Closed [The Bronze Woods] Cooling Off.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

37th of Spring, 515.

Another day free from the iron grasp of his patron, another day free to waste away in his own musings. Iros was caged somewhere deep inside the Archives apparently continuing a bit of private research. In the meantime, hearing rumor that the farmers in the fields were suddenly hunting down all the rabbits they could see, it seemed like there was no better time to head out for a small voyage into the Bronze Woods and see if he couldn't try and thwart a few traps. It might not be 'knightly behaviour' as Iros would so often chastise him for, but with no stern-faced Akalaks to stop him saving a few lives, the squirrel was free to go out and do as he wished. Just as a precaution, though, he kept his Py-Pole close at hand. Didn't want any angry farmers catching him unaware.

Xarex was jumping around like mad all the way from the stables up to the new Main Gates. One paw gripping tight to the front of his saddle and the other to the back still had the squirrel rocking from side to side as if on a tiny boat in the middle of a storm, whether or not there were even any other people to barge past in the tight little corridors. "Calm yourself, Xar!" Either the dog wasn't listening or he couldn't understand because if anything, his hyperactivity just became even more frantic.. until the Pycon had to abandon riding him and just grip one of the stirrups and use it almost like a leash to stop the dog running off and knocking some poor sod off his feet. "Jeez.. maybe I shouldn't leave you locked up in those nasty stables for so long next time, huh?"

Not that he had a choice when he'd be going out on another patrol, or another ride down to Mithryn. Sometimes having the little dog around was just another thing to worry about when in the heat of a fight.. another potential casualty until he got out. Not like he didn't care about the poor pup.. perhaps exactly the opposite was the reason he didn't get out as much. Just thinking about it brought a sigh from deep inside his inner cavity. "C'mon. Let's find ourselves some rabbits." A little more muscling through the bottleneck of the main gates and fresh, warm sunlight graced his aching clay.

A hike back up onto the dog's back and they were off like a shot, galloping underneath a moving cart loaded with fresh goods and off the beaten path of the Kabrin Road in favor of the stretches of long, dew-covered grass leading up to the first fringe of the dense woodland.

[Nivel]

The sky was calm and bathed in syna’s light, which made it impossible for Nivel to resist the urge to go out and bask in it. Sera Grey couldn’t think of any particular tasks she wanted of her squire, so she gave the pycon her blessing to do as she pleased. It wasn’t long before Nivel was riding out of the gates of the city on the back of her mount Patcha. The tiny legged animal couldn’t really run very fast but it still felt thrilling to ride the creature down the dirt road towards the giant trees.

The corgi kelvic was just as eager to get out into the bronze woods as Nivel was. While corgi’s aren’t what one would consider primal or beastial, Patcha felt more at home in the woods than the bustling city. It could be the poor canines social anxiety but it was more than just an escape form daily pressures it was a return to her true home. Having grown up in a pyve in the middle of wilderness Nivel felt the same kinship for the wilderness but only in a nostalgic sense and not as a basic need like Patcha did.

As they traveled along the edge of the bronze woods and through the long wet grass and vegetation, Nivel spotted something strange in the not so far distance. She urged her mount to head towards the anomaly to investigate it further. As they got closer it was clear that it was an iron cage with something furry inside, closer still and the furry creature appeared to move. It was a grey rabbit that was held captive in the cage for reasons that escaped the pycon's comprehension, but what she did know was that she needed to free the poor creature.

It was clear by the piece of partially nibbled carrot laying next to the terrified animal that it was lured in to this cage to retrieve the food. Nivel dismounted and walked up to the cage as carefully as she could and carefully looked for a method to open the contraption. One side looked like it could open, so Nivel tried to lift it. It was probably just heavy enough that the rabbit couldn’t escape but after firmly pulling it back it was able to open. She held the door open with her elongated arms, the strain was almost unbearable but it was worth it.

