Hidden Treasures (Closed)

Engage in some good ol' freeform RP.
tierasa
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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Dream stared at the open maw of the cave. She had known they could find it, but she'd never given much consideration to actually going in with him. The mare was afraid of the dark. She had thought she'd gotten over it, but now faced with the prospect of the cavern, she felt it creeping over her again.

"You'd better go first," she answered unsure of whether she wanted to go in at all. Dream didn't want him to see her fear though and hoped she was keeping it under wraps. "I'm not sure where to go once we're inside," she tried to cover.

It was too bad her air magic couldn't create light. The most she could hope for was that it was a gleamstone cave. "I'll follow you in, Rain." She tried to muster her courage. It was only a little dark, and it wouldn't be dark when they found the place they were looking for.
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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"Gladly," Rain nodded and strode ahead into the mouth of the cave. His head titled up and back a touch as its shadow fell over him, and he paused with eyes narrowed on what lay ahead to let them adjust to the dim light. "Not seeing any glow ahead, so might get rather dark in there..." he said with a brief glance back. "If it comes to it, you can keep in touch with my tail." He lifted the tip and quirked a grin as he presented it to her, "Prefer that than having us walk over each other in the dark."

And with that thought, the stallion sauntered inside. The bale light of evening faded from his heels, and then darkness grayed out the last of the color in the cave walls. His pace slowed and nose rose to scent the still fresh air and...its faint flow. Strange for a cave, that. Legs extend out to their old, easy stride while total darkness remained elusive. Here and there, faint cracks of gleamstone keep the hint of light alive, and the stark, rough edges of the rock walls and low ceiling in relief. Shadows seemed to move as he did, then the wall on the left fell away to deeper darkness. A quick test of the air in that direction told him it was still and more heavily laden with rock dust and old earth.

Rain paused at the split for Dream, tail idly swaying as he considered their options. "Going to follow this tunnel to see where it leads," he said to her at last. "You can wait here where there's some light if you like, as I don't think it'll be a long diversion either way." One set of claws lift to faintly score the wall as he followed it left, a bit of memory as the gleamstone light faded out behind him.

((Sorry for the wait, Tierasa! D: Was hoping to get some other writing done quick first and that didn't happen. >.< ))
tierasa
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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Dream's tail flicked back and forth nervously as Rain disappeared down the tunnel. It wasn't pitch dark where she was standing but it was enough to unnerve her. She hoped her companion wouldn't be too long and even more so that he wouldn't know how afraid she was. The mare had wanted to call out to him and ask him to wait, but the fear of that dark tunnel had prevented her from doing so. She glanced down into the darkness where the other misery had disappeared from sight and waited.

It was kind of ridiculous, this fear of the dark she had, but it wasn't something she could control. For as long as she could remember, the dark had scared her though she wasn't entirely sure why. The thought of being somewhere where she couldn't see anything at all around her would start her heart racing. Often in those times, she would talk to herself for comfort. She began doing so now just to help pass the time.

"He seems to be taking a while. I guess the tunnel was longer than he expected. Maybe he found the are we were looking for." She sighed as the swish of her tail became the only sound in the cavern. "I hope whatever we're here for is worth it." The mare strained her ears listening for Rain's talons.

((So sorry this took so long. I started it a couple of times and then got discouraged. I like how this turned out though, so hopefully we can get it wrapped up in a few more posts.))
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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((Aww, sorry you got discouraged. You're poses have been so wonderful! As for me, it's been a rotten month, so haven't had the mental presence for it anyways.))

The faint scrape of Rain upon rock returned, followed by the smudge of his presence separating from the darkness. He remained indistinct as he paused with a glance, and the creature that stepped into the gleamstone gloom seemed less proud, perhaps carrying another shadow or two.

"Not a thing back there worth our time," the stallion said with a sigh. "A few scrappings and some things best left unmentioned. Can't even say if this was the place or not." He shook his head, those horns dancing in the darkness, and inhaled back in some of his old nerve. Another step forward to show the touch of a grin, "Sorry to keep you waiting." He turned toward the path yet taken, "At least there's light this way, and fresh air. Who knows, maybe another way out of this cave lies ahead and we won't have to backtrack?"

