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 Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:15 am
 'Drinking Buddies' Chinchillie Juice bars were not meant for toddlers. That, however, did not stop Sabriel. After grabbing a stool to stand on, he leaned forward on the counter, turning his head so he could peer under each nozzle and figure out which meant which juice, and - if possible - tapping the button and sticking his tongue out. Anything was good, anything except for the really sugary stuff, which he promptly spat out. Hygiene was for lesser life forms.
Prince was perched over at the far end in memory of the lemonaid incident. Sabriel fixed up a glass of peach-lime-orange and slid it over to him, then got to work on his own glass. Now this was fun.
And where was Chin during this? At an appointment for the baby, which conveniently left him at home. It'd been easy as pie to slip through the portal and wander at will. Sabriel mentally congratulated himself and Prince and took a sip of juice, pleased with himself and the world right now. Glass Crow "Two headed boy, all floating in glass, the sun it has passed, now it's blacker than black, I can hear as you tap on your jar-"
Lenore was on cloud nine, singing at the top of her voice and skipping in a truly uncharacteristic show of happiness. The ivory rose pendant Osso had given her swung on its chain, bouncing against her chest as she moved. Laughing interrupted the words of her song, and she repeated and giggled as she twirled through the hall.
Osso liked her. She liked him, and he liked her, and nothing, nothing was going to put a damper on her good mood -
She twirled into a random room and stopped dead, the words flattening into a groan.
Sabriel.
Cat.
"....Hey." Chinchillie No. No, no, no. The Bird did not sing. It couldn't be her. It couldn't be...Sabriel flinched as Lenore came dancing into the room, accidently moving the glass and splattering the counter with cranberry. Shoving Prince out of harm's way, he shot a glare over one shoulder at her, hoping she'd leave as soon as possible. Why today?
"Go 'way." he ordered her, attempting to look as though he were in the middle of something important. Well, in a sense he was. Juice making was a serious business. Glass Crow Lenore's eyes slitted.
"Make me, Cat," she snapped. Seizing a glass and getting herself a cup of lemonade, she eyed Prince coolly before curling her lip at Sabriel. She was absolutely sick and tired of trying to be nice to this little terror.
"Should I even bother trying to talk to you?" she asked. She could feel the happy bubble in her deflating by the second, and she wouldn't mind some sarcasm and insult-trading to get it back up again. Chinchillie Sabriel's tails gave an angry jerk - he longed to fulfill that request, but, remembering their meeting at the playground, did nothing. He swallowed the irritation, turning back to the task at hand.
"No." He punched the buttons with a little more force than perhaps they needed, but stayed relatively calm. What had she been so happy about, anyway? The toddler tilted his head at Len while she got herself a glass of lemonade. "Sing horrible." he added thoughtfully, hoping to make her even more mad. Glass Crow Lenore grinned savagely.
"Yeah? At least I don't look like my face got caught in a blender," she said evenly, taking a seat two down from Sabriel. Sipping her drink calmly, she glanced at the Cat sidelong.
"Where's your mum? She turn you loose or something?" Chinchillie Sabriel huffed, flattening his ears back. "Vulture." Okay, it wasn't a good comeback. But vultures liked faces-in-blenders sort of things, and Len was a stupid Bird, and it made sense. He sipped gingerly at his own drink and nearly gagged. URGH. She'd made him put sugar in it! This was starting to get personal.
At the question, he frowned at her, annoyed by her tone. "Gone. Doctor." Venom found its way into his voice as he spoke the final sentence, because he hated the horrible baby even more than he hated the Bird. "Doctor for stupid baby." Glass Crow "Close enough. Raven, mange-bag." Len paused, taking another sip of lemonade. "If you laid out in the sun and died, y'know, ravens would swarm you and peck out your eyes."
She'd always found that particular tidbit of information highly fascinating. She'd relished the chance to share it. As the Cat continued to talk, she tilted her head curiously at his bitter tone at the mention of Miss Chin's...baby, was it?
"Oh. That's too bad, then," she said amiably. "Looks like she's replacing you, huh?"
Despite the meanness of the words, there was almost sympathetic concern in her tone. Not much, but enough. Chinchillie "Not plannin' on dying." Sabriel said, sounding disgusted. It was a sort of interesting fact, he had to admit, but she made it sound so...imminent. So much for not being a vulture. Right. Eyeballs probably didn't taste very good, anyway.
He looked even more irritated as she pounced on the baby subject - the one thing he really really didn't want to talk about. "Don't care." he dismissed it, trying to sound indifferent, and sipped at the juice again, which (thankfully) tasted better the second time around.
He spied a jar of maraschino cherries sitting on the counter, waiting to be put in drinks - bringing it closer, he fished around in it and brought out four, two of which he tossed at the Bird. "Eyes for the vulture!" he told her with a grin, dunking two into his own glass. Glass Crow "Too bad for that," Lenore said cheerfully. She didn't bother ducking or flinching as the cherries soared over at her. A wind shear in miniature caught them before they struck, hovering bizarrely and rotating in midair. She reached out for them and popped one in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
"Not bad. Could use some bile," she said, warming to the eyeball theme. He might be a repugnant...cat... but Len almost didn't mind. He was pleasantly unpleasant to hang around with. "Sorry 'bout the baby. Maybe it won't be so bad. It could be evil like you, maybe."
She said it not as an insult, but as more an observation. She saw no point in trying to pretend the kid was something he wasn't. So what if he was a mean-spirited cat? Wasn't his fault he was born that way. Chinchillie It must've been the magic that put Sabriel on edge, who stared intently at the twirling cherries, completely distracted from the conversation, and not anything Lenore had said. He only relaxed when she moved to pluck one from the air - blinked eyes slitted from reaction and opened them normal, let out breath in a long sigh, and relaxed completely when the last one fell to earth.
Shaking his head to clear it, he blinked again. "Don't want...don't want baby at all." he said firmly once he figured out what Lenore had remarked on. "Not at all." It was even worse if it was an evil baby, because it'd get a lot more attention that way. "Bird buy baby?" Sabriel sounded hopeful. It was a good idea! Then the Bird would have to deal with the stupid baby and everything would be fine. She probably liked babies. All girls did. Glass Crow Taking especial pleasure in Sabriel's discomfort, Len finished her lemonade and switched over to a kiwi-strawberry concoction. Sipping delicately, she nodded in attentive interest at the Cat's words.
"Sorry Cat, house is full enough all ready. We got me, Mum," she said, ticking off family on her fingers, "Julian, Ethan, Doll, Sadako - you remember Sadako, don't you? - an' probably more people on the way, sooner or later. You never know."
Shrugging, she took a gulp of juice.
"It might not be as bad as you think," she murmured. "Your mum loves you for some reason, right? Just 'cause there's someone new coming along...don't mean she'll love you less for it. Iffen you're just worried about being alone...well. You don't seem the type to care if you got company or not."
Len glanced at the Cat. She had no idea how on earth anyone could love something like him, but Miss Chin probably did. She figure he was either worried of losing her abused affections...or maybe he just really, really hated everything that moved, and the baby was just a new target.
One never knew. Especially with cats. Chinchillie "Sure? Can throw out 'Dako." Of course not. That was all you could expect from birds.
He watched her out of the corner of his eye, but the Bird didn't do anything else suspicious. "Don't care 'bout her." he shrugged, not cheered up by her words. No attention...the part about not needing company was right and made him puff up a little with pride, though. That was him. Didn't need anyone. But having no attention was a horrible prospect.
The thought of Sadako did make Sabriel pause. Babies were better company, at least, than crazy evil guardians. Glass Crow Making a disapproving tsk at Sabriel's reply, Len shrugged.
"If I threw her out, she'd probably follow you home and kill you," she said mildly. Finishing off her juice, she leaned on the counter and glanced over at him. "She doesn't like you for some reason." Chinchillie "'cuz Dako's stupid." Sabriel said scornfully. Even if Len said she wasn't, she didn't get the baby thing, so who knew? With just a touch of pride he added, "Prince wouldn' let her." She DID appreciate guardians. That was a good thing. "Lions big. Claws n' teeth. LOTS of 'em. Dako's just stupid."
The Cat tried to look pitying and intelligent while explaining this but it didn't really work, what with the juice and the stuffed animal and everything. There was something to be said for trying. Glass Crow "That's right, Cat," Lenore said in a bored monotone. "Sadako's stupid. I'll be sure to tell her that, I'm sure she'd like to come an' visit you and thank you for clarifying it."
Glancing over at Prince, she nodded in grudging growing interest.
"I do like lions, though. They're pretty. Never seen a white one before." she said, taking a slurp of juice. "Where'd you get him?"
Sadako, as Crow had been fond of complaining about, was not the kind of toy anyone in their right mind should be playing with. Prince seemed quite pleasant and normal compared to Len's doll, and for a brief moment she was actually...ugh, it was repulsive to say it....jealous. Chinchillie Sabriel latched onto that spark of envy, tails actually starting to swish back and forth from his sharpened attention. Yes! "Saved 'em. From pantahs." To Len this probably sounded like he'd saved Prince from pants, but he bared his teeth and unsheathed his claws to show his point. EVIL pants, then.
Pause. ...damn. He couldn't believe he was thinking this. "Bird," Tailtwitch. "wanna see Prince?" The white lion looked clean from where Len was sitting, though it was polka-dotted with juice and lemonade. The look on his face suggested she'd BETTER admire him and she'd BETTER not hurt him or Sabriel'd bite her ears off.
If she was even a fraction of how jealous she ought to be, then he'd be happy. Her sarcasm flew straight over his head - maybe for the better, since the peace would've ended there and then. Glass Crow Wondering briefly how Sabriel could have saved something from pants, Len nodded in polite interest as he spoke. At his offer, she shrugged and nodded.
