Adventure Time[callypso/open]

[Callypso]

It was funny, in a way, that Emery had relied on ill-humor to regain his senses. Especially considering Xopek was clearly more upset by being cheated than he was of being lost in probably one of the worst places ever. If he could count on one thing, it was his friend being incensed over injustices and the abuse of fair-play. The Ace allowed himself another smirk even though he was still trembling. Well, if they were to go out, they’d be going out as nothing but themselves.

Xopek’s head swiveled about searching for the Something, so the mix followed his gaze (against his better judgment- did he really want to see what was probably about to eat them??) and alighted upon what appeared to be a little head. It was rather ghostly looking- or was that just the fog? Either way, it wasn’t very comforting… His stomach felt like it bottomed out and he broke into sweat. Something was off about the Something, and he was pretty sure he didn’t want it to come any closer. But they still had to get out somehow. And he really, really didn’t want to be mauled by a JubJub bird.

Look, you’re right. You don’t have any reason to trust us. But we have nothing to gain from harming you. If we hurt you, something from the Wood will probably try to retaliate. It’s pointless for us to try something like that. We only want to get out of here, and right now, you’re the only one around. Xopek and I are honorable Cards. We promise not to harm you and to hand over the gem. Please, please help us. [/color]

He knew it sounded lame and pathetic, but what choice did he really have? He sighed and added one more plea...

What could we do to allow you to trust us?[/color]

[Kari Muffin]

The little girl wasn't particular sure what to do. She wasn't interested in gems, and she was still fairly certian that the other cards would either run away screaming or attempt to capture her and sell her to some freak show.

And Mommy would be upset if he found out that she was talking to Outsiders at all.

"Money and your honor are nothing to me," she said after a few long moments of silence. "If you see me you'll run away screaming just like everyone else. Or you'd try to kill me or something."

She ducked behind the tree again. Her canine ears pressed against her skull. What was she going to do?

"Why did you even come here in the first place?" Did they have some sort of goal? Even if they did they shouldn't have blindly walked into the Wood without a guide. They must have been fairly easy to swindle, and obviously money was no option.

[drewsky]

Xopek continued looking at what he thought was a little creature hiding behind some trees. He saw a flash of it through the fog and a shiver went up his spine. It had a head but its body was... cards? A strange creature to be sure, but it looked harmless if a bit weird.

"We would never hurt someone unless they were going to hurt us. You dont seem like that."

The little creature called out and then pulled its head or what looked like its head behind the trees. Xopek saw the look on its face. It was scared of them.

"We came here to explore and learn of the woods. After all not many cards have been here before. We didnt want to impose on anyone so we found a guide who said he would meet us outside the woods. We didnt see him so we went a little into the woods to find him. Then we got lost and ran into you."

[Callypso]

Emery's trembling briefly subsided to make way for mild confusion and curiosity - run away? What did the creature mean by that? Was it an unfortunate deformity or something more sinister than that? His eyes returned to the tree where he had earlier caught a glimpse of...whatever it was they had been pleading with... to find that it had hidden itself behind a tree. A shudder wracked his body. He wasn't really sure he wanted the Something to reveal itself, anyway.

A little chirpy squeak of frustration and fear issued softly from the Ace's beak, which he then lamely tried to cover up with a cough. They were at an impasse. The Something wasn't interested in being bribed with gems or promises and Xopek and Emery still needed to find a way out of the wretched Wood. What the deuce was he supposed to do now?

Emery's chipmunk ears twitched uncomfortably at the creature's question. There were definitely hints of scorn and disbelief. Had the situation been not so dire he might have been more embarrassed. Instead, he was beginning to feel desperate. This Thing didn't sound like it was going to help them and now it was essentially taunting them with their own stupidity. Super.

Yeah, well, that's Outsiders for you. He was really upset by now, almost angry. The creature was right. They'd been complete fools to wander into the Wood by themselves and now they were more than likely going to die. And he didn't know what to do. If they were in a city Emery would have been able to find a way to remedy the situation. Even if they had made a few wrong turns, he would have been able to eventually get himself and Xopek somewhere safe - they might have been bruised, bloodied or tired and hungry, but he would have been able to lead them to safety. Out here, he was totally useless. And it made him scared and irritated. Essentially, Emery was out charm and patience. If he was going to die he'd like it to hurry up and happen already, because waiting was infinitely worse. But he still needed to get Xopek out of there. He owed him at least that.

