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 Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 3:43 pm
Just the proximity with his lover seemed to calm the Dragon King down. Asking him not to fuss, through, was like asking a bee to stop loving honey, and Lifewater did just that, carefully resting his hands on what cold patches he could find to return warmth to them, and wiping away the leftover moisture with his own clothing, which had seen much better days.
"That was... Unexpected." This was the tactful way to say he had not liked any second of this, really. "I am fine." Through. "...Might have lost a scale or two, but that'll grow back." Nothing broken, just a little... shell shocked, to say the least.
It probably would not be the last time... But now at least he knew exactly what to look for, and what to steel himself against.
"I... am in one piece." Maybe. Somewhat. Perhaps ? Really, his ears were ringing and he had the mother of all headaches. And to think... He'd thought the Gehenna waves had been bad.
Good thing he had not been so strong back then.
Ankou managed to more or less righten himself back into standing position, through he still leaned against Gungnir for support. At least he was slowly gaining tangibility again, through he did not seem to notice anything had happened at all. At least, he did not look like he was about to argue, for once. The Spirit Guide shook his head to clear his vision, and took his own account of his companion. Everyone looked more or less alright... But this was a startling reminder of what could happen if he got careless.
Sobering thoughts, really. He should probably explain but... later. Yes. Later would be better. "I should probably rest apart... If more do come, they will be drawn to me."
Maybe not completely non-argumentative, but probably better than Cosine might have expected.
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 4:24 pm
"Being indifferent to life or death seems to have its advantages." Tien was just thankful she would seem less of a beacon to the spirits that dwelt here compared to some of the others. It would have been far worse had she been able to see, hear or feel the spirits more than vaguely; had that been the case things likely would not have gone so well. She settled herself down and watched the others, now wishing she had not talked Asherah out of coming with her. But the sun would have been merciless on the Kitten, with her lovely black fur. Besides, her aoidei would no doubt have their hands full with keeping Ser occupied while she was gone and then there was Itzal, their faery guest who she still knew next to nothing about.
Trickery slid her pack off and rummaged through it. Where had she put that? She knew it was in here, having seen it when she had checked her supplies earlier before meeting up with the others. Ah ha! It was a puzzle ring she had gotten in the mortal market one day. She had watched the jeweler make them and been so intrigued she ended up getting one for herself. So far it had proved to be a good distraction for times like the present when there was little else to do or she needed to distract her thoughts from another subject.
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Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 5:51 pm
 Xun's panicked motions and the wave of force he'd released had upended much of the garden. The walkway was revealed on side, a bench half uncovered to the side, and the fountain was now missing a good third of it's bowl and leaning precariously to the side. The corpse in the corner and fallen over in the jumble, dried into position like a grisly statue.
"Let's bury that one, though." Glyph responded, gesturing at the body as he spoke to Cosine then shook his head, "If more come, they'll find us all - especially the numbers are the same. Better to be together, Ankou."
To Xun, he bowed his head and smiled, "It was. I told you we had not idea what we were walking in to... there's likely a great many more unpleasant surprises to come." There was a tenderness in his voice, though, as he spoke, earnestly glad the dragon was none the worse for wear.
"Apparently so," Glyph chuckled, as he turned his gaze on Tien, "We each have our strengths and weaknesses. I am glad you came along, you can handle the spirits well."
He squeezed Xun close for a moment then released him and stepped forward to marshal the group, "The sun is rising so the heat will only get worse. We should stay in this garden until we've gotten a chance to better test the waters. Xun, you've got the water, make sure it stays whatever shade you can find. Tien, will you be able to ward them? I don't know what else we can expect but I suspect your abilities will be useful nonetheless. Cosine, Ankou... how long do you expect you'll need to recover? I don't want to stay here too long - our supplies are limited, after all. I'll see if I can't make this space more hospitable."
Speech made, he stepped towards the corpse and lifted it gently - it was unexpectedly light, "Here, we'll lay you to rest with the others." Moving past the rest of the group, he knelt by the child's grave and set the body down while he dug a hole.
Welcoming any help that was offered, he shifted around to the tops of the graves once the body was laid to rest and planted a single seed. "The sticks are broken and fragile... like this world. Hopefully this small gesture will help it heal." He murmured as he encouraged the seedling to grow up and establish itself.
Tired, he sat back to admire the new sapling. It was hardly, from the seeds he'd uncovered in the garden, and would hopefully survive to grow into a marker for the town, with these graves at its feet, a mark of renewal in the blasted lands.
Leaning back against the wall foundations, he closed his eyes and breathed a moment, letting his influence spread over the garden itself. The sand shivered in places to reveal grasses and shoots, greening the place over the course of an hour. It was far more comfortable to Glyph, now that they'd established themselves.
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Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:39 am
 Cosine smirked at Ankou's words, her hand falling to her side as he straightened. As if she was going to let him wander off to curl up alone. Though, she was glad when Glyph voiced the thought. Ankou would listen to him or feel obliged to at least which was just as good.
"He's right." She said simply, raising an eyebrow to accompany her knowing smile. "There's some shade there, where Tien is." She noted. "Do you need help?"
