The close-knit group of eight straggled up the mountainside: eight very different creatures, with one thing in common: all had been specially "chosen" (more like kidnapped) by the mysterious and enigmatic Mr. F. Bear, head of the corporation Fluffy Bear Inc., a corporation which didn't seem to really do anything, but still made lots of money regardless. Each had been chosen for particular skills or traits, some of which they themselves didn't even know they possessed. Regardless, they were all here, on the side of this unforgiving mountain, plowing through the snow together. Some were handling it better than others, however.
Come on, everyone, the snow is wonderful today! The Zephion mare by the name of Nur called back to her companions as she dashed up the slope, her powerful legs tossing up powderpuffs of snow as she pranced. Nur simply couldn't understand what the big fuss was about! Cold was marvelous! Well, she could understand that Tyson didn't like it, but that was understandable, he was a Fire element type. But the others, they had no excuse! Keep up, we're almost to the top! She whinnied, dashing back to the group, having seen the Shrine up ahead. They'd be there soon, if the others picked up their pace!
The blaze penticorn, however, was not having as gleeful a time as Nur. Speak for yourself, crazy broad! I hate the cold! Tyson mustered enough strength to yell, his chattering teeth somewhat dampening the effect of his words. It was so cold! How had he managed to let the rest of them talk him into this? Oh yeah, he didn't. They'd forced him. After all, it was seven versus one, and he couldn't exactly break off from the group, otherwise he'd have to face the wrath of their employer, Mr. Bear. He wasn't so stupid as to go out of his way for that.
Fiametta, meanwhile, was having a fantastic time. She was still the baby of the group, despite the fact that she was more like a teenager now, and thus was still allowed a lot of leniency. The Radill was currently bounding through the snow, digging little tunnels under the oppressive white powder, making tunnels through the cold while still managing to keep up with the rest of the group. She was a fast little digger! Fi really preferred lovely, glorious dirt to dig in, of course, but there was none of that here, so she'd make due with snow!
Emo McEmopants was not having as glorious a time as a few of the others. Nor was it being grumpy like Tyson. Instead, Emo was doing what it did best: being emo. The little ball sighed as it hovered along beside the others, mentally composing depressing poetry in it's head and wondering why it deserved to exist. No one really paid attention to the depressed little floating Angst, as it did this all the time and no one really took it seriously. Alas, the life of an emo!
The coal-black mare (NYGHTmare, TYVM), was plowing along, a bit ahead of the others in an attempt to distance herself from them, but not so far ahead as to catch up to Nur. She too was feeling the taxing effects of the cold. Really, why did they have to pick here? Because that stupid stuffed creature had told them he wanted them to capture a wild creature for his experiments? She really didn't know why they'd gone along with his plans, I mean, he'd only heavily suggested they go to the Basantha Shrine, not demanded. Then again, a suggestion from him was basically like a command. And he was powerful, she'd admit. Powerful enough to overcome all of them. They really had no chance. She cursed mentally in her head at him again, and cursed herself for being too weak to resist capture.
It was hard to spot Elysia, she blended into the snow so well, her fading form matching with the blinding white of the snow perfectly. The only way one could tell she was there was by looking at the tracks she left in the snow, and following her movements as she pushed her way through the snow drifts, slow but steady. The mare really didn't have much to say, she was the quiet sort. Tyson had been steadfastly attempting to court her, but so far Elysia resisted all his advances. She was somewhat glad that he was far too cold now to attempt to woo her for the moment, she was getting rather tired of his foolish attempts to show off. Pff. Stallions.
Sketch had it easy, along with Emo. It was light enough that it didn't sink in the snow, instead sort of hovering atop it, ghosting along with little movement from it's barely-there legs, the lines arranging and rearranging themselves in some parody of walking, though in truth it didn't need to move it's legs to move. Soon it gave up faking movement all together, instead just drifting along atop the snow at an easy pace, floating alongside the others, staring blankly ahead- or, at least, that was what it looked like. No one could really tell what Sketch was looking at, due to it's lack of three-dimensionality.
The self-appointed leader of the group (no one really protested to his leadership, he was leader only on the fact that the rest were either too lazy or just didn't care enough to try) had long ago stopped attempting to fly, the blustering snowy winds made flight too much work. He padded through the snow behind all the others, wings folded as he encouraged everyone from behind, his position assuring that no one was left behind. Come on, everyone, we're almost there! He barked, giving a little nudge to Tyson, who'd dropped back. Indeed, they almost were there, they'd topped a rise and now were walking on semi-flat ground, the looming building of the Shrine growing closer and closer with every step.
