Fantasy ~ FableWood ~

[DawnAntalios]

Striking down as much as she could after Leandra took over the healing of Leia Nyr smiled triumphantly - albeit very exhausted - as they finally defeated the vile creatures. She looked around and saw as every serpentine creature retreated from the battlefield and she rejoined the others.


" Well fought. " she smiled, wiping the sweat off her forehead, seeing that everyone was ready. " Let us proceed. There is no telling when we will face an another enemy like this. "


With that she took wing and flew above the small group. She was not on edge and was looking for potential threats.

 

[Lioness075]

Luness frowned when Otto finally returned to his normal self, finding his feral transformations to be highly concerning since they seemed to be happening nearly every time they got in a fight now. If they didn't figure that out soon enough, they could end up fighting allies instead of enemies at some point.


Furrowing her brows at Otto, Luness took a tentative step forward, rising up from all fours to her hind legs and shifting back into her human form throughout her movements. Once in her human form again, it was revealed that Luness now had bleeding blisters covering the palms of her hands and there were more on the bottom of her feet, though she was wearing her boots once more so it was hard to tell while she stood still.


Hearing Leo's suggestion for them to get moving, Luness nodded and then said to Otto, "Don't worry, little brother. We'll figure this out, okay?"


Hearing Sinbad's mention of an oasis not too far from here, Luness felt relieved, as it'd give the group a chance to recover from the recent skirmish. And they'd surely need their healers at 100% for whatever the next day would bring them.


Glancing over at Kallin when he spoke to her, Luness rolled her eyes and grinned before shifting her attention to her hands while she carefully attempted to wrap them to cover the blisters, though she just continued to fail miserably at it and mutter curses under her breath each time the cloth rubbed against an open sore and caused her more pain.


Responding to Kallin's teasing, Leandra then said, "Honestly, I'm pretty sure that getting injured is just normal for me..."


Trailing off, Luness then paused in her failed attempt to wrap her hands before asking Kallin, "Um, can you help me here?"


Unaware of the injuries to her feet at the moment, Luness would no doubt faceplant the moment she tried to take a step in any direction.


Luckily, Leo was willing to take Otto for now and so Luness wouldn't have to worry about him. She knew and trusted Leo to keep her little brother safe.


