageddon, and even gave birth to non-feral dragons into society, the few very smart dragons who created their troves of treasures, each took one rune to their keep, which used to be part of the memorial arch at the original summoner's grave. I'll see if I can help you out a little. Moon, please bring the gem closer to the stone." Though Filadius' image didn't move, Moon did do as she was told and Filadius held up his hand, "I'm going to utilize the negative time magic from the gemstone. Just understand, I probably won't be able to talk to you anymore after this, so if you or the others have anymore questions, now is the time."
-
Mortis didn't even so much as look away from her book when Macid hugged her. She seemed very numb and detached. "I'm glad you think it will." Was all she said. Her tone was flat and unfeeling as she pushed her feelings aside in exchange for the void. Let's just hope Filadius doesn't have any more replacements lined up, her mind added, though she restrained herself from saying it aloud. She almost seemed to be staring a hole through her book.
-
"Like...Forever? Or just not for awhile?" Constance asked, referring to him saying he wouldn't be able to speak to them anymore. "I can't think of anymore questions...Unless Septar has anymore." she said, looking at Septar. "Oh, uh...Is there any faster way to clean this thing? Or any others I would come across? I've just been picking at it with Lych." she said.
-
Macid sighed as he hugged Mortis. He didn't blame her for feeling so down and detached at the moment and decided to let her be for now. He got up and walked over to his bed, where Anon had been sitting this whole time, and began to write in it. He didn't write anyone's name, but rather just the alphabet so that he could practice writing faster and faster in it. As he wrote, he kept thinking about the day and loosing Max, Septar replacing him, and this little vacation they were on. He remembered the others that were with them at the start too. He wondered what they were doing now, and if they too lost anyone.
-
Septar listened to Filadius tell Constance about the summoning stone, but was still too focused on looking at the gems and her new gauntlet, after all dragons were all about treasures. It wasn't until she heard Constance say her name that she came back to where she was, "No, I don't have any questions." She stated sharply, and turned to walk a bit further away from the group. She wanted to see what was around them, at a much, broader view. Bending into her knees a bit she extended her wings fully and pushed off the ground using their powerful upthrust to lift her into the air. She didn't see much of anything though, just a lot of trees, but it felt good to be in the air. It was rare if she got to fly in the city, and mostly did her flying when she drove out into the countryside so no one would look at her strangely. Anthro dragons weren't exactly looked upon as being friendly creatures, but Septar was just that. She flapped her wings quickly and inwardly to bring herself back down to earth, touching down gently, she let out a huff with some visible steam coming from her nostrils.
Looking to Volgus she hoped for some practice with defending herself, and maybe break a boulder like Filadius said she could do with her super strength.
-
Filadius sighed and light began to emit from the gem through his projected hand and onto the stone tablet in Constance's hands. The rubble seemed to slowly fade away, the condition of the tablet itself restoring itself that the cracks on it even disappeared. "There, I've reversed it back 7,000 years with my magic through the gem. I probably have only sec-" With that, his image disappeared and Moon backed up and got back on all fours. The tablet now showed a new rune, as if it was a new block of stone as well.
-
Constance held the lump of rock out to Filadius as he worked his magic. When it was all said and done she looked at the rune on it. She looked back up to listen to what Filadius was saying. She was going to ask what the animal would be, but his time was up and faded away. With a sigh she continued to examine it. She decided to stifle her curiosity and but the rune back into her bag since she had brought it thinking they were leaving. Turning to Volgus she spoke. "What are you going to do with Max...? Should we...Bury him?" she asked.
-
Septar sucked her wings back into her body when Filadius vanished mid-sentence, and her eyes grew wide. She looked at Moon, and walked back over to her, looking her over a bit. She wanted to get to know Moon, because knowing the feral side of a dragon would be useful, and maybe she'd understand herself a bit more. She turned her attention back to Constance when she spoke to Volgus about Max, and just watched to see what he would say. He knew she wanted to practice with her gauntlet, and get some instruction on how to fight, but tending to Max's body was something that was more important. She turned her attention back to Moon, still keeping an ear out to listen to Volgus and Constance, holding the back of her hand out for Moon to sniff again so they could get better acquainted. She tilted her head and relaxed her body and wings again, trying her best to communicate in body language. Hoping she was giving off a friendly vibe.
-
Volgus sighed, "We have a burial site about 100 meters deep inside the forest. I'm sure the sisters have already begun preparations on his body." Meanwhile, Moon was confused at why Septar walked up to her and started looking at her. She merely cocked her head from side to side, trying to figure Septar out as she was trying to figure her out.
-
"Alright, I'll go let the others know..." said Constance when Volgus mentioned what they could do. She headed back down stairs and found Macid and Mortis. "We're gonna go bury Max soon. If any of you want to go...Might want to get ready." she said. She rubbed the back of her neck, trying to keep cool. She felt a bit bad, she had forgotten Max for a moment when she was talking to Filadius about her new rune stone. Her wolf was idly following her around at her heels.
-
Macid closed his book and hefted himself up from the bed when Constance mentioned a burial. He kept the book with him this time and walked over to Mortis, placing a paw on her shoulder. He didn't really know what to say anymore, so he just rubbed it and patted her before walking away outside again. There he saw Volgus, Septar and Moon. Septar was busy with Moon so he decided to try and talk to Volgus. "Thank you. For everything, really. Where are we going to bury Max? Is there a graveyard around here we can use?"
-
Septar didn't really know what to do with all the talk of Max's burial, but figured it would be polite to follow along silently. She couldn't really comfort any of them, especially since she had just met them, and didn't know Max at all. "I don't know what to do." She said quietly to Moon and touched her nose, "I just hope I'll be as helpful as Max was, and I hope that I can live up to what the prophecy calls for as well." She didn't know if Moon could understand what she was saying, but she didn't care either, she just needed to talk. Swallowing hard, her ears flopped and drooped a bit with uneasiness, mixed with a bit of sadness. She looked over at Macid as he spoke to Volgus, and was waiting for Constance and Mortis to appear from the cavern.
-
Moon merely scoffed with a face that said, "Anyone would be better than that idiot." Unfortunately, it wasn't really much to go on, since she had a bad attitude all the time. Volgus stayed outside so that Septar wasn't alone. The nuns had prepared Max's body about 2 minutes after Constance went inside to everyone. The sisters carried Max's body upstairs, and Volgus led the way to the small burial site. At first, when they entered through the thicket that was near impossible to see through, it was a sit to see over 100 graves, and just as many prepared graves. The procession was nothing special, nor was there any music. The sisters brought Max over and tied some rope around him before lowering him inside. Volgus merely saluted before stepping back and allowing the sisters to close up the burial. The area that Max was buried in was on the far end of the grave site, and seemed to be separate from the rest of the site, being only 12 buried near him, and not more than 20 open ones were there, too.
-
Mortis merely sat her book down on her bed and walked behind the others. When the procession went on, she couldn't help but wonder if there would be anyone back in their world that would notice Max was gone. She also wondered how their decisions could cause effects back when they got home. She stared blankly as they lowered Max into a grave, taking note of the sheer amount of graves, both prepared and filled.
-
Constance followed behind the nuns as they went on to the burial site. She was surprised to see all the graves, at least the prepared ones. It felt a little demoralizing, but she tried not to let it get to her. She didn't expect much of the funeral, but it was better than nothing. She crouched down near the grave and watched as he was buried. She was silent, holding back tears as things went on. Her wolf who had been following them licked her in the face but she didn't budge, just staring at the grave.
-
Macid watched as Max was lowered down into the grave. His demeanor remained silent and stoned face as the procession continued, nary shedding a tear. He wanted to, he had gotten used to Max and had liked having him around. He felt like he didn't have any more tears to shed, as if everything that had happened had hardened him to the point where he couldn't cry. When Volgus saluted, he did so too, and remained in that pose for some time.
-
Moon ended up staying with Septar while the others went to Max's burial. She got bored quickly and walked over beside Septar and laid down on the floor leaning against her. Not too far from where they were, though, there was a low carrying sound of various wildlife from the very little to the very large that were NOT hostile or hungry for flesh and meat.
-
Mortis was the first to leave Max's burial. She didn't stay long, she felt too bitter and too upset to stay for an extended period of time, so she just left without saying a word to anyone. She made it back outside and looked around, hearing the sounds, then disappeared back down where she had come from, taking a seat back on her bed and picking up her book.
-
Constance sighed and stood up, still looking at the grave. She shook her head quickly, trying to shake away the sadness. There was no time to be sad, she had to get stronger so Max's death wouldn't be in vein. She heard the noises of the wildlife around them, though they didn't seem hostile so she wasn't on edge. "Even the animals can sense the change. I guess..." she thought as she began to walk off. She took her wolf with her back to the hideout, though staying outside. She wanted to figure out what her new animal was. She knelt down and dismissed her wolf before taking out the runestone. She began to etch it into the ground and once she was finished she placed her palm on it to see what would come out...
-
Macid eventually stopped saluting and left the grave site, heading back to the cavern and ignoring everyone else. He wasn't in a very talkative mood and was feeling tired and hungry anyway. When he reached the cavern, he asked Damien if he could get some ham and bread as he sat down on his bed. For the first time since they arrived, he took off the finger portion of Anon and rubbed his now free finger, curling it back and forth as he waited for food to arrive.
-
Septar stayed outside after Mortis, and Macid had returned inside and watched Constance for a moment as she etched something into the ground and then placed her hand over the top of it. She didn't know what she was doing, but was a little nervous about getting too close because she had a weird feeling about it in her gut. She looked at the hand with the gauntlet on it, flexing her fingers again, and looking around for a big boulder to break or something to practice on. She really wanted to see if it would do what was promised, and then watch for the recharge. They would have only two more days there, and that meant if she used all three of her rubies, 2 today, and 2 the next day, they would be fully recharged by the time they would have to leave. To where, she was unsure, but the knew she needed to start talking to the others as Filadius' wishes were for them to get to know her, and she too, wanted to know them so they could work together.
-
The rest of the day was quiet due to everyone's moods, so Volgus let them be. However, he had to speak up when he saw Septar going off to find a boulder to smash, "Please go back downstairs with the others, m'lady. It's far too active with bounty hunters, we can't risk you being found." Moon didn't even bother to help her since she was ignored. She spread her wings and flew up, thinking to herself how much Septar was starting to seem like Max, going off to do her own thing.
The wolf disappeared into a puff of smoke, and the rune in the ground glowed as it emanated a purple light and the glow left a cloud of smoke. When the smoke settled, there stood a short, little cactaur.
-
Mortis wound up falling asleep against her own will after seeming to be idly be fixated on her book for a long while. Her mind had finally exhausted itself from thinking in circles. She didn't even get under any covers or anything, she just knocked out in place where she had been laying the whole time. She dreamed of being back in her own time again, and she dreamed that she had never met Filadius, her life taking a somewhat normal course.
