Tʜᴇ Rᴏᴀᴅ Lᴇss Tʀᴀᴠᴇʟʟᴇᴅ Bʏ {literate ; closed}

[arabmorgan]

{ yes, i'm quite looking forward to playing the guides too! c: }

ｋｒｙｓｔａｌ.
female . 16 years . single . the outgoing
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Krystal hesitated, looking around at the silent crowd. One of the girls and a rather short, if cute, boy had flushed quite unexplainably. Were they shy? She stood, straightening from her crouch in front of the injured boy, and gave a slightly awkward smile, her mood dampened by the unfriendly welcomes she had received so far. "Am I intruding on something?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and forcing a smile. She was going to be working with them for the next half a year, at the least, so she figured she should make some effort to get to know them. Besides, she didn't really fancy not having anyone to talk to while travelling; that would be a disaster and she was likely to die of boredom if that happened. She kicked at the snow with the toe of her boot, looking from face to face with a growing feeling of unease. She was pretty sure they had been talking before her arrival; did she have something on her face, or had they heard unsavory rumours about her?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
luna . female . 16 years. gray wolf

[videlicet]

(@~Fullmetal.Heart~, The Guides can begin to come into play now, I'd say! c: It will be mostly simple observation at first, I believe; Guides sussing out their human counterparts, figuring who precisely their other halves are.
I've gotten a few excellent questions from people pertaining to the Guides, and I figured I may as well share the answers, so everyone's on the same page! c:
Firstly, the Guides do have corporeal, physical bodies. They are touchable, and can interact with the world around them. But, they do not feel the cold, they do not need to eat (as long as their human companions are fed, so are they), and they sleep when their other halves do. They are intrinsically connected to their humans; they are one and the same. Halves to a whole. They share sensations -pain, exhaustion, hunger, etc. And, when one dies, the other does as well. There are no living Guideless Ssael past the age of sixteen.
And, yes, I think that's it, more or less. I'm happy to clear up any more questions people have -just shoot me a PM or ask me on this thread! c:

Eep, I have to go! Extended family's here; I shall post once I can make my escape.)

[dogface]

ooc; ooo sounds good. just waiting for leviathan's reply :3

[Speak]

◤━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◥
ｓｅｒｅｎｉｔｙ
◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢

—Her blush deepening to a russet red Serenity couldn't believe what Ari had said, he thought that her name suit her? He thought it suit her? Looking up at him Serenity tried to see the smug look on his face that would confirm he was just making fun of her, taunting her but all she could see was his red cheeks and an awkward grin. She couldn’t think of anything else to say but the lump in her throat melted just a bit more. While it wasn’t enough to make it completely disappear Serenity felt just a bit more secure about talking to this girl Krystal. In fact she felt a little guilty for not saying anything earlier, it was apparent in every action Krystal took that she was hurt by the silence. Stepping closer to the brown haired girl Serenity looked up at her and tentatively stuck out one furred mitt to shake “Ah-no, no…you didn’t…-interrupt I mean. I’m Serenity……Krystal right?” she said her voice even quieter than normal. Would this girl think she was stupid? Lame or just plain weird, grey eyes darkening even further with her confusion and doubt it almost seemed as there was a storm brewing inside her. Krystal seemed nice, friendly all the things that Serenity didn’t consider herself to be; this girl was also pretty. Realizing what she was thinking Serenity banished those thoughts from her mind, still trying to accept who she was Serenity was still hesitant.

◤━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◥
ｃｕａｎ
◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢

—Stomping along Cuán didn’t feel hungry or thirsty, in truth he didn’t feel anything except the need to know who his other half was- girl, boy, tall, short it didn’t really matter to him; all that mattered was his spirit. His other half probably wouldn’t be as amazing or strong but honestly all they needed was a brave heart, but being strong would be nice to. Even if he wasn’t hungry Cuán felt like hunting, well, not exactly hunting but maybe scaring another predator into leaving him their food- after all why should he have to work when someone else would do it for you. Shaking off some of the falling snow from his pelt Cuán stopped, lifting his head to the wind the wolverine inhaled, eyes gleaming with mischief he walked on not bothering to quiet his footsteps. What he had smelled was a cougar; also known as a mountain lion but did it really matter? Where there was a large predator there was normally prey.
Shuffling along Cuán followed the cat's scent making sure to stay down wind and out of sight, it never hurt to be cautious after all. Staying out of sight was proving to be a bit more difficult though, his brown pelt made him stick out like a sore thumb against the snow covered ground. Finally catching the tan coat of a cougar Cuán grinned, but when he noticed that the cat had no food his mood sank...he'd been looking forward to scaring her out of her meal. Walking up he stood off to the side and a little further away from the cat "hey, kitty you ok?" he asked grudgingly, his best guess was that the feline was a guide; why else would she be here?

