I know I still need to finish Ebony and Ivory, but I wanted to start this RP up. Anyone can join in.
The scenario is that Noctuis, the infectious owl, attacks Quad and damages his brain. The RP will involve interacting with him in this state as well as trying to find a way to cure him.
Official Themesong:
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He had been stalking the blackbuck for quite some time. Patiently waiting for the right time to strike. The antelope was an obvious threat, and he now knew why Iugulare had so much trouble taking over this world.
Noctuis accepted the challenge. Quad had to be nullified, in one way or another, if he was to be successful in his own conquest of the galaxy.
The night was just beginning, and Quad settled in on his pillar at the Ruins. Above on the stone structure was the infection, he glided in silently and watched as the blackbuck closed his eyes for the night. "Hoo...Hoo...", Noctuis' quiet calls gave an ambiance of the surroundings. Quad ignored the sound, as he had heard owl calls often at night.
In one strike, Noctuis was on him. He grasped his claws into Quad's back and immediately began to bite him in the back of the neck. "Wh--?!", Quad tried to call, but his voice was immediately muffled by an infectious white wing, wrapping around his face to silence him. "Too easy.", Noctuis chuckled, the wound on the back of Quad's skull now open enough for the virus to enter. The blackbuck struggled and writhed to break free, but his oxygen cut off, he slowly lost consciousness, his body going limp and sliding off the pillar. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, and Noctuis let go of his body. The infection was deep within his head, attacking and rotting him from the inside. The antelope's body went into shock, and out of instinct, he let out a deafening cry that could be heard through the Forest.
It would be luck if someone heard...
((Anyone can join in now, comment below to participate))
The golden doe's eyes were fixed on the gentle rays of moonlight streaming through the evergreen branches above her. A tired sigh escaped her lips, muffled under her wooden mask. Martisol's bright green eyes closed as she laid her head down to rest, the familiar, deep thrumming of the Old Oak beside her lulling her into a state between sleep and waking.
It was that moment that an ear-piercing shriek startled her back to alertness. Dark-tipped ears pricked up, trying to locate the sound's origin. As the echo faded, she determined it had come from the nearby ruins. She leapt to her hooves to investigate.
She found the blackbuck lying on the cold ground. Despite not interacting with him much, she recognized him from her youth.
"Q-Quad...?" She whispered quietly, as if trying not to disturb his unmoving form. She hesitantly and slowly laid on the ground next to him and began to look him over.
As she discovered the wound upon the back of his head, she stifled a gasp. Her emerald eyes were filled with pity.
"Who did this to you?" She said quietly, as if not expecting an answer.
Not far away, an ancient grayish white stag had been indulging in a patch of blueberries. As the sound of an agonized cry reaches his old ears, he raises his head. Silvery eyes turn toward the direction of the sound's origin, followed by a turn of his high head. An omnious wind seems to blow, pulling at the ancient creature's beard and excessive limb fur.
Certain of unholy matters leading to this cry in the night, the old one raises to his hind legs and bounds forward to the source of the cry.
In a matter of minutes, he crosses into the territory of the ruins... an area he usually aims to avoid if at all possible.
Slowing to a steady walk, Pathweaver approaches the golden doe and the fallen blackbuck. The markings along his neck, previously a sort of teal shade, begin to shift into a deep gray; and with these markings shifts the color of his eyes to match.
Reaching Quad and Martisol, he lowers his head to sniff the wound in hope of searching out the level of damage dealt. He then faces the golden one.
"Do you know how long this one has been down?"
He had never personally met Quad, but he could certainly feel -or at least sense- the light in the blackbuck under the infection.
(Hope you don't mind me using Path. He's never really been used in RP like this so it's about time. XD)
Quad's body shivered terribly, his eyes were clenched tightly. He was making labored breaths.
And then he would call out something completely unexpected...
"Mother?! Mother!! Where are you, mother?!", Quad's legs kicked and scratched as he cried out. "I can't find you!! Mother!!"
His eyes slowly started to open, but Martisol and Pathweaver would notice the temporary cloudiness in his eyes. He saw the silhouettes of the two close by, and at once asked, "Are...one of you...mother?"
Martisol's attention briefly snapped up to the white-grey stag towering above her. Normally, she would seem ridiculously shy, but due to the gravity of the situation, she answered without hesitation, "I'm not sure. I found him this way just a minute ago. He hasn't-"
Just then, the dazed Quad lashed out with his hooves, nearly scratching Martisol in the process. She jumped up out of resting position and stood beside him, careful to stay out of the way of the blackbuck's flailing limbs.
"Shhshhshh..." She tried to calm him, her head bending over him to look into his clouded, unfocused eyes. "Neither of us are your mother, but we're not here to hurt you. You're fine. Shhhhh..."
She glanced over at the stranger, a pleading look in her eyes.
He shivered some more, the voice from the doe was calming, but not knowing where his mother was, his adrenaline began to rush. His breaths began to quicken, and it was here he was thinking about all of it. He could not remember where he came from or how he even got to the Forest. In fact, he had no idea where he even was.
"Wh--where am I? Do you know where Mother is? So c-cold...", he stuttered.
Something would catch their attention here - the wound on Quad's was covered with the white infection, and it was slowly spreading down his body. The white virus was easily discernible from his dark fur, it slowly turning his back and face white. Quad's body jolted, and he cried out in pain.
((A few notes - there are a few ways to cure the infection, any kind of light source can burn it away. If it was during the day, he could have been moved into sunlight and it would have burned it away, but I made it night so that won't work. If you prefer, I can have Thich make an appearance, who can absorb the infection, but if you have an idea on how to cleanse him go for it ))
((Oh lol, that might be a little too easy. Path can produce light from his own body, too. XD Pft, I swear this guy can be too Hax sometimes.))
The old stag catches sight of the pleading look in the golden doe's eyes. "I shall see what can be done." he assures her.
Returning his attention to the blackbuck, he looks back to the wound on his neck. The spreading white infection becomes obvious as it spreads along Quad's dark back. Such a thing, he had never seen before. It almost seemed unearthly, if not at the minimum unnatural.
He glances momentarilly back at Martisol. "You may need to close your eyes, young one." he advises before facing Quad. "The same to you, child. he speaks softly, like a grandfather to a newborn. The markings along his neck begin to change colors again, becoming a pure white before they and his eyes begin to emit a bright white light. He lifts a hoof and holds it over the wound in the blackbuck's neck, and softly touches it to the area. Though he does not know how to exactly cure the infection, his intention had been to at the minimum, close the wound before further infections can set in.
"Standing back, everydeermans. And expert has onto it arrived with present plants that are going to success!" said a rather eccentric deer as he approached. His announcement was met with expressions of confusion by those who stood nearby. "Now go to it! It's ready to be pick!"
Foxglaive moved closer to the one he considered the patient, one who he was familiar with for some time. He leaned in and studied him closely, looking for obvious signs of injury on the surface. It was apparent that his patient was distressed or in pain from the steady stream of tears that flowed from his eyes. "There there, all will be fine." Foxglaive used his foot to gently pat the patient, noting how firm and solid his body was when the deer touched it. Surprised, he drew back. "Ahh! This is much more serious that originally it thunk!"
He surveyed the area nearby for ideas. At the very least, the deer hoped he would find that someone had sliced an onion, creating the enzymes necessary to prompt one to cry so profusely. "One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only internet. Do not worry, dear idol! It, [Glaivexof], will discover the source!"
At the precise moment, Foxglaive's ears detected an unusual sound - the flapping of strange wings. But there was something else that made the noise so peculiar. The movements sounded moist, splattering the nearby grass and occasional tree trunk with a liquid substance. The deer looked upward, catching a brief glimpse of Noctuis as he flew past - making his escape from his encounter with Quad earlier.
Uncertain what to make of what he just witnessed, Foxglaive pondered for a few moments. He had seen an assortment of unusual things during his time in the Endless Forest, such as meeting an ash hen as well as a doe with spider legs. But this was the first time he had ever seen a seemingly liquid owl. "Ahh! The assessment will have to wait, crying idol! For the being time, please accept these panclocks." The deer produced his small burlap bag from seemingly nowhere, then impossibly extracted a small stack of pancakes from inside of it. Using his mouth, he placed his offering next to the crying idol, then stepped back. "I must find out more about this owl. But from who? ... Ahh! The stringly fawn!" Foxglaive nodded, content with his decision. He made his way to a clearing, far away from any trees and their branches, hoping he might run into a fawn he often called [Maep], though to others, she was known as Pema. On the way, he checked his bag to determine whether it had any more pancakes inside.
Quad writhed, the light burning the infection on the back of his head. It would cleanse much of his body from the virus, but not fully remove it. The infection had gotten too deep into his brain, but the damage done to it would slow the progressive spread. The whiteness on his face and back would boil and vanish, his wound be sealed up.
He opened his eyes, some of the fogginess still in them, but he was starting to see better. It would take some time for it to fully clear.
He tried to stand, but his legs were weak. He could not remember how to even move or walk properly. "Umm...umm...I don't...know how to...", he admitted.
Martisol had looked away as the unnatural light began to glow. Her eyes focused on a tree in the distance. She caught sight of a small white form flying away into the night. Not thinking much of it, she turned her gaze back to the stag and blackbuck.