"Sure. Thank you," she said. Feeling rather unequal in the sharing, she glanced about her person for something to give. An idea sparked...but, no...she only did that with friends.... ah, hell.
"Here." she said shortly, plucking off a razor feather. As it started to dull, she scraped a claw over the back of her hand, watching a bead of black blood well up. With detached precision she smeared the little bit of blood across the feather, watching in satisfaction as the dulling effect reversed. The blood dried in an evil looking jagged stripe, making the feather look even more dangerous.
"This," she said, pushing it over to the Cat, "is dangerous. And probably not a good idea to give you. Try not to kill anyone with it." Chinchillie Sabriel went quiet, watching the blood well up in a very focused way. Accepting the feather, he picked it up with the tips of his claws, inspecting the razor sharp edges and the dark stripe, all while looking extremely happy.
He flashed her an enormous toothy grin. "Will try." he vowed. He took a gulp of the juice (watery from melting ice) like they'd just toasted each other. Even the fact it was a gift from Len didn't matter - it was perhaps the most incredibly awesome gift he'd ever, ever recieved.
There was a pause. ...now what? The Bird got to look at Prince. He got a feather. They'd talked. Finished drinks. Talked. Len was saved from being rudely abandoned by a bored Sabriel by a voice calling his name in the hallway, sounding annoyed and un-Chin like. "Sabriel! Get out here!"
The Cat muttered something under his breath that a toddler shouldn't know, adding a louder, "Darby." by way of explanation. They were back. A quick escape was in order. Glass Crow Oddly pleased that she'd made the little monster happy, Lenore glanced in the direction Miss Chin's voice had come from.
"Well, guess I'll see you later, then," she said. "You can show me Prince later." Chinchillie He made a face, highly disgruntled that Len hadn't had the chance to admire Prince, and hopped down to the floor, leaving the glass where it was. Somebody'd clean it up. Darby's voice was getting louder and louder in pitch and it wouldn't be long before she came around the corner, all ready for murder.
"See you," Sabriel muttered unhappily, then disappeared into the hallway not a moment too soon. Darby came tromping by. She took a quick look inside, gave Len a slightly suspicious glance, but couldn't find anything to blame on the birdlike girl - with a harrumph, she continued on down the hallway.
" SAAAABRIEEEEEEEEEL!"
It looked like he'd gotten away after all. Commemorative post of the wahmbulance mbulance. WAH. I stole Crow's hair. ninja
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Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 4:55 pm
Chicken Soup
(random is a good thing)
"Auwk! Auwk! Auwk!" The cockatrice pedaled across the yard, chased by a dark blur on four legs. The creature was the most awkward thing on earth - its method of escape was to sluther and and scramble its way down into a nearly drainpipe with a noisy splash, sending Sabriel flying past at top speed. Fence coming up...shoot! Amazingly, he dug in his claws fast enough to not end up splattered on the fence and did a miraculous rebound instead, whirling around to face the yard at large. From the drainpipe a voice still echoed, Auwk, auwk, auwk! and stifled laughter from the patio, where lemonade was being served.
Sabriel wore the ugliest of looks as he slunk back across the grass, switching his tails. It had been weeks since they'd arrived. Weeks! He HATED it Flopping down with his back to the patio, he closed his eyes and went over the list of hatred, falling into a debate about who or what to put at the very top. It was close. From where he lay he could hear the clinking of glasses up on the patio, amused conversation flitting back and forth, and hated everyone up there that much more.
Something nibbled his ear.
"Auwk?"
Whoever was on the patio got treated to another show. This time, when the cockatrice hoisted itself over the fence, he went around the back way, indoors.
---
It had a real wire mesh net and a handle. Sabriel was quite proud of his invention. The mesh had been hidden away in a corner of the garage, the handle...well, they didn't need THAT many towel racks. It wasn't exactly a huge house. He poked his head outdoors, spying the cockatrice begging cookies off of Darby, and carefully snuck out, dragging the net along behind him. Concealing himself in a bush, he shook some chicken feed into the net, then sat back to wait. Soon enough the stupid creature came ambling along. It snuffled at the feed. It blinked into the bushes. Then wandered straight into the net.
It never saw him coming. Sabriel pounced, landing squarely on the spiky back; with a startled 'auwk!' it flung its wings out, but was too late to save itself. Wrestling it down, he snaked the mesh around the flailing wings, yowlping when one clipped him on the face, and before long had trussed it so well it could hardly move.
Hauling the net, the Mishap started back across the lawn, shoving his burden through the back door in a flurry of squawks and feathers. Chin felt something stir uneasily in her conscience, putting her lemonade down on the table. "Where's he taking it, d'you think?" Was he planning...no...yes, this was SABRIEL they were talking about!
Darby watched him as well with a grin, lopsidedly circled by lemonade and sugar. "Probably the kitchen." Nodding, she chuckled, dipping a paw into the glass to fish out a lemon slice. This she popped into her mouth, ignoring the look of complete horror that passed over her friend's face. "Don't worry. I have the feeling it won't work out as planned." The ciel's prediction was remarkably accurate. A couple of minutes passed and all of a sudden something SCREECHED from the kitchen and a whirlwind of feathers went soaring out the screen door, closely followed by someone now minus a net. The whole play started over again, much to Chin's bemusement and Darby's amusement.
"Next time he does it I'm saving the poor thing." Chin warned her, sipping out of her own glass.
"AUWK!"
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Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:00 pm
(posted in Len's journal) Quote: It was a couple of days following Len's birthday, and there was a commotion outside of her room. Sabriel looked on as Chin arranged their gift by the door, trying to find a way that it would be seen and not stepped on...and not doing a very good job, it seemed. Pacing in closer, Sabe crouched down and shuffled the paper and present around until it was to his liking, shooting agitated glares at Chin.
She never did anything right. If she had her way Lenore would be smirking and petting her OWN Prince/bird plushie thing, and that wouldn't do at all. Oh no. All of his plans would be ruined and the Bird would be happy and...he muttered furiously, still fussing away at the gift.Chin let him push her aside, more amused than anything. When the toddler looked to be satisfied she reached out and knocked gently on Crow and Lenore's door, letting anyone inside know they were out here, and then scrambled out of sight. Sabriel waited, curious if anyone would open the door...and when nobody did, followed suite. What was left: And a letter: Quote: Happy Birthday Lenore! Okay, we're a little late. Word travels slow. But anyways, a very happy birthday to you! Here's something we picked up on the way here - it's clockwork. If you wind the key up it bends over and pecks at the ground. You could stick Sadako underneath it. ...or not. Don't worry about the creepy green eyes, either. They totally don't follow you around the room. Not at all. With luff, Chinchillie and Sabriel heart
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Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 2:49 pm
One drowsy morning when Sabriel awakes from sleep, he finds that Prince – his infamous white lion plushie – is GONE. Where could he be?! Has someone taken him, did Sabriel misplace him somewhere/ forget him, or did her simple grow wings and fly away? What does Sabriel do in this crisis? Will he find Prince, or is the lion that he saved from panthers gone forever? You better find him before it’s too late.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:19 pm
The Great Panther Hunter
(Quest RP #1)
"See you everyone! We'll be back soon!"
Chin found herself worrying as Darby guided her out to the car, as was habit. Anything could happen while they were gone. When she looked back, she could only see Sabriel skulking at the door. He was glaring. Now, if he hadn't been glaring, she might've suspected something...Darby gave her an insistant nudge. "Stop worrying, Chinnie." she said, turning on the mind-reader trick again. "They'll be fine."
"I guess..."
Maybe Chin would be less reassured if she knew they were being watched. Watched as the two girls clambered inside the car, watched as the doors closed.
"COAST'S CLEAR!" someone shouted from the upper bedrooms. Party time!
Everyone scattered at once. The living room would be packed by midnight, the kitchen destroyed, the bedrooms pounding with music turned high to blast eardrums. Sabriel hurried along the hallway on his own errand, swinging through the portal door and into their own room at HQ. A sleeping bag, all bundled up, and bag of assorted supplies were shoved under the bed in preperation for this night. Where was Prince? Pulling open the portal door, he spotted the lion on the floor where it had fallen and scooped it up with relief. From there he ran down into a silently dark entrance hall, claws clicking on the marbled floor, and pushed the doors open.
A warm nightly breeze ruffled his fur as Sabriel crept out of the building's shadow, holding Prince up next to him and Len's feather in the other like a dagger. The walk to the lake was long and dark, but it was nothing to worry about. Panthers were cowards. Reaching their destination, he rolled the sleeping bag out on the grass and sat down a few feet away from it, watching the shadows attentively. If anything was out there...swish, swack, slash, it'd be all chopped up before it could blink. Sabriel the Panther Killer was on the loose tonight, and nothing would stand in his way.
Nothing happened for a long time. Sitting still was difficult - he found himself starting to slouch, and shook his head several times to keep his eyes opened. Ready to give up and go in, he started to get up - and then froze, staring into the bushes. There was something there!
Gripping the feather, he edged closer, fur prickling with anticipation. A little bit closer...a little bit closer...the bushes were right in front of him, the lurking creature in them...POUNCE! His claws closed on something that let out a shrill, heart piercing shriek, something that was huge and furry and was a struggle to keep ahold of, which surprised Sabriel immensely. He'd actually caught it? A real live panther?! Pushing it down on the grass, he opened his claws slightly...which was a mistake. The creature shoved his hands back with a powerful kick and went running off towards the Forest - Sabriel caught a glimpse of it by moonlight and felt his heart sink. It was just a stupid rabbit. A big, fat, stupid RABBIT! Growling and hissing, he kicked at the ground, glaring daggers in the direction it had escaped to. Damn.
