[PLOT][PRP] Better than going alone, at least [Dante/Lailah]

[Menelie]

For Dante, getting the faun relic had been easier than anticipated! All he'd had to do was ask! These heretics might be bestial but at least some of them were polite creatures. Still, the thought of such a beautiful angel living with such a hideous beast made Dante cringe. The angel Leilani had occupied more of his thoughts than he'd care to admit. She'd even eclipsed Katya, who was surely more beautiful. And smarter as well, since she didn't willfully live with an awful man-beast. Yech.

The next relic to collect, Dante decided, should be the hardest. The wand. He'd done his research and hadn't liked what he'd found. The only place he could see on this whole island to acquire such an artifact was...the Fae Clearing. Just the thought gives him the creeps. The place practically radiated a kind of raw magic that was familiar...yet wholly foreign to him. He got that feeling around the Fae folk themselves, now that he thought about it. And yet...they were such beautiful creatures it was almost electrifying. That was perhaps what bothered Dante most about them.

The morning he'd planned to set out, Dante splashes cold water on his face to clear his thoughts. Another restless night. He'd awoken with women dancing in his head. All these thoughts he'd been having, especially about women, were a detriment to his quest, he's sure. The Guardians are testing me, he thinks. The fairer sex are a distraction at best, and a temptation at worst. The thought of going to Fae Clearing alone grows more dreary by the second. Perhaps he ought to bring someone with him. Incase there were Fae with their bewitching, twitching wings about...

Clearly he can't bring Katya. As well as he likes her, he feels that she'd only make things...more difficult. From what he'd seen of some of the other male squires lately, he's not sure they'd be much help either. In fact, Dante might end up having to defend their honor!

Suddenly, a deliciously cruel idea strikes him. The Guardians were testing him, tempting him with visions of beauty. What better way to punish these wayward thoughts than to choose a completely odious companion for this quest? Smiling a self-satisfied smirk, Dante readies his things and slips off down the hallway toward Lailah's door. This early she might still be there and not down at the sparring field. He knocks politely.  

[Teigra]

Nearly done.

Day or night, that thought dominated the angel's waking and sleeping hours. So close to completion now, she could not leave her task unfinished much longer. Yet, this final task could not be handled lightly. She'd made that mistake with some of the others and paid for it. No, each task had proved to be much more trouble than it initially seemed. Perhaps an extra test for her from the Guardians? After her trials, she had been taking some time to reflect on her troubles and what she could have possibly done differently. Maybe that was the point, to show her by example, to encourage her to make changes...

A soft knock from the door broke through her thoughts and she looked up, blinking. Who...? Not a forceful or demanding call for attention, that was for sure. Katya again? Nah, couldn't be... No better way to know than to look, so closing the trunk that contained her few belongings, Lailah moved towards the door.

Whoever she had been expecting to see on the other side, it hadn't been Dante. She blinked twice at the green angel before answering calmly, "Dante." A curious tilt of her head followed. "You need something?" It wasn't as if the mute Squire frequently sought her out personally, after all.
 

[Menelie]

Dante puts a pleasant smile on his face and nods softly to Lailah. "Morning," he signs to her. The sign language is of his own invention, put together over the years and intelligible only by himself and the other squires. It's perhaps a trifle rudimentary, and of course he can achieve greater linguistic precision through writing, but it's certainly faster. "You slept well?" She's looking well this morning, at least. She doesn't seem grumpy or unseemly. Whether this bodes well or ill for Dante he's not sure.

"I go to Fae Clearing today for wand. Strength in numbers. Want to come?" he continues to sign, the question written clearly on his face. He sounds positively brutish this way, but as much as he doesn't care for Lailah, she's definitely one of the strongest among them, and a part of him wants to impress her. The pad and pencil could become a bit of a crutch. And a crutch is something he doesn't want to have, least of all around Lailah.  

[Teigra]

Lailah's eyes flicked towards the other Squire's moving hands and the motions they followed. She nodded politely to the greeting, then in response to the question about her sleep, she answered, "Well enough." It was mostly true. Even if her thoughts before falling asleep had been preoccupied and it had taken some time to get to sleep.

Catching the gist of the following question, she considered it before answering. He wanted her to go to the Clearing with him to retrieve a wand. Was this a sign from the Guardians? She'd been hesitating on addressing the final task for some time now...perhaps this was the prod to stop procrastinating. Or maybe there was something that Dante could do that would aid them in this task or addressing any issues that might arise in the Clearing. Lailah was suspicious of a task that seemed so easy, considering how the others had gone for her.

Or maybe Dante was part of the lesson the Guardians wanted her to take from this.

With a sigh of resignation, she nodded once after what had probably seemed like a rather long period of consideration. "Alright. Let me grab a few things and I'll be ready to leave when you are."
 

[Menelie]

Lailah had sighed. Did that mean she was hesitant to come with him? It had taken her a moment to agree to accompany him. Still, she had agreed, so Dante adds a nod of his own. "I wait by front gates. Meet me there."

