Silas
Villager
A Wandering Warrior
Posts: 138
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Post by Silas on Feb 26, 2008 22:01:00 GMT
*The road, stretching onward to the north, looked to be a solemn and demanding one, from the cold white snow to the bare trees surrounding it. A breeze whisked more snow through the air, as if it were flour, whipping it around the treetrunks. It also whipped around a sole figure, stepping through the deep snow on the path, a creature cloaked and hooded against the elements.*
*He reaches not one of the many trees near the path, but a sign, the only emblem of hospitality in a world of winter. Stopping near one of the oaken pillars of the Arch of Terralux, the figure looked up at the half-cloudy sky, sighing as he did so. Standing next to the pillar, he let his thoughts take hold, leaving his physical barrier briefly to think in the desolate, eerie peace that was winter.*
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tamar
Canopy Cadet
Posts: 31
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Post by tamar on Feb 26, 2008 23:04:26 GMT
OOC: guess this actually takes place before your bit, Si. because I think he should find her.
BIC: *She needed more firewood. That was a fact and for that she had to go out into the cold. She pulled the wool shall tighter around herself and braced herself as she opened the door. Before all this weather had started she had been smart enough to tie a rope to an iron ring that was hammered in securely next to the door. the other end of the rope was tied to a post by the out building where her firewood had been stacked. She wondered again why she hadn't had the hedgehogs who had cut the wood for her stack it closer to the house but that couldn't be helped now.* Here goes.
*she opened the door and was met with a great blast of wind and snow. It took some effort to close the door behind her and she wondered if the blast had caused the embers to go out so she would have to start over from scratch with the wet wood she was now fetching. Finally she managed to get the door shut and latched and she grabbed onto the rope to began her trek across the yard. She hadn't counted on the rope being this icy and slippery. Nor had she counted on the wind being quite this strong.*
*She was a good way away from the house when an extra strong gust took her breath away and caused her to loose her grip. It very nearly picked her up. She gave a little shriek and when she regained her footing she couldn't see the house or the rope or the woodpile in the driving snow. She tried not to panic and looked around for anything that might be familiar. She knew it was dangerous to wander in the cold like this but she was sure she saw a dark shape. She moved towards it. It was the pillar of the Arch of Terralux. She had been blown farther than she thought but she was too tired to think of that now. She slumped down onto the cold ground. Somebeast was bound to come along.*
*It seemed like hours that she waited, near freezing and eventually even though she knew it might mean she would never wake up she gave in to her exhaustion and drifted off to sleep*
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Silas
Villager
A Wandering Warrior
Posts: 138
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Post by Silas on Feb 26, 2008 23:54:45 GMT
OOC: Well, whatever works for ye...
*The figure decides to move up through the trees after his daze, his cloak hindering him only slightly in the action. He sits upon one of the larger branches, surveying more natural surroundings. His paws wrapped in cloth against the cold, are folded across his chest as he leans against the trunk, deep in thought once more. It was a good feeling to return to the treetops for him. In Terralux, he pretty much walked along the ground most of the time. As he casts a glance around with his blue eyes, he spots an irregularity in the snow a distance away. He jumps from branch to branch, going forward and down to investigate.*
*The blob in the snow quickly transformes itself not into a plant or a rock, but of a beast, a squirrel as indicated by the half-snow-covered tail. Seeing this, he rushes the last few meters, kneeling down to check for signs of life, though he wasn' very optomistic at this time. As he looks closely at the squirrel, he saw that it was a female. He reaches out a cloth-wrapped paw to wipe the snow off of her as well as shake her gently. In doing so, he called out,*
Miss?
*There was no response, so he shakes a little harder and calls out more sharply,*
Miss, are you alright?