She was relieved to find the white stuff gone from Quad's head, as well as the focus in his eyes returning. She watched him as he attempted to move, but fail.
Glancing at the lighter stag, she moved to crouch down next to him. "We can help you. You need to move to a safer place anyway." She offered him the support of her shoulder.
A relieved sigh escaped the Irish Elk's throat. He had only intentions of healing the wound, but it seemed the unnatural white had boiled away with it, apparently in response to the same light used to heal the physical injury. He soon lowers his hoof back to the ground, and the light radiating out of his body fades back to a sort of neutral gray once more.
He steps back and quietly observes Martisol and Quad as the blackbuck attempts to stand. From the look of the later, the old one can only presume the damage that had been dealt by that unnatural white disease had done more damage than that which was on the flesh. Perhaps the effects would be temporary, but perhaps not.
His ears twitch slightly, and he turns one to face the near enough sound of wingbeats. "Agreed. It would be unwise to stay much longer." he nods softly.
Quad pressed against Martisol, his legs wobbly but managing to stand for what he thought was the very first time. He got used to gravity's pull on him, and taking a few steps, he tried to walk.
"Wh-where are we?", he asked abruptly. He had lost all knowledge of the Endless Forest, his mind was filled with wonder at all around him. In the distance, he heard an owl call, and he jumped in fright. His mind kept a residual memory of Noctuis' owl call before he was attacked, so the sound of an owl made him panic at once. "Oh no! Oh no!!", he cried.
Martisol supported Quad as he began to stand, and continued to quietly guide him as he took his first wobbly steps, as if teaching a newborn.
His question startled her. This legend of the forest seemed to not remember anything! "This is the... Endless Forest. Our home-"
As Quad jumped in response the owl's call, he nearly knocked into Martisol, who was still standing beside him to catch him if he fell. She jolted a little herself in surprise, but caught her balance quickly. She tried to calm him down by speaking gently to him in an almost motherly tone. "Easy there.. It's just an owl. Nothing to be frightened of. It's alright..."
"He may have reason for unease. His wounds did appear to origionate from a large bird, judging by the positioning and the size." he speaks thoughtfully. The fear Quad seemed to have only supported the possible theory that there must have at least been an owl attack right before the infection had set in.
"Rest assured, you'll be safe with us young one." he speaks again to Quad in that grandfatherly tone.
Quad's heart was still racing. He shivered in fright, "That s-sound...that a-a-awful sound...", he stammered. They continued on, all the while Quad was unsure where he was being led to. He hoped his mother was somewhere nearby, he hoped these deer were taking him somewhere safe.
"The E-Endless Forest...Home...", he began to repeat Martisol's words. He looked to them while he cautiously walked. His brown eyes studying their faces for a few moments.
He couldn't even remember what his mother looked like...
The Old Oak was now very close, Martisol could just here the gentle, deep humming of the mighty tree, a harmony with the solitude of the night. Carefully, she led Quad around the oversized roots, keeping a watchful eye on the jumpy buck.
As she approached the entry, she motioned toward the inside. "This is the Old Oak. You don't remember the Oak, do you?"
Glancing at the larger stag, she took a step inside the tree's hollow opening. "Find somewhere comfortable to rest. I'd like to ask you what you do remember."
The old stag accompanies Martisol and Quad for the entire duration of the walk to the old oak. Without saying anything, he could easilly agree that the oak is the best place to hide and rest, especially with one who is wounded or burdened with amnesia.
Pathweaver enters the Old Oak only after the others, and seats himself close to the entrance, mainly to be able to keep watch for whatever may have harmed the blackbuck in the first place, and for any other creature that might not have pure intentions.
Looking to Martisol and the blackbuck, he decides to help with the prying for memory.
"Do you perhaps remember your name, or any name at all?"
Perhaps one memory could trigger another. Also, the way he figures it, if this blackbuck can remember the sound of his possible attacker, he might be able to remember more. Even if it's not about what happened to him, any memory might be progress.
Quad looked up at the great tree. "Wow! That's pretty big!", he said, a little more confident now. He hesitantly approached the Oak, peeking into the open part at the base. "I-Is it safe?", he asked. "It's pretty dark..."
After a few steps in, he plopped in the center. He was exhausted from the walk, and didn't want to move anywhere else for the moment.
"M-Mother never gave me a n-name...but I remember...I remember...", he closed his eyes and thought for a long while.
"...There was a field...and...there...were fawns...playing...they invited me to play with them, but then...it all went dark...dark...", he stammered. His clouded eyes opened, he looked to them with eyes of fear.
"And that horrible sound...the...'owl'...", he shivered and rested his head on the ground.
The golden whitetail did not know much about Quad's past, only stories of his adventures and tales of how he saved the forest from some dark force. So truthfully, she couldn't validate the memory he gave. Perhaps it was something that happened earlier in the day, but it could have also been a memory from his fawnhood. The way he spoke was like that of a frightened child...
"Well, I can't say much about you," although she knew who the blackbuck was, she had never really spoken with him before, "I can tell you this: You do have a name. Your name is Quad."
"Hurry...Get the quad...The fawn is over there...", he repeated the words the humans were shouting, "Aww man, look what you did to my quad...", the stag's eyes cleared some more, he was deeper in thought here than he has been for the night. "I remember the word now...the name...Quad...it's too familiar...", he spoke softly.
He caught a glimpse of that field again. The golden sunlight shining on the tall grass. The fawns laughing and playing. Though it was a much more distant memory than his birth. As if it happened...but never really happened...
"Please...", he begged them at once, "Please tell me more about this place, this...home..."
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Meanwhile, Noctuis perched on a treetop and looked down to the moonlit Forest below. He saw strange strings rising into the sky, and looking down, he saw a fawn that they were attached to. Pema was wide awake tonight, and she was resting in a patch of flowers.
"Interesting...I'll have to keep an eye on this creature...", he mused to himself.
Pathweaver flashes a vague smile as the blackbuck's memory seems to begin to return. Even if it's just a small memory, it's something. He bore no judgement as Quad repeated the words spoken in his distant memory.
"The Endless Forest, or home is a place protected by twin gods, and made unique in that there is magic all around us. This is a place where most deer are proteted and safe from dangers origining from the world beyond this forest, such as human hunters. Death is rare, and had once been unheard of here. There are some that believe this forest to be a paradise, or a safe haven. Others still, would say it's a sort of heaven to those who were lost to another world. Truely, it is a different place to different deer, but it's a marvelous world we all share."
"Safe....safe...", he repeated the words, assuring himself that he was safe here. Still, he had many questions, his mind was wandering uncontrollably. "But what about the...the 'owl'? Are these 'owl' things...not safe? What do they even look like...?", he bombarded them with more questions, because he was honestly at a loss about the birds.
There was a primal fear in his heart, the sound of owl calls sparked instant terror in him. He hoped he would never hear the sound again.
Martisol finally sat down in front on Quad, looking straight at his frightened face. She could read the terror in his clouded eyes, could tell that this was the only memory he truly registered. A memory of fear.
"Owls are not... dangerous. Well, not normally." She paused, glancing at Pat, trying to think what to say next, trying to find the right words to calm the scared blackbuck. "It could be possible that... There may be a dangerous one out there... Well, I wouldn't worry about them. If there is one that is out there harming deer, then I'm sure something will be done. Just keep in mind, most owls aren't big enough to really hurt you. Nor do most want to." She gave him a warm smile, trying to ease the tension.
She shifted positions slightly, getting comfortable. This might be a long night.
Quad licked his lips. "Please, miss...", he began, "Could I have a drink of water? I'm so thirsty..."
He did his best to stand, stumbling back a moment before balancing. He did not know the way to the Pond or any other water source, but he hoped these protectors knew where to go.
Surprised by his sudden plea, Martisol leapt up as he stood and stumbled, prepared to catch him if he began to fall. She was relieved when he balanced himself.
She thought for a second, thinking about the "dangerous" owl that he was convinced had attacked him. Listening for a moment, she heard nothing but the crickets of the night and the hum of the Old Oak. Seemed safe enough. "Yes, you must be thirsty. The Pond isn't too terribly far from here, but there's quite a big hill going down there. You'll need to be careful and watch your step..."
She paused, a sudden thought occuring to her, and looked over at the other gray stag. "Do you think it's safe enough for him to go out, or do you think it would be better if he waited until morning?" She didn't want Quad to suffer from dehydration, but she sure didn't want to feel guilty if he was in danger and was attacked the moment he stepped out of the giant tree.
((btw, I realized I had a bit of a typo on my last post and accidentally called Path "Pat". :c Sorry.)
Path began to slowly come back up on his hooves after the others, only slower than the others due to his age and size. If needed, he could provide balance support to Quad as well, especially on the hill between them and the pond. It was of course a well known fact that Quad isn't exactly the skinniest seven-bean-dip-eating stag in the forest, even if weight had been lost after learning to fight in past days.
Turning his head to face Martisol, he considers her question. "I do not believe it will be a dangerous walk to the pond, especially when walking in numbers. If the dangerous owl is still nearby, it may be all the wiser not to attack an alert group. Waiting to morning however will assure that our owl will be at rest. Certainly, it would depend more than anything on how thirsty you are, Quad." he figures, pulling Quad into the conversation.
