Nemaisare
Warrior Hunter
The farther you are from the edge of reality, the closer you are to my world.
Posts: 157
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Post by Nemaisare on Mar 27, 2008 22:44:38 GMT -5
Trouble, trouble and, gods curse it, more trouble! Well, it wasn't like he hadn't known the risks when he volunteered himself to follow her, so he couldn't very well blame her, and the horse hadn't had a choice in the matter, so Matt couldn't blame it either. So that left either himself, or the Shadow Guards... Which do you think he chose?
Hmm, well running was good, he liked running though he didn't really like running from invisible people he would rather have attacked, but attacking an unknown number of armed guards was a stupid thing to do, so Matt decided he could go for a little run. He nodded to show her that he was quite confident he could keep up with her, which wasn't necessarily a lie... He wouldn't be able to keep up with the horse if she got it going really fast, but he wouldn't fall too far behind and he'd be able to catch up quick enough. Besides which, she leave a trail he'd be able to follow blindfolded.
For every new statement the woman said, he nodded in the affirmative, yes, he understood perfectly, it was sort of like a game of keep away, fun but not nearly so safe. He grinned, baring his teeth almost happily now that he knew they were going to be making a break for it. And then, because she hadn't told him to wait or anything, he stepped back from the horse a short ways, tilted his head up at her in a cocksure, playful mnner and took off suddenly down the street. He was running easily, with long strides and gentle breathing, making straight for the gates and dodging any other obstacles, humans, tht got in his way.
The woman would be able to catch him up easy once she got the horse going, but that didn't woory him any, because a horse would bull the guards standing in his way now with far more ease than he could manage. Which was why he wasn't about to try. Not bothering to look back to find out if the woman was closing in on him, since he could still hear just fine, the youth took a deep breath and leapt up, onto the shoulders of one man and over the head of another before coming down lightly outside the city walls and continuing his mad dash for freedom. But those guards hadn't been waiting for anything like that to happen, they hadn't been prepared for anyone trying to escape, nor had the been tainted by the Shadow.
He did not know if he had just now managed to evade the Shadow Guards or if he was running straight towards them, but if he was, that probably wasn't a good thing. He lengthened his stride even more and tried to lower his body to make less of a target and sped up his pace just a bit. And then something whizzed by him and embedded itself with a thunk within the trunk of a tree just behind him. He didn't know where it had come from part from, too his right, but it had sounded light a stone. Sling, maybe? Matt ducked and swerved away instinctively, wishing that the tree cover was a bit more than almost nonexistant.
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Post by Enchant on Mar 28, 2008 21:35:57 GMT -5
She was relieved when the youth acknowledged her questions. Then watched as he took off in stride toward the gates. He's an enthusiastic one, isn't he?. Without another thought, she dug her legs and slammed her feet into the sides of the horse. "Yah!" The horse began to take large strides itself and it didn't take long before it was at a acceptable speed.
As she approached the gate,she could see, her companion must have taken the guards by surprised. They were lifting themselves from the ground and adjusting themselves accordingly. She was about to run through, when she spotted a lone shadow guard coming around the corner from the opposite direction. Damn it!.
"Yah!..Yah!" The horse sped up, she was almost there and she was confident that she would make it through before he reached the gate. Closing on the gate, she noticed that there was something peculiar about this shadow guard. A almost familiar feeling. A feeling that made her thoughts pause for a moment.
"Halt", screamed one of the gate guards holding his hands up. The guards words were enough to bring her thoughts to the current situation.
She instructed her horse to jump over the guard. The horse leaped up and flew over them with ease, landed with a thud and then bolted across the field. Satisfied, she smiled and patted him on the neck, "Good Boy, good boy". Looking back, she could see that at the moment, they weren't being followed, but she also knew that it would only be a matter of time.
Riding the horse across the fieldl was almost freeing. She could feel the sheer power of the horse underneath her and the wind hitting against her face and the wind blowing through her hair. It was invigorating.
It wasn't long till she reached the treeline undisturbed. Upon entering the trees, she was surprised that she didn't see any fairies from the fields. Then again, it was just as well. They were tempermental creatures.
The light started to faint only a little as she went further into the trees. She had heard about these woods, but never been in them herself. The trees, weren't as dense as she thought, but then again, she wasn't planning on staying there.
"Are you here?", she called out to her companion.
