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 Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:29 am
So, the first person he's met in Juahar hadn't tried to kill him. That was good.
He was hot, tired, lost, losing all his body's water reserves by sweating, horribly terrified that something was going to leap out and rip his limbs off while he was still alive and screaming, freaking starving because no matter how many times he chucked this sharpened stick at tiny creatures skittering about on the forest floor they evaded him then laughed (he was fairly certain he wasn't imagining it), and to top it all off, he may as well be blind in this darkness. Yeah, that was bad.
It was getting to the point where Xilarn was almost inclined to forget about whatever terrible diseases may be lingering in the puddles that lined the floor or the lush vegetation that was practically screaming to be eaten. He didn't know much about plants, but he was sure in a place like this, everything was poison. He wanted to risk it. He was going to shrivel into nothing. He didn't want to die out here in this scary place, where he'd be lucky if a wild animal found his body, rather than another person. Ugh. He was probably lucky himself, for only running into the one Shifter this far in the forest.
he couldn't walk anymore. Really. One more step, and he'd collapse, anyway. At least if he put his back to a tree, nothing could snag him from behind. Hopefully. Oh man. With a low groan of misery, Xil pushed his back against a thick trunk and slipped down to the ground. He was starting to wish he'd never left him... Meeting any number of other Earthlings or Alkidikes would never make up for this...
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:12 pm
Up in the trees not to far from where Xilarn had decided to lay himself down was Kennet, who was traveling through the branches in search of his father. The young hybrid padded along quickly, ducking underneath obstacles and hopping over gaps with an almost instinctual grace, and only paused when his antennae began to twitch oddly.
"Dad?" He thought, his face twisting. "Mmm... No."
He swiveled his footing a few times along the moss of the branch he was on as he tried to gain a more full view of where he was, before leaning forward at the sight of Xil on the ground below. What the hell? Was that guy dead? He scurried closer, keeping himself close to the trees, until he was right above the other prentice, peering down upon him. Hm... He certainly wasn't Leaf, and there was no question about him not being Shifter, so... Could he be from Oba? He leaned further forward and came face to face with Xil, while hanging upside down from the limb he was on.
"You alright there, buddy?" He asked, arching an eyebrow. "You look like death."
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Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:19 am
His eyes were just starting to drift closed. For all he knew, it was nighttime and he should be sleeping anyway, but beneath all these trees and branches, it was impossible to tell. It would've been nice to fall asleep on a full stomach... Or to fall asleep feeling perfectly confident that he would wake up again at all. But frankly, Xialrn was pretty sure he was more likely to be eaten by some strange forest creature or killed by an angry tribesman before he awoke... Whatever, he didn't matter. There was no way he was getting out of this forest, anyway.
He didn't hear the sound of branches twitching or leaves rustling as the stranger popped down before him, and with his eyes closed, he didn't see him either. The first inclination he had that he wasn't alone was the voice. Xilarn's eyes popped open. At the sight of what may as well have been a disembodied upside down head floating near his face, the young Oban sucked in a sharp breath and shoved himself backwards with all the force he could muster. With an earsplitting ring, he cracked the back of his head on the trunk behind him.
With a sharp groan, he covered his head. The forest really was trying to kill him. When he looked back up, he realized the stranger was not a hallucination (or it was a very solid one, in any case) or a disembodied head. And it... spoke. "What?" He growled out.
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Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 12:25 am
Kennet cocked his head to the side at Xilarn's reaction, though while upside down it looked like a slight slant to the right, before he hoisted himself back up into the tree. From there he swung outwards, landing a few feet across from the other boy, and knelt forward to inspect him.
"Mmm... Yeah." He said, nodding to himself. It was obvious that this was an Oban, a very sick Oban, and he had somehow managed to get himself lost in the deeper part of the rain forest. Kudos to him, he supposed, there was a first time for everything, even getting yourself poisoned and lost in an unknown territory. Still, as his eyes scanned to other male curiously, it made him wonder just what sort of mind this guy had, in order to get himself so screwed up. Was Oba such a dense place that they didn't have basic survival tips? He sat upon his foot for a moment, pondering, and reached outwards to ruffle Xilan's dreads.
"You. Look. Bad." He said, speaking in a quick, firm manner, in hopes that Xilarn would be able to process what he was saying easier. "I. Have. Medicine. And. Food. Do you need that?"
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Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 7:34 am
When the boy landed fully upright in front of him, Xilarn almost sighed in relief. It seemed less like a hallucination now, which meant he wasn't completely delusional and useless. The stranger did look... well, strange, though. Probably like nothing Xilarn could've concocted with only his imagination. He had horns? Antennae? That made more sense... So, Alkidike? But male... Oh, gods his thought processes were exceptionally slow today... He rubbed his eyes a little.
