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 Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 8:21 pm
AriedhielThe ancient forest air was thick with humidity, though the young unitaur seemed unaffected by the atmosphere. Nimbly stepping over the large, gnarled roots on the forest floor, Ariedhiel woke up with a purpose this morning, a purpose that she had been trying to gather up courage for. For today, she was going to go see what a cervitaur settlement looked like. She had heard stories from Makalo, about their adept hunting abilities and their brutal fights. Though she had been told to keep away from the cervitaur clans in the forest when she was a child (and maybe even last week), she was an adult now, she could handle it right?
Ariedhiel slowed down her pace, idly flicking her tail causing a few small plants to grow around her. She bit her lip, looking around her in sudden realization:
She had no idea where a cervitaur clan would even reside.
"Ooooh..." she groaned, shaking her head, "How am I going to do this..." From what her guardian had told her, she resided in the deepest part of the forest, which was more or less the center...if she perhaps traveled to the edges...? But no, Ariedhiel knew that would be quite dangerous for her, especially as a unitaur. She could transform herself...but she didn't know what the other species looked like so she couldn't do that.
She paced around the small clearing slowly, biting her thumbnail in thought. If she went back now...Makalo wouldn't be too happy if he knew what she was actually planning to do.
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 8:41 pm
Donnchad was not often abroad during the day. He kept company with owls, and kept their hours, too, but in the sweltering humidity of the late May afternoon, it had been quite impossible to fall asleep as his brethren did. Though he could act like an owl and stay with owls and wear an owl mask, he was still a young cervitaur boy, and he sweated like one in the heat. In the hollow tree he usually slept in, he tossed and turned, loosened his robe and ran a hand through his hair, and then finally gave up, throwing up his hands and strapping his mask, too wary to be without it in the stark light of day. A swim, he thought testily, stepping out from his shelter and sniffing the breeze. He just needed to cool down, he thought, just long enough to get himself to dreamland, and then the heat wouldn't matter. The stream was not far from his resting spot, shallow, but just deep enough to bathe in. It traveled northeasterly, into the center of the forest and Donnchad stared at the eddying ripples in that direction that swirled past his legs as he waded in. Usually he jumped in the water with a splash, but during the day, he felt nervous and vulnerable. He bit his lip and tightened his mask, staring at the world around him through an owl's face. How long had it been since he first wore this mask? Since he slept at night? Long enough to fear the sunlight like he used to fear the dark. And what was he afraid of? His own clan?
He shook his head and cupped his hands, splashing water onto his sweating chest. But as the splash died down, his ears pricked and his chest tightened. Noises were coming from the clearing next to him, footsteps. A branch snapped, and it was close by, near his own clearing with his hollow tree and his family- not his clan, but the owls that he had become accustomed to. His first thought, in the sunlight, was that he had been found by his brothers, that it was all over, that they'd drag him back. His second and more sensible thought was that it was simply a man who had strayed into the forest. They sometimes left gifts to the forest god- they thought that Donnchad represented that god, they owl faced man who collected their parcels of food and cloth. He hefted himself out of the water as quietly as possible, putting his robe on and tightening his mask yet again. It was dangerous to chase men off during the day, as they might realize that he was just a cervitaur wearing a mask, not a forest spirit or specter. However, if he approached it with caution, he could do so without giving himself away.
He crept through the underbrush, ears pricked, eyes glancing around him cautiously. Best to get them good and scared first, he reckoned. If they ran away, he might not even have to show himself. Clearing his throat, he peeled a long strip of birch bark from a tree nearby and rolled it into a cone. Lifting it to the mouth of the mask, he proclaimed "Who dares disrupt the domain of the Forest God??" At the sound, the canopy erupted with the shrieking of shocked birds. Under the mask, Donnchad grinned. Good old Forest God. Always helped him with the dramatic effect.
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 7:19 pm
Ariedhiel was deciding that it would be best to end her adventures here and return home and try to weedle her way out of trouble when her ears immediately perked up, her mood considerably brightening up some. She had to admit she was a little frightened, as the voice was booming and everything seemed to shake around her as it spoke, but it was relieving nonetheless!