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Nemaisare
Warrior Hunter
The farther you are from the edge of reality, the closer you are to my world.
Posts: 157
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Post by Nemaisare on Mar 29, 2008 10:53:40 GMT -5
Matt hadn't seen the woman's own dramatic leap over the guards since he'd been too busy running himself, but he had heard the thunder of heavy hooves come up beside him and go on past, so he wasn't worried that she'd already gotten caught. Nor was he too bothered by the second stone flung at him, and this time it reached its mark, giving him a stinging blow on his shoulder. He hissed, but only changed direction to run beside the trail the horse was leaving. He couldn't smell the shadow guards anymore, so he figured it was nothing more than the other pesky critters of the forest. Not that those weren't dangerous in their own way, but he could deal with them easier just by leaving them behind, because he knew they wouldn't follow him far.
He was breathing harder now, but Matt didn't want to stop until he had joined up with the woman again. Ahead of him, he heard the hoof beats slow down as the trees came closer together, growng wider and taller. Then, as he come closer, he heard her voice and abruptly dropped into a crouch just beyond where she was. This was his world here, not the city, and he knew the signs of danger in the forest. He scented the air and glowered between the trees before scrambling up into the branches above his head, above everyone's head and hoped that the horse wouldn't give him away. But Matt knew there was something else in the words with them, and it didn't belong, not even a dragon would have raised his hackles as this was.
The youth bared his teeth and leapt as lightly as he could to another tree, following after the woman where it was harder to be noticed. The leaves, at least, covered him when he kept still and the branches he chose were sturdy enough that if he kept his motions smooth and steady, they wouldn't move more than they would for a squirrel. Suddenly, he heard an answer to the woman's question, but it wasn't coming from him. "Halt there! Stand fast, woman, and keep your horse still." The harsh commnds were accompanied by the emergence of two armed men wearing leather armour and smelling, just faintly of wrongness, the Shadow had been here then, but it hadn't been long.
Matt froze above them and carefully searched the woods for any more. It didn't seem as if there were others though, so he balanced precariously and started tugging off his boots, and keeping them to hand, getting ready to help the woman if she needed any.
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Post by Enchant on Apr 5, 2008 21:36:00 GMT -5
CRAP!!!She could feel her heart beat speed up and fell the blood pulsate through her veins. She was angry with herself that she didn't even suspect that they were waiting. She should have known when the guards at the gate stopped their pursuit. Stupid, stupid, I should have known better.
The stench of the guards permeated the air. It was like death never took a bath and made her stomach turn. They began to move closer, one toward her and the other toward the horse. She looked around for more, but it appeared that there weren't any. As a matter of fact, it appeared that her companion was nowhere to be found either. She wouldn't blame the poor creature if he took off, she would have been disappointed, but she wouldn't have blamed him.
Here she sat on her horse, two Shadow Guards moving in, she could try and make a run for it.The trees got thinker the deeper one went in, but they got more hazardous as well. Shadow Guards wouldn't be the only thing to be worrying about. As one of the guards reached out for the reigns, she pulled back on them and made the horse back up. The guard held tight, struggling with the horse,"You re not going anywhere!".
"Release me or I will run you down.", she sniped back. Foolishly, she didn't pay attention to the other guard, when she realized that he managed to position himself behind her. Damn it!
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Nemaisare
Warrior Hunter
The farther you are from the edge of reality, the closer you are to my world.
Posts: 157
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Post by Nemaisare on Apr 5, 2008 21:54:29 GMT -5
Hmm, well, now seemed as good a time as any to show himself, and he could make a grand entrance right now, just so long as the horse didn't taken exception to his sudden appearance and kick him in the head. Risky, but then, so was standing on a branch more than several feet above the ground, not that the two were in any way the same sort of danger in Matt's mind. He hefted his boots in his hands, narrowing his brown eyes in a hard glare at the man he was aiming for. The guard behind the woman was the one he wanted, since she coold probably deal with the one in front of her, or she could at least fend him off more easily.
Matt grunted as he chucked the first boot as hard as he could from his precarious perch and then sent the second one flying after in quick succession. Both aiming for the head or chest of the guard in front of the horse, playing tug-of-war with the reins. Without waiting to see if either hit their mark, he launched himself towards the other guardand managed to drive into his chest before the man could do anything more than set his feet. They both tumbled to the ground, winded, and struggled together over possession of the sharp, pointy objects currently within the man's grasp.
