Cara slowly padded into the forest, finally entering into the shade of trees. She'd been travelling for so long, it felt great to finally be in the forests again. Already, even, she could feel the cool embrace of the green. Already, even, she could feel the presence of a power greater than her's. Hidden deeper, within the forest. Sleeping. Waiting. Dreaming.
Her journey was not yet over. There was much to be done.
Cara looked to Rin, as she lead her into the forest. "F-Father's deeper within the forest. He was here last time I was, and he was dreaming. H-hopefully he'll be awake now." She said, a smile creeping across her face. Cara continued smiling, as she marched deeper into the verdant land, hunting for the grove, the last place she and her father had met.
"B-be careful, though...I-he doesn't...he doesn't like outsiders...says they're going to hurt the trees..."
Rin pushed aside a stray branch, her other hand resting onof the. Hilt of one of her katana. The journey was indeed long. Though it wasn't too dangerous. Luckily, she didn't want to Cara to be scarred by fighting, or even worse, death.
She nodded softly at Cara as she piped up. "That's good," she answered. "Let us hope he is awake," she smiled softly. "I will be careful. I mean no harm to the trees here."
"I know. I don't think he knows that." Cara explained, pushing through some undergrowth. "Just don't let any of the things see you, or you'll die!" She chirped out, evidently not at all worried for her own safety. Cara, of course, continued forwards, paying this statement no heed at all. It was entirely normal, she thought, as she ducked under a branch or two, pushing shrubbery out of the way, slowing down rather significantly as she fought with the foliage.
"What things?" Rin asked, her grip slowly tightening on the hilt of her still sheathed blade. "And will they kill me?" She asked with a soft frown. That was entirely new information. And the girl seemed awfully calm about this.
"Uhh...you know animals?" Cara asked. She swiftly moved on, not giving Rin a chance to speak. "Well it's like them! But made of wood! Father makes them to protect stuff. They only recognise me and him...but I can get them to stop! Probably." She explained, clambering on top of a fallen log and surveying the area.
"I do know animals," Rin answered with a soft chuckle, easily pursuing Cara through the path she made. "Probably? That's assuring," she answered with a soft shigh. She still had protective seals and barriers if need be, but she'd rather not waste them.
She glanced at Cara as she made her way ontop of a log. "Seeing anything?"
"No." Considering Cara was barely taller than Rin, even while standing up on that, it was no surprise she couldn't see anything more. Cara paused, ears flicking, as she glanced over to a small bunch of shrubbery. "..."
She hopped down and moved to continue deeper into the woods, ignoring...whatever had drawn her attention.
Rin followed Cara's glance to the bush, wanting to investigate. Yet Cara decided to press on, so she rather followed the child, who clearly knew the area better than her. "Alright," she answered, glancing around.
As Rin looked about, she could see the undergrowth moving. Shifting. Twitching. There was an undeniable feeling that they were being watched.
Cara didn't care. At all. Or, well, that's what it seemed like. She kept pressing forwards, single-mindedly. In fact, she began to whistle a small tune, glancing about rapidly as she did so.
Her hand squeezed on the hilt of her katana, but soon relaxed. She was a warrior and knew quite a bit about the arcane. Any magic thrown at her could be easily negated by her protective charms and seals. Though, it'd be best not to linger, she followed Cara closely.
"Don't worry, Rin!" Cara exclaimed. "The thing that's following us will only kill you if you look at it in the eyes." As in on cue, burning, yearning, green eyes appeared in the undergrowth. They were watching the two. Perhaps they had been for a while now.
"And, what does its eyes look like exactly?" She asked, the dim lights of the creature's eyes appearing. She wanted to look at it in reflex, but managed to keep herself just from doing it, moving on the follow Cara. "What is it? That is not an animal made of wood, Cara."
"Yes, it is! Watch!" Cara sauntered over to the undergrowth, a great intent in her eyes and her movement. She was walking straight towards one of the pairs of eyes, with apparently no regard for her own safety.
"I'd rather not watch, it'll kill me," she answered with a surprisingly light hearted chuckle. She did however keep her attention on Cara, ready to intervene at a moment's notice.
Not being stopped, Cara walks straight over to the eyes, reaching into the undergrowth, waving her hands. The foliage parted, and there seemed to be...some...entity.
It was, indeed, made up of wood and tree-bark, and had two glowing green eyes piercing from the shadows. It was staring, watching, unmoving. Unblinking. It seemed to vaguely resemble a canine creature, and it acted as if Cara wasn't even there.
She turned back to Rin, wandering back. "Just-don't look at them. They're only worried about you."
"I see," Rin answered, making sure her gaze was averted from the creatures. She could see it from the corner of her eyes and knew it was big, no doubt, stronger than her. "I won't. Let's move on before it decides I'm trouble," she answered.
"O-okay." Cara mumbled, going to continue her trail. "I think...only a d-day left...of walking. Until we reach...f-father. But he might not be very receptive to you. Hm...if we really hurry we could reach him...before the evening..." Cara thought out loud, weighing up the two choices that she saw, waiting for Rin to speak on her opinion.