Cooling off after a few more minutes of stomping around, he hunched down beside Prince, disgruntled. This was turning out badly.
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 4:03 pm
WTFOX?
(Quest RP #2)
Streaks of light flashed across the sky, winding through the stars, disappearing into the clear blue night. Sparkling lines like silver reflected in the gleam of a lion's eyes, propped up against a rock where it could look out into the heavens. Gleaming. Bright. She wanted it. Wanted it badly. What a prize!
The animal that watched them waited until the cat stretched and crawled over to the sleeping bag, flumping down on top of it with a soft 'pfft!' from the puffy material. Stretching out, he curled his claws in the fabric and tucked all 7 tails up against his side. The sleeping ritual went on and on. But all of a sudden Sabriel felt oddly weak - the tingle of magic sizzled across his senses and then was gone, because he was fast asleep.
The vixen minced forward. In a single bound she cleared the distance, landing between toddler, deep in foxsleep, and the plushie, which she triumphantly snatched up in her jaws. Ugh! It tasted of cat. But it had shiny pretty eyes and would make a wonderful bed for the kits and her, and that was that. This petty theif had crept out of the Forbidden Forest, magic and all...and she certaintly had strange tastes for a fox. Human things were fascinating, and seeing the plushie (made by human hands) lying in the grass was too tempting to pass up.
A rumble from Sabriel startled her. Casting a terrified glance over one shoulder, the vixen leapt back into the night, scampering clean out of the crime scene with Prince in her greedy grasp.
When no pursuit came, she slowed her run to a trot, tail bushed out, all senses on the alert. The farm became alive with noise as chickens squawked in alarm, seeing the lithe red shape slipping past. Preoccupied, she jumped on top of the fish tank, plushie dangling awkwardly at the edge, and watched the fish scatter. What if she were to catch one? Shiny, silvery slippery fish, all ready to eat...
It wasn't a surprise that Prince fell into the water. The fish all scattered, the lion drifted into the deep before her disappointed eyes, her barks of dismay; and then the vixen was forced to flee again as someone came to empty the fish into the lake, a job best done at dawn. They didn't notice as something snow white went tumbling into the lake as well.
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Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:02 pm
Someone's gonna pay
(Quest RP #3)
Sabriel had never slept so well before.
There were no dreams...no relentless, pulling horror, nothing. The feeling of waking up quietly for once caught him in its thrall. Sabriel stretched experimentally, claws catching in the sleeping bag, and opened his eyes. It was only morning. Soft gray morning, deep night gone, leaving a strange peace behind. It didn't last long.
There may have been more panthers. There MUST have been more panthers, which was why he'd left Prince there to scare them away. Prince had to tell him how it...how it went... The toddler sat bolt upright. He struggled out of the sleeping bag and went scrambling out on the dewy grass, dropping on hands and knees in front of the rock Prince had been seated against - and wasn't any longer.
Don't panic. That was good advice, except he'd had never been told that before. "Prince?" he called, and promptly panicked. Where was Prince??
Sabriel pounced on the bag of supplies and dumped it out on the ground, sifting through the stuff, shaking the bag, then throwing it to the side. Empty. He ripped through the sleeping bag, heart starting to thud with desperation. Empty. Frantic, he scrambled to his feet and searched all around, seeing only fog and grass stretching out on all sides.
Maybe he'd gone for a walk. That was it! He felt a brief respite of hope and poked around every bush - especially the one the rabbit had popped out of - but couldn't find a trace of him, not there or on the lawn, even though he crossed it several times, getting more and more soaked with every pass from dew. The lion had truly disappeared.
Missing. The word was filled with horror. He couldn't be missing.
A low growl began to rumble in his chest - a rumble of pure anger as a thought weaseled its way into his mind. Someone must have stolen him. They couldn't have gotten far....why hadn't he woken up? They stole him and he didn't wake up. The feeling of peace was completely dismissed as something weird and nothing more. There was also a faint stink of fox on the ground. But since foxes didn't steal plushies, that was a stupid thought. The toddler flexed and unflexed his claws, glancing narrowly up at HQ. The culprit must be there - he had to find them and get Prince back!
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 8:49 pm
In which justice is served! but not really :/ (Quest RP #4) Chinchillie Retracing his steps from the night before, Sabe kept his claws out and ready. It wasn't needed. No assassins leapt from the trees, no traps slipped out from underfoot. He soon found himself at the foot of the HQ doors and pushed them open very carefully, the doors making a swishing sound as they slid across the floor.
Stopping at the opening, he waited until his eyes adjusted to the early morning gloom, even more pronounced indoors. Was there someone in there, in the shadows...someone waiting? Seer For Sale The stroller wheels squeaked loudly through the empty echoing hallway, causing Kay to wince occasionally, hoping she wasn't waking the staff on her way out shopping. She paused in the entrance to check her handbag for her shopping list when an excited babble from Delphine caused her to look up. "Itty!!"Chinchillie It felt like ages before life manifested in the hall; Sabriel winced as a highpitched squeak made itself known to his ears, painfully so, which set all of his fur on edge. It took effort to stay in one place while the source of the noise showed itself.
And that source was...a stroller? And a woman pushing it. Not very threatening. But he remembered them from somewhere, whoever they were, and that was enough to prove their guilt. A little of the feral light he'd lost in the long wait came back to his eyes and he let out a low bubbling growl in response to Delphi's cry of 'Itty!'.
It would have seemed ridiculous, a toddler (albeit quite an angry one) attacking an adult, but he didn't care. Here was the lady that had stolen Prince, and she wasn't going to get off easy. Seer For Sale Kay blinked as she caught sight of a big black cat sitting in the doorway. Big black cat..? It suddenly clicked, Sabriel, that grumpy cat mishap she and Delphine had bumped into once before. She was about to give a cheery greeting and be on her way when the dangerous sounding growl made her faulter. Uh-oh. The seer surreptitiously edged herself infront of the stroller, effectively blocking the now upset Delphine from his view. "Hello Sabriel." she finally said slightly tersely, "We were just on our way out shopping." Chinchillie Why was she hiding the stroller? Sabriel looked even more tense and highly suspicious as Kay edged sideways to block Delphine from view, moving somewhat closer to the two. Was that were she was hiding Prince? How stupid did she think he was??
"Shopping." Sabriel repeated quietly, disgusted. That was another good one. "Give 'em BACK." he demanded, stepping closer yet again. If she gave him another excuse... "Give Prince back!" Seer For Sale Kay almost tripped over the stroller as she tried to take as step back from the very obviously enraged Sabriel. Delphine erupted into tears behind her. There was yelling and her Mummy sounded worried, but worst of all she couldn't see what was going on!! She beat her tiny fists against the stroller in frustrationDelphine's terrified crying, or atleast what it sounded to like to Kay, started to turn the fearful feeling in the pit of her stomach into anger. She wasn't about to let herself and Delphine be terrified and threatened by a toddler! ....Even if he did have very sharp looking claws. With a gulp the seer took a hesitant step forward. "Look Sabriel, I don't know who this Prince is!" she said her voice trembling, "But I won't have you yelling at us like this and scaring poor Delphine..!" Chinchillie The atmosphere in the room - his own anger, the quivering in Kay's voice, Delphi's sobbing - was enough to drive anyone insane. When Kay took a step forward, Sabriel automatically pulled back, trembling from an onslaught of differing input. Attack, she's hiding something! Sabriel insisted, but the cat in him backed down from the confrontation, anxious and confused. What to do?
But what Kay said broke the final straw. Of course she knew who Prince was - she HAD to be the culprit, but then, she was condemned from the beginning.
"LIAR!" Sabriel snarled, pushing back all the other feelings and focused on anger. He closed the distance by pushing off on the slippery floor, leaping at her with all claws extended. And that meant a whole lot of claws...all aimed at Kay, fueled by nothing by blind fury. Seer For Sale Kay's immediate reaction to the angry beast flying at her all claws and teeth was - get Delphine away! She whirled around and pushed the stroller hard. It didn't quite roll backwards as far as she had hoped. Stupid sticky wheels, the seer thought to herself as she landed on her knees on the cold marble floor. As the stroller rolled to a stop, all Delphine could do was look on in shock. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Sabriel leaping towards her mother. She had to save her from the bad kitty!! Struggling around in the stroller, she realised there was no way to get out of it, so her little webbed hands grabbed at anything they could reach to throw.Chinchillie Sabriel landed heavily on Kay's back, claws gouging deep into her shirt and possibly her skin, momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected her to fall to the floor, and messed up the landing badly. But the stunning didn't last for long. A growling, snarling whirlwind of fury, he clawed at any part of Kay within reach, tails whistling and cracking wherever they could as well, only thinking about doing as much harm as possible. He was hampered somewhat by having to cling to her shirt at the same time, but didn't care. NOBODY lied to him and got away with it!
Delphine had an advantage - the fishkitty had never been on his mind, and if she was, had left it completely now. Seer For Sale Kay let out a shriek of pain and tried to pull the angry cat mishap off her back as she felt the sharp claws dig in drawing blood. It was rather hard to reach Sabriel with him being on her back and the tails seemed to slash across her hands whenever she got close to getting a grip on him. Delphine looked on in horror. She hadn't been particulary fond of Sabriel before, but now! She hissed with rage and let out a yowl at him, hoping to scare him off. When that didn't work she let fly her plushie kangaroo which, unfortunately, just bounced harmlessly off him. A rattle followed with much the same effect.
