Leaving Home again

[wolfenchantress]

(aargh sorry, fail at titles)

Ayria was tense the entire time they were in the small lifeboat. How Asa slept, she had no idea. Vedsica didn't look to well himself - he was completely pale - faced and looked somewhat sick.

It got colder and colder until finally they landed on shore. A very cold, frozen shore. Ayria shivered, her breath coming in puffs of frosty air and Vedsica climbed out of the boat the moment it had steadied on shore.

"B...Blitzrock?" She asked. Vedsica tried his magic too, and cursed when it failed. "I can't even sense it anymore. Not only does it not work, it's like I don't even have magic at all. I know it's there, but...: he snapped again in frustration. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?" He walked a few steps inland. "This island is filled with all sorts of nasty things. We'll die before tomorrow morning comes."

"And if we don't get killed, the cold will do us in, surely," Ayria added. It really was freezing, and the wind whipped around them like a blizzard. There was a tense moment of silence.

"I guess we should go farther inland, probably," Vedsica said finally. "If we're going to have any hope of surviving we need to find shelter that will protect us from the cold, and from whatever roams out here that wants to kill us, which, as much as I hate to say it, is more than just a few things. Without magic, all we have are weapons, which won't help if there are a lot of the enemy."

With that, he grabbed his pack and began fighting the wind, heading inland. There had to be shelter somewhere. They just had to find it.

[Asa]

Asa climbed onto the frozen snowy shores of Bliztrok, shivering. He rummaged through his bag and protruded all of his spare clothes. Only wearing a Tea-shirt, he was incredibly cold, so he wrapped himself up in several layers of shirts and trousers. It would have to do for now. He also took out his sword and dagger, just in case. "Right," Asa started, "Head inland, hope for cover. Best plan we've currently got," He followed Vedisca onwards through the winter wasteland.

They travelled for an hour, walking in hope of refuge, yet none came their way. Asa was tired and freezing. His feet felt like blocks of ice. Icicles hung from his eyebrows. He couldn't go on much longer. He came to an exhausted stop, crouching down in the snow. "This is it," He gasped, "I can't go on. I'm just so cold..." There was a low growl behind him. Shivering, he slowly turned his head. Before him was a most fearsome sight. A huge, tiger-sized cat with huge, sharp teeth and snow-white camouflaging fur. It's deep blue eyes were staring straight at Asa- the predator was about to silence the prey. Asa, using his tiny reserve of energy from an adrenaline rush, drew his katana and swung it in a wide arc. The huge snow-leopard pounced back, evading the killing blow. It came back forwards, arms reaching out whilst it flew through the air. Asa rolled off to the side and sliced down through the air, delivering a red gash in its abdomen. Only a flesh wound. The beast roared in frustration as it clawed at Asa, only for him to duck, dodge and dive away. Asa spun his sword in circles either side of him, keeping the creature back. It jumped forward a little, only to have it's nose cut by the spinning blade. However, Asa knew he couldn't keep it going for ever. He awaited Vedisca's surprise-attack on the now red-and-white animal.

[wolfenchantress]

Ayria followed after the two, remaining hopeful that they would find shelter. It was colder than she'd ever felt before, and it wasn't long before she went numb from the biting air. She didn't say anything - the mood kind of deterred speaking.

Finally, just when she was about to beg for rest, Asa stopped. She immediately sat down, regardless of the snow, and brought her knees up to her chin. Vedsica stopped as well, looking totally exhausted. His demeanor changed, however, when the huge snow tiger-cat thing came into view. Ayria stood up quickly, almost overbalancing herself, and Vedsica just stared, not really comprehending the threat just yet.

It was only after it was already that Vedscia snapped out of his exhausted staring and drew two daggers. With a savage cry, he threw himself at the animal. He landed up on it's back and plunged both blades into the sides of its skull. It roared its fury, and bucked violently, easily twisting him off. He was thrown into the snow, both blades left lodged in its head. If only he could grab them again.... The tiger advanced, showing wicked teeth, and crouched to jump - a pounce that would kill him right where he stood.

Ayria had struggled with herself for a moment. Killing an animal was only what she did in emergency situations, but this animal seemed mad. She had a feeling trying to speak to it wouldn't help. So she watched, not sure what to do, until Vedsica was thrown. Then she steeled herself, and ran out in front of the tiger, catching its attention. It turned to her until its back was to the other two, and she shouted, "Kill it!"

For, if they didn't, she knew she would likely die. But, then, if she hadn't distracted it, the others would die. It wasn't really a hard choice. Vedsica jumped up again, sword drawn, and looked at Asa. "I probably can't kill it in just one blow by myself...and that's all I'm going to have time for before it turns back again. I'm going to need you to go for it at the same time."

[Asa]

Asa gasped as Ayira jumped in front of the creature. Asa wasn't sure if he'd do such a thing. However, he also knew that the idea would fail if he didn't attack instantly, so, in unison with Vedisca, he charged it, blade spinning wildly. He struck it on its back, causing it to roar and turn, swiping at him and knocking Asa's sword out of his hand. Asa grimaced and grasped his twisted wrist whilst the creature moved in for the kill. He quickly took up his dagger in his left hand and jabbed at the beasts head. It growled deeply and pounced. Asa, reacting as quick as he could, fell to the floor and held his dagger up into the air. The huge cat, propelled through the air, caught the deadly sharp blade on its stomach, continuing to fly over him as the knife sliced through the animal's stomach. It landed on the frozen snow, blood and innards seeping out from the fatal wound. Asa, standing up, shivering, went over to it, drew Vedisca's knives out of it's head and stuck his own knife into it's throat, ending its pain.

