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Post by Tiger on Aug 11, 2018 22:01:25 GMT -5
Driftstone tilted his head with surprise when Quicksnap actually seemed to respond with some level of humor to the raptor’s callback. That seemed like a decent sign, at least, and Driftstone certainly wasn’t going to complain about not being bitten as vengeance for using Quicksnap’s tail to cover extra ground. It was clear that Quicksnap was definitely still corrupted, however, as he tried to explain his thinking to Shadowstep. “The light? Was it like the fire you just made with your stomp? ...That must have been the corruption,” Shadowstep said. “The corruption is why you are hurting and feel so angry. ...If it makes you feel better, the longma is dead. We found her body last night; she will not be harming anyone anymore.” “That means there’s only one sower left,” Driftstone reminded him. “...The longma didn’t say anything about the other sower, did she?” Shadowstep reminds Quicksnap that he’s corrupted, and also that the longma who attacked him is dead, so he doesn’t need to worry about her. I’m sure he will let that go completely and 100%. Driftstone asks if Rui said anything about the one remaining sower. ( Shinko)
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Post by Shinko on Aug 12, 2018 8:42:57 GMT -5
Quicksnap shook his head, growling. “No. Not dead. She’s inside me. Eating me alive, burning me under my skin. She said she healed, but it hurts, and healing shouldn’t hurt.” He began pacing, his huge tail swishing as he walked. “It’s just like before… just like before, but that time I couldn’t think at all, this time it’s only hard to think. It hurt, it hurt so badly, couldn’t see, couldn’t think, and then… Beech, I’m sorry I’m so sorry!” Tiger Quicksnap goes on a rambletangent, inadvertently dropping hints to his role in Beech’s death.
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Post by Tiger on Aug 12, 2018 10:36:14 GMT -5
The raptors had tensed a little when Quicksnap began pacing, and then tensed a lot as they pieced together what he was implying. But it explained a lot, Shadowstep thought - why Quicksnap was so intent on apologizing to Beech, why, according to Duskrunner, Beech had wanted to talk to Quicksnap about things face-to-face. Shadowstep couldn’t imagine it - being responsible for killing someone close to you? Being someone killed by someone close to you? He hadn’t been born to this pack, true, but they were his mate’s pack and he trusted them all so implicitly...it wasn’t the first time the possibility of a sower infecting someone in their midst had occurred to him, but it was first time he’d really thought of what would happen after the act was done, or of what would haunt the back-from-the-deads. Why is it different this time? he wondered, because clearly something was different. All the rumors had indicated that Beech and Quicksnap had been close friends when they were alive, and Quicksnap had known the raptor pack for a few days, perhaps a week. Raptors were very impressive, but there were limits even to that. “Something is different this time, I think,” Shadowstep said, trying to moderate his volume between being loud enough to catch Quicksnap’s attention, and soft enough not to threaten. “Last time, the...the ‘light’, the not-healing they caught you with, it must have been stronger. …It was an accident, what happened to Beech. I think…” He mulled over what Duskrunner had told them about Beech’s visit. ”I think, when you are feeling more like yourself, she will want to talk about it because she will know it was an accident.” Driftstone opened his mouth to say something - and while Shadowstep loved his mate very, very much, he was not above shooting him a look that expressed with just the angle of his head and the set of his eyes the emotion of ”scolding him not to attack other animals earlier earlier was not working and so if you say anything scolding him not to attack other animals right now, I will leap over there and pluck out all of your feathers.” Driftstone closed his mouth and did his best wide-eyed, innocent head-tilt. Ignoring that, Shadowstep asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer, “Last time you were hurting like this, and it made it so hard to think; do you remember what made it stop? What brought you back to normal?” The raptors figure it out and Shadowstep is perturbed, but insists Beech will know it was an accident. He also asks if Quicksnap remembers how he got better, though he suspects it was the healer already. ( Shinko)
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Post by Thorn on Aug 12, 2018 17:34:12 GMT -5
((collab with Shinko )) Beech recovered a moment later, though barely. Her fur was still bristling as she eyed up the bizzare dragon-like creature. “C-can I help you?” she asked. It was clearly here for her, or it wouldn’t have landed next to her. "I certainly hope so," the taniwha said, folding away his wings. "We've met before- I was the taniwha you spoke with about alerting the guardians, when we were all mere skeletons." He gritted his teeth. Was he really going to admit this of a mere mortal? "You have... good ideas. I thought perhaps you might have devised a method of locating this final sower, so that Kohimu and everyone else may be avenged " Beech was momentarily taken off guard when the thing said he was the taniwha she’d seen on the coast. That skeleton hadn’t looked anything like this thing! But then the rest of his words registered, and she felt like there was something stuck in her throat. “Av-venged?” she stammered. “What do you mean… avenged? What’s happened to Kohimu?” "You don't know?" the taniwha was taken aback- he'd assumed everyone would know about it when an immortal fell! "He was killed, thanks to the paranoia these sowers inspire. If not for them, and for his proximity to a certain creature of magical flame, Kohimu would still be alive." Not sure what else to say, Te Tai just hissed and dug his claws into the earth. Beech gaped at Te Tai, trembling. “No… no!” she whined, low and long, bowing her head and pinning her ears back against her skull. “N-no he can’t… a-and he won’t come back either, he doesn’t like ghosts…” she swiped a paw furiously into the grass, solidifying it enough to send a clump of sod flying. “ Why? He didn’t do anything, that’s not fair!” I didn’t think she’d- Kohimu said. What? It was an unfamiliar and uncomfortable sensation for Te Tai to know that his companion was upset, without being able to feel it himself. I don’t- please-Kohimu, what do you need me to do?I don’t know- and then, almost immediately, wait, tell Beech- please, say it’s not- I don’t know how to do this, there’s so much I’d need to explain to you first.Just say it, and I’ll repeat the words aloud. Doesn’t matter if I don’t understand.And so they did. “Kohimu didn’t dislike you,” Te Tai began, doing his best to mimic his partner’s gentle tone. “In our experience, ghosts were always unhappy creatures. If their deaths aren’t treated with the proper respect, human spirits can become ghosts, trapped on earth. We had no experience with the spirits of other creatures, but the situation seemed so similar that we- well, he assumed, I guess.” Te Tai hesitated at Kohimu’s next words. What happened?Not now.“He was genuinely sorry for hurting you. If it means anything at all, I know he would have given quite a lot to undo your last encounter.” She flinched, clenching her eyes shut. Tiny fragments of ice slipped down her muzzle. “I… I know he was just doing what he thought was right, at first. And I appreciate that he cared, e-even if the rest of the island got it wrong… I got it wrong.” She started to cry more earnestly now. “But that last time we talked, I-I felt like he wasn’t really listening. L-like he was just… nodding along with what I was saying ‘cause he thought he was right and I was wrong, but I was too stupid to see it. It hurt. And n-now I can’t… I can’t try to make things right.” She’s crying. Tai, I- I thought she didn’t know what spirits were. Like the dilophosaurs. I wanted her to understand. I didn’t want to make her feel ignored.Misunderstandings happen.