Finally, the group reached the doors. It was then they noticed the steps. WHAT? Do you mean we could have avoided walking through the snow? !@#$$#!##@! Tyson proceeded to pitch a fit, his anger causing the snow around him to melt. It looked like Zion had misread the map. Uh, whoops? The Yonyuu murmured quietly, ushering the rest of the team onto the threshold of the Temple, out of the wind. Tyson decided he'd rather be warm at the moment than throwing a fit, and so boldly stepped up to the massive wooden doors, shouldering them open and stepping into the blast of warmth. Much better.
The rest of the team trickled into the Temple, Nur with some regret for leaving the lovely snow. They halted in awe once inside, the door slamming shut behind them as they gazed around at the church-like inside. There were candles everywhere, lighting up the inside like a jack o' lantern, casting orange and white light on the walls, making the place seem almost... Homey. They took in the monks and their quiet, unobtrusive chanting, along with the praying trainers. This place felt sacred, none wanted to disturb the silence with any talking. Finally, Zion took control and whispered quietly to the group. Look at those statues. Think they mean something?
The others followed his line of sight, taking in the three massive statues and the dark passages underneath them. I'd say that those passages are where we're going to find those Hunters and Mekkayenas the Boss wanted. Akeldama murmured, her gaze greedy as she looked at the statue with the Hyena-creature. She wanted to go down that passage!
I say we split up and search all three passages. More ground covered that way. Zion murmured, his sights set on the figure with the sphere. The others quickly murmured their assent and paired off into groups of three, with one group of two.
Fiametta and Nur paired up, Nur was like a mother figure to the Radill and the two were practically inseparable. Tyson attempted to pair with Elysia, but she quickly stepped to the side of Zion, claiming him as her partner. Sketch sauntered up to Akeldama, making another pair, leaving Emo and Tyson to join on with whoever they wanted. Tyson joined up with Zion and Elysia, much to her chagrin, and Emo decided to join Sketch and Akeldama.
The groups then quickly hashed out who would go where.
Zion, Elysia, and Tyson took the middle tunnel, with the figure with the sphere.
Fiametta and Nur took the first figure with the scorpion.
Akeldama, Sketch, and Emo took the third tunnel with the Hyena figure.
The groups waved bye and wished each other luck, approaching their respective tunnels, prepared to depart on their adventures.
Come on, everyone, the snow is wonderful today! The Zephion mare by the name of Nur called back to her companions as she dashed up the slope, her powerful legs tossing up powderpuffs of snow as she pranced. Nur simply couldn't understand what the big fuss was about! Cold was marvelous! Well, she could understand that Tyson didn't like it, but that was understandable, he was a Fire element type. But the others, they had no excuse! Keep up, we're almost to the top! She whinnied, dashing back to the group, having seen the Shrine up ahead. They'd be there soon, if the others picked up their pace!
The blaze penticorn, however, was not having as gleeful a time as Nur. Speak for yourself, crazy broad! I hate the cold! Tyson mustered enough strength to yell, his chattering teeth somewhat dampening the effect of his words. It was so cold! How had he managed to let the rest of them talk him into this? Oh yeah, he didn't. They'd forced him. After all, it was seven versus one, and he couldn't exactly break off from the group, otherwise he'd have to face the wrath of their employer, Mr. Bear. He wasn't so stupid as to go out of his way for that.
Fiametta, meanwhile, was having a fantastic time. She was still the baby of the group, despite the fact that she was more like a teenager now, and thus was still allowed a lot of leniency. The Radill was currently bounding through the snow, digging little tunnels under the oppressive white powder, making tunnels through the cold while still managing to keep up with the rest of the group. She was a fast little digger! Fi really preferred lovely, glorious dirt to dig in, of course, but there was none of that here, so she'd make due with snow!
Emo McEmopants was not having as glorious a time as a few of the others. Nor was it being grumpy like Tyson. Instead, Emo was doing what it did best: being emo. The little ball sighed as it hovered along beside the others, mentally composing depressing poetry in it's head and wondering why it deserved to exist. No one really paid attention to the depressed little floating Angst, as it did this all the time and no one really took it seriously. Alas, the life of an emo!
