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 Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 9:40 am
 We are each our own devil,And we make this world our hell.*¤°•★(¯`°.•°•.★* ❤ *★.•°•.°´¯)★•°¤*
By the faint light of the moon Tess watched the panther stop and test the air with her nose. I wish I could hear her thoughts…though I don’t know if I would be more or less confused if I could, she thought as she settled onto a branch that was just barely strong enough to hold her weight. The night was as close to silent as she heard in a long time. There were no coyotes howling, no owls hooting or bugs buzzing. Even the soft wind through the trees seemed hushed and hesitant to rustle the leaves. Through this silence, she heard a low growl from Skatha, and a few seconds later the great cat leapt into a tree, climbing as high as her human companion was. Tess went to move closer but was halted by yet another low growl – soft enough that only she could hear it. She saw the moon reflected in the panther’s open eyes, and by the moonlight she saw the cat settle in and rest her head on her paws. There is danger nearby – we will wait it out, Tess interpreted, adjusting slightly so that she was more comfortable and, more importantly, more balanced. Though she still didn’t know what Skatha had sensed, she trusted the panther above anyone else in the world. So, as the night deepened around them, Tess sat alert, preparing do a disappearing trick if the necessity arose.
*¤°•★(¯`°.•°•.★* ❤ *★.•°•.°´¯)★•°¤* Help me on my questfor the almighty Devil Tail. Donations to Date: 100k, 2 Tickets, 42 Tokens, 6 Doctorate's Credits, Orchid Partition Top
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 9:10 pm
She could hear her captors talking and laughing in the other room, but decided they were not yet drunk enough for her to make her move. As weak as she was, she couldn't risk it just yet. Her gaze fell to the shackles on her wrists. They were tight, which would make it impossible to get them off without burning herself. Should I wait until I'm out? Will the pain slow me down at all? she wondered as she tried to fit a finger between her wrist and the shackle. No, it won't slow me down. Not any more than wearing these damn things will, she decided, gently placing her right hand on the shackle on her left wrist. She felt the metal heat under her hand and her eyes began to water as the heat made its way to the sensitive skin beneath. Tears fell from her eyes and she gritted her teeth as the metal continued to heat under her grip. When it was red-hot, she gripped the metal and tugged, stretching it until she could pull her hand through the now misshapen metal circle. She gently set the metal down, careful not to make a noise. Without a second thought, she touched the other shackle and repeated the procedure, tears and all. When both of her hands were free, her teeth hurt from gritting them so hard, and her eyes were dry of tears. She held her hands in front of her and took in the blistered skin, holding back the sobs that threatened to break free. I made it through the captain's beatings. I lived in the brig for nearly a month, living on nothing but crusts of bread and salty water. I've survived a shark attack, and I have the scars to prove it. I've fallen from the crow's nest and am still around to tell the tale. This is nothing compared to what I've endured, she told herself, taking a deep breath and gently bending her wrists, willing herself not to cry out at the pain. I should have waited until I was already out. I can scarcely move my wrists. Dammit. I'm just going to have to deal with it now. From the other room, she heard a mug drop to the floor followed by rowdy laughter. I think it's just about time, she decided, positioning herself next to the door and listening, ready to move at just the right time.
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Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 12:40 am
*~*~*
Chrysalis
*~*~* Chrys awoke to an uncomfortable beam of sunlight streaming in a single concentrated spot straight into her eye. It was so sudden that it startled her awake, forcing her to roll over in surprise onto a very knotted great root. She sat up, short brown hair ruffled and clothes a mess. Blowing upward to get her strawtangled hair out of her face she glared at the oak. It had obviously done it on purpose. She was still too tired to realize the ridiculousness of it all. She gathered up her robe and tied it back around her shoulders. Looking around she realized that the stream of light that had woken her was one of few. The wood was just as spooky in the day as it had been last night. She shivered all the way down to her feet trying to shake the growing feeling of uneasiness that was creeping back over her. She threw her bag over her shoulder and continued walking. With all this nonsense with the trees she wondered why she had ever left Vary and Jaze. ‘Adventuring my rear’ she mumbled. ‘searching out answers…yeah the only answers I’m going to find in this place as to my powers are “do they even work in this foul place?” She stopped in shock at the thought. She drew out the stub of a candle from her satchel. Holding it firmly in her left hand she called on the most basic spell she knew (which was, of course, powerful elemental magic. But for her, merely a parlor trick). Closing her eyes, for she was afraid to look, she summoned the flame from deep within her. A small light sprang forth, and she peeked out of one eye – insignificant in the woods though it was, it comforted her so much that she didn’t even bother calling the other elements. She sighed in relief and then chuckled at herself wickedly. Remembering her powers and the fact that she could call them on command now made her feel so childish for being afraid before. “I can take whatever this wood could throw at me!” A creaking and groaning of bows and trunks rippled through the valley, almost menacing. “…probably.” She added rather timidly.
