Re: The Forsaken (May be R)

[Lady Lara]

Riley woke with the most energy she's had in a couple of days. She got up, showered, changed into a pair of blue jeans and a camasole, leaving her feet bare, and waited for Clause so he could show her to breakfast. She wasn't even thinking about the test that she'd be put through today. It almost felt like she was just sleeping over at a friend's house. She sat on the floor next to the door, and thought about her brother. Hopefully he was doing alright. She knew he was probably miserable, not knowing where she was, but he had to be fine. She didn't feel like she was in any sort of danger..

[Chaosmazer]

Clause awoke that morning, feeling a bit blah... but he would get over it... he stood up and cracked his back... he hated staying at his castle... back at his little apartment, he had a nice comfortable bed... but her, this was all he was allowed to sleep on. He knew that he would have to be careful... watch what he said to Riley... he went into the halls and went to her room. He knocked on the door. "It's time for breakfast..." he said. He couldn't be kind, not when the master might be watching... he hoped she understood...

[Lady Lara]

Riley stood up, and opened the door. "Good. I'm hungry." she said, walking out and following him to the dining room. She had slept far better than she ever expected to in this place. Even after that little trick that the next room over tried to pull. It was not a very nice trick at all. If it weren't for her ability to do whatever she desired in that room, she probably would have gone over to see if it really was her brother or not. Either way, she was in a good mood now, and that had to be a good sign, if anything. She was never a morning person, so this whole feeling good thing that she had going on right now, had to be a good sign. At least, she was going to take it as such anyway.

[Chaosmazer]

He led her to breakfast. "Well, you'll need your energy... today's trial is going to be much harder..." he said glaring at her. "Nobody has ever made it past the second trial..." he said. "Nobody except for one..." he said. He opened the door to the dining hall, it was the same as before... all sorts of food, Clause also made sure that she had plenty of coffee. He made a variety appear, all sorts that she could want. From an oddly tasty pumpkin pie flavoring, to straight black. "Enjoy, as soon as your breakfast if over, I'll take you to your test..." he said.

[Lady Lara]

"Immediately after?" Riley asked, as she walked over to the coffee to see where the hazelnut coffee was placed. "I don't even get time to digest first?" she knew he was putting on a show for his master, so she didn't get bothered by his directness. "How many have been tested before me?" she asked, making that her final question of the hour. The rest of it would be dedicated to satisfying her stomach.

[Chaosmazer]

"You will have time to digest... I do want you in your top performance..." he said with a little smile. "It will make it all the more amusing when you fail..." he said. "Before you..." he started thinking. "Lets see... once every 100 years... I've had about twenty others... " he said with a little thought. "Maybe a little more..." Clause sat down to eat.

[Lady Lara]

Once Riley found the hazelnut blend of coffee, she poured herself a mug, and sat down. She gathered a plate of eggs, bacon, a blueberry muffin, and toast, then began her breakfast. "So I've got about a 5% chance of passing..." she calculated, nodding to herself and smiling slightly. The smile was only out of nervousness, as she still had no idea what she would be facing today. If he wanted her to be in best performance, she figured it would have to be some sort of physical activity. She had the strength of a vampire in her, so she wasn't very worried about that. By the time she finished eating, she had also finished her coffee. So, she poured another mug of coffee, then sat back in her chair as she enjoyed the taste and smell of it.

[Chaosmazer]

Watching her, he smiled... knowing that she would do fine... at least he hoped. This was the first one that he had fully backed up in this sort of thing... he wanted her to succeed... he knew that tonight would be a full moon... perhaps he could find a way to let her run... that is if today didn't tire her out completely... "5%... well... if you would even consider that you have a chance..." he said with a little laugh.

[Lady Lara]

Riley looked up at him from her coffee mug, raising an eyebrow. "Five percent is better than zero. So, I have to assume that I have some sort of chance." she said flatly, finishing off her coffee, and setting the empty mug on the table. She didn't say a word after what she had just said, and just kept her attention on Clause. She could feel the moon's energy pulsing through her. When the full moon rose tonight, she would have no choice but to shift into her wolf form. If she didn't have anywhere to run, she'd be in a lot of trouble. This was assuming that the moon still had the same effect in this realm. Either way, she didn't have a choice of when or where she was going to shapeshift tonight. She could only hope that she completed the test before then.

