The Desert
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the journey to ardor
We find ourselfs sitting around a small camp fire staring into the flames everyone having their own thoughts and none breaking the silence of the night. Its quiet. The sky is filled with stars bringing a feeling of peace over the night. As it gets colder we all move closer to the small fire wondering what tomorrow will bring.
Jennive Howls in to the night sky and bite her arm to have her nightly feed of blood.
Stirring ever so slightly, Shiva opend her eyes. She found herself laying close to the fire with what seems to be her coat covering her body from the cold night. It took her a moment to realize where she was and how she got there. The memories flashed back to that afternoon and she felt ashamed. She had never felt so lost and afraid all at once and she trew it all out on Lucian who had done nothing wrong.
Letting the coat fall to the sand, she moved closer to where Lucian sat at the fire. Half in a sitting position she stared up at his face.
"Im really sorry about earlier today Lucian. I really didnt mean to shout at you for no reason. I panicked, even though thats no excuse for my actions."
She said looking away and into the fire.
Wynn had taken to sitting seperated from the group, looking out over the dunes as the moon shined brightly, challenged by many, many smaller lights around it. His ears perked as he heard the many creatures of the night scurrying around, trying to find their next drink or meal. He knew that with a few vampires in the group, moving would prove troublesome, especially if they couldn't travel during the day. It brought him back to memories of story telling around the fires when he traveled with his brothers.
Jennive watches the flames and looks over to Wynn
Lucien smiled at Shiva,"no worries M'Lady no harm done. Are you ok though you were out for a good bit?" He truned to watch the flames dance again.
Giving a sigh of relief that Lucien isnt angry at her, Shiva moved a bit closer to him.
"Im feeling a bit better now I guess. mmmm and hungry too. Do we have food?"
Jennive "Wynn are you alright is it all right if I guard with you or do you want to be allone?"
Lucien looked around,"I dont think we do i think we all ran threw that door with out thinking." His eyes feel on her," but im sure we can find something."
Astrofenhoaf was standing seperated from the group, the fire was fearsome to see and feel. she felt her skin already glow when she tried to join the group.
wynn had seperated himself to so she felt ok to join him.
"are you ok? why is it that you are helping us, is it that you know something of our goal?" she asked wynn while standing next to him while watching the horizon
Shiva nodded her head in understanding Luciens statment. None of them even thought about food. She has no food spells in her book and its very dark, too dark to go hunting. Not that she knew anything about hunting!
"I guess we can wait till sunrise and then see what we can do about food. I guess since we all sitting together here we can decide what happens tomorrow? I got no idea where we are heading."
Lucien looked down at Shiva,"Do you want me to go hunt for you im sure i can catch a Rabbit or something you can cook. I dont know anything about cooking though so you will be on your own with that i dont have to cook i just drink their blood." he said with a small smile.
Shiva smiled and shaked her head. " Its ok Lucien, I guess we can wait till morning. Im a good cook, so if you get somthing I can cook for us."
Jennive looks around and waits with everyone untill daylight then sees a bearded dragon scuttle into a cave in the distance
Slowly but certainly the moon went down and the sun came up to greet them all. Time for hunting.
As the sun started to slowy creap up at them, Shiva got up from where she had fallen alseep next to Lucien and picked up her bag. She had a dream and it gave her an idea on how to help her friends. Taking out her book she quickly scanned it for a spell to mask them from the suns rays. Finding nothing she quickly started looking for plan B. Their only hope is if this works. Stopping time itself.
CORE GO ROUND
POWER BE BOUND
INTERUPT THE NATURE'S COURSE
TIME SLOW DOWN
The wind stopped, and everything went even more quiet.
"I did it." She whisperd in awe.
Wynn had been day dreaming, seeming to be watching the distance as both Jennive and Astrofenhoaf came up to him and spoke. The first thing giving them both away was their smell. He heard their questions, but he didn't register either of them. "I'm sorry, Astrofenhoaf, Jennive," he began, "I was day dreaming of an earlier time. What were your questions?" He was very polite and had knelt down making his height somewhat equal to theirs, so they wouldn't need to look up to speak with him.
Lucien hadn't slept he stayed awake to watch over Shiva. He looked over at her now that she was awake,"What did you just do? this silance worries me." He stood up and walked around a bit the sat back down.
Jennive "Wynn I wanted to keep watch with you if that was alright"
"No need, now," Wynn replied. "Shiva has stopped time. We can travel for a while, then make camp. I know of a medium sized cave ahead that would provide shelter from the sun which will be good when her spell wears off," he added, speaking not just to Jennive, but to everyone who would listen. "Astrofenhoaf, what was your question?" he asked, unsure if she heard him.