In truth, he could simply draw water out of the ground below them if it were in dire need, and circumstances meant leaving the oak was not a safe option for any of them. This great oak needs a source of water to grow this huge where it is, and this water source most logically would be water some distance under the ground. Not one to show off unnecessarilly, he would much prefer instead to simply lead to the pond.
"This choice is yours." he states, still in such a grandfatherly manner. He always did have a bit of a talent for laying out options, while leaving the choices to be made by the one who should be making them.
Quad fidgeted, his lips smacking again and again, "Oh please oh please, can we go to the pond?", he asked without any kind of hesitation. He was beginning to sound desperate, but for good reason. Before he was attacked by Noctuis, Quad had to drink some water every few hours or so. He was unusually thirsty due to his weight, possibly early signs of diabetes.
At this point, this was the only thing on his mind. He hoped the two protectors would be enough to ward off any of those 'owl' things.
Martisol nodded toward the larger stag. "Just making sure you didn't have any objections to it. You seem to know more about these types of situations than I do." Despite barely knowing who he was, the way he held himself convinced her that he was wise and filled with years of experience.
She turned her head to smile gently at Quad. "Yes, we'll take you to the Pond. You may feel better after a good drink. Just stay close and watch where you step on the steeper parts of the way down."
Coming to stand beside him, she motioned for him to walk out of the Oak.
He smiled, slightly nervously, but with happy excitement. He took one step at a time getting used to walking on his own for what seemed to be the first time in his life. He carefully walked out of the Oak, peeking all around for any sight of danger in the night. Quad turned back to them, "I'm ready!", he said, his face brightened, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight.
Pathweaver flashes an easy smile to the younger doe. It was good to see a younger deer that seemed to at the last have respect for an older stag like himself, even in just stating that he seemed to have more knowing in this situation.
Watching Quad walk, he vaguely wondered if the blackbuck had perhaps more trouble than a new fawn in finding his footing, in sight of his weight. Certainly that was not helping matters for him.
He follows Quad out of the Old Oak, momentarilly glancing skyward for any possible owl that might have Quad sighted as it's preferred target. Seeing nothing, and sensing nothing, he walks out into the moonlight. His great white antlers seem to almost shine, if not sparkle in the moonlight; the same effect cascading along his back from the natural light source.
Staying close in case either protection or another support for the walk is needed, he begins to lead toward the pond. His step is not obviously hindered by his age, as though old bones have not been afflicted by any artheritus or fracture, past or presant.
The blackbuck followed the seemingly adult deer, cautious but steady. He had gotten quite used to walking, although the hills were difficult to climb up and down. He lost his footing making the bend around the Pond, but thankfully Martisol was there to catch his fall.
They made it to the open area, where Quad immediately jumped into the pond, slipping in the wet ground and splashing. He actually began to laugh and splash his hooves in the water before settling down to drink. They would notice that he takes long gulps of water, it almost appears that he drinks his body weight of the liquid.
When he was satisfied, he began to turn toward them, when something flashed in the corner of his eye. The curious child-like blackbuck turned toward the far willow tree, and with his steady hooves, he began to walk toward it, his eyes open and alert. There was something there, something sitting beneath the dangling leaves of the tree.
He was a slight distance away from his protectors, they could still see him, but they did not realize what was about to happen.
"H-Hello? Who are you?", Quad hesitantly asked the shadow beneath the tree.
The figure stood, slender, fluid...her grey eyes gleaming as she stepped out from the darkness and into the moonlight.
"Oh you silly buck...", Iugulare spoke, "You should know by know that I am your worst nightmare."
When the group finally made it to the level side of the Pond, Martisol was relieved to find that it seemed Quad was getting the hang of walking again. She chuckled at his antics before taking a nice drink herself, the blackbuck's obvious thirst making her own throat feel dry.
She lifted her head and stared out at the moon's reflection over the Pond. A gust of wind blew over her, finding its way through the golden and copper fur on her body, chilling her very soul.
It was then that she noticed Quad wandering toward a willow. From the distance she was at, she could not make out what he was looking at.
Worry filling her head, she called out gently to him, "What's over there? What do you see?"
Quad was terrified, this thing called itself a 'nightmare', and he slowly backed away to the safety of the 'adults'. Too focused on the creature before him, he didn't hear Martisol's words. "Y-you're not an...o-o-o-owl...are y-you?", he stammered.
Iugulare stopped, and blinking in a surprised way, she asked, "An owl? An owl?! Really, Quad? What do you take me for, an idiot?"
Quad collapsed, now backing up by only digging his rear hooves into the sand and sliding backwards. "N-no, err...I d-don't know what to c-call you...do you have a n-n-name?", he shook in sheer terror. This thing actually knew his name, but as far as he could remember, he had never met Iugulare before.
The stoat tilted her head. By now, she was very surprised but more skeptical about the whole thing. She simply did not want to believe that her arch enemy honestly did not remember her. Grimacing, she spoke with a different tone in her voice - she was much more calm, almost soothing, "Stand still, I want to take a good look at you, and make sure I am talking to the right person. Your pictogram says Quad, but...right now, I have no idea who you really are."
Quad froze, terrified breaths exited his lungs as Iugulare approached and walked around him. She sniffed his fur, even licked him on the leg, to confirm the familiar scent and taste of Quad. It was here she saw the wound on the back of his head, and even could detect the infection within his brain. "Noctuis! So that's why you asked if I was an owl...", she spoke. The word made Quad jump up in fright, he quickly ran and hid behind Path. Iugulare then noticed the other two there.
Clearing her throat, she explained to them, "Relax, I won't hurt him - or you - as of now. After all, Quad and I have had a truce since Christmas. It really pains me to think that damned owl, Noctuis, got to him like this.", while under her breath, she whispered, "...It's a shame I didn't think about it myself..."
Upon reaching the pond, Path stood back to let the others drink first. He stood still, ears alert and eyes closed. For the moment, he did not feel any immediate threats or maleficent spirits in the area. He could hear Quad splashing and playing before taking his long drink. The old stag vaguely smiled, distantly remembering the antics of fawnhood himself. That... was perhaps what one would call milleniums ago, as far as the aging of deer go. If he were to mention this, it probably wouldn't be a surprise... he out-aged even Darkweaver.
Soon something in the Dao felt off. He couldn't hear the blackbuck drinking anymore. Opening his eyes, he glances around to look for the others. He quickly spots Quad and Igulare, seeing Quad's apprehension and Igulare's confusion. Path begins to walk in their direction, in time for Quad to run back and hide behind him. He assumes a protective stance, lowering his great white antlers. His eyes and markings shift into a bright green shade, matching the grass around the stoat. When she speaks however, he lifts his head.
Noctus... So now they had a name, and a confirmation to the theory that it had indeed been an owl attack that left this blackbuck in such a fawn-like state. "You know of this owl then. Might you tell us more about him? It would be wise to know what we are dealing with." he speaks, much less in that grandfather tone and more in a manner worthy of a wise general, in the wise authority of an elder in chinese and japanese culture.
Iugulare nods, "Noctuis is from the same planet that I come from. He is the same species as me, but much like how there are different kinds of deer, there are different races of goxi as well. We lived in different parts of the planet - Noctuis is from...what you would call...the 'equator' of the planet. They live underground there, so the light cannot touch them, it keeps their bodies, their infection, white. Where I lived in the colder parts, the...'pole'...it was safer for us to live above ground, but we had enough light exposure that our bodies darkened. There are still others on the planet - yellow, light blue, pink, khaki...each color was a different culture.
I lived among the spiritual community, learning about magic and biology mostly. However Noctuis is a part of the military branch of goxi. His mentality is more focused on destruction than conquest. He wants to take over the universe by destroying the weak, only taking the strongest creatures of the known universe to do his bidding. He's more...cruel than I am. He makes his prey suffer even after they surrender their bodies.", she described him in this way, although she understood that she really wasn't that different to Noctuis. Still, she described him as more of a monster than she could ever be.
The old stag seemed to register this information well. In truth, he was not unfamiliar with other worlds himself. He had seen and learned much from those within the forest alone to be aware of the operations of other planet societies. However, Igulare and Noctuis were certainly not from a world he was familiar with the mentionings of. From what Igulare tells him, it seems their owl 'friend' could be easilly kept at bay as long as there is light.
Iugulare approached Quad, hiding behind Path. "Quad...it's okay. Please, just trust me, if only this one time.", she spoke to him, her words were almost motherly.
The blackbuck slowly appeared from behind the elder stag, his body still shivering but then standing before his enemy, staring deep into her grey eyes. "I...I don't know much about you...but I will listen to you...", he said with hesitance.
Iugulare smiled and walked to him. "Just stand still.", she whispered in his ear, and then went around him. She reached to the back of his head, and placing an infectious paw on the wound, she let her infection enter into his skull. Quad's eyes squinted, he was not in pain but rather felt a lot of pressure in his head. He began to gasp and squirm, but Iugulare shushed him, "Shh...it's almost over..."
Then she removed her paw, the tip of it noticeably white, and soon it turned dark. "There...his brain is clean from Noctuis' infection now. But...he did suffer some damage, and I simply don't know how to help him there...", she sighed.
Quad's eyes opened, and looking around, he saw Iugulare there. "Iugulare?! Wh--what are you doing here?!", he asked.
The stoat smiled, "So you remember me now? At least that's better."
The blackbuck nodded, "Of course I remember you! You were my best friend from the meadow....right?", he tilted his head.
