Fantasy The Chosen of Seven

[KiKi Kitsune]

Chilali sat there, frozen as if her own magic had been used on her. Her jaw worked for a few moments, just opening and closing her mouth. Her brain finally processed what had happened. Most important fact: Sylvanus had just walked off while injured again. The mage yelled out a curse before bolting after the hybrid. A constant string of colourful words flowed out her clenched teeth as she followed the trail of blood Sylvanus had left. At least he had made it easier to find him.


She spotted him and ran faster. "Sylvvaaaanuuuus!" Her voice bounced off the walls as she sprinted to tackle the spider. Her arms wrapped around his middle as momentum carried them further. She was only just able to twist so she took the brunt of the force as they hit the ground. "What happened to our agreement? You said you would rest until your wounds were healed! Are you going back on your word now?" She pretty much yelled in his face. He was being weird. Weirder than usual, at least from how well Chilali knew him.


Chilali took a deep breath to keep on shouting at him. "If you're going to promise me something, how about you stop wandering about when injured? How about you promise you will stop getting so badly wounded?" She shoved her bloody arm close to him. "This wound was caused by my worry! And guess what," she pulled her arm back and balled her hand into a fist. "I can barely feel it. See?" Her left hand moved to punch Sylvanus in the face.


@minismurf

 

[minismurf]

Sylvanus had not gotten far before he heard the Nursery doors slam wide open, and as he turned around he just managed to register Chilali rushing towards him before tackling him in the belly. They both flew through the air and Chilali twisted them so she'd take the fall, however Sylvanus wouldn't let her, swiftly he not only threw his spider legs behind her to take the fall for her, but he grabbed onto her as well, holding her by the head and back and pulling her in towards him to make sure she wouldn't be harmed. As they landed he could feel the force of impact shivering through his spindly legs, however it didn't feel like anything broke, Chilali had made a good job patching them up.


He pushed with the appendiges and landed on his back with Chilali on top of him, she still appeared to be furiously upset, and he wasn't going to hold it against her, as she yelled and screamed at him he just laid there, even when she shoved her bloody arm in his face he just remained looking at her. And as she threw her fist towards his face he didn't make any attempt to dodge, the punch surely hurt, however again he decided not to care about it, he could feel something trickle down from under his nose.


Chilali was still sitting on top of him, breathing heavily from her outbreak. He opened his mouth, "Feeling better?" He asked her, keeping the blunt face. "Because I do" Now they had both released something withing them, and Sylvanus at least felt like it had been a great weight lifted off his chest, and now Chilali was there instead.


@KiKi Kitsune

 

[KiKi Kitsune]

Chilali humphed in frustration. Even so, she moved to stand again. It was a little more difficult than she would have liked to admit. She knew the wound was bad and was probably the main cause of her current weakness. The mage kept her eyes on her fist as she spoke. "I don't feel much better, Sylvanus. I don't think you understand what I'm saying." She then looked the hybrid in the eye. "If you do, then you don't believe it." It was difficult for her to uncurl her fingers. The muscles weren't responding properly. Hopefully it was just blood loss instead of damage to muscle or nerves.


The ice woman ran a hand through her shaggy hair with a sigh. "It doesn't seem like that will change any time soon. I won't waste my breath if it does nothing. All I ask is that you trust me and believe my words to be true. I have not lied to you yet and we have to work together for the foreseeable future." She raised her hand to tug on her face mask only to be reminded that she had shed her armour and mask. She touched her tongue and saw blood on her fingers. "Ah, damnit." Chilali muttered, glaring at the red liquid.


"We should get you patched up again. Hopefully this one doesn't take you another elongated nap." She offered the spider a hand up if he wasn't already standing. "We also need to talk about you wandering the school by yourself. Clearly, your directional sense isn't up to par to navigate this maze of a building." She tried to joke to lighten the mood. She led the way back to the room, constantly watching Sylvanus.


@minismurf

 

[minismurf]

Sylvanus stood back up soon after Chilali stepped off of him, denying her helping hand since he was afraid he'd just drag her down again. He listened to her as they both stood there in the corridoor, the floor covered in blood from both of them, his entire back was covered as well, same for her arm. It looked like a truly gruesome murder had occured at the scene. As he listened to Chilali he took in every word she said, tasted them, and then accepted them. So far he'd ignored nearly every word Chilali had said since he'd woken up, however now his mind was clear. It wasn't frozen, it wasn't in chaos, it was clear.


Once she finished Sylvanus looked at Chilali and placed his hands on her shoulders "Chilali, I do trust you, so far my mind has been in shambles, however now I feel that it is clear and I am now willing to trust and listen to you" He then crossed his arms and looked at her a bit sceptically "However are you sure you aren't the one who should be patched up? Trust me, my wounds aren't very deep, they're mostly just scratches, your wound on the other hand is much more severe, I will personally tend to it, it's the least I can do since you've taken care of me" Sylvanus wouldn't take no for an answer, she'd saved his life twice now, and he'd just been a weight on her shoulders. However now it was time to reverse the roles, it was Sylvanus's turn to help her.


As they walked back Sylvanus couldn't help but worry over Chilali, the blood loss seemed to really be taking its toll on her, as she walked down the hall he could see she stumbling over herself "Chilali, do you nee-" He cut himself off as he saw Chilali falling. Before she could reach the ground Sylvanus was there to catch her, he held her by her neck and the back and then picked her up, carrying her princess style. He couldn't see if she was still consious, he was busy worrying about her health. He ran down the corridoor quickly, but not so much that it would disturb Chilali, he was hoping that he went the right way towards the Nursery.


Luckily he hadn't gotten far away until Chilali'd stopped him and he soon reached it, he barged through the doors and saw a nurse standing in front of his torn apart and bloody sleeping area, as soon as she saw Sylvanus he could immediately see that all she could see was his spider limbs and the blood covering him and Chilali. "God damnit" He thought for himself, he'd seen this image many times before, and just like he thought so did the nurse start yelling bloody murder, since that was exactly was what it looked like. He sighed for himself "I don't have time for this" He ignored the nurse for now and focused on Chilali. As the nurse ran out, still screaming, Sylvanus put Chilali down on his torn bed. "I need a needle" He frantically searched for something sharp in the cabinets throughout the Nursery, eventually he found one and returned to Chilali's side, once again he'd completely forgotten the wounds on his back, all he wanted to do was to save Chilali. He used his own thread that he spun to sew the wound together, he carefully picked up some nearby gauzes using his arachnid limbs while he kept pressure on the wound to keep it from reopening, having a few extra limbs could be handy in certain situations, however the wound was not only deep, but large.


After a long while he'd finished stitching the wound together and applied multiple gauzes to pick up the blood, he finished the procedure by using his thread to pack all of it in, regular spiderweb is strong enough to stop a swing from a sword. However Sylvanus's thread, though very limited and tough to create would be able to stop even a direct stab from the sharpest of spears, and this very thread was now covering Chilali's entire lower arm. And it was now Sylvanus's turn to be truly exhausted and fall asleep next to Chilali, lying on the bed. The nurse that had run away hadn't returned yet so Sylvanus had assumed that she'd either passed out or that she just hadn't found anyone to help her yet.


@KiKi Kitsune

 

[KiKi Kitsune]

Chilali tried to decline Sylvanus's aid, but he was adamant. Eventually, she gave up with a drawn out sigh. She felt dizzy. The possibility of her fixing her wounds was not too good while she was in her current state. She would probably just end up hurting herself further. Even now she could see blackness encroaching her on the edges of her vision. The mage tried to blink it away only to find the room starting to spin. She was losing too much blood. She tried to move her still functioning hand over to it. If she could freeze the blood flow, she should be fine.


