[PLOT][ORP] Danger in the Forest: Prelude to War (Part 1)

[Teigra]

Even Faroth was starting to feel antsy at this point, picking up his hooves and stomping at the earth impatiently to get moving. Couldn't they talk while walking at least? Well, except for the young Fae if she were staying here, but the rest...

Throughout her story, he fidgeted, thoughts crossing over the story she told, as he tried to pay attention, even if it sounded like some sort of fairy tale the way she told it, but still, he remained anxious to get moving even without her dire words of warning. He wondered whether it would be considered rude to bodily drag the Fauny Princesses out of here? He could probably heft one over either shoulder without much trouble...afterall, if they flew, they were probably pretty light anyway.

Yeah, probably rude.

Still, maybe it was the sort of faux pas that would be forgiven, with the reasoning being that he was trying to remove them from danger.

Sighing, Faroth shot a disbelieving look at Ignatius as if unable to comprehend why they were still all standing here. Then, he turned back to the Pae that insisted on dragging this discussion out, attempting to put on a patient tone that he didn't feel. "Ladies? Perhaps we could save this conversation for another time. Err on the side of caution and all that. Even if there is something absolutely fascinating on the other side of those trees, I'm pretty sure I don't wanna' stick around and find out if it's as dangerous as we're being led to believe."

Eligor's face was a mask, but his grip on his staff was painfully tight, and his free hand had slipped subtly out of sight to form a fist. Was it just the Fae? More than mere failures in their own duties, it seemed they were determined today to prove their treacherous tongues beyond a shadow of a doubt. Between mad babble and slanderous lies, they were proving that nothing that came from a Fae's mouth could be taken at face value.

Oh yes, the holy Squire had read beyond the teenage Fae's embellishments and dramatic storytelling to the lies within. Words like 'evil' and 'slaughter' burned in his mind, boiling his blood. If this were what the Fae, the Guardians' own creations, had become, then it was no small wonder that the heretics seemed so solidly rooted on the Isle. Nevermind that the implication that any had come before the Guardians' own creations was the most blatantly absurd piece of fiction...but, to imply that the Guardians' own were anything but righteous in their actions...

Normally, Eligor was the quiet sort, a man of words and thought before action. For the first time that he could remember, he wanted to throw thought aside and confront the lying youth to her face. She was no older than they, and they had had the best education the isle could offer! Yet, she presented her lies as truth, with conviction and venom in her voice. Nearly growling, Eligor started to turn to launch into the insolent youth with righteous indignation...

Faroth clapped a hand around the demon teen's shoulders, intending on leading the youths away in the hope that the rest would see sense and follow. He hesitated for a moment though, feeling the tenseness in the teen's stance, and raised his eyebrow questioningly. "Err...what about it? To the lake then, right...?" What...was going on here? What had Eligor so tense all of a sudden? Well, Faroth himself was still on-edge from the fear in the air, perhaps that's all it was, getting to the teens now that they'd been in the area for a while.  

[Teigra]

Lailah stifled any other reaction except to roll her eyes. She'd been some distance away searching when Genesis had called for them all to come look at something. Breaking away from her own fruitless search, the angel had been moving to rejoin the others when the hyperactive blue blur zipped into her field of vision, then off towards the others within the time it took to take a breath.

Narrowing her eyes, Lailah pulled her attention away from the small child to fixate on the brightly colored demon in the trees. Good, the little one had taken a strategic position. Good for archer work. Just in case. But first, the squirt that had showed up.

Figured it'd be another Fae. Darn little bugs...or at least she looked kinda' like one at this young age. Lailah observed the child with a skeptical look for a moment as she rambled at the others. Big Pae? Well, bigger than her, yeah. Suppose that was right then. As for what they were doing there...

Before she could even think on the answer, let alone speak, the child seemed to fill in the answer herself. Interesting. So, the kid knew the cave then? Perhaps this Fae at least would be a useful source of information. More so than those adults had been, ironically.

Grinning, Lailah offered in a taunting, teasing voice, "A cave, huh? Only from afar? Not up close? Can't see much from far away, especially in all this woods. You'd have to get close to see anything interesting. Haven't you ever tried? Or do you even really know where it is?" Lailah spoke with just enough teasing to maybe provoke the kid into talking, or even arguing with her, without scaring her off directly.  

