[PQ] Dancing Bones

Sam wanted nothing more than to find quiet peace in his work and hide away in his home with Nate, make books and carve out a more domestic life than he had found in the last while. But it seemed that was not to be, as The Voice would not restore his fingers in one action. While it was fair (he had, after all, made a huge mistake) he dreaded having to gather the items he needed, sure that it would end in further injuries or misery. The best way to do it was as quickly as he could. Asking the help of the two strongest people he trusted and no one else, he had come to the Bone Bridge hoping to get down, get the bones, and get out. He hoped it was not too presumptuous to assume Remi would help him with the flying in his manticore form; as the only non-attuned in the group he knew he was disadvantaged as far as travelling down into the ditch. He waited, looking over the edge into the mist below. Sam had never seen this 'Kappa', though he had heard the legends. Hopefully, if they met it they could debate with the creature or maybe trade something for the bones - he had with him a bag containing some winter vegetables, squashes and potatoes, which he remembered reading the Kappa might like. --- This PQ already has it's slots filled. 1. Jigano 2. Remi Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

For Sam, Remi would do nearly anything. If that meant flying into a canyon to steal something from the lair of a deadly creature, so be it. They'd faced worse during LongNight. At least now they could see what was coming at them.

"Hey Sam." Shifting from hawk to man effortlessly at the bookmaker's side, Remi peered over the bone bridge with a grin. "I would ask if you remembered the last time we were here together, but I know neither of us do." Still, something about it made him chuckle, things coming full circle and all that.

until the lambs become lions.

Jigano was not the stealthiest figure at night, not with how the moon tended to reflect off his pale hair. He was, however, fairly silent in his steps as he made his way through the ruins and to the edge of the bridge, stopping to bow his head and offer a prayer at the stone lantern he had built at one side of it. He lit a candle within it, long face solemn and edged with new lines as he watched its flickering light for a long few moments before he continued on. Isuma chirruped from his shoulder, rubbing her head against his cheek supportively as he joined Sam and Remi at the edge of the bridge.

"Hey," he said quietly by way of greeting as he neared the bookmaker and alchemist, trying not to startle them, though he sent a faint pulse of welcome to Remi to let him know that the bard was approaching. "Are we ready?" He seemed more subdued, quicker to look to the ground, and his hand tightened around his own bag. A sturdy rope was wrapped slung over his shoulders, and he carried a small pack with knives, flint and tinder, carrots, and a water skin, along with the usual odds and ends in his pockets.

Remi arrived first, initially with wings then as a man. Something about the fluid nature of the change made Sam smile, something that only continued at Remi's comment, though it perhaps turned a little sad. "I remember scraps, but not enough. Let's promise to not forget this one...unless it's really bad." There were the hints of a joke there, but not quite the full thing. Jigano came too, a little downtrodden, but Sam didn't inquire. He knew Jigano likely had guessed this quest had something to do with The Voice and didn't want to risk a discussion about it, though he supposed it could also just be that his friend was feeling depressed after Longnight. "Hello. Thank you both for coming. I...don't know where the Kappa's cave is, but I'm hoping we might not have to find it, if we can find the Kappa and try to trade for a few bones." With a scared swallow he looked over the edge of the bridge. "I suppose we should head down then. Remi...could I ride on your back down? The only other alternative would be for me to bite one of you, which as we know can become...awkward." He grinned out of embarrassment more than any actual happiness. If Remi said yes, Sam would climb on to his Manticore form, ready to make the journey down. --- Let's get down there! No order~ Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

"How about no more forgetting in general?" Remi said, nudging his friend with a bright smile, before turning to regard Jigano. If Remi noticed anything off about the bard, he gave no notice. Instead he merely nodded his head and pulsed back the same warble of silent greeting. "I...remember a long time ago, a man called Alistair and Rexanna jumped off this bridge. I think they might have seen it in the mists, but I have not heard anything since then." Indeed, Remi hadn't even thought of Ashe's ex-husband since that day. "Hopefully this will be as uneventful."