At Glyph's question she turned to look in his direction, watching as he lifted the body and carried it to a suitable resting place.
"I am ready whenever Ankou is. Joy is an easy emotion to evoke, I won't be able to do it again for a while but I am ready to move when everyone else is."
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Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:10 pm
"I should be alright." He nodded to Cosine. He just needed to sit down for a bit, really... make the world stop spinning. "An hour or two should be enough." If it was not, well... He'd make it so.
Stubbornness at work, folks.
He accepted one gourd from Xun Jiang as the dragon came to meet up with him, then made his way to sit next to Tien, resting Gungnir against the ground. Through now he found himself distracted by the object she was holding. "What is that ?"
The reminder did get him to pout slightly. It was not like he had thought this whole thing was going to be a walk in the park of a picnic ! "Right." He did not argue, through, and instead nodded, sliding his bag in the shade before busying himself with helping Glyph. Sprouting things was well and good, but they would need nutrients... and water, which he could handle. A few of the vials were emptied around the saplings, hopefully providing it with enough moisture to last long enough so that the ecosystem might righten itself again. Plants would bring humidity, which would bring rain, which would bring life.
At least that was what he hoped.
Through the area damage was... well. A little embarrassing. Thankfully no one did live there anymore.
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Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:01 pm
"It's a puzzle ring." Tien answered without looking up. Her fingers twisted and turned the small metal rings, working them back into the pattern they had been before she unwound them all. This particular one was a twelve band ring, so it would take her a while to solve it. Since Ankou seemed genuinely curious she held the ring out so he could have a better look at it. "Once it is solved you can wear it like you would any other ring. It really is a clever little thing."
To most solving them also appeared to be deceptively easy, but puzzle rings tended to be much more complicated than they first appear. "This one has twelve bands. They can be made with less, or even a few more. The more bands there are the harder the puzzle is to solve." It would be plain enough for them to see why she would enjoy something like this.
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Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 9:17 pm
Glyph smiled to himself as Xun went about pouring water for the plants that were pushing up above the sands and arched a brow, "Don't use too much water, Xun. We need it too. There's a water vein not too far below, feel it? Their roots should reach it in time." He drew one leg up so as to rest an elbow on the knee and flexed his toes as he watched Ankou and Tien, the puzzle ring did indeed look interesting.
He remained motionless from then for most of an hour, eyes closed and face turned up to the sun as it arced higher into the sky. The early morning heat was not too bad - uncomfortable, but not unmanageable. The noonday heat would likely be much worse, however, pegging their transport times for early morning and early evening, when the temperatures were milder.
After a time, he fished out the mirror and shuffled over to Ankou and Tien, trying to avoid flashing sunlight in their eyes as he presented the Spirit Guide with it. "Ankou... are you well enough to look at this? There's no sense moving until you get a sense of the mirror, if any."
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Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 11:34 pm
Cosine followed Ankou and sank down net to him by Tien. She glanced over at the ring and smiled a little.
"My brother might like something like that." She mused, though maybe not considering he'd got himself trapped inside a puzzle.
As Glyph and Xun set about nourishing the earth Cosine dug around in her pack for her notebook and a pen. She leaned her arm against Ankou a little and started to write. Noting their arrival and events so far. Infinity still soared above them, no doubt scouting the landscape for them.
When Glyph approached with the mirror she glanced it over with interest.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 4:14 pm
"It cannot hurt giving it a little help to get there, through." Really, he was not seeing water as an issue - he could easily make a wellspring if it was needed, and find water, no matter their location.
If everything was dried up like this, in fact, he may very well have to. But for now, he did put the cork back on the bottle and settled to rest as well. Eventually he did list his hood to (hopefully) prevent a nasty sunburn as the sun started to glow brighter and hotter, but so far he was not faring too badly.
"I see..." This was not something he could see himself trying to solve, but it was still an interesting concept. Tien would get to continue with her puzzle more or less undisturbed, as Ankou alternated in between watching her work and closing his eyes to rest a little bit and let his awareness wander. Clearly he was not used to be still, but Cosine's nearness kept him still. The wings on the side she was leaning onto half-curled around her, as if they could somehow have shielded her from what little sun did reach them from their current location.
It was Glyph's voice that finally caught his attention again, and he nodded, reaching up to carefully accept the mirror as it was handed to him. The piece was handled carefully, and he took a moment to look it over.
"It might take me a while to feel something." If he could feel anything at all. There was only one way to know, through - one pale hand moved to rest itself on top of the mirror and his eyes closed once more.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:35 pm
Tien glanced up from the ring and quirked an eyebrow at the mention of the other goddess' brother. She had met Arctang briefly on her trip to the Underground with Mystery, but was unsure if it she should mention it. Not all the pairs of gods were close after all. Her attention went back to the puzzle ring when Cosine started writing.
When Glyph approached with the mirror she clicked the last ring in place, only to undo it again when Ankou said it might take a while. Perhaps this ring had more than one solution. Some could but it depended upon how the ring was fashioned in the first place. Even if it did not putting it together again would be something to pass the time.