Iugulare blinked, and shook her head, "...Mistaken identity...I might have made his brain worse...", she sighed again.
After a considerable amount of time, Foxglaive realized he had no idea where he was. Glancing around, he noticed an assortment rocks. "Ahh! It has gotten itself last!" he said to no one in particular. The deer knew he could have simply said his thoughts within his mind, but he did not know if perhaps a studio audience could be watching. He paused - his pointed ears alert for any sort of laugh track to support his theory.
While there was no laugher, he did detect something. A gnawing sound. Foxglaive walked towards the sound, which slowly seemed to grow louder. As he moved past some larger rocks, he noticed large, translucent strings tangled up around a nearby tree. "Ahh! Pema's string! Happity and happy hocks! It will speak with the one who taught of dancing." Yet, when the gnawing figure came into view, it was clearly not the fawn he was looking for. In fact, it was a doe with spider-like legs emerging from her body. Foxglaive tilted his head at the sight of her attempting to chew into the stones. "Ahh! But you are not Pema. Please to forgiving it. May a nice cake be waiting onto you." He promptly bowed several times, then turned and continued on his way.
He took several steps before an idea finally struck him. "[Coursefo!]" Foxglaive checked his bag of treasures and found a star map inside. "Map to stars!" He consulted the pamphlet, then looked upward to verify his location. "Yes yes yes yes yes ... it sees [Dyga Agal] constellation. And ... there! Turn left at [Kingchil] formation, then follow [Kersew] constellation until Pema is found. Yes."
In no time, Foxglaive spotted Pema's strange strings ascending into the sky. He reached the patch of flowers where she rested and bowed several times. "[Maep!] [Maep!] ... you are smart for you do things smartly, like device used for furniture-finding in the dark!" He waited a moment, then realized his rudeness. "Ahh! It apologize for not asking if you were in the middle of something. Today, at the crying idol, a strange owl was seen! Syrupy, like on waffles. Unlick anything I have seen here, on [Zethora] or on [Thrae]. Have you a knowing of such a being? Nice, like a gold and bark apple? Or Not nice?" Foxglaive sat down before the fawn, very eager to hear her response.
Pema slowly tilted her head. "Syrupy like on waffles? Well, the closest thing I've ever seen to that is Iugulare...but you said it was an owl. That must mean there is another one of those aliens in the Forest. I suppose I have not seen this new one yet, but I understand quite a bit about it from what Quad has told me. The infection...those poor souls who get caught...he even said he has been infected many times. But I'm rambling on...if you saw an owl, it must be close to here. Maybe in the tree tops...", she spoke, and looking around, she saw a slight glimmer from the top of an oak tree, "There! I think I just saw your owl!"
She stood, her body suspended for a moment by the strings. Squinting, the creature had somehow vanished. "Hmm...considering that it is the same kind of thing as Iugulare...we may want to be cautious. She is a master of trickery and stealth, I'm sure this owl is no different. We should keep our eyes open for it..."
Pema was right to be cautious, for while she mused, Noctuis had slipped behind the tree he was perched on, and was much closer to the ground. He peered at the two from the bark, trying to decide which would be easier to pick off between the larger stag and the strange fawn.
((Sorry, I couldn't think of anything to reply with. ^^;))
Martisol had stood quietly, watching the scene unfold. She was reaching farther into her memories, looking for a glimpse of information concerning these "infections". Few things came to her mind, nothing but warnings from her fellow deer and tales of Quad saving the forest from an epidemic. She shook her head in frustration.
"Well." she said, finally speaking up and taking a few steps closer. "You've cleared the situation quite a bit, thank. And at least he can actually remember things now, even though he might be a little mixed up..." She paused, looking between the stoat and the blackbuck with bright green eyes. "Anyway, whoever this 'Noctuis' is, how... how can we stop him?"
Iugulare closed her eyes, "He's going to be difficult to stop. His infection reflects light compared to mine, so we'll need Quad at full force if we're going to have a chance to even fight him...", she said. She then looked around, "Where did he go, anyway...?"
At that moment, they heard a splashing sound. Quad had walked off toward the Pond, and they watched him jump into the deeper water. After a moment, he surfaced, his appearance had reverted back to that of a 'naked' deer rather than a blackbuck antelope, but they immediately realized he was in trouble. "Help!! Help!!", Quad cried, splashing and kicking as he tried to swim, and then they saw him submerge...
Realizing Quad was out of sight, Path lifts his head in alarm. Ears turning backward at the sound of a splash, he faces the pond. Without wasting time with words, he bolts for the pond. Reaching the water takes nothing shy of a few seconds. Once there, his markings shift to a pure aquatic blue, along with his eyes. Without slowing his stride, he steps out onto the water, running almost effortlessly over the rippling surfice. It almost seemed that the water was unaffected by his presence, not in the slightest disturbed by the Irish Elk's existance.
He stopps and stands on the water just beside the now naked blackbuck. Dropping his front half as if to pray at the twin statues, he submerges his head into the water after Quad, reaching down to grab him by his default antlers... the closest possible part of him to reach. He would go fully under if necessary, but for the second this seems enough.
The stag emerged from the Pond, gasping for air. Pulled to the shallows, he choked and coughed up water. He was shivering, his fur drenched. He appeared much more brown than normal, though he retained his shape and size. His great red antlers had reverted back to the 'default' style, which were more elk-like.
He saw himself in the reflection of the water, and once his lungs cleared, he questioned, "Oh my gods! I look just like...mother..."
Iugulare began to back away, "I need to...uhh...go plan for a while...on our attack...", she lied in a broken sentence before darting away. They would not realize that seeing Quad nearly drown was painful for her to bear. She had strange emotions toward him, almost as if she loved him...
Quad stood, wearily, his fur starting to dry. "T-thank you...Pega...", he speaks to Path, though saying the wrong name. He turns to Martisol for a moment, "What should we do now...Mar Sart?", again saying the wrong name...
------------------
Meanwhile, Noctuis slunk out of his hiding spot, and swooped onto Pema. The marionette flopped on the ground, but chuckled, "Silly alien...what do you hope to accomplish in infecting me?", she asked.
"More curious as to what you are...", the owl replied, infection seeping underneath the marionette's fabric skin. "You're not like the snake...but no blood...hmm...", he mused.
"Your infection won't work on me. Now I'd suggest you leave me alone or I will ask Thich to come and eat you.", Pema speaks.
Noctuis scoffed, "I think I may...toy with you a bit...", he says, and turning his wing hard and sharp, he swipes at Pema's strings, severing them. The marionette went limp in Noctuis' grasp.
He then looked over toward Foxglaive..."And then there's you...", he says
"Me? ... Ahh! But! Who ... are you?" After what Foxglaive just witnessed, he had the feeling he might be able to fool Noctuis once, but he won't be fooled again. "Perhapsing a bargain. A substitute, yes?"
The deer rapidly rummaged through his tiny burlap sack for anything or everything that might appease the owl. Yet, all he could manage to find was a hard candy lollipop. He used his teeth to pick up the candy by its white stick, then tossed it in the owl's direction. Foxglaive bowed at once and said, "Please to accept. Very valuable, yes."
To his surprise and relief, the owl's grip upon Pema released, dropping her free as his attention turned to the candy - more specifically, a chocolate-flavored Tootsie Pop from the realm of [Thrae]. The deer's eyes focused upon the owl's beak and he cautiously pecked at the wrapping, then at the hard, candy shell. After a moment, Noctuis tried a different approach - opening his beak and touching his tongue against the surface. "One,", Foxglaive counted. "Ahh-two ... three. Three!" Upon Noctuis's third lick, the deer darted forward and snatched up as many of Pema's strings as he could into his mouth. Foxglaive deduced that it would take the owl approximately 252 licks to get to its candy center, unless Noctuis was innovative enough to devise another method to eat it. He hoped the distraction would be enough to help them reach a safe distance. "Pema! What should it do? Find Quadnod, perhapsing?" he asked the fawn as he ran, glancing downward to the small deer as he ran. Yet, when he looked, Pema was nowhere to be found. He stopped running immediately. "Ahh! Foolish fool! You dropped her when you talked!"
The deer backtracked a short distance, located Pema once more and apologized to her several times. He collected her up again and dashed towards the pond.
Pema's eyes blink as she is picked up after being dropped. "Oh thank you...at least now we have met that...Noctuis character. From my observations, he is much like the stoat, Iugulare, but...not quite the same, at least not in the head. Perhaps finding Quad would be the best answer, he knows how to fight those kinds of aliens.", she said.
The marionette was limp and dangling while she spoke. She could not move her body whatsoever, at was currently at the mercy of Foxglaive. "If I may request, though, could you help me rejoin the strings of my puppeteer? It is very easy to do, they only need to touch and they will reattach. You may not have known about it, but he controls my body...in fact...you might know quite a bit about my master. He comes from another world...actually...another universe...", she speaks.
--------------
The cold and wet Quad began to wander off now. With no sense of direction, he seemed to only have one thing on his mind...
"Hex...where is Hex...? I must find her...Hex...", he repeats again and again, stumbling off toward the Playground area...
