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 Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:29 am
Looking around the group once more, wondering who else had been affected by whatever had affected Jericho (and how badly) Astra seemed to brighten up a little as she noticed Pedro was here as well, the one who had stood up for her when she tried to steal Jericho's eggs. She was very grateful to him for doing that, and his presence here now was a blessing (he didn't seem to be as bad off as jericho was, either)
Trying to keep up with everyone, she fell into place beside Him, although for a minute she was unsure what to say. What was there to talk about when you had reapers and fog and people being scared out of their wits
"...How..are you fairing?" she eventually asked.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 6:54 am
((ooc: poke, it's Petro, with a T :3 ))
Petro had been trying to keep an eye out for anything suspicious that might have been following them. So far, so good, there was nothing to report on their hurried trek towards the lighthouse. He was starting to get used to being alone in the back, the position he'd taken upon himself from when it had just been Lizzy and the others. Still, he appreciated Astra's presence. At her question, he tried to give her a reassuring smile, "'M good." Then he frowned, "Better'n some of the others," he noted, eyes darting briefly towards Jericho and the student Riley had in her arms.
"How about y'? Y' ain't hurt are y'?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:04 am
Sheridan was perhaps the most quiet of the group, tail twitching as unspoken thoughts reeled through his mind. He had been greatly disturbed by the vision Mac had told them of, the idea that they were walking into a trap having seized hold of his mind. But what was the trap and what was it? Was the trap whatever specter's attempt to lure one of them off the cliff? Was it the note that had led them to this path? Was it something that still waited for them at their destination? Was it a trap they had all fallen into the moment they set foot on this island? Or was it something else entirely?
Beyond that, why had their instructors, the ones who should have been concerned for their safety, brought them here in the first place? Had they really been so oblivious to the danger this place held? Was it really possible they had all fallen prey to the whims of some dark game? It didn't seem possible, surely -someone- must have known better?
Getting lost in one's thoughts was surely a dangerous thing in this place. But Sheridan could not shake that thought at the back of his mind that there was something more, that they were all missing something.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:46 am
The comfort waves Riley had sent him were soothing, and the words Aksaja and Lizzy had to offered helped some as well. It wasn't real, but that didn't stop those images from being fresh in his mind. The things he had said to the pink haired demon... he remembered them. However, he wasn't quite so sure of himself anymore. It might have been a hallucination, but he was still completely powerless in it. He couldn't put up any sort of fight.
What if when it came down to it... the same would more or less happen?
Right about now, he felt like a pathetic little newborn hatchling that couldn't quite defend itself yet. And yet, he was a red dragon. He wasn't supposed to be scared of anything. He wasn't supposed to be defeated so easily..
As he was pulled up to his feet with help from the lightning dragon, his body still felt a little heavy. His gaze shifted over towards Riley briefly as she shrieked for them to get moving. It was probably a good idea to do that. He knew the mindflayer would be able to pull through for everyone.. but would he be able to? Around that time, Lizzy had returned to his side to help him out. While he wasn't hurt physically, he was still pretty shaken up from the experience.
It wasn't until they started moving again that he finally spoke up since he snapped out of his illusion.
"...Thanks guys.." he said quietly while keeping his gaze towards the path in the meantime.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:50 am
Jericho's little breakdown had cause Mac to stare. He gaped at the boil who was quite obviously experiencing something horrible; judging from the reactions, it was much worse than a little girl wanting you to take a swan dive off a cliff. After a moment he had to look away, forcing himself to lapse into his own thoughts, where the only things that could interrupt him were Lizzy whom had taken it upon herself to keep him moving whenever they needed to, or when that purple Demoness started to shriek in his mind.
Seriously woman, he's trying to think, gtfo nao plz.
"Alright, Bloody-jackin-Mary." He had snarked under his breath at the mental shriek to keep moving to the lighthouse; really, it was starting to get ridiculously annoying to him. So, he turned and wandered off towards the light house, not particularly caring how far ahead he had gotten from them, especially since Lizzy had let him go.
Mac took notice of Sheridan, the Dragon boil whose name he actually hadn't gotten yet, and realized pretty quickly how quiet he was being.
"Sucks being alone in your own thoughts, eh?" He said to the other boil, absently touching the thin, angry red line across his throat from where the cloaked figure had taken a swipe at him. Happy to feel that it wasn't still bleeding, he stuffed his hands into his still slightly damp jacket pockets, his wooden bat nestled in the crook of his arm.