Asa sat by the huge cat and looked over it's bloodied corpse. "Ayira," He started, "That was a very brave thing you did. I award you with the bravery medal. Vedisca, you fought well. I award you with the good fighters medal. Without you, I wouldn't have made it. None of us would have," All through this, he didn't take his eyes of the growing patches of red-stained snow, but now looked up to Ayira, "But Ayira, I need to ask you of a little more. We're freezing. We have no clothes made for warmth. That's one big cat, with a lot of warm, warm fur..." He looked back at it for a second, then back at Ayira, "I'm going to skin it. I respect your choice if you decide not to wear it, and you can have some of my layers of T-shirt. You don't have to watch, either, but I'm going to have to do it here. None of us have the strength to carry that thing about. So, look away, do whatever, but I am going to skin it. Any other time, I would say we'll respect the animals corpse, but now we need it," Asa drew his knife and set about the gruesome job of skinning the thick white fur off the hulking beast.

After quite a while, along with some of the rationed food supplies, he had finished the job. He covered the skinless, pink-red body with snow and removed some of his layers, handing them to Ayira, "You can have them, anyway, even if you decide you do want to wear the animal skin. Some extra warmth," He said. Asa then placed over himself the thick, white fur fashioned into a cloak. He threw the other to Vedisca before picking up his bag. "Let's go. I'm sure we'll find shelter soon. We've just got to keep on going. Just a little further..."

[wolfenchantress]

Vedsica fetched his knives from the animal, nodding his thanks.
"If that has come a little bit later, we would all be dead," He said tiredly. When Asa said he was going to skin it he nodded his agreement, but Ayria shook her head.

"I'll be fine," She said, indicating her refusal for the skins. Obligingly she turned away when he started skinning it, walking a few steps out. Vedsica shrugged out of his thick cloak and draped it over her shoulders.
"If you're going to be stubborn, I'm not going to let you freeze to death because of it." She took it wordlessly, and he wandered back to fetch the skins. They were still warm from the body, and despite being freshly taken from the body he was grateful for their warmth. Ayria shook her head at the offering of the skins, refusing to look at them. Vedsica rolled his eyes.

"It's just an animal skin," He muttered to himself. "No need to treat it like it's some disease." But he didn't push the issue. Instead, he said, "Yes, this body is going to attract other predators. A free meal like that is rare. We should go." And so they did. It wasn't long before he spotted something.

"Hey, over here!" He called, jogging to the crumbling remains of an old stone..something. It came together to make a cave of sorts, and he slid inside. After the entrance it opened up quite a bit, enough that all three of them could comfortably fit. "We need fire or something. Even with these skins, it's going to get downright cold, even in shelter." He said once they were all inside.

[Asa]

"Shelter, at last!" Asa sighed with relief, "I think I saw some trees ahead, just over the cave. I'll go over there and get some wood. I've got a tinderbox in my bag..." He took his sword and walked out, snow crunching beneath his feet. He headed round the large pile of fallen rocks and headed for the trees. He had reached them in about five minutes, took out his sword and began hacking at the lower branches of the snow-covered pine. The sharp blade slid nicely through the straight branches. After he had hacked enough to fit under his arm he carried them back towards the cave.

Within a minute, it was snowing heavily. A haze of white fell before him, blocking his view. He couldn't see an inch in front of his nose. He strode ahead, hand in front of his eyes. It took him over ten minutes before he stumbled upon a a solid grey object. Keeping his hands flat against the cold rock, he slid round until he reached the small entrance. He fell through the piling snow onto the floor of the cave. Snow and sticks were sent out, scattering across the stone floor. Asa looked up, "I've got the wood," He smiled. Rummaging through his bag, he threw Vedisca his tinderbox. "Light the fire for me please," He said weakly, then rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, wiping snow off his thick white fur.

[wolfenchantress]

Vedsica was just beginning to get worried when Asa stumbled back in, looking completely exhausted and worn out.

"Asa! you're back!" He said, but immediately became worried at Asa's condition. He ran to his side, Ayria close behind. Ayria grabbed the sticks and tinderbox, and quickly set to work. She was a fair hand at making fires. She didn't do it often, but found it easy. Grimly she remembered the desert they had just been in.
Now, She thought, that wouldn't be so bad/

"Asa, are you okay? What happened?" Vedsica asked, looking Asa up and down. He didn't see any blood, which he figured was a good thing. It was likely just the cold, but still...
He heard the crackle of fire behind them and Ayria returned.

"We have fire," She said. "Asa, before you sleep you have to get closer to the fire." Vedsica nodded in agreement. He gently took Asa's wet furs and replaced them with his own dry ones, spreading the snow covered ones out to dry. "And you should try to eat something to give you your stregth back. If we have to wait out this snowstorm, I don't want you getting sick."

((Sorry, short post. Also, look in General Board))

[Asa]

Asa nodded weakly in agreement. "I'll come by the fire..." He said as he pulled himself up next to the flaming wood. He grabbed his bag and rummaged through it, producing some vegetables of many shapes and sizes. He threw Vedisca and Ayira a long cucumber-like veg. "Hold it over the fire," He instructed them, "Like this," and he held it by one end and put the other end over the fire. After a few minutes it began to sizzle and boil under the green skin. He took it out and bit into the juicy end. "Not as nice as when I cook it at home," He said between bites, "But it's good enough for me," After finishing the food, he said, "Hmm...we're going to need more wood. After all, this fire won't last forever, and we're going to need to keep warm. One of us needs to set off when the blizzard calms, although I don't know when that'll be..." As he said that, a white fox jumped in through the shield of white outside the cave.

