Siren's Summit Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Printable Version +- the Rift (http://riftrpg.net) +-- Forum: Archives (http://riftrpg.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=20) +--- Forum: Year 1174 (http://riftrpg.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=63) +---- Forum: Completed (http://riftrpg.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=64) +---- Thread: Siren's Summit Reconciliation and wrangling trees (/showthread.php?tid=1011) Pages:
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Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Zahra - 04-20-2018 Zahra & Ilham It was pride that turned angels into devils Zahra drew a deep, long breath and held it. With a wearily discerning eye, she traced the perimeter of the ridiculously enormous web-net that was strung between the lofty, mist-shrouded canopies of surrounding trees (the ones that they had made certain wouldn’t run away this time…), and nodded slowly. “Ok. I think it’s finished,” she sighed after a small time, turning to offer something of an impatient smile to the black and white stallion still standing by. This was the third time in as many months that she and Ilham had threaded the marvel painstakingly together, and quite frankly, if this next attempt to snare a ‘walking pine’ didn’t work, the cursed pegasus had resigned to the idea that she would just live like a ballooning Velella for the rest of her life. Stepping carefully across the sodden loam towards a wavering section of the delicate, water-laced structure, she extended the whiskered butt of her nose nearer to receive her beloved companion. Illham stepped eight legs down quickly and ascended to one of her favourite sentry points at the tip of Zahra’s sooty ear. “I guess, now we wait…” What had at first felt like a cruel twist of fate, amplifying the bitter hurt suffered since the loss of her family in Helovia, Zahra had come to realise in time that the return of her father - rather, Eleos, had been really a blessing in disguise. It had taken many long, turbulent months to reconcile riled up emotions and conflicting experiences, but through it all, a steady friendship and understanding had formed. By all accounts, it was unexpected, less like the necessary bond between a daughter and her father and more like old comrades who had witnessed the woes of the world together. Returning to Eleos’s side, Zahra chuckled gently and aimed a soft, affectionate snort toward his gleaming wet skin - but stopped suddenly short to avoid inflating again! It always took such a horribly long time to let down… “Why don’t you ask the Rift for a trial?” she half-joked, stepping away, leading along to the cunning arrangement of (now very dead) branches and previously positioned boulders nearby. She was almost inclined to tempt fate again herself, for there were may talents she craved to master - among them the ability to brainwash and control trees. @Eleos Trial Note: Zahra is trying to catch the Pinus ambulo :P RE: Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Eleos - 04-20-2018
RE: Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Zahra - 04-20-2018 Zahra & Ilham It was pride that turned angels into devils For a long time, she and Eleos had driven an aimlessly repetitive course between the Rainforest Cliffs, the beach beneath it, and the eerie shadows surrounding the Portal. Through those months, Zahra had unleashed upon the forbearing stallion, the furious, pent-up storm of her emotional torment, long entrenched loneliness and despair surrounding the memories that yet haunted her to the day. Hooves had traipsed endlessly, carving a comfortable and mindless circle, if only for the sake of relieving the frustration wrought below her skin. And her long-suffering companion had followed in staid silence, listening, empathising with only small contribution, for in those early days, the painted orphan had been unreasonable and quite unable to tolerate his broadening perspective. As the days began to blend into one long blur, however, and the baking, irrepressible heat of Scorch softened into the wet season, Zahra’s sheer wall of stubbornness began to give way to a truer personality; perhaps one that even resembled the free-spirited babe that once had been. Resistance became acceptance. Bitterness lost all discord. Fear and faithlessness became confidence, restored. By all accounts, a fondness for his company had blossomed within like a rose in the garden green. So the reinvigorated daughter of the Gallant and the Starry-Eyed revealed her knowledge so far about the Rift: firstly the blinking smog at the start which leeched magic and stripped power from the veins of the unsuspecting. She explained that his spear now caught fire, whenever