“PSSST! Rabbit you need to hurry, I can’t…hold this for..long” Nivel instructed with great effort. She could feel her strength waning with each passing moment but the rabbit didn’t seem to make much movement. It was ether frozen in fear or was injured in some way, ether way the animal didn’t want to run to safety like Nivel had originally hoped.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

The first few chimes found nothing new. The ground was wet and frequent swerves to avoid small puddles of mud and rainwater left Arch's backside sore. It'd probably be much easier to let the dog loose and just walk but before he could even think of dismounting, the dog suddenly lurched off to the side unexpectedly and nearly did the job himself. "Jeez, what is with you today?" His grip tightened as he struggled to pull the dog back on track to no avail; he'd caught a scent and the best thing to do now was to let him follow it. Arch didn't regret it, either. Another few chimes of plodding around some thick tree roots and through some wet bushes led them almost face-first into a small metal cage set up huddled into a small dip in the ground, baited with a few slices of carrot and vegetation. Nothing inside, yet.

He could only hope that there wouldn't be any hunters wandering about. Sabotaging cages and other traps was all fine as well, as long as he weren't caught and didn't leave any evidence.. but what was he to do when someone went out and killed several rabbits with a bow and arrow? Chastise them for doing their job? It wasn't as if they weren't going to find any, either. On their way through the next patch of bushes, scuffling could be heard as a rabbit struggled out of the way and off into their little tunnels. He couldn't help but feel bad for the poor little things - after all, they needed to eat too.. and today it might be rabbits but what if it was squirrels tomorrow?!

Suddenly, a voice broke the silence coming from up ahead. A gentle nudge at the sides and Xarex gave an extra burst of speed out into the open air again, where they found yet another cage - unfortunately inhabited by the cutest little grey rabbit he'd ever seen. Short fur, long ears, velvet fur.. and scared out of its life, hunched up into the corner of its cage as it rattled around.. wait. Leaving Xarex free reign as he jumped off and pulled the Py-Pole from his back, he sprinted to Nivel's aid. "I got it, I got it!" Struggling to prop open the latch with the metal cap of the pole, his tail repeatedly tapped against the far end of the cage to try and coax the rabbit out.. but it only squeezed tighter back, he was probably only making things worse. ".. Petch, I don't got it.."

Py-Poles weren't very good at propping open doors.. mostly because they bent so far over that even trying had a risk of it losing purchase and just snapping back around to smack the holder around the face. Which was exactly what Arch got as he tried to adjust himself and just ended up losing grip entirely. "Ow!" No good. "Sorry.." He'd likely only made the situation a whole lot worse with his intervention; his apology was more towards Nivel than the rabbit, but he glanced at it as he spoke too.

[Nivel]

Arch suddenly appeared to aid in the fight to free this poor creature from it’s prison, but it proved to be a difficult task for him too. The squirrel came up with the idea of supporting the door with his pypole but that idea soon fell flat as weapon was made of flexible resin that caved to the weight of the heavy trap door. The fellow pycon’s plan may have failed but it gave Nivel an idea, while she kept the door up with her waining strength she fished her tails around for someone to prop up the door.
“Help me find a stick..” Nivel said faintly, as she found multi tasking difficult while holding the weight of the iron door.

Once they were able to get the door successfully propped open using team work and ingenuity, Nivel hesitantly went in to coax the poor creature out of it’s small prison. She moved slowly and carefully, making sure not to startle the animal with excessive sound.
“Hello there furry friend..were only here to help you” Nivel softly whispered to the creature before gently putting her hand against silky fur of the frighted creature leaving enough room for Arch to offer support. It didn’t seem to be shaking as much as before but the pycon could still feel the vibrations of fear on her tiny hands as she did her best to calm the creature.

Nivel stopped petting it and grabbed the nibbled carrot lying next to the rabbit and placed it with in sight of it. As soon as the creature started to nibble on it, Nivel slowly pulled it away. The rabbit followed as Nivel led it out of the cage and a small distance away, before she finally gave it what it desired.
“What manner of bandit would do this to a poor defenceless bunny” Nivel ranted to her fellow pycon “This is simply unforgivable!”
Nivel had no idea that it was really a simple farmer that was to blame for this animal’s mistreatment, no matter who was to blame she didn’t want it hurting anymore wildlife. She turned to Arch “Lets wreck this thing”

Whether he agreed or not she pulled herself on top of the dastardly cage and attacked the hinges by shifting her ear clay to her fists and pummelling into them. It didn’t really do much other than hurt Nivels fist and make a lot of noise. The twigs supporting the door fell down during the ruckus so there would be no rabbits caught in the trap for the rest of the day but it still sadden’t nivel to realize that she couldn’t finish it off once and for all.
“I wish I could punch through metal but I don’t even think flux can do that, lets just hide the thing”
Nivel jumped off the cage and was on one side ready to pick the cage up if Arch were to agree.
“Know any good places to hide something like this?”

