Wandering the Woods [Closed/PM]

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 100%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

Many animal tamers went out searching for the meanest and most powerful creatures to turn to their will, seeking large and intimidating creatures or those that would serve as sturdy shields. Jacoben wasn't exactly like the majority of those with that subclass, and he was rather determined not to simply follow the norm and find a pet that was both useful but also appealed to his personal aesthetics and sensibilities. For that reason he had gone deep into the Moon Dance Forest in search of the Arcraven that were said to dwell within the most magical portions of the forest. Such a creature would make an excellent familiar for a Sorcerer such as himself, and its ability to serve as a scout would be quite useful for any adventures that he might have in the future.

He was fairly certain Jane had wanted to meet him at some point too, but he didn't know when or where, and it was important that he got to the Arcravens as soon as possible as they apparently had a low spawn rate and he wanted to get one before the day was out. It had taken him this long to simply get his Animal Trainer level high enough that thinking about a pet was worth the effort, which was somewhat embarrassing if he thought about it, but then again it had taken him quite a while to stop moping around Londinium and actually do something other than crafting, so he supposed it was only logical that he hadn't put his Animal Trainer subclass to work just yet.

He had to be quite careful, if he got found my a monster with a high enough level he could end up dead before he could fight back, and he couldn't simply be prepared for a fight as it was because then he'd scare off any Arcravens that might be around, meaning that not only did he have to avoid any potential conflict but he couldn't even draw his weapon to be on the safe side. It was probably this fact mixed with the rare spawn rate that meant few Adventurers saw an Arcraven, let alone tamed one as a pet.

A flash of glowing blue caught his attention, and the Foxtail walked cautiously towards the place he had seen the colour amidst the trees, hoping not to startle the creature away with overly hasty movements or actions. Around a few trees and bushes, careful not to trip over any stones or detritus on the forest floor Jacoben finally laid sight upon the Arcraven, taking in the magical glow that infused it and the unusual stare it gave him as he came into its view.



The creature was tense, ready to leave at a moment's notice should he come any closer and thus he would lose the opportunity to befriend it and gain himself a fitting familiar. Arcane sigils for which the creature was named glowed not only on the jewellery it wore, but also around its wings neck, and beak, its eyes glowing specs amidst the blackness of its feathered face

"Ah, hello there..." Jacoben began in animal speech, seeming to startle the creature so much that it ceased to glow all of a sudden. It stared at him for long moments intently, any further words drying up in his mouth as he waited for it to decide what to do.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 567
Tags: Jane

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Jane]

"You know, when I say I want to meet up, and you say 'oh lets meet up in the forest, I don't exactly expect to have to comb the forest looking for you."

Jane's complaint would, of course, come forewarned by ringing sound that always accompanied the telepathic communication between two friends. The ex-Welshman didn't exactly have the ability to see the somewhat serious situation his friend was in at the moment, so he saw no issue with trying to contact Jacoben in what was probably a stressful enough situation to cause the Fox Tail to jump at the sudden noise.

Jane was crunching softly through the wooded area some fair distance off, trying her best to keep unobserved by the wildlife (and succeeding for things that didn't look her way thanks to her skills). She didn't feel all that up to the area she was in despite probably being the perfect level for it. Most things she'd run into so far she'd been able to deal with relatively quickly without causing too much of a ruckus, but there had been at least two mobs she'd decided slinking away quietly was the better option for. It had been a curious journey so far, normally Jane just wandered, probably sending her on a path into the middle of this very forest from time to time, but she didn't realise it and would port away when things got too tough or scary looking.

"Would you be a dear and at least give me some sort of sign to where you are? I don't like running blind out here."

As if to emphasise his point the forest around Jane went dark all of a sudden and Jane flailed wildly for a moment, thinking she'd run into some sort of spell or something. Really, all that had happened was the tiny guardian had run into a patch of darker foliage, and the only thing the flailing accomplished was landing her in a thorny bush that scraped and screeched against her plate armour until she was able to pull herself out the other side. A few more steps took her back into some patchy light and she had a quick look at the damage. A tiny dent in her hit points was evident and her armour looked a little worse for wear but it wasn't anything worth worrying about.

"Aaanyway..." she continued, glaring back at the offending bush and its unfriendly darkness before continuing on, unable to really hide the irritation in her mental voice. "Didn't you want a hand or something with this thing out here? It was for one of your classes right? Are you looking for some rare wood drop or something? Or was it a pet this time?"

