|
Post by D'gellin on Jun 16, 2010 21:34:06 GMT -5
((Gosh I wish I could counter with something equally mellow-dramatic! Heehee x] It's more fun to read that way! )) Amika might have thought Fallen graceful, but she probably hadn't seen him step forward heavily after hopping down, bracing his weight on his right leg. His left would always be weaker, he realized, but he would try his hardest to make it as unnoticeable as possible. Amika on the other hand was like air. He swore she might blow away on the breeze if a gust came too sudden and strong. It certainly felt so when he'd 'caught' her...Fallen's hand brushed compulsively at his hair again as he squinted towards the sun, a belated warmth coming to his face. He tried not to think how long it had been since he'd held a woman. Amika was different than that. She was...someone who needed protecting. Unique. He found the corners of his mouth grinning as her facial features shifted just a little here and there, her mind trying to grasp something. Yes, Amika was unique. Almost as soon as he came to this conclusion, the young woman's countenance suddenly altered, and she smiled. This wasn't the timid or apologetic smile he was used to though. This was something small but still honest and pure, a smile he'd caught her sharing with Jaylee but never with him. His brows twitched down for a moment as he half smiled in return, the expression part approving and part questioning. "Only occasionally." Fallen replied with a gentle touch of teasing sarcasm. Was he seeing things? As if their touching had been some sort of signal, Amika's shoulders seemed straighter, her step even lighter. The coolness of uncertainty melted to reveal someone who he'd thought he'd caught glimpses of but never really knew: the real Amika, or the Amika that she secretly had the potential to be. Behind her, Fallen smiled too as he now followed instead of led. "A cave...?" Feeding off of her new-found enthusiasm, Fallen stepped forward with curiosity. He was frustrated to realize his leg was starting to bother him though, which was likely his own fault for practically jumping off the rocks. Fallen squinted down the beach at the dark blot as he joined her."We don't know what's in it." He warned, but not to dissuade her. The grin he flashed was daring. "Are you willing to find out?"
|
|
|
Post by M'kel on Jun 17, 2010 16:15:20 GMT -5
As buoyed as she was by this new-found confidence, Amika was still Amika, and the girl still flushed with a slight bit of embarrassment when she realized that she hadn't answered Fallen's question about her origins. It had come right before her attempt to jump down to the sandy beach, so she'd forgotten about it completely. Now, it had bobbed back into her thoughts even as she was striding towards the cave, practically leaving Fallen behind. Immediately, the girl came to a halt, so abruptly that Leopold almost pitched forward off her shoulder. She soothed him quickly with gentle hands, then turned to watch Fallen approach.
"I never answered your question," she began, by way of explanation for her sudden stop. "My father was a Minor Holder in the plains of the continent. It wasn't as balmy as this, but it never got too cold." Although it was her own past she was talking about, Amika felt uncomfortable sharing it. Even mentioning her father stirred up old memories she'd rather not acknowledge. Without realizing it, her features fell, and her eyes darkened slightly.
Once Fallen had caught up, Amika quickly turned her attention back to the cave and began walking towards it once more. That was what she had to do; turn her back on the past and focus on the future. When her companion remarked ominously that they didn't know what was inside, she glanced at him with wide eyes, both apprehensive and surprised. Upon catching his playful grin, Amika instantly relaxed again. It hadn't seemed like Fallen to be nervous about such a thing, so she was glad he'd only been joking. In fact, he looked downright excited about exploring the cave.
