Re: Sacred Grounds

by **Destinykil** Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:18 am

Des finally made his way to the top of the grounds and saw the giant pillar. He moved closer to see that the ground had collapsed. He peered down into the darkness and kicked some gravel into the hole. A few seconds passed before he heard the sound. Des moved carefully around the hole and peered over the ledge behind the pillar. Just a long strip of mountain.

"Hmm, They probably fell."

Des went back to the hole and pulled out a claw like object from his pockets. He dug it into the ground and jumped down. The air rushed through his hair and he landed on the ground collapsing his knees to absorb impact. It was beyond dark. Luckily for him, his eyes weren't normal.

"IS ANYONE DOWN HERE?"

Des' voice echoed down the pathway hoping he may get some response.

by **SamSeven** Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:29 am

{I messed up the order! Skip me and we'll fix it next time??}

by **Zane** Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:33 am

[rei, zane, des, sss. just follow that the next time. the mistake just now was that you went first than des. no harm done.]

by **Yoyo** Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:55 am

[ Wow, totally missed Fish's post up there... -__-;; ]

Rei looked around, hoping to find the source of the splashing - or hoping to not; it depended on how you looked at it. She did a mental check of her ability to defend herself. Her automail was shot, and even if it weren't, lightning and chest-high water did not mix well. She had lost her daggers back in the first landslide. Maneuverability was minimal in water this deep.

She frowned. "Move fast and without a sound," she whispered. "If it doesn't know we're here, we might be able to get out without it noticing us." She highly doubted it was unaware of their presence, but she could hope.

by **Zane** Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:01 am

"That's rather difficult, yes?" he responded. Maneuvering in water without making splashing sounds at this depth? He tried anyway but something tugged on his leg. What was weird was that it felt as if they were hands.

"Damn, something just held on my leg. It felt like hands," he tried to look down but he couldn't see a thing. It was too dark. "But it just felt like it. I'm not sure what it is."

by **Destinykil** Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:14 am

With nothing coming back towards him, Des made his way forward into the darkness. The light behind him was slowly vanishing as he moved further into the cave.

"REI! ARE YOU DOWN HERE! ANSWER ME!"

Des cupped his hands and repeated that sentence a few times. Nothing. He moved forward without a sound until he felt something wet soak into his socks.

"Damn, water. I like these shoes."

Des shrugged off the wetness and ventured further. He felt the water level rise but didn't care.

by **SamSeven** Tue Feb 15, 2011 3:53 am

It knows we're here. And it's got hands. Stealth mode: deactivated

Dwyrin grabbed Zane and Rei and pulled them with her - abandoning the 'let's not splash' idea - back the way they had come. It was excruciatingly slow going and she knew if this thing lived in the water it certainly could move faster than they.

They had gotten a few feet farther when she felt a tug on her leg and was dragged under.

by **Yoyo** Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:15 am

Rei raced after - stumbled behind was more accurate a description - Dwyrin. Dwyrin had grabbed her right arm, so when she was dragged under, her initial reaction was to twist her hand so she could grab her wrist. She managed to hold onto her for a brief moment, but the water made her lose her grasp. She stumbled as she came to a stop, floundering a moment before regaining her balance. It was too dark to see in the water to find Dwyrin. And whatever else was in the water with them.

by **Zane** Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:29 am

When Dwyrin was dragged down, he jumped in the water. He didn't know why he did, he just did.

The water was dark, but a disturbance in the water helped him find her location. Something grabbed on his hand and unsure if it's what was in the water or if it's Dwyrin, he used his other hand to pull it.

They were dragged in further down a bit but the constant struggle of kicks by the person he's holding onto probably nailed the creature and it felt lighter. Seeing this as an opportunity, he swam back up to the surface as hurriedly as he can. Oxygen was running out and who knows when that thing could come back and drag them back down again.

A few strokes and they were near Rei. Looking at the person he's with, it was Dwyrin all right. He didn't know what hit him, but he felt a huge relief that she was whom he saved. And without thinking at all, he hugged her.

He didn't even notice a figure not so far from them.

by **Destinykil** Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:45 am

Des continued further as the water just passed his waist level. Not like it mattered since he was already shirtless. Des made his way further in and felt a disturbance in the water. Somebody or something was nearby not to far off.

"Who is there? I'm coming!"

Des rushed forward and the water soon reached his chest.

by **SamSeven** Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:06 am

It had all happened so fast - she had started to panic when something grabbed her leg, then something grabbed her arm, there was a brief struggle, and the next thing she knew she was gulping down breaths of sweet, wonderful air. And holding onto Zane.
Her eyes widened in shock. Not unpleasant shock - just shock.