[Chaosmazer]

Clause stayed quiet as he ate... still just picking at his food... not knowing what would happen today... he knew that he could give her a place to run... there was a huge forest out there that she was more than welcome to roam... nothing too dangerous lived out there... nothing she couldn't handle. "Today's test will take place in the forests outside of this place... I hope that it suits you, Wolfie..." he said in a somewhat mocking tone.

[Lady Lara]

She still said nothing to him, just wanting to continue on with the day. Riley was glad it took place in a forest. At least then she wouldn't have to worry about time... unless the test was timed, like the first one was. Then it might prove as a problem. "Whether it suits me or not," she shrugged her shoulders, "I don't really have a choice in the matter." she said, grabbing a slice of already buttered toast, but then put some banana caramel sauce on it, and chewed away.

[Chaosmazer]

"Now you're getting it..." he said with a little smile. Clause still barely picked at his food, not finding anything appetizing. He closed his eyes lighlty and leaned back in his chair. This test wouldn't be too hard for her he hoped... there wasn't so much danger involved... it was rather relaxing... until a certain point... However, most humans would find this test incredibly difficult... but... he had faith in her.

[Lady Lara]

"Getting what?" she wondered, "That I've been thrown into a sick challenge that you demons get to do once in every one hundred years? So, you get to watch people die... so, you get to watch people struggle and fight for their lives. Well, I don't have much life to give. Half of me is dead, and the other half is too damn impatient to stop and smell the roses. Even if it's only for a couple seconds." she snapped at him, not having expected to rant like this. "I've so-called lived long enough, and experienced enough to realise what I've gotten myself into." she said, finishing off the toast, then pouring herself another mug of coffee. "Buddy boy, you ain't got a clue who I am." she added, "And you ain't got a clue what I'm capable of doing. Just finish your damn breakfast." she took in a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and smiled at him. She knew it was the lack of blood intake that was making her moody. There wasn't anything she could do about it, either.

[Chaosmazer]

Clause heard her snap... he remembered that she was half vampyre... she knew he was on her side... but... still... it must have been a lack of blood... maybe he could help her with that... there would be many creatures out tonight... but they wouldn't taste good, still she could use his blood if necessary... "Irritable this morning, aren't we..." he said standing. "We're leaving..." he said, opening the window. "The other doors out aren't safe, and it will take forever on foot... I'll have to fly you there..." he said.

[Lady Lara]

"I'm not so good with heights..." she said, standing from the table. "Why don't I just run, and you can fly. That way it still won't take forever. Forever is a long time, after all." Riley truly feared heights. After being thrown off a cliff when she was young, she never saw heights the same way since that day. She still hadn't gotten over it. If they weren't very far from the ground, then it would be fine. However, if she were suspended above the ground, with more than one story of distance between her feet and the ground, she wouldn't be able to stay calm. So, she walked over to the window to check how high they were from the ground.

[Chaosmazer]

The drop to the ground from this window was only a ten foot drop or so... even a human could survive that if he rolled... and she was made of tougher stuff. "You are quick... that will work..." he said jumping from the window his wings spreading out. "Just be sure to keep up, Wolfie..." he called back to her.

[Lady Lara]

Riley grinned as she watched him jump from the window. She was happy to see it was a lot closer to the ground than she expected, so she jumped from the window and shapeshifted, landing on the ground in her wolf form. She barked at him when she looked up, watching to see which way he went. She was fast in her human form, but she was even faster in her wolf form. Besides, her wolf form knew how to breathe properly while running. She kept a close eye on his direction, and an even closer eye on her direction, and where she was going. The last thing she wanted right now was to crash into a tree by accident. She easily kept up with him, deeking a tree or two when she needed. This area was easy to see through, so it wasn't a problem for her to run as fast as she possibly could.

[Chaosmazer]

Clause looked down at her. They were near the starting area. "Your test starts now, Wolfie... your goal is to hunt me down...then we will conclude with a little challenge..." he said. "I'll be hiding somewhere in this forest... good luck..." he said. He suddenly seemingly disappeared in front of her eyes. The forest became dark as night... though no moon was in the sky, nor stars... it was a magical darkness... it... seemed creepier than before... visibility would be limited...