“He’d just spoken with your dilophosaur friends,” Te Tai said at length. “They didn’t know what spirits were, and Kohimu thought maybe you didn’t either. He wanted to make sure you understood. Perhaps he wasn’t listening as well as he should have been, but he didn’t think you were stupid, and he regretted making you feel so betrayed.” “He thought very highly of you and your adventurous streak,” Te Tai added, after an extra moment’s thought. “S-so…” she sniffed. “He didn’t just want me to go away for my own good?” She doesn’t want to move on, Kohimu said. I tried- wanted to make sure she knew what this would mean. I see.“Kohimu wanted to ensure you understood the implications before setting your heart on something few mortal creatures have experienced, but which even immortals find difficult at times. If you’d wanted to stay, knowing this, he wouldn’t have asked again or driven you away.” Beech sighed, looking down at her feet. “I shouldn’t have snapped at him. His point was a good one. But I just... I don’t understand why he thought I wanted immortality. I didn’t mean to imply that. I don’t want to outlive all of them and stay here forever. I just...” She choked. “I don’t want to leave them yet.” She looked up, meeting Te Tai’s eyes sadly. “I mean... surely you know right? Feeling like you just aren’t ready to say goodbye?” The taniwha hesitated. Kohimu had gone silent, which was fine this time, because Te Tai had some idea of what to say. It would be good to say it aloud. “I do,” he sighed. “This is the first I’ve lost somebody important. When Kohimu died, there were so many things I hadn’t even realised I wanted, and things I’d taken for granted, which just suddenly… weren’t. I’m not ready to say goodbye but, after we find the final sower, I need to try. I need to figure out how funerals work, because he’d want that, and I believe it would be good. It will be easier letting go if I know I’m doing what Kohimu would want.” Thank-you, Tai.She didn’t reply right away, clearly giving it some thought. Then she nodded. “I understand that. And I know sooner or later I’ll have to…” she whimpered. “I’ll have to say goodbye too. But not yet. Not yet. I’m not ready.” She sighed, hunching her shoulders. “Wherever Kohimu is now, I hope he can understand. And I hope he knows that I’m sorry for snapping at him.” Te Tai hesitated at Kohimu’s next suggestion. Are you sure?Absolutely.“Kohimu wasn’t always a taniwha,” he obligingly repeated. “I transformed him into one long ago. This gave us a special connection and I believe, because of this connection, he’ll know what you’ve said even now that we’re apart. However, he would not want you dwelling in sorrow on that single moment of conflict.” Beech seemed taken aback at this revelation- and also a bit awed, her innate curiosity flaring up at such a strange new piece of information. But a moment later she shook her head, seeming to decide not to ask whatever questions had been on the tip of her tongue. “I hope you’re right,” she said. “But… for now, you asked about the sowers, right? I don’t know the last one, but Quicksnap actually managed to get one of them yesterday.” She swallowed hard. “But not before she c-corrupted him. I’m trying to find the last sower too, so we can fix him, since the healer… isn’t around anymore.” “Quicksnap’s corrupted?!” Te Tai blinked, surprised. “I suspected that foolish bird but, with him more or less ruled out, I don’t know where to even start.” The taniwha hissed. “That does not mean I’m going to stand around and do nothing! I must at least try to find this final sower. If you feel so inclined, Beech, we save Quicksnap and avenge Kohimu together.” Beech was surprised, but then she nodded. “Right. Okay. I can use all the help I can get.” She squared her jaw. “We gotta save Quicksnap. And everybody.” And everybody, Kohimu echoed. Te Tai wants to ask Beech to help him hunt the final sower! However, she gets distracted by the news that Kohimu is dead, and then Te Tai is surprised in turn by the knowledge that Quicksnap is now corrupted! With the aid of Kohimu-voice, some past misunderstandings are cleared up and many feelings are had by both parties; before they indeed set out to try and find the sower...um, somehow (they don't really know what they're doing, but it's the thought that counts!)
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Post by Shinko on Aug 12, 2018 18:11:34 GMT -5
Quicksnap gave a growling whine. “If there is a time later. The giant thing in the sky, it did something. It attacked, it invaded, tear it, rip it-” He broke off at Shadowstep’s next question, frowning. “Yellow light. I remember a flash of yellow light. Later the little rabbit-dog, Kopi, he said it was him. But he was like Beech, dead-and-not-dead.” For the first time, what Shadowstep was saying seemed to fully register with Quicksnap. “You say I am… I am like before. I am like when I couldn’t think. I…” He growled, seeming to flinch from something, pawing at his face with a claw and drawing blood. “Nnnn. The black fire, it hurts, it hurts! Ssssstop the monster, before she killssss us all!” Tiger Quicksnap confirms that yes, he was fixed by the healer! He seems momentarily to register that he’s corrupted- really register it- but then the corruption clamps down on him and he starts to slip into hysteria again.
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Post by Tiger on Aug 12, 2018 19:03:08 GMT -5
For a second, Shadowstep hoped he was helping, that maybe despite the fact that it was obviously the healer’s intervention that had stopped the corruption last time, he could do something - but again, that hope was dashed when Quicksnap started clawing at his face. “Quicksnap, don’t hurt yourself!” Driftstone squawked when he saw the blood. Shadowstep bared his teeth slightly - this corruption felt like an enemy that had to be constantly evaded and avoided. Raptors were very nimble, of course, but it would still have been nice if it was something he could pounce on. “We will find the last sower and stop this, Quicksnap,” he promised. “Maybe we should get out of this place, hsssah? Away from these marks the sower-mother left? Because they are probably not helping.” They were also likely to attract more curious animals - and, he suddenly realized, probably animals on the hunt for the last sower, or anything that looked like one to them. “If I take lead us somewhere nicer than this,” he said with a little more insistence, “will you follow me there?” He took a small step back and to the side, just to test. Shadowstep suggests they maybe get out of the area of the marks from Mother Nature, thinking it’s possible they’re making Quicksnap’s corruption worse, and also that they’re likely to attract attention when they kind of need to keep Quicksnap as far from other animals as possible. ( Shinko)[/spoiler\
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Post by Draco on Aug 13, 2018 0:32:16 GMT -5
Kuzen did not have a good night, and he wasn't having a great morning either. The kappa was slowly freezing out in the snow, and eventually fell asleep frozen. He stood there in a sort of hibernation, unable to move. The quokka, pushing him around all over trying to find a place to warm up and thaw out. After a while of searching, they found a hollowed out tree surrounded by bushes, and it was unoccupied. The quokka pushed Kuzen inside, and together they sat out the snow... Well, the quokka sat out, Kuzen stood, leaning against a wall like a pushed over statue. The morning came, the fog lifted, it became warmer, and there was a giant monster jellyfish of doom floating in the sky. The quokka, stared in horror from the bushes. He silently screamed in terror at the sight of what he saw. When the giant purple bag floated away, the screams became not so silent. He ran around in a panic before returning to Kuzen, shaking him, trying to wake him up. Kuzen however was still a bit cold and icy. The water in his head had thawed, but has slid out of his head while leaning on the wall. So he was partially awake now, but not very responsive. "Cucumber guy, wake up! There's is.. Was a giant thing in the sky!" The quokka keeps shaking Kuzen. "Did you freeze to death out there? Was I pushing a dead thing? What is going on?!" The Kuzen popsicle kept being shook, unable to respond. Kuzen is still a bit frozen, and lacking water.
The quokka is in a panic.
