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 Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 7:28 pm
Hours later when Aquamarine would wake up, he would find himself alone. Jet was supposed to be standing watch, was supposed to not wander off on his own, but for some reason he did just that.
He hadn’t wandered far. Just over the next hill just out of sight. The footprints in the dust had been mostly blown away, but Aquamarine would still be able to feel his aura at the very least.
At some point, Jet had collapsed. Why, he wasn’t sure. But his weapon was beside him and there was nothing but what looked like paw prints that circled him and left. He wasn’t injured, but passing out in the Rift was only asking for trouble.
Nearby there were creatures lurking in the shadows. Hungry? Curious? Whatever the case, Jet and Aquamarine weren’t alone.
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:14 am
Aquamarine awoke from his doze blurry eyed and unrested, unaware of how much time had passed or if he’d even gotten any sleep at all. He stared at the wall of the tent for a few moments, jolting further awake when he thought he saw strange shadows moving on the other side.
Perhaps it was his imagination, because it was gone by the time he sat up.
“Jet?” he called, just to be sure.
He received no answer.
“Jet.”
Before he could panic by the lack of response, Jet’s aura drifted into his awareness, still very much alive, and close enough to get a good feel for it, but more distant than it should be.
With a curse, Aquamarine crawled out of the tent, summoning his rapier once he was on his feet. He followed Jet’s aura at a steady pace and crested the hill, which he ran down as soon as he saw Jet lying on the ground. Aquamarine dropped to his knees next to him. He surveyed the area quickly — perhaps too quickly — to ensure they weren’t in immediate danger. Seeing nothing, Aquamarine turned Jet onto his back, then felt at his neck for a ******** idiot,” he said, half a grumble and half a sigh of relief. There were traces of blood on Jet’s face, but the only injuries he boasted were shallow scrapes, likely from his uncomfortable sprawl on the ground.
Aquamarine shook Jet in an attempt to wake him. “Jet. Jet! What the ******** do you think you’re doing?!”
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:34 am
Awareness came in blurs of color and sound. There was a voice that rang in his ears, a cold laugh, sharp teeth, and stars. Like he was looking into the galaxy itself. His eyes opened and for a moment he couldn’t move. The shape above him was different, like sunlight instead of darkness that blended in with the purple haze of the Rift. And after blinking his eyes a few times realized that it was Aquamarine looking down at him.
“Aqua… what are you doing?” he asked, confused. His head throbbed with the almost animalistic laughter again. It took another moment for him to realize he was on the ground, and quickly sat up.
Which was a mistake because his head was swimming. <********>,” he hissed and pressed a hand against his temple, as if doing so would make the world stay still. “Where are we?” he mumbled, still trying to get his bearings. Aquamarine had his weapon out, and his was next to him.
And then he realized that he was definitely not at the camp they’d set up.
“I didn’t do this on purpose,” he quickly said to Aquamarine before he started getting pissy with him, but Jet was already preparing for a lecture. “I swear. I just remember a voice and… waking up here.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:55 am
“You heard a voice,” Aquamarine said, low and sardonic, like he didn’t quite believe it.
He took a breath like he was gearing up for a lecture. Instead of ranting, Aquamarine held the air in his lungs for a few moments, then let it out in a gust that rustled the hair that always fell in his face. He shook it out of his eyes and sat on the ground, looking Jet over to make sure he had no injuries. Then he reached out to dab at some of the blood on the side of Jet’s face with the cuff of his jacket, brushing some random specks of dirt or crystal off of Jet’s cheek.
“We’re still near the tent,” he explained, motioning behind him. “It’s just over that rise. I woke up and you were gone. Didn’t hear anything, didn’t see anything, just noticed you were missing and followed your aura.”
Thank ******** for auras. Aquamarine didn’t relish the idea of wandering around on his own, searching for Jet some other way. They were lucky Jet hadn’t gone far and was still in range.
Aquamarine chose to believe Jet’s explanation, if only because it would take less energy than getting angry and yelling at him.
He’d save that for later. Maybe. Once they got home and didn’t have to worry about the dangers inherent in the Rift.