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tamar
Canopy Cadet
Posts: 31
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Post by tamar on Feb 27, 2008 17:33:50 GMT
*Sleep had been so warm and inviting and deep. She heard the voice calling her on the very edge of her consciousness but rising to it was going back to all the pain and the cold. She didn't want to go. She wanted to stay and lie a bit longer in the comfort and warmth but some small part of her was screaming that if she didn't do it now she would never wake up again. And there was something about that voice. It wasn't familiar exactly. In fact she didn't think she had ever heard that voice before in her life, but it was so kind, so . . .*
*She began to slowly and painfully open her eyes. Everything hurt, from her ears down to the tip of her tail but she grasped on with all the strength of her being to that voice and started to drag herself back into the land of the living. A sound escaped her that was something between a grunt and a squeak.*
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Silas
Villager
A Wandering Warrior
Posts: 138
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Post by Silas on Feb 27, 2008 21:26:36 GMT
*A small bout of relief flowed through the figure as the odd sound was heard coming from the squirrelmaid, signalling that she was still among the living.* Okay, miss, everything's gonna be alright... *He tried to reassure her, taking off his heavy cloak to reveal himself as another squirrel, one with deep blue eyes, and a sword at his side. His cloak was the only cold-weather garment he had on him at that moment, though he willingly and urgently wraps it around the squirrelmaid's body (Save for her head), and tries to pick her up out of the snow to move her inside.*
*He knew through training that she was still very much in danger of losing her life, and his urgency accompanies his actions. He heads towards the Leafback House-fort, being the sole occupant of it and knowing that he had a small fire going in the fireplace.*
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tamar
Canopy Cadet
Posts: 31
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Post by tamar on Feb 27, 2008 21:41:35 GMT
*she was still far too cold to answer him with words and she had begun to shiver violently. However now that her eyes were open and she had seen him, she didn't want to loose sight of him. She stared and stared as he picked her up and carried her she knew not where. Her eyes actually watered with the effort of keeping them open. She vaguely connected him to the voice she had heard before only now she was sure that she had never heard or seen him before this day.*
*She had decided she wanted to live even though it was going to be a terribly painful process to heal. She wanted to learn who this male squirrel with the deep blue eyes was and that was as good a reason as any in her mind to endure. She wanted to thank him but all she could get out was* Th-th-th
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Silas
Villager
A Wandering Warrior
Posts: 138
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Post by Silas on Feb 27, 2008 22:09:18 GMT
OOC: Hope ye don't mind a smidge of power-playing, Tamar (I'm not sure, though). If not, I'm sorry.
Miss, um, it'd be best if you save your energy. *He says in reassurance as well as instruction, a gust of wind and snow blurring his own vision. Yet he could see the entrance to the house-fort, a ladder leading up to the wooden fortress.* Hold on! *He called out, trying to put the squirrelmaid on his shoulder so he could climb the ladder. It was very inconvinient at a time like this, but it couldn't be helped. He opens the trapdoor with his head as he climbs up with one paw on the ladder, the other holding the squirrelmaid in place.*
*He shoves the trapdoor fully open with a thump, and steps into a three-room barracks house, all the hammocks inside empty. The embers of a previous fire glowed red in the evening winter light, and cast their glow upon the whole room, making it seem a bit spooky. The squirrel moves onward through the room and gently places the squirrelmaid in a hammock next to the fire, a bow and arrows as well as a backpack leaning on a post next to it. He then takes the time to actually examine the squirrelmaid's face to see if she was someone he knew or not.*
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tamar
Canopy Cadet
Posts: 31
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Post by tamar on Feb 27, 2008 23:39:30 GMT
OOC: s'okay she can't do much at the mo anyway
BIC: *She is still shaking even in the warmth of this place where the kind squirrel has brought her. The warmth seems even more painful than the cold did outside. This is probably because it means the blood is returning to her extremities. She tries to look around at her surroundings but her eyes are continuously drawn to the squirrel who saved her. He was looking at her so intently with those blue eyes. Finally she managed a smile and a complete word even if it was a short one* Hi.
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Silas
Villager
A Wandering Warrior
Posts: 138
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Post by Silas on Feb 28, 2008 0:29:14 GMT
Hey. *He replied, a small smile of his own on his face in some sign of relief.* Now, uh, just rest up, miss. The pins-and-needles should be affectin' ye soon. *After he examines her face for a bit, he knew he did not know the squirrelmaid, but he felt such questions could wait, at least a little while longer.* ...Not exactly an enjoyable experience. *He finishes his sentence.*
Um, I'll go get a fire going, get some tea ready and all that... *He gestures to the fireplace, moving back towards it a few paces to re-light it. Inside, it seemed colder to him than it was to the squirrelmaid, and he took a few seconds to warm his paws and back as the embers gave off heat. Then, he moves to sit in a chair next to the fire as well as the hammock, grabbing some pieces of wood out of the pile next to the fireplace, inserting them into the embers gingerly. Soon, he got a good blaze going, and grabbed a nearby teapot to set it on a hook set into the mantle. The teapot was already filled, as he was going to drink some before he went on his walk, but decided against it. So he waited, keeping one eye on the teapot and from the corner of other one he watched the squirrelmaid.*
*He thought that whoever this squirrelmaid was, she was very pretty, remotely like Oakrose, yet clearly different as well. Due to this, he had a natural curiosity for her, as he did with Oakrose and Terragon and Cuoha, but those sorts of investigations never lasted longer than a day or so. He silently wondered what her name would be, and if it would accompany the list of beasts he only knew as friends or near-friends or whatever they were...*
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tamar
Canopy Cadet
Posts: 31
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Post by tamar on Feb 28, 2008 18:14:43 GMT
*She followed him with her eyes as he went back and forth building up the fire and making tea. Gradually she stopped shivering. But then as he said they would the 'pins and needles' began. She squirmed against the pain and whimpered quietly. Due to the pain and probably a bit to dehydration she slipped in delirium. In this state she found her voice and began to call out for her grandfather.* You'll be alright, grandfather. You're Tamar's here. I'm coming. . .
