Tʜᴇ Rᴏᴀᴅ Lᴇss Tʀᴀᴠᴇʟʟᴇᴅ Bʏ {literate ; closed}

[videlicet]

(Still have a mountain of homework, but I've managed to make a considerable dent in it! Finally have time to make a reply! C: I'm honestly so, so profusely sorry for the wait, though.)

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A R I ⊝ I N G V A R ⊝ S V E R R I R

As Eloise grabbed his arm, yanking him forward with a violent jerk, Ari couldn't help the feeble whimper that passed his lips. Her grip felt like fire, even through the not-insubstantial number of furs protecting his skin from the icy temperatures of the world outside. He stumbled after her, terror reverting his mind to an empty slate. The Ice Girl strode quickly, longer legs covering ground with felinesque ease; Ari picked up the pace, looking for all the world like a newborn calf taking its first steps.
They passed over the first snow-clad hill, and Ari has to force himself not to look back -he knew that the rest of the group was out of sight now, knew it as surely as the fact that the Ice Girl had no good intentions in drawing him out here. But to look back would be to confirm beyond any doubt that he was beyond help, beyond salvation. The short boy felt his lower lip begin to tremble against his will, and bit down -hard- on the already tender skin. He would not cry -he wouldn't give the Ice Girl that satisfaction. Pointing to a spot a few paces to his left, she instructed he move. Ari obliged mindlessly, shuffling in the packed down snow. He watched with a rapidly rising sense of foreboding as she strode forward, dropping her sack by her side. The breath hitched in his throat as his eyes followed her hands to her sides, where she drew two lethally pointed blades from their sheaths at her hips. His heartbeat increased to a fevered pace; the pounding of feet against hard earth as the gazelle sped away from the lioness, the drummer beating out the violent rhythm of what would no doubt be his imminent death. In the few seconds that lapsed between the uncovering of the knives and the Ice Girl's next action, Ari's brain went into overdrive. I'm too young to die. What about my mother? Lara? Oh Gods, I don't want to die I don't want to dieIdon'twanttodie. It occurred to him very briefly that he might be acting disproportionately hysterical -after all, what reason did Eloise have to commit murder? The Passage had only just begun -and, besides, how would she even get away with it? The others would certainly smell a rat if she came back alone. But, would they care? Serenity would. His brain latched onto that thought, using it to give him the strength not to burst into tears as the Ice Girl grabbed his wrist in an iron grip, twisting it as she drew him in close. He was near enough that he could feel her breath on his face, white clouds billowing from her nostrils in a disconcertingly draconic fashion. She spoke, and Ari watched her lips moving, listening without truly comprehending the meaning of the string of sounds issuing from her mouth. She fell silent, a beat passed -Ari's heart pounded so loudly that surely Eloise could hear it- and meaning finally came to him, with all of the suddenness and force of an epiphany. She was not going to kill him. At least, he didn't think so. Not today. He was not going to die today. The relief that flooded him with that realization could have eradicated a village; a veritable tsunami.
But, as quickly as it had crashed over him, it left, and he was falling. Through the air, atoms too far apart to slow his fall. His back hit the hard-packed snow below him, and all the little air that had been left in his lungs deserted him, seeking a better host. The dull thrum of pain simmering just beneath his skin, and then tears, again, pricking at his eyes. Don't cry, he begged himself, please, no, don't-
Beads of moisture escaped from the corners of his eyes, threading a path halfway down his cheeks before freezing solid. More followed; tracks of ice burning their way across his skin. The Ice Girl's words floated back to him, whispering themselves tauntingly in his ears, viper-hisses off of serpent-tongues. The weakest link in this chain. A wave of self-loathing so strong washed over him that he barely flinched as the Ice Girl threw one of her knives down, seven inches from his head. He rolled onto his side and grabbed it with his right hand at her behest, drawing himself to his feet sluggishly. Raising the other hand, he wiped the ice from his cheeks, red and raw with the cold. Cold green eyes scanned him, and Ari could hear the mocking words spelled within them as clearly as if Eloise had been hurtling them jeeringly at his face. Impassive eyes watched as she lowered her centre of gravity, knees bending as she rearranged her body into a fighting stance. Ari tightened his grip on the knife instinctively, but the overwhelming terror of earlier had dissipated entirely. He was the weakest link; he was the one putting the survival of the whole group at risk. If one of them died -if all of them died- it would be all his fault. The Ice Girl was doing this for him -for all of them.