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Post by Liou on Aug 13, 2018 6:59:10 GMT -5
[[Starring the great and powerful Tiger !]] An assortment of trinkets and tools littered the soggy ground. Dara poked at a shell with a limp silvery arm until it rolled into place. There was very little to recover from their damaged tree. Although relieved to find some of their raptors safe and sound, the octopus had not said a word in the Whispering Cave or on the way back. They'd hidden behind Duskrunner to peek at Sunfire's pack, and clung almost jealously to Yellowtail's pack in a show of pack-ism. Matriotism. When the pack split up and sent a hunting party after the last sower, Dara could have gone with them, gliding ahead as an invulnerable scout, and bringing their sharp-tipped tools into battle. However, small twigs slipped through and out of the octopus's usually dexterous arms, and weapons went wobbly in their grip. It soon became evident that they were still out of shape, whether from the saline wave or from whatever was going on with the Spirit. It was not impossible for them to use their tangibility. It just disgusted them a little. So Dara had cautiously stayed behind as another sentry and chick-minder. They were ready to be sent between the groups as a messenger if need be. They spent their time sweeping up debris, clearing up a more comfortable space for the chicks after their ordeal, checking for any plants that might help Nettleback's injuries, and hanging limply from a branch like a glum clump of seaweed. Duskrunner, who had traded places with Sunspeckle after a few hours of frigid sentry duty over Quicksnap’s den, had been keeping half an eye on the octopus through the pre-dawn hours. There had been quite a bit to do, particularly to make sure the chicks - Wolfthorn, Hightide, and tentatively-Snowstorm even though her markings were more pale-blue than white - were warm and secure, so she hadn’t been able to talk to Dara much. But things seemed calm enough now, and it was close enough to dawn that Duskrunner was fairly sure the last remaining sower had gone back into hiding for the day - hopefully spooked off by the sight of Quicksnap getting his jaws around their longma compatriot. Her steps were louder on the icy grass than she would have liked, but at least she wouldn’t have to worry about surprising Dara. ...Not too much, anyway - “You seem to keep getting lost in your thoughts today,” she said, tilting her head at the octopus. “The seawater isn’t still hurting you, is it?” Hearing the light crunch under her talons, they rolled over to meet her. "No, the sting of the salt is gone. I’m just a bit wobbly. Sorry, it’s very quiet out here." They couldn't come up with any other explanation. "Are you and your feathers better since all that... weather?" “I think so, surprisingly.” She puffed them up fresh against the chill. “I guess we should feel lucky we had a chance to dry between the cave and the snow.” Her tail swayed in a wide, stiff arc. “I can’t help wishing we’d had more time, though. The things we learned in there were very….very big, weren’t they?” Dara's mantle would have flickered between colours. Deprived of their chromatophores, they settled for curling the tips of their arms and fidgeting with their suckers. "I don't know. I didn't learn anything much. Nothing certain or reliable, at any rate. More time in that cave might have been dangerous for you. Who knows how many creatures never came out." “Never came out?” Duskrunner scratched at her arm with one of her hind talons. “Why do you think that could have happened? We did a very thorough job getting word and rumors from the Coelophyses and our little cousins; I think we would have heard by now if anyone had gone missing, especially with the sowers around. And we have not heard any such thing.” "You all are very thorough indeed,” said Dara, looking at her feet. The octopus’s voice seemed to congeal; the frost around them looked thicker. “I know. You saw all the creatures that appeared while the body-less voice was talking, though. One moment they were patches of rock on the walls. The next moment, they were swimming past us. It was like they couldn't see us at all. And then.” The squirming stopped and the octopus was unusually still. “They were petrified. Again." “ Sssssaaah?” Duskrunner tilted her head, this time the opposite direction. “You think the rock-shapes turned into the things we saw? ...But where did the world they were walking around come from? And the other animals with them? I saw many more raptors than there were on the wall.” "Maybe she kept them deeper inside the cave. They disappeared like the rest." Dara oozed a little flatter on the ground. "She makes things appear and disappear any time - the tidal wave, all the oceans and lands where those creatures were running and swimming, and the cave itself. Wonder what'll disappear next. Or where we'll disappear to." “Well...the wave might have been from the storm,” Duskrunner said. “And I think all the bad weather has been the sower-mother’s fault, or at least, the Spirit can’t keep it from happening because of her. ...Why are you so grumpy about getting to see one of the island’s secrets?” She didn’t sound angry or offended, just...confused. As if she couldn’t imagine a discovery not being a reward regardless of its implications. "That is a good thing, isn't it?" Dara said tepidly. "I guess we can blame everything on the rumored other spirit-thing that makes things disappear, then. It's just that... the weird creatures in the cave didn't really prove anything, did they? And we never saw who was speaking. I only believe what I see." The next thing they saw made the octopus’s lidless eyes narrow in what was almost a blink. As their vision adjusted after that alarming flash of light, they wondered if their body was dissolving again. More lights zoomed up into the sky; following them, Dara lifted their head from the ground. How they regretted that move. At the sight of the gigantic pink blob, Dara's arms curled in on themselves until the octopus was spherical. Duskrunner crouched and hissed, but her eyes were wide and all her feathers went flat against her body. “What - what is that?!” The giant thing in the sky reached its tentacles down, and there was a sudden scream that seemed to come from the island itself. The other raptors jolted awake, the chicks squealing in surprise. Nettleback managed a croak of a noise when he saw what was going on, and Windteeth’s breath audibly caught altogether. Dara's voice was trapped inside their substance, shying away from the other voice that flooded everywhere out of nowhere. "Bad," they stammered as soon as the thing had released their sky, "that is very bad, and stings, and it's yet another thing that disappears. Where'd it go?" They swivelled round, glancing around the clearing as if the jellyfish was about to jump out from behind a tree trunk. Duskrunner turned in place, too, but saw nothing immediately suspicious. “That was the sower god - competition, survival, spirit of mercy? That is all the the things the Spirit told us about her in the cave!” Sunlight fell sharp and bright on the clearing; the last of the chill was rapidly vanishing. Windteeth made a shrill noise of alarm, squinting at the sky. “It did something to the island - you heard that scream!” She looked around, then scampered up a tree. For a moment, the raptor disappeared into the high branches, before her head poked out rather high above them. For a moment, she seemed not to see anything alarming...and then her head jerked back. “Where is the mist? It’s been heavy for days and now - where is it now?” For once, Dara was not tempted to dart up the tree after her. Mist? The octopus had never learned how to harness or produce it. They doubted its chemical properties would be the raptors' primary concern, though. "Maybe we'll disappear to the same place as the mist soon enough," they suggested glumly. "Then we'll know. If that giant sea-scum was supposed to be one of the spirit-things, and it made the other spirit-thing scream, I guess there are two separate ones after all." “There must be.” Duskrunner snapped her teeth together. “She must be scared - there’s only one sower left! So their mother thinks she can show herself and scare us into waiting!” Abruptly, she snapped her teeth in Dara’s direction. “Do not do what she wants! We are not disappearing anywhere!” The octopus gave a little jolt at the sound of her teeth. After a moment, they let out a hesitant chuckle. "She'd be more scared if she knew what she looks like! That's the one that wants to turn you into bones, right. Even being swept into the Spirit’s cave is better than bones. At least you'd keep your feathers, and you'd get to run around with the other packs that live there." “...If that is how you want to look at it,” Duskrunner said. “Yes! Much better than being bones!” “Bravery is good,” Windteeth said as she came back down the tree, “but you sound like you’re making plans. We’re supposed to watch the chicks, and Nettleback.” She looked sternly between her sister and the octopus. “What? I am not making plans!” Duskrunner said in the tone of someone who had just been interrupted in making plans. "Plans being made? I heard no such thing," Dara solemnly swore. They unfurled and stood on the tips of their arms for a better look. "Those flashy lights didn't harm anyone, did they?" “Not that I saw,” Windteeth said slowly, tilting her head a little and narrowing her eyes. She was not wrong to be suspicious; Duskrunner said, “Maybe...we should go be sure, though? ...What about where the tentacles touched? They were big enough to hurt someone, even if the lights didn’t!” “You want to go see something that creature touched?” “...From a safe distance?” "I've never seen anything that big - or ugly - before," said Dara, "but I have seen smaller things like it. Jellyfish. Have you ever been stung by one?" The octopus gestured with their arms, mimicking long, trailing filaments. "Their nasty threads can keep floating around after the rest of the thing is dead... and they still sting! I know that because when my kind are young, if we're lucky, we'll find one of these in the water and use it to defend ourselves - we're immune