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 Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:41 am
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:54 am
Wolf took in a deep breath of jungle air, everything smelt so exotic here that it filled her with vigor. All the colors were so bright and she was seeing shades on animals that she'd only ever witnessed on soquili kind. They were supposed to be out collecting treasure but Wolf suspected that by the end of the trip her bag was going to be filled with samples of plants and bird feathers to show her father. Carmine and Lorenna would still get their treasures but Wolf thought the amount of knowledge one could get from this place would be more valuable in the long run.
She was glad that Slipsand had decided to explore the surrounding areas. Right now the thought of being stuck inside some two-legger building didn't seem remotely appealing. The only problem was that she couldn't see anything that might be considered a treasure out her. Lots of sticks and a few pieces of sharpened stones but if they didn't find something more substantial than that Slipsand would be disappointed.
"This way." She said turning to walk between a narrow gap in the trees. It was overgrown now but it looked like it had been a path at one point. If they were lucky there might be some untouched ruins at the end of it.
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 10:21 am
Slipsand bounded after Wolf. About every few steps she stopped and looked at something on the ground. She wondered if they might find gold and treasure just scattered around! It sounded possible to her that some of the treasures might have worked their way out of the temple and into the area around it. She saw a green glimmer and ran over excitedly only to find that it was a beetle. The beetle shone just as gloriously as any emerald, but it was a beetle all the same.
"Do you think we should collect the shiny beetles?" she asked Wolf, dubiously. "I don't really want them, but maybe we could trade them to someone else?" She let out a small squeak as the beetle decided to climb up her leg. After a few moments of flailing it was thrown off into the undergrowth. "Anyone who would collect beetles is crazy!" she decided.
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 10:42 am
Wolf was forced to slow her pace several times. Once to accommodate Slipsand's shorter legs, again because the path wasn't clear, and once more because Slipsand kept stopping to look at everything. She wasn't in any particular rush but at the rate that they were plodding along they might as well have been standing still.
She came to a complete stop when Slipsand found a beetle and watched with amusement as she fought to get it off. "I agree." She said. "Why would anyone want a beetle? Even a shiny one?" Wolf certainly didn't. It would eat the plants she wanted to take home.
"I want the clicky clicky bug!" Raven announced flapping off of Wolf's shoulder to hop along the ground in search of more bugs. "They click and wiggle and snap and squish on their way to my belly~" He cackled clicking his beak before thrusting his head into a bush and coming out with a different beetle squirming about in his beak. In a flash he snapped it up. "Tastes like day old squirrel." He said merrily before returning to his place on Wolf.
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 12:59 pm
Slipsand laughed in delight at Raven's antics. That solved that question! Any more bugs she found she'd give to the bird to eat. Tasting interesting new things could be Raven's bounty from the journey! "Tell me if you have a favorite!" she told him. "I'll collect them for you if I see them!"
Now that she had finished looking at the beetle, she ran ahead looking for more interesting things. "How long are we gonna stay around here anyways?" She sniffed at a mottled flower but grimaced with distaste at the rotten smell. "It's really neat around here. I want to stay for a while!" She might even want to stay forever. She would leave with the Underground wherever they might go, though she hoped they might consider this as a new base of operations. She loved the heat and the humidity. Her skin didn't dry out nearly so fast here as out in the cold.
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:32 pm
Raven let out a warped version of a coo at Slipsand's thoughtfulness. Spreading his wings he leaped into the air currents and sailed his way down to the nixie. He took care when landing on her back reminding himself that this was not Wolf. Wolf was used to his talons and had formed rough spots to protect against them. With Slipsand he could probably cut her up without trying. "You're such a nice 'un." He said rubbing his head against her frill. It kind of felt like leaves. That was weird.
Wolf smiled at the kindness Slipsand was showing her bird. Most people hated him. Some even ran at his unusual appearance. In Carmine's little club they were all unusual though. In different ways, perhaps, but she doubted any of them could ever be fully accepted in normal society. Though Wolf couldn't quite see what the appeal to being normal was anyway. Settling into a herd and having a family didn't suit her. There was too much to discover.
"We're staying until everyone has what they want." She said silently agreeing with Slipsand. It was nice here. "A few days at least." Not everyone was quick to find things. Carmine had probably loaded her bag already. If anyone was going to find a large stash of treasure it would be Carmine.
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Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 2:44 pm
Slipsand stiffened at the claws scrabbling and tickling at her back but relaxed once Raven was settled. Sometimes she envied those of the herd that had their own familiars. She wanted one but had never managed to really bond to any wild animal she'd met. The trouble was finding something that could be with her both in and out of the water. The only thing she could think of that could do that was a frog... and she hadn't heard of any of them ever attaching to a soquili. She was happy that Wolf let her share Raven sometimes. She could at least pretend she had a familiar of her own.
"So if I take a year to find what I want, we'll stay here for a year?" She grinned cheekily at Wolf. "Because maybe it'll take that long! I'm reaaaaaaaally picky, y'know!" Nothing could be further from the truth, but bantering was fun. That was one thing that Slipsand liked about Xelloss following them around. He was quite a fun banter partner!
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Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 2:56 pm
Wolf just stared at Slipsand blinking for a few moments. She figured that the little mare was joking. The problem was Wolf didn't know how to joke back. That had always been Raven's department. A long silence settled around Wolf as she tried to think up a suitably amusing retort. Eventually she gave up. she wasn't funny and there was no point trying now.
"Lorenna would leave you." She said nodding her head. "Maybe push you down a hole and say you died so everyone would follow." It sounded like something Lorenna would do that was for sure. Or maybe her style would be more geared toward causing a cave in around one of the ruins. That involved less lying.
