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Post by Emmy Alear on Apr 20, 2010 8:34:09 GMT 10
It wasn't raining any more. It had rained for hours, the clouds so thick over head that it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night. Now the clouds had emptied all the rain they possibly could and the wind had blown them away. It was daytime. The sun was incredibly bright and she could feel its warmth on her exposed skin. But her wet clothes were drawing all the heat from her body and all she could do was curl into a tight ball and shiver.
Emmy didn't know how far she'd drifted in the ocean. If land was near, she had no idea. Luck was in her favor, though, and land was nearby. If the current stayed the way it was going she was sure to hit land. The girl, however, remained in her huddle on the floor of the boat. Getting up would simply be too much effort and it would mean losing the little heat she'd manage to gather round herself. No, she'd stay oblivious to the oncoming shore.
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Post by Laura-Annaleise Fae on Apr 21, 2010 8:52:58 GMT 10
Laura swung her legs, her bare feet ghosts beneath the water's surface. At the end of one of the piers that made up the docks, where the wood was old and splintering, she sat with her eyes cast out over the ocean and the warm sun beating down on any exposed skin. The warmth and bright of the day was unexpected from the island, which usually favoured overcast skies and icy fog. So it was only natural for Laura to be drawn outside when the weather changed, to bathe in the refreshing light of clear skies and sun. She folded her hands in her lap, careful not place them on the old wood beneath her, lest it stick her and leave her with splinters. Her deep, warm eyes were cast on the horizon, watching a speck of dust, a small dark stain on the line where the sky met the sea.
She watched it with a wandering mind, her imagination seizing and toying with this indefinable object. For how long she was sat, watching, Laura was unsure. She knew only that at some point her eyes had drifted out of focus, and when they snapped back the speck was no longer a speck, but instead something definable. Her vague smile changed to a curious frown and a creased brow as she stared at the object.
A minute more and the shape of the boat was obvious. But it looked empty. Laura's brow drew tighter as she wondered about this. An empty boat drifting to Obscurum Sceptrum? But nothing ever came to Obscurum Sceptrum unless it was meant to. The thought took the young girl entirely by surprise. It hadn't been a concious thought, it was something that had been dragged up from the very depths of her subconcious.
For a second she forgot about the boat altogether.
But it was only a second, and her curiousity fought its way to the forefront of her thoughts oncemore. Carefully, she stood up. Her bare toes curled over the edge of the wood of the pier. She could see... see something in the bottom of the boat, and realised that it wasn't empty. That it had come here for a reason.
Before she knew what she was doing, she had dove off the pier and into the chilling water. She reached the boat in a remarkable time, considering that she did not usually take to the water. It took her a little longer to drag it back to shore. It was only once she was on land oncemore that Laura looked to see what she had dragged in, and the sight made her gasp.
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Post by Emmy Alear on Apr 21, 2010 10:20:21 GMT 10
Somewhere in the distance there was a splash of water. This little fact barely penetrated the outer surface of Emmy's wandering mind. Her eyes opened, squinting at the bright of the sun, to see she was still moving in the water. She shut her eyes again quickly, the harsh light making them sting and water up.
The rocking of the boat grew suddenly harsher and a spray of icy sea water hit her already freezing body. A small, whisper-like whimper escaped her lips, her teeth chattering along with it. Her jaw ached, her teeth smacking together too hard with cold and now fright. What was causing that splashing sound? Why was her little boat sloshing so much? Was something swimming around her she couldn't see? The amount of water in Emmy's eyes grew at the thought.
A new feeling came over the boat. A sudden, violent lurch, and then it stopped moving altogether. The sun went dark. No. That wasn't it. Something had simply blocked the sun from her view. Something gasped above her. So the thing blocking the sun could make noise. Emmy risked opening her eyes. At the sight of a person peering down at her she whimpered again, water once again filling her eyes. The girl wrapped her arms more tightly around her body and pulled her legs closer to her chest.
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Post by Laura-Annaleise Fae on Apr 21, 2010 15:46:12 GMT 10
Concern flooded Laura's deep eyes. A whimper. Eyes open. Eyes closed. The girl leaned over the edge of the little boat, her fingers slipping on the damp wood. The sun didn't seem so warm anymore. In fact it made her shiver. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what she could do.
Behind them the forest whispered ominously, as if it were trying to talk to them the way she had seen it talk to the forest-mages. But that was a ridiculous notion. Laura focused her frequently wandering mind, steading her attention on the girl in the boat.
"Hello?" Laura spoke lamely, her voice sounding too soft to her own ears. "Try... try to sit up". Her sweet voice gave away too much hesitance and too much concern. Too much doubt. Quite frankly, she didn't know what to do.
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Post by Emmy Alear on Apr 21, 2010 23:59:52 GMT 10
Emmy wasn't listening. She understood the person above her was saying something, but she wasn't listening to it. She couldn't listen to it. The voice sounded distant, too far away for her to clearly hear. The words melded together until all that came through was the voice, the soft tones that played in it, the emotions that filled it. It was a higher voice, female. A man's voice, even a boy's, would have been lower than that.
Emmy forced her eyes to open again, squinting at the figure above her. A pretty face peered down at her. The girl in the boat slowly pulled an arm from herself and used it to push herself up. Her arm shook with the effort and on her first attempt it gave way. She no longer had the strength in her body to even sit up. "Please..." her tiny voice squeaked out. Though she was unaccustomed to talking, desperate situations called for desperate measures. "Please."
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Post by Laura-Annaleise Fae on Apr 28, 2010 14:43:23 GMT 10
Laura couldn't help but hesitate as she watched the girl. She felt so unsure, despite her desperation to help her. The hesitation was little more than a second though, as Laura's heart ached with the younger girls plight.
Laura reached down into the small boat, with the intent to help her sit up. She hoped that the other girl would be able to walk, because although she was not weak, Laura was small and wouldn't have the strength for that distance.
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Post by Emmy Alear on May 13, 2010 5:20:15 GMT 10
Emmy's body protested almost as much as her mind did. Every cell in her body, every thought in her head, every fiber of her being screamed for her to get away. After what she'd been through, after what he'd wanted to do and what he had done before she'd gotten away, could she trust people again? Instantly her thoughts calmed when she was sitting up and the hands were gone from her body.
Although she was grateful, she wasn't stupid. Emmy knew she couldn't stay in the boat. She had no money, no belongings, and she was dripping wet and cold. It wasn't a good situation to be in. The girl's eyes darted around now that she was able to have a clear view of her surroundings. There; a path led into the woods. Her eyes turned to the woman in front of her before ignoring her completely again.
Moving as quickly as she could, her muscles protesting at the movement and the various hidden cuts aching her, she forced herself to a standing position. Hands using the sides of the boat for balance until she felt stable enough, she climbed from the boat. A deep breath in, hold it, and let it out. Her hands left the side of the boat and she ran. Spots flashed across her vision from the effort and more than once she stumbled, sometimes falling. But she refused to stop. The woods, the woods. It's not too much farther. The woods.
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