to most of them. We should check that it didn’t drop its threads or spread its venom on purpose!" “What?” Duskrunner said, sounding both horrified and a touch fascinated all at once. “I didn’t know about - jellyfish! They live in water? The ocean-water, you mean?” Windteeth reluctantly admitted, “Stinging things...aren’t good. Neither is venom. ...And if tree octopuses can use them as weapons...maybe she meant to give some to the last sower. And the that would be bad.” She sighed. “All right. Fine. Maybe you’re right. ...But if there isn’t one nearby, come back. We shouldn’t split up for too long.” "Of course! Just a quick scouting trip to make sure the neighbourhood is safe." Dara waved an arm in the chicks' direction. "You know I can't stay away from here for too long." The octopus picked up their chimera claw, passed it cautiously from arm to arm and wrapped it up. "May I hitch a ride, Duskrunner?" “Of course!” Duskrunner crouched low so that Dara could get onto her back as easily as possible. They flung themself at her with relish and settled easily where they wouldn't impede her wing joints. Seeing the world from a higher place was nothing unusual for a tree octopus, but it was always better when that higher place happened to be a raptor. "Thank you, much faster this way. I will glide around the area for quick scan before we get closer." “That sounds like a good idea. We will be back soon!” Duskrunner promised, and set off before Windteeth could change her mind. While enjoying the privilege of riding raptor friends, Dara had gradually improved their preening technique. Whenever the raptor was stationary enough, the octopus would groom her feathers absently. The gesture was soothing to them. She felt so safe and powerful beneath them as she shot between the trees, wind brushing past her feathers in a perfect silent whoosh. “All right,” Duskrunner said after a pause to determine where they were. “It looked like one of the arms went down over this way, maybe not too far from here. Let me know if you see any coelophyses or microraptors, they might know for sure if anything was left behind!” "Will do." Dara spoke in a hushed voice. The forest was still unusually still and quiet in the aftermath of the terrible apparition. "I wish we could live in a place without either of those bigheads watching us or prodding us around. I trust you and your pack more than the Spirit, Duskrunner. If either she or the sky-jelly makes you disappear to another place again, I'd rather get disappeared with you." “I don’t mind the Spirit,” Duskrunner said mildly. “But I hope neither of these gods makes us disappear anywhere.” She paused to look around a moment, and then turned her head to nudge lighty at one of Dara’s tentacles with her muzzle. “That is sweet of you to want to come along. Disappearing to somewhere would be better with interesting company!” The octopus gave a happy little ripple. "Glad to help in any way." It was perhaps longer than Windteeth would have liked, but not much longer, before Duskrunner spotted something through the trees. The sunlight was shining very oddly on a patch of ground, and she found herself remembering Shadowstep describing the sower-scimon’s black-fire hands. “I think...I think that’s it ahead,” she said to Dara. “...Are you sure you want to go ahead on your own?” "Yes. Don't worry, I'm not solid. I'll go far overhead, check that it's safe for you, and be right back." Dara hopped off her back, caught the nearest branch and swung themself up a tree. From there, they glided between the treetops, scanning the ground. Just as they had always done, except silvery now, and catching far too much of the overly bright sunlight in their mantle. Creatures of all types and sizes had gingerly come to investigate the marks in the center of the clearing. Seeing that no one was fighting uncontrollably or writhing in pain or dead, Dara returned to Duskrunner, giving her an affirmative click. “Let’s go see for ourselves, then,” Duskrunner said, and she prowled forward into the clearing. She stopped again rather abruptly at the sight of the markings. If those were from a tentacle….that had been a very big tentacle. And there was something else about them… “The way it glows,” she said. “That must be what the sower-scimon’s paws looked like when she tried to attack Shadowstep. ...It’s the same way her eyes looked, right before he dropped her, I think.” "That looks like it'd hurt." Dara smoothed Duskrunner's feathers. "Good thing no one was standing right there. If the Spirit felt it, it would have been a huge sting." “Yes, a very good thing,” Duskrunner agreed uneasily. She took a small step closer, enough to see the overlapping oval shapes. “It certainly looks painful.” Duskrunner tapped her claws against the ground, even if it was too soft to make any real noise. “But the Spirit must still be around and still have some power - or I think we would be like fish right now, not smart enough to talk. “...But I hope whoever is hunting the last sower right now is having very very very good luck.” Duskrunner went back home after the first round of Quicksnap-soothing. Dara, still out of sorts, stayed there to help watch over the chicks and poor injured Nettleback. Dusky comes to catch up with them. Dara was confused by the Spirit's talk in the cave, and suspicious of the magical visions she showed them. The two witness Mother Nature's dramatic entrance. Dusky has kept good track of which deity did what, recognises Nature, and refuses to be scared! Raptor power, yeeaaah! Her confidence shakes Dara out of their fatalism. Since the home team is supposed to stay safe, they most certainly do not make plans to go investigate! But Dara is familiar with jellyfish stings, and so they decide to investigate the nearest burn mark, in case it could endanger the pack. =o Sweet loyalty and pack spirit is shared. That burn mark looks worrying for the Spirit.
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Post by Shinko on Aug 13, 2018 16:00:21 GMT -5
Round 19: An Unstoppable Rage It was night, and Te Tai was becoming exhausted with this bothersome business of hunting the final sower. He and Beech had been at it all day, but had found nothing. He was opening his jaws to say something, when Beech abruptly froze, her head whipping around. “Did you hear that?” He frowned, eyes narrowing. “Hear what?” “It sounds like… splashing.” He snorted, rolling his eyes. “Probably just some kelpie or halszkaraptor. I do hear running water, we might be getting close to the river.” Beech didn’t seem assuaged by this, her head cocked to one side. “I’m going to go look.” Te Tai’s frown deepened, but it wasn’t as if he had anything better to do, so he followed the thylacine. As they drew closer to the sound, he realized he didn’t just hear splashing; he also heard a voice. An angry sounding voice. “Liar! Traitor! I trusted you! My brother trusted you!” That’s… That sounds like Tash! Kohimu sputtered. Te Tai blinked. Who?As he emerged into the clearing of the Highwind Woods where it met the river, however, he realized who “Tash” must be- a small, six-legged cat creature with a stumpy tail and a moth’s antennae and wings. She was standing in the river water up to her chest, and as he looked closer Te Tai realized there was something splashing in the water. Something small, bright red and yellow- No! Tai, stop her, STOP HER!Te Tai stumbled, almost falling over entirely from the force of Kohimu’s psychic “shout.” But he obligingly started forwards, leaping over Beech’s head and grasping Tash’s scruff in his teeth. The artacat thrashed, screeching in fury, as a sopping wet and gagging firebird emerged from under the water. Steam instantly started to rise from his feathers where he managed to clear the surface, but he was far too sodden still to get airborne despite his best, manicly shrieking attempts to do so. Beech bolted for the water, grabbing Svar up in her teeth. Her grip was gentle, but firm, and given her incorporeal state even if he tried to set fire to her to get free it wouldn’t accomplish anything. “What,” she managed around a full mouth, barely able to make herself heard over Svar’s screaming, “is going on? Tash, why-” “He’s a sower!,” the artacat spat, still struggling futilely to get loose. “He’s the last sower! Kill him, kill him before we all end up like Kopi, before we all-” “Shut up!” Te Tai snarled, dropping Tash so he could talk but pinning her with a foot. “The firebird isn’t a sower. I thought so too, but he’s not.” “He is!” Tash insisted. “I saw it! I saw it with my own two eyes!” “She’s lying!” Svar screamed. “She’s wrong! I’m not, I’m not, she got the wrong idea, she-” Beech ducked the firebird into the river again, and Te Tai flinched as Kohimu gave a shrill cry of No! in his head. However, the thylacine brought him back up, sputtering but unharmed. “One at a time,” she said. “Tash, you go. Then Svar can tell his side. No more mobs, no more jumping to conclusions, but if you know something we do need to hear.” Hmf. Someone being reasonable for once.Yes. Now hopefully Svar has a good explanation for whatever’s going on here.Positively vibrating with fury, Tash hissed, “When the huge creature appeared in the sky and got rid of the mist, I decided to find the ghost-scimon again. She was trying to talk philosophical about if the sowers were doing the right thing to the ghost-cat, so I figured she might go looking for somebody else to validate her…” * * Several Hours Earlier * * Roda flitted through the forest, long bushy tail streaming behind her. Genevieve wouldn’t listen, and she hadn’t seen Bayne or Rui return in spectral form after their deaths. But there was one more person she could try to talk to. They’d always been the most moderate of the sowers. The one who called for minimizing bloodshed, for giving Mother Nature exactly as much as She needed for her mission and no more. If there was anyone Roda could convince, it would be them. And they were still alive; still had the Mother’s ear. Maybe they could even call this whole thing off. There! Through the trees she could see a faint glow. The ghost scimon picked up speed dashing through trees and brush until she was standing right under the tree where her former compatriot was