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ϟ G W E N D O L Y N

Gwendolyn sank her claws into the snow as Cuán bunched his shoulders. The slow trickle of fear that had been seeping through her veins turned into a river; it had begun in response to her helplessness, and grew as that sense of powerlessness did. Cuán could beat her with ease -especially in this state. Her head throbbed more incessantly with every thought that flitted through her neural pathways. Please, just go away, she begged silently, swallowing her pride as she deferred to whatever deity sat on their gilded throne above them -if such a god, or gods, existed. Gwendolyn didn't like to ponder the existence of a higher power; it meant she was just a pawn in their game, with no will or strength of her own. Helpless, even at her best. But, if prayer would send this lumbering beast far, far away, then she would do what she had to, even if a vile taste permeated her mouth, rising up from her throat with all the bitterness of bile.
Go away, she prayed once more, eyes closing in response to an especially sharp burst of pain.
And, when she opened them again, Cuán was backing away, grudging words rolling thickly off his tongue. Relief loosened her muscles, stance lowering and then falling apart completely as she flopped gracelessly into the snow. The mountain lion lay in the soft, white powder, neither cold nor hot against her golden-beige pelt. Now that the wolverine had gone, she was free to turn her full attention back to the pain -which gave the impression of increasing as her focus sharpened. Her other half had suffered trauma to their head, that she was certain of now. Uncharacteristic worry caused her tufted ears to flicker, metronomic pace of her tail picking up to beat out 6/8 time. She stifled it, unwilling to let the cool logic of her mind to be muddied by emotions. Even in her head, the word was sneered derisively. One breath. Two. Eyes open. Close. Open again.
She was under control again.
This head injury might even come in handy, Gwendolyn mused as she lay limp in the snow. If she could recover well enough to get moving soon, it could make it considerably easier to find her other half.
If she could get up.
One step at a time.

[GrayStar51]

Eloise Amelia Blackwithe
{guide; ying} {loveless} {female}
the c o l d hunter



She took her knife in hand, turning the handle between her agile fingers. She charged Ari, tackling him. Her blade stopped at his neck, the cold blade pressed lightly against his skin. "A move like that, and your dead. You must react, and quickly. Try again." She said, getting off of him. She stepped back, and gestured toward herself. "Now, come at me. Don't be scared, I don't bite. Hard." She jeered, her hungry green eyes watching him like he was a piece of blood red meat.
{ WB, low muse today.}

[arabmorgan]

ｋｒｙｓｔａｌ.
female . 16 years . single . the outgoing
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Krystal shot Serenity a quizzical look. "You mean Eloise? Why wouldn't they be okay?" Glancing around distractedly, the first signs of a frown appeared on her face. Setting down the wood in her arms, she pushed her hood back once more and looked around, her eyes finally falling on the tracks that Serenity had been staring at for a while. "Are those...Alena's footprints? She has the tinderbox though, why did she wander off? Oh wait-" Bending, Krystal held up the fallen tinderbox when she straightened up, her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at it as if it was some kind of mystery. Her gaze returned to Serenity, now laced with some worry as the other girl's was. She'd hardly spoken to Alena, but the other girl certainly didn't seem like the irresponsible type who would drop whatever she was doing the moment there was a distraction. "Maybe we should call for one of the others to start the fire while we go off to search for Alena," she suggested, with a glance at the girl standing by her. "We could check on Ari and Eloise too, in case something really happened to them."

