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 Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2006 4:17 pm
((Sounds about right, since all my post would be is more contemplation and that would mainly be redundant, since she's already been there once. I say "yea" o.o))
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Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 9:37 pm
((Saji be good for FF-ness. 3nodding *pokes Saji as she sleeps* Saji:*whacks at the hand that poked and rolls over, groaning in agitation*))
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 10:21 pm
(( domokun domo demands morningness))
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 2:44 am
(( n-n ))
The sun rose up on a new day, the night not lsting very long - enough for the travelers to get some rest before they continued on.
Niji opened his eyes and stood. The sun that peeked through the trees ahead made his eyes do something they weren't used to doing - contracting. He shook his head and turned to the others to see if they had stirred.
His body looked dirty, with cuts and bruises here and there. His hair was messy. It looked like he had been in a fight just recently. He felt the chil of his blood against his skin as the breeze blew through the trees. He turned away from the group knowing questions would be asked. He went behind his tree and freshened up as best he could. When he came back, he only looked slightly beaten up.
"Are we ready to go?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 2:07 pm
The princesse's napsack lay nearby her protector, Jag. However, she was not inside. One of the horses were missing as well. Things were not looking there brightest this morning already.
Elsewhere...
Jashe's horse began to whine as if disapproving of her actions.
"Oh come now," she spoke to her trusty steed, "if I were running away we'd both be much farther from the campsite. I've said it once and I'll say it again we're only checking out some of the forest before we head back home. How many chances will we have to do this again? I'm leaving behind a trail of crystals so we know how to get back. Why are you so worried my equine friend?"
The horse seemed to grumble in its own unique language which made Jashe giggle. She carefully guided the horse through the thicket. This was no problem for an expert rider such as herself but that was something only she and her horse knew. Just like Jag she had secrets of her own. The forest was so very beautiful and serene. It was sad there were so many bad stories about it by superstitious outsiders.
Suddenly, Jashe's horse stopped without her command. "What now?" she looked around, hoping they were being spied on by any of the indigenous people. She looked up to see the sky had changed into a familiar light blue. "Ah I see. Well I suppose you're right. Everyone will be up soon. Let's get back okay?" she began to pull on her horse's reigns when a frightened man dashed passed them screaming. After him were a pack of wolves. They paid absolutely no mind to the bigger meal- Jashe and her horse. Jashe watched as they chased him. She pulled on the horse's reigns.
"The others can wait." she snapped the reigns and was in the direction of the hunt.
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:10 pm
Saji looked over at Niji when he spoke. She'd been laying on the ground, trying to decide whether she should rise, or wait for someone else to make the first move, still drifting in and out of sleep. She was ready to go, having no bedroll to sleep on and nothing really to gather. All she'd brought was her Corra, which was truly all she needed here. She did, however, require an immense stretch when she had gotten to her feet.
"Thought no one would ask," She grinned slightly at him. She didn't say anything more, but smiled slightly. She didn't want him to think she was angry with him, and a nights rest had cleared her head a bit and given her time to think before she'd fallen to sleep. Taking a closer look, she saw bruises on his features and small cuts. Her smile faded slightly, then reappeared. She knew it had to have been his guardian. She hated the creature more and more each day, but she refused to give it the satisfaction of taking the smile she'd intented for Niji.
She glanced around, noticing the princess's bedroll. She froze mid-stretch, then looked around, her eyes stopping on Niji again. She didn't want to over-react, but she knew there had been two horses. Now there was only one. You didn't need a horse unless you were traveling far from camp...
"I didn't hear a thing..." Saji muttered, her eyes narrowing slightly. As promising as this seemed, what with the princess gone, she still knew this wasn't part of what had to be done. If the princess got killed, or lost in the wood or something horrid happened to her, the repricussions might lead to war again.
"I could search for her..." Her Corra swirled around her again.
"And get lost again? No," Saji sighed. "Whatever is decided, you do not leave my side again until we exit this forest..." She looked around for Fiala, wondering if the elf knew anything of the woman's disappearance.
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:37 pm
Green hazel eyes peered through the foliage whilst she blended in perfectly. Her attention was fixated on the horse and it's rider, her ears twitching much like the horse's when a sound was nearby.