[videlicet]

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃
A R I ⊝ I N G V A R ⊝ S V E R R I R

Head swivelling quickly, Ari had to restrain a relieved sigh as Krystal approached them and shattered the awkward silence growing more tangible by the second. He watched as Serenity approached Krystal, holding out a mittened hand for the brown-haired newcomer to shake. Intrude on what? Ari thought perplexedly, brow furrowing almost imperceptibly as he cast another quick glance at Serenity before laying it to rest on Krystal. She was about the same height as he was, he noted with a sinking feeling, and slender, with an oval shaped face harbouring moss-green eyes. Her hair hung about her shoulders in light waves. Pretty. Ari affixed the word to the girl matter-of-factually. He'd discovered long ago that the physical appearance of girls held no particular appeal for him; not in the way it seemed to for the other boys, at least. That realization had lead to a period of internal turmoil -self-questioning. Ari had considered the possibility of homosexuality at age fourteen, but, after paying a heightened attention to the boys around him, he'd concluded that, no, that wasn't it either. Neither of the genders seemed to hold physical appeal for him, and he'd consulted his sister grudgingly on the matter. She'd merely laughed, and said that he was probably merely a late bloomer. Ari had accepted that answer with a wash of relief -he wasn't different, after all- but, two years later, the situation was the same.
Suddenly, he became aware of the fact that he'd been simply standing there in silence, lost in thought. Ears turning pink(er), Ari outstretched a hand of his own. "I'm, uh, Ari," he stuttered, stumbling over the words like a newborn calf learning to walk.

(eurgh, I think I may have come down with writer's block. -.-)

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃ ▃▃
ϟ G W E N D O L Y N

Snow crunched satisfyingly under her paws as Gwendolyn stalked forward, ears pricked and eyes alert. Her pelt was smattered with white; an accumulation of snowflakes she hadn't bothered to shake off yet. They slowly soaked through the coarse beige outerfur, melting on her skin with a chill she could not feel. Her mind was buzzing with questions, and she continued padding through the icy wasteland, spurred forward by a mysterious tugging at her centre, like someone had tied a rope about her and was slowly, but insistently, pulling her forward. Her other half was calling.
All of a sudden, a sharp pain exploded in her head, and Gwendolyn stopped in her tracks, claws unsheathing instinctively to ward off the invisible attacker. It radiated outward from her skull, and, mouth opening to expose lethally-pointed teeth, Gwendolyn let out a low hiss of pain. Ouch.
She sat down suddenly in the snow, a wave of dizziness threatening to overwhelm her and send her spiralling down into unconsciousness. Her skull throbbed with a painful insistence, sharp sparks of pain setting her nerve endings on fire. What was going on? Panic began to rise in the female mountain lion, and she tried to pull herself to her feet along with it. Eyes narrowed against the pain, she cast a frantic gaze at the landscape around her, searching for some explanation of what was happening. All that greeted her golden eyes was an unchanging expanse of white. Struggling to keep her breathing even, Gwendolyn attempted to concentrate, locking down and filing away the pain in her head. She was not in control of this situation -and that sent terror coursing through her veins with a fervor, raising the ruff of fur on the back of her neck. No. Stay calm, Gwendolyn. Emotional reaction was messy and confusing -there was no place for it, ever. What was going on?
Breathing resuming a more regular pattern, Gwendolyn shut her lids against the pain, letting the whiteness of the world around her be consumed by its polar opposite. What had triggered this pain? She ran through a list of possibilities slowly, narrowing it down as she tried to ignore the steady pounding of her skull. Finally, she settled on an answer.
My other half. My other half is in pain.
This realization sent a wave of panic through her, crashing over her body like a wave against the shore, threatening to pummel her into the sand before dragging her out to sea, where she would flail in the water, before relinquishing control and sinking down, down, down.

[arabmorgan]

ｋｒｙｓｔａｌ.
female . 16 years . single . the outgoing
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A small native-looking girl hesitantly offered her hand for a shake, introducing herself as Serenity. Krystal brightened, grabbing the smaller girl's hand enthusiastically. "Yes, I'm Krystal! And I love your name, it's really pretty," she said with a smile. She learned, too, that the shorter boy was named Ari, and offered him a cheerful greeting as well. They were both utterly adorable, in her opinion; a little shy, perhaps, but perfectly willing to interact with her, for which she was glad. She had been reminded time and time again how overbearing her enthusiasm could be, but in the excitement of the moment she had quite forgotten to tone down. "What happened to him?" she asked, nodding down at the injured boy and reaching out a gloved hand to pull him to his feet. "We should get going if we ever want to reach the Winter Home before a year is over, you know." She laughed, showing she meant it in a jesting manner.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
luna . female . 16 years. gray wolf

