Journey Below

[Monkey Monk]

Hawk groaned as he slowly stirred. His golden eyes slowly flutted open. He raised his head to look around slowly. When he did not see Ammolite or Phoebus, the warrior leaped to his paws. In the process, he removed himself of Azarak's form. Axiously the wolven darted around each each direction. He'd raise his snout to the wind, finding nothing. Quickly he dashed over to Azarak. He attempted to grab the lizard in his paw. Whether he succeeded or not, Hawk would yell at Azarak. Yet his voice was not one of anger but of distress. "What the hell did you do!? Where is Ammolite and Phoebus!?"

The bird, however, had not gone through the ordeal unscathed. At Ammolite's voice, he slowly rose to his talons. The sound of the sharp claws on the stone could be heard. Slowly he stretched out his wings but let out a large squak of pain. Blood covered his glossy feathers as his hollow bone visibly jutted through his flesh. Pitifully the raptor hobbled over to the femme. "Blood hell that hurts! Say, where's Hawk and that tasty looking lizard bloke? Better yet, where are we?" Despite the horrible wound, the creature was keeping a cheerful temperament.

[Felypsa]

“I did nothing out of the ordinary,” Azarak retorted, still maintaining his calm even though he, too, was distressed inside. “The Spirit World, apparently, does not like my magic. It sort of…backfired…and Ammolite and Phoebus were sent one way, while we are here…” He hung his head and sighed. “That was a grave mistake on my part. I am sorry, Hawk. But all is not lost—we’ve got to find the others.”[/color]

Ammolite cried out when she saw Phoebus’s condition. “Oh, Phoebus—that’s horrible! Would you like me to heal you? I think I can.” She looked at her amulet, but to her shock and dismay, it had a crack down the middle. “Oh no! It’s broken. What are we going to do?” She stared out hopelessly at the beautiful world. “How can such a place so lovely be so horrid?” she whispered. She turned back to Phoebus. “Hawk and Azarak are somewhere else in this dreadful place. We’re lost, and separated!”[/color]

[Monkey Monk]

Hawk looked up for a moment, apparently supressing his anger. Slowly he looked back down to Azarak. "How can we find them? You just said that it's nigh impossible to search for anything in this place.." The mascu went silent, biting the side of his lip. Slowly he began to pace. "What we need to do is get to the Rift. That'll be where they're going. And if we don't meet up with them there, we can have Ammolite's father help us find them. Right?" The mascu looked up to Azarak, wondering if the other would shoot down this idea.

Phoebus had gotten as close to her as he could whilst she ranted. Suddenly he reached out and tapped her shoulder with his beak. The bird of prey looked at her with a serious look. "My wound does not matter. What does matter is finding your father. Hawk and Azarak are big boys. They can take care of themselves. The thing I'd be worried about is if they'll kill each other before we find them.." This last part was spoken jokingly, an attempt to cheer her up. "Now, help me up onto your back and let us go search. It looks nice and pretty out there. Didn't that Azarak bloke say there were two sides of the rift?"

[Felypsa]

Azarak sighed and stared off into the distance, too weary and forlorn to be argumentative. “Yes, I suppose that is the best course. The only problem is…” He shook his head. “There are two sides to the Rift, you remember. If they’re on the other side…well…” He shrugged. “No use talking about it. Only makes it seem more depressing. Come on, let’s go. I’d like to think the Spirit World inhabitants are friendlier than the Spirit World itself, if that makes any sense.” He slowly began to walk across the barren plain, then looked up. “Oh. A volcano.” He pointed at the tall mountain in the distance, from which smoke poured. “We’d better hope that doesn’t erupt while we’re here. Although, with our luck, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did…”[/color]

“Yes. No. I don’t know!” Ammolite shook her head frantically, then realized she was being irrational. Slowly she knelt down so Phoebus could climb into her back. “I think he said something along those lines. Makes sense, when you think about it. I mean, this place is all pretty and healthy, whereas the place we just were was all deserted…” Once Phoebus would get on, she would walk out into the world, which was so like and unlike their own. The trees were enormous yet oddly shaped, and their leaves were blue—all different shades of blue. The grass was blue-green as well. Ammolite took a moment to stand and stare about in wonder, for one moment forgetting their drastic situation.[/color]

[Monkey Monk]

Hawk looked down to Azarak as they trekked. The mascu studied the lizard who had ended his first sentance first. What did he mean by it being too depressing? After a moment, the mascu stopped walking. His golden wings stretched out slowl. "Perhaps it would be better if we took to the air? We could cover ground quicker and see much farther."

