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Post by Leda on Jul 23, 2009 22:56:39 GMT -5
 Still awake. For some reason, on this particular night, Tikal could find no rest. The echidna tossed back and forth as each hour ticked away, and despite the great physical exhaustion in her body, her mind would not shut down. The priestess sat upright, and peered into the minuscule flames dancing among the wood while it was still able to burn. The fire would be dying soon; it would be prudent to fetch more wood since she was awake anyway, and build it back up. Doing her best not to disturb the green hedgehog at her side, Tikal carefully extracted her cloak, and started to set off in search of firewood. However, she never made it ten paces; her eye quickly fell on Espio, huddled up abnormally close to the campfire. A frown overtook her face. ...Of course, he's cold-blooded, she realized. He must be freezing out here. It's such a good thing the Elder managed to keep him with us. Looking down at the warm, deep green garment in her hands, Tikal smiled and made her way to the boy instead, and wrapped it around his chilly body. |
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Post by Lans on Jul 23, 2009 23:05:42 GMT -5
 The temperature difference caused by the lack of cloak and echidna girl was enough to cause Manic to rouse. Waking up drawsily, he sat up blinking and soon spotted Tikal. "Wassup?" he asked sleepily. |
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Post by Leda on Jul 23, 2009 23:11:34 GMT -5
"...Heh," Tikal sheepishly chuckled as she stepped away from the slumbering chameleon, "I'm sorry. I just... Well, it looked like he needed it." |
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Post by Lans on Jul 23, 2009 23:27:45 GMT -5
"Meh, s'ok," he said, getting up. "He'll be easier to wake if he's warm." |
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Post by Leda on Jul 23, 2009 23:32:57 GMT -5
"I didn't mean to wake you. I couldn't sleep, so I was going to get some more firewood..." The priestess paused and eyed the ground, scuffing the dirt gently with her sandal. A thought had wormed its way into her mind, which may have been unladylike, but she honestly wasn't certain in either direction. Hoping her lack of prudence wasn't rude, the echidna girl summoned her courage and said, "If... Well, since you're up now anyway... Maybe, you could... come with me?" Tikal's eyes darted quickly to steal a peek at his own. " I mean, it's so dark, and you know this area much better... right?" |
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Post by Lans on Jul 23, 2009 23:51:29 GMT -5
"Oh yeah, like...sur," Manic responded with just a dash of eagerness. "Lead the way Teeks." |
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Post by Leda on Jul 23, 2009 23:54:04 GMT -5
Despite the dim light of the dying fire, it was still clear to see Tikal's features light up. Smiling excitedly, the echidna wrapped her hands around one of Manic's and gave him an encouraging tug. "Come on... before we wake the others!" |
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Post by Lans on Jul 24, 2009 0:51:56 GMT -5
Of course, Manic didn't need to be asked twice. Still holding her hand in his, he followed right behind her as they headed away from the camp. |
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Post by Leda on Jul 24, 2009 0:56:24 GMT -5
With the ground zipping past beneath her feet, Tikal let out an airy laugh and gazed up at the deep black of the sky. Was this that free, fearless feeling she'd been hoping to find when she'd fled her father's care? Maybe it wasn't attained by leaving one person, but rather by joining another. "It's so pretty tonight!" she breathlessly commented as her speed began to fade. |
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Post by Lans on Jul 24, 2009 1:08:48 GMT -5
"Yeah..." Manic agreed, though he wasn't looking at the scenery. Instead he was more focused on Tikal as her dreadlocks had flailed behind her as they ran. When they started to slow down, he did finally stop and look around and internally agreed with her view of their surroundings as well. |
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Post by Leda on Jul 24, 2009 1:54:46 GMT -5
"Whew..." Doubling onto her knees, the echidna girl panted for breath and chuckled. "Got a little carried away there... Do you mind if we walk for a while?" |
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Post by Lans on Jul 24, 2009 23:32:40 GMT -5
"Sure," He told her, moving up to walk beside her. "Are you all right?" |
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Post by Leda on Jul 24, 2009 23:34:59 GMT -5
"Yeah. Actually, I feel really good." She closed her eyes and pulled in a long breath through her nose. "Much, much better than I have in a very long time." |
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Post by Lans on Jul 24, 2009 23:54:58 GMT -5
"Really?" He asked, glancing at her. "Well, I'm, like, glad to hear it." |
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Post by Leda on Jul 25, 2009 0:02:30 GMT -5
Opening her eyes, the echidna's gaze met his own. "I feel really different around you. I feel sort of... like a better person. Like I could really do something good, even if it was just once." Tikal looked up to the inky sky looming overhead, peering among the millions of stars. Maybe I could even please Antowas... |
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Post by Lans on Jul 25, 2009 0:42:48 GMT -5