Sylvanus said something, but the blackness hit her before she was able to do anything. She couldn't see, but she could feel her legs giving way. Her body falling. Then everything went blank.


Chilali slipped in and out of conciousness several times. Most of the time she wasn't able to open her eyes. If her eyes were open, she couldn't see. All she could do was listen and smell. The powerful, well-known scent of blood mixed with disinfectants and a faint undertone of apples. She heard rustles that made no sense to her incapacitated mind. The rare moments she could process sight, she caught glimpses of arms, equipment, a head. All random snippets of information that created an incomplete and incomprehensible memory.


A few hours had passed and Chilali slowly resurfaced from unconsciousness. Her entire body refused to move. She had a moment of panic before the sleep paralysis wore off. She felt a slight pressure on her stomach. Even her groggy mind knew that it meant that there was a heavy weight on top of it. One eye cracked open with difficulty. All it registered was something deep green and fluffy looking before whatever it was shifted. It lifted upwards and revealed a face. The face had closed eyes. They were still asleep. How were they moving while asleep? Chilali's thought processing took several moments to both recognise the face and how it was moving. It was Sylvanus and someone was moving him. Someone awake and potentially dangerous.


That was enough to wake the warrior up completely. She tested her limb mobility as discretely as possible. Her left arm seemed to have something preventing full movement. Other than that, she was fine. She could hear the footsteps of whoever was carrying Sylvanus. They were close. Most likely facing the other way.


Chilali's eyes snapped open. She sprung up, took half a second to register the position of her opponent, and leapt at them. Her hit to their calf received a surprised yelp and caused the person to fall backwards. The person landed with Sylvanus on top of them. Unfortunately, Chilali was caught under it all. Had she thought it through? Of course not. She had just woken up. Now she was at the bottom of an impromptu dogpile. "Oh, shit. Lali,are you okay?" The person hastily removed themselves. "Dallas?" Only now did the ice mage recognise who she had just attacked.


"Who did you think it was? Oh damn." Dallas looked to Sylvanus before picking up the other male again. "What are you doing with him?" Chilali almost growled. Dallas didn't let the woman's threat bother him. If anything, he seemed slightly irritated. "Putting him onto a bed that isn't completely destroyed. The one over there," he pointed with his chin. "Is not only torn to shreds, but covered in blood too." Chilali didn't move to stop him, but watched carefully as Dallas placed the hybrid on a clean, undamaged bed. They must have moved it in while they were asleep.


Dallas stood and stretched his arms out. "Why did you attack me, Chilali?" He kept her back turned on her. He didn't see her cringe. Chilali was worried now. Dallas never called her by her full name. It was always "Lali". "I thought you were going to harm Sylvanus."


"Is he important to you?" Still, Dallas didn't turn.


Chilali took a moment to consider her answer. She didn't want to make an enemy out of Dallas. He was her only proper friend left in the school. "He's one of the chosen to be a new Saviour. He is important to all of us." The blond spun around on his heel and glared at Chilali. "You're not answering me, Chilali, and you know it." His raised voice clearly showed his anger. He took a few breaths and looked at the floor. "I know why you're doing it. Why you're saying that." Dallas looked at Chilali, his eyes no longer angry. They were sad, disappointed, dejected eyes. "It would be better if you just said what you thought like always." He walked out of the room, stopping at the door. "It was one of the things I really admired about you." With that, he closed the door and left Chilali to her thoughts.


Chilali cursed under her breath and ran a hand through her hair. She still sat on the floor, but that was the least of her concerns. That wasn't the response she was expecting. It was exactly what she wanted to avoid. "Gaaaahhh." She flopped onto her back with an arm draped over her eyes. it was just one thing after the other, wasn't it?


@minismurf

 

[TerraBooma]

Sammy shook his head as Adruo spoke to him. "I don't...I don't need a story, I need your help! I'm trying to heal a uh..." Sammy chuckled sheepishly. "Well it's...kinda a monster. Gramps told me you knew lots of cool stuff! You'll know how to heal it right!" Although even the young boy knew his claim was outlandish there was a sort of youthful exclamation to his words. An honesty that only a little kid can really muster when they feel that something really needs to be said. Honesty in his undertone was clear, but still the idea that a monster was waiting somewhere nearby and needed healing...it was difficult to believe.


Romon gave a cautious glance down at the boy, but decided to at the very least humor him. He knelt down and started to speak, but Sammy for whatever reason remained tight lipped. Romon stepped back and looked back to Adruo with a little bit of hurt pride, but mostly curiosity on his face. "It would seem he really only wants to speak with you." Romon said, admittedly confused. "Want me to go on ahead? I can probably help Amos with dinner, take as long as you need. I can cover." Romon let out a mischevious wink before running on ahead, leaving the Dragonkin storyteller alone with the boy with his tale.


As he ran off down towards Amos's hut on the hill, he called out over his shoulder. "Just fill me in on the details after!"


Leaving Adruo alone with the curious case of a child with a tale to tell. "So...wing lady, will you help me? The monster...I dunno how long it's gunna last with how hurt it looked."

 

[KiKi Kitsune]

Ardruo's eyes went as wide as saucers. A monster? It was possible that some smaller demons had made it out of the weakening Core. Had this child found one and now intended to heal it? How would the demon have been injured in the first place? Despite her growing worry, Adruo made sure to respond properly. "Thank you Romon. We will be sure to join you as soon as possible." She waved as the elf left. The dragonkin turned her attention back to Sammy. He seemed really worried about the monster he had found. Adruo, on the other hand, was worried about the child finding a monster.


"Sammy, first you need to tell me about the monster. If I know what type of creature it is, I might be able to help." She explained carefully. "What does the monster look like?" As she said it, she worried she would get a description that matched one of the demons she knew about. There had been quite a few records on the vile beasts that the Demon Lord commanded. Plenty of tales as well. She knew her fair share about what they looked like and could do. She prayed to most of the gods that the child had not encountered a demon. Her choices would be severely limited if that was the case.


@TerraBooma

 

[TerraBooma]

"Well it's...kinda hard to explain." Sammy said with a frown. "I think it's a nice monster, she...she looks kinda scary but she's a big softie! I think..." Sammy muttered the last addendum under his breath, as if he wasn't...quite sure. "I found Leafy stuck in the forest so I helped it get free but it's hurt pretty bad...I tried to help it but nothing I tried is working!" Sammy grabbed Adruo's hand, and starting leading her towards the forest on a mission of some sorts. "Leafy is...big. I know that, but she hasn't hurt anyone! I'm uh...clueless if I have to be honest." Sammy blushed a little in embarrassment, as if he felt ashamed that he didn't know how to fix this problem in front of him...


"Nobody in the village believed me...at least not the adults. Kaira did and I showed Leafy to her but her mom made her stay home today, stinkin' lessons." Sammy spat at the ground in frustration, it seemed there was a bit more to that story, but before Adruo could inquire onto that subject Sammy ran ahead a bit, suddenly back to explaining the situation. "I couldn't help Leafy much...so I hid her! It took me all day but I used old man Crowley's tricks that he used to show me before he went on that trip." As the pair moved deeper into the forest, Sammy seemed to suddenly stop. "Here she is!" He declared soundly, even though the forest looked mostly the same. If Adruo focused hard enough however, she'd notice something off: The bushes in front of Sammy were moving a little too quickly for wind...a little too rhythmically. Running forth Sammy moved some of the leaves around and after about five minutes of removing "foliage" the monster was revealed. The good news was that it wasn't a demon.


