A mysterious area, explorers tend to go missing and never return. A low fog constantly blankets the forest floor and strange sounds have been reported being heard during the day. Not much else is known about the forest. (+3 Speed, +2 Endurance)

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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 12/22/2016 10:30 AM

The idea that he might see some kind of flesh-eating monstrosity, really see one, was unsettling to the extreme. It wasn't even the kind of thing he could prepare for with studying, since there weren't any books on the matter. People generally didn't survive this kind of encounter.

But then, he thought, a half-dead dragon stumbling away from his masters in a blind bid for freedom had made it. Why could they not, when they had prepared for it, and with Dami himself as one of the party? It was entirely possible not to die, probably. He was warming to the idea of not dying.

It would mean he was going to have to make a real committed effort though. Rats.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 12/22/2016 10:39 AM

As time went on, the chill became easier. No, easier wasn't quite the word he was looking for. It was more like his body adjusted, because it had to. It realized that he wasn't listening to its warnings and going back to someplace tolerably warm, so it stopped trying to get his attention because it knew that wouldn't do it any good. In the case of his fingers and toes, the nerves had perhaps stopped trying to communicate entirely.

He was still faring better than Rey. Dami was good with cold. Rey wasn't. This had been true ever since they were boys, though Rey had insisted that Dami take their warmer clothing. Rey was shivering now, and huddled into himself.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 12/22/2016 10:43 AM

Out here in the dark, against the vast expanse of wilderness, he looked awfully small. Technically Saffi was still the shorter, but she was more sturdily built. The chill didn't seem to bother her; if it did, she didn't show it. Huddled in on himself the way he was, Rey looked not unlike a hosed-down cat, skinny and miserable.

Dami sighed, frustrated, and took off his scarf--- the physical one he was wearing, not Vera. She loosened enough to let him do it. The scarf would phase right through her, but his hands wouldn't. As soon as he was done, she reclaimed her spot once more, and he was glad for it. In the split second before she did, when the cold touched his neck, it made him want to curl up too.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 12/22/2016 10:45 AM

"Here," he said brusquely, and collared his brother with the scarf. Before Rey had the presence of mind to look anything other than stunned, he had finished wrapping it around and tying it off. "I don't need it. Vera's keeping the cold off me." It wasn't precisely a lie, though in truth Vera was keeping the cold off a very specific part of him. She would have to be a Senzaku to do anything more.

"Ah," said Rey. After a moment, he buried his hands in the scarf, perhaps to take advantage of the lingering body heat from when it had been pressed against Dami. "Thanks." The fact that he didn't protest only made Dami feel worse.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 12/22/2016 10:51 AM

He wanted to say something, do something more, but nothing else occurred to him. All he could do was avert his eyes and walk on.

He did notice Zethos glancing back at them, and there might have been something like concern in his features. Dami might have just imagined it. Zethos was hard to read. In light of the recent revelations, he wondered if that wasn't because he wasn't used to moving human facial features. Did dragons express themselves in other ways?

He could ask, but he doubted Zethos would answer. He could ask Saffi too, but that didn't seem right either.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 12/23/2016 11:01 PM

After all, she had introduced herself and her people as masters of the dragons. Even Dami hadn't missed the way Zethos had tensed at the words. There had been a gleam in his eyes then that had been deeply unsettling, and Dami had an inkling of what he must have been running away from, in that moment. He was not wholly unfamiliar, himself, with the nature of masters and servitude.

The real question was how the self-proclaimed Dragonkin had endeavored to enslave dragons at all. The creature he had seen in Rey's apartment, when Zethos lifted his illusion, had been massive, and Saffi had informed them that this was not a full-grown individual.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 12/23/2016 11:04 PM

Moreover, even injured and dying, Zethos had still been able to work magic. Magic. And not the magic of the Shijin order, which Dami understood, but the magic of their own kind. Dragon magic, which the Sprawl had no records of, no idea about beyond discredited myths and children's stories.