-
Constance winced a bit until the smoke cleared from her new summoned creature. When a small, cactus looking thing was left she looked at it somewhat confused. She was a little surprised to see something so small, but then she looked at it's face and became giddy with joy. "Aww! It's so cute!~" she squealed. She went to pet it, but was pricked by it's pines and pulled her paw back. "Ow!" she exclaimed, shaking her paw in a bit of pain. She couldn't help but to still be happy at the adorable little cactaur in front of her.
-
The food arrived and even though Macid was hungry, he wasn't in as much of a mood to eat as he thought. He forced himself to eat, chewing slowly and not very much liking it. Eventually he set his fork down and crossed his arms, fighting back tears as he tried to hide himself behind his paws. He was whimpering softly as he covered himself with a nearby blanket as he developed into full sobs, the death of Max hitting him full force as he curled up and cried to himself.
-
Septar hadn't wandered very far off, maybe a few meters from where Constance was, and was only looking for a boulder when she heard Volgus call to her about going back downstairs with the others. "Oh! Yes sir. Bounty hunters? What would they want with me?" She asked him meeting him back at his side, "I guess they'd want any of us though, wouldn't they?" Septar lowered her head and looked at the ground walking back towards the entrance of the Cavern. She turned back to look at Moon who looked irritated, and then to Constance who had a living cactus next to her? Septar shook her head and rubbed her temples with her pointer fingers, and then turned to walk back down the stairs. She supposed she should try and rest, stay close with the group, and be silent for the moment as it didn't seem anyone had interest in talking to her anyway.
-
The next two days were pretty much clockwork and quiet. It wasn't really ample time for proper training, but it was enough for Septar to learn the very basics, and for Mortis' mood to calm down. When it came time to leave, it was midday, and Volgus led the group to a secret corridor that not even the nuns knew about. Outside of the entrance that they had come in, and past the grave site, there was a very narrow, but visible path through the thicket. "This path is used to smuggle refugees and wanted fellow soldiers, so it's very safe. It's a long path, but a half-day's walk should put you far from searching eyes, and just out of view from the city."
-
As Volgus lead them to a path she thanked him for both keeping them in a safe place and allowing them to rest. She gathered her things and began to walk, looking back to see if the others were going to follow. She had no clue what they were going to do next, but she just felt like maybe she should roll with the punches for the time being.
-
Over the two days Constance practiced her dagger skills, usually late into the night. By the time she came back everyone was asleep. When she wasn't practicing she was eating or sleeping. She particularly went for the meat and fish and right after eating she would take a nap. When it was time to go she took her things and followed after everyone. When they got to the path they were to take she looked at Volgus. "So what's the next town again?" she asked.
-
As the days went on, Macid got more and more used to Septar being apart of the group and started being friendlier to her. When Volgus finally led them out and through a secret corridor, into a passage through the thicket that he explained was for smuggling refugees, he extended his paw and shook Volgus'. "Thank you Volgus, for letting us rest and feeding us. It really means alot to us that you've done this... and helped with Max." His face turned to a sad smile as he turned towards the small path, Constance asking what the next town was.
-
Septar was glad that Macid was warming up to her, but she couldn't say that Mortis had much interest in her at all so far. Though, it didn't seem like she had much interest in anyone to Septar. Maybe it was just that she was quiet. When the group was lead down the path for smuggling refugees she wished that she had a flashlight most of the nights, but had to learn to deal with her new environment. She walked next to Macid for a little while, "What has happened to you all before I came along? The prophecy has seven heros, and there are only four of us here...where are the other three?" She questioned him.
-
On the map, the next town from their location was a very small one, but not so small as to be called a village. From the end of the trail they were taking, it would be another 2 day hike, but there was something unexpected up ahead. It was a danger that was going to change the very way they approached on traveling and what they would encounter.
-
Overhearing Septar's question Mortis couldn't help but interject herself into their conversation. "The others split. I got into an argument with one of them because he's a pompous ass and walked off, and well, people chose to go with me over him. Though, I wasn't intending to split us up. More me from him." She looked down, somewhat concerned. "Honestly we don't know where they are, hell they could be dead for all we know. You would think Filadius would tell us if that was the case, but then again..." She drifted off, staring ahead while she was walking, then shook her head and walked a little ways ahead of them silently. She didn't want to think about things again.
-
Constance took out the map and looked at where they were heading. Once she figured it out, with a little help from Volgus she folded it back up and put it away. she heard Septar's question, but Mortis pretty much said what needed to be said. She started off ahead of everyone, since she knew where to go. Though it was no real mystery since they were just following a single path. She kept a cheery face, despite what had happened recently. She didn't want to let the bad get her down, hopefully it would help lift the others' spirits.
-
"Oh yeah. The others. I completely forgot about them. What did happen to them?" Macid had meant to ask Mortis about what happened while he was unconcious during the first leg of his journey, but with the attacks and general survival for his life it slipped his mind. When Mortis gave her explanation, he was disheartened. He didn't think they were that bad, though something could and probably did happen while he was out. Mortis seemed a bit sore on the subject so he didn't push it and instead waited for Constance to lead the way to the next town.
-
Septar's face turned a might red when Mortis turned around to talk to her and tell her what happened, and even more when it seemed like Macid didn't know what had happened to them. Those were the first real words that Mortis had ever spoken to her. She followed behind Constance who had a map and seemed to know where they were going to get to the next town. Looking at the back of Mortis she decided to step up and say something, just to at least try and comfort her a little bit. "He-hey Mortis?" she choked a bit and cleared her throat catching up with her, "I know I don't know you very well, and you don't know me very well, but I hope to see you smile sometime. I don't think the split was your fault either from the way it sounds to me....sorry if it's a sore subject." she said rubbing the back of her head and neck, her spikes and scales felt harder, and more durable than they usually did. She suspected it was from being in a different era.
-
Unbeknownst to the group, Moon had already made her way to the end of the path, and was laying down at the opening of the path, waiting for them for the next couple hours. However, Moon's mind was far from easy as there were 10's if not 20's of nests all around the path that they were about to take to the next town. Unfortunately, the northern half of the entire continent was mostly rural and therefore had the most dangers.
-
Mortis turned her head when she heard her name, her gaze suggesting that she was severely annoyed with being interrupted from her thoughts, however her look softened somewhat when she realized that it was just Septar attempting to be friendly. "I'll smile when I get to go back home and I don't have to worry about fighting for survival or sneaking around like a criminal." She replied, a little bitter still. She was almost tired of being irritated and upset all the time, but she couldn't find a single thing at the moment to change how she felt. She let out a sigh, "I know the split wasn't my fault. That jerk Kiral was dragging Macid on the ground and not caring if he was hurting him or not while he was unconscious and I wasn't going to tolerate being around him if he had that sort of attitude. As far as this journey goes, you've come in on the easy part. Wait until we get going... If it's anything like we've been through so far, you'll see exactly what I mean." She continued walking on, wondering what was going to happen next, but stopped when they neared the end.
-
Constance had only noticed Moon's absence when they ran into her lounging about ahead of them. "Oh hi, girl. When did you sneak away?" she said a bit cheerily. She pet Moon on the head gently and looked around, feeling a little uneasy. "What's that smell?" she thought, catching a faint scent in the air.
-
Macid didn't register what Mortis said about Kiral dragging him for a little while, until it finally hit him. "Wait what? He dragged me? On the ground? Wh-what?!" He had trouble wrapping his brain around it, not wanting to believe that one of their fellow saviors could be such an asshole. He reached to the back of his head and rubbed the spot where he once hurt. "Is that why I had a headache?" Macid was so busy thinking about Kiral that he didn't hear Constance's query about a smell.
-
Septar listened to Mortis talk about what happened, and was a bit nervous about what she could mean about 'you'll see what I mean.' Surviving was one thing, being attacked all the time was another. Ohh this was not exactly how I expected my 'fate' to be Filadius, she thought to herself. She stopped with the others when Constance spotted Moon. Septar waved to Moon with a smile, but then noticed Constance's expression change. Her wings immediately tucked into her body, something really didn't feel right.
-
When Constance commented about the smell, Moon blushed a little as she pushed dirt behind her onto a large pile of her manure. She got up and walked on ahead, patting the ground in front of Constance as if to say to stay there. Moon then took flight and started circling around to check the area, and roared when it was okay to walk, using her shadow as a lead.
-
"Yeah... That would be why." the chameleon said, averting her eyes to the ground. She felt bad mainly because of how Macid was reacting, but pushed her feelings aside attempting to prepare herself for what might come. Mortis watched Moon with mild interest as she interacted with Constance, hesitating on following after Moon roared.
-
Constance didn't say anything about Moon's secret. She remained there when Moon stomped on the ground figuring that's what she wanted. When she heard her roar she followed after her shadow. "Maybe I should summon something...I'm sure it would help if we DO actually find something that wants to eat us...Hmm...I suppose I should wait." she pondered as she walked.
-
Septar watched moon fly above them, and partially wanted to fly up with her but also was afraid of what could possibly be around to attack her after listening to what Mortis had to say, and even Volgus before they had left. She was dwarfed by Moons size and Moon was still just a young dragon, though it wasn't like Septar was that old herself. If an air attack was launched Septar was at a greater risk than Moon would be just because of the size difference. Maybe she'd be okay with flying next to Moon once she knew it was 100% safe to do so. She just kept plodding along with the others, still somewhere between Macid and Mortis. Macid had become silent after hearing what the guy Mortis was talking about had done to him. She decided to keep quiet as well, looking around to remain cautious of her surroundings.
-
Moon saw their hesitancy and thought for a minute to use her breath to "kill" out a path for them, but decided against it and flew on forward to scout, coming back to the group about 3 minutes later, landing just in front of Constance, snorting a bit quietly as she looked at them, motioning for them to follow her closely. As she led them, the faint sound of snoring in the distance became louder and louder. Despite the beautiful scenery and the only hip-height grass (unlike the 4 meter tall grass from before), some larger creatures could be seen sleeping in the field all around them. Some were familiar, while others were not, and others that were odd. There were quite a few behemoth bodies seen around them, some a little too close for comfort, literally inches from them, but they weren't the usual purple fur, but rather the fur was green, and some portions of their bodies had scales, too. There were some large wolves that were seen clustered in different areas around them, too. One could figure that there were full packs with each little group of 2-4 large wolves. Within the far-off treeline, if one paid close attention, could see the little bouncing heads of some cactaur running around. Overhead, about 30 meters ahead, the figures of some flying beasts could be seen. However, despite how tiny they looked, they had not interacted with or saw Moon, indicating they were extremely high.
-
She eventually got herself to walk, her eyes darting around madly as she looked at all the things that were in the field. Her heart leaped, and she wasn't entirely sure she felt safe, but nonetheless she followed Moon closely. She held her book close to her, preparing to flip to the ogre page and use begin drawing if need be.
-
Constance stopped when Moon landed before her, when she wanted them to follow she did. As they went through the field she looked at all the wildlife, despite it probably wanting to eat them she still found them fascinating. If she were younger and without her self control she would have ran off to examine them. When they passed the sleeping beasts she couldn't help but loom over them as they went by to get a better look.