Right.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. Charm and patience be damned. He still had a few tricks up his sleeve, and one of them was honesty (which didn't always work, but hey, he was clearly running out of options here…)

Look, you're right. We were idiots to try and brave the Wood on our own. I'm Emery and my friend here is Xopek. We're just travelers exploring the world and, well, we're somewhat new at it… We underestimated the Tulgey and now we're in trouble. It's your choice to stay hidden and we'll respect that, he paused… yeah, please stay hidden whatever-you-are… But you're right. We're going to die if you just leave us here. Our foolhardiness doesn't really deserve help and it would only serve us right if we were killed, but if you have any kindness in you, please, please help us.

[Kari Muffin]

The girl curled up behind the tree, her paw covering her ears as she tried to think. Mommy was going to be furious at her if she helped strangers. Daddy would be too. So shouldn't she let them die? They probably would have let her die if she was Outside of the Wood.

Kafzi wanted to cry, but that wasn't going to make things better.



The sound of voices had carried. The fog was a little unusual, but Rosemary knew where she wanted to go. The edge of the Wood was the most logical place for her daughter to be. The girl was curious about the Outside world no matter how many times she was told it was dangerous and a very horrible place.

Rosemary had wished that she had inherited her mother's sensibility, but that would have been too much to ask.

The wolf hybrid carefully made her way through the Woods, her ears twitching as she listened to the voices. One was her daughter's. The other two were anyone's guess. Shifting out of her animal form she summoned her weapon "just in case." Tulgey or Outsiders, they were probably dangerous.

She had the element of surprise on her hand while they where distracted, but she had no idea where her daughter was. Hopefully things would go smoothly.

The woman slipped out from the tree's pointing her weapon at the two gentlemen, a bright smile that rivaled a Cheshire's grin on her face. "You know, six year old children don't listen to logic and lectures. You might want to try candy next time if you manage to get out of this hole you've dug."

[drewsky]

Well that explains it. Xopek mentally face-palmed. Of course the creature was a kid and didn't understand. Of course that didn't matter now that the creatures mother came out with a weapon brandished.

"Miss... we meant nothing coming here we just wanted to explore. If you would be so kind, could you lead us out of the woods without killing us?"

Xopek's body bunched up. He could tell this card was dangerous, humor non-withstanding him and Emery were in trouble.

Xoepk stood to his full height and announced.
"What provacation have we given you to threaten us? We are harmless explorers who were swindeled and left to die. We dont want to disturb you or hurt your family. In fact we want the opposite. If you lead us out we will never tell anyone about you or your child and will never come back here again."

[Callypso]

If Emery had been afraid before, it was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. He didn't have any children of his own (who would mate with an Ace??) but he knew an angry parent when he saw one. The strange wolf-squirrel woman before him had slipped into the open without a sound, drawn her weapon and even sent a witty barb their way before they had a chance to blink. This woman was dangerous. Her cool, collected visage was much more terrifying than if a JubJub had leapt out at them. At least a JubJub would have been expected, so to speak. Any embarrassment over his discovery that they'd been bargaining with a child was being quashed by the bizarre woman's scrutinizing stare. His trembling vanished as he froze stock still in the gloomy silence.

OH. SHIT. [/i]

The fog drifting through the Wood cleared for a moment, revealing the large font that appeared to scribble itself across the woman's torso. The Ace's attentions were drawn to the writing; his eyes narrowed in cautious curiosity… What the… Wait a minute... What. the. Those aren't my thou- oh. oh shit.

Managing to tear his eyes away from the script, Emery stole a glance toward the woman and lowered his head. For the umpteenth time that day he didn't know what to do. First, a ghostly child that gave him the creeps and now an eery biped whose fur could read his thoughts. Oh yeah, and they were lost. Great. The Wood was certainly living up to all the fantastic tales. But what to do now?

Did the scrawl splashed across the woman mean she knew all his thoughts as well? He felt trapped and useless all over again. If she knew his internal diatribe, then she would already know he was no typical Ace. However, that didn't mean she wasn't still going to use his coat as home furnishings. His stomach twisted as his last thought wound its way across her thigh. Seeing in writing was somehow worse. Had she even seen his rank yet?

His thoughts trailed off as Xopek chose that moment to be dignified. He flinched. Why? Why, why why why why? Now what was he going to do?? Should he risk exposing themselves further by addressing her? If he said anything, would she merely laugh before gutting him there on the spot? Ordinarily, Emery would have waited and watched to see how the situation progressed, but he felt the sudden need to do some serious face-saving. Beside, he "wasn't in the Capital anymore". He could hardly be in a tighter spot than he already was. Might as well just go for it.