"Let's meet him as fast as possible," Rin answered. No way did she fancy spending the night in such a hostile environment. "Let's just keep going," she added with a warm sort of smile.
"Okay. Can, um, you kill some stuff...or carry me?" Cara asked as she changed her path quite significantly. "You don't have a...club, do you? Or a torch?" Nervousness was growing in her voice, as she planned.
"I have a sword," she answered, before raising her free hand, a smallsoft light sparking to lifethe in the palm. "And I know various spells, be it for fire or light," she answered, before stopping in her tracks andand getting toto her knees. "Well, come on then," she said with a softsoft chuckle. "You can hold on to the armour or around my neck."
Cara blinked, not expecting this response. She hurried over to Rin, clambering on her back and pointing forwards. "There's a trap up ahead...but if we can survive then we will be home before dark." She explained as her hands began to flicker an emerald green colour. "But be careful... With the fire. It can hurt."
The small light strayed sidewards, but kept relatively close to Rin. "A trap?" She inquired, frowning slowly, but nodding. "You mean my fire?"
"No...yes! I mean..."
Cara sighed, just pointing forwards. "Go...go to the trap...we can manage. Trust me..." She mumbled, wearily. Her voice betrayed her. She was uncertain. "A-and...be careful with the fire...if you set...the trees on fire...it'll...be bad. V-very bad."
"This is a light," she answered with a smile. "It doesn't produce fire," she concluded, before nodding. "Here we go," she murmured, taking several strides forward defiantly.
Cara continued guiding Rin through the forest, and they began to enter a section that was...odd. It was not normal, no, nature didn't form a 'tunnel' of trees. At the end of it, there was a clearing, that was sunlit and bright. "...be careful." Cara warned, as they began to approach it.
Rin stopped as she noticed the canopy starting to close around them, frowning slowly. "Illusion magic?" She pondered the question, before glancing at Cara on her shoulder and nodding. "I will be," she answered with a soft smile, before moving on.
As the duo walked into the clearing, they could see that there were rows of graves on either side of them. They were in the centre, in a pathway, where one could examine them. They were all wooden graves, and they had archaic scribbles on the heads of them. More dangerous than that, though, were the eyes. Dozens and dozens, all different shapes, all in different arrangements, watched from the foliage around the graveyard.
"Uvmb lv rhrwm, vqdozhov..." Cara mumbled, as she glanced about at the headstones.
Rin was wary, very wary so. When Cara started to murmer, she frowned softly, but pressed on, trying her bedt to avoid crossingany eyes, with one of their on-lookers.
"Okay. Can you stop, please." It was not a question. Cara had told her to stop. "If you keep...moving...they will attack. I can calm all them...just...it might. It might not work, okay?"
Rin immediately stopped in her tracks when Cara told her, not saying a word.
Cara paused, for a very long while. She then slowly reached her hands out, towards the shadows, her breathing growing slower. "B-be careful...Rin. They don't like you...you are invADING OUR-You're going here against the rules." She mumbled, ignoring what she had said. Perhaps she didn't mean to. Regardless, a few of the...creatures...began to approach from out of the shadows.
She glanced around as the beasts approached her. With a soft click, she unsheathed her blade partly, glancing aroundat. "I am invading naught. I merely am returning a lost child home," she answered, hand still on the hilt of her sword, ready to defend herself.
"They don't understand...they are just." Cara swiftly turns to the approaching entity, pointing at it. "Sleep." She commands, the beast pausing. The light died from its body and it slumped over, turning to inert wood. Cara clutched onto Rin, panting. "I can't...do that...many mor times..."
Rin nodded slowly. "Don't overexert yourself," she murmured with apparent worry. "Is it safe to move on?"
"Uh. No. We...would...father made this to only let through members of the group. But you can trick them. Or kill them. C-can you...do you know about flora?" Cara was getting more and more worried.
Rin glanced at Cara on her shoulder, before pulling a paper charm from her belt and dropping it to the ground, a purple sheen around them appeared, some form of bubble.
"That should give you time to think," Rin said, glancing at the force-field. "It's not indestructible, but it's very potent."
"...oh. Oh...no."
Cara said, glancing around at the bubble-shield. Cara began to panic, panting, glancing about at the shadows beyond the graves. The beasts, the entities, the creatures leaped out, charging to the bubble and clawing at it. They were all sorts of animals, felines, canines, avian, all twisted and made of bark and wood. There were about a dozen of them.
And they were very angry.
"R-Rin...I...I can fix this...d-don't worry..."
Cara paused, for a moment, taking a very deep breath.
Rin unsheathed her blade fully with a soft sheen, holding it up in her dominant left hand. "Then fix it," she answered, glancing at Cara momentarily as a droplet of sweat traveled down her face. She could take a lot of these creatures, but they both lacked normal anatomy and they were magical. She'd be overwhelmed in seconds. "Just, whatever your plan is, do it fast."