-
Macid followed behind the group, low to the ground and trying to be as quiet as possible. What Kiral had done still caused him discomfort, but he felt that it could wait till they got to a resting point again. If they had to come across another behemoth again, they wouldn't be able to afford his attitude. As they passed by the many sleeping creatures, he cursed to himself for jinxing them. Nevertheless he kept as quiet as he could following the others, not wanting to wake anything nearby.
-
Septar followed closely next to Moon's side as she passed by several odd creatures, behemoths, gigantic wolves, and other things she'd never seen before. She couldn't believe what these things looked like, and she really hoped that staying as quiet as possible was going to get them through the area as quickly as possible, too. No one spoke but they all looked around, Septar occasionally bumping into Moon by accident because of her clumsiness.
-
Moon remained very cautious, and stopped suddenly when she heard a loud screech. One of the Garuda Interceptors was swooping down and picked up a normal sized wolf that howled for a split second after being snatched, right before the talons of the Interceptor crushed it to death. The howl caused a stir as the other wolves of that pack woke up. They roared as all 30 of them got up, now being visible, and the largest one even charged a ball of energy at its mouth and fired a solid beam at the fleeing Interceptor. With the commotion, a couple more Interceptors and even a Garuda came down, firing off blades of wind or their own beams of energy. The disturbance woke up some of the behemoths who were hit by stray shots and they roared in anger as well. Moon spread her wings and pushed off the ground, soaring forward as fast as she could while staying low.
-
Mortis watched as all hell began to break loose so to speak. She bumped into Moon when she stopped because she was so busy watching everything going on. When Moon took off, the chameleon swallowed hard and began to sprint despite the knots in her stomach, holding her book over her head as if that would help hide her from the things. She wanted to scream, but there was no way she could actually get it out even if she wanted to.
-
When things started to intensify Constance huffed, now there was no way she could safely observe the creatures. As they started running off with Moon and the others she had an idea, though she would only try it if they were spotted amidst the fray. She recalled the gathering of cactuar off in the distance, since she could summon one maybe she could gain potential allies.
-
When he heard the screech, Macid looked around to see what caused it. Seeing the interceptor swoop down and snatch up one of the wolves causing him great distress, remembering how hard it was to survive till now and seeing how easy it was for these creatures to up and take one as they please. When Moon began to soar straight ahead, Macid followed suit and ran as fast as he could behind her with the group. He looked at Septar as they ran. I hope you're ready for this Septar. It's only going to get harder from here on out.
-
Septar started running when Moon took off after hearing the strange animals in the sky. Terrified she opened her wings and took off, flying right behind Moon, low and just above the others, so to kind of protect them from the dangers above. She didn't know if this was a good idea or not but her senses suddenly felt a lot stronger than they usually were. Here eyes were more focused, her hearing was sharper, she blamed it on the adrenalin.
-
Moon kept turning her head back from time to time, circling back since she flew faster than Septar and faster than how the others ran. About half way to the end of the field, she spotted a large wolf heading straight for the group. Moon soared up and back, shooting off a stream of her poison breath which caused it to stumble in a direction away from the group. However, before being able to return to leading the group, she was headbutted in the stomach by a Garuda, and landed hard not too far ahead of the group. After landing, an Interceptor swooped towards Moon, intending to finish what its larger counterpart started.
-
Mortis ran forward as fast as she could, still terrified. When she saw Moon go down, she didn't waste any time. Her fingers had already been in between the pages of the book, holding the spot where the Ogre was. She flipped to it now, stopping now that she had neared Moon and began to draw like a madman.
-
Constance looked up at Septar when she took flight. Soon she noticed Moon go down after fending off a wolf heading their direction. She thought now was a good a time as any to attempt her plan. She skid to a stop and ripped up the grass so she could have some clear room to etch a summon sign down. She drew the cactuar sign, in hopes it could enlist the nearby cactuar to help.
-
Macid kept running straight ahead, not looking when Moon shot her poison at the wolf. When she was headbutted by the Garuda however, he couldn't ignore that and could only watch as she fell to the ground ahead of them. As he saw another Garuda fly towards her, he noticed Constance and Mortis were already using their items to try and help. He stopped as well and looked at the eye on Anan, remembering his beast function of it. "That's not gonna do me any good. I know what they're thinking. Shit." He knelt down next to Constance, keeping his eyes open for anything coming near them. He figured he could at least try and protect the group as best he could while they took care of the larger creatures.
-
Septar saw the giant Garuda take out Moon and knock her to the ground, and then the smaller Interceptor swooping down to attack. "MOON!" Septar shouted out and powered her wings into full gear pushing herself as fast as she could go towards the Interceptor and Moon. Her wings flapped at a rate faster than she'd ever pushed them before as she rushed ahead with both fists forward, at first swooping past and in front of the Interceptor to confuse it and then she came back around and up to the right and then back towards the group to hit the interceptor in the head away from everyone. She cranked her wrist back and tucked her wings into her body and dove down fast at it, striking it in the head and moving past as quickly as possible.
-
The Interceptor screeched as it was hit and struggled to get up, but was tackled by the green behemoth and it tore the Interceptor apart with its jowls. Afterward, it turned its attention to the group and charged forward. Contrary to Constance's hopes, all she got was just the one cactaur, but it was as tall as the grass, hip height, a normal size. It just bounced around, not really looking like it's looking at anyone in particular, but was waiting on Constance's command.
-
Mortis watched in horror as everything happened like a blur. She ran off the the side when she noticed the beast charging, still trying to draw as fast as she could, however she failed to remember that there were other things in the grass as well. She was shaking at this point, scared that she would be flattened or mauled by one of the creatures.
-
Constance was a little surprised at the size of this cactuar, despite summoning it a couple times in the past it had never come out this big. She took a quick glance around not seeing any natural attraction from the other cactuars. "Well, I guess that's all for that plan." she thought. She had only just noticed Macid was near her, almost attacking him when she did notice. "Oh! Macid. You scared me." she said. She was focusing too much on the battle to notice him. It was then she saw Septar knock Moon's attacker to the ground, only to be killed by a green behemoth. When it began to charge them she saw Mortis take off, not really noticing she was around either. "Shoot that thing!" she commanded the cactuar, pointing at the charging behemoth. She then pulled Macid up by the arm and got them out of the behemoth's path.
-
Macid ignored Constance's comment on him scaring her and watched the scene unfold before him. He watched as Septar fight the Garuda and keep them off Moon and away from the group, smirking at how well she seemed to be adjusting. When he saw the behemoth begin to charge towards them though, his demeanor changed quickly. He was about to run in front of the group and use his fire shield when Constance pulled him away out of its path. He lost his balance as she pulled him though and fell on top of her in the grass. He apologized quickly and pulled her up, looking around for Mortis and the others.
-
Septar saw the behemoth charging at the group and saw that Mortis had already scampered out of the way, and then Constance shoving Macid out of the way as well to have the cactaur handle the big green Behemoth. Septar looked over her shoulder to keep watch at the other flying things in the sky as well as the wolves around that were stirring about, but she felt compelled to go find out if Moon was okay so she darted towards her flapping her wings gently for a touchdown near her head, "Get up Moon! Are you alright?!" she touched Moon lightly with her left hand in the hopes that she would stir and get up from only getting the wind knocked out of her.
-
In acknowledgement of Constance, the cactaur hopped up and spun twice before hopping into the way of the behemoth and fired off 1,000 needles at it. The behemoth roared as it was stopped for a few seconds, being in shock, and it charged again. The cactaur panicked and fired off another attack. However, this time, the behemoth crushed the little cactus before stopping to try to get the needles off of itself. Moon struggled to get up, but stumbled as she got up to the 2nd foot. The roar of the behemoth then caught the attention of some other monsters around. A baby behemoth had come in, about 1/2 the size of the other one, and tackled both Macid and Constance. A large wolf got bumped by Mortis as she ran and it tackled her back, bearing its fangs at her even one of the Interceptors had come down to try to snatch up Septar. Moon watched in horror as her "parents" were being attacked and forced herself up, roaring as she collapsed again. When she caught sight of Mortis about to be eaten by the wolves, she began to glow with power.
-
Just as she thought she was out of danger, she felt a large weight from behind. The chameleon was so startled, she almost yelped, but she couldn't quite get it out of her. Instead, she accidentally let out a small squeak when she hit the ground, unable to catch herself due to her book and pen being in hand. She gasped for air, having the wind knocked out of her from such a force, and began to gasp even harder when she was able to turn to see what it was that had done it. She felt a little faint with the thing's fangs in her face, but as soon as she was able to catch her breath, she began to struggle. "Damn it, I'm not going to go out without a fight!" she growled, though it was probably ineffective as her fear was apparent in her voice. She began to pummel the animal with her fists and kick it wherever she could, being too scared to notice Moon in action or if her wild thrashing was even effecting the animal on her.
-
After getting Macid out of the way she got back up to watch her cactuar fight the behemoth. She was going to cheer before it was crushed. Before she could even be heart broken about it her and Macid were tackled by a baby behemoth. She groaned and began to push herself up, just in time to see the baby looking at her hungrily. "Uhm...Nice beastie? You don't want to eat me." Her words seemed to go unheeded and it tried to bite her. She rolled out of sight in the tall grass, being cut off from Macid and the behemoth and she quickly began to draw out a wolf sign in the dirt.
-
Macid yelped as he was tackled by the baby behemoth, groaning loudly in pain as he clutched his chest. He looked around, his vision a bit blurry, to try and find Constance. He saw her behind the behemoth standing between them. Everything else happening around him was of no importance to him as he slowly rose to a crouching position and jumped with all his might onto the behemoth's back. With his book in one hand, he wasn't able to hold on very well, but he wasn't planning to stay on for long anyway. He raised his paw with Anan and slapped it onto it's back, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Fire wall!" He had no idea if it would work or not, but he had to do something.
-
As Septar watched Moon struggle to get up, she kept encouraging her "Get up girl, get up! Get up!!" Suddenly from behind she felt a burst of air as another Interceptor came down to try and snatch her away for a supposed meal. Septar turned towards it bursting her right wing out, the bright red inside color flashing in it's eyes to distract and confuse it and she took a swing at it with her left fist but missed. It took back up to the air and came back at her again with it's ugly head and claws. Septar once again shielded herself with her right arm and her gauntlet took a scratch from the Interceptors talon, she turned around and jumped up and bolted off with her wings flapping as fast as she could make them go high into the sky as the Interceptor chased her around and around she noticed Moon was glowing brightly. "Whoa" she slowed and turned her head back to see the Interceptor in front of her and decided to face it head on, she brought her arm back for a second time and used the strength of her gauntlet to strike the Interceptor in the head and knock it out.