His positive mood was infectious, as Amika returned his grin with a devious smile of her own. "We should send in Leopold to check things out first, just in case there's a wild feline in there," she remarked, projecting the idea to her little bronze. His response was immediate; loud chittering and scolding broke out, as the flitt dug his claws in determinedly to her shoulder to say, 'I'm not moving!'. Amika actually laughed, then ducked her head in surprise at such an outburst. "All right, we'll all go in together." The dark blotch grew larger as they approached, and Amika picked her way carefully over the rocks strewn over the beach. She didn't notice the waves that were now nearly to the bottom of the cliff, nor the haze of approaching rain on the horizon. Oblivious in her moment of carefree excitement, Amika struck out eagerly towards the awaiting adventure.
|
|
|
Post by D'gellin on Jun 19, 2010 22:39:48 GMT -5
((Sorry, I was gunna reply to this earlier but I wasn't feeling well. :/ ))
Having caught up with her, Fallen didn't stop walking until he realized Amika had stopped. He turned, brows pulling together in question, before she explained that she hadn't answered his earlier query. Now the plains, that was a familiar place. He'd spent some time trading out there soon after he'd left his old Hold. Sensing something darkening in Amika's mood however, Fallen decided not to encourage talk on that. Instead he nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Lots of open spaces." He said vaguely, scratching at the side of his chin as he looked out across the water again. Was it just him or did the tide seem unusually high today...? Having already come around the corner of the cliff-side, so that the stretch of beach behind them was out of site, he failed to realize that the water had already crept up to the edge of the cliff.
Smart idea, Fallen thought, that one of sending a firelizard on ahead of them. He very nearly called Kaine out as a cave-buddy for Leopold but only shook his head with a thin smile at the flitter's reaction. All the better that Leopold didn't like the idea. Kaine was as grumpy as an old uncle, and twice as impolite. Best not instigate any fire lizard wars...
Amika was all eager smiles and bright eyes, and the enthusiasm was hard to not mimic. Out here he could feel the clean wind on his face, breathe in full breaths of cool air, see with the light of Rukbat as opposed to so many glows. "You're making me think you've never explored a cave before." Fallen remarked with a chuckle, eyes on the rocks as he picked his way over to the opening. His brows met momentarily as his leg gave a little twinge of soreness but when he looked up he was sure to clear his expression. Upon reaching the cave though, he realized having a firelizard on hand might actually be a good idea. Tunnel snakes just loved places like this, and recalled at least one breed back home being poisonous...
"Tell your lizard to be on guard." He warned, peering into the cave with a hand braced against the wall. "I don't know if we'll run into any tunnel snakes." Despite his earlier misgivings, Fallen gave a mental call to "Kaine?" The bronze's mind was sluggish in awaking, and he didn't seem at all pleased to be bothered, but after getting growled at by Vicroth to get his flitter butt in gear, Kaine popped in above Fallen's head, chittering like a cranky old man. "How nice of you to join us." Fallen greeted the bronze's irritability with sarcasm, rolling his eyes.
|
|
|
Post by M'kel on Jun 24, 2010 13:55:09 GMT -5
As they proceeded toward the cave, Amika felt a drop of water splash onto her cheek. Absently, the girl looked upward. The clouds seemed to be growing quite dark, and the wind was picking up. Another raindrop landed on Leopold's head, causing the little bronze to snort in dismay. However, Amika merely shrugged. They'd soon be in the shelter of the cave and would avoid any rain, if it fell. The clouds may or may not pass by before the showers came, but even if it did rain, it probably wouldn't last very long.
Thus, she turned her attention back to the adventure ahead, smiling and ducking her head when Fallen commented on her excitement. "Well, no, actually, I haven't," she replied. "There weren't many caves in the plains. Although I suppose the Lower Caverns of the Weyr do qualify…" Darkness was one thing she was thoroughly accustomed to. Being enclosed by stone was another. An adventure in an unexplored cave, though; that was new.
As Fallen's flitt appeared and her companion commented that they actually should be cautious when entering the cave, Amika's brow creased ever-so-slightly. "Leopold?" she asked quietly, sending the bronze her request. The fire lizard crouched on her shoulder for a moment, a little uncertain himself. However, when he noticed the other bronze's irritated reticence, Leopold puffed out his little chest and swooped off to be the daring hero. He disappeared into the cave's gaping maw, now only a few steps away, and proceeded to do a cursory search. Moments later, the little bronze whizzed back out and landed once more, chittering his satisfaction. Everything looked fine to him!
Amika took a deep breath, looking over to Fallen. "Are you ready?" she asked, nervous about being the first to enter.