Path appeared momentarilly confused. Who was this Pega? He hadn't met one with that name yet, but then again... it did occur to him that he never actually told Quad his name. In fact, he wasn't even so sure introductions were even made. Still, now didn't seem like the ideal time to do so. Not when Quad began to walk off to find some mysterious doe named Hex... if that's the right name considering the mistaken identities he already acknowledged.
He turns his head slightly, looking to Martisol as he walks off the water's surface. His beard drips with pond water, waterlogged after pulling the blackbuck out of the water. His eyes flash blue momentarilly, and as though by magic the water seperates itself from his fur, floating centimeters away in tiny droplets and falling down into the grass.
"Hex, hm." he speaks thoughtfully, approaching Martisol and momentarilly looking in Quad's direction. "You do now know one by that name, do you?" he asks.
For a second, Martisol stood there, mouthing the name "Mar Sart" and trying to come up with a face to the name, which she couldn't in the end. Well, at least he got the first three letters right...
Martisol honestly no idea what to do next. She could have suggested they returned to the Old Oak, and offer to help get his look back in the morning, but Quad seemed like he suddenly had so much energy, that he might refuse.
When Quad began to wander off, Martisol took a few steps forward in his direction, still politely staying near Path. "Yes. And do you know where you're going?" She added to the gray stag's question.
((sorry, I almost forgot about this, plus had no idea what to put next.))
Quad stopped, his brown eyes looking back at them both with concern and a glimmer of hope, "I know my own sister...she always sits at the Playground...I...I need to talk to her, right now...", he said with hesitation in his words.
Seeing the look on their faces, the naked blackbuck continued, "I do not know what she will tell me, but there is something deep within my mind, like a whisper, that keeps telling me to go to her. Please, just trust me...", and with that, he turns and carries on toward the Birch Forest.
---------
The night sky was clear, and there sat the blind seer, her eyes catching starlight as she muttered words to herself. She stopped, her ears perking. "Brother is coming...not alone...important...he's in trouble?", she questioned the stars above.
Closing her eyes and sniffing the air for his scent, she says, "Let him come...let him hear what you have to say..."
“Ahh! That was quite a hazing,” Foxglaive said to his companion as they walked. “It feared to be unlickly to reattach your strings, [Maep], but there existed a success! No need for concern! A smile is a curve that can get a lot of things straight!” Sure enough, Pema was once again restored to her normal abilities and capable of movement – at least, under the control of the master pulling her strings. Foxglaive’s appearance, though, was far from normal. The deer wore two, large toaster pastries on either side of his body. A flashlight (or a [nisretnac sunof] as he called it) was duct-taped to the top of his head so that it pointed backwards. Additionally, a simple fishing pole was attached with the handle on top of his head and the tapering end pointed towards his tail. Instead of a fishing hook, a glass prism dangled from the line and lined up with the flashlight’s beam. Behind him trailed some semblance of a rainbow made from the prism’s refraction of the light. As they continued to walk, Foxglaive sang a song in response to the pair’s victory over adversity. Since the song was in a foreign tongue, Pema only heard the deer saying “Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan …”
It did not take long for the pair to run into Martisol, Path and Quad. Foxglaive noticed that Pema seemed to curtsey to the group, so he felt prompted to bow as well. When his appearance was met with confused expressions, he explained, “Ahh! It did encounter a most not nice owl. Perhapsing it would be nicer if it used mothwash. The escape and resolution was exciting and daring but way too complicate to explain now.” He paused for a moment, then added, “Ahh! But has anyone seen Quadnod? It is most important we have the speakings with him.”
Quad emerged from the group before Pema and Foxglaive. He tilted his head at them, "Oh, is that...Foxtrot...and...Pega?", mistaken again, though very close to naming them correctly.
Pema wanders close to Quad, looking at him eagerly, "So this is what happened...", she explains, as the marionette understands things as soon as she studies them, "It must have been that infection, the owl, that caused him to be in this state. He has obviously suffered some damage to his mind, since he is close to us correctly, but I'm afraid if he remains at this state, the damage will be permanent...", the marionette sighs here.
"Then let me tell you, all of you, what you must do to save my brother.", Hex intervened here. The seer raised her blind eyes to the stars, and read what they said. "What happens from this point on will mark the end of one chapter and the beginning of another for Quad's life. You will travel to the Old Oak, where the owl will be waiting for you. Many problems will arise when you meet with him, but instead of taking them on all at once, simply focus on each as a simple dilemma and take care of them one by one. When you finally face the owl, he will attempt to fulfill what he sought out to do in the beginning - destroy my brother, defeat the Grand Talux and secure his victory over the Endless Forest.
When the final battle begins, stay vigilant, do not give in to the owl's false promises, and watch as my brother transforms from a sensitive buck into the great and loving hero the Twin Gods asked him to be."
She closes her eyes, not wanting to speak the last part of the prediction, but then says it, "I am sorry to say, however...that one among you will not survive the fight...*"
(*Hex's predictions are not always true, but in this case, the prediction is actually hinting that I want someone to be badly infected in the fight, to where they lose control of their consciousness. You'll see what will happen then. I don't want anyone to be permanently killed in this roleplay )
The old stag follows Quad to where Hex had been. He bows his head respectfully to Pema and Foxglave. "I had feared that may be the case." he speaks softly, silvery eyes looking to Pema.
Reaching the presance of Quad's sister, Path listens to the blind seer's words in silence. Though Hex's final notation on her prophesy is grim, Path finds little fear from her words. Perhaps such comes from advanced age, but he simply found no fear in the idea of death. However, if it were Martisol that was forseen to be in the way of death, that would be cause to be concerned. She is comparitively young, after all. It would be a shame for one in their prime to be lost in battle with an infectious alien owl.
(Sorry for the short post. Might be a bit of writers block forming.)
The golden doe's eyes were
It was that moment that an ear-piercing shriek startled her back to alertness. Dark-tipped ears pricked up, trying to locate the sound's origin. As the echo faded, she determined it had come from the nearby ruins. She leapt to her hooves to investigate.
She found the blackbuck lying on the cold ground. Despite not interacting with him much, she recognized him from her youth.
"Q-Quad...?" She whispered quietly, as if trying not to disturb his unmoving form. She hesitantly and slowly laid on the ground next to him and began to look him over.
As she discovered the wound upon the back of his head, she stifled a gasp. Her emerald eyes were filled with pity.
"Who did this to you?" She said quietly, as if not expecting an answer.
Not far away, an ancient
Certain of unholy matters leading to this cry in the night, the old one raises to his hind legs and bounds forward to the source of the cry.
In a matter of minutes, he crosses into the territory of the ruins... an area he usually aims to avoid if at all possible.
Slowing to a steady walk, Pathweaver approaches the golden doe and the fallen blackbuck. The markings along his neck, previously a sort of teal shade, begin to shift into a deep gray; and with these markings shifts the color of his eyes to match.
Reaching Quad and Martisol, he lowers his head to sniff the wound in hope of searching out the level of damage dealt. He then faces the golden one.
"Do you know how long this one has been down?"
He had never personally met Quad, but he could certainly feel -or at least sense- the light in the blackbuck under the infection.
(Hope you don't mind me using Path. He's never really been used in RP like this so it's about time. XD)
Quad's body shivered
And then he would call out something completely unexpected...
"Mother?! Mother!! Where are you, mother?!", Quad's legs kicked and scratched as he cried out. "I can't find you!! Mother!!"
His eyes slowly started to open, but Martisol and Pathweaver would notice the temporary cloudiness in his eyes. He saw the silhouettes of the two close by, and at once asked, "Are...one of you...mother?"
((This is going to be fun XD))
Martisol's attention briefly
Just then, the dazed Quad lashed out with his hooves, nearly scratching Martisol in the process. She jumped up out of resting position and stood beside him, careful to stay out of the way of the blackbuck's flailing limbs.
"Shhshhshh..." She tried to calm him, her head bending over him to look into his clouded, unfocused eyes. "Neither of us are your mother, but we're not here to hurt you. You're fine. Shhhhh..."
She glanced over at the stranger, a pleading look in her eyes.
He shivered some more, the
"Wh--where am I? Do you know where Mother is? So c-cold...", he stuttered.
Something would catch their attention here - the wound on Quad's was covered with the white infection, and it was slowly spreading down his body. The white virus was easily discernible from his dark fur, it slowly turning his back and face white. Quad's body jolted, and he cried out in pain.
((A few notes - there are a few ways to cure the infection, any kind of light source can burn it away. If it was during the day, he could have been moved into sunlight and it would have burned it away, but I made it night so that won't work. If you prefer, I can have Thich make an appearance, who can absorb the infection, but if you have an idea on how to cleanse him go for it ))
((Oh lol, that might be a
The old stag catches sight of the pleading look in the golden doe's eyes. "I shall see what can be done." he assures her.
Returning his attention to the blackbuck, he looks back to the wound on his neck. The spreading white infection becomes obvious as it spreads along Quad's dark back. Such a thing, he had never seen before. It almost seemed unearthly, if not at the minimum unnatural.
He glances momentarilly back at Martisol. "You may need to close your eyes, young one." he advises before facing Quad. "The same to you, child. he speaks softly, like a grandfather to a newborn. The markings along his neck begin to change colors again, becoming a pure white before they and his eyes begin to emit a bright white light. He lifts a hoof and holds it over the wound in the blackbuck's neck, and softly touches it to the area. Though he does not know how to exactly cure the infection, his intention had been to at the minimum, close the wound before further infections can set in.
