Irulia: The Spirit Changers Quest

[Apelatia]

Frowning, Lecta looked back at Sera as she mentioned them becoming the next generation of foot soldiers. "I wouldn't enjoy that...That really isn't my kind of scene..." Sera seemed to have lowered the barriers between them slightly, shown by the fact that she answered on behalf of him when Leo tried to probe his way into what they were thinking. Smiling at Sera's mention of packing bags, he pushed himself off of his knees and helped her collect up their combined belongings. Maybe her friendship is worth more to me... He walked outside and positioned himself near Sera, so as to discourage any attempts from any other admirers... She seemed to be rather agitated about her appearance, which had become a mess ever since she had transformed back into human form. He had that problem too...not that it bothered him that much though... However, he felt the need to confirm his suspicions, so in a low tone, so as not to embarrass her, asked, "Is...everything OK Sera?"

 

[DeletedUser35174]

"Well some of us said we wanted to go with you. You'd do better to at least come back and go with the rest of us. At the moment, you're setting out on your own, with no plan, no supplies and I'm pretty certain your weapon is back at the hut. How long do you expect to survive like that? I don't know what you want with this Riebald guy and what your personal motivations are for finding the Ultimate One, you can't do it by yourself. If we want to help you, do reject that. I know what it's like, to feel as if you've been rejected, I spent most of my life like that... for reasons that......" Sam sighed, Arthur knew not to ask. ""Anyway, I know what being rejected and alone feels like, so don't do that to yourself, it's pointless and will get you nowhere." finished Sam. Arthur saw the truth in his words. "Very well" he replied.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Mandan's scowl underneath his veil became increasingly pronounced as the people he'd counted as supporters of the plan not to pursue the obvious trap changed their minds. Leo then turned and asked almost smugly if he was to join them. Realizing he'd gotten angry enough he no longer cared if he broke his silence, he exploded. "Oh, because I have a choice, right?" His deep voice dark with fury, the first time he'd shown any sort of strong emotion. "You all have become so convinced that this is legitimate and because of the damned Demon Changers you're dragging me along with you! I have absolutely no desire to be a part of this, but I have absolutely no choice! I refuse to accept that this "Ultimate One" is in that cave. It's a blatant trap. I'll come because I have to, but when this results in an ambush of some sort...I...I..." without another word he turned and stormed out of the cabin.

He wasn't good with words...a side effect of his not talking much. He couldn't believe them! Arthur's supposed dream was making them all irrational, when they had all had a similar "vision"...no one with any intelligence had believed the vision, so why was this different? It was insanity! He half thought about going his own way, Demon Changers be damned, but the sneaking thought that doing so would make him no better than his parents, who had abandoned him, prevented him from doing any serious contemplating...he wouldn't be them...not in a million years. They were scum, and he would never forgive them for giving him up. These other children, idiotic though they were...were the only family he'd ever known, and he'd stick by them...that was what a loyal person would do...

For the first time in ages, Mandan felt himself losing control...the perfect emotional discipline...the mask of cold indifference...it was slipping. He wasn't going to give in...no...NO! Despite himself, tears began to fall and the mask shattered. He quickly took the veil off his face...it wouldn't do to dampen the mask with tears...that would only show the others that they'd caused him to lose control. Up against the tree he had fled to, the dark boy wept, hating himself more with every tear.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Sam
Sam nodded at Arthur and said "I'll see you back at the cabin then." It was pure luck that he spotted Mandan storming off away from the cabin. He followed the boy silently as Mandan cried. Raising his hands he spoke "What's wrong?" There was genuine concern in his voice, it was obvious he cared about the boy. "Mandan, are you alright?" He approached up behind him and went to give him a hug.

Leo
As Mandan exploded Leo shied back, he hadn't expected any reaction of this kind. When he stormed out, Leo followed, only to see Sam slip off after him and leave him. He spoke to the others before they could do anything. "Guys, let him go, he's got a lot on his plate. I don't think that any of us could help with anything."

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

"What's wrong? Mandan, are you alright?"

Stiffening, the dark clad boy quickly wiped away his tears and reattached his veil, fighting for control over himself. He didn't quite recognize the voice, and as such he didn't turn around and hoped that whoever it was would go away. Therefore, he was unprepared for the hug that the other encircled him in. He resisted for a moment, then the simple act of kindness crumbled his willpower and he went limp, the tears flowing again. True to his nature, he didn't say anything, but the fact he'd accepted the hug showed how much he was struggling at the moment.