[Seiana_ZI]

Why, exactly, were they still standing here? Was the faun princess seriously defending whatever the yellow faerie was rambling on about? He didn't know what she was talking about, but she honestly sounded utterly insane to him. First she was going on about Knights, and now she was babbling on that there could be all sorts of things in that cave depending where she ended up? That didn't make any sense, and even the way the faun princess described it ... well, it still sounded insane.

It looked like the teenage fae was determined to explain what was happening, though, much to what appeared to be Faroth's displeasure. He couldn't help the smirk that quirked the side of his lips when Faroth started stamping his feet, but he didn't say anything on it... at the moment. He was tense too. He was just showing it by fidgeting with anything he could get a hand on.

That included his hair, for the moment, one arm crossed over his chest, the other lifted to twirl a spare piece between his fingers. Hopefully they would sort this out soon so they could get going. Maybe he should just start dragging them away.

He knew there was no damn dragon, but there seemed to be something true about the fae's story that struck him enough that he knew there was definitely something going on here. The curious part of him wanted to know more, much more, but this likely wasn't the right time to be prodding, right? His brain at least told him that much, even as the curiosity gnawed at him to know who these magic protectors were, or who these evil knights of tale were... or maybe that was just the anxiety gnawing.

To Faroth, Ignatius shrugged, watching as Faroth attempted to coax the women away.

He rather wanted to stay and find out more, but at the same time, the anxiety was pressing harder...

"Faroth's right. We need to get going. Right now is not the time for us to be here."

Maybe Ignatius could come back later...

... It might not have been the time for that shetani to be here, but like Eligor, Nephi was quickly becoming rather upset at the falsities they were being presented with. What kinds of monsters were the faeries, that they did not even respect the Guardians' Chosen in the slightest? They were of no sort of monster like she appeared to make them out to be. One of his hands went towards his satchel, but he thought better of it, straining to stop himself at the last moment before he yanked the bag open.

But oh, he yearned to yank it open, and show this little girl, truly, what it would mean to be a true monster. She deserved to be put on trial for the kinds of infractions she was committing just by opening her mouth. He would need to report back to their trainers about her, and give all the information he could possibly glean from her blaspheming.

He would be no better than the blasphemer if he hurt her, though. If he had learned anything, it was patience. It was diligence. It was not jumping to the gun at the moment something happened, because the good things came to those who waited. Nephi would wait. He needed to pay more attention to what she was saying over who she was, the fact that she mentioned a "special type of peaceful creature" that "protected the natural magic of this land." It sounded like nonsense from a blasphemer, but perhaps it would be important.

What he noted, too, was the fact she referred to an "Earthmother" and a "Rais." These two names were likely relevant to these heretics, and if they were relevant to the heretics, they were relevant to the Guardians.

It was perhaps lucky that Nephi was practiced at hiding his emotions, or he would have looked like he was boiling on the inside.

"Eli," unafraid to name him as the faun already did, he nodded towards the forest. "We should likely get going, towards the lake, yes?"

They could slip away and rejoin the others once they were further into the foliage.  

[Daisicle]

Celestia looked at Faroth, nodding as she moved closer to him, away from the fey and towards the direction of the lake. She realized just how selfish she had been in wanting to stray behind, or to try and get more information at such an inappropriate time. Questions could be asked later, if they were still relevant, when there wasn't such an uncomfortable aura about everything. Yes... She would do that, later, but now, they had to go. Looking back to Earthmother, she shook her head lightly, deciding to take back her question of moments ago. "N... Never mind... Now is not the time... I think" she started to move closer again, bowing her head slightly.

"I am sorry to have caused a delay in our departure..." Hopefully, leaving at once would take prescience for whatever course of repremendations would be needed for her actions.  

[Menelie]

Dante makes a small, quiet noise of protest as Katya takes wing. He sees what she's doing, so he doesn't follow her, but still, being left alone doesn't sit well with him. He grips his staff and hurries to catch up with Lailah.