Had Matt been any other, ordinary youth, he would have likely been doomed from the start. Had Matt not been tired from all the exertions he had put himself through over the past day and night, the guard would likely have been doomed, as it was, apart from the weapons they were evenly matched, for he had the upper hand and the surprise on his side, while the guard was still trying to figure out what had attacked him. Matt flinched away at a startling, very loud, shout from his victim, who promptly used the opportunity to strike out at him with his dagger hand.
The blade scored a long scratch along his side, but Matt wasn't fazed by it once he managed to push the danger away and then, angry now from the injury he'd been given, he bared his teeth and forgot, for a brief instant, the shape he held. When he came back to himself, the man was lying still beneath him, throat torn open and Matt could feel the warmth of blood dripping down his chin. He shook himself and backed away from the dead man warily, searching for any more signs of trouble and worrying also how the woman might react.
He had done what instinct guided him to do, but the master had often rebuked him when he did that and the others had treated him roughly afterwards as they stank of sour fear. He bared his teeth, and the epression combined with the blood was frightening for all he still wore the unprepossessing shape of a small youth still getting into his growth.
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Post by Enchant on Apr 6, 2008 17:37:12 GMT -5
"Let go, Damn it", she yelled, as she tried tugging the reigns free from the guards grasp. The horse was obviously agitated and struggling on his own as well, which didn't makes things any easier. Fully aware that the other guard was attempting to restrain her from the back, she knew that the only was was to break free. If only she could get the guard to let go.
The all of a sudden something flew by her head and hit the guard. it wasn't enough to make him release the reigns, just tumble over a bit. Then another flew past her and hit him directly in the head. Although, she had no idea what had happened, she didn't stop to find out. She pulled back on the reigns causing the horse to lean back and stand up on its hind legs. Then with the might and muscle of the stallion he fell down onto the guard. That was enough to do it. Then she pulled the reigns to the side, in attempt to turn the horse in an attempt to stampede the other guard. However, when she did finally turn, she saw that the guard was already down and that her friend was standing over him. Well, he is proven useful.
Her relief was short lived, as she saw that her companion had blood all over the front of him. For a split second, she thought it might be his, but upon approaching closer, she saw something that she didn't expect. His eyes were primal, and his teeth were a bit sharper then she remembered. Blood was dripping out of his mouth and his breathing was heavy.Well, there is something you don't see every day.
Throwing her leg over the horse and looking at him, she asked,"Are you alright?" then jumped down without waiting for an answer. She moved toward the one he just killed, leaned over and reached down to touch it, but withdrew her hand. "Wow, you took the whole jugular, didn't you. Remind me never to piss you off". She pulled up his jacket and quickly began searching his pockets. She didn't know what she was looking for, perhaps anything that would give her an idea what they were wanting with her or the package or perhaps just something useful.
She didn't find anything of value to salvage within the pockets. She did however, pick up his side arm. Standing up, making her way to the other guard, she looked back at her companion, "Are you alright?"
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Nemaisare
Warrior Hunter
The farther you are from the edge of reality, the closer you are to my world.
Posts: 157
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Post by Nemaisare on Apr 7, 2008 21:47:37 GMT -5
Matt watched her direct the horse warily, not sure what she was going to do, but she just looked down at the guard he had killed and then asked him if he was alright. The question seemed so out of place that it broke through the last small bit of the feral thoughts that had taken him over and he blinked at her rather stupidly as she slid off the horse and started searching the dead man for something. Then, her next words penetrated the thick fog over his mind and he grinned in appreciation, then backed himself up against a tree to wait until she was through with whatever she thought needed doing so they could move on.
While he waited, the youth licked the blood clear from his face as far as his tongue would reach, then, just as a cat would, he wiped the blood away on the back of his hand and licked his hand clean, then repeated the process until he was fairly certain that he'd gotten as much of the stickily drying fluid as he could. When he was done with that, Matt shook himself and winced as the new wound in his side protested. He hauled his shirt off clumsily so he could look more closely at his side, twisting about flexibly, though not nearly as far as he wished he could go. Matt ignored the woman's repeated question, since he wasn't lying on his side dying he took that to mean he was just fine.
