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 Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:41 am
'Go leave an offering,' Ilmar's mum told him. 'It'll be fun', she said.
'No, it won't. Mum, it's snowing!'
'Will that be less fun than getting eaten up by Wolves?'
You couldn't really have an argument with Elain, not really. Ilmar certainly couldn't, and he was practically a professional arguer. Still, it was good to get out of the inn every once in a while. And there was something in the story that appealed to Ilmarinen's bardic soul: two brave individuals wandering over the snow to get to the untainted woods, to hear the lost spirits of the forest speak through song and sound. It was the real music of the soul.
Unfortunately, nature didn't have a romantic soul.
Also, snow tended to be really cold.
The pale winter sun shone weakly through the mantle of clouds. All it really did was make the snow slippery, because Nature had a sense of humor equivalent to any clown-fan: people falling on their butts was always hilarious.
"Some of it went down my crack!" Ilmarinen announced to the world in general and Annelie in specific. If he was going to be sent to the woods, he decided, he wouldn't go alone! Besides, being cooped up indoors with posh folks all day couldn't be good for a person. You'd be bound to catch something, like rampant snootiness. Ilmar brushed off his backside as best he could, but there was nothing he could do for the seeping cold.
"And some got into my pack too." Of course he had a pack. The intention was to fill it up with the fruits of the forest. Mushrooms, acorns forgotten by squirrels, and any useful bits of wood they might find. After living off of what the innkeeper swore was stew, Ilmar was ready to eat almost anything. Most importantly, the pack contained the gift to the forest. It wasn't much, a bundle of sticks loosely tied together to vaguely resemble a deer. The entire thing was bound with ribbons, tattered at the edges because they'd been passed down so much.
It was the thought that counted.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:12 am
They were both quite pathetic, really they were. So far 75% of the hike had been dedicated not even getting to their destination, but in preventing themselves from simply falling on their bottoms or breaking a hip. Such a thing was slowly making the Sponge of Regret that sat in the back of Annelie's mind grow in size, but at least now her and Idiot Number One were tied in a** landings.
"You should have taken my advice with wearing skirts," she called, partially distracted from Ilmar's woes of his infiltrated pack (and crack) with her own troubles. Watching one's friend go down like a flapping goose brightened anything, but it also seemed to be contagious. Legs spread and eyes cast down, the wool-bundled maid inched her way up the ridiculous, icy "path" towards him.
And then an icy gust of wind blew and suddenly skirts weren't the best idea.
"Eek!" Annelie squealed, all other cares forgotten as she held down the numerous underskirts. Her face, which was already red before from cold and exercise, got five shades deeper. "Pray tell how I let you talk me into this!"
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:24 am
"Do you know what they call men who wear skirts, Annie? Actors, that's what. I'm not an actor and I don't want people getting the wrong idea about what I do. I make art, thank you very much. I don't simply repeat someone else's art." Alright, so singing and playing music in an inn wasn't exactly high art, but it put food on the table. Besides, Ilmar's flickering romantic soul had already decided that it was 'rustic'.
He brushed snow off of his clothes as best he could, but the wet flakes were already freezing again in the icy winds. Maybe today wasn't such a good time to visit the woods.
Maybe this was the woods way of telling them to stop where they were.
It was a good idea to listen to the forest spirits.
Maybe Ilmar was just looking for an excuse out of this insane trip, as the waters of doubt were slowly seeping out of the sponge of regret. But underwear was always hilarious. Ilmar snickered at his friend's troubles. "Balls, Annie! How many pairs are you wearing? I know Mum says to bundle up, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't mean to wear all the panties you've got at once. At least pants mean I'm not flashing everyone my underthings."
Possibly to the gratefulness of his normal crowd.
"Candied violets came into the equation, as I recall. Conversions aren't an exact science, but I thought that an ounce of candied violets was good for one trip to the woods. Besides, we might find some good morels or something out here. That and I gave you my best 'lost kitten in a boot face'."
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 12:11 pm
"Trust me, Ilmar," she replied over the wind, "no one wants to see your underthings."
