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+---- Thread: [PQ] Into the Woods Without Delay (/showthread.php?tid=911)
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Jigano - 04-23-2019
Where are you leading us? Jigano asked curiously, finally tiring of hopping along. He stretched his wings and took off from the ground, flapping up into the tree branches where he could glide a ways then stop and wait for Ianto to pass, then fly ahead again to catch up. And can you tell us about what sorts of places are in these woods? He paused, and if he had been human his brow would have furrowed. The Fae you mentioned earlier… you said this wood belongs to them, yes? Are they the ones who told it to keep people out?
He sent a questing, questioning thought back towards his friends. Caiside, did you run into any ‘Fae’ during your prayers? He wasn’t very clear on what had happened to his friend, but he was relieved that the stag was with them now, and unharmed, no matter what strange trick the gods had played on him.
To Kiada and Amalia he sent a note of wariness. Kiada, fly up into the branches and be wary. If anything happens, get back to the Settlement and let them know what we’ve learned. Amalia, hang back a bit until we know where we’re going. You can hide better than any of us, and I don’t like us all bunched up like this, he cautioned, for the minds of the Hollowed Grounds-folk only. ‘Fireball formation’ is what he would have called their little group, had they been in Numeria. It was common sense to let them spread out a bit, both so their individual senses could test the scents, the sounds, the sights around them without interference from each other, but also so any trouble or tricks of the wood would only catch one of them flat-footed, and the rest would hopefully be free to come to their rescue!
No posting order this round!
PQ will update in 48 hours or when everyone has responded!
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Delah - 04-23-2019
They are not of the woods.
They are the woods.
The fox is cunning, to lead them in such a merry chase. So easy to pluck off. The one with hair the colour of fire and currently adorned with antlers has already been brushed with their mark, and they can see the golden dust that wafts off of him, visible to their eyes only.
Then there is the raven, an omen of death. They will have to be quick with him.
And the larger bird...she too will wait.
The one they call Amalia though, the one told to hang back! she will do.
And so as the group makes their plans and moves off, hands move out from the trees. Where there was once bark, now there is tree-toned fingers that smell of thunder and bare-feet covered in earth. They move silently and quickly, a net cast over white fur, branches wrapped around a spotted snout, and spears pointed at her ribcage should she dare try to escape...
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Amalia - 04-24-2019
Hang back, Jigano instructs, and the leopard reluctantly does as she is told, letting her footfalls slow and soften, until she is a ghost in their wake. With a gentle nudge back at Kiada the leopard bids the bird farewell, a cool soft nose on her wing. Be safe, the girl silently cautioned, protective instincts growling at the idea of letting her herd, her pride, her cub outside her sight. It seems like a bad plan to separate and spread, divide themselves in a living, lush forest full of strange creatures and unknown foes.
It turns out, she is right.
Spears, and ropes, and sharp, almond eyes. Her captors are small, but it makes them silent; they are swift, and before she can possibly react the leopard is tied and twisted, no longer her own. Amalia considers snarling and swiping: but her fears are less for herself than her friends, and a quick sweeping glance tells the girl that for the moment, they are safe. So she turns her attention in silence to her captor, a silent snarl of fury on her lips. Don't hurt them, the black-eyed leopard pleads, before taking off in her captor's nets, a slave to a fate which has suddenly turned and left her in despair.
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Caiside - 04-25-2019
It was no hard task for Caiside to keep his mind from what their destination was. He hadn’t really been in the loop anyway, and had been wandering seemingly without trouble since he’d come to, near the waterfall. Honestly, he was simply happy to be around people he knew again, and friends even.
I truly don’t know what I ran into in the forest. I was... far away from myself. A pet of him wished he had kept the mushroom that had sent him on his strange trip now, instead of throwing it into the brush. He was sure it would have been of interest to Jigano, to the loreseekers in general. I think... no, I know there was others. I didn’t see them, I could only feel their touch, and hear their voices. He huffed out a deep breath, a sigh really.
A flash of Jiganos white wings moved past him, settling on a branch a little ways ahead of their train. Caiside was about to offer his great rack as a roost for the small bird, until Jigano’s warning to stay wary came. It should not have been the reminder it was, but after wandering the woods alone for the time he had been, his guard had slipped. It was a mistake Caiside rectified quickly, his nose and ears now focused on the trees around them as they trespassed deeper into the trees.
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Kiada - 04-25-2019
She doesn’t particularly like the idea either, but she obliges because Jigano was the one who gathered them, and with enough eyes they should be able to notice something amiss. She feels Amalia’s warmth in letting them separate and she takes to the sky, to the branches that Jigano has instructed. And she watches, curiously, while the rest of them continue on and speak to one another. Quietly, she soars to another branch, and another, watchful and wary of what might become of them.
But after a few moments, she lingers on the branch for Amalia to catch up — and she stares hard at the direction Amalia should come from for far longer than normal. And when her spotted friend doesn’t show, panic begins to erupt in her gut. She moves from the trees toward the path already taken, remaining high and seeing nothing amiss other than no Amalia. With worry and frustration settled deep within her, she cries a guttural call to her companions, swooping back to catch up to the group as the panic sets in even further.
