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 Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:43 pm
Even that vague reference was enough to set her hackles up. She couldn't let herself feel the pain again... so, instead, was the fiery rage. "Don't you dare speak about him to me!" she snarled, taking back her step to lean toward Jade, her hands gripping white-knuckled to the rail. Jade's pleading eyes made that rage fizzle quickly though, and as fast as she had jumped at the railing, she was jumping backward again, pressing against the wall.
She took a deep breath to get her control back. "I have every intention of leaving tomorrow, but we will go where we wish." She tried to glare at Jade, but it was a weak attempt. "When we last met... there was so much trouble. And here you are again, and Ross-" she bit her lip and shook her head. Her voice dropped to a quieter but more firm level, "Jade... I truly do appreciate all your help... but... the last time you saved my blood, we were attacked soon after. I won't have a repeat of that with my boys here. Just leave us alone before the trouble follows you to them like it followed you back then."
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:04 pm
Jade's claws dug into the wood beneath her paws. She wasn't surprised by the outburst, but rather keeping herself silent instead of defending him...the cattaur's chest clenched. If only you knew... All the pain and suffering he had went through for this female and she didn't even begin to understand the dark fate he was condemned to. There was a reason he had never tried to love before...because he was afraid of just this.
Trouble followed her? The thought made Jade actually laugh bitterly to herself, "Alright then. If that's how you see it." Her gaze was dark and mixed emotions swirled there. "Go as you please Ashierra, but if you care about the safety of those boys then go back. Anywhere, but here." Turning she walked out of the inn and back out into the storm. It hurt to be whole for so long so now she was just going to rest and recover. Opening her arms the cattaur went back into the winds where she could stay close as always.
It wasn't that trouble followed her, but that she always followed the trouble which chased them.
Bothered by the storm of events Ross found that he couldn't sleep long. All night his dreams were nightmares of things he couldn't understand. "Dad!" Hissing the cattaur jolted wide awake. Rubbing his head Ross noticed the form next to him, "Hey, hey Reed." He nudged his brother. "Wake up. I can't sleep."
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 1:31 pm
Jaw set firmly, Ashierra couldn't believe how her stomach sank as Jade turned away. Too much was flying through her head to handle what her friend was trying to tell her. She couldn't face what the implications might be..
Exhausted, she turned and headed up to the room. She paused at the room the boys were in, pressing an ear to the door. Hearing nothing but soft breathing, she headed to her room and collapsed onto the bed. Somehow, she managed to fall into a light, fitful sleep.
His own face stressed by vague dreams, he jumped as Ross nudged him, looking at his brother with wide eyes. ..What had he been dreaming about? Why was his heart thudding? "Just 'cause you can't sleep, why'd you have to wake me up?" he grumped without much enthusiasm. He yawned, chased off the last shadows of the unknown dream, and ruffled Ross' hair. Silently, he lit one of the lanterns with his magic and reached out for a bit of pork that was still left from their room service, heating that with his magic as well before taking a bite. "..You think mom's having trouble sleeping, too?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 2:40 pm
Ross leaned close to his brother a playful grin on his face, "Obviously I have to be awake with the person who can't sleep on their own." His gaze lit up with humor as he watched his brother's actions. "Hungry?" But just as quickly he sobered up, "I dunno. Hopefully not." Stretching Ross stood and walked over to a window.
Opening it he gazed out at the starry sky. It was still night...surely dawn was around the corner. He hated not being able to sleep and being stuck in this room was not helping him. "Hey Reed. Feel like exploring some?" He leaned back and looked over at his brother, "Maybe we can find out some way to cheer mom up while we're at it."
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 7:58 pm
Snorting, he waved his hand dismissively. "Accidentle, entirely." He looked at Ross standing at the window, and nodded. It was bad enough that mother was under such mysterious strain. If she didn't get any sleep... their hides would be skinned just by smiling at her!
At Ross' suggestion, his expression lit up. "Yeah! There's got to be something out there to help her out." He jumped up and nudged his brother playfully. "Maybe we'll even find that Jade lady for you to chat with~ You can talk to her without falling over this time."
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Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:46 pm
"Uh huh." Ross just shook his head at his brother. Maybe he could blame him for the bad dreams. Though the teen was glad to see his brother so close...it was a relief to have someone to share these moments with. So much better than being alone and lost with worry.
"Good! Sounds like an adventure awaits us." Grabbing his pack the cattaur swung it over his shoulders and headed for the door, "We just have to hurry before she wakes up and really feels like killing us...once she finds us outside." He stumbled though at his brother's sharp comment and flushed, "Hey now! Like you didn't enjoy 'helping' her to walk through the woods earlier." He ran a hand through his hair, "But if we did run into her again things would be different..." Ross grinned sheepishly, "Anyways let's go already."
