[PRP] Following Voices (Huo x Auriel)

[Epine de Rose]

He'd been notoriously silent since the fall out within the Bahari'mtoto, and this had come as something of an upset to a fair number of individuals. He'd always been known as the closest brother to Shui, and yet he had let his brother act as a 'tyrant' in the eyes of some. The truth of the matter was that when Huo had taken a step back, he had seen some logic in the manner in which his brother had chosen to act... even if the methodology had left something to be desired.

Nevertheless with ranks closing in and battle lines seemingly drawn in the hearts and minds of the pride, Huo had eventually conceded that perhaps it was time to explore other possibilities. He needed inspiration, answers, and a direction that might provide him with an idea of how best to bring some form of peace to the pride again.

...Would this necessarily ensure that things went back to the way they were? No, of course not, but if he could even find a manner of presenting the information in a better light then it might make life easier. Alternatively, he might find that he had the capacity to reach his brother and make him realise that while he needed to be strong, he needed to remember that his homeland didn't tend to respond to cold and aloof personalities well!

Alas, he hadn't come alone and at first he and his companion had meandered without true direction. This meandering had continued until rumours had reached them of the unusual crevice that had opened near their home - they were within reach of another pride at this stage, but whatever it was seemed to be outside it. Rumour had it that it wasn't quite normal either, with some even claiming that it spoke. Given the unusual happenings in the skies above them Huo could have very well been walking in to trouble, but on the other hand if there was ever a place to look for divine guidance... Well it might very well have been there!

"We're almost there," Huo remarked to his companion as he glanced over his shoulder. While not strong, he could already hear something bizarre and he couldn't quite put his paw on what it was...

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((For my memo))
7-9. What is that? A huge, dark shadow moves under the water, rippling the surface. You peer down over the edge and slip! Oh no! (Roll a 1d4!)  

[Ctrl F Greenie]

The pair had come together for a common cause, explore with a purpose, but without direction. Aur-iel wasn't in quite position that Huo found himself in, brother to the King carried a unique burden all of its own and although she was up to date on the going ons in the pride she wasn't sure which way she was leaning. The core values of the pride seemed to be in jeopardy at one time or another and Shui's reaction? Was almost protective, even if it didn't seem that way when he presented himself - Aur-iel was told he almost appeared mad, crazy.

Her conversations surrounding the situation made her that much happier that she hadn't been mentally available for the prides gathering. Mentally she had checked out and had been considering her own lifes goals, where she was headed, and where she may end up. Aur-iel found herself at a pivotol point in her life where leaving the pride seemed almost inevitible.

Then voices began to interrupt her thoughts. They began after rumors reached her and Huo, the rumors talked of strange waters. Aur-iel headed in the direction along side Huo without hesitation. "I can tell." She remarked, glancing in his general direction briefly as they continued to walk. It seemed that as they grew closer to the lake that it was the source of the soft mumbling she had been hearing. The mumbling was incoherent, she couldn't make out a single word causing her brow to furrow.

"Huo, are you hearing this?"

She queried her companion about the voices, unsure if it was possibly just in her head or if they were voices at all, it had just been a guess.

Shortly after.. the edge came into view. The rumor had been about a lake, but she couldn't quite glimpse the waters edge from the direction they entered from. Lakes were meant to be beautiful, crisp, and perhaps flow softly or that is what she imagined of them.. almost like a sister to the ocean. This wasn't beautiful, it didn't bring her a sense of calm and Aur-iel audibly inhaled quickly as she tensed up - something wasn't right here.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

Huo was all but silent as he drew nearer the edge; in hindsight he would know that distance would have been preferable given the steep edges, but the murmuring that his companion had heard were very much something he could hear. On this occasion Aur-iel could be content in the knowledge that she wasn't alone in hearing things, but what he hadn't expected was to see things too. No sooner had the lioness asked if he had taken note of the voices than he saw something deep beneath the surface caught his eye.