But it seemed the young Sammy had managed to stumble across something just as rare: An elemental walker. It was breathing hard, and although it was in pain it seemed that it was doing...decently well, but at the same time wasn't going to get better without help. The main issue was the malicious looking bolt sticking out of it's right flank pointing incriminatingly toward the core of it's being. Sammy had been telling the truth when he said it was going nowhere fast. It glanced up at Adruo and let out a pained sound, a sound that nobody would ever think right to come from such a majestic being. It started to struggle to it's feet but Sammy intervened. "H-Hey Leafy wait! Wait! The winged lady is with me! She's good!" Sammy slowly approached "Leafy" and raised his hand, the elemental walker tense, but eventually calmed down.


Sammy then turned to Adruo, standing by "Leafy" to keep her somewhat calm. "So...winged lady...can you fix her?"


(For context, The elemental walker is the green one in the list)

 

[minismurf]

Sylvanus was hearing voices, they were dampened, but they were there. Was he being, carried? He knew that it couldn't be Chilali since she was smaller than him, it made him a bit alerted, being carried by an unfamiliar person. However his body was way too tired to be able to move, not even his spider limbs twitched. Suddenly both him and his carrier was thrown onto the floor, soon his body was lifted again though, and when he was placed onto something again the voices started to become more clear, his body was waking up, he could tell that the voices were Chilali and that other boy from before, Dallas was it? He could hear their voices however their words were still not comprehensible so he couldn't tell what they were talking about, they seemed to almost be arguing judging by their tones. Before long though the voices started becoming words "Is ... important to you?" He slowly started making sense of the words, however only some of them. "...important to all of us" It seemed like Dallas had asked Chilali some difficult question, like if it was about something she truly cared about, whatever it was, Sylvanus could tell that the answer to the question was obvious. What was it? A relic? A person? Old lover? Sylvanus could feel his legs starting to twitch a little. "You're not answering me, ... you know it" Sylvanus was now able to move his body freely, however he decided to remain lying still with closed eyes since he was interested in the conversation.


"It was one of the things I really admired about you" He could hear Dallas leaving the room, and as the doors closed he opened his eyes just as he could hear Chilali falling over onto the floor. He struggingly sat up in the bed he'd been put in, his body was still not properly recovered even though he'd most likely had another long rest. "So, what was that all about? Something important?" He looked at Chilali lying on the floor with a questioning look. "Because it sure sounded like it" He looked over at the bed that he'd treated Chilali's wound, it was a bloody mess, literally, the entire nursery was in a mess pretty much, with the bed as its center, the medication bottle that had been knocked over had poured its entire content onto the floor, the bed was shredded and bloody with pieces of thread here and there around it, bloody gauzes and other pieces of cloth was lying around on the floor and the bed itself.


@KiKi Kitsune

 

[KiKi Kitsune]

Adruo listened intently to what Sammy told her. The child seemed to trust the creature he had found, his description did little to ease the dragonkin's worry. If anything, it made her more worried. "Kinda scary" he said. That could mean anything. Adruo couldn't dwell on the thought for too long since she was quite literally dragged away. Okay, not quite dragged, but led in a certain direction. Even so, Sammy looked quite distressed. Adruo wasn't about to turn her back on the poor kid, especially if it did prove that her fear was correct.


"Kiara?" The name didn't ring any bells, but it looked like Sammy deemed her important."Crowley?" Sammy was flinging around names that Adruo had no clue about. She had dealt with many children before, but usually she actually knew who they were talking about. Then again, there had been several occasions where they assumed adults knew everything.


"Here she is!" The dragonkin scanned the area carefully. She didn't notice anything particular strange. Sammy had said that the creature was large. That meant it would need to be hidden in some bushes to keep it covered. With that thought in mind, she noticed the bushes where Sammy was standing seemed strange. It was if they were moving out of sync with the rest of the forest.


Adruo was frozen in place as the creature was revealed. Her eyes matched saucers and her mouth hung slightly open. She just stared at the elemental walker for a few moments before it properly sunk in. She lowered herself to one knee and bowed her head. In front of her was a legendary creature. One which many considered a myth. A being who was even respected by the gods.


"So...winged lady...can you fix her?" The woman rose and looked over the elemental walker once again. The wound didn't look too great. Adruo looked the walker in the eye. "I swear that I mean you no harm. I only wish to help." She stated with determination before bowing. She strode to the walker's flank to inspect the injury more closely.


"This is a bolt, meaning it came from a crossbow. It must have had quite a lot of power behind it and is most likely quite deep. The most important thing is to get this out." Adruo cupped her chin in her hand as she thought. "We have no way of telling if it was barbed or not. It might cause more damage if we pull it out..." Her eyes narrowed. "Who would do this?" She leaned so she was eye level with the bolt. "Whoever it was either had a lucky shot, or good aim and a target." The dragonkin chewed her claw. "This is worrying." She looked to Sammy and knelt to his level again. "Listen, alright Sammy? The creature you have found is a magical being. She is very special and important. You have done a good thing by helping her." Adruo took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, I am no doctor. If I try helping, I might injure her more by accident. However-" She put up a finger to stop the boy if he had any idea of interrupting her. "I will help get the adults we need to believe you. We only need someone with medical experience. Who is your village healer?"


@TerraBooma

 

[TerraBooma]

Sammy looked visibly relieved that Adruo was taking this seriously. In reality he hadn't been sure what to do when he had stumbled across a moaning and pained creature with a giant crossbow bolt in its side he panicked a little. The walker itself hadn't done much better...it was tense and in pain, and it took more than a few tries to approach it without it freaking out. Perhaps fortunately for Sammy he didn't understand just how rare and magical the Walker was. In the child's mind the only problem with it was that it was big and kind of scary, the latter of which diminished as he cared for Leafy.


"Leafy is magical?" Sammy said, gasping in awe. As Adruo said she wasn't able to help it however, he opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by Adruo's own finger, forcing him to remain silent. After Adruo finished speaking he stood in silence for tense stretched out minutes...or seconds, Sammy was ever good at the whole 'measuring time' thing. He got laughed at by some of the older kids for saying he found a monster...could Adruo really change that?


Well, if Kiara could believe him maybe...Sammy nodded slowly. "The village healer? That's kiara's mom!" Sammy started reapplying the camo, an admittedly slow process that took about half an hour. When he was done the forest retook the Walker into camouflage, and Adruo would have to look hard to find it if she wasn't looking directly at it.


"C'mon, let's go!"


Sammy lead Aduo back into town with a determined bounce in his step. Instead of going to the fields or to Amos's messey hut on the top of the hill he only lead her to the base of the hill that Pagus was built on. Closer to the outskirts of time was another small hut, but while Amos's hut had looked and smelled a little run down the healer's house was kept clean and in order, herbs and bitter scents could be smelled even from a fair distance away: A medical place for sure.


Sitting on the doorstep was a young hybrid girl, seemingly waiting for something, or rather someone.

Spoiler

Her ears twitched as Sammy came running up with Adruo, and her pouting face turned into a big grin. "Sammy!" She called out, standing up and running up to Sammy and Adruo. "I was wondering where you were! My lessons are done, and you weren't outside for once. I was wondering where you went...I got kinda worried..." Kiara frowned, and Sammy blushed a deep crimson.