He's not sure he trusts the little fae child. Why was she so far from home? So close to the cave? Without supervision? He doesn't like it. He watches Lailah interact with the fae child, obviously trying to draw information out of her. That's good, then. He certainly wouldn't trust any information the little fae gave 100%, but, unable to voice these concerns, he merely watches the interaction with a bit of a disapproving scowl on his face.

Teigra

Seiana_Zi

 

[Antidia]

Earthmother put a gentle hand on the shoulder of the princess faun. "It's alright dear, let's get going. We're treading where we shouldn't, and I think we've upset the young fae." She shifted her tone, whispering into Celestia's ear, "Politics of Blood Pae are complex. Rais will want to know what's happened here. Try not to let the young girl get to you." She gave a reassuring squeeze, and smiled before turning away, heading towards the lake to help escort their new "friends".

"Let's get going so our young friends can still have time to enjoy the beach on the lake while the sun is up."

Thara grinned and watched the eyes of those were were captivated by her tale. She was rather smug that she'd elicited reaction from a couple of the teenagers. Exactly what she wanted. She wasn't absolutely sure about them before, but now she was. They may think they're good at hiding their emotions, but they have never encountered someone like Thara. She remained silent, seated on the floor of the jungle and waited to see if any of the others would reveal themselves. She was pleased they were no older than her, no further developed power-wise either, she assumed, because of their youth. Maybe this would be easier than she thought.

How ignorant they must think she is. She reveled in the thought that they were underestimating her.  

[Doof]

Katya watched as the events unfolded, most of the conversations too far away for her to hear, but the little demon figured she could deduce what was going on simply by observing. She climbed up a couple more branches, so that she might be better concealed while still being able to keep an eye on the situation.

Her heart nearly jumped out of chest when the small blue fae zipped by. Rather than point her bow at it, Katya froze out of surprise as she hadn't expected anyone to know they were there yet. She watched as the little thing easily found Lailah and began conversing with her. Once more, the blood angel began responding in kind, and- despite being out of earshot- Katya was fairly sure this little chat was less heated than the last one, at least judging from Lailah's expression.

She watched the exchange for a while with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension, before she remembered the other potential threats. She flicked her gaze back to watch how Nephi, Eligor and Alethea were doing.  

[Seiana_ZI]

For being so far from home, the young fae seemed rather comfortable here, perfectly happy to continue flitting around and watching those who came closer to her. Who were these Pae? Questions ran through her head, but she knew the answers were contained somewhere in those in front of her. Hopefully they would answer her questions! She certainly had plenty of them, especially as to why they looked so prepared while heading in this direction. Were they just hikers? This seemed like such an odd place to hike! Weren't the Falls dangerous?

She had been told not to fly towards the Falls, at least... the water was too strong, they said.

Her wings fluttered quickly as she shifted in the air, bringing her legs underneath to resemble something like sitting herself in the air. She watched the reddish angel, observing the way her face seemed to twist into something less happy. Did she not like being asked questions? That was sad... she liked asking questions!

Why was her face twisting?

Hey, she sounded mean. Elarinya pouted a bit as soon as she dedicated the teasing tone, the fluttering of her wings slowing in the process. It caused her to drop a bit in the air, still managing to hover a bit over the ground with legs crossed underneath her. She seemed rather content to stay that way, honestly, looking up to the red angel with a frown coloring what was once a cheerful expression. Why was she teasing? That wasn't very nice of the Big Pae ... why didn't the others make her stop?

The green one looked mean too, but at least the orange demon didn't look so mean. That was good.

Elarinya looked up to Lailah, sticking her tongue out at the big meanie. "I can fly, you know! But if you're trying to get me to tell you anything, I won't!" She was definitely a child, sounding rather like one when she crossed her arms and rather loudly hrrumphed at her. What a rude Pae!

But wait a minute...

"Why do you want to go to the cave?"

She tilted her head, curiously, while her wings began to flutter faster again, rising herself up further in the sky to meet up with Lailah's eyes once again.  

[Teigra]

And perhaps she'd be just about as useful as the other Fae had been. Which was basically, not at all.

Still, Lailah kept her temper in check for now. So, the kid was annoying. Some kids did that on purpose to get their way, or simply to be irritating because watching others get mad was entertaining for them. She wouldn't play that game; not when she still had cards to play in her hand.

