[PLOT] ~ Epic Journey (Alethea+Eligor)

[Teigra]

While he appreciated the concern, Eligor couldn't just leave Alethea behind like...oh wait. Right. How could he have forgotten? While she may have lost her aerial mobility, the Guardians had provided Alethea with more than adequate skills here on the ground. "Got it," he shot back in affirmation, wings snapping open wide, a couple of powerful thrusts propelling him into the air. He'd be a much more obvious target in the air than Alethea on the ground, especially if she kept low, but he also had more room to move in multiple directions. He flapped to gain some altitude, then shifted his wings to propel himself towards the treeline

The demon teen dove through the line of foliage shortly behind Alethea. He was going too fast to simply touch down, and when he hit, he stumbled, but recovered by letting inertia carry him into a roll. Halting in a low crouch, he paused, looking over his shoulder for signs of pursuit, but he didn't see any more of the rainbow beams. Had Amaros found their attacker? What had that been about?

As soon as he was sure they weren't going to get nailed again if he stood up, he moved towards Alethea, reaching a hand out to her shoulder. "Hey...are you hurt?" He looked her over, thinking she'd been hit at least once. Enough to knock her down, even if he realized he'd taken a hit as well. Hopefully there were no ill effects from the strange attack. He couldn't exactly look at his own back, but he could at least check on his comrade.
 

[Antidia]

Eyes wide open, Alethea could watch as Eligor flew over her head too fast to land. Please don't hit a tree, please don't hit a tree! She winced and covered her eyes for a moment, peering between her fingers when she realized he didn't hit anything. No thunking noise. Still on her knees, she watched as he rolled and dusted himself off. *swoon*

"I'm ... fine," she said, feigning a little. "I didn't get hurt, but I was knocked over. The sprint took a lot out of me." She let him touch her shoulder before she remembered he was hit. "You were hit! Are you okay?" Sudden panic and concern washed over her. She got up and lifted his wing a little to slip underneath to look at his back. She saw a swirl of color, and maybe a little swelling. She touched it gently on the side, asking, "Does it hurt?" She touched the colored part as well, curious if it was permanent or just the color of the bruise. "Does this hurt?"

She noticed there was a little residue on her finger. Kind of glittery, mostly chalky. "I ... don't know what that rainbow stuff is, but look," She reached her hand over his shoulder to look at her finger. This proximity to Eligor gave her a false sense of security because nothing in the world really existed when he was all she could think of. Snap out of it, important mission.

Teigra

 

[Teigra]

Relieved she wasn't hurt, Eligor lifted a brow when her concern was swiftly directed upon him instead. She had moved around behind him before he could even react and he felt her shifting his wing out of the way for a better look. Somehow feeling rather self-conscious all of a sudden and not knowing why, he tried in vain to look back over his shoulder at what she was seeing. He knew it was a futile attempt. "I...well, yes, I mean it does a little, but not that bad," he answered. It had been like being hit with a small stone, maybe from an inexperienced sling-user...it had stung a bit, but been more surprising than anything. "I'm sure it'll be fine in a minute."

He peered at the sample on her finger, since he couldn't see his own back, obviously. Should they be touching this strange substance? Well, no harm in doing so; if it was going to harm them, they'd already been hit by it, whatever it was. He reached up, touching her hand to transfer the odd rainbow-y powder-like substance to his own fingers, rubbing them together experimentally. "Odd...but it doesn't seem to be implicitly harmful...not as far as I can tell. I'm thinking it's just the impact that hurt at the time," he mused aloud, momentarily swept up in the mystery before remembering where he was. He shook his head, twisting to look at Alethea over his shoulder.

"I'll be fine. What about you though? Where were you hit?" If it had been enough to knock her over, had it been worse than where he'd been hit? Or was it simply because he'd had some warning and already been moving when the impact came?

From the meadow, the glowing form of the feline summon appeared and neared the pair of teenagers. 'Whatever it was, it's gone now,' Amaros sent to Eligor, irritation plain in his tone at having to admit to letting his quandary get away. At least his master was safe.

Eligor looked up, nodding in understanding. "Amaros says it's gone, whatever it was. We should be safe now."
 

[Antidia]

The proximity, the physical touch, the acknowledgement and lack of moving away made Alethea's heart flutter. Her breath hitched slightly when he touched her finger, and she prayed it wasn't noticeable. Each tiny little contact with him cause little currents like static electricity to flow through her. It was very pleasant. Thoughts distracted momentarily. "Where were you hit?" she heard, and it brought her out of her happy place and back to the present.

