And cause terrible trouble that's more than it's worth
A battle will ensue
Between a powerful two
Both with a shadowy curse,
Defying the laws of Death and Life
Each engaged at each other in a desperate strife
One opponent, a slave to evil and himself
The other, a guardian, and thirsting to prove oneself
Each motive is different, yet the target is the same;
Another chance at Life and to put Death to shame,
Enemies of old, they rise from the grave
They hunt old wounds while the Two play their game
After the Masters they'll pursue
Using the magic of dark voodoo
Whilst the warriors battle forgotten foes
The terrible two fight for the other's death throes,
One must fall while the other flies
A second chance at Life shall be their prize
So beware the green moon, for though it shines,
Beneath the surface darkness truly lies."
The song ended with a foreboding note. Liana's chanting fell silent, and there was a long moment of quiet.
"It's not a very good song, but it's something the villagers like to sing each year." She said.
Cole let the silence ring for several seconds more before saying. "So...It's kinda like a warning to kids? Something like; ' Don't mess with the Dark Arts' or something?"
"Not so much a warning as much as a prophecy." She replied quietly.
Again, a moment of silence.
"Do you think that...that dream I had might have something to do with that?" He asked.
She gave a small shrug. "Who knows? Your dream made me think of that, for whatever reason."
"Mmh."
"Thanks." Cole finally said. "For listening, I mean."
"Thank you for sharing the night with me."
They sat there quietly, with the moon shining softly down on them, and the cat dozing peacefully.
...Beautiful. I have no other words. A peaceful moment after a long night...and the cat makes everything even better^^
For a second I thought you were being sarcastic. I personally don't like the poem very much. xD But thank you. :3 Tigress Law of Life #2: 8/10, cats will make any scene better.
The brown tabby cat dissapeared mysteriously in the middle of the night, when the two teens had dozed off for a few minutes, Liana's head resting lightly on Cole's shoulder. When he realized the cat had gone Cole wondered if it had been following him, or if it was just a coincidence he came across it again.
Matilda woke up everyone before the crack of dawn, clapping her hands loudly and muttering crossly about "lazy bones", "sleepy heads", and "slow slugs". Phillip and Cole moaned and groaned, and stuffed their pillows over their heads, pleading for "five more minutes".
A bucket of cold water splashing on their heads finally persuaded them to get up.
They ate hot breakfast cake and saddled up the horses just as the sun was beginning to rise. They four travelers set out through the steep, rolling mountain forests, yawning sleepily and blinking blearily. That is, except for Matilda. The brusk witch sat straight and tall in the saddle, apparently not sleepy at all, instead, energetic and ready to start the day. Apparently she got up this early each morning.
They rode in the direction of Stixx, where Phillip and Liana were headed. As the sun scaled the sky, they began to ride downhill the Yokai mountain ranges, passing groves of trees and steep, treacherous fields of boulders. Once in a while they stopped to relieve themselves or for Matilda to collect a clump of herbs or berries whenever she saw them. The land sloped gently, becoming smoother as they went.
Sometime after noon, they found themselves in an uneven, rocky area, where banks of boulders grew in size and the sides of the mountains grew steeper. Wary of bandits, Cole fingered the scythe he carried once in a while, recalling the brutality they faced against Dog Bone's gang.
Dark clouds began to form in the sky, shutting out the sun's warm light and casting the land in a foreboding shadow. Matilda glanced upwards and muttered something about rain.
1. MMMM Time to build that ship. 2. And thus, Cole's lifelong love for cake begun...
1. Toot-TOOT yes that was my imitation of a ship's horn blowing 2. Now THAT is true love.
The dark clouds rumbling faintly seemed to match Cole's mood. Despite the comfort Liana gave that night, the nightmare still haunted him, and made him a bit preoccupied and surly. He scowled off into the distance, lost by his own thoughts whilst swaying easily in the saddle.
At one point Matilda nudged her midnight-black stallion over to his chocolate-brown horse. "Kid? What are you tensing up for? You're making your horse stress out."
Her sharp voice brought him back to reality, and he realized he was gripping the reins tightly and hunching his shoulders as if he was cold. Glancing at Shauntel, he saw that the horse's ears were flicking uneasily, his tail was swishing sharply, and his even stride had become unsteady, as if he was slightly nervous.