After a little while sighed a little and rolled her shoulders. Damn the sun is getting harder to ignore. She set the ring in her lap carefully and retrieved the cloak Cosine had lent her from her pack, draping it around her shoulders and tugging it up over her hair. Much better. At least the sun was less in her eyes now.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:16 am
The water wouldn't hurt now but when Xun found himself drained and imobile due to lack of energy... it would matter. Glyph, however, kept quiet on the matter and simply squeezed his lover's shoulder in thanks.
When Ankou took the mirror and gave his explanation, he gave a nod and sank down in the grass infront of the other god. The plants seemed to feed off his energy and they shivvered as they grew a little, soon forming a sort of fairy circle around Forest. It pleased him to see the life so tenacious and responsive - Xun's water would do much to help what even he could not.
As he waited for the Spirit Guide to make his assessment, he held out a hand to Xun, wishing to sit with Lifewater, and looked at what Trickery was toying with, "Is that a puzzle?" He tilted his head, "Can you make those?" Curiosity filled his tones as he leaned forward to better inspect the object.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 11:07 am
Cosine finished her thoughts off and tucked the pen behind her ear.
"I have brought playing cards with me." She said with a smile, glancing past Ankou to Tien. "I will teach you some games if you teach me some tricks later." Then she could teach Kios, which would amuse the young god she had no doubt.
Above Infinity circled back round and landed on top of the wall they were all sat against. She had had a brief look around and there was nothing. Settlements but no signs of life.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 5:42 pm
The hint he was given was easy enough to puzzle out, and it was not long before Xun Jiang sat beside his lover, careful not to sit of any of the new growth that occurred around Glyph.
Cards, hm ? Well, it had certainly been a long time. "What do you play ?" He asked, curious. Maybe it would be similar to the games he knew through Illisia.
It was easy, almost to easy, to drown out the voice of his companions' chatter as he focused on the mirror. At first he felt nothing, nothing but the countless dead that wandered this world even now, all but cut off from the cycle of life and death by how far removed their world had been from everything, unlinked from everything aside from the World Tree. But where the World Tree was... Well, he had no idea. All he knew was that if this world had detached from Yggdrasil, well... They would not be standing here to begin with.
He reached out for the closer souls first, those who had been drawn in by the sudden storm but kept clear when he had swiftly ended it. They did not know what he asked, did not know of one of their own bearing a gem in their flesh. Through, for now, he tasked them with finding that one individual. It would, with some luck, keep at least a few of them busy and away from the travelling party.
Then, he returned his focus to the mirror. Fingers slid across the soft glass, followed curves and grooves. Idle motions of the body while his mind was busy elsewhere. Eventually, finally, he did feel something - faint, oh so very faint - from the object, an imprint so faint that it had nearly faded away with time.
Now that he knew what he was looking for, all that needed to be done was to look for it - that took even longer, minutes turning into nearly an hour when something, far, so far away, caught it attention.
Something that did not feel like the rest of the souls that wandered the desert, something that felt similar to the imprint on the mirror.
It was faint, so faint... He might be wrong, for all he knew, for how faint it was... But at the same time, that one little pulse was so different than all the other ones, and there was nothing like it.
"I found something." He finally said, getting up and taking a few steps into the openness, trying to re-orient himself and find the location of that faint feeling with senses other than his sixth. "Over... There. Eastward."
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 7:18 pm
Her fingers went along sliding the rings into place as Glyph watched. "It is and a clever little one at that." She grinned, sliding the last piece into place and turned the ring around to get a better look at the new pattern that formed before holding it out so he could get a better look a it. "I think I could, but it would take time to make one this complex." Time and practice more than likely; that is how it had been with her shapeshifting gift. "A jeweler in the marketplace made this one. His name escapes me at the moment. Its one of the smaller shops though."
Tien slid the ring on her finger for now, glad it fit comfortably so she would not loose it somewhere in the sand between here and wherever they ended up heading off to. "I know a few card games, but I'm always glad to learn new ones." Her host-self had known a few Earth games and she had learned more from the folk in the town where she had established her home. "And I'm sure I could find something to teach you in trade." Maybe not cheating at cards, but she could certainly find something.
Her gaze slid to Ankou when he stood, wondering if he had found anything or was simply taking a break. "Well, it isn't much to go on but that is certainly more than we had."
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 7:43 pm
For the hour that they waited for Ankou to sort through the spirits, Glyph turned his attention to the card games. He knew little of the gambling and betting that accompanied the games, his host had not been for the betting dens or the seedy taverns where his horn would mark him for death or worse. Thus, Glyph's curiosity was piqued.
When Ankou finally spoke, nearly an hour later, Forest looked to his friend then towards the east. It was noon now, and the ripples of heat from the desert plains that stretched out before them were forboding while simulataneously beckoning. Mirages promised water and ease of travel where only dust and skeletons waited.
"East, hn?" The god nodded, "That is something, at least. Do you need the mirror still? I'll carry it if not." Reaching out he waited for the return of the mirror before stretching hugely. "Shall we then? I'd rather see how far we can get in the highest heat while we're close to the door in case we need more supplies. Everyone ready?"
Rising, he adjusted his robes and shouldered his pack.
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