@SilverFlight @zCrookedz

~~~~~

​

Leandra nodded at Leia's question and then slowly stood up, only stumbling slightly along the way.


Once on her feet again, Leandra paused when a wave of dizziness rushed over her and then she tentatively smiled at Leia and said, "No worries here, I just need to take a break for a bit is all."


Hearing Takeo's question directed at her, Leandra waved her hand in a dismissive manner and then said, "It's not pain, just fatigue. Healing exhausts me since I'm not quite used to controlling magic yet. This is still rather new to me."


When she was offered a drink, Leandra shook her head and then said, "Don't worry about me. I've got water as well and you'll need every drop of yours while we're in the desert."


Walking away from Leia and Takeo, Leandra soon mounted her horse once more and then took out one of her flasks to take a sip. The minute the cool water struck the back of her throat, Leandra's eyes closed in relief, as she savored the satisfaction of drinking the water.


Stashing away her flask, Leandra then patiently waited on her mount for the others to join her.


While waiting, Leandra overheard Sinbad's compliment directed at her and she blinked in surprise and even blushed slightly in embarrassment before saying to him, "It's nothing, really. It just so happened to be the magic I learned to control while here."


@SilverFlight @Peaceswore

 

[Peaceswore]

Takeo placed his flask back on his hip after he took a small sip from it. "Well... That was interesting." He joked as he looked at himself. "This feeling being covered in blood, isn't the most pleasant feeling. I guess I'm going to have to get used to it, seeing as we are going to be dealing with things like that on a daily basis." He joked as he scratched his head. Looking at Leia he gave her a small smile. "I'm glad you are better, good thing she was here to help. I only know first aid aka I would have been utterly useless in the healing process." Sighing he shook his head before turning his head and walking to his horse. "Annnd I started to ramble..." He muttered mainly to himself before he climbed atop his horse in one go. Getting comfortable in the saddle Takeo patiently waited for the rest, so they could go.


@SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

Kallin gave Otto a sympathetic look, nodding to Leo as he took charge of the shaken boy. It was probably for the best, Leo knew Otto better than anyone. The mage turned his full attention to Luness as she asked for help.


"Of course I can help. I think I saw some burn paste get packed with the supplies." It would be much better than ice at this point, the burns had already set badly. He fetched it from the pack horse (who had also returned by this point), a small clay pot with a strong-smelling, oily salve. Kallin had no solid hands, so he put a generous amount of the paste on one glove and gently began massaging it over Luness, damaged palms.


"I can't feel anything during the day, let me know if I'm being too rough," He said softly.


Once the salve was done with he then wrapped her injuries deftly with the cloth, making so she could still hold the reigns of her horse. "There, that'll be okay until we stop to rest."


@Aldur Forgehammer


Leia looked over at Takeo as he approached.


"Hey, I saw what you did...that was pretty heroic." She offered him an approving smile. "Don't worry, the blood of most monsters here seems to wash out ok."


Leia went to find her horse and with Bob's help she got shakily back into the saddle. Her body was functionally fine, but she was still shaking badly and despite the heat she felt chilled. She didn't complain however and shifted her mount back to Takeo and Leandra.


"First aid's still useful here, I know it too."


As Sinbad took the lead the horses soon began to follow.


@Peaceswore


They marched on over the dunes, wind whipping up torrents of sand and throwing them against their legs and faces. Leia was glad of the head covering now as it let her breath without getting a nose full of grit. Bob had been much more vigilant since the attack, like Nyr he did not fancy another surprise. His legs had grown longer, augmented with sand to give him the appearance of a dear more than a sheep. He bounded ahead of them, scanning the horizon at every hill crest.


The sun rose and fell, arching lazily across the sky and finally touching down to turn the sands a brilliant fire-red.


"Worst of the heat is over now, but don't be fooled. Out here in the open sands, it gets very cold at night." Sinbad's warning puzzled Leia but she believed him. She had noted the thick wool blankets that had been packed on the spare horses.


The sun had almost vanished by the time the palm trees came into view. A small collection of scruffy black shapes silhouetted against the crimson sky. Lee began to squeak with joy when she saw them. Trees meant water!


As they approached however Leia could not see any. Finally they stood on the edge of a great dip in the sand, looking down at dry, cracked mud. There had been water here, and recently...but no longer.


Sinbad cursed under his breath. "We'll camp here for tonight." He said grimly.


"I need one more volunteer to take first watch with me, and two for the next shift."


Leia sighed, taking some of her own water and tipping it into Lee's glass flask before drinking some of it herself. The water spirit had shrunk a little more, but her size returned a little as she soaked up the new water. Leia stoppered the flask again. "You just wake me up if you need more okay girl?"


@everyone

 

[Jecklyn]

A lone camel picked its way quite oddly across the dessert sand, occasionally leaping in the air or turning in a circle, only to continue on its way as if nothing happened. It climbed over a dune, gazing down at the trees below, various shapes among their trunks. Squinting closer, she saw some of the figures were familiar, and once she spot one of the bigger ones, covered with fur and a mantel, the creature let out a bloodcurdling shriek and threw itself down the hill. It rolled, kicking up sand in its crazed decent down the dune. When it reached the bottom, it was a camel no more, but a small lizard girl, her scales covered in sand. She flung herself at Leo, attaching herself to him, blathering all the while.