"Oh..." Yeah, he was feeling all sorts of giddy on the inside after hearing that. "Well...I'm glad I could help you like that." ...Oh come, couldn't he think of anything to say? It was just that out here in the stars and moonlight...she was so pretty... "Um...so...was ther anything you'd like to do while we're out here? |
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Post by Leda on Jul 25, 2009 23:50:25 GMT -5
A most peculiar smile crossed Tikal's face at that moment, her head twisting toward him at a canted angle. A sudden sense of playfulness sparkled in her eyes. "I don't know~ I've never done this before." |
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Post by Lans on Jul 26, 2009 0:02:51 GMT -5
"Oh..." He once again placed an arm on her shoulder. "Well..neither have I...really. But it's nice...being out here with, like...you know...you." |
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Post by Leda on Jul 26, 2009 0:09:05 GMT -5
The priestess smirked and returned her gaze skyward. "Yes... I'm enjoying being with you. And only you~" |
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Post by Lans on Jul 26, 2009 0:19:52 GMT -5
"...Thanks, same here," he said after a moment of not knowing how to respond. He allowed himself to lean cloaser a bit, joining her in looking up at the sky. "..You know, but way out here...you can't even, like, tell that there's a war goin on or anything. We're even far enough away from Mercia that the sky's still clear..." |
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Post by Leda on Jul 26, 2009 0:29:23 GMT -5
"I've spent a lot of nights looking up at the sky, but always by myself. My father's never really cared about things like that; maybe he'd look up if I could make divinations from the stars." A gust of wind kissed her face, causing her to take a deep sigh. "In the end he usually just tells me to stop being stupid." |
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Post by Lans on Jul 26, 2009 0:41:09 GMT -5
Manic scoffed. "He's just being a jerk. Heck if I knew how to see the future in the stars, I'd be trying all the time. We could use some more advantages over those chrome domes..." He paused for a momement. "Uh, that's...what divination means right? Seeing the future and all?" |
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Post by Leda on Jul 26, 2009 0:48:09 GMT -5
"Something like that." Wading through the grass to a small grove of shrubs, Tikal set about picking wild flowers and interweaving their stems. "Divinations can take many forms, and can tell you all kinds of different things, if you know what you're doing. It comes down to finding your connection with the world, and using that connection to communicate with Antowas and learn her will." As the chain of blossoms grew longer, the echidna gave a muted smile. "But again, that relies on the reader knowing what they're doing." The echidna girl connected the ends of the strand of flowers to form a loop. Then, rather than placing it on her own head, she instead crowned Manic with it. And burst out laughing at him. |
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Post by Lans on Jul 26, 2009 1:27:10 GMT -5
Manic chuckled as well. "Thank you it's...nice," he said, smiling at her. He hesitated a moment, then asked. "So where did you and...your dad live before...everything happened?" |
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Post by Leda on Jul 26, 2009 1:35:51 GMT -5
"Everywhere." The echidna flopped backwards into the grass, sending up a flurry of dust, pollen, and other minuscule particles into the air. "Even when our clan was still together, we traveled all our the place. I've seen the sky from lots of different places. I may have never even seen it from the same place twice before!" |
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Post by Lans on Jul 26, 2009 1:58:26 GMT -5
"Cool," Manic responded. "I was always kinda stuck inside the city. ...I never really knew anywhere else until things went down." He frowned for a moment before continuing. "But its not that different out here. Just...trees instead of buildings." |
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Post by Leda on Jul 26, 2009 2:03:41 GMT -5
"It must have been pretty awful... It was horrible enough when my tribe was broken up. To have an entire city in that kind of havoc..." The priestess frowned for a moment in consideration. The last time she'd tried to ask Manic about his background, he'd ducked out of it pretty quickly. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to ask again now. So instead she switched to a grin and gave a sudden pull on the hedgehog's wrist to yank him down as well. |
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Post by Lans on Jul 26, 2009 22:43:12 GMT -5
"WHOA" Taken off guard by her sudden move, the hedgehog easily toppled forward to land right on top of her! He barely managed to catch himself with his hands to keep from squashing her. "Uh..." he said, as they lay practically nose to nose. "...hi there." |
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Post by Leda on Jul 26, 2009 23:51:10 GMT -5
Nose-to-nose indeed, as Tikal eskimo kissed him. "Greetings~" |
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Post by Lans on Jul 27, 2009 2:07:45 GMT -5
Manic went red in the cheeks at that, and was frozen there for a few seconds, then he rolled over to lay beside her before he did anything stupid or embarrassing. He took a deep breath to clear his head, and then decided to keep with the earlier topic. "...Yeah, it was pretty bad...I'm not even sure if Ferrell or any of the rest of the gang made it out or not. I hope so..." |
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