A (Mis)Guiding Vision(continued)

[Wyndbain]

(I suck with titles xP )

Shrideth, whose fur appeared darker than usual with Age's shadowed form sitting on her shoulders, came through the wall of flame, though with less urgancy in her steps. Once Age was sure they were all clear of the flames, the shadow receded from his small body to once again allow his albino feathers to show through. His eyes, as Shrideths' were too, scaned the alien landscape. "Similar to the shadows I see when I become one..."

Shrideth turned her gaze away from the gray land to look at Stone. "Well...what now?"

[Felypsa]

Stone sighed in relief as both Age and Shrideth made it through the wall of flame safely. But Shrideth's question brought him back to the current situation. He regarded the shades carefully and managed to suppress a shudder. "I - am not sure. My next vision is of some kind of...whirlwind..." He shook his head. "A whirlwind," he repeated more confidently. "It doesn't make sense, but so far, what sign has?" He started to walk towards the shadows. "Maybe we can ask for directions," he joked. He didn't usually joke about such serious matters. But he was plainly nervous. His eyes kept darting to and fro and his steps were hardly confident.

[Wyndbain]

"A whirlwind..." Shrideth repeated softly to herself as she slowly turned her gaze this way and that across the dull landscape. "More signs even though it looks like we're already here...where ever we are..."

[Felypsa]

Stone nodded gravely to Shrideth, acknowledging her observation. “We are ‘here,’ but I do not see my father. Wherever we are, we’ve still got a bit of a journey ahead of us…” He sighed, disappointed. He’d hoped his father would have been there as soon as they stepped through the wall of flame, ready to welcome him, ready to go home at last. But things are never that easy. “Let’s just…walk towards that group of shades, for now,” Stone suggested. He began to head towards the dark grey shapes, suppressing shivers. This was a little strange…approaching the dead…and he, still living…

Yet when he got closer to the group of shadows, they shrank back and made rustling noises, like vague whispers. Stone could hardly hear them. He mustered up a small smile and said, “Hello, there.” At that, one of the shades, which vaguely resembled a wolf, laid its shadowy ears back on its head, and barked weakly. The bark was hardly audible, like a feeble echo. Stone shifted uncomfortably and looked over at Shrideth and Age. He did not expect this difficulty.

Suddenly, there was a voice—stronger than a whisper, but just enough to be understood. “They are overwhelmed.” The speaker was a wolven shade, who had slightly more substance than all the rest of the dead. She even had a hint of color—her eyes had some hint of purple, though the rest of her was as dark and colorless as the rest of the ghosts. “You all shine as brightly as beacons, and your voices boom so loudly. We can hardly look at you or hear you. You are so…much.” She took a step closer despite her claim, squinting as if Stone, Shrideth, and Age glowed like stars.

[Wyndbain]

Immediatly after the spirit who had stepped forward had spoken, Age's body darkened as it had before when they passed through the flames. His white feathers disappeared in a sheet of darkness until nothing more of his features were recognizable save for his shadowed shape and the two white pinpoints of light near his head that indicated his eyes. -Does this help?- Age's voice echoed softly from the direction of his form. The darkness around his talons began to spread down, over Shrideth. Her fur, as Age's had become, disappeared in a darkness that made her appear no different than the dead spirits before them.

The two white almond shapes that acted as Shrideth's eyes, narrowed as her shadowy head turned to face the dark bird on her back. Her voice echoed as Age's and similiar to the spirit's, hollow yet no where near being soft and low. -I've said it before Age, WARN me before doing that!-

[Felypsa]

As first Age, then Shrideth spoke in that hollow voice, the phantom turned towards them, her eyes still squinting. “You do not sound so loud now; but you still shine as if you were just freshly plucked from the sun. We have not seen such brightness in so long. I am afraid that no matter what you do to your bodies, you will always be bright to us.” She bowed her head, both to show her respect and to avert her eyes from the apparent brightness of the three travelers.