perched. “Svar!” she called. He blinked, then looked down at her, eyes narrowing. “ Roda,” he hissed. “You have a very great deal of nerve showing your face, you traitor.” She faltered. “S-Svar…” “I’ve heard what the birds and the coelophysis are saying, about how you’ve turned your back on our Mother. What makes you think I’d welcome you, knowing that?” “Svar, you know as well as I do that this isn’t right!” she insisted. “Killing wantonly isn’t going to win anybody anything. Abandoning mercy isn’t going to win anybody anything! I’d bet that’s why you were helping burn up the corrupted thorn bushes the night Genevieve figured out we can corrupt plants, because you knew it was pointlessly cruel!” “...You wouldn’t be wrong,” Svar conceded. “But that was then; I’ve reexamined my priorities since.” The scimon blinked. “What do you mean?” “They killed him,” Svar hissed. “The miserable, pathetic cretins killed him. They let their paranoia turn them against someone who only ever wanted to help-” “But that’s what we wanted them to do!” Roda pointed out. “That was the whole point of the corruption, to make the different animals not trust each other and be constantly paranoid about who would go berserk next!” “To push them back into the state of self-preservation above all else, as is Nature’s way, yes I know,” Svar spat. “But you now what? I don’t care. Any fool could have seen that Kohimu was too nice for his own good. He was the only creature on this island I really, completely trusted.” “...That’s why you stayed with him all the time,” Roda accused. “You wanted to keep his hunt for the sowers ineffectual so that the others never had reason to make him a target. Have him constantly chasing fruitless rabbit-trails so he wasn’t a credible threat.” The firebird gave no answer; Roda took his silence for assent. “Svar, think about this,” she insisted. “Isn’t this just more reason not to participate in Mother’s schemes? She doesn’t discriminate. Everyone, everyone is equal in her eyes, in life or in death. More people we care about will be hurt before all’s said and done.” “You think so?” Svar asked, his voice oddly cold and without affect. “No, Roda. There is nothing and no one else I care about. My loyalty to the Mother is all I am. I am done hiding. I am done being a victim. Soon, all the island will feel the same fear and helplessness I have lived with for century upon century upon century. And at last, when they look at me it won’t be with mockery or derision or even pity- it will be with the awe and reverence that is due a divine servant. That Svarog created my kind for.” She was quiet for a long time, her expression bleak. “Svar, please. I don’t want to have to tell the other animals what you are.” The bird bristled, his feathers fluffing. Then, they went smooth again, and he shook his head. “Go ahead then- try it. See where it gets you. In case you’ve forgotten, Roda, you’ve killed some of them. The Eagle Eye fell to your hand, and the ones who died or were hurt by her fangs are upon your head. And you were caught in the act of trying to corrupt one of the deinonychus. You can lie to yourself and say you are absolved because your sister forgave you, but that doesn’t make it true. You’ve lied to them before, why shouldn’t they assume you’re lying to them now?” He pumped his wings, swooping down to the ghostly scimon and landing in front of her. He jabbed a wing primary into her incorporeal chest, indicating the lingering corruption that flickered inside her form. “And the black fire of the Mother’s power still clings to your soul; you pledged yourself to Her in exchange for power, and a pledge to a god isn’t so easily broken.” “I’ve changed!” Roda insisted. “They won’t buy that,” Svar retorted simply. He turned, pumping his wings to get airborne. “Besides, it’s too late. The mists are lifted, and the Spirit’s power is bound. It’s only a matter of time before things return to their natural order.” The firebird left then, flying off through the trees. Unbeknownst to him, a small white artacat had been listening in on the entire exchange from the bushes. * * The Present * * Tai’s head whipped around towards Svar, and he snarled, “Why you-” “No! NO!” In Beech’s grasp, Svar once more began to thrash and buck, sparks flying from his feathers. “She’s lying, she’s lying, that never happened!” That doesn’t sound like Svar at all! Kohimu agreed, his mental voice distressed and a little angry. Tai growled, looking down at the small feline under his foot. “Do you have proof?” “What reason do I have to lie?” Tash shot back. “He was friends with my brother! We trusted him!” “But Kopi was the healer,” Beech noted around a mouthful of feathers, bracing herself to keep a more firm grip on Svar. “And even if they were friends, that would be reason enough to want him out of the way anyway.” “I’d never! I’d never!” Svar whined, trying futilely to scratch Beech with his talons. “Let me go, let me go, let me go!” Tai, he’s losing it!The taniwha gave a bellow of confused frustration. If he is a sower-He isn’t! He ISN’T! He’s my friend, I’ve known him over a century, he’s trustworthy!Beech ducked Svar under the water again, trying to stop him squirming, but it wasn’t working this time. He was well and truely at the limit of his ability to hold his self-control, and the water around her legs began to boil. “Tai!” she called. “What do we do?” “I… I don’t know, I…” “He’s evil!” Tash screeched. “He’s going to see us all dead if we don’t stop him! Dead like Kopi!” “Let GO!” Svar screamed, finally managing to yank free of Beech’s teeth. He left a few feathers behind, and a score of blood across one shoulder, but he was free, he was going to get away, Kohimu gave a whoop of triumph in Te Tai’s mind- Then, with a snarl, Beech leapt into the air and bit down around the firebird’s neck. The effect was instantaneous. As Svar’s neck broke, Mother Nature’s voice gave a soundless shriek of cheated rage that woke the whole of the island, and flames roared forth from Svar’s body in all directions. Te Tai barely had time to lock his talons around Tash and airlift both her and himself to safety before the spot where they’d been was immolated. And still the fireball continued to spread, catching on trees and grass, ferns and bushes, everything that could burn did burn. Beech dashed as fast as she could outside of the epicenter of the blast, her ethereal body to all appearances undamaged but her expression very much shaken. As Te Tai came in for a landing beside her, unable to formulate anything coherent to say around Kohimu’s agony in his mind, the animals all heard Svar’s voice from within the flame. “If I am to die, you are all going down with me! I will not fail a second master! Mother Nature’s will shall be done on this island, and Kohimu’s death at all of your wretched hands avenged!” The fire continued to spread with terrifying swiftness, illuminating the night air with a sickly orange and red glow, and all the ghost, taniwha and articat could do was flee. * * * “If we don’t do something, all of us are dead!” Makell hissed, her long striped tail lashing as she watched the blaze fully overtake the highwind woods and spread to begin engulfing the Shadowed Pines and the Endless Meadow. “That’s holy fire,” Inara said grimly, prancing in place with nerves. “It’ll take a lot more than just a few big dinosaurs chucking water or sod to put it out.” Muuri drew Yira close under her legs, ears flattened. “And who knows how many animals are trapped beyond the fire line still alive. We have to try to help them get somewhere safe.” “Safe like where?” demanded a tiny skvader leveret, nose twitching uneasily. “The fire’s going everywhere!” Mochi, their breathing ragged with both broken ribs and smoke inhalation, moved forwards to stand before the crowd. “The Out Islands,” they rasped. “There’s no plants there, and water and beach separate them from the mainland. Tell them to flee to the Out Islands. Anyone who can swim or fly, help the ones who can’t.” “We’ll still die,” Makell spat. “The fire will burn up all the plants, killing the plant-eaters and clogging the water with ash, and without the plant-eaters or fish the predators will go too!” Little… ones…The animals started. That was the Spirit’s voice! She sounded weak, and very faint, and when she spoke the black lines of Mother Nature’s power on the island’s surface burned. But it was there, and they listened intently. The healer… must… to the Heart… quickly!There was a sensation of pain, weakness, of something being dragged off- and the Spirit was silent again. The animals looked at one another despairingly, Dog whining from his place between Thunder’s massive feet. “But the healer is dead!” wailed the quokka. “If we need the healer to fix this, we’re all DOOMED!” “Um… actually…” The animals looked around in surprise to see a dilophosaur, her feathers fluffed with embarrassment, pacing towards them. She quailed a little under the intensity of all of the eyes on her, but forced herself to take a deep breath and say, “There’s something important I have to tell you…” Svar, the last SOWER, is now DEAD All corrupted animals are now PURIFIED The residents have WON! Optional Scenario 1: As his last, dying defiance, Svar has set the Highwind Wood and part of the Endless Meadow ablaze! The Spirit is still trapped by Mother Nature’s power and unable to help, but has managed to give a frantic message to the islanders; the healer must be brought to the Heart. The Heart can be accessed either by travelling out to the Whispering Cave, or by finding the hidden portal in deepest part of the Crystal Crags. Help the healer reach the Heart before the island is left a charred ruin!
Optional Scenario 2: The fire is spreading quickly, and not everyone is swift enough to outrun the blaze. Help the trapped, or desperately hope that you’ll be one of the ones helped! The Out Islands are a safe place to shelter for now.
Mandatory Conditions: It is night, the same day as Round 18. The sky is choked with smoke, air close to the ground is slightly smokey, the entire island smells of ash, and everything is cast in a yellow-orange light. All of the Highwind Woods are ablaze, and the fire has started spreading to the Shadowed Pines and the Endless Meadow.