"I-I'm...just continue down the path? Okay?"
Cara didn't bother explaining herself, a glowing green aura surrounding her body. She took another deep breath, and held it. After a few moments, she breathed out, and as she did so, a pulse of magic lurched out of her. The creatures scratching, clawing, attempting to rend the bubble...collapsed, their eyes losing their green glow. Cara grinned.
Then, she promptly collapsed, falling off of Rin's back to the ground with a 'thump', completely unconscious.
Rin frowned slowly, glancing back at the cracks that slowly started to appear in the barrier.
But then, all of the creatures dropped to the ground, soon followed by Cara. Rin's eyes grew wide as the barrier shattered and she spun on her heels, sheathing her blade and kneeling down next to Rin, softly shaking her.
Regardless of her waking up, Rin picked up the small girl in her arms and made her way down the path again. She hold Cara close to her armoured chest, glancing around warily.
As Rin continued down the path, she found a surprising lack of creatures. It was just her and Cara. The path stretched on, for ages, the trees bending to make certain one knows its way. Now that the two had left the graveyard, the trap, it seemed that the forest was more welcoming.
Cara, however, seemed dead. Or dying. She was weak, her skin had grown paler. No more power suffused her body, no more movements or communication. Cara was inert.
And Rin kept walking, until Cara felt off. Until she grew pale.
She gasped and immediately dropped to her knees, letting the young girl's legs rest on the ground. She brought her now free handhand up to check Cara's pulse.
Cara's pulse was weak and fading further still. She was, indeed, dying. Rin could hear movements. Something was leaving the foliage, and approaching the two. Its footsteps sounded akin to a person.
"Wyy ldcikkyz la fbzho. Iwnofq?"
Its voice did not. It sounded like bark scraping on bark. It was one of the...entities. It was not an animal, though. It was some sort of...person. Formed through wood, with green power leaking out of its...'skin'.
Rin grit her teeth and pulled Cara closer to her chest, tears welling up in her eyes. "Come on, Cara, don't," her breath hitched softly as one of the tears ran down her cheek, dropping on Cara's nose. "Wake up.."
She glanced up at the figure that appeared. She couldn't understand it, she was sure it couldn't understand her either. Yet, she still croaked for help from the mysterious being.
"...fo-llow. Take. Chi-ld." It stated, language broken. It didn't wait for a response. It didn't pay any attention. It simply turned, and began to move. "Pp fwul ylcf iqvkkzfiwm arl, uvg Q, ukfotg bjh tbqol flv." It rambled, mostly to itself.
She needn't moreis instruction. If it meant Cara's safety. She got to her feet. Cara still in her hands as she followed the odd creature.
"Ofho kixh ny izikwvx nrz vkv lmwctq fz bkm ekzfl. Kmt pzmalwp plmb em erdjthbg. Lk jilvgg lm oumcwcs nrz jhi nw omcyv icu kqxin. Eh eqxcx vrb uhv bmu lgdu...zwu qh vyy lrmu gzy, bkmp wyy Lumcpvl eltn gzy, brw." The creature...explains? Questions? Rambles? Its language is not normal, no, not at all. Elder, ancient...archaic. The entity simply paces off, moving through the path. "...we. Tra-vel. For. Hou-r. Then. Drea-mer. Keep. Chi-ld. Li-ve."
Rin frowned slowly, she couldn't make heads nor tail from the odd, ancient language. So she merely followed.
Then she frowned as it spoke, more clearly, in a language she could understand. "Will we be in time?"
"Don-t. K-now." It replied, as it travelled, falling back into dead, empty silence. It waited, for a rather long time, before speaking again. "Th-e ch-ild. M-ust. Not. Die."
Cara was still alive, aye, but she was growing worse. It was slow, but it was there. Time would tell if she would live.
Rin nodded slowly. "She's not allowed to die," she answered with a soft murmur, still trailing behind the creature, glancing around warily still.
Their surroundings were still hostile to her, so she could only be careful.
The entity escorted Rin for a long while. The path was so similar. Yes, there were changes from here to there, yes there were turns occasionally, but it was all so similar. It felt like they had been travelling through the same one hundred steps. Forever.
Eventually, though, the three would reach a clearing. The entity would lead Rin into it. It was a small, circular clearing, with a towering great oak that loomed above all. At the base of it, sat an entity akin to the one that had been escorting them. A humanoid figure that looked as if it was clad in plate armour, from head to toe, not revealing a single piece of skin. The armour was not iron, though, it was the same bark and wood amalgamation that all the creatures had. The oddest part, though, was the 'helmet' or 'head' of the humanoid. It was not a regular plate helmet, but one that covered its face, with six empty eye sockets carved out. There were long, ornate carving that lead to the back, and seemed to coalesce at the back, but Rin couldn't quite see.
It was also dead. Very dead. It was slumped down, head tilted to the side, not moving, not even showing any forms of life. No movements for breathing, no reaction to the group. Nothing. It looked like a corpse.
