"To think we are the last of our kin." Yavii murmered shuffeling forward on her roots, being careful to avoid Garlem's claws. She studied the newly living forest around her. Though there were now green trees and plants she could sense that none of them were nymphs. Not yet at least. Perhaps in a few years some of the trees would birth more of her kin. "Well, creature of the ground." The tree nymph said, addressing Leal, "It appears the Twin Tails has commisioned you as our leader. Where do your senses say to go?"
"Follow that?" Arven snarled. "It would be better to leave this group." Or kill the snake. He thought, feeling his body tingle, begging to let his power free, to freeze the dratted worm and the fire breathing rackdonia. Maybe he'd snuff out the life from that annoying human as well, and end all his problems. But, they had been blessed by the Twin Tails. Maybe it was protecting them. He'd better wait.
"Good, then it is you who may yet lead the others through the first of your many trials." The Twin Tails said. "But it is I who must express regrets, for I cannot show you the way. Look about you, Alach'ar, and remember that you are the last of your kindred. Mankind will soon discover this, as his own beasts, tamed and untamed, pass on into the void. You must seek out a man who defends his own, not with a weapon, but with what nature has gifted him." Soon a burst of pure life flooded out of her and into the rocks below them. Roots spiraled out of the rocks, and a few cracked as the force of strong trees sprouting up split them in two. Leal even heard a few of the little birdies singing. That made him hungry, but goddammit if pretty much anything did. He watched a beautiful, scrumptious little hummingbird zipping around near the rock he lay on. His saliva dripped down his exposed fang. "Right well riddles are all good and what not, but perhaps we should flee like the prey we are?" He heard the giant dino. "And did that thing just make the worm at my heels the leader? I say, I question this thing's leadership." Leal smirked at the Dino. He scooted away from where the Dino was, back onto that rock. Oh, that felt so warm... so good. He was the most competent, and they would all see. After a little sunbathing. "Well, creature of the ground." The tree nymph said, addressing Leal. Leal looked at the nymph, bored. "It appears the Twin Tails has commissioned you as our leader. Where do your senses say to go?" "Well, first off, my name's Leal. I'm no simply creature... nymph. Anyway..." Leal was about to shout at the nymph to let him think, when he was interrupted rather rudely. "Follow that?" Arven snarled, glancing contemptuously at Leal. "It would be better to leave this group!" "Arven, was it?" Leal slithered off his rock, towards the wolf, his eyes glaring murderously. "Do you honestly want to die?" He didn't wait even a second for a response. "I didn't think so. Following me is the best chance you have. Now shut up as I think and try to answer the polite tree nymph's question, before I undo my resolution to keep you alive until I'm out of this mess." He flicked his tongue out and licked his eyes. Leal looked around their small, lively clearing from the decently tall rock. He slithered up the huge rock, until he reached the very top, where he could see up above the jungle. His acute eyes registered the desolation of the forest everywhere but where they were. He remembered what the Twin Tails had said: that they should look for a man who defended his own with what nature had gifted him. He considered the riddle. What would constitute a gift of nature in the Twin Tail's eyes? To Leal, everything was nature, the humans just happened to be smarter at using everything they found. However, clearly the Twin Tails held a different view. She did not consider the iron that made their bullets what nature had gifted to him, but she considered trees, the animals, and humans life. A probability was that she meant to look for someone with an extraordinary mind or other feature, which was exactly what 'nature' had gifted them. He glanced at Tirac. No, the kid was stupid. Delicious and tempting, but stupid. He wished that it would be that easy. Then again, she could mean a farmer. Then again, farming was a man-made invention, and weren't bullets also man-made? Honestly, the Twin Tails could have been more clear on this one point. The giant gender-confused pelican was too moral; everything was life and nature. If someone said that a bullet was not life, but a claw was, they were idiotic; they were both created by an organism, one more stupid than the other. He hissed in frustration, then just looked for a village, where a man could perhaps be found. He could pinpoint a village about 5 days away from where he was. Perhaps someone in their little group of fanatics had a more idiotic mind more suited for the task of solving the riddle. For the time being he'd head toward the village. He slithered down from the rock. "Follow me, everyone. If someone's figured out the damned riddle, please inform me."
"Oh goody we're off to get shot are we? wonderful idea by the way worm. Lets just show up with three apex predators at a random village and ask politely for fish and chips." Garlem snorted in blatant sarcasm, trotting back after the slithering creature. Tirac oblivious to the whole situation just yawned lie down and took a nap on Garlems massive back.