After a couple minutes, Mandan recovered somewhat, rubbing his eyes with his gloved hands and fixing up his veil, as it had fallen out of place when he'd gone limp. He turned around and saw that it had been Sam who found him, which explained why the voice hadn't been instantly familiar. "Please...don't tell the others about that..." he requested, his voice shaking somewhat. "I'll be back shortly." He started to move off away from the cabin to regain his total composure, then stopped. Without turning around, he said in a voice barely above a whisper, "...thanks..." then continued walking.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Hearing Lecta's discreet enquiry Sera blushes slightly with embarrassment at her current state having been noticed; although thankfully not the full tomato effect that had occurred earlier "No not really its just...its just I wish I didn't always look like I can't dress myself when I change back" when spoken aloud it did kind of sound rather silly and stereotypically girly and no doubt Lecta would say as much before laughing at her but she couldn't help it.
Despite being outside of the cabin at the time Sera was still able to hear the full extent of Mandan's sudden outburst as he yelled at Leo and couldn't help but feel a little guilty over it all.
As he storms out of cabin she makes to step in front of him, to explain that she was only agreeing to go with the rest of them because she wanted to go home and that this seemed like the quickest route. However upon seeing the furious look within those violet eyes of his; so similar in colour to her own she decides against it. She'd never seen him get this mad before and frankly it scared her more than the brooding silences...come to think of it he never really showed much in the way of emotion or at least not around her.
Merely nodding her head in silent agreement to Leo's recommendation that they let Mandan go and cool off knowing full well that there would be nothing she could do about it she instead turns to a new topic of conversation "So...where exactly is this cave? Is it far?"

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Leo

As Sera asked he nodded. "If we're still going to Enylia, which would be our best bet for the cave then if my geography serves me right we have to cross the Wetlands and make our way down them and continue south until we find the road from the Wetlands to Enylia. We'll need to stock up on supplies somewhere though, I mean the road to Enylia is open desert. We could head the other way to Rakasi to do that though."

Sam

As Mandan accepted the hug and cried into Sam's shoulder he held the boy caringly and rubbed his back soothingly. As Mandan finally regained his composure and saw it was Sam who had helped him he breathed a sigh of relief that Mandan had accepted the help. The last thing he had wanted was the boy having another shout. He nodded in reply to what Mandan said and replied to his final words with "No problem." he watched Mandan go before beginning to head back to the camp.

 

[Apelatia]

Lecta tried in vain to resist the sudden urge to break out into a grin as Sera explained her strange predicament to him. The clothes thing wasn't too much of a problem for him. He wasn't the type to bother that much about his appearance, though he would try to avoid looking scruffy if possible. When he would change back from a spirit form, he would need only to do a bit of quick straightening, before continuing to do whatever was needed to do at the time. Continuing to lower his voice, he said, "Honestly, you don't look that bad Sera... It's hardly noticeable, really!" This wasn't the entire truth. Her disheveled appearance after changing back into human form was rather noticeable. Not that he was going to hurt her feelings by telling her that though...

It was at this moment that Mandan exploded with evident fury at Leo's comment, asking him if he was going to join them. Mandan's voice was really something...Perhaps even a tad scary at that... Lecta shuddered... Mandan went on a rant about how it was all a lie, explaining that he hadn't any choice, and accusing them of dragging him along with them... Mandan did have a point. Lecta wasn't all too keen on rushing into Leo and Arthur's fantasies without sufficient evidence to prove that the Ultimate One actually existed. But, since there wasn't much else they could do...going was the obvious option, and he wasn't going to let Sera go and get herself killed for nothing... Mandan's rant came to an end, with him storming out of the cabin... Turning back to Sera, who had inquired how far away the cave was, he said, "Mandan has changed... Don't you think so? He's not the boy I first became acquainted with..." Too many bad relationships seemed to be forming within the group...Too many...

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Raising a single well manicured eyebrow in response to the boys compliment as if to say you really think I am going to believe that? Sera slowly shakes her head speaking in her soft voice as she did so "oh you big fat fibber" she knew full well that she was in a state; her hair was in disarray, the buttons on her tunic were all wrong and she was almost certain that the sash about her waist was upside down...did it even have a right side up? Either way she was a long way off from being not that badthough she appreciated the effort “Nice try, but its going to take more than that for me to feel alright about this” she said indicating the set of buttons that looked like a three year old had done them and smiling as she did so.
“Well if we’ve got everything we’d probably ought to get going” she quietly suggested to the rest of the group “Personally I say we go straight to Enylia there’s bound to be a village or something along the way” the idea of going the long way around coupled with Mandan’s previous disdain towards Rakasi more than helping sway her decision. That and she was also curious to see the town where she had come from, she had no romantic notions of discovering her parents and being reunited with them, in fact they could walk right past her and she wouldn’t even recognise them, but still...it was still a part of who she was.
As for her parent ...well...Mandan was right they’d given her up and for that she didn’t think that she could forgive them.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Alone with his thoughts, Mandan slowly returned to his usual self. Sam may have seen his weakness, something he hated himself for, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone else know about this. Once he was absolutely sure he had regained complete control of himself, he returned to the group. Glaring at Leo as he entered the cabin, he took up his usual position on a wall, his usual expression back on his face, though as per usual his veil hid most of it. He had decided to go along with this suicidal plan...SOMEONE had to make sure they didn't all die rushing into the trap, and he might as well be that one. The best part is he wouldn't have to speak to do it...just figure out what the plot was and ensure they didn't stumble into it. He wasn't going to let on what he was thinking though, or what he had recently been up to...not for anything in the world.