"Y-Yah well...look!" Sammy said, pointing at Adruo and trying to swallow his embarrassment. "She's a storyteller!" Kiara looked up at Adruo for a few seconds, wide eyed. "A storyteller? is she going to tell a story? Please tell a story!" Kiara bounced up and down as she pleaded. Sammy intervened before the pleading could turn to begging. "Kiara not now! It's about Leafy!" as Sammy mentioned the Elemental Walker, Kiara took a few breaths and put on the most serious face a little girl can muster. "R-Right! the m-monster...Ms. Storyteller!" Kiara turned her gaze to Adruo. "Y-you saw Leafy...she's a nice monster. None of the adults believe us about her. You saved her right? I tried to help her but momma hasn't taught me how to get rid of arrows..." Kiara sighed, obviously a bit dissapointed in herself.


"So...you fixed Leafy right? Or-or you have a plan?"

 

[KiKi Kitsune]

Chilali moved her arm slightly so one eye was only just able to see the spider who had just spoken. "Was it something important?" She rolled her head from side to side. "Apparently I don't know. Or perhaps I am just too indecisive." Her voice showed how dejected she felt. She had pretty much insulted her friend, and she knew it. Even so, there was no reason to bother Sylvanus about it. She took a deep breath and rose to her feet. Her movements were still sluggish from sleep and blood loss.


She looked over to Sylvanus. "How much of our conversation did you hear?" Had he heard everything? Her answer about him? Why did she care if he did? Mostly, it was the worry that he would act out again if he heard something he didn't like regarding himself. The hybrid seemed to be in a rather fragile state of mind. Whether Sylvanus answered or not, Chilali wandered about the room searching for her face mask. Finding it, she quickly pulled it up to rest on her nose. She felt more comfortable knowing it was there.


The ice mage noticed how her arm felt heavier than usual. She looked at the strange cast with curiosity, twisting her arm back and forth. She tapped her knuckle on it a few times. "Sylvanus, what material is this? I've never seen anything like it in the school before. The plaster they use is far heavier." She asked while testing out her mobility. She could still swing her arm with minimal strain on the muscles. "You could teach our healers a thing or two." Her mood had clearly lifted quite a bit. Thoughts of Dallas had been pushed out of her mind by her fascination.


@minismurf

 

[minismurf]

Sylvanus looked at Chilali with a little bit of worry, it was clear that her body hadn't recovered yet from the blood loss from the wound he'd made. "I'd guess I heard only about half of the conversation, Dallas asked if something was important to you, what it was however I didn't hear, do you mind if I were to ask what it was?" Sylvanus wasn't planning to intrude on whatever they'd been talking about though, he was more than anything just curious, he'd accept a no just as well as a yes, if something was important to her and she didn't want to talk about it he wasn't going to force her.


When she switched the subject and praised him for his work on her arm he smiled, he'd been afraid that the stitches would break or the wound would reopen underneath the string, however it didn't seem like that'd happen anytime soon. "Well, I don't really think that I would really be able to teach them since it's a bit of a unique feature to us spider hybrids, you see" He brought two of his spider limbs in front of him and pulled out a short piece of string between each end. "I used my own string to make the cast, of course so like any other spider we Rachnids can spin web, however we bring it out from our legs on command instead of... well, you know" Sylvanus felt like the final detail about where it came from would be neccesary in case Chilali would maybe find it a bit unsettling otherwise, and asking could be awkward. "The thing about it is that it's very hard for us to make it since we use some of the nutrients from our food to make it, so it's very exhausting if we use it frequently or a lot at once" As he mentioned it Sylvanus's stomach grumbled in agreement. "And we usually get very hungry too" He chuckled a little for himself. "I used my string as well for the stitches on the wound" He said as he got out of the bed and stood up, he stumbled at first by his head spinning a little from the lack of nutrients.


@KiKi Kitsune

 

[KiKi Kitsune]

Adruo couldn't help but smile at the boy's amazement at learning about Leafy. It was quite adorable. She was glad that Sammy seemed familiar with the healer. That may help get the dragonkin an audience. People had become quite cautious the past few years. Then again, everyone in the village had been really friendly. While Sammy went about hiding the elemental walker, Adruo considered what she knew. Someone had tried to kill Leafy. They most likely knew what they were doing. Surely they wouldn't have moved too far away. With a target as important as this, they would be searching for it. Leafy was in danger of being found and having her attackers finish the job. Adruo decided it would probably be best to tell Romon about it. Hopefully he would be able to figure out who the attacker was. If it was someone from the village, it would be an issue.


"C'mon, let's go!" Adruo followed after the child, keeping an eye out for any potential dangers. The fact that someone had been able to would an elemental walker meant that they had powerful equipment at their disposal. She smelled that they were nearing their destination thanks to the pungent medicinal plants. It was a quaint little place, but Adruo was distracted by the little girl sitting on the stoep.


The dragonkin had to hold her tongue. The small cat hybrid was adorable. She was incredibly tempted to pet the child's head and pinch cheeks. She knew that might lead to some unwanted conversations afterwards, so she restrained herself. Adruo found children adorable in general. She also didn't miss the blush that Sammy sported. Young love. Too cute.


"Please tell a story!" The dragonkin smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "I will this evening. You can ask for whatever story you want then. I promise to let you and Sammy choose fisrt" Kiara seemed like an energetic and excitable soul. Even when she tried to be serious, she seemed to have trouble keeping a straight face.


Adruo wished she had been able to aid the elemental walker. She knew her limitations, and one of them was medical knowledge. She gave Kiara a soft smile. "I'm sorry Kiara. I wasn't able to help Leafy by myself. That's why we came here. We need to talk to your mom, okay?" Adruo looked at the door to the hut. "She didn't believe you guys, right? Don't worry, adults are silly. Sometimes they only believe other adults." The dragonkin gave a small chuckle. "We are meant to teach you, but we aren't that smart, are we?"


@TerraBooma

 

[KiKi Kitsune]

Chilali considered telling Sylvanus about him being the subject of debate, but decided against it. "Don't worry about it." She said with a slight shake of her head. "It will not affect you or our mission in any way, I assure you." She stated with some determination. Any disagreements she had with Dallas would have to be settled after they defeated the Demon Lord.


The ice mage listened intently when Sylvanus began to explain about what he had done to heal her. It was a shame he wouldn't be able to teach the healers. Such an effective technique would definitely make them respect him more. However, when the hybrid stated that he made the thread himself, Chilali had to stop from herself from pulling a face. She knew enough about animals to know how spiders made their webs. "...however we bring it out from our legs on command instead of... well, you know" Chilali had to admit that the information was a relief to hear. The mage quickly scolded herself. Why did it matter how Sylvanus had made his silk? He had helped her when she had fainted from blood loss. If he had left her, she quite possibly would have died.


She listened to the rest of the hybrid's explanation without interrupting. At least her next course of action was clear. They would both benefit from some food. "Sit back down, Sylvanus. I will go get you some food." She instructed while gathering her usual clothing from the neatly folded pile. She didn't intend on walking out in her just her chest bindings again. The last time had only been due to emergency. "What type of food do you want? Fruits and vegetables will probably return energy most effectively." Chilali asked, but stumbled as she walked to the door. "Before you say you should go, you don't know where the kitchens are. Even if I were to tell you, I don't want to risk you getting lost again." She stood by the door, pulling at her face mask. Once she got an answer, she nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind her.


As she walked the halls, she allowed herself to think. Mostly about the journey ahead. They had lost a lot of time, and the weapons they needed to retrieve weren't exactly close to each other. Even with mounts, the time to get to their destination might be too much. The mage shook her head in frustration. There wasn't anything she could do to change that. It irritated her.