Prodding at the long, shallow cut, he sucked in a breath through his teeth as he wondered what he ought to do about it. It wasn't bleeding all that badly and only hurt if he moved carelessly, though it did sting a bit now that he thought about it. Ah well, he wasn't a healer and it would get better on its own eventually, he'd just have to be patient. Matt stayed crouched within the lumpy root bed of the tree he'd chosen and turned back to watch the woman and her horse and to wait for the signal that they were moving out.
As he turned towards her, a small pendant thumped lightly against his chest and Matt's hand moved automatically to still its slight swing. It was a well made piece, showing a snarling cat's head, or, something that quite closely resembled a cat. The eyes were tiny rubies and the rest was done in silver and hung from a small silver chain. His expression twisted with distaste as he touched it, but he made no move to pull it off, he'd tried that already, it didn't work. Instead, the youth lidded his eyes and leaned back against the tree with a sulky, desultory look on his face.
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Post by Enchant on Apr 11, 2008 20:42:42 GMT -5
o answer came from her bloodied companion. From what she could see, he was hiding within the shadows appearing to be grooming himself and would rather be left alone for the time being. Then it dawned on her, she didn't remember him ever speaking.Not just to her, but anyone.Perhaps a mute, or head damaged somehow.
Walking around her horse, she saw the other guard lying on the ground. It was obvious where the horse hooves came down on him. She knelt over the body, and began to search his pockets as well. Nothing was in his jacket pocket, at least nothing of use. She reached down and slid her hands into the pants pockets. She did manage to pull out a small satchel of what to be clover dust. What would a Shadow Guard want with clover dust? Clover Dust wasn't a rare item, but a necessary one for any of the arcane magics. She then placed it beside her, then continued to search the body. She was about to stand up, when something shiny coming from the edge of the guards boot. She bent over and pulled out the object.
It was a very old dagger with a small parchment wrapped around the blade with a small gold chain wrapped around it. The dagger was no bigger then her hand. She highly doubt that it was a weapon. Out of curiosity, she loosened the chain and unrolled the parchment. When she opened it, there were very old markings written on it. Some of it looked familiar, like something she once saw in the old Earth history books. Yet, the writing didn't look like anything she ever saw before. It wasn't a human language. Why would a Shadow Guard chasing me have something like this on him?
When she was satisfied that she search the bodies thoroughly, she quickly began sliding them out of the way and behind a thick bush. It wasn't till she finished that she realized the pain in her ribs were coming back. "Ow...", she in a soft grunted. "Adrenalin and the instinct of survival are a powerful pain killer," she said as she slowly stretched sideways, "but, it's a pregnant dog when the feeling comes back." She picked up all the blade, scroll, chain and satchel and placed them in her bag that hung from the saddle.
"We need to get out of here. There might be others on the way. There is legend of an old passage way through these mountains. I am not sure where the entrance is. Some believe that it is a cave at the base of the mountains. I have heard of a nymph song that tells of a path through a door of a tree." Lifting her leg, she slid her foot into the stirrup and lifted herself up on the horse. Pulling the reigns and turning toward the small boy, "Are you able to travel?"
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Nemaisare
Warrior Hunter
The farther you are from the edge of reality, the closer you are to my world.
Posts: 157
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Post by Nemaisare on Apr 11, 2008 21:34:40 GMT -5
Matt truly cared not a wit what the woman might find on the guards, nor was he at all interested in finding out what she was looking for. He did, however, perk up a bit when she pulled the small knife free. It wasn't any fancy sort of weapon, but it looked sharp, which was enough for Matt, he had liked knives ever since his master had introduced him to them, though it ought to be taken as obvious that he only liked them when he was the one using them, which reminded him. The youth stood and wandered over to the guard he had killed and relieved the man of his dagger while the woman examined her own find.
He had nothing but a rope belt to hold up his breeches to put it in and didn't know enough about the care of blades to think of looking for a scabbard, so he tucked it neatly into his belt, careful not to cut either himself or the belt, then pulled his shirt back on. He may not have liked the cloth, but he had to admit that it proved useful in protecting his frail skin again branches and thorns, even if it had a long rip in it and kept his scent. The boots, however, Matt was quite content to let lie where they had fallen, his feet were far tougher than the rest of him and wouldn't suffer any damage from the forest floor. The only reason he'd kept them on was because he hadn't trusted the city streets.