"...the. Fa-ther." The creature that had been leading Rin spoke, again.
Rin could only soldier through the distance which seemed to stretch on for infinity. No words came from her, she didn't complain or even speak. Only occasionally glanced at Cara with clear concern on her face. She didn't have the time toof think whether they would be too late.
As they reached the clearing, the creature adressed as 'the Father', Rin slumped to her knees, holding the child still.in her arms. "Save her," she whispered softly.
The entity walked over to the 'father', and poked it in the head, rather pointedly. It slumped over, hitting the ground with a 'thump'.
"Wake. Cara lj bcub. Fuvuuhz. Czremq."
This changed it. The father began to light up. Green energy formed in its six eye sockets, the power forming through the carvings in its head, welling up at the back, pouring out like some well of eldritch power.
It looked at the scene.
It slowly rose to its feet. And it spoke. And its voice was booming, and hateful, and mighty, and the very trees winced at its words.
"You...dare bring my child...wounded and hurt? You invade my lands! Who are you?!"
Rin grit her teeth and rose to her feet again, holding Cara as she did. "Who cares for that?! Your daughter is dying! I was told she can be healed here!" She called out in answer, being able to produce quite thethe volume. "Ask your questions later." Slowly, tears stung in her eyes and her voice became more silent again. "Just save her, I will answer your queries after I know Cara is safe."
"NO! I will not be spoken to in this way! Not in my..." The dreamer wavered, his gaze turning to the child. "...court...Ca...ra. Cara...oh..." He staggered forwards, his rage fading away in an instant. "Oh, gg gmcu, jqmhb, nlknth arufob..." The dreamer, the so-called 'father' lurched over, going to grab at Cara and take her from Rin's grip. "Bfo'zh pwukcvj. Xnhrmm. Qw. Uwfj pxzvlea. Q fip pvhl wpkv...Z wiq..." The other entity. The one that didn't speak properly. The one that seemed less...sentient, than the dreamer simply watched. It seemed to have no opinion on this. It was unnerving.
Rin glanced at him, her face distorting into a soft snarl. But the father gave way andto decided to persue the wellbeing of his daughter, rather than Rin's so called intrusion.
As soon as Cara was taken from her grip, Rin slammed her armoured fist in the ground and bowed her head deeply. "Thank you," she could only state.
"Oh, no, no, no...little sprout, no..." The dreamer mumbled, wearily. He set Cara upon the ground, glancing about, rapidly. Thoughts were rushing through him so quickly, he could barely think. His whole body shook, and though his entire face was coated by some form of helmet or mask, one could easily tell.
He was panicking. More than ever before.
"You-GOLEM!" He yelled out, snapping his eyes to the other entity, to the golem. It looked towards the dreamer, wandering over. "Forgive me." He stated, bluntly, grabbing the golem. As he did so, the emerald glow faded, siphoning through the golem's body into the dreamer's hand. It collapsed, an inert and useless chunk of wood. The dreamer placed his hand onto one of Cara's eyelids, the one that covered her false wooden eye. The verdant glow around his hand trickled through it, down beneath her eyelid and into her body.
The dreamer watched, shaking. Worrying. Praying.
After this had taken place, the six lights upon his helm died out, briefly, siphoning his own power, instead of the golem's. Once more, he placed it into Cara, using her wooden eye as a gateway for this. After this, three of the six lights lit up, again.
Cara's father pushed himself back, away from the child, staring at the ground. His movements were slow, sluggish and deliberate. He stared at the ground for a long while, saying nothing. Doing nothing. After some time, though, he looked up at Rin. His voice was no longer accusatory, nor hateful. It was shaky and inquisitive. "...w-who are you? And...please tell me...what happened...to my daughter?" No more demands. No more anger. No more wrath of a scorned lord, or a monster just awakened. Now, he spoke the words of a father who was deeply worried for his child.
Rin glanced up at Cara's father, pushing herself up again. She didn't pay heed to the previous scene, it wasn't in her interest and she had no idea what just happened.
"She was lost," Rin started with a soft sigh. "I wished to return her to her father. She dispatched of your guardians with some kind of... Magic. Magic I don't know."
"Our magic? Ours is the boon of the forest." Cara's father explained, placing his hand over the grass and twisting it up. A flower sprung up, where previously there was nothing. "I know...I could see what she did. She needed my magic. She was...lacking, and because of it...dying. Tell me, then...who are you, that has...guided my daughter here?"
Rin nodded slowly, before glanced at her father. "I am Rin. Nothing but a traveler," she answered with a soft sigh. "I found her, I thought she needed to get back home."
"She...didn't need to. It would be better if she hadn't. I cannot remain awake for long, thus, I cannot care for her. My name is Tharron Ovun." Tharron glances around the area. "...and this place...is...ha. Our last grove. Oh, kfq bkm olxbbb pcyv ziotgq..."
