Rogue and El- A Chance encounter

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Mon Jan 24, 2011 7:13 pm

Static blinked sleepily as the darkness of the small room lulled her to sleep, exhaustion starting to make her droop even further. Armeno sounded strange as he said goodnight, and she realised hazily that he was feeling pretty awkward about sleeping in such a small room. Well, being a lone warrior like he (and she too) were, you didn’t find yourself in close company such as this much- and definitely not with just one other person. She gave a small smirk as he turned away to face the wall, then tugged her cloak over her further to keep warm and closed her eyes, letting sleep overtake her.

When Static woke up again, she was huddled in a bundle close to the end of the little space they shared, her cloak tangled around her. She gave a yawn before untangling herself, brushing her hood off her head and running her fingers through the tangles of her hair. The floor had been surprisingly comfortable to sleep on, more so than the forest floor- it seemed that the candyfloss floor was slightly springy, making it soft, but it was also kind of sticky.

She rubbed one eye, pulling a face. The sweet liquid from last night had left a bad taste in her mouth, and drinking more of it now would hardly dispel the taste. Too bad she had left her waterbottle back with her saddle. Armeno was lying in a heap along one side of the little room, but she left him alone for the time being. She was definitely glad she hadn’t found herself curled up next to him, lovely as he was. It would have been more than awkward. She curled one arm around her knees, running the other through her hair to try and get rid of the tangles.

“Come back here little butterfly, I want to eat you.” The sunshine was warm on the edge of the Everplains, powering up the butterflies that flittered and fluttered around the meadows like aimless thoughts. The slightly bigger form of Zack flew purposefully after one such butterfly, dipping around it as he looked at it from all angles. He was completely focussed on the dark speckled butterfly he didn’t notice when it lead him into the edge of the forest, not registering the cooler temperature under the trees.

The butterfly eventually came to a halt on a green leaf, high in a treetop. Zack gave a vicious grin before snapping it in his teeth, chewing it (and a little of the leaf too) with great relish.
“Mmmm, woods always do taste the best.” He licked a little of the butterfly’s wing from the side of his mouth, then looked around to see where he was. His face dropped.
“Where am I?” he squeaked, suddenly frightened that he didn’t know where he was.

((This is a picture of Zacky's little butterfly, it's called a Speckled Wood and they're relatively common in Britain Smile

Link ))

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Mon Jan 24, 2011 8:43 pm

Armeno glanced back as he heard the tiny noise of Static moving. She soon fell still and her breathing eased, becoming deep and regular. Armeno turned back to the wall and fell asleep himself in about two minutes.

He woke to find himself lying along a wall in a bizarre position. Static was sitting in a corner, hands raking through her tangled hair. As Armeno sat up, he brushed his own hair with his hand. It was slightly sticky- he grimaced. The sweet juice had not left a pleasant taste in his mouth, but there was nothing he could do to stop that. He had a feeling that the Mage wasn't going to accomodate them for any longer than she had to. He stood and straightened his clothes. His belt had twisted as he slept, pulling his trousers round. He yanked them back into place, ears slightly lowered. After pulling all the pink strands off his back, he talked to Static again.
'Good morning.' He tried to stand, forgetting the low ceiling, and huffed in irritation as his head hit the candyfloss hard. When he ducked down again, he took a fair amount of the sugar with him in his hair, and began to try and brush it out. Quickly giving up, he slid his shoes back on and reattached his sword and sheath to his belt.
'Do you think she'll let us out soon? I'm getting a little cramped.' He then frowned. 'What time do you think it is? We don't really have any way to tell.'

Ciqala jogged along, brushing through grass which stretched to his knees and the occasional thigh-length flower. He paused briefly by a stray nut lying on the floor, evidently deposited by a squirrel or some such animal. He was about to break a piece off and try it when a voice caught his attention. His hands flew up, ready to create a forcefield if necessary, and he began to scan the Everplains. A darting white shape a little larger than him was chasing a dark speck through the air. The two figures suddenly stopped by a plant, and then the white one began to look around. The dark was no longer to be seen. At the frightened query, Ciqala frowned. Lowering his hands, he ran over. He arrived in about a minute.
'Excuse me, did I hear you ask where you were?' he inquired curiously. The creature was undoubtedly a dragon, but, bizarrely, it seemed to be made out of paper. Ciqala crossed his arms and examined the dragon, but he was no further illuminated.
'Well, we're on the Everplains, near Racksom. And sorry if I'm beign rude, but... Who and what are you? I've never seen anyone else near my size who had any intelligence, if I'm going to be frank.' He looked curtly at the odd little dragon.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:26 pm

