[hr][center][color=808B96][color=00BFFF][h2][b]T a f f y[/b][/h2][/color]Southeastern Mir [b]-[/b] The Fall[/color][/center] [hr] Vague rambling warnings from a drug addict of something hiding inside of him certainly didn't make things any easier for Taffy as the group formed up again...well, as much of the group as there was remaining, here in the darkness of the forest. But what rankled Taffy more than the guilty looks from the Draconi, was his bringing up the very subject that Taffy had fought to convince herself that was a lost cause, at least for now. "I don't want to leave them behind, either," Taffy said as she began to lead the way toward her uncle's cabin from Sculpture Copse - she estimated it wouldn't be more than a half-hour away at the rate they were traveling. "But looking for them in the dark might get us lost, or attract predators, or worse - it might bring that pirate down onto our heads, and since they'd only be looking for Max, there's no telling what they might do to us. If they haven't rejoined us by the time we get to my uncle's cabin, we'll look for them in the morning when there's enough light." Taffy sounded reasonable enough out loud, but her insides felt like betrayal jelly as she led the group onto a slightly wider dust-ridden path into the trees from the copse. She knew that if they didn't find the others before they got to the cabin, it was more than likely they wouldn't [i]survive[/i] until morning to be found. The only consolation she had was that she could, at least, get the rest of this sorry group situated more safely until it was light enough to let them go on their way. But the otter kid...Taffy didn't understand much of what Akaeyla had told Yonath, but she did know that he was basically orphaned and didn't have anywhere [i]to[/i] go. The Lotori girl didn't consider herself the motherly type, and she hadn't made any plans to have any kids until later in life, but she wasn't sure what to do. Adopt him, or put him up for adoption? The latter option felt like a sort of betrayal, but how the heck was she supposed to go to medical school [i]and[/i] pay room and board for a kid like him? Maybe her uncle would be willing to put up Yonath at his place until- Her left ear pricked up as she heard a shearing slice noise, then the sound of timber creaking. Someone grabbed her backpack with both hands and yanked her backward, a move that kept her from getting crushed by the huge tree that fell across the path with a tremendous crash that seemed to shake the whole forest. Taffy only barely kept on her feet as she glanced backward to see that it was- "Nikki! Where did you come from?" The obvious relief in her voice helped temper the accusative tone that Taffy let leak through, in her haste and reactive anger from being nearly flattened. The nekomi girl let go of Taffy. "Why so surprised? I wasn't that far away from you guys, you're lucky I caught up just in time to keep you from going pancake! And that wasn't an accident, look!" All Taffy could see on either side were tall grasses and underbrush, bushes and vines, rocks and weeds; but her eyes caught a glimpse of the stump of the downed tree, which was so clearly sliced with a cutting implement that she could count the rings from where she stood. Things weren't adding up, and that made Taffy scared - and angry. "Okay, whoever's out there, you better show yourself right now, or I'll come out there and kick you in the-" She stopped as she her flashlight beam fall onto a tall figure that loomed in the middle of the path. It was a Miran with ragged blonde hair, and equally-ragged black jeans and a long white overcoat, left open to reveal an ugly scar seared across his muscular chest. In one hand, he held onto a long pole tipped with a wickedly-curved scythe blade, a weapon deceptively simple in its design, without decorative marks or symbols. In the dimness of the branches that blocked out most of the moonlight above, the pale figure looked almost like a symbol of death himself, and he stood with his head lowered just enough so that his bangs hung over his eyes, hiding them from the group. "Little, furry, animals," the figure said, in a sing-song voice as he swayed from side to side, the minimal light somehow managing to glint off of the scythe blade. "Which one of you is Max Stone? It would be ever so convenient if one of you were him, then I could leave this dreadful forest to the bats and to the moles." "Who wants to know?" asked Taffy, sounding gruff, but her heart felt like it had leapt up into her throat. [i]This guy sounds like a real maniac...[/i] "Oh? So one of the animals talks," said the new arrival with a chuckle that set Taffy's hair and tail fur on end. "I don't usually talk to animals, but since you can talk back, it's only polite to introduce myself. I...am Hermes Carrion, and I am only interested in finding Max Stone." "Careful," whispered Akaeyla to Taffy in an urgent tone. "He is dangerous, far too dangerous. There is poison in his mind." [i]Well, gee, tell me something I couldn't figure out,[/i] thought Taffy to herself. Out loud, she lied, "We haven't seen anybody like that, sorry - maybe you'll have better luck elsewhere." "Pity." Carrion's voice truly carried what sounded like a heavy burden as he lifted the scythe to both hands. "Oh well, I'll continue the search..." There was a momentary pause, then his whole frame shook with an almost sobbing laugh that echoed into the trees. "Oh, I nearly forgot! No witnesses...not even animals like you." Carrion's head lifted, and Taffy felt a true shock of fear go down her spine as she saw the complete madness glittering in the Miran's eyes. He raised the scythe higher, and a moment later, the blade ignited with blue fire that clung to it, swaying as if it was a banner caught in an invisible breeze only it was affected by. He began to advance toward Taffy and the others, with unsteady-looking steps that reminded Taffy of zombie stories, yet she was beginning to finally catch on to what Akaeyla had already seen with her blind eyes. The feeling of danger was close, practically radiating off of this bizarre Miran. [i]We can't fight him,[/i] Taffy thought. [i]That's magic he's using to empower his scythe...so if he's this insane, and still able to focus enough to use magic, then there's no telling what he'll do. No, scratch that, no doubt what he'll do if he gets close enough to us - if that tree couldn't take a cut, then there's no way we can![/i] "That way!" she shouted as she pointed sideways into the forest. A desperate idea sprang into her mind, and she wanted to enact it before she lost her nerve - or her head. "We'll lose him in the underbrush! He can't swing that thing around with so many obstacles around!" Out of all of them, Akaeyla probably knew what Taffy had in mind, but there were no protests from any of the others as they rushed into the forest off of the path. Taffy didn't know why they were listening to her, and maybe they weren't, but as she ran off after them, she glanced back to see that Carrion was suddenly increasing his stride as he curved off of the path into the thick forest greenery. And, as if to spite her, the Miran swung his scythe to cut cleanly through the vegetation that barred his way and begin to set it on fire. This provided more light for the group to see by, but Taffy felt like she could've done without that at this point. "Keep running!" she called out, turning her face back forward. [i]Don't look back,[/i] she told herself, [i]that's how people die in the horror moving picture shows, because it slows you down, remember? If we can only get to the cliff, then at least we can-[/i] Her thoughts were broken off as the first shout of surprise ahead told her that one of the others had fallen over the edge of the cliff. [i]Closer than I thought,[/i] Taffy realized. [i]We have a chance, then.[/i] "Don't stop!" she shouted. "Jump, it's the only way to be safe!" By the time she reached the edge of the cliff, she could only dimly see Xell, Akaeyla and Sashrya gliding down with their wings through the almost impenetrable gloom that led down the cliffside into a deeper area of forest. Yonath and Nikki were nowhere to be seen - neither of them had wings, so they had dropped more quickly into the deep forest below. Taffy nearly skidded to a halt, her body resisting the lunatic idea of leaping off into the darkness, especially knowing what lay down there. A quick glance behind her, however, revealed that Carrion was still close after her, his scythe pulled back for a swing. His face was a mask of horrific glee, twisted far out of proportion, his eyes and lips open far too widely to be comfortable. Taffy jumped. Carrion swung, and Taffy felt the swish of the wind as the blade sliced through the back of her jean legs, barely missing her legs, and she felt sudden heat as her pants caught on fire. The raccoon fell, her arms pinwheeling as she dropped into seeming oblivion, and- SPLASH! Taffy struggled to the surface of the dark and murky swamp water and gasped, then wiped her face off as best she could and glanced upward toward the top of the cliff. She could see the Miran looking down from the top of the cliff, crouched down and holding the flaming head of his scythe like a torch. But at this distance, she knew all he could see was the almost impossible gloom from the swampy mangrove trees that surrounded the little pond, a darkness that seemed far deeper than it naturally should have been. And after a tense minute, the Miran turned away and left. Taffy let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, then splashed around as she retrieved the flashlight she had lost during the fall. Fortunately, it was still on, and she was able to get it before it sunk into the mire. She lifted it up and pointed it level with the water, looking around for the others. "Guys? Everyone okay?" Taffy, for her part, was unharmed; the fire had gone out the instant she hit the water, and the soft mud at the bottom of the pond, combined with the water itself, took just about all the brunt of the fall, just like she had anticipated. Her clothes were scuffed and scratched, with a few tiny rents, from rushing through the thick underbrush; and now they were wet on top of that, and clung uncomfortably to her in cold patches. She was soaked, dripping wet and getting chilled from the air and the stagnant water. And it kinda smelled bad here. But she wasn't hurt, and she still felt like everything worked. What was even better, the Miran hadn't come down into the swampy depression in the forest after them, so she only had to account for the one danger she had gambled might have been able to stop the marauding madman before he caught up to them. After everyone was accounted for, Taffy explained herself. "Okay, we got away from that guy, but now we're in a small swamp valley in the Fall. We can still get back to my uncle's cabin from here, but we have to be very careful not to disturb any predator vines. You'll know them when you see them; they're like green rope with sensory bristles ringing them about every foot or so, and tipped with a sharp lamprey-like mouth. They're part of a larger organism, and they'll grab you and drag you all the way toward the core. If the core's maw swallows you, it's a long and grisly death as the vines enter every orifice in your body and suck your guts out an inch at a time. Most of the cores are only big enough to eat bugs or small mammals, but the one that lives in this swamp is big enough to eat any one of us...at least, last I heard of it, and that was a couple of years ago. If it hasn't died, it might even be bigger. "If that lunatic had followed us down here, we would have just had to run for it and count on the vines grabbing onto him before they grabbed onto us. But now that we don't have a maniac trying to lop our heads off, we can get out of the swamp carefully. It might be just another hour, and then we can all get into nice, warm beds after a hot bath." Of course, Taffy could tell that Akaeyla already knew about this place; from what the blind hermit had said before, it sounded like she actually [i]lived[/i] out here in the Fall, maybe even deeper than her uncle did. With her help, it might be possible to avoid getting even deeper into trouble than they already were.