Leal was correct to consider the riddle as more than a mere phrase. But at that moment, the riddle's answer was to be their least concern, for even as the No Tail's screams drew nearer, the hummingbird Leal had watched suddenly fizzled in it's flight path, then dropped to the ground with a muted thump. Soon after, the sounds of more animals dying reached their ears, and the first tendrils of a sickly mist poked through the leaves. Poison shall spread through tree and grass... Even as Leal watched with fascinated eyes, he spied one of his own kind slithering rapidly away, but she was too slow and was soon enveloped in the mist. One gasp was all it took, and the creature curled in up on itself in a grotesque fashion -dead in an instant. The scream came louder still now. It was either brave the mist and try to find clean air on the other side, or brave the No Tails. Either way, death was nigh unavoidable.
Leal's Decision Leal looked quickly from the mist, the poison that would spread through trees and grass, and the other side, where he heard the No Tails's screams. He had to make a good decision, or he would die. The No Tails was a force of death incarnate, and the mist was a poison that would kill upon one gasp. He could not see how long the mist lasted from his position on the ground, and the tendrils reached high enough into the trees that he could guess Garlem couldn't either. Yeah, being bigger than a 'worm' would not help him here. He considered the poisonous mist. One gasp would kill any of the creatures, or at least him. That was something he would avoid at all cost. However, the mist could possibly be only a very thin wall, and the group could possibly rush through it to the other side. However, something else to consider was the death they would face. Was that really the direction they wanted to go, even if it was away from the No Tails? However, he also couldn't tell where the mist had started, so that was also a variable. There could be a utopia of life behind a small barrier of poisonous gas for all he knew. It was a chance. He considered going away from the mist. The group would have to move fast to stay away from it, and they would have to keep moving, for Leal did not know if the mist would ever dissipate. Another danger would be a possible encounter with the No Tails, since he had been heard to be over there somewhere. However, there was a plus, and that was that there was a greater chance of life being found. Well, for Hell's sake. Even considering everything, he couldn't come up with an easy solution. He flicked his eyes between the mist and and the other direction. Goddammit. He coudn't go to either side without a chance of him dying. Then his eyes flicked at Garlem, and he realized how stupid he'd been. There was only one smart choice. Sending the huge, hulking figure of Garlem near the No Tails where he could be noticed easier than any of the other animals here was a huger risk than anything he'd previously considered. "Everyone. I need you all to get ready to take a huge breath. We're going through the mist."
"I don't breath as you creatures do." Yavii replied, her leaves rustling like she was chuckling. "But I will prepare myself." Yavii lifted a branch covering the bark in front of her precious phoenix heart. She didn't know how the mist would affect her. Being that she was a tree. But her heart could heal most anything, perhaps that included poisons.
Arven bared his teeth in frustration. "The stupid worm is sending us all to our deaths!" He growled. "None of us know how far the mist stretches, it could be miles. None of us could hold our breath that long." He thought for a moment. He wondered if he could summon a blizzard, and have the winds blow the mist away. It was worth a try. "Everyone, listen. I have a plan..."
"Everyone, listen. I have a plan..." "Speak, Hound of Winter. What is your idea?" Yavii said after a long silence had passed.
"Speak, Hound of Winter. What is your idea?" Arven took a nervous step back as the mist came closer. "If I can call up a storm, it may blow the mist away." He pace in front of the wall of mist. "Everyone, step back. It's going to get cold." He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He though of snow, ice winds, the blizzard he had called up, accidentally at the telling. He opened his eyes, and they glowed blue, as they always did when he prepared to use his powers. He seemed to be smoking, a white mist curling off him. Blow it away. He thought. Blow the mist away...
For a moment, the icy haze builds in strength, a chill wind stirring the air. Then it dissipates, the backlash of magic draining Arven more than he had expected. The deafening roar of the No Tails is on top of them now, and when the group looks back, they see the blazing eyes of Death. Before anyone can react, the ground heaves up beneath them and they tumble back into the poisonous mist. No Tail's scream of rage follows, then the trees bend forward to block his way, but the onslaught of fire and lashing claws soon tears through them. The group has only a few seconds at best to flee.
Arven's eyes went wide with fear. Absolute terror threatened to engulf him. Even when he had faced the salamanders he hadn't felt like this. They had been only fire, this was fire...and death. He blinked, as the mist stung his eyes. What do I do? What do I do? The magic had drained him, and he stumbled, exausted. His lungs were screaming at him to take a breath, and every muscle in his body protested to moving. What do I do? He thought again.
Yavii's trunk creaked as she bent and picked up the exhausted wolf. Holding him close to the phoenix heart in her center, she called to the others. "We must move, quickly. Do not delay any longer." She moved forward away from the approaching No Tails. As she moved she fed life energy into Arven, restoring his strength, but not his magic.