Stone shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at Age and Shrideth. They seemed as dark as the shades before him, yet apparently they were blindingly radiant to them. “We are alive,” Stone said, whispering so as not to sound so loud. “I wonder if it is our life that shines through our bodies.” He looked sympathetically at the wolven spirit whose head was bowed. “Sorry for hurting you. We are here to look for someone.”

“Alive!” said the shade, startled. “No wonder you glow so. You thrive with life. Those who live do not usually come here…and when they do, they do not stay alive for long.” Her voice sounded tragic. “Oh, you are looking for someone? Perhaps I can help. My name is…was Amata.”

[Wyndbain]

Age sighed, an odd sounding noise coming from a shadow as he was. -Well, at least one thing worked out.- He lowered his body, the dark head almost to the point of touching Shrideth's shadowy form. In such a state, were they to touch, it would be hard to determine if the two were separate beings; at least to those who weren't dead. -It is an honor to meet you Amata, and thank you for your offer to help us.-
Age fell silent, as though expecting something for a moment before the two eyes narrowed as he glared at Shrideth.[/color]

Shrideth glared back with as much annoyance as she could, despite the face that her expression could not be seen in shadows. -You said it well enough yourself already.-

[Felypsa]

“Yes,” Stone said agreeably, nodding emphatically at Amata. Yet there was a strange glint in his eyes, and he seemed to want to say something else. “Um…” he stopped himself before he could say it, however. But he continued to stare at Amata for a long time. Finally, he said, “Can you lead me to where my father is? His name is Narchost, he was the Alpha of the Silver Sun Pack…”

Amata looked at Stone in some surprise. “Of course I know Narchost…he was my Alpha…and you must be Stone.” She bowed her head low. “I don’t expect you to remember me, though…” She turned and loped away. “Follow me…your father is in a very secluded place…very hard to get to…but if you have what it takes, you will prevail…”

[Wyndbain]

-We've come this far.- Shrideth continued to speak in the same, low, echoing tone, for Age had not lifted the veil from their bodys. -I'm sure we can handle any other obstacles...fairly well.- She spoke with her usual confidence, as Shrideth was not one to back down from what she thought was a challenge.

[Felypsa]

Stone stared at the phantom-Amata as she traipsed away, ready to lead them to his father. His mind was working hard, and he was trying to find a long-forgotten memory. Amata…she was in his pack…his eyes widened. But he didn’t say anything, for he was too shocked to know exactly how to deal with the revelation. He slowly followed their guide, staring at her. He didn’t even check back to see that Shrideth and Age were following, which he usually did even when he knew they would be there. He looked a little lost.

The shade named Amata smiled softly at Shrideth’s reply. “You have confidence, and noble courage,” she remarked quietly. “I know very few who would travel this far, into these awful depths, for a friend.” As she spoke, she led them over grey sand and stone. The landscape would slope down and then curve back up again. Amata, who was insubstantial, seemed unbothered by the strain, but perhaps it would be physically draining to go up and down and around so constantly.

[Wyndbain]

For a friend... Shrideth repeated the phrase to herself, following after Stone while the shadow around her body melted away into the ground. Age's own form returned to it's normal white pigment, having finally decided such magics were no longer necessary.

Her gaze remained upon the ground, to help guide her over the odd angles and slopes. Her mind however, was overthinking that one thought that just wouldn't go away from some reason.
For a friend... just a friend...

[Felypsa]

Stone followed Amata, stunned by many things. I am in the Land of the Dead, he realized. These people…like Amata, she once lived. Now she’s dead, but I’m talking to her as if she were alive. He shook his head and glanced back at Shrideth and Age, about to say something about how bizarre their situation was, some wry comment or joke. But Shrideth looked lost in thought, and he didn’t want to disturb her. Age also seemed removed, aloof even. Why did I tell them? he thought with a touch of anguish. They should not be here. They should be home, in the living realm, safe. What have I done?