He walks to the front gates, tapping his staff on the ground as he does. He rather liked the staff as a main weapon. It was easily disguised as a simple walking stick, and did not unnecessarily wound or kill. In fact, he'd be more likely to use it to defend himself than to attack outright. He wore a belt, slung low around his hips, which had several pouches attached to it. He couldn't wear a knapsack and risk interfering with his flight, so this was the best solution. The pouches contained food and a skin of water, as well as a cleansing agent, should anything...impure touch them. A flute hangs from his belt also.

Dante's wings twitch somewhat impatiently as he waits for Lailah. Briefly he worries about what they might talk about, but the advantage to being him is that he doesn't have to talk about anything. He imagines this trip to be swift and business-like. He hopes it will be, anyway.  

[Teigra]

Nodding briskly, Lailah turned back to her room, mentally checking off the things she might need for the trip. Her last trip had been lesson enough for her...her weapons were going with her this time, even if they only provided her support by being there. Didn't mean she was going to jump to use them, just...have them with her. Just in case.

While she hoped this would be a reasonably quick trip, best to plan for the unforeseen. A canteen, some dried rations, and a few rolls of bandages were shoved into a couple of pouches that easily laced onto the belts that held her sheathed blades on either thigh. If nothing else, she looked prepared for a day's foraging or hunting in the jungle. Perhaps a little under-prepared in that case. Good, best appear less prepared than over prepared when venturing into unknown territory.

Supplies gathered rather swiftly, Lailah took a moment to focus on putting her hair up, safely out of her face for flying and fighting...if need be. It was time better used to get her mind in the right place for a mission. Calm, rational, prepared for whatever situation might arise. With a final check, she took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then headed for the front gate. Finding Dante waiting there, she wasted no time in nodding towards the drop-off outside the gate. "Ready?" She spread her wings with a feathery rustle in preparation to take off.
 

[Menelie]

"Ready," signs Dante. He spreads his wings and takes a running leap off the drop-off. Perhaps he's showing off a little. But only a little. Besides, he knows he's a competent flyer. It's a beautiful day, with only a soft breeze. Piece of cake.

Flying down to the island is nowhere near the chore that flying back up to the City is. It's mostly floating and controlling the descent. Gravity would do the rest. He tries to keep the wingbeats to a minimum, to conserve his strength for the trip back up. And the trip down seemed to get shorter every time he made it.  

[Teigra]

Lailah was shortly behind in her takeoff dive, letting Dante lead the way on this little adventure while she kept her eyes peeled for any signs of danger. Whether he was attempting to show off or no, she didn't notice. She could fly well enough, and what time she'd spent with Katya as of late...

Well, it was hard for Lailah, who already pushed herself to improve with all things physical, to watch such a natural aerobat at work without pushing herself just to keep up, even if she couldn't manage some of the fancier maneuvers.

The trip down to the Isle was relatively uneventful in and of itself. Shifting her wings slightly to ride the currents down, picking up a thermal here and there to boost her altitude, then resuming the gradual descent once she'd refocused on their goal, Lailah spent more effort on her watch than on actually flying. This was the easy part. She wanted to be as alert and ready as possible when they reached their goal.

In the midst of the thick jungle of Loka Nei, the single clearing stood out like a blighted spot on a fertile landscape. Perhaps not such a far-reached analogy. There was certainly something strange about the location. Strange and unnatural, even if to the naked eye, it appeared benign.

Gave Lailah the creeps.

The angel gave the clearing a pass over first, noting that the area seemed clear of other Pae at the moment, then wheeled around to make her landing in the center, far away from the treeline. Turning towards her comrade, she said simply, "Alright, we're here. Just need some wood for a rod, right?" Was that really all the specifics they had to work with?

Constantly, her golden eyes were tracing the line of trees around the edge of the clearing. If anything were going to come at them, it would have to come from the trees. Most likely.
 

[Menelie]

Dante lands quietly and surveys the area. He holds his staff at the ready, just in case there were fey winged creatures about. He swallows nervously. He can feel the magic pulsate through the area. Whether he actually feels it, or because he expects the magic to be palpable is irrelevant.

Glancing at Lailah to make sure she'd landed safely, he nods at her question. "Wood, right," he signs. But the instructions had said magic wood. Hadn't they? He'd read the missive a thousand times already, he ought to have it memorized. Surely just any old twig wouldn't do.

The sight of two oddly-colored trees at the far ends of the clearing sends a shiver up Dante's spine. Awful, unnatural things. Twisted and misshapen from the magic in the clearing. Eugh. "Look," he signs, pointing at them. "Magic trees, magic wood?"  

[Teigra]

Lailah's attention was pulled away from her companion for the moment, so she missed some of his initial signing. She had noticed the trees while she'd been scanning the perimeter of the clearing, but only turned back to Dante when he finished pointing to one of them. Even if she'd missed his actual question, the implication was clear.

"They do seem to stand out, don't they? What the hell are they?" she muttered, turning a suspicious eye on one of the trees. Not like anything she'd ever seen in the City gardens, that was for sure. Still, if they were sent here for something special, wouldn't it make sense if it were something that stood out as being abnormal?

Unless it was all a trap of some sort.

