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Urchins (CyclicalCycal)

Started by Whim, December 02, 2016, 11:26:31 PM

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Whim

"You're not the one whose gonna be growing a tail soon!" Ewan playfully jabbed Cara in the arm as they slunk down the corridor. His nails were a bit pointy now, though not over-sharp. They ascended a rickety old stairwell draped in cobwebs; there were no furnishings in the scullery. Soon enough the children found themselves in the dining hall once more. The places were cleared and the candles were doused. It seemed almost a mausoleum in the pale light of the winter sun. "And I don't really wanna be squeaking and eating kitchen scraps the rest of my life. Or have you cooing over how cute I am."

From the dining hall they went to the library, under the watchful gaze of a taxidermied wyvern and sabercat. Ewan paused to study them more carefully. Something about them was just unsettling and it made his little heard pound. "S-o his room is in the attic up top, yeah? How do you wanna do it? I guess one of us should keep look-out." The boy wasn't sure whether Cara had the worldly, guile to discretely poison a flask, or be able to keep Master Thistle at bay without earning a horrible punishment.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

CyclicalCycal

Cara grinned at Ewan. "What's wrong with a tail?" She retorted. "I know lots of animals! They all like having tails!" She responded with a wide, toothy, vaguely idiotic grin. She followed after him as they made their way through the corridor. She was silent as she did so, her voice dropping low and her movements becoming more stealthy. But, she was quite bad at this.

She peered into the dining hall as they entered. She narrowed her eyes. "...if you were a rodent you'd like kitchen scraps very much! You'd think they'd taste nice." She mumbled. She followed after him, and watched the areas as they flicked by. The dining hall, library, kitchen, all were things she was quite interested by. She looked to Ewan, snapping back to reality as he spoke. "...hrm. Up in the attic? Urm. What's an attic?"

Whim

His stubby fingers were tipped with curved nails now. It made scratching hurt.  "Well I kinda prefer being a boy. I want to - you know - have hands to read books, and eat with a fork, and sleep in a bed. If I did become an animal I'd want to be something amazing. Like a dragon! Once I did a potion that made you breathe fire like one only it turned you green too. So I suppose I've sort of been one. But a mouse? No way!" Ewan bounced on his heels. Some moments later it occurred to the now-blushing boy where he was, and how his imagination wandered.

"And the attic is the top of a house. Its where people put junk or, um, where servants like us sometimes live. You've slept in bushes and trees your whole life, huh?"
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

CyclicalCycal

Cara didn't have a direct response to the question. Instead, she had a question that likely allowed Ewan to infer her answer.

"What's a servant?" And then she went on her first tangent. "And being a boy's stupid! You're not close to nature at all! I wish I was an animal. Then I could be closer to nature. Instead I'm a stupid elf and I gotta protect nature..." She mumbled, a little disappointed.

Then, Cara glanced around the library. She idly went to pull a book from the shelves. "What's all this...?" She asked. "Why'd you want all this stupid stuff? What a big room! You could have lots of weapons, or golems, or materials, or other things in here! What gives?" She asked, confused as she went to open the book and stare dumbly at it.

Whim

"I don't really see the difference. I eat and sleep and play and whatever just like any other animal." Ewan sighed heavily at Cara's barrage of questions. Of course each one would lead to another. "Now come on! The ogre said he'd help us you know. And wait! We're going to get in trouble and--" The boy slapped his forehead, feeling stupid. One of those books might have helped them escape. If it was magic.

The page Cara opened to revealed several swirling diagrams and mathematical equations. Quite clearly it was instructions for some type of spell. Whatever it did was anyone's guess. As the children paged through the book it began to flap and wiggle in their grip, like cat tired of being pet...
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

CyclicalCycal

"Whoah - this is so weird. What's all this?" She asked, staring at the swirling designs. She gripped the twitching, writhing book, eyes drifting down towards it. "Oh, that's...weird." She mumbled, very quiet. She went to toss the book away, lightly.

"...why's it - why's it moving, Ewan? Th-that's not normal..." She mumbled, a little afraid, looking to Ewan with wide, wide eyes. "Do all of them move?" She asked, reaching for another book...

Whim

The tome seemed relieved to leave Cara's grip. But instead of falling to the floor it fluttered back into place, wriggling between two larger tomes.  "Nope! Only the magic ones. See? Puts itself back when you're done reading." He cracked a smile. Gray eyes darted up and down the shelves in search of anything familiar. And there it was: a ratty old tome with an ouroboros, a snake devouring its tail, embossed on the spine.