Raven cackled and tapped Slipsand on the head with his beak. "The nasty wingy one likes to be mean to little fishy fish." He chortled. "But maaaaybe you wants to see what nastiness she's got in her little head. Maybe it would be fun for the fishy to push the wingy one's buttons."
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:22 am
"Push me down a hole? The jerk!" Slipsand gave a melodramatic expression of sorrow. "After all I've done for her? Maybe I should get the piranhas to eat her. Fish like me, and I bet there are piranhas around here." Vindictively smug, she trotted along. She wasn't very keen on meeting the mean little biting fish, but she also hoped to see them at least once before leaving. She'd already seen a snake big enough to swallow her whole. She wanted plenty of stories to tell from this trip.
As if summoned, she saw the bank of a lake ahead of them. "Hey! Look at that!" Not caring if Raven got swept off, she dashed forward to the edge of the water. It wasn't too large a lake but was deep enough that she couldn't see the bottom. It faded into a deep and beautiful sapphire. All the colors in this place looked brighter than the ones back home. Could there be piranhas in there? Would they eat her if she stuck a hoof in?
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 3:28 pm
Wolf and Raven exchanged looks at the mention of piranhas. Wolf was intrigued by them but Raven hated the idea of flesh eating fish. To him fish were supposed to be hawk chow. "How would you get Lorenna to the water?" Wolf asked following the nixie. Lorenna was a bit cruel but she was smart. If there was anything suspicious about the water she'd likely toss a test subject in first.
As if by magic the brush opened up on a body of water right in front of her. If she hadn't heard about Slipsand's water finding fiasco when they'd been lost she would think that the little mare had some sort of water sensing ability. Wolf could do any treasure hunting in the depths but if the water wasn't stagnant she could get a drink and cool off a bit.
Raven squawked unhappily as Slipsand suddenly surged forward before opening his wings to catch the wind and fly back to his normal, stable perch; Wolf. He shuffled along her back and plucked at her mane to get her attention. "Not nice ridin the fishy horse." He said poking at the rough patch on Wolf's back with a claw. "Better here."
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 7:28 pm
Slipsand didn't even remark as Raven flapped back to Wolf. The first thing she did was sniff the mud under her hooves. Everything smelled different here. She thought she knew every type of water there was but this one smelled completely different. It didn't smell bad... but it just wasn't anything she was familiar with. She grew uncharacteristically still while faced with this great unknown. Turning, she looked up at Wolf.
"Do you think I should go in? There could be treasure down there, right?" She wished that she wasn't the only aquatic member of their team. Going down there with a partner wouldn't be nearly as weird as being alone. She mostly didn't believe that there was anything dangerous in the water, but there was enough of a chance to make her hesitate. At the very least, Wolf and Raven would be right there out of the water in case of emergency.
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 11:25 am
Slowly Wolf approached the waters edge and then, standing perfectly still, she began assessing it. The water was as still as she was and while it looked mostly clear at the surface it was a bit cloudy further down. Cautiously she bowed her head and sniffed at the water. It didn't smell rancid or particularly acidic, both good signs. The plant life growing around seemed to support the idea that it wasn't toxic.
Wolf backed away from the edge and started circling the perimeter. She could see animal tracks in the mud aside from their own. "It should be safe." She said finally returning to Slipsand's side. "You can check. I'll wait here. Be careful."
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:24 pm
"All right." It was time. This was exactly the sort of thing that Slipsand had come along on this trip for! She flashed Wolf a smile, forced herself not to think of what exotic monsters could be living in the water here, and dived in. Her vision filled with bubbles at first. They slowly cleared, spiraling their way back up to the surface of the water. Slipsand only waited a moment before pumping her tail and moving downward.
The water tasted clean and felt pleasantly cool against her sides. She looked around but didn't see any large creatures swimming along with her. What she did see was black catfish. The strange-looking fish swam slowly and didn't look like they viewed her as a threat. If they were so sluggish and peaceful it probably meant that this little pond was a safe place.
Above her, she could see Wolf blurred through the rippling water. She felt a little sorry for her companions, not able to follow her down into her aquatic adventures. She decided to try to be fast, so Wolf wouldn't have long to wait around for her. Turning down again, she quickly made her way to the stony bottom.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:48 am
Wolf watched closely as Slipsand disappeared beneath the surface of the water and monitored what she could see of her progress. She couldn't be certain what was going on, she had long since discovered that looking through water was not like looking through air. The liquid somehow managed to distort everything she saw until it was about the surface.
When Wolf could no longer see her friend she shifted to stand in a more comfortable position for waiting. All there was to do now was wait for Slipsand's return so to amuse herself she began examining the plants around the lake. The brightly colored flowers caught her attention the most, what were they? She'd have to grab a sample before she and Slipsand left this area.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 4:19 pm
Slipsand got to work. It was treasure hunting time! She used her hooves to push herself along the bottom, like someone weightless in outer space. There were rocks of all shapes and sizes but none that looked like they would be worth anything. There were even a few plants that she might have tried a bite of if she wasn't on a mission. What she hoped to find was a treasure chest, or something made out of solid gold. She had no idea how she'd drag something like that back up to the surface but was sure it'd be worth it in the end.
She didn't find either of those things, but she did find something that caught her eye. She drifted close to a twisted piece of metal sticking up off the lake bed. It had to be human-made whatever it was. It wasn't too hard to clear away the stones that covered it, though seeing it in full did nothing to help her puzzle out the identity of the object. Another glance around the lake showed her that there wasn't anything else more interesting down there. It was just her and the metal... something.
Might as well take it up and see what it is! The bit of it sticking up was the perfect size for her mouth. Slipsand grabbed onto it and began the awkward and arduous task of bringing it back up for Wolf to see. Whatever it was, it was a lot heavier than it looked...
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