Warily, Lailah neared the tree at the north end of the clearing. As she got closer, the tree seemed to grow exponentially in size. Unnerving magic. What had seemed a small sapling from a distance revealed itself to be a full-sized tree the closer one got. This had to be magic; it was no mere trick of perspective. Her hand slipped towards one of her blades, resting reassuringly against her thigh. If this was what they were here for, they just needed to hurry up, grab a sample from the tree, then get out of here. She wouldn't say it was easy...no use cursing things this late in the game.
 

[Menelie]

Dante follows Lailah as she approaches the tree. He tries to stay behind her without...appearing to hide. Not that he was hiding, of course. It just made sense to put the one more given to violence out in front, didn't it? He can't help but be awed by the tree once they near it. This was no mere illusion...this was powerful, foreign magic. Knew I didn't like faeries, he thinks to himself, swallowing nervously.

While Lailah's hand goes to her knife, Dante grips his staff tightly. It has a longer reach than Lailah's blade, but it didn't have the same wounding power should they need it. The tree makes him more and more unsettled the closer they get. It seemed like it was alive. Other than the obvious life that a normal tree has, of course. Like something was living within it. Writhing beneath the bark like a sinister presence. Guardians preserve him!

Wary of cutting into the magicked tree, Dante begins to search the ground for a branch or a twig that may have fallen from it. There had been a storm semi-recently, after all. Something must have fallen, some kind of debris. Looking at the ground keeps him from contemplating the tree too closely. Keeps him from getting too creeped out.

Oddly, though, there isn't any debris around the base of the tree. None at all, in fact. Not even a stray twig or acorn. It's as if someone...or something...was cleaning up out here. The thought sends a shiver up Dante's spine. "Magic tree....evil?" he signs to Lailah. He wonders what she's thinking at this moment.  

[Teigra]

Lailah's golden eyes were scanning for any movement as they neared. Nothing yet, but when Dante signed something else, her eyes flicked towards him and she snorted softly in reply. "Maybe," she answered in a whisper. "These are things supposedly tied to elements...as the heretics claim to be. Makes sense it'd be evil if they had anything to do with it."

She'd had no more luck than Dante in finding a convenient fallen branch on the ground to collect some wood from. Suppose that left the tree itself. Well, not exactly the sort of work she preferred doing with her blades, but at least she was equipped for the situation, if need be.

Unwilling to hang around the strange tree for longer than necessary, she hissed softly to Dante, "Keep an eye out." She unfurled her wings and drew her blade in a single motion, leaping into the air with a few flaps to reach a low branch. Creepy as it was, their intention here was not to purposefully damage odd trees, so she looked for a thin section as far as she could reach safely before taking a couple of samples. Hopefully that was all that they needed.

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

Dante kept his eyes casting about for danger as Lailah shimmied up the tree to take two cuttings. Perhaps it's the nature of the forest itself, but he could swear he felt eyes on him. Must be a heretic trick. Who knew what sort of evil magics they could use!

Both samples taken, Dante became eager to leave this place. "Hurry," he signed to Lailah, "Climb down and let's go!" This had been far too easy so far--better to leave before it became complicated. Visions of bewitching, perfect faeries danced at the edge of his consciousness. They were dancing, their bodies moving seductively, tempting him.

He shook his head and rolled his shoulders, fixing his gaze on Lailah. That was why he brought her, after all.

Teigra

 

[Teigra]

The fortunate thing about being rushed by someone who couldn't speak? If you didn't look at them, it was so much easier to ignore them. Lailah pointedly kept her eyes on what she was doing, more so than she really needed to, as an excuse to ignore Dante's rushing. She was doing all the work here, after all. Not like he was contributing...

Ugh, supposed he was watching out though. That was something. Taking the two leafy switches she'd cut in one hand, she rolled backwards off the branch where she'd seated herself to work. Her feet tumbled over her head and the rotation ended with her feet hitting the grass below, the angel poised in a crouch. Needless, yes, but fun. She grinned as she stood, moving towards Dante before she noticed the residue left on her hands. Eww. It was all...sparkly and powdery where she'd touched the tree. Wait...did that mean...

Twisting to look over her shoulder and holding back one leg, Lailah verified that she indeed had sparkly crap all over her thigh and backside. Wonderful.

Rolling her eyes, she shoved one of the cut switches at Dante and grumbled, "Come on, let's get out of here."

Menelie

 

[Menelie]

"The sooner the better," signed Dante, spreading his wings. He kept scanning the tree line around them, half-expecting savage fey creatures to attack them from within its depths.

"Ech," he signed, making a face at Lailah. "You have...ech...all over you!" He hadn't really had a cause to invent a sign for "sap" yet, so this would have to do. He wasn't even sure that counted as sap, considering how...shimmery it looked. "Make sure you wash when we are home," he advised. The magical trees' inner fluid was doubtless even more concentrated. He certainly didn't want any of the sparkling goo on him.

"Ready?" he signed. Better if they took off at the same time, so if anything were lying in wait in the trees they couldn't ambush the one of them left on the ground.

Teigra