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luna . female . 16 years. gray wolf

[Razzles]

☯Ioree
>> The conflicted kitty || Female || Partnered with Ari <<
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Not too soon after she finished her question, her triangular ears once again picked up the sound of a voice -- a voice that was not feminine and gentle enough for her to mistake it as her own. Instead of blurting out "Who's there?" like most would, she assured herself that her mind didn't wander off into the air and possessed the tree with the offshoot she was resting on. She lifted her rear, disconnecting it from the wood and letting the cold wind kiss it, and spun around, looking directly at the body of this plant form before glancing sideways. When she saw no one, Ioree decided to tilt her head up, her curious olive-green eyes taking a hold of the sight of a winged creature that was standing on a few branches higher. She found it -- or him, judging by his low pitch -- quite pleasing to lay her seeing orbs on, as he boasted a gorgeous shade of golden-brown feathers, giving depth to his fierce yellow beak.

An eagle.

Since when has he been there, she wondered albeit not curious enough to ask him. He definitely got there first, that's for sure, because if he had just arrived, then she would have heard his wings preparing for landing. When she realized she hadn't said a single word, which could lead to the wild bird thinking that she was staring at him, Ioree immediately recollected his answer to her question. "Process of elimination, huh," she uttered a split second later, her tone more mature and confident. She knew what he meant by that and was ready to comment about the "using her brain" thing, but for the sake of amusement, her mind told her to add something: "My brain's idea of it is attacking every single one of them until we feel pain ourselves." Of course the feline didn't mean that -- she lied, though she may have sounded quite stupid to the otherwise intelligent flying being; and the two feasible outcomes of this were: (a.) he'd be annoyed and scold her, or (b.) she'd be ignored. She was somewhat interested to know how he'd react to this.

When all of a sudden, another where-the-heck-did-this-come-from pain attacked her.

This time, it was her back that felt it. Ioree then remembered that the eagle mentioned something about a boy injuring his head; whoever that may be was now out of her list of possible partners. Still, it didn't change the fact that whoever was destined to stay in that list was hurt -- the throbbing feeling on her back was the proof. The gray cat had the desire to jump off the branch to come to her human companion's aid (she'd recognize him, as long as he showed signs of being in agony), yet her lithe body stuck to where it was standing. She didn't want the other animal to see her having a hard time, especially not after her silly remark. Oh, was this a punishment for that? A hiss threatened to escape from her muzzle; however, in place of allowing it to do so, she dug her claws deeper into the wood, hoping the one above her didn't notice anything.

[Speak]

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ｓｅｒｅｎｉｔｙ
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——Eloise, that was her name. She hadn’t heard it spoken before now and so now Serenity had a name to put to the cold face. Looking down at her mitt covered hands Serenity chewed on the inside of her lip softly, she didn’t want to say that Eloise wasn’t trust worthy; she didn’t know that for sure, but from what she’d observed of the girl it seemed that Eloise would do whatever it took to survive- even leave people behind. And even if it was weak thinking Serenity just couldn’t do that to anyone for any reason, to leave someone behind would be like saying that they could go die and it wouldn’t matter, like she was more important. Looking up as Krystal’s voice filled the silence Serenity nodded “Ye-yeah, at least I think so.” she said quietly in answer to the girls question about the foot prints. Folding her arms across her chest Serenity looked out to watch as the snow fell softly and quietly , blanketing the land in a soft layer of white- not that it needed it though. All her life Serenity had lived with this blanket of white covering this land, only on the coasts had she seen more colours than white and green. As Krystal once again began speaking Serenity moved to face her, nodding Serenity looked up at the girl "I-I think that's a good idea." she mumbled before following the faded footprints. Serenity tried to slow her heart and untangle the knot that was beginning to form in her stomach, she felt her anxiety rising as she got closer to the hill. What if he was dead? Would Eloise really try to kill him? Her question was answered when she reached the crest of the hill, eyes widening in terror as she saw Eloise holding a knife to Ari's neck. "No!" she shouted, unable to stop the cry from rising up through her throat. Half running and half sliding down the rest of the hill Serenity let her hood slip off her head, she wasn't concerned with that at this particular moment. As Eloise backed off of Ari, Serenity felt just a little better but the knife in her hand still unsettled Serenity. Dark hair whipping across her face Serenity stopped short so that she was standing in between them- her back to Ari, her small frame seemingly even smaller as she shook with fear.