@minismurf

 

[TerraBooma]

Kiara stood still for a few moments as she begun to think. "You wanna see momma? okay!" Kiara spun and started towards the door to her own house but it opened before an old man, almost as old as Amos stalked out. Yet while Amos had a sort of hobbled gait this old man was very different in his stride. A determined gait and powerful strides. All filled with purposes as he started to leave the house. Before blinking in surprise at the two children and Adruo standing in front of him. "Oh. Hello there Kiara, Samuel." Sammy squirmed a bit at his real name, but said nothing. The old man's gaze then turned to Adruo. "You...you must be the storyteller Amos was rambling on about earlier. Interesting..." The old man cackled slightly but said no more, pushing past the trip and moving down towards the edge of Pagus, a lone hut away from the others. Sammy looked up at Adruo's expression. "That's old Man Crowley. He's scary but not that bad....I think. He's a really good shot but he likes to be alone...he's the guy that showed me how to hide stuff!"

Spoiler

"Sammmyy c'mon! We gotta see momma!" Kiara returned attention to the task at hand. Entering the house and calling out. "Hey! Momma! The storyteller's here!" A clatter of herbs and noises could be heard from the next room, and a voice that, although older than Kiara's, was similar enough to be placed as her mother's. "The storyteller...a story teller? oh! The dragonkin!" And with that, the village healer walked into the room, a handful of herbs in one hand and a book in the other. "Hello there! Your one of the travelers right? James was just telling me about you. You must have passed him on the way in. My name is Akina, I'm the village healer. What brings you to my home? Did the children bother you at all? I know they can be a handful but...I do think they mean well."

 

[KiKi Kitsune]

Arduo jerked back slightly in surprise at the sudden appearance of the man. She gave a hasty smile and slight bow. "Yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you." She watched him as he left. Her eyes widened as she noticed what the man carried. A crossbow. Could he possibly be the one who- Adruo shook her head quickly. It was wrong for her to jump to conclusions. The dragonkin couldn't help but narrow her eyes at Sammy's words. She would have to discuss it with Romon, but it was likely that they would have to pay Old Man Crowley a visit.


She followed after the children into the house. She looked around the room curiously. The scent of plant life was even stronger than it had been outside. Adruo rested her eyes on the white haired hybrid that now stood in front of her. "James? I'm assuming that is the actual name of Old Man Crowley." The dragonkin gave a small bow in greeting. "Yes, I am the storyteller. My name is Adruo Draiton. It is a pleasure to meet you Akina." She straightened and offered a smile."The children have been quite sweet. Not a nuisance at all." Adruo gave a soft chuckle. "I have come here to request some aid. Sammy has found a creature that is quite badly wounded. A crossbow bolt in it's flank. I have no idea if it is barbed or not." She gave other details of what she had seen concerning the injury. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "It is of utmost importance that we aid this creature as best we can. Also, we should find out who was brave and crazy enough to attack an elemental walker." Adruo looked Akina right in the eye to show that she was serious. "I have seen it with my own eyes. Heard its cries with my own ears. It is an elemental walker that the myths speak of."





@TerraBooma

 

[SepiaInk]

​

Spoiler

It all happened so fast.


One minute she was struggling with herself, shaking with the effort of holding her body back so she wouldn’t charge Destin, and backing away instead. But then, the instant her hooves sunk into the water, the earth shook.


A wave crashed down on her, dragging her across the lake bed. Pebbles scrapped against her fur and the taste of dirt shocked her senses as she swallowed a mouthful of water. But it was the long and rising shrill that cut deep through her and filled her with panic. Stumbling and gagging, she turned around and froze in place.


Head tilting back, her vision was filled with a pair of eyes, glowing brighter and bigger than the moon, and teeth as sharp and long as a warrior’s sword. They were attached to a serpent like body, a huge mass of scales of the same dead color as the lake, spikes covering its back.


Something like black swirls danced on the creatures skin and reached out to taste the air, but the Giant Deer didn’t have much time to figure out if they were part of it or not as spots of the monster’s body began to flash. The whole lake seemed to flicker as it was bathed in that bluish light. The air began to crackle and Phoebe could feel her skin tingling as every single fur in her body stood up straight.


It was a demon.


She couldn’t move, couldn’t breath, could do nothing but stare into that light as the demon reared up and prepared to strike the prey in front of it. Everything moved in a flash and Phoebe was prepared to feel teeth sinking into her flesh, but it never did. There was a shrieking noise that pierced right through her head and she wobbled a bit, backing away to finally step on solid ground before she could figure out what was happening.


It was Destin. But not in the human or wolf form that she had gotten used to. The being she was staring at was a huge and animalistic creature, an odd hybrid between those two forms, that had jumped and sunk its claws into the demon’s head, stopping it mid strike. The monster shook its massive head in what seemed like agony and Phoebe thought she saw something red run down its scales. Destin had pierced its eyes.


There was no time for hope to set in as the monster’s tail broke the surface. It rose from the lake and curled around the wolf hybrid, tearing him off its face, and began to squeeze.


The pained howl of her partner was what finally snapped Phoebe out of her stupor. The blue flames flickered back to life on the top of her head as she charged. She ran across the surface of the lake like it was solid ground, hooves hitting the water but never sinking, and rammed against the softer side of the demon’s body. As she had hoped, it immediately dropped Destin into the lake and she could only pray to the gods that the other shifter knew how to swim when the demon began to trash around and then strike the waters at random. Phoebe was able to avoid the first two, but was able to predict the third and use her back legs to kick the demon’s jaw before it crashed into the freezing waters.


But that took a lot more out of her than she'd though it would. Her legs gave out from under her and she began to sink. The serpent demon reared up its head a fourth time but, before it could strike, there was a glint of something above it eyes and the thing shrieked. As it thrashed wildly in pain, sending waves crashing into her, Phoebe caught a glimpse of Destin still in his hybrid form, sinking his sword deep into the demon’s head.


The thing went mad with agony and the wolf shifter seemed to lose his grasp on the hilt of the weapon, falling once more to the freezing waters. With her last drop of strength, Phoebe got up. With only one though in mind, she willed her fire to burn as strongly as possible and rammed into the demon once more. The blue flames raced up across its body, licking everywhere they could get to. The putrid smell that it emanated only grew even more foul as it burned and melted.


The enormous body fell into the water. Phoebe barely let herself take in a breath or two before jumping in as well, letting herself sink into the depths of the lake. Her glow, combined with the demon’s fading light, was enough to light up the deep darkness. She was fighting against time, body screaming for air and warmth, but when she dragged herself back to the shore, she did so with a body on her back.


Exhausted and standing just at the edge of consciousness, Phoebe dropped Destin's drenched body on the ground. She fell down next to him not a second later, human once more and coughing out more water than she thought was possible for someone to take in. Shacking, she crawled up to the still figure of the young man.


“D-“ she tried to speak his name, but her voice wouldn’t work. Instead, she slapped him. Nothing, the human male laid as still as a statue, the red hue in the shape of her palm the only colour in his face.


Mind stumbling though all the relevant books she’d read, skipping pages, yanking them out, tearing them out, throwing useless books against the walls of her own disoriented thoughts, she finally ripped his shirt and put her hands against his chest. She did the compressions, tilted his head, checked his signs and did mouth-to-mouth, over and over until her arms just shut down and she could no longer even lift them up.


There was no heartbeat, no breath. Those mismatched eyes were closed, she could’t see them anymore, couldn’t even open them in their frozen state. She collapsed on top of his chest and hugged his body as tightly as she could, gasping for breath herself.