Rin nodded. "None shall know of this grove," she answered. "Does she need a caretaker, lord Ovun?" Rin asked, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Lord...? LORD?!" Tharron bursts into laughter. It's fake. Hollow. None of the sounds he makes even seem real, all some form of twisted illusion. "...that theatrics...is mostly to scare...the unlucky traveller. I am no lord..." The dreamer looks to Rin. "...you wish to take that role, do you not? Care for Cara Ovun, until I can...remain...awake?"
"It is common courtesy in another's court," Rin explained, failing to see what was so funny. Instead, she nodded slowly to his question. "I may have overstepped and brought harm to you or your daughter, I wish to redeem myself."
"Redeem. Cara...will not survive on her own. I see two paths..." Tharron babbled on, mostly to himself. "...I think. I think."
"...I think if you wish to help...Cara...there are two choices. You can either care for her...yourself. Be warned, though, that she is able to make nature do what she wants with her mind. Or...you can take the less savoury route and give me the...opportunity...to be awakened permanently. I will leave the decision up to you."
It seems Cara got her habit of not elaborating on vague things from her father.
Rin frowned slowly. "I have no idea what the less savoury route is," she answered, glancing at the lifeless golem. It gave her a pretty good idea, however. "But I will care for her, if that is required."
"A sacrifice." He stated, bluntly. "Or more magic than is entirely reasonable. If...if you wish to care for my child. Do so. But...promise me two things."
"One. You will attempt to find either someone who wants to die, and is willing to be sacrificed to...awaken me...or find enough mages who practice...tasteful magic...and are willing to devote power to helping me."
"And...two..."
The area around the duo shifted. The trees loomed, ever hungry. Tharron seemed angry. His 'voice', for want of a better term, twisted into one of hate.
"...you will not harm my daughter. If you...do...as...such...then the entire forest...will rise up against you."
Rin frowned. She had suspected something like that.
At his second remark, however, she glanced at him. Unimpressed and mirthless. Uncaring for the trees looming closer. His threats and intimidation simply didn't seem to get to her. "If I wished to harm her, I wouldn't have taken her here in the first place."
"...very good point." He responded, laughing as he moved back to underneath the tree where he was originally found. "So be it. I have a single, last request. Please..." Tharron's voice...shattered. He was weak, frail, now. This request got to him. "...please do not tell Cara...I was awoken...I cannot bare to speak with her. I so desperately wish to stay with her...but I cannot...only rarely is it I can awaken. So , I only awaken when it is needed. Tell her...tell her I was still sleeping."
The entity seemed drained, staring at the ground. "...I thank you, traveller Rin. I assure you, we will meet again."
Tharron's lights began to dim out, slowly. It was going to take a good few minutes, before he became inert, but it had begun.
Rin nodded slowly. "As you wish," she answered, inclining her head again, before pulling a paper seal from her belt, walking over to one of the trees, pressing it against the bark, leaving it there. "If you require of me, touch this seal. It will allow me to transport immediately to you," she explained, glancing over her shoulder.
"Be well, lord of the grove," she answered, stepping back to circle her arms underneath Cara's armpits, other arm underneath her knees, before she stood up and turned around. Taking her leave.
"I cannot be well...but thank you...for your gift." Tharron's otherworldly, ethereal voice howled out. "But do try...to find someone...anyone...who could release me from...this...prison..."
The Verdant Dreamer's voice slowly faded away, the lights dying from his form. The forest seemed dead, empty, Rin and Cara being the only things there.
At least, though, Cara was healing. She curled up against Rin, as she picked her up, mumbling softly in the alien tongue she and her father shared.
Rin glanced back once at the grove, before shaking her head and trudging onwards with Cara in her hands.
For now, she had to get away from the grove and set up camp. It took several hours of walking, but finally, Rin managed to make some distance from the grove and finding a proper spot to camp. She put Cara down against a tree and left a protective seal with her, before heading out to gather some deadwood for a fire.
A few minutes after Rin left, she could hear a soft, croaking voice call out from her camp.
"Irnphz...? Cuv swx bjhiy...? Ekmth rg Q...? L nghc qmds..."
It was Cara. It sounded like she was awake. It also sounded like she was still deathly tired and weak, but at the very least, she was awake.
Rin, having collected some deadwood, glanced over her shoulder and turned back to camp, laying down what little she had collected and walking over to Cara, kneeling down in front of her. "How are you feeling?" She inquired with a smile.
"I-I feel...tired...a-and...tired."
Apparently, Cara was so tired she couldn't articulate her points properly. She weakly moved up to rub at her eye, blinking blearily. "R-Rin...?" She asked. There was a great purpose, to her voice, her next question was something she needed answered.
"I'm here," she whispered softly, resting her gauntlet on Cara's cheek. "Just sleep a bit, I'll make a fire."
"W-where's...my...fa-ther...?" Cara asked, weakly. Her voice gave her away, though. She knew the answer, she knew he wasn't here. She just so desperately wanted to hope he was near, or that he was awake, or something.