"Whoa," gasped Asa, "Didn't see that coming...doesn't look harmful...wait--" The small fox was carrying, in it's mouth, a bundle of sticks. It dropped them, barked, and jumped out again. "W-what was all that about?" Asa pondered, "Ayira- what did it say when it barked?"

((By the way, Ayira can't understand the fox thing))

[wolfenchantress]

Ayria did as instructed, biting into the food. It didn't actually taste bad. In fact, she rather enjoyed it.

However, the fox rattled her. It leapt in and barked...And she had no idea what it said. Just like humans, animals could make noises that weren't words, like yelps of pain or snarls, but this hadn't been any of them. It had deliberately said something, she could tell by the body language.

She'd never heard a fox's bark in her life, she'd always heard words, so she didn't really know what to say.
"I...I don't know," She said. "I think all I heard was the sound you both would hear... But I... I guess I can't tell you." It flustered her. Was her ability failing her? "It didn't seem dangerous, though..." Even if she couldn't understand it, she could still read body posture enough to know that it didn't have any bad intentions.

"Do you think it's only that animal you can't understand?" Vedsica asked, but she shook her head. "I don't know. It's never happened to me before, so I'm not sure." Whatever it was, she was liking this island less and less.

[Asa]

"Hmm...whatever it was, it brought us firewood. Curiouser and curiouser..." Asa mused, "The fire should last us a while, though, with the extra kindling," He sat down by it and rubbed his cold hands together. He took his weapons and placed them beside him before laying back. He examined the two large rocks balanced above them. He imagined they'd be pretty stable, didn't look like they'd be falling any time soon. He could be wrong...but no, he assured himself, it wouldn't.

Asa stood up and walked to the back of the cave, rubbing his hand across the several dark rocks forming the back of the cave. There was a hole at the bottom. He bent down and looked through the hole. It was just big enough for him to slip through, if not a little small. It lead out into a white blizzard of cold, a tunnel of darkness leading to light. He was surprised to see that there were no rocks lying around on the floor. He would have to leave it, hoping that nothing came through...

He settled himself back down by the fire, head in his hands, enjoying the heat from the blazing fire, getting to it's full heat.

[wolfenchantress]

Vedsica followed Asa to the back of the cave, intrigued by the hole that was formed there. He shivered once, leaving his fur pile behind in favor of easier mobility. When Asa went back, Vedsica crouched down and He peered through as well, staring through the opening. with interest.

Anything could come through. It could be an opening that an animal used to get into the very area they were in, maybe they were in a den of some sorts. If that was the case, he didn't want to be anywhere near if it came back. But the hole seemed so strangely...perfect. No rocks on the floor, perfect size to fit through.

Perfect to fit through... Almost subconciously, he had wriggled forward enough to poke his head through.
"Should I go check it out?" He asked, almost distractedly. Ayria shook her head.

"No. Wait till the blizzard dies down. We need to stay in and get warm. Besides, what if you get lost?" She said. He nodded, but didn't leave the hole.

"What do you think is over there?" For some reason, it seemed a priority to know. He pulled himself away and sat by the fire, musing about it to himself. "We can hope it's not an animal's entrance..."

[Asa]

Asa looked up from the fire and squinted, stopping the fire from burning his eyes. He went, again, to the hole and looked through. Something about it bothered him, he just wasn't quite sure what...
He stood and turned to go back when it clicked. He had noticed the hole when bringing back the firewood, but hadn't thought it went all the way through. Also, there was a rock just in front of it. He had thought it was broken off the main rock where the hole was. But there was no rock to be seen. It was close enough, even through the blizzard, to see. He spun round and fell to his knees. He poked his head to the end of the hole, not quite coming out of the end. He scurried back out and explained it to Vedisca. "So, I'm going to go out a little and see if, maybe, the blizzards worse back there than out of the front,"

He crawled through the hole and out into the snowy blizzard. His hands met with the icy snow piling up outside. He shuffled all the way out and searched for this rock. But it was gone. He crawled back into the cave and reported to Vedisca. He was going to the fire when he stopped dead in his tracks. The stone was now round to the front of the cave. "Ayira!" Asa gasped, "Did you see anything out the front? At all?" He sat down, alert, by the fire. He thought he saw a flicker in the corner of his eye, but when he looked, nothing. Something was wrong.

[wolfenchantress]

Ayria jumped when her name was said. She'd been zoning out the whole time, staring into the flames, lost in her own thoughts.

"What? Did I see anything?" She said, wrapping her cloak closer to herself. "No...I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"Something feels...Off." Vedsica said. "I don't like it. It's not right here." It was kind of an ominous feeling, one that made his stomach uneasy. He thought he saw something flicker at the edges of his vision, but upon looking, nothing was there. He shook his head.

"Wrong?" Ayria asked. "I'll say. I agree. I can't speak to animals here, and this place kind of gives me the creeps anyways. I think once this blizzard dies down we should leave." But Vedsica wasn't listening. He had his head tilted, as though trying to hear something far out of range, though there was no sound to be heard.