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Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 9:18 pm
As Ross pointed out Reed's own subtle pleasure in walking the pretty Jade to town, Reed felt a shy smile rise. Well, why shouldn't he enjoy it a tiny bit? "I'm pretty sure mom will kill us at some point tomorrow whether or not she finds out we left during the night."
Grabbing up his own pack, he tucked a bit of food into it as well in case they felt the bite of hunger while out, since neither had eaten much when they'd crashed into bed. He poked his head out the door and listened for a few seconds. All was quiet. Grinning at Ross, he slipped down the stairs and carefully pushed through the front door. "At least the storm has passed," he said with a hint of uncertainty, looking up at the stars suspiciously. Though the sky was clear now, the air still felt heavy and thick with rain.
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Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 6:28 pm
Bingo. Ross could only roll his eyes at his brother's smile. Maybe there was hope for him yet. The thought made the teen chuckle under his breath. It would be a hard competition though if they should ever fight over the same girl one day. But his thoughts were instantly distracted by the looming threat of death, "True that. So might as well try to prolong it as much as possible."
Gliding down the stairs after his brother Ross nodded, "One good thing...I hope." He followed his gaze to the sky. Even if it did storm again as long as they weren't in the ocean...surely it would be alright. "So let's go before it changes its mind." Without much direction in mind the teen headed back towards the path they had come on. He didn't want to head back to the beach and instead veered north towards a darker part of the woods. It would be good to see if there was anything out this way since he figured their mother would want to go this way in the morning anyways. Holding out a hand for a ball of flame Ross ignored the feeling of warning which made his stomach clench. Surely it was just the storm and the events from earlier bothering him. Even if the woods were suddenly getting darker it was only because it was night, right?
If only he realized how danger waited ahead of them.
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Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:37 pm
Following after Ross, Reed tried to ignore the growing sourness in his gut. As they headed deeper into the woods, he lit his own ball of fire to light the way. His lips pressed tight as the jittery feeling spread.
"Ross... Does something here seem weird to you?" He stepped closer to his brother as he increased the size of his flame. "I... can't see anything." Their lights were only reaching a few feet in front of them. Beyond the immediate trees... their magic barely penetrated.
Something... Darkness... Coming... Ashierra sat up sharply, soaked in a cold sweat. What kind of dream was that? She was shivering... Combing her hair with her fingers, she shook off the dream and looked out the window. The storm had passed. Good. They could go. She hated to wake the boys, but she wanted to be away from here. Picking up her bag and securing it to herself, she took a drink of water and padded out to the hall. "Ross. Reed." She knocked firmly on the door. "Boys. Time to wake up."
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 6:14 pm
“Not at all.” But secretly Ross found himself pressing closer to his brother as well. What was up with the woods around them? It was like everything was silent…a fearful silent that was really odd in the forest. Something, anything should have been making some noise. His ears strained for even the tiniest chirp of a cricket. But then there was sound and the young cattaur wished for the silence to come back.
“Reed!” Shoving both him and his brother out of the way he felt the rush of magic. Fire. But it wasn’t light at all. How? Eyes widening Ross shook his head. Where had that come from? He never knew fire could make darkness…darker? His own flame wobbled around itself before going out. In the darkness he clutched at his brother and winced. What was it that had kept them from going any further?
Was it some form of barrier? Or something else? For a split second Ross swore he had seen a figure moving in front of them. Had the weird fire come from there? Still now that he could move again and wasn’t paralyzed from the shock of fear the cattaur winced. He definitely would have some new bruises now.
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:41 pm
Reed frowned and shook his head. Maybe he was just imagining... but even this was a stretch. Imagining that the darkness was too heavy for their fires? His frown deepened at the strange sound, and he didn't even get the chance to yell when he was tackled over, feeling the magical heat of the dark fire pass by them. ..Dark fire?
He immediately put out his own flame and pulled Ross close, ignoring the rock he was lying on. He put out one hand, ready to raise his fire again should he need to, but hopefully the darkness would be their friend as much as their enemy. Maybe this meant whoever had fired at them couldn't see them either..? He gave Ross a questioning squeeze, making sure his brother was okay. Which... which way was back? He couldn't even see the stars now.
Ashierra rudely interrupted the peaceful sleeping of a few other guests of the inn, shouting and calling the whole way as her paws flew along the floor. "Reed! Ross!" No, no, no! Not now! Why did they have to wander off now?! At least, she prayed they had simply left on their own. The room didn't look like any struggling had occurred.