The screaming came first. Not really screams, no, her throat couldn’t handle that, but they were enough for her. Anything but this numbness creeping into her. After a while, the screaming dissolved into sobs.


She tried to stop, she really did, but, like a broken dam, it all came rushing out. It did absolutely nothing and helped no one, but it felt like she’d die if she didn’t. Her nails sunk into Destin’s chest, trying to feel anything, clinging onto the memories flashing across her mind.


“W-wake up… wake up, you stupid mutt!” she managed to croak out. “Don’t you dare leave like this. Not like this… please… I haven’t finished yelling at you yet,” she tried to chuckle, but it ended up turning into a weird mangled sob.


What was she saying? What was she doing? Why couldn’t she stop? Was she dying? Was this what it felt like?


“Semino… please…” were her last words as the dark abyss of sleep claimed her.

 

[TerraBooma]

"Old man crow...Oh! You must have heard the children's nickname. James is a kind man, he's just rather weary." The moment that Adruo said she required however, Akina's bright expression took a serious turn. She knew that many came to visit her, but many more came with news of injuries. She was prepared to move at a moment's notice when this sort of situation came up. Still..."An...an elemental walker? I..." Akina softly exhaled, taking deep breaths. When she returned her gaze to Adruo it was clear she was going to ask if she was really serious, but something in Adruo's eyes made her pause. That bluntness, the determined gaze...Akina believed her.


Her next course of action was to kneel down to the two children, whom had told her before. "I'm sorry my dear...I didn't believe you." She looked up to Adruo with a sad smile. "It's hard to believe is all, a monster in the woods? So big as well?" She laughed softly, a high giggle reminiscent of a bell ringing, with a sad undertone. "Sammy's a good boy, but he can be a bit of a prankster, so I thought it was a plan to get me to go on one of their adventures, and I've been so busy lately..." Akina stood up, a determined look on her face. "Alright, I'll go. Kiara, grab the bag."


A few minutes later they were on the road, Sammy helpfully leading the way. Akina followed by Kiara attempting to look important holding a variety of important medical items in a bag that she carried over her shoulder, grunting with ever step. Yet as much as Adruo or Sammy offered to help she was adamant in not letting go of it. "Momma said this is my job, so I'm gunna do it." Was her response to them no matter what kind of argument was used. Eventually the four of them would make way to Sammy's hidden monster. The Walker was weakened, Kiara's attempted at healing only gone so far as to slow it's death, not stop it. It was so weak it had not the energy to stand or even act out as Akina approached it in awe once Sammy removed the camouflage. But quickly got to work, speaking soft tones to the Walker. Silently but with an air of seriousness the healer got to work, when she went to start cleaning the wound the walker started to struggle, but Akina's glare and harsh tone seemed to make it stay still with...few more complaints. Adruo got the feeling that being Akina's patient was a serious endeavor. For all those involved.


After half an hour of intense silence only broken by Akina calling for new things from a seemingly never ending supply from the large sack Kiara carried. Sweat and concentration dripped from Akina's brow as she worked tirelessly, letting out relieved laughs when she managed to remove the arrow: It wasn't barbed, something that gave a glimpse of hope to the people residing in that clearing. As the day moved on and hours had passed, Akira leaned back, breathing a sigh of relief. The Walker was still, but there was a peacefulness to it's flanks rose and fell softly, it was asleep.


"Well...I think I managed to stabilize it." Akira stood up, brushing grass and dirt off her knees as she stood up. "It'll take much longer...the shot almost hit something vital if what I've read is true of these beasts. Whoever attacked this creature knew what they were doing...which worries me." Akira calmly and softly patted "Leafy" before speaking again. "She should be fine for now...just needs some rest. Still, whoever did this..." Akira looked up at Adruo. "Have you talked to Amos? He'll need to know about this...and James as well, it's possible whoever did this still is out there." Akira clearly suspected that whoever did this didn't live in the village. Meanwhile Sammy and Kiara were looking at the Elemental Walker carefully, mumbling to each other, before Sammy got pushed forth by Kiara to speak with Adruo.


"Hey uh...storylady, you said Leafy's an elemental talker? What does that mean? She's magic? Who would want to hurt her" Kiara chimed in then, pointing out her point of view. "I bet whoever did it was a really mean butthead!"

 

[SepiaInk]

​

Spoiler

Phoebe shifted the whole weight of her bags onto one arm, struggling to get that piece of paper inside her pocket without dropping everything on the ground. Huffing a lock of hair away from eyes, she searched deeper, body tilting further. A bed of sweat rolled down the side of her face at the sound of vials clinking against each other inside her leather sack.


“Do you need help, I can hold that for you?” the young woman on the steps offered with a worried smile.


“No, it’s alright,” Phoebe assured her. The frown on her brow fell the moment she found the paper. “Here, this is the place I’m looking for, please.” Stepping closer to the railing, she stood on her tip toes and stretched her arm so the young woman could see the drawing.


“Oh, yes.” The human clapped her hands, dark curls bouncing and eyes shining as bright as her smile. "I know where that is. Go there all the time. You see that tower with the bell?”


Phoebe followed the young woman’s finger to a spot between the dense canopy above the shorter buildings upfront. The golden shine of the bell, although covered in green foliage, was unmistakable. “Yes,” she whispered, finding herself admiring once more this town so deeply intertwined with nature.


“Well, the apothecary is right next to that tower- Oh, hi, girls!”


Phoebe wa startled when a group of other young women ran up to them, one of them jumping up the stairs and tackling the human that had been giving her instructions. She could see they were all tamers and colleagues, each holding a creature of some kind in their arms or shoulders, a lot of them birds. One of the bigger ones stretched its wings and tilted its head at her.


After realising that the girl’s chatter was not going to die down too soon, Phoebe turned to them and cleared her throat. “Thank you for your directions. I’m truly grateful,” she said in a solemn tone, bowing down her head.


“Oh, sorry, lady. Don’t mention it. And don’t forget, next to the tower, tall tree, last floor. Watch your step!” the curly haired one yelled after her, waving her arm. A bright orange dragon crawled up the young tamer’s arm and gave out a shrill cry in her direction.


Waving back, Phoebe couldn’t help a small ghost of a smile. They were clearly students and that always gave her a bit of nostalgia for her early years in the Grand Library.


The tower wasn’t as far away as it looked at first. There was indeed a rather tall tree casting a shadow over it and every other building beneath it. Stairs wider than should be possible circled around its large and old trunk, leading up to a number of floors and balconies, each filled with what seemed to be a bustling crowd of people. It hurt her neck just trying to spot something familiar on its highest floors, but there, at the very top, was the apothecary banner waving down at her, just the way it was drawn on the paper.


Sighing, Phoebe began her slow journey up the tree. It seemed like half the town was up here. While most were, unsurprisingly, hybrids of all kinds, there also were many young tamers on the lower floors, browsing the shops or showing off their animal companions; elves conversing solemnly on the breathtaking flower gardens of the middle floors; harpies landing and taking off with trading goods and packages of all shapes and sizes. There were even some shape-shifters, who all gave her warm knowing smiles whenever they spotted her, though Phoebe found it hard to smile back.


Curiously enough, other than tamers, humans seemed to be a rarity in this place. Dr. Silas was the only adult human she’d met so far in the Hyperion Woods.


The breeze brought the smell of honey, herbs and flowers to her sensitive nose. The tranquility, even amongst so many people, the smells and the rhythmic pace she’d set up as she climbed the wide steps, lulled her into a sort of trance. Her half-lidid eyes fell down to the book peaking out from her bag.

