[ORP] Spiritual Journey Comes to an End

[Menelie]

Vendimia had been sufficiently far from the blast as to have avoided injury, but close enough to have gone deaf from the explosion. The pain ripped through her like a rending of her soul, but then it passed and she felt it only as a throbbing in her head, hands, and hooves.

She raced toward the site of the blast. She'd lost one home already--she wasn't about ready to lose another one so soon after settling in. The huge hole in the side of the Tree was deeply unsettling. Faun lived on this side of the Tree. She saw other Faun scurrying back and forth with water to put out the fires. She followed the line to the hole itself, hoping to find a way to be useful.

A lone Faun male zipped around the edges of the hole, clinging to the edges of the Tree itself like a squirrel. She watched, amazed, as the Tree seemed to slowly, slowly grow back under his touch.

Regrowth. She could help with that. She had one stupid power for a chore she hated. Maybe it was given to her for precisely this moment.

Vendimia grabbed the nearest sharp object she could find and sliced her hand with it. She yelped as she did--the mages in books were always so unflinching but dammit that hurt! She squeezed the ball of her hand until blood welled out of the wound, sucking her breath in through her teeth, until there was a sizeable pool of it in her palm.

Do I just...smear it on there? Do I have to say anything? Oh forget it. She slapped her hand on the bark of Laisidhiel, whimpering a little. It wasn't a field, but hopefully her power would still work. Hopefully the Tree Shaper's job would go a little faster, a little easier. She clenched her bleeding hand into a fist and left the blast site, looking for something else useful to do.  

[Daisicle]

Wellspring's cries seemed to immediately end as his father came closer, a single hand moving to touch his cheek as their forehead pressed against one another. Yes, he was still there. He said he was fine.

Papa never lied to him.

Reaching a curled fist to his face, he nodded as he wiped away the tears that threatened to well up on the corners of his eyes. "Mhm." Was all he said before giving him back a shaky smile of his own. It lasted for only a moment, but it was clear that he was trying to be as strong as Faroth was in this moment.

Celestia opened her mouth to argue against going that far of a distance, only to close it without saying a word and nod. He was a stubborn fool at times, but sometimes that stubbornness was needed to get things done. He was right; with all the chaos about them, it was unlikely that they would be able to find immediate help to move him.

Even with his injuries, treatment was not of relative immediate concern.

"If you are truly insistent..." she waited for a confirmation of sorts before nodding again. "...then yes, let us make haste for the infirmary." Moving slowly so as to both carry the child in her arms and support as much of Faroth's weight as he'd allow, they made their way.

A passing thought concerned the princess as they went, the aching in her chest still coming in throbs. "Do you suppose that the others are out of harm's way? Moony is still recovering in the infirmary, but I have yet to hear my sister..." There was clear worry in her words. A situation like this would call for the distinctive royal canterlot voice after all. "I do hope they are well..."

Teigra

 

[Teigra]

((I realize it's been a while since the last post, so gonna' try to wrap up the main plot lines/events going on here and everyone is free to continue their own stories if they wish. ^_^ ))


"I am," Faroth chuckled humorlessly, hiding a wince. "You know me. Stubborn and all that." The way going was slow, but they didn't stop. Moving constantly, they kept making progress, no matter the pace. He wasn't sure how to respond to her latest thought. He was reminded that they hadn't heard the night princess yet...then again, they hadn't heard much of anything since the blast, to be honest.

"Moony is still in the infirmary...perhaps they will be too." He was being optimistic, yes, but it made sense at least. However, even the tiniest hope seemed weighed down by the heaviness in his chest...

Daisicle

*****


Voices...not in her ears, but in her head...screaming, crying, the pain....fires burning...

The Seer had curled in on herself, hands over her head, drawing the alarm of the nearby healer she'd been left with. She could barely answer the inquiries of concern, starting to shake her head until she realized that hurt too much. "N-no, I....I just....need to go. I'm in the way here. I can't..." her words stumbled over one another, and her attempt to stand was quickly aided by the healer, expressing concern over the Seer's head injury. "Yes, I should...get that looked at," she murmured, sounding dazed and distracted.