Ayria watched him with some trepidation, wondering what was going on. She'd been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't realize something was wrong until Asa said her name. But she could feel it now, and it unsettled her.

"Asa...We should go check this out," He said lazily, distracted. He couldn't just sit here. And what was that...Well, he didn't know what. IT wasn't a feeling, or a sound, or a sight... It just...was. Something he couldn't explain. "Do either of you...feel that?" He asked, for lack of better explanation.

[Asa]

Asa looked around, "Yes, I think so...that...evil, disturbing feeling that sits at the bottom of your gut. Definitely,". He stood slowly and walked towards the entrance of the cave. He shot back at the flicker in the corner of his eyes. This time, it seemed to be headed straight for him. He sat back by the fire, shaken, "I saw something. A flicker. It was speeding towards me," He looked between Vedisca and Ayira, "We need to head for some new cover. But not now. We haven't even slept yet. Vedisca, you sleep. Ayira and me'll take watch. I wouldn't want anyone to be alone..."

Asa sat by Ayira, eyes dark, scanning the cave. The fire was blazing more than ever and the outside was pitch black. "Just stay calm," He muttered, "Ayira, what was it like for you growing up? Where did you live? I lived out on the mainland. Way different to out here. I remember, when I was younger, maybe 7 or 8, I went on holiday with my parents. We went to an old farm. Kind of strange, since we were quite wealthy, but it was to get a feel of the simple life," He chuckled, "Boy, did I get a feel of it. The room I was staying in- I swear- was haunted. At night, I'd hear a Father and son ploughing the fields, talking. No one was out there. Then I'd hear a scream, and the door would seem to blow open. My parents didn't believe me, of course. They didn't hear anything," He sighed, "But this isn't like that. This is different. Whatever's in here, it ain't a spirit. It's a creature. I can tell...I can tell...but anyway, tell me a bit about yourself..."

When the time for a change in the guard duty came, Asa said that he needed sleep. "Ayira, you stay in for as long as you feel you can. Because I feel I can't stay awake any longer. I'm worn out from the fight with the snow-cat-bear. Thanks," He yawned and lay down. He saw a dark shadow lurking in the corners, but was asleep before he could say anything.

[wolfenchantress]

Vedsica laid down to sleep, trying his best to ignore the feeling in his stomach, and Ayria sat next to Asa for watch.

"Growing up? It was hard, I guess. I was like any other girl my age, but I could speak to animals. My parents didn't believe me..or if they did, they obviously didn't want to. By father threatened me whenever I brought it up." She shivered a bit at the memory - her father was not a pleasant man to be around. He was a violent drunk who hit her sometimes, and her mother as well, so she did what she could to avoid angering him.

"It was hard to hide though, especially when I was little. People were mean because I would always spend time with the animals, they thought I was mad." She shrugged. "Which is why I left, I guess." She stopped there - she never told her history to anyone, and it surprised her that she felt comfortable doing it now.

When Asa went to sleep, she didn't want to wake Vedsica, partly because he needed sleep and partly because she didn't want to do anything else that might make him hate her more. But when she saw the shadows lurking around, she shook him awake.
"There's something in here," She whispered so as not to wake Asa. Groaning, Vedsica grabbed a flaming stick from the fire and flared it around the room. The thing in the shadow slithered to right outside the light of the fire. Ayria grabbed one as well and took up station near Asa, holding the fire up high to keep the creatures at bay. She could only hope it would work the rest of the night.

[Asa]

Asa's eyes flickered as a flaming torch was waved by his face. He looked up to see Ayira and Vedisca holding out their torches. He looked into the corner. He could see...something. Although it was not clear, he could see a distortion in the light. He lay there as his two friends waved their torches at it. Eventually, he rose. "I see it," He said, "The distorted shape. We might be able to...hmm..." Picking up a bunch of flaming sticks for himself, he waved them at the shape. He suddenly stopped. His eyes had lead up to the roof of the cave. Hanging up there was another shape. It looked humanoid, though. And it's eyes were fixed on the other shape. "Up there," Asa whispered, "Something else," Whilst Asa was looking, he realised they had let their torches hang down. "Look out!" He yelled as the flicker flew towards them.

It charged into Asa and carried him across the cave. The beast stopped suddenly and threw Asa into the wall. He smashed against the rock and slumped to the ground. As Asa saw a long, distorted spike rise up threateningly, A shape dropped from the ceiling, grasping a dagger, and landed on the distortions shoulders. It plunged the dagger into it's head and green liquid spurted up out of nowhere. The distortion faded into an eight-foot-tall, blue, leathery-skinned beast with a boar-like head and a long vicious claw and one smaller one on each hand. It dropped to the floor and the person hopped off as it was about to contact the floor with a thud. The mystery saviour looked up and Asa gasped. "Pryll!" Asa shouted in delight.
"No, I'm afraid not. I'm his brother, the Other. Actually, we decided on a name just after you left. F'ryll. It's spelt with an apostrophe after the 'F', but you can just spell it without. Fryll. I worked out Pryll's name mean One in the Ancient Dialect, and is actually spelt P'ryll. Mine means Two," Fryll looked around at the other two and smiled before turning back to Asa, "You see, we found that I had an amazing ability for stealth, and that me and Pryll actually had telepathic abilities with one another, so he sent me to follow you-"
"Stalk. He sent you to stalk us," Asa interrupted,
"Okay, stalked, if you will. Anyway, that's beside the point. You didn't notice me on the ship, nor did you notice me on another lifeboat. You probably assumed it was a piece of debris from the ship. I followed you through the snow and into the cave. I made sure that the distorter didn't kill you. And I think I succeeded," Fryll finished, "Anyway, you three sleep. I'll take watch,"

Fryll took a seat near the fire and watched the area around him.