"There's something else that's bothering me." He confided in the still nameless-to-him dragon, frowning uncomfortably into the fog ahead of them, moving surprisingly carefully should another cliff's edge sneak up on him. His goal was to find the light house, not take a beautiful, life-ending dive off of a high platform.
"Where are the Teachers? Each ship was Captained by one, I think...and I didn't see a single one at the beach, nor have I seen one since." Lizzy had mentioned it once after reading it in a note that he admittedly did not read, and he had been thinking about it; she was right, there weren't any. "If those things got them, then we don't stand a chance..." Mac was apparently now a Grim Reaper, what with the dismal air that was settling around him again.
He came to school to learn, not to die.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:13 am
"Think nothing of it..." She looked up, expecting to meet the red dragon's gaze; he had been silent for so long that she was just relieved to hear his voice again. When she realized that he was looking away to the path instead, she couldn't help frowning; what had he seen that was so terrible? It was rather heart wrenching to see him like this - if anything, she rather liked his confidence and attitude. Was it something that was so easily shattered? Unconsciously, she tightened her grip around his arm to comfort him, giving it a light squeeze.
"If you remember what you said, at least try to believe it," She said softly, not quite sure what's going on in his mind currently. She wanted to ask, but... They weren't that close, and she didn't want to pry too much. Beside, she felt uncomfortable with Aksaja around to listen to what Jericho has to say if he even wants to answer her.
"Because I believed, you know..." She murmured, lowering her gaze a little to the lighthouse ahead; the fog blocked it from view, but she could see the outline of it, "And... Its weird to see you like this..."
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:30 am
As Lizzy spoke up to him, he looked up towards her briefly before bringing his golden eyes back to the road. He didn't want to think that he was all roar and no flame, but right now that's just how it seemed. Even if it were an illusion, he should have been able to strike back.
She said she believed him, but now he wondered if it was really fair for him to have said all that in the first place. Jericho didn't want others to look up to him if he couldn't back his own words on how reliable he was. Would it be right to get their hopes up?
The dragon had fallen silent again, not really sure what to say right now.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 9:46 am
"'S kinda weird," Petro found himself remarking, to Astra and whoever else walking close enough to hear, "I mean, y' all signed up for the trip 'n got shipwrecked, so this all coulda been an accident. But why'd students who stayed behind got pulled here too?" He furrowed his brows. "Y' don't suppose the teachers had something to do with it?"
No, they couldn't have, could they? They would be around if things got too bad, wouldn't they? And things were bad. Real bad. The monster horse took a deep breath, grimacing as he continued to keep an eye out. No point in Petro thinking too hard. He should focus on what he can do. Should do. And right now, that was to get to the Lighthouse.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 10:06 am
His silence was worrying before, but it was even more worrying now because he acknowledged her words but failed to reply. She could only assume that it was due to him no longer believing in his own words, but... Its so frustrating to leave him as he is! He's a miserable, drowned puppy right now! He was like Mandy when they first met on the beach... He might feel warm on the outside but she couldn't help feeling that he was probably colder than she was on the inside.
So frustrating. Where's that spark now?
She frowned angrily, staring at the path in front of them, feeling more upset at herself than him; she didn't like feeling this helpless where a friend is concerned... He's better left to Riley, after all. She could probably get him to ta- Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, determined not to let her emotions get the best of her. She won't allow this island to transform her into someone she won't even recognize.
She started thinking about Amrita and Tess instead, which made her feel a lot better; they got through stuff together in the past. They might not be here with her now, but she'll get through this for them. They must be waiting for her to return in one piece, and she will... For now though, if Jericho wants to stay like a miserable puppy, she won't allow it. Ugh, time to ignore whatever awkwardness was around. Riley probably need him back right now. The him that was there when he rescued Amrita. The him that was there during the Christmas Raid.
Not the drowning-in-his-own-misery him.
"What exactly did you see?" She looked rather irritated but sounded rather worried; it was up to Jericho to interpret how she was feeling, although it really was a mix of the two. If he was drowning, she wants to throw him that float already.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 10:30 am
Jericho glanced up at Lizzy again as she asked him what he saw. He wasn't so sure that he wanted to say. Then again, maybe they wouldn't put so much hope into him if they heard how pathetic he was. Still, there was a sense of hesitation before he finally spoke up again.
"I saw my own death. The reaper killed me and I couldn't do so much as lift a finger to fight against it. No glory. No nothing," he sighed while looking away, "A red isn't supposed to go down that easy."