"In his grove," she answered. "Some kind of.. Wooden creature led me in and helped you," she answered. "It told me that your father couldn't wake yet."
"...oh." Cara didn't cry, or sob, or scream out. She just had a crushing look of hopelessness and woe cross her face. She slowly looked down, staring at the ground, rubbing at her working eye. "...o-o-okay."
Rin slowly alternated her hand under Cara's chin, softly pushing her head upwards. "I'm sorry," she answered with a soft sigh, before gently pulling the girl in a surprisingly tender hug. "I was charged to take care of you, I will do so until the time is right."
"...I d-don't want that...I w-wanna keep going through the forests..." Cara mumbled. "I d-don't wanna live in the stupid city..." She replied, weakly. She was, very evidently, against the entire idea of civilisation.
Rin sighed softly. "I do not have a home. I live on the road," she answered. "We'll cross through towns if nescessary. Maybe stay a night, but I can assure you it'll be no longer than that."
"W-will we live...in the forest, R-Rin?" Cara asked, a light burning in her eye. It seemed, this, she would be happy with. Very much so.
"Most of the time," she answered with a soft nod, sitting back to look at Cara, offering her a warm smile.
Cara nods, processing this. It seems she approves.
Then, she noticed a discrepancy.
"...w-who told you to take care of me?"
"The wooden creature that cured you," she answered. "The one that told me your father didn't wake yet. The one that led me in."
"I-I...okay, then..." She mumbled. "...do you kn-know when f-father will awaken...?" She then asked, tentatively. Cara asked this, wearily. Afraid. As if she desperately wanted to know the answer, but...at the same time, didn't.
[This ain't over. I still sporadically post, albeit it very rarely. I found some time now. Sorry for the inconvenience ^^']
"I don't," Rin answered with a faint smile, softly stroking Cara's cheek. "I'm sorry."
(Okay. No inconvenience in my opinion.)
Cara scowls, squirming and writhing and fighting. "NO! I-I want! My father! I w-want...father..." She gets out, slowly stopping, tears welling up in her real eye and her false one. "I did...I fought the...but he still won't wake up...why...?"
The hand on Cara's cheek slumped down to her shoulder and squeezed it softly. "I don't know much about any of this, Cara, but I left a mark at the grove," she answered. "If your father awakens, we'll know immediately."
She softly pulled the girl in a hug. "It's going to be alright, Cara."
Cara sobbed, quietly, into Rin. "I want my father back..." She whispered, into Rin. As Cara shook, and as she sobbed, the trees and foliage around her mimicked her movements. They shook in tandem, as if an extension of her body.
Rin glanced upwards at the trees once. She was well aware ofof Cara's abilities. And she trusted the girl enough toto not harm the one consoling her. She merely sushed Cara softly. "I'm so sorry," she murmured.
Cara slowly began to calm down, the flora around the two returning to normal. She simply quietly cried, saying nothing, burying herself into Rin. "Zys lrmu lk biym vr sy bkqu zrs...?" She asked, apparently not realising that she had changed to her first language.
Rin smiled faintly. "I.. Can't understand that, Cara," she answered with a soft nod. "But I promise I'll keep you safe until your father returns."
After a little while, she had calmed down. She slowly nodded, into Rin, sniffling. "O-okay..." then, she asked a question. Perhaps it was a sincere offer, or perhaps it was to simply distract herself. "W-want to understand? F-father said I shouldn't teach anyone...u-unless...they're good...b-but you're nice..."
Rin frowned slowly, before nodding gently. "If you want to teach me," she answered with a soft smile. "I am sure I will not suffer your father's ire. Nor will you, if you teach me," she said with a nod.
"Okay..." Cara slowly pulled herself back, going to scoot away from Rin. She seemed slightly calmer, now that she had something to o, something to think about. "Okay...so..." Cara seemed at a loss of where to begin.
Rin glanced at Cara, nodding slowly. "Start with the basics. Common courtesy," she said with a faint smile, adjusting the deadwood and logs she gathered, before placing a seal on one of them.
She snapped her fingers and the seal started to burn, making a nice, crackling fire.
Cara nodded, looking up at Rin. Her eye was read from crying, but she did her best to distract herself. "Okay...so 'Hello' is Kvftr...c-can you say that?" She asked, realising that the two languages were wildly different.
Rin smiled softly and nodded. "Kv-..Kvftr," she managed on a second try.
Cara nodded to Rin, slowly. "The word she are all...rough and sharp. Unlike stupid common." She mumbled. "Now can you say 'Cara lj nph jgvk.'?" She asked, a grin growing on her face.
Rin frowned slowly. "Cara lj npf-... jgvk?" She repeated a tad hesitantly. Both due to the difficulty of missing syllables and beng unsure of what the phrase meant..
Cara grinned, goofily, wiping away the last few tears off her face. She seemed to be recovering. "No! Not np-fff...n-ph." Her grin only grew. "You-you should try again."