Trying not to flush as Sam mentioned biting him, he merely shook his head. "I am happy for you to ride." Happier still not to be bit, as it was. Stepping back to give himself more room, the alchemist shifted easily into his largest of forms, dropping to a knee to better allow the bookmaker to mount. Waiting for Jigano to shift as well, the manticore moved in a fluid motion off the side of the canyon. Free falling for just a moment before his large wings unfurled, he and Sam glided in smooth lazy circles as Remi did his best not to disturb the mist too much.

until the lambs become lions.

"I've read a little about it, but never encountered it either," the bard admitted quietly. "Though we might not need to seek out the Kappa if we find some bones below the bridge from those who have... fallen... before." Jumped or been pushed as likely as fallen accidentally, although accidents did happen as Remi and Sam were living examples of... even if neither of them remembered it. Sam had told Jigano the bare bones of that tale long ago, however, and he couldn't help but feel a little awkward now to be here with the two men where their whirlwind romance had begun.

He nodded emphatically to Remi's hope that it was an uneventful evening, and shrugged out of the rope to hand it to Sam along with his bag when the bookmaker was aboard the broad-shouldered manticore. "Here, I don't know if we'll need it, but a rope is never a bad idea." Hopefully they wouldn't need it? But if they did, they'd be ready.

Given that Jigano's shift was significantly smaller, he divested himself of as much as he could before shifting to his raven form. His talons closed around his white lantern as it started to fall, catching it deftly before he flapped in Remi's wake, Isuma spiraling down above them like the three tiers of a fancy cake, descending in size from bottom to top.

"Probably for the best." Sam agreed, as far as forgetting went. He was beginning to learn that even the worst memories, the ones that clung to your soul and dug in their claws, could eventually help you to grow, even if it was painful. As for Jigano's point about the bones, he tilted his head from side to side, unsure. "Well....I think they specifically have to be from the Kappa's lair." The Voice had been specific about it; she did not seem the kind to accept wrong solutions, even if they were almost right. Remi changed and Sam had to swallow a little bit of fear; with the alchemist's newest form being so large and fierce it was sometimes hard to keep in mind it was his friend. Still, he stepped forward and climbed onto Remi's back, grasping onto his mane as best he could with one mangled hand. Taking the rope from Jigano with a smile of thanks he hooked it over his shoulder then pressed himself into Remi for the flight down, trying his best not to look at how quickly they were descending before they began to take slow circles. "Do you think if we just call for it, it'd work...?" He asked as they got to the ground, slowly sliding himself off Remi and waiting for Jigano to catch up, then Isuma. Well, there was nothing else to try, since he had no idea how to begin with finding the lair. Cupping his hands around his mouth, Sam yelled as loud as he could (which was still not very loud): "Kappa...? I..I'd like to talk to you please!" -- No Order Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

Having no mouth with which to easily speak, the alchemist had to shift back into his body before he was able to answer. By then though, Sam had already shouted out. Flinching back against the wall of the canyon, Remi sent a pulse of distress towards Jigano as he stared wide-eyed at Sam. "Sam." He hissed, trying to motion his friend away from the mouth of the cave.

"I have encountered creatures like this..if anything you need to be an attuned to speak with them, though I have no had luck in the past." On his finger, Remi's rising heartbeat likely felt like a stampede on Ronin's hand, wherever his husband was. "Why not simply...turn invisible and take what you need?"

Much as the alchemist couldn't and would never fault anyone else for thoughtless plans—gods knew Remi had more than a few of those himself—so soon after what had happened during LongNight, Remi couldn't help but feel Sam was throwing them needlessly into danger once again.

until the lambs become lions.

Jigano had barely glided down to join his friends when Sam asked his question - his rhetorical question, it turned out, as he waited for no answer before immediately inviting the Kappa to come deal with the intruders who had come unasked to its domain. The raven flapped in startlment, retreating to Remi's shoulder if the alchemist would let him as he bounced his own shock and dismay back along the Attuned bond. Had Sam learned nothing from LongNight?

"Yes," he croaked softly instead in support of Remi's suggestion, looking uneasily towards the mouth of the cave as Isuma glided above them on silent owl's wings, her pale coloration naturally hiding her in the mist. "Quiet?" Less a command than a request, the bard still too shaken from his encounter with Safrin to give orders as his usual confident self might have.