"That one! Its an animancy book! Bet I could, uh, heal away those marks. Give it here!" the boy squeaked just a bit too loud, urging Cara to grab it. If allowed he'd snatch the tome and begin paging through it. The prose was swirling and verdant. It was the language of the fair folk and used to invoke life and growth. The letters were recognizable, maybe, even to the elven girl.

A more astute observer might have noticed the edge of the pages curling an d crimping upwards...
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

CyclicalCycal

Cara blinked once, twice, thrice. She stared at the book, eyes wide. "Ummm..." She said, nervously. She glanced at Ewan, as he spoke, very concerned. However, she was going to follow instructions, too nervous to do anything else. Against her better judgement, she reached up to the tome that Ewan instructed. "This isn't natural, Ewan..." She mumbled, quietly, fetching the book he had pointed out. She offered it to Ewan.

"I-I don't trust it..." She said, as she watched over the text. She screwed her face up, and didn't seem to understand what was there. "A-are you sure that's okay?" She asked, not pointing anything in particular out as dangerous or malicious - it was a feeling of general discomfort that she was acting on.

Whim

"Its just magic. Its not so bad. Just lemme read and I'll fix it!" Ewan replied haughtily, trying to shoo the elf girl from the books. Weren't elves supposed to like magic? Spells to make trees fruit, purge hexes from soil, cure cattle rot, turn farm-hands into donkeys... something to undo brands had to be in here! And there it was:[/i] "Unbrandy your cattle for sale... that's it! We've just gotta- ow!"

The crimped pages of the old almanac had become teeth, which now gnawed on the mouse-boys fingers. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Help me hold it open!" he yelped, trying to work his fingers between the book's gnashing teeth. Some of the nearby books rustled angrily at seeing their friend so abused.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

CyclicalCycal

Cara let out a scream. She stumbled over to the book, going to reach in with her hands and grip the teeth. She expected that it wouldn't help, and that she would do not much, for she was weak and frail and small, but she did as best she could.

She turned her eyes around, looking and hunting and hunting and looking for anything that could help them. A tool - a stick - or some flora or fauna or animals or anything. "E-Ewan!" She yelled out, sccared. "E-Ewan I can't do this f-forever!"

Whim

Cara's delicate little fingers were fighting a losing battle with the grimoire. It was enormous, and it had teeth. She'd just have to bare it. "I'm trying! I'm trying! Just a few more seconds; I gotta concentrate!"

Ewan took a deep breathe and tried to ignore the jittery tome, the rivulets of blood on the floor. He began to utter the old elven verse printed on the page. No sooner had the words left his lips than the brand on his backside flared up. "Ow!" A thin, wormy tail forced its way from Ewan's spine, waggling to and fro. Concentrate. Enunciate. Puffs of sporedust and golden pollen filled the room as life-giving energies emanated from the boy and the book.

Meanwhile several spell books had wriggled from the stacks and were circling like hawks. One took a dangerous dive toward Cara! And then girl saw it. From the corner of her eyes a potted plant, a strange sort of spiky one from the southern desserts, sat by the window...
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

CyclicalCycal

Cara blinked. "I got-I got...I can hold -" She held it open as long as she could, fighting fierce. She knew she'd falter, soon.

She blinked, then, as she turned her gaze to the potted plant. Her gaze pierced it. After an instant, she went to hurl away the book and clench her fists. The plant would grow, massively, the thing shooting out towards them, the thorns of the plant going to impale and disable the books, a vicious attempt, wicked and deadly. She cared not for writing, so she didn't even flinch at its potential destruction.

Cara, of course, then collapsed, her body going pale. Well, paler than normal. "...blood..." was the only thing she said.

Whim

The house plant, now a mass of horrible razor-vines, struck true. Kiara's Kishahn 4th Ed., The Jadenshine Almanac, and Maergath's Manual of Murder fell to the floor in shreds. Ewan paused to flash a grin at Cara- oh no! The girl was slumped on the floor, pale and babbling. Did she try bitten that badly? Spent of magic more likely. He had to fix the brand and fast!

"-Sania pueria ix!" the boy completed his invocation. A flurry of leaves and pollen filled the room. Both children felt their skin itch and crawl as new, healthy skin devoured the scar tissue of their brands. The magic-thieving marks were gone like a weight off their shoulders. Ewan heaved a sigh of relief, but soon felt a pressure building in his face and spine... and in a matter of seconds was more mouse than boy. "-ow! Aw gosh, I told you this would happen...