[wolfenchantress]

Ayria and Vedsica both jumped when the thing flew down. Vedsica reached for his weapon, and stared in puzzlement as the thing was dispatched, much to all of their relief.

"Oh!" Ayria said, noticing it was the Other... Fryll, now. "You're here? But how?" He explained that he'd been sent to follow..Or, more accurately stalk them, and blinked. "And we didn't notice you this whole time? That's strange." She thought back, but couldn't think of anything that would give her a hint that Fryll had been there on their trip here.

Ayria went back to bed, but Vedsica stayed up. It had been his turn to watch anyways.
"Why did you follow us?" He asked, not unkindly, just out of curiosity. "I mean, you said you were going opposite ways as us. We even saw you leave. And particular reason?" He hussled closer to the fire and grinned.

"And I'm sure you could have told us you were here. I don't think any of us would have minded. Heck, we probably would have enjoyed the extra company." He glanced at Fryll curiously. If they could speak telepathically, was he talking to Pryll right now?

[Asa]

"Well," Fryll started, "Pryll sent me after you because, well, he was worried about you. Especially Ayira. I think he felt very close to her. Two people with weird powers. He could relate to her, unlike most other people. He also ordered me to stay away from you to make sure you'd be able to handle yourselves on your own. If I was there, I'd be able to give you all sorts of advice. I'd say you did pretty well, since most don't even last that long with a distortion around. I made sure that you wouldn't be in any trouble, though," His eyes glazed over, then refocused, "Pryll's flying to the mainland. I've told him you're fine, just a little run in with a distortion. Sorry if my eyes looked a little weird then- it happens when transmitting messages over long distances. Pryll says he's glad to know you're safe and that I can stay with you until you're safe,"

"Hey, Vedisca," Said Fryll, "Watch," He leapt in the air without making any noise and hung from the cave roof, then he swung his legs up into the air and hung onto it with his toes. He shuffled them around a little until they were in a good hold. Fryll let go with his hands and hung upside down with a big grin on his face. He brought his hands back up and brought his legs back down. All in complete silence, "So, if I can do that without making any sound, now do you think I could follow you all this way without you noticing?" He smiled and sat back down, "I think I know a place we can go- from here if we head straight out from the entrance, we'll come to a bigger cave. Well, more like a cave complex. I'm pretty sure Pryll went here before. So, if we get there, we should be safe. Plenty of trees around it. Also, Pryll'll be able to see where we are. It's easy to spot from the sky. Plus, dragons have good eyesight. He'll pick us up, drop you lot off at Infrak, as I believe that was your intended destination, then he'll take me to the mainland," Fryll finished.

[wolfenchantress]

Vedsica nodded. "She's missed him too - though she hasn't said anything, you can see it in her eyes. But he can always relate to you - you have powers too, obviously." He raised an eyebrow when Fryll's eyes glazed, and was about to ask if he was okay, when he spoke again, explaining that he was communicating with Pryll. He thought it was odd that they could be so far away and yet still cool, and fascinating at the same time. He wondered if it ever got to be annoying.

He watched the display that was done in utter silence with some shock - it didn't seem possible that someone could move that quietly. He thought he could be fairly silent when he wanted - but this was unbelievable.

"I guess it would have been pretty hard for any of us to notice then, unless we saw you move," He said with a grin. "That's pretty impressive."

"Yep, that was our original destination, but that obviously didn't go so well. We're in the middle of a blizzard." As he spoke the wind howled outside. At the next part he frowned a bit. "You're leaving again, you're not going to stay? Where are you going to go? He asked.

[Asa]

"Yes, I guess Pryll has me to relate to, but we're pretty much the same person," Fryll answered, "Can you imagine talking to yourself but having no stories to tell them because they already know them? Ayira, he could relate to and talk to about stuff. And why aren't I staying?"

"Well," Fryll started, "The only reason I came now was because my Brother insisted that I did. After this, we're headed for the mainland. These islands are pretty impressive, but there are some places out there that are even better. I'm going to direct Pryll to these spots. But, it is a little boring for me. I can remember these place perfectly. Not that It's anything experiencing them, but still..." He looked at Vedisca, "Me and Pryll have started talking about space travel. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I believe it possible. If we can both learn to morph into our original forms- a group of atoms, tiny little particles- then we could fly out to other planets," He gazed up at the roof of the cave as if he could see through it, "Have you ever looked at the stars at night and seen the little bright ones? The ones that stand out that little bit more than others? Well, just imagine you could go there. This planet was pretty much the first place I visited, then I was trapped here soon after. You see, up there is the only place I can go to have new experiences. Just think..." He trailed off into silence.

Fryll yawned, "I think I'm going to sleep. You can, too. I can tell we won't have any troubles tonight. This cave will be known by all the animals as a place to stay away from, being the home of that creature," He lay down, "And in the morning, we can head off to the big cave. Wake me when you're ready to go. Set off bright an' early...night,"

[wolfenchantress]

Vedsica listened, completely stunned.
"Space travel?" He said, a tone of disbelief in his voice. It sounded ridiculous, but as he listened to Fryll the idea sounded more and more plausible, even if he'd always thought it impossible to do.