"oh uhm , well i was wondering why you are helping us? we all are unsure of what our goal is and yet it's seems to be that you know something that could be of a use to us. am i Right or not?" Astrofenhoaf said while petting the little plant in her hands.
Wynn nodded, but didn't reply. He stood up and looked around at his surroundings. Seeing Shiva standing with her book in hand, Lucien standing near the fire frozen in time, as well as the two women around him, he moved back towards the fire. "We should put this out but in order to do that, we'd need to allow time to flow or..." he thought a moment, then bent forwards, bending his front legs enough to allow him to pull out the logs from under the unheated flames. Some were more ash than logs, but he was able to pull them out. Setting them aside, he stood at his full height once again. He looked to Shiva who still had her book out, but he didn't say anything.
Shiva smiled. "The spell stopped time. It will be affective for about a couple of hours so we better hurry to that cave you know about. And Im dead hungry so we need to hunt aswell. I can stay here while who ever decided to go hunt. "
Jennive saw a old desert elephant "is that a thing to hunt or should we wait till dawn for food?" also looks at Wynn and as though telepathically says "I know how it feels to be left on your own" and smiles at him
Azure rubbed the back of his neck "Damn I think i have a sunburn." He sighed "Why do I feel compelled to follow these people,what do I get out of it?"
Wynn turned towards the large desert creature, then commented, "It's no elephant. It's an ulecant. An exceptionally large creature, known to immitate African elephants. In their true form, they're the same size and have similar tusks, but they have four: two on top and two underneath. They're worthy animals for food, though." He squinted ever so slightly and nodded. "It's food if you'd eat an elephant." Wynn looked over to Shiva. "We can chase the animal towards the cave. It's in a closed canyon so it'd be easier to kill and eat there. The rest we leave for scavangers." He waited for the answers of those who've taken charge at some point in their traveling.
acknowloges as the moon hit Jennive she transforms in to a wolf with wing and flys towards the creature scaring towards the cave and wynn.
Breaking into a canter, Wynn pushed the animal towards the canyon. He didn't know it Jennive had actually known he was planning on showing them a more hidden cave that would protect the vampires from the sun. They needed to move towards the cave to make it there before Shiva's spell wore off.
Azure darted from cover to cover being careful not to be seen.And makeing sure to keep his eyes shut so their glowing would not give him away.
Jennive noticed wynn and worked with him " i am glad to see you haev come to help I will stay one side of the creature so it does not run a a stray to much if you under stnad what I mean"
Understanding, Wynn nodded. He was breathing hard as he cantered, not having much to canter to. He let a smile slip out as the wind rustled his hair. He'd taken his bow from around him, knocked an arrow, and loosed it at the ulecant's rear. It roared, but didn't stop running towards the canyon. It shifted, however, running now, more towards Wynn. He knew that with two people, it wouldn't run into the canyon. They needed more people to help them otherwise, it'd get away.
Azure chuckled softly "That man and woman will need help." He said softly to himself, " Let see what the other will do."
Jennive looks in the direction of azure "you know I can smell you" *swipes claws at the creatres eyes causing it pain and to go blind then pushing it towords edge with wynn and also lets a smile slip at him*
The ulecant had reared and began to kick, turning in a circle. It's sense of direction had been taken from it. It now had to resort to it's other senses to run, but it just reared and kicked in the circle, sending sand flying everywhere.
"Let that man be," Wynn said, slowing to a stop before getting close to the ulecant's path and the air-borne sand. "If he wants to join, he'll come out of hiding." Wynn assumed it was a male, the one hiding. He'd knocked another arrow and took better aim. Both eyes open and staring at the constantly moving neck of the large animal, he let it fly.
At first, the arrow appeared to be a miss, but soon, the animal moved into it's path, rearing at the exact moment it struck it's eye. Not enough force to kill it, but it was stunned. It held the position on its hind legs for a few moments before crashing down on its front legs, a blood curtling scream errupting from between its four tusks. It knew its death was inevitable, yet it kept fighting.
"Have at it," Wynn replied to Jennive. "I know where the man is."
Jennive *slices ath the animales neck with her claws then sharply turns to bite ith upon the scrathes where its jugular is and locks my jaw causing more pain and the slow death of the animal*
Azure sighed "Ive never been good at bing sneaky" He said with a grin.
"Are you trying to go somewhere or just spying on us?" Wynn asked, watching Jennive kill the animal.
Jennive releases the lock on the animal and lets it die " I am no spy" *quickly biting back into the animal*
Azure walked up from his hiding place "I belive He was talking me." He stood a few feet away from Wynn.
Wynn nodded as he turned to face the man. "Are you or not?" he said, basically repeating the question.