she summoned its full length and that the stunning glassy flight feathers newly fringing each of her wings, was the result of the same, hungry shadow - it was not always cruel. So too had she enlightened him about the quirks of their strange habitat: the mossy rocks in the rainforest that screamed upon contact, seasonal cherries that defied their very understanding of delicious and trees that would walk, if they stood long enough to see. Zahra taught him how to find Malspira along the sandy foot of the cliffs and then teased his sense of logic forward, luring him to paddle beyond the safety of the shore. She’d laughed at his vain attempts to stay afloat, and louder still with unbridled delight as he discovered the unnatural ability to breathe underwater - without the plant’s maturing leaves, she’d informed sternly, they would surely have drowned. Neither truly enjoyed the single stint out to sea, however, and pottered afterwards at length along the soft salt-licked beach. But the curse that Zahra had acquired, long before she’d discovered Eleos, quickly became unbearable. After the umpteenth inflation of her body, she ’d convinced the stoic stallion to travel north beside her, into the little-known region of the Western Mists. After much deviation and countless times lost, they’d arrived upon the swampy skirt of Siren’s Summit. The voice which had readily greeted her request for bone-headgear (place for beloved Ilham to thread a web in which to live), had insisted that she find it and craft from the skin of a resident walking pine, something… anything; and too, the instances of ballooning would cease. So it began: the relentless pursuit to ensure the painful tree. As she paused between two rocks and nudged at the twiggy timber angled over their top, light laughter bubbled in her throat. “I haven’t seen a Velella for months…” she mocked cheerfully, for the creature was an ocean skimmer, sliding above the waves like a bulging sail in the wind; there was no sea around here… “We can ask for something each,” the mare continued, pressing the matter as she fumbled for the spear that lay on the fragrant soil. Her teeth clasped the curve of its cold metal base and she lifted up her face. “Do it!” she urged around the deceptively short weapon. With a click, it extended and ignited with flames. Zahra threw it awkwardly, frantically, towards the fringe of trees between them and the net. “Fingers crossed!” she shouted after, eyeing each stationary timber narrowly - one of them would run… @Eleos Trial Note: Zahra is trying to catch the Pinus ambulo :P RE: Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Eleos - 04-21-2018
RE: Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Rift Presence - 04-21-2018 It was quiet. Lonely even. There wasn't anyone around to watch. They liked to watch the creatures lurking around. But no the bad ones. Not the Rift ones. They were scary and mean and they liked to chase them. They didn't like to be chased. So they hid quietly, blending among the vegetation that wasn't alive and hoping that something would happen. And then it did. Two creatures approached, talking and beginning to fiddle with someone. In this light the Pine didn't see what it was they were doing, but the fact that someone was there to keep them company was a comfort. So they watched the two, the way the one with black patches moved delicately with a certain grace they admired. They were almost soothed, ready to fall asleep to the sounds of their voices lulling them into bliss. Until the smell of smoke and the crackle of fire breached the tranquility. Out of instinct the being was moving; running with utter terror at the thought of being burned alive. So they ran with purpose, scrambling to avoid the once peaceful beings they trusted. Yet as they took the shorter route to avoid them, they ran into something sticky and strong. At once they were tangled, struggling and panicking and uncertain about what was happening. Soon the Tree was completely entangled, struggling and looking at them petrified. Was this how they were going to die? the Rift simply explode @Zahra RE: Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Zahra - 04-21-2018 Zahra & Ilham It was pride that turned angels into devils To her delight, and right on cue, the forest erupted with the frantic movement of the very creature they were hunting. The sinus ambulo was a fearsome looking creature, but Zahra was unfazed as springing knees carried her along behind. She has seen enough of them by now to understand that they were passive, so as it collided with the lovely web she and Ilham had created she barrelled on towards it with a widening grin upon her maw. “Yes!" She cried aloud, bursting at the seams with relief, and glance thither to engage