"Im so glad that your still not taken by the mulderberries because those berries are good but terribly bitter. But the trees are growing, too, and their truths aren't lies anymore, their lies still lies. Have you seen the stars out here? They're really-" She cut herself off, dropping off the lion man only to roll in the sand, madly giggling all the while.

 

[Peaceswore]

Takeo took a small sip from his canister not wishing to drink to much of it, however seeing the dried up Oasis made him thirsty. "I'm exhausted... I'll take the second guard shift." Takeo said as he let out a small yawn and leaned forward on his horse as he shivered in the cold. He knew the desert could get really freaken cold due to there being no clouds to keep in the heat. Petting his horse he jumped a mile and his horse let out a small snort in fear when a bloodcurdling shriek was heard. "What the!?" He asked his hand once again on the handle of the blade as he looked at what he assumed was a crazy lizard girl. "Um...... Who in Hades is that??"


@SilverFlight @Anyone

 

[zCrookedz]

As the last leg of their journey for the day marched towards the Oasis, Leo looked down at Otto in the saddle. The little werewolf had climbed up into the saddle and almost instantly was out from exhaustion. Leo let him rest for a time until the Oasis came into view. As he jostled back and forth on Bruin, Leo placed a hand on Ottos exposed back and close his eye. the soft green glow of Leo using his abilities emanated from his eye as he tapped into Ottos mind and began to search for answers to Otto's recent changes.


It wasn't until they reached the oasis that that Leo returned to his own mind letting Otto get some more rest. What he had found was troubling and he would need to talk to Luness about the state her brother was in. As the rest of the group was observing the dried up water bed, Leo dismounted Bruin and reached up to get Otto down. He found a tree and lay the little pup down and then covered him with one of the fluffy blankets he fetched from the pack horses. He sighed as he kept his eye trained on Otto "You just can't catch a break can you little one?'


Before Leo had time to react to the shriek and the creature looking thing rolling down the hill, it launched itself up and latched onto Leo. Startled the say the least, Leo looked down and instantly recognized the sight of the lizard girl. "Banba!? By the ever green bow it is you!!! What ever happened to you? After Oz I assumed you returned to the forest!" He laughed as he watched her roll around in the sand.


@Jecklyn

 

[Flutterby]

The white mare drew to a halt at the edge of the oasis. After a moment of hesitation, she stepped toward the dry, cracked earth that used to be blessed with water. A soft snort stirred the gathering dust as her muzzle brushed across the dirt. Quincy turned away, ears flattened in distress. When Sinbad spoke, she nudged his shoulder with her nose. With some difficulty, she reached out to his mind. I will watch with you. It was much more difficult to speak mentally with him than with the others, but she was learning. Almost as soon as she spoke on his mind, her ears shot up and she whinnied in greeting, as their old friend Banba appeared.


@SilverFlight @Jecklyn

 

[SilverFlight]

Sinbad gave Quincy a sympathetic look and then stopped. He knelt and examined the edge of the cracked dirt where the kelpie's hoof had broken the crust.


"...its moist." The sailor plunged a hand into the earth and dug. For several moments he cleared away the sand, then he took his dagger and slid it into the ground, pulling it out again and touching the blade.


"The water is still here!" He cried.


Leia looked up, hearing the news and smiled. "Bob." She grinned at the earth spirit who glanced hopefully at Lee before jumping down off the horse and taking his normal sheep size. With a snort he reared, pounding the dirt and the entire mus-cracked area shuddered and sank several inches. Water flooded into the pool, murky and sand-ridden at first but that quickly settled. The dried earth had hidden an underground aquifer and with a little disturbance the water flowed freely to the surface once more.


Sinbad looked back and smiled. "Not bad girl." He said with an approving smile.


@Aldur Forgehammer @Jecklyn


As she spoke Sinbad started to set up camp, and before long (and with Leia helping too) bed rolls were laid out and a fire was made, hot food already cooking in a pot over the open flames.


The stars glittered in full view overhead. There was no moon tonight, so they had full reign of the sky. The milky way stretched over their heads like a celestial banner.


"Its funny that the stars are the same here." Leia remarked as she looked up at them.


@everyone

 

[Jecklyn]

Banba gleefully listened to everything she was told, not saying anything until she was praised for changing into anything. To demonstrate, she rapid fire shifted from one shape to another, including a Satyr, a Centaur, and a weird reverse mermaid. Finally, she stopped on an exact replica of Takeo, except her eyes were still their yellow colour and the grin was unnaturally wide. She gripped the boy's hands, giggling madly as she forcefully flung her seeming twin into a wild and unpredictable dance, not unlike a more energetic waltz. Eventually she let go, letting Takeo go wherever he landed, leaping onto a bedroll. She rolled over, staring up at the stars. She grew quiet, face set in quiet awe as she stared upwards. If one looked closely, they could see the stars moving among her pupils. Whether that was the reflection, or a part of the lizard's powers, was up for interpretation.

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Meril was overcome with emotion from her Empress and friend's words. She smiled at her warmly and thanked her giving a long speech about returning victorious for all the people of the Sand seas. She kneeled to the queen and then oozed at her for a moment taking in her beauty, and warmth. Little did she know they the others had left without her by then and she would have to catch up with them. Hopping on the horse quickly she kicked the beast with her heel and galloped off to the others. Turing back she waved to the empress a last good bye.


As she rode she tried to keep up with the others however, they were slowly fading from sight. She knew that she wouldn't be able to find them if she didn't hurry. She shot off a trail of crystal gem towards the last horse she could see and created a second one to match the other. She let her horse rest as the others vanished around the horison. She sighed as she lost them and looked at the gem slowly following the glowing light hopefully leading her to the others.


