Closed Secret Dares (Aerion)

[Amara Waveracer]

37th Day of Summer, 514 AV

Amara had barely any idea where she was going. She had only heard a few parts of the directions from spying on knights until she was caught. Her heart along with her hopes sunk as she realized she was lost just getting them even more lost than they already were. She thought about turning around and trying to find their way back, but they had already gone so far. Attempting to cheer herself up with lies, she often told herself she knew exactly where she was going and that they would be there any second.

One of her lies turned out to be the truth as the air started to smell incredibly foul, just as she had heard it would. She, however, didn't think it would she this bad. She found the need to hold her breath if she was going to get there without letting her lunch go. After walking what had felt like forever, she finally saw their destination. The water looked a sickly and oily black. She now knew why the knights dared each other to drink it. It was putrid.

Amara turned to Aerion, who she was still dragging behind her. She had to admit he had slowed down as the air started to smell awfully, and it became increasingly harder to keep him walking with her. She stopped before the absolutely disgusting black liquid and let go of his wrist. She looked down into the so-called water then looked back at Aerion before she started to gag. The knights never said they it would smell this terribly. "I dare you to drink that," Amara said as she pointed behind her towards the water. It's certainly called the Well of Filth for a reason, she thought. Afraid he would refuse, and before he could respond, she said, "I'll drink it if you drink it." A smirk grew on her face, challenging him.

[Aerion]

Following along behind Amara, Aerion started to wonder if she knew where she was going. He decided she must know, considering how she never seemed to stop to ponder the direction, so he followed along in silence.

Suddenly the air started to smell foul, and he was about to ask what it was, but he didn't as he had to hold back his lunch. he continued along with her until she stopped next to a pool of the most disgusting waters he had ever seen. He wondered if Teren, who was following along behind them knew what it was, but he felt that Teren had stopped well before Aerion had started to smell it because of his own sense of smell. Teren felt that Aerion should leave that place and come back, he didn't like it.

After a minute or two, Amara told him her dare. Aerion was taken aback, unable to understand the reason why she would dare him to do such a thing, or dare him at all for that matter. He quickly replied, "I do not think that would be a wise thing, if it's doing this to our bodies just by smelling it, I don't want it inside me." He barely managed to get that sentence out before his stomach contents decided they wanted to be removed again, he turned away and held them in, wanting to get away from this stench. "Teren doesn't like this place, he stopped along our path some time ago and will not approach. I say we follow his lead, he has never lead me astray."

[Amara Waveracer]

Amara inspected the liquid substance further by leaning down closer to it, but soon wished she hadn't as she stood back up. It was even worse as you got closer to it. She then saw a deer drinking from the other side of the small spring. She had absolutely no idea why the creature would drink such a foul thing, but dismissed the question by thinking that it must be then only water source around.

She looked towards Aerion as he started talking. After he had finished, she was slightly saddened. She had come this far and spied on so many knights and squires, and he wouldn't do it. She had longed for someone to accompany her to the spring, and was always so certain they would accept her challenge and drink the foul water. After thinking it over, she grabbed his wrist and kept him from walking away. "Please, Aerion? Look, I'll drink it first."

Amara didn't wait for a reply and let go of his wrist, turned around, and kneeled by the edge of the spring. She breathed deeply and looked into the sickly black water. It's just like the rum we made onboard, she thought to herself as a sort of encouragement. She held her breath and scooped a small portion into the bowl she had made out of her hands, then drank it.

[Aerion]

After Aerion stopped speaking, Amara seemed a bit sad, then she said she would drink first. Before he could stop her, she took some in her hands and drank.

After she drank from it, Aerion's curiosity peaked, for water such as that must be the most vile thing in the world. Yet, she seemed to have no ill effects, she did not relieve her stomach contents into the pool, and as she drank it, she did not have a look of disgust on her face. To the contrary, she seemed to enjoy the vile liquid, as if it was the sweetest water she had ever tasted.