Static repressed a laugh as Armeno tried to stand, banging his head against the ceiling. The candyfloss made a hollow banging sound, a strange noise for anything to make, least of all a wall. There must have been another room above them.
“Morning.” she replied, giving up on the tangles of her hair. Some days it really wasn’t worth wearing it long, and she had more than once been sorely tempted to chop it short around her ears. Maybe if the candyfloss didn’t come out of her hair, she would have to take drastic action.
“You’ve still got stuff stuck in your hair.” He had hopelessly mussed it, and she slid over to pull out the biggest strands of sugar, pulling at a big pink blob that had decided that it just wouldn’t come out of his hair.

She suddenly realised what she was doing, and blushed heavily. Since when did she go around pulling candyfloss out of other people’s hair- especially when it was someone she had met only a few days ago? She gave a tug at the sugary strand, pulling it free of his hair, then blushed again and looked away.
“Sorry, it looked stupid.” she said lamely, dropping the candyfloss onto the floor and sitting back on her heels. Inwardly, she screamed curses at herself. If things hadn’t been awkward enough as it was! She took his idea and pulled her boots over, busying herself with putting them on to avoid any more awkwardness. Especially any awkwardness that she initiated.
“I suppose it’s some time in the morning.” Although they couldn’t hear anything outside their little prison, it seemed a little lighter than it had been when they went to sleep the night before. Or that just might have been the Mage playing tricks on them, she couldn’t tell.

Zack gave a little squeak of surprise as a voice came from nearby. Normally, with him being so small, voices came from someone bigger than he was. He looked around in fear- Maybe he was hearing voices?- but then he caught sight of a small figure, even smaller than he was, standing looking stanch in the plants below him. He fluttered down towards him, his fear of the unknown forgotten. If he was so small, he was bound to have not come far, and if he hadn’t come far, then he must know the area. Or at least that was Zack’s reckoning.
“I was in the Everplains a moment ago, but I was following lunch and didn’t take notice of which way I was going.” explained the dragon, shrugging his paws. It was a common enough occurrence. He fluttered closer to the little figure.
“Why, I’m a dragon of course!” he exclaimed, crossing his paws like the man was crossing his arms. “And I’m very smart, I’ve read lots and lots of books.” He stuck out his tongue childishly. “Who are you, being so small? I thought humans were always big, but you’re tiny, even smaller than me!”

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:29 pm

Armeno smiled slightly as Static gave her hair one last yank and then gave up. He instinctively reached up to his hair as Static informed him that he hadn't removed all the candyfloss from his hair, but as she slid over and raised her hand- presumably to pull a piece out- he stiffened. Surely she wasn't going to try anything now- the right moment would've been before, when they had a whole night stuck in the tiny room. Ears right back, he watched through slitted eyes as Static's face reddened a few inches away from his. At her next remark as she pulled away, a part of him wanted to make a cutting remark right back, but he restrained himself. Evidently, she hadn't thought her actions through much.
'It's no problem,' he said measuredly, turning away slightly and pulling another wisp of candyfloss from his hair just for something to do. Suddenly, he was really hoping to be let out soon- he felt in need of space. He relaxed a little and nodded as she returned to mroe normal, tying her boots and speaking to him- though the boots part may have been like his hair.
'I think so. But there's not really any way to tell until we get out. I hope they're still taking care of the horses...' He trailed off, sidetracked.