Rain hesitated at the thought, shifted back to be more beside the mare, and gave Dream a careful look, "But we could turn back now. It's late already, and I can explore more after I've had some rest."

Maybe he had dragged Fragmented Dream around on his fool errand enough already...
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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Dream had been waiting impatiently for her companion's return. The dark seemed to be closing in on her, and she didn't like it one bit. She had begun to pace out her anxiety and was deep in her own thoughts when the stallion's reappearance startled her.

"Dead end, huh," she muttered as she waited for her heartrate to slow back down. The mare took a few deep breaths as she processed what he said. "Turn back? Not on your life! We've come so far already. There's still one more tunnel to go down. We have to find that moon shape in the ceiling of the cave."

She frowned thoughtfully. The other tunnel definitely didn't seem as dark, so she might be okay to go down it with him. At least she would have some company as opposed to waiting for him to come back. The mare hadn't liked that at all.

"No," she said resolutely. "We have to see this through. I'm not about to give up now. Come on," Dream turned toward the remaining tunnel. She took another deep breath refusing to let him know how much the darkness bothered her. "Let's go!"
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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The cant of Rain's head shifted slightly as he considered the mare again. There seemed to be a moment she steeled herself, before slipping into that determined front. He wondered what about the cave had earned it, whether darkness or enclosed space or concern for her wings or all of it. Whatever it was, her response was a tonic against the dreary, earthy stillness that clung to the walls about them, and against his doubts that crept through the shadows that hemmed them in.

"Gladly," Rain responded after the thought, and then added a casual aside as he stepped beside Fragment Dream, "The fresh air will certainly be sweeter for it at the end." A glance to her that was perhaps approving or jaunty and then the stallion forged ahead at a pace that let him remain closer to the mare, as companionable against gloom. He kept careful watch of the shadows ahead, ears angling intently as instinct against the darkness, and with even more careful steps lest the cave foul them with something unseen.

The faint sense of airflow strengthened as they walked, and then the gleamstone light enveloped them around the next bend. Hints of color returned with the myriad bands of glimmering rock that weaved and wound in thick, glowing veins along the insides of the chamber Rain stepped into. The space broadened enough to almost feel comfortable, as if just being there allowed him to breath easier, and he paused to let his eyes wander. "Wow," the stallion remarked with a lone, hushed note, but even as he spoke it, the realization that there was only rock about them crept in. It would have been a lovely treasure room, but it was empty of all but what they brought with them.

Cerulean eyes rest on the low shelf to one side, with a gleaming seam running lazily along the lip and dim light gathering in lustrous clumps behind. Rain turned his glance to his companion, "Would you mind stepping up on that shelf for me, Fragmented Dream? Maybe get a better view?"
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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Dream looked up at the ledge in question. It wasn't too high, and there was still enough light from the gleamstones that she shouldn't be enclosed in the darkness. A bit concerned about her wings she decided it was best to use her magic to propel her up onto the shelf. Even though it was low she decided not to risk it. "I'll see what I can. Perhaps a better vantage point may be of use to us." Keeping her wings as tight against her body as she could, the mare gathered up her power to produce a quick gust of wind that carried her to her destination.

The mare landed very lightly on the low ledge. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for. The crescent shape she'd heard about was supposed to be in the ceiling. Perhaps they had missed it in one of the earlier chambers or maybe it was something one could only see at a certain time of day. She wished she'd heard more of the conversation, but being such an anti-social creature, she wouldn't have dared approach.

"It feels more open up here," Dream stated simply. "Like there's air coming in from somewhere. We may be getting close." What they were getting close to she was unsure. Were they near the chamber with the opening or merely near the end of this particular cavern.
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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A stiff, unnatural gust and surge of magic turned Rain after Fragmented Dream's leap as much as her motion did, and left his eyes and head elevated just so. Power rose from the stallion to dampen the wind back down and shift away the dust that swirled in its wake before either became a nuisance - particularly to the gleamstone glow that alighted on the mare's pearl hues with an almost ethereal presence and shimmered along the edges of her wings. Those revealed contours captured his attention more than Fragmented Dream's observations, and so on her his faintly drifting gaze remained.

