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Post by Richard El Britannia on Aug 26, 2007 16:26:21 GMT
Jack didn't like hearing the last sentence that came out of Angelus' mouth. He hoped it only applied to this new guy, Peneii, but he doubted that. Afterall, he had only been with Angelus about an hour. He took out the knife again and started rolling it in his hands.
"Is this next town far?" Jack asked, trying to sound simply curious. Deep down, though, he wanted it to be very far away, now. He wanted a bit of adventure, not a boring town where he'd end up staying for eternity.
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Post by Surreptitious Cardboard Box on Aug 26, 2007 16:57:32 GMT
Felix frowned, suddenly realising that he hadn't thought to ask that same question of anyone else. He put a hand to his beltpouch, checking his book was still inside. "I'm not entirely sure," he admitted, opening the pouch and bringing the book out. "I have a few hand-drawn maps of some of the areas around here, but I was only told of the general direction in which to travel." He flicked through the book until he'd found what he'd been searching for; loose pages, small and torn, with rather simple maps drawn on them. He frowned at the sight of the first one, quickly hiding it from view by sliding it behind the back page and the cover of the book. "Here," he said, pointing at the right map once he'd found it. "This is of the area around Kichi - the town I just left. We follow the road up, past the forest, and eventually we meet a fork." He beamed around at them all. "We'll work it out from there."
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Post by Richard El Britannia on Aug 26, 2007 17:04:47 GMT
Jack was pleased at the word 'fork'. Fork meant two directions and Angelus didn't know where to go. Jack's excitement bubbled out of him this time as he ran up the path a bit and turned around to see if the others were following. "C'mon! We don't have all day!" He shouted, waving his spare hand and knife about. "Plus, we'll be away from the bloody yellow," he muttered to himself. "And to adventure." Jack grinned.
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Post by Surreptitious Cardboard Box on Aug 28, 2007 13:01:38 GMT
The party had not been walking long when Felix started to feel spots of rain on his cheeks. He stopped in his tracks and grinned up at the sky. "Well, there's your rain, Oliver," he announced. At his words, the rain grew heavier in a second, becoming almost torrential. Felix's expression changed to one of surprise. "Ooops ..." He looked around at his companions. "We should probably hurry on and look for some cover. These rains can get pretty nasty." They moved on at a speedier pace for about half a mile, walking, then half-running, then walking, to ensure they did not get tired. The scenery around them was still comprised of just the fields, until, eventually, they came upon a large, thick-trunked oak tree, just to the side of the path. Felix ground to a halt, landing in a puddle that lapped water over his boots. "Good," he muttered, "we'll shelter under here."
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Seph
Forum Chap
Living In A Dream
Posts: 176
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Post by Seph on Aug 28, 2007 13:14:23 GMT
Peneii felt happy that it was raining here too. One of his favorite things back in Earth was sitting by his bedroom window watching the rain fall for hours. Mittens however didn't feel the same way. She hated the rain. Peneii picked Mittens up and he held her tight trying to cover her from the rain. He ran under the tree with his companions and sat down resting his back on the trunk of the tree. "This is my tree, guys." he said laughing. "This is where I, umm, awoke."
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Post by Surreptitious Cardboard Box on Aug 28, 2007 16:30:38 GMT
Jack and Oliver joined Peneii, sheltering under the leaves and branches, but Felix did not move from where he was. He found himself distracted by the tree, as though he recognised it from somewhere, or had seen it before. He remained standing in the large puddle, aware of the water seeping into his boots; they were sturdy, but not waterproof. He wanted to check the book in his pouch again, to see if there was some mention of the tree in there, but the rain was too heavy and he could not risk the pages getting wet. He was sure, though, as he eventually started to walk over to where the others were, that he knew the tree from somewhere. "How long were you here for, Peneii?" he asked as he leant back against the tree, not wanting to sit on the wet roots and the muddy ground.
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Seph
Forum Chap
Living In A Dream
Posts: 176
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Post by Seph on Aug 28, 2007 16:39:51 GMT
Peneii found the fact that Angelus was so intrigued by the tree very strange. "I was lying here for about 10 minutes right after I first opened my eyes. Then I grabbed little Mittens and started walking down that path" he said pointing at the road on which they were walking on a while ago. "Why were you staring at the tree, Angelus? Are trees not a common thing in this world?"
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Post by Surreptitious Cardboard Box on Aug 28, 2007 17:04:54 GMT
Felix murmured to himself. "And nothing ... strange happened while you were here?" he asked, raising his voice so that his companion could hear him over the rain. He crouched down beside him. "You didn't meet anyone here, or ... you haven't seen anyone except us, have you?" He frowned. Where had he seen this tree before? There was nothing exactly extraordinary about it, except perhaps its large trunk, but the fact that it was in the middle of a large open space, and the way it seemed to almost lean forward triggered something in his memory.
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Seph
Forum Chap
Living In A Dream
Posts: 176
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Post by Seph on Aug 28, 2007 17:11:23 GMT
Peneii was both strangely amused and very intrigued by Angelus's question. He remained silent for a second before replying. "Now that you mention it..." he said and pretended to be thinking for a while. "Nop, I haven't seen anyone." he said, giving Angelus a smile. "What is it with this tree anyway?" he asked.
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Post by Surreptitious Cardboard Box on Aug 28, 2007 17:23:38 GMT
Felix ignored Peneii's attempt at raising his hopes. Even if anybody else had been in this area, it would have made no difference; he'd just been hoping for some sort of clue as to what the tree was, was all. He shook his head at the question. "I honestly don't know," he admitted. "I just ... know that I've heard of it, or seen it before, somewhere."