Ciqala's mouth stretched into an amused smile.
'Lunch. Yup, I see how that could be lunch. But, well, we're still in the Everplains, they're pretty big.' The Homunculus took a half step back as the dragon fluttered closer, but stopped soon. The creature was unlikely to pose a threat. Supressing a laugh as the dragon imitated Ciqala crossing his arms, he replied,
'A dragon, yup, I gathered that. I really meant what sort... But I think I can see that that's a small one. I don't doubt that you're clever, probably read more books than me considering my age. And I'm Ciqala, Homunculus- not human.' He bowed, doffing an imaginary hat. 'Also... I'm sorry to be nosy, but I'm curious- you seem to be made of paper to me. How do you protect yourself from dangers? Yours can't be an easy life.' Ciqala regarded the tiny dragon with a tilted head.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Tue Jan 25, 2011 8:01 pm

She bit her lip as she finished fixing her boots, curling her hands back around her legs for some place to put them. She considered pulling her cloak back around her, but she was kinda hot… She tried to focus on what Armeno was saying about the horses, not what had just happened. Nothing just happened. she told herself sternly, frowning at the tips of her boots. Nothing!
“The Mage said she would take care of the horses, and as um… Well, you know… as she is towards us, she doesn’t really strike me as the sort of person to strike an animal.” Static avoided saying anything negative about the Mage- She couldn’t tell if their conversation was being listened too, and any more negativity from her probably would cause her to end up in a worse position than she had last night- The Mage had shown that tying her to the wall was of no problem to her. She was kind of grateful for the sudden turn of conversation, but kept looking at her boot tips all the same.

“Of course you see how it can be lunch. Do you eat butterflies too?” he curled his tail around the stem of a nearby plant, resting his wings for a while. He got tired quickly when he was flying around all day.
“Oh, well I must have just been lower than I thought.” Zack cocked his head up towards the sky, the plants curving high above them. “Nope, still looks the same as it did before.”

Zack gave a laugh of amusement as Ciqala bowed, watching him with unwavering interest. He returned the gesture, flicking his tail towards his head, but he hadn’t bowed before, and whacked the tip on his nose.
“Ouch!” he said, wrinkling his muzzle to see if it was alright, then returning his gaze to the homunculus. “I’m Zack. And yes, I am made of paper.” He unfolded his paws, looking at them for a moment. They were slightly dirty, but apart from that, the paper was in good shape. “A wizard enchanted me a long while ago. He’s a very skilled. I don’t know how, but I don’t rip and tear as easily as normal paper. Of course, I have to be careful, but he fixes me up now and then with a new spell if I get too dirty. Which he says happens much too often.” Zack gave another laugh, holding onto the edge of a nearby leaf.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Tue Jan 25, 2011 8:45 pm

Armeno's lips pressed together as Static stammered. He could only assume that seeing as she kept staring at her boots and appeared nervous, she had not yet moved on. He decided to try and ignore this and continue as normal.
'Not strike, but if they just havent been tended to for a bit.' He shrugged. 'I'm sure they'll be alright.' He cast a glance at Static to see if she had yet recovered; he saw only a bent back. Sighing a little, he shifted his position and wondered when they would get out.

Ciqala watched Zack, smiling constantly, as the dragon hopped about. He laughed at the bow, and then spoke once Zack had finished, sitting on the ground with his legs curled beneath him.
'No, I don't eat butterflies, but most people are amazed by the amount I eat, whether it's more or less than they expected. And I see how it could happen, the amount you're jumping about. I guess I'd get just as battered, I have fragile little bones and all, but I was made with the power to create forcefields- bit tiring though.' Here he grinned, running his hands along one tall blade of grass and licking the dew off them. 'Bet that'd be some help to you. Or d'you have a power of some sort?' It would be quite a feat for the dragon to survive without any help, even with the spell.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Tue Jan 25, 2011 9:15 pm

“Okay, this is boring now.” said Static suddenly, uncurling from her knees and tapping against the nearest wall. “Hello, if you can hear me, any chance of getting out and back to Racksom now?” she called, trying to keep the notes of irritation out of her voice. She flicked a glance at Armeno, giving a shrug. “If she won’t talk to us, then we’ll have to talk to her.”

She waited for a moment for a reply, then frowned and slumped against the wall. “So much for that idea.” she said, crossing her arms.
The voice of the Mage came in their head, sounding particularly grumpy. “You woke me up.” she said, pausing for a moment before continuing. “I would keep you in here longer to punish you, but you’ll only be more disrupting, won’t you?”