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

After shaking off the stars flashing before his eyes, the Pycon wobbled unsteadily back to his feet to scour the floor until he found something sturdy to keep the door open with. All the sticks he could find that were long enough to hold the door open were too thin to remain there for very long.. the thickest ones were all too short to give enough room for the rabbit to squeeze through the gap. One after another, he picked them up and then tossed them away again over his shoulder. Harder work than it looked, but eventually he found a good one and handed it over to Nivel. "Here, try this one."

Propping up the door was good enough for a few chimes while they eased the rabbit from its hiding space.. though apparently that was easier said than done, too. Instead of making a break for freedom, the thing seemed perfectly happy to cower in the corner of its cage and push itself even further into the confines. "Nivel, we don't have time to stand around and make friends, why don't we just.. scare it out of the cage?" It wasn't the nicest thing to do but it'd be a sure-fire way of getting the rabbit out of the cooking pot.. and that was pretty damn nice of them to do as well.

One way or another, Nivel eventually managed to coax out the little rabbit with the squirrel at the side, watching carefully and occasionally glancing back over his shoulder. The chances of someone appearing at that very moment were ridiculous, but it didn't make Arch any less edgy. Even if the cage was far too large to hold either of them, and holes they could walk through without even having to crouch, just being around one of them sent shivers through his clay. "Yes.. I'm not sure they are actually bandits, more likely hired hunters or just some people looking for simple profit. But, unforgivable." As much as he tried to put some serious conviction into his voice, he couldn't bring it up. It wasn't like he couldn't understand the people wanting revenge, after all. Apparently Nivel hadn't heard all the yelling down at the fields though.

That said.. it'd be pretty poetic to take revenge on something being used to take revenge. "Hah.. sure." He followed Nivel and gave the side a good couple of punches and kicks, not that it actually did any good. He could make it wobble and rattle around a lot, but even jamming his Py-Pole against the sides didn't do anything since it just twisted back on itself. In the end, it'd be better to just tip the thing onto its front and make sure that nothing else could crawl inside.. but hiding it might just stop whoever set it down from resetting it later on. "Hmm." The trees were too high for the two of them to lift it up into, though that would be the best place of all. "How about we dump it in the geysers or the river?"

[Nivel]

“Oh oh oh!”Nivel squealed and flapped her winged ears with excitement at Arch’s suggestion as she carried the heavy cage. “I vote the Geysers! I want to see how high we can send this thing into the sky” She paused a bit before asking what she was sure was a silly question. “Would it be dangerous to ride on the cage when the geyser pushes it up…Geysers aren’t that hot are they?” The mage squire didn’t really have very much Knowledge on the natural phenomenon but at least knew they were caused by heat. She really just wanted to fly in the sky and figured this would be the best way to go about doing that. Or at least until she thought a little more on the subject and realized how unfeasible it was.
“hrm yah..probably too hot…” She sighed in disappointment at her own realization

“…I have bat wings but I don’t feel very much like a bat since I can’t really fly..I actually kind of envy you for being able to be both a pycon and a Squirrel at the same time. I have parts of a bat, a cat, a plant and a tall folk but I’m not really like any of those things. I try to get as much sun as I can but I can’t heal people or give them shade like a plant can, I can’t fly like a bat and I’m not even really sure what cats do.” she paused and then hesitantly continued “Maybe after we deal with this you can teach me how to be a squirrel?” It was probably an odd request but Nivel was actually fairly curious to see what being a squirrel was like, as she was with most things she didn’t really know much about.