 

[Apelatia]

Lecta turned away with a grimace...She hadn't meant to know that..."Sorry Sera...I w...won't lie to you again..." It was these sorts of situations that made him feel intensely uncomfortable... Why was he so bad at the little things...? Lectanus listened with a sad expression on his face as Sera said that their best bet for going to find the fabled 'Ultimate One' was that they should go straight towards Enylia... Lecta silently nodded in agreement, choosing not to embarrass himself by supposedly going with Sera on her every decision... The only other disturbance occurred when Mandan trooped in from who know's where and positioned himself against the back wall. Casting a cautious glance in the boy's direction, Lecta noted that he had returned to his usual state of being...silence, silence and...more silence... It seemed that silence was about the only thing the boy found to do any good... Lecta turned his glance away from Mandan, and looked at Leo. He would make the final decision, as usual, he supposed... He stood there waiting for the others to make a final choice. Sera...she was still...Blegh, the whole thing was a mess... A short time before, he had been on the verge of sacrificing himself on behalf of the entire group, and now...now he was failing miserably at being friends with the girl...

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Leo
Everyone was there and ready, they crossed the bridge and walked along the smoldering remains of the segment they had failed to save earlier staring out at them. The group covered good ground, moving quickly people talking among themselves, but Leo and Sam leading, making sure they were going the right way. After a couple of hours they reached the southern end of Heldon Forest and the road they had been following split into two paths one was the road continuing to the left towards Belmoth and the other turned into a dirt road that was signed for Enylia. Leo glanced up at the sun and commented "It's getting late, we should probably think about stopping sometime soon. Guys, we could camp here in the forest for tonight, we definitely won't make it to either city before nightfall. What do you say?"

(OOC: For reference, if you look at the map on the first page, we are on the south west corner of Heldon forest, with a path going east to Belmoth and the other going south towards Enylia)

 

[DeletedUser28032]

"Do we have to?" Sera quietly lamented as she cast a fearful glance up at the darkening sky, finding the idea of camping out in the forest where anything could be lurking within the darkness to attack her truly terrifying "Maybe we'll find a house...or something if we keep going?" she added hopefully...not that they'd seen any buildings... or people for that matter all day making such a prospect rather unlikely.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Sam

He nodded with Leo and listened as Sera spoke. He took in what she was saying and realised that he would need to approach the situation with tactfulness. "I looked at the map, I don't think there'll be any merchant houses around here any time soon and the last thing I want is to be stumbling along the path in the dark. It'll probably be much safer to camp here for the night and then go on than it would be to try and carry on in the dark." Sam spoke plainly, hoping that Sera would trust him, the last thing they needed was the group splitting again.

 

[Apelatia]

Lectanus stretched his arms, exhausted after travelling the entire day... That, combined with all the physical exertion they had experienced yesterday make him extremely tired... Lecta was glad that Leo had suggested they stop for the night. Although, the chosen setting wasn't the greatest... Lecta had spent the journey walking alongside the rest of the group in silence, musing over the mess he was in. His mind was still off somewhere else when Leo asked a question. He didn't hear exactly what their leader had asked, but he did hear when Sera showed that she was scared of camping outside in the forest. Lecta walked up to Sera and put his arm around her, before whispering, "It'll be all right Sera. I'll be there to keep you safe from the terrors of the night. You can sleep near me if you want to." He gave her a warm, friendly smile, trying to hide his still confused feelings for her behind a mask. It was that point that he realised what he'd done... Looking up from Sera, he realised that they must all be looking at him, amused... Lecta quickly took his arm off from Sera's shoulders and looked in the setting sun, embarrassed...

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Mandan had been at the rear of the group the entire day, saying nothing as per usual. He had wanted time to think, as he'd found precious little of that recently. In addition he wanted to stay away from Sam. The boy had said he wouldn't tell the others about his breakdown, but he saw no reason to remind him, something his presence would certainly do. He needed to address the situation eventually, but he wasn't sure how...he wasn't good with words, a side effect of his never talking, and yet how else could he impress the importance of not telling anyone? It was a dilemma to be sure...