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Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 12:05 pm
It was only a few moments later when she heard a body hit the floor and two sets of drunken laughter. One passed out. Now’s my chance, she decided, gently pulling the door open a crack. A quick look out confirmed that the two conscious brigands were bent over with laughter at their companion’s unconscious body. They were also facing away from the door. She gently pulled the door open a few more inches, fearful that it would creak if she opened it too quickly. A few more inches and it was open just enough for her to slip out. Wrists throbbing, she slunk along the wall towards the outside door. Her eyes were on her rapiers, hanging just on the other side of the door. She knew that getting them down would probably catch the brigands’ attention, but she couldn’t leave without them. If I grab the blades, I won’t have to jump. That will definitely be quieter. I might actually be able to get out of here without those idiots noticing. She crept closer to the door, careful to keep her steps soft. She was almost to the door when she heard the shout.
“The b***h got out!”
“Well don’t just stand there! Get her!”
She turned towards them with a devilish grin. “Don’t miss me too much, assholes!” she cried, jumping the last few feet and grabbing the blades of her precious rapiers in mid-air. When she landed, she took a quick side-step and slammed her elbow into the shutters, cracking and splintering the wood. s**t. That didn’t work quite like I wanted it to. Ah well, here goes nothing, she thought as she dove through the window, doing her best to ignore the splinters lodging themselves into her skin. She tucked her shoulder under before she hit the ground, and rolled to her feet. Good to know I’ve still got it. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she shoved the rapiers through the loops on her belt and ran, barely noticing the pain from the fresh gashes in her hands. She didn’t know where she was or where she was going, but the brigands, drunk as they were, would be after her. She had to get a safe distance away, and so she ran, leaping over roots and fallen trees, ducking under branches and vines. She would run until she could run no more, and then she would find a place to sit and hide for a little while. She wasn’t familiar with the area, and in the darkness she didn’t see the cliff until she had already run over the edge.
It seemed an eternity before she stopped falling, rolling down the rocky cliff side. She ached everywhere. Through the pain, she thought she could feel a rock – or perhaps it was a root – digging into her shoulder, but she hurt to much to move. Her legs were numb from the knees down, and she couldn’t discern between the burn pain of her wrists and the bruises and cuts on the rest of her arms. In her pained haze, she thought she heard the soothing sound of running water. That can’t be sunlight…I left in the middle of the night, she thought before she passed out again.
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Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 5:11 pm
The sun was just beginning to shine though the leaf cover in small patches when her stomach started grumbling. It can’t have been that long since I’ve eaten, she told herself, mentally counting backwards to her last meal. Oh my. It has been that long, she decided when she couldn’t quite remember how long it had been. I need to find a town. Soon. The thought of scrounging for her own meal didn’t even occur to her since she had never had to do the likes before, living in a well-to-do family. She stepped out of the cold river and continued walking, enjoying the mud squishing between her toes. Ahead, she could see a large log that had fallen to the edge of the river. I’ll stop there to rest for a few minutes. As she got closer to the log, she looked at it closer. That’s not a log….is that...a…body? She rushed forward, anxious to prove herself wrong. It wasn’t a body, it couldn’t be. She was hallucinating. Yet, as she approached the battered body, it was apparent that it was all too real. It was a girl about her own age. Brown hair and pale skin, coated with dirt and dust and mud and cuts and bruises. Her wrists were blistered and her left shoulder was bent at a strange angle. Her legs were halfway in the frigid water of the river, and as she looked closer she saw that the girl was lying on a blade. She’s still bleeding. She might still have a chance, she thought, placing a gentle hand on the girl’s good shoulder. She didn’t flinch, didn’t bat an eye. Unconscious. Please, just be unconscious. “Please be alive!” she cried, gently feeling for a pulse. “Oh thank god. She still has a chance,” she whispered when she felt the faint pulse. “I’m going to do my best to get you on your feet again. I promise you that,” she whispered to the unconscious girl as she began to reposition her as carefully as she could. By the time she was done, an hour had passed, but the girl was now laying parallel to the water’s edge instead of halfway in the river. She tore a piece from her cloak, dipped it in the cold water, and began cleaning the dirt from the worst of the wounds, starting with the gaping gash in the girl’s leg. She tore some strips from the bottom of her cloak and soaked two of them in the cold water before gently wrapping them around the blistered wrists. “I’ll have to pop your shoulder back in. Preferably before you wake up, though I’ve never done it before.”