“Can you stand?” he asked, rising onto his own feet. He offered his free hand to Jet. “There are tracks around you. Something was here. It might still be around.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 12:39 pm
Jet braced himself, cringing as Aquamarine took a breath and… didn’t yell at him. Okay that was weird. He could have sworn that Aquamarine would have loved to yell at him, but instead he just tended to the injuries Jet wasn’t even aware he had. He knew his face hurt and his hands had been cut up by crystals when he fell, but other than that he wasn’t expecting the tenderness.
Maybe his sudden disappearance really freaked Aquamarine out. In which case he supposed he was grateful that it distracted him enough to not yell at him. Yet.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, although he held still for Aquamarine to dust him off. The tracks around him were concerning, as were the shadows nearby. “Yeah I think I can stand. Thanks,” he said as he reached up to take hold of Aquamarine’s hand, allowing him to help him up.
But then growling nearby had him stopping, and he recalled his weapon to his hand in an instant. Something was lurking in the shadows. Something that seemed to shimmer in the haze of the Rift, like a shadow itself covered in stardust.
“Just back off,” Jet said into the shadows. “We’re not here to fight.”
Unfortunately, it didn't seem as though the canine-like youma cared, and lunged forward at Aquamarine with its cheshire cat mouth open wide to reveal dozens of sharp teeth.
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 1:00 pm
Well, that explained the paw prints.
Aquamarine spat another curse and gripped his rapier, settling into a defensive position. He wasn’t in the mood for this. They’d been in here for hours that felt like days. He’d barely slept. These things were supposed to listen to them, yet they always seemed to run into the ones that couldn’t give a s**t every time they came in ******** dog,” Aquamarine said. “I ******** hate dogs.”
It wasn’t actually a dog, but it was close enough to count, in Aquamarine’s opinion. Maybe the fact that he didn’t care much for most animals explained why he didn’t care much for youma. They were like glorified pets, only they often posed more of a nuisance.
He kicked it instead of using his weapon right away, but the thing lept back and bared all of its teeth at him, snapping viciously.
“Stand down, you ugly piece of s**t,” Aquamarine warned it. Maybe he’d have better luck if he showed it more respect, but it was attacking him and he had no desire to deal with it. “Come at me again and I’ll be shoving a sword down your throat.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 3:42 pm
The youma didn’t seem to care that it was being kicked. In fact it seemed thrilled. It circled them, despite the fact that they were Generals and had weapons. It grinned brightly for a youma, its teeth seeming to go all the way through its skull with how many there were. Its fur didn’t seem like fur at all, but like night, and it shimmered with stars that didn’t exist.
Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
Jet heard the voice in his head. Or was it spoken out loud? He couldn’t tell, but he glanced to Aquamarine to see if he’d heard it too. The youma seemed to be looking directly at Aquamarine, more interested in him than Jet.
“Just don’t attack us again,” Jet frowned as he watched it c**k its head to the side, twisting almost unnaturally.
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 4:23 pm
Okay, so there was a voice in his head.
The youma was a dog… wolf?... something of darkness and stars. And it could speak directly into his mind. Which shouldn’t be surprising given that Aquamarine had earrings that allowed him to do that very thing, but still. It was very disconcerting when it came from a youma.
A youma that just attacked him.
Creepy ******** kept on his guard, rapier held before him, feet planted firmly on the ground.
“That depends on where you want to go,” he said.
He considered asking Jet if this was the voice he claimed to hear before, but he wasn’t sure if that was a conversation to be having at this precise moment. Clearly, they should have been wearing the damned earrings. They would have, if they didn’t have to conserve their use.
“We’re not here to bother you,” Aquamarine continued. “Mind your own ******** business and we’ll mind ours.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:45 pm
The youma seemed to yip with delight, its teeth still barred as it prowled. It blended into the shadows except for its show of teeth.
I don’t much care where so long as I get somewhere.
Jet didn’t know what to think of the youma, but Aquamarine seemed to hear it as well. “Then go somewhere,” Jet suggested, which didn’t seem to get as much of a reaction as Aquamarine’s comment.