Franticly Delphine rummaged for anything she had left that could help her mother. Her webbed hands grasped around something cool beside her and she pulled it out.
It was the bottle full of cold water her mother had placed in the pram to keep her hydrated during their day out shopping! Delphine grasped it between her hands, pointed it at Sabriel and squeezed, letting out a jet of ice cold water at the cat mishap. Chinchillie Flinching briefly when the hard rattle whacked him across the back, Sabriel nonetheless ignored it, struggling to keep Kay's hands away from him. She wasn't going to win this! She wasn't - a stream of ice cold water drenched him like a shock; his fur shot up, he gasped and hissed with a sound like sizzling water itself, letting go of Kay at the same time.
He rolled back across the marble floor, shaking with the horror of it, and sprang to all fours facing Delphine. But, all fluffed up with rage, Delphi was too intimidating to think about tackling at the moment. He was cold and angry and cold and wet and he did not like it one bit, and wanted out of there now.
Not taking his eyes off Delphine, or Kay kneeling on the floor, Sabriel started backwards for the door. Seer For Sale Delphine gave an angry shake of the bottle and let out a hiss. Yeah he'd better run!With the weight of Sabriel off her back Kay staggered to her feet. What had made him stop attacking? She blinked, slightly dizzy and took in the fact he was now sopping wet. "T-that was a very... wicked thing y-you just did Sabriel." she stammered, still slightly shaken. "I.. I think you should go away right now and leave us alone or.. or you might get even wetter." The seer ran a hand across her damaged back, wincing slightly as it came away sticky with blood. Chinchillie Sabriel bristled at that. And what did she call stealing Prince, hmm? But now wasn't the time. All he wanted to do was curl up and dry off, and then come back and get the lion back from them. Thieves and liars. That was all they were. Attempting to regain his compusure, he resheathed his claws, and, breaking eye contact, went slinking out between the doors.
Once out of sight, he sped up and fled for the lake - to camp, to dry off, to plan. Seer For Sale Kay let out a sigh of relief as he turned and fled. Now where had that water come from? She turned to see who her saviour was and took in Delphine clutching her bottle. Precious, precious Delphine! She felt her heart fill with pride. He was gone! Delphine felt herself relax slightly and then she began to cry again. That had been too horrible! She never wanted to have something happen like that ever again!!Kay wiped away a few tears of her own as she turned the stroller around to go back upstairs. So much for their nice day out shopping. But she'd definately have to reward Delphine's heroism with some presents the next time they went.
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Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 5:13 pm
A boat to build(Quest RP #5) Chinchillie Prince was in the lake. Sabriel didn't know why, or how, but Prince was out there. The toddler fretted, paced by the shore. His fur had long since dried since the incident with Kay and he'd worried off all the blood on his claws once he'd seen the lion floating off in the distance. Now he looked like normal, save for the anxious expression on his face.
Not knowing what to do, he began to wander along the shoreline, gathering sticks. If he could...make a raft or something, somehow... dark77778 Shane was looking out over the lake intently at Swamp Island, skipping stones over its surface. Pyren was safely asleep in bed in his room at HQ. Shane had no idea how he was going to solve his current dilemma, so he figured he'd think it out by gazing off at another forbidden part of the map. Suddenly, he noticed a far ways off, a white object, barely floating in the middle of the lake. It was a curious sight by far. It was neither a piece of driftwood, nor was it a duck. It...it looked like it was a toy of some kind. But how the heck did it get out there he wondered to himself. After gazing at the strange sight for a while, Shane's attention was drawn to the sound of anxious snivelling coming up the shoreline. A two legged; black shadow of a cat was slowly coming up the shoreline, collecting sticks it seemed to be. Shane wondered whatever for. Curious, he tilted his head so that he could keep an eye on both the strange boy, and figure floating in the middle of the lake. Chinchillie Weaving up and down the shoreline, Sabriel found himself becoming more and more frustrated - he could only hold so many sticks at one time and then they'd all come crashing down. Making anxious and annoyed noises under his breath, he crouched down on the pebbles to gather up another fallen armload, and it slowly became aware of a noise.
Ping...ping... splash.
Ping...ping...ping... splash.
...what on earth? Looking up, he spotted a man by the shore, and met his eyes with surprise. He had to remind himself that Prince wasn't captured by anybody, he was floating out there, but felt uncomfortable with the feeling that somebody had been watching him. It was creepy.
Gathering up the rest of the sticks, he continued to follow the shoreline, keeping an eye on Shane all the while, especially as he got nearer. If they didn't do anything at all, that'd be just fine. dark77778 After observing the boy for a while, Shane shook his head, still just as dumbfounded as he had been before. Almost as if he was asking a joker the answer to a riddle, he turned to the flustered boy, "Hey boy, what are you doing?" he asked. By the frantic look in the boys bright eyes, Shane could tell that the sticks were deffinatly not for any collection. Chinchillie At Shane's question, the sticks magically leapt from Sabriel's hands and clattered on the pebbles below, while Sabe himself jumped, and composing himself, gave him an extremely suspicious look. Prince was in the lake, in the lake, not captured...
"Makin' a raft." Sabriel pointed out to the lake, where Shane had seen the toy bobbing. "Goin' to get Prince back." dark77778 Suddenly all the peices of the riddle came together. Shane's heart sank a little bit, looking at the obviousely distraught Mishap. He felt sorry for him, really. He sighed and shook his head and told the kid the truth. "I...hate to break it to you kid. But a few sticks won't get you anywhere. You could get a pile of them as big as you are, and the second you'd step on them, they'd break and you'd get all wet. I'd know, I tried it once when I was your age before. Took me weeks too, collecting all those sticks." Shane looked out on the lake with a sigh again at the white figure that was simply floating there, so carefree, but so hopelessly out of reach. Shane shrugged his shoulders. "If I had the wood of a full tree or something, then maybe I'd be able cut it down for you or something to make a propper raft. But as far as I know, the only trees that are around here are in that Forbidden Forest, and from what I hear, chopping one of those things down may be more of a hassle than it's worth."Shane shrugged his shoulders and posed the boy with a question, "Why don't you just go out and buy a new one? There's gotta be a ton of other stuffed animals that look just like that one somewhere in the world aren't there?" Chinchillie With every word Shane spoke, Sabriel's expression grew darker until he was positively glowering. What did he know? If he'd only spoke up to needle him about how impossible his raft idea was, why speak up at all? His eyes did flick towards the Forest at the mention of it. No arguement, there. The feeling of magic emanating from it was strong enough to felt even from here, far away from the forest itself - and though faint, it made his fur prickle a bit. Cutting a tree down from there would not be a good idea.
Then he had to go and insult Prince. "Prince is PRINCE." he said hotly. "Stupid. Prince is Prince and not a stupid stuffed animal, and he fights pan'tahs, and there AREN'T any other Princes." Then a thought occured to him, one that might get Shane off his case. "Was lying, anyway. He doesn't need help." That said, he whirled around and made to stomp off down the beach, leaving the sticks behind. He didn't need help - especially not from someone who'd only insult them! dark77778 Shane laughed out loud happily. He was proud that the boy had such a strong attatchment to his toy and at least showed that he was capeable of love. That was good. " Excelent!" he exclaimed, leaping up from where he was sitting "Well, let's get started on cutting down that tree now shall we?" Shane turned and winked to Sabri. "I'm very sorry for tricking you like that. I just wanted to make sure that you really did love Prince. I wasn't going to go and cut down a tree for a boy that thought that it was 'just a stuffed animal'. That'd be a waste of my time." Shane pulled out a map and pointed to the forest just on the outskirts of the property, right around Treehouse island. "There's more than one forest in this place, and I've been meaning to check this one out. What better way to do it than with some company, and on a mission of such importance eh?" Shane was being honest, and his tone reflected that. He felt sorry for Sabri, and wanted to help him out. "Making a stupid raft won't be too hard, but only if we work together okay?" Then, as a gesture of goodwill, Shane held out his hand to the menacing looking cat Mishap. He wasn't afraid of getting lashed, and he needed to make sure that they had each other's trust with this. Accidents could happen when it came to cutting down a tree, and if they didn't have trust, things could get even worse. His gut turned thinking about what would happen to Pyren if he wasn't around, or what he'd have to live with if something happend to this little one who was off on his own. "I'm Shane. What's you're name?" Chinchillie Okay. This man was seriously creepy. Sabriel jumped at least a foot when Shane SPRANG from his seated position with a loud cry of "Excellent!" and whipped back around, nearly sending a foot plunging into the surf.
Seeing the complete change of heart, Sabe could only stare at him. Then, slowly, he stepped closer and took a look at the map Shane was pointing to, nodding when he recognized the forest. Damn. Raft, or no raft? Spend the day with someone crazy, or forget about Prince? It was actually a difficult decision to make, but after some hesitation, reached out and cautiously put his hand in Shane's larger one. Very lightly, like he was prepared to snatch it free in a moment.
"Sabriel." he introduced himself. Shane. Everything about the name was unfamiliar...which wasn't really a bad thing. dark77778 Shane shook Sabriel's hand professionally, like he'd just met a new work partner. "Okay Sabriel, now first I need to get some tools from the shed by the barn," he told him, "Wait here and keep an eye on Prince and make sure he doesn't go anywhere until I get back. I'll be there and back as fast as I can." using his hands as he spoke to emphasise the need for Sabri to stay where he was. It was a big beach around the lake, and Shane was not in the mood to be following paw prints in the sand. Quickly, he bolted from sight in the direction of the barn. Chinchillie Even his grip was enthusiastic. It was a lucky thing that Shane knew how to build rafts and looked to be good at it or Sabe would be out of there like a shot, if he listened to how uneasy the guy made him. It wasn't the same feeling of unease that say, that creepy guy Chin and him had met in the winter. It was more like a clash of personality.
