Grumbling and still half-asleep, the wolf-like teenager absentmindedly rubbed his cheek where he'd just swatted the offending insect. It was light out, but his stomach hurt and he really wanted to curl up and just go back to sleep until he felt better. Of course, when he tried to curl up and realized something was in the way...as well as the fact that his paws were hanging freely in the air, he decided it might be a better idea to open his eyes and figure out why.
The startling realization nearly sent him flailing and plummeting into the marsh below. Instantly awake now, he clung to the massive tree root he'd been draped over and tried to get his bearings. They'd been hiking, he'd been doing some digging and talking to Moony's aunt...a flash of trees far below...then he'd woken up to being some mosquito's breakfast. Weird. He didn't remember making camp or going to sleep. Especially not while trying to sleep on a root in a marsh.
He didn't have time to reflect further because something brightly colored amongst all the drab, marshy colors caught his eye. Hard to miss that brilliant yellow, especially when nearby on the same root. "Apple Bloom?" he questioned, shimmying along to branch to reach out and shake her shoulder gently. "You okay?"
((Rolled a 3 for Shelter.))
Strawberri Stardust
Ranuin's Items, Currently Down in the Marsh:
Backpack Tent Bedroll Canteen Week's Worth of Dried Food Rations (Trail Mix, Jerky, and Special Fairy-Prepared Meals that only need Water to rehydrate) Matches Pocket Knife Pocket Lantern (Algae) Bandana Bug Repellant First-Aid Kit (Bandages, Poltice, Herbs, etc) 2 Flares Small Shovel Solar Blanket A Painted Wooden Ball
Dragon Berri generated a random number between
1 and 2 ...
1!
Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:27 pm
Teigra
She jerked awake at the shake from Ranuin and nearly fell off the root, as well. She grabbed for it at the last second and managed to keep from getting soaked in the marsh, anyway. "Ranuin? Where are we?" she asked, darting glances around. This was not the jungle. Or at least not where they'd been. The last thing she remembered was picking a flower and then....nothing until she woke up here. "I'm alright. Scratched up a little but nothing serious. You? You're all wet," she commented. The weight on her shoulders told her she hadn't lost her backpack, so that at least was a good thing. She wondered if she'd had a chance to stash the stuff she'd collected into the bag before....whatever happened, happened.
Relieved when Apple Bloom responded, though his hand had tightened on her shoulder briefly when he'd thought she might fall, Ranuin's tail wagged slightly. Well, that was something good at least. At her comment about him being all wet, he stuck out his tongue. "Hey, it's humid out here," he faux grumped, but destroyed the ruse with a following snicker. Looking down, he commented idly, "We're both going to be all wet if we fall though."
Then, he looked again, recognizing his pack, half-submerged in the murky water. "Ah man, my stuff," he whined, ears drooping. With a semi-dramatic sigh and a roll of his eyes, he turned back to Apple Bloom. "Well, my pack's all wet, that's for sure. I think I'm fine though...other than being up this tree. Maybe we should do something about that?" At least they weren't that high up; it seemed that what they were draped over was a massive tree root, not a branch, and the murky water waited below. The constant buzzing of the biting insects in the air was distracting, and Ranuin looked around for anything useful to help them get down safely.
The teen scrambled up astride the branch, tugging experimentally at some of the thick vines hanging from above. "Hmm...wonder if these can hold us?" he mused aloud. He wrapped his hands around one, using it to pull himself up and get his paws on top of the branch. He wasn't ready to trust his full weight to one just yet, but hey, it had been a good first test. He went to reach for another vine, attempting to use them as aids to help him walk along the branch, when his paw bumped against something that didn't feel like wood. He pulled away reflexively, glaring down as if expecting a threatening creature...and finding only a bit of rusted metal. Fortunately, it had been stuck in the root at an angle where he'd only kicked the flat of what looked to have once been a blade. It was rather rusty, but the shape was somewhat distinctive, and it seemed to have a handle, the other end lodged in the tree root. Releasing one of the vines while holding another for balance, Ranuin took a hold of the handle and tried to wedge the object free. It took some working back and forth, as well as cautious tugging, but eventually, the object came free.
