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Post by tyr on Mar 8, 2010 20:15:18 GMT -5
Altruism stretched again, working knots in his shoulders. As Candor slipped off to sleep, he scouted for a decent place to stand watch. Typically, he would find somewhere out of sight, somewhere that no-one would think to look, and this time was no different. Spying a tree with a few close branches that he thought were wide enough to support him, he knew that he'd found the place to watch from.
He looked back towards the camp, satisfied with his view. He dusted his hands together and sprang up, catching a branch out of his reach. He pulled himself up, stifling a grunt of effort. He was barely up on the branch before he had grabbed another one and pulled himself up again. On this branch, he stopped. To go any higher would mean losing sight of the ground through the branches.
He wriggled around, arranging himself amongst the branches before he found a suitably comfortable position. Relaxing, he began to look around, making a circuit of the camp with his eyes. He would keep this up until his watch was done. Without taking focus away from his guard, he spoke to Tobor silently. Well, I've really done it this time, haven't I? There's a lot ahead of me... Even he didn't really know what he meant by that, and perhaps Tobor didn't either, because she chose to remain silent.
After that, they sat in quiet companionship until Altruism finally began to feel his weariness once more. The moon was well up, and he judged a third of the night had passed before turning in. He moved himself into a posture of comfort and security as best he could in a tree, leaning against another branch to the right of the one he was on and hooking his legs to the branch beneath him. The guard passed to Tobor unspoken, and he slept for hours of surprisingly peaceful sleep.
He was wakened by a punctuating thought from Tobor, as well as a light tap from her beak on his hand. He stiffened at the touch, but realizing that there was no threat, he willingly took up watch again. The night passed uneventfully until the silver light of dawn touched the trees, then the grass, and the water. He judged a fair amount of time for sleeping in before he decided to jump down and descend into the camp once more. The others would wake up soon.
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Post by greywalker13 on Mar 12, 2010 16:11:52 GMT -5
OOC: I'm going to be gone until Sunday. You're up, Tetris.
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Tetris
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Tetris on Mar 13, 2010 14:45:13 GMT -5
ooc: Sorry, buisy before march break work to do D: But glad it's finally here  --------------------------------
Mercy woke up feeling frightened, again. She'd had another nightmare, this time it she remembered what had scared her. It was an animal, all black with the most evil eyes she'd ever seen. She rememberd that the animal had changed throuout her dream, once it was a deer, then a bear, then a mouse.... each time it changed it would first become dust then a new animal.
Shaking her head, Mercy realized that her dream was similar to Ethedus' story. My brain must've just replayed the story... She tried to laugh it off, but her eyes remained a dark shade of blue. She felt Ethedus stirr against her stomach
Goodmorning Mercy he said, obviously sensing her unease and trying to distract her. He licked her face and twitched an ear. Mercy smiled at his attempt.
"Eth..." She was about to ask him about her dream, when she noticed, Altruism walking towards the camp. "...can we talk later?"
Ethedus bunny-sighed Come one Mercy, Im hungry. Mercy looked for Candor, who still appeared to be sleeping. She hated waking people up, so decided to go with Ethedus, despite her lack of hunger.
Waving, Mercy got up and waved to Altruism.
"Hey there. Want to come with us to find breakfast? I think Candor's still sleeping..." |
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Post by greywalker13 on Mar 15, 2010 1:41:34 GMT -5
Candor stirred uneasily as he slept. Through the whole night his death replayed again and again, a seemingly unending loop of capture, challenge, and deception. Sometimes it was Malice who killed him, sometimes the short man, sometimes it was a black rabbit, and once, a strange woman bearing a scythe. The wolf was always there, preventing is escape, fire licking at its paws and muzzle. The last dream Candor wished for escape, desperate to flee the unending loop. As he did this, a long knife grew from his hand, made of pure Ice. With the dark ones closing in for the hundredth time, Candor begged for release and slit his own throat.
Lying on his side, his back facing Mercy, Candor’s eyes shot open as the dreams finally ceased. A thin layer of frost had formed on his coat and gloves, and he lay very still, breathing shallow. Not quite trusting his senses, he half-heard Mercy, and remained still. He shivered with the memory of death, and closed his eyes tight.
A heavily flapping of wings indicated Vi’Lana’s descent from above. She landed at Candor’s head and spoke to Mercy and Altruism.
He’ll be ready in a few minutes. You go on ahead.