With his necklace/collar covered along with his skinny frame, Matt was ready to move on when she was. He raised his nose to the faint breeze and instantly set off at a light trot the horse would have no trouble keeping up with. He knew these lands better than the city, far better than the city, in fact, he had been raised not far from here. Well, they had been much deeper into the woods and closer to the mountains, but distance was a relative term to Matt, so near was simply closer than far. Incidentally, he thought he might know of the passage she was talking about, but he also wondered why she wanted to use it. If she knew of it, surely others did too, which meant they might just walk into a trap.
Personally, Matt knew many different ways of getting over the mountains, they had been well within his territory before the master had come and tamed him. Now, he doubted his territory was still unoccupied, since it had been many moons since he had last patrolled its borders, but he could still be fairly certain that he would know and be on friendly terms with whoever had taken over. Nor was he planning on reclaiming those lands, not in his current form, at least.
Glancing behind him, he paused to let the woman come as close as the horse would allow, then tilted his head with an obvious question. Then, miming the words out with a little sigh of annoyance, he didn't like having to act out the humans' language, but in this case, he felt it was necessary. Shrugging his shoulders and raising his hands as he had often seen the boy do when he didn't know what to do, Matt pointed to the woman and then off in different directions, still with his head cocked to the side. Just where exactly was she planning on going, and would she prefer to lead?
If she knew where to go and how to get there, then he would gladly relinquish his lead, but if she had no idea, then he was going to take her where he wanted to go, at least, for tonight, then she could figure out her destination in the morning and let him know when they started heading out again. He was a firm believer in not wandering around in circles, particularly since he saw no point in doing so unless he was hunting, though it still served a very minimum role and he rarely did it.
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Post by Enchant on Apr 12, 2008 15:13:07 GMT -5
Several hours had past as they made their way deeper into the forest. The sun was disappearing above the leaves and a blanket of darkness was beginning to surrounding them. The nocturnal creatures were stirring about and the wind was blowing much cooler.
They would need to make camp soon. Her companion appeared to be hurt and she would to first aid herself as well. Not to mention,she was quite hungry.Looking over at her companion, she thought perhaps he was too. Although, he did seem to have a very primal nature about him.
"We should find the secret entrance to the Passage of Kodenla. But, I haven't a clue as to where it is and we can't be wasting time looking for it." As if trying to remember something, but it being out of reach, "I swear I can almost see it, but every time I focus on it, it dissipates."
Shrugging it off, she surveyed the area around them, "I am sure that Shadow guards will be trying to follow us. We will need to detour them toward one way, while we take another path." Only she didn't know which way would be best. They could go deeper into the forest and go around the mountain or attempt to go over it. As she looked up at the rough and cold looking mountain, Only a fool would go over that., she thought about how much danger it would be. She only knew what was told to her. About an ice castle that was created to imprison someone or something. She also heard that there was a tribe called Fleshmongers that lived up there. They fed on anything and everything to include human. Let's not forget the Shadow guards. She was sure that they would be up there as well.
Then looking into the dark forest and the moon reflecting on some of the creatures within it, and the sound of night on the wind, she knew that the dangers the forest held wouldn't bold so well either. Rumors of the wood nymphs, not being a very sociable group, and the ground moles, they were told to be some nasty creatures. Not to mention the legend about the swamp. No one knows what is past the swamp, as no one has never made it through.
"Which way should we send any guards following us and which way should we proceed." She said her eyes focusing on her companions eyes. Inhaling deeply, she looked up as if talking to the sky, "No matter which way we go, we are most likely...." She paused, glanced at him, feigned a smile, and struggled to finish her sentence, "we are most likely screwed."
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Nemaisare
Warrior Hunter
The farther you are from the edge of reality, the closer you are to my world.
Posts: 157
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Post by Nemaisare on Apr 13, 2008 17:38:49 GMT -5
Matt, who had rarely, if ever, given any thought to what direction he wished to take beyond that it went a certain way and whether or not he was trying to reach a certain destination, was hard pressed to understand the woman's worry about where they ought to go, what they ought to do and how they ought to get to wherever they were going. He had dropped back somewhat as the day advanced, lagging a bit in his stride but keeping gamely ahead of the horse. He, at least, knew exactly where he was going and if the woman didn't like that, than she shouldn't continue to follow him.
He had never heard of this Passage to Kodenla, whatever it was, but understood enough from the rest of her words to realise that she was contemplating going somewhere beyond the small mountain range, which meant, if she wanted to get there quickly, using a direct route, the most obvious of which was to go straight up the mountain, detour a bit around its east side, which just happened to have easier footing, and then down the other until they were once more on level ground. He did not realise that, had Charity known his thoughts, she would have labeled him a fool, but even had he known, he would have dismissed her worries as human, and left them at that.