"Do you know what is up there??" He'd often just sat up and stared at the stars, wondering what they were. They couldn't be other places like the planet they were on... could they? But why not? Maybe, on one of those stars, there was someone - or something - wondering the same thing. It was fascinating to think about. What if he could go up there? What then? What would he do, where would he go? Would he keep moving, find a place to stay? And how long would it take? The sky seemed so far away, almost unreachable.

Eventually, his eyelids grew heavy and he yawned. "Well, if you're sure we'll be fine in here..." He said, curling up. He was out within minutes in a heavy sleep.

He dreamed about space travel that night, though in the morning he wouldn't remember any of it.

He didn't wake until Ayria shook him gently.
"Vedsica, time to get up," She said, yawning. "It's first light. Asa, Fryll, you two should wake up too." The blizzard had died down and now sun shone down. Even though it was early morning the snow reflected the light, making it seem midday.
"We should head out now."

[Asa]

"Yes, you're right," Said Fryll, "Asa, Ayira, we're going to a big cave where Pryll can pick us up. We should go now if we hope to make it by the afternoon," He ran outside and came back with a small bag of provisions. He slung it over his back, "Okay, let's be off," Turning around, Fryll walked off out of the cave.

Asa had picked up his bag and jogged after the others. His feet crunched in the thick, fresh snow. Sun gleamed up off the white, shiny surface and into his face. He had to admit, it was quite beautiful. But, nevertheless, it was still very cold. Freezing, and Asa was almost shivering despite his thick fur coat. He could just make out a few white birds circling above. He kept marching along beside Vedisca and Ayira, Fryll leading the way. "How long did you say it was going to take?" Asa shouted ahead. Fryll turned to Asa and continued forwards, walking backwards, "It'll probably take us about...eight hours? No...probably be about...well, we'll be there for three. So that'd be...ten hours!" Fryll exclaimed. Asa mumbled something under his breath.

After several hours of cold marching, a rock could be seen on the horizon. "There! The cave! Getting closer now. Still a little while to go but...at least we can see it!" Fryll shouted back to them.
"You doing okay there, Ayira?" Asa asked, "Here, have some fruit," He felt around in his bag and tossed out three apples, one for him, one for Ayira and another for Vedisca. He didn't bother offering Fryll- he was already munching on his own food supply, "Just keep on going, nearly there," He mumbled.

((Put something in the general board, also I'll try and get some pictures up in graphics))

[wolfenchantress]

Ayria walked with the others, shivering. She had less to cover with than the others since she refused the furs, but she didn't complain, and instead walked in silence. The snow reflected the light, causing her to shade her eyes.

Vedsica's situation was much the same, though he was warmer. Upon hearing that it would be ten hours of walking, he groaned - he was already sick of walking, another ten hours seemed like torture. After a while, he went into the mindset of just keep going. He ignored the cold, the snow, and just walked.

He did accept the apple gratefully, however. He munched it, realizing for the first time just how hungry he was. He had no idea how long they had beel going, but he heard the 'nearly there' comment and sighed gratefully.

Eventually they reached the cave, and Vedsica entered it and sat down wearily. He didn't think he could move another muscle.
"How long untill Pryll gets here?" He asked, yawning, wondering if he had time for a nap. Ayria sat, too, a bit apart from the others, curling herself up to conserve warmth. Vedsica peered outside at the frozen wasteland, glad to be in the warmth.

(yeah, it was done - sorry, should have said something )

[Asa]

"About..." Fryll communicated with his brother, "Three hours, until he gets here. He'll have to wait around a bit, possibly. It depends on the snow. He'll have to wait 'till it settles if it's too heavy to see us," He sat.

Asa shook snow from his head and shoulders. "Any wood?" He asked. Fryll replied, "Over in the back, there should be some," Asa walked sluggishly to the back to see a large pile of logs. He grabbed a few and came back. He slid the bag off his shoulder and took out the tinderbox. He lit the logs, releasing a warm orange glow amongst the cave. "So," Asa asked, "Is this it in the cave?"
"No," Fryll shook his head, "There's a few small tunnels leading out of this one. They lead to some larger caverns, most of which are under the ground," Fryll shuffled closer to the fire. He sat there for a minute in silence, then stood. "I'm just going to have a look round," He announced, then walked off to the back of the cave.

"Mm, it's good to have a nice warm fire," Asa said as he leaned in closer to the bright flame, "And soon, we'll be out of here. What to do next? To be honest, I don't feel like going to Infrak any more. I just want to go home...relax a little. Then..." There was a deep, rumbling noise as dust and a few stones fell from the roof. "W-what was that?" Asa asked. "Fryll?" No reply, "Fryll?!" He stood up and lifted his katana from his bag, and stuck his dagger by his waist. He walked slowly towards the back of the cave, heart racing. There was another rumble, and this time more of the roof unsettled and fell to the ground. He heard faint, but heavy, footsteps getting louder and louder. They were coming from a passage to the left of the logs. They stopped just outside the doorway and Fryll came flying through, crashing against the wall. Hairy white paws came out either side and a huge figure pulled itself through the gap. It was humanoid, white and hairy. It had bright blue glowing eyes and a pair of tusks in it's huge jaw. A Yeti.

