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 Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:39 pm
He hung up the phone as he turned his head to face the clock, a pale humor creeping across his cheeks as all the color drained down towards the collar of his shirt. Already dark circles were threatening beneath his eyes which were red from worry, and after taking a deep breath Piero turned to face three sets of eyes that seemed to mirror his own expression.
"They...they still have not found her."
"What?! It's been almost six hours, she can't have gotten far from where she was!"
Lune balled his fists as he yelled at the man before him, his hand lashing out as he swung his arm to the side.
"Are those bastards even looking for her?! She sticks out look a damn sore thumb thanks to her appearance!"
"The police are doing everything within their power to locate her, but the sun is going down and they are unable to search well in the dark. They have scent dogs out looking for her as well but everything is coming up cold. It is almost like the dogs cannot trace her scent."
The man slumped down in his chair, the color that had faded from his face moving to fade away from his hair. The brown was slowly being swallowed by silver starting from the roots, a crackling sound being heard as it progressed. With his mind in such a daze from all the phone calls, all the hours spent chasing, Piero could no longer focus on keeping the thoughts of his house outside of his mind.
The troubled state he was in echoed about through the power of the "deal", sending his emotions across to each of those who held 'proof', and in turn each one felt the unease of the current Master. For some it was like a dull ache, a small burn that crackled and caused their marks to glow and burn, while to others it acted like a beacon that something was wrong.
When Houkan felt his eyes smart and water he knew the distress was real, the panic was real. Pasayo was still missing after having run off, and once more it had been his fault.
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:18 pm
The wind whipped eerily through the moon lighted trees as Toulouse made his way down an unfamiliar track. Atticus, his black Dane, woofed at shadows and chased the leaves. The air smelled heavily of the fresh smell of soon to come rain. It was almost hard to breath.
This was not the first night Toulouse had taken to venturing alone. He had done so very often after the ill fated death of his lost companion, Icarus. It was as if by haunting the place where he fought and died, Toulouse would somehow be able to alleviate his regrets and serve penance for adding to his abominable crimes.
The forested whispered around the golden Ashe like water around stones as he continued easily on his way to nowhere in particular. He sighed, jamming his hand into his pocket feeling the thin chain that he always carried with him. It offered him little comfort.
On and on Toulouse went, the night growing older and older around him. Atticus bounded far ahead of him, darting through the trees like a black ghost. His barking was happy at first, but as Toulouse lost sight of his dog, it became more frantic, distressed somehow.
Suddenly, the chain in his pocket glowed bright red in a burning color. Toulouse was ripped with an anguish so strong that he staggered. The wind screamed in his ears urging him on to some unknown fear as the chain pulsed with an urgently glowing light.
Toulouse broke into a frantic run to nowhere, following the high pitched barkings of Atticus and being leading by the anguish of the burning chain in his hand.
Something was horribly wrong.
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:45 pm
The air was cold and damp where she lay, a thin fog swirling about her body and covering parts of it thick enough to almost hide them amidst the shadows. It did not matter what it covered though, her legs or arms made no difference, as the young girl could not even move her head to see where they may be. She could only go on feelings of pain to let her know things were still attached and that she was still alive despite all that had come to pass on her.
The fall. Impact. So much blood.
It seemed like a blur now that all had come to pass, Pasayo having come to a strange and unsettling peace with her situation, and as her eyes stared up towards the darkness that she assumed lead to the sky above she could only feel a sense of calm inside her heart that twisted and turned as a feeling of panic tried every now and them to intercede.
From where she lay she could not hear the sounds of the night creeping over the grounds above her, the sky fading into a darkness that was soon blanketed by thick clouds chocked with rain. As a few drops moaned their way free from the barrier that held them captive they started their decent towards the ground, messy drops that splattered against the disturbed mound of leaves and brush like an unruly child to a mud puddle.
The trickle was slow at first as it took the rain a while to find the route it wanted to use as a means of an invasion into a place that had been sealed not too long ago with debris, but as the cloud let loose their heavy loads it started to pour down in stead streams that echoed against the rocks as they made themselves like waterfalls.
She could not move from her spot on the ground even as the water dripped about her frame, small puddles collecting and running into large red lakes that were in various stages of creation. As drops fell onto her head the small child became more aware of what was going on above, her eyelids opening and closing in an attempt to fight off any unwanted droplets against the tender flesh of her eyes, and the sense of calm was replaced with intense and mounting fear.
She could drown. She would drown.
" . . . . "
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:08 pm
The sky ripped open angrily, spilling it’s contents onto the earth below. Thunder rumbled in the distance as if, it too, were leading Toulouse on to something tragic. He raced through the trees with all the grace and power of his kind. Atticus was still far ahead offering a frantic barking whine now and again, spurring the blond on faster.