A voice echoed through the cave snapping her from her daze. She stepped away from Zane, glad it was dark enough so that no one could see her expression. That thing was still in the water, she realized, and if she wasn't mistaken, that voice was very familiar.

by **Yoyo** Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:29 am

Somewhere to her left she heard splashing and gasping for air. "Dwyrin," she thought hopefully, hearing two people. "And Zane. She began to make her way over to them when she heard a familiar voice, causing her to turn toward it, eyes wide. Distracted, she did not hear the splash directly behind her. Something tackled her at the waist, pulling her under the surface.

Something wrapped around her waist - an arm, perhaps - and dragged her along the floor of the cavern before swiftly diving in a deep hole. Rei kicked madly and hit the thing with her fist, but the action only served to use her limited supply of oxygen. After what felt like an eternity, the creature released her and she bobbed in place, almost entirely out of air. "I'm going to die before I even see it?" she thought, both angry and surprisingly apathetic at the same time.

She curled up and grabbed her throat, painfully - very painfully; her lungs and legs were burning - aware that she did not have enough air to even begin to swim to the surface. Something slammed into her side; she gasped in pain. She wondered briefly which would kill her first, this unseen enemy or the water.

by **Zane** Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:45 am

Zane sighed, he really had to stop being impulsive. He was about to call out to Rei when there was a splash, and he could no longer see her faint outline. Did it decide to go for Rei?!

Things were getting irritating - he was rather hungry already and they are practically blind in this darkness.

Apart from that, he thought he heard someone call out but it was faint and it only made him wary. Deciding it would be best to get out of the water, he made his way towards the shore, making sure Dwyrin and he won't get separated - who knows when that thing attacked again?

"Rei's been dragged down," he said, stating the obvious. This time, he couldn't just go back into the water. He had no idea where he'd start to search for her all he could do was hope she'd make it through.

by **Destinykil** Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:43 am

Des felt something hit him. Something, an emotion, anxiety perhaps? Or maybe the rage to hurt something. He heard more splashes and rushed forward. He saw Zane and Dwyrin, all Des could do was snicker. He looked around and didn't see Rei.

"Where is she ZANE!"

He noticed the ripple in the water and quickly took a deep breath. Des dipped underwater and saw the water cuts leading down. He swam through them and continued to follow the waters pull.

Des wiped his eyes and saw a nearly lifeless person slowly rising towards the top. It was REI! Des kicked it into high gear and swam over to Rei. He grabbed onto her and began to swim his way towards the surface. Suddenly, something grabbed his leg, Des was halted from reaching the surface.

He looked down to see a giant shadow tentacle pulling him down. Des' eyes narrowed and grabbed the tentacle with his free hand. He squeezed as hard as he could until a loud screech pierced the senses. The tentacle retreated and Des began swimming back to the top.

"AHHHH!"

Des took a large breath of air and slumped Rei over his shoulder, she wasn't breathing. Des made his way towards Zane and Dwyrin and laid Rei onto the damp solid ground. He pulled himself out of the water and ripped off her trenchcoat.

"Zane, move Dwyrin back. Come over and assist me. I need you to stabilize her neck with your hands and tilt her head upwards."

Des shooed Dwyrin back and waited for Zane. He moved his ear towards Rei's mouth and felt nothing. He pressed his cold, wet fingers against her carotid artery and felt a feint pulse.

"She is alive, barely! Zane let's go!"

Des interlaced his fingers and placed them on the center of Rei's chest. He began to pump down.

"1,2,3,4,5...."

by **SamSeven** Tue Feb 15, 2011 6:47 pm

She looked on anxiously, not really sure what to do after being shooed aside - and not really able to 'look on' very well in the dark. Instead, she listened. Des' frantic breathing echoed off the walls as he pumped away. Water dripped off of all their soaked clothing. Rei's coat rustled every time her body was jostled.
And that thing was still splashing around on occassion, as if to mock them. She regarded the flooded tunnel uneasily, before stepping forward and crouching by Rei's lower half.

by **Yoyo** Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:04 pm

Rei coughed violently and knocked away the hands that were holding her. She tried to roll over - or maybe she tried to sit up - but just sort of flopped on the ground briefly. She was vaguely aware that she kicked something in her struggles.

