Lore: Behind Stone Walls

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:55 pm

She glared at him and stood up grudgingly. Trying to stay as far from him as possible for the climb back up, Neko gripped whatever ledge she could and started a slow scramble up the wall. She tried hard to ignore her fear of heights.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:04 pm

Adonis frowned, waiting to be sure she was capable of climbing before he started up. He knew it wasn't going to be fun, and didn't plan to waste the energy if she was going to need to stay below. Why he never even thought of abandoning her, he didn't closely consider.

When she was a few feet up, he found handholds in the rock and pulled himself upward. His legs found purchase below him, but it took all his willpower to put his weight on his broken shin. Trying to keep as much weight on the other leg as possible, he reached for his next handhold and climbed another step before pausing to pant against the stone. His face and back had broken out in a cold sweat.

Come on, damn it, you can do better than this, he chided himself, reaching up for another handhold.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:08 pm

Neko was also shaking. Between her fear and the bruises all over her body, this climb was difficult. She had to ignore it, she wasn't going to die in a hole, and what of her brother? Did he fall too? Or did the wolves get him? She was terrified for his safety, she couldn't lose him. Reaching for another hold, arm shaking, she suddenly slipped. A yelp escaping from her mouth as she hung back on for dear life.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:16 pm

Adonis's gaze shot to Neko as she slid and nearly fell. He could feel her fear buzzing like a drug through his mind. "Do you need help?" he asked quietly, not sure if she'd accept it from him. He began to preemptively scale sideways on the rock to get closer to her position.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:20 pm

"N-no..." she said through gritted teeth. She didn't want him to touch her. After she had realized they're mild intimate contact... it was alive in her mind. She was aware of his every move, breath, his body heat. It made her skin shiver and crawl. Nausea made her head swim and her grip slacken. The sweat on her hands made the rock hard to grip, and before she knew it, she was exhausted from physical and emotional effort.

She tried to hurry downwards before she completely fell, but she was clumsy and ended up tumbling down, making her bruises worse and earning new cuts and a fresh gash on her forehead.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:26 pm

"Neko!" he shouted as she slipped just before he could reach her. He glanced down at the ground where she'd fallen and tried to tell whether she was okay. If he wanted to make it out on his own strength, he probably had to do it now, or he'd be completely drained. His blood swam in his head as he clung to the rock, trying to decide what to do. With a grunt of impatience, he reached his good leg tentatively down and found a foothold to begin his descent. Damn it all. "Neko, are you hurt?" he called down at her. He couldn't discern her pain from his in his mind.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:28 pm

Neko grumbled and winched as she got up. Thankfully, she hadn't broken anything. She felt the warm blood on her forehead and felt tears pricking her eyes. Adonis was getting down to come to her, so she assumed. Why didn't he just leave her? He clearly disliked her... Just leave her here to rot... Even leave her brother and Eosan, Gods know where they were.

Hot tears trickled down her cheeks.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:45 pm

Don't, he thought pleadingly as her sorrow touched him. Not now, it's too much... He fought back the stinging sensation in his eyes and tried to keep himself inside his own head as he climbed downward. He was making some progress when the foothold he'd chosen for his good leg suddenly gave way. With a gasp, he lurched downward, skidding several feet before successfully catching his weight on his leg. His bad leg. He stabilized himself and let out a long-withheld scream into the stone, pressing his face into the cold rock to concentrate. He threw all his anger and frustration into the pained sound, until his lungs ran out of air, and then he just hung there, breathing tensely. Trembling now, he felt gingerly for the next foothold and climbed the rest of the way down, favoring his leg as he finally stood on the uneven floor of the pit.

He stared at the wall for a few long seconds, wiping sweat out of his eyes. He felt lightheaded and just stared. Finally, he looked down at Neko, who was a few feet away. He seemed to have lost all concern for his nudity, and was ash-pale.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:50 pm

His heartfelt yell of pain made her look up at him in fear through her tears. To her, from her position, he looked crazed. His skin was paler and he was staring down at her. Did he blame her for his pain? Was he going to attack her? A cold panic made her try to skitter farther away, but it was a vain attempt since their space was rather small.

"Don't... Don't hurt me! I've done nothing to you!" she choked.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:01 pm

"You have no idea what you've done, so shut up," Adonis growled, deciding not to approach her after all. He backed off and slid down against the wall opposite her, his body refusing to hold him up any more. His broken shin had swelled from the knee down, and looked completely different from the strong, slender form of his other leg. The skin around the break had gone dark red, with some parts progressing to black, and wasn't shaped right; a sign the broken edge was close to the skin.

He thought about trying to set it, but he was going to need it to climb out of the cave later. Setting would just be a futile torture. He glanced up at Neko. Her kimono was shredded and dirty. "Can you spare a sleeve?" he asked flatly. He could at least try to cover himself.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:08 pm

Closing her eyes so not to look at him anymore, she yanked at her tattered sleeve, feeling the fabric rip. It was like exposing more of herself, but she had to remind herself that it was only her arm, she balled it up and tossed it in his direction.

Maybe it would make these terrible feelings go away, so she could function. She held her head between her legs, trying to take deep breaths and let them out slowly. She had to calm down, or they'd never get out... well maybe he'd get out and just leave her here to figure it out on her own. Why did he hate her? She did nothing to him. She was nice to him when she didn't even know it was him, when he was a horse. Didn't that count for something? She cared when she thought he was dead. Clearly falling through this hole was not her fault, that couldn't have been predicted.

Weren't unicorns nice? He must have a mental problem, if he was like this. Mean, uncaring... All she wanted was to get back to her brother. Then they'd go they're separate ways from Adonis, he clearly wanted nothing to do with them anymore, and then try to find Laya and Telanis again. Where had they gone?

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:14 pm

Adonis took the cloth of the drapey sleeve with a muttered word of gratitude and ripped it carefully, until he was able to fashion a sort of loincloth out of it. It was hardly modest, but it kept his package wrapped, so to speak. "Are you afraid of heights?" he asked after a few more minutes of silence.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:16 pm

"Yes." she said, focusing her emotions into a pinpoint of anger towards him. Yes, that kept her focused and emotionally balanced to deal with the situation at hand. "Yes, I'm terrified. Does that make me even more despicable?" She spat ice at him even though she had tucked her head between her knees.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:26 pm

"No," Adonis said with surprising calmness. You could almost hear a faint tinge of apology in his voice. "But it means I'll have to get out of here first." He pushed to his feet and looked at her with a faint tenderness in his eyes that he'd never shown her in his human form. He knelt in front of her and touched a small strip of fabric he'd spared to the gash on her forehead. "I'll be back for you," he said seriously, and stood up again before his proximity could make her upset again. "I know this doesn't make a lot of sense, but I just...need you to try not to bleed for a few minutes," he said, sounding tired as he limped back to the wall. He knew the path this time; if he could do it quickly, his body should be able to make it to the top.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:29 pm

She looked up as he went to the wall to climb it again. She saw his leg, blacken, swollen...

"No! You'll hurt yourself more!" She almost sprang forward to stop him, she was already at her feet.