Nodding once to show he'd understood, Sabriel watched Shane until he was out of sight, then sat down at the water's edge and kept watch on Prince, still floating out there on the lake. Was the lion floating further away, or was that just his imagination? dark77778 Shane reached the shed in a matter of minutes. He was extremely athletic for his build and he was only a little out of breath after sprinting all the way across the grounds. Moving into the tool shed, he pulled the cord hanging from the light and looked about. The place was a little dusty, but he eventually found what he was looking for. A good sized hand ax, a large two person saw, a battery powered eletric sander, a roll of duct tape, and a very large coil of strong rope, which he strung over his left shoulder. He placed what he could into a toolbox which he latched up tight, and in his left hand, he carried the electric sander. Quickly turning off the light and closing the door, Shane then began to sprint back down to the beach where he had left Sabri. Chinchillie It was only a few minutes, but Sabriel started to fret again in Shane's absence. The lion was moving. To where was the question, but that didn't matter if he drifted out too far. Not waiting for Shane to reach him all the way when the sounds of pounding footsteps reached his ears, the Mishap ran to meet him halfway, pointing at the beach.
"Floating...away!" he panted out. "Hurry up!" He gave the supplies a considering look, only recognizing a few of them. It was beyond him how a raft could be made out of that pile of junk. Well, so long as one of them knew what they were doing... dark77778 Shane gave a quick nod to Sabri as he pointed with the toolbox towards the forest. "Okay, quickly into the forest and don't loose sight of me." his speach was quick and urgent, but his voice was calm so as not to make Sabri panic any more than he already was "We're on the lookout for a Teak tree. I think I spotted one not to far from shore. Come on." Shane then sprinted towards and into the forest, checking every once in a while behind him to make sure that Sabri hadn't fallen behind, or was hurt. Once inside the forest, he was unable to be certain of the trees by their canopy anymore, so he began to look for the right type of wood and leaves around where he thought he had spotted the tree. Chinchillie For a toddler, Sabriel was very quick and steady on his feet, and kept up despite the fast pace. It was one of the advantages of being mostly cat. Entering the forest, he had to slow down due to the roots and branches and did so, stepping quietly through the trees after Shane.
"Teak tree?" he repeated. He frowned, studying the trees all around them. There wasn't much of a difference. Brown, sticklike with leaves, without much variation. Yup. Definitely trees. "Whassa teak tree?" dark77778 Shane stopped abruptly and put down the burdening tools next to a tree and pointed up to it. " This is a teak tree," Shane answered, knocking it to make sure it wasn't hollow; it wasn't. "It's the best type for making boats and furniture. Only problem is that it's pretty heavy by itself. We gotta cut it down and sand it in order to make it a proper raft. If we do this right, you'll have an almost completely waterproof trip." Almost all of this was said as Shane was bending over the toolbox and pulling out the tools he had packed away. First he pulled out the ax, "Stand back," he ordered Sabri as he took a few good chops at the tree. Only a few woodchips went flying about as Shane made a small, jagged hole in the tree. It was enough of a hole to fit the large two person saw, he found to his delight as he inserted it into the groove. "Teak trees are also especially easy to cut down, so if we work together we shouldn't have any trouble in sawing through this quickly. Just grab that end of the saw, and when you push I'll pull, and when you pull, I'll push. Got it? This is going to take alot of strength, so brace yourself." Shane said and placed his hands on his end of the saw. Chinchillie "Oh." he said dubiously. It looked like a tree. Tree as tree can be. It had better be waterproof.
Eager to show off, Sabriel took his place at the other side of the tree, wrapping both hands around the saw's handle. He pushed with all his might towards Shane. The blade scraped against the tree, threatening to bounce free, and then settled into the groove Shane had made.
Ha! He shot a look of triumph from around the tree. This was easy! But on the second try the saw stuck in the wood and wouldn't move at any cost. Gritting his teeth, Sabriel braced a foot against a root and shoved at it again, and the blade finally moved, cutting deeper into the groove. dark77778 "Okay, good. You can move the saw. Now stop thinking about doing it yourself and work with me here," Shane semi-praised Sabri. He honestly didn't think that the boy had it in him to take a full, solo saw at the tree. "The steadyer we keep this, the faster and smoother the wood will turn out. Think about your heart beat, and move the saw in steady time with that. That way, there's less tension in the wood. Be careful though, we don't want to cut too deep either. I want to give the tree a good shove in the direction of the lake so that falls that way and it's easier for us to build the raft closer to the launch point. Ready...PULL!" Then, like a rowing instructor, Shane began to cue his and Sabri's every movement of the saw. Chinchillie Sabriel sighed and grumbled briefly, then readjusted his grip, concentrating on the advice. Slowly, smoothly, steadily. This wasn't something he wanted to mess up. He followed Shane's instructions with every ounce of attention and started to get into the rhythm of sawing after an awkward beginning, and felt very pleased with himself for it. This was a lot better. dark77778 "Okay stop! That's good enough!" Shane ordered as he slowly guided the saw out from the tree, and gently took the tools and Sabri by the hand and walked him to a safe place directly in front of the cut they had just made." I need you to stay behind me now Sabriel. I'm going to push this tree good and hard, and I don't want you to get hurt okay? It's not held on by anything more than a bit of fiber, so a bit of a shove in the right direction should..." Shane gave the tree a great heave of his back and shoulder until suddenly a thunderous creaking was heard, like the sound of a giant slowly opening an ancient door. "TIMBEEERRR!" Shane hollared at the top of his lungs as he watched the tree slowly collapse to the ground with a crash of leaves and bark. Chinchillie Sabriel was almost disappointed when he had to stop. Relinquishing his end of the saw, he twitched his hand out of Shane's, but DID follow him to the safe spot, watching with immense interest. Okay. He was going to push the tree. Did that mean the tree was going to...
All of his questions were answered. More than an ancient door opening...the tree was immense, a god and giant in its own right, and was sent tumbling by the push of a mortal hand. The labored creaking as the tree started to fall, that echoed throughout the forest and in himself, was a sound more gratifying than anything he had ever heard.
And then it crashed to the ground in a roar, the glory fled.
Sabe's eyes gleamed and he went running up to the fallen tree before Shane gave the word it was safe, grinning like an idiot. That was incredible! dark77778 Picking up the tools from where they lay, Shane quickly walked over to where Sabri was investigating the tree. It was good that the boy seemed to be a lot more perked than he was when Shane had first seen him on the beach. However, they still had alot of work to do. Shane let Sabriel survey the tree for a while as he went up to the top of it, and with his ax, began to hack feverently away at the top of the tree that had any foliage. He then quickly measured out in his mind four decent sized logs on the tree, then pulling a marker from his pocket, he made small marks on the tree to show where they should saw. It wasn't long though until he came back and stood next to Sabri and surveyed the tree. "With enough will of one, and the combined strength of many, even the mightyest of the mighty can fall. Might and beauty...are two different things though," Shane recited quietly to nobody in particular. It may have been a lesson to Sabri, or it may've been a prayer of sorts for the tree. A second later though, Shane snapped out of his philisophical state of mind and beckoned Sabri to follow him halfway down the length of the remaining tree. "We still have to do that three more times Sabriel," Shane informed the boy quickly as he pulled out the saw again "These next ones should be alot faster though. Soon as we've got four decent sized logs, we'll carry them down to the water and make the raft down there so that we can see where Prince is at while we work. I can't make an axe mark with this one though, so the first few cuts that we make have to be very slow, but powerful so that we can get a good groove to work in after that. If we saw too fast here, the saw could spring up and hurt somebody, or make at uneven cut in the wood, which would take far too long to correct. Okay...ready?" Chinchillie Poking around the tree, he marveled that they had actually cut it down. It was ENORMOUS. For a toddler that wasn't saying much, but it was a good sized tree for even the tallest. And yet they'd knocked it over with barely an effort at all! Not that Shane could've done it without him, of course. Sabriel eased himself up on top of the fallen tree and waited for Shane to come back, ears flicking back and forth at the steady 'thunk' of the axe.
"Three?" Darn it. It was the mention of Prince that did it, though...grumbling, he wandered after Shane, shooting the tree a couple of sullen looks. Why did this have to be so complicated? If there'd only been a boat in the barn or something this'd be pointless.
But there wasn't, and the raft wasn't going to get made without his help (again the ego), so he went through with the instructions, somewhat willingly, and took his place with a mumbled "Ready." After cutting the tree down using the saw wasn't so hard - they had to go a bit more carefully, was all. dark77778 Shane and Sabriel spent as little time as they could sawing the tree into four. Shane found that as they went along, Sabri got better and better at sawing. Shane was unsure if this was due to drive or adaptation, but whatever it was, it got the job done. After surveying the size logs, and their distance to the beach, he found that rolling them down to the beach would probably be much faster than lifting them there. With a sly smile, he lifted and aligned one of the logs into a clear break in the forest and gave it a rolling start until it crashed into the water, virtually unharmed. If they rolled the other three logs this way, they'd align themselves into position more or less accuratly; and they'd be alot easier to move while floating too. Sanding may be a bit of an issue then though, but he'd worry about that later. The logs shouldn't become too waterlogged though, just maybe a little damp, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Moving another log into position he called to Sabriel. "Hey Sabri! Want to help me with this one? It's fun!" Chinchillie He found he actually liked this sawing business - it was probably due to both. Sabriel was panting by the time they were finished, but he still looked triumphant, if a little worn around the edges. At the final split he very deliberately put the saw down and then slumped back against a nearby tree, panting. "Done." he announced wearily. "Done, done, done..."