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Post by tyr on Mar 16, 2010 11:12:19 GMT -5
Yawning, Altruism met Mercy with a hand out in greeting. He smiled expansively and clapped a hand to her shoulder, thinking it would be too awkward if he did anything else. With a blush tinging his pale skin, he suddenly wasn't sure if what he had done wasn't too awkward as it was.
Altruism was certain that Candor was at least partly awake, but Vi'Lana said that they should go on without him, so Altruism just shrugged. Eth certainly wanted to eat, and Mercy was going to follow him. Altruism was feeling a little empty himself after his moonlight vigil, and Mercy was better company than a possibly unconscious Candor.
"Breakfast sounds a wonderful idea, Mercy. Let's go," he said, then raised his voice to call to Candor. "I'll save some for you Candor!" He wasn't sure if Candor could hear him or not, he seemed pretty tense, but he knew that Vi'Lana would tell him if he didn't already know.
Altruism was feeling much more like himself this morning. Perhaps it was just that time heals all wounds, even death apparently, which he was beginning to doubt he would ever truly believe. He certainly didn't feel dead. Maybe it was the crisp morning sunlight, or the familiarity of being in a dubious forest. He didn't really know, but he was feeling much better.
He began to scratch an itch at his collarbone as he walked with Mercy, and touched the bandage that she had put on his scar. It had been a while since it had been put on, and it was beginning to itch too. He was fairly certain that a fresh bandage would not go amiss. Besides, Eth's tears had done wonders for the pain. It was probably almost healed now anyway, and maybe he wouldn't need another.
"Say, Mercy, could I take this bandage off? It's beginning to itch. I think I need a new one, or at least this old one off." He didn't want to offend Mercy by taking the bandage off without permission, and she knew more about first-aid than he did anyway.
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Tetris
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Tetris on Mar 16, 2010 20:29:01 GMT -5
Mercy could sense Altruism's awkwardness, and decided that it was indeed a little wierd for her too. She wished that he'd just took her hand or something. Ethedus let out a small laugh. you are enjoying this wayy to much, Eth But it had done the trick because her eyes were almost back to the normal blue.
Mercy saw Altruism itch his wound. Then he asked her about it.
Mercy thought for a moment. "it's been what two days since? if your itching it, it's probably scabbing up, so don't itch it. I think it should be comming along just fine, assuming its not infected... do you mind if I take a look?" without wating for a reply Mercy gently lifted up Altruism's shirt and peered under the brown-and-red bandage. She was glad it didn't look too bad. She dropped his shirt and looked back up to him.
"yep, its healing just fine, when we get back to camp i could replace that bange for you, if you'd like..." she took Altruism's hand and smiled.
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Post by greywalker13 on Mar 16, 2010 21:06:26 GMT -5
Vi’Lana watched Altruism and Mercy depart, then spoke to Candor.
The dreams will fade with time. For now, you must learn to deal with them. They are a test, like any other. Surpass them, and they will hold no power over you.
Candor shook the cobwebs of sleep from his head, then replied.
“It’s just like home. Nothing’s free anywhere. Even sleeping has a price.”
You’ve known this your whole life. You were warned that the prices for life were different down here. It is no longer enough to be the fastest or the strongest. What matters here is cunning. The strongest can fall to the weak, if they lack cunning.
“Right. Might as well grow a Heart of Ice here and now, huh? Or is there something I missed? You seem to know more than you’re letting on.”
And I do. But to tell you the answers would mean little. The world does not give up its secrets easily, why should I be any exception?
Candor bit his lip, frustrated at the undeniable truth. Trial by fire. Success... or death. It felt familiar.
“Can I trust you?”
Yes.
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Post by tyr on Mar 17, 2010 15:33:37 GMT -5
Altruism blushed again when Mercy took his hand. He was sure that on his pale cheeks, it looked atrocious. And very noticeable. No matter what stayed the same, he was certain that he'd never get used to this. He didn't know any girls. Was this normal? He knew he was being weird again, but she smiled at him, so it seemed okay.
He fought to smooth away the colour from his cheeks, but had no idea whether he succeeded or not. He cleared his throat and spoke, "That's good... That it's healing, I mean. I don't know what else I'd mean. I mean..." That was the thing, he didn't know what he meant. He clamped his mouth shut, then smiled, trying to look bashful, or maybe sheepish. He didn't know if he succeeded there either. He was half-convinced that he was just an idiot, plain and simple.
He tried to change the subject before he made a fool of himself more, if that were possible. He didn't think it was. "So, uh..." he began hesitantly. "Did you like those plants from before? I thought I saw a patch of them from the tree I was sitting in, last night, when I was keeping watch."