[Lady Lara]

As soon as everything visible became dark, and Clause disappeared, Riley slowed herself down, and eventually stopped. Her ears perked in the direction she thought she saw him go, but she knew she had to trust something other than her vision. She knew his scent, but something seemed too strange to be able to track him that way. Maybe it was that simple, maybe it wasn't. She decided to start off, searching for his scent, so she moved herself into a jog with her nose in the air, trying to see if she could catch the scent. She ignored the darkness as much as she could, but at the same time, she kept alert to see the things that she could.

[Chaosmazer]

Clause landed, finding where he was to stop at... this was a difficult challenge for humans... they would have to wander around for days... trying to find him... once they died from exposure or the other creatures lurking in the woods, then the test would be over... however she had an edge over this little test. His scent... he was helping her and his master couldn't do a think about it... he smiled lightly to himself... though... the last challenge would be difficult. He looked in front of him... the gorge... it was between him and where she would be... there was a narrow bridge... but there was a trick to getting across... he would explain all once she reached him.

[Lady Lara]

As soon as Riley picked up his scent, she slowly followed it. Considering she could not see very far infront of her, she didn't want to go very fast anyway. It took her about ten minutes to come up to the gorge. She jumped when she suddenly saw the sudden drop that was the gorge. She stepped backward, and shapeshifted into her human form. She looked around to see if there he was near her anywhere. She had lost the scent, so she couldn't tell exactly where he was now. It was probably all part of the trick. Maybe scent was the wrong thing to follow after all. After looking around a bit more, she saw what looked like a bridge that lead over the gorge, and made her way over to it, hoping to find Clause on the same side of the gorge as she was.

[Chaosmazer]

Clause, able to see through the darkness as if it was nothing seen as she approched the bridge... it would seem like a long trip. Across... the darkness has a way of doing that... he looked to her. "I'm right on the other side Wolfie... you just need to cross the bridge... below, in that gorge... there are many demons... lost spirits waiting for you to fall below... if you look down at them, the bridge disappears... behind you... the bridge will start to fade away... so you need to keep a quick pace... however, if you look back, the whole bridge will fade away at once... however, you must take care and walk slowly... as long as one of your feet... well... paws are on the bridge... it will stay... however, if you pick up all of them as if to run... it will vanish." he said. "It is a test of will... you look down, you die... you look back, you die, you move too fast, you die, you move too slow... you die..." he said. "Whenever you are ready Wolfie..." he said. The demons below... he knew what her fate would be if she fell into their hands... a slow, tortured, painful death... he hoped for her...

[Lady Lara]

Walking in either form, there would always be at least one foot on the bridge. Riley couldn't believe she had to do this. She backed away from the edge even further, and stopped briefly once she reached the bridge. She had shapeshifted back into her human form, so her lack of vision would be good. She just had to remember to keep her eyes forward. "What if I just keep my eyes closed?" she asked, carefully walking toward the starting of the bridge. Her heart was pounding against her chest, and racing so far that she swore it would jump into her throat. She couldn't help but whimper as she stepped onto the bridge, fixing her eyes on one spot on the other side. She kept herself moving, but her muscles were shaking so much that she could only go so fast while ensuring that one foot or both feet were on the bridge.

[Chaosmazer]

"If you believe keeping your eyes closed will help, then by all means... though... I know a few others that would disagree..." he said, remembering some people making it to the bridge. Closing their eyes didn't help them at all. He watched her. Mentally cheering for her, one foot at a time... one foot at a time... the bridge was starting to disappear, but she had a bit more time, though he knew the pressure would be getting to her. "Almost there Wolfie..." he said... "About half way across..." he said.

[Lady Lara]

"Shut up." she snapped, as she made her way across. She could feel the bridge disappearing behind her, so she forced herself to relax, knowing she'd be back on solid ground shortly. After being able to flex her legs a bit more, she took quicker steps, still keeping her feet flat on the bridge when she stepped. She kept her eyes open, keeping them fixed on the land where she wouldn't have to worry about the bridge anymore. She couldn't tell how quickly the bridge was disappearing, though. She could only sense the emptiness behind her.

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