Day turned to night as she made her way to camp. She was tired, but used to the heat. She put her horoses with the others and looked up at the sky awaiting the ridicule of getting lost. She felt bad that she had a terrible sense of direction and time. She hated being late, but loathed the thought of Sinbad pestering her. Two gems revolved around her as she made her ways towards the others. "Hello, sorry I'm late."

 

[zCrookedz]

Leo laughed as he watched Banba shift around and the mirror Takeo's image. He had missed the girl since they had returned from Oz and was glad to see she had made her way without harm. When Kallin came up to them, Leo looked at him then back at Banba. "Aye, She was with us during Oz. She and I lived in the Forest of Reflection before joining with the Ward and the Humans."


Leo let the others catch up with Banba and he went to help Sinbad with the camp set up. Once the camp had been set up, Leo procured some of the food once it was ready for himself and Otto. When he turned back towards where he had set the werewolf closer to the fire, he was still sound asleep. Leo smiled and sat down with his back against one of the oasis trees. He heard the shuffling of sand and feet and turned to see Meril rejoining the group. He smiled and offered her some of the food. "Ah you have not missed much. Would you care for some food?"


@SilverFlight @The Suspicious Eye

 

[Lioness075]

Luness winced when Kallin began rubbing the paste on her burned palms, but didn't complain about him being too rough about it.


Once Kallin was done and wrapped her palms, Luness relaxed even though she was a bit irked with herself. She was going need to work on being stronger in her human form. She felt far too weak and at a disadvantage right now. And when she had shifted into her werecat form, she'd only ended up suffering from the hot sand.


Nodding at Kallin, Luness then said softly, "Thank you, Kal."


Turning away to get to her horse, Luness' eyes widened when she took a step and was instantly met by searing pain from both of her feet. Gritting her teeth and forcing herself to continue to her horse without looking too injured in the process, Luness soon had mounted her horse and let out a shaky breath after she'd secured her boots in the stirrups. This was going to be a very painful ride to the camp.


As the group continued on, Luness soon became a bit weary, the skirmish from earlier was already wearing her down and her injuries weren't exactly helping anything. She just wanted to dismount and fall asleep on some soft grass.


Alas, they were surrounded by sand and soon the sun was beginning to set. Immediately, Luness' thoughts were on Kallin and she hoped he hadn't sustained any injuries during the fight. With everything that had happened in the moment, Luness had never gotten a chance to check up on him.


Hearing the mention of the weather becoming very cold at night, Luness frowned, as this made zero sense. How could a desert of all places get cold?


Still, Sinbad was the desert expert in the group as far as Luness was concerned so if he said it was going to get cold then so be it. Hopefully they would be able to keep warm then.


Frankly, Luness just really, really wanted to get off her horse and rest both her hands and her feet.


Hearing someone squeal nearby, Luness raised an eyebrow and glanced ahead to see Leia excitedly looking at something in the distance. When Luness shifted her gaze in that direction, she felt relief flood over her at the sight of the distant trees. That was the oasis, was it not?


Once they arrived though, whatever hope Luness had felt for relief was immediately squandered by the sight of the dry, cracked mud. Great.


Hearing Sinbad declaring this their campsite, Luness sighed and pulled on the reins of her horse to lead it away from the main group and off to the side.


Just before she could dismount though, Luness heard Sinbad mentioning the need for a volunteer to take watch. Did he mean for them to have two watching over the camp and group in shifts throughout the night? It was certainly a good strategy in case they were to be attacked.


Yet, before she could stake a claim on taking the first watch, Quincy had already nudged Sinbad and that left Luness thinking that she was claiming the first watch.


Sighing to herself, Luness bit her lip, as she tenderly, and not without a bit of struggle, dismounted from her horse and cursed under her breath when she finally was standing on both of her feet once more.


Hoping it would help, Luness quickly sat down and removed both of her boots only to blink in surprise at the festering blisters covering the bottom of both of her feet. There were already some bloodstains inside of her boots.


Irritated, Luness then glanced up at her horse and pat the ground beside herself, hopeful that it'd understand her. Sure enough, it knelt down and then was soon laying beside Luness.


Digging through her saddlebags, Luness grinned when she found some of the salve that Kallin had used on her palms earlier. Dabbing her fingers in the salve, Luness then bit her lip again, as she brought one of her feet closer to herself and then began gingerly rubbing the salve onto the wounds. A tear began to run down the side of Luness' face, but she paused from her actions to quickly swipe it away before she continued to rub the salve on.


Oblivious to Banba's return with her own mind focused on herself, Luness soon finished with one of her feet and began on the second one when the mention of water nearby suddenly distracted her. Glancing over at Sinbad and Leia, Luness felt the hope for water return, as the pool flooded with fresh water once more.


Refocusing on the task at hand, Luness soon was done with the salve and pulled some of the bandages out of the saddlebags.


The wrapping process took forever and Luness soon was stuck trying to wrap the same foot, as every time she tried to tighten it at all or even wrap it around again, the pain was practically unbearable. Still, Luness refused to look weak or anything and so she continued with her little struggle, hopeful that nobody would notice her struggling to wrap her burnt feet at the edge of the group.


@SilverFlight @anyone in the camp area

