The Song of the Siren (Accepting :: OPEN)

[Lucky_Tiger]

I wanna be the very best

To catch them is my real test

Like no one ever was

To train them is my cause

Joshua nodded. "We need to answer some questions. And besides me, she knows this coast the best. Two heads are better than one, after all." He said with a smile, trying to pretend everything was alright.

Allen waved him off. "No need to explain. Go on then. You'll likely find her along the beach somewhere, trawling for shells. Goodness knows she has as many shells as I have merfolk." He said with a laugh. "Would you like a snack for the road? I have some cookies I made not that long ago. I think they're still warm." He picked one up, eating it. "Yep. Still warm and soft and gooey."

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[SilentShadowDreamer]

Tianara took his hand for a second and squeezed lightly. They would find Aria. They had to. She pushed back her dark hair and smiled at Allen. "I..."

Cookies? What the hell were cookies? Were they good?

She looked at Joshua for an explanation, before deciding that it didn't matter. She'd ask him later.

"We'll find Aria first and come back," she said lightly. "Maybe we can have one then."

She hoped that answer worked. Not knowing what cookies were, precisely (although she figured they were probably those things that Allen had sitting in the kitchen), she was fumbling with her words a little.

Stepping back towards the door, she looked out at the view from the front porch. How far away could Aria be?  

[Lucky_Tiger]

I wanna be the very best

To catch them is my real test

Like no one ever was

To train them is my cause

Joshua returned the squeeze on her hand. They wouldn't give up until they'd found Aria. Seeing her confusion, he almost chuckled but kept himself in check. He gave her a look that said he would explain about cookies later. He headed outside, scanning the beach for a moment. He nodded upwards. "Let's try that way first. I doubt she'd work by the rapids." He suggested. It also meant moving away from the creature, whatever it was. 'Unless it moved....' A small part of his mind whispered suspiciously. What id the creature had tried following them over the land route? He shook his head to clear it then stepped out along the beach. "Let's get going."

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[SilentShadowDreamer]

Tianara nodded briefly. "Okay." He knew Aria better than she did. Since Aria was not an ocean child and didn't really have enough power for Tianara to sense easily, she would have to defer to Joshua's judgement.

"Up?" she asked, following the movement of his head. With a glance in the other direction - and a quick shiver - she said softly, "Yes. Let's go. Quickly."

Leaving it at that, she headed down towards the beach. Once she got there, she'd let Joshua take the lead.

There was really only two ways she could have gone from here, the girl thought, looking from left to right. Up the beach. Or down.

But she'd never gone to the house. Not if Allen thought she was still with them. So...had she just stopped to look for shells on the way?

Tianara could only hope that was all it was.  

[Lucky_Tiger]

I wanna be the very best

To catch them is my real test

Like no one ever was

To train them is my cause

Joshua led the way along the beach at a trot, worried for Aria. He could only hope it was like Allen said, and that they would find her safe and sound. The sight of her small boat pulled up on the beach ahead only made him worry more. "That's her boat. But I don't see Aria....." He trailed off, pausing by the boat and looking around. A shill scream shattered the air, coming from just ahead of them, on the other side of a sand dune.

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[SilentShadowDreamer]

Tianara's eyes snapped up at Joshua's words. She studied the boat - but more than that, she felt the air around them.

Heavy. Cold. Full of terror and disgust and wrongness and she couldn't explain why but somehow she knew--

When Aria screamed, Tianara jerked out of the half-nightmare, half-daydream she had been sliding into. Grabbing Joshua's hand, she broke into a run.

They had to get there now. Right now.

"Aria!" she called over the sand dunes.  

[Lucky_Tiger]

I wanna be the very best

To catch them is my real test

Like no one ever was

To train them is my cause

Joshua was already starting to move, spurred on by the scream. He crested the dune with Tianara only to spot Aria coming up the other side. There, the trees encroached close to the beach. A bucket of spilled shells could be seen behind Aria, close to the trees.

Aria's eyes widened as she saw the two. She waved her hands at them urgently. "Go away! Get back!" She couldn't let them come any closer! Not with that...that...thing behind her.

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[SilentShadowDreamer]

((OOC: D8 Apologies, my love. Inspiration was low. And still is. ))

Tianara ran across the sand to Aria, not bothering to look at the forest. "Aria, come on," she said, meeting the girl halfway.

