|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:56 pm
"Wild animals? Like... bears and mountain lions?" Mayu's eyes widened in surprise, intrigued by the thought of seeing wild animals that she may see in zoos and other places out in their natural habitats. A quiver of fear rose from her as well, knowing very well how late it was and what might happen if they did come upon one of the creatures she had mentioned.
"...The streetlights end at the corner," she observed, shivering slightly without even noticing. "Do you think there'll be fireflies in the forest?"
This was her own way of saying that she was slightly afraid of the dark; she slept with the lights off, but still kept a few nightlights on around her room at night to quell her fears. Granted, she would feel better walking with Demare, but still... The stars overhead weren't nearly bright enough to provide enough light for them to see easily in the forest.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 3:54 pm
Demare couldn't help but smile a little bit, reaching his hand down to take Mayu's into his own, lifting his free hand to form a ball of light. The orb was fairly bright, lighting up the way like a lamp would, so they'd be able to see all around themselves just in case.
"There might be some by the clearing, but I noticed that they generally don't hang around this part of the forest," he told her, stopping for a moment as they reached the edge of the line of trees. "I figured it was because there's not really much food around here for them."
He looked down at her for a moment, hoping she would be okay. "Want to hold the light?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 5:01 pm
Mayu smiled thankfully for the light, fears having been calmed slightly. She took another deep breath to stop any jitters she had left, swinging their hand back and forth slightly as she walked.
"Well, there might be predators around," she pondered, glancing at the tops of the trees. They didn't seem quite so frightful now that there was a bright light source for them to see with apart from the streetlights. "Though I can't imagine those things would taste very good, especially the glowing juices..."
Mayu met his eyes at the question, then looked down to the bag which she was holding in her free hand.
"Um... can I?" she gave a nervous laugh, holding up the bag to show Demare.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:33 pm
The halfling moved his hand to take the bag from her, the ball of light hovering in the air in front of them. It flickered a little bit, much like a flame, waiting for someone to pick it up again.
"Just hold your hand underneath it," he told her. "You can move it any way you want, and if it needs to be brighter, just let me know."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:45 pm
"Thank you," she mumbled, cupping her hand slightly to take the ball of light in her hand. Mayu kept her eyes intent on it, half expecting it to vanish or slip right out of her hand.
"Let's go in, then?" the child asked, holding the light in front of them carefully as if expecting something scary to jump out at them in the darkness of the trees. An owl squawked as it moved to flutter from branch to branch, causing an uproar in the trees for a brief moment before everything settled back to silence. She smiled nervously, gripping Demare's hand just a little bit tighter as they prepared to enter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 7:13 pm
The orb of light sunk down a little bit, nesting right against the palm of her hand. It was warm compared to the colder night, but not hot. Demare couldn't help but chuckle a little bit, his wings twitching a little bit before he drew them close to his back. Cautiously, he began to lead the way, the trail starting out fairly flat before it slowly made its way into an incline.
Like he'd said, it didn't take that long to hike up the hill, only about fifteen minutes tops, the rope ladder coming into view as they approached a short cliff. There were no trees here, only rock and earth, maybe a couple of small bushes scattered about.
"It's just up this ladder," Demare said, stopping for a moment to rest. Normally, he would have been fine, but he was still quite tired. "Do you want me to go first, or would you like me to stay down here in case something happens?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 7:37 pm
Mayu hiked through the trail easily, though some of the tall grasses and bushes which grabbed at her branches and skirt made her lag behind slightly.
She approached the ladder cautiously, inspecting it to make sure it would hold under her weight. It looked strong enough, but one always had to check to make sure. Letting go of Demare's hand, she tugged on one rung before deciding that it was indeed safe.
"I'll go up first," the girl said, "you look like you can use the short rest anyway." She let go of the ball of light before starting to mount the ladder, climbing up slowly as it swayed from side to side.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 7:45 pm
Demare moved himself over to a small rock, taking a seat as he watched the girl head up. The light followed her, guarding her from the darkness the best that it could, hoping to melt her fears away. It wasn't until Mayu was about half way up that the halfling realized something, his face burning with blush.
He could... see up her skirt...
Quickly, he turned his eyes toward the ground, covering his head with his hands as if that would help. Crap! He hadn't intended for that to happen... The thought hadn't even OCCURED to him when he offered to have her go ahead. What was he supposed to do? Did he need to say something? ...Would she even know?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:38 am
Mayu took some time to climb the ladder, moving slowly as the rope ladder wasn't steady like a wooden one would be. She would climb up a few rungs, wait for the ladder to stop swinging, and then climb some more. All in all, it was a very tedious process.
She stopped for a moment, hooking her arm through one rung and swinging over to check that Demare was fine by himself. Immediately, her expression turned to one of confusion. What the heck was he doing?
"You okay?" she called, lingering in that position.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:51 am
Cautiously, he turned his bi-colored eyes upward, hoping she wasn't still on the ladder. His face turned even redder as he noticed she still wasn't at the top, finally turning himself around.
"I SEE NOTHING!" he squeaked, grasping onto his knees as he tried not to faint. Why wasn't she at the top yet????
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:59 am
"O... o-kay," she mumbled, still slightly worried as she turned herself back around before climbing the rest of the way up in the same slow pace that she had done before. Maybe he was getting... sick? Mayu idly wondered if she really should have denied the paramedics as she found a spot to sit at the top of the cliff.
"You can come up!" she called, hoping that Demare would notice it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 5:20 am
The halfling never would have known had she not said anything, rocking a little bit on the rock while he waited. Once he had the signal, Demare stood, rubbing at his face a little bit to calm down. Maybe Mayu wasn't used to being around guys... He did notice that she had a lot of sisters when he was at her house earlier.
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, shaking his hands as he stepped over to the ladder, and carefully began to climb up it. It was a little difficult in his current state, but he managed, able to get to the top without much trouble. Once there, he made sure the girl was sitting before pulling himself over the ledge, moving to stand next to the female legend as he looked up toward the sky. The orb he'd created faded out, allowing the moon to do its own job of illuminating the sky, thousands of stars visible in the night sky.
"Look at that..." he said a bit idly, a bit in awe at the sight. For some reason, it looked a lot prettier tonight.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 5:26 am
"Seriously, are you okay?" she asked, patting Demare's hand as she looked over to him. "You looked like you were freaking out for some reason."
Mayu turned her head to the sky, eyes widening as she took in the view.
"You definately can't get a view like that in Durem," she whispered, not wanting to speak loudly to ruin the moment. The sky was so clear! Though she had seen satellite and telescope pictures of space, she had never imagined how many stars she could see with her own eyes. This was a night that she would definately remember for a long time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 3:01 pm
"Hm? O-oh... Y-y-yes, everything's fine," he stammered, shaking his head a little bit to keep himself from blushing again.
Carefully, Demare took a seat behind Mayu, stretching his legs forward so that she was sitting between them. Slipping his arms around her waist, he held her lightly as he gently rested his chin by her shoulder, cautious of her branches as he continued to look up at the sky.
"I come up here to think sometimes, when I can't sleep," he explained, his wings drooping down a little bit. "It kind of reminds me of the sky in my dreams, so I guess it makes me feel a little more at ease. It almost makes me feel like... like I'm home."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 7:18 pm
Mayu sighed contently, placing her hands on top of Demare's arms as her eyes searched the sky.
"It makes you feel so small, doesn't it? There're thousands of stars up there that we can see, but that's not even a significant part of the entire universe..."
Her voice trailed off, giving another sigh before settling against him.
"Your home?" she smiled, frowning slightly. "But your home's not far from here at all."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
