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 Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 4:32 pm
Much to Wolf's displeasure there weren't as many unusual plants surrounding the pool as she would have liked. After a few minutes she had already decided what she wanted to take samples of even if she wasn't permitted to use the bags to carry them. She imagined she could find more vines and use them like rope to secure plant samples to her back. She pondered over the idea for several minutes.
Wolf's attention was drawn back to the lake at the sound of sloshing water. Something large was moving in the water. The quarter uni straightened up and moved to the very edge of the water staring hard into it's depths. She could see a familiarly patterned shape coming up...with something in her mouth. Wolf tilted her head, what exactly was that thing?
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 4:41 pm
It turned out to be a lot heavier than it looked. Slipsand felt tired halfway back up and was now straining to keep from sinking. Her tail flailed behind her but it almost didn't seem like she was getting any closer. The worst part was the burning in her lungs. She could normally stay underwater for far longer than that but the strain was eating up her oxygen. She was almost there! She could make out the different tufts of colors in Wolf's mane. The artifact in her mouth twisted and she almost lost her grip but she tightened her teeth and held on! Just when she was wondering if she'd have to drop it and continue to the surface without it, she reached the shallows and her head broke through the surface.
"Ay got somthin!" She grinned around the hunk of metal and huffed fresh air in past it. She could feel it catching at the shallow bottom now and tried her best to jerk it free. She uttered a few more garbled syllables at Wolf, hoping her tone would convey her need for assistance.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 4:47 pm
When Slipsand surface Wolf assessed her quickly and even before the nixie spoke Wolf was on the move. She splashed her way into the water and made her way over feeling her hooves slipping a little on the silt at the bottom. Without hesitation she took a deep breath of air and stuck her head into the water to grab at another part of whatever Slipsand had. The air didn't help her for long as water rushed into her nostrils anyway but she managed to get a hold and pull up to take some of the weight off of Slipsand.
Once her head was back above water she took in a deep breath before sneezing. She made a note to herself, water in the nose causes irritation.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:03 pm
Slipsand was very grateful for the assistance and the metal thing was out of the water before she knew it. As soon as they reached solid ground she let go. Once Wolf had also released it, the metal object thudded solidly to the ground. Slipsand was still spitting bits of rust out of her mouth when she bent over to examine it.
She hadn't the slightest clue what purpose a human might have made it for. It was completely covered in rust and looked like several parts had broken off of it already. She couldn't even tell what the original shape or color of the object was. Her excitement gave way to confusion and she circled around it to peer from different angles. No matter how she looked at it, it was still just a twisted hunk of metal.
"Uh... do you know what it is?" She directed this question at both Wolf and Raven.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:14 pm
Metal. Wolf tried flicking the taste out of her mouth with her tongue. It didn't work. She was just going to have to deal with it for the time being.
With a critical eye Wolf stepped forward and leaned in close to examine what Slipsand had brought up. It was very clearly made of some form of metal and had been in the water for a long time but beyond that Wolf didn't have the slightest clue. She straightened up and shook her head. "Worthless?" She offered but that was the best she had. She glanced at her familiar. "Raven?"
Raven just clicked his beak a few times before bursting out in laughter. "It's junk!" He cried flying up into the air merrily. "Junk! Useless. Worthless~! Fishy got nothin t'show for trouble~!" He paused in his teasing when something caught his attention. He wheeled around a few times to confirm before calling to the mares below. "Black bird comin!" He cackled. "Ittle Khaa has a message~" He swooped back down and landed on Wolf's back. "Let's see what the young'un wants."
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:24 pm
"Junk? It's not junk!" she protested. She puffed up and stood protectively over her discovery. She was convinced that it was some sort of treasure. They couldn't identify it, so that meant it must be even more special! It was one of a kind! She wouldn't have ever spent so much energy dragging up something from the bottom if it was worthless.
"It's mine anyways. It doesn't fit in my bag, but I'm bringing it back." She didn't even care what Khaa had to say. She was too busy being offended to want to bother with anyone else.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:34 pm
Wolf just blinked at Slipsand's determination. Why did she insist that it was worth so much when it was clear it wasn't anything special. "How...?" She asked finding this to be a quick way to talk reason into her. She couldn't even get it out of the water by herself. How did she expect to carry it all the way back to their headquarters or even back through the swamp for that matter. She didn't have time to voice her concerns before a black shape came soaring down to them.
Khaa didn't much care for his job. Lorenna and Carmine had told him to find everyone and send them back as though it was a simple task. Perhaps neither of them realized it but the area they were in was huge and the other members could have been literally anywhere amongst the ruins. It was by pure luck that he had caught sight of Raven at all. If the larger bird hadn't been flying Khaa never would have found Wolf and Slipsand.
With great care he landed on a branch within earshot but out of immediate striking range of Raven. "Miss Carmine and Miss Lorenna say it's time to call it quits for the day." He announced feeling that there was no reason to give the entire message, it had been quite lengthy. "It's time to head back to the meeting place."
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:40 pm
"Time to head back? Fine!" Slipsand lifted her head rebelliously and then remembered about her treasure. She belatedly grabbed onto it and began the task of dragging it back along the path to where they came from. She tried to pay little attention to Wolf and even less to Raven on the way back. She was absolutely sure that Carmine would be able to recognize what she'd found as a prize. All her effort would pay off in the end!
A piece of her treasure fell off while she dragged it and Slipsand pretended not to notice. At least it made the thing lighter...
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:44 pm
With the message successfully delivered Khaa took off again to seek out the others. He hoped they weren't anywhere strange. He wouldn't be able to find them if they were.
Wolf just watched as Slipsand dragged her treasure off defiantly. She shot Raven a look to keep him quiet figuring any comments from him would only make things worse at this point. Eventually Slipsand would come to grips with the situation but until then they were in for a long, slow walk back.
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