“Well that’s good, because I eat a lot too.” said Zack, pulling at the edge of the leaf under his paws. It flexed and bent, but didn’t break- but then again, he didn’t really want it to break. “Hey, what do you mean, I’m jumping about a lot?” he frowned in mock severity, but he couldn’t keep the guise up for long. Especially when Ciqala mentioned forcefields.
“That sounds cool, how do you do that?” he couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice. “I wish I could do something cool like that. All I do is eat butterflies.” That was normally the strangest thing about him- apart from the fact he was made from paper, but people seemed to get over that relatively quickly.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Tue Jan 25, 2011 9:40 pm

Armeno sat up as Static called out, and nodded as she explained, but he was worried the Mage wouldn't be pleased. Sure enough, he soon heard her irritated voice.
'I suppose you'd better go, then,' she sighed. And with that, the floor slid open beneath them and they were dumped unceremoniously on the ground. Two childre descended down a nearby ramp, leading their horses, then walked quickly back into the cloud, which immediately shot up about a hundred feet. Armeno's eyebrows brushed his hair.
'Well, that was an interesting experience,' he said, walking over to Veloxpes and checking the horse over. Velox seemed in high spirits; his mane and tails were combed, black coat sleek and glossy, and his hooves shone with oil. He tossed his mane with a happy nicked, impatient to be going. Armeno saw that all their things were on the tacked-up horses. The Mage evidently wanted them out quickly. Armeno stretched luxuriously, undamaged from the recent fall, and then turned to Static.
'To Racksom?'

Ciqala was beginning to like this quirky little dragon.
'You're energetic, that's all,' he explained, watching Zack tugging at the leaf. 'And I'm sure that eating butterflies is good too,' he said, raising one hand into the air, pointing vaguely in Zack's direction. 'Here-' he splayed his fingers and at his mental command a shimmering, almost invisible bubble appeared around Zack. 'Try and get out,' grinned Ciqala. 'You won't be able to, nothing's got through one of these yet- though I can't hold them forever.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Wed Jan 26, 2011 8:38 pm

Static’s armour clattered as the floor disappeared from underneath them and she landed in a heap on the ground (again, it was getting quite predictable). She climbed to her feet, brushing the dirt off her cloak and taking Tamarisk’s reins from the child that lead him. The horse looked frisky and alert, more so than he had for a while. Well, at least he had been looked after well. She reached for her waterbottle hanging from one of her saddlebags, taking a long slug from the bottle. That was better.
“Interesting is one way of putting it.” she said, giving Tam a tap on the shoulder to make him stand still. He was eager to be off, and jumpy for it. She pulled herself into the saddle, shifting to get comfortable. They were in for another long ride, and as restful a night has she had had, there was no good in riding in a bad position from the start.
“Yeah, lets get off, we might get there for lunch.”

“Well, there’s too much in the world to stay still for long.” explained Zack. “If you do nothing, then you miss things!” It was true- He had seen it of some humans, they were bigger than him, but they missed the little things- mist on a spiderweb in the morning or the pollen decorating a honeybee’s legs.
“You should try them sometime. They taste like nectar and petals. Oh, what’s this?” Zack placed a paw along the edge of the forcefield, running it along the curved surface. He tapped at it with the end of his tail, then gave a laugh. “Oh very good!”
Then he had an idea, and hung from under the leaf, curling his tail to hold him in place. The stem of the plant he sat on broke through the forcefield. Maybe that was a way out? He slid a paw down the stem of the plant, pushing against the forcefield. Maybe he could pull it apart if it only touched the sides of the plant, not ran right through it?

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Wed Jan 26, 2011 9:08 pm

Armeno raised one eyebrow skeptically.
'Maybe. But we'll really have to hurry.' With that, he jinked the reins forwards and let them slip through his hands. Velox exploded off the ground he had been standing off with a high whinny, a few grains of dirt dusting Static and Tamarisk. Armeno bent low, knees bent and puttig most of his weight in the stirrups, practically in a jockey crouch. The Arab's legs whipped back and forth, propelling the pair forwards at a blurred speed. But after a minute or two, Armeno drew Velox up to a canter.
'Burn off a bit of his energy, but not exhaust him,' he explained over his shoulder to Static.