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Post by Rabbit ♠ on Aug 13, 2018 21:58:11 GMT -5
There was a fire. A large fire. It was hot and it was bright. Tash was lucky that animal grabbed her when she could to get away from the start of the fire. As soon as she could, she bolted away from the scene, hoping to outrun the flames. In hindsight, she knew she wouldn’t get far, but it was worth a try. Tash knew it. Tash knew Svar was a sower or something of the sort, she knew he was suspicious. He was always so shifty and paranoid. No wonder he and Kopi became friends, they had so much in common. If Svar and Tash met without Kopi, she wouldn’t have talked to him as often if at all. However, since Kopi trusted him, Tash trusted him. There were so few animals he trusted like Svar, so if Kopi was comfortable around him, why should Tash worry? Svar knew Kopi was the healer. Kopi said a sower tried to corrupt him. Even if Svar wasn’t the one to try, his sower friends would tell him. He wanted him dead. He wanted her brother, his friend, dead. Tash hoped Svar came back as a ghost like Kopi and Beech and his stupid little friends did. She wasn’t done with him yet. The fire was growing hotter and hotter. Tash licked at her fur and breathed heavily, trying to stay cool. She was already in the fire, might as well try to help some animals that were with her. She went through bushes and did her best to dig up some of the burrows that some of the rodents have been digging to rebuild. Tash had just finished digging up Juno’s family and told them all to flee where they can. She wished she could give them better directions, but she didn’t know where the fire hadn’t spread. All she could hope for was that they’d be fine. The artacat walked around, trying to keep an ear out for someone who could need help. She couldn’t hear as well as Kopi and she was decent at best at digging, but she had to do what she could to help. “Tash, you need to get out of here!” Tash quickly turned around to see Kopi running towards her. She was relieved to see him. Even if he was a ghost, she was glad to see that he was okay. She had meant to greet him properly at first, but the first words out of Tash’s mouth were, “Kopi, it was Svar.” Kopi stopped running and tilted his head. “What was Svar?” he asked. “It was Svar! He was a part of all of this! He wanted you dead! Svar was a sower!” A chill ran down Kopi’s spine and onto the ground. A thin frost formed on the grass, only to melt and evaporate into steam from the surrounding fire. The air chilled around him and Tash. Unlike when they were in the cave, the air cooled down to a much more comfortable temperature. “What are you saying? Svar’s a sower?” Kopi asked with a laugh. He couldn’t decide if that was from nervousness or amusement. “I’m serious! Svar was a sower! I saw him!” “Tash, you’re serious?” The cunicanine began to hop off. “If you’re going to talk, then we need to keep moving. What happened?” Tash ran up to his side. “I saw him. I wanted to talk to Roda, one of the sower ghosts, so I went looking for her. I saw Svar talking to her, talking about his loyalty to Mother, they knew each other, he was a sower!” This couldn’t be. Svar was Kopi’s friend. Svar was one of the few animals Kopi related to. They were friends. Was Svar’s paranoia just an act? Was he just pretending to be paranoid to divert attention and to get to Kopi? Those who knew Kopi knew he was paranoid and didn’t trust others easily. Svar could have acted the way he did in order to gain his trust. Did he know Kopi was the healer before the other sowers knew? Did he want Kopi to be corrupted? Did Svar send Muuri to kill him? Was everything Svar ever said to Kopi just a lie? Svar couldn’t possibly be a sower. Then again, Tash would never lie to him about this… “Svar’s a sower,” Kopi quietly said. Another chill rolled through the air. His picked up his pace. “I-I need to talk to him-” “He’s dead, Kopi,” Tash interrupted. Kopi quickly turned his head to her. “He’s dead?” He paused for a moment, his legs somehow feeling weak. His eyes widened. “Did you kill him, Tash?” “No, I didn’t.” Tash's voice was seething with rage. “I tried, oh I tried, and you have no idea how much I wanted to do so. I tried shoving that stupid firebird underwater, to drown like some of the other animals he killed. Then Beech and some other animal came by. Beech ended up killing him. Oh, what I would give to do that myself.” She licked at her paw again and rubbed it against her face. “The moment he died, this blaze started.” She began to walk again. “Do you think he’ll come back like some of the other sowers?” Kopi hopped after her. “I hope so. I need to talk to him about this.” Tash swallowed a lump in her throat. “You believe me, Kopi, right?” Another chill. Kopi took a deep breath. “I believe you, Tash. I do. It’s just something I need to think about.” He growled a bit. “He better hope ghosts can’t die a second time when I get my paws on him.” Kopi and Tash continued to walk, eventually evolving into a run. Kopi wanted Tash to get out of the forest, but she wanted to stay back and help the other animals. While Kopi would prefer if she was safe, he was secretly happy that she wanted to help him out. Even after Kopi died, Tash wanted to look out for him. The pair dug out animals that were trapped by fire and debris. Kopi gave them better directions on how to escape the fire. As far as they could tell, not many animals were trapped. Then again, they only just began looking. While looking for areas where animals might be trapped, Kopi spotted a figure in the distance. An animal. This animal was a dark blue, standing out against the orange and red flames. Kopi squinted, to see who this animal was. Oh, it couldn’t be. “What is Mochi doing here?” Kopi quietly asked himself. Weren't they hurt not too long ago? He began running over to Mochi, Tash following at his heels. “Mochi! Why are you here?” Tash is in fire, still thinking about what Svar ( Celestial , for all the mentions) did. She had always been wary of him, but since Kopi trusted him, she trusted him. Since she's in the fire, she helps find and free animals that were trapped due to that and debris. Eventually, Kopi finds her and she tells him what happened. Yeah, Kopi doesn't take it so well. They both hope he comes back because they have some words for him. The pair continue along and Kopi spots Mochi ( Shinko ) in the distance. He runs up to them and asks what they are doing.
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Post by Tiger on Aug 13, 2018 22:57:21 GMT -5
The news….could have been received worse. Better, too, perhaps; Taakeyrr suspected some of the animals were skeptical of her claim, and she couldn’t entirely blame them - the Eagle Eye - the failed Eagle Eye - had been chosen as the new Healer? There was a new Healer? Taakeyrr had told them, though, about finding and healing Muuri, and the wolf-thing who was, in fact, right there with Thunder and acting quite not-corrupted. She...didn’t have the heart to tell them about Quicksnap - she had been hoping to sneak to him tonight, had only gone to Thunder’s companion first the previous night because unlike Quicksnap, he wasn’t sequestered or heavily weakened by the cold. She’d intended to try, but then the sower, and the giant creature in the sky, and she’d been afraid the huge monster would appear out of the sky and strike her down if she realized what Taakeyrr was doing. The Spirit picking a second Healer was what had enraged Mother Nature in the first place. I hope Quicksnap’s okay now, she thought. We killed the last Sower...but did that work? Something’s still wrong with the Spirit, so something’s still going on....She didn’t know very well the limits of her healing strength yet - so she didn’t show off the stag sigil. Kopi’s sigil - it still didn’t feel like hers, it felt like she was borrowing something she was going to give back to the cunicanine someday. Not that she wasn’t grateful for it, thank...well, the Spirit, that someone had been able to do something about the corrupted animals - but it still felt a little like she’d stolen the powers. This time, she’d told her father and sister. They backed her up; they had come with her to help find and potentially protect her from Muuri, and so they had seen the powers flare to life. Their word seemed to be the final nudge for the animals to at least admit they needed to try and send someone, and if there was a chance Taakeyrr was the healer, well… As if Taakeyrr was going to wait for their permission. She’d told them because it seemed like they needed to know there was hope more than they needed Taakeyrr not to be discovered. Thankfully, no horrible monsters bigger than any dilophosaur had ever been in any time or place appeared in the sky to strike her down for the admission. “Anybody else coming with us?” Xsabaskis had asked, much to Taakeyrr’s surprise and confusion. And sure enough, there were more animals who felt they should deal with the fire and its victims, or escaping the fire - or who couldn’t go because of their size. In the end, they were accompanied by only a scimon. If Xsabaskis had been looking for extra protection, this wasn’t the animal to get it from, but they made no complaints. Three dilophosaurs were a good fighting force, and there were probably things a small animal could do that the bigger dinosaurs could not. They went to the Crags rather than making the swim out to the cave. Considering Mother Nature had already shown power