ｙｉｎｇ.
male . 16 years . golden eagle . the sensible
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ying relished the cool air ruffling through his feathers as he soared across the snowy plains, his sharp eyes narrowed as scanned the barren landscape. For now, he was calm, if not slightly bored, which was no bad thing in his opinion. At least it meant his other half hadn't gone and done something ridiculous quite yet; if his other half was boisterous and playful, he didn't really know how he was going to cope with a lifetime of noise. He wasn't a curious spirit, yet the strong desire to identify his other half burned strong within him. Trusting his instincts, the eagle angled downwards slightly, skimming overhead a herd of moose in a direction that somehow called to him. It wasn't long before a rather sad-looking group of teens came into view, and Ying ascended back to the clouds, where he could safely circle the group without being seen. There seemed to be an injured boy down there, thankfully not his other half or he would have felt it, and he sighed inwardly. Not even an hour into the passage and they were already getting into trouble? Looked like this batch needed the help of their companions as soon as possible.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
eloise amelia blackwhithe . female . 16 years

[Leviathan007]

回 回 回 回 回
A l e n a
回 回 回 回 回

Alena recoiled a bit as the boy fell suddenly, still seeming to be suffering from his impact with the tree. "You should be rid of that ache soon... Will you be able to walk..?" she muttered under her breath, engrossed in her actions as she tied the linen around his wound, careful not to leave any flesh open to the elements.
Strangely, the sight of the open wound enthralled her. It revived memories of the time she had spent healing after a careless breach of attention allowed a knife to lacerate her skin. Bodily injuries such these only served as a reminder to their frailty as humans and Alena found herself quailing at the thought of facing similar- probably worse- grievances along their passage. Hopefully, though, the boy would be able to stay afoot. It'd be in their best interest to get moving as soon as possible to make up for their lost time.
Alena's eyes returned to the boy as she snickered slightly at his question, returning his smile. "My name? Well, just call me Alena. What about yours?" she replied as she tied the final knot to secure the bandage. Taking a step back, she admired her handiwork. The wound should heal normally now and with luck it wouldn't leave the boy with a scar.
"It's nothing. Besides, it was Serenity who brought you back to your senses... What possessed you to fly into such a rage anyway?" she threw the question over her shoulder as she retrieved his "yak-sack" from the snow, rummaging through its contents until she found his canteen. Handing it to him, she allowed her gaze to travel over the others, noticing that two more girls had joined them. Alena blinked as she realized that she knew so little of her peers- the very people who would become her companions until they finished the Passage. Looking to Serenity, Alena watched for a moment as she conversed with the small boy before focusing her attention back to the boy who now sat bandaged up in the snow, awaiting his answer.

ooc; well I believe I must account for all whenever I lament my dread of...ugh responsibilities. which is often @.@
ooo I used to volunteer at the library here too but I stopped since it's hard to find the time :<

{Oops! Sorry for responding so late. Got a bit distracted.}

N A T H A N ~ D E L M A R

"Call me Nathan." He tilted his head in a mesmerizing hypnotic expression, as if he were captivated by her, his eyes large as a bird's, skin nearly pale from the cold,"You really must be given some credit," Nathan scoffed,"I'm feeling better already! Like a million rupees." Rupees were the type of currency his village used, they were coins made out of gold, silver and copper. He rubbed his head, acting like it didn't hurt to move, but in reality he felt on fire from the pain, like someone had lit a stick of dynamite inside his brain and had forgotten to stitch his head back up. He stopped himself from wincing, not wanting to show the slightest bit of weakness or flaw in front of her, despite his childish manner, Nathan was just as fascinated by the opposite sex as he was about outer space, sometimes he felt like they were a totally different species, who had their own language and culture and everything. His fingers curled into a fist as he stared at the snow, which was now speckled with crimson, no longer pure and white."I was angry. Angry that my friends refused to tell a story with a happy ending. Because every story has a happy ending," He gazed at her, expecting an answer like a child expects his parents to be perfect, he seemed earnest, his eyes pleading for an answer,"Right?"

{I'll post for my Guide when Korbin posts.}

[-Starchild.Keith-]

►Luna ~ Gray Wolf ~ Sixteen►

.:Krystal:.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luna padded slowly along the ground, her eyes scanning the horizon carefully for any sign of danger or her other half. She knew that they were close by, both by intuition and the scent of human on the wind. Her nose could tell that the group was somewhere ahead of her, so she continued on her way. Soon, she could pick up the sounds of something moving. Yup, the voices definitely told her that this was the group she was looking for. Though she didn't know who her partner was as of yet, she did know that it was someone that was overly happy. And probably a girl because of the happiness. Though she wasn't happy, females did tend to be happier in her mind. Great. She was friends with an outgoing, person-loving human. This was just peachy.