~~~~~

​

Leandra quietly followed the line of horses, as they soon approached their encampment.


When they arrived only to find no water to quench their undying desert thirst, Leandra let out a sad sigh and then dismounted from her horse before deciding that it most likely wouldn't wander off so she didn't have to tie it to anything. Not that there was anything to tie it to regardless.


Yet, just before Leandra could say or do anything else, Sinbad suddenly announced that there was water here. Surprised by this, Leandra turned to face him just in time for Bob to make his appearance and create the pool of water.


Grinning at this, and thankful that the sand was already cooling off a ton, Leandra removed her boots and then walked over to the edge of the pool before sitting down and sticking her lower legs and feet into the cool water. Letting out a sigh of relief, Leandra leaned back on her arms and then glanced up at the night sky when Leia mentioned the stars looking the same.


Smiling at this, Leandra then said, "It's beautiful."


In awe of the beautiful night sky, Leandra only heard the arrival of an old friend, as she kept her focus on the sky and the twinkling stars. Now she really wished she had her nighttime camera handy. This would've been a beautiful shot.


Not too long after admiring the night sky, Leandra's eyes began to flutter shut, as the fatigue from the day was beginning to set in. Letting out a low yawn, Leandra then sat up and pulled her feet out of the sand before immediately putting her boots back on. She wasn't too keen on getting sand all over her feet and in her boots.


Retrieving a warm blanket from her horse's saddlebags, Leandra then sat down beside it only to find the horse kneeling down and then laying down to provide her with a backrest. Grinning at this, Leandra said softly, "Thanks, buddy" before she nestled her back against the horse's side, facing the campfire. With the blanket draped over her lower body and the campfire doing its thing, Leandra hardly felt cold at all.