Soon, the rain was gushing down on him in torrents. Even the thick canopy of leaves above him could not seem to keep Toulouse from getting soaked to the bone as he ran. His mind whirled frantically as his heart beat heavily in his chest trying to tell him something that he had yet to discover. The path he had been following ended abruptly at the foot of a fallen tree. Toulouse scrambled over the dead copse desperately trying to move ever quicker.
Finally, Toulouse made it to Atticus. The dog was crouched to the ground at the mouth of a gaping hole, whining quietly now. The world seemed to take a breath as Toulouse stilled, not wanting to look into the darkness of the abyss before him. He heard nothing but his own harsh breathing. There was no sound. No wind or rain or trees. It was just him staring into the nothingness, fearing what he would find.
Piero’s chain flared brightly and the night with all it’s sounds began anew. Toulouse shook off lethargic feel that had overtaken him. He ran, stumbling to his knees at the edge of the hole. He peered into the darkness and saw nothing but an impregnable black depth.
“H-hello?” He whispered before realizing. It seemed he expected some great beast to leap out at him. Encouraged by the way Atticu moved to him to sit by him, Toulouse steeled himself for reality and called out again.
“Is anybody there?”
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:27 pm
. . . there . . . .
A voice echoed down the hole towards where Pasayo's body lay, her eyes still wide open as she stared upwards. Her mouth was slightly ajar though no sounds but a guttural rasp from her throat issued forth, and as soon as the words reached her ears and ran about her skull warm tears started to well at the corners of her eyes. She was unsure how she was able to cry in this situation, seeing as she thought she may have been dehydrated by now and behind the capability to produce tears, but as they trailed over her ears and onto the ground she found out she could still do so.
"...g...g...s....s....."
She could only makes sounds with her body as it was, weak sounds that would not catch the ears of any human in the area, yet still she mourned her pain and the hopelessness that came with her situation. Pasayo was so far down that no one was going to be able to get to her, let alone be able to grab her and then leave with her in their possession. It was impossible.
Inoru had died this way - she had died this way - and it was going to happen again even though someone had found her.
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 8:43 pm
Toulouse leaned despairingly over the hole looking for any sign of life. Why had he come to this forsaken place if there was nothing to be found? He strained his ears against the clattering of the rain against the trees. Had he heard something? Had a voice drifted up from that darkness? He wasn’t sure and peered on for a moment longer with the chain ever burning and chinking in his pocket like a live snake.
He had to go down there he decided. Toulouse’s mind would not be calmed until he had done otherwise. Whether the hole was occupied or not, he had to go down it if only to see. A burst of lightening illuminated the clearing and still Toulouse could not see what was in the mouth of the earth. He had made up his mind.
“Get help Atticus.” Toulouse whispered to his companion. The Dane licked his beloved Master’s face in kinship, offering the knowledge that he would succeed in bringing back help. Atticus only bounded away back into the night when his Master jumped into the cavernous hole.
Toulouse slid down into the earth, his hands scrabbling for purchase against the bleeding walls of mud. There was nothing to hold onto but Toulouse clawed his fingers into the earth, ripping his nails to bleeding nubs as he slowed his decent. If he only he had been an adult in his full power, then he would have floated lazily down. As it were he could only fall with some measure of control.
The golden Ashe landed with a squelching thump into ankle deep water. It was darker still in the belly of the earth and he could see nothing. Groping about carefully with his hands, he searched for anything that had distressed him so. His battered hands found a soft, half-cold lump. He knew the feeling of that tiny body, had seen it many times in daylight.
Toulouse uttered a keening cry of disbelief. Pasayo.
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 9:01 pm
No, no no. Do not come, do not come! You will not be able to get out!
Pasayo thoughts screamed a message towards whoever was making their way down her as soon as she heard the sounds of dirt being moved and a body making an effort at something, her heart pounding in her chest as she felt the urgent desire to try and prevent someone else from getting trapped, but alas there was nothing she could do. She heard feet come into contact with the water that had already risen to the sides of her face as entered her ears, now muffling things and replacing them with a sensation she recognized from the times she would play around in the bath tub.
Leave please, go just go. I cannot be taken from here-
Her thoughts stopped as a pair of hands descended onto her frame and a cry was uttered in a voice she knew all too well - a voice that echoed sometimes in her dreams at night. It could not have been him, it should not have been him. Not Toulouse!
"t t.. ..se.. .!"
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 9:42 pm
“Oh sweet merciful heaven’s!” Toulouse moaned as his hands continued to gently probe Pasayo. Her wounds were severe, that much he could tell. Even in the dark, he knew her fragile body had been broken nearly to pieces. He barely even heard her pitiful syllabic uttering. “It’s okay.” He soothed. “I’m here. I’m here.”
