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 Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 5:58 pm
Oh boy-- Neptune half expected Tomoe to jerk away from the approaching people, there were quite a few of them after all. He was beginning to feel nervous himself with so many people around all the time. Coming on this trip was a bad idea...
He jumped a little at Zahneel's voice, turning to stare at her wide slightly widened eyes. Oh no, she didn't look so good... and the poor frog she was carrying seemed very upset too. "A-are you okay Z-Zahneel?" He asked worriedly. He spared a glance over at Naoki, then nodded. "I-it seems s-so. Uh... To-Tomoe said that M-Meimu ran b-back to tell u-uh, what happened." He chewed at his lip a little. "It's a b-bad thing, that it happened..."
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 5:59 pm
Xerxes nodded, arms crossed over his chest. “Like Niamh said, we’ll help any way we can. And if you decide you do want to come with us when we leave, you’re more than welcome to. You’ll have a whole group of people there to help you along the way.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 6:32 pm
Tomoe looked up as Samhain approached, head shaking.
"It's not your fault! It's mine. I shouldn't have lost them." He immediately stated, head shaking for a second time. "Please, don't blame yourself. It was by your help the kids were brought back safely. By...by everyone's help." He paused, head tilting softly. With hesitance, Tomoe gently asked a question.
"What.... is a grimm?" He questioned. When Niamh spoke he looked down, ears slowly lowering. "Give me a second to ponder... I admit my head is not clear... I apologize."
Naoki perked up at the permission to touch the gills. Raising himself up, he took her ears gently into his hands, eyes widening in shock. "Cold! They're so cool! Are they fragile?" He paused at the compliment on his tails, grinning wider. "Not long! It's natural! The wiggling at different speeds was difficult.... but the Elders taught me!"
And then the thing was addressed. His ears dropped and his hands returned to his tails, head lowering. She was right, he felt terrible. Downright awful. His teeth worried away at his bottom lip, looking much like a sad puppy. "Do you think.... he'll forgive me?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 6:55 pm
 "Tomoe!" A loud bark escaped from the darkness behind the group, causing Tomoe to nearly jump out of his skin. The small man emitted a loud wail, scampering upwards and straightening himself, head bowed slightly.
This was it.
Four people stepped from the shadows. One was about Tomoe's age, sporting pink and green hair and a curious smile, while two were far older and held a look that almost promised murder. The fourth was familiar; Meimu.
Tomoe wavered right then and there, almost falling over. He caught himself, ears falling flat. "Elders." He whispered in greeting, head held respectfully low.
One of the older figures stepped closer, bringing Meimu along with them. The small child was holding onto the adult's hand, one visible eye focused on Tomoe with an almost smug look of contempt, though he remained silent.
"What have you done?" The adult spoke with a dangerously low tone, striking teal eyes scanning the crowd of outsiders. Their face was unreadable in expression, unlike Meimu's.
Tomoe jumped slightly at the tone, ears flopping down. His head raised, eyes unable to meet the teal-eyed Elder. Instead, they were trained on the Elder's feet, mouth tightening.
There really wasn't any escaping from this.
"I'm sorry." He answered, fighting back stammers while in front of those he respected so dearly. "I lost the children, and in my panic I-" He paused, afraid to say what everyone knew. "I lowered the barrier."
"You did what." The other Elder spoke, his vibrant red eyes locked in horror upon Tomoe. Instantly, the smaller man cringed into themselves, ears flopping down. He didn't offer an answer, instead wringing his hands together tightly.
"I'm sorry."
"Tomoe. Who are these people?" The woman with pink and green hair finally piqued up, gesturing towards the group behind Tomoe.
Within seconds, Tomoe was met with looks that could kill as the Elder who had previously spoken narrowed ruby red eyes. "Outsiders?" He spat, his seven tails flicking irritably behind him. "You traitor."