"Never said I did," she shot back, waving a hand nonchalantly in the air. "You're the one who brought up the cave, squirt. I just thought that if there was one, maybe it was something interesting since you brought it up. But if not, we could just go on our way if you wanna' be left alone then." Nevermind that it had been the child who approached them first. She knew something. Why else would she have zipped out here and started babbling about the cave?

Why would a child be alone out here anyway? And she certainly didn't seem to be affected by the unseen weight that threatened to crush the rest of them...why not? Something wasn't right here...but Lailah wasn't necessarily the one to put all the pieces together. She could certainly try to bring all the pieces into the open though.

Even if that meant playing mind-games with a child.  

[Wolfs Heart]

Genesis stared curiously at the child as it zipped around but she let Lailah talk to her. This was just one more distraction on a day full of them, Genesis didn't feel comfortable heading on towards the pink light with an onlooker though. Still... what was it with the fae today. Genesis had never had any hard feelings toward them before, she was slow to judge anyone without a reason: the new strange faun had been proof of that.

"Is there some sort of faerie gathering in a cave today?" Genesis asked the child without a trace of annoyance in her voice. It was peculiar that the child just assumed they were heading to the cave. "I am afraid I did not receive an invitation." Genesis turned away from the child, to hide her face, and furrowed her eyebrows, trying to make sense of the loose ends. They were finally at least somewhat close to the cave, and now this child, a fae at that. They were only teens, but they were not a standard teenager. Genesis felt like she was missing a very important piece of information and wondered if the child had that information, but Genesis couldn't even begin to think of a question to start with.

Genesis finally looked up, Lailah seemed to be handling the situation fine, another voice could potentially make things more confusing. Genesis decided she was better off listening for now. She glanced over at the pink glow and made a quick note of where about it was in case it disappeared while they were stopped.  

[Seiana_ZI]

Left alone? Didn't she just say that Ela was the one who approached her? She tapped her chin, looking up as she thought over the reply she should give. This Big Pae was rather silly, wasn't she? ... Of course, Ela was one to talk, attempting to flip herself upside down in the air to relatively little success.

So she settled.

She was about to give a response, but then one of the other Big Pae with a bun in her hair spoke up, and Elarinya zipped from the red angel over to the other angel, eyes wide as she asked if there was a faerie gathering? Was there? Where were all the fae then? Perhaps the widened eyes were shortly obvious to not be a reaction of being discovered, the young fae looking around like she was missing something. Maybe that explained why there were Pae here--

No, she would have been told...

Elarinya shook her head rapidly, flitting back over to the Big Red Angel. "I don't think so ... I would have known." She stopped in front of the red angel, then, observing her, watching her face for more of those signs of the mean anger she seemed to hold. Maybe she should back up a bit before the mean angel decided it was time to stop glaring and actually hit her.

Without a word on it, Elarinya moved a bit further back from Lailah's face, though it did not seem to be out of fear. Rather, she just wanted to be a bit further away, especially as she darted up in the air for a few moments before darting back down, settling as well as a fidgety child floating in the air could ... which was to say not at all, of course.

"I asked you 'cause that's the big thing this way so far as I know, and you guys look like," a pause, as she rolled over the word in her head, "adventurers! Lots of stuff on you. But it's silly to think that I'd want you to leave! I got here first."

By "here" she seemed to mean "in front of the odd Pae."  

[Twitchapher the 3rd]

o0_Daisuke_0o

Aquos had remained so quiet he was sure no one remember he was there...Not that it mattered at this point in time. The Earthmother, the Fae's tale, the unnaturally blank look from one of those teens was starting to creep him out...Though he was only half heartily paying attention to those things. No. He was upset. He HAD been upset for a long time now. Ever since he had offered to escort the ladies...Ever since Celestia had made snide remark about him. Sure, he was glad the other two at the time hadn't heard it, specially Celestia's sister...But he had heard it...At it had hurt him to his very core, thus the silence from him.