"Horses can feel your emotions down the reins, you know." Matilda said. "You know, like how lightning goes down...what are those things...? Ah, telephone poles...Transferring emotions like electricity. Not to mention, you're the only one who can see straight ahead, which is where the horse's blind spot is. If you start feeling nervous or angry, how is he supposed to know that--?"
"OK, OK, I get it!" Cole snapped. "I'm just....just stressed, OK? Just leave me alone."
Matilda's lip curled angrily, but she said nothing. She turned away from him and looked ahead to the rolling landscape. Ahead of them Liana and Phillip were laughing about something, oblivious to the frosty atmosphere Cole and Matilda shared.
After about two minutes of stony silence, Matilda reached into her little carpet bag, letting her horse take the lead for a few seconds. Cole didn't pay her any attention until she pushed something cold and hard into his hand. Looking down, he saw that it was what looked like a jumbled mess of iron rings all connected.
"Line up those peices in the right order, and it'll make a ring." Matilda muttered.
Cole glanced at her.
"I use it to take my mind off things." She shrugged, then trotted off.
Cole stared at the witch trotting away from him, then looked at the rings, bemused. On closer inspection he saw that each ring was different; while some were thin and spindly little things, others were thicker, with curious patterns and shapes on the metal he couldn't make out. While a few of the iron pieces were simple, thin circles, others curved strangely or had a bump in the middle. The cold iron was slowly beginning to warm in his hand.
Line up the pieces? He scrutinized the jumbled mess of rings, trying to see what Matilda was talking about. He fingered the rings and felt the peculiar patterns. Each ring looked different; how was he supposed to "Line up those pieces"?
He scowled crossly. Probably just some witch's trick to confuse non-magical people. Matilda thought she was smarter than him, she thought she was wiser than some teenager. She probably thought he would drive himself crazy trying to put the ring together.
His lip curled. Well, two could play at that game. He would join the rings together just to spite her. Determined to prove himself, he concentrated on the many rings lying together in the palm of his hand. There was a pattern there, he knew it...He just had to find it.
He spent what felt like forever staring at the puzzle and fingering the rings, ignoring the world around him. The rumble of storm clouds faded out, as well as the thumping beat of the horses' hooves and the chatter of his companions. He saw only the rings, the curves and twists of metal and the strange bumps and dots appearing. Frustration began to gnaw at him, making him bite his lip and furrow his eyebrows. After a while he began to wonder if Matilda gave him a puzzle that just couldn't be solved. It seemed like the type of trick a witch would play.
Just when he was on the verge of giving up, two of the rings in the little pile caught his eye. Both were curved, as if the one who forged the metal had twisted them before curving them into rings.
Cole stared at the witch trotting away from him, then looked at the rings, bemused. On closer inspection he saw that each ring was different; while some were thin and spindly little things, others were thicker, with curious patterns and shapes on the metal he couldn't make out. While a few of the iron pieces were simple, thin circles, others curved strangely or had a bump in the middle. The cold iron was slowly beginning to warm in his hand.
Line up the pieces? He scrutinized the jumbled mess of rings, trying to see what Matilda was talking about. He fingered the rings and felt the peculiar patterns. Each ring looked different; how was he supposed to "Line up those pieces"?
He scowled crossly. Probably just some witch's trick to confuse non-magical people. Matilda thought she was smarter than him, she thought she was wiser than some teenager. She probably thought he would drive himself crazy trying to put the ring together.
His lip curled. Well, two could play at that game. He would join the rings together just to spite her. Determined to prove himself, he concentrated on the many rings lying together in the palm of his hand. There was a pattern there, he knew it...He just had to find it.
He spent what felt like forever staring at the puzzle and fingering the rings, ignoring the world around him. The rumble of storm clouds faded out, as well as the thumping beat of the horses' hooves and the chatter of his companions. He saw only the rings, the curves and twists of metal and the strange bumps and dots appearing. Frustration began to gnaw at him, making him bite his lip and furrow his eyebrows. After a while he began to wonder if Matilda gave him a puzzle that just couldn't be solved. It seemed like the type of trick a witch would play.
Just when he was on the verge of giving up, two of the rings in the little pile caught his eye. Both were curved, as if the one who forged the metal had twisted them before curving them into rings.
