`` e s c a p e [interactive]
July 17, 2012 - 9:12pm — Jinxyness
__________________________________________________________________________________ESCAPE
Roiling water pushed her down, pressed her cheek against the black mud and held her there helpless. She tried to fight it, but the churning waves won out over her strength, pushing cold salty water down her throat. It filled her lungs, sealed her throat, and flooded her nose with a burning sensation.
Just an hour ago everything had been perfect. She hadn't come home to her father's anger in a month, been greeted by his yelling at her, telling her she wasn't good enough, not good enough to live, let alone live in his house under his roof.
The ocean was her comfort, her only haven from him. Camellia walked down the thin sandy path that wound down near the coast every day that she could. This was the first time she had come at night.
She didn't know exactly what she did, but the memory in her house, not that long ago stood out in her mind. Camellia had come home late, and remembered his hollering, then the smack of his hand against the pale skin on her cheek. He had slapped her. Hard. She remembered how she'd screamed, terror and pain that he had broken the barrier that stood between them ever since her mother left. He was just as shocked as she was, and his disbelief lent her time. She had torn out of the house and down the dirt path and thrown herself with all her heart and mind into the water.
The current tugged at her, slapping her with the brute force of the ocean as she swayed in the water, giving in to it's might.
Her head slumped against her chest, and all was blackness and the warmth of the liquid surrounding her, coddling her. If she wasn't half-drowned she might have wondered how she could still breathe.
Then, a pause as the girl opened her eyes and swam, pushed her tired limbs into movement and heaved herself onto the shore of some body of water that was no longer recognizable to her.
Everything seemed almost bigger, taller than before and bigger. And this was when she looked at herself, twisting her head to get a good look and then throwing herself back into the lake's murky waters. It was as if she was trying to drown herself all over again.
Her legs were stronger now, but so unsteady. It seemed as though she had become a deer! But Camellia continued to try to get herself back into the depths of the pond, flailing with hooved feet, and finally, collapsing with a broken sob on the bank. Her bruised body needed rest, and as she curled up into a tight little ball that was all that she could fathom.
[hover] this is an interactive with camellia, a human-faced doe character who has just entered the forest through the pond~ interactions are very much appreciated.
Tracking, I might do this
thank you, I'm happy there is
So, we bring in one of our
All Pathes Eventually Cross
Yes, that's the idea. Thanks,
The stag had been drinking.
As the doe flopped on to the bank, a shadow was cast on her. Curious black eyes glinted on his white-furred male face. Two ears were both tilted toward her, big like satellite dishes. "Are you alright?" His words were a soft sound like a gentle summer thunder. "I'm safe, so are you, you know." The doe was just laying there in a ball. So gentle-looking but hurt she was. The emotional turmoil was palatable. It made him nervous, but only a bit.
(Agh!! So short!)
Let's try someone...new.
The tiny doe wandered through the grass, making her way down to the lake she had seen earlier. Well...Kerwin had called it a pond, but to her it was a giant of a lake. The pond frogs called to her, and dragonflies buzzed about. She was tempted to fly herself, but she allowed her wings to twitch and die. Now was not the time to fly, now was the time to explore before she was found.
Alida wandered over to the water's edge, and trotted along the bank, taking in the scents of marsh. Mud and decay mostly, with the sweet scent of blooming flowers. She continued along, before coming to a halt. Something was lying along the bank, its fur slick with water and covered in mud. Originally she had mistaken it for an oddly shaped log, but as she made her way closer a body became more apparent. She twitched her wings nervously, it was big, far bigger than she. Maybe as massive as Kerwin.
As she drew closer she recognized it as a deer, a doe, from the faint scent she could smell. What was she doing beside the water? Did she go for a swim and something happened? Was she hurt? Alida felt panic flutter in her ribs, should she go for help? She stepped a little closer, feeling the mud squish under her hooves.