"Of course I can hear -" he had been about to reassure her, but in his attempts to get a closer look at what was clearly alive beneath the surface, he lost his footing. Paws scrambled for ledges that simply didn't exist and the pale lion soon found himself bouncing, rolling and sliding along sharpened and crumbling rocks within the crater. For all intents and purposes he was a ragdoll for several moments as he tried his best to catch upon the occasional ledge.

Truth be told, it didn't look promising.

Fortunately it seemed that at this time he wasn't quite ready to join his father in the murky depths and at last his claws grasped on to stable land. Digging in with all his might he slid for several more feet and eventually came to a halt, though not before half of him had become submerged within the peculiar liquid. Suffice to say that from down here, he could categorically say that whatever this was it wasn't water.

He'd been around water his entire life and it had never looked like this before, there was something wrong with this picture...

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Outcome:
You skid down, getting a grip just as you splash down into the water. Whew, close one! But as you take a moment to catch your breath, something bites down on whatever part of you is in the water! It quickly lets go, giving you time to get to safety, but it's a deep, jagged bite, and a nasty infection will set in within the day. If you're not careful - or are just unlucky - you could lose the limb.  

[Ctrl F Greenie]

The voices continued, not ceasing for even a breath it would seem. Tension in her muscles began to cause them to ache. There was no beauty here, what should have been serene was quite the opposite and her discomfort grew the closer they dared to get.

Her pale companion had begun to speak, though she barely heard the words over the constant chatter from the disembodied voices. "What-" Green eyes left the water briefly as white began to creep into her peripheral vision. That white belonged to Huo and though he had gotten near enough to the edge to see.. he wasn't stopping.

"Huo!"

The shout of his name echoed into what was beginning to appear as more of a wide cavern with goop at it's center. Fear washed over her as she watched him tumble towards what might have been his end and she audibly sighed when he managed to stop his plummet into darkness. Unfortunately she wasn't much help beyond screeching his name in panic. For her own safety she chose to take a full step backwards.

Aur perked her ears upward and her head soon followed. There were others tempting fate by the 'waters' edge. But she couldn't make out any figures, nor would she have time to warn anyone.

"Can you climb up?" Her attentions returned to the lion she knew. An important figure in the pride and a friend - even if through common desire at this point. "I don't know how much I can help from up here." The statement was posed honestly, even as she tried to peek forward the earth threatened to give way and her paws trembled at the thought of being in the same predicament Huo now found himself in.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

He fell for a considerable amount of time, in fact it seemed to be endless as he careened down from the top. It should have come as a surprise to no one that he was in shock as his limbs were battered and bruised against the jagged rocks. For all intents and purposes he had gone limp and for a time it probably looked a touch dire, fortunately some sort of survival instinct did seem to kick in though and eventually he did manage to catch himself.

...In the most uncomfortable manner possible.

His claws were definitely not going to get away intact from this. He dug in as hard as he could until he slowly ground to a halt, drawing ever closer to the water. He seemed like he'd stop before it, but it seemed that momentum would carry him further and he plunged in briefly. He was up to his shoulders and while it was only brief, whatever lurked beneath the surface had more than enough time to make its presence known.

He'd been bitten.

"Mother fuc -!" It was a shriek, far from dignified and most assuredly one of pain. The bite had been needling and sharp, and now it seemed to linger even though the pressure had long gone. It was better for him not to think about what might have sampled him and instead he took several deep breaths before clambering wearily onto the edge. Only then did he gaze up towards the top and cringe, the distance he had fallen certainly wasn't to be laughed at and the panicked voice above him made it clear that Aur'iel was a touch distressed.

"Uh..." He glanced around him as he pondered her question before sighing. "I can probably get back up, just give me a minute," he replied. "Might take me a while though," he added.

"You're ok right? You didn't get caught in anything?" it was a stupid question, but one he needed to double check. "Don't bother coming down," He added quickly even though he had confidence in her; she wasn't stupid and he sincerely hoped she wasn't about to develop notions for grand heroism!

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