Ciqala frowned.
'Try what, exactly? I'd guess bees, but...' He shrugged, watching Zack experiment with the forcefield. 'I've never thought of that,' he reflected. He always left holes in his forcefields without thinking- but could they be pulled apart? He extended the field, enveloping the plant and pressing the edges to the ground. Still the earth, though it was an airtight seal, did block the forcefield from going further. Perhaps he could slide the edges under Zack's tail? The forcefield suddenly tightened again, and Ciqala began trying to worm it between Zack and the plant with tiny twitches of his hand.
'This is a new experiment,' he remarked.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:02 pm

“Okay, late lunch then.” she said, clicking Tamarisk into a trot. Velox exploded into a gallop, dashing off into forest. Static shook her head in disbelief before kicking Tam into a canter, feeling the horse bouncing energetically beneath her. She was glad he wasn’t as highly strung as Velox was- She didn’t think she would be able to cope like a horse like that for long.

When she caught up with Armeno and he offered him explanation, she nodded unenthusiastically. “I think I’ll stick to knabstruppers.” They made good progress through the trees, following a thin path that would hopefully take them out onto the road to Racksom.

“Um…” Zack lost thread of the conversation. He could feel the forcefield pressing on his claws, but it suddenly disappeared as Ciqala widened it to touch the ground. He gave a laugh and started out to reach the forcefield again, but he felt it tighten, especially around his tail.
“Hey!” he complained, twisting his tail tightly around the plant’s stem, then hanging from the plant to push his claws into the gap where the edge of the forcefield was. “I think that’s cheating. But I bet you never had someone else small to experiment on before.”

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Sat Jan 29, 2011 4:36 pm

Armeno smiled as he murmured,
'Each to their own.' He knew he'd prefer his high-spirited, quirky and swift-footed Arab to Static's more dependable and bulky Knabstrupper, but then it was just their personal preferences.

Eventually they broke out of the trees onto the busier road to Racksom. As ever, the people they passed had a random assortment of items with them- some armoured with swords and shields, others with sacks of crops crammed into carts, and even one who had a large basket containing five kittens clutched in his arms. Armeno blinked a little at that one, but then he'd see far stranger things in his time. As they passed a woman selling pies with an assortment of fillings, Armeno glanced at Static.
'Want to bring that late lunch forwards a little?' he asked her.

Ciqala rolled his eyes as Zack prised at the edge of the forcefield.
'I don't think I can cheat when we're not even doing anything. And no, you're right, I haven't.' He thought about this for a few moments, the forcefield disintegrating as he dropped his hand and moved on. But then he shook himself and turned back to Zack.
'Doubt you have, either.'

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Sat Jan 29, 2011 4:54 pm

The road to Racksom was busy with people- Even busier than it had been the day before. Maybe it was market day? Static pulled her hood up over her head, suddenly feeling self conscious around so many people. It was a bit of a shock to be in the hustle and bustle of normal life, when she had have just got used to the quiet of the forest again, after yesterday’s trip to the city.
“Yeah, lunch sounds good about now.” she said softly, reining in Tamarisk next to the cart that she presumed Armeno was referring to. She dismounted, threading Tam’s reins onto her arm and picking out a pair of savoury pies that smelt delicious, handing over a handful of coins and taking the food. She held one out towards Armeno, deliberately keeping it out of his reach.
“How much do you want it?”

Zack felt the pressure around his paws and tail suddenly lift as Ciqala removed the forcefield. His paws slipped and he ended up bent right around the stem of the plant- He hadn’t realised how tightly it had been holding his paws in place.

He beat his wings furiously to right himself, uncurling his tail. He only just managed to stay on the plant, grasping at the leaf he had been sitting on before and pulling himself upright again.
“No, not before. But I’ve never met anyone so small. Why are you so small?” he asked, trying to regain a little dignity by turning the conversation away as he brushed green stains off his paws.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Sat Jan 29, 2011 5:46 pm

Armeno could see the motive as Static drew up her hood; he felt like there was a large number of people around when of course there were fewer than could often be found. He was slightly confused when she spoke so quietly- she could barely be heard over the shouts from the many people on the street.
'Alright, then,' he said, moving forwards to buy two of the steaming pies. Static beat him to it, though, slipping off Tam's back and quickly purchasing two of the golden pies. He raised one eyebrow slightly as Static teased him.
'I'm fine to wait, if you'd prefer,' he said. 'However...' He meant a small way out of Velox's saddle and plucked the pie out of Static's hand.
'I'm fairly hungry now,' he finished, taking a bite out of the pie. He and Static had become very relaxed together- he was slightly wary of Static trying to develop their - Friendship was probably the best word- friendship into anything more, which wouldn't be useful for somebody like him.
'Thank you,' he added hurriedly as he swallowed his mouthful- he felt slightly embarrassed for forgetting his manners.