"Cara.. lj nph.. jgvk?" She tried again, frowning at the grin. "What are you having me say,?"
"You said 'Cara is the best'. And you did it really well, for someone who only uses the soft languages." She said, grinning like a moron, looking as if she was about to burst into laughter.
"I see," she answered with an awkward smirk. "Good, now I can say hello and that you're in fact the best."
"Well, I could go through every word ever but that'd take aaagggeeesss..." Cara replied. "I don't really know how to teach you the language but. But. I want to!" She proclaimed, a frown now tossing her face.
Rin chuckled softly. "Well, we have some time now," she answered, settling down next to the fire, taking off some of her armour.
"Okay. Tell me words and I'll translate them?" Cara suggested. She glanced at Rin as she took off her armour. It wasn't a new sight, they had travelled together for a while, but still she visibly relaxed at the removal of the 'evil metal'.
How quaint, the child could be.
Rin noticed how Cara became more calm as she stripped away most of her lamellar armour and took a deep breath, starting to undo the hitches of her massive chestplate, pulling it off and resting it to the side. She pulled her buttoned cloak from the chestplate and wrapped it around her shoulders.
Her underclothing was comfortable enough, but it wasn't too warm. The fur lining in the armour made sure she wouldn't get too cold, but with that removed, well. A cold wasn't the worst illness she could catch.
"Hmm. I have no idea where to start," she pursed her lips momentarily. "Hello. My name is Rin," she started, glancing at Cara.
"Hmm...okay. So it'd be 'Kvftr. Ua qrgm la Rin'. Because names don't get translated. Kvftr is hello as we know a-and...I well..." Cara sighed, rubbing at her eye tiredly. "C-can you say that...?" She mumbled, blinking rapidly.
Rin could only chuckle softly at the rather obvious exhaustion of Cara, giving her a soft smirk. "Mayhaps tomorrow," she answered, taking the backplate of her armour and pulling a bedroll from the backpack, rolling it out and nodding at it. "Sleep," she gestured with a smile.
Cara watched Rin roll out the bedroll. She nodded, sleepily, going to crawl into it and lie down. Though the girl disliked most things of civilisation, thinking it an anathema to her, this was one thing she liked. "Goodnight, Rin..." she mumbled.
"Sleep well," she answered with a soft smile, taking u her position up against a tree. "I'm right here," she murmured softly, closing her eyes aswell.
Cara drifted off to sleep, silently. She had a long day, even if it was spent unconscious from expending herself. This rest would help her greatly.
Rin also slipped into a rather uncomfortable sleep, wrapped up in her cloak. She fell asleep with the thought of purchasing a second bedroll. It'd save her quite some muscle and back aches.
Cara awoke first . This was not unusual, as she stretched and rose to her feet, glancing about the area, sincerely hoping there had been no changes from when she went to sleep.
The only difference from when she had fallen asleep was the softly flakkering flame, that now had burned out to embers that radiated soft warmth still.
Rin was still where Cara had left her, rolled up against a tree, wrapped up in her cloak, snoring gently.
Cara stared at Rin, blankly. It had finally come to her, an oppressive feeling that she didn't want to acknowledge. Rin was going to look after her, be her guardian. Maybe that was a good thing. Cara was ill equipped to deal with civilisation, and someone who could make sure she didn't kill anyone or cause pets to turn feral would be nice.
But Cara didn't want to let her father go. She didn't want to let him dream. She wanted to remain with him.
She continued to stare, rubbing at her working eye.
Rin, after a short while, woke with a yawn and a rather uncomfortable stretch, rubbing her lower back with a painful grunt. Begore she glanced at Cara, who was staring quite intensly at her.
"Cara?" She inquired with a soft frown. "Is everything alright?" She asked. Still half sleeping, the arcane warrior padded thethe ground in search of her weaponry, cracking a soft yawn.
"'S...okay." She mumbled, wearily. It didn't sound okay. Regardless, she went to crawl out of the bedroll and rise to her feet. "I-I. What do...what do we do Nowa." She asked. She was afraid.
A deep breath and a painful stretch later, "we get to the nearest town and purchase another bedroll," she groaned softly. "After that, we see whether there is any in need of contract work and stock up."
Cara paused
Then, she listed out a lot of questions.
"What's contract works?"
"Who'll teach me magic?"
"When's father waking up?"
"Will we be helping the forests?"
"What about the colourless?"
Rin frowned softly, taking a deepclean breath as she pushed herself to her feet aswell.,
"People paying for any kind of work."
"I will, with seals and charms."
"I do not know."
"That depends."
"Who are the colourless?"
"I won't learn your stupid seal magic! I'm-I'm stronger than you are! Father says the forests are in my blood!" She got out, angrily, apparently vehemently opposed to Rin's suggestion. She scowled, going to begin slinking away.
Rin frowned softly, taking out a seal from her armour and attaching a throwing knife to it. She threw it over to a three, which it slammed inro. A massive forcefield appearing around them.