"I wasn't hit. It was close, so I lost my balance at the unexpected projectile." She explained, still a little flustered from her previous thoughts. "I'm glad you weren't hurt badly, but I think we should clean that stuff off just in case."

She glanced at Amaros as she searched her back for one of her handkerchiefs. She pulled her pink one out and wet it a little with water from her canteen. "I wonder what it was? If it is gone, do you think it was just trying to get rid of us? It didn't pursue... I think."

She put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and dabbed the wet part of her handkerchief on the spot of color on Eligor's back with the other. "At least we can see if there is a bruise or broken skin after cleaning it up," she said.

"We should probably head for the mountain. Put some distance between us and this place before settling on a place to sleep for the night." She was actually kind of worried about sleeping this night, in case their attacker was stealthy enough to avoid Amaros' tracking. And maybe they were being hunted now? It was a scary thought, but she knew the Guardians were watching out for them. Afterall, the Guardians wanted them to succeed do Their work.  

[Teigra]

"Oh...uh, sure," Eligor shifted so that she could more easily tend to his 'wound' as it were. He supposed it was a good thing then that he was the only one actually hit. It didn't seem too bad, at least, as long as there were no lingering effects from the strange colored dust. Why then did he feel so awkward at the moment letting his comrade tend to him? That's what they did, right? Watch out for one another?

'It took off before I got a good look at it, whatever it was,' Amaros interrupted Eligor's distraction and the demon nodded sagely to the cat.

"Well, as long as it's leaving us alone now, I'd say that's a safe assumption. Seems that it just wanted us gone," he mused aloud. After a moment of struggling with the strange urge to fidget the more he felt the gentle touch of the handkerchief at his back, he finally peered over his shoulder and asked, "Everything look okay back there?"

Starting to pull away, he added, "Err...if so, I agree, we should probably get moving. The mountains are some distance from here. I don't know if we can make it by dark, but we should certainly try. See how close we can get before setting up camp. As much distance as we can get from here would be welcome as well," he added, offering Alethea a hand up as soon as he stood.

*****

The mountain towered over them, and the way the sun was sinking towards the horizon had all cloaked in shadow. It seemed as if a massive wall blocked their path rather than something able to be climbed, but perhaps that was simply because the shadows hid what the light might reveal in the morning.

Eligor's feet were aching; sure, they were trained rigorous movement on the ground as well as in the air, but that didn't make a full day moving on one's feet any less tiring. Still, he wasn't about to complain. Not when he'd offered to accompany Alethea on her trek. Besides, complaining never got one anywhere.

Glancing up at the darkened wall of rock and earth, Eligor shifted his sights to the immediate area around them. "I suppose we can set up camp here. Get a good night's rest, then see what the light shows us in the morning?" he asked, glancing towards his companion.
 

[Antidia]

Alethea was so happy and just brimming with positive energy because she was so close to Eligor and they were having this bonding trip. She was hopeful. So hopeful. After cleaning the sparkly colored powder off her companion, all that was left was a light bruise. Nothing serious, thank the Guardians.

The hike to the base of the mountain had been made less terrible because Alethea was walking on cloud nine. Unfortunately her thoughts were clouding her judgement a few times, and she tripped over the vines and rocks a few times. It wasn't like her to be so clumsy. The thought of their attacker had always stayed at the back of her mind, in the shadows of her fantasies. There remained no signs of another attack from that source.

"Looks as good as any," she commented and glanced around. It wasn't a big area, but big enough to pitch a couple of small tents and build a fire. She dropped her pack on the ground and put her hands on her arms, rubbing quickly. "It's starting to get cold. I hope it's not too cold tonight." She joined Eligor in the observation of the mountain wall.

By morning, the fire had fizzled and the air was crisp and cool. The sun hadn't warmed the island up yet. Alethea rose with a smile on her face. She looked at the still sleeping Eligor and had to resist reaching out to touch him. He's just so freaking adorable. The night at the foot of the mountain had proven to be too chilly for the one-winged Angel. Alethea wasn't used to cold anything and the shivering had kept her awake. It totally wasn't her trying to sneak into Eligors tent for naughty purposes -- although the thought did cross her mind -- she was just cold. He'd graciously allowed her to squeeze in and even if it was incredibly inappropriate, she'd curled up next to him, mindful to keep her hands to herself. His body heat was enough to warm her up to fall asleep. Even if she now wanted to just cherish this moment; all night.

Painfully, she had to peel herself away from the perfect moment and start cooking breakfast before packing up camp. They had a long day of hiking cold mountains ahead of them. She silently wished she'd brought a heavier cloak for this.