Ciqala let out a loud burst of laughter as Zack scrambled to stay on his plant, then choked down the snickers that followed as he attempted to answer Zack.
'I was made like this. I'm a Homunculus-Some crazy person made me as an experiment. I was the only one he got right.' His voice turned slightly bitter at the end- he felt a fair amount of resentment towards his creator.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:06 pm

Static gave a laugh as he bent out of the saddle and took the pie, letting him have it. She leaned against Tam’s neck as she took a bite out of her own pie, batting away his snuffling inquisitions.
“Well, you paid for that book yesterday.” Static didn’t like owing any favours, she had had a problem in the past when someone called one in off her… “Consider us even now.”

She stood and watched the travellers pass as she ate, her hands too full to mount up again. She pushed at Tam’s rump when he got in the way of a passing cart, shoving him to the edge of the road out of the way. He was still pretty lively even though they had been riding for a while, and stole the last piece of pastry out of her fingers before she even had time to eat it.
“Tamarisk!” she chided as he munched, pushing at his nose. “I don’t know what the Mage fed our horses, but Tam sure is feeling lively today.”

Zack huffed in mock annoyance as Ciqala laughed, tugging at the edge of the edge of his leaf in embarrassment. It ripped, leaving him with even less of a perch to sit on, and he decided to give up while he was ahead, fluttering down to rest on the ground instead.
“Oh, well Foen- he was the one who made me- he hadn’t got any dragons right before me. He might have made more, but I doubt it. He gets distracted from one thing to another quickly.” Zack gave a laugh, thinking of the absentminded young wizard.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:28 pm

Armeno nodded, accepting Static's reasoning. He finished his pie quickly, pausing only to nudge Velox into the side of the road. He had dismounted to give the horse a rest, but like Tamarisk, the Arab kept nosing at Armeno's pie and trying to stretch round to the saddlebags, where he knew his food was sometimes kept. Armeno rolled his eyes and fed the horse a small piece of his pie, taking the last mouthful himself and dusting off his hands.
'Well, they were probably eating the candyfloss,' Armeno reasoned, looking at the excited horses. They were both slightly hyperactive, it was true.

Ciqala smiled, glad to have a deviation from the topic of his creator.
'He sounds a little like you, then. You said he does a new spell on you occasionally to keep you in good shape; does that mean you're in touch with him?' Ciqala looked at Zack's green-tinged paws, then down at his own hands. It was certainly useful having proper skin, he remarked mentally.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Sun Jan 30, 2011 7:46 pm

"Maybe." agreed Static, rubbing her fingers clean of crumbs on her cloak and shoving Tam's nose away again. He snorted, reaching to pull a mouthful of grass from the verge of the road. "Although why you would pick candyfloss over normal food, I don't know." She climbed onto his back again, settling into the saddle. She was glad the city wasn't far away now. "I shan't be eating any anytime soon."

She clicked her heels against his sides, directing him back into the centre of the road towards Racksom again.

Zack gave a smile, accepting that he was easily distracted. Everyone said so anyway.
"Yes, I see him sometimes. He lives in Racksom, because he likes to go to the library there and use the books. He's very clever you know, always thinking up new spells, but he gets them wrong quite a lot..." Zack remembered the last time he had seen his creator- He was staying in an inn because he had blown half his house to smithereens trying to summon a ghost. "Sometimes I bump into him if I'm in the library too. I like books."

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Mon Jan 31, 2011 6:36 pm

Armeno agreed with Static, he didn't care at all for candyfloss himself, but perhaps horses had different palettes to bipeds. He had no time to answer, though, as she declared her fast and remounted, leaving Armeno bewildered. As she rode away, he absentmindedly turned Velox to follow her, thinking as he did so. What's wrong with her? Is she upset about something? I find it hard to understand humans sometimes anyway, let alone temperamental women... He decided to just let her be; perhaps she was tired. It seemed unlikely after their lengthy sleep, but who knew? he sighed and nudged Velox with his heels to keep up with Tam.

