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Post by Jamie Lee on Feb 14, 2009 3:35:42 GMT -5
Rob chuckled dryly and shook his head. "Aye. Everyone seems to notice," he said, lifting a hand and gently stroking at Rouge's hair. "She means everything to me. I can't begin to describe how much seeing her this way hurts..."
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Post by Leda on Feb 14, 2009 12:17:55 GMT -5
Her eyes drifted back to the bat. It was sort of surreal; there didn't look like anything was wrong with her. She appeared to simply be sleeping. It was almost hard to believe that a poison was circulating her body, forcibly withholding her from waking. Sally gazed down at Rouge's arm, partially dangling from the bed. For reasons even she couldn't quite explain herself, the princess closed her hands around the girl's wrist, and brought it to a rest across her reclining body. Sally gently stroked the fur on the back of her white hand. She's so delicate... Almost fragile. I hope this isn't an effect of the poison, too..."Mr. Hedge," the squirrelmunk stated quietly, "I promise you that I'll do everything in my power to stop this. You have my word on that."
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Post by Jamie Lee on Feb 15, 2009 1:53:39 GMT -5
"Thank you," was the archer's strangled reply. The sight of the lady he so admired laying there motionless clawed at his already frayed nerves. How long had this toxin been coursing through her? Was there any way they could have learned this information sooner? Would it even be curable...? The thought that her eyes may never open again made his heart feel as though it had split. With a long exhale he brought a hand up and rubbed at his face. Feeling as though the sudden weight of an anvil were on his back, he heaved himself to his feet. "I should call a village meeting. Even if we don't have enough information yet we need to warn everyone before more of us start falling ill."
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Post by Leda on Feb 15, 2009 2:04:14 GMT -5
Sally frowned and followed his path to the door. "Wait! Are you sure you're okay to do this right now? I can handle the matter in your place, if you'd like. I'd have to feed you the information anyway; I don't mind making the announcement on your behalf..." The princess rested a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder, both to reassure him and out of her own concern. "Are you alright?"
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Post by Jamie Lee on Feb 16, 2009 15:50:55 GMT -5
Rob nodded to her. "Aye. I've had better days, but, I'll be fine. Responsibility comes first."
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Post by Leda on Feb 16, 2009 16:09:58 GMT -5
Words the princess knew all too well. "You're right," Sally replied reluctantly. "We should get to work." After a moment of silence, the squirrelmunk reached out again and rubbed her hurting host's arm. "But if you need to talk about it, you can come to me." Another silence fell, and Sally's mind fretted about the situation. There had to be something better she could say. It wasn't until after several minutes of speechless walking that another matter returned to the forefront of her mind. "....By the way," she finally said, folding her arms behind her back, "speaking of responsibility... There's something you should probably know about the chameleon that brought us here."
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Post by Jamie Lee on Feb 17, 2009 1:28:55 GMT -5
At once the archer's posture seemed to tense, and in spite of himself he found his breath catching. Oh no, he thought with a sudden sense of dread. "You mean Espio?" he asked slowly. "He... behaved himself, I hope?"
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Post by Leda on Feb 17, 2009 1:32:14 GMT -5
"Eh heh," Sally laughed nervously. One never enjoyed being the bearer of bad news. Perhaps out of dread, she began rotating the power ring between her hands. "I'd imagine that you're already aware, but he does seem to have a problem with self-control. Much of it I would've simply written off as immaturity, but..." The princess trailed off and coughed into one fist. "He, erm, introduced himself as the leader of this village."
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Post by Jamie Lee on Feb 17, 2009 1:49:21 GMT -5
Rob stared at her for a moment in mild surprise. With a long exasperated groan, he grabbed the bridge of his snout and shook his head. "I am so terribly sorry for any problems he might have given you. Please forgive him. He's my responsibility."
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Post by Leda on Feb 17, 2009 1:59:59 GMT -5
"Well, to be honest, I had my doubts the entire time," the squirrelmunk admitted. "I just... couldn't fathom someone like him sufficiently managing an entire village, let alone Freedom Fighter operations. He didn't take direction very well, and didn't have much respect for personal space. Kind of argumentative in general, I would say. Easily lost his focus, too. But then, he strikes me as pretty young, so I assumed it was simply that he still has some maturing to do." Sally's eyes drifted to Rob. "Still... I thought it was important to tell you. He could make a very bad impression to someone with weaker intuition."
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Post by Jamie Lee on Feb 17, 2009 6:14:58 GMT -5
With each blow the princess dealt Rob's face buried deeper and deeper into his palm. Of all the times! Of all the people! The archer couldn't help but shake his head in irritation. The embarrassment could have been nauseating if he allowed it. "Aye, he's only thirteen," he finally spoke once Sally had finished. "I... simply can't apologize enough. It's just, well... he's so ambitious and impatient. He means well enough but he wants so badly to be an adult he doesn't think things through. I'm sure he only did it to prove he could handle the responsibility," he snerked softly at the irony, then sighed, shaking his head. "I'll have a talk with him later. To be honest he shouldn't have even been out and about at all. He's currently grounded."
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Post by Leda on Feb 17, 2009 13:40:36 GMT -5
"Well, don't be too hard on him," the princess replied with a smile. "If it wasn't for him, we might not have made it here at all." Sally's attention returned to the power ring, leading her thoughts to the ailing hedgehog. She gave a short chuckle. "Besides, if there's anything I have plenty experience with, it's ambition and impatience. I can understand your frustrations." With that detail now out of the way, Sally's demeanor became more assertive. "In any case, let's get the residents together for that meeting. I'll get to work on coordinating a plan of attack as soon as we're finished."
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