Well. Guess the dog's idea really wasn't that good. Leal really wished he had enough time to rub it in; if followed, his idea would've saved them time. Leal slithered forward, slightly ahead of the others, adrenaline pumping through his veins, and poison dripping off of his fangs.
Arven's eyes opened, and for a moment he didn't know where he was. He saw the other chosen creatures desperately running through the mist. The mist! He remembered now. He had collapsed...again. He growled inwardly as he thought of the dratted worm laughing at him. He felt something warm pressed against him. That was odd. He couldn't remember going near anything warm. He glanced up, and saw the tree creature holding him. He looked to see what she what she was holding him against. Her fiery center. He leaped away from the creature, and would have snarled at her if he hadn't needed to save his breath. He turned, and ran the direction the other creatures were fleeing. Strange, he knew his magic was gone, and would take a little while to come back, but his strength had returned. Why would the tree creature take him to fire, his worst enemy, to heal him? He shook his head. There was no time to think of that now. Using all his speed, he ran onwards, longing to get out of the mist.
The group managed to flee from No Tail's wrath, the screams of the beast fading in the distance. Apparently it, too, couldn't handle the mist, strangely. The jungle closed in on them, full of the deadly mist as deep green leaves and vines seemed to lunge out and slap or slash at them. Arven felt a thorny vine prick his flank in several places, but other than a mild itching it didn't seem to do anything else. When they were on the verge of gasping in the poisonous mist for lack of air, they finally burst through into a clearing. The ground sloped upwards into a small hill, the mist flowing downward and away, creating a pocket of clean air to breathe. They weren't out of the jungle yet, though, and they weren't sure just what threats lay further on. Thankfully, though, there was no sign of No Tails. But it was the whimper that drew their attention. Just beneath the lip of the hill -hidden from sight until he had made the sound- a young human boy lay curled up and shivering beside the still form of an older female. Soot and grime clung to his face, and his clothes were singed. He stared wide-eyed at the animals, but refused to run. Instead, he stood up, spread his arms wide and made an attempt at what seemed like a snarl, fingers hooked like claws.
"The female is dead." Garelm says knowing giving her a good long sniff. Taric seemed to sober up at his words, she inches away uncomfortably at the sight of the boy and the still women, she knew what the word death meant. "No chance you could speak to him ehh Tirac? convince him to come along?" Garlem asks the question only half seriously, and Tiracs distrusting glare was all the answer he needed. "Of cource not, you're more beast then human. More beast then perhpas even me?" Garlem chuckles, then he looks down at the boy. He points a long claw towards him, then into the direction Garlem thought safest. "If you can't understand that then you will be dead with in the day, child." Garelm snorts knowing his words would not reach him. He begins to saunter off casually his mind quicly turning to other things, only Tirac looks back and some where in her isolated mind. She recognizes somthing in the boy, something familiar.
Yavii approached the pale human. She reached out a branch laying it on the center of the human's chest. "She has not been dead long. I may be able to bring her back before she crosses to the other side." The tree nymph closed her four eyes. Her pheonix heart began to glow brightly and red flames ran down her trunk, through her branches, and began to surround the human. They did not burn but rather seemed to be absorbed into the female's body. Yavii stood still for several minutes allowing healing magic a chance to do its work. During the minutes that passed, the leaves on the edges of her branches began to turn brown and wither. The ones closer to her center began to turn orange. By the time she was done only the leaves closest to her heart were green, the rest yellow and orange. Some of her branches were even bare now. Yavii stepped back. If a tree could look tired, she did. The glow in her center was much smaller now. "The rest is up to the creator." She sighed.
Leal watched the pale little girl being healed by the nymph. He was slightly hungry. Both the girl humans looked healthy enough to eat. It set his eyes on fire to watch them, and his blood ran cold and icy along his back. He stayed there, not giving in. His life, this time, was on the line. If this creature had anything important to say, it would be best to hear her out before killing her. Her eyes were closed so delicately, and her breathing was ragged. It would be so easy to just rush forward and rip through her neck... He curled up and tried not to watch.
Arven's watched as the human took the healing magic from the nymph. He could see the tree growing weaker and weaker as she healed the human. Stupid tree. He thought to himself. She's wasting her strength on a pathetic human. He glanced over at he snake, and laughed to himself as he saw it struggle not to tear the human's body apart.