All Pathes Eventually Cross
@GB Floppy grey ears perked,
@GB
Floppy grey ears perked, matching the movement of the stag's own ears. Green eyes widened, the pupil larger that the average person, a black orb in the pool of jade. Although Camellia had realized that she had become a deer, and had somewhat accepted this fact to her own disbelief, she hadn't known about her human face. She had never seen a creature like Moss before, a black and white stag with antlers that were adorned with purple flowers.
He was a deer, but...not a deer. She saw a human face, that of a man, in place of a deer's tapering snout.
A tangle of brown curls framed her face, occasionally getting into her eyes and causing her to move her head in a jerky motion to brush them to the side without the use of her hands. The little grey doe stayed where she was, curled up in the water lillies and fronds of the pond.
"W-Who are you?" she asked, giving a small shiver and tossing her head as a sopping strand of hair obstructed her vision, "Am I...like you are?"
She felt...comforted by the stranger's prescence, at the very least. He seemed friendly enough, if she could get past pondering how she could have possibly gotten here enough to consider much social interaction.
@Sicily
Camellia drew herself in farther, curling up into an even smaller ball as she sensed the prescence of another being. She was still not quite conscious, unable to come to terms with what had happened to her. Then the doe tried to get to her feet, wobbly and unsteady on her new set of four rather than two legs.
She ended up tripping over her own hooves, and did a funny little stumble to catch herself before she should faceplant into the mud and moss. Turning her head to look back, she examined her soft fur, pale grey like a dove's underbelly, and her dark brown hooves. Than she peered into the water to look at her own reflection, skittering back a step numbly as she came to a realization.
She was not only a deer... Her face was human, but it was different, somehow, from how she looked when she was human. It was as if her flawed skin was smoothed out until it was of a perfect beauty, but a natural radiance like the forest and the pond and the deer itself, graceful and in tune with itself. Harmonized.
A wet tangle of curls framed her face, with large eyes and high cheekbones. Her eyes were a startling shade of green.
She looked around her, trying not to fumble and trip again, and wondered vaguely if there were any other inhabitants in this forest.
The little doe stumbled back,
Taking in a breath, the bird doe took a step forward, making sure to keep some distance between them. She didn't want to be caught off guard should this doe's legs come out from under her again. "Hi..." she allowed the word to dangle on the air for a moment, glancing over at the pond, "Are you okay?"
*I would put her voice to a color, I'm still looking for the right one.*
All Pathes Eventually Cross
The stag smiled gently,
The question was again spoken gently. Too much for her right now and Moss was nearly sure the doe would break. The small gray doe was just too fragile to leave alone, so there he rested beside her. Hopefully the shallows would stay warm enough to keep her body warm until she was brave enough to move on her own. One ear turned away briefly to catch the sounds of the surrounding forest. Something good about arriving in this particular portion of the forest: everything echoed off of the pond's cliff. Any sound was audible. So far, they were alone save for the frogs and dragonflies. The water was too low for the fish to get close.
@Sicily Swiftly her head
@Sicily
Swiftly her head turned towards the source of the sound. Silver ears perked, she tried to make out the shape of the one who spoke... Camellia was still quite off-balanced, and she had to clench her legs to make sure she wouldn't topple over with the slightest breeze.
"My name..." she trailed off, a sharp pain echoing in her head as she tried to remember, "My name is Camellia."
She was still a bit out of sorts, but this name felt right, it felt like it had meaning to her, and she somewhat remembered her life as a human. It hurt to remember.
@GB
"The Endless Forest?" she asked, her brow furrowing with confusion, "What is that? Where?"
She cast a grateful glance at Moss as lowered himself into the water--she had been a bit uncomfortable being laying down and all while he stood, and she wasn't quite ready to stand up, she might faceplant into the water for all she knew.
Camellia noticed as he looked abover her head, and she twisted around, rolling over on her belly and consequently getting more mud on her fur, trying to see what he saw. She righted herself and looked at Moss curiously.
"Is there something supposed to be there?" she asked.