'Sketches and star maps are fine and all but, Ms. Silva, you work in the greatest library of all. You should write a book or two. No greater feeling than seeing your own work up there on the shelves, I say.'

​

Dr. Silas' words had been floating in her head for a while now. She couldn’t help but feel they rang true. But all those blank pages… what could she possibly write about? Her journey, perhaps?


Phoebe was so immersed in her thoughts that she failed to notice the screams of the people around her. By the time she realised warnings were being yelled at her, it was too late. She only had time to turn around before a body flew into the balcony and slammed into her, knocking the bags from her arms.

 

[Jayus]

Fekitoa 'Kito' Cynwrig

​

The mid-morning sky cast down over the Hyperion woods with a fierce heat. On days like this the looming trees that trapped what little cold was a blessing for the small village and Kito couldn’t wait to experience it. Soaring down from a nearby hilltop high above the trees his black wings beat heavily against the dry air and with no foliage to block him he experienced first-hand the true strength of an all present sun.


‘I don’t see why I have to be the one to fly.’ He thought to himself. A simple offhand thought, yet his statement was received by another.


‘You’ve been acting too human lately, the last time you flew was to get a closer look at those strange lights.’


Kito let out a small, tired sigh and smoothed the hair out of his face in an attempt to see better before allowing it to flop neatly back into place.


‘I know I know and I’m sorry, but you’re better at it than me anyway. And you remember the agreement right? I do all the talking and you do the physical stuff.’


He could hear Fekitoa’s impudent mumblings, but chose to ignore most if not all of them. If he listened to everything he said once they left home they would never make it further than a few feet.


‘And you know I don’t like that arrangement. I’d rather we not talk at all.’


This time Kito let out a louder sigh, clearly tired of the same old banter.


‘Look I know this is highly impossible, but is it okay if you be positive for five minutes? Or at least quiet. Just until I get the medicine from Mister Mekhag then you can start complaining for as long as you like.’


‘How am I supposed to be quiet we share the same brain.’


Kito let out a small laugh despite himself. He really didn't want to laugh, but sometimes Fekitoa’s blunt honesty could never leave Kito mad at him for long.


‘Just try okay?’


The familiar noise of chattering folk filled the still atmosphere and Kito’s smile widened as nervous excitement started rising up in his chest. Who was he going to talk to today? Maybe Mister Mekhag’s grandkids will show up again and tell him some new stories from the village. Or maybe the kindly innkeeper will give him some more of her baked treats.


The ground was almost in sight and he slowly started taking larger thrashes to prepare for his landing. His strong wings beat down harder and harder and he was almost prepared to drop the last few metres when a voice foreign to both of them seemed to split their head in two.


“… sorry… disturb… wolf… dead… will… Chosen?”


‘Who is that?’ Kito shouted over the stranger to Fekitoa who was less than pleased of yet another person and this time a person they couldn’t get away from. Kito clutched his head in his hands and squished his eyes shut trying desperately to keep it together despite the stress he was going under.


The voice tried speaking again and came back a lot stronger and clearer. He had a soothing friendly voice like an old friend lost in time, it made the amount of voices bearable, but only just.


“Let me try again if you may; will you be one of the Chosen?”


Kito’s scarlet coloured eyes shot open with a jolt at the word.


Chosen?


The brief silence was only there for a moment just as the headaches began throbbing in waves upon stronger waves of pulsating currents through him.


‘Get out of my head!’


A strong gust of wind knocked the distracted Harpy off his course and straight for the balcony below him. His feet bumped into the railings and sent him crashing down to the ground. The hard gravel impact he was waiting for never came as he picked himself up from something softer than he was expecting. He clutched his head with his one hand and let a string of ‘ows’ escape his lips.


‘Fekitoa what was that?’


Fekitoa seemed to not say anything of relevance at first. Finally he seemed to decide on an answer.


‘Nothing we should be concerned about. Now get up you’re causing a scene.’


Kito nodded his head slightly. His hand seemed to brush a piece of cloth and he looked up to make eye contact with a woman. She had a strange look on her face and as Kito surveyed the situation he noted all the bags and books lying in a mess around their feet were most indeed his fault.


Kito leaped back with a startled jump.


“I’m sorry! I’m s-s-so sorry!” he stammered. He held a hand out to help her, but quickly dismissed that idea. Shyly he began rubbing his hands together. He forgot for a moment to hide them, he didn’t wish to startle her any more than he already had. Oh the books!


“I’m sorry! Let me help!” He yelled a little too loudly and immediately got to his knees to pick up everything. Whether she argued or not he paid no mind.


‘You idiot just leave her. She can pick it up herself.’ Fekitoa ordered with a scoff.





‘No that’s rude! She seems nice!’


‘You haven’t even heard a word from her mouth… You idiot slow down!’


Kito was holding everything he had made her drop and was now shaking viciously in his grip. It was a strange sensation using his hands. Like they had fallen asleep and were now tingling with every nerve. It wasn’t meant for harpies to have hands let alone use them and the odd appendages never worked right for Kito. He watched helplessly as he dropped them and he stared weakly for a bit.


‘There you see? How much help was that? Just leave while you still can, get the herbs and go.’


Kito looked at his trembling hands and balled them in and out of fists until they felt as close to a normal sensation as possible. With new found determination he once more picked up the books and papers. He carefully arranged the parcels into a neater pile and held them out for her to take nervously, his face flushing a slight shade of red from embarrassment and fear she wouldn’t take the books from him, but he tried his best to stay hopeful. Fekitoa let it be known it was a bad idea.


“Once again, Miss. I’m r-r-really s-sorry.”


@SepiaInk

 

[KiKi Kitsune]

Adruo watched Akina speak to the children in silence. It was interesting to hear what the hybrid woman had to say. Thinking about it, as the only healer, it made sense that the white haired woman was busy. Adruo let her mind wander a bit as Akina and Kiara gathered what they needed. Adruo went through a mental list of what the most common problems Akina had to treat might be. She quickly shook herself and followed after the group as they set off to where Leafy was hidden.


Watching Kiara have difficulty caused Adruo to offer the small girl help many times. She gave several reasons, but none of them seemed to convince the child. It caused Adruo to worry, but there was nothing she could do, apparently. She had to give up with a sigh. Instead, the dragonkin concentrated on the path ahead. When the elemental walker was revealed again, Adruo couldn't help but be awed by it's beauty once again. The creature of myth would never cease to amaze her, she was sure. Even when it was injured, the walker held a certain grace and power that was undeniable. It took Adruo a while to tear her eyes away and watch what Akina was doing.


The healer clearly knew what she was doing. She calmed her patient but was unafraid to scold it if it did something wrong. Adruo found Akina's skills quite impressive. She had never been a healer thanks to her clumsy nature and love for stories. It hadn't left much time for learning how to care for injuries or ailments. Adruo watched silently, not wanting to be a cause of distraction during such a crucial time. Even so, she scratched the scales in her arms constantly. She was worried to see what the outcome would be.


When the bolt had been removed, Adruo's eyes widened and a huge smile grew across her face. A wave of relief washed over her. It was one less thing to worry about. Now, the healing process should be much easier... Right? Again, the dragonkin reprimanded herself for her lack of medical knowledge. Even so, the stories had told her one important fact that made her feel better. Elemental walkers had been known to be faster healers than regular creatures. Especially the walker of nature, which Leafy was. The bolt was most probably just halting the healing process. With it out, Leafy should heal completely within a few weeks.