Toulouse stripped off his jacket to the dryer clothing beneath proceeding to yank those off as well. He picked up Pasayo’s light form as gently as he could, bundling her into his shirt in a mocking semblance of warmth. He probably shouldn’t have picked the girl up in her current state, but he couldn’t bear not to.
The Ashe wondered frantically how Pasayo could have gotten into such a hellish place. He hugged Pasayo close, shivering, not from cold, but from the sense of the horrible things that could have happened if she had been lost until morning. Toulouse's heart skipped a beat at those morbid thoughts and he trembled.
The tears came quickly to Toulouse’s blue eyes, clouding them in mist. He stood up with Pasayo clutched close as he tried to find a way out from the muddy prison.
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 10:39 pm
No no, Toulouse - run away. Put me down and save yourself -
Over and over that phrase ran itself though Pasayo head instead of out of her mouth, the only sounds she was still able to make were gasps at best. When Toulouse had lifted her into his arms she cried out in pain, her body making noise based on animalistic instinct now more than a sign of discomfort, and as he pressed her close to his side her small frame began to shake from shock.
Earlier she had been so calm that she had probably already entered shock and hadn't realized it, only now the effects coming to her thanks to the sudden movement and overwhelming emotions that occurred in the past few moments. Blood from wounds that had dried now protested against their make-shift dams and threatened to open once more, and inwardly the little girl continued to plead for Toulouse to get out on his own.
"Save....self...."
"No, no, I...I still have not found her."
He held the phone close to his face, his hand covering one of his silver eyes that still stung with each blink. They were watering both from frustration and from pain, the rain that poured down on him only adding to the mix, and Houkan ran his fingers through his hair as he continued to run.
He had not stopped running since Pasayo went missing earlier, her little temper tantrum not resulting in how he and his older Brother had expected it to. Normally she would have stomped off and then come right back in tears with apologizes, but when after thirty minutes she did not return . . .
"The police have stopped for now, but I am going to continue. Yes, yes, we will find her. We...I have to find her."
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 11:27 pm
“No.” Toulouse contradicted sympathetically. “I’m saving you right now.” He held Pasayo closer, feeling the child’s tremors as he tried to offer as much of his remaining warmth as possible. It was cold in the deep cavern with the rain pouring down in endless sheets. Toulouse had to get Pasayo out as quickly as possible and to a doctor.
The Ashe looked up and the sky seemed miles away from him. A tiny dot of night. The walls rose around him in an unbroken line of flat, oozing mud. He had no rope or foliage to help him in his escape. His powers were pathetically limited even now. For a moment it seemed hopeless that he was ever going to get out with Pasayo alive.
Toulouse would get out! He had to for Pasayo’s sake. There was no one to save them now. Toulouse had to do it himself. Gritting his teeth with a determination he had not felt for years, Toulouse kicked of his shoes and socks, preparing to climb.
The mud ran slick between his fingers, trying to deter him, but Toulouse pressed on. With one hand he held Pasayo close, and with the other, he began to make his ascent after many false starts. He climbed in a blind passion, digging his hand and feet into the permeable wall of muck. The dirt and grim oozed over him and Pasayo, covering them both is a thick layer of sludge. It was everywhere in his eyes and nose and mouth, but Toulouse shook it off.
With great effort after what seemed like years of an endless climbing, Toulouse collapsed on the ground. His muscles burned as he heaved desperately for air as the rain poured down on him, uncaring. He kept Pasayo resting on his chest and as soon as he had enough energy to stand we would take her away from this awful place.
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:48 am
Why was he doing this? He should have left alone at the bottom of that hole, left her to slowly die and decompose like before. It was okay for her to do that again, as she felt it would not be as lonely now that she had memories to keep her company until her passing, but when Toulouse had lifted her into his arms and started a strange climb to get them both out she felt more terrified than she had been simply lying there.
The taste of mud and dirt coupled with sweat and ran poured into her slacked jaw as the man who refused to release her tried to climb, her body stiffer than a board in his grasp lest she cause them both trouble, but despite her best efforts Pasayo still twitched from the movements of her muscles as they suffered into states of shock and suspension. Hopefully the motions were not too great and as Toulouse made his way upwards she confirmed them as little trouble, and when the pair finally broke the surface she felt her insides jump.
Out. Out. Safe.
The rain poured down on the pair, more on Toulouse than PAsayo since he was covering her frame, washing away what grime had accumulated during their accent. It struck her face like tiny little daggers of reality, reminding her that she did not die in the cave and was being held close to a warm body, a body that had remembered her without her even having to speak. Soon her tears were mingling with the drops, adding their own mixture of salt with the taste of nature, and if she could have vocalized her sorrow and relief she would have.