@SilverFlight @anyone near Leandra

 

[Peaceswore]

Takeo was caught completely off guard by the lizard girl suddenness and had no clue what was going on when he was forced to do a weird waltz with...himself. When he was released he landed a little way on his side in the sand. Standing up and coughing he started to wipe the sand off of him. "That's another thing to cross off my fantasy list... Have a dance with myself." He muttered with a small chuckle having no qualms with what had just happened. In fact he found it rather and interesting...though he could do with out all the sand that was now residing in his hair.


Making his way back to the group he finished wiping off the sand and sat down near his bedroll. after grabbing a bit to eat he leaned back and started to dig in. "Today... Has been interesting to say the least. If this isn't anything odd for you guys then I wish I arrived here far sooner..." He said to no one in particular as he looked at the stars. "....... Though I kinda feel homesick already even though I didn't care for that life."


@Anyone

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Meril looked at the food, it was such a kind gesture. Over time she had realized what a precious resource food sns water is. She like others had learned what starving felt like and was all too aware of the deaths due to it. She was hungry, but was more ashamed that she had gotten lost. Slowly she shook her head, "no, but thank you Leo." She smiled at him and looked around, "actually I should probably try to be of some help before I go to sleep. Do you know if anyone needs anything?" She felt guilty for not helping out with the set up, maybe there was something for her to do at camp.


@zCrookedz

 

[SkywardSocks]

Achyls jumped from her horse, setting it free to run for it's relations. The dimming sky brought with it yet another familiarity.


"Where have I seen you?" she asked the sky, fruitlessly hoping it would answer her. She made sure to stay at a safe distance from the group, giving herself time to think, to remember.


That being said, she did help a little with camp preparations beforehand, taking time alone when her capabilities were no longer necessary. As the final light faded, she watched the stars with wonder, the hot sand cooling swiftly under her. It all seemed like she'd felt this before, this isolation in the desert. Closing her eyes, she hoped that sleep could bring something back.


It all came back in fragments. The Winter Wilds. Her 'rehabilitation'. Everything slowly working through. As if etched into stone, odd images her brain had conjured brought back her memories of this place. Of the desert. Of watching the sun rise and set in these tundras. Even the palace's walls were stored in her long-term memory. She just had to unlock the gates that consciousness had sealed from her.

 

[zCrookedz]

Leo set the extra food down and began to eat of his own. He watched as some of the others came and began to settle into their homes for the night as well. He looked back at Meril as she spoke and seemed eager to jump at the first task at hand. He chuckled a bit before answering her enthusiasm "I believe that the camp is set up." Leo looked around a bit before he settled his gaze on the small pond that Leia and Sinbad had been able to bring to the surface. "There might be a few in camp that could use some water. Why don't you do a head check to make sure everyone has plenty."


@The Suspicious Eye


It did not take Leo long to finish off his tiny human sized bowl of food, which was good cause he usually did not eat more than he needed to keep himself from starving. He set his empty bowl down and looked over at Takeo who had settled into his own bedroll with food as well. As Takeo revealed his home sickness, Leo to began to think of his forest. The shadows of the trees, running rivers, and whispers of the animals all so distant to him now. He placed a hand on the sand beside him and lifted a hand full up letting the sand trickle out back to the ground. "I can understand your home sickness. Home is very much a place I yern to return to at times as well. But, when Fablewood called, we are the ones that answered; and until our job is done home will not be safe." He dusted off his hand and smiled at Takeo "And today was by far the oddest thing we have encountered. I would have to say being changed to a youthful human in the winter wilds was the strangest thing for myself."


@Peaceswore

 

[SilverFlight]

Leia couldn't help but laugh at Banba's antics and shrugged as she grabbed Takeo to dance, wearing his form.


"I know what you mean." She replied when he spoke of being homesick. "This place is so wonderful...I almost feel guilty wanting to go back home...everyone here is so fantastic."


She watched Leandra settle in and couldn't help but yawn herself.


Meril appeared soon after, she seemed to feel guilty about lagging.


"Don't worry about it Meril, come park it here." She gestured for the girl to bring her sleeping role over to where they sat looking at the stars. Bob stretched like a cat, now back to his squat, dumpy sheep shape. The stone that made his body was still warm and in the growing chill of the night, as he lay down beside Leia she smiled.