She knew that it was here. That thick, heavy feeling in the air couldn't be mistaken for anything else. They had to get out of here. Looking to the water, she hesitated - and shook her head. That trick wouldn't work a second time.

Grabbing Aria's hand, she ran back across the dunes towards Joshua. She shoved the girl towards him. "You two head back towards the house. Get to Allen. I..." She looked towards the forest. It wasn't out, not yet, but It was coming.

She shuddered. "Go. Hurry. I can distract it, and then..."

She could make it to the water. She could get deep enough to escape. Joshua and Aria - especially Aria - couldn't.

"Go!"  

[Lucky_Tiger]

I wanna be the very best

To catch them is my real test

Like no one ever was

To train them is my cause

((No worries. College is making Lucky have brain dead issues too.....))

Aria looked surprised as Tianara came towards her. She grasped the girl's hand, running across the dunes. At the top though, she and Joshua both paused. He looked at Tianara firmly. "I can't just leave you to face it alone!" He said stubbornly. Aria too, shook her head. She could feel that thing. And she didn't want her friends to stand alone before it. Meeting Tianara's eyes, Joshua spoke to her silently. "I let you face one too many battles alone. I'm not doing it again." He was remembering what had happened when she was left alone to face the Dark One.

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[SilentShadowDreamer]

Tianara hesitated. Her eyes flickered from Joshua's face to Aria's. Then she shook her head. "Go," she said quietly. "The best thing you can do for me on this battlefield is to go, Joshua. Then the only thing I have to protect is myself."

She couldn't defeat it. She didn't even know if she could hold it back. If Joshua and Aria didn't leave, they would take away her option of running. They would all die.

Briefly, her mind flashed back to Mika, the seer woman. She never thought we would all survive. Maybe we won't.

Maybe we won't.

But I have to try to make sure he does.

"Please. Go. I'm not asking for me," she said, not looking back at them - instead, her eyes were fixed on the forest. "But for the merfolk. They need humans who will stand for them. They need you, and dying here won't help anyone. Go."  

[SilentShadowDreamer]

((OOC: *bump of awakening*))  

[Lucky_Tiger]

I wanna be the very best

To catch them is my real test

Like no one ever was

To train them is my cause

((Sorry, finals were killer. -_- ))

Aria looked worried, but she could see Tianara's point. She hugged the girl swiftly, telling her, "Stay safe." Then she turned and ran, heading towards the water.

Joshua hesitated a moment longer. He was reluctant to leave her. And had she asked for herself, he would have refused and stayed. But Tianara wasn't the only one who needed him. "Don't die Tianara. Come back safe." He whispered before reluctantly turning and leaving her. His heart felt like it was being torn, leaving her to face danger by herself.

Clickies please? You know you want to click the adorable pokemon on my farm

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

((OOC: T'is all good. Are you through them now?))

Tianara watched them go. She could feel the cold dread beginning to seep into her, and she indulged in a brief shiver before turning back to face the woods.

She didn't want to die. She would do everything she could to not die. But she felt a sinking, shivery feeling that warned her she might not have a choice.

Needing some sort of connection, she reached out briefly - out towards everyone she loved, human and merfolk alike. Her brother, her family, and her friends alike felt that mental touch, and they responded to it with a strength of feeling that made her smile. Hesitantly.

If she died today, she would do so knowing she was loved.

Staring into the woods, she felt the stir. Its attention had been caught by the girl. She smelled like food, she realized. That was why It was paying attention.

Her eyes were focused on the creature as it came rushing out of the forest, onto the beach, and towards her like a freight train - It was endless, Its hunger consuming.

She would never be able to fight that thing.

Shutting down her mind so that there was no connection It might follow if she wasn't fast enough, she turned and raced for the water.  

[Lucky_Tiger]

I wanna be the very best

To catch them is my real test

Like no one ever was

To train them is my cause

((Yep. Passed them all. ^^ ))

Joshua responded to the brief touch, putting all his worry and care for the girl into a momentary touch, along with the wish for her to come back safe. He sent Aria and the boat out into the shallows, to get away easier. The girl refused to go far though, simply holding the boat ready. Joshua stood knee-deep int the water, watching the shore anxiously. She had to be okay. "Please be okay Tia....Please be okay." His heart was thumping in his chest, every second feeling like an eternity.

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[Angelicos Flame]

((Gah! XP I missed a lot XP What's the present plot going on? I'll try hopping in XP Sorry for the long leave XP I feel so bad about it XP))