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Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 1:11 pm
We are each our own devil,And we make this world our hell.*¤°•★(¯`°.•°•.★* ❤ *★.•°•.°´¯)★•°¤*
Tess woke to the heat of the sun on her face and the slight pain of a twig poking into her back. I must have fallen asleep waiting for Skatha to move on, she decided, looking around for the cat. Perhaps she went for breakfast, she thought when she couldn't see the panther anywhere. She had just decided to wait for her when she heard voices coming towards her.
"How the hell did the b***h get out of the shackles?" the first voice was nearly screaming.
"I don't know. I made sure I locked 'em tight. She could barely move in 'em," the second voice replied.
"Well obviously you didn't do a very good job, since she GOT OUT!" the first voice yelled.
"I still say she's a witch," a third voice chimed in.
"Would you shut the hell up about that. If she was a witch she would have gotten out long ago when she was just tied with a rope!"
"But did you see the shackles? The chain was broken in the middle and the bands were bent out of shape. She couldn't have done that while they were on her, they were too tight for that. There was barely room for the bands to twist around her wrists," the third voice continued.
"She must have had help then," the second voice declared.
"She left by herself. You saw her. And besides, there were no windows in the back room. She got out of the shackles, stole back those blades, and escaped through the window. She's got nearly a whole night on us. We're not going to catch up with her. Just forget about it."
"No! Those blades are worth their weight in gold! Did you see the workmanship on them? We have to get them back, and the only way to get them back is to find that b***h!"
So long as they're not after me. I pity whoever they're after, Tess thought, pressing her back into the tree and blending with it as the three large men passed beneath the tree she was hiding in. She stayed still until she could no longer see them through the trees and then she began to move in the direction they had come from. I do wonder who they're after though. What did this girl do have these guys after her? she wondered as she jumped from branch to branch, careful to find her balance between leaps.
*¤°•★(¯`°.•°•.★* ❤ *★.•°•.°´¯)★•°¤* Help me on my questfor the almighty Devil Tail. Donations to Date: 106k, 2 Tickets, 42 Tokens, 6 Doctorate's Credits, Orchid Partition Top
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Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 2:20 pm
Her mind was numb with the pain. She no longer knew anything except the pain. She had forgotten who she was, where she was, how she had gotten there - everything except that her entire body hurt. She couldn't open her eyes, couldn't speak, and couldn't move. She heard a voice - or at least she thought she heard a voice - but through the haze she couldn't even begin to remember what the sounds meant, or if they meant anything at all. There was a sharp stab of pain in what she thought she remembered as her shoulder. Her eyes opened wide and she felt rather than heard the scream leave her throat. There was someone leaning over her but her eyesight was too fuzzy to make out any details before she blacked out again, once more losing all senses except for the pain.
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Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 9:54 pm
The blood-curdling scream sent shivers down her spine, and she couldn't help but wonder if there was anyone around to hear it and if there was, if they would be curious and brave enough to search for the source. But the girl's shoulder was set, that much she knew. It lay correctly, no odd angles. She gently spread a couple of handfuls of cool mud on the swollen shoulder and got back to work cleaning and dressing the other wounds the best that she could with torn strips of cloth and stream water. I wish I had payed more attention to my herbalism lessons. That would have come in handy right about now, she scolded herself as she tore off another strip of cloth and dipped it in the cool water. When the worst of the cuts and scrapes had been thoroughly cleaned and most of the smaller ones had been at least wiped down, she set herself to pulling out as many splinters as she could find. Fortunately, the girl's clothes had kept most of her body splinter-free (except for a few larger pieces that had managed to pierce the fabric) so the majority of the splinters were in her arms, plus a few in her head. "I'm gonna fix you up. I promise."
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