Nor did he understand when she spoke of them being screwed, for he had never heard the term before, not even when applied to generally harmless bits of metal used to hold wood together. So he simply stared back at her and shrugged, then turned sharply and pointed to the base of a tree larger around than any three men together could have wrapped their arms about. A dark hole opened at its roots and Matt crouched down to sniff at the ground about it, but he found no sign of who might have taken up residence there, which meant it was not in use and, therefore, safe shelter for them, though they horse would have to wait outside. He plunged head first into the darkness of the den, scrambling a bit in the burrow and then relaxing completely when the confined space opened up widely enough that he and the woman would not feel cramped at all. A faint, musty scent of bear was nestled deep into the dirt walls, but he could smell cat more recently, and knew that meant the bear did not use it any longer.
Spining about, he scrambled out again and came out a bit dirtier, but looking all the more comfortable than he had earlier. Here was where they would stay for the night, though Matt would have liked to continue moviing, he knew that he was the only one with good night vision and even his was poorer than it ought to be. Besides which, the master and his men had only ever gone about after dark when they were stalking their human prey, traitors, his master hadtermed them. The youth grunted and shook himself, then waved for the woman to get off her horse and come along inside, after all, a shelter was only a shelter if you were inside it.
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Post by Enchant on Apr 14, 2008 23:30:40 GMT -5
"You don't understand anything I am saying, do you," she said as she watched him move up front. I have to be out my mind.Charity wasn't sure why she decided to let him choose the way. Perhaps, leaving it to someone else, it wouldn't be as predictable if she had chose it. Then again, it could be the fact that he seemed to have a primal nature, in that hoping that he would have some survival instinct that would lead him to safety.
She watched as her companion stand at the base of a very large tree. Curious about what he was doing, it didn't take long to figure out. He disappeared through the large roots. She lifted her leg over and slid down her saddle. Once both feet touched the ground she began to rub her sore butt. It has been a long ride. She threw the reins over one of the bushes and moved toward the roots. Bending over, she tried to peer in. It was dark, she couldn't see far in.
Soon, he poked his upper body out and waved her in. She stood up and went to the horse to grab her back pack. She wasn't going anywhere without it. She bent down on her knees, opened her backpack and rummaged through it till she found a glow stick. She pulled it out, and cracked it in half and shoot vigorously. Holding the stick in front of her and dragging her back pack behind her, she followed the boy through the roots. Once she got far enough in, she noticed that it curved a little and appeared to be a entrance to a large animal nesting area. Not bad! The boy had been right it would make a good place to rest.
What about the horse? Instantly, she climbed back out the hole leaving the glow stick inside. She went to the horse and made sure that he was secure. The took the items off that they would need for the night.
She then took out the medical kit from her bag and began to give herself first aid. She cleaned most of the wounds and bandaged her cuts and scrapes. With a grunt, she looked down at her ribs, unwrapped the old bandage around her ribs. Glancing up at him, she decided not to re wrap them. She slowly approached the boy, wishing to apply first aid to him. She thought about what he did to that guard, and knew she had to be careful. "Will you let me help you?", she asked nodding, raising eyebrows and holding the bandages out.
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Nemaisare
Warrior Hunter
The farther you are from the edge of reality, the closer you are to my world.
Posts: 157
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Post by Nemaisare on Apr 15, 2008 19:36:41 GMT -5
It took the woman time enough to follow after him that, had Matt not heard her rummaging about outside the den, he would have thought she had decided to leave him and get on with her journeying. He wouldn't really have blamed her either, though he would have followed her anyways, since she was his only hope in getting rid of his binding. His eyes widened as light shone down and danced shadows across the walls, floor and ceiling and the youth stared avidly as the woman emerged holding a stick from which the glow came. He cocked his head warily and backed up as far as he could, not certain of just what it was she had done.
Then, when she went out again and left it behind, he approached it cautiously, wondering if it somehow blocked the entrance. But when he sniffed, it smelled only of hard clear stuff and some strange liquids that he couldn't place. Nor did it hurt when he touched it and sent it rolling away. Curious, he picked it up and held it as she had, in his fingers, waving it around a bit and grinning at the light show, then retreating back to the far side with it when he heard her start back down the tunnel. Tapping it and shaking, he found out that it was hollow and filled with the liquids he could smell.