When he looked back up, from what he could see through the darkness, he was pretty sure the strange hybrid was reaching for him. The young Oban tried not to flinch as he made contact, and instead focused all the energy he could muster on glowering at the overly touchy hybrid. If he was in any other place at any other time, he definitely would've swatted the other male. And then probably griped at him for daring to touch him when they were still so unfamiliar. He held the words in, though he hoped they conveyed on his face.
"I'm not dense. I know what you're saying." Xilarn informed him tartly, unable to help but sound insulted that some barbarian thought he couldn't understand simple language. "And I don't need- Hn." If he said it, it'd be a lie. There was always the chance this guy would poison him, but... It didn't seem like it would matter at this point. he groaned and scarped a hand over his face. "I- Yeah." He grumbled. "I guess I do."
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Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 10:02 pm
Kennet took his hand back quickly as he was glared at and gave Xil a glare of his own. Hey, he was just trying to establish that he wasn't a threat, jeez. What sort of injured person would be upset over a simple ruffle of their hair? He sighed, still holding his gaze with Xil, and popped open his satchel.
"Alright, I've got plenty of things..." He said, sifting through his many belongings. "Mmm... Where the ******** is the medicine I had this morning?"
He paused, scratching at his chin, before growling. Samoset probably stole it while he wasn't looking, the bloody twit. He gazed to the side, to Xilarn, and quickly offered his hand to the other man.
"My idiot brother stole the medicine I had in this bag, so we'll need to go get some more." He said. "I'm not going to leave you out here to get picked off by some animal, so, take my hand and you can lean on me until we get to the healing house. Sound reasonable?"
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Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 7:22 am
Xilarn glowered at the satchel and the strange being that possessed it. The hybrid had no reason to offer him any kind of assistance. Unless it was a trick. It was a bit too suspicious that he just happened to have medicine, that just happened to be stolen from him. But... if it was a farce, the guy was actually... a pretty good actor. The young Oban wasn't the best judge of character but... the other male did seem genuinely sincere.
Xil sighed and rubbed at his temples. It wasn't like he really had anything to lose. If he didn't get help, he was good as dead anyway. Whatever rudimentary healing methods these barbarians had must be some sort of useful. And if it was a trick, he wasn't long for this world, anyway. "Alright." He agreed tartly, reaching for the offered hand to pull himself up. "But I'm warning you. Any funny business, and this stick-" He gestured to the one poking from the bag slung across his back. "-goes straight through your eye!"
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Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 11:50 pm
Kennet aided the other male in standing, but paused at the threat posed to him if he should cause any trouble. The hybrid's mouth began to twist in shape as he suppressed his laughter. Oh, ho, ho, what was that supposed to be? Was that supposed to scare him? PFFFT, maybe when he was a baby, but certainly not now!
"Is that supposed to be your spear?" He inquired, twirling his own spear in his opposite hand. "Mmm, it could use some carving. Looks... Incomplete."
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 7:10 am
Xilarn felt himself bristle, despite having no real reason to be offended. It was a stick. He'd picked it up in the woods as a tool to whack things with should they come too close. It wasn't as if he'd actually made it into a real spear himself or anything. In Xil's mind, the forest offered so little by way of weaponry that he really hadn't had a choice.
"Do you think it any less capable of going through your eyeball because it looks 'incomplete?'" He demanded, not at all surprised that the barbarian had something so base as a spear as his weapon. Xil had picked it up cause he hadn't had much other choice, but if he could've actually been selective, he certainly would've chosen something more dignified to practice with. He huffed. A sword or a tome... Now that certainly would've come in handy...
He tried not to grimace. "Are you going to help me, or not?'"
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 9:29 am
Kennet rolled his eyes and restrained himself from commenting on the stick any further, despite wanting to tug it out of it's "holster" and compare it to his training spear. This guy was blind here in the forest and, for the sake of Ken's sanity, hopefully not equal in stupidity, he couldn't be that much of an a** until that was proven. "If I wanted to stop helping you, I would have hit you with my spear." He replied, pulling Xilarn along gently. "The healing house isn't too far, about five minutes. You mind telling me your name before we get there?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2014 6:44 am
"Are you going to tell me yours?" Xilarn shot back with a huff, headless of the would-be violence. Already, he was beginning to find that despite the abnormal antennae and the dark eyes, and the fact that the taller male should be trying to kill him, the Xilan refused to be afraid of him. Perhaps it was his decaying sense of rationality. Or maybe Xil was just stupid to begin with.
Whatever the reason, he doubted giving the guy his name would hurt anything. With as much of a shrug as he could manage while still pressing half his weight on someone else, he stated, "It's Xilarn. Xil, if you wanted, I guess." Under normal circumstances, 'Xil' would've seemed too familiar a name for someone he'd just met. But the circumstances weren't really 'normal,' and he figured if he was going to be leaning and touching all over some mostly-naked guy, the nickname was probably the last thing he should worry about.