Ciqala nodded.
'Sounds absolutely genius to me. And personally, I'm afraid I don't get on too well with books- I can barely handle most of them and papercuts are disastrous events.' He peered at the edge of one of zack's wings, then gently touched it.
'Your paper, though, seems a little kinder. I suppose it has to be thick. But you look a little worn...' He glanced at the green stains. 'Are you going to get another spell soon?'

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Mon Jan 31, 2011 7:59 pm

As Static rode ahead of Armeno, she pulled a face to herself- You stupid, idiotic, stupid….stupid! Since when did she get so attached to other people- Especially other people that were obviously nothing more than a friend, and she had only met a few days ago, and was an elf, and too good-hearted to approve of what she had done in the past… And might do again… She needed to sort out her head before her heart took over. This was why she preferred her own company to others.

She pulled Tamarisk back a bit, letting Velox catch up again.
“Sorry…I uh… Not used to travelling with other people.” She cut herself off, shaking her head. “Do you know where a metalsmith is in Racksom?”

“I wouldn’t know about paper cuts… Being made of paper and everything…” said Zack, laughing when he though over that sentence again. Ciqala’s touch was soft against his wing, and he opened it a little further to show him that it wasn’t like normal paper.
“No, it is thicker. No expense spared on Foen’s finest creation.” He said, his voice a little ironic. He might be made of paper, but it was hardly a substitute for flesh and blood. “I might go and see him. Are we close to Racksom? I don’t like to visit for just little things like stains when I can normally get them off with something… Bread is sometimes good for getting them out.” It sounded strange, but it tended to take some of the stranger stains out of his paper.

((Sorry, Static's being a pain tonight :/ ))

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Tue Feb 01, 2011 6:18 pm

Armeno shook his head.
'It's not a problem,' he assured her, even more confused now than he had been previously. 'I don't, I'm afraid, but it should be fairly easy to find one. There must be several in there, even if they normally deal mainly with horse shoes and the like.' He suddenly pulled Velox up, and jumped off.
'That reminds me...' he muttered, lifting one of the Arab's feet and inspecting the shoe.
'Yup, he could do with reshodding. Ok, we can ask around once we get into the city.' The vast area of block buildings was visible now, a large grey blot on the road far ahead of them. Maybe they would be able to reach it before the end of the day. If not... Well, Armeno had slept rough before.

Ciqala smiled.
'I guess not. Yeah, we're close. See that city down there? That's Racksom.' The Homunculus pointed down at the sprawling assortment of buildings, amused by the extent of Zack's absent-mindedness. 'Bread, huh? Well, that's something I never knew. It's a shame you don't have any powers, really, forcefields'd be pretty useful for you...' He examined Zack, then quickly set up another forcefield around the dragon and threw the largest pebble he could manage at it. It bounced off harmlessly, and Ciqala dissipated the forcefield.
'See?' he said. 'No harm done. I tell you, they've probably saved my life at least ten times over by now.'

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Tue Feb 01, 2011 6:56 pm

Static hummed in agreement at Armeno’s statement. She almost missed when he pulled Velox to a halt and jumped down to inspect the horse’s feet, pulling Tam to a stop nearby. Someone shouted at her to get out the road, but she just shot him a dirty glance.
“Yeah, someone might know.” Great. More people. Tamarisk shifted out the way as a cart rumbled past, his ears pricking up at the sight of a bag of apples inside. He took a few steps after it, but she reined him in. He had had enough to eat without stuffing himself silly out of someone else’s pocket.
“At least we can see Racksom now. We’ll be able to get there if we don’t go to slow.”

Zack looked where Ciqala pointed, pulling aside a plant that was in his way. “Oh yeah, not far. Well, not that far… A bit of a way away.” It would probably take them a while to get there, but it was always more fun travelling with a companion. It was strange how far Zack had wandered without realising- He was sure he hadn’t been that far away before. He looked back to Ciqala.
“Well, if ever I need a forcefield I’ll have to come looking for you.” He watched the pebble bounce off it, laughing. He had never seen rocks bounce before. “Foen won’t give me things like that, he says its bad to wield more power than you can look after.” He shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Like he would know.”