Fiala had been watching the young princess for a while now, her sensitive ears and light sleeping habits rousing her, and curiousity her motovation. Tailing them had been easy enough, simply blending in with the underbrush. But what had her puzzled was what in the world she was thinking.
Shaking her head, she felt like the Crystal princess wouldn't wander too far, and she made sure to keep the trees telling her Jashe's location, making certain she wasn't trying to flee. Swiftly she came back upon the camp, materializing from the woods like a whisp of smoke.
Once she had returned; however, she found the expressions of worry written on everyone's face. Then she realized just how suspcious she must look. Quickly, she tried to explain.
"Forgive me... I heard someone shuffling around earlier, and I went to investigate...." she began.
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Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:07 pm
Jashe's horse reared back quickly in order to escape an attack from two wolves. The princess had caught up to the hunt in no time and had already gotten on the wolves' bad side. Jashe pulled on the reigns hard, forcing her steed to step sideways. Three wolves were trying to take the horse down while another three were trying to get at the frightened man who hung on for dear life on a branch.
Jashe's horse stamped its hooves in order to scare the predators away. The wolves only back away a few feet but continued to crouch and snarl. Jashe tensed up and directed her steed to back up a bit. "They're going to attack all at once unless you do something!" she looked up and saw the man hanging.
"Jump!" she told him. She snapped the reigns and horse took off, wolves or no wolves. Her steed leaped over the three then charged towards the remaining three. The remaining ran off. One almost had it's tail trampled. The man let go of the branch and landed in the saddle behind Jashe with a noticible "Oomph." Jashe then rode off. Surprisingly, there wasn't a chase afterwards. Jashe waited until the wolves were out of sight to stop. She pulled the reigns and the horse stopped in a rear, knocking the man off of its backside by mistake.
"Oh goodness I'm so sorry!" Jashe apologized.
"Oh no, no it's okay I'm fine. That was a very brave thing you did for only a stranger."
"Oh well..." she shrugged with a smile. "I couldn't just let you become ripped to shreds by those monsters. Wolves are such horrible creatures."
"Hmm?" he asked "you think so?"
"Well of course! All I ever hear i na story about a wolf is it attacking someone."
"Ah yes stories..." the man stood up and dusted himself off. He looked middle aged. His hair was cropped to his shoulder and had a silverish hue. He sported a goatee the same color and eyes as verdant as the forest itself. "Stories only make things worse or better than they appear don't you think?"
"Uh... I don't think I understand sir. You can't possibly agree that wolves are good."
"Heh, well I wouldn't say they're bad actually. As a matter of fact the only reason they attacked me was because I didn't see one of their pups hidden in the tall grassland and injured it when I stepped on the poor thing's tail. They thought I was the predator." he chuckled, "However, wolves always get a bad reputation simply because of the stories that are told about them."
Jashe raised her eyebrows. So the wolves were only protecting their young and he was just an unlucky fool. What was a man doing out here anyway?
"Um, excuse me but what are you doing in the elven forest anyway?"
"Oh well I'm off to visit my homeland. Rumors spread about my home's princess marrying an ash." he answered.
"Oh?" Jashe tried to sound surprised. This man clearly hadn't been to his home for many years if he did not recognize her.
"But why would a fair maiden be here?" he asked her, "Surely, you cannot be traveling by yourself."
Jashe paused for a moment but quickly recovered, "Why yes I am traveling. Just passing through with my party. Surely, they are waiting for me. Uh, would you like to come with? Just to ensure your safety good sir."
He smiled at her but declined the offer. He assured her he would make it back to the Crystal Kingdom on his own now. He began to walk away with one more thank you when he reminded her, "Remember fair maiden you shouldn't always be too quick to judge others. A bad reputation can follow one a long way but if you are wise enough to see past the stories and legends you might just find yourself a new friend than monster, aye?"
Jashe snapped her reigns and her horse trotted in the opposite direction. "What a strange man." she smiled. Her smile began to fade slowly when she began to notice something so crucial- she was lost.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 8:28 am
"Did you find the princess?" Saji watched her. Surely the elf had to have seen something. This was, in fact, her forest. "Do you know where she's gone?" Her questions weren't frantic, more casual and slightly annoyed.