-
The little behemoth was stopped in its tracks as it snapped its jaws, pushing against the little wall of flame. Moon's glowing figure grew as her anger did. When the bright light faded, she stood on her hind legs, standing 17 feet in height, her wings now longer past the hinge, and holes in her wings, more spikes on her back, and an elongated jaw with large fangs. Moon opened her large jowls and clamped down on the incoming Interceptor, tearing off its wing, and spat it out. She then swung her tail over and swatted the baby behemoth as Constance's summon brought in a wolf cub. Moon let out a loud roar and took flight, swooping in to grab Mortis out of the middle of the pack of wolves, and quickly turned in midair, light seeming to gather into her back, and a large circle seemed to form around the pack, the symbol for Bane (Evil) filled the center, and the ground rose, exploding and killing the pack. Moon let out a roar of victory and even the other monsters began to run. The larger behemoths roared in response, but took their young and fled.
-
Mortis continued to struggle, only stopping once when she realized she could hit the wolf with her book. She swung and hit it hard enough in the jaw to get it off of her. She couldn't help but grin when it yelped and backed off momentarily. Amid the chaos, she wasn't really sure what was going on, not until Moon grabbed her up. She squeaked in response, unaware it was Moon until she attempted to take a swing at her with her book. She immediately felt awful, sheepishly apologizing to the dragon in midair, "Sorry, Moon, I thought--" though she was cut off when she realized both how high up she was and what was happening below her. "Holy shit!" She gasped, her tail reflexively attempting to wrap around any part of Moon it could while she grabbed at her. She grew even more bewildered when Moon released her attack on the creatures below. How much power Moon seemed to have scared her... Though she could only really be thankful that Moon was on their side.
-
Constance looked up to see Macid fighting the behemoth with his flaming wall. As she noticed she only summoned a puppy she looked up again to see Moon's tail smash the behemoth. She grabbed her freshly summoned pup and ran to make sure Macid was alright. She caught a glimpse of Moon's new appearance, noting she looked more intimidating. She wasn't scared, but she couldn't deny Moon's darker appearance.
-
Macid laughed as the behemoth was enveloped in his fire wall, happy to have gotten it to work when he wanted it to. He saw something come out of the corner of his eye and turned to see what it was. It was Moon's tail and he scrambled to get off the behemoth before it struck. He barely managed to get off in time, the tail striking the behemoth and causing him to trip off and land on his back. He was a little dazed from his fall, but recovered soon enough to see Constance coming towards him. He shook his head roughly as he stood up and dusted himself off before looking around him and at Moon. Her size was intimidating, and as he saw all the beasts run away he knew she was much much stronger. He merely stood still looking at Moon, dumbfounded at her new size.
-
After Septar delivered the blow to the Interceptors head, suddenly Moon started glowing brighter and then grew to stand as tall as she was up in the air and flew up higher just in time to watch Moon rip the Interceptors wing off and throw it to the side. Septar watched in awe as the new Moon ravaged the baby behemoth, save Mortis from peril under the wolfs jowls, and then roar in a fury of victory and warning. As the other monsters and beasts ran off and steered far away from the group Septar soared back down to earth near Mortis and the others. Looking up at Moon who was beaming with pure power, new scales, spikes and an entirely new form. "Is everyone alright?" Septar asked with concern in her eyes.
-
When the monsters had all fled the area and there was no longer any danger in the area, Moon let out a large sigh and fell onto her rump, tired. She rested for a few minutes, letting the others get their bearings, as well as her own. After they seemed to be ready, Moon got up on her feet and walked on. She was a bit wobbly, though, since she wasn't used to having actual arms instead of 4 legs. It wasn't too bad, though, since most of Moon's weight was low.
-
When Moon let her down, she was a bit hesitant, almost having a death grip on her. Eventually, she let go and cautiously stepped on the ground. "Thanks Moon." Mortis replied, scratching the back of her head nervously and tucking her book away in her pouch. She took a few steps cautiously, glad that everyone was alright. "I think I'm okay." She said responding to Septar's question.
-
"I'm just fine." Constance replied to Septar. She watched as Moon walked off and followed suit. She still carried the wolf pup under her arm, and stared at Moon. "Kids grow up so fast these days." she said. She couldn't take her eyes off of her, fascinated at how she had been developing. Not to mention it was hard NOT to look at her since she was so large now.
-
"Yeah... yeah I'm fine." Macid slowly walked over to Moon, ignoring everyone else as he examined every part of Moon he could see. She was gargantuan, standing about as tall as if he was 3x his own height. It made him a little scared, even though he knew Moon wouldn't hurt them, for it meant that if she could grow from her first size to this, than something else could be bigger and think they were lunch. He followed after Moon when she started to walk off, unable to look away from her.
-
Septar was so glad to hear that everyone was okay, but everyone just seemed shaken up. Moon moved on like nothing had happened, and so did Constance. Septar followed along next to Mortis, who trailed behind Moon. "She seems to know where we're going next," Septar commented while walking to no one in particular. It would be 12 hours before two of her rubies recharged on her gauntlet to be full strength, she had one left, and she hoped that they didn't encounter too much more than that in one day. She tucked her wings into her body once again at the thought, but she was starting to feel braver, especially after that encounter.
-
Moon led the group up north past the fields, which took a couple hours, but managed. However, with the town up ahead in view, she stopped. It was one thing to be hated as a Black Dragon, but to be a Tiamat is asking to be lynched. Moon had a rebellious spirit, but at the same time, she was smart enough to know what's what, having been raised by that village for so many years.
-
Mortis walked silently for the most part behind Moon the entire time. She really was just taking in the scenery as they walked on. It was interesting to her, the wild they were plodding through. It seemed more wild that that they knew back in their own time. There was some kind of mystical feeling to it, though the feeling completely disappeared when she bumped into whoever was in front of her when they stopped.
-
Constance was still looking Moon over, noticing the town getting closer after awhile. When Moon stopped, Constance stopped. and when Constance stopped Mortis ran into her, making her drop the puppy. It managed to land on it's feet. She turned to see it was Mortis. "Oh, sorry." she said before turning to kneel down to make sure the wolf pup was okay. It was and she looked up at Moon. "I guess you don't want to go, huh?" she said, feeling Moon's unwillingness.
-
Septar walked up next to Moon and looked at her face trying to see why she had stopped, but figured it had to do with how the people would treat her in the village up ahead. "I suppose we're still going? If the people will treat her poorly because of being a dragon, what will they do to me, or Mortis?" she said to Constance, who seemed to have her wit about her.
-
Moon turned her head to Septar and pushed her with her nose towards the village. She pointed to her own scales and shook her head before opening her wings and flying away. The town was a fair size, and the very recognizable chain inn could be seen at the middle. The evening was nothing to the townspeople as they were lively walking throughout the town in what appeared to be an open flea market.
-
"They usually don't have a problem with me. I guess it just her coloring." Mortis said shrugging. "I really don't want to go. What if there's bounty hunters or something?" She rubbed the back of her neck. "I mean I know we have costumes now but what difference does that make if they know what we look like?"
-
Constance listened to Septar's question, which seemed directed at her. She listened to Mortis and watched Moon push Septar towards the town. "Moon's right. None of us want to go but we have to..." she said. Moon took to the sky then and she watched her fly. "Besides, if things get bad Moon has our back. We just need to get in the open so she can see us. Not to mention we will be able to outnumber and out smart anyone who tries anything. With my three summons a day, I can count as four. Your drawings, Mortis are numberless. Right? Macid can read people's minds, so we can know what's going to happen before it does. Not to mention his firewall thingy. And Septar, you're strong. Plus you can heal the injuries we sustain. I think we're set, we just have to work together. We can take anything that comes our way!" she said, ending with a little cheer. "Who's with me?!" she said, putting her paw forth, hoping to have raised the morale a bit.
-
Macid was only half listening too Constance's speech, still trying to comprehend what Kiral had done to him. When she mentioned him however, he snapped back to reality and looked at the now darkened ruby on his pen. Read minds, yeah right. Only if I know their full name and it takes forever to find out what it is. I've yet to find a time to use it and when I finally did I wrote it wrong. At least the fire wall worked when I wanted it to. When Constance put her paw forth, he was far from enthusiastic but felt it would be best to try to be happy again anyway. He put his paw in and spoke with almost a whisper. "I am."
-
Septar watched Constance as she gave her confidence boosting speech, she was right, but Septar wasn't feeling it inside either. She could feel that Macid wasn't so much either. Yeah, she was strong, but she only had one more super strike left and 2 more healing gems total. She sighed and put in her hand on top of Macid and Constance's, silently looking at the group, and to the town ahead. "We can do it."
-
Mortis listened to Constance try and cheer everyone on, but she didn't feel very confident, either. Her drawings were only good when she had the time to draw them. She looked at everyone a bit skeptically and placed her hand in the middle knowing she didn't really have a choice.
-
Constance smiled after everyone put their paw and or claw in, they were at least making an effort. "Alright break! Woo!" she cheered before throwing her arms into the air. After that she knelt down next to the wolf puppy who seemed as excited as her, wagging it's tail happily. She gave it a pat on the head before dismissing it and stood up. "Alright, onward we go~!" she said, leading the way towards town.
-
Macid raised his paw up when Constance did, but didn't let out a cry with her. She was obviously the odd one out of the group, being so cheerful and full of life. The rest of the group looked like zombies in comparison. Well at least one of us is cheerful. When she began to lead the way into town, Macid followed suit behind her. He changed his mind shortly after and jogged up so that he was walking next to her along side the puppy. Maybe if I stand close to her long enough some of her attitude will rub off on me.
-
Septar also raised her hand up silently, but shrugged with Constance's perky optimistic attitude. She followed along side of Mortis as Constance and Macid led the way into the next town. Septar was always a skeptic when it came to new places and experiences, which was probably why she had stuck with pharmacology and had only lived and worked in one place since graduating. As they approached the new town she tried to muster up some confidence, but instead was only met with an anxious feeling when the bustling townspeople came into view.
-
There were various stalls opened everywhere, selling all kinds of goods. Being the harvest season, there were a lot of fruit and vegetable stands. There were also a few meat stands, being three times the cost of any vegetable or more. There were many garment stands that were either heavily populated by women, fat men, or perverted juveniles. Several restaurant owners were walking around with carts with their specialty snacks.
-
Mortis looked around, somewhat curious about the town. It seemed to have more than any other town they had been in so far. She fished around in her bag and pulled out the small coin purse she had stolen off of one of the guards they killed near the beginning of their adventure. She wondered just how much she could get if anything.
-
Constance walked around looking at all the busy towns people, she could smell all the meats and foods. It made her mouth water, since they hadn't eaten in awhile. "Okay, I guess we should find an inn to stay at." she said, shaking her head to to not think of the food. She looked around to try and find one, spotting one in the distance and heading towards it.
-
Macid could smell the meat stalls, his mouth watering. Visions of him eating his fill of steak, ham, and sausage filled his mind. He closed his eyes and continued his daydream, walking behind Constance until he tripped over his own feet. He managed to catch himself and not fall over, though he looked quite the fool. When Constance mentioned an Inn, he looked around and saw one just as she did. "Yeah, thats a good idea. Let's get a room for the night."