If the situation weren't the thrice-blasted mess that it was, he might almost have been happy to make such a discovery. He wasn't a stuffy academic type himself, but something like this would have provided plenty of leverage for him with those who were. Advancement of the Order's understanding of the world was always something to be sought, so the elders said. How else were they to work towards the restoration of the Star? And the revival of the Star must always be first and foremost on everyone's minds, after the safety and well-being of the people, of course.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 12/23/2016 11:30 PM

These were useless thoughts, as he really couldn't ask, but it kept his mind off the cold. The brittle silence continued, unpunctuated by anything other than the sounds of their breaths, and the rustle and crunch of their footfalls upon the ground. Saffi, walking ahead, held one light aloft in her mitted hand. Bringing up the rear, Zethos held the other. Probably to stay as far away from her as he could. Dami and Rey, between them, served as a buffer zone.

Dami didn't like this development, but somehow he didn't feel like speaking up about it. It wasn't like him to suffer quietly, but it just seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 05/02/2017 6:26 AM

Eventually--- it had to be eventually--- Saffi motioned for them to stop. Dami didn’t notice it at first; it wasn’t until he had nearly walked into her that he realized. He had long stopped looking where he was going. The Lightless Wilds were aptly named, and there was very little light to see by, even with Saffi’s lantern.

More to the point, he wasn’t sure he wanted to see what he could see, and he liked even less the speculation his mind was making of silhouettes and half-shadows. It was better to keep his eyes on his feet, where they were at least of some use. Considering how little travelled the Wilds were, there was nothing like trails for them to follow. Tripping on the underbrush was a real concern.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 05/02/2017 6:28 AM

He had little more than the presence of mind to look befuddled at first, but thankfully Saffi wasn’t looking at him. She cast a glance around, apparently ascertaining something for herself, though Dami couldn’t have said what it was. He still couldn’t see anything. Maybe she had more luck, considering she was holding the lantern.

“We’ll make camp here,” she declared abruptly. Dami supposed she must have been scouting for such a place. Or maybe she was just tired, though the thought that she was only now wearing down was disheartening. He had passed that milestone ages ago. Probably. His sense of time was becoming rather vague, with nothing to measure it by.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby .:Random Event:. » 06/08/2017 1:52 AM

Moonlight filtered down between the canopy, catching the thick fog rolling through the forest and illuminating it. Small nocturnal creatures rustled, hunting for food, thinking the coast was clear, even though the occasional hoot or screech proved otherwise. This eerie atmosphere was one of the many things that had given Whisper it's reputation and sometimes, even the braver people were intimidated by the spooky vibes given off.

In the middle of all the dark green and blue, a single blood-red wild rose was peeking out from the thicket. It was said these flowers only bloomed in spring, so it was lucky the group had made camp here.

(Wild Rose retroactively granted, due to date of post)
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 06/09/2017 1:49 AM

This particular spot didn't look so special to Dami. In fact, he couldn't really tell the difference between the place Saffi had picked and the rest of their surroundings. Still, he was tired, so he wasn't about to protest the idea of setting up camp. A glance at Rey confirmed that he was faring even worse.

"Hey," Dami said, drawing up by Rey's side. His brother was shivering; it was hard to tell in the dim glow that Vera gave off, but the color in his face was off too.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 06/09/2017 1:54 AM

Frowning, Dami threw an arm around his shoulder and drew him close. Rey didn't so much as look up at the touch, only squinting his eyes shut now that he ostensibly didn't have to watch where he was going. For the second time that day, Dami felt the frustration of being bound to a Seiryuu; if he could only conjure fire...

Fire. Dragons. He turned to look at Zeth as the thought struck him. "You. Can't you do something about this blasted cold?"
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 06/09/2017 1:56 AM

Zethos still wore his human guise; Dami had bee given some sort of explanation that it was easier that way, a way for him to conserve energy... or perhaps that his wounds were too great, and he was unable to change back. Whatever it was, he certainly didn't look bothered by it. His features were as stoic and impassive as ever. It took him a moment to realize he was being addressed, and the gaze he leveled at Dami in response might have cowed a lesser man.
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Re: A Dissertation on Wilderness [self]

Postby crow » 06/09/2017 1:58 AM

Fortunately, Dami had none of these qualms. He was a prodigious member of the Shijin Order, the youngest to ascend to his rank. There were none in living memory who could match himself and Vera for raw power. A dragon was nothing to them.

"I guess you didn't hear me the first time. Fire. You can make it, can't you?" he said.

Zethos did not immediately respond, though his expression shifted to something... something else. Well, he might have been considering it, anyway.
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