At first, it seemed like nothing was happening. Then the woman gasped and her body convulsed on the ground, terrible coughs wracking her body. The boy sprang on top of her and, eyes wide with fear, grabbed her shoulders and shook her. Despite how small he was, he looked strong compared to the frailty of the woman -she looked as if she had been sickly much of her life. By their clothes, they were peasants, the boy a mere farmhand by the look of his well-developed shoulders and broad hands. He yells something, then slaps her. The sound rings out through the clearing and she seems to come to just enough to cough up a small amount of purple-ish liquid. Her breaths are ragged, uneven, and she drops to the ground again, trembling. it seems the magic that Yavii poured into her was just enough to revive the poor thing. The boy remained crouched over his mother, cradling her body between his feet as he looked up again at the animals surrounding him. He seemed confused, even more so by the sight of Leal remaining still, as well as Arven. He doesn't seem to suprised by the behaviour of Garlem, but it is Taric and Yavii that gain his attention. His eyes widen when he catches sight of the glowing ember in the tree nymph's chest and makes an odd symbol with his hands. He speaks, but the words are unintelligible. There's the barrier of language as ever. In fact, their only hope to communicate with him may be through Taric, but the human-beast girl seems even more wary of him and remains close to Garlem, and the boy is wise to stay guarding his mother, not wanting to provoke the old beast. He glances back at Yavii again, and then the light glints in his eyes. It hadn't been noticeable before, but his eyes are dark. Much darker than any usual human's. Close to brown or black in color, they are full of a solid understanding that few children his age can ever hope to achieve. The boy had seen death, the boy had seen his whole village destroyed. Now his mother laid beneath his feet, weak and unable to fight. He sets his jaw and his hands ball into fists, unsure what to do.
Garlem takes a look back and raises a scaly brow. "And yet, she lives, intresting. That prophecy about what among men would bridge us? Do any of you think this maybe connected to it? This little...thing." Garelm points a claw at him dismissively. "Hungry." Tirac says slightly annoyed anymore time was being wasted on something she would either run from or beat up. "Didn't you just eat?" "Hungry!!!" And she gives him a good kick, though he barely feels it through his large armored scales. Clearly more displeased about the boy then about the lack of food.
Cicely woke up to the smell of smoke. It burned her lungs and stung her eyes. She coughed, and sat up. She cursed in the language of the pixies. She was a wanderer, and the very forest she had lain down in to take a quick sleep, had erupted in flame. She stood up, preparing to fly away. Then froze as a sense of magic -powerful magic- trailed up her spine. The pixie turned to look behind her and came face-to-face with Twin Tails, and the creation creature's glowing, snow-white eyes crinkled in amusement behind the mask. You are alive, that is good. There are others who will need you, Cicely. Twin Tails murmured, then swished one tail to the south-west. Fly high, higher than you have ever done, and you will be able to avoid the poisonous mists that plague the jungles a few miles from here. They are currently in a clearing, with a human female and her youngling. I know this is confusing, but you will always have your choice. Either way, you are one of the Chosen. Before the pixie could react, Twin Tails lowered her head and touched the pixie's forehead delicately with the tip of the nose of her mask. Cicely, Creation implored. Seek those who would be your enemies and make them your allies.
"I don't understand the strange thing." Yavii noted with disappointment. She looked around the area as if searching for something before returning her attention to the child. "And yet, she lives, intresting. That prophecy about what among men would bridge us? Do any of you think this maybe connected to it? This little...thing." "It is curious that humans should be this deep in our woods. Perhaps the creator has brought them here for that purpose." She gestured with her yellowed branches to Garlem's child. "Tirac looks to be one of them. Perhaps she can help bridge the gap between our languages."
Cicely, Creation implored. Seek those who would be your enemies and make them your allies. What? Cicely's mind was full of mixed emotions; fear, desperation, wonder...Her senses were clouded with smoke, and she couldn't seem to think straight. What does it mean? Why should I make my enemies my allies? Doesn't this overdressed turkey know what the enemies of the pixies do to us? They kill us, tear us apart and...and here it is telling me to find them! I'll die if I do! She shook her head. Don't waste time thinking, fly! She lifted her silver wings, and pushed off the ground. She shoot upwards like a bullet, the wind whistling in her ears. Tears streamed down her face, partly from the smoke, and partly from the speed at which she was flying. She burst through the tops of the trees, gasping for breath. The smoke was thinner here, and she could think properly again. Ok, calm down. What did that thing say? That there are other who need me, and they'll be in a clearing. And...it said that there will be a jungle covered in a poison mist. Good, I've at least got something to look for. She used her keen eyesight to scan the surrounding forests. She spotted a jungle, with green clouds hanging low over it. That must be it! She flew forward, relieved to be out of the smoke. As she got closer to the jungle, she saw the fading trails of several animals. They must be the ones who need me. I've got to find them. She flew high, up above the level of the mist, too far away to make out the trails. She flew forward, heading for the heart of the jungle, intent on trying to find the clearing.
