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[center][sub]Time: 1:01 - The Forest[/sub][/center]

[hider=Max/Eris]
As Max tapped on his star, yellow spindly lines shot out across the dark, connecting it to the nearest stars. The other stars touching the lines pulse yellow once, twice, three times before the lines disappeared. 

In the moon, the star and the first line of the constellation glowed yellow while their hands were touching stars. The light inched ever close to Eris and the constellation. 
[/hider] 

[hider=Lilie/Ben]
The rose glowed. Red mist bubbled out of the rose as the light grew, the mist pouring like water out of the bloom, over the edge of the pot, and down the sides of the pillar before it dissipated in the cool air. When the mist finally vanished, the rose was little more than glowing light and it sunk into the soil. And for a moment, everything was dark again.

Until the pot hummed. A mouth, a nose, and proper eyes formed themselves out of the clay and when those eyes opened, they glowed red for a moment before settling into two orbs. The pot stared at the pair impassively for a moment and then offered them a warm smile. The pot hummed a tune to itself for a moment or two.

[color=deepskyblue] “When love is not firm and fair and true, too oft does it’s grasp knock askew, the fate of pairs whose glory is lost and fade into dust and dirt and rot. Dedication is good, obsession is not, and the line betwixt is less than thin so prove yourself ahold your skins.[/color] The pot spoke in a melodic voice, soft and low. The breeze carried the scent of roses around the path. [color=deepskyblue] “A simple gesture, chaste and true, holds more wishes than words ever do. Out the door and back at morn, a good luck charm with no shape and form yet it lingers in heat and memory too. Given and taken in willing exchange, only this can win the game.”[/color]
[/hider] 

[hider=Salem/Victor]
As the two a wind whipped through the trees before everything stilled. Not a leaf trembled, not an insect buzzed, not a whisper or giggle of water. The orb, when place, murmured in a myriad of voices, soft and muted as if in the distance, and the smoke whirling disappeared only to boil over the pair. 

Once it vanished, the wood had gone to be replaced by blue fog. The orb glowed warm like candle light and Victor and Salem no longer saw the other. Although they saw themselves true, another replaced their partner. 

Across from Victor sat a woman with brown hair that fell in curls beneath her shoulders and skin barely a few shade lighter. Brown eyes and a mouth twisted down, her skin growing darker with pain. It slowly became blue and then purple with hands clutched around her throat. A teacup in front of her that shattered into pieces. Warm amber liquid pooled on the floor and she stared at it with a horrid realization.

Across from Salem sat a woman as well, a sad smile with a lingering warmth beneath blue eyes full of longing. Her fingers skimmed the edge of the stone she sat on, pale skin radiant beneath the full moon she held in her hand. In the ther, she held a picture of a little girl similar to her wrapped in chains dangling from the Strigois crest.[/hider]

[hider=Aaron/Varis]

Varis grimaced at the idea of following through with this but his pride wouldn’t allow him to voluntarily quit this challenge. They’d taken it on and now Varis would see it through until the bitter end if he so had to. If his Lady ever found out he let a mage guide him… Varis couldn’t suppress the shudder at the idea of having to defend himself. Maybe he would get a mind mage to take this night out of the boy’s mind so she couldn’t find it before he could shield himself from her. He snatched up the shovel.

[color=f7976a]“Guide me back to the tiles.”[/color] Varis demanded, twirling the shovel as he got accustomed to it. He’d never held a shovel before and frankly, he never wanted to again. Whenever he’d seen mages holding them, he assumed they were rather heavy. It was barely heavier than a piece of silverware. It was just larger and more annoying to maneuver.  He put it back down for a moment.

[color=f7976a] “I doubt the instructions included the obvious suffering I’ll have to endure carelessly so I won’t bother entertaining the idea of standing off to the side and picking ineffectively at them from wherever we step onto these tiles from.”[/color] As he spoke, Varis was pulling off his jacket and went to hand it off before he remembered the boy couldn’t tuch anything so instead, he tied it around his waist. The frustration and bitterness was gone from his words, replaced by his normal confidence and determination. [color=f7976a] “If digging is the key, then we’ll use the one you wasted time on earlier. Your ineptitude worked in our favor for once. As long as you keep me informed about when the tiles are moving, I should be able to make short work of this… tribulation.”[/color] He wrinkled his nose distastefully.[/hider]


[hider=Maddie/Amaris]

[color=FC8686]“I did, Countess.”[/color] Maddie confirmed, keeping her eyes on the path ahead. The first direction she nearly missed, just a flash of blue on the wrong side of a tree. [color=FC8686] “Since we hadn’t had an opportunity to discuss it, I thought it wise to bring the two we thought were acceptable while we relocated due to… stressing circumstances.”[/color] Madiies explained as they walked, maneuvering the Countess around a particularly nasty root system. [color=FC8686] “I was thinking blue ought to be our choice. Hopefully, a trust exercise doesn’t need much reliance on eyesight but if you are in the mood for a challenge, I’m more than happy to use the red bell.[/color]

Suddenly, a clearing appeared out of the woods and Maddie stopped Amaris with a gentle press against her arm. The scene in front of her was off. A small stream ran through the clearing and in the very center of it, a wide mouthed stone carving of a serpent stared back at them. It’s eyes gleamed blue in Maddie’s magical sight and she could see a small hook protruding from the roof of the serpent's mouth. A shiver ran down her spine at the sight and she gripped Amaris a little more tightly.

[color=FC8686] There is a stone statue of a serpent in the center of a stream with a clear spot to hang the bell in its mouth.”[/color] Maddie informed the Countess. Something about this gave Maddie a bad feeling but she wasn’t sure. Maybe it was just a bit of stress from maintaining the spell for so long. [color=FC8686] “I don’t see any instructions though. They’ll probably come once we’ve made our decision.”[/color][/hider]