The camp looked ransacked. Like someone had been going through their things. Even Alethea's empty tent was torn down. She quickly did an inventory and checked her pack for anything that might be missing. How could she be so stupid to think they were out of danger when a clear threat had made itself visible. Why didn't they disturb Eligor's tent?

"Eligor, come help. Someone - or some thing - was here last night." She didn't see any foot or paw prints, but there was small little hand prints scattered around that were made of ash from the fire. Too small to be even a teenager. It was strange. And a bit scary.

Alethea's pack was partially emptied, with the contents on the ground. Everything was there, except a pack of her dried fruit was torn open with bits in the dirt.  

[Teigra]

Normally, Eligor wouldn't be one to sleep in so late. Or to sleep so deeply to have actually slept through something like their campsite being ransacked. However, he hadn't slept well the night before, not at first. He had only finally started to doze off when Alethea had whispered through the tent flap that she was cold and couldn't sleep. Well, at that point, it had made sense to invite her to share his space, and while snug, there was technically room for both of them in his tent. Only logical.

Yet, for some reason, after she'd come in and gotten settled, Eligor had found himself tense and being overly careful not to move to disturb her. Only after she had obviously drifted off to the land of sleep, and he was nearing exhausted, did he manage to drift off as well. He'd only managed a few decent hours before being awoken by Alethea's voice.

Still somewhat bleary-eyed, the demon peered out from the tent flap, frowned, then shoved his unruly hair back out of his eyes. The campsite was a mess, but it seemed that who or whatever had done this was long gone. Alethea seemed to be trying to salvage what she could from the destruction, so until he finished waking up, perhaps he could offer some other form of help. "Amaros!" The familiar appeared in a flash of light, stretching as if he too had been asleep. "We had an unwanted visitor, or visitors, last night. Check it out?" With a nod, the feline bounded off, sniffing at an overturned pack, then moving systematically through the debris.

Spying one of the handprints, Eligor had crossed to it and knelt down, stifling a yawn. He'd wondered if it had been some sort of animal looking for food, perhaps, since it had left them both undisturbed...but the hand...while tiny, was definitely a hand, not a paw. So, that theory was out...but something had been here and gone through their things in the night...and yet, left them unharmed.

It was puzzling, but also a bit unnerving.

Much of his belonging had been in the tent with them, but it seemed that Alethea's things were scattered about, as well as her tent being broken down. After studying the hand print for a moment longer, the demon stood and crossed towards his angel companion by her pack. "Anything missing?"
 

[Antidia]

Grumbling to herself about how dare some wild creature ruin her perfect night then morning with Eligor, Alethea shoved her stuff back in to her pack with a little hostility. Stupid thing, whatever you are I will hurt you.

"I don't think anything's missing. Just a handful of my dried fruit that they dropped in the dirt." More reason to be angry at this thing.

She pushed the last of her stuff in her pack, without care to correctly roll it up or anything (which she'd regret later) and went looking at the rest of the campsite. "Why would whatever it was cover their tracks but leave little sooty handprints everywhere?" Her tone was even, belying how she felt inside. She did take special notice that nothing was really damaged. Except her fruit bag. Everything was just pushed around and opened. This sparked a thought. She looked in her fallen tent for her other bag; the one that held their magic sticks. "Uh oh."

She searched frantically in the tent, the bedding and pulled everything back out of her pack. "The sticks, do you have them?" All that work for nothing? Alethea was ready to scream.

She had to keep it together in front of Eligor. If he wasn't there, the local wildlife would be covering their ears. Fuming, she does the only thing she can do; looks for clues so she can find the culprit and bust some kneecaps. "It looks like children handprints everywhere. Why would --" That's when she noticed that there were handprints all over Eligor's tent too. Shivers shot up her spine and she suddenly was really frightened. "I ... I want to leave here, Eligor. I don't feel safe." She hugged her arms close to her body. Sticks be damned, she didn't want to be hunted by something small and psychotic.

"Why... would the Guardians not watch out for us?" she murmured, looking at the pile of her belongings on the ground.  

[Teigra]

Sighing, Eligor continued trying to straighten and pack up some of his things when he noticed Alethea's frantic searching. Then, the question that sent what remained of his mood plummeting.

"No..." he answered carefully, looking up. "I thought you had them." The expression when their gazes met said everything. They were gone. So that's why nothing really seemed destroyed upon closer look...but had certainly been rummaged through. And not by any mere animal, from appearances.

