Lore: Behind Stone Walls

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 1:27 pm

"That would be only normal," Adonis said rather seriously, looking at the ground as he followed behind her. Then his temper seemed to flare again. "And I say it was selfish indulgence because it contradicts what I'm trying to accomplish to keep you alive. To rescue a human for my own company is just...just...." he stopped. It was impossible to explain it to her. He sighed and glanced at the ground, away from her. He needed to find his brother and finish what he'd set out to do.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:14 pm

Neko sniffed in disdain, her shoulders stiff. "Well fine then. I'm still going to take care of you, whether you like it or not." And she left him at the cave opening to linger in the sunlight on his own as she went to attend to her brother.

It wasn't fair. After this he still wanted to 'kill all humans'? Even if he could accomplish that, she would stand in his way at every turn. Not all had to die just because of certain, bad events that may have happened to him. Even she didn't want everyone destroyed just because she had been...

There are good people out there. And those people need saving from Queen Shea.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:24 pm

Adonis watched her back as she walked to take care of her brother. 'Take care of him', huh? He'd heard things like that before, and they hadn't happened. He didn't believe in humans anymore, but he accepted her words. It was a shame she'd been born into such a race, because he planned to spare no one. Only then would the world be fair again. Others could accuse him of being mad, but in the end, those who remained would all be forced to acknowledge that his path had been the only option. He would be the savior of his kind, and others like them.

That thought pushed to the background in his head as he lowered himself to a seat on the ground and watched Neko tend to her brother. He felt a pang of jealousy, and wasn't sure why. Did he want Neko's attention that much, or was it because they were close, the way siblings were meant to be? He sat very straight on the ground and thought about what his estranged brother was doing right now.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:34 pm

"You are mad at him." Kratos pointed out as his sister looked him over, assessing his wounds. He was, in fact, healing.

"Because he is arrogant." Neko replied bluntly. Kratos sighed. When his sister was angry at someone she tended to stay that way for a long time, and yet, something seemed different about it.

"Look at the sun... I never thought we'd see it again."

"Yes..." Neko's voice was dreamy as she watched it as well. "Adonis... saved us..." And then she told her brother everything.

"So, he's Telanis' brother... and wants to kill us all. Well, Shea might just beat him to it." he joked. Neko glared at him but he kept smiling. Kratos didn't believe for a second that Adonis would get away with such an act. Because of his brother, Telanis. Kratos knew enough about Telanis and unicorns to know that Telanis would not let his brother perform such an act. Nor would Neko, it seemed.

And he was too tired and too beat up to even try to make anything of it. He just let it go, they had bigger problems.

"So, we've lost Laya and Telanis."

"I don't know where they are... at all." Neko stood up and went as far to the cliff side as she dared, looking over the shore far below.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:57 pm

"They should be near the shore somewhere," Adonis said flatly. He'd come up right behind them without a sound. "Telanis will be trying to return to the forest on the mainland. His body calls out for that place."

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:58 pm

Neko turned around, facing him. "How do you know?" Kratos looked up from his place by the tree. If Adonis knew where Telanis was, would Laya be with him?

"Do you know if Laya is with him?" Kratos asked.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:05 pm

Adonis frowned at what he perceived as a foolish question from Kratos. "I share a blood bond with Telanis, but it is not a mental connection. I will know immediately if he dies; beyond that, I sense only the emotions of those close by. I share no connection with the woman called Laya, and cannot say where or how she is. If you mean, 'why do I know he is seeking his forest,' it is because that is part of what he is. Our kind will wither and eventually die without our forests. I am an exception." He halted there; he hadn't intended to approach the subject of his altered nature. So far, they'd not pushed the subject, and that was fine by him.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:08 pm

"So," Kratos went on, ignoring Adonis' tone of voice. Finding them was more important than having it out with some unicorn man who hates everyone. "You at least know he's around?"