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Thu Feb 03, 2011 6:09 pm

Armeno nodded, then flicked Velox gently on the sides with his heels. The horse sped up, his gait smooth and flowing. However, Armeno was constantly tugging and pulling at the reins to keep him under control. Armeno’s eyes rolled over to Static, and as they did so the Arab yanked his head forward. Jerking the reins back, the elf asked apologetically,
‘He’s being ridiculously hyperactive- would you mind if we went faster for a bit?’ His forearms were burning form the constant tug of war against Velox breaking into a gallop- the trotting they had been doing earlier had let the horse store up a fair amount of energy, which he evidently wanted to now use.

Ciqala grinned.
'Not sure how easy I'll be to find I'm afraid, I tend to just drift around. I guess I'm usually based in Racksom, so maybe it'll be ok. And he sounds like just the /perfect/ guy to say that.' The sarcasm rolled off his tongue in what was practically a tidal wave, if not a tsunami. 'Sorry, but I can't help but wonder- aren't nearly all dragons really old and stuff? Does Foen live for longer than most humans for some reason?

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:53 pm

"Yeah, but if you're thinking of going as fast as earlier, I'll be meeting you at Racksom gate." said Static, nudging Tam into a fast canter. He tossed his head and lengthened his stride, his gait smooth even with a little winding around passing carts and travellers. She heard hooves behind her as Armeno followed her, catching up easily with Velox. Tam gave a whinny of excitement, skittering around the eclectic travellers on the road, but Static ignored their protests, enjoying the ride... And the company.

The city grew in size before them, little offshoot tracks joining the main winding one as they rode closer. The road got busier, making fast progress harder, but they still managed to weave their way around most of the other travellers until the large heavy good carts started to block the road. The sun was starting to dip beneath the tree layer, sending twisting red shoots over the canopy like ink in water.

"I'll just have to stick close to you then, if you're hard to find." said Zack, nodding decisively. Anyway, Ciqala was fast becoming an interesting person, and not just for his forcefield ability.
"We're not all old. You can't be old if you're not new sometime." said Zack indignantly now, crossing his paws again. "Why, I bet you can't guess how old I am! You won't guess how old Foen is either, he's much older than he looks. Or at least that's what he tells everybody."

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:18 pm

Armeno laughed, Velox flicking his ears irritably at the noise.
'We'll see,' he said, letting the reins slack almost completely. Velox tensed, whickering for a second before he suddenly whinnied, reared, galloped in a circle and then began to canter at a high speed. Armeno snorted at his horse, taking the reins back a little to hold Velox at Tam's speed.
'You're so silly sometimes,' he scoffed as he stroked the horse's neck. The candyfloss really did have a strange effect on the Arab.
Ooc: I think we should probably timeskip here just to get them into Racksom again, but it's up to you.

Ciqala's mouth twisted slightly.
'I'm not sure you realise this, but we won't really be travelling at the same speed. You can fly, I can't.' Ciqala shrugged. 'And I don't know how old you are, true. I doubt I would Foen, either.

Subject: Re: Rogue and El- A Chance encounter Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:35 pm

They carried on at a fast pace towards the city, overtaking many on their route, but being overtaken themselves by none. Even still, it was dark when they finally reached the city gates, the last few streaks of orange shooting over the foresttops from the dying sunlight to the west, a deep purple black encroaching fast to the east, twinkling with stars. The city too twinkled, lit by a thousand lamps hanging outside taverns, along the roads, held by travellers- They were like huge fireflies. As they reached the gate, they slowed their pace, not because the horses were worn down, but because the flow of traffic grew too thick, and they had to pass through the wide gates slowly, checked once again by the guards that stood there.

"Where to then?" asked Static when they were inside the gate, pulling Tam to one side of the road so they could discuss. Even with this little question she could feel herself being different though- The Static of two days ago would never have asked anyone else what to do next, she would just have gotten on with the next job. Armeno was certainly changing her, but was it for better or for worse?
"The blacksmith'll be closed now." she said, trying to revert to her old self again. "Time to find somewhere to bed for the night?"

Zack flapped a paw, dismissing Ciqala's worries. "Eh, you don't look so heavy. I bet I could carry you easily." he started forwards, fluttering high above Ciqala and dropping his tail in a twist around the homunculus, twisting it firmly into a loop around itself. He strained with his wings for a moment, driving upwards into the air, lifting Ciqala off the ground. "See! Ea---- sy!" he puffed a bit, feeling his tail stretch.

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