Lore: Behind Stone Walls

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:34 pm

"If you have a better idea, say it!" Adonis snapped, glancing over his shoulder at her. "Stay away, you're bleeding," he added, not even sure if she understood what that meant. "Just stay still and calm down. When I find a rope, you'll still need to climb, fear or not. He reached up and hoisted himself to the first foothold.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:38 pm

"You're in worse shape than me!" she yelled stamping her foot. "Besides, how can I trust that you wont just abandon me here? You hate me so much, why don't you just be rid of me here!" She was so angry, at least it kept her from remembering, but there were still some things one shouldn't say...

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:03 pm

"If I hated you, would I have climbed back into this fucking hole after you?!" Adonis steamed, glaring back at her. "And I certainly don't require your trust or approval to climb out of this hole. I need to do it either way, or are you saying you want to carry me up?" he snarled, and continued climbing. The anger leaked off his face as he pushed up on his broken leg. He couldn't afford to argue with her the whole way up, but he had half a mind to do it anyway. Actually, the anger was steeling his nerves more than he'd hoped.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 5:15 pm

Neko sucked in breath through her teeth, and the next thing she knew, she had thrown a rock that smashed into pieces on the wall to his right. It had been nowhere near him, since her aim was terrible.

"Go on then and damage your leg beyond repair!" she yelled. "I wont be the one to set it!"

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 5:37 pm

"Fine!" Adonis shouted back, but the tone came out too saturated with hurt to sound menacing. The unicorn just forced his human body higher up the wall, until he was some fifteen feet up above her head. His breath had grown ragged enough to hear from the base of the cavern, and he allowed himself a second to rest as he found a place level enough to lean forward on. He could make out the top of the hole from here; he was about two thirds of the way there. He lay still at what was probably the only stopping point he'd get and frowned at Neko's small form below him. He felt dizzy, and closed his eyes. He couldn't afford to stop too long. If his adrenaline crashed, he'd been done for.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 5:59 pm

Neko refused to watch him as he climbed up. 'Let him kill himself' she thought angrily. She tried to tell herself she no longer cared what happened to him. He had betrayed her trust, lied, and accused her of being some kind of terrible person. She would never dream of hurting Telanis, how could he even think that? If anything she was worried about him just as much as she was worried about Kratos.

To spite Adonis, she made her point even more by walking as far as she could from the wall he climb. As a result though, she ended up walking the entire perimeter of the hole they were in. And she was constantly doing it, like a prowling animal.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:09 pm

Adonis found that being stopped only made him feel worse. The longer he sat there, the more his adrenaline seeped away and made him feel exhausted. Neko didn't seem to be watching him anymore. She was just walking in circles at the base of the pit, ignoring him. Fine, let her. He didn't expect moral support from a human anyway.

Now that was a lie, and he knew it.

He sighed and started climbing again. It seemed hard to think about anything but his leg. Even falling seemed like it would be more comfortable, and he fought that suicidal temptation to just let go. After all, Neko might never get out if he did that. Especially if he landed on her. He scrambled on a loose clump of rocks, almost sliding like last time, but he caught his weight with his hands this time, letting the stones clatter downward while he found a new grip and kept climbing. After what seemed like forever, he finally got his hand up to the ground level of the cave. Slick with sweat, he tugged himself up onto the ground just beside the pit and lay there on his side, gasping for air.

Now he just had to find a rope. Only problem was that he suddenly wanted to pass out. He glanced over the edge of the pit with foggy vision. "Made it," he gloated down at her.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:12 pm

"Made it," Adonis called down. Neko spun around and looked up at him. He was high up. She forgot how angry she was and became worried.

"Are you alright? There aren't wolves up there, are there?" she called back up.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:19 pm

Adonis rolled stiffly onto his back, away from the hole, and sniffed the air. "They're here somewhere," he called down, "but they won't attack me alone. When you're up here with me, it might be a different story," he added, sitting up. He moved to stand up and nearly collapsed into a boneless heap. His leg had apparently gone on strike now that its job was done.

