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 Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2012 8:25 am
It wasn't until Cesc turned his eyes up to Xiu, checking to see the other's actions, that the stag understood his and the unicorn's predicament. Xiu was moving deliberately slowly -- was he afraid? No, his lack of quickness was not from fear; his expression had something of determination in it, and his eyes were focused. Xiu had some sort of plan, being older and wiser and therefore thinking before rushing in. Cesc craned his neck away from the vine trying to work its way up his jaw and over his mouth, and when he paused for that moment to study Xiu, it paused as well. The vines around his forearm and shoulder stopped wriggling completely, as though returning to their natural state. Meanwhile, the unicorn continued to buck, and the cords encircling it only became tighter.
A look of understanding passed over Cesc's face. The stag closed his eyes and drew in a breath, exhaling all the anger, shock, panic and emotion. He would be still. He would be calm. As his soft amber eyes opened again, he looked down to the unicorn, to its panicked face.
"You will be fine," he said in his measured tone, his voice steady and even and quietly strong. His expression of calmness did not change, even as the unicorn began to sink into the ground, taking him, tethered as he was to it, with it. His eyes followed the vines up -- they were tied to safety. Xiu was nearby the strongest vines, the ones that had cocooned the unicorn's hind quarters so that they no longer moved. There was a plan here. They would be fine.
Cesc's wings flashed, becoming tangible again, and slowly, powerfully, began to flap upward, pulling the unicorn ever so slightly up. The stag was not overly strong, but he ignored the strain as best as he could, his brows drawing together in a frown of concentration. His muscles tensed around the unicorn, all motion a simple pulling upward. His jaw tensed and his shoulders tightened, and he looked up at Xiu, still safely apart. He trusted the sigel. He knew he could not do it alone.
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:38 pm
Xiu had already slipped past the massive tangles of vines when the next astonishing began to happen. As improbably as it was, the ground beneath the unicorn had taken on a sandy and liquefied texture. Right before the Sigel’s eyes the graceful unicorn began to sink, all the while struggling and emitting a braying screeching sound that was shockingly similar to its lesser cousins; at least, from the description mentioned in books about animals in their death throes.
But this was not the time for contemplation as the unicorn was sinking ever lower. Turning to Cesc, Xiu was relieved to see that the Frei was alright and that...his suspicions were proven true. Having stopped struggling, the frei was now only loosely wrapped in those vines and he seems to be... trying to haul the unicorn up by sheer strength alone. His efforts were honourable but a quick look into a physics book would tell you that the path of most resistance would be one directly opposing a force (in this case, gravity) and Cest was trying to pull a seven hundred kilogramme animal out in that manner. This might end badly...
But thankfully the frei was not alone. Xiu would have liked it more if he could cut through the plant’s base so that it would (hopefully) die and pose no other threats to the three of them. As that seemed unlikely, Xiu guess he would have to rely on strength, for now. Gripping the vines gingerly (he still did not trust them), Xiu began to pull on them, applying pressure gradually and attempting not to move too much lest he too would be caught within those horrible vines. Xiu’s plan was not to lift the unicorn out of the muck but to drag it over to solid ground where hopefully, it would be able to find footing and pull itself out.
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2012 10:25 pm
Thankfully, against Xiu's suspicions, the vines did not budge anymore as they were used as leverage to pull the unicorn out of the muck. Perhaps the maze was not as cruel and hopeless as the Raevans think it is, with every problem the maze provided a solution as well. The Raevans just need to know what to do with it.
After it's initial struggle, the unicorn seemed to had understood what the Raevans were doing as he was lifted slowly out of the quicksand, and began to calm down a little as the two worked. Once it had sure footing against one of the solid walls, the magnificent creature began to kick against it with all his force, and eventually after much time and effort, the unicorn lays on solid ground again with two tired out Raevans. The vines seem to loosen it's grip once the unicorn was out of the quicksand, and after some struggles, fell uselessly to the ground when the creature stood back up.