(Sorry it's short. She has no one to really interact with right now..)

[dogface]

回 回 回 回 回
A l e n a
回 回 回 回 回

"Every story has a happy ending.. Right?"
Alena could sense the poignancy behind Nathan's question and she fumbled momentarily to find the right words. The option to simply say "yes" hung before her, tempting and simple, as if a carrot had just been placed before a rabbit; no strings attached. As the boy's eyes searched her for answers, however, trusting as a child, Alena realized how long it had been since somebody actually expected something of her. Something serious and candid and not make-believe.
But in that same moment, as if on its own accord, her mind began to run through the countless stories she had fabricated as a child- many ended perfectly happy but even more saw the characters wandering lost or maimed or dead. Watching the scenarios play quickly behind her eyelids soon thrust Alena back to their current situation. Snow dotted claret by Nathan's blood beneath her feet and the voices of the other kids as they introduced themselves.
If they didn't get moving night would creep up on them as soon as they'd be able to set out again.
"Ah, yes, there will always be happy endings.. Sometimes, though, sometimes our minds just like to twist the outcomes of a story before we can decide if something's actually bad or good though. You know, people die but maybe they were evil and just had to die in order for the story to end happy.." she attempted to sound both convincing and senseful at the same time. "And the only way for us to end this Passage happily is if we finish it, right?" Managing another smile, Alena hoped that whatever skein of words she had just spewed made sense. She prepared herself for that all-too-familiar look a raised eyebrow, maybe, and a halfhearted nod- to surface on Nathan's visage.
But instead, Alena started as another girl with brown hair- she had said her name was Krystal, right?- questioned Nathan's condition and offered out her hand to help. "He ran into a tree on accident," Alena shrugged as if it couldn't be helped. "And you're probably right, we were just about to get moving again."

-WIP assoonasIfinishthishw-

回 回 回 回 回
A i k u
回 回 回 回 回

ooc; omg the April fools icons

[Razzles]

☯Ioree
____________________________

"One, two..." The gray feline was currently in a crouching position, ready to pounce on the random victim of the day: a snow mouse. Its color blended well with its surroundings, but that wasn't enough to fully conceal it from the sharp eyesight of the cat. Now Ioree wasn't planning on eating the prey; she was merely bored and wanted to toy with it for a while. She had been searching for her other half for the past... well, she lost track of the time. Surely a little break wouldn't do any harm, would it? "Ugh, I'm being too complacent," she blurted out, startling the rodent, which caused it to run away in panic. The cat pouted and dragged her butt down to the snowy ground. First she couldn't find her partner, and now her only amusement abandoned her. Was she meant to be alone? No, of course not, and the person who was supposed to complete her being -- the one who probably brought her into this world -- is the proof. She just needs to be patient and look for him or her with extra effort. Now.

Thankfully the climate is in good terms with her: Ioree has always preferred the cold, and it's a treat to watch the pretty snowflakes fall with all their shimmering glory. Standing up, the domestic cat scanned the area, letting her fur be gently blown by the chilly breeze wafting across the perimeter. There was quite a number of trees around -- some still had a few leaves on its branches, while most have gone bald. No other plant life seemed apparent, for this place was cold and unsuitable for a lot of greenery. She also noticed other creatures of varied sizes walking about. Probably hunting, a voice in her mind assumed. Yes, even scavenging for food in this kind of habitat is rather hard, for countless animals couldn't stand the frigidness. Ioree looked up, silently praying to the deep gray sky -- darker than the color of her fur -- to provide her fellow animals with what they need, and in an adequate amount. She considered herself as lucky: she didn't have to dig for or chase something in order to feel full. All she needs is for her other half to eat a meal, and then she herself will magically be stuffed.

After her short prayer, Ioree started walking towards a tree, loving the feeling of having her paws land on the soft snow numerous times. Being a feline, it was naturally easy for her to climb the towering living thing that doesn't really move or breath or talk, but is indeed alive. Trusting her claws to keep her from falling, and her tail to aid her in balancing herself, Ioree swiftly reached one of the highest branch in no time. From there she should be able to take a wider, better view of the area. And she did. Not far from where she is, her eyes managed to detect a group of figures -- the humans, she presumed. Her light olive-green iris sparkled. The distance between her and her partner was not arduously long as she had thought. This relieved and drove her even more to go over to them. In just a matter of minutes, she can finally meet him... or her.