The teal-eyed elder scanned the group again, quiet, considering, their own seven tails still save for a few twitches that might be red as irritation. They released Meimu's hand, looking to the woman with pink hair. "We will need to raise the barrier once more. They -" the elder paused, tone indicating the group of tourists "-cannot leave now that they know we are here. Begin preparations immediately."
Meimu had, by this point, spotted Naoki and was silently motioning for the other child to come join them. Naoki didn't want to be on the wrong side of things once the Elders started, now did he? The monotone child didn't bother looking at Tomoe any more.
The woman nodded at the order, raising her hands and, within seconds, a feeling of dread washed over the group as a pressure could be felt behind them.
"That should keep them in for now. I will continue working on strengthening the barrier." She stated, keeping behind the Elders as she seemed to be lost in her task.
Tomoe, on the other hand, had sprung into motion. The petrified man turned around to look at the visitors before taking a bold step towards the Elders. "Wait! Can't we just let them go? We can't just keep them!" He yelped, trembling violently despite their attempts to rescue the visitors.
"Are you serious?" The ruby eyed Elder hissed, ears flattening in fury. "They'll tell. We can't let them know about us. They'll bring their filthy troops over and take what isn't theirs. You know this, yet you betrayed your people. Your family. You are just as bad as them, Tomoe."
Tomoe cringed, again, falling into themselves. Nothing they could say would fix this, and he knew it.
Naoki, who had stayed frozen behind Tomoe, hands wringing together. At Meimu's gestures he looked at the group and then Tomoe, faltering slightly. Their eyes raised to the Elder's, ears flopping down as they seemed to understand exactly what was happening. He was too young to have any part in this, and the small child was far too scared. Obediently, he toddled over to Meimu, slipping to the other side the teal-eyed Elder and keeping his eyes to the ground.
"We'll have to deal with you, too, Tomoe." The ruby eyed Elder stated, tossing their head to nod towards the group. "As for them, we'll have to erase any traces they were nearby the forest."
Meimu glanced up at the red-eyed Elder, then over to Tomoe. Honestly. This was little kid stuff! Everyone knew that the outside world was wrought with war and destruction. Tomoe had done a very bad thing opening up the barrier. They played hide-and-seek all the time, why did he have to mess everything up this badly?
"Tomoe you know the laws of our people. For many years we have been sheltered here in safety and you have, singlehandedly, destroyed that safety. The punishment for exposing us to the outside world is execution." The teal-eyed Elder spoke with the same calm tone, not once flinching or indicating any hint of apprehension at openly declaring what was to become of the quivering man before them. "These outsiders- they were drawn in by your mistake. They cannot leave this forest, but they will not be punished in the same way you will." As if this was any sort of comfort, the Elder spared another look at the group before fixing their gaze back on the pink haired woman.
"We will call for assistance to help you raise the barrier faster. We must do this before any others find us."
Naoki couldn't help but let out a soft cry of distress, looking away from everyone and pressing into the teal-eyed Elder. Execution? Tomoe would be gone? Forever? Tears began to build, but he kept quiet, instead doing his best to stop listening. He didn't want to know anymore. He didn't want to think about this, either.
He just wanted to go home.
Tomoe didn't flinch, for once. He had known this would be the outcome. His body wilted, a soft, broken whimper escaping him. "I'm sorry..." He murmured softly, though it wasn't clear if it was to the Elder's or the group behind him.
Claire, who had kept quiet, let out a sharp cry. "You can't do that!" They cried out, stepping in front of the group as if their singular body could do anything to protect them. The ruby eyed Elder simply narrowed his eyes at the protest, mouth grimacing at the demon.
"We will."
Everyone has been trapped within the forest. While the barrier is not as strong as it was, it is rapidly growing stronger. There is no way to escape. The only thing anyone can do is try and talk to the Elders. They've mentioned a few things that might be the reason as to why the barrier existed...
What can be done? Is this the end for everyone? What if their pleas fall on deaf ears?
If you are addressing the Elders, quote both nepsah and Yushika. We might miss the post otherwise due to the chaos happening right now.