He took a step back, his own weapon pointing towards the youma. Behind them were other youma creeping in the shadows. Pack mentality? They didn’t care if they were Generals if they came in large numbers? This could be bad for himself and Aquamarine if these youma decided to attack.
“Aqua…” he warned him of the shadows, but the canine seemed to be corralling them towards it, like a sheepdog.
Damn the Rift for not letting them teleport.
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:03 pm
Aquamarine soon suspected that this dog was mocking them. It seemed far too amused, teeth sharp and menacing in a mouth stretched wide — almost horrifyingly so.
He flicked his gaze to Jet, then behind them briefly, turning to the side so he could more easily keep track of the single youma in front him them, and the pack behind them. His steps were cautious, slow, and just wide enough to keep what he hoped was a safe amount of distance between them and the strange, starlit creature. Each move took them closer and closer to whatever lurked in the shadows. If they shifted to either side, the dog youma compensated for the difference.
This was not going to end well, Aquamarine assumed. Unless the dog youma grew bored or decided to leave them be, they would have to fight their way ******** this,” Aquamarine said.
He wasn’t about to wait around to be attacked again.
With practiced speed, he reached behind himself to unsheathe his dagger, throwing it at the dog with trained precision, then adjusting his defensive position to account for the pack in the shadows, assuming they would be on the both of them any second now.
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 1:52 pm
Jet watched as Aquamarine stepped forward to make the first move and threw the dagger at the youma, but instead of hitting the youma, it embedded into stone where the youma supposedly just was. The shadows had shifted, and apparently the youma shifted along with it.
And it laughed. If a dog could laugh, this was what Jet imagined it would sound like, at least.
With Aquamarine dealing with the youma in front of them, Jet turned with his weapon to face down the creatures hiding in the shadows behind them.
But nothing was there.
An illusion? Did they all disappear? Now the shadows just appeared to be normal shadows. And when he turned back to the stardog youma, only the glow of its teeth remained briefly before it too disappeared.
“What the <********>...” Jet hissed, both disturbed by the strange setting they were in, but also because this youma seemed to be toying with them. Well, this was the Rift. And strange things happened in the Rift.
“Come on, let’s get out of here before it comes back,” Jet suggested to Aquamarine as he took a few moments to dust what was left of the dirt and crystal that stuck to his uniform.
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 2:07 pm
Aquamarine stared around the area, searching for the dog youma and whatever had been in the shadows behind them, expecting something to jump out at them any second, but nothing materialized. He listened carefully, waiting for another laugh or growl, or paw steps to help them determine where the youma had gone.
There was nothing. Just the distant sounds of the Rift’s version of weather.
“Stupid ********...” he began to curse, trailing off into unintelligible grumbling.
Aquamarine resummoned his dagger and sheathed it behind him, but kept his rapier in hand in case they needed to defend themselves on the way back to their small camp.
They’d barely been in here a day, and already it was ridiculous.
“Are you okay?” he asked Jet, eyeing him carefully.
Neither of them had been harmed by the youma, but Jet still bore scrapes along his face from his undignified meeting with the ground earlier. However that happened. Clearly it had been a bad idea to let Jet take first watch. Now Aquamarine was never going to get any sleep, too afraid that Jet would wander off again if left to his own devices.
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 3:16 pm
Jet heard Aquamarine ask him if he was okay, but he didn’t answer right away. He didn’t know. There was something weird about that youma, like it was toying with them on purpose.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jet said after a moment, and turned to Aquamarine to make sure he was prepared to head back towards their camp they’d made. He didn’t know why he’d passed out, or what that youma was, but he was glad that Aquamarine was there. If he hadn’t been there, Jet wasn’t sure what would have happened.
“Thanks,” he said, his voice quiet. He knew he didn’t have to thank Aquamarine, but Jet felt like he’d been frozen. It was only Aquamarine who had the resolve to fight back when being corralled into danger that apparently wasn’t real. Or maybe it was and they just didn’t understand how the Rift worked.
Either way, he hoped they wouldn’t see that youma again.
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