"Forest God..." Ariedhiel began her voice slightly shaky, "I don't mean to intrude in your forest...I am Ariedhiel, of the Unitaur clan, and I would like to know where a cervitaur clan reside." She had regained back some of her confidence, peering through the foliage to see some sort of figure, but unfortunately the canopy was too thick to find anything. It was silent in the forest now, rather than its usual buzz of insects and birds. She was curious about this Forest God though, never had she heard of gods that lived in the forest, and Makalo hadn't told her about them either. Could it be that he didn't know about them? But, that didn't make sense as he didn't seem aware that gods resided in the forest.
She bit her lip in thought, suddenly a bit wary. She rested her hand against a tree, using her magic to blend in with the trees. Maybe she didn't hear about these gods because she was living in such isolation...but at the same time...
Ariedhiel didn't know what to think anymore, and waited for something to show up. Though she doubted it.
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 7:49 pm
Donnchad lowered the bark tube from the mouthpiece of his mask, peering into the underbrush. Was someone playing silly buggers with him? He was used to being the one who took creative liberties when he introduced himself to people, but whoever was lurking in the clearing must have been onto him, because no one saw Unitaurs running about, you just didn't.
Still, if it was one, well that was worth seeing, wasn't it? Donnchad crept closer, inch by inch, trying to spot someone in the clearing without revealing himself in the process. Lifting the bark tube to his mask again, he tried to stall her, booming "You are excused, Ariedhiel of the... Unitaur clan. Which Cervitaur clan do you seek? There are none in this area, you have strayed far from their domains and into the realm where men frequently wander." Close, very close now, and he thought he could see hooves through the branches, but he blinked and suddenly they were gone. The only thing he could be sure for from his quick glimpse was this: they were not deer hooves. This gave him sufficient courage to peek his head through the brush and stare swiftly around the clearing before withdrawing back under cover. Nothing, the clearing really was empty! Yet he had just seen the intruder's feet, and heard her voice. Was he going mad from the heat and sunlight?
Whoever they were, he decided, if they were real, they were probably some cheeky centaur trying to rile up the Forest God. Well, eternal damnation to her, he thought sourly, or whatever punishment it was that the Forest God doled out. He got up, and just in case the tricky visitor was hiding, he lifted the bark cone again, stating, "If you wish to visit a Cervitaur clan, you will leave this place!" Hopefully that would send them off. As for him, he would go back to his clearing. With an intruder around, it was difficult to think about sleeping, though. He groaned, knowing that he wouldn't get any rest until he could be sure she was gone. He hated to wake up his family during the day, but if she found him while he was trying to rest, with his mask off, no less, he'd be kicking himself. Lifting his fingers to his mouth, he ripped off a sharp whistle, and a tired owl hooted, flying overhead and scanning the area before returning to its tree. If it had seen anything, it would have descended upon it, so Donnchad shrugged and started to return, himself.
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Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 9:12 pm
"Oh, oh!!" she exclaimed without thinking, "Where would they be then?" her heart dropped when she heard 'human'. Ariedhiel hadn't met one so far, and she intended to keep it that way, for they were a wicked bunch that were known to enslave and kill her fellow taurs. She bit her lip, a new and sudden thought nagging at her. What if he was a human?
No, no. That couldn't be true, right? She was pretty sure they spoke a different language from taurs. And if anything, she would've heard him stomping through beforehand, no? They weren't the most stealthy of creatures, were they? She took one small step forward, though she was unsure where the source of the voice was. It had echoed all over the forest, and it seemed as if this being was everywhere. "F-forest God...?" she whispered, her eyes scanning the area nervously, though there really wasn't much to be seen, but Ariedhiel was hoping that she could see something four-legged that would quell her fears.
Suddenly, she hoped that she didn't sneak off to explore today. If this is where her life ended today, she would be so disappointed at herself! Ariedhiel quickly made a promise in her head that if she managed to come back home today unscathed, she would not go out into the forest alone, ever. Should she start running now? Her magic wouldn't do her any good if she set off now...but she needed to get out of here and fast...
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