If you are addressing the pink and green woman, quote Yushika.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:07 pm
 Aurora frowned "Please calm down, we didn't come here to hurt any of you, and I for one won't stand ideally by while you take Tomoe away and kill him." Aurora said moving over to Tomoe, even with her splinted broken ankle she wasn't just going to let them take him away, he was one of the sweetest people she had ever met. "We came here on a field trip, please you have to give us a chance to explain ourselves. We met Tomoe by chance and he needed help." Aurora said trying to reason with the elders that none of them had come to hurt these people, keeping them trapped forever, killing Tomoe it was all wrong.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:10 pm
 Bebe watched the whole conversation with visible distress, wringing her hands and biting her lip as the exchange occurred. She'd never seen people so severe before, especially to someone of their own race. Even one of the children - the one she hadn't seen earlier - seemed anxious at the situation. When it was finally announced they'd be trapped here, Bebe almost fainted from shock. She was so preoccupied with this thought she didn't even hear the rest of the conversation, not even Tomoe's unjust fate.
Bebe knew she should keep quiet. This was clearly a situation that didn't involve her, and the outburst of a junior would probably only make matter worse, but she just couldn't help herself; it was like the panic had bubbled up inside and had to come out. "You can't keep us here! What about Fluffy, who's going to feed him?" she cried, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes at the thought of her poor familiar, all alone. "Wars are over! We live in peace now! Even... even the above has accepted us... Even I've been allowed to leave the Swirling Sands to go to the Academy! She was too desperate to even realise that most of these terms would mean literally nothing to the strangers.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:17 pm
 Oh Niamh saw red. EVERYONE knows there is war? EXECUTION? How dare they! Her young body trembled with rage and she stomped forwards, her wings flickering. She stopped and stared right into the faces of the Elders, and put her hands on her hips. "You claim to be protecting your people? How is letting two MISCHIEVOUS children who clearly dislike that poor man in his care PROTECTING? He's a kind person, who just wanted to find the children when THEY ran off, leaving him panicked and afraid. All he wanted was help! And as for war? We haven't been at war for AGES. The war is over, peace has been made and maintained! We trade between the Above and Below, the two greatest factions in the war. The races comingle, and make friends with each other. We don't go taking what isn't ours!"
She paused, thought about that for a moment, then added "Unless it's a thief, but all groups of people have their bad apples. We're not ALL bad apples, and what's more we're mostly GOOD apples. We just wanted to learn about this lovely interesting forest and now you're going to ruin EVERYTHING." Her tail was slashing back and forth in her upset. "In fact if you THINK about it? Us disappearing here, a whole GROUP of us including minors? I promise you, this will lead MORE people to come searching, because the traces you erase nearby wont erase the fact that we have friends and family at home who will notice we vanished! A smarter option would be prepare for the world, because it wont ignore you forever!"Tangled Puppet So you know what she's doing!