“Where is the geysers around here anyway?” Nivel questioned as she took a quick look of her surroundings and realized she didn’t really know where she was going. She had been talking so much she hadn’t really been paying attention and mostly assumed the squirrel did.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

For several ticks, the clay squirrel paused in thought, wandering to himself how he could have possibly stayed in Syliras for as long as he had.. yet never even visited the Geysers. Let alone shown enough interest to learn how they worked or whether they were hot or cold. He'd always figured they were just like all the other springs and lakes.. hot or cold depending on the season. "Guess they'd be pretty hot, but.. I would have thought it'd be more dangerous because they're so high.." Even surrounded by water, he'd heard those things stretched pretty high.. and he didn't want to end up toppling into the deep end, or directly onto a rock. Nivel seemed to know more than he did and so he deferred to her judgement; a shame, he'd wanted to see her fly up into the air on that cage.. petch, he'd wanted to try it himself! It sounded like fun!

Sadly, it didn't seem like Nivel shared his optimism. Far from it. "Hmm? What are you talking about?" When a frown threatened the corners of his lips, he didn't do anything to stop it. "You might look a bit like a plant, a cat, a bat and a little like Tall Folk.. but you're Pycon. You don't have to feel like any of them." Perhaps it was nothing more than coincidence that Archailist both looked and felt like a squirrel. It didn't mean that he was happy either, though. At least Nivel changed. Since his twenty seasons, he'd changed in unbearably minor ways. Travelling around the region should have brought back a different Archailist but instead, he'd come back the same squirrel as ever, minus a few new experiences and friends. In barely the few seasons he'd known Nivel, she'd already grown more tails, her horns had worn away into thick braids.. who knew what else she'd grow before the next year.

Who knew; if he gave her a little tutelage, the next thing she grew might end up squirrel-related. "But.. I guess I can give you a few pointers, any way, if you're interested." He shrugged his shoulders and picked up one end of the cage, trying to bring his mind back to when he'd last heard of the Geysers, seen them.. something, anything! "Erm. I think they're.. somewhere off in that direction." By catching a glance of the fringes of the woods, he was able to turn back directly into the forest and begin the long walk. Who knew, if they got to the middle of the Woods, they might be able to work their way out from there. Or they could get lost. One of the two, hopefully the former.

[Nivel]

Arch was being silent for a while, Nivel figured he was just lost in thought but it still made her a little self conscious. She was afraid she had said something or done something foolish to make him give her the cold shoulder. She breathed a silent sigh of relief when he did finally speak up, happy to be able to carry on a conversation again. He agreed that riding the geyser was probably not the best idea, and while she couldn’t be sure, it sounded like he was disappointed by his statement.
“Oh yah, what comes up must come down” Nivel replied in defeat as her usually perky ears flopped down to her sides. The mage pycon hated when reality spoiled her fun, She would fall from high places but she would always make sure something soft was at the bottom to catch her fall. If she was to preform a daring stunt, careful planning would always have to be put in place before hand and the forest just wasn’t the right place for that kind of thing.
“Maybe we could plan out some kind of stunt in the future? one that lets us fly while also having precautions in place so we don’t go splat when we inevitably fall. I’ve been meaning to take up gadgeteering and construction, since they seem like neat subjects that would help with different things. I mean how cool would a fort or a pycon catapult be?” Nivel shared her aspirations with growing positivity, she wasn’t one to dwell in the negative for long.

Nivel’s ears and tail shot up in surprise as she was a taken back by Arch’s blunt response to her identity issues, and she almost dropped the cage. Although it soon became clear that he had sincere intentions and she appreciated the sentiment.
“Most pycons spend there entire lives trying to find their final form, maybe you just found it earlier then everyone else. I think that’s something to be proud of, if you ask me.” Her ears fluttered softly which was the closest thing to a smile the female pycon could get. “You also shouldn’t compare yourself to me in that way, I’m a mage. I can conjure wind from my own essence and I know what bread tastes like because I can read it’s aura. That kind of stuff changes you faster than most experiences would.”

“I would love to have you as a teacher in the ways of the squirrel, I’m sure you’re a grand master on the subject” She joyfully complimented her friend. It may have even possible that he was better at being a squirrel than most squirrels, not many of them could climb or be as agile as Arch could sometimes be. Nivel was sure to learn a lot about the mysterious creatures of the forest from the other pycon of the knighthood.