Amata’s soft voice cut through the thoughts. “Look, this valley.” Before them spread an enormous indentation, as if someone had taken a massive ice cream scoop and just taken a bowl-sized chunk out of the land. It was grey and desolate, like the rest of the Land of the Dead, but it had a small hole in the center, at the bottom. Amata and the others stood at the edge of this great valley, and she indicated this small hole. “If you go down the bottom of this valley, there is a place where you can place your paw. If the Hole accepts you, you may enter it; that is where your father, among others, lie. It is strange, I know. I have never been there myself. This is as far as I can guide you. You must let the Hole take you to wherever it leads, for that is your destination.”

[Wyndbain]

Age noticed with his eyes, more than felt as their connection allowed them, a deep expression fixed upon Shrideth's face. His own orbs, narrowed in suspicious curiosity, drawing his head nearer to Shrideth's own. She did not look at him, or even flick her pupils in his direction, which only increased Age's intrigue with what she was thinking about. Using the magic between them as familiar and mistress, Age skimmed Shrideth's mind with his own only to be pushed back instantly by the familiar, impenetrable wall that was Shrideth's conciousness. Although he had been shoved away without Shrideth even noticing his attempted peek, he had managed a brief look into the wolf's thoughts. Had Age been an animal capable of more expression that was limited to the beak a bird, a very large and obvious grin would have been spread across his maw. Age was brought out of his momentary estatic state by Shrideth's bland remark about the valley that lie ahead of them.

"That's a big hole."[/color]

[Felypsa]

Stone had been lost in thought as he stared at the valley before them. Amata’s words echoed in his mind. That is where your father, among others, lies. Among others? Could it be that he would find not only his father, but his mother, his friends from his old pack? Then again, Amata was here…and yet she could not pass through this “Hole.” Maybe if Stone had been more in command of the situation, he would have thought this was strange. But he was exicted to be so near to his ultimate destination…so close. He was so excited, in fact, that he missed Shrideth’s pensiveness, unaware of anything that might have been going on in her mind. “Let’s go,” he said eagerly. At Shrideth’s dry comment, he chuckled, but it was distracted kind of laugh. “It is, isn’t it?” he said cheerfully. He bobbed his head to Amata, suddenly feeling awkward. “Uh…Amata, thank you so much for this, and…I hope to see you soon.” Then he tentatively stepped over the edge of the valley, and began the sloping descent, pausing only to wait for Shrideth and Age.

Maybe if Stone had been feeling more perceptive, he would have noticed an indescribable twinkle in Amata’s pale violet eyes. “I think we will meet again,” she said softly. “I think it is inevitable. Good luck on your journey.” Then she turned and walked away. As she passed by Shrideth, she whispered, “I fear you are at the greatest risk here. Be careful. The Land might suddenly decide you do not belong here—or, perhaps worse, that you do.” Before Shrideth could respond to these ominous parting words, Amata faded into the Land, disappearing without so much as a trace into the rest of death.

[Wyndbain]

Amata's parting words caused shivers to run through Age, for he could not miss her voice seeing as he was currently using Shrideth's shoulder's as a perch. Shrideth turned to look back at the pale falcon, grinning despite the former warning when she noticed his feathers standing on end. This action made the bird look a rediculous three times larger than he normally appeared. Age took note of this and began to ruffle his own feathers, litterally trying to preen himself to normal size, all the while Shrideth could feel his unease.[/color]

The grin disappeared as she suddenly looked serious, eyeing the falcon with a stern expression.

"Don't tell him." She said softly, hopefully so only Age would hear. What not to tell who, Age knew exactly and opened his beak to rebute when Shrideth interupted him. "It'll only add to his worries."

Leaving it at that, Shrideth began moving forward to follow after Stone, adding in another soft but stern voice, "I can take care of myself."

Age shut his beak, eyes not leaving his partner's expression, despite that she had already turned away from him. He closed his eyes and gave a defeated sigh. "But who'll take care of me."