She lay on her back staring up into the darkness panting, trying to recall what was going on. Most of her memory was just of water. She noticed that there were three figures around her. Even in the near darkness she found that she could clearly make out Zane, Des beside her, and Dwyrin by her legs - she must have kicked her; she would have to apologize. She wondered a moment how she could see them so well.

"You need to be able to see deep underwater where there is no light," she thought. "Your eyes can absorb even the smallest amount of light and use it to see as though it were twilight.

"Ah, that makes sense."

Rei struggled to sit up. She only had one arm to support herself with and it felt like her legs had been tied together or something. She was completely soaked and the cold of the ground was seeping through her pants. It felt like her bare skin was right on the chilly stone. "I'm okay," she coughed.

by **Zane** Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:15 pm

When Des arrived, he wasn't surprised. And when he saved Rei, he wasn't surprised either. All he could feel was relief, knowing that he won't have to move or do as much as he did when Des did everything most of the time.

He did as Des told him wordlessly and things didn't seem that bad. It was still dark and it was still hard to see but his eyesight seem to have adjusted if slightly.

And when Rei moved, hearing a small ow, he thought she probably kicked someone - Dwyrin, since she was the one by her legs.

Except, something glistened by Rei's legs - actually, they didn't seem like legs. "Hold up.. what..." but he didn't finish his sentence, squinting to see what exactly it was.

by **Destinykil** Wed Feb 16, 2011 8:51 pm

Des stopped and looked down at her legs or lack thereof and his eyes widened.

(sorry for lack of posts)

by **SamSeven** Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:32 am

She followed everyone's line of sight.
She wasn't sure she believed her eyes, and tried to blame it on the darkness. Almost unbidden her hand reached out. She placed it on what should have been Rei's leg - the one that had given her a nice shin bruise - and she felt... Scales?!

She put her hand back on her own knee, wordlessly. Well.... What's the practical thing to do, now?? I'm not sure I know. This has never happened in my presence before... She looked at Des and Zane's faces and saw nothing but suprise.

"So...Rei," she began, "how ya doing??"

by **Yoyo** Thu Feb 17, 2011 3:48 am

Rei stared in shock at her own legs. Well, they would have been legs under normal circumstances. At the moment, she found herself looking at a scaly tail. She looked like she'd been half-swallowed by a large fish, except the scales and everything else were definitely attached to her body. She - somehow - found it amusing that the color of the scales matched the clothing she had been wearing: dark gray down to what would have been mid-calf where it changed to black.

"I said I was okay," she said slowly. "To say that I'm confused, though, would be an understatement." She unconsciously grabbed at her shirt, finding that it was still there as well as her coat. "At least I'm not wearing a seashell bra..."

by **Zane** Thu Feb 17, 2011 3:53 am

Zane couldn't help it and laughed out loud, despite knowing he should be more concerned and confused at what had happened to Rei. But he couldn't help it at all.

Rei turned half fish, and considering how Rei was... and how mermaids were depicted to be, how could he not laugh at all?

by **Destinykil** Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:35 am

Des snorted at what Rei had become. He stood up and turned his back on all three of them.

"Useless."

by **SamSeven** Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:49 am

"Aw, don't be so hard on yourself, Des. You're not useless. You rescued Rei and all," she said acidly, rising to her feet, "Even though it obviously wasn't in time."

She regarded Rei's new apendage, then finally looked at the rest of her and couldn't help smirking. She stepped out of kicking distance. "I think I have a top that would look just lovely with your new set of fins," she snickered.

by **Yoyo** Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:58 am

Rei glared icily at Des. She could hardly believe what she had heard. She shook her head, incredibly grateful for Dwyrin at that moment. "Somewhat," she added, considering her last comment.

"So, uh, anybody know, um, anything about mermaids?" she muttered, lifting her legs - fin - experimentally. It worked the same as moving both legs together, though somewhat easier; not as simple as moving one leg, though. "Or how to change me back?"

by **Zane** Thu Feb 17, 2011 5:04 am

"So much for his love for you, Rei," he said, poking her fin and loving Dwyrin's last comment. "Do you have it, Dwy? Maybe she could fit it."

He moved back and stared at the water when he heard more splashing sounds. "Well, considering everything's water," and I'm a bit too hungry to use alchemy... "Maybe you could explore it and find an exit?"

More splashing sounds and came a loud, screeching wail then quieted down. "Changing you back, however, I have no idea. But," he stared in the darkness, towards the water. "Whatever changed you probably can change you back. Unless that's permanent."

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