Re: Pitched Combat [Round 1: Forêt Noire]
01-01-2010, 02:37 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by MalkyTop.
As the moon sank below the treeline, Right's glow became brighter and everything visible was cast in a reddish tint. He was pretty sure that everybody would join the group now or face being left behind in complete darkness. They would probably leave soon...
...The strange mannequin was dancing crazily, kind of as though its hypothetical puppeteer was just waving the strings all about. Almost like a parody of someone grabbing attention. Then it started walking away, and then running. Right turned back, though he knew that the darkness would conceal whatever it was that the large puppet was fleeing from.
"...We should go," he said with finality.
"What? Why?"
"Because whatever that thing's running away from, it's scared enough to spontaneously learn how to run. Let's go." Eemp, sensing the urgency, started up a faster pace than usual. As they passed, Right bit lightly on the mannequin's shoulder and helped it find its footing once more, whereupon it ran off again. Eemp tried to follow as quickly as it could while both its arms fended off the grasping branches. Light was quickly leaving the clearing.
The others, not exactly wishing to stay behind in total darkness, followed the light as well.
Now in the forest, Right couldn't help but notice that the mannequin had indeed picked up on something...wrong. The forest was no longer silent. The trees shook and grumbled, as if trying to uproot themselves, and all around, dead bushes rustled as whatever creatures that lived here fled from the invisible menace. Right caught sight of a small rabbit which, crazed by fear, lunged at him. He dodged and turned his attention back to trying to follow the mannequin, though he couldn't shake the feeling that the rabbit had...much more than two eyes.
Following the mannequin was harder than expected. After learning how to run, it really seemed to have taken a liking to it, not even slowing down from any low-hanging branches, though since it was made of wood (or something), Right supposed it had little reason to worry in the first place.
Eemp wasn't deft enough to dodge all the brambles underfoot. Already, its legs were ripped and it was slowly trailing its straw behind.
Eventually, they stopped in a place where the path had widened slightly, almost a clearing, but not quite.
"Where'd it go?" Rong asked, a little frustrated. Instinctively, Right looked up to the sky but remembered that there were no stars and that the trees covered the sky anyways.
"I suppose we just keep running straight..." Right trailed off as he heard a rustling sound behind them. From the brambles and boughs emerged...a panting Vasily.
Right didn't think he ever felt so relieved. "Where're the others?"
Vasily glanced over his shoulder worriedly. "I though' they were--"
"If they're lost now, we don't have time. I have no idea where that thing we're running from is or how fast it's going. We need to go."
As the moon sank below the treeline, Right's glow became brighter and everything visible was cast in a reddish tint. He was pretty sure that everybody would join the group now or face being left behind in complete darkness. They would probably leave soon...
...The strange mannequin was dancing crazily, kind of as though its hypothetical puppeteer was just waving the strings all about. Almost like a parody of someone grabbing attention. Then it started walking away, and then running. Right turned back, though he knew that the darkness would conceal whatever it was that the large puppet was fleeing from.
"...We should go," he said with finality.
"What? Why?"
"Because whatever that thing's running away from, it's scared enough to spontaneously learn how to run. Let's go." Eemp, sensing the urgency, started up a faster pace than usual. As they passed, Right bit lightly on the mannequin's shoulder and helped it find its footing once more, whereupon it ran off again. Eemp tried to follow as quickly as it could while both its arms fended off the grasping branches. Light was quickly leaving the clearing.
The others, not exactly wishing to stay behind in total darkness, followed the light as well.
Now in the forest, Right couldn't help but notice that the mannequin had indeed picked up on something...wrong. The forest was no longer silent. The trees shook and grumbled, as if trying to uproot themselves, and all around, dead bushes rustled as whatever creatures that lived here fled from the invisible menace. Right caught sight of a small rabbit which, crazed by fear, lunged at him. He dodged and turned his attention back to trying to follow the mannequin, though he couldn't shake the feeling that the rabbit had...much more than two eyes.
Following the mannequin was harder than expected. After learning how to run, it really seemed to have taken a liking to it, not even slowing down from any low-hanging branches, though since it was made of wood (or something), Right supposed it had little reason to worry in the first place.
Eemp wasn't deft enough to dodge all the brambles underfoot. Already, its legs were ripped and it was slowly trailing its straw behind.
Eventually, they stopped in a place where the path had widened slightly, almost a clearing, but not quite.
"Where'd it go?" Rong asked, a little frustrated. Instinctively, Right looked up to the sky but remembered that there were no stars and that the trees covered the sky anyways.
"I suppose we just keep running straight..." Right trailed off as he heard a rustling sound behind them. From the brambles and boughs emerged...a panting Vasily.
Right didn't think he ever felt so relieved. "Where're the others?"
Vasily glanced over his shoulder worriedly. "I though' they were--"
"If they're lost now, we don't have time. I have no idea where that thing we're running from is or how fast it's going. We need to go."