She had a picture in her mind of the princess, absent mindedly tromping through the woods, looking at leaves and listening to the birds with all the wonder and intelligence of a three year old child. She knew that a princess of the Crystal Kingdom couldn't possibly be that way, but the thought nevertheless angered her and lessened her liking for the girl. She tried to push it aside, but part of her begged for a legitimate reason to hate the girl, and even if this one wasn't true (yet...) that particular part of the back of her mind was not willing to give it up.
And if it was foolishness that had taken her from the camp, maybe it would be better if the girl died anyway.
"Saji!" Her Corra had darkenned slightly, though this time, the lightning turned to zap her instead of hitting the ground. "Stop it!"
"Ouch! Oh shut up!" Saji returned, looking away. She knew the Corra was right, but she still couldn't release what to her seemed like a good hope.
((Saji's getting mean... I still love you though, Kal!!! heart ))
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:54 pm
((I don't believe you crying nah just kiddin' *hugs ya*))
"Okay, okay, okay..." Jashe had to get off her horse to retrace her steps. "The man fell of here, meaning I was facing this way initially. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay..." she pinched the skin inbetween her eyes while trying to remember how far she traveled from the wolves.
Jashe got back onto her horse and began to ride to how far she estimated. She tried to recall her meeting with the wolves carefully. The wolves had spooked her horse so many times she could remember where they stood to begin with.
"Wait, wait, wait... we were here I think and then you turned there..." she began to speak to her horse who gave her grunts of worry every now and then. "...that means that we chased the wolves and the man from... this direction!" she beamed, "don't worry we're on the right track and will be home soon."
Jashe began to ride with more confidence. However, only after a few minutes her confidence began to wane. She should have seen water by now. She remembered crossed a stream before catching up with the wolves. Her horse grunted once more then stopped altogether.
"Maybe we're aren't on the right track?" she said slowly looking around. She dismounted and bit her lip as she grew tense.
"Oh I got it! I'll just climb a tree and will be able to see the camp and then we can get ourselves back before anyone even wakes up."
Her horse gave her a funny look.
"What?" she rolled her eyes then found a nice tree that looked taller than the others...
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Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 4:52 pm
Turning her gaze from Niji's scuffed up form, she focused on Saji.
"I saw her not too far from here, atop her horse and wandering around. What is it that she's up to, would you know?" she asked, puzzled. Jashe had seemed so sincere about her duties, had she really decided not to go through with the arranged marriage?
The question weighed heavily in her mind, but not so much as Niji's mysterious wounds. Where could he have gone? Surely she would have heard him, even as well trained as he was, her ears were still really sensitive.
However, she had a bad feeling about leaving Jashe alone in the wood. The poor girl had no honest experience in the survival department, and here she'd need it more than ever. "We'd best go find her, I don't like it that she's out alone."
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Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:42 pm
Niji turned towards the elf as she suggested that they look for the princess. His sword made a low howling sound that began to deafen all of the other sounds around him, but he simply tapped it and it faded into silence.
"I'll go. She is to be betrothed to me any how. I might as well start to take responsability for her safety."
He held his sword and kneeled down towards the ground. He leaped off into the brush being swallowed by the shifting woods. His footsteps were silent, Not even the wind could touch him as he dashed through the shifting forest. He put his hand to his shoulder - his index and middle finger touching his shoulder and he aimed it towards the sky. A small red light sot up and through the tree tops exploding in a magnificent plume of fire above the trees. Thsi could be seen even from the Ash Kingdom.
"Jashe! Answer me! Where are you?!" He shouted into the trees. looking and listening for his betrothed.
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 6:15 pm
Jashe began to climb the tree with not as much difficulty as she thought in her dress. She was more than halfway up when she spotted something resting inbetween two branches- white flowers with purple stripes.
"Opurum Tilies!" she gasped. She remembered reading about them. They were the famed tiger lilies discovered by the scientist, Jennifer Oporum. They were known to heal so many ailments, but were endangered by Jashe's knowledge. Was it possible they actually thrived here? From the bunch Jashe grabbed four, thinking of how they could come in handy.
Jashe climbed as far as she could go. She was past the canopy and could see much of the forest just fine. She looked around, hoping to spot any signs of the camp. Just then an explosion of fire went off in the distance.