Eventually the wind died down and Annelie was able to get a firm hold on all of her underthings,' though it wasn't like she could regain any of her lost dignity. ...Not like it mattered. The two of them didn't have much to begin with, especially when they were in the same vicinity. All she could do was quirk her mouth to the side and resume her careful walking.
One foot, two foot...
"I'm going to demand a double payment once this is over."
One foot, two foot...
Repeat.
Annnd ah ha, she made it! Still clutching her skirts, she maneuvered around the 'artist' and looked beyond towards the distant wardwood in triumph. Eight more feet down, ....some couple miles to go.
Actually, it was probably best to not look too far ahead -- it made the Sponge of Regret fill up again. She returned her attention to her shorter friend, Annoyance taking Deflated Triumph's place on her face. "And next time, remind me to just give you my best 'boot in face.'" It was a threatening reminder, but such things weren't actually Annelie's expertise, and it emptied as she dusted some missed snow off his shoulder.
She stopped though as a small breeze, not like the gale from a few minutes before, trickled by and pulled her attention back towards the distant forest. "....Do you really think there're wolves out there?" she asked suddenly.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 4:55 pm
A gentleman would have offered Annelie a hand, or at least held back comments on her underwear.
But Ilmar was most definitely not a gentleman. He kept his hands occupied by shielding his eyes and glancing at the dark shadows that were, in theory, the trees of Wardwood. From this distance, they looked... well, kind of blobby with sides of blob, covered by pale blobs of snow. Still, at least it was a place to aim towards. And at least it was a sort of nice winter's day.
"So long as there's no soup nearby, I'll be safe from you."
Fat snowflakes hissed as they fell into the snow and on the friends. The sudden cold Ilmarinen felt had little to do with the actual cold and everything to do with Annelie's words.
"Mum says yes. Dad thinks it was just someone who went mad from being in the woods too long. It happens, he says. Sometimes, people just snap." It was easy to say what someone else thought. Mostly, that was because Ilmar himself wasn't too certain about his own feelings on the subject. "Mum says we might as well make sure. Even if there aren't actually Wolves out there, an offering never hurt anyone. What do you think?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 6:01 pm
"....Don't know... Same thing, I guess..."
She looked ahead again, to the bloby tree line of the forest. Eerie place. It felt like something was watching her from over there, but that was a silly notion. It was just all in her head, all due to the uncertainty and newly acquired fear that current events were causing.
Right?
Practical Mind says, 'RIGHT.'
Right.
She brushed off her front and folded her arms tight over her chest. "Guess we should go on then...?" she asked, hesitating after only a few steps. No way was she going anywhere unless he did. Though even if he didn't want to, getting Ilmar to do anything was only a matter of choosing the best contest to pull out of her a**.
"Watch, the Wolf is Lucky."
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FerretPrince rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-6)
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 6:12 pm
It was... there just wasn't enough information. And what little Ilmar and Annelie had was filtered through gossip, which had a way of adding bodies to the mix. Maybe an entire village hadn't been killed; it had probably only been one or two people, probably from the cold. And then some... some feral dogs probably ate at the bodies, or something.
Probably.
That was a lot more logical than assuming that Wolves had returned from wherever they'd been.
Maybe they never left at all... the thought insinuated itself in Ilmarinen's brain like a parasite, feeding off of his worries. He brushed it away. Even if it wasn't Wolves, then an offering wouldn't go amiss. And all the preparation? People training and whatnot? That wasn't a bad thing either, even if there wasn't a danger beyond what lurked in people's minds.
"Woah! Don't mention The Beast, Annie!" Ilmar hissed, making a sign of protection automatically. "He listens to all words at once. All of time and space is as one to him. Whenever you least expect it, he will come... like now!"