Suddenly, Aerion's mind went back to a time where his father was teaching him to hunt, and he showed his son how to make a trap under some grass clippings, with some nice berries on top. He thought back to what his father told him as they watched a small animal smell the berries from a few feet away, then walked up to it, springing the trap, "Remember Aerion, not everything is as it seems. The sweetest looking treat, could be the most deadly, the opposite is true as well. The most awful looking meal could taste the sweetest. Remember this, and you will always be prepared for whatever comes your way."

Aerion felt foolish as he knelt down to drink the water, the smell getting worse, but he realized his father was right, and after all, Amara did dare him. He bent over, scooped some of the black water into his hands, and slowly drank it.

As soon as it entered his mouth, he tasted some sweet mountain water, that parched his thirst and seemed to clear the smell from his nose, with the smell of the sweet water that was going down his throat. He felt ashamed that he did not trust his friend to not do something to purposely hurt him, even though they were friends now, and she had hurt him in the past, they had shared enough that he considered her a friend. He believed that she felt the same way, which is the reason that she acted a bit childish around him.

He looked over at her, and managed a smile through the the smell that had returned. "I am sorry that I did not trust you enough to drink the water first." He looked ashamed after apologizing, so he got off his knees and sat down, easing his stressed body, for they had come a fair distance from the city without stopping.

[Amara Waveracer]

Amara expected the foul water to taste just as bad as it looked and smelled. However, once she started to drink it, it turned out to be nothing more than regular water, except better. She was shocked and confused, but also did not mind at all. The water was better than any she had ever tasted, and she was indeed thirsty from the long walk here.

Once Amara finished drinking the water in her hands, she looked to her left only to find him drinking the water as well. She smiled and dried her hands on her dress, watching him. She waited for his reaction as he drank it, as she had certainly been shocked. She tilted her head to see his face once he had finished and it looked like he had enjoyed it as he smiled. She was still confused how the water could seem so vile but taste the exact opposite, but didn't question it too much.

"I am sorry I did not trust you enough to drink the water first." Amara smiled again as he apologized, and was about to accept it, but then had better ideas. She decided she would force him to give her a piggy-back ride as payback. As a child, she had always wanted one but never received one, and she still wanted one now. She laughed slightly, imagining his reaction when she asked for one. "I know. You owe me something for that but I'm not telling you what just yet," she said while a small smile spread across her face.

She was about to stand to leave, but then saw he was resting so she decided to do the same since she was tired as well. She looked around and spotted a small bronze colored stone by one of the trees. It looked perfect to her so she decided to weave it into her hair like she did everything else. She stood and walked over to the tree, picking up the stone and cleaning the dirt off onto her dress. She started to walk back while inspecting her newfound treasure.

As Amara neared the spring again, she was going to weave it into her hair. Her plans changed as she went to sit near Aerion. She lost her footing and tripped over his leg straight into the spring of black water. Luckily, she threw the stone towards the land before hitting the water. She screamed slightly as she tripped and fell, but it was quickly muffled as she went under the water, splashing the vile looking liquid.

[Aerion]

Aerion continued to smile as Amara gave her response, puzzled, he was about to ask her what she wanted, but before he could, she walked over and picked up a curious looking rock.

The next few seconds seemed to happen fast and slow at the same time, suddenly she lost her footing and started falling down into the pool. She seemed to value the rock more than anything as she threw it onto the ground just before falling face first into the pool.

Aerion barely recovered from his shock in time to quickly grab onto the leg that tripped over his own, which stopped her progression into the water. He then started hauling her back onto dry land, when she was finally onto the bank beside the pool, he ignored the putrid smell, and put his ear to her chest to check her breathing. She started coughing and sputtering up water after a less than a minute however, so he fell onto his back with relief.

Teren came running through the trees, having felt Aerions shock and fear, he ran to the rescue. "It's alright Teren, we're okay, just had a little run in with Miss Two Left Feet here." He gave a thin smile to the young lady staring at him covered in the horrid smelling gunk that he knew tasted better than it smelled.