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:30 pm
 “ Well a grimm is..." and he never got to finish as the elders came back. He listened as they talked and for once his anger wasnt due to Salem. He himself was utterly angry. How could they... how could they even. "You know, I didn’t quite believe it when Tomoe said he wanted to stay here, that outside was dangerous. It’s not dangerous. We don’t execute people for making a mistake. Outside is way safer than you guys” Samhain yelled. He would get to the whole trapped inside this forest forever part later. Right now he couldn’t let them execute Tomoe, not for being worried about children, he had known it was but he had just been so frightened for them. “Tomoe was crying, he was so worried about those kids and you’re going to… execute him just for messing up. We’re students; most of us are kids for heaven’s sakes. We’re not going to be bringing armies down on you. Like she said..." he pointed to Niamh here. "We're not at war, we havent been for ages. We’re trying to fix things to rebuild.” He knew it was foolish, and they were older and probably stronger than he was, but there were too many childhood memories for him, and like hell he was going to let them touch one hair on tomoe’s head. So he stepped in front of tomoe folding his arms. His tails showing his clear agitation at the situation. Lady Aria Starstone because Samhain pointed at her
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:34 pm
 This... wasn't how this trip was supposed to go. He was supposed to go with a group, get some nice pictures, then go back home to his dorm. The bee stings and bratty children he could handle, but now they were trapped and someone was getting executed? It wasn't supposed to be like this! He inhaled and exhaled in sharp, shallow breaths as he sunk to the ground, sitting down with his head propped between his knees. He was tired, sore, this was... too much. He ran his hands through his hair, tugging slightly at the strands. He should have stayed home, he should have know this was going to end badly. What if they never got home? These elders did not seem reasonable, they were probably going to keep them here forever. "All I wanted was to take some nice photographs. How could I be so dumb?" He groaned, giving his hair another sharp tug. "So what are we supposed to do now? Live the rest of our lives in this forest?" Despair was turning to anger. He glared at the elders from his sitting position. "We're innocent so we get to live? Great! Isolated from everyone and everything we every knew? Double great!" He stood back up, shaking with the mixture of emotions that surged though him. "You speak like you know something about the outside world. You act like you think you know us? You know nothing!" He huffed, hands curled into fists.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:43 pm
 Naosu definitely felt dread. "Troops?!" She squeaked in alarm, and looked around at the others before she focused on the elders. "No, you've misunderstood! We're not fighters, and there's no war! We were just exploring, we didn't know you were here and we weren't meaning to invade!"
She was trying not to panic, trying not to think of her son. "Please." She was quaking, trying not to scream or cry, but terror was quickly mounting. This wasn't what she had signed up for. "We didn't come here to cause trouble. We don't want your land. We were just exploring...."
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:46 pm
The teal-eyed Elder's previously unreadable expression flashed annoyance as soon as Aurora spoke up. Who did this woman think she was? They were all stranded in their territory now. The rules of their foolish outside world did not apply here. "Silence." Their voice was elevated, but not to a point of obvious anger, as if they were simply trying to speak loud enough for everyone to hear them.
"You do not have power in this forest. This place is our home and our laws are what is to be followed here." They paused for a moment to scan over the few that had spoken up so far, eyes lingering on each one for a split second before moving on. They did not know what to call several of them- but they knew enough of the outside world to know that they could not simply trust the words of these strange people.
After all, they were trapped. They would say anything to free themselves. "You. Child. You do not understand what he is being punished for. We are aware of Naoki and Meimu's trickery, this was a test for him to complete. Something that he was made aware of before he was charged with the task of watching them." The Elder paused once more, shooting Tomoe a look that might have been scathing if it lasted long enough on their face.
"Execution is the punishment given to any foolish person who would dare take down our protective barrier. By exposing us to the outside world, Tomoe has placed the lives of every person in our village in jeopardy." They stopped again, examining Samhain as he spoke.... and then shook their head. "You miss the point. You are students, but your world is not entirely made up of students, is it? You have armies. You have those who would start wars over petty matters like stone shipments not being correct or a difference in magical practice. You may not bring war yourself, but who can safely speak for the rest of your kind? We are not the only ones to have withdrawn from association with such needless violence." They sighed, glancing to their red-eyed companion.
Finally, they turned their gaze to Callixtus, a true sneer forming on their face for a moment. "Do not speak to me in that manner Elf. We know about the outside world, far more than you think we know. We do not have to let you live. Our people do not know you are here yet, they do not need to know. Your world does not know where you are either. They may know that you have come to this forest, but your exact location will never be found."
It seemed that this particular Elder was still not convinced that they should do anything but what they had said they were going to do in the first place.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:47 pm
 Bridgette frowned at Tomro not sure what was going on. She looked around and tensed as people came out. Her eyes narrowed and rage built up inside of her. Oh heck no! They were not blaming Tomeo for this and they were not going to trap them here. She was not about to let that happen. She was furious but she kept silent until they were done. She could not lose her temper. All that would lead to would be a screaming match and nothing would be accomplished. Her temper spiked more when they said they would execute Tomeo. Okay, that was not happening! Her fur puffed up in her rage and her ears pinned back a bit. She forced herself to take deep slow breaths so as not to start screaming or calling anyone a rude name. That would be very counter productive. She took a few deep breaths and looked at her friends. Once she had calmed down enough she stepped forward in front of Tomeo to protect him.