Instead she moved her arm, her good arm, and placed it on the front of Toulouse's shirt over his heart with her fingers curling into the fabric as the fist bunched itself.
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 2:27 pm
Toulouse lay panting, drawing breath after frantic breath urging his tired legs to carry him on. He clutched Pasayo to his breast, feeling her child’s hand lay over his heart. Whether in gratitude or pain he did not know and his heart did not care as it beat against the cage of his chest as if willing Pasayo to take it up in her hand.
Curling around the dark skinned girl, Toulouse cradled her so still form and wept for her and with her. How could such a thing have happened to her? Where was Peiro with all his magic or his brother, Houkan? What were they thinking? A burning fury overtook Toulouse. He was angry at the brothers for leaving their girl child to such a fate. How could they? How could they!
Taking a calming breath, Toulouse pushed his anger down. He had no right to be angry. Had he not left his sisters to a similar fate? Toulouse had let them die. Pasayo would not die and the brothers would not mourn for her death as he, Toulouse, had mourned for his sisters. This was something he had to do. Perhaps by saving Pasayo from death he would maybe start to atone for his unforgivable sins.
No. There was no forgiveness left for him, only the hope that Pasayo would live.
Moving, Toulouse staggered up from the ground. He looked, as if through a haze, at the rain clogged forest. Where was he to go now? A doctor. He had to find a doctor. Stumbling, Toulouse lurched forward in the direction Atticus had run. The blond clasped Pasayo in his arms as he slowly made his way from the pit and from Death who had tried to claim Pasayo.
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 11:54 pm
"-yo! Pasayo!"
A voice thundered through the woods as Houkan's legs carried him faster and faster behind a dog that had appeared before him so suddenly, a dog that he had never seen before but knew by way of reputation and Pasayo's ever joyous descriptions of the canine. She had gone on and on about the beast ever since the time the trio had gone to the park and she had first seen the creature, and when she had told him the dog belonged to Toulouse he knew right away that this being could be trusted.
"Pasayo! Pasayo!"
The tones of his call were carried on the wind and rain towards their final destination, the pair of crying Fae Ashe that were wearily waiting near the lip of the cave. Pasayo had not moved an inch in Toulouse's arms, her hand still on his chest over his heart with her fingers still balled into a tiny fist.
"To....se..."
She was willing him to stop moving, his exhaustion so apparent that both of them would be hurting and perhaps even dead before this was all over with. Pasayo was not hurting as much as she head before, the only feeling in her body being a chill and the dizziness that oft came before she fell asleep, and her head lolled back and forth on her neck as she struggled to stay awake.
"Se....To..."
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:17 am
It was as if the very forest was trying to stop him from reaching his destination. The brambles that hugged the ground ripped at Toulouse legs and exposed arms while branches clung to his hair. The teen shielded Pasayo from the worst of it, wondering how such a tranquil wood could become so vicious. Maybe it was the rain and maybe it was because Pasayo was so desperately hurt. Toulouse just couldn’t seem to go fast enough.
“You mustn’t sleep Pasayo. You have to stay awake!” Toulouse urged the child, feeling her head loll against his chilled arms. The teen knew she was trying to say something, but the words swung away from him just like Pasayo’s broken jaw.
Heart fluttering in his chest like a caged thing, Toulouse stopped dead his tracks panting quietly. Had he heard something? He couldn’t tell over the pattering of the rain and the pounding in his chest. The teen strained his ears, hoping to hear Atticus’ bark that signaled someone was coming.
The Ashe paused, caught between wanting to press on or staying put for a moment.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:49 am
"Pasayo! Pasayo!"
It was more like he was chanting her name now over and over, no other words daring to escape his lips as Houkan ran after the dog who now was barking ahead of him like he was alerting a group. He held the phone to his ear still, the tone nothing more than a dead signal indicating the rain had knocked out service and he was wasting a motion yet he could not pull the phone away. He was sure that on the other end was his brother holding the receiver in the same manner, he knew this as sure as the blood ran down his cheeks from his eyes that smarted with each blink.
"Pasayo! Toulouse!"
He added another name to the chant, the name of the owner of the dog, since he assumed that man would be wherever this dog was leading. Canines were smart beasts, anyone knew that, and he refused to believe this dog would take him anywhere else but to Toulouse's side.
" . . . . "
Why...why will he not listen to me? Can he not hear my voice although the wind is dying down?
Indeed it was, the rain lessening as well as the clouds overhead were blown away by a northwestern wind that howled about the treetops in a manner that was so similar to the day that Pasayo had been found for Piero.
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