The crying forest_____Bare feet pressed off cold grass as the small faerin ran for her life once again. She seemed to have the worst luck in the game as she hooked her foot lightly against a ungrounded root and fell face first into the dirt. Luckily nothing was broken but her nose, head, and foot hurt from the fall as she scurried across the floor for a few moments before getting back up and running from her pursuer. She logged in to try and get a small lead over her friend and it came to bite her in the rear it seemed, her dress ripping wildly as she hopped over bush and spun to see if she was still being chased. _____Much to her already racing heart she was still getting chased. Across from her roughly thirty feet out and closing was a small pack of wolves who she accidently stepped on the tails of when she was exploring a cave without any light. Her face covered in tears while her vision was blocked by the still flowing tears. She had tried using the sign language equivalent to sorry but the wolves took it as hostile and started their current game of chase the small girl. Waving her hands to touch the bush as she focus everything to try and get it to overgrow and cause the wolf pack to detour. _____Green leaf, after green leaf begin to sprout and spread slowly. She would have been amazed like every other time she cast magic but as the wolves howled at her she panicked and started to run away again. Some remnants of her magic helped the plant grow without her focus as Alice wished she could relax to log out. Her focus was set on the path before her not quiet the ground as she quickly approached a small hole and her first step suck into the dangerous pit and sent her flailing into the ground. _____She wanted to scream like people did when they got in such cases but all she could do was reach out frantically for something to hold onto. She heard numerous cracks and pulled her arms in each time to see roots she had tried to grip until a loud crash could be heard and Alice founder herself at the bottom of the hole with a broken leg and a few other injuries she could not bring herself to focus on. Her crying reached out of the hole almost like a ghostly echo as the helpless girl was left with no idea how to escape such a area.
Lucia had been wandering the woods, not purposeless mind you, but with the intention of considering her next upgrade path for her equipment. Her rotting arrows were a great success, one that she hoped could continue or be used in other situations. Rotting however was not such a common thing and the range and depth of the rot made it difficult to use in a lot of situations. This made her consider alternatives, other types of arrows that would be more useful against things that risked spreading the rot that she would otherwise be forced to use. Malefimancy had a great number of curses and hexes, it was only a matter of finding the ones that would be most useful to her and how to properly deploy them. Archery was a good start, but she began to feel the need to find more methods or at least help. It as then that the cries caught her ears. making her perk up. Turning her head towards the source, as someone who's goal was dark magic, such things were particularly important and vital. After all, she needed souls for her advancement. Though when she began to get closer to the source, she could only feel a marginal amount of disappointment at what she heard. A sigh came from her lips as she found a hole knowing that something wasn't exactly right. Looking down at it there was clearly someone down there. Lucia's enchanting figure leaned over cautious of making the whole wider as she glanced down at the girl who was tearing up. At first, Lucia could only sigh, but after a while it became clear that even if this wasn't some kind of quest, leaving wouldn't be acceptable. Lucia was someone who lived life ignored after all, she didn't want anyone else to feel that pain, that pain was the only thing she had that could make her 'different' after all. The averageness that consumed her life was far too harsh, from both sympathy and selfishness she ended up reaching down into the hole grabbing the girl by her shirt to tug her up. Initially Lucia had to brace herself, grabbing onto a nearby tree root and lowering herself down. She stabbed a normal arrow into the soil to keep herself steady as she lowered herself down little by little to reach deeper in. "Over here." She murmured softly beckoning with her hands. It was a gentle gesture made more reassuring by the softness in her voice as she continued to wave at the girl. "Grab on, I'll pull you up. Hurry though, I'm not good at this." She urged reassuringly knowing that if she fell on her own she could climb back up, and at the same time she might not be good but it was enough to not fall, but this was a waste of energy. Energy she wouldn't get back, food and water she needed to recover and retrieve with her lacking skills at foraging and cooking. She tried to conserve where ever she could, it showed on her face, but at this point saving someone else was taking priority as she continued impatiently.
_____When Alice heard steps approaching the hole she worried it was her wolf pressures and tried her best to crawl into the shadows of the hole and hide. But between her heavy breath, sobbing, and the smell of blood that fell from her broken leg she had little chance to hide from anything. Luckily the wolves had seemingly given up chase and the steps seemed to belong to a girl who looked down to likely see Alice curled into a ball in the shadows. When she spoke Alice looked up before panicking and slamming herself to the far side of the hole. _____She had no people skills, she had one friend and most times they had a few layers of glass and wall between them, but as the woman reach her hand out for Alice she seemed to tremble in fear as her ears sunk slightly and she kept backing into the wall. Her focus broke from the women for a moment as she saw her friend at the top of the hole gesturing to take the girl’s hand. If Lucia looked to see what Alice was staring at she would see nothing there but would soon feel a light touch against her hand as Alice reached out to get hold of her hand trusting her friend’s advice. _____It was odd feeling, the warm and soft texture of the women’s hand threw Alice off a bit. She never got to touch other people and rarely felt such when she cupped her own hands together. Her friend waved to listen to the women before he vanished seemingly to walk away from the hole causing Alice to panic slightly. Her hand gripping Lucia’s tightly as her eyes seemed to tell the clear message that she desperately wanted to get out of the hole in the ground. If she was told to do something she would try her best to follow the order, but with numerous wounds and a injured leg she was lightly going to end up mostly dead weight to the women. @Lucia Mierz
Lucia only chuckled at the woman's efforts to hide, finding it amusing she only continued to beckon to her sweetly and patiently. As if trying to feed a wild animal, she waited for some kind of trust to develop, but at the same time she wasn't the athletic type. IT was only when she felt Alice's hand that she nodded giving the girl a sharp tug. She was dead weight, sure, but not impossible dead weight as Lucia began turning her body to force Alice up. "Just try not to squirm." She spoke trying to work Alice up little by little using the rocky edge to brace herself. Her hand pulled her by the hand first, then slipped down to her chest, then waist holding onto her as she began to lift Alice little by little. It was clearly a strenuous and difficult process for Lucia. Even just working them up to the same level area was enough for Lucia to pant a bit with her brow growing moist from sweat. Her hair grew a little matted even as she struggled not to just drop the girl. "Whew... I wonder if dieting would make things like this easier next time." Lucia mused out loud looking up to how far they needed to go versus how close they already were. The soft down of her jacket's collar made the experience less painful though, Lucia wouldn't drag Alice along he wall and instead held her in close to her side since she was already injured. "Next time, I'll try." She mused knowing her magic wouldn't really help beyond making her more hungry. It was an arduous process to climb up, but Lucia looked down at Alice setting her down with a hard sigh, catching her breath as she fanned herself, tugging at her collar for more air. She regretted not getting more powerful instant cast or channeling magic, but there was nothing she could do about it now. It was only when she finally rested enough that she'd reach out for Alice's head to give her head a soft ruffle petting her head reassuringly. "There, make sure there's no next time okay? Holes aren't something you should keep falling into." She urged knowing that she wouldn't want to dig someone back out herself, let alone this poor girl not wanting to suffer like that again..
_____With freedom achieved the skittish girl wasted no time trying to escape the close range from the girl. Her frame wobbling uneasy towards some bushes as they started to move to conceal her, outside the fact her eyes could be seen from the bush she remained still hoping her camouflage worked. Even if her friend told her to listen to the women she was still terrified of others, all her life she was kept in a box and over the years got less and less visits from people. _____After a few minutes of hiding in the bush the leafs would move apart and she waved her hands slowly. Left hand tapping her lips before lowering them towards Lucia. While most might have taken it as a blown kiss to Alice the gesture was thank you in sign language. After such she would quickly move back into her bush and tremble, her leg still hurting and bleeding, and to someone who only felt the pain of needles it was extremely painful. _____If Lucia approach quickly to help her the forest would seem to move to protect the girl, roots breaking the surface to form a loose wall around the girl. It was going to take some time to gain Alice’s trust, and it was a very thin line of trust with her. However when most times the roots would lash at the people these ones simply kept close to Alice and if approached slowly they would recede back into the ground. Her eyes looking drained from so much magic in her current state, but her mind refused to react in any other way. @Lucia Mierz
Lucia only sighed seeing this girl retreat, though it was a little frustration, this girl tried so hard to grasp the only thing unique about herself in reality; that ability to be ignored. It was an unpleasant thought that someone would want to be a shadow, it was a dreadful spot, a place with no expectations and no cares, ultimately it was a sad and disdainful place. Though seeing how desperate she was to hide, Lucia wasn't worried and didn't move too impatiently. This one wasn't too hard of a nut to crack, after all, Lucia knew what drew and lured these types more then any one else since she was one in reality. "It's okay, c'mon~" She beckoned to the girl who was trying to hide in the brush like she was the plague. It would take patience, but Lucia wasn't worried, as if she were baiting a wild rabbit, she sat down even if others were frantically fighting and leveling, there were certain priorities for Lucia that was different. Anyone in the shadows would always leave her more spotlight. The closer they were, the brighter the light shined as well. Clinging to other bright people was a fate Lucia would settle for to find some shine of her own, but if she could own all of the shadows, wouldn't she just be brighter? Though she tried to approach little by little, the wall of roots appeared making her sigh but not bothering her either. This one seemed particularly closed off, not even wanting to communicate. Though she saw the gesture of the girl a kiss didn't make much sense, Lucia knew better, it was likely something else, even accidental, maybe the activation for the skill she was using now? Either way she tried to wait for Alice to let her guard down believing she couldn't fight this forever.