"He'll... die?" Neko's voice chimed in faintly. She had no idea... was he dying now? Getting weak? She felt so guilty. They brought him here without even knowing that, not even asking.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:18 pm

"He will be feeling it, perhaps not understanding it yet," Adonis said, a trace of real concern bordering into his eyes. "He has never left the woods. It is not something that happens quickly. He has been gone only a few weeks. Death would take many months to take place, and by that time he would notice and correct the problem. He is naive, but not stupid." He glanced over the two, wondering if they were well enough to hike. The girl had to be exhausted, and for all he knew Kratos had not slept either.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:25 pm

Both Neko and Kratos absorbed the information, feeling the weight of it. Neko decided that they needed to take him back home to the forest, soon.

"We need to find him then, get him back home soon." she said softly, meaning every word.

"If we leave though... it may be hard for us to get back." Kratos interjected. At Neko's perplexed look he explained, "We're wanted now. We know things and they want us dead. Technically we're now in hiding, but if we leave it may blow our cover, unless we manage it in secrecy." Neko tried to interrupt but he stopped her. "And if that's managed, how can we get back? In theory the same way. But they WILL be looking for us outright. May even have a bounty on our heads. Anyone would go for that instead of doing the right thing and stopping them." He wanted to get Telanis back to his forest, he did, but he also wanted to save his people. He was conflicted and also knew they had to weigh their options.

"If we leave though," Neko said thinking, "We could warn the Queen!" Kratos nodded his head, considering it.

"Assuming we can leave quietly..."

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:41 pm

Adonis wasn't especially interested in their little political affairs. He looked over the cliff at the shoreline, searching for any sign that Telanis had passed there. Seeing none, he stretched his mind out as far as it went, but felt no sign of Telanis's mind. He restrained his frustration and turned to the two humans. "Do you two need rest, or can we get going?"

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:44 pm

Neko shot a look at Adonis, but he was right. They were wasting time. Kratos moved to get up and Neko was by his side immediately.

"The elf healed me, but everything still hurts." he said while he leaned over his sister.

"He couldn't do much... but it seemed to be enough." she replied as she supported his weight. Turning to Adonis, Neko smiled. "Let's go find your brother, and hopefully Laya too."

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:52 pm

Adonis nodded somewhat gratefully to Neko, who seemed to understand what needed to be done. "Let's follow the shore line north," he said. Before Kratos could ask him another doltish question, he added, "because Telanis always wanders north when he's worried."

Without really waiting for them, he set a pace for the injured group that wasn't particularly fast, but still grueling considering the sorry shape they were all in. The level of the land eventually lowered to sea level, and they walked along firm sand instead of cliffside. After about twenty minutes, they came to a dinghy that had beached on the shore. Three sets of footprints wandered off from it. One set went into the woods, and two went north along the shoreline. Could this be them? No, it would be too easy.

Still, Adonis felt urgency growing in his chest. "This could be him," he said, a bit breathlessly after all their exertion. He stared at the tracks, then hobbled fiercely onward, hoping to catch up to them.

Mizuki · Post by **Mizuki** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:55 pm

Neko and Kratos followed after their 'guide', determination on Neko's face, who supported her severely injured brother. Kratos, unfortunately, for all his bravery, felt every bit of pain from his wounds with each step. He tried hard not to let his pain show, sweat covering his body as he fought it. His only hope was that they'd find them soon, and rest.

Post by **Soran Nightblade** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:03 pm

Adonis's arms were exhausted from supporting himself with the staff as a crutch, but as the tracks grew fresher and fresher, he pushed himself faster. He had to find Telanis. Everything would work once he found him again. He felt well the exhaustion of the two behind him, but managed not to look back at them.

Finally, he began to feel it. Something. A faint mental buzz in the distance that he recognized as Telanis. The aura was calm, which meant he couldn't be too far. Stronger emotions stretched long distances, but what he felt now had to be nearby. Yes! He threw open his mind, normally kept closely sealed, in order to reach out to Telanis's thoughts.