"Cara?" he bent down to rouse the little elf.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

CyclicalCycal

Cara blinked. She looked up, with a hideous and malevolent gleam in her eye. "...I can hear...everything." She whispered, quietly. She grabbed at Ewan, and used him to pull her up. "I can hear everyone!" She turned her eyes up, raising her arms. The needle-edged plant all around her shifting like a hideous snake.

Cara looked inebriated on her own power, and she grinned madly. It became clear that giving a small child massive amounts of magical potential was not a particularly good idea, but that was neither here nor there. She looked to Ewan. "Let's kill everyone and feed them to the forest..."

Whim

"Let's!" The mouse-boy tugged Cara to her feet, flashing a rather buck-toothed smile. His expression faltered, just a bit, at her glee. Was she always this way? Well, the world could do with one murderous little mage girl, if it meant  "We'e got to escape. Remember? We've got to go fast before that stupid ba-bast-buttface Thistle starts tossing chamber pots at us." The children pattered down the Library steps in a mad dash for the back halls. So far nothing else stirred. But surely they made a ruckus? They weren't branded but Thistle had power over the house itself. Curtains, rugs, and brooms were all fair game.

The back hall featured two enormous, glass doors which opened into the courtyard. But the back gardens had changed tremendously since they cleared leaves from it just hours ago. The planters were filled to the brim with despite the winter season. The scrubby pines lining the paths were replaced by towering cherry-blossoms, forming a canopy of pink and white. "She did this with your magic? Gosh that's amazing. Well, mine too, hey?"
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

CyclicalCycal

Cara stumbled up, a hideous grin crossing her face at Ewan's smile. Her expression did not falter, and it was clear that arrogance had welled up in her. She nodded. "Let's get out of here..." She muttered, following after Ewan. She didn't care about the ruckus they were making, she thought herself totally invincible.

She stumbled out, into the back hall, blinking as she looked around at the flora. She blinked, a prideful smirk coming to her face. "Well! I'm real strong!" She gloated, pacing forwards towards the flora, as if drawn towards it, magnetically.

Whim

The children carefully pried upon the paned double-doors and slipped into th courtyard. The newly grown flora almost seemed to perk up as Cara stepped into the patio. Of course, the trees were frown with her magic. Still, there was something odd about the garden. None of the plants were naturally occurring or even recognizable: fusions of dogwood and spruce; tulips and cacti.

"Just don't go playing with the trees, okay?" Ewan prodded Cara in the shoulder, forgetting how sharp his nails had turned.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

CyclicalCycal

Cara grinned as the trees shifted. She clenched her fists, rising them up, hoping to begin growing and overgrowing them. "They're my friends." She responded.

Cara looked about the area, her eyes scanning over the strange mixtures of plants. "Th-these aren't normal. These are unnatural..." She mumbled to Ewan, walking a little closer to him. "Um. This isn't good. Is someone watching us. I think we'd better hurry..." She whispered, fear in her voice, a neurotic paranoia beginning to creep its way into her actions.

Whim

"Well I don't know. Its like how if you want to breed a big dog you make sure the mom and dad are big. Only you do it with magic." Ewan huffed. It wasn't the time to squabble, but there was hardly anything wrong with transmutation! Ewan trotted alongside Cara. "Do you think you could make the trees, um, smash the gates or something?"

Unnatural and strange as they were the plants seemed to perk up at Cara's presence, as if monsters begging their creator for affection. A few scrubby pines, unwarped by magic, did remain in the bunch. The children continued their way down the overgrown path. One of the fountains, once scummy and bare, was now filled with water and koi. But something definitely was not right! The nymph statue, sitting at its edge, seemed to glower at them... with just the faintest hint of malevolence beneath her peaceful smile. Ewan was too busy trying to argue that transmutation was a fine and natural sort of magic to notice.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

CyclicalCycal

Cara didn't really perceive Ewan's arguments. It wasn't that she didn't hear them - she heard them perfectly well. It was that she simply let them pass through her like it was nothing, not registering them at all. Cara took a deep, deep breath, as she walked, padding over towards the gate. She tried her best to ignore the plants, but found herself stopping when she was within the garden.

"They're speaking, Ewan. They want me to talk to them." She said. "I-I..." She looked around, glancing at all the fountains and gates and flora and then to Ewan. "...urm. We need to go..." She mumbled, forcing forwards the courage to rush over towards the gate.

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