"Standing back,
Foxglaive moved closer to the one he considered the patient, one who he was familiar with for some time. He leaned in and studied him closely, looking for obvious signs of injury on the surface. It was apparent that his patient was distressed or in pain from the steady stream of tears that flowed from his eyes.
"There there, all will be fine." Foxglaive used his foot to gently pat the patient, noting how firm and solid his body was when the deer touched it. Surprised, he drew back. "Ahh! This is much more serious that originally it thunk!"
He surveyed the area nearby for ideas. At the very least, the deer hoped he would find that someone had sliced an onion, creating the enzymes necessary to prompt one to cry so profusely. "One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only internet. Do not worry, dear idol! It, [Glaivexof], will discover the source!"
At the precise moment, Foxglaive's ears detected an unusual sound - the flapping of strange wings. But there was something else that made the noise so peculiar. The movements sounded moist, splattering the nearby grass and occasional tree trunk with a liquid substance. The deer looked upward, catching a brief glimpse of Noctuis as he flew past - making his escape from his encounter with Quad earlier.
Uncertain what to make of what he just witnessed, Foxglaive pondered for a few moments. He had seen an assortment of unusual things during his time in the Endless Forest, such as meeting an ash hen as well as a doe with spider legs. But this was the first time he had ever seen a seemingly liquid owl.
"Ahh! The assessment will have to wait, crying idol! For the being time, please accept these panclocks." The deer produced his small burlap bag from seemingly nowhere, then impossibly extracted a small stack of pancakes from inside of it. Using his mouth, he placed his offering next to the crying idol, then stepped back. "I must find out more about this owl. But from who? ... Ahh! The stringly fawn!" Foxglaive nodded, content with his decision. He made his way to a clearing, far away from any trees and their branches, hoping he might run into a fawn he often called [Maep], though to others, she was known as Pema. On the way, he checked his bag to determine whether it had any more pancakes inside.
Quad writhed, the light
He opened his eyes, some of the fogginess still in them, but he was starting to see better. It would take some time for it to fully clear.
He tried to stand, but his legs were weak. He could not remember how to even move or walk properly. "Umm...umm...I don't...know how to...", he admitted.
Martisol had looked away as
She was relieved to find the white stuff gone from Quad's head, as well as the focus in his eyes returning. She watched him as he attempted to move, but fail.
Glancing at the lighter stag, she moved to crouch down next to him. "We can help you. You need to move to a safer place anyway." She offered him the support of her shoulder.
A relieved sigh escaped the
He steps back and quietly observes Martisol and Quad as the blackbuck attempts to stand. From the look of the later, the old one can only presume the damage that had been dealt by that unnatural white disease had done more damage than that which was on the flesh. Perhaps the effects would be temporary, but perhaps not.
His ears twitch slightly, and he turns one to face the near enough sound of wingbeats. "Agreed. It would be unwise to stay much longer." he nods softly.
Quad pressed against
"Wh-where are we?", he asked abruptly. He had lost all knowledge of the Endless Forest, his mind was filled with wonder at all around him. In the distance, he heard an owl call, and he jumped in fright. His mind kept a residual memory of Noctuis' owl call before he was attacked, so the sound of an owl made him panic at once. "Oh no! Oh no!!", he cried.
Martisol supported Quad as he
His question startled her. This legend of the forest seemed to not remember anything! "This is the... Endless Forest. Our home-"
As Quad jumped in response the owl's call, he nearly knocked into Martisol, who was still standing beside him to catch him if he fell. She jolted a little herself in surprise, but caught her balance quickly. She tried to calm him down by speaking gently to him in an almost motherly tone. "Easy there.. It's just an owl. Nothing to be frightened of. It's alright..."
"He may have reason for
"Rest assured, you'll be safe with us young one." he speaks again to Quad in that grandfatherly tone.
failpost is fail.
Quad's heart was still
"The E-Endless Forest...Home...", he began to repeat Martisol's words. He looked to them while he cautiously walked. His brown eyes studying their faces for a few moments.
He couldn't even remember what his mother looked like...
((It is not a fail, Zerg |:
The Old Oak was now very close, Martisol could just here the gentle, deep humming of the mighty tree, a harmony with the solitude of the night. Carefully, she led Quad around the oversized roots, keeping a watchful eye on the jumpy buck.
As she approached the entry, she motioned toward the inside. "This is the Old Oak. You don't remember the Oak, do you?"
Glancing at the larger stag, she took a step inside the tree's hollow opening. "Find somewhere comfortable to rest. I'd like to ask you what you do remember."
The old stag accompanies
Pathweaver enters the Old Oak only after the others, and seats himself close to the entrance, mainly to be able to keep watch for whatever may have harmed the blackbuck in the first place, and for any other creature that might not have pure intentions.
Looking to Martisol and the blackbuck, he decides to help with the prying for memory.
"Do you perhaps remember your name, or any name at all?"
Perhaps one memory could trigger another. Also, the way he figures it, if this blackbuck can remember the sound of his possible attacker, he might be able to remember more. Even if it's not about what happened to him, any memory might be progress.
Quad looked up at the great
After a few steps in, he plopped in the center. He was exhausted from the walk, and didn't want to move anywhere else for the moment.
"M-Mother never gave me a n-name...but I remember...I remember...", he closed his eyes and thought for a long while.
"...There was a field...and...there...were fawns...playing...they invited me to play with them, but then...it all went dark...dark...", he stammered. His clouded eyes opened, he looked to them with eyes of fear.
"And that horrible sound...the...'owl'...", he shivered and rested his head on the ground.
((Zerg you ninja XD!!))
The golden whitetail did not
"Well, I can't say much about you," although she knew who the blackbuck was, she had never really spoken with him before, "I can tell you this: You do have a name. Your name is Quad."
The word sparked a distant
"Hurry...Get the quad...The fawn is over there...", he repeated the words the humans were shouting, "Aww man, look what you did to my quad...", the stag's eyes cleared some more, he was deeper in thought here than he has been for the night. "I remember the word now...the name...Quad...it's too familiar...", he spoke softly.
He caught a glimpse of that field again. The golden sunlight shining on the tall grass. The fawns laughing and playing. Though it was a much more distant memory than his birth. As if it happened...but never really happened...
"Please...", he begged them at once, "Please tell me more about this place, this...home..."
-----------------------------
Meanwhile, Noctuis perched on a treetop and looked down to the moonlit Forest below. He saw strange strings rising into the sky, and looking down, he saw a fawn that they were attached to. Pema was wide awake tonight, and she was resting in a patch of flowers.
"Interesting...I'll have to keep an eye on this creature...", he mused to himself.
Pathweaver flashes a vague
"The Endless Forest, or home is a place protected by twin gods, and made unique in that there is magic all around us. This is a place where most deer are proteted and safe from dangers origining from the world beyond this forest, such as human hunters. Death is rare, and had once been unheard of here. There are some that believe this forest to be a paradise, or a safe haven. Others still, would say it's a sort of heaven to those who were lost to another world. Truely, it is a different place to different deer, but it's a marvelous world we all share."
"Safe....safe...", he
There was a primal fear in his heart, the sound of owl calls sparked instant terror in him. He hoped he would never hear the sound again.
Martisol finally sat down in
"Owls are not... dangerous. Well, not normally." She paused, glancing at Pat, trying to think what to say next, trying to find the right words to calm the scared blackbuck. "It could be possible that... There may be a dangerous one out there... Well, I wouldn't worry about them. If there is one that is out there harming deer, then I'm sure something will be done. Just keep in mind, most owls aren't big enough to really hurt you. Nor do most want to." She gave him a warm smile, trying to ease the tension.
She shifted positions slightly, getting comfortable. This might be a long night.
Quad licked his lips.
He did his best to stand, stumbling back a moment before balancing. He did not know the way to the Pond or any other water source, but he hoped these protectors knew where to go.
Surprised by his sudden plea,
She thought for a second, thinking about the "dangerous" owl that he was convinced had attacked him. Listening for a moment, she heard nothing but the crickets of the night and the hum of the Old Oak. Seemed safe enough. "Yes, you must be thirsty. The Pond isn't too terribly far from here, but there's quite a big hill going down there. You'll need to be careful and watch your step..."
She paused, a sudden thought occuring to her, and looked over at the other gray stag. "Do you think it's safe enough for him to go out, or do you think it would be better if he waited until morning?" She didn't want Quad to suffer from dehydration, but she sure didn't want to feel guilty if he was in danger and was attacked the moment he stepped out of the giant tree.
((btw, I realized I had a bit of a typo on my last post and accidentally called Path "Pat". :c Sorry.)
(Lol, that's ok. I still knew
Path began to slowly come back up on his hooves after the others, only slower than the others due to his age and size. If needed, he could provide balance support to Quad as well, especially on the hill between them and the pond. It was of course a well known fact that Quad isn't exactly the skinniest seven-bean-dip-eating stag in the forest, even if weight had been lost after learning to fight in past days.
Turning his head to face Martisol, he considers her question. "I do not believe it will be a dangerous walk to the pond, especially when walking in numbers. If the dangerous owl is still nearby, it may be all the wiser not to attack an alert group. Waiting to morning however will assure that our owl will be at rest. Certainly, it would depend more than anything on how thirsty you are, Quad." he figures, pulling Quad into the conversation.
