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 Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 8:07 pm
It had been several days since the students had returned from their terrible field trip, and enough time had passed for most to start settling back into a routine, if not to recover from their traumatic experiences. For Jove, the routine was what kept him moving forward.
Physically the pup still ached, limping around the school with one ear flopped down uselessly, one arm in an impromptu sling made from one of Ren's many bandannas, and his bangs falling down into his face to hide the bruises that still stood out on his cheek. But mentally the damage was more lasting. He hadn't eaten or bathed, or even really slept much since their return, and although the little ghost needed none of that, the fact that he took no enjoyment from those activities was telling. His spare time was full of odd behaviours, like wandering through the dorms to compulsively check on his friends, if he wasn't lying on his bed staring at the walls.
Today he was out walking, having been told the fresh October air would do him wonders. He wasn't feeling so wonderful as he wandered along the riverside path he knew from his first weeks at the school. It had rained recently, and the normally sluggish, black river practically roared it's way downstream, pushing it's debris up against the tall bank and picking up new pieces as it went.
Any other time Jove might have been impressed by it's strength and violence, but today he just watched it with a distant expression as he limped along the trail that hugged it's side.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:21 am
It'd been days since the hellish island trip, and while Gabrian was glad to be back home, he found his room to be oddly... oppressing and small. The nix merely figured it was a side effect of... what had happened to him in that dark cave. He often caught himself pondering over what had happened there; what he could have done to avoid the turn of events, and what he could have done to help his friends. Alas, the more he thought about it, the more he noticed there was just no sure fire way to make sure the outcome would have been different.
The moment he'd noticed he was obsessing, he'd tried his hardest to clear his mind, and it was during those moments that he usually noticed how uncomfortably small his room was. Oppressing, really, to the point he literally had to get out; often time in the middle of the night. Even his friends' warmth beside him, curled up against him was not enough to alleviate the strange, almost claustrophobic feel the room had, and so, during though time, Gabrian went out. Today was one such day; and he found the roaring to be most therapeutic. If it weren't for the fact he'd felt like playing his troubles away on his violin, he would have considered swimming. Alas, music had seemed like a better idea, and thus the demon had sat against the trunk of a tree, playing away, his eyes set on the roaring waters.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed, nor how long he'd been there, but the crack of a twig as it was stepped on roused him from his reverie and as he looked on over the river, he noticed Jove on the other side. He wasn't particularly well acquainted with the pup, but he did know that Ren had a fondness for him and that was enough to put the other boil on Gabrian's good side. As he played, he watched the pup walk, noting the strange, almost melancholic way the other boil moved in. He didn't call, nor did he try to catch the small ghost's attention.
After all, the nix knew what was on his mind. It was the same thing that was in everyone's mind of late.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:36 am
Jove wasn't even aware of Gabrian sitting nearby, the sounds of the river kept the sound of violin music from reaching his ears. That and his own heavy thoughts. What was he supposed to do now? What could he do? The little wisp had been helpless to keep things from turning out how they had, and if he had any strength in him at all it should have at least made a small difference. But he had not been able to lift a finger in their defence.
Lost in his thoughts as he was, the pup didn't notice the footing becoming more treacherous. The rain had made the soil soft, and the dead leaves slippery underfoot. Jove was hardly aware when one foot slipped sideways towards the river, but his attention was quickly pulled from his thoughts when his recovery also fell victim to the uncertain footing. His other foot slipped as well, and before he knew it he had lost his balance entirely. Jove tried to grab at the foliage by the side of the path with his good arm, and had his other not been tangled in the impromptu sling he might have been able to catch himself. But one hand wasn't enough, and he slipped right into the roaring water.
And then there was only chaos. He could hardly see a thing with all the sediment and detritus suspended in the water, and he swirled around, carried along in the turbulence until up was down and left and right were merely colloquial terms that no longer existed. He stopped struggling as he was banged up against a log, he had no strength to free himself from this chaos.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:29 am
The melody absorbed Gabrian, and he turned his attention away from Jove in an attempt to get into the music, lose himself into it. It was, after all, without a doubt... the best way he knew with which to clear his mind. Music had never let him down and it always managed to make him feel better. He closed his eyes and focused on the friction the bow made against the strings of his instrument, his mind cleared and blank until he heard a distinct yip over the sound of the roaring river.
His hand stilled over the violin and his head lifted up, eyes scanning the shore until his gaze fell upon Jove. Or rather, his gaze fell upon what little he could see of the pup as he fell into the chaotic mass of foam and water. For a split second, Gabrian wasn't sure what to do; it was like he was back in the cave again, the yip coming from LW instead of the little wisp, and then, the nix moved on instinct. He dropped his instrument on the floor, the wood producing a loud, unhealthy crack and twang before he made a dash for the water. As he reached water, he transformed and then dove into the roaring waves.
Thankfully, he not only could not drown in the river, but he was most used to swimming in chaotic water. Unfortunately, the pup obviously wasn't, because he flailed and fought the waves wildly instead of trying to go with them, allowing them to bring him to shore. The moment the serpent's head reached the other boil, he hissed, "Transform! It'll be easier to doggy paddle and you can climb on my head, out of the water; DO IT! Change forms!" a particularly nasty wave of water smashed against his face, forcing him to retreat only momentarily before he reappeared, "Don't fight the water; you'll only get tired if you fight it. Try to go with it!"
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:43 am
The sudden appearance of a GIANT sea serpent didn't do the pup any favours, his eyes went wide and he squeaked before he was pulled under again. He did the exact opposite, thrashing and flailing as his lungs filled with murky water. A drifting log struck his legs, sending him spiralling and confused once again. The little pup lost sight of both the surface and the serpent.
Without knowing which direction to swim, he frantically tried to grab onto anything his good arm could reach. And his hand settled on something slick, but muscular and solid. It wasn't a firm grasp by any means, just a tenuous hold, his little fingers slowly sliding along it's tapered surface.
Perhaps the pup would have been safer had he maintained his apathetic attitude, or even taken on a desire to let the river be the end of him. But he struggled. Whether it was pure instinct or a sudden realization that things weren't over just because he had failed himself and his friends during that trip, he struggled.
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