In concern, the healer waved over one of the Faun assisting others up to the infirmary and instructed him to keep a close eye on the healer on her way there. Before she was escorted away, however, Vanya seemed to blink back into a moment of clarity, fumbling for a pouch on her waist and pressing the packet into the young healer's hands. "There's not much...but if there are those who need it..."

"Yes ma'am."

Reassured that her most potent potions would be put to use, the Seer nodded and seemed to relax, dazing out again as she was escorted towards the infirmary.

Menelie

*****


Blood and smoke hung heavy in the air, but the wolf kept his head low to the ground. Something...not-Faun had been through here. It wasn't an animal, but it wasn't family either...what was it? Enemy, his instincts answered.

The scent grew stronger as he neared a set of strange objects. Two...containers of some sort...made of...metal? Snuffling for a moment at the objects, the wolf then moved on to the next, a branch, with a bit of cloth tied to it. Near that, a bundle of straw, or something like it, that resembled a tail...if one didn't look too closely. And maybe squinted a bit. And had been into some of Mojo's brews.

Each object practically reeked of the strange Pae smell.

Growling, the dire wolf lifted his lip in a snarl as he paced around the objects. Important things. Must tell the Alpha.

He planted his paws firmly, tipped his head back, and howled.

Doof

Within a minute, the Faun Chieftain had diverted his own path to diverge with the shifted Ranuin's. Sidestepping the great wolf, he took a look at what he had found. He crouched, looking the objects over with narrowed eyes, without touching any of them. Then, he stood, placing a hand on the wolf's head. "Good work." Already forming a picture in his mind, he turned to bark to a nearby hunter, "Keep searching! Any skilled trackers, send them to me. We've got somewhere for them to start."  

[Doof]

Kilot lowered his blade as the chief approached, out of custom, but cast his sight around warily in case he needed to raise it again. He would have been more comfortable if the chief had stayed with the tree, out of harm's way, but he also understood the need for their leader's reassuring presence. Besides, leading from the front was classic Rais.

At the chief's request, he summoned a couple of his trackers and assigned them to scour the area for further clues. He left them to it, knowing that if there was anything to be found, they would find it. Kilot himself remained with the wolf-faun and the chief, who he felt was still a little exposed, given the circumstances. He pondered how useful this Runny kid might be if there was a way to better harness his talents while he was of an animal mind. His manner seemed indistinguishable from the few wild wolves he'd met, save the fact that it seemed to be treating the faun as its pack, instead of a threat or potential meal.

At length, he finally addressed Rais directly, hoping he would not sound insubordinate. "Honored chief, My trackers will find anything there is to find here, and I can ensure this evidence remains undisturbed until it can be properly examined." He glanced back in the direction of the great Tree, concern on his expression. "Laisidhiel burns, and our people bleed. Go save them, We have the situation here."  

[Teigra]

The previously-growling dire wolf quieted at the pat from his 'Alpha', going so far as to lean into the small gesture. Approval! He did good!

There was still danger to his family though, so he didn't relax for long. He'd continue sniffing around for clues, though the scent would disappear not far from where they stood. As if the strange Pae had just...disappeared.

Or flew away.

All he could offer in addition upon returning to his Faun form would be to add that whatever he'd smelled, it'd not been a Faun.

Removing his hand from the wolf's head, Rais turned a glare on the reddish hunter who'd addressed him directly. His tone may have been respectful, but that didn't make his message any more welcome. The chieftain's glare was full of indignation, as well as the lingering fury that remained with no target to direct it towards. He didn't need reminded that his people were suffering. That the Tree burned. He could feel it.

Yet, some rational part of his mind that remained understood. It didn't stop the irrational wish that he could be in more than one place at a time...but it did help him realize that priorities must be made. He'd started the hunt out here...until more clues could be found, he should trust the work to the hunters and trackers, and do what he could for the rest of his people. After a long, hard pause, he snapped, "Fine. The hunt is now yours. Any news is to be brought to me immediately, am I understood?" He didn't even wait for a response; he didn't need one. He turned on his hoof and headed back to the Tree...there was still so much to be done...