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Silas
Villager
A Wandering Warrior
Posts: 138
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Post by Silas on Feb 28, 2008 21:39:13 GMT
*He first flicked an ear in her direction as she started speaking, then turns to face the squirrlmaid fully. So she's named Tamar? Tamar... *He thinks for a second before putting a paw on her shoulder again.* Miss, uh, Tamar, are you alright? *He asked, concerned. She still felt cold...*
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tamar
Canopy Cadet
Posts: 31
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Post by tamar on Feb 28, 2008 22:00:12 GMT
*She wasn't sure if it was real or a dream but she could see her grandfather. He was just the other side of Dark Forest Gate.* Grandfather I'm here. I've come to you at last. I've missed you so. *But he didn't look very happy to see her.* Didn't you miss me Grandfather? Aren't you glad I've come?
*one of his paws held onto the gate the other pointed back the way she had come* GO! *his voice echoed in an unearthly way*
But Grandfather I don't want to go back. I want to stay with you. There's pain there and sorrow and . . .
*He finished for her* . . . and there is joy. More than you've ever known, my dear Tamar. Somebeast is waiting for you there.
But Grandfather it's so hard I don't know if I can do it. *She reached out wanting to touch him but he was always just out of her reach*
You must take the pain with the pleasure and the sorrow with the joy. And he will help you. *His voice began to fade away*
But who is he Grandfather? How will I know him? *she was being pulled away, back toward the pain but she longed for just one more word she longed to hear him say her name once more*
You'll know when he calls to you.
*Then she heard the voice. It was the same voice that had called her out of the dark when she was in the snow and he was calling her name. She opened her eyes reluctantly and looked into the face of the squirrel. The pain was intense but the pleasure of seeing the relief in his eyes lessened it somewhat.*
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Silas
Villager
A Wandering Warrior
Posts: 138
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Post by Silas on Feb 28, 2008 23:17:05 GMT
Tamar? Are you okay? *He calls out again as the squirrelmaid seems to be coming back to reality. As she looked at him, he sighed.* Thought you were gone there for a second... *He says, staying beside the squirrelmaid in the dark yet slightly-warmer room, the fire crackling behind them.*
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tamar
Canopy Cadet
Posts: 31
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Post by tamar on Feb 29, 2008 4:29:32 GMT
I thought so too *her voice wasn't much more than a croak due to her thirst and the effort to speak made her cough* water, please *she was amazed at her own attempt at politeness even in the face of all that was happening. But there was something about this male squirrel, something about his blue eyes. And her grandfather had told her that he would help her. He had called her by her name. How did he know? She had dozens of questions she wanted to ask but she had no strength or voice to ask them. Oh well there would be time for that*
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Silas
Villager
A Wandering Warrior
Posts: 138
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Post by Silas on Mar 2, 2008 0:01:37 GMT
*He also had his questions to ask of the squirrelmaid, though when she asked him for water, he leaps into action like a long patrol hare, leaving his seat to say,* Uh, right away, miss. *He was set into action by Tamar's physical state just as well as her voice, now dry with thirst. He walks through a nearby doorway into the kitchen, where he filled up an intricately-carved cup with water from a barrel in the corner of the room. He then returns to the squirrelmaid, sitting back in his chair to offer her the cup. He hesitated for a second, seeing as her arms were wrapped up in the cloak he put around her.* Um, here you go... *He makes as if to aid the cold, pained squirrelmaid in the action f drinking the water.*
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