-
Septar's anxiety started to go away as the group walked further into the village. Seeing all of the stalls open and everything they had for sale was very intriguing to her and she looked wide-eyed, much like she had never seen such riches, even if there weren't any in sight. Catching the smell of food her stomach growled loudly, "and how about something to eat while we're at it. I'm starving."
-
Like all the other inns, it was run by one of the 100 look-alike brother bears, super cheerful and super busy (lazing around whenever he could sneak it in.). When the party walked in, they were welcomed heartily, particularly so, since people had been staring at Septar when they entered town, for her outrageous outfit (or at least outrageous to them). They were given 2 rooms with two beds in each. The owner's wife cautioned them to get a disguise for Septar as soon as possible before tending to several more customers asking for drinks and food.
-
Mortis was glad to have lodgings for the night, but had almost forgotten about how Septar probably looked to the townsfolk. "I have some of the money they use, we can go get you something." Mortis said shaking the coin purse at Septar.
-
Constance was first into one of the rooms, as she went into it she said "Dibs.". She dropped her bag next to a bed and practically dove into it. "Ah...Bed." she said, sprawling out on it. She let out a sigh of relief as she lay there, feeling good to get off her feet. Her stomach growled, reminding her she was hungry. "Ugh...Too tired to get food." she whined to herself, oblivious to anyone else in the room should they have followed her in.
-
Macid thanked the bear as he walked up to the room behind Constance. He entered her room to see her sprawled out on one of the beds, leaving the other bed empty. He set down Anan and layed down on the other bed, sighing as he relaxed from their journey. He turned his head over to Constance and spoke to her. "Hey, are you hungry too? I wonder if they have room service now. Do you think they have it? I wonder that we can get here for food?
-
Septar smiled at Mortis when she shook the coin purse at her stating that they could get food. Taking note that they had suggested that she get some different clothing she noted that people were indeed looking at her strangely. Jeans weren't a part of this time period, that was for sure. "I guess I need to get some new digs. Mortis, can we go to the clothing shop we passed on the way in? Then maybe we can buy food and bring it back here?" Trying her best to think of the best options for the whole group, since Constance and Macid seemed so tired.
-
"Yeah, that's what I was talking about, your clothes." She said, opening the purse and counting the pieces inside. "I wonder how much everything costs around here..." She asked aloud, not really realizing that she had said it. She closed the bag back and slipped it inside of her larger bag. "We'll have to figure out the sleeping situation when we get back, I guess." the chameleon commented, eying the two felines that were sprawled out on the beds. She stretched a little tiredly and stifled a yawn, "Because I gotta tell you, when I'm ready to hit the sack, I'm getting in bed, and I don't care who's in it, I'll lay on top of them if I have to." She smirked devilishly, indicating that she was totally serious. "And it'll be a flying leap, too, when I get in."
-
Constance turned her head to see Macid come in. She was glad it was him that had came in. When he started to talk about what would be on the menu she looked up at the ceiling. "Anything meat is fine by me..." she said before yawning. "Chicken...Pork, ham...Beef...Mmm..." she continued. She turned on her side facing Macid and closed her eyes. She was slowly drifting to sleep. "So tired though..." she said softly.
-
Macid sat himself up and addressed Mortis. "Then go get one of the beds in the other room. We've got these beds taken." He sprawled out on his bed, trying to take up as much space as he could. He began to laugh as he rolled out of the bed and walked up to her. "Me and Constance are hungry. What do you say we take that purse and get something to eat? We were thinking some meat would be good, something like chicken or beef. We don't really care, what do you two think sounds good?" He put his hands on hips as he waited for Septar and Mortis to answer.
-
Septar looked at Macid curiously and saw Constance practically passed out. "Mortis and I will go out, I think you should stay here with Constance and make sure she's okay, Macid." She then looked at Mortis and then towards the door. "Shall we?" She said waiting for Mortis' response.
-
"We shall." Mortis said walking towards the door. She stepped out and waited for Septar. When she was sure Septar was following, she spoke, "Well, first thing is first, let's get your clothes. Even if the others are hungry, we need to get you blending in first... It should be the first priority. I'd have said that even if they did come with us. The fact that they didn't just makes it easier." She shrugged, not giving it much thought afterwards. "Wonder if we should ask around for direction or just go.." She mumbled under her breath, then decided to just go as she exited the inn, looking around outside for one of the clothing vendors she had seen earlier.
-
Macid sighed and turned around, sitting down on his bed. "Fiiine." When Mortis and Septar left, Macid closed his eyes and tried to take a nap, but found himself tossing and turning, unable to go to sleep. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before looking over at Constance sleeping. He watched her for a minute before looking over at Anan lying on the table. His eyes darted back and forth for a minute before he took it up and leaned in close to her, pointing his finger at Constance. "What is your name?"
-
Septar nodded and walked out past Mortis, turning a little bit to face her while walking, "I remember seeing a clothing shop almost immediately when we walked into town. It was full of people," her tone dropped now worried about that part. She was always worried about something, and most of the time it showed in her body language. Though she was trying her hardest to be brave it was hard when she never knew what to expect from the monsters they just encountered, to the bounty hunters everyone has mentioned to her before.
-
Though unconscious, Constance had still heard Macid using Anon, and having heard it, the finger guantlet wrote out Constance's full name in the air, and her dreams appeared as pictures and dialogue within Anon's pages. The first clothing store that the women went up to was filled with many other beautiful women looking for clothes. However, the prices were more frightening, well over 100 Zeny each.
-
When Anon wrote in the air, "Constance Nightingale" appeared. Images of dark places fluttered through her dreams, though there were some peaceful ones. "Everyone seems so down...I'm trying to be overly happy in hopes it would rub off...I'm scared, too. How are we going to make it two years? Macid's nice...It makes me feel happy knowing he's around. At first it was just because it was another cat...But now...I don't know what I would do if anything happened to him."
-
Mortis looked to Septar when they heard their prices and looked down at her bag a bit sadly, not wanting to part with that much zenny. "Wanna keep looking?" Mortis asked, her reluctance to spend that much reflected in her tone. "I mean, it's like regular shopping, right? We can come back if we don't see anything else." She seemed to be questioning to make sure she was right, not ever really having any experience with shopping for clothes. She never really had the money to do so back in her time.
-
Macid watched as Anan wrote out Constance's dreams. He sat down on his bed as he read about her thoughts on him. He didn't know how to feel about this new information, did she really like him? He closed Anan, having read enough, and set both the book and the pen on the nearby nightstand as he knelt down next to Constance again and began to stroke her hair as she slept. "Don't worry Constance. It's gonna be allright. Everything's gonna be fine."
-
Septar nodded to Mortis, "Yeah, it's probably best that we keep looking. I think there was another shop that had things that were a little less fancy up that way." She pointed back towards where their Inn was, and took note to three women who were standing in the corner of the shop they were currently in, all whispering to one another, and pointing at her. "Ehh....lets get a move on. I don't want to cause more of a ruckus than I already have here...plus I'm sure the others are hungry." She felt self-conscious about what the towns people could be saying about her, but she was thankful that no one had heckled her, so far.
-
After quite a bit of searching, the cheapest clothing that the girls could find were 50 zeny pieces of clothing, still middle-class looking, but not at the least bit flashy, either. Outside of town, there roamed a lone figure carrying a large, metal item more than twice its size. It was Samantha Cunningham (Codename: Constance), the sniper from the 7 Lords, whom the party had seen several weeks prior.
-
When they found the cheaper clothing, Mortis fished out 50 zenny and handed it to Septar so that she could purchase her clothing. "I can keep your other clothes in here." She said, patting her bag, "Though I'm not sure what else we could do with them. I wound up tearing up my shirt from back where we're from." She scratched the back of her head a little nervously. "So what did the others want for food again? Any idea? Or does it matter?" She looked around, trying to spot something that smelled good.
-
"This works fine for me," Septar said as she took the zenny from Mortis and paid for the clothing she was now wearing, and had her old clothes curled up into a ball so no one else would see them. After paying she turned to Mortis, and handed her the ball of clothing. "I know that Macid was mumbling something about pretty much any kind of meat, and that works for me too. Then again, the Inn had food there. Shall we just go back?"
-
As the girls went back to the inn, they passed by many stalls. Meat was running at 100-250 zeny per pound while vegetables and fruits were running 35-45 zeny per pound. At the inn, there were meals for 50 zeny. Each meal consisted of 6oz of either beef or chicken, 6oz of steamed vegetables, and a pint of lager, no replacements or substitutions.
-
Constance suddenly yawned while she lay sleeping. She sat up, oblivious to Macid's actions. She stretched and looked over to see him next to her. "...Macid?" she said softly. "What's wrong? Did you drop something?" she asked, looking about to see if she could find a potentially dropped item. As she looked she rubbed her eyes a bit.
-
Mortis took Septar's clothing and placed it inside of her bag. It looked swollen now what with all she had inside of it. She kind of wanted to look around for another bag or something that was better than what she had made out of leftover cloth, but she nodded and decided that maybe it was best if she waited. "Sure, we should probably get the meals back at the inn. We probably shouldn't be out in the city too long, anyway. Heaven forbid someone recognize us." she responded, poking her fingers together, somewhat nervously. When they got to the inn, she inquired about the food and ordered four plates, paying the bears for the out of her bag.
-
Macid blushed a little as Constance awoke and asked him what was wrong. "Oh nothing, I just... you looked like you were having a bad dream so I... thought I'd try and help you." Macid yawned as he finished, not realizing how sleepy he was now getting. He got up and walked over to his bed, sitting down at the edge of it. "I hope Mortis and Septar return soon with our food. I don't know if I can stay awake much longer." He closed his eyes and began to think about what possible food they would be bringing to them, slowly leaning forward from fatigue.
-
Septar watched Mortis interact with the bears who owned and ran the Inn, now looking a little less noticeable than before, and once the piping hot food came out from the kitchen she grabbed two of the plates and two of the lagers to carry up to their rooms. Two of the plates were chicken, and two of them were beef, but she didn't really have a preference on which she would eat, she was just hungry. Once her and Mortis reached the rooms, she lightly kicked the door to make it sound like a knock, since both of their hands were full.
-
Constance scratched the back of her head, somewhat confused at Macid. However her confusion was interrupted when the door was kicked open by Septar, which made her jump since she was still a little unaware of her surroundings from her nap. She saw it was the food arriving and jumped up to help them carry it. "Awesome, food's here." she said, practically drooling. Se enjoyed eating, though she always managed to keep her slim figure.
-
The chameleon handed over a plate to Constance and kept another for herself. She hadn't really been too hungry until she had seen the food. She considered going back down and getting some water, as she wasn't really keen on the idea of drinking lager with her food. She sat the glasses down on the nightstand with a somewhat repulsed look.