The coal-black mare (NYGHTmare, TYVM), was plowing along, a bit ahead of the others in an attempt to distance herself from them, but not so far ahead as to catch up to Nur. She too was feeling the taxing effects of the cold. Really, why did they have to pick here? Because that stupid stuffed creature had told them he wanted them to capture a wild creature for his experiments? She really didn't know why they'd gone along with his plans, I mean, he'd only heavily suggested they go to the Basantha Shrine, not demanded. Then again, a suggestion from him was basically like a command. And he was powerful, she'd admit. Powerful enough to overcome all of them. They really had no chance. She cursed mentally in her head at him again, and cursed herself for being too weak to resist capture.
It was hard to spot Elysia, she blended into the snow so well, her fading form matching with the blinding white of the snow perfectly. The only way one could tell she was there was by looking at the tracks she left in the snow, and following her movements as she pushed her way through the snow drifts, slow but steady. The mare really didn't have much to say, she was the quiet sort. Tyson had been steadfastly attempting to court her, but so far Elysia resisted all his advances. She was somewhat glad that he was far too cold now to attempt to woo her for the moment, she was getting rather tired of his foolish attempts to show off. Pff. Stallions.
Sketch had it easy, along with Emo. It was light enough that it didn't sink in the snow, instead sort of hovering atop it, ghosting along with little movement from it's barely-there legs, the lines arranging and rearranging themselves in some parody of walking, though in truth it didn't need to move it's legs to move. Soon it gave up faking movement all together, instead just drifting along atop the snow at an easy pace, floating alongside the others, staring blankly ahead- or, at least, that was what it looked like. No one could really tell what Sketch was looking at, due to it's lack of three-dimensionality.
The self-appointed leader of the group (no one really protested to his leadership, he was leader only on the fact that the rest were either too lazy or just didn't care enough to try) had long ago stopped attempting to fly, the blustering snowy winds made flight too much work. He padded through the snow behind all the others, wings folded as he encouraged everyone from behind, his position assuring that no one was left behind. Come on, everyone, we're almost there! He barked, giving a little nudge to Tyson, who'd dropped back. Indeed, they almost were there, they'd topped a rise and now were walking on semi-flat ground, the looming building of the Shrine growing closer and closer with every step.
Finally, the group reached the doors. It was then they noticed the steps. WHAT? Do you mean we could have avoided walking through the snow? !@#$$#!##@! Tyson proceeded to pitch a fit, his anger causing the snow around him to melt. It looked like Zion had misread the map. Uh, whoops? The Yonyuu murmured quietly, ushering the rest of the team onto the threshold of the Temple, out of the wind. Tyson decided he'd rather be warm at the moment than throwing a fit, and so boldly stepped up to the massive wooden doors, shouldering them open and stepping into the blast of warmth. Much better.
The rest of the team trickled into the Temple, Nur with some regret for leaving the lovely snow. They halted in awe once inside, the door slamming shut behind them as they gazed around at the church-like inside. There were candles everywhere, lighting up the inside like a jack o' lantern, casting orange and white light on the walls, making the place seem almost... Homey. They took in the monks and their quiet, unobtrusive chanting, along with the praying trainers. This place felt sacred, none wanted to disturb the silence with any talking. Finally, Zion took control and whispered quietly to the group. Look at those statues. Think they mean something?
The others followed his line of sight, taking in the three massive statues and the dark passages underneath them. I'd say that those passages are where we're going to find those Hunters and Mekkayenas the Boss wanted. Akeldama murmured, her gaze greedy as she looked at the statue with the Hyena-creature. She wanted to go down that passage!
I say we split up and search all three passages. More ground covered that way. Zion murmured, his sights set on the figure with the sphere. The others quickly murmured their assent and paired off into groups of three, with one group of two.
Fiametta and Nur paired up, Nur was like a mother figure to the Radill and the two were practically inseparable. Tyson attempted to pair with Elysia, but she quickly stepped to the side of Zion, claiming him as her partner. Sketch sauntered up to Akeldama, making another pair, leaving Emo and Tyson to join on with whoever they wanted. Tyson joined up with Zion and Elysia, much to her chagrin, and Emo decided to join Sketch and Akeldama.
The groups then quickly hashed out who would go where.
Zion, Elysia, and Tyson took the middle tunnel, with the figure with the sphere.
Fiametta and Nur took the first figure with the scorpion.
Akeldama, Sketch, and Emo took the third tunnel with the Hyena figure.
The groups waved bye and wished each other luck, approaching their respective tunnels, prepared to depart on their adventures.