"An axe...?" he puzzled aloud, regaining his balance and holding the object up for study.
Strawberri Stardust
Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 8:53 pm
Teigra
She grinned at him and laughed a little. "Yeah, no, let's not fall in that. It looks gross," she said and tried to sit up. "Eww...that sucks." She looked around for a minute, then turned back when he asked about the vines. "They look pretty thick," she said. "Maybe?" She watched as he used the vines as balance aids. So far they seemed able to bear his weight, or at least part of it. "What is it?" she asked and started to get up, grabbing onto a vine to keep from falling off. "How did that get up here?" she wondered. It looked old and rusted, like it had been there for a while.
"No idea," Ranuin answered with a shrug. "Looks really old though, doesn't it?" The metal was half covered in rust and he scraped the rough, brown surface experimentally with a fingernail. He wasn't that familiar with too many metal objects, and certainly not old ones, so he wasn't familiar with the substance either. He just thought in looking at it, whatever it was, it looked...'old.' For whatever reason.
"Well, finders keepers," he shrugged, gripping the axe's handle surely and looking around again. "Now what?" He glanced down again at the murky waters below, then to the vines overhead. "You know what? I'm getting my stuff back," he declared. He set his new metal treasure down safely aside, then reached up to wrap both hands around one thick vine. Then, tugging at it experimentally, he then jumped and pulled his feet up, attempting to hang from the vine. He was ready to plant his feet down on the branch again if anything gave way, but...he found himself hanging safely just above the branch. "Ha! Alright, they are strong enough!" he crowed, regaining his footing. He started pulling some of the vines from above, leaving one end secure and gathering up the other to drop down below. He tied the free end of the vine around his ankle, then gave the other a strong tug again. Still seemed secure.
"Alright, I'm going to get my stuff first, then climb back up here and see if we can't use these vines to get out of here," he explained, offering Apple Bloom a smile. "Shouldn't take me long. Be back before you know it." He looped the vine around his wrists, took a secure hold and dropped, sliding down the vine like a rope, one eye cast below on the murky swamp.
Strawberri Stardust
Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:59 pm
Teigra
"Yeah, it does," she said, then grinned. "Works for me. Doesn't look like anybody really wanted it enough to care about where it was." She shrugged. "Getting your stuff sounds like a good idea to me." She sat carefully on the root and pulled her backpack around to dig through it. She wanted to see if she'd stashed her findings from the hike before....whatever had happened.
She smiled back at him and nodded, but his drop made her gasp a little and lean over the edge to keep an eye on him. She kept one hand wrapped in another vine to keep her from falling off.
Shimmying down the vine was easy enough; it was going to be a whole other task to climb back up it again. Ranuin wasn't focusing on that just yet though. He was focused on getting his pack from the murky water below before it sank and he lost it completely. Or some monster from the deep came up and swallowed it whole. Or any number of other nightmarish possibilities.
A worry started to form in the back of his mind as he descended, culminating as fact when he reached the end of the length of vine. He was JUST out of reach of his pack below. Well, if he kept hold of the vine anyway. Clinging with one hand and stretching with the other...nope, no luck. He pouted, unwilling to leave the pack, especially after having come this far for it. He wondered how secure the knot was that he'd tied in the end of the vine...
"Apple Bloom?" he called, looking back up towards the branch. "Um...I'm going to try something, and if I fall, uh...we'll meet over on the bank, 'k?" If there was a bank in this marshy mess. There had to be one somewhere, right?
He continued climbing downward with his hands, getting as close as possible to the end of the vine until he hung precariously over the swamp, doubled over and curled in on himself to where his hands gripped just above the knot around his ankle. Had to minimize the drop, especially when the strength of the vine still remained in question. He swallowed hard, closing his eyes, then took a deep breath, and held it as he let go.