"It does seems like the air is coming from somewhere near here, but..." Rain's words were drawn from distant thought as an unguarded moment settled on his frame, from the attentive cant of ears to open admiration dwelling in his eyes through the repose of tail and wings, "I think I've found my treasure."
tierasa
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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"You found it," Dream asked turning excitedly on the small ledge. She quickly glanced around for any tell-tale sign of the crescent they were supposed to be looking for. "Where is it?" The mare continued to scan the floor when her eyes fell on her companion. He hadn't moved from his previous position. She cocked her head slightly to the side causing one of her horns to brush the cavern's ceiling and sending bits of debris into her mane. He was looking up at her.

"It's up here," she asked turning around again to look at the wall behind her. Dream tried to take a step back to get a better view and ended up falling backward off the ledge. She didn't have enough space to flap her wings so instead she tried to ease her descent with her magic. Still she landed with a hard thud on the cave floor. Luckily she'd landed on her rump and not on her back. "So much for grace," she said with a laugh. "Now, where is this treasure?"

((Apparently Fragmented Dream is a little slow. XD))
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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Amusement colored Rain's features as Fragmented Dream turned around and about, looking to everything but herself, and so like the remarkably direct soul that Rain was beginning to know. Concern flickered through those thoughts and shifted him forward as the mare stepped back and onto nothing. Only the clipped beginning of a warning passed his lips before her thud upon the rock floor ended it with his wince.

The faint shake of his head and little more than an amused snort saved Rain from impolitely joining the mare's laugh at her misstep - so much for grace indeed. "Careful there," he said with a touch of her humor in his voice as he stepped beside Fragmented Dream and gave her a brief, reassuring nudge of his muzzle, "Don't want to see my treasure get hurt. Which is, well, you." A wry grin appeared, and his gaze fell on her again, but this time, the stallion felt something far more tantalizing to it with Dream so near.

((Or a lot literal-minded. :P

Edit - Overthought one little bit trying to be clever. >.<))
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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"Treasure? Me?" Dream gave him a puzzled look. "I thought we were looking from some Sharian object," the mare chuckled. Then with a bit more of a serious expression, she paused to consider their little adventure. Rain had been nicer to her than anyone or anything ever had been. His consideration for her was likewise. The more she thought about it the more she realized there was only one thing to do.

"Well, I suppose since you're the only creature whose presence I can tolerate for any length of time that I shall have to keep you," she said with an odd quirk of her mouth.

Dream tried to stand and nearly fouled her wings on the ledge she'd just fallen from. "Perhaps we'd better get out of here before I really do hurt more than my pride," she said with a shake of her head as her companion helped her regain her feet. "Thank you. Now, if you'll lead the way, I think I've had enough of caves and darkness."

((Had an epiphany tonight just as I was about to go to sleep and I was finally able to finish this without worrying about my computer eating it yet again. This time I wrote it on paper and then immediately came here to post! XD I think one more should finish this off nicely.))
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Re: Hidden Treasures (Closed)

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"Keep me?" Rain exclaimed in a bewildered moment, then chuckled with a toss and shake of his head, "Well, I suppose you will." The stallion grinned - even as odd a compliment as had just been put before him, he still found himself appreciating the heart of it. Which wasn't the only sentiment of the mare's he felt appreciation for.

"I've had my fill of this place too, but...that breeze makes me wonder... Maybe there's a way out ahead?" Rain gave Fragmented Dream a quick glance, "Don't worry, I won't keep you waiting this time. Just going for a quick look." With a firm nod, he bounding to the passage ahead then slowed as it turned until all that remained visible of him to Dream was a tail tip when he stopped and craned his head around the next abrupt corner. The stallion crouched as he peered into the gathering darkness, gave a pleased whistle, and said, "I believe that's an early star or two ahead."

Rain pushed back and turned to rejoin Fragmented Dream, pleased with this new stroke of luck...and really, how the day had turned out after all - a feeling that intensified as he drew near the other Misery and began to lead her out of the cavern.

Fresh air enjoined a slice of dusk-dark sky in the squat exit Rain had found, one which shortly ended at a lip of rock that fell away to the dainty river below. To the side, a wide, grassy ledge ran along the wall of the ravine a ways but without joining a path up or down before it ended with a few scraggly little trees rising out of the rock and thin soil.
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