Leo and Sam eventually asked if they should stop for the night, with agreement coming from Lecta, reluctance from Sera. Personally he didn't care, so long as it didn't turn into yet another debate. He did, however, shoot Lecta a brief glare when he offered a spot near him to Sera. However, he didn't want to push a point less important than the one he'd been worrying about all day. He turned into the panther and climbed a nearby tree to lay on a large branch, signaling his willingness to stop if they so preferred. If they decided to keep going it'd just take a leap down to join them as they left. If not, he'd simply stay up here. No interaction with Sam, no problem for the night.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Upon hearing the news that there were no houses anywhere nearby, Sera's heart drops with the realisation that they would indeed be spending the night within the forest, a terrifying prospect for a girl who regularly slept with the door cracked open just wide enough that she could see the candles within the corridors from her bed, a habit that had resulted in more than a little ridicule from her room mates.
Obviously having witnessed the look of fear in her eyes Lecta had then spoken up saying that she could sleep beside him if she liked, putting his arm about her shoulders in a comforting gesture as he did so "oh that’s very...sweet...of you, thank you" Sera replied sheepishly despite feeling that both the offer and the embrace although well meant were just a little too forward considering what had transpired earlier today. She still wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't all just some big joke concocted by the boys so that they could all have a good laugh at her expense.
Defeated at every turn Sera finally accepts the fact that she would be forced to spend the night within the forest "Fine we'll stop here for the night, but...but none of you had better not put any creepy crawlies in my hair or...or make creepy noises alright?" she said trying to sound threatening but only succeeding in sounding nervous and just a little paranoid a fact not helped by her mind quietly scolding her oh that’s right give them idea's why don't you...idiot!

 

[DeletedUser35174]

After a few hours of walking, they reached the south end of Heldon. Leo suggested they camp the night. A little hesitation from Sera, but Lecta agreed to it and offered Sera a place beside him. Mandan, his usual self climbed onto a tree without uttering a word. "Fine we'll stop here for the night, but...but none of you had better not put any creepy crawlies in my hair or...or make creepy noises alright?" Sera said, trying to sound threatening but coming across as scared and nervous. Arthur stared at her for a few seconds, "I'll keep watch" he said. His voice again dead and empty of emotions. He placed his back pack under a tree opposite Mandan's tree and sat under it, from here he had a view of the entire clearing.

 

[Apelatia]

Lecta smiled tentatively at Sera's response, his face still tinted red with embarrassment from what he'd just done. The sunset looked so peaceful streaking its fading rays over the treetops... They reminded him of Seraphim She was pretty inside and out too... If only... No, he had to stop thinking about that. If she was to be his friend... It was obvious that she didn't feel comfortable when he... Oh, why had he been so stupid... Why couldn't he have left things the way they were...? Just like that sunset... Unspoiled, with no tarnish across it... Lecta barely heard Sera's last sentence, nor Arthur's offer to keep watch... Instead, he sat down on the ground on the opposite side of where they were to Mandan, and spread out his bed roll. He needed to think... Think about what was the most important thing to him...

 

[DeletedUser13682]

He had messed up. Seamus had said he loved Sera. Eris knew that wasn't true; he barely knew the girl. So then, why had he said that? Thinking about it, Seamus had uncharacteristically lost his composure. He blamed it on tinkering too much with those gears. Making complex machinery was not easy on the brain. But, there was nothing to do about it now. Maybe in a day or so, Seamus would be able to explain (hopefully) to Sera that he had not known what he was talking about, could they start again as friends because the middle of a (probably not but still good to be cautious about it) world changing quest was not the best time to begin überfreundin (relationships that go beyond friendship) relationships.

As the group walked through the forest, Seamus absorbed himself in improving his most recent design. Solving the problem of making and printing mathematical tables for various navigational and alchemical processes was, in Seamus's opinion, not to be found in human minds, but mechanical parts, assembled in a way that would flawlessly perform and print any needed mathematical table. As the group stopped for the night, Seamus had probably solved most of his mechanism's problemmes, and was ready to build, if he had the needed equipment. What parts were left with him wouldn't be enough to build a bit of the mechanism. Sera didn't like the idea of sleeping in the forest; to be honest, neither did Seamus. He much preferred sleeping inside. But he saw the necessity of camping in this situation, and was able to accept it. Besides, his coat was warm enough, and long enough to use as a blanket. He'd be fine.

As Sera told everyone to not put timrous beasties in her hair, as if anyone would do that, Lecta offered Sera a spot next to her in sleep. The smeg? He was being way too forward, and apparently Sera didn't recognize it, for she thanked him for the offer. The smeg? Only Arthur responded after that, saying he would keep watch. Lecta, he was a confused little smeghead, staring redfaced at the sunset; Seamus would bet ten aurei that he was thinking about how pretty Sera was, just like the sunset. Stupid smeghead. As Seamus laid down to sleep, he thought of how after this cursed quest was over, he would make sure Lecta didn't do anything involving Sera. As for during this quest, the entire group would have to keep busy, especially Lecta.