It'd feel like a master mordecai bing present, surpressing all magic in the vicinity. "I highly doubt you are," Rin answered as she gathered her equipment. "Seals and charms are more powerful than you think."
Cara promptly collapsed, letting out a muffled scream of agonising and utter pain. Staring at her hands, the orb in her eye began to wilt and melt out of it, as she shook and suffered.
She looked like she was in unimaginable pain.
The instant Cara's scream reached her ears, Rin immediately undid thethe seal, making her way over to her protege swiftly. She pulled the girl up in her arms and started to mutter softly. "I'm sorry," she started. "I didn't know, Cara.."
Carla's breathing was laboured, she was weak, barely audible. She muttered a near silent whisper. "Get aaawwwaaayy..." as tears welled up in her eyes. The orb was dripping out of her socket, still, its form unable to hold for whatever reason.
Rin, who was quite horrified by the experience, did manage to keep her cool. She extended her hand and flicked a paper seal out of what seemed nowhere and stuck it to Cara's forehead, channeling her own arcane essence through it.
The charm in translated it to healing magic, to cure what she had just done to Cara.
Cara was mended, but it was exceptionally slowly. This ailment was a danger to her, and Rin's response was helping, but nowhere near a short much as she would have expected. "You tried to kiilll meeee..." She got out, raspily. She was hurting quite significantly.
"I didn't know," she sushed softly, doubling her efforts to heal Cara, growing rather pale after a short while. "I didn't intend to, Cara, I'm so sorry."
"Don't wanna learn your...your stupid...seal magic...don't wanna do contracts...leave me aloneeee..." She got out, tears welling up in her proper eye and half empty socket.
"It's what it is, Cara. Seal magic is the only thing I know," she answered with a soft murmur. "And we need money," she added.
"Noooo..you tried to kill me...get away..." She mumbled, squirming and sobbing. Cara seemed quite distraught, reaching up to half-melted eye, rasping and wheezing.
"I didn't know," she murmured faintly. "I'm so sorry," the veil of magic turnee ever so slightly as Rin started to pour nothing short of her own life essence into the mix, aiming to patch her up completely.
"Why...?" She asked, faintly. Now, the addition of a more potent power, seemed of patch Rin up far greater, but it was still not as strong as Rin would've expected. "Leave-leave me...alone...father...I...I...want..."
"I'm so sorry," she croaked with grit teeth, once again doubling her efforts.
And as soon as Cara was healed properly, which was the only time Rin would stop, she slumped backwards, panting heavily as her eyes slowly drifted upwards into her skull, body convulsing ever so slightly.
Cara rubbed at her eye, going to crawl out of Rin's grasp. After a brief pause, she'd go to look to Rin and try to discern what was happening to her. "...Rin...?" She asked, carefully.
She seemed to be a ghastly pale. Her veins trobbing with purple energy underneath her skin. It was obvious she poisoned hersef with her own mana due to the gratuitous life essence she spent on Cara.
But, when Cara checked, she was already unconcious.
Cara frowned, scooting over to Rin. She stared at her, inquisitively before going to give Rin's cheek a poke. "R-Rin...?" She mumbled, wearily.
She didn't seem ro respond to Cara at all. The throbbing veins, however, calmed down. And after a short while, her breathing became more regulated again.
Cara frowned, looking about the area. She suddenly felt very alone. She slowly went to go and reach up to one of the trees, weaving her hand around the branches, watching as she began to form a few apples.
It took another half an hour before Rin woke with a deep gasp and a rather painful coughing, sitting up and holding a hand on her chest.
At this point, Cara had decided to perch herself up in a tree within viewing distance of the camp, and spend Ber time eating apples. She blinked, as she watched Rin awaken, trying to think of what to do.
She took several gasps to steady herself, getting to her feet rather wobbly. She looked around. "Cara?" She groaned out, coughing once more- "Cara?!" She called again, starting to pace around.
Cara elected not to speak of anything. She just shuffled back into her spot, watching Rin as she munched on a green apple. Cara may have been undetectable if it wasn't for the fact she wasn't eating particularly quietly.
She glanced around and decided to gather her armour, before a certain crunch captivated her attention. She glanced at Cara and frowned. "Are you alright?" She inquired, still a tad pale.
Cara frowned, going to look away from Rin and continue eating. Apparently she was giving Rin some sort of silent treatment, ignoring her completely.
Rin let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, that's all I can say," she stated, starting to pull her armour on again.
Cara mumbled under her breath, annoyed at Rin. She said nothings more, going to continue eating her apples, apparently enjoying that very much.
Rin clicked her swords in place, attaching the sheathes to her belt. She walked over to a tree and pressed a paper seal against thehis bark, before turning around and packing up the bedroll.
And as soon as she was done with that, she made her way to the treeline that bordered the clearing and disappeared in it.
After a few minutes, Cara descended from her tree. She glanced at the seal, before deciding she didn't trust it and going to wander in the opposite direction of it, likely to get lost in the forest or return to her father.