-
Macid snapped awake at the sound of Septar lightly kicking their door, anxious to have some warm food in his belly. As Constance and Mortis ate their plates, he took the plate with beef from Septar and began to eat with gusto. He slurped and gnawed at his food, acting with very poor table manners until he finished his entire plate within several minutes. He set his plate down and lied down on the bed, rubbing his belly and moaning from the delicious meal he just had. "Boy that hit the *hic* spot. What did you guys think?"
-
Septar sat quietly on the floor at the foot of the beds where the others were seated, and happily began to munch on the plate of freshly cooked chicken and vegetables. The taste alone of the chicken made her drool uncontrollably, even though she was already eating. She wiped her mouth with her arm, and took a huge swig of the lager, belching loudly afterwards. "Oh jeez, excuse me!" she covered her mouth and looked at the others, hoping they didn't think that was incredibly rude or disgusting. Quietly she finished up her vegetables, and nodded happily at Macid.
-
Constance ate quietly and happily, she couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at everyone's table manners. Though she couldn't really say much since she wasn't doing the greatest either. After ravaging the meats and rest of her meal she washed it down with her drink. She couldn't help but think how much she missed drinks from her world. If she even had a second to grab something, it probably would have been a package of Kool-Aid since sugar would likely be around in this time and water was plentiful.
-
The chameleon finally began to dig into her food, enjoying it, trying her best to keep from eating it like an animal. She, just like everyone else, was a little too hungry at the moment. She decided that she was too hungry to care about what she was drinking and tried to balance out eating and drinking the lager so that she could keep from tasting her drink. She couldn't wait to sleep. She could tell about halfway through her meal she was going to be sleepy afterward.
-
After Septar had finished with her lager, the alcohol and the food weighed heavily on her stomach. She started to feel the effects of it and sleep was the only next reasonable option. She picked herself up off of the floor and walked into the other room and laid down on one of the beds and within about 5 minutes she was asleep. The comfort of an actual bed, a full belly, and warm covers was overwhelmingly beautiful.
-
Macid burped a bit before sighing, mmmm... too lazy to get to bed... As he laid down, his heart was perturbed and he laid on his side, staring at the window and at Constance in bed. What I wouldn't give to just to live happily without any of this drama or danger. I just can't take this anymore. I feel so useless. I don't even fully understand how I can properly use Anon.
-
Constance let out a loud yawn after finishing her meal. She went back to her bed and fell into it, rather sleep from the meal despite her little cat nap earlier. It wasn't long before she was out like a light with a bit of a smile on her face, enjoying her full belly. She dreamed of back home and all the luxuries she had there, like regular warm showers and no one wanted to kill her.
-
When she finished eating, she looked to the two beds that were now preoccupied and decided it was her turn to drop out as well. She found her own empty bed and plopped down, looking at her things before she relaxed a bit. She, too was glad they had a night of rest ahead of them, and her mind seemed to wander back to her own time again. She wondered what exactly was happening there.
-
As Spetar slept she dreamed of things that she had left unfinished in the pharmacy, and how her boss probably thinks she's dead. The dreams started to torment her as she started to think about the people who did care about her back home, in her own time. She started to clench at her blankets and sweat a little bit as torments of flying monsters came in and out of her dreams. She still didn't even know her purpose here, but she knew at least one thing, that she had to serve her purpose.
-
The next morning, Macid sluggishly awoke with the others, his stomach growling as if on cue. "Oh, man. I need some food." He waited in the room while the others got food or got ready to move on. Macid laid back down on the bed and just closed his eyes, thinking about Constance, and what life would be like if they were to get married and have a family, and where they would move to.
-
Constance woke up the next morning, sitting up she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the back of her paws. She then let out a yawn and stretched before looking over to see Macid still lying down; she had missed him waking up. She moved her feet off the bed and put them on the ground. Standing up she stretched a bit again before heading to the door. Once out of the room she stepped out of the inn and looked to the sky, wanting to see if she could spot Moon, wanting to know if she was safe or not.
-
Mortis eventually fell asleep. When morning came, she didn't get up just yet. She had, after all, been the last one to fall asleep. She rolled over in the bed facing away from the others when she heard them stir, fighting the fact that she would eventually have to get up. She figured that she'd let someone else wake her up.
-
Septar woke when she heard Constance moving around a bit, and pulled the covers over her head, wishing for more time to sleep. She knew that it wasn't likely that she would fall back to sleep, but tried to anyway. Finally getting herself out of bed she moved into the wash room and washed her face with a cloth that was in there. Rinsing the cloth out, a lot of dirt came with it, and so she decided to continue to kind of bathe herself and wipe her arms and neck off as well. It was the most refreshed she felt in days.
-
Macid continued to lay there, hoping the others would quickly get some food. However, since Constance was gone, and it didn't sound like anyone was moving next door, he got up and went over to knock on Septar and Mortis' door. "Ummm... I know you guys are tired, too, but can you guys get some food for us, I'm kinda getting hungry, and I can't find Constance..."
-
Constance didn't see Moon in the sky after a minute of looking so she decided to explore the city. She walked on looking at the sights, she even had a smile. For now she was able to forget she was in some different reality and have a false image of normalcy she once knew. It wasn't long before she got hungry, taking in all the smells of the vendors and such. She would have eaten some of her provisions in her bag, but she didn't bring it. Still though, she smiled.
-
Septar walked out of the washroom feeling refreshed and heard Macid knocking on the door. She noticed that Mortis was still sleeping and decided to just let her continue to sleep for awhile, it was still early. Going to the door she opened it and smiled at Macid, "Good Morning Macid. Mortis is still sleeping, so I think we should wait a bit to get food since she'll probably be hungry when she wakes up too. Want to go look for Constance?"
-
Macid's ears drooped with his expression, "No... I just want food right now. I'm so hungry..." He sighed and went back to his room, laying back on his bed. "No food and no one even gives a damn that I'm hungry. I don't want to do this anymore. This is stupid. For once, I wish someone would actually listen to me. Stupid Filadius, stupid quests, stupid world..." After a while longer of whining, Anon began to glow brightly and floated off of the ground, What the...? Before he knew it, the light seemed to grow a single tentacle and it pierced through Macid's chest. He grunted as he struggled, but the appendage sticking through his chest lifted him up and he slowly began to glow himself, "NO! What's going on!? Consta-!" Macid's voice trailed as it disappeared with his figure, consumed by the light, and it all formed into a large ball of light. And in a brilliant flash, disappeared, a large chest dropping to the ground with a name that was in a language that was lost 1,000 years before even this point in time.
-
As Constance walked about exploring the city she felt a sudden tingle. She looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "That was weird..." she mumbled. She couldn't shake the feeling something bad happened, a look of concern over took her smile. "I should go check on the others..." she thought. Hurriedly she made her way back to the inn to check on things.
-
The chameleon rolled over and wiped her face a bit grumpily hearing conversation at the door. She sat up groggily and yawned, not quite aware of what was going on. She stretched and swung her legs off the side of the bed, standing, though stumbling at first. She saw Septar was up and merely walked over to where there was a basin and threw water on her face to get herself up. She hated mornings. Especially ones when she slept well.
-
Septar shrugged and walked back towards her room, hearing Macid mumbling to himself, but wasn't really paying too much attention to what he was saying. Suddenly she heard him yell for Constance, and she turned and rushed back into the room to see a blinding light and a brilliant flash of light followed by nothing. Macid had vanished, and nothing remained but a box on his bed. "MORTIS! MORTIS!!! MACID IS GONE!! OH GOD, MACID!" She yelled frantically and rushed into the room. "Help! You have to come now!"
-
Constance made it back to the inn, arriving she heard Jovi yelling for help in her room. She rushed in to see her worried, no Macid and a chest. "What happened? What's wrong?" she asked, looking around the room. "Wheres...Macid?" she asked, a sudden empty feeling deep in her gut. She felt something was wrong, something very wrong.
-
Mortis was jarred awake by Septar's frantic screams. Everyone was suddenly panicked, she almost didn't have time to process what exactly had happened before the feeling of fear set in. She followed after Septar, stumbling, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. All she knew was something had happened to Macid.
-
"He just- There was a light, and this big bright thing that was through his chest and then there was a bright flash, and poof!" Septar said frantically, "What happened? Why did this happen? He was just mumbling about how he wanted food now, but I told him that we should wait till Mortis woke up and then-" she stopped short and looked at the other two shaking all over, she sat down and extended her wings and wrapped them around herself to hide from what had just happened.
-
Constance grew worried when Septar began to freak out, spouting gibberish. "What-...What do you mean "Poof"?!" she asked hastily. "Where's Macid!?" she continued, frantically looking around the room as if she would see Macid hiding in a corner somewhere. Her heart sank into her stomach as she didn't see him. "He's-...Gone?" she asked in disbelief, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
-
It was then she finally realized what was going on. At least somewhat. Another one of their party members seem to have fallen. She swallowed hard and looked at the chest, "Just like Max," she murmured a bit sadly, still blinking through her sleepiness. She seemed a bit angry again, her mind returning to Filadius... He knew all this was going to happen. Now we're dropping off like flies! I wonder who's going to be next! She eyed the group a bit wearily, not really wanting to know the answer to the question she had asked herself mentally. Her face was a bit flushed.
-
"This can't be real. This doesn't make any sense." Septar said still huddled within her wings, she started to cry softly and didn't know what to say to Constance or Mortis. She didn't even want to look at either of them, she somehow felt that it was her fault he was gone. If I had just gone down to the pub with him and gotten food, none of this would have happened, he would still be here. Oh no. She closed her wings tighter around herself as if to try and embrace herself in a hug, rocking from side to side a little bit.
-
Outside past the outskirts of town, the cat from before with the sniper rifle's attention was caught by the glimmering light from the flash within the inn's second floor, and she quickly laid down and looked through her scope. Through her scope, she saw three females, one frantic, one confused, and one in a daze. Using her military training, she read their lips, and her demeanor turned to anger when she read that Macid had vanished, disappeared. Her finger trembled in anger as it slowly tightened up on the trigger. Finally, her soldier instincts kicking in, she pulled her gun up and stood up, leaning it on her shoulders and walking away. Kiral ain't gonna like this. Better evacuate the castle before he busts a cap in all the help. Wesker's never been one for bad news.
-
"SO HE'S GONE!" Constance snapped suddenly. "Macid..." She said softly, now sniffling. She collapsed on the floor and said nothing more and curled into a ball, starting to cry softly to herself. "Macid...You're gone...What am I going to do now?!" she thought in her head. "I want to go home..." she continued in her head.
-
Mortis didn't really know what to do... She was not one to cheer people up, especially now that there was another party member gone. She didn't so much as mention anything to the two before she decided to go outside. She needed to find Moon. She wanted to talk to Filadius. She was honestly wondering what kind of thing they gotten into, if the other party's venture was going as awry as theirs. She wanted real answers, however, not just something spat out because of some stupid time regulations. She stomped outside of the inn, looking up to the skies, hoping for something, knowing that she wasn't going to find Moon. She had been in such a hurry to get out she had also forgotten her book. It sat on the nightstand inside of her bag back at the Inn with the others.