What progress they had made was gone, the previous day's work all for naught. Frustration clouded his thoughts, but only for a moment. It didn't make sense. Why? Why would...?

Alethea's sudden shift in mood seemed to catch his attention and Eli frowned. He'd felt nearly as frustrated as she for a moment, but now she seemed afraid...in doubt...her words confirming his previous observations. Standing, he moved towards his companion, reaching to take her by the arms. "Hey...what makes you think that They didn't?" he asked, leaning down to meet her gaze. "So our stuff is scattered and the sticks are missing. So what? We're safe. They're watching over us because we're doing Their work. Even if we have challenges to face along the way."

Mind still processing the implications of what had happened here, he continued, "Look at it this way. We were in doubt about the Fire tokens, right? We weren't sure we had the right idea? I think this pretty much confirms that we were on the right track, don't you? After all, someone thought it important enough to pointedly follow us to steal them from us. Don't you think that might be a sign?"

Putting on a smile, he patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't lose faith, Alethea. We'll continue on for now. That way, whatever is trying to sabotage our mission thinks that it's won. We'll gather the rest of our tokens, then circle back around to retrieve the Fire tokens again before returning to the City. Sound like a plan?"
 

[Antidia]

He was so perfect and always knew what to say and how to cheer her up. And she was so inadequate and full of doubt. Alethea wiped away a few stray tears when she turned away Eligor to start putting the rest of her stuff back in her pack. She took a lot more care in organizing it this time.

"You are right. I'm sorry I had doubts," her voice cracked only a little and she hoped he didn't notice. "They trust us enough with this work, with handling the trials and hard tasks. They did keep us safe when the creepy little things ransacked the place." She was speaking more to convince herself. She felt bad for ever doubting the Guardians. She was truly unworthy of her station.

"Do you suppose we're in any danger now that they go what they wanted? What will happen if we steal a sword on the mountain? Snow abominations chasing us?" she chuckled a little at the thought, but fully believed it was a possibility. "We should plan to get in and out as quick as we can. I didn't think our safety was going to be in jeopardy for this mission." Though she thought she should have at least assumed so. The island is savage and uncultured and full of evil magics. She'd talked herself into thinking she was the dumbest pae to live.

Faith, Alethea. Don't let doubt cloud your mind. You were chosen because the Guardians knew your heart.

"I'm packed up. We should eat something and head off."

Thoughts of creepy little children throwing rainbows didn't leave her mind.  

[Teigra]

After Alethea turned away to finish packing, her words reached Eligor's ears. He wasn't sure what to say at first. Doubts...it wasn't alright to say that it was okay to feel that way...they should never doubt the intentions of the Guardians. They only...didn't understand them sometimes. Or misinterpreted. "Doubt is always waiting in the shadows for an opportunity to strike," he answered, finishing his own pack. "And while it may happen that we stumble along the way, what's important is that we immediately pick ourselves up and keep following the path. Sometimes...what we don't understand yet, we mistake for reason to doubt. Trust and have faith."

He'd read something like that in a book in the library. He had liked it. Hopefully, he got the gist of it with his summary.

Listening to her musings about the continued danger of their mission and what they might find on the mountain top, his initial reaction was to exclaim that the notion of snow abominations was silly. Oh wait, that was probably the point, he realized when she chuckled afterwards. "Yes, giant snowmen," he shot back, "We should make sure to keep a couple of torches ready." Truly, he was more on guard now; they would have to move quickly and quietly if something were out there actively trying to sabotage their mission. It wouldn't be the first time forces on the Isle had acted as such.

Having finished his packing, Eligor had left out a loaf of crusty bread which he broke in half, handing one portion to Alethea. "We should go ahead and eat this. We need the energy, and besides, I don't know how well it will last on the trip. Some of the other supplies will last much longer." Holding his own portion in his off-hand, he hefted his pack over his shoulder, ready to move out. "Let's get going. We have a long climb ahead of us."
 

[Antidia]

"Yes... you are right. I shouldn't let doubt fester. Like Lord Andrei says, 'Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other. Cast out doubt. Cultivate faith.'" She mimicked the tone and passion Andrei had used when he talked of values of the Knights. She knew better, but doubt was a powerful adversary. Eligor was good at reminding her to be faithful. One of his many virtues and why she loved him so much.

She took the half of the crusty bread and sniffed it before taking a little bit. It'll do for energy for now. She knew the mountain would require far more exertion than the jungle did.

"What are we looking for on the mountain. Any clues or ideas? And I hope we don't have to go far. That mountain is huge." She followed his cues and loaded her own pack on her back. The nagging little feeling of guilt played on her subconscious as she blamed herself for losing those sticks.