“I can’t see Amalia!” She croons to them mentally, a voice confused and upset as her blood red gaze slips to the pale raven. “She is not behind us.” She wants Jigano to tell her what to do, if she should lose sight of the other companions to rush back to the Settlement, she would. If he wanted her to remain and fight, she would too.
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Jigano - 04-25-2019
Ianto was not forthcoming with information and inwardly Jigano frowned at the fox's reticence, but Caiside's story held too many questions and not enough answers, distracting the lorekeeper briefly as he considered what his friend had shared. Invisible, but not intangible, hm? Nasty opponents to face in battle. I'm glad you were unharmed. If those were the 'Fae' Ianto mentioned, perhaps they-
Kiada's cry cut the air, and Jigano took wing immediately, seeking the freedom and advantage of height before he knew what had happened. Her mindvoice froze his thoughts for several long heartbeats as he reached out with his thoughts, cawing a harsh, worried call as he stretched for his Amalia, his guildmate, his dear friend and heartsister...
And found nothing.
Caiside, don't let the fox escape, came a whip-crack order, the bard's mental tone sheathed in ice and cuttingly precise as anger honed his focus. If he's led us into a trap... the raven trailed off, thoughts grim as his paranoia spiked. Perhaps Ianto was innocent, but the circumstantial evidence didn't lend itself to that conclusion. Kiada, get back to the Settlement and let them know what we've learned. Rory, Deimos... Rexanna, even. I'm going to take a look at our backtrail. As a fox his nose would be keener, but his raven's eyes were just as good, and he hoped his smaller body would make for less of a target. Swooping back along the trail it wasn't anything missing that caught his eye, but something where it didn't belong.
A puff of silvery hairs caught the light on the ground, and he dropped down to examine them and the earth around them. He didn't see signs of a struggle, but there were claw marks that didn't belong to Amalia, and a few bent twigs leading off to the side. His feathers fluffed up and he hopped towards them, voice stretching back, weak from distance, to the stag and fox. She's been taken, he nearly hissed, eyes darting around, seeking further ambush. We're going after her. Ianto, you better have a damn good explanation for this. Jigano could appreciate a good trick as much as the next fox, but not when it endangered his friends.
Caiside, keep an eye on that fox!
Kiada, get help!
Ianto, what's going on?
No posting order
PQ will update in 48 hours or once everyone has posted
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Delah - 04-25-2019
[say]Will do![/say]
The voice is a perfect mimicry of Kiada's and it resonates into the minds of Caiside and Jigano. Illusion work has always been an easy trick of the Fae, and Delah wields hers better than most. Tendrils of air and earth are suddenly upon the vulture as she heads back to the Settlement, hands made out of twigs clamp her beak shut and a white noise as loud as any explosion rings out into her mind to silence any mental thoughts she mind try and let loose.
Even if she does though, it will be too late.
There is a creature on her back now and the air beneath her wings is suddenly devastating and unnatural. It bends and controls her feathers, fanning her downwards into a steep glide that will thin out and end in a net...
a net held by those unsettling hands that smell of thunder. A net which will soon be brought to the pit.
Laughter suddenly resounds in Caiside's ears, and the small tugs he had felt once before (had he though?) come again at the scruff on his chest and his large ears. [say]She is coming, this way if you want to avoid her! Or else you will jump! jump! jump! but not to glory Caiside, into the pit! come, come![/say] Their voices shrill, youthful, laughing. Probably not to be trusted.
Out of the corner of his eye, behind Ianto, Caiside can see a tiny golden-sort of sprite. It hovers in the air, flitting to and fro and motioning urgently for him to follow.
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Caiside - 04-25-2019
Nasty opponents to face in battle. Jigano’s words struck Caiside like a brick; he had not once considered his strange trip couldhave been dangerous, he had never felt like he was in danger. Had he? The details were all so fuzzy now, like trying to see the stones at the bottom of a river. A cry from behind, Kiada, has him and Jigano whirlig, any thoughts of what danger he could have been in immediately replaced by concern for Amalia.
Jigano’s order is all but unnecessary, Caiside already thundering on to catch up to the fox again. He may not have been close to Amalia, but they were part of the same team. As far as he was concerned, that gave them a bond closer than what he shared with Ianto.
And then, before he can truly comprehend it, there are hands on his chest, mingling with voices in his ears. Familiar, but not too familiar. There is no pet of him that trusts them, not in his sober state, but they seem to be leading him after his goal anyway, flashes of gold hovering around Ianto.
Jigano’s cry was almost too faint to catch, but was spiked with a venom Caiside had not thought possible of his friend. The emotion spurred Caiside to push himself harder, chasing after the fox (sprites? He wasn’t entirely sure anymore) harder.
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Kiada - 04-25-2019
The Harpy hears the instructions, heart panging hard at Rexanna’s name, but as she tries to open her beak to respond there’s suddenly a panging, painful sound that courses through her mind. A voice so eerily like her own (ack!) calls back to Jigano, and Kiada’s heart pangs further into destruction and demise, sorrow and angst. She cannot think, not with the noise that courses through every bit and piece of her, she cannot call to her friends, and she cannot do anything anymore than feel the creature upon her spine as her wings lose their traction in the air.