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Seph
Forum Chap
Living In A Dream
Posts: 176
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Post by Seph on Aug 28, 2007 17:36:40 GMT
Peneii was slightly dissapointed by Angelus's answer. He then decided to ask a question that was on his mind since the time of his awakening. "Hey, Angelus... You seem to know alot about this world..." he said and then hesitated for a while before finishing his question. "Do you think it's possible to meet people you knew back in Earth and died...?"
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Post by Surreptitious Cardboard Box on Aug 30, 2007 12:49:25 GMT
Felix stood up again. "I don't know," he said. "I suppose it's possible, sure, but not likely. If you think about it, there must be billions and billions of people here, and we're not exactly cramped for space, so the land must stretch on a long way - maybe even infinitely. Potentially, you could meet someone you know, yes, but I doubt the chances are very high." At his answer, they all fell quiet again, each of them deep in thought. They had to wait quite some time for the rain to die down, and while they waited, Felix grew more and more impatient and frustrated with the tree they sheltered beneath. Eventually, he became so restless that he decided it was probably best if they continued on their way before he went mad. He jumped about, clapping his hands to expel the numbing feeling caused by the cold and the wet, but also to urge his companions on. They grumbled and muttered at the prospect of walking again, but at least by then the rain had more or less subsided. They walked for several miles, then rested again, for Oliver was tired; he estimated that he had walked almost six miles before he'd met Jack and Felix, and nearly half of that had been through mountainous landscape.
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Post by Richard El Britannia on Sept 23, 2007 18:15:28 GMT
Jack looked around, frustratedly. The landscape had barely changed, except for the odd tree that popped up. Miles and miles of yellow and a long, dusty path. Well, it had been dusty. Now it was muddy because of the rain. This annoyed Jack even further.
Out of his frustration and complete boredom, he had gone back to playing about with his knife, again. Even this, admittedly, was starting to get on his nerves, however. Playing about with that knife and having his thoughts on it all of the time was driving him up the wall. It had felt like days since he had appeared here and even longer ago than he had felt excited about the prospect of an "adventure", which was now proving to be nothing like one at all.
The other guys seemed quiet, too. Although, in Jack's opinion, Angelus and Oliver seemed to be alright with the amount of walking they were doing. They must've been used to it. Peneii seemed more interested in his cat than where they were going, he thought, and this made Jack feel even more frustrated. Why could they handle the boredom, but not him? He then realised how childish his thoughts were and felt his face heating up. Thinking about it, he then realised he'd been acting childish all day. Jack wanted to hit something. Hard.
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Post by Surreptitious Cardboard Box on Oct 18, 2007 17:13:42 GMT
After their short break, the four men continued on their way. The rain had fully subsided by that point, and although it was no warmer than it had been, there at least was no biting wind to further trouble them. Still not wholly comfortable with, or used to, travelling with each other, however, the four remained silent, walking slightly apart from each other, so that - to an onlooker - they probably would have appeared as independent travellers.
They'd walked another mile or so when Felix suddenly noticed a human form lying along the side of the road, at the foot of the hill they had just ascended. Puzzled, he quickened his pace somewhat, eager to find out exactly what was happening before his very own eyes. As he continued down the hill, his sight confirmed his suspicion that the form was that of a man; he was hunched over the ground, seemingly in great discomfort, his head bowed. "Are you alright?" Felix asked as he approached him. "If you've Awoken, then try not to worry. It's always a bit disconcerting when you fir--" What he had been intending to say was immediately forgotten as soon as he saw the deep-red puddle pooling around the man. It mixed with the rain water and mud, darkening more and more by the second.
Hearing movement behind him, Felix turned to find that Oliver had just caught up; Peneii and Jack were still only halfway down the hill, trudging along at their own pace. Oliver was more observant than Felix; he seemed to have noticed the blood almost instantly, for his eyes widened in horror and confusion, and he stopped in his tracks, frozen; mesmerised. Felix apprehended him straightaway. "Stop the others," he commanded, hoping to break Oliver out of his reverie. "Don't let them come near, and don't - whatever you do - tell them about this. I have to find out what has happened here." Their gaze met for a moment, as they both wondered the same thing; what had happened? "Go now," he whispered.
Oliver seemed hesitant at first, as though he wished to also be present while Felix did what was necessary, but he did not argue, and he left swiftly in order to stop their other companions before they got any closer.
Felix turned slowly back to the strange man, uncertain if he wanted to step any closer. The man was still moving; shaking and clutching at his chest, he appeared to be trying to drag himself along the side of the road. However, he was surrounded by a pool of what was unmistakably blood, and he did not seem aware at all of Felix's presence, or of the words that had been spoken to him. Taking a deep breath, Felix stepped forward.
OOC: *le gasp* This one bloody scene is what has had me stumped these past two months. I knew exactly what had to happen, I figure I just didn't want to make the move, in case it caused unintended repercussions later on. As a result, my imagination completely left me, and I've had writer's block since the beginning of September. It's done, now, though, so that's a massive step forward. This scene is so vital, so I'm glad I was finally able to write it.
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Post by Richard El Britannia on Oct 19, 2007 18:47:10 GMT
Jack wondered why Felix and Oliver had hurried off so quickly. He absent mindedly filed his nails with his knife, trying to think of something to say to break the silence between Peneii and himself. Jack had always hated the long, awkward silences with people he didn't know very well.
He finally opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as he noticed Oliver walking back up the hill, his face looking slightly ... worried. "What's up?" Jack asked cautiously, stepping closer to Oliver.
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