But that was before the logs. With eyes closed he only heard the enormous SPLASH! the rolling log made and the thundering as it rolled down to the lake. Never mind. Shane hardly needed to offer - he was already there, grinning like an idiot. YES! Putting both hands on the log, he threw himself into the push.
He gave a little squeak of alarm as the log started to take him with it, but fell off in time, stumbling and skidding on leaves, and regained his balance in time to watch it go crashing into the water. dark77778 To be quick, Shane decided that he'd push the remaining two logs down himself. Time was running out, and he didn't want Prince to float too far away. After all four logs were aligned, he bolted down the slope and began to tie the logs together with the rope. He was getting considerably wet, wading in the water as the logs bobbed up and down, but the logs themselves remained increadibly dry, as water rolled off the top and sides like beads. That couldn't be said for the underpart of the logs that were submerged, but as long as they were floating, it didn't much matter. In about ten minutes, Shane had finished tieing and secureing the front end of the raft. Quickly, he then ran over to the back end to repeat the process. Chinchillie Wiping muddy hands on even dirtier shorts, Sabriel wandered down after Shane, stepping in the trail the rolling logs had made. He skirted the water and the splashing and went up a ways to check if Prince was still there.
The lion was, but barely. By squinting, one was able to spot a bobbing dot of white in a sea of blue. "Still there." he called, coming back in time to watch the rest of the raft being secured. It was a good thing Shane was willing to go in the water, because that was one thing he wouldn't help with. But he could and would keep watch on the lake. dark77778 Shane looked up to Sabriel just as soon as he'd finished securing the last bit of the rope. Looking at it as a whole, he saw that the raft had turned out perfectly! Now looking out at Prince in the lake, he turned to begin walking to Sabriel. "Great! Now all we need is some sort of..." Shane's sentence was cut off, when the ground came rushig up at him. Quickly, to prevent any injury, he threw his hands out in front of him and landed on all fours, his left palm on a smooth, wooden surface. Standing up, Shane brushed himself off and reached down to try and unearth what he'd come across. Within a few seconds, he'd pulled out a long, wooden paddle. "Well speak of the devil! This must've come off of some poor soul's cannoe and floated here with the tide," he exclaimed bewildered as he walked over to Sabrie. Shane then handed the paddle over to him, hoping it wouldn't bring any bad luck to the black cat. "Here ya go! Looks like it's all finished then." Chinchillie The raft came together right before his eyes; before long Shane had it completely lashed together and perfect, floating as watertight as can be. Was it done? All they needed was some sort of - what?
And then he had to go and TRIP. If he broke his neck, how would that missing sentence ever be solved? Then Prince would be stuck out there forever. Already playing through doomsday scenarios, Sabriel rushed over from his spot on the beach, but none of them came to pass - instead, a wooden something was slapped into his hand by a perfectly okay Shane. "A stick?" he asked stupidly, then gave himself a mental smack on the forehead, reexamining the 'stick'. A PADDLE. Of course. You couldn't have a raft without a paddle. That meant the raft was ready!
Pause. Manner phrases began to float through his mind's eye, spoken by Chin's voice out of memory: Please and thankyou. Please and thankyou. Thinking about it, Sabriel scowled and stubbornly stuck out a hand, still on the muddy side, like a deal was supposed to be finished. They had struck a deal, hadn't they? In a way. But Shane had done a good job, anyway, and wasn't too bad. Still a little crazy, but not too bad. dark77778 Well, well... Shane thought with a bit of a smile at Sabriel's politeness. Shane took Sabri's hand and shook it in a very friendly manner. "You're quite welcome Sabriel. May you have the smoothest of sailing." he said with a playful salute with his free hand. Then, releasing Sabri's hand, he slowly began to climb back up the hill, keeping a cautious eye on the Mishap for as long as he could. Chinchillie Nodding gravely in reply, Sabriel waited until Shane had left - and then backed up the hill, hefting the paddle over a shoulder. Crouching, the cat Mishap sprang forward, kicking up a spray of sand, and took a running leap onto the raft - it bounced under his landing weight, skidding forward in the water.
The rescue mission was back in action. Hurrah! dark77778 Shane sat and watched as Sabri's raft floated out in the lake until he could scarcely see him anymore. He then brushed himself off and turned to face the direction of the HQ. He had to get back home to check on Pyren before he woke up to find him missing. Little did he suspect the surprize that was awaiting him upon his return.
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Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:13 pm
A couple of mishaps i'm so witty(Quest RP #6) Chinchillie *somewhere offshore, dundundun* It had been a glorious trip so far, launching the raft from shore, arrowing after Prince like a smooth wooden fish. That morning's mist had cleared up to be a beautiful summer day with a hint of breeze, ruffling his fur and throwing fine spray into the air...
And that was as far as he got. A little ways offshore the raft scraaaaped and halted to a stop on a pile of rocks and gravel poking up from the lakebed. Sabriel hung on for dear life. When it stopped, he scuttled over to the side, leaning until it threatened to tip him into the water.
Where had Shane gone? The toddler scowled towards shore, but it was empty of life. Darn. Okay. He could handle this. Find a good, stout stick and push off with it, and everything'd be fine. Searching around for his paddle, he found it and poked unsuccessfully at the bottom of the raft, but it had manuevered its way right on top of the rocks and NO WAY was he going in that water.
On top of all of this, Prince had disappeared back into the creeping fog. Sabriel stared mournfully around before sitting down and crossing his arms, frowning with thought. It would take a bit of time, but he was determined to think up a way out of this mess.Glass Crow "I dunno, Sadako. I still say Ju-On had some good points."
"Ju-On is Ringu rip-off! Len speaks heresy. Sadako is not having this conversation with Len again."
"Hmmph. Alright, alright..."
Len, out for a stroll by the lake and having a rather heated debate about movies with Sadako, was more than a little lonely for normal company. Let it not be said she didn't love her doll, but sometime talking to her was rather aggravating. Plunking down onto the shore and setting Sadako on her lap, she stuck her tongue out at the doll.
"You just don't appreciate good cinema," she said patiently. Sadako blew a raspberry in reply. Chinchillie Time seemed to pass slowly out there in the lake. He'd counted all the whorls in the logs (up to 10) and had begun to hope that a storm would come up and send the raft moving again, when something moved out there. Hey! Was that a person?
The little black dot on the lake waved frantically at the little black dot on the shore, hoping they'd see him. Sabriel could hardly see a thing, but a glint of light on razor sharp feathers made a chill run down his spine. Bird? He stopped waving immediately and hunched down on the raft, now hoping they wouldn't notice. Glass Crow Lenore noticed movement by way of peripheral vision, and looked out onto the lake. Huh...what was...
"Cat. On the lake."
"Stupid kitty. Kitty drown, and Sadako will use stupid kitty-tails as nice hair ribbons for Len."
Shushing Sadako and standing, she waved back halfheartedly to the Cat.
"You okay?" she called, sincerely not caring if he was or not. Chinchillie So much for that. Once the mystery person spoke, it was all over. Bird. One of the last people Sabriel wanted to see when he was miserable, Princeless, and stuck out in the middle of a lake. "NO." he shouted back, now waving an arm at the lake in general, intended to be a 'does it LOOK like I'm okay?!' sort of gesture.
He folded his arms together again and glared at her from his perch on the raft, knowing he was in trouble but not ready to have Len come and save the day. Like she would. Glass Crow "I should totally just leave him out there."
"Yup."
Len nodded resolutely and turned on her heel, walking away. She was a good five minutes away from the lake when her conscience finally kicked in.
"...dammit."
She headed back to the lake and stood by the edge, wondering what to do. No wind to speak of, but she could fix that. Spreading her wings and already regretting her actions, Lenore took flight, Sadako hanging on for dear life to the feathers tied in Len's hair.
"I'm coming," she called, adding in an undertone, "Ya little snot." Glass Crow "I should totally just leave him out there."
"Yup."
Len nodded resolutely and turned on her heel, walking away. She was a good five minutes away from the lake when her conscience finally kicked in.
"...dammit."
She headed back to the lake and stood by the edge, wondering what to do. No wind to speak of, but she could fix that. Spreading her wings and already regretting her actions, Lenore took flight, Sadako hanging on for dear life to the feathers tied in Len's hair.
"I'm coming," she called, adding in an undertone, "Ya little snot." Chinchillie Sabriel watched her leave, disbelieving. But she didn't turn back. "Fine!" he snarled after her, hunching down even lower where he sat. He'd find his own way back. Stupid Bird. By the time Len returned he'd already convinced himself it was for the better, and was trying to coax a floating stick closer with the paddle - a metallic ringing drifted to his ears after a couple of tries, and, looking up, was startled to see Len coming back.
"Go AWAY." he called up, but scrambled to one side of the raft to give her room anyway. Was that...oh, wonderful. Dako was coming along for the ride. Glass Crow "Oh, cram it," Len snapped, checking her flight and landing lightly on the raft. Wings snapping back with a metallic click, she arched an eyebrow at Sabriel boredly.
"What the hell are you doing out here by yourself?" she asked coolly. "Do you want to drown or something?"
Sadako stared at Sabriel for a moment, the sniffed.
"No lion-friend with Cat," she said sympathetically. "Cat all 'lone. People got die with friends to watch, otherwise no fun. Where lion-friend?" Chinchillie Sabriel winced when she landed, but the raft bobbed only gently in the water. Still, he waited until it was steady before getting into a standing position, looking more and more sorry about calling Len over. "Not gonna drown." He tapped the wood with a foot, proudly, like it was his creation alone. "S'waterproof."