Just then, the skies broke, and the deluge began.
|
|
|
Post by D'gellin on Jul 3, 2010 17:42:47 GMT -5
When the first sprinkles of rain began to dribble around them in scattered bits, Fallen squinted up at the sky with a tsk of breath. Sometimes he forgot how quickly storms moved alone the water...Now was probably as good a time as any to explore the cave, though the overcast was going to make it difficult to see. He patted his pockets down, as though hoping to find a glow hidden in them, but without any luck.
Fallen chuckled as he dared to stick his head inside the cave while listening to Amika talk. Of course there wouldn't be caves in the plains. He wasn't using his brain again apparently. He'd about to say something about that but was distracted by her mention of the Lower Caverns, which darkened his mood just a touch. "Well hopefully this cave is more interesting." He said, gesturing at the darkness within.
Having been given the green light by Leopold, Fallen wasted no time in sticking his foot in the cavern. "Always." He grinned, stepping carefully into the unknown. None too soon either, for the sky chose then to pour. "You coming?"
|
|
|
Post by M'kel on Jul 12, 2010 14:07:25 GMT -5
((An opportunity presents itself? Or were you envisioning something else for the 'injury'?))
Amika gasped in surprise as the first of the large raindrops splashed down upon her head, for it was quickly followed by many others, as the rainstorm began with surprising speed. Quickly, the Wherhandler glanced out at the sky, and her eyes widened slightly at the dark clouds massing and roiling overhead. "Where did that come from?" she whispered to herself. She must have been enjoying her walk with Fallen so much that she had taken no notice of the stormclouds brewing. Too easily distracted, as usual…
The girl had barely a moment more to think about it before the wind began to pick up as well, and she turned quickly back to the cave for shelter. Fallen was waiting just within, grinning at her mischievously, and she nodded in reply to his query. "I better!" Amika called over the pounding of the rain, and she matched action to words with a quick jump into the cave's dark maw.
It was strangely thrilling to be exploring the cave while a storm lashed against the stone outside. Amika reached up, surprised to find how damp her hair had become in even those few moments of hesitation. Quickly, she stepped further into the cave to avoid the rain being tossed in by the wind, for she didn't want to ruin their adventure by catching a chill from soaking wet clothes.
Leopold, for his part, gave himself a furious shake and extended his wings in order to dry them. Amika jumped in surprise as the little droplets struck her cheek, shooing the bronze off. The fire lizard gave a small screech of dismay as he launched himself. Since he was a little off-balance from her dismissal of him, the little bronze was late in swerving away from Fallen, flying nearly into the young man's face. "Oh, Leopold!" Amika cried in dismay. "I'm so-…are you okay, Fallen?" she asked just as quickly.
|
|
|
Post by D'gellin on Jul 15, 2010 12:43:37 GMT -5
((*shrugs* This can work just fine. ;] ))
Fallen squinted out at the dark clouds, jaw set in some sort of irritation that he hadn't been more conscious of the accumulating gray. "I thought it was just a shower." He smiled sideways, reaching to flick some terribly wet hair out of Amika's face. "Might have miscalculated."
Now about this cave...Fallen placed a hand to the wall for support, in case his feet found any surprises in stepping, and peered farther in. There was a shaft or two of natural light deeper within but it was otherwise dark, the coolness of damp caverns leeching the outside warmth away. "Charming." He murmured.
It was the commotion between Amika and Leopold that made Fallen turn around, but not soon enough. Before he could even ask what was going on he'd gotten a face full of Fire Lizard. Kaine shrieked in protest, taking wing as well but only causing more confusion, little prickly fire lizard claws unintentionally flashing from every angle. Fallen brought up an arm to scatter the two while taking a step backwards, but the rain had slithered into the already damp cave and, finding his foot on slippery ground, he only realized half way through the drop that he was falling.