...Beautiful. I have no other words. A peaceful moment after a long night...and the cat makes everything even better^^
For a second I thought you were being sarcastic. I personally don't like the poem very much. xD But thank you. :3 Tigress Law of Life #2: 8/10, cats will make any scene better.
I usually don't do sarcasm since I don't have any witty remarks. But seriously, the poem is awesome. c: Hopefully I'll get to learn all the laws by the end of this story. *prepares notebook*
The dark clouds rumbling faintly seemed to match Cole's mood. Despite the comfort Liana gave that night, the nightmare still haunted him, and made him a bit preoccupied and surly. He scowled off into the distance, lost by his own thoughts whilst swaying easily in the saddle.
At one point Matilda nudged her midnight-black stallion over to his chocolate-brown horse. "Kid? What are you tensing up for? You're making your horse stress out."
Her sharp voice brought him back to reality, and he realized he was gripping the reins tightly and hunching his shoulders as if he was cold. Glancing at Shauntel, he saw that the horse's ears were flicking uneasily, his tail was swishing sharply, and his even stride had become unsteady, as if he was slightly nervous.
"Horses can feel your emotions down the reins, you know." Matilda said. "You know, like how lightning goes down...what are those things...? Ah, telephone poles...Transferring emotions like electricity. Not to mention, you're the only one who can see straight ahead, which is where the horse's blind spot is. If you start feeling nervous or angry, how is he supposed to know that--?"
"OK, OK, I get it!" Cole snapped. "I'm just....just stressed, OK? Just leave me alone."
Matilda's lip curled angrily, but she said nothing. She turned away from him and looked ahead to the rolling landscape. Ahead of them Liana and Phillip were laughing about something, oblivious to the frosty atmosphere Cole and Matilda shared.
After about two minutes of stony silence, Matilda reached into her little carpet bag, letting her horse take the lead for a few seconds. Cole didn't pay her any attention until she pushed something cold and hard into his hand. Looking down, he saw that it was what looked like a jumbled mess of iron rings all connected.
"Line up those peices in the right order, and it'll make a ring." Matilda muttered.
Cole glanced at her.
"I use it to take my mind off things." She shrugged, then trotted off.
1. Let him brood in peace, Matilda! >:0 2. Oh no. Not that. Anything but that.
Working on a hunch, Cole moved the rings together. The twisted pieces molded into each other perfectly, like a puzzle piece.
Encouraged by his success, he continued to work the rings about, studying, moving, piecing them together. Once in while he managed to join a few rings together, slowly revealing a pattern carved into the iron. The task gave his fingers something to do, taking his mind off his stress. He relaxed and let Shauntel take the lead, occupied by the rings.
He didn't how long it was before he realized Shauntel had stopped. Looking up, he saw that the other horses and riders had stopped as well. Phillip was asking Matilda. "Which way now?"
The travelers had paused at the foot of a steep, rocky cliff towering hundreds of feet above them. Beige rocks and boulders were scattered about the uneven area, accompanied by clumps of dead grass and patches of snow. Behind them the land sloped and curved, with a grove of spindly trees standing by rocks half-buried in the dirt. The dark sky gave the area a spooky, dangerous look.
The cliff extended far off into the distance in both directions, showing no sign of growing ceasing. The cliff was much too steep to climb, and going around could take days. Straight ahead of the travelers was a jagged crack in the stone cliff face, looking a foot or two wider than a normal doorway and twice as high. The tunnel extended into the heart of the mountain, disappearing into cold shadows.
Matilda gazed at the entrance, then looked up at the cliff. "Mmph...Just our luck. We're only a day or two away from Stixx, and now we run into a dead end. Corpus bones!" She cursed.
"It's not a complete dead end." Phillip gestured to the dark cave looming before them. "We could take a short-cut through the tunnel. It could lead to the other side of the mountain!"
The witch frowned. "Hm...I don't like it."
The curly-haired youth rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! What's the worst that could happen?"
For a second I thought you were being sarcastic. I personally don't like the poem very much. xD But thank you. :3 Tigress Law of Life #2: 8/10, cats will make any scene better.
I usually don't do sarcasm since I don't have any witty remarks. But seriously, the poem is awesome. c: Hopefully I'll get to learn all the laws by the end of this story. *prepares notebook*
But you do seem to have a gracious stock in the pun department. Thanks. c: I should probably write these down as I go along, too. . .
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