Matt nipped it a bit and felt a slight give under the pressure of his teeth, but very ittle else. It was an odd, human creation he concluded and then set it back on the ground to watch the woman look after her wounds. His own were either aching or stinging, but he could do nothing about them, so he settled in to wait until she stopped moving about, then he would sleep. Only, she didn't, she crawled over to him and offered to help. With what, he wasn't sure, though taken in context, likely with his own hurts. He bared his teeth at her, not enjoying her proximity, and backed up, hard, against the wall. But when she made no other move, he relaxed ever so slightly and his fingers twitched in reluctant thought. He had long since worried the bandages from them, but the small cuts had closed well and he remembered how gentle she had been, not planning to hurt, but to heal.
Matt let his breath hiss out in a sigh, then hauled his bloodstained shirt off for the second time that day and carefully tuned so that she could see his side. The cut was shallow, but the irritation of the shirt rubbing against it all day had raised the edges of it and enflamed the skin. It was painful now, which was why he still eyed her warily, but he held himself still, only lifting a hand to wrap it around the cat's head pendant to keep it from swinging about. Then, he waited.
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Post by Enchant on Apr 20, 2008 11:28:22 GMT -5
Looking up at his eyes, she gave a comforting smile, "I will try to be gentle.". She took a prepackaged damp cloth and gently began wiping the his woounds clean. "It doesn't look to bad," she reassured. Then taking one of the bandages, she moved in a bit closer, shuffling the dirt beneath her. She could tell that he was on guard and would instinctively snap, if she moved any faster. He was allowing her to help, but it was apparent that the trust wasn't there. As he lifted up one of his arms, he kept the other stationary in the center of his chest.It didn't get pass her that he was trying to conceal the pendant that hung from his neck, but other then the observation, she didn't think more about it.We all have our memories. When she was done, she gave him a satisfied smile and moved back to the other side of the small cavern.
Opening her pack, she pulled out an MRE. "Are you hungry?" She took her teeth and ripped opened the package. Dropping the several smaller packaged within to fall out. Lets see what we have shall we? The bigger of the packages contained Chicken and Rice. She then took the plastic fork that came with the meal and began to eat. She only ate half and then handed the remaining to her companion. "I am not sure if you will like it, but it has to be better then..", she cringed at the thought, "rat." She had all but forgot about it, till now. The memory left a bad taste in her mouth.
She handed him one of the water canteens and sat back, leaning on her rucksack as she began to sip on the other. "After you eat, try and get as much rest as you can, we are going to need it."
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Nemaisare
Warrior Hunter
The farther you are from the edge of reality, the closer you are to my world.
Posts: 157
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Post by Nemaisare on Apr 20, 2008 13:19:36 GMT -5
He shivered at her touch and the tension within him grew stronger as he held himself still. He hissed threateningly only once when she first touched it, but after that, he prided himself on having managed to keep from lashing out at her. It was a start, but he'd have felt a lot more comfortable if he was in his natural shape, with claws and fangs and better senses. Not to mention that his fur would probably have been think enough to stop the knife from going into his skind in the first place. But, despite the slash feeling better for her doctoring of it, Matt still felt relieved when she moved back to the other side of the den.
His eyes lit up when she pulled out the food package, he recognised it from his time traveling with the master and his men and snuffled hungrily at the scent that came from it. He still didn't understand the human need t scorch their meat before they ate it, particularly since it took away much of the flavour, but he was still hungry enough to feel that that wasn't important at te moment. He watched the woman intently, never taking his eyes off her as she ate. But when she handed the restover to him with the comment about it being better than rat, he snorted at her odd reaction to the rodent and took the package warily from her.
It did not take him long to pick all the chicken out and then he had to decide for himself if he liked the sticky, round grains. They weren't bad, for human food, and they filled him up well enough. But he still made a promise to himself that tomorrow he would hunt for fresh, uncooked meat, and he'd share it with the woman. She would surely like that better than the rat or this other food, he'd smelt plenty of prey about while they made their way here, so it would only be a matter of patience. Matt grunted and yawned widely, then curled up like a cat against the wall and kept one eye open to watch the woman until she slept. He did not think theywould need to stay awake like some of the men had, he would hear, or scent, anything coming before it came too close, besides, the horse would offer a good distraction.
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