The bird of prey was captivated by the lands as well. His sharp eyes tried to see through to foliage, yet he could not. Almost as if he was preparing to take flight from Ammolite's back, the bird stretched out his wings. Yet he visibly winced as the broken appendage extended. There was an audible crack as the shattered bone moved unnaturally. Phoebus mumbled something to himself as he remained of the femme's back.

[Felypsa]

Azarak looked at Hawk oddly. Then he said, “That would be most gracious, Hawk. Heavens, I’d almost forgotten you even had wings…Ammolite doesn’t. But she’s half-demon, so I suppose that makes up for it.” He scrambled up onto Hawk’s back. “Now, if that volcano’s any indication, we should fly towards it. I somehow get a peculiar feeling about it; maybe if we go there, it may help us find the Rift.” He grimaced. “Although that could be just my fear of volcano eruptions…never mind. Let’s go, shall we?”[/color]

Ammolite shook herself out of her reverie when she heard Phoebus’s mumblings. “Now, then,” she said severely, “I can’t let you believe you’ll be fine. Look at that bone sticking out of you! That’s awful. You look as bad as Hawk did when I first met him. Glory be, what’s with you hawks?” She nudged her amulet carefully. “It may be cracked, but it might still have some power left in it. Want to give it a try? I was able to heal Hawk remarkably well. But then again…” her voice trailed off, thinking about the last time anyone tried magic in the Spirit World. Her amulet might make things worse. “Well, I can’t just leave you like that!” she snapped. She began to walk—slowly, so as not to hurt Phoebus—down an aisle between the trees. “Hopefully there’s some kind of water nearby.”[/color]

[Monkey Monk]

As soon as Azarak was on his back, Hawk's wings snapped out. The powerful muscles began to shift as he took to flight. The air slid around his glossy feathers as the mascu gained altitude. When Azarak gave directions to to the the volcano, Hawk nodded and tilted slightly. Indeed they did go much faster in the air. For a short while, the wolf forgot about their troubles. The bliss of being in flight caught his mind. Joyfully the mascu did a needless twist of his body. The result was him rolling over in the air. The centripical force of the roll would most likely keep Azarak safely on his back, as long as the lizard held on that is.

Phoebus tucked his wing to his body. He tapped his beak on her head and chuckled. "Like I said. Don't worry about me. What you should be concerned about is getting to that rift thingy. Maybe there's some bloke around here that we could ask for directions from." As if expecting said 'bloke' to appear, the bird lifted his head up slightly. His small cranium snapped around, looking in ever direction with those fierce eyes of his.

[Felypsa]

“Aiyi!” Azarak shouted as Hawk took his liberty in the air. “I like flying as much as the next lizard, but for the love of mercy please stay upright!” He was able to stay on, but it was on exhilarating ride. “Goodness gracious, why some people have the nerve to make everything complicated…” he muttered to himself. He eyed the volcano. “Ack, we’re almost there. I’d get a tingling in my toes, if I had toes.”[/color]

“That’s what Hawk said,” Ammolite said irritably. “You two are more alike than you let on. Come on, let me help you.” She closed her eyes and envisioned a tree—a blue tree, just to be compatible—healing itself, then applied that healing process to Phoebus. Her amulet glowed despite its crack. Ammolite hoped it worked, but she kept her eyes closed and her mind focused.[/color]

Little did she know that a creature was watching from the branches of a blue-leafed tree. Phoebus’s “bloke” indeed—only it wasn’t making an appearance just yet.[/color]

[Monkey Monk]

Hawk let loose a melodious laugh as they were upright. Yet he soon sobered up as they drew closer to the volcano. The last thing that they needed was to be caught in a poor situation. Enough things had gone wrong as it was. As the smoking peak drew closer, the mascu too felt an odd sensation coursing through his veins. A small twinge of anxiety pulled at his mind as he remembered Ammolite and Phoebus. He hoped to the great ancestors that they were all right. The mascu's happy temperament faded away as he flew silently.

The hawk clicked his beak as he indeed began to heal. He watched as the bone slid back into his wing and slowly corrected itself. Lastly, his flesh began to grow back. Yet as Ammolite finished healing his appendage, Phoebus looked off into the tree. He could have sworn he had seen something out of the edge of his eyes. Those fierce pools of visage narrowed slightly before he looked back to the femme. By now his wings was fully healed. He bowed his head in gratitude. "I thank you. I am going to take to flight and see if I can't get a good look. Stay here so that I can find you." Before she would have a chance to protest, the bird of prey took to flight and disapeared from sight. Indeed he did get a quick survey of the land, but he was not truly focused on the terrain. His fierce eyes looked down to the ground where Ammolite was. He scanned the area where he thought he had seen something moments before.

[Felypsa]

"Hmm, something's strange is happening," Azarak pointed out. Indeed it was. The upward spiral of smoke from the volcano's top was changing color - now green, now yellow, now orange, now red, now purple - reminiscent of the Spirit World's sky and of Ammolite's eyes. Then the smoke vanished altogether. There was a sudden lull in the air and sound, as the constant rumbling of the volcano ceased. Azarak frowned. "That's unusual," he remarked. "Think we should land, Hawk?"[/color]

"It worked," Ammolite breathed in relief. She looked at her amulet in wonder and gratitude, then saw to her surprise that it had healed itself too - there was no sign of a crack. She shook her head. "This thing just keeps amazing me," she muttered. She looked up and followed Phoebus with her eyes, wondering what he'd see.[/color]

Realizing it had been spotted, the creature wriggled from the foliage of the tree, and dropped to the ground. It was a short fall, and the beast - an enormous yellow-green cobra with mesmerizing crystal green eyes - was not hurt in the slightest. It looked upon Ammolite and flicked its tongue curiously.[/color]

[Monkey Monk]

Hawk had also noticed the smoke's odd changes. Yet when it ended all together he felt as if there was foul doings in the air. At Azarak's words he looked over his shoulder to the lizard. "Have you ever heard of the saying 'calm before the storm'?" The mascu had intended his question to be the answer to Azarak's. Slowly he began to circle around the volcano's peak, waiting for directions from Azarak.

As the cobra revealed itself, there was that loud screech from above. An enormous version of Pheobus, which was almost as big as Ammolite, swooped down and landed between the reptile and the femme. His sharp beak snapped together with powerful jaws. The bird's head turned to the side, gazing at the new comer through one eye. "Well there's a bloke. Kinda tasty looking, but maybe he can help us. Well? Do you know where that Rift thing is?"

[Felypsa]

Azarak scowled. "I abhor that particular adage. Nevertheless...it's got a ring of truth to it." He narrowed his eyes at the volcano. "I have a feeling - " he began, but he cut himself off when something else happened.

The volcano rippled - like the ground had, like the sky was - and compressed. Azarak stared, bewildered. But whatever was happening was not yet done. The volcano vanished altogether, and the sky's light changed. Hawk and Azarak were still in the air, except that they were hovering over an enormous chasm cutting through the ground. The Rift. On one side was the fertile land, on the other was the barren land. Azarak understood; the landscape had shifted, as it was wont to do. But that wasn't his immediate concern.

The Rift acted like a powerful void; it had a downward pull much, much stronger than gravity. Azarak clung to Hawk's back and gasped, "We've got to get away from the Rift itself! Hurry, land somewhere, anywhere - it's too dangerous to remain where we are! We're descending rapidly!"[/color]

The cobra tilted his head towards Phoebus but did not lift his hypnotic gaze from Ammolite. He flicked out his tongue, seemed to ponder a moment, then changed. He became a wolflike creature with four dragonfly wings of translucent green color. His eyes remained the same, but his fur was pale, pale gold. His tail was very snakelike, coiling and curving behind him. "You seek the Rift?" he asked, his voice a smooth baritone. "Yes, I know where that is. It is my favorite place to sojourn to. But I don't do anything without a price." He reclined to his haunches, his long tail snaking around him restlessly. "I'd like to know why a wolf who can heal in the blink of an eye and a talking bird seek the Rift."[/color]

Ammolite felt herself drawn to this odd creature, blushing as he continued to stare at her. "Well, before we tell you that," she said, "I'd like to know your name. I'm Ammolite, and this is Phoebus." She looked over at Phoebus, trying to convey to him that it was alright, that this was no enemy.[/color]

"Ammolite. Lovely name." He smiled very slowly. "Mine's Spectre."[/color]

[Monkey Monk]

Hawk indeed was having trouble keeping them in the air. The mascu gave up on trying to use his wings to raise them into the air. Instead, he did his best to keep his wings outstretched so they could glide to the ground. The right had appeared below them, so the warrior did his best to get them to land. Soon, the downward pull caused his golden wings to pull down. They fell downwards to the ground. A plume of dust went into the air as Hawk's chest landed on the fertile side. Quickly he scrambled to his feet, looking at how close they had come to falling into the Rift. "Good thing we didn't try to land eh?"

Phoebus remained between the cobra and Ammolite. His beak snapped before the reptilian's face in an attempt to draw his attention away from the femme. Yet he leaped back a few inches as the creature changed forms. Now that the bird was smaller, he grumbled to himself. Seeing no way to get the male to look from Ammolite to him, the bird spun around. Roughly he tapped his beak to the femme's pendant. "Hey! Snap out of it you fool!" When she looked over to him he puffed out his chest in agitation. "Oh don't you go giving me that look. We just met the bloke! People can decieve others well."

[Felypsa]

"Good thing," Azarak said breathlessly. "Well, that's great, Hawk. You just solved a dilemma or five." He grinned, relieved. "First, we've made it to the Rift. Also, we're on the right side. This is the side Fiendark was on. Perfect." Then he seemed to suffer a loss of spirit and rolled his eyes. "Now all we need to do is figure out what direction to go to, walk up and down the huge length of this place, hopefully find Fiendark, and then attempt to free him...all while hoping that the landscape doesn't change on us again. Oh, now the fun begins." He sighed. "Well, at least we're one step closer." He looked up and down the Rift. "Which way?" he muttered to himself. "Hawk? Any ideas?"[/color]

"I see your friend Phoebus doesn't seem to like me very much," Spectre remarked. He smirked. "Well, that's good for him. It's smart to exercise caution when meeting someone new. Right?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "Either way. I know where the Rift is. Like I said, I love going there. It's always interesting. Like you folks." He turned around, away from Ammolite, his wings fluttering. "So you can follow me and tell your story, or I'll just entertain myself elsewhere."[/color]

Ammolite jerked, startled when Phoebus tapped her amulet. "Okay, Phoebus, I get your point," she said, smiling. "But please? He knows the way to the Rift - we can find my father! Maybe even Hawk and Azarak. This is the best way. This is the only way." She looked at the hawk pleadingly, her eyes wide and innocent.[/color]

[Monkey Monk]

Hawk lifted his head to the air as a gust blew down the rift. He sniffed at the wind for a moment, his golden eyes closed. After several moment, the warrior opened his eyes and began to walk in the direction the wind was blowing. As he strode, he explained himself to Azarak. "I could find no scent on that wind. So either Ammolite's father has found a way to make himself have no scent at all, or he is down wind of us. I find the latter to be more believable myself."

Phoebus hated to admit it, but she was right. Grumbling to himself, he slowly shrank down to his normal size. Forlornly, he fluttered up to land on her bad. Yet he leaned forth and gripped the ring that was in her ear. He was careful to make his voice barely audible, even to her. "Tell him what he wants to know. But stretch things out while we walk. With any luck we won't have to tell him too much. Whatever you do, don't mention any more names. It is best that we at least keep a small degree of secrecy when in a strange land."