He seemed to snap from his thoughts as Celestia mentioned leaving. No one had noticed him in such a long time...And that was a good thing. Besides, he had to go back and rescue his nephew from the little hellion, would wasn't going to be pleased and fish again. Just sucked everyone would be going to the lake since that's the only way he knew how to get home from just about anywhere. He..Really didn't want to deal with anyone right now. He simply turned around and started to walk off towards the lake, no last looks or any waves good bye. He was too upset for that. He just wanted to go home. Whatever was going on here was way out of his league as it was.  

[Daisicle]

Celestia looked up at Earthmother, smiling lightly and nodding. Her touch did wonders to calm the princess's nerves, but now she could think clearly again. Yes, time to go, back to the beach. No need to worry about this story for the moment; she could always ask about it later.

Noticing some movement beside her, she tilted her head to notice her husband, walking by. That's right... He was here... Pouting lightly, she wondered how she could have forgotten. She glanced down at her chest as she again recognized the feeling she got when he was near, looking to his back. He was walking different than normal; was he upset? Had someone upset him, or was it this feeling in the air? Whatever it was, the princess was almost overwhelmed by a need to rush to him, to comfort him. Instead she bit his lip, following after him with just a slightly faster pace than his own, glancing back to see if others were following as well before continuing, hoping that it wouldn't appear strange that she were going after him.

show spoilerhide spoiler

sailornorthstar

Twitchapher the 3rd

Fea Line

Antidia

Teigra

Seiana_ZI

 

[Teigra]

The little fighter practically hummed with repressed, anxious energy. Hania had kept himself out of the middle of things for the most part, as hard as it had been. The temptation had been great to go to his charges' aid, to step in and help...but that wasn't his role here today. He was an instructor, a guide, a teacher...but he was not now, nor would he ever be their leader. Their leader would arise from within; though they would remain equal for the most part, those who became Knights, one would rise with the natural gift of leadership, wisdom, and strength, to be a binding force uniting them all.

It was not his role to play.

That didn't help his growing irritation. For a top secret mission, an alarming number of strange Pae today seemed to know of their mission, or at least their destination. What did it all mean? It made Hania uneasy at best, and their mission aside, he'd started worrying about his students' safety if there were some larger counterplot at work here. Had the Ancients known that their secret weapon had been discovered? Had they known of the Squires' approach? Someone had, it seemed, and investigations into this security leak would begin as soon as they returned safely to the City.

He knew that responsibly, he should have called the mission a bust as soon as it was obvious that something was amiss. Their mission was only for information gathering, but was supposed to be top secret. That advantage had clearly never been theirs. Best to cut their losses and retreat, but...

He hated to see them fail. Perhaps, if they tried just a bit longer, they could get some intel to make this whole debacle worth it, to prove that the outing wasn't a total loss. Having left the group with the odd Fae child at the cave entrance, Hania darted back to check on the diversion squad. The group moving through the trees was loud enough, it was obvious there was no attempt to be subtle. He took in the situation at a glance, most of the strange Pae breaking away and disappearing into the surrounding area, seeming willing to leave the area, others...into a portal? Odd...but not unheard of, of course. The Guardians granted many abilities. His gaze passed over his three charges briefly, noting that they seemed to be keeping their cover well enough, and as for the remaining Pae, their voices carrying through the trees...

The little fairy's wings nearly stopped humming, and he dropped about a foot in the air before he started buzzing furiously once more. His gaze was locked on the cloaked, elder Faunness, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. It couldn't be...

They hadn't prepared for this. This was supposed to be a scouting mission; the Squires weren't here looking for a fight, and they certainly weren't prepared to confront such powers head-to-head yet. Any doubts and hesitation fled from Hania's mind, and he reached into his tunic, withdrawing a small, wooden bird call. He raised the tool to his lips, sending out a perfect mimicry of a mockingbird's call. The sharp, repeating tones would be easily heard through the trees, and for those not listening for it, would be mistaken for any other mockingbird in the area.

For the Squires, it was a pre-arranged signal, a set pattern and rhythm of sounds that meant that the mission was being called off, and to swiftly return and regroup, no matter what they may be doing at the moment. There was no question or room for it; if the call was being made, the mission was over.

Trusting the Squires to follow soon after, Hania zipped back towards the main group near the cave, sounding the call once more as he neared, calling all the Squires to an immediate, strategic retreat.