Please don't mind my friend, m'lady. We've been in the Wood quite some time now and we're at our wits ends. We intended no harm toward the child, we only desired to find our way safely out. We apologize for disturbing you, we just want to get home…

His voice faltered. By this point the chipmunk-bird was beginning to feel the exhaustion from being constantly terrified. And really? He had no idea how they were going to get themselves out of this mess.

[Kari Muffin]

Rosemary narrowed her eyes at the Esterberry. They were all pompous asses as far as she was concerned. And he had no right to speak to her in such a way for a variety of reason she was going to list off. Maybe she would just stab him in the neck for giggles?

And then the Ace talked.

That was enough to make her go bugged eyed for a moment. Aces weren't supposed to talk like people if they spoke at all. But she would have expected something like that from an Esterberry right? Having a pet that was intelligent and could hold a conversation with them seem like a bizarre choice, but heaven only knew how many people were willing to tolerate this Esterberry.

"Tsk. For one thing, I'm a Queen you pompous snot," she said. "And for second you're trespassing in the Wood. We can threaten Outsiders whenever we want. We can kill anyone who walks in here. It's not like we have proper police like most other regions, and they wouldn't care about you or your pet Ace anyway. So know your place and treat me with respect."

Should she bother with her usual deal? Her daughter was involved....

Kafziel was peaking out from behind the tree again. Rosemary shot her daughter a quick glare to send her darting back behind it. At least she had found out that the one of the people talking to her had been an Ace.

"Look. I'll lead you out of the Wood under one simple condition." She eyed the Ace for a moment when she spoke. She'd add a little twist this time. "Your Ace needs to tell me a story that I've never heard before. Something good. Otherwise you can have fun getting out of here all on your own."

[drewsky]

Xopek quavered a bit at the big card yelling at him. She was a queen to? He thought in his mind. Oh shit. Even more she was reading his mind or something and it was appearing on her fur. He had to fight hard against his natural reaction to run over and start asking about the fur. He supressed a heavy shiver he could see all of the thoughts he just had on her flanks

"Hey, Emery isnt my pet he's a friend of mine."

A story huh? thought Xopek. I hope Emery has one or were gonna die. The sword in the cards hand looked sharp and Xopek didnt care to test it. Xopek ran through his mind all the stories he had ever read or heard about. This card had basically a book written on her. What story could work for her?

"Emery tell him about one of those legends we studied before we came to the woods."

[Callypso]

((OMG... Kari, you are an EVIL GENIUS and I quickly became carried away.with this... advance apologies for EPIC LOOOONNNNG POST OF DOOOOOOOOMMMMM))

As hard as he tried to suppress the urge, Emery couldn't keep his beak from flopping open. The little Ace managed to work his jaw back into the "closed" position while staring in disbelief at the Queen. Did she just ask him to tell her a story?! Of all the things- was she some sort of bard? He glanced in her direction taking in her unique appearance. She was practically a book herself. Huh. He cleared his throat awkwardly. Well, uh, okay. He supposed he could work with this, if it meant he was still going to be alive… at least for the duration of his story. He raked his claws through his mane, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Emery had long since stopped indulging in fairy tales or the like - everyone always ended up with their "happily ever afters" and he simply couldn't relate. What Ace could? Besides, he had a feeling that anything he had read in a book the wolf-squirrel would have already known about.

He glanced toward Xopek, who was voicing his indignation at the Tulgey's mistake. Man, he had really lucked out in meeting the Esterberry. Even when they were in the gravest of dangers he insisted on recognizing their friendship for what it was. Xopek was right to think of relying on legends to start with, but Emery thought that the woman before him had probably heard everything possible about the Wood.

I, uh, think she's probably heard that one, Xopek. He tried to give a reassuring grin. But you reminded me of a tale I heard once. I had almost forgotten about it.

Emery cleared his throat again. Hearts, he hoped this would work.

A long, long time ago, before the Wars of the Walls, the world as we know it was very different. The Courts had not yet been set up and each of the Realms were represented by the Shepherds, leaders chosen by the people. Since the four Courts were yet to exist, each of the Realms were responsible for itself and its trade, food distribution and alliances. Inter-Realm negotiations, therefore, were extremely important and thus the Shepherds were invaluable to the well-being of the people. As in most new civilizations, however, the land was prone to violence, betrayal and extreme competition for resources and power. One of the Realms, the Yarrow Gardens, had been struggling for prominence for quite some time. Their chief export at the time was agricultural, supplemented by some botanical endeavors, but they simply could not compete with the Jossigys or the Selkies natural abundance. To compensate, the Shepherd of the time, a male lion by the name of Eoin d'Laney, was determined to better the lives of his people. The Yarrows had nothing extraordinary to offer, and were often taken advantage of by the other Realms. Eoin made is his life's mission to change the Yarrows' fate.