“You don’t sound too sure.” Nivel teased. “how about we look for a bit more and if we get bored looking we’ll hide it behind a bush and be squirrels for a while?”

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the disappointment practically radiating off her body; what, Nivel was sad that he wouldn't join her in flinging herself high up into the air and splatting down onto the ground while riding a piece of rickety metal? He'd just saved her life! Or at least he hoped, since she seemed pretty intent on rocketing off into the sky at high speeds. Didn't matter how many soft things she put underneath, that just screamed murder and death on so many basic levels that his nexus was starting to feel like the Great Bazaar. "A catapult would sound lovely, I've always wanted to be hurled through the air and come crashing down at goodness-knows-where at high speeds." There was a bit of playful mischief in his tone - for all the sarcasm, it didn't seem all too bad. Besides, he was heavy.. so he wouldn't go too far, right?

"But I've never wanted to find a final form this quick.. if this really is it. And I don't think it is." Neither did he want to be proud about it. The thought that he'd found what he was supposed to be at such a young age made the squirrel feel terribly hollow; as though it was only so easy because there was so little to his soul. "It's not just you, any way. Mage or not; every one grows and I'm just.. kinda.. stunted." It brought a whole new dimension to the concept of feeling small; it wasn't just a physical aspect any more, like with the humans and other large creatures that constantly loomed overhead. Now, even among his own race, the one people that he should be able to relate to more than any other, he felt like little more than a child, despite all his effort and hard work to explore and experience as much as he could, to develop!

Perhaps trying to teach Nivel a little about the ways of squirrel-hood would take his mind off those nasty little barbs that constantly inched at the edges of his nexus. Hopefully. "Heh, I doubt you could call me that. I don't have squire-squirrels following me around." A grin soon cracked his face once more as he mulled over what he'd just said. "Well technically I do now, so I guess that makes me the Squirrel-Grandmaster." Now there was a title that had a real ring to it. Lofty, noble. His chin raised higher and his shoulders straightened as he imagined himself standing at the head of his brigade of squirrels. "Well I'm not sure, but hey, if we get lost then we can always ask the squirrels for some directions back!"

[Nivel]

“Oh right, a catapult would run into the same problem” Nivel corrected herself again. “-but a fort would still be something we could do?” The pycon mage looked hopefully back at her squirrel friend and prayed he wouldn’t dash her hopes with a dose of reality. She analyzed the plan in her nexus a bit and only saw a few instances that might be a bit risky but otherwise it didn’t sound like it would to to hard to accomplish safety. Pycons need a place to call their own in the giant castle city were everything was far to large.

“Well you have several years to discover new things that can shape you” Nivel felt her words were doing nothing to help but she couldn’t contain herself from encouraging her friend who seemed dead set on belittled himself. “Maybe there is still things you can learn from this form or maybe it shows that you have a greater focus than other pycons.” her nexus wandered to Harameus the god of Alchemy and change, there was sure to be some answers to the squirrels dilemma with their great creator.
“I believe that whether we are aware of it or not, our God Harameus chooses our forms and the form of a squirrel may suit you in ways a mortal can’t understand. Maybe being a squirrel is what drives you closer to nature if you changed into something else you might have different motivations then you have now.” Thinking of her god made Nivel think of what plan their creator had in mind for her. She assumed it was something grand and important and wouldn’t settle for anything less.

“Oh yes the grandmaster of squirrels!” Nivel proclaimed with a smile as her ears flapped about again. “We should make you some kind of crown” She scanned the area and spotted a grouping of wild flowers. She plucked one and pried open its thin stem so that she could fit the end in and make it a Circlet. She placed the crown on his head with the flower sticking out in the front.
“Aww you look pretty” She gushed as she stepped back to get a better look “Oh sorry, I mean handsome” She teased.

“Oh great Grandmaster, teach me the way of the squirrel” She said in a regal sounding voice and a bow of the head that seemed over the top.
“I wish to know all the many secrets of the woods”
She didn’t sound very serious but she truly did want to know more about the woods and felt like Arch was the pycon with the most knowledge on the subject.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath