A (Mis)Guiding Vision(continued)

[Wyndbain]

"What the heck is a Bison?" Shrideth dryly asked, not bothering to glance behind them while she sped up as Age took over the job of looking for her.

"You may just want to continue concentrating on running..." was all it took Age to say for Shrideth to increase her speed, trying her best to catch up with the two odd creatures ahead of them. Of course, Shrideth was disappointed that they remained well ahead and 'in the lead.' She grunted while her paws pounded away along the ground. Her speed was decent and slowly increasing to the extent that she could at least still see Ari and Mip clearly ahead of them. Unfortunately, with the pace she now put herself at, her muscles even with as much endurance training as she had had, would be screaming at her later if they were to finally stop and rest.

[Felypsa]

The herd of bison were thundering behind them; but Mip and Ari kept a good pace ahead of them without any visible exertion. Who’d’ve thought a chipmunk could have run so fast and so steadily? At length, though, Ari looked back to see how the mortals were doing, remembering, suddenly, that they were mortal (though she did not understand the full implications of this category, she thought that perhaps she should check up on them just to make sure they were alright).

“Oh, dear,” she mentioned to Mip, while not slackening her pace. She was not even out of breath. “The poor mortals seem to be having trouble keeping up with us.”

“And they won’t be resurrected if they’re trampled,” the chipmunk observed wryly.

“I guess we’ll have to carry them, then,” sighed the deer.

“We?” repeated Mipesto. “Oh no—I am way too small, in case you hadn’t noticed. It’s all you, Arilanistas.”

“Well, at least one of them isn’t too big,” she said. “Very well, then, I’ll do it. Keep to the route—I don’t want to stray from the path.”

With that, the deer slowed down until she was back with Shrideth and Age. Running alongside them, she called out (for the bison herd was very noisy), “Looks like I’m going to have to carry you! Hold on just a moment!” And, without waiting for assent, she ducked her head down and moved sideways towards Shrideth. If Shrideth did not suddenly start, the deer would be able to get her neck under Shrideth’s body. If all went well, Ari would be able to pick her up in this way; she would lift her head back so that Shrideth would be put safely on her back. All this while still running at the same, steady pace ahead of the bison.

Hopefully it would all work out. If it did, the immortal (immortally strong) doe would increase her pace until she had caught up with Mip. Of course, Age would be invited to perch on Shrideth if he did not feel like flying.

[Wyndbain]

(Bwa, mind blank )

"What the-!?" was all Shrideth got out before she found herself sliding down the doe's neck and onto her shoulders. Age couldn't help but internally laugh at her position, as Shrideth was purely hating the whole experience.

[Felypsa]

“This is such a pleasant workout!” said the eternally cheerful doe as she outran the bison herd without much effort, Mip running just ahead of her.

“Mountains,” the chipmunk reported just seconds before the grassy plain they’d been running on turned into a rocky base of a mountain. “And, bison gone. Feel free to drop the poor humiliated mortals.”

“That was an enjoyable run, wasn’t it?” Ari said, lowering herself so that Shrideth could get off easily. “We should do it again—”

“But, unfortunately, their friend is waiting,” Mipesto interrupted, rolling his little beady eyes.

“Oh, goodness, you’re right!” Ari exclaimed. “Well, let’s go. We’re here at the mountains. This is the tallest mountain here—Mount Alta—so if we climb to the top, we’ll be able to see all the other mountains and maybe see your friend.” The whole thing seemed ridiculous. First off, climbing Mount Alta (it was positively enormous, dwarfing the tallest mountain of Shinkou’s own Great Mountains) seemed an impossible task; second, being able to see one wolf from atop it. But Ari seemed convinced, and Mip didn’t protest. Should Shrideth and Age go alone with the harebrained, foolhardy plan?

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[Wyndbain]

"I-"

"-Hate this." Age inturupted Shrideth before she could finish and solmnly stated. He was glaring at her with his usual unemotional stare. "You've mentioned before."