To Eoin's delight, the means to better the Yarrows presented itself just when Eoin had felt he had exhausted all options. The birth of several Aces, long since thought to be mythical, had been born. The Aces exhibited incredible talent, magical and otherwise. Finally, Eoin thought, he had found a way to strengthen his people. He would build an army to rival all the others. The lion gave orders for the Aces to receive quality educations and training by the most renowned mages, though he kept his plans secret from all but his most trusted advisors. Even his mate, the male eagle Donnelly Glenn, was kept from knowing Eoin's design.

Time passed, decades in fact, when word of an evil force brewing in the Yarrows began to spread throughout the rest of the world. Donnelly, curious about the intensifying rumors, began to investigate his mate's work. What he found was horrifying.

Bent on securing glory for his kingdom, Eoin had become obsessed with the Aces. The boom of Ace-born children had waned and he began indiscriminately pairing his subjects together, forcing them to breed in the hopes of creating more talented Cards. The effect was disastrous. The constant in-breeding had resulted in children without magical ability, diminished intelligence, and in some cases, even missing limbs or horrifying mutations. Donnelly, appalled by his lover's exploits, sought the truth from Eoin himself. Eoin, angered by Donnelly's distrust and suspicion, exiled the eagle from the Gardens.

Donnelly, however, was determined to right the wrongs his beloved had begun, and solicited the help of the neighboring Realms. It wasn't difficult to convince the Highlanders or Morganberries to join the cause once they learned of the magical prowess of the Aces (though he skillfully neglected to mention the in-breeding). An assault was staged to take place in the Gardens themselves and the Realm was torn asunder. The battle reached its climax when Donnelly, leading a charge, challenged Eoin to a duel. In the end, Eoin was slaughtered. His last words were an apology for the mess he had caused, and he asked his mate for forgiveness. He had only wanted to give his people something greater. Donnelly held the lion while he took his last breath, then took his own life, beseeching his second-in-command to bury them together, and to beware the temptations of greed and power.

It was said that when the bodies of the eagle and lion were lowered into the ground, the very earth itself split open, unable to tolerate the conflicting auras of the deceased. The ruptured surface began to belch toxic fumes, killing nearly all the flora and fauna in the area. The Yarrow Cards came to believe that the mutual betrayal of Eoin d'Laney and Donnelly Glenn, by one another, had poisoned the earth and doomed the Gardens. The Yarrows tried everything to cleanse their lands, but nothing seemed to work. Finally, one Yarrow (muddled by the poisons seeping from the earth, but who was elected "Shepherd" after Eoin's death) suggested it was the pair's maleness that had caused the evil. The Yarrow residents, by this point desperate to rid themselves of the curse, banished all men from the lands.

About a year later, after a period of drought and famine, the land began to bloom again. (They felt that men must have been the source of the scourge!) The foliage, however, was something altogether different than what had been seen before. The Yarrows, by this point, had become accustomed to the noxious fumes pouring out of the earth, and they found the greenery to be more beautiful than anything they had ever seen. Other Realms' Cards had difficulty visiting the area, but their flowers were highly coveted, as were any other concoctions created from the unique vegetation.

In the end, Eoin had brought his Realm the recognition it deserved and that he had sought after so earnestly, though it came at a terrible price. His blind devotion to his cause had created the means for terrible atrocities, but Donnelly's desire for justice had tempered his mate's cruel ignorance. The Yarrows now had something special to call their own, though at the cost of the destruction of their land and the perversion of the Aces.

Emery finally finished then decided to add an awkward, Um, "The End," to his narration.

It was a tale he had been told several times by his "sister" Ellen, though he had never heard or read it anywhere else. Part of him suspicioned that it was a fable constructed specifically for him, to encourage him and explain why Aces suffered their peculiar fate. Ellen, however, had never been particularly creative when it came to fanciful stories, so sometimes he wondered if it amounted to anything more. He shook himself from that thought, as it wasn't really relevant at the moment.

Regardless of fact or fiction, it was a wonderful blend of legend and creation myth. Emery could only hope it was satisfactory to the Queen...