He stuck his tongue out at the doll. Like she could. At the question he glanced evasively off to the side, tails flicking. "Prince?" he asked. "Dunno...mebbe he's hiding." Doll or not, he didn't want to be near Sadako and not have Prince nearby. She was creepy. Glass Crow "Uh huh. And also stuck. Definitely sea-worthy," Lenore said dryly, looking around. "So. Back to my question. What the hell are you doing out here by yourself?"
Sadako eyed Sabriel with disinterest.
"Kitty is bad liar," she said quietly, her hoarse voice tinged with dislike. "Kitty....is...all...alone." Chinchillie "Prince out here." Sabriel muttered, seeing no way out of this now that both of them were asking. "Got lost." He matched 'Dako with a glare, tails flicking more in agitation. Glass Crow Lenore made a sympathetic noise before she could stop herself, and had to visibly resist comforting the Cat.
"Huh....he coulda sunk by now, though," she said, peering out onto the lake. She couldn't see anything from here... sitting down abruptly, legs sliding into the water and kicking about, she leaned back and glanced at Sabriel. "So. Any plans on how to save him?" Chinchillie After a moment he joined her, not close enough to get splashed or hugged or anything of the sort. Not that hugging was a Len thing to do, but that slip of a noise...well, it had been disturbing.
"Not sunk." Sabriel shook his head. "Saw 'em before." DID he have any plans to rescue Prince? Wasn't paddling out there enough? He thought about it, peering out into the fog, then shrugged. "Nope." Glass Crow Bird feet swishing slowly through the cool water, Len tugged up the ragged edge of her black dress and stared out at the water, trying to see through the fog.
"I wish I could see him," she said regretfully. "Then I coulda made the wind blow him towards us."
Wings folding and unfolding with slightly unnerving click-clicks, she pondered about what she could (and for that matter, was even willing to do, god forbid) do.
"Well, I'm outta ideas." Chinchillie "Real helpful, Bird." Restless, Sabriel got back up again and walked to the far side of the craft, then paced around back there until that got too frustrating. He thumped his way over to the paddle, thumped back to Len, and held it out beside her, hoping she'd some practice with this boating thing. "You try?" She had longer arms, after all, and probably wouldn't mind the water.
If they could just get the raft off this stupid rock...rockbar thing, getting Prince back would be a piece of cake. Glass Crow "Well, I'm not trying very hard," Lenore said patiently, looking out onto the water still. Glancing at the paddle, she shrugged and nodded, taking it. "Hell, it's worth a shot."
Standing and bracing her legs against the raft, she sunk the paddle into the water and strained as she tried to push the craft off. Spitting casual curses under her breath as she pushed and shoved, she smiled slightly as the raft moved forward a bit.
"There's a start," she said, straining harder. "What direction we going?" Chinchillie Sabriel performed a silent dance of victory, spirits lifting. It was too bad the fog didn't lift with them - he gave up, still blind to all but a few feet surrounding them, and pointed off in the direction that felt the most right. "Thattaway!"
He gave a frightened hiss as the moving raft threatened to knock him off the feet and quickly dropped to all fours, clinging to it like a lifeline. At Lenore's efforts the raft broke free of the rocks with a loud crnnnching sound and began to drift off, rocking and dipping over the tiny waves distorting the water's surface. Glass Crow A little perturbed by the fog, Lenore nonetheless nodded and steered the raft where Sabriel wanted.
"Alright. Keep an eye out for him," Len said as she paddled. "And try not to fall in."
Since I might not want to fish you out again, she added silently. Chinchillie "'Kay." Sabriel said warily, catching a hint of those unspoken words. Keeping an eye out for Prince in the fog, he nonetheless stayed where he was, not trusting the edges of the raft right now.
And so they drifted on. The fog was a wall of blank white, shifting and shadowing but flickering close rarely, being pushed away by the motion of their craft. He'd begun to get worried that they hadn't gone the right way when a light breeze picked up, spilling fog over them both - and then being breezed away. A distinct line of darkness started to appear up ahead, and soon resolved into a shoreline. But it wasn't the possibility of crashing that startled Sabriel so much.
Prince! The lion was lyin' on the shore, apparently washed up, and was hard to see...but definitely was there. The fog was getting thinner and thinner by the minute. He poked urgently at the Bird's shoulder and pointed at the spot. "Hurry up!" he urged, shifting worriedly from foot to foot. Glass Crow "Alright, alright," Len said, paddling faster. "Little caalsta blazeh. D'you see him?"
The raft went smoothly through the water, gaining on the shoreline quickly. Looking around, unimpressed, Len snorted and drew the paddle onto the raft. Jumping off and wading onto the island, she threw her arms wide.
"We're here," she said, though she wasn't quite sure where "here" was yet. Chinchillie ...what did she just call him?
Sabriel gingerly stepped to a less watery spot in the shadows and dashed across, landing with a tremendous explosion of sand. Giving his now coated fur a disgruntled look, he shook some of it off and wandered over to where Len stood, still shedding sand all the way. So where was Prince? He looked around the beach, trying to spot a splash of white against off-white.
Spotting the lion, he forgot about the sand and frustration and EVERYTHING and raced over to his friend, reaching down to scoop the plushie up, fishy-smelling or not, and was beaten to it. Something darted down from the trees and snatched the lion up, flying back from whence it came.
Sabriel stared after it, swaying a little with shock. What the-?! NO. This was NOT FAIR. Glass Crow "What the-"
Watching the Thing swoop down from the trees and steal Prince, Lenore was hard-put to laugh and groan in sympathy.
"Well...ergh. That sucks." she said, hands on hips. "Now what?" Chinchillie He was still staring. Horrified. This was not right. A world in which Princes were stolen multiple times was not allowed to exist.
Shaking out of it, at least a tiny bit, Sabriel managed to stop watching the trees and pay attention to Len instead. Now what? He shook his head, loosing the shock a bit more, and then gestured imperiously towards the forest. "Get 'em back." he growled, stalking off in that direction himself. Glass Crow Sighing, Len waved to Sadako, who'd elected to stay on the raft.
"Watch the boat," she said boredly. Trailing after Sabriel, she fixed her eyes to the trees, scanning branches for a tell-tale blob of white. Chinchillie The mysterious plushienapper didn't show itself as they entered the forest. It stayed hidden while Sabriel tromped around, muttering angrily, peered up into branches, and generally made a lot of noise in a very irritated fashion.
But those activities started to slow, and that's when it decided to appear. A small shuffling of feet, and a squirrel showed itself to be perched not far above Len's head, dangling the plushie in its front paws. The movement caught Sabriel's eyes - he let out a strangled yell and threw himself at the trunk, barely missing Lenore. It hopped a few branches higher, chittering.
"Do something!" he demanded, turning on Len instead when it proved impossible to get to. "Knock it outta the tree. SOMETHING." Glass Crow "Al-RIGHT! Gods, stop freaking ordering me around," Lenore snapped, eyes searching through the trees for the squirrel. Irritated beyond words, she willed the breeze that hissed through the leaves into stronger, more vicious life.
"Knock the stupid thing to the ground," she told the winds. As if they were listening, they began to howl, shredding leaves and snapping off smaller branches. Lenore began to feel fatigued with the force she was using, but ignored it.
"I can't keep it up forever, you gotta help me," she told the Cat, feeling more and more tired by the second. Chinchillie Sabriel would have snapped something back, but the familiar tingle of magic prickled his fur, only with the force that Lenore was using, the feeling was icy cold and he involuntarily stepped back, shaking from head to foot to the tips of all seven tails.
And then, there was also the matter of rustlings in the branches above them that were not caused by the wind. All of a sudden several more furry somethings leapt at Lenore, even as her intended target wobbled and fell, screeching - both Sabriel and the squirrels leapt for Prince, but the toddler was once again unlucky. A gang of squirrels raced off for the lake in the center of the island, dragging Prince along like a banner.
It would have been hilarious had the horrible little creatures not been completely pissed off. For that matter, so was Sabriel. He went tearing after the ones who had captured Prince, leaving the Bird to deal with her own furry attack squadron. Glass Crow "Oh, come on."
Spinning 'round with wings outspread, trying to ward off her horde of squirrelly assailants, Lenore prayed she wouldn't get bitten and end up with rabies.
"My best friend's a squirrel, you know," she said, trying to reason with the creatures. "So I really don't want to hurt you-OW. OWWW."
A squirrel had become entangled in her spidery fingers when she'd tried to brush it off, and it was currently attempting to bite them all off. She glared at the creature furiously, the winds dying with such abruptness it was truly unnatural.
"Why you little!"
Flinging her arm out, she sent the squirrel rocketing through the trees, where it crashlanded against a pine.
"Go ahead! Dammit, just try it!" she snarled at the rest of the squirrels. "Go a-freakin'-head! I will so ABSOLUTELY cut your tails off!" Chinchillie Like magic, the squirrels disappeared at the crack of squirrel hitting tree, and reorganized on a branch nearby. They got close in a conference consisting of chitters and squeaks, actually looking to be discussing something - maybe it was the proximity of the Forest that made them so smart. Was she worth attacking? Hadn't it been the cat and the guy that cut down the tree, that the fox had warned them about? And she did smell a little like squirrel...
Finally making a decision, all the squirrels turned tail and ran, all except one. THAT one was either brave or extremely moronic (or both) and leapt at Lenore for a second round. Glass Crow Lenore snarled and whapped the creature away with a wing, feathers rattling angrily.