She raised her head up high not going to be intimidated by these elders then bowed her head to show respected then lifted her head again. "Please don't be so rash. Tomeo only let down the barrier enough to let us through so we could help find the children. He panicked when they went missing. He was onto trying to keep the little ones safe. He had no malicious intentions in doing what he did. And all we wanted to do was find the children and return them to you. My friends and I have been worried sick about these children. Worried something would happen to them. We have no ill intentions toward you or your people. Please just calm down and think!" She took deep breaths so she didn't scream or lose her temper but it was so hard. She was so furious.
She sighed and frowned at them. "The wars are over. There is peace. We are trying to work together. Grimms are back and those above and below are trying to find common ground. People won't come here to take what is yours. Your lands are yours. Why can't you just work with us? Maybe things would be better if you would try to get to know others. You could learn a lot from them and maybe we could learn from you. And if you won't consider that at least spare Tomeo and let us go! He doesn't deserve execution! All he was trying to do was keep the children safe. That's all! And that's all we were trying to do! My friends who are injured didn't care about their own injuries. All they and we cared about were finding your little ones and bringing them back safely. That's it. Please! Don't hurt him and please let us go. We have families and friends who will be so worried and there are those with children who depend on them and others who have pets or friends who need them. What will they do without those they depend on? Please." She looked at them emploring them to let them go. She wanted to show that they weren't bad and meant these fox creatures no harm.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:52 pm
Nadi felt the pressure rising behind her, and shuddered. This was not how the world was supposed to work. There was supposed to be justice. Her green eyes narrowed, locking onto the Elders. She stepped forward, both hands on her stick, her knuckles almost white with how tight she was holding it.
"There is no war. You couldn't be more wrong about outside. Above and Below are at peace. And you absolutely cannot keep us here. Do you have any idea exactly how many people know exactly where we are?" She spoke quickly, her eyes still narrowed. She simply could not believe people existed that would treat them this way!
"On top of all that, we're obviously a decent bunch, we helped track down your missing young ones. And it's clearly hardly Tomoe's fault that they are mischievous."
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:56 pm
She lifted her brows at the Elder's words, and said "So. Wars were started over incorrect stone shipments, or magic practices, as you say. What do you think would happen when a large group, some who are still children and others who have children themselves, just disappear? Because our friends, our families... They know where we were heading. They know this place is strange. But for all of us to just disappear? I really do not think that will get the result you want. You might have strong magics here, in your home... but can they stand against the combined magics of so many races, should you rile them?" She gestured around at the group, composed of so many different peoples. "It would be far better to either accept the world, and make a place for your people in it, or at the least, if you must remain hidden and insular, have us take binding magical oaths of silence."
She paused, and added "Giving a persona test they are destined to fail is not the act of a true Elder who cares for their people. It is a cruel act, designed to break some one who does not deserve it. If you execute him for his actions, then it is murder. No more, no less."Tangled Puppet So you know what she's doing!
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:59 pm
Aurora frowned "What were the rules of his test?? Was outside help not allowed??" Then Aurora shook her head "Things change can't you all see that??" She turned her attention to the pink and green haired member of their group. "The grimms weren't always friendly with the rest of the Bellow, but that has changed, the Nixies were in hiding, but they are a part of the academy and the bellow now. The daydreams are all welcome in the school. The Nagas and the nekos are no longer behind the shifting sands, as she said. The kirins and the naiads, if you won't forgive Tomoe at least give him a choice to stay or go, give anyone that chance others have why not you??" Aurora said refusing to bow down in fear to these people.
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