Pocket Monster (Solo)

[Ariel]

Summer 11, 511 AV Location: Somewhere on the way to WR Ariel was resting with her back against the side of the pocket she was traveling in. Her eyes were closed, and her arms folded over her chest. Rafael slept soundly in the larger pocket of her Drykas friend's bag, while Ariel was in the smaller, outer pocket. The cracking of a whip managed to reach Ariel's tiny clay ears, even in her slumber, and slowly, the young pycon began to stir. She began by wiggling her tiny clay legs, and then her arms, before she opened her eyes. "Well, it must be morning," the pycon whispered, as she placed her hands at her sides, and pushed up against the fabric her hands had found. Within a few seconds, she was on her feet, and peering out of a tiny hole, which allowed a tiny trickle of sunlight to make its way down to her. Jingling by its edge was a small metal zipper; seemingly ringing in step with the pounding of the horse's hooves on the rocky terrain. "How much farther?" Ariel called up to her friend. There was no answer. "How much farther?" she called again, a little louder. "Because we've been riding around for days, in the middle of nowhere! We haven't seen a single person! Who is to say we're even going the right way?" Ariel asked, before sighing heavily. Why is it that the giants never seem to use their ears? Ariel wondered, as the horse started to move a little faster, bounce a little higher which each step, nearly knocking Ariel off her feet. The pycon, not at all in the mood to be knocked over, clutched the sides of the pocket in her tiny clay hands, "you should watch it you know! You wouldn't want to send your tiny clay friend to her death, now would you?" Ariel shouted, before adding "you know pockets aren't exactly the best accommodations," under her breath. We had best remember that for the next time you go on a road trip. Ariel remained silent for a long time, content with simply staring out of her little peep hole at the rocky terrain. It seemed to stretch on endlessly, for miles and miles. Thank goodness we brought the Drykas along, otherwise we'd be wandering around this place until a time in which Rafael dropped dead of thirst, and we had turned to stone. As the horse went over another large bump, the pack shook, sending Ariel flying against the side of the fabric. Her butt lay against the bottom of the bag, and the edges of her tiny clay cheeks were turning somewhat more red than usual. "You know what, we'll just be practicing the use of our py-whip down here!" Ariel yelled, "you know, if you want to know, or care about your passengers or anything!" she added, getting somewhat annoyed by the seemingly deaf nature of her friend. Ariel slowly eased herself onto her knees, before she began to crawl to the other side of the pocket, where her bag was resting with all of her things. As she made her way over, the pocket seemed to sink, the fabric pressing itself into Ariel's sides and making it somewhat difficult for her to move. The tips of her clay wings seemed to drag along the fabric, while that which rested beneath the palms of her hands tickled. "Almost there," she told herself, as the pocket continued to rock along with the horse's movements. "Just a little more," she told herself as she finished traveling the last inch to her belongings. When she reached her bag, Ariel eagerly wrapped her hands around it, and eased the top flap open. When she had done so, she reached her right hand inside, and dug around for a moment, until her her hand wound itself around smooth leather. A small smile crossed Ariel's tiny clay lips as she pulled her father's old py-whip out of the bag, and fastened the top tightly shut. The black leather coils danced around Ariel's clay body as she slowly eased herself onto her feet. The coils wound themselves around her feet, as she gripped the upper portion of the py-whip in her right hand, and the side of the pocket in her left. "Well father, it's time to make you proud," she whispered, as she slowly raised her right hand, and then brought it rapidly back down. The coils seemed to swirl back and forth, but they went no where. They simply lingered by the pycon's tiny frame. There was not so much as a satisfying snap. OOCI hope you don't mind my creating an NPC for her to travel with, but Ariel could not get out of Endrykas without a Drykas... so... >.<

[Ariel]

"Well that went well," Ariel mumbled, as she simply stared at the limp coils. Maybe you have to be more forceful with these things or something? Ariel wondered as she simply stared at the black leather. It's certainly not like magic; magic doesn't need to be forced. It just comes so easily, doesn't it? she thought, as she gave the whip a half-hearted shake, which simply set the coils into a small series of waves; like those of the sea. "Well, we could always keep trying. Surely no one gets this thing right the first time around, right?" Ariel whispered to herself, trying to be somewhat reassuring, but failing miserably. Slowly, Ariel raised her right hand once more. She took a deep breath in through her nose, and out through her mouth before she rapidly brought her hand back down, sending the long coils of her py-whip into a series of rapid wave-like motions. Each time they met with one another, they would produce a low clicking sound, but that was impossible to hear over the horse's hooves, and the occasional command shouted by the Drykas, over it all. "Well that was... better," Ariel muttered, as she raised her right hand again, and then repeated the motion. It was the same as before. "How was it that father always managed to make this thing crack, like thunder through a darkened sky?" Ariel whispered out loud, knowing that no one was around to hear; knowing that no one was around to answer. There has to be a way. Some sort of trick or something. Ariel stood in silence, gripping the py-whip tightly in one hand, and the side of the pocket in the other to keep from falling over. She was watching the coils dance along the bottom of the pocket as the bag bounced along with the horse's step. Some sort of technique... Ariel thought, unless it is simply a function of how much one practices, Ariel's mind went on as the pycon raised her right hand again, preparing herself for another attempt at this. "Maybe it has to do with how swiftly one moves their arm?" Ariel whispered, as she flicked her wrist as quickly as she could, bringing her arm down with it. The coils shot outwards, towards the other end of the pocket, before making their way back. The horse hit another bump in the terrain, sending everything up and into the air. "Whoa!" Ariel screamed as her left hand tightened around the fabric, trying to hold on, but to no avail. The pycon fell flat on her behind, and the long coils of her whip landed right in the center of her face. The clay atop her head flattened around the coils, leaving a small line atop Ariel's forehead. The clay there stung, and a tiny piece along the edge of the line chipped off. "Ouch!" Ariel muttered as her eyes turned into tiny "X"s and then back again. A second later, Ariel was pounding on the side of the pocket with her left hand, "hey horsie!" she shouted, "would you watch it! You're hurting your mistress' friend like that!" Bloody animals... always making things difficult, Ariel thought, as her right hand unwound itself from the top of the whip. She allowed the coils to wrap around her tiny clay form, before falling to the bottom of the pocket, and laying there uselessly. It bounced around from time to time as the pocket shook, but nothing more. "Ouch horsie, that really hurt," Ariel complained as she raised her right hand to her forehead, and began to rub it gingerly, trying to get the sting to go away. "That really hurt horsie," Ariel groaned as her fingers slipped into the tiny indent mark the whip had made. Oh lovely, Ariel thought with a groan, just what we needed, another injury that may only be healed with an excessive amount of clay. There was a slight pause, at least we may actually be able to find some of that in this wasteland. Ariel's mind fell silent for a long time after that, and she simply sat, listening to the clickity-clack of the horse's hooves on rock, and waiting for the pain in her forehead to go away. Her body seemed to sink into the pocket as she finally whispered, "so what else is there to do around here?"

[Mercury]

Ariel Skill(s) Weapon: Py-whip + 3 XP Lore(s) Dealing with a Deaf Giant Pocket Travelling Whip Cracking (Basic) Insensitive Animals: Horse Method to my Madness: Pretty straightforward. I liked the Py-whip training. Cute read, I can't wait to see Ariel in Wind Reach. You can address any questions or concerns to the little voice in your head. A.K.A. PM me.