In truth, he could simply draw water out of the ground below them if it were in dire need, and circumstances meant leaving the oak was not a safe option for any of them. This great oak needs a source of water to grow this huge where it is, and this water source most logically would be water some distance under the ground. Not one to show off unnecessarilly, he would much prefer instead to simply lead to the pond.
"This choice is yours." he states, still in such a grandfatherly manner. He always did have a bit of a talent for laying out options, while leaving the choices to be made by the one who should be making them.
Quad fidgeted, his lips
At this point, this was the only thing on his mind. He hoped the two protectors would be enough to ward off any of those 'owl' things.
Martisol nodded toward the
She turned her head to smile gently at Quad. "Yes, we'll take you to the Pond. You may feel better after a good drink. Just stay close and watch where you step on the steeper parts of the way down."
Coming to stand beside him, she motioned for him to walk out of the Oak.
He smiled, slightly
Pathweaver flashes an easy
Watching Quad walk, he vaguely wondered if the blackbuck had perhaps more trouble than a new fawn in finding his footing, in sight of his weight. Certainly that was not helping matters for him.
He follows Quad out of the Old Oak, momentarilly glancing skyward for any possible owl that might have Quad sighted as it's preferred target. Seeing nothing, and sensing nothing, he walks out into the moonlight. His great white antlers seem to almost shine, if not sparkle in the moonlight; the same effect cascading along his back from the natural light source.
Staying close in case either protection or another support for the walk is needed, he begins to lead toward the pond. His step is not obviously hindered by his age, as though old bones have not been afflicted by any artheritus or fracture, past or presant.
The blackbuck followed the
They made it to the open area, where Quad immediately jumped into the pond, slipping in the wet ground and splashing. He actually began to laugh and splash his hooves in the water before settling down to drink. They would notice that he takes long gulps of water, it almost appears that he drinks his body weight of the liquid.
When he was satisfied, he began to turn toward them, when something flashed in the corner of his eye. The curious child-like blackbuck turned toward the far willow tree, and with his steady hooves, he began to walk toward it, his eyes open and alert. There was something there, something sitting beneath the dangling leaves of the tree.
He was a slight distance away from his protectors, they could still see him, but they did not realize what was about to happen.
"H-Hello? Who are you?", Quad hesitantly asked the shadow beneath the tree.
The figure stood, slender, fluid...her grey eyes gleaming as she stepped out from the darkness and into the moonlight.
"Oh you silly buck...", Iugulare spoke, "You should know by know that I am your worst nightmare."
When the group finally made
She lifted her head and stared out at the moon's reflection over the Pond. A gust of wind blew over her, finding its way through the golden and copper fur on her body, chilling her very soul.
It was then that she noticed Quad wandering toward a willow. From the distance she was at, she could not make out what he was looking at.
Worry filling her head, she called out gently to him, "What's over there? What do you see?"
Quad was terrified, this
Iugulare stopped, and blinking in a surprised way, she asked, "An owl? An owl?! Really, Quad? What do you take me for, an idiot?"
Quad collapsed, now backing up by only digging his rear hooves into the sand and sliding backwards. "N-no, err...I d-don't know what to c-call you...do you have a n-n-name?", he shook in sheer terror. This thing actually knew his name, but as far as he could remember, he had never met Iugulare before.
The stoat tilted her head. By now, she was very surprised but more skeptical about the whole thing. She simply did not want to believe that her arch enemy honestly did not remember her. Grimacing, she spoke with a different tone in her voice - she was much more calm, almost soothing, "Stand still, I want to take a good look at you, and make sure I am talking to the right person. Your pictogram says Quad, but...right now, I have no idea who you really are."
Quad froze, terrified breaths exited his lungs as Iugulare approached and walked around him. She sniffed his fur, even licked him on the leg, to confirm the familiar scent and taste of Quad. It was here she saw the wound on the back of his head, and even could detect the infection within his brain. "Noctuis! So that's why you asked if I was an owl...", she spoke. The word made Quad jump up in fright, he quickly ran and hid behind Path. Iugulare then noticed the other two there.
Clearing her throat, she explained to them, "Relax, I won't hurt him - or you - as of now. After all, Quad and I have had a truce since Christmas. It really pains me to think that damned owl, Noctuis, got to him like this.", while under her breath, she whispered, "...It's a shame I didn't think about it myself..."
Upon reaching the pond, Path
Soon something in the Dao felt off. He couldn't hear the blackbuck drinking anymore. Opening his eyes, he glances around to look for the others. He quickly spots Quad and Igulare, seeing Quad's apprehension and Igulare's confusion. Path begins to walk in their direction, in time for Quad to run back and hide behind him. He assumes a protective stance, lowering his great white antlers. His eyes and markings shift into a bright green shade, matching the grass around the stoat. When she speaks however, he lifts his head.
Noctus... So now they had a name, and a confirmation to the theory that it had indeed been an owl attack that left this blackbuck in such a fawn-like state. "You know of this owl then. Might you tell us more about him? It would be wise to know what we are dealing with." he speaks, much less in that grandfather tone and more in a manner worthy of a wise general, in the wise authority of an elder in chinese and japanese culture.
Iugulare nods, "Noctuis is
I lived among the spiritual community, learning about magic and biology mostly. However Noctuis is a part of the military branch of goxi. His mentality is more focused on destruction than conquest. He wants to take over the universe by destroying the weak, only taking the strongest creatures of the known universe to do his bidding. He's more...cruel than I am. He makes his prey suffer even after they surrender their bodies.", she described him in this way, although she understood that she really wasn't that different to Noctuis. Still, she described him as more of a monster than she could ever be.
The old stag seemed to
[another fail post. |D;]
((It's fine XD)) Iugulare
Iugulare approached Quad, hiding behind Path. "Quad...it's okay. Please, just trust me, if only this one time.", she spoke to him, her words were almost motherly.
The blackbuck slowly appeared from behind the elder stag, his body still shivering but then standing before his enemy, staring deep into her grey eyes. "I...I don't know much about you...but I will listen to you...", he said with hesitance.
Iugulare smiled and walked to him. "Just stand still.", she whispered in his ear, and then went around him. She reached to the back of his head, and placing an infectious paw on the wound, she let her infection enter into his skull. Quad's eyes squinted, he was not in pain but rather felt a lot of pressure in his head. He began to gasp and squirm, but Iugulare shushed him, "Shh...it's almost over..."
Then she removed her paw, the tip of it noticeably white, and soon it turned dark. "There...his brain is clean from Noctuis' infection now. But...he did suffer some damage, and I simply don't know how to help him there...", she sighed.
Quad's eyes opened, and looking around, he saw Iugulare there. "Iugulare?! Wh--what are you doing here?!", he asked.
The stoat smiled, "So you remember me now? At least that's better."
The blackbuck nodded, "Of course I remember you! You were my best friend from the meadow....right?", he tilted his head.
Iugulare blinked, and shook her head, "...Mistaken identity...I might have made his brain worse...", she sighed again.
After a considerable amount
While there was no laugher, he did detect something. A gnawing sound. Foxglaive walked towards the sound, which slowly seemed to grow louder. As he moved past some larger rocks, he noticed large, translucent strings tangled up around a nearby tree. "Ahh! Pema's string! Happity and happy hocks! It will speak with the one who taught of dancing." Yet, when the gnawing figure came into view, it was clearly not the fawn he was looking for. In fact, it was a doe with spider-like legs emerging from her body. Foxglaive tilted his head at the sight of her attempting to chew into the stones. "Ahh! But you are not Pema. Please to forgiving it. May a nice cake be waiting onto you." He promptly bowed several times, then turned and continued on his way.
He took several steps before an idea finally struck him. "[Coursefo!]" Foxglaive checked his bag of treasures and found a star map inside. "Map to stars!" He consulted the pamphlet, then looked upward to verify his location. "Yes yes yes yes yes ... it sees [Dyga Agal] constellation. And ... there! Turn left at [Kingchil] formation, then follow [Kersew] constellation until Pema is found. Yes."
In no time, Foxglaive spotted Pema's strange strings ascending into the sky. He reached the patch of flowers where she rested and bowed several times. "[Maep!] [Maep!] ... you are smart for you do things smartly, like device used for furniture-finding in the dark!" He waited a moment, then realized his rudeness. "Ahh! It apologize for not asking if you were in the middle of something. Today, at the crying idol, a strange owl was seen! Syrupy, like on waffles. Unlick anything I have seen here, on [Zethora] or on [Thrae]. Have you a knowing of such a being? Nice, like a gold and bark apple? Or Not nice?" Foxglaive sat down before the fawn, very eager to hear her response.
@Foxglaive - Pema slowly
Pema slowly tilted her head. "Syrupy like on waffles? Well, the closest thing I've ever seen to that is Iugulare...but you said it was an owl. That must mean there is another one of those aliens in the Forest. I suppose I have not seen this new one yet, but I understand quite a bit about it from what Quad has told me. The infection...those poor souls who get caught...he even said he has been infected many times. But I'm rambling on...if you saw an owl, it must be close to here. Maybe in the tree tops...", she spoke, and looking around, she saw a slight glimmer from the top of an oak tree, "There! I think I just saw your owl!"