Completely oblivious to the taur yelling at her for the intrusions, she leapt down the stairs and out the front door. "Ross!" She looked down one way. "Reed!" She looked down the other.. and then her body went cold.
..What was this feeling?
Looking at the forest, she realized that it wasn't just dark over the trees. It was an unnatural dark. Impenetrable darkness. The boys wouldn't walk into that! ...would they? She realized that when she took a moment to think... that was right where their faded scents led... She followed the trail anyway. Maybe it turned away before the woods...
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 12:21 pm
"Reed." Holding onto his brother the teen squinted ahead trying to see down the forest. What was going on? For a second he felt as if the breath was being slowly squeezed out of his lungs...a heavy fog had been all around them. Shaking his head clear the cattaur frowned. There had to be a reason for this! Slowly he stood and pulled at his brother to get up as well.
"We need to figure this out." He was always a spirit full of curiosity and even more so now. What could have such an impact on them in this area? He bit his lip thoughtfully before tilting his head to listen. Was it gone or still out there? He felt as if it hadn't been aiming to kill them...rather just chase them away. Then again that blast of magic towards them hadn't been so comforting. It was as if it didn't care if they lived or died as long as they left. But what would happen if they moved forward? He wanted to find out more...it was as if a part of him was moving forward after that dark aura.
It really made no sense.
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 3:07 pm
[Reed perked his ears as they stood back up, trying hard to see through the pitch darkness. What had that been? Which way was away from that thi- Figure this out?! "Why do we have to figure this out?" he hissed sharply, even though his own tone showed just how curious he was, and how much he wanted to know about what was hidden beyond.
"We really should be trying to find our way back to mom before she wakes up..." His voice held no conviction though. His paws were already slowly walking forward. One hand gripped tightly to Ross', so as not to lose his brother to the darkness.
Ashierra stood at the edge of the forest, staring. Why would they walk into here? Why? Why would they leave the inn without her in the first place?
...What was this recognition she felt. As though something deep within the darkness was.. something.. she knew... No. That was impossible though. She raced back to the inn for her pack, and to grab a little extra food. How long would it take to find those boys?
Back at the edge of the magical abyss, she found the scents of her sons again, and looked back at the town. 'Jade... Is this what you feared?' Stiffening her jaw, she passed through the barrier. It wasn't long before she couldn't see anything either. She only had the scent of her boys to follow, and did her best to not trip over the unseen undergrowth. Mysterious and intimidating darkness or not, she was going to find her sons. 'Ross... Reed... Be safe.'
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:50 pm
Fighting raged on in the distance. Alek’s eyes were blood red from the strain of magic as he struggled against a creature that appeared to be made of pure shadow. The cattaur himself reeked of darkness himself as the flames which consumed him seemed unlike the fire of most. Everything around them were covered in ashes as he pushed intruders back earlier with that blast of pure magic. For some reason a flicker of caring had come into him and that was why he had pushed so hard for them to go back rather than be dragged into the fighting.
But now that his opponent was gone the cattaur swirled around with a hiss at the noise.
Ross tugged at his brother’s arm, “It’ll be fine. We can just say we were startled by some noise outside and went to check it out.” He forced a small smile, “Or just blame it on me. Mom knows I often end up in other places throughout the night and come back late some days.” Though admittedly he did nearly feel like he was going to lose his life that one time…
Still.
“Come on. It’ll be fine. Either way don’t you want to see what’s going on here? It could be important! We could be uncovering something that could save the town!” His fake bravado ended, however, as he stumbled at the sound of a hiss in the darkness. Who was it that was threatening them? His paws dug into the ground frozen as the presence came back. And this time it was focused on them!
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 9:42 pm
Reed shook his head. "I think it'll be more believable if I just blame it on you." He tried to smile, but a great weight seemed to press on him. What was...? "I hate when you're right," he grumped softly. Of course he wanted to find out what it was!
His own body froze at that dreadful sound, his blood running cold. "Ross," he croaked, gripping his brother's hand hard, gulping to clear the lump in his throat, "Ross! We gotta go!"
Ashierra was only just able to reign back her urge to run. She didn't want to miss a single turn the scents were taking. They were her only clue.
However, a harsher clue suddenly shouted out. That was Reed! Hearing the fear in his voice, she shot toward the sounds, bumping into trees along the way. "Reed! Ross!" Trying to keep her own worry under control, and continuing to deny the familiarity she felt hidden within the darkness, she flooded out her fire, putting out as much as she could in attempt to break through the unnatural darkness. She had to see!
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