over the weather, it seemed like a bad idea to test the angry primordial there. Besides, getting the scimon across would be dangerous even under even normal circumstances. And there had to be a way back in through the Crags - or else, why would the Spirit put them there, where most of them would have to climb back up the cliffs? Either it had been a limit of her power, or a direct message, and either way, it implied the same thing - there could be a way in through the Crags. Xsabaskis didn’t argue when Taakeyrr laid all this logic out, but she was clearly tense as they set off. “So...where do we look first?” Soaitsae asked when they reached the bottom of the cliffs. Taakeyrr’s stomach twisted as she looked back up the slope, saw some of the very highest crystals reflecting just the barest edge of the firelight from above. “Well...where do you remember standing when we...appeared out here? There were animals behind us, but...maybe there’s something by the rock we were up against?” As she stepped closer to the wall, she remembered something - fuzzily, through a curtain of dizziness and paranoia, but a memory all the same; Beech showing her a cavern with a giant amethyst. “...Maybe look for any of that orange-and-yellow stone? The kind that was in the Heart, that looked like all the animals.” Soaitsae set to work, and Taakeyrr started to as well - but after a moment, she realized she could Xsabaskis’ breathing behind her, and it was stiff and tense adn a little too fast. She looked up; the dilophosaur was staring at the wall Taakeyrr had just examined, her eyes a little distant. “Xsabaskis?” She stretched her tail and flicked it lightly against her sister’s side. “Are you okay?” Xsabaskis twitched, blinked, looked over at Taakeyrr. “I - I’m fine, I... “ “...No, you’re not fine. What’s wrong?” “We don’t have time.” “You’re not paying attention,” Taakeyrr pointed out. “Look and talk at the same time. What’s wrong?” Xsabaskis snarled abruptly. “You know what’s wrong. I hate this place. I hate it. Now it has two horrible memories lurking around, and - “ She snapped her teeth together in liue of finishing her sentence. Taakeyrr let the silence and anger and grief be for a moment. “It was our mother’s favorite place on the whole island, though.” “That just makes it worse. She’s not here to enjoy it.” “...I’d started forgetting what it looked like, though.” Taakeyrr could almost feel Xsabaskis’ baffled look. “I didn’t want to come back at first. But then I realized things were getting fuzzy in my head. And...and the last memory I had of here…” Rain still falling, not as fearsome but still pelting , the huge gouge in the cliffside, a bolt of lightning painting the edges in sharp light like the curve of teeth - “I didn’t want that to be the last one ever.” After a moment, she asked, “Remember when Sretash was so proud he could jump up three ledges in a row, and do it faster than you?” “...Only for a week.” Xsabaskis sounded surly - why did she have to - Slow down. Wait a minute, she told herself sternly. And after a moment, Xsabaskis grunted, “He almost always picked the right color when we went stone-picking, though. Red crystal-bits as far as the eye can see - and somehow he still won by picking blue.” Suddenly Soaitsae spoke - “That’s because he looked under and behind things. You two just pounced on the nearest shiny stone you could find.” “Well, it’s too bad he isn’t here right now,” Taakeyrr said, genuine wistfulness creeping into her voice. “He could probably actually find what we’re looking for.” “We’ll find it,” Soaitsae vowed quietly. “...But I do wish he were with us.” There was a pause before Xsabaskis agreed, her voice strained like she was trying hard not to let too much emotion break into her voice, “Me, too. Door or not. Even - I’d even take it if he came back like Beech, but…” A gout of fire stretched its light over the crags before Xsabaskis could find her words. The dilophosaurs looked up, and immediately, the mood of quiet grief was torn apart. “Right. No time for this,” Xsabsakis prowled forward, nose almost touching the wall. “We need that entrance.” “It’s too bad Beech isn’ here,” Soaitsae said anxiously. “Someone who could pass through walls would be useful.” He looked around for the scimon, and when he found her, asked, “Any luck?” Taakeyrr’s healer reveal revheal? goes...not-a-mob, so, pretty good for a mafia game tbh. She reasons the Spirit must have spat them out at the bottom of the Crystal Crags for an entrance-having reason, and she, Xsabaskis, Soaitsae, and Juliane ( June Scarlet) go there. Taakeyrr suggests looking for any tiger’s eye in the wall (tiger’s eye being the stone the animal pictures in the Heart were made of). Xsabaskis has a sort of emotional moment, y’know, the kind that bust themselves out when you’ve bottled them up long enough - since the crags are where Kassisiss and Sretash died, if you hadn’t caught that already. Mild progress toward an eventually emotionally-okay future is made. Then they see the fire again and are reminded they gotta hurry. Soaitsae mentions it being a shame there are no ghosties with them, as they’d be helpful, and asks how Juliane is coming along. ( Shinko, Thorn since you two are planning to join in)
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Post by Celestial on Aug 14, 2018 6:03:23 GMT -5
Morag had been out of her den ever since she heard the shriek earlier that day. When she saw the great jellyfish in the sky, her first reaction was to wonder if she had drunk some whisky she did not remember. However, when the jellyfish burned the island, leaving actual scorch marks, the haggis was convinced that it was real. She carefully walked over and snuffled at the blackened tracks which, indeed, smelled like burning. How odd. What exactly was that jellyfish thing? It did leave black marks. What else was black? Earth, nighttime, the sower's fire... Morag froze, looking back up at the sky where the jellyfish had been. Had this been the sower's deity? Her fur stood up on end and she scuttled into the undergrowth. For the first time in a long while, she was deeply, truly afraid, from the tips of her little claws to the ends of her floppy ears. She remained there, not keen to come out in case the jellyfish made a sudden appearance again. Taking the time, Morag groomed her fur, washed by the rainwater last night. It took her longer than usual these days due to her creaky bones so she appreciated the opportunity where she was forced to remain still. Presently, however, a new scent reached her nose: smoke. The haggis peeked out of the undergrowth only to see bright orange flickering light. Morag blinked. Was that...fire? Her suspicions were immediately confirmed by a mass of animals running away from the bright line while birds screeched in the sky above, desperate to get away. Oh dear, this was bad. Perhaps she should not linger around here. It already felt quite warm and the light was growing brighter. Morag tried to scuttle away, following the animals. It was not long, however, before they left her far behind. She was hardly the fastest creature. All the while the fire crept closer and closer. There was only one thing to do. "Heeeeelp!" the haggis yelled. "HEEEELP!" Morag is caught in the fire. Plz help her? 8D;
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Post by Thorn on Aug 14, 2018 8:19:25 GMT -5
We were friends. Why would he do this? Why- how- we could have killed him. The river. The storm. Yesterday. So many chances- Tai, how? He betrayed-Te Tai tried to keep an eye on his two companions, but Kohimu wasn't making that at all easy. Kohimu, please stop.I can't- the fire. Tai, trapped, the fire-A new voice crept into their thoughts. Mercy! She wanted them to get the healer to the heart of the Whispering Caves. Te Tai didn't know who the healer was, but Beech had said something about them, so maybe she could explain? The Spirit was a prisoner of this Mother Nature, but there was still time. They could do this. A feeling of great pain and weakness froze him momentarily in his tracks, before a yelp from Kohimu spurred him on ( The fire, Tai, you must-.) Te Tai still associated sudden disembodied sensations with his partner's distress and that, plus the sickening knowledge that the Spirit was in danger, temporarily overwhelmed the taniwha. This creature they were dealing with, who'd influenced and corrupted mortals and immortals alike ( Svar, why Svar?), was unlike anything he'd ever encountered. But why should that matter? If the healer got to the heart, hopefully the Spirit could free herself from this Mother Nature and restore the island. Te Tai didn't even have to survive- if he could only protect the healer, buy them some time, it would all be worth it. Kaitiaki, Kohimu managed. Yes, we're kaitiaki. We can do this.They were clear of the flames for now, but they had to keep moving if they wanted to stay that way. Somewhere in all the commotion Te Tai lost track of the altacat- Tash- but surely Beech would have alerted them if she'd been caught in the blaze? Regardless, Te Tai glanced at his ghostly companion: "Beech? Where's Tash? And how- who- where is the healer?" Te Tai flees alongside Shinko 's Beech and Rabbit ♠ 's Tash, but somewhere along the way they lose track of Tash (I figured that made sense given your post, Rabbit, but let me know if I need to change anything!) Kohimu is pretty upset and Tai is unusually understanding, but still really wishes he would be quiet and let them do what has to be done!