At least the beginning of their trek wasn't so bad. Just hiking up trails. The fact there were trails at all gave Alethea hope that maybe more pae took their route and maybe there was civilization up on the mountain. There were so many pae, clearly they didn't all live on the beach or in the forest.  

[Teigra]

Taking a few bites of the loaf, the demon set off towards the mountain base before answering thoughtfully. "Not entirely sure yet. Mountain. Air. There's lots of air on the mountain, but how do you bring back air? No, it's got to be something tangible...like Fire wasn't actually a fire. A symbol of some sort. Something solid," he mused, no clear answer yet. He hoped that they would recognize whatever it was they needed when they saw it.

"The Guardians will guide our steps."

The trails were a good sign, right? If they just followed the trails up the mountain, perhaps then they'd find what they were sent for. They had to lead somewhere, after all, which was better than wandering around in the middle of nowhere...right?

The higher they climbed, the lower the temperature seemed to get. The winds blowing down from higher up the mountain were chilled, but they hadn't really gotten to any snow as of yet.



Though the trees had thinned since they left the jungle below, there were still plenty scattered across the mountain base. One tree's limbs began shaking violently, then something came crashing down from the lower branches to hit the ground below in a tumble of beige fur and feathers.

"By my Aunt Gerdie's wig!" exclaimed the pegasus, scrambling to right himself. "Well, that was most bothersome! Still, could have been worse. Still no sign of those yetis yet, Doctor?"


Eyes widening at the commotion, Eligor halted and reflexively reached out to halt Alethea, keeping her somewhat behind him. "What in the Guardians' name...?" he muttered, a frown of concern crossing his face.  

[Antidia]

Alethea stopped, jaw dropped. Where did he? How did he? There's no other pae for miles around (at least that she could surmise -- no smart pae would be on this cold mountain) and one just drops out of a tree? And he's talking to something.

Yetis?

A mop of messy, but carefully crafted brown hair poked down from the low branches. Still steady in the tree, unlike his companion, the tan fauny surveyed the landing site. "None up here, yet." Without missing a beat, he dangled then dropped from the tree, gracefully - well, moreso than K'anpo. "Well hello, what do we have here?" Doctor grinned when he saw the two youngsters on the path. "You aren't yetis."

Doctor approached and rubbed his chin as he observed the two teens. "Yes, definitely not yetis."

Alethea grew more confused, until a sudden lightbulb lit up. Heathens! These are the hooved creatures from the tree. She'd only heard about them and saw pictures, but never one up close. Lailah's account of them kinda painted them looking a lil more beastly ...and tree-like. These two didn't look like primitives at all. Well, looks could still be deceiving, so Alethea held her guard. They might pull some of their tainted juju magic out at any moment.

"Who are you? Who sent you?"  

[Teigra]

Yetis? Why do these two keep going on about yetis? Eligor tried to hide his confusion and catch up with the odd conversation, if it could even be called that, still maintaining a wary, protective stance by Alethea. After a moment, he pondered his response, taking into account the odd exchange between the strangers and questioning that perhaps nonsense was best answered with nonsense. Either it would break the ice if they were not mad after all, or it would allow him to speak on whatever level they were trying to communicate.

"No...we're not yetis. You're not yetis...are you?"


K'anpo snorted derisively, shaking his head. "Good heavens, no! Of course not!" he chuckled, then paused with an odd look, falling quiet as if speaking to himself. "Though...there was that time I was mistaken for one by the Engaput tribe...the feast was nice, not so much the ceremony to follow..."


Eligor blinked at the response, only relaxing his stance slightly. Oh good...friendly, but deranged. Lovely. He glanced towards Alethea, then the two heretics. They...were Faun things, right? They looked different than the ones he'd seen before. Silently noting the minor differences in appearance, it was hard not to notice that one of them had wings! The absence of the tree branch antlers was tiny in comparison. "Err...so if you're not yetis, then who are you?"


Cocking his head to the side, K'anpo made a 'tsk tsk' sound. "Demanding names without offering your own first? Poor manners. However, I suppose if we stand here to bicker proper etiquette, we'll be here all day and nothing will get done!" He waved his hand with a dramatic flourish, then turned it into a bowing gesture. "I am K'anpo, and my esteemed colleague here is the Doctor." Turning to Alethea, he added, "And I suppose, we sent ourselves? Is that an acceptable answer, young miss?"

"And that being said...what about yourselves? Names and purpose, proper time, please!"