Azure shurged "I dont really know yet." He shifted his weight to the other foot "only time shall tell...and its stop right now so I guess you're not going to." Azure chuckled
Wynn looked over the man before replying. "How did you escape the spell? It was limited to the group," he said, choosing his words carefully. "You should be frozen in time, as well." He was lying through his teeth. Each creature and person caught in the spell, wouldn't be frozen in time; the only thing effected was the sun and the spinning earth. It was stuck, for a few hours in twilight: predawn.
Azure smiled as he scracted his eye lid "Cause it wasnt the type of time spell that stops creatures and people and such..the one that was preformed was ment for time itself"
Jennive lifts her head and releases as the creature is dead. "right it would be quite adiqute if you both helped me move this creature towars the cave please".
"You should let the others come to help," Wynn said, looking at Jennive. "You killed it, and it'd be appropriote if they moved it." He looked back towards Azure. "You're either with us or not. You decide. Time doesn't change anything, situations do." Wynn began to walk towards the creature, pulling out a blade from the wrist protectors he wore and sliced in a surprisingly straight line across the neck. Blood spilled out, more because of gravity, and positioned the animal so all the blood would leak out, essentially making slicing the meat a cleaner process.
Jennive "they are frosen in time they can't help can they?" *liks up blood puddle*
Shiva stood in awe as she watched them hunt and slay the animal. She had never seen anything like this before. Living and growing up in a city you never see anything exciting like this. Turning to Lucien she smiled at him.
"I think we should go now, they might need help moving the beast to the cave they talked about."
Picking up her spell book she put it back into her bag. They are quite a distance away.
"Lets go." She said to Lucien and Astrofenhoaf.
Jennive continues to lap up the blood puddle and notices the others in the distance. "hay look they are coming to help us" **moves from lapping up the blood to sucking the blood from the carcus*
Azure looks in the direction of those walking towards him and the others. "Why didnt they help with the hunt?" He said to himself
Lucien followed behind Shiva,"where are we going i wasn't listening. sorry." He watched the others hunt and wished he was out there but felt better here by Shiva.
Wynn shook his head. "It's something you'd need to ask them," he said, turning back towards the creature, noticing Jennive, lapping up blood from the sand pit they had killed the ulecant in. "Jennive, stop licking up that blood. It could kill you with the contaminants it carries. Have you ever hunted in a pack? I could've saved that for you if you had asked." He had moved and was measuring the creature, using an arrow for the measurements.
Azure chuckled "Yea..come on get up the others want to eat." He said as he motioned his head towards the others.
Finaly reaching Azure, Wynn and Jennive, Shiva could see the dead animal up close. Its masive.
"How are we gonna move this to the cave? Or should we start cutting it up here and take the pieces we need to the cave ! I feel like I can eat an elephant! "
Jennive lets go and answers wynn "I am part werewolf and I have hunted in a pack before the blood will do nothing to me" *grows at the others as I am in wolf form and see them as threat because theyare apporching to quickly runs to Wynn
"I dont think I will be of any help "astrofenhoaf mumbled" I'm not that strong in this form, and in my fighting form I don't got the hand to carry any stuff. oh and on second thought I dont even eat meat or any stuff you need, i just need soil, just like a normal plant."she sighted "it's going to be hard for me to survive here without food. I think I'm in the most bad situation at the moment"
"Thats ok Astrofenhoaf", Shiva said reasuring her. "You dont need to carry the meat. We got enough hands to do that. If you could hold onto my bag while we cut this into pieces that would be of some help please!"
Giving her bag to Astrofenhoaf, Shiva bend down at the dead animal. Taking a small knife from her pocket she started carving pieces of meat from the animal.
"You guys better help out, Im not sure how long this spell is gonna hold out!"
Jennive watches form behind wynn and sits down so she does not accidently attak her friends. "its ok Astrofenhoaf soon this will all be over"
Wynn had moved forwards, stopping Shiva from cutting anything more. "You are a witch, no?" he asked, retorically. "There's a spell to make heavy objects lighter. I know of it, but I don't know how to cast it. Can you?" he asked, glancing at Jennive who was slightly behind him.
Azure tried to surppres a laugh. "wow, this is an intersting party yall got going here."
*grows at azure and taking flight, to keep up with wynn*
Shiva smiled at Wynn and continued to cut the meat. "I'm not a super witch Wynn, I dont have a spell like that. Its not that hard anyway, Im almost finished with this, and everyone can help carring the meat to the cave."
Cutting out the meat she slowly handed each and everyone a piece that they can carry. They left the rest for scavangers and made their way to the cave.
Continue onto:
Page 6 - Inside the Cave
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The journey to ardor
Stumble!