the more sedate expression of the stallion. “You have to somehow hold it down," she insisted, summoning both his strength and stubbornness to aid, and while it struggled helplessly ensured upon the saturated earth she circled to examine it. It was still the most peculiar beast she could say she’d ever crossed paths with. The others of its type all looked similar, though the shrubbery that sprouted near each joint varied in density and shape (not enough that she could recall whether they’d tried to catch this one before). Its pointed, branch-like limbs flailed about precariously and Zahra worked hard to avoid each harrowed swing, dodging and pivoting with the glassy fringe of flight feathers flared to help her balance. Baldness spanned the ugly length of its face - so to the lower extremities and the cone-like structure of its poll. The discerning-eyed mare assessed it all carefully, before deciding at last - “I don’t think we need to kill it!" There was enough of it available to merely strip a slice free, and with a contemplative sigh, her thoughts embarked on that next journey. Trusting that Eleos was committed to lending help, she swerved sharply to catch the trailing end of the web as it slithered by. Breaking into a hasty trot, she proceeded to circle the creature and bind it’s flailing limbs (if she were able), into a neat pyramid in the air - chances were it would be easier to wound if it lay stranded upon its back. “talk" @Eleos RE: Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Eleos - 04-22-2018
RE: Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Rift Presence - 04-24-2018 Utter chaos ensued once they were ensnared. Panic engulfed their entire being, suffocating their rationale as they continued to aimlessly thrash. In their state of terror they failed to see the girl begin to approach, the adrenaline roaring through their being making them unable to hear her words. There was no order, simply disarray that sent the creature sprawling. As it began to lose balance the other was making his way towards them, an look in his eye that meant only to harm. As much as they tried they could not escape the grasp of his jaws on one of their branches, and with a shrill screech on instinct they fought back. A large, club-like branch came smashing down upon the brute's shoulder, giving the Pine the chance to release themselves before crashing to the forest floor. The web was being wrapped around them now, causing more shrieks to escape the being. They were so stricken with fear that nothing could soothe them now, convince them that this was okay. Frantically looking between the two they continued to struggle, hoping to the Gods that they would kill them quickly. the Rift simply explode @Zahra RE: Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Zahra - 04-24-2018 Zahra & Ilham It was pride that turned angels into devils The sequence of events which rapidly followed the creature’s entrapment, was not nearly as straightforward and merciful as Zahra had anticipated. To her surprise, and disbelief, the stallion whose prudent nature had lured back her affection, launched forward with gnashing ivories unsheathed, aiming also a savage blow simultaneously towards the frightened creature’s limbs. The smile she wore, gleaming and triumphant, dimmed instantly and a stunned frown swiftly pulled down the black corners of her mouth. “Eleos!?…” she cried out, thinking that perhaps her previous suggestion of leniency, had failed to reach his ears. The walking pine was not altogether helpless, however, as it struggled and writhed within the sturdy strands of the web. Dense timber appeared all at once to swing clear of its bind, and it fell down again promptly with deliberate force, upon the shoulder of her collared companion. Zahra screamed desperately, though the words intended were lost amid the tangle of her panic, and at once she centred herself to called upon the power she’d been gifted at birth. Like a thing born from nightmares, a tawny coloured army ant broke through the surface of the saturated soil before her. Behind it, arrived more, and more, spewing from the hole like a seething, endless golden snake. Save him!… her thoughts commanded quickly, urging the insects to attack the strange looking creature. Then there were thousands, perhaps millions, bearing down to feast upon the flesh of the webbed Pinus ambulo. It might have been easier to be a balloon, Ilham commented unhelpfully from her ear-top, prompting Zahra to recall the point of her task. Her heart leapt into her throat: I need the skin! DON’T WRECK ITS SKIN! @Eleos Magic used: (Offensive) Can summon and control a swarm of insects RE: Reconciliation and wrangling trees - Eleos - 04-24-2018
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