He leaned over the edge and looked down at her. "I'm going to find rope. I'll definitely be back for you, so don't try anything dangerous...okay?" he called down the cavern. "I'm not leaving you, I'm just looking for rope. I'm coming back," he said, and realized he was rambling and repeating himself. "I'm not thinking that well," he added, as if in apology.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:24 pm

"I'm not thinking that well..."

"Oh! That's reassuring!" Neko called up sarcastically. He wasn't leaving her, he was coming back, right? He said so, then again he pretended to be dead. 'No, no don't think like that.' she though, 'That'll get us nowhere.' But that nagging feeling wouldn't stop. It was strange really, she couldn't tell if she was worried for him, or worried that he'd leave her. She had the urge to climb up the wall. If an injured unicorn man could do it, then certainly she could. Fear or no fear!

...

"Best wait for him..." she said to herself as she leaned against a stalagmite and watched up for any sign of him.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:35 pm

Adonis got to his feet and used the wall of the cave as a brace to get him back out into the forested area beyond the cave opening. He saw no sign yet of Neko's brother or the newcomer, but didn't stray to find them, either. He was here for rope. He hopped on his good leg, and when he stumbled he did a sort of half-crawl scramble until he found what he was looking for. A tall tree with a thick, mossy vine growing down its side. He grabbed onto the base of the vine and pulled, tugging it back off the tree. The vine ripped away as he pulled, using his hopping to add force to his yanking tugs.

Then there was the question of how to cut the top of the vine and actually get it down. He glanced over at where another tree's limb passed close to where the vine hung. Dragging the vine forward against the limb, he began working it from side to side. Darn, this was going to take forever. Nearly ten minutes later, he finally managed to use the bark to work through the vine. He stumbled to the ground,and the vine collapsed on him in a pile. It seemed like minutes before he wanted to move again, but he did, mostly inspired by the thought that Neko would try to climb by herself if he didn't get back.

Why not? Why didn't he want her to fall? Damn it. He got to his feet and limped back to the cave, too tired to hop. When he got there, he threw the end of the vine down to her. "Tie that around your waist so it's secure, and start climbing. I'll help pull from this end," he called down to her bossily. "If you lose your balance, I'll hold your weight, so don't worry about falling."

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:13 pm

Neko gripped the vine, elated that he actually came back. She did what he said and braced herself for the climb, and the fear.

"I-I'm more worried about your leg." she called up to him. Then added, "Ok, ready." Her voice had gotten softer.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:35 pm

Adonis nodded down at her, not that she was likely to see the gesture from so far down. He didn't want to risk fraying the vine against the rock, so he propped himself against a sturdy boulder overhanging the pit that would keep him from flying down after her and pulled steadily at the vine to help her along her way. His main goal was to get her up quickly. He was feeling lightheaded and didn't feel like enduring her wrath if he passed out while she was half way up.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:39 pm

She tried to climb up as quick as possible. Gripping both rock and rope, trying hard not to think about her fear, trying hard not to look down. Before she even realized it, what seemed agonizingly long was complete in a shorter period of time than she thought it was taking. She was at the top.

Quickly, she scrambled onto the cave floor and lay there. Happy that she was out, happy that Adonis hadn't killed himself doing this, and happy not to be climbing anymore. Untying the vine from her waist, she got up and went towards Adonis, to see if he was alright.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:46 pm

Adonis finally loosened his grip on the rope and Neko made it up over the edge. His hands slackened and he stayed kneeling, resting heavily on the boulder. It didn't look particularly comfortable, and the position made little sense now that he was done pulling, but he was too lazy to move. Pride kept him aware enough to frown at Neko as she approached him. "Took you long enough," he said, though in reality she'd done incredibly well, and made it up far faster than he'd dared to hope.