Adruo listened intently to every word Akina had to say about the walker's current state. She was thankful to hear the Leafy's was unlikely to die any more. "Whoever attacked this creature knew what they were doing...which worries me." Adruo chewed her talon. She had also been wondering about that. The bolt was perfectly aimed. If it had been shot from a closer position, Leafy would have died. No doubt about it. Obviously, whoever attacked the mythical creature was extremely skilled with a crossbow. The question was who?


"No. I came straight to you after Sammy showed me." Adruo furrowed her brows with thought. "I will speak to Amos and Ja-" Her eyes went wide as saucers. James Crowley. The man she had seen walking out of the healer's hut. The man who had been walking with a crossbow in his hand. 'He's a really good shot but he likes to be alone.' The words that Sammy had said to her came to the forefront of her mind. Was it possible that Old Man Crowley was the culprit? No. That couldn't be. Akina didn't seem to have the faintest hint of disbelief in James' innocence. Surely Akina knew the people of this village well enough to stand in that position. James had to be innocent.


But Adruo knew how often people called her gullible.


The dragonkin shook her head. "I will go speak to Romon as well. He is probably wondering what has taken me so long. He is with Amos, I believe." She opened her wings and stretched them. They were still sore from a long day of work. She paused when Sammy walked up to her. She gave him a soft smile. "An Elemental walker is a magical creature which is friends with the gods. People would hurt them because those people are selfish and greedy." She chuckled slightly at Kiara's statement. "The biggest buttheads." Adruo agreed with a nod. She then turned back to Akina. "I will go on ahead. I will see you all later." She gave a slight bow before kneeling to look the children in the eye. "I still remember that I promised you two get first choice of this evening's stories." With that, she took into the air.


Her wing muscles protested, but the dragonkin pushed on. She flew as fast as she could manage. She was in front of Amos' hut within a few minutes. Adruo took a couple of seconds to catch her breath. Her wings felt like sheets of led tied onto her back. Even so, she entered the hut and looked around. "Romon! Amos! I need to speak to both of you." She called out.


@TerraBooma

 

[TerraBooma]

Akina nodded. "I'll take the children back to town, Sammy can hide it again. I have a few politices I can make that might speed things up, although I must admit I'm greatly out of my depth with such a magnificent creature." As Adruo flew off to find Amos and Romon, Sammy had already gotten to work on the camouflage, which still made the walker to find from the sky, a difficult feat to say the least.


In Amos' hut, Romon had been busy, it turned out that one of the reason's Amos' house had so many piles of things simply lying on the floor was all the bookshelves were completely full of books. Romon had been astounded at the collection that the village elder had managed to collect over the years. He had seen tomes and books older than Amos himself was, and many were in a language the Elf couldn't even place the origin of, the books had to be ancient...or at least completely out of his league. He had been scrambling through a large pile that Amos had laid out for him before heading down to speak with some of the farmers, the topic of the books in front of him? Riddles and Puzzles ,as well as a history of the great library. Romon wasn't expecting the answer to the riddles he'd have to face to be in the books...but it was still worth a shot.


Fortunately for Adruo, this meant Romon was relatively close to the door and only a short distance in the dreaded piles that Adruo struggled to navigate through. Romon stood up as he heard his name, called from the entrance to the hut. "Adruo? What's up?" With carefully planned movements Romon quickly made his way to the door, using a path he had marked on the way in as one of the least likely to cause any tripping hazards for him. He didn't have much problem navigating the hut in the first place, but his plan made the chance of him collapsing nearly nonexsistant. As he approached Adruo, he grinned. "You should see his collection!" Romon held up a book, titled 'Elesir lef feralli'. "It's a history of all the Elvish blades for the last hundred years or so...it's pretty impressive. From the looks of things looks like it's a volume of some sorts...it's also in Elvish."


Upon seeing the tired look on Adruo's face however, Romon frowned, letting the book drop to his side. "Something up Adruo? You talked to that Sammy kid right? Amos told me about him...sounds nice, if a bit of a mischief maker. Something going on? Amos is down in the fields if it's him you need to talk to...but you seem to have something on your mind. What's wrong?"

 

[minismurf]

Sylvanus Rachnor

​

Sylvanus sat back down on the side of the bed when Chilali said she'd go grab the food "Well, I've so far sticked to a carnivorous diet since our mother didn't feed me and my brethren anything else but meat, however I guess I could try something else for once" He stood back up as he saw Chilali stumbling, however sat back down when she explained why he couldn't go. "Heh, that's very true I suppose, fine, you go then, however if you're not back in fifteen minutes I'll go looking for you" He knew that it was a bad idea for him to even think about leaving the nursery, however he liked the thought of Chilali being alone just as much as she liked the other way around.


Once she'd left Sylvanus lied back down in his bed and looked up into the roof, however when his spider limbs started twitching under his back, he sat back up and decided to start wandering around in the room, this was the first time he was truly alone in the nursery so he wanted to just look around in it a little. There was a multitude of cabinets and tables lining the walls of it filled with various medical supplies, the walls were made of cold stone like the cavern he'd been born in, but the floor and ceiling were both made out of wood. It was a pretty average nuresry room, not that he'd seen many, however there was only one window that showed the large forest outside that surrounded the academy. When he was done looking around Sylvanus sat down in the middle of the room, crossing his legs, his body felt exhausted however he didn't want to rest, both he and Chilali had been sleeping enough these last few days. After he'd sat down Sylvanus's arachnid limbs started furiously spinning web around him, at first it would seem like it was creating a cocoon around him, however the thread started sticking to his body almost like a suit, the procedure was very slow and he only managed to finish it on one of his hands before his head started spinning again and he could feel blood trickling down from under his nose. He sighed in dissapointment. "I guess I should've waited until after I'd eaten" He said and fell down on his back, passed out.


@KiKi Kitsune

 

[KiKi Kitsune]

Adruo was still trying to catch her breath when Romon was speaking. Her curiosity spiked when he spoke about the collection of history Amos had. Imagine all the tales she could learn from those books. If it was in Elvish, it must be a very rare item. Adruo wanted to snatch the item out of the elf's hand and bury her nose in it. Luckily, Romon's question snapped her out of it and brought her back to the current problem that she had to deal with. "Yes, Sammy talked to me. Something you'll never believe happened." She stepped towards Romon but tripped over some or the other object on the floor. Her face made friends with the floor. The dragonkin groaned in pain but hastily stood up. "Sammy found a Leafy with a wound. Akina was able to get the bolt out. Find someone accurate." She said, rubbing her cheek. She didn't exactly think about what she was saying. In all honesty, she was more focussed on her own probably bruised cheek.


However, after a moment of think about what she had just told the elf, she realised how little sense that would make to someone who wasn't there. Adruo gave a long sigh at her own lack of fore thought. "There was an elemental walker. The nature one. It had a crossbow bolt in its flank. The village healer got it out and stabilised the walker. Right now, we need to inform Amos and then find who did it." She said each word with care, mostly for herself. "Akina - the healer - said I should also speak to James, but..." Adruo looked away, somewhat ashamed. "I saw him walking with a crossbow, so I don't know if I can trust him. I'm never the best judge of character, so I thought it would be best to err on the side of caution."


The dragonkin's tail twitched slightly as her mind tried to come up with solutions to the problem she had been presented. Unfortunately, it ended up hitting a few of the piles strewn about near her. They teetered precariously, but managed to stay standing. "Romon, what do you think we should do?" She was worried she would make a bad move. Hopefully Romon would be able to give some idea of the best course of action.


@TerraBooma