It roared and ran at Asa, but he dodged out of the way. It skidded to a stop, turned and ran again, paws flailing. Asa wasn't so lucky this time. A large claw caught his leg as he moved aside and sent him sprawling to the floor, a large gash in his leg. The beast crashed into the wall, causing dust and pebbles to fall down from the ceiling. Asa hobbled onto his feet and plunged his katana into the Yeti's shoulder. It stopped half-way and the monster screamed and spun round. Asa ducked the first swipe but the second one caught him across his face. Luckily it had just been it's fist, not the claws. Asa fell to the floor and the Yeti loomed over him, eyes glowing brighter than ever. It was about to finish him when there was a flash of green as a poisoned dagger flew into it's side. Asa looked to the side to see Fryll leant against the wall. Sickly yellow bulges began to appear around the wound, and the Yeti moaned in pain. It's icy-blue eyes turned a mouldy yellow. It bunched itself into a ball, growling, then opened up and roared. The raged Yeti turned and punched the wall, then ran for Vedisca.

[wolfenchantress]

vedsica ran int othe back after Asa when the rumbling occured and Fryll didn't answer his name. Soemthing was wrong - that much was evident. Something probably lived in these caves, and wasn't happy having intruders there in its home.

He froze in shock when he saw what it was. He didn't know Yeti's actually existed, and it was way bigger than he thought it would be. He took out his twin daggers, watchign wide eyed as the beginning of the fight took place.

Ayria came running after him.
"I heard a crash. Is everything- " and she cut off too at the sight of it. It was massive, and white, and had claws that could easily rip a person to shreds. Its eyes looked mad with rage, and it roared, a nasty, angry sound. And then it ran at him. He readied himself against the charge, but Ayria saw that if it connected Vedsica would be killed.

"Vedsica, move!" She shouted, and threw her entire body weight into him. He staggered sideways - she was too small to make him fall - and instead of it getting at Vedsica, it threw her against the wall. Her head connected with stone and she slumped to the ground, unconscious. Vedsica gathered himself again as the Yeti turned and he threw himself at the beast, one of his blades connecting with its eye. It screamed and grabbed him by the arm, hard enough that he heard the crack of his bones snapping - again. He cried out in pain that made him nearly black out as it dropped him.

He stod again, however, ignoring the bond protruding from his arm despite the blood flowing freely from the wound. He aimed the other dagger and threw it, and grinned savagely when it hit the other eye.
"It's blind," He announced. But that didn't do much - the thing had a sense of smell ten times better than a dog's, and it turned to the smell of his blood, flashing deadly fangs. He leaned against the wall, exhausted. Both of his weapons were gone, and his arm was broken.

Ayria chose that moment to rise, and it turned to her movement. She saw that it was blind, and calculated quickly. Instead of running away, though, she ran right at it! He called for her to stop, but she dodges its swinging claws and ran between its legs. It lunged for her, falling over itself.
"Quick! Attaack it while ts down!" She called desperately.

[Asa]

Asa watched as Vedisca blinded the beast with his daggers after it had thrown Ayira into the wall. He saw Ayira dodge nimbly between it's legs, causing it to trip over itself. He heard Ayira's shout and rushed to finish it, drawing his dagger as his sword was still stuck in the Yeti's shoulder. He jumped on top it, blade held high. He was feeling drowsy from blood loss, as the gash in his leg was still flowing freely. As his arms fell, the dagger missed slightly and hit the creature in its shoulder just next to its neck. It roared and stood as Asa clung on round it's neck. It spun round and eventually grabbed on to Asa's leg. It yanked hard and pulled him off and tossed his hard into the wall. There was the sound of clicking, snapping and cracking as Asa smashed into the rock like a rag-doll. Fryll suddenly ran onto the scene, another poisoned dagger drawn. He leapt at the Yeti's back and stabbed into it's back. It cried in agony and turned, but Fryll had retreated out of swinging distance. Huge, sickly bulges popped up around it's grotesque body and continued to slowly inflate. Eventually, the beast submitted to the reaper and fell. Vomit-like puss slowly oozed out of the oversized spots. The fight was over.

Fryll's attention immediately turned to Asa. He was slumped on the floor, blood smeared across the walls. He crouched by his body and examined him. His skull was cracked, and blood flowed from the gap. One leg was twisted and mutilated, bones sticking out, flesh ripped, the other was at least snapped. His arms- one was looking okay but the other one was bloodied and broken. In other words, dying. He took his pulse. It was slow, and slowing. He dragged him carefully by the fire, took off his shirt and wrapped it around his head. He ran off, rummaged through Asa's bag and returned with a bunch of other clothes. He bandaged his major wounds first, then the minor ones, ripping clothes when necessary. He checked his pulse. It was steadying. "Vedisca, I'm sure you can see that Asa is seriously injured. He is...out of help. From doctors. He lives in a house with a magic cellar, yes? Well, we're going to have to there. Only magic can save him," He paused, "Pryll is on his way, as fast as he can. He should be here soon- and hour and a half, possibly. He will be able to help him. He has certain forms which can heal, mostly just to close wounds, nothing to restore bones or...his leg," His leg was in terrible condition. It was where the Yeti had previously gashed, and also where it had grabbed Asa to throw him into the wall, "We'll just have to keep an eye on him, and hope," He sat there, silent, in the dark cave in a dark mood, just like everybody else. "Oh, and shift the Yeti corpse out of the way," He mumbled, "Outside, preferably,"

[wolfenchantress]

Vedsica nodded numbly. Compared to Asa's wounds, his arm seemed like a scratch.
"I'll take it outside." He said, and turned to it, but it became apparent after a few tries that it wasn't as easy a task as he thought. The corpse was pretty big - larger then a human, and with one arm it would be impossible to drag it outside.