-
Out in the distance and in high in the air, Moon was flying freely, enjoying a little more freedom, still doing her best to avoid trouble, having been newly evolved. She had been keeping an eye on the village from time to time, not getting close enough to be identified, and barely escaped the sniper's sight a few times. She noticed Mortis leaving in a hurry and went in closer. Moon landed outside the outskirts, out of view, but made sure that she was seen by Mortis before she landed into the trees.
-
Mortis's hard expression softened a bit when she saw Moon land. Instantly she began to wander closer, her face growing more upset. "Moon, Macid's gone." She rubbed her face, attempting to hide how sad she was about it, fighting the urge to want to hug Moon, someone, if for a little bit of comfort. But before she could even fight back tears, she snapped back to being angry, knowing that the old man knew this was going to happen. She seemed to be a mess, both sad and angry, "Can I please talk to Filadius?" She plopped down on the ground feeling somewhat defeated and infinitely small. She hid her face in her hands as she waited for Moon to respond.
-
Moon could already feel Mortis' sadness when she came up, but nodded when she asked to speak to Filadius, and the projection of the old man came up in front of Moon, "I've felt what had transpired, and it was truly unexpected. History itself has already begun to change too rapidly for me to keep up with it, Mortis. I'm sure you want to know what happened to Macid, don't you?"
-
Mortis's head jerked up when she heard Filadius's voice. "How do you expect us to keep going when people are disappearing left and right? For all I know, I could be next and you could be with holding that from me!" Mortis growled. She didn't really know what to say other than that. Her concern was beginning to grow even more given that now two of their party had gone. "Yeah, I would like to know what happened. I'd rather it not happen to me or the others! Is he going to have another replacement for him, too? Did you make another mistake?" Mortis's chest was pounding, and she did her best to hide her anxiety from Filadius. She had a variety of emotions running through her and was merely just speaking before she could think about what she was saying, "This whole thing is terrible..."
-
Filadius sighed, "It's no longer within my hands or knowledge. Macid was never supposed to be removed. He's crucial to the quest. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do or even to help with your quest save for knowledge of the world. The prophecy has been broken. Macid refused to move forward and didn't want to continue on with the journey. His refusal to fulfill the prophecy and move on, and he was denied by Anon. When a person reaches the point where they can no longer continue or refuse to take on their responsibility, their weapon turns on them and removes them from existence. Think of it like an endurance run. The hardest part is the first couple legs. And Macid wasn't the only one. Unfortunately, White has also fallen into that path."
-
Mortis sighed out, not liking being informed that even Filadius hadn't predicted Macid's removal, nor White's. "So if the prophecy is broken, what do we do? Do we even have a chance now to defeat whoever?" She seemed full on worried now, her face no longer hiding her anxieties as well as it had before. "Do we keep going? I mean, it seems silly but it seems like if we don't have a chance, then our weapons will kill us anyway..." She rubbed her face again, frustrated, trying to process everything in an at least semi-positive manner, but couldn't find a way to.
-
Filadius shook his head, "I don't know, either. But one thing I can say is that you all should have faith in your own weapons, and use them to the utmost. I'm not sure if you have noticed or not, but your weapons evolve as it gains experience and certain conditions are fulfilled. Your weapons are the real and genuine Weapons of Light. They are more powerful than any weapons that will ever exist. That's all that I can think of."
-
"Okay..." Mortis said a bit defeated. She didn't know what else to ask or say, she just felt a bit helpless. Even moreso now that she didn't have her book with her after Filadius mentioned that their weapons were vital. She crossed her arms awkwardly hugging herself in an attempt to feel a little better. "I just hope you're right about all of this. You can see why this is hard, right?"
-
Filadius nodded and tried to smile, "If I had no idea how you were all feeling, I wouldn't have gotten us all into this mess in the first place, right? *chuckles nervously* It's exactly because I know how you all are feeling that I have to be a little more cautious. Acting too hard on those feelings has killed 3 of your companions, and brought those 7 accursed soldiers here."
-
Mortis nodded silently. "I guess I'm going to go get the others. Which direction should we be heading, Filadius?" She asked. She already wanted to get on the move again, as if the town they had been in was cursed having lost Macid there, even if it had been pretty safe thus far. She looked to Moon again and nodded as if to thank her.
-
Filadius scratched his head and thought for a second, "Well, continue on north for the next two towns. They're small, but the traffic is extremely low since the areas up there are very poor. After you get to the second one, stay there for a day to rest and break straight to the east. Let me know when you reach the little village. I'm going to have to ponder where you're to go from there, and keep trying to find a way to contact Kiral and Mahi..."
-
"Straight north until the second town, then break east." Mortis muttered to herself, making a mental note. She took in a deep breath and attempted to put on a brave face for when she arrived back at the Inn with the others. She tread off in the direction of the town, her posture almost noticeably weaker or beaten down. When she got to the Inn, she went into her own room and grabbed up her book, then walked to the other door, knocking, shuffling a bit nervously as she waited for Septar and Constance to answer.
-
Moon flew off after the conversation was over, having closed the connection to Filadius. Off in the distance, another figure looked at the scene through binoculars. Jackson was watching from a distance. Though they were too far to read lips, he smiled wickedly, "Those idiots look like they're going to be moving soon. Best get ready to ambush them. Screw Wesker, these bitches are mine, or else my name ain't White Jackson."
-
Constance heard the knock at the door but didn't move to answer it. She was still holding her folded legs to her chest as she sat there on the floor. Shortly though, she stood up and gathered her things before getting to the door. She seemed rather lifeless as she walked passed Mortis and out of the inn. She walked on North, knowing that's where they needed to go anyway.
-
Mortis didn't say anything as Constance walked past her. She looked to Septar, then back at Constance who was now leaving without so much as waiting for them. "Well, I guess we should go." She said, lacing her fingers. She felt a bit nervous, not exactly knowing how to break the news to the others about what all she had learned. She did know that right now wasn't the time and it was probably best to wait a bit before trying to talk about it.
-
Septar looked up at Mortis when she returned to the inn, and watched as Constance listlessly walked past her and out of the inn. She nodded at Mortis when she said they should go, but before leaving Septar walked to where Macid had been sleeping and grabbed the box that was there in his place. Meeting back up with Mortis and walking behind Constance, heading north she said, "I don't know if I should have brought this, but I had a feeling I should have. I don't even know what it is." Holding the box for Mortis to see she wondered if she knew what it was, other than a box, obviously.
-
Beyond the limits of the town, and in the forest, Moon landed in a clearing not too far from the treeline to wait for the party. Meanwhile, in the void outside of time, Filadius pondered hard about how to contact Kiral and Mahi, to let the know what had happened and what was the change in plans. He was very stressed and panicky now that the quest was no longer in his hands.
-
Constance walked on, not paying any mind to Mortis and Septar following behind her. Her face was still blank as she walked, she wasn't in the mood to talk. Somewhere in the depression and anger phase, she wasn't really sure what to do. She saw Moon up ahead when they got out of town, she couldn't bring herself to stop and just continued onward without saying anything.
-
Mortis plodded on silently. When Septar mentioned the box, she finally spoke, "I'm not sure. I guess it's good you didn't leave it in case..." She scratched her head, "Well, I dunno. In case he sends someone else I guess. At worst it's good you took it so we didn't leave anything behind for others to find." She shrugged at stopped by Moon, calling out to Constance. "Look, you can't just be like this... We still have something to do." It seemed the exact opposite of her normal attitude, but she was somewhat afraid that Constance's dirk might turn on her if she continued.
-
Septar nodded at Mortis as she told her that it was at least good she took it so no one would find anything they left behind. She could at least agree with that, but the box wasn't exactly the lightest thing to carry along for miles of walking. As the group approached Moon, Septar watched as Constance moved past Moon without so much as pausing to say hi to her, and when Mortis called out to Constance she felt she couldn't do anything but watch.
-
Moon almost whimpered when Constance just walked right past her, though it wouldn't sound like it to anyone since her new voice is so low and loud, but her facial expression and body kind of gave that away. She let out a little call and walked after Constance. In her adult state, Moon's legs had grown exponentially while her arms barely did, and were just as thin as before, so she couldn't exactly get on all fours and try to look cute for her, but her looks made it hard enough.
-
Constance heard Mortis' words and then Moon's reaction, which made her sad. Tears began to well up as her walking slowed to a stop. She raised her arm to cover her eyes. "Why did he have to go?!" she spoke. It was clear from her voice she was about to cry again. "I thought he was happy!" she continued. She began to weep into her arm as she stood there.
-
Mortis looked to Septar, unsure of what to do, but she followed Moon regardless attempting to get closer to Constance cautiously. "I don't know why he had to go... Even Filadius didn't see this coming..." She closed her eyes figuring now was probably the best time to get everything out in the open. She awkwardly put her arm around Constance, trying to comfort her, though she was sure that Constance wouldn't want her around if she was the last person on earth because of their previous skirmishes. "But we've gotta keep going. If we let this get us down... Well..." She sucked in a deep breath, preparing to say the words herself, "What happened to Macid can happen to us. Our weapons can turn on us. Not to mention if we don't try to do something Macid, Max... They will have all died in vain." She bit her tongue withholding the fact that White had also passed away.
-
Septar looked at Mortis, and shrugged, following Moon. She listened to Mortis talk to Constance and try to comfort her, as well as give her the drive to continue. When she heard that what happened to Macid could happen to any of them she felt her heart beating faster. "Wait, what? Our weapons can turn on us?" She didn't mean to avoid the very last part, but she wondered just exactly what that meant.
-
Constance felt an arm around her and turned her head to look and see that it was Mortis. She was doing her best to stifle her crying, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. When she mentioned their weapons turning on them she was confused. "What? What do you mean?" she asked. She looked behind Mortis to Septar then looked up at Moon.
-
"I'm not exactly sure myself..." She rubbed her head. "Filadius said that if we get too unwilling to go on with our journey, our weapons... They can turn on us and kill us. That's what happened to Macid." She looked down to the ground. "And... I know it's a lot to take in... But Filadius said that it also happened to White on Kiral's team."
-
There were two names mentioned by Mortis that Septar had never heard before, but figured they were from the 7, and the split team that Mortis and Macid had told her about when she first appeared after Max's death. Shoot, now that means that there's only 5 of us? she thought. "I don't know how we can fulfill the prophecy with just 5 of 7..." she crooned at Mortis and Constance. "Did Filadius mention that part?" she asked Mortis, wondering how much they talked about last they met.
-
"So he is dead..." Constance said sadly. She hung her head low at the news, even more so when she heard another one died. "So I'll never see him again...Even when this is all over..." she thought. "Then what's the point...?" she continued on in her head. Tears began to pour from her eyes again, though she didn't make any noise.