With the acrobatics that only adrenaline can bring on, Fallen adjusted himself for a better landing but without success. If anything, he'd made it worse. He initially heard more than felt the pain of the crash. FALLENMINE! Are you hurt?![/color]"Sharding-" He sucked in a breath, taking a moment to recollect himself and tally the damage. Hands? Scraped. Body? In working order. Legs? Fallen made a face, gingerly sitting up. Well. One was okay anyway. It took him a second to realize that Amika had spoken. "...Define 'okay'." You ARE hurt![/color] "No, just...a little." He replied to his dragon out loud, carefully touching his pant leg. Was that blood? Oh fantastic.
((Kitty, my characters can't be around your characters anymore. Something bad always happens to their legs when they are! hahaha xD jk jk I love the drama!! >xD ))
|
|
|
Post by M'kel on Aug 3, 2010 13:52:44 GMT -5
((*le gasp!* I swear I am innocent!!! >D))
The shrieking cries of bronze flitts filled the cave with piercing vibrancy, and Amika had to resist the urge to cover her ears. Leopold, having been so rudely dismissed by his, only to have another two-legs swing wildly at him, while another bronze flitt launched at him with claws extended, had had enough. He disappeared between with one last disgruntled squawk, off to nurse his injured pride and wallow in self-pity for a time.
If only it had been so easy for his two-legs. Amika's initial reaction to Fallen's gritted teeth, his cool 'Define 'okay'', was to disappear herself. She couldn't believe it; for once, it hadn't been her own clumsiness that had ended in disaster. No, she'd actually been handling herself quite well. She had felt more relaxed and carefree than she could remember feeling in a long time, especially around Fallen. The day had been going so well!
But these initial feelings of fear and regret vanished only an instant after they appeared. The sight of Fallen tumbling backwards, hands outstretched to catch himself, chased Amika's concern for herself away. Even if he landed well in this rocky cave, he would surely scrape up his palms. And if the ground was uneven where he hit, the injuries could be far worse. Judging by his curse and the sharp little rocks that were jutting out of the cave floor and walls everywhere, Amika guessed that the latter had occurred.
When Fallen failed to rise to his feet immediately, Amika moved forward. She paused, still showing a hint of hesitation, before kneeling beside him. "Where are you hurt?" she asked, squinting to see in the dim light of the cave. One of his hands was cautiously exploring one leg, and Amika shifted to get a better view of it. It was difficult to tell with his pants already wet from the rain, but the girl thought she saw just what he was thinking he felt. "Is it bad?" Her voice was low, with a trace of apprehension, but she was otherwise remarkably calm. She stared at him with wide eyes, trying to keep her emotions in check. It couldn't be that bad!
|
|
|
Post by D'gellin on Aug 8, 2010 19:23:14 GMT -5
((lies! All lies! lol I kid, no worries. ;] ))
Fallen hissed on an intake of breath. Shards, but what a lousy time to fall. It was bad enough to have it happen in a jagged cave, but worse to have it happen in front of someone else, especially Amika. Getting hurt in front of friends was always the worst because, well, they tended to coddle more than strangers, and shaffit did Fallen ever hate coddling. It made him feel weak.
Amika, however, was handling herself admirably. He'd have to thank her later for not freaking out, if she wasn't about to freak out when she realized the extent of the damage. "It's no big deal." Fallen tried to brush her hesitant concern away, and stand to prove himself, but realized in his efforts to get up that he would do better to stay down a little longer. Of course he just had to land on his bad leg. Scowling, Fallen blindly reached a hand toward where he'd tripped and, sure enough, he'd fallen from a two foot drop onto sharp rocks. Fan-sharding-tastic.
Pulling up his pant-leg, Fallen found an ooze of blood covering the front of his lower leg but nothing life-threatening, just inconvenient and uncomfortable. His biggest concern was whether or not he'd gotten anything in the cuts. Fallen-mine! Vicroth whined at the mental image, wanting very much to rush to His Own's rescue! "I'll survive." Fallen assured his antsy dragon and wary friend. "I just - " He hesitated, shifted his weight again with the intention of trying to stand once more. "I'm not - "
That is Fallen's bad leg. Vicroth transmitted the unspoken weakness to Amika, earning himself a mental glare from his bonded. And he does hurt, he just won't say so.
|
|