"Bob! Don't move!" She put her arms around the spirit and hugged him tightly, drawing in his warmth.


"If anyone gets to cold in the night, you can borrow my earth spirit." She said lightheartedly.


Listening to Leo her eyes began to close slowly. "Wait...you were turned into a human?" In truth she hadn't been with the group that went into the ice caves on Elena's birthday quest.


"Come to think of it, you never told us what happened in those caves, something interesting from the sounds of it."


@Peaceswore @The Suspicious Eye @zCrookedz


Kallin was extremely curious about Banba. He had heard tell of shape-shifters, but could not remember ever meeting one. He set out his bedroll while he watched her playful interactions with the humans. An odd one to be sure but Kallin found himself liking her.


"Lune and I will take the second watch Sinbad." Kallin volunteered them both, going over to put a comforting hand on the werecat's shoulder.


"If you don't mind that is." He said, sitting down beside her.


"Are you all right?" He noticed her attempts to wrap her feet and took the bandage gently from her hands.


"You know Leo could look at this for you. Even Lee's doing better now." He told her as he wove the cloth deftly about her wounds. "Always have to make things difficult for yourself huh?" There was a smile in his voice as well as on his face. Beyond the trees of the oasis Kallin could make out the dark forms of rocky cliff walls. It looked like their way forward was through a canyon, but that was tomorrow's problem.


@Lioness075


Out from those dark rocks in the distance something stirred. Two pairs of soft, glowing eyes watched the group carefully, well-hidden in the shadows of the canyon.


"They are close..."


"Do you think they know we are here?"


"I suppose we shall find out...That one...the dark-haired one sitting alone..she seems...familiar."


@SkywardSocks

 

[Jecklyn]

Banba continued to look up at the stars, eyes flicking this way and that as if trying to see the whole sky at once.


"I remember caves. none of them were icy, though. all of them were wooden. I wanna hear about icy caves." she giggled, until All at once, her body let out a great shiver. Banba rolled to her stomach, eyeing the fire. ignoring the rest of the squad, she crawled towards it, shrinking in size until she was a dragon that could fit in the hands of a child. using her new found size, the girl crawled her way into the flames and around the logs, settling onto bright coals as if she were a cat. still, she gazed to Leo, expecting a story.

 

[Peaceswore]

Takeo let out a small chuckle as he ate and listened. "My life..... Was a pretty terrible one. I could go on for days about how much I hated it...still being in a foreign place makes you think about what you don't have anymore." He said with a dry laugh before he looked at Leo and eyed him. "You....were human? I may not know you well at all, but I find that hard to believe. Then again.... I just did a small jig with myself so I need to broaden my horizon of what I should and shouldn't believe." He joked before finishing the last of his food. Sitting the bowl down he stood up and dusted more sand off of him before he sat on the comfortable bed roll. "Though that must have been something huh? Turning into a completely different species."


@zCrookedz

 

[Aldur]

Sinbad guessed right. "Indeed I am." came the quick response, not shying away from that very fact.


He then admitted to finding Vinter's display impressive and asked when she found she could do that. "Sooner than you'd think." was all that Sinbad got for an answer. She chuckled at his regard about preferring the deck of a ship over a horse any day.


"You have no idea..."


Once they reached a hospitable camp location, Vinter hopped down from her horse. The chilliness of the desert caught on to her. She immediately took one of the white cloaks and put it on, followed by one of the warmest blankets she could find. Vinter looked ridiculous, as mighty a pirate she was, the cold was one of the few things the captain could not stand.


She wrapped the blanket carefully around herself, trying to hide her evident red nose. Vinter watched the others for a while taking in information about the new girl, before catching Luness with Kallin. She approached them, trying to look as casual as she could.


"Hey, Kallin. Don't you have something that needs to be done? Like... being all the way over there?" She nodded in the general direction of the others. Her face looked amused. Vinter could see her breath in the cold air. She rolled her eyes.


She took a seat on the cold sand, shuddering as she felt it, opposite of Kallin, but close. "What are you waiting for, hmm?" Vinter's voice seemed tired, and her eyes were half closed. She didn't mean to be rude to Kallin.


@SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

Kallin looked up as Vinter approached, glad she could see his human face now as it did not look pleased with her intrusion.


"Lose a fight with the blanket did you?" He remarked, noting how adeptly she was wound in it. Yet as she ordered him up he rose slowly, shooting her a begrudging and suspicious look.


"If she tells you anything bad about me, its not true." This he said to Luness as he turned and made his way obediently to the campfire.


@Aldur Forgehammer @Lioness075

 

[zCrookedz]

Leo smiled at Banba as she changed and crawled somewhere she could get warm. Leo looked over to Leia "Thats right, you stayed behind to keep our dear Elena preoccupied." Leo chuckled as he looked into the fire a bit preoccupied. Takeo's voice brought him back and he nodded to him "Aye, I spent a small part of that quest as a small human child. It was incredibly different. Incredibly cold from not having my fur, and the height difference was a bit disorienting." Leo thought back to when each of the group had went through the test. He began to laugh a great deal as he thought back to what the others turned into. He choked his words out through tears of laughter "Ward...turned into a tiny rabbit.....and Nyr turned into the smallest little chipmunk." Leo whipped a tear from his cheek. IT took him a moment to regain his composure and he looked back to Leia "After that, we were tested until we reached the flour for Elena."


@SilverFlight @The Suspicious Eye

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Meril looked at Leo and nodded, "I will do that." She looked across the camp and scanned for the others. It seemed as if everyone had water to spare. She did a head count to make sure that everyone was here. Relieved that everyone was accounted for and happy, she went back to Leo. She still felt pretty bad about being late. Meril's attention turned to Leia as she told her to sit with her, she nodded and made her way over to her. She listened to Leo's story with interest, she could tel that they all had been through a lot together. She sat down next to Leia and pulled her knees up close. "What happened then? How did you return to your normal state?"


@zCrookedz @SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

"A bunny! Ahahaha!" Leia rocked back on her bedroll as the image appeared in her mind. "Priceless! He'd make such a good rabbit. And Nyr a chipmunk man I wish I'd gone with you."


She grinned again at the thought of the massive, proud and elegant gryphon reduced to a small white fluffy mass of long ears and a quivering nose. It was very rare that the man ever lost countenance. Good ammunition to be sure.


"Did I hear that right?" Kallin approached the fire and sat down, remarking the jovial and lighthearted expressions around the fire. Leia nodded with an impish smile.


Before Leo continued she gave both Meril and Takeo some context on the situation:


They had been called to the Winter Wilds by the Snow Queen (whom Leia had afterwards remembered was from one of the stories written my Hans Christian Anderson). An evil wizard had taken up residence in her palace, driven her out and showered the entire region with never-ending storms. He had been given a chalice to guard, one that tempered the feral natures of all the werebeasts in FableWood. Bigby, none other than the Big Bad Wolf himself had been captured to guard it. Caraboss had done something to the chalice, to stop it from working.


Leia described the fight with the wizard in great detail, including every daring strike and clever maneuver.


"Finally the wizard had us cornered: he had one of us at knife-point and the rest of us were tired and battle-worn. He threatened to kill Anya if we didn't cooperate. A shard of the troll's mirror, an evil relic that sucked all the joy and love from you..he told us to pick a volunteer to willingly place the shard in their heart."


She looked over to the fire where the little lizard curl lay, curled in her miniature dragon form.


"Banba did it. She took the shard herself to spare the rest of us. After that Leo went all super spirit guardian on his butt! We won, and amazingly enough, what broke the shard was all our caring for Ban. Its sappy but there it is. Love broke the spell."


She hadn't been there for Luness' fight with Bigby, her father so she couldn't tell them what came next, only that they had succeeded on recovering the chalice and restoring the minds of the were beasts of FableWood.


"So yeah Takeo, this sort of thing is pretty normal for us I guess."


She grinned again and lay on her stomach, waiting for Leo to finish his own story.


@zCrookedz @Peaceswore @The Suspicious Eye @Jecklyn @DawnAntalios