"Ayria, can you help me?" He asked, and turned to her. "what is it?" He asked, after seeing her. She stared, wide eyed and shaking, at Asa and his arm. She hadn't seen such wounds before on a person.

"Will he be okay?" She asked, her voice a whisper. "And your arm..." She looked away. "You're both so hurt..." Her voice wavered, and he approached, not sure what to do.

"It'll be fine," He said. "Pryll is on his way, he'll make it better, I promise." He chose words carefully, though he knew that Pryll wasn't guaranteed to make it better at all. He just wanted her to feel better - which surprised him. He still didn't trust her or like her by any scratch, but he didn't want her to feel unhappy or anything.

"If you really want to help, you can assist me in dragging this thing outside. Obviously, I am a bit impaired, and therefore can't do it by myself." He tried to make light of the situation, even though his arm was screaming in pain and he felt a bit dizzy from bloodloss. She nodded, however, and faced the thing's dead body.

"Okay, I can help." She picked up one foot, and Vedscia picked up the other one, and together they barely managed to drag it outside. It left a bloody smear on the floor that couldn't be helped, and they returned to where Asa lay, dying and horribly wounded. Ayria made a small noise in her throat, a squeak of fear. She didn't think he would live.

"All we can do now is wait," He assured her, his words beginning to slur from losing blood. "Pryll will get here soon enough. He'll make things all right." He sat on the floor, leaning against the wall in a half- delirium. But he was right - waiting was the only option at present.

[Asa]

They had waited it the cave, silent. Asa was going steady when suddenly, his heart just seemed to stop. "Asa?" Fryll cried out, knowing he wouldn't respond. "His heart...it's stopped! I've got to keep it going...this place used to have magic. There's still a little remaining. I'm quite good with magic...if I can tap into it, I might be able to get it started again with a little jolt of electricity," He sat by Asa, concentrating. There was flash, snap and spark from his fingers. He placed his fingers on Asa's chest and made another snap. Asa's body twitched. Snap. Twitch. Snap. Twitch. Fryll felt his neck. "It's...beating," He was quite exhausted from making power from so little. "I'm going to keep a good watch on him from now on, and I'll be charging what I can whilst I wait,"

The time passed without any other major problems. They had been waiting some time when the sound of air being pushed sounded. It was Pryll, arriving. Seconds later, a red dragon was flying towards the entrance. It turned into Pryll just as it was about to hit. He flew in and rolled across the rock floor. He stood, brushed dust off himself, then turned to Asa's body. He wordlessly crouched and examined his wounds, unwrapping make-shift bandages. He shifted into a large blue bird, then knelt and licked a long, purple tongue over his wounds. The skin closed around them, blocking most of the flow of blood. He shifted back and said to his brother, "Lift him. Place him on my back when we get outside. Vedisca, Ayira, you follow," He walked outside and shifted into a dragon. Fryll followed and climbed onto Pryll's lowered back. He sat Asa in front of him and held onto him. He helped the other two up and told them, "We'll be landing just on the city outskirts, as to not attract any attention. It's getting dark and we'll be landing at night. Remember- most people haven't seen a dragon before," When they were all ready, Fryll gave Pryll the order to set off via psychic messaging, and then they were off, flying through the sky towards Nanuta.

[wolfenchantress]

Ayria froze when Asa's heart stopped. He wouldn't make it. How were they suposed to restart a stopped heart? She watched Fryll try to start his heart, and her and Vedsica watched in a tense silence. He had to live ,he couldn't die... And then, it started. Both of them let out relieved sighs, though neither of them untensed. As that proved, disaster could strike at any second, and neither of them wanted to be unprepared.

Then Pryll arrived. Ayria grinned in greeting, but he was focused entirely on Asa. She stayed back, avoiding being in the way of anything, as they prepared to leave. She climbed onto the dragon's back and helped Vedsica up, as he tried to move without jarring his shattered arm, a wince of pain set on his face. Once everyone was settled, they took off. Ayria let out a yelp of surprise as they rose in the air very quickly, holding on tightly, terrified of falling off. Vedsica had to admit, despite their situation it was an amazing experience. He figured that almost noone had the chance to fly dragonback.

"how far is it?" He called up, genuinely worried about Asa's health. If it took too long... It would be hard to restart his heart again from this far up. The faster they arrived, the better.

[Asa]

"We should be there shortly...maybe twenty, thirty minutes," Fryll cried back to Vedisca, "Don't worry about Asa- he should be fine until we get there,". As they crossed the sea, night fell and Pryll flew higher. Fryll began to feel rather relaxed, high above it all, wind rushing past and the steady beat of his brothers wings. It gave him some time to think, think about what would happen next. Asa would be healed and then...well, what then? He guessed he would finally join his brother on the mainland, but what if he asked him to follow them again? He guessed he'd just say no, but he was sure that Pryll would be even more concerned about them now, after this. The lights of Nanuta came into sight, little orange dots on the side of the island. Occasionally one would flicker out, and another start. He found himself almost into falling a trance. Although he had the memories of Pryll and all his adventures, he had never felt them, and this was a feeling he had never experienced. 'Eternal Tranquil' he thought. He would have wanted to stay there forever, but soon Pryll began to lower in the land around the city.

[[GO TO NANUTA]]

((I've continued the post there))