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—— SHALL POST WHEN I THINK OF SOMETHING.

[arabmorgan]

ｋｒｙｓｔａｌ.
female . 16 years . single . the outgoing
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Krystal's smile slowly faded as Serenity's worry began to fill the air. She followed the other girl silently, her boots sinking slightly into the top crust of snow as she increased her stride to keep up with Serenity's quickening one. The other girl still reached the top of the small hill first, and her shout of protest made Krystal's eyes widen. Her heart starting to pump even quicker, Krystal wondered what could possibly be happening over the top of the hill - somehow, she didn't really want to know. She didn't want Eloise to be a bad person, as Serenity clearly seemed to believe; she didn't want their little party to be broken up so quickly into the Passage. Nevertheless, she jogged the rest of the way up, her wide gaze falling on the scene before her - Serenity, her fear apparent on her face, standing between a stunned-looking Ari and Eloise with a wicked-looking knife drawn. Her eyes drifted down, seeing clearly the tracks in the snow that showed Serenity had all but slid down the slope in her panic. She followed suit, although she took care to keep nearer to Serenity and Ari, her stare focused on Eloise, not liking the look in the other girl's green eyes. "Eloise, what are you doing?" Krystal asked, her voice quiet and fearful, her eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.

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luna . female . 16 years. gray wolf

ｙｉｎｇ.
male . 16 years . golden eagle . the sensible
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Ying fixed his piercing glare on the cat once more, vaguely annoyed that she was merely staring at him without uttering a single word. The thought that he might have hallucinated her speech had barely crossed his mind when she finally replied. She sounded bold and unafraid, which impressed him somewhat. He gave a slightly amused huff at her words - hurting all the teens would only lead to one big bloodbath between all the Guides and humans, who would be trying to protect their own humans or defend themselves from what seemed to be a group of insane wild animals. "Indeed," he replied wryly. "Perhaps you should be the first to try that, and I shall view your success or lack thereof from the safety of this tree."

To his surprise, though, the other Guide seemed to suddenly stiffen as if some wave of emotion had surged in her. Her stiffened muscles and unsheathed claws were subtle signs that most wouldn't have noticed, but very little escaped Ying's sharp raptor eyes. "What is it?" he asked impatiently, his wings rustling as he turned to peer out at the little camp the humans had set up, worry for his other half foremost in his mind. There seemed to be some sort of commotion over one of the snow dunes a distance away from the igloo, and the horrified shout of one of the girls clearly traveled to them in the still air.

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eloise amelia blackwhithe . female . 16 years

[GrayStar51]

{Might I remind you all that eloise is not still pinning him down with a blade against his throat. She was on top of him for about 30 seconds, then got off of him and got back in her stance for him to attack her.}

[arabmorgan]

{ i kinda didn't realise until you mentioned it cx but krystal's just shocked at the knife i suppose. }

[GrayStar51]

Eloise Amelia Blackwithe
{guide; ying} {loveless} {female}
the c o l d hunter



She stopped, hearing screaming and shouting from above. Krystal and Serenity were fumbling down the snowdrift in a frantic hurry. Eloise couldn't understand at first. "Uh, I'm just giving Ari some lessons on how to defend himself and offensively attack. You know, In case a polar bear happens to find him, he will actually have a chance at survival. I didn't hurt him, he's fine." She said, shrugging off her tactic as if it was nothing. Because to Eloise, it was. She had not harmed him, therefore; she was not to blame for anything. The girls were simply overreacting about something they thought she had done. But no, she had not been about to slicked his throat and gut him like a fish. At least, not today.

[Speak]

{Might I remind you all that eloise is not still pinning him down with a blade against his throat. She was on top of him for about 30 seconds, then got off of him and got back in her stance for him to attack her.}

I understood that, I meant she saw that and ran down, I believe that by the time Serenity got down there Eloise was already up. Sorry I guess my writing was confusing.}}
I changed it a little so it's less confusing, once again apologies.}}