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Tetris
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Tetris on Mar 19, 2010 7:41:05 GMT -5
Mercy nodded "mhmm, i especially liked those leafy ones..." she searched the ground for them. Just as she was about to give up, Ethedus hopped over with four or five in his mouth. Laughing Mercy took one and toook a big bite. She still wasn't particularily hungry butate anyways. She figured she'd need her strength for the rest of the day.
"hey, do you even know what these are called?" she munched on another leafy veggie, whilst looking for more breakfast.
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sorry for short post, im in a hurry. xP
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Post by greywalker13 on Mar 19, 2010 16:12:18 GMT -5
OOC: I'm gone for the weekend, Feel free to skip Candor.
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Tetris
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Tetris on Mar 19, 2010 20:58:53 GMT -5
ooc//: dissappearing on us all the time? haha KIDDING. I have to finish a Chem isu this weekend, so idk how much I can post either  |
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Post by greywalker13 on Mar 24, 2010 10:00:24 GMT -5
“Alright.”
Candor finally stood up and began walking over to Altruism and Mercy, While Vi’Lana resumed her perch in the trees. They seemed to be discussing something private, so he decided to start looking at the local plant life. He found a few of the strange leafy plants from before, but still couldn’t find anything familiar. The South Lands must be too warm.
But if that was the case, why didn’t he feel any warmer?
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Post by tyr on Mar 24, 2010 21:30:40 GMT -5
OOC: Sorry, I can't post for a day or two, I have two tests tomorrow, and a midterm exam on Monday. I didn't even know we had those in high school. Can you tell how thrilled I am? Oh wait, sarcasm doesn't transmit well through text.
Anyway, I would have posted before, but just this week I've been bombarded.
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Post by tyr on Mar 29, 2010 18:40:20 GMT -5
OOC: Aaaand, I'm back! Sorry guys!
Altruism led Mercy over to more of the plants as he spoke. "Hmm... I've never really thought about it. I don't know if anyone ever told me about these... Or if I discovered them on my own. I can't remember," he admitted ruefully. "But no name comes to mind. If they have one, I don't know it. I'm sorry," he added. He wasn't entirely sure what he was sorry for, but he said it anyway.
He cast a look back to see if Candor was up yet. He was, but he looked a bit disturbed and troubled, so he refrained from calling to him. He'd come over in his own time. He popped a leaf into his mouth and chewed slowly. Now the question was where they were, and where they were going. The truth was, all Altruism knew about the entire world was a relatively short stretch of this river. From what Mercy had told him, she didn't know any more than he did. Candor seemed to have a vague idea as to their location, but he was from a more northern part of this place, and that was about all that he knew too.
He turned to Mercy, "When Candor makes his way over here, we should talk about where we're going. After breakfast, of course," he said with a glance at Ethedus, who would surely object to cutting breakfast short. "This river could take us somewhere, I suppose, or we could try going through the forest... Maybe we'll find a road, or a house. It'll be good to figure out where we are, and what's going on." He ate another leaf and grimaced. "These leaves aren't too bad, but I think we'll get tired of them pretty soon. This one's kind of dry. That happens when it gets cold, so it must be winter. I don't know if these will sustain us, even if we don't get sick of them."
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Tetris
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by Tetris on Mar 30, 2010 16:29:15 GMT -5
"I think the river's a good idea. I mean we found Candor, perhaps we'll get lucky and find someone who actually knows whats going on this time." Mercy joked. She took a bite out of one of the vegetables.
"Y'know maybe we should make up a name for these things anyways. Instead of referring to them as 'vegetable' and 'leafy vegetable"..." Mercy paused for a moment "that reminds me! I saved some blueberries from that bush we found. We should probably eat them before they go bad..."
She looked over to the cold campfire, but realized that she didn't really want to disturb the already-disturbed Candor. She could sense his unease, but was glad that she sense something with her newly-discovered power.
"Uhh, perhaps later..."
or now. Ethedus dropped the container of blueberries beside mercy's feet. Mercy was surprised that there were quite a few left, seeing as Eth had gotten to it. She smiled and nodded in thanks, taking a few and plopping them into her mouth.
I think you guys can go back to Candor now, i doubt he 'd mind. Plus I don't really know if he knows what kind of plants to eat here, seeing as he's from north... Ethedus bunny-shrugged.
anyways, I'm pretty full. While you two lovebirds were 'talking' I found a still-fresh patch of clovers! He began to hop towards the camp. After grabbing an armful of the vegetables, Mercy began to follow him.
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