There is very little written of the Kappa, he said to Remi, uneasiness in his mental tone. Not what it eats or where it lives, aside from in the gorge. Not even whether it's intelligent or just a great beast. It's supposedly a peaceful creature though... unless it's startled. Hopefully Sam's yell hadn't done just that.

Turning to look at Remi as he spoke, Sam nodded and turned himself invisible, suddenly feeling rather shameful. "Sorry, I...I was trying to um.." He sighed, wondering if he was just destined to make himself look stupid at the moment. "I was trying to introduce us so it wouldn't be startled from seeing us here...I suppose you're right, I should have been quieter." At least Remi and Jigano could fly away quickly if needs be. Sam hadn't expected to find the cave so easily, but if the Kappa would not appear, he supposed it would be quickest to simply dart in and take the bones. Whispering back to Jigano and Remi, almost comically quiet now, he said: "I'm going to sneak in and try to take some bones. Could you...follow behind at a distance please?" With that request, he began to slowly step into the cave, looking left and right for bones, wanting to grab at least three. The first he came across he would take, the area giving him an odd feeling - he wanted to get out fast. -- Sam realises he was a dummy, apologises, and goes to grab a couple of bones from the cave, asking Remi and Jigano to follow from a distance. No Order{/b} Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

No strange to bird talons by any stretch, Remi's (now) broad shoulders were happily if not silently offered as perch. I came here once with a young woman who said she could sense something in the mists. Some strange magic. Mim had been a strange one and it was hard to know whether her sensings had been genuine or accurate. Still, more information was better the alchemist thought, though he pulsed along a feeling of skepticism with his words just the same.

Offering the bookmaker an uneasy smile, Remi nodded. "I think...perhaps that creatures like this do not accept introductions the way we do. Animals do not normally announce their presence in the way humans do." Sam of course might not know this, or at least , wouldn't think of it as innately as his fellow attuned's might.

Nodding his agreement, the alchemist walked near the wall. He continually checked the ground so as not to step on an errant twig or bits of rock that might otherwise give away his presence. Though as a predator he knew that sound was not the only tool that could give identify him. Luckily as an ascended, Sam didn't give off much of an odor.

Let me know if you see anything I miss. He silently whispered to Jigano.

until the lambs become lions.

From deep within their is a sound like a boulder being dragged along the ground. It sounds about 50ft away.

Sam meant well, Jigano knew that, but he hoped the shout wouldn't come back to haunt them later. Still, the bookmaker was doing his best and the bard was along to support his friend in his task in the hopes of making the man whole again. I wouldn't be surprised. This place is certainly eerie enough to have secrets, he replied to Remi's information, looking around uneasily and fluffing his feathers from his perch on the alchemist's shoulder.

It was warning enough, however, that he sent a pulse of suggestion to Isuma, urging her to find an outcropping of rock a little ways up the gorge wall and stay still in her natural camouflage there until they returned.

Remi's advice to Sam was sound, and the recently-humbled bard stayed small and silent in his animal shape, keeping an eye out to help guide the other man's steps, though Remi was sure-footed and quiet enough to need little help. It's gloomy enough in here, he said to his fellow Attuned, glad of the lantern's pale glow. Though if we're supposed to find bones in the Kappa's lair, that probably means it eats meat-- Did you hear that?

A sound like a boulder - or a giant shell - scraping along. And far closer than was comforting.

"Oh. Yes, Remi, I suppose you're probably right." Sam nodded. He had always imagined the Kappa to be a humanoid creature, despite its animalistic qualities, and had hoped they may be able to have a discussion. As it was at the moment, it seemed that was off the table, at least as far as Jigano and Remi were concerned. The sound that came from afar made him stop, freezing as he listened to it and tried to work out what it could be. It was not necessarily a bad thing, but something about the tone of the scraping noise made Sam's hairs stand on end. Wanting to hurry now, he stepped further into the cave, quickly walking until he saw bones. Had he been less panicked and rushed, he would have been squeamish about picking them up. But with the threat of something coming towards them, he simply reached to grab whatever it was he had found, hoping it would be enough to satisfy The Voice, then quietly began to try and walk back, trying to keep in mind he was meant to be quiet. Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child