And she sails, and dives, with a horrible feeling beneath the feathers, pushing her further downward toward the ground. It thins and thins until eventually she hits the ground within a net – a net the pokes and prods her feathers in a terrible way. She does not know where she is heading, nor who her captors are – but she does know that she wishes to be with Amalia. If nothing else, at least that much for sure.
Kiada does not fight back against her captors – she remains in the net, weary with her bloodred gaze scouting the world around her in the hopes of gaining information, regardless if it’s useful at all. And she lets them take her to the pit.
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Ianto - 04-25-2019
When Ianto had told them not to speak about where they were going, he hadn’t meant it in the way of a secret. He’d intended it as very much a here and now thing - the more distracted they were by other things, the more likely they would end up where they wanted to be. So of course when the white raven chirped up with the exact kind of questions Ianto had asked them to avoid, the fox ruffled somewhat. It was almost like they didn’t want to explore he woods.
So he had remained silent - that, however, had been a mistake. Fear rippled along his red pelt at the sounds of alarm in his head and the tell-tale signs of something very, very wrong, and before he knew it the raven was instructing him to be caught and pinning it all on him.
What kind of explanation do you want? We’re being ambushed. Run, you fools!
It was certainly what Ianto was doing. Bravery was for the strong and the idiotic, and Ianto wasn’t either. So without looking back he bolted into the undergrowth, determined to put as much distance between himself and the strange group (and Delah) as possible.
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Jigano - 04-25-2019
Kiada’s assent came as a relief, the raven taking some solace in knowing that, whatever had happened to Amalia and whatever happened to them next, there would soon be rescuers on their way. This was a trail he thought he could follow, but it still begged the question of how Amalia had been grabbed so silently that she hadn’t been able to cry out even in their minds. Perhaps his vulpine nose would be of more use, but he wasn’t sure how much he wanted to reveal to Ianto, given that he had possibly - probably, even – led them into a trap.
But rather than coming towards him, Caiside and the fox began to careen away, and Jigano found himself having to make the very unwelcome decision between following them or following the trail left by Amalia’s captors…
Dammit! he swore bitterly, launching himself up and into the air, his wings and compact body well-suited to passing between the trees and underbrush as he piled on reckless speed to keep stag and fox in sight, passing over Caiside and adjusting his speed to flap and glide just above his friend’s head. Friends of yours? he asked the fox grimly, keen eyes keeping track of the white flicker of his brush ahead of them, guiding his guildmate to stay on Ianto’s trail and hoping their erstwhile guide could lead them to safety and a place to regroup.
Aw no, it’s the fuzz! Run for it!
Good luck guys!
PQ will update in 48 hours or once everyone has posted
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Random Event - 04-26-2019
The golden sprites when in the opposite direction of Ianto. The near-invisible being on Caisides back thumped his sides as a child on a pony might, reaching around with gummy hands and covering the stag's eyes. Instead of being shut into the dark though, the entire world would be cast in sepia tones, and the creatures he had been dealing with this entire time would suddenly become visible.
Bastardized spriggans, these creatures had the roundish and youthful faces of the fae, their bodies naked and without sex. They possess long and sharp carnivorous teeth and eyes that seemed far too large and almond-shaped for their delicate faces.
[say]Run Caiside, run![/say]
They chimed, scattering ahead of them and their small moss-covered feet leaving golden imprints in the ground only the stag would be able to see.
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Ianto - 04-26-2019
Hardly, Ianto hissed in the mind that was still doggedly persisting in speaking with - and following - him. More like acquaintances, and I don't plan to be thrown in the pit even by accident.
Which explained why the fox picked up speed, if anything, for once not following the forest's rules precisely in the hope that it would spit him out. Luckily enough, the things he had learned about the place in his time there proved true, and it was a very out of breath and panicked fox that bolted out of the Greatwood and into the vast, barren expanse before the scorch line of the barrier.
Once there he made no attempt to hide his dive into the long grasses, crouching low and still in an attempt to hide from his pursuers.
RE: Into the Woods Without Delay - Caiside - 04-26-2019
The snappy argument between the other two remaining seemed distant, far away to Caiside. Even as Jigano flew above him, trying to guide him, Caiside was careening course, following the voices again, the flashes of gold that seemed determined to lead him to
Hands on his eyes made his frantic footfalls falter, Caiside nearly stumbling to a halt before he realized he could see, he could see everything. Jigano... do you see... No, of course he couldn’t, Caiside had only just gained sight of them. Do you hear them? They’re calling... I... I need to know. Despite their appearance, the fact that he had no reason to believe them, he had to know if they could truly lead him to his apotheosis. If he turned his back now, he would regret it forever. His eyes rolled, trying to catch soft any any others, to stay vigilant in case this was a trick, but his mind was already made up.
Caiside veered, dipping his head down to keep antlers well away from his corvid friend, and set himself upon the path that shone with golden dust, following the forest spirits into the depths of the trees. Thoughts of glory shine in mind, shouting louder than sense and caution and spurring him onwards.