Moving fast, Ilmar bent over to grab a handful of snow and lob it at his friend. As soon as the poorly-aimed snowball was thrown, he was off and running, laughing all the while. The only surefire cure for fear was laughter. That and it was always funny to throw a snowball at those who least expected it.
ooc| 1- Miss, 2- Arm, 3 - Torso, 4 - Leg, 5 - Back, 6 - Face
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 8:35 am
Annelie was getting her mind poised to continue the spouting of more evil powers of The Beast, but the sudden running and sending snow flying at her came completely out of left field. "Eek!" she squealed, a sound that was incredibly pathetic and girly, even for her. ...And especially since the sloppy snow ball had only hit her arm. The thing barely even left a trace on her wool coat.
"ILMAR." A battle cry, a promise of revenge! Snowball fights were serious business, much more serious than worrying about some scary rumors. Much more fun, too.
Grabbing up two hand-fulls worth of snow and compacting it, Annelie took off after the musician as best as her many skirts would allow, launching her return fire of icy poofs once she thought she had an OK target.
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azumi rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 8:36 am
(oops dice rolling fail)
edit: Annie you suck at this game.
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FerretPrince rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-6)
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:40 am
Ilmarinen only had a few seconds to react. Unfortunately, he'd chosen a bad place for a snowball fight; the woods were far more ideal, but they were still far on the horizon. Lots of trees and trunks to duck behind. Really, he should have waited... but, planning ahead had never been one of his good points. A snowball whiffled past his ear.
"Balls and ********, Annie! You throw like a girl who is unusually bad at throwing things!" he called out behind him. He glanced towards the forest once more, trying to guess how long he'd have to run for the trees.
And then he promptly got bored of all that 'planning' stuff and decided to throw another snowball at his friend again.
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azumi rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-6)
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 3:32 pm
Damn it, she really did suck at this game...
"Oh, speak for yourself!" she gasped out, shaking her targeted arm of its snowy remainders. She was still going after him, though grabbing handfuls of snow here and there until a substantial enough snowball was formed took way too much time. Their gap was closing though, with each crunchy step and ragged breath. Her nose had thawed out from the steam of her breath by the time she let her ammo fly through the air.
"Have at it, Dicks!"
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FerretPrince rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-6)
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:30 pm
"At least I managed to actually hit you! You've only managed to hit ee!" it was most definitely not a shriek. It was a yelp, because Ilmarinen insisted that yelps were more manly. For... whatever reason. The point was, he made an ill-advised tactical decision (eg, he stopped) just long enough to mock his dear friend.
Because he was just caring like that.
The snowball collided with Ilmarinen's arm and broke apart. Only specks of snow were left behind, lending credence to Annelie's temporary victory.
"Have what, Cocks? That little pathetic throw? My gramma could've thrown better than that! Probably! I have absolutely no evidence to that fact, but it would've been hard to throw worse!"
At least the impromptu snowball fight made running to the forest a lot more fun. Ilmarinen kept running for the woods, stopping just long enough to lob another snowball at his friend. They were so close now, he could see the individual leaves on the trees. Strange; it looked farther before. But, as everyone knew, the forest wasn't exactly what it appeared...
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:55 pm
Ah ha! Had she been more daring, Annelie would've attempted to do a victorious hop as she ran, but.... the way was still icy, and falling now would only mean unlivable embarrassment. So she kept running, stopping to refuel when he started talking more. Few-word come-backs weren't in Ilmar's repertoire; she knew he'd just attribute it to his 'Bardic Ways,' but really she just thought he liked to hear his own voice (though she doubted he'd disagree with that....).
Anyways.
Just as she straightened, snow being compacted in her hands, the Babbler's missle hit ...true enough, and once more Annie's arm bore war marks. Gods, they were both absolutely horrible at this! And not only that, but the surprise of the hit made her crush her own snowball....
Jesus.
"Well it seems you take after her!" No one said Annelie was good at retorts. Her wit was limited to dry sarcasm in less energy expending activities, not these shenanigans.
She gathered up another snowball and took off again, not failing to notice that they were both suddenly much much close to the forest than minutes before. Odd place, this... Oh wait, she had a snow ball to throw! "Ah ha!" O she hoped she'd hit him.... though if not, she was already set on smashing him into a snow bank when she caught up.
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azumi rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:55 pm
(like character like writer... )
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azumi rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:56 pm
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