[Amara Waveracer]

After hitting the water, Amara felt herself being pulled back to land. She coughed up the water she had been choking on and narrowed her eyes as she was now covered in the disgusting smelling liquid. She looked towards Aerion without in narrowing her eyes. His horse had came up to them.

Her expression grew angrier as he spoke. "You were the one who tripped me! Now I smell just as bad as the water." She was going to get payback for this, at least four piggy-back rides. He had saved her however, so maybe three. Without him pulling her out of the water, she may have even drowned. Her angry expression lessened until she was smiling, slightly ashamed. "Sorry," she mumbled, barely audible.

She then remembered what had caused her to trip in the first place, the rock she had wanted so badly. Looking around for it, she finally spotted it and picked it up. She began to unweave a strand of her blue hair so she could weave it back with the stone in it. Her hair was a long aqua curl as it had been in dreadlocks for so long when she took it out. After she weaved it back, she turned to Aerion, trying to decide whether to force him to give her a piggy-back ride then.

She quickly decided against it and stood up to find somewhere to wash the black liquid off of her. She had heard of a lake not far from Syliras from the knights that she had spied on that she could get the smell off of her at. "Follow me," she said as she started walking back the way they came, reciting the directions in her head as she went.

[Aerion]

Aerion reeled a bit at her angry retort, but then she apologized, to which he responded, "It's alright, anger is something that is not the easiest to control at times. I'm glad you're alright." He watched as she unwound some of her hair, then wrapped the stone into it, having grown up around Drykas customs, he figured it was a stone she liked, and she would now have a story to go along with it.

She asked him to follow her, and he did so, Teren trotting protectively beside Aerion as much as the terrain would allow. He had left his friend and there had been an accident. Teren would not leave his side again anytime soon.

Wondering where they were going, Aerion decided to ask the young lady walking gracefully in front of him, "Where are we going exactly? Last time you asked me to follow you, you led me to a place where the smell is awful, but the water is sweet, in which, you almost drowned. So forgive me if I am just a little bit interested this time in our destination." Feeling some of the sludge water in many places, he suppressed the need to shiver with disgust, which gave him goose bumps instead.

[Amara Waveracer]

As he started to ask where they were heading, Amara tried to not let her nervousness show as she replied, "Pavi Lake of course." She had mixed the directions up and it felt like they had been walking for hours, but she did not lose hope as it was a big lake. They would certainly find it sometime. Amara was incredibly bad with directions, but it had worked out the other time so she still held onto the slimmer of hope she had left.

Anara started to hear the roaring of a waterfall and sound of water. She stopped in her tracks and looked up at the mighty waterfall in front of her. As soon as she saw the golden glow to it, she knew they had gone the wrong way. She had leaded them to Sunset Falls, which was in the exact opposite direction as where they were supposed to be going.

"I.. um.. It's gonna be awhile til we get there," Amara said as she started to turn around with a nervous expression. She started to walk around him and back where they came, hopefully towards the lake.

[Aerion]

Satisfied with her first answer, Aerion followed Amara, trusting her to lead them to their destination without taking too long. He heard her say it might take a bit longer, hearing the roaring of the falls, he figured they had gone the wrong way and as she turned around, he grew a bit worried that they were lost.

However, as the evening sky began to grow bright with the different colors of sunset, he grew a bit more worried about being out in the open without a fire. Teren too was growing nervous, his more sensitive ears were picking up sounds he did not like in the distance. He decided to interrupt the solid silence that had been between them since they left the falls. "We should make camp soon, Teren is picking up sounds far off, but getting seemingly more active. I do not want to be caught out in the dark without a defensible campsite, that is one thing my father drilled into my head while hunting on the plains. Besides, since the water really is sweet, after it absorbs into your body or dries out, it will most likely leave behind the sweet scent of the water, instead of the vile smell of it that it is when fresh."