She stood, her body suspended for a moment by the strings. Squinting, the creature had somehow vanished. "Hmm...considering that it is the same kind of thing as Iugulare...we may want to be cautious. She is a master of trickery and stealth, I'm sure this owl is no different. We should keep our eyes open for it..."
Pema was right to be cautious, for while she mused, Noctuis had slipped behind the tree he was perched on, and was much closer to the ground. He peered at the two from the bark, trying to decide which would be easier to pick off between the larger stag and the strange fawn.
((Sorry, I couldn't think of
Martisol had stood quietly, watching the scene unfold. She was reaching farther into her memories, looking for a glimpse of information concerning these "infections". Few things came to her mind, nothing but warnings from her fellow deer and tales of Quad saving the forest from an epidemic. She shook her head in frustration.
"Well." she said, finally speaking up and taking a few steps closer. "You've cleared the situation quite a bit, thank. And at least he can actually remember things now, even though he might be a little mixed up..." She paused, looking between the stoat and the blackbuck with bright green eyes. "Anyway, whoever this 'Noctuis' is, how... how can we stop him?"
Iugulare closed her eyes,
At that moment, they heard a splashing sound. Quad had walked off toward the Pond, and they watched him jump into the deeper water. After a moment, he surfaced, his appearance had reverted back to that of a 'naked' deer rather than a blackbuck antelope, but they immediately realized he was in trouble. "Help!! Help!!", Quad cried, splashing and kicking as he tried to swim, and then they saw him submerge...
Realizing Quad was out of
He stopps and stands on the water just beside the now naked blackbuck. Dropping his front half as if to pray at the twin statues, he submerges his head into the water after Quad, reaching down to grab him by his default antlers... the closest possible part of him to reach. He would go fully under if necessary, but for the second this seems enough.
The stag emerged from the
He saw himself in the reflection of the water, and once his lungs cleared, he questioned, "Oh my gods! I look just like...mother..."
Iugulare began to back away, "I need to...uhh...go plan for a while...on our attack...", she lied in a broken sentence before darting away. They would not realize that seeing Quad nearly drown was painful for her to bear. She had strange emotions toward him, almost as if she loved him...
Quad stood, wearily, his fur starting to dry. "T-thank you...Pega...", he speaks to Path, though saying the wrong name. He turns to Martisol for a moment, "What should we do now...Mar Sart?", again saying the wrong name...
------------------
Meanwhile, Noctuis slunk out of his hiding spot, and swooped onto Pema. The marionette flopped on the ground, but chuckled, "Silly alien...what do you hope to accomplish in infecting me?", she asked.
"More curious as to what you are...", the owl replied, infection seeping underneath the marionette's fabric skin. "You're not like the snake...but no blood...hmm...", he mused.
"Your infection won't work on me. Now I'd suggest you leave me alone or I will ask Thich to come and eat you.", Pema speaks.
Noctuis scoffed, "I think I may...toy with you a bit...", he says, and turning his wing hard and sharp, he swipes at Pema's strings, severing them. The marionette went limp in Noctuis' grasp.
He then looked over toward Foxglaive..."And then there's you...", he says
"Me? ... Ahh! But! Who ...
The deer rapidly rummaged through his tiny burlap sack for anything or everything that might appease the owl. Yet, all he could manage to find was a hard candy lollipop. He used his teeth to pick up the candy by its white stick, then tossed it in the owl's direction. Foxglaive bowed at once and said, "Please to accept. Very valuable, yes."
To his surprise and relief, the owl's grip upon Pema released, dropping her free as his attention turned to the candy - more specifically, a chocolate-flavored Tootsie Pop from the realm of [Thrae]. The deer's eyes focused upon the owl's beak and he cautiously pecked at the wrapping, then at the hard, candy shell. After a moment, Noctuis tried a different approach - opening his beak and touching his tongue against the surface.
"One,", Foxglaive counted. "Ahh-two ... three. Three!" Upon Noctuis's third lick, the deer darted forward and snatched up as many of Pema's strings as he could into his mouth. Foxglaive deduced that it would take the owl approximately 252 licks to get to its candy center, unless Noctuis was innovative enough to devise another method to eat it. He hoped the distraction would be enough to help them reach a safe distance.
"Pema! What should it do? Find Quadnod, perhapsing?" he asked the fawn as he ran, glancing downward to the small deer as he ran. Yet, when he looked, Pema was nowhere to be found. He stopped running immediately. "Ahh! Foolish fool! You dropped her when you talked!"
The deer backtracked a short distance, located Pema once more and apologized to her several times. He collected her up again and dashed towards the pond.
Foxglaive - Pema's eyes
Pema's eyes blink as she is picked up after being dropped. "Oh thank you...at least now we have met that...Noctuis character. From my observations, he is much like the stoat, Iugulare, but...not quite the same, at least not in the head. Perhaps finding Quad would be the best answer, he knows how to fight those kinds of aliens.", she said.
The marionette was limp and dangling while she spoke. She could not move her body whatsoever, at was currently at the mercy of Foxglaive. "If I may request, though, could you help me rejoin the strings of my puppeteer? It is very easy to do, they only need to touch and they will reattach. You may not have known about it, but he controls my body...in fact...you might know quite a bit about my master. He comes from another world...actually...another universe...", she speaks.
--------------
The cold and wet Quad began to wander off now. With no sense of direction, he seemed to only have one thing on his mind...
"Hex...where is Hex...? I must find her...Hex...", he repeats again and again, stumbling off toward the Playground area...
Path appeared momentarilly
He turns his head slightly, looking to Martisol as he walks off the water's surface. His beard drips with pond water, waterlogged after pulling the blackbuck out of the water. His eyes flash blue momentarilly, and as though by magic the water seperates itself from his fur, floating centimeters away in tiny droplets and falling down into the grass.
"Hex, hm." he speaks thoughtfully, approaching Martisol and momentarilly looking in Quad's direction. "You do now know one by that name, do you?" he asks.
For a second, Martisol stood
Martisol honestly no idea what to do next. She could have suggested they returned to the Old Oak, and offer to help get his look back in the morning, but Quad seemed like he suddenly had so much energy, that he might refuse.
When Quad began to wander off, Martisol took a few steps forward in his direction, still politely staying near Path. "Yes. And do you know where you're going?" She added to the gray stag's question.
((sorry, I almost forgot about this, plus had no idea what to put next.))
Quad stopped, his brown eyes
Seeing the look on their faces, the naked blackbuck continued, "I do not know what she will tell me, but there is something deep within my mind, like a whisper, that keeps telling me to go to her. Please, just trust me...", and with that, he turns and carries on toward the Birch Forest.
---------
The night sky was clear, and there sat the blind seer, her eyes catching starlight as she muttered words to herself. She stopped, her ears perking. "Brother is coming...not alone...important...he's in trouble?", she questioned the stars above.
Closing her eyes and sniffing the air for his scent, she says, "Let him come...let him hear what you have to say..."
“Ahh! That was quite a
It did not take long for the pair to run into Martisol, Path and Quad. Foxglaive noticed that Pema seemed to curtsey to the group, so he felt prompted to bow as well. When his appearance was met with confused expressions, he explained, “Ahh! It did encounter a most not nice owl. Perhapsing it would be nicer if it used mothwash. The escape and resolution was exciting and daring but way too complicate to explain now.” He paused for a moment, then added, “Ahh! But has anyone seen Quadnod? It is most important we have the speakings with him.”
Quad emerged from the group
Pema wanders close to Quad, looking at him eagerly, "So this is what happened...", she explains, as the marionette understands things as soon as she studies them, "It must have been that infection, the owl, that caused him to be in this state. He has obviously suffered some damage to his mind, since he is close to us correctly, but I'm afraid if he remains at this state, the damage will be permanent...", the marionette sighs here.
"Then let me tell you, all of you, what you must do to save my brother.", Hex intervened here. The seer raised her blind eyes to the stars, and read what they said. "What happens from this point on will mark the end of one chapter and the beginning of another for Quad's life. You will travel to the Old Oak, where the owl will be waiting for you. Many problems will arise when you meet with him, but instead of taking them on all at once, simply focus on each as a simple dilemma and take care of them one by one. When you finally face the owl, he will attempt to fulfill what he sought out to do in the beginning - destroy my brother, defeat the Grand Talux and secure his victory over the Endless Forest.
When the final battle begins, stay vigilant, do not give in to the owl's false promises, and watch as my brother transforms from a sensitive buck into the great and loving hero the Twin Gods asked him to be."
She closes her eyes, not wanting to speak the last part of the prediction, but then says it, "I am sorry to say, however...that one among you will not survive the fight...*"
(*Hex's predictions are not always true, but in this case, the prediction is actually hinting that I want someone to be badly infected in the fight, to where they lose control of their consciousness. You'll see what will happen then. I don't want anyone to be permanently killed in this roleplay
The old stag follows Quad to
"I had feared that may be the case." he speaks softly, silvery eyes looking to Pema.
Reaching the presance of Quad's sister, Path listens to the blind seer's words in silence. Though Hex's final notation on her prophesy is grim, Path finds little fear from her words. Perhaps such comes from advanced age, but he simply found no fear in the idea of death. However, if it were Martisol that was forseen to be in the way of death, that would be cause to be concerned. She is comparitively young, after all. It would be a shame for one in their prime to be lost in battle with an infectious alien owl.
(Sorry for the short post. Might be a bit of writers block forming.)