"I will freaking kill you," she said warningly. "Go bug the Cat, this is his mess, not mine." Chinchillie Her wing sent the squirrel flying with a squeal. It twisted itself to land in a tree, and went scurrying out of sight, presumably to follow its friends. Len wouldn't be attacked any more if she decided to press on, and was also free to hightail it out of there if she wished. The Cat would not appreciate having even MORE squirrels to deal with - at the time he was skirting the pond in the middle of the island, following a tauntingly flickering tail in the trees above, and doing his best not to fall in while being jeered at by a crowd of squirrels. He pinned his ears back and growled, but that only encouraged the horrible little monsters. Reaching the other side, he breathed a sigh of relief to be back on safe ground once more. Stupid water.
The going was good after that. Sure, there were branches that smacked him in the face, twigs tearing tufts of fur free, thorns along the way...but anything was better than water. All was well until the trees opened up to a bridge and a spread of lake. A swaying wooden bridge. The squirrel went hopping across without hesitation, Prince precariously close to the edge.
Cursing the squirrel, its mother, its family and all rodents in general, both silently and loudly, the Cat began his way across, and it was as bad as feared. The bridge creaked underfoot and swayed in the new breeze rolling off the lake, and right below, after a drop, was the water itself, slurping at the shore below in a manner guaranteed to terrify.Glass Crow Grumbling about the evils of non-Malachi squirrels, Lenore brushed off her dress and preened herself, bird-like.
"Stupid miserable little bastards," she muttered to herself, stomping through the woods to follow Sabriel. "Why'd I even come here? Why'd I even get out of bed?"
She looked arond, wondering where the Cat had gone.
"Sabriel?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:20 pm
Rollin' rollin' rollin'~
(Quest RP #7)
One step at a time.
One. Step. At. A. Time.
Where the heck was Lenore? She could fly them across. Anything but this.
He squinched his eyes shut for the first few yards, feeling acutely every swing and jerk of the ropes. This was unfair. Unfair, unfair, unfair. He could do this! UNFAIR though it was, he could!
The squirrel was sitting on the other side when Sabriel opened his eyes again, and willed himself to keep moving, lest it run away again. At his first bold step nothing happened. The bridge didn't move. But on the second...a board broke with a sharp SNAP and sent one foot plunging through, the rest of him falling flat on the boards, knocking the air from his lungs and winding him completely. Ow. "I HATE you." he hissed out painfully, glaring daggers at the squirrel. UNFAIR UNFAIR UNFAIR. Well...that had never stopped him, had it?
The squirrel, which had been watching this like a comedy movie, jumped as the Cat actually started dragging itself across the bridge, still breathing heavily. Horror of horrors! He almost got it, too - at the very end Sabriel gathered his strength and sprung at the frozen rodent, but it broke off and went scurrying back through the trees, squeaking hysterically. Zombie cat!
Sabriel pulled himself upright before staggering after it, and conveniently caught on a rock only a few feet after leaving the bridge. Down he went, rolling in a tumble of leaves, with nothing to stop the downward plunge. Rolling and rolling and rolling...the toddler curled himself up into a little ball and hoped nothing worse would happen.
Luck was on his side. Amazingly, the roll was stopped by a pileup of leaves against rocks instead of crashing into the mountainside itself, and the landing was well cushioned by the soft leafy mass.
...was it over?
Hesitantly uncurling like a furry armadillo, Sabe felt dizzy, but didn't think he'd broken anything. Looking up at the mound of leaves stretching overhead, his breath suddenly caught - this was Fate. This was worth all the trouble. The squirrel was standing right over him, and Prince was with it.
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Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:21 pm
It's MY lion!!
(Quest RP #8 )
Caught, both feline and rodent were at a standstill. Moving would scare it away and send claws slashing. Not moving would give it time to escape, and make the cat antsy enough to attack. Trapped by dilemma, there was one solution: have the problem solved for them both.
It happened without warning. Like death, strikingly deadly and quiet, a feathered shadow whirled down with a beat of wings and wrapped sharp talons around the squirrel's middle. It had time for a squeak - a bare peep of sound - and then was dragged up into the sky. With Prince.
After the initial kidnapping, the fight with Kay and Delphine, having to make a stupid raft, getting STUCK on the stupid raft and being rescued by Lenore of all people, having Prince snatched again and facing a mile of water without a savior, this simply was not allowed. Now the lion had been captured a third time, adding insult to injury.
With a yowl of fury Sabriel leapt at the hill of rocks, barely catching a pawhold before scrambling up to the next. Stones and dirt went tumbling all around him while the Mishap went clawing his way up the side of the mountain, a column of living dust raking a path up the slope. He didn't care how tiring this day had been. He wanted this stupid thing OVER and that gave him the energy to keep moving. Some of the anger was worked off by the strenous climbing, and the energy wore away as he went.
Stopping at one point to catch his breath, sprawled out on the stones, rational thought found it safe to return. Where had the bird gone? Up to the top of the mountain? It wasn't steep down here, but probably not even Len could get up there. That wouldn't be good at all. Gazing skyward, his eyes caught a series of ledges poking out from above. They were right overhead and it was impossible to see on top, but it wasn't hard to guess what may be lurking up there. All he had to do was sneak up there, grab Prince, and they'd be home free.
But it didn't happen as planned. Reaching up, clambering on the first ledge, Prince's face unexpectedly loomed into view. Beyond it, with a talon resting possesively on the plushie back, sat a huge feathered creature that was all horrible claws and hooked beak and glaring eyes. The bird! There was no trace of the squirrel but a few tufts of gray fur scattered here and there. At least he wasn't here to save that particular victim - it was already a lost cause.
Looking into those menacing golden eyes, all will and fight began to drain away. It was angry. It was in its territory and it was a giant, and had already killed a squirrel. Blood on its beak. Life on its talons.
But the stupid thing had Prince. That was the deciding factor. And he was NOT leaving without Prince, no matter what.
Hissing, Sabriel crouched down low to the rock, fur fluffed and teeth bared. Before it could react, bunching all his anger into energy, he sprang for it with a shout of, "MY LION!" and crashed into the hawk with all his strength, claws closing around the lion and pulling him free with a sharp tug.
The bird felt soft and limp, dead weight where a challenge had been expected. His momentum carried them both across the nest, flying into space, and then the hawk reacted. It gave a piercing shriek and opened both huge feathery wings wide, buffeting the toddler furiously with them - he had no choice but to let go, still keeping a tight hold on Prince, and turned around midair to take in the situation far too late.
He had gone from a horizontal leap to a vertical dive, and those rocks were coming up alarmingly fast...
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Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:42 pm
When cats DON'T land on their feet...this is what happens.(Quest RP #9) Numbness.
Bright light.
Sabriel blinked his eyes open long enough to see the familiar green wallpaper and cat paw print before shutting them again tightly. Ow. Ow ow ow. Headache of a lifetime. Moving an arm, it brushed up against something soft and equally familiar as the room. Squinting against the light, he was met with the sight of a soggy, musty-smelling, dirty and bloody but a very here Prince.
But Prince wasn't supposed to be here. He was out in the middle of the lake...
This was all horribly confusing, and to compound matters, someone took the opportunity to squeak "He's awake!" before the sounds of the portal door being slammed translated into a wave of pain. Sabriel couldn't see who it was - he didn't care, because the combination of headache and pure, whirling confusion threatened to swamp him and carry him away...
And he let it, grateful for the sound of silence.
The next time he awoke the headache was gone, replaced by a mild fuzziness that tingled right behind the eyes and down his left arm. That same fuzziness had replaced the whirling confusion, and he looked on his surroundings with a pleasant unconcern. Why did his arm feel so weird? Raising it from the bed with an effort, Sabriel saw that his left arm was completely encased in a cast, blaringly lime green. There were signatures on it.
"Sabriel?" That was Chin's voice. "Are you awake? You took a nasty spill, there." Any sign she knew WHY he'd fallen like that was masked by concern, which reflected in her face as she moved into view, albeit a bit blurry. He smiled vaguely at her, which for some reason made her look more worried than not. There was a scraping of chair legs on the floor and she disappeared again. "Darby? DARBY!"
"Yeah?"
"How many painkillers did you GIVE him?"
Darby looked up from the couch. Cain had fallen asleep on her shoulder about an hour ago, pinning her there while they'd waited for the Mishap to wake up. Blinking, she flashed Chin an innocent grin, shrugging the shoulder that didn't have a toddler on it. "How should I know? Enough."
"He's a toddler!"
"It won't hurt 'em." Darby countered, rumpling Cain's hair affectionately - she dosed him with medicine all the time, and nothing bad had come of it. Of course, she did treat the boy a little strangely, which had to be taken into account. "Besides," she added in a more serious tone, "I don't want a half-crazed cat rampaging around, demanding to know WHY he can't get out of bed now and refusing to get better and all sorts of things. You're way too gullible with kids, you know?"
Not understanding a word, Sabriel watched the ceiling for a while until that began to get boring. He drifted off to the sounds of his Chin and Darby in the thick of an arguement, Prince at his side, not a care in the world. As things should be.
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Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:49 pm
The waves of pain suffered were feeling different now. Not only were they located on his arm and head, but it seemed to come from spots that weren't damaged at all! For a second it seemed Sabriel would need intensive care in the infirmary, but that was before a wave settled in in his body
The wave per say started to spread all over his body, rippling energy in every cell, though in the damaged areas the sensation was quite unpleasent. But as his previous growth it didn't last long, for the latest, and strongest, wave cased the suddent outburst that made him change to a kid
Things didn't seem too diferent from when the feeling finally disipated. The arm was still broken and he still had the same black fur and whip tails. But a closer look made it clear his legs were longer, making it difficult to walk on all fours so much as he used to. But perhaps that would be a welcome change, to be able to keep Prince close easily at top speed... once his arm recovered.
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