"I haven't." She snapped as she moved to get off of Ari as soon as possible. Though it was only Age and the other two immortals, who they wouldn't really see again after this was all over,(or so Shrideth hoped) she didn't much like situations...like before.

Age settled on Shrideth's shoulders after her hop down, "Not on this adventure, no."

Age took on a more cheerful aura as he spoke to Ari, "Please, lead the way."

Shrideth muttered something about physical possibilities while, though Age thought the plan was a bit odd as well, the falcon was going to go along with it for he had been surprised before by this odd, dead...well, this part was more lively...landscape.

[Felypsa]

Mip gave Shrideth and Age a strange look as they conversed. “The sooner you find your friend, the better,” he said gruffly. “I’ve a bad feeling about this.”

“Let’s go, then!” chirped Arilan, bissfully unaware of the tension. “I love climbing mountains…” She started to lope towards the base of the mountain, where there was an entrance to what appeared to be a cave. But as the others would follow her, it was revealed to be a tunnel that lead all the way up to the top of the mountain. As Ari ran up this tunnel, there was a sudden whoosh of air. “Whoooooo!” the doe cried gleefully, as she was carried up the tunnel, towards the very top.

Soon after, Mip, glancing briefly back at Shrideth and Age, followed. He jumped up the tunnel, and the air came and carried him. “Hurrrryyyyyyyy…” his voice called back to the two mortals.

Meanwhile, far back on the plains, the bison finally ceased their stampede and resumed grazing. They ignored a strange figure that stood among them, snarling angrily, violet eyes flashing. This creature growled at them and even tried to nip at them, but the bison no longer panicked. Finally, one, exasperated, chased her; and she, startled, took her leave. She prowled along the edges of the plain, looking angrily up at the mountains. Eventually, she vanished in a blur of shadows.

[Wyndbain]

Both Age and Shrideth's heads tilted back as their two escorts were ushered off into the mountain accompanied by a strong rush of wind. Shrideth made a soft noise that sounded like the beginnings of a complaint. Age shrugged as best he could with folded wings and lighted from his mistress's shoulders, hovering in the tunnel's entrance until he felt a tug and was carried along as the two before him.

With a mental ok from Age, Shrideth took a quick look behind her before stepping into the tunnel to follow after her familiar and company.

[Felypsa]

Both Arilanistas and Mipestopheles were waiting for Age and Shrideth at the top of the mountain. The summit was actually flat as a plateau, not pointed, but it was covered in snow and very cold. The doe and the chipmunk, however, did not seem to notice the biting cold. “That was delightful fun,” chirped Ari to the others. “It has been centuries since I have climbed a mountain. I’d almost forgotten how much fun it is.”

Mip rolled his eyes. “Let’s just do what we came here to do,” he said curtly. “That is, look for your friend, who’s a living mortal like these two.”

“Right!” agreed the doe. “Look, see the entire world spread out before us…” She turned to face the south.

Indeed, the view from the highest mountain was absolutely spectacular. It was like looking at a multipatterned quilt of utmost beauty. From the eastern green plains they had just left to the forest they had first arrived in to the range of mountains to the yellow-gold desert to the west to the sparkling blue ocean in the south to the southeastern jungle to the dark forests in the northwest to the frozen tundra just below the mountain range. It was incredible, but how they could see a single person, whether dead, alive, or immortal seemed impossible.

“I see a live one!” cried Ari suddenly, after several minutes of searching. To her, it was plain; a light as bright as a star, over in the darkness of the black forest. “A black forester…oooh, I’ve never been there before.”

“With good reason,” Mip said archly. “The residents there delight in devouring each other in the most torturous of ways.” He, too, could see the shining star that was presumbly Stone. “They don’t like outsiders, neither. It would take a lot of courage and strength and nerve to try to gain entrance there. If that’s where your friend is,” the chipmunk said to Shrideth and Age, “then you’ll have to count me out.”

“Oh, me too,” agreed Ari. “Everyone’s so deadly serious in the dark forest. No fun at all. I’d rather starve in the desert or drown in the ocean thirteen times than take my chances with the black foresters. But I don’t see anyone else living out there, do you, Mip?”

“None,” said the chipmunk, shaking his head. “Except you, of course,” he said to Shrideth and Age. “And if they’re alive, we’ll see ’em from here. So if your friend is alive still, he’d be that glint in the black forest.”

“You don’t have to go there,” offered Ari. “You could just…go home. I don’t know the way personally, but I know it exists, and I know someone who might know the way. It will be less painful than trying to penetrate the dark forest, I assure you.” She shrugged, a strange thing to see on a doe. “I think if he’s in the black forest and he’s still alive, he’s going to stay there forever. Black foresters never leave their home.”

“It’s your choice, of course,” said Mipesto. “But I don’t think it’s very wise to go there.”

[Wyndbain]

Shrideth could only stare out in silence at the landscape revealed to her at the top. The world was laid out before her like a drawing in the sand below her paws. Nothing made sense here, and she didn't like any of it one bit.

Shrideth glanced at Mip, showing no emotions in her slakened gaze. "Torturous?"
She turned to the mentioned speck, standing where the mentioned Black Forest was located. A smile pulled up the corners of her lips in a playful, taunting smile. "Sounds fun."

Age tilted his head back to hide his rolling eyes away from his partner as he spoke softly, "Even the possible mention of it being him gets you out of a mood and goofing off like we've already found him."

Shrideth ignored Age and gave Ari a solemn glare...not that her expression ever was anything but a glare..."We've come this far, and not for nothing." She stepped as far as she could get to the summit's edge to look over the land, eyes directed right at the Black Forest. "He will come back...he has to...He's not a black forester!" She suddenly turned away from the edge and stomped closer to Ari and Mip, "He's a Shinkou!"

Shrideth's small wings twitched, eager to get down by using the fastest means necessary, even if it wasn't very smart or safe. The sooner she got to Stone, the better. "I'm going...I never was one for wisdom anyway."

Age scoffed softly, quietly agreeing with her.

[Felypsa]

“Oh, dear,” said the doe, looking crestfallen at Shrideth’s respones. “Well, I suppose I shall never see you again, if that’s the case. It has been fun, though.”

“I figured you’d say that,” muttered Mip. “Could see it in her eyes. Well.” The chipmunk looked torn, which was quite funny to see. At length he said, “I suppose I could take you as far as the border of the Black Forest. But I won’t take half a step further, y’understand?”

“Oh, Mip, you are so brave,” Ari cried. “But you won’t have much fun—what happens if you get eaten before you come back?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Arilanistas,” the chipmunk snorted. “Worse things have happened.” To Shrideth and Age, he said, “Come. Let us do this as quickly as possible.” He led the two mortals to another portal that would presumably lead to a tunnel that would whisk them through the mountain and outside.

“Goodbye, and good luck finding your friend,” Ari called to them. And with a “toodle ’oo!” she vanished down the same tunnel they had come up through.

Mipesto nodded to them and jumped down the tunnel in front of him. It was efficient as coming up, except a little more harrowing because you were going down at a startling pace. Still, the chipmunk emerged from the bottom, on a different side of the mountain, facing the northwest. Before they got to the dark forest, however, they would have to cross the arctic wasteland before them.

It was frigidly cold, of course, but Mip ignored the ice and snow at his feet. “Hurry, before the glacier catches us up,” he called to the others as soon as they came out of the tunnel. Of course, he was joking slightly; glaciers were very slow-moving giants. And thus, the tiny fur forest creature led the wolf and the falcon across the frozen tundra. Things were strange here.

[Wyndbain]

Shrideth's ear merely twitched in Ari's direction, the only sign or indication that she had heard the doe and what she said. It appeared to Age though that their current company was beginning to get on Shrideth's nerves...at least to the point where she was beginning to show any signs of it...

She did however, acknowledge Mip's words and nodded to show that she understood why he'd go no further. Frankly, she felt a little relieved that she'd be rid of the odd couple's company once she reached the forest of her destination.

She followed Mip to the tunnel of their exit and entered, hearing a sudden yelp from Age as he slipped off her shoulders only to be thrown into the air once they were safely out of the tunnel. A bit ruffled but unscathed, Age settled back upon Shrideth's shoulders with a irritated snap of his beak.