Especially if there was a more densely populated area of barbarians ahead. There had to be if there was a whole 'healing house' for them there. "So... How precisely do you plan on getting more medicine?" Meeting one or two Juahar natives was fine, but Xilarn had no intention of presenting himself to a group of them. Even being this close seemed... dangerously irrational at best.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 8:02 pm
Fluffesu I apologize if this reply seems short. XP
"Oh, getting the medicine is easy, I can just jump in and get it." He replied, shrugging. "No one will care if a vial or two go missing or not."
He lead Xil further down the path until a hut could be seen in a far corner. He peered at it almost cautiously, before tugging Xilarn towards it.
"Alright, you should stay here, just in case anyone is actually inside." He said, taking a few steps towards the hut, before promptly turning around. "Oh, by the way, I'm Kennet, and I'll be right out. Don't go anywhere."
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 7:43 pm
Don't go anywhere. Xilarn could've laughed outright, if he wasn't partially mortified at the thought of someone hearing him. As if he had somewhere to go or any way of getting there. At least the stranger, er, Kennet, didn't make it seem like too challenging a task to get in and get out unnoticed. Maybe no one even cared. Such an uncivilized medical system... He almost doubted the strange hybrid would be able to retrieve anything that could help him.
The Oban rubbed his temples. Whatever. He didn't have much of a choice. Worrying about it certainly wouldn't make him feel any better. "Fine," Xilarn scoffed, flicking his wrist dismissively at Kennet. "Just don't keep me waiting. I don't have forever." Quite the opposite, probably. Just being so near an alleged healing hut made him nervous. With a sigh, he leaned back against a tree. Just anyone wandering by could easily spot him, long before Xil would know he was found. Such a miserable situation...
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 11:19 pm
The hybrid gave a scoff as he wandered inside the hut. What the hell was this guy talking about? He was poisoned, likely dehydrated, and essentially blind in this forest, where did he think he was going to be racing off to in a hurry? A hot date? A rescue mission? His house? Judging by the stasis of his clothes, his lack of a proper weapon, and the distance between Oba and this location, he had absolutely no reason to be fussing over waiting. Part of him cried out in retaliation, take all the time in the world, make him suffer for his rudeness!, but as he located the storage rooms, he felt as though that it would be cruel. He was new here and obviously in need of help... He would have to deal with his rudeness for now.
"Green is for poisonings, yellow is for the stomach..." He muttered, shoveling as many vials of liquid as he could find into his pouch bag. He knew what most of them were for, such as blue for burns, and red for rashes, but others like white, purple, and pink were taken out of whim and faint familiarity. One of those was for babies, purple? He couldn't care, so he would only give Xilarn the ones he knew worked for whatever was wrong with him. Once he had taken his fill, he wandered towards the opposite side of the room and grabbed a decent black cloak from off of a desk. It was more than a little dusty, probably from being left for so long in the dark without use, but he figured it could be of use.
"Alright, here we go." He said, hopping back out of the hut and back to Xilarn. "No one was inside, so, I took whatever was about." He popped the cork on the green vial. "This is an antidote for any poisonous thing you might have eaten, touched, or been stung by. Drink it and you'll feel better in about an hour."
Then, after he handed the vial over, he placed the cloak over Xilarn's head.
"Cover your gems with this." He stated. "You'll be a sore thumb, otherwise."
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 10:54 am
Xilarn glowered at what he could make out of the hybrid's retreating back as Kennet headed off toward the hut, leaving the Oban alone in the darkness once more. He groaned and ran a hand down his face before crossing his arms over his chest and scowling at the ground. It had been so stupid of him to wander from the safety of Hijil's shack before he was ready to face the forest. He would've been at least reasonably safe there for however long he chose to stay, though he couldn't expect the Shifter woman to linger there forever. But for some reason every time he found the minutest bit of comfort, he felt a stab of horrible, brash, ridiculously stupid bravery and charged off on his own again. It really must be his father's blood.
With a derisive snort, he glared back in the direction of the hut. What was taking that guy so long? Gods, was he mixing up the medicine himself? Surely it only took a second to grab one thing and leave, especially if you were a tall, agile, lean... Er, savage. Whatever. Xil didn't care, anyway. His eyes were simply misinforming him. He could hardly see for god's sake.
He could've jumped from his skin when Kennet appeared beside him. With annoyance - or some other emotion - flushing his cheeks, Xilarn snapped, "Well, it took you long enough, so you'd better be right." He snatched the bottle from the hybrid's hand and inspected it with a critical eye. Even though he had no way of knowing what he would see if Kennet was wrong. Bottoms up, then. Couldn't really get worse than it already was.
The vial had hardly touched his lips before his face was shrouded by something cloth and dark. For an instant, there was genuine fear for his life. An instant where his throat tightened and he was fully prepared to do everything in his power to beat the tar out of the strange barbarian, because regardless of the state of his well-being, he was never going to simply allow anyone to-! And then he could see again, the cloth sitting around his neck and draping across his shoulders and down his back. Any other complaints or arguments were dashed from his thoughts, leaving just a muttered, "Thank you," falling from his lips.
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