The dragon decided to leave out the gory details. Such as how his blood was everywhere and that his body ended up looking all skeletal and rotted. That part was just icing on the cake after all.
"He said he'd save me from having to lie to myself any longer..." he mumbled more quietly.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 10:41 am
Much better. That explained quite a lot, even if it was just more grim news.
"What was the difference?" She prodded him again, although her tone was much gentler than before; getting him to talk was making her less irritated at least. She loosened her hold on his arm as she looked up, her expression serious, "What was the difference between this death and that near death experience we had in school during that reaper attack? Your reaction is drastically different."
She then paused, her gaze steady as she stared at him; she would do that until he answers. It was always better to not bottle things up - especially something like this.
"And what lie did you tell yourself?" Another sensitive question, probably, and her voice was as soft as his mumble.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 10:50 am
"I was at least able to put up a fight. That's what. Here, my head was cut off and I couldn't do anything about it," he mumbled. The incident with the reaper on campus was humiliating as well, but that still felt different. Everyone was doing their hardest to take the guy down... they just failed. Though, thinking on that now didn't help with his current outlook on things.
Glancing at her again, he shifted his weight a little uncomfortably. It was apparent that Jericho was reluctant to answer her next question, mostly because he didn't think he was lying to himself about anything. But it was really hard to believe right now.
"Probably that I can actually do anything about any of this," he uttered lowly, "I think he might have been right."
Why else would he be powerless against the first reaper, and struggle so much against cloud-daggers when he attacked? He was really starting to think he was out of his league on this island.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:18 am
"If an enemy attacks us now, will you do anything about it?" It was one question after the other, but she was trying to make a point. She paused momentarily, "The Jericho I know will still fight, even if it seems hopeless. Sure, I haven't known you for very long but... You just seem like that sort of person. I'm not sure if you fight for yourself, to protect someone else or both, but... You'll still put up a fight, right?"
Another pause followed as she allowed him time to ponder her words before she spoke again, "Because right now, you look like you're ready to give up. The little girl that talked to Mac - told him that jumping down a cliff would be better than what we're about to face. Do you believe that?" She wondered if he would hate her after this, but decided that its worth it anyway. Its a wonder she managed to talk to him normally...
"You can't do anything about any of this. Don't be silly," She frowned, raising an eye brow, "I doubt any of us can... Its why we move as a group, right? We're supposed to be supporting each other here... And I think Riley might need her red dragon back. You look like... A drowned puppy right now. Its not as adorable as it sounds..." She couldn't help flinching slightly at the thought of "sending" him back to Riley, but it seemed like the right thing to do.
"I still believe in you, whether you believe in yourself or not."
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:24 am
It was Mac's words that finally pulled Sheridan from his thoughts. Damn, he really needed to not do that lest he walk right off the edge of a cliff or worse in his distraction. Pay attention Sheridan!
"I have been wondering about that as well. The trick or treaters have also gone missing."
And then what Petro had said caused him to stop dead in his tracks (hopefully no one was right behind him).
"What? You didn't come here on a ship?"
Those who had managed to stay behind still ended up here anyway? But then--what the hell? So they were all here, all of them, what did that mean for Amityville Academy? Had something happened back there as well? He was coming to think that this whole thing, everything, had been planned from the beginning. The only question was by who.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:34 am
Staring at Lizzy as she spoke, he supposed she had a point. He couldn't give up. But it all just seemed hopeless right now. Was there much of a point in trying to put up a fight if he was just going to be shot down before he could raise his weapon? The dragon wasn't sure what would be the most humiliating thing there.
"Looks like your friends still believe in you," the voice whispered, calling Jericho's attention.
"They still want to believe you could do something to stop the inevitable. But it's useless.. Lets put them all out of their misery hmm?"
The figure reappeared, further away this time around. Furrowing his brow, Jericho stared ahead, unsure what it wanted of him now. The scythe rested against its shoulders and a grim grin appeared across its lips. The form didn't take any sort of hostile stance.
He saw what appeared to be Riley lunge at him with her psionic mace, looking to take down the figure, only to see the cloaked one parry the strike and push her back with a strike towards her neck.
"Omae wa mo shinde iru..."
Jericho suddenly saw blood being sprayed everywhere as the mindflayer's head seemingly exploded.
"NOOOO! RILEY!!" he shouted out in horror.
((Happy Illusions!))
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