"I'll be very glad when we get back home to a normal terrain." Age said dryly as he looked down at all the ice of the tundra when only moments before they had been walking near a mountainous region that did not lack the altitudes for snow, but certainly didn't contain a frozen layer of permafrost.

Shrideth only continued walking in silence, keeping in the forboding words she had thought at Age's comment. If we get back...

[Felypsa]

As the trio moved forward, the winds gradually began to blow fiercely, biting gales that nearly sent Mip flying backwards. But the steadfast chipmunk kept going, though snow was blowing into his eyes. He grit his teeth and forged onwards.

“This…is…never fun,” he grated. “Just…hang…on…!”

There was a sudden howl that tore through the whirling winds, a faintly familiar howl. Through the blank whiteness, the image of glaring violet eyes could be seen, but only briefly; then they vanished into the rest of the winds. And that was when the blizzard began in its full fury.

Mipesto grunted as the storm picked up, winds screaming and snow flying. “Enemy…of…yours?” he called to the others, meaning the violet eyes. “Vengeful…spirits…worst…of…all!” The wind carried his words, picked them apart, made them difficult to hear.

“…burrow!” Mip was saying, but again the fearsome gales pulled apart his shouts, making his direction unclear. “…shelter! Got…wait…out! …hang…almost…over…nearly…there!”

[Wyndbain]

"Shrideth!" Age's voice cut through the winds to her ears, though she had heard the dreadful howl echo in her mind long after it had died away. The snow and ice they now traveled through could not beat the current flame of anger coursing through her veins. She could not hear Mip's words at all, yet Age somehow managed to pick up his voice and recall them to her and so she did as he said. Best not to argue, no matter how much she wanted to continue, even she had enough sense to know that traveling through this blizzard was a fool's game of chance.

She chose a spot and began reaching her paws into the snow, claws raking away the frost and removing a layer each time one was brought away. Eventually she had reached a difficult area, a ground hardened by permafrost. Age readied himself to yell out a warning when he noticed Shrideth already digging into the freezing layer. It seemed that what Shrideth lacked in some things, her strength very much balanced out. Soon enough, she had a small hole that would fit the three of them and comfortably protect them against the howling winds with the help of a thin layer of snow that covered all but the accessible part of the hole.

[Felypsa]

It took all the chipmunk’s immortal strength to hang on as the fiere cold gales whipped across his tiny body. He was not worried that he would temporarily lose the use of his body—what a mortal would call “dying”—for if that happened, he would just be reborn in his own home. He simply did not want to leave Shrideth and Age alone, for they clearly had made a very fearsome enemy. Even though the dark forest was not too far off, Mip wanted to make sure they made it to the border.

As soon as Shrideth had finished digging, he waited until the two mortals got in before also following. Since he was so small, he fit easily. “That was an incredible feat!” he yelled at Shrideth, in order to be heard above the winds shrieking over them. “You mortals are stronger than I first imagined!”

He fell silent after that, listening to the storm howling above them. It was still bitterly cold, but at least they weren’t being pummeled by dangerous snow and ice. How long they waited in that, Mip could not tell. It grew dark with nightfall, and it was dark for a long time, which made it even colder. Mip was not bothered, but he worried for the vulnerable mortals. He did not need sleep, but he was sure they were tired.

Finally, the blizzard showed signs of letting up. Now that he could be heard, he said to his companions, “As soon as it is possible to travel, we will. We have nearly reached the border.” He was silent once again, listening to the weakening storm.

In the so-called black forest, Stone slept fitfully, unaware of the trials and tribulations that Shrideth and Age were having to go through but worried nonetheless. He wished that they had been able to come here as he had and hoped that he would see them soon. His dreams were full of anxious imagery; Shrideth and Age as two of the lightless bodies of the dead, Shrideth and Age lost somewhere in the vast spirit world, and the worst of all: Shrideth turning away and going back home without him. Stone let out a grunt and turned over in his sleep.