_____Lucia was correct that Alice would not be able to keep things going, however it seemed a bit to early as the magic that moved the roots settled down and the bush pushed Alice out. Her eyes seemed to lose a bit of color before she fell forward drained out of her own focus. Some of her other meters had been run nearly empty including her health as the faerin was rendered mostly paralyzed. Her left hand lifted from the ground before it fell down and she fell asleep. _____Her breath was shaken and her wounds still seemed to be bleeding out, however around each one a small layer of leafs had covered the area to slow down the amount of blood lose. Her eyes began to tear up behind closed eyelids as she began to let the pain show on her expression. She hated this game, so far it had done nothing but bring her harm and misfortune. @Lucia Mierz
Lucia only sighed, indeed she felt she was right about this girl, when she was thrust from her hiding place, Lucia only held onto her when she began fading away into sleep. Looking down at the girl who was still being recovered a little by the plants, Lucia knew she couldn't do much, all of her abilities were based around killing, cursing and equipment. She had no real skills to be able to support this poor girl who seemed to be at the end of her rope. Instead though, Lucia only held onto her in her lap, gently stroking the girl's hair reassuringly. She softly slid her fingers through Alice's hair trying to be as reassuring as possible, though whether or not she was actually helping was unknown. Certainly she could heal the girl's HP, but doing so would only cause damage to the world around them. Lucia's skills of draining had to take life and properties from other things to move them after all. It was for those reasons that Lucia only tries her best to comfort the girl. "Sleep well for now... Try your best to rest. Tomorrow will be a tough day but you're useful, I'll raise you well." She murmured looking after Lucia contently as if she were a mother looking after their young. She didn't know how much time would pass, but if Alice slept for too long, Lucia would have to start draining the surroundings to restore her thirst and hunger.
_____Despite her age, Alice slept like a small child most times. Her frame slightly curled up alongside Lucia as she seemed entirely peaceful and ok with the situation. She was not used to warmth when she fell asleep, most times her hospital blankets felt like ice against her skin making her wake up and run around until she simply passed out most nights. Alice slowly moved her head against Lucia’s hand before she went still again and seemed to enter a heavier sleep. _____If Lucia stayed still she would likely notice the approach of small animals, nothing large or dangerous but each seemed to be holding some food. Alice, while she had some bad luck with the larger animals did great with the smaller ones and it seemed they had come to return the favor. It would be about an hour since Alice had fallen into her deep sleep that she would begin to stir and open her eyes. Her cheeks flushing red slightly as she moved off the girl's lap quickly and crushed some barriers. _____Her hands waved different symbols as she panicked and tried to apologize for causing the girl trouble. After a few minutes of signs she realized two things, her stomach had begun to growl, and not many understood sign language. Seeing the crushed berries on her hand she sat down and wrote ‘sorry’ in the sand before averting her gaze from the women. She had no idea what else she should have said in such a case, so she simply went with her default sorry. @Lucia Mierz
Lucia didn't hesitate to waste more time with the girl, though her eyes on her meters was watching closely. Resorting to malefimancy to restore herself wouldn't be good with so many creatures near by and present. It would only cause extreme harm after all, she kept stressing this thought because she desired to remain at her peak potential. Even so though, she exhaled a sigh of worry glancing down at the food the few of them brought, reaching for the closest one that looked like a fruit before biting into it. Knowing it might not exactly be right, since these things weren't here for her, she didn't put much care into it and ate freely. It was only when Alice began to stir though that she'd smile back when the girl attempted to apologize. Rather then stressing it though, she processed the girl's actions realizing that she probably didn't want to talk, or couldn't, whichever it was, Lucia didn't intend to pry too much into reality. She herself was here because she hated her own, she would never desire someone else's. Despite the apology though, Lucia reached out for another one of the foods left behind by the forest creatures and gently tried to place it into her hand with a kind smile. "It's okay, take your time. The wild things brought a lot. Though this isn't the best way for me-- I don't mind hanging out with you for a bit." She offered. If Alice tried to shy away, Lucia would make an effort to grab her hand to plop the fruit into it with a firm smile that didn't take no for an answer. "If you don't talk though, maybe I shouldn't either-- It would be more interesting that way if we couldn't understand each other." She mused with a melodious chuckle, thinking that it would be an interesting game to play 'quiet and mysterious' with others. This girl, whether it was intentional or not did have a unique trait to her that made Lucia envious.
_____Alice did not take the fruit at first, and she did make a small attempt to back away from Lucia before she bothered to grab the fruit. All she could do was look it over for a few moments, her ears listening to what Lucia had to say and caused the girl to puff her cheeks up and wipe her old message away and write a new one for her. ’I can’t speak… When i was born my voice box was slightly messed up but because of other medical issues they can’t fix it…’ Alice set her gaze on the ground fairly depressed. She disliked the struggle, but never really let the doctors know. _____Shaking her head rapidly she decided to focus on something else. Her eyes setting on the fruit as she held it up and moved it around wondering how to eat it. Most time she only took the barriers and even that took her some time to understand how to eat. Most things they have her in the hospital had been blended or medicine. Watching Lucia for a few moments to try and learn how to eat it before she tried to copy the women before her. She almost looked like a parrot repeating someone’s words. _____Her teeth did not fully sink into the fruit, mostly because she misjudged the amount of force she would need and did not know how it would taste. So she simply ended up eating the skin off the item in her hands and seemed content with such. Both hands resting on the fruit as she kept nibbling off the skin like a small animal and once it had no skin she set it down for the animals who took it and scurried into the forest around them. Picking up some barriers she chewed them happily and swayed, it was fairly better than blended mush. @Lucia Mierz