-
"He's not sure either... But our weapons are supposed to be the strongest..." She said scratching her head. She felt as uneasy and bad about everything as the others, though she did her best not to show it. "Either way, we need to keep going." She stood up and decided that she needed to give Constance some space, but she wasn't sure if it was because she was making herself uncomfortable or if she was actually concerned with Constance. She adjusted her bag and walked a little ahead of the others, looking outward. "When you're ready..." She muttered.
-
Septar had been awkwardly standing with the box that was left in Macid's place on his bed, and began to study it. It looked like it had maybe something that looked like an old rune on the front of it, but she wasn't sure. When Mortis moved forward, Septar sighed heavily as she walked past Constance looking at her with the most empathetic eye she could muster. She wished things were different, surely, but they were not. Moving forward was their only option.
-
Without saying anything else Constance continued on with the others, though behind them rather than in front of them this time. She silently wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'll kill them all...Even if...Even if it takes me a lifetime..." she thought to herself. She walked slowly, trailing behind until she noticed she was doing it and caught up.
-
Mortis plodded on silently. She wasn't quiet sure which direction she was going, but she assumed that Moon might correct her if she was wrong. She glanced over her shoulder occassionally to keep an eye on Constance. She wasn't entirely sure what she was thinking, but she didn't like the fact that she was lagging behind. "Constance, you need to keep up... We can't afford to split up as few of us as there are..." She said, a little upset.
-
Septar walked alongside Moon and Mortis, and never questioned where they were going. The quest seemed to be so systematic, even if the attacks and encounters they had with beasts were random, or unpredictable at least. Though she had only been with them for a short time, this hit was something that sat like a rock in the pit of her stomach. She only glanced back at Constance when Mortis called her to keep up.
-
Constance didn't say anything when Mortis mention she needed to keep up. She only walked a little faster, she also payed more attention as to how far she was getting from the others. The distance she had been lagging behind was shortened to only a few yards or so. She wasn't exactly thinking, just walking lifelessly.
-
Since no one complained or commented about her new pace Constance remained at it. She sighed and stared down at her feet as she walked. One foot after the other, light tracks being left as she went. Looking up she noticed birds in the tree and turned to look at Moon. She had gotten so big in such a short amount of time, if she wasn't looking at it it would have been too hard to believe. She looked back ahead at Mortis and Septar, part of her thought at who would be next. They were down two members on their team, despite one being replaced. She then remembered about the other team, they were down a member, too. Both teams were between a rock and a hard place, though from looking at it they were better off at least since they had more people.
-
Mortis's mind seemed to trail off on its own tangent as she walked. She wondered if they would ever reunite with the other team. "We've been walking for so long... Filaduis said he was going to try to get in touch with the other team. I wonder if he's going to try to put us back together..." She muttered, poking her fingers together nervously and thinking outloud. She looked over to Septar, realizing that she had said that outloud and shook her head. "Sorry. I just... I won't deal with Kiral."
-
Septar felt the pit in her stomach drop and hit the bottom as Mortis turned to her. "I may be out of line in saying this, but at the moment I'm not sure I care to stay in line..." She muttered the last portion out as if she had sand in her throat, "for what it's worth I think that it's important that we do get back together with the other group..." Septar coughed a little bit because the words coming from her mouth tasted dry and hot, like fire.
-
Moon led the group the rest of the way to the town, with no real threats. The walk was long and awkward, and it was mid-afternoon by the time the group reached the village. Moon, like usual, did not get too close to the village, but was well within view, as the people of the village seemed cautious, but not hostile because she was a black dragon.
-
"You're not out of line for stating your opinion." Mortis stated, a little irritated that Septar seemed hesitant to say what was on her mind. "I'd rather you tell me outright than let it stew." For the rest of the way, the chameleon remained relatively quiet until the town came into view. By the time they got there, she was tired and hungry.
-
Septars big ears flopped down beside her head, as she kept walking and let out a sigh of relief as the group reached the next town. She waved to Moon, knowing she wouldn't come in with them and feverishly hankered a hot meal, and somewhere to rest her aching feet. Not only that but her gauntlet was digging into her hand in the most unpleasant of ways because of carrying the box.
-
The village folk were weary, but after much examination, they allowed the group in. The village wasn't nearly as excited as all the ones prior, but they were humble and offered food and shelter for the night. They brought the group to a regular-sized guest hut that was next to the elder's. There, they had two beds in the hut with a table. After a brief welcome by the elder, they were told that food would be in in an hour.
-
Constance followed the others into the hut, not particularly taking note of the villager's "not as excited" reactions. She didn't say anything when the elder mentioned food in an hour. She just silently brooded, sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. Her bag was at her side and chin resting in her paws.
-
Mortis was quick to thank the villagers and flopped over on one of the beds, ready to have some food in her stomach. She was tired from walking, so getting the weight off her feet allowed her to sigh, heavily. Out of all the trips they made, she felt like this one had been the most relaxing despite everything that had happened so far. She was thankful that it had been uneventful so far.
-
Septar was weary of the villagers as they were weary about them. She didn't trust anyone that wasn't within this group, and it was likely due to her own paranoia, but she was also certain that it was warranted worry. She thanked the elders when she heard that food would be to them in one hour, and she sat the box down on the table, before taking a seat at it to contemplate their day.
-
The hour was quiet, eerily quiet. Despite being a village, you could hear the sound of the wind through the trees in the distance. You couldn't even hear so much as people walking through their huts or the village. When the food came, it wasn't extravagant, but it was hot food, and it was free, served by a three men who look like they work in a smithy or construction who couldn't be more than 20 or 25. The three bowed when they offered the food and strangely enough, stayed with them. The three men massaged Septar, Mortis, and Constance's backs. Unbeknownst to these women, this village survived on one thing, providing "escorts" to the area.
-
Constance eyed the men when they came in with the food. She took her chair with her closer to the food and got some. She was about to start eating when one of the men started massaging her back. She let out an "Eep!" not expecting the sudden hands on her back. "What're you-..." She stopped short, unable to deny the massaged felt nice to her stressed out body.
-
Mortis didn't really notice how odd the quiet was. She rather enjoyed it instead. When the food came, Mortis was rather happy to see a hot plate of food. She didn't care that it wasn't anything fancy, she was just glad to have it. "Thank yo--" She stopped short when one of the men began to massage her back. She stiffened at first, somewhat afraid of someone else touching her, but then relaxed, realizing what they were doing. "T-Thank you." She said, her face a little flushed.
-
Septar managed to dose on and off for the hour, just sitting at the table, leaning on the table with her elbows, and resting her chin in her hands the quiet was nothing to her but a lack of background noise. When the food was brought to their hut she ate it quietly and happily, up until one of the men started rubbing her back.
He wasn't exactly sure what to do about her wings either, and had a hard time reaching everywhere because of them. Septar was tense through most of it, and it took everything in her not to suck her wings into her body tightly to keep the man from touching her. She looked at Mortis and Constance to see that they were enjoying their massages, so she relaxed just a bit as well, and started to enjoy the shoulder rub letting out a soft groan.
-
The men finished as the women finished their meals and carried each to the beds, laying them perpendicular, and started rubbing their feet. It was then that the men's faces could be seen clearly by the women. They were exceptionally handsome, even for modern standards. The elder walked in shortly after they started with the feet and smiled, "I hope our saviors are enjoying their escorts. They are the most demanded men from our village, and are our offering to you who are going to deliver us from this travesty of rule."
-
Constance soon grew used to the massage, enough to be able to eat. It was another surprise to get carried to her bed suddenly and laid down. "I-I could have walked." she spoke. When the man started to rub her feet she was able to see his face, too. She couldn't help but think him handsome. Her eyes were averted to the elder when he walked in. "Escorts? I never expected this time to have have such...Things." she thought.
-
Mortis was a bit taken back by being carried when she finished, though she didn't say anything to retaliate as she figured that maybe it had something to do with being polite in their culture. She exhaled deeply when the man massaged her feet, enjoying it thouroughly. She found it hard to keep from grabbing the man's hands with her own feet as he worked, wiggling her fingerlike digits with enjoyment. The man was very handsome to her, though she thought nothing of it. She actaully wished she had her sketchbook from her own world because she found his face so aesthetically pleasing. That was, until the elder mentioned they were escorts. That would explain a lot... The chameleon thought, jerking her feet away and blushing madly. Though they had not really done anything of signifigance, she suddenly felt dirty.
-
Hearing the word escort bounce back and forth between her ears, she couldn't help but have her wings suck in tight to her body and up and around her head. "E-ess-cort?" she said quietly, her voice trembling just a bit now. Septar was a quiet and shy girl who didn't like being touched to begin with, so it was even more nerve wracking to her knowing that these men made a living touching other women, and hell, for all she knew possibly even other men! Her head swirled with questions, her breathing became erratic up until she felt too dizzy to cope and she passed out.
-
The escort massaging Mortis' feet gave a hurt look, but quickly turned to panic not too much longer after that when Septar fainted, and quickly ran over to catch her so her head didn't hit the wall. The old man seemed a little offended himself, "Please do not treat them so brazenly. Like many others, these men are here to serve you in whatever manner you need. After all, they were your cooks tonight. If you need anything, they will be here, and I am next door. Good evening to you ladies." The elder left after smiling a bit. The night fell slowly, almost as if time stood still, and the howling of the wild could be heard in the distance.
-
Constance didn't really mind the men, she had gone to such places back home. When Septar started to freak out it got her attention. When she looked, she had passed out, only to have an one of the men come to her aid. When the elder spoke she looked at him as he left. "I'd really just love a nap..." she thought.
-
"I'm sorry." Mortis protested when she saw the man's expression. Her apology was both to the elder and the man, though she wasn't sure how much good that would do. "Er, your meal was good." She was trying to think of ways to make him feel better, but she didn't really want him to do what escorts usually did.
-
Septar regained consciousness, her eyelids fluttering back open, but her eyes rolling back into her head a bit. She was exhausted, and the last bit of strain of the day was too much for her to deal with. She managed to force out a few strained words "I only need rest now..." she closed her eyes again and drifted in and out of consciousness for a bit longer.
-
After confirming that Septar was okay, the two men tucked her in a more proper position and tucked her into the bed snugly. Afterward, the third one got up from his duty and joined the other two as they walked towards the entrance and stood inside of the door. "Please sleep tight, our mistresses. We will keep watch for you tonight. Please relax so that you may save us from this tyranny."
-
A "Thank you" for the men remained inside of Constance. She didn't really feel like talking, or doing much of anything. So she just laid back and closed her eyes, awaiting for sleep to take her. She wished she would never wake up secretly, but at the same time she felt responsible to aide this world. Despite not being "on good terms" with this "prophecy" she still felt somewhat obligated.
-
Mortis thanked the men, and, following the lead of the others, laid back to try to catch some sleep. After all, it probably wouldn't be long until they had to get moving again, and probably not on their own accord. She felt a little uneasy, and it got in the way at first with her sleep, but after a while, she found herself drifting off.