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Post by Liou on Aug 14, 2018 9:38:57 GMT -5
She had lost her quarry. Under the shadow cast by the giant jellyfish, it had been easy to hear the firebird's shrieks echoing after the Spirit's agony, and Renpi knew that she could have tracked him even after he took flight. Just a little later. She could rest a little more first. Much like the raptors and some other fierce and territorial predators, she had added her thunderous brays to the defiant cacophony aimed at the giant jellyfish. "We have nothing to prove to the likes of you," she shrieked between hyena-like cackles. "You are nothing but sustenance to be devoured, and an inconvenience to be crushed and tamed, over and over again. Know your place!" Other creatures did not share her defiance. Still lethargic and shivery after the abrupt changes in temperature, the gangly juvenile Sha was nonetheless compelled to guard the nearest tentacle-mark, poking and growling at it and even digging at the patch of ground to show that they were safe. Part of her hoped that the Spirit herself might emerge and break free, if she poked enough. It was only much later, near nightfall that she caught first Te Tai's, then Svar's trails again. Time was running out. Renpi did not know how much longer she could delay one or let the other go free. The trails were running too close to each other. Renpi hesitated too long. Even after her promises of a clean death, she could not bring herself to intervene. The Sha paced in another clearing, gradually starting back towards the meadow. When the scream of a different deity tore through the island, she knew that they had done it. As soon as the glow of the fire reached her eyes, the Sha broke into a run. She stopped when she was well away from the forest, panting, and sat down to look back at the spreading fire. "You fool," she told the flames, for lack of their creator. "After all the time I stuck with you, delaying the taniwha's wrath. Can someone as old as you not value the gift of time? I know you still had your cleverness about you, you utter fool - you did not even risk using your dark gift on me while I drifted to sleep." She remembered the much gentler heat of his plumage, growing fuzzier and fuzzier despite her certainty that she was only pretending to fall asleep in a calculated trap. She had been lucky to survive the night, in all that snow. "Yet you stuck with this pointless farce. You had so many chances. You could have given it up at any moment. You could have redeemed yourself. You were alone, none of the others would have struck you in revenge. We'd have stood by you, you obnoxious chicken." That was another drawback of her juvenile form. She had too much hope. "You were supposed to stick around, you silly bird. Now who will I pester and whose wretched voice will spite me into surviving for the rest of eternity?" The pup had slumped on the ground, shuddering. Abundant tears soaked the fur of her cheeks and dripped down her snout. "What a waste. Your creator's finest work, and you wasted it." Renpi shook herself with a loud flapping noise, her ears smacking against her head. "Still," she added hoarsely, "it might not have been all a waste, right, Svar. Your met your fate on your own terms, this time." She whirled away from the flames and ran again, down the river. The Spirit's pleading whisper sent ancient determination coursing through her tired young muscles. The Sha's flanks were soaked with perspiration when she scrambled over rocks to reach the unmistakable silhouettes of three dilophosaurs. "You are the new Healer," she said without hesitation. Gossip had been abundant on the way as animals fled the woods. "Still a fine guardian. I greet you and your clan." The scruffy puppy gave the dilophosaurs a solemn bow. "There are no sowers that I may fight in your name. There is only that primordial giant. All that I can pledge to you is that she would have to go through my body, my spirit and my shadow before touching a feather on you." Renpi glanced around at the cliffs. "I am afraid that all these crags are equally familiar to me. We cannot be too far from that entrance, though! I remember a neat line of amber, and other strata above and below." In a twist that was totally planned and definitely didn't surprise me, Renpi is grief-stricken at Svar's death. Nemesis! :'c She monologues a bit at Celestial 's flames, then runs all the way down to the Crags, because she can. She pledges dutiful protection to Tiger . Renpi has been added your party.
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Post by Shinko on Aug 14, 2018 9:45:00 GMT -5
Beech shook her head. “Tash ran off!” she yelled over the roar of the inferno. “Scared, I guess? I thinks she’ll be okay though, she’s low to the ground so she’ll be out of the smoke, and if she’s as catlike as she looks she’ll be fast!” The thylacine’s expression darkened. “But the healer… like I said with Svar, the healer was Tash’s brother Kopi. He’s dead. The corrupted lionheart killed him.” Beech tilted her head. “But there must be something we’re missing here. The Spirit wouldn’t send us on a mission that we can’t achieve.” She shook herself. “For now, all we can do is try to head to the heart and see if we can figure things out from there. Maybe we’ll get some answers along the way. ...Although I really don’t fancy another dip in the ocean to get into the Whispering Caves. Maybe we can figure out how to get in the way we got out; at the Crystal Crags. We need to stay low until we’re clear of the fire, so we don’t breathe any of the smoke higher up, but once we get clear, can you fly us? It’ll cover ground faster, and I’m pretty sure I don’t weigh anything!” Once Tai’s cooperation was secured, the two of them set off towards the rocky cliffs of the Crags. As they went, Beech couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with Quicksnap. Svar was the last sower, right? Would Quicksnap be healed now? What was she going to say to him once all this was resolved? If it was all resolved. And if he wasn’t killed in the fire. She resolutely pushed such thoughts away, even though they lurked ominously at the edges of her mind. Such brooding mooted nothing. They had more important things to focus on now. “Ssssrah! Ghost-thylacine! Ghost thylacine!” Beech’s ears shot up, and she looked around to see a jet black winged form streaking towards her and Tai. A microraptor? Yes, it was a microraptor. “Ghost thylacine! You are friends with Kassisiss’ pack, yes?” It trilled. Beech frowned a bit, nodding. What was going on with Taakeyrr and the others that this little dinosaur was bringing them up now of all times? “Did you know Taakeyrr is not just the Eagle Eye, but the healer?” it asked. “She was headed to the Crystal Crags to-” “Wait, what?” Beech bleated. “How long has that been a thing?” And why didn’t she help Quicksnap? The thylacine thought as she and Te Tai continued towards the Crags, confusion and turmoil rife in the marsupial’s mind. Every time she thought she knew these animals… Finally they caught sight of the dilophosaurs far below, as well as something small and red-furred. As Tai came in for a landing, Beech jumped off his back and dashed over to the dinosaur family, calling, “Taak! What’s all this about you being the healer? When did that happen?” * * * Mochi had left the gathering at the edge of the fire line to dash forwards into the blaze, as quickly as their wounded chest would allow. Which was to say, not very, but they couldn’t just sit around, not while all this was going on. The small weight of the Spirit’s gift thumped against their chest, and their hammer thumped the ground as they ran, but they barely noticed around the blazing heat and searing pain in their ribs. “Mochi! Why are you here?”Mochi blinked, looking around to see a very cross looking Kopi heading towards them, a small soot-streaked white cat behind him. Mochi could hear the lecture on the tip of the cunicanine’s tongue, and their ears flattened. “My family lives in these woods!” They retorted hotly. “I’m not just going to sit around like an invalid while they’re maybe burning to death!” * * * Quicksnap had been finally allowing himself to be coaxed back towards the den where he’d been confined the night before when it happened. The huge kaprosochus groaned, his knees buckling, and a semi-translucent black aura appeared around him for a split second before it blew away, dissipating like mist. The massive creature blinked a few times, dazedly- Then a giant fireball exploded into being further off in the forest. “Wha-!” Quicksnap lurched back to his feet, whirling. He scarcely had time to register the horror of the fact that he’d been corrupted again when suddenly the much more pressing issue of a fast-spreading wildfire thoroughly distracted his attention. “Wh-what happened, where did that come from, what’s going on?!” He whirled towards the raptors, bleating, “It’s coming this way!” Many much postage!! Thorn Tiger June Scarlet Liou Beech is shaken by what’s going on, and confirms that she thought the healer was dead, but figures the best they can do is head towards the Crystal Crags (because Beech doesn’t want to go for another salt water dip) and see if they can find a way to get in there, since that’s where they got out. Along the way they meet a microraptor that confirms Taakeyrr as the healer, and I fast-forwarded them to the Crags to get things moving more quickly. Beech calls out to Taak. Rabbit ♠ Mochi reminds everybody that literally all of the rest of the moon rabbits live in the Highwind Woods. Whoops! Tiger (again lol) Quicksnap is purified! ...But no time to celebrate ‘cause FYA.
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