"Jashe! Answer me! Where are you?!" she heard a voice quickly afterward. It was Niji! Oh no it was Niji. If he was awake that meant the others were awake and mad. She couldn't blame them, but they would have to understand the reason she was so far inside the woods.
The bark beneath her fingers began to shift slightly and the tree began to moan softly. "Niji!" Jashed called out, "I'm over- agh!" the tree began to swing its body, hoping to rid itself of the girl who did not ask for permission to climb its bark or take its flowers. Jashe slipped and plummeted to the ground. She grabbed onto a low branch but unfortunately it snapped. Jashe fell with an "Oomph" but was still okay. She looked up and screamed. The tree forced its body downward to smash her like a bug. Jashe's horse sprung forward. With its teeth it grabbed her by the dress and flipped her onto the saddle then dashed off just before becoming destroyed. Jashe held on tight to the reigns. She could hear more moaning and creaking as more trees tried to smash the intruders.
Jashe directed her horse with the smashing trees all around. One tree laid its thick branches in front Jashe's path. Her steed leaped over and didn't dare stop. The princess could hear rushing water up ahead. They were approaching a river. She could feel the brush scratch and rip her dress. Jashe pulled at the reigns and her horse came to a stop at the river's edge. It was too wild for her to cross. Jashe then spotted a bridge close by. Without any hesitation she rode her horse to the bridge with the trees still trying to swat her away as she rode by. They made it to the bridge and her horse slowed down. Jashe dismounted and looked back. The bending trees slowly came to a stop then straightened back their original positions.
Jashe looked down at her dress. It was clearly ruined, but she was happy to be alive. She would have never guessed trees here so very... well aggressive. She walked her horse across the bridge but was hesitant to step off onto land. What if the trees here were just as aggressive? She slowly placed one foot onto dry land then waited. Nothing. She then put another foot out and walked forward under the trees. Still nothing. She let out a deep sigh and rubbed her head. She was beginning to get such a headache and her heart was still racing a mile a minute.
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Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 7:55 pm
((Yay!! *hugs you back* blaugh = heart ))
Saji looked to Niji when he spoke. She didn't say a word, simply remained silently watching as he dashed into the trees. She looked to the ones he had shot between. He could imagine him finding her and scenarios began to play out in her mind.
Her corra darkenned considerably, shooting lightning and hitting the ground next to her foot.
"Stop it!!!" Her Corra floated around her, a drizzling rain cascading down to cloak her.
Saji, wordlessly, strode forward, muttering something about needing to have something ready for everyone to eat before they headed off.
"Are there herbs or plants of some sort that your forest allows to be eaten?" Truthfully, she didn't need the food. Sunlight provided nutrient enough for her people, and if they ate too much food from the ground, they would become to heavy to reach the clouds. She and some of her people had learned that lesson on one of the first trips they'd taken to the Ash Kingdom. Her father had forced her to take an escort and they'd been offered food, which out of both politeness and curiosity they'd accepted. Much to their dismay. Too much of it had proved quite bothersome to the flyers.
Saji had stuck to smaller, lighter foods after the endeavor, and not much of anything served on the ground. Sunlight was plenty, she just wasn't sure how much of it she was going to get before they escaped the woods...
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Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 11:54 am
Slightly amused by the small, but devious, little cloud that accompanied Saji, she watched while it darkened and threw lightning, and then started raining. It was a curious familiar she had, though Fiala felt it pestered Saji more than it really helped her.
Turning her attention back to just Saji, she nodded, "There's plenty if you know where to look. Here, I'll show you," she offered, gesturing for Saji to follow her past their little clearing toward some larger than normal trees.
Once she'd found her a good spot with a fair variety, she got on her knees and waited for Saji to do the same. Fiala started with a small, purplish star-shaped plant.
"This is a kanosh root. It has a spicey taste to it, but it often grows in only small amounts, so we have to gather a lot to get any considerable size stocked up."
Finding another plant, she pointed out the off-white waxy-looking tuber. "That's a trell, while it's a little bland, when you cook it just right, it unlocks all this hidden flavor in it's little leaves there..." and on she went, feeling calm, and at ease showing her little tidbits of her world.
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