It was a short, if jarring drop backwards before his weight was caught by the loop around his ankle. Not comfortable by any means, but he opened an eye slowly, and was rewarded with only the slowly spinning view of an upside down world. The muck was not rushing up at his face; he wasn't falling! That was a success as far as he was concerned. Dangling helplessly above a swamp was not a pleasant sensation, so he looked around, swiftly locking on his pack below...or was it above? He made a grab for it, missing at first, but sending himself swinging which brought it within reach for a second grab. He latched his short claws into the rough canvas, pulling the pack out of the swamp with a sickening slurp. Eww. Still, he had his stuff back!
"Got it!" he shouted victoriously upwards...or was it downwards, as he glanced down at his feet to the branch and sky beyond. Then, the thought occurred to him: now what?
Strawberri Stardust
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 7:34 am
The blood was rushing to his head, making Ranuin's thoughts muddled. Maybe Apple Bloom could pull him back up? No, he weighed too much for her to do that. He had to do something to get himself out of the mess he'd gotten himself into. He tried to reach up (down?) to make a grab at the vine around his ankle, but the movement proved more difficult than he'd imagined and he was nowhere close. Right...gravity. Plus, the added weight of pack meant that even if he was decently in shape, this was a whole new challenge.
Unwilling to let go of the pack after so much effort to retrieve it, he pondered his other options. If he couldn't get back up the vine, he'd have to go down instead. One look at the muck below and he decided he'd rather take the harder path back up, thanks. He looped the strap of the pack around one of his wrists several times, hoping that it'd secure his hold. Then, he tensed, preparing himself for the effort...and put everything into a sudden surge of movement upwards, making a wild grab for the vine.
...which slid roughly through his fingertips as he started to fall again.
The failed effort resulted in additional side to side movement, sending him swinging like a fuzzy pendulum as he dangled upside down. Ranuin had to close his eyes to keep from getting dizzy or even sick. That would NOT be good right now.
Okay, new plan. Quick, wild grabs did not see to be the best idea. It'd been too fast for him to get a grip on the vine before he'd started to fall again, and he'd not been able to aim, only grab at it wildly. Maybe slower, more deliberate attempts were the way to go. The first attempt to reach upward in a controlled fashion revealed just how difficult this was going to be. But, the teen was determined...and maybe just a little stubborn. Despite the protests his core muscles offered, he kept reaching upward, slowly, focusing on the vine above, his other arm with the pack still pulled down towards the marsh. Just...a little...further...
"HA!" he shouted victoriously, his hand wrapping tightly around the vine just above the knot around his ankle. His other arm followed with the pack, and he winced at the burning at his middle...but it wasn't enough to pull him down from his elation just yet. Maybe when the adrenaline faded. For now, he focused on getting both hands on the vine and slowly, ever so slowly, starting to climb up from his doubled over position.
She watched him a little nervously, nodding when he said they'd meet at the bank if he fell in. Sitting up a little, she looked around for anything that might resemble a bank and was mostly disappointed. Okay then. They could figure out a direction to go in later. She turned her attention back to her newest friend just as he let go of the vine. She squeaked, worried he was going to drop in again, but the vine seemed to hold his weight. Yay! That was definitely a success, she thought.
She let out a relieved breath when he was able to grab his bag. "Whoo hoo!" she said and grinned. Now he just had to get himself back up here so they could figure out how to get back to camp. Or maybe just get back home. She blinked when he seemed to be having trouble figuring out what to do. She thought about trying to pull him up, but didn't think she was that strong.
He grabbed wildly for the vine and missed, making her wince a bit as he swung from the vine. She was just about to suggest he throw the pack up at her when he made a much more controlled reach for the vine and was successful. She grinned; if the rest of their trip was this easy, then it wouldn't be so hard to get home! Unfortunately, she was pretty sure it wouldn't be this easy the rest of the time. While he climbed, she shouted encouragements down to him.