[I've decided to bring her into the Forest in-game under this picto.]
The bird doe boldly stepped
The doe glanced at the water, seeing her head reflected in the light. She looked a lot still like a quail, she had to admit to that. She still had the smooth little head, the beady eyes, the medium length, rounded beak. Ears sprouted where hers should have remained smooth and her feathers continued down her neck to her wings. Then the fur started, the cursed four little legs and her weird, feathery tail. She still had her old markings though, at least it was something familar. Just a gentle splatter of brown against an off white background.
All Pathes Eventually Cross
[GB, I meant to add in her
@Sicily
"Hmm...yes, I can see that. Where are we?" she asked Kerwin softly, trying not to trip over her legs again or just fall flat down. It was hard to adjust to having four legs, it felt like she was walking on stilts or something similar, it was so strange.
She was also exhausted, to add to her list of troubles. Camellia wanted to know where she was, but also why. She didn't remember much from before she had come up spluttering, sides heaving and gasping for breath, from the surface of the pond. Then a warmth had spread through her limbs, lasting only momentarily but still leaving her utterly breathless. Camellia sensed it came from the one who sent her.
She wanted to know what brought who here, and why.
[lol alright ] Moss nearly
Moss nearly let out a chuckle as he watched her roll and look for her light. He swallowed it, though. The Black and White did not want to be seen as a rude deer. "Well, Camellia, your pictogram is up there. It's how we deer tell each other apart in this place. Look at your reflection in the water. It is how you spell your name here.
And the Forest is our home. I'm not quite sure where it is in relativity to any other place..." That would be something to meditate on later, so Moss cataloged it away. "But somehow you are here." His curiosity was held back on taut reins. He just resigned to examining the doe for problems. She was not terribly injured, albeit shaken. Her hair was wet and seemed tangled a little. "And a bit shaken, but I don't think you're much worse for wear."
[and thank you soo much for
[and thank you soo much for getting her a set<3 It's sure being a lot of trouble for you, and it's really nice of you to do this. c:]
@GB
"Moss...I think I was human," she said, a little crease appearing between her eyes. "So we all look like this? Is there anyone else here?"
Camellia was still quite confused. She decided then that it was time to try to get to her feet. She was very wobbly, and tripped when she picked up one hoof from the ground to take a step, landing in the water with a splash that she prayed hadn't hit Moss.
Camellia gave it another go, managing to stand and bending her head to drink from the pond, slaking her thirst in one go with the clean, cool water.
"Can we kind of move out of the water, Moss?"
She was finally beginning to feel the numbing cold.
*Alida, not Kerwin. Kerwin's
"The forest," Alida replied simply enough. She looked around adding, "A lot of...of deer live here. Some are born here, and some are brought. Some start their lives as fawns and other adults..." she didn't have much to add to that, she could only quote what was told to her. Uncomfortably, she started to preen her wing feathers, watching the doe out of the corner of her eye. "It's confusing at first, but then everything just sort of falls into place," she added thoughtfully.
All Pathes Eventually Cross
[You're quite welcome... but
The stag rose with her, trying to help the doe. Her movements were quite fawn-like. "Of course. There is a sunny patch of dandelions out of the wet and mud. It'll help you warm up." He took a deliberate step forward, lifting his hoof high and letting it down slowly. "There are plenty of creatures here that look very different as well as plenty of natural-faced deer, but you and I are of the species of Deer here that is native to this place. You still are kinda human, though. I'd imagine you retained the same face you had, or at least similar. And your intelligence, as far as I have seen."
Another deliberate step was taken, and the stag prepared himself to have to catch Cam if she fell. "Try... like a fawn. Only focus on one leg at a time and keep them spread out. You'll get the hang of this quickly. It's not like two legs... I've been a bird a couple of times, so I've tried only having two before. It was hard, I understand." He smiled encouragingly. "And I'll catch you if you fall. Promise." He looked from the Gray Girl to the Dandelion patch just past shore, then back: An invitation to move forward.