The unicorn did not run immediately, but instead turned around and looked at both Raevans with his soulful dark blue eyes. As if saying thank you, the creature bowed his head down gracefully.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 4:23 am
Cesc's eyes flashed up to Xiu as the sigel began to pull on the vines, understanding after a moment what the other meant to do. With a groan of effort, he too began pushing the unicorn toward the solid ground, guided by Xiu's manipulation of the vines. It was exhausting, tireless work, and the frei's eyes shut tightly against the strain his muscles were facing. Sweat began to bead on his temples and his breath hissed between his teeth as he tried to keep himself steady. He was gratified to see the unicorn seemed to be calming down, its movements becoming less jerky and more fluid, and then, finally, aiding them in saving it.
When the great creature stumbled onto land again, Cesc let out a ragged breath of relief, his wings flapping weakly to carry him to safety as well. He felt tired and hungry, but his rune's pangs would have to be ignored -- his next meal would be twilight, and until then he would just have to make do. The stag rested against the ground, catching his breath, turning his head to look gratefully at Xiu. There were still remnants of the vines clinging uselessly to him, falling more every time he made a motion.
"... that was exhausting..." he murmured, pulling himself upright and shaking off the remaining vines. Cesc tried on a weak smile as he opened his cuffs and shook out the plants, taking inventory of burst seams and grass stains. His fingers, normally deft, felt lethargic. But he smiled anyway, turning to the white sigel. "You're very good in an emergency."
With hardly a sound, the unicorn stood, the vines dropping away from its pristine flank, totally unstained and unbothered by the sand or cords that had just bound it. It looked as regal as ever, as proud as ever, but it lowered its head to them in thanks. Cesc's small smile became warm as he watched it, and the hunger in his rune seemed to subside, as though healed. The stag's hand went to his chest, and he looked down, amazed to see his rune glowing steadily and brightly.
And just like that, the maze shifted again, seemingly at the unicorn's behest. The walls shivered and parted, and a pathway opened before them. The walls became flowered, fragrant, and lovely: a beautiful little hallway that revealed the garden party beyond. It was over -- they had successfully traversed the maze and all its tests.
The unicorn turned and trotted away, having acknowledged its gratitude and repaid its debt.
Cesc watched it momentarily and then turned his head toward Xiu, eyes bright. He picked up the wrinkled bundle that was his vest and cravat and loosely put the garments on, his face showing his amusement at his now-dishevelled appearance. His hair was matted, his clothes were wrinkled and ripped and damp, his arms were scratched and bruised and his face was smudged with plants and sand. They both of them still smelled faintly of bird poop and plant overgrowth. The two of them looked like absolute shadows of the selves that had entered the maze -- so gentlemanly and neat before, and now ... well... this. But it was over. No more storms, or bird poop, or swinging axes.
"Shall we?" said the stag, his deep voice pleasant and amused, but appropriately weary.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 7:58 am
The vines were being more cooperative than Xiu could have hoped and barely gave so much as a twitched as the two raevans worked together to get the unicorn out of the quicksand. The unicorn itself seemed to have figured out that it was being helped and remained calm throughout the whole endeavour; a definite boon to the two tired raevans.
After much pulling and pushing, the gentle creature was finally on sound ground once again. Xiu released the vines gratefully and settled beside the pink frei. Cesc looked terrible; with his torn and stained clothes and the faint smell of bird poop lingering about him...
Not that Xiu himself was a model raevan at the moment. Smelling faintly of bird droppings himself, the Sigel’s white clothes would be a pain clean later on. However, the frei’s remarked caused the Sigel to blush slightly and shake his head sheepishly. He was not half as good as Lazarus or Rivener when it came to handling emergencies. The two Sigels were just so...calm and strong....
While Xiu...
Well, he did what he had to do. That’s all, really...
The unicorn had by this gotten up and shaken the remnants of the vines off its pristine white coat. By the looks of the magnificent creature, it seemed as though it had never been marred by quicksand before. And when the unicorn gave a bow...
Xiu felt himself returning the bow; if awkwardly, to the magnificent creature. There was just something so...majestic and beautiful about it...
As if satisfied that it had repaid its debt, the unicorn then turned and trotted off, leaving the two raevans with a path as scenic as a painting. Turning to Cesc, Xiu nodded. They would take the path the unicorn provided and be grateful for the gentle being’s help.
Floating up once more, the White Sigel dusted himself as best as he could and together with Cesc, the both of them exited the maze. No doubt...their appearance would cause a scene amongst the gentle crowd but as it were, the White Sigel felt that the phrase “They could not give a damn...,” was a fitting descriptor indeed.
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