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 1:02 pm
The climb back to the branch above was a long, slow one, but Apple Bloom's shouts were encouraging and when he scrambled back onto the branch, Ranuin shot her a tired grin. Flopped on his back on the branch, he held his pack up halfway, chuckling, "Got it!" Snickering, he had to lay there for a few minutes, panting, before he could sit up to prepare to move again. He stowed the rusted axe in his pack as well as checking that everything else seemed to still be there, then shouldered the bag.
"Any idea where we are?" he asked, looking around. "I don't know if I've ever seen this place before." In fact, he was pretty sure that he'd never been anywhere quite like this before. Looking below, then back up to the branch they were on, he turned towards the distance. "I wonder how far we could travel up here before he had to go down? Figure if we keep moving, we'll eventually find solid ground again?" He looked to Apple Bloom hopefully. It had to be worth a try, right? This muck couldn't go on forever. It wasn't as if the Isle was covered in this stuff, after all. They....were still on the Isle, right? Of course they were; where else would they be?
"Nope, definitely never been here before," Ranuin mused aloud, peering down from the branch towards the muck below. He'd taken the lead, picking his way carefully along the branch on his paws, testing the stability before moving along. If there were any obvious trouble to be had, he'd hopefully find it before Apple Bloom.
The air remained thick and heavy with humidity. There wasn't much in the way of helpful scents either, he noticed, due to the overwhelming 'swamp' scents instead. Ranuin wondered passively if his feral form would have had any more luck finding their way. Perhaps the swamp would have simply been too overpowering instead. Maybe he'd try when they reached solid ground. And after he'd had time to warn Apple Bloom first. Many Faun tended to be alarmed by his feral form at first sight, even those who were familiar with other shape-shifting Terrakin abilities.
After a while, Ranuin started drawing encouragement from the number of small 'islands' that seemed to be appearing below in the swamp. Solid ground! It was just a few at first, then larger and larger sections began appearing with less 'swamp' and water in between. The branch they were traveling along was also descending at a steady pace, the ground rising to meet them. "Look! Solid ground!" he crowed, pointing ahead and bounding over a knothole. "Doing okay, Apple Bloom?"
Strawberri Stardust
((Maybe we could quickly wrap this one up with these two, since they've both moved on since. XD))
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:38 pm
Teigra
Sorry TwT *fails*
"Whoo!" she cheered as he climbed back onto the branch with his bag. She shook her head when he asked for ideas as to where they were. "No idea. Sounds like a plan, though," she said with a smile and followed him through the trees. This was definitely not her favorite summer vacation. Really, she probably would have enjoyed a visit to Manehattan with Rarity over this. Still, she did meet some new friends which was a good thing.
"Yup! I'm doin' great," she answered. "Think those lil islands mean we're almost back to civilization?" She really hoped so.
"Man, I hope so," he answered, unknowingly echoing her sentiments on the matter. The branches had begun to dip lower and with a couple short hops to transfer from one to the next, the ground was rising up closer to meet them. And it appeared more solid by now as well, safer to try a jump perhaps?
When he gauged the distance was safe enough to attempt, he paused to steady his footing, aiming for a solid-looking piece of ground before making his leap. His paws stumbled a bit on landing, his inertia carrying him forward onto one knee, but he caught himself before falling further. The ground was indeed solid, at least. Rising back onto his paws, he glanced back at Apple Bloom. "Seems safe and sound! Just a short jump!" he called encouragingly. He waited to catch her in case she stumbled before looking around the area again. "I say we keep moving in the same direction. The ground is firmer this way and if we keep going, we might recognize something eventually." It was hopeful and optimistic...but what use was it to be pessimistic now?
Thankfully, it seemed the Spirits were on their side. Their journey eventually brought them out of the marshy area and towards the edge of the lake. He remembered the lake from his childhood, and though it'd been some time, Ranuin felt confident he could get them home from here. It'd take a few days at best, but...a trip round the lake and back to Laisidhiel was a picnic by comparison.