If Jacoben hadn't said anything to her by now, it was probably obvious that Jane wasn't really paying any attention to what her friend might have been asking or communicating on the other end. Jane would go quiet herself for a few moments, only the sound of steel scaping against wood audible for a few moments as she tried to force her way through another bush shield first, before falling back to her sneaky ways and just trying to move along in carefully again, the sounds of the forest around her, her only real company.

W: 552

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 100%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

The Arcraven seemed intrigued that he spoke to it, tilting its head at him in curiousity though it did not respond to his words verbally. Somewhat disappointed at the lack of reaction, nonetheless the fact that it had not fled him meant that Jacoben was able to target the dark feathered bird and activate his Pacify ability, followed by the Domesticize skill to tame the creature to his will. For a moment the Arcraven's sigils and eyes glowed brighter as though it realized the threat it was facing, but it was over too quickly for the creature to flee, and after a few moments the glow faded into nothing as the taming was complete, only the dimly glowing eyes remaining now that it was completely docile towards him.

Holding out his arm and waiting for his new pet to land on it, Jacoben contemplated what to name it for a few long moments, however his musing was cut short by the sound of a telepathic conversation beginning followed by Jane's dulcet tones as the petite guardian started complaining about the chosen location for their meeting. Rolling his eyes in exasperation towards his as of yet unnamed pet the Sorcerer waited until his friend had paused in the whinging enough that he could actually speak without being spoken over the top of.

"Well, you were the one who said we just had to meet up straight away, I was in the middle of something when you demanded this," the Scottish Foxtail snarked back in a way that would startle anyone else who knew him. Jac was comfortable enough around the Welsh tank that he didn't feel the need to be unfailingly polite all the time, which meant he was more likely to unleash dry sarcasm on Jane than anyone else in this world. Naturally this arrangement suited them both and neither would have it any other way.

A few moments of more grumbles and the Sorcerer was able to speak again, "I came out here to get a pet, but I've already done that. Might be an idea to search for wood while I'm here though.... hmm, let me send out my new friend to find you so that we can meet up. He should be able to guide you to me, it's an Arcraven called...." a brief pause, a moment of consideration, and a name had come to him "...Muninn. He'll guide you through the forest towards me." Turning towards the newly named bird, Jacoben pondered just how to address his new pet.

"Ah, Muninn... could you go out and find my friend Jane to bring back here? She's a small Guardian with blonde hair and likes to sneak around" he inquired of the avian creature, somewhat surprised when it inclined its head slowly and took off into the air, eyes and sigils glowing with power as it began to search for the wayward warrior. Once Muninn had found Jane he would refuse to leave her alone until she followed him, acting as a royal pest unless the Welsh gamer decided to follow after the obviously deranged dark-feathered bird monster. It seemed that Jacoben had found a lively first pet.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 531
Tags: Jane

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Jane]

"Bah humbug." was the only reply Jacoben would receive over their telepathic link for a good long while before the sound of Jane, still lost in the woods, cut out to be replaced by the grumbled mutterings of a tired mind. "Don't need no stinking bird to show me the way. I'll find you myself!"

Not cutting off their mental connection, Jane pressed on, moving deeper into the woods and further into the state known as 'lost'. She wasn't the kind of girl to give up easily when it came to trying to find her way, she wasn't a girl at all, all things considered either, and it wasn't like she was out asking for directions or anything. If there were things to ask then sure, but as it was she could only stumble and bumble on her own, at least until help arrived, and help was going to arrive eventually, as decreed by the very sorcerer she was refusing help from.

"What? No! Stupid bird. I know where I'm going thank you very much!"

The sound of claws on steel sounded out as Muninn swooped down upon the stubborn guardian, indicating it was harrying her and being deflected by her equipment, most likely her shield. There had been the sound of cawing for a good while before this and Jane had been doing her best to ignore it, going so far as to go in the opposite direction as the raven was indication, which had to change up when it started just indicating the wrong way and the guardian had caught on. Evidently the Arcraven had given up on even this game and was going full blown assault mode to fulfil its orders, cawing, clawing and generally being a flurrying fluff of feathers and magic as it tried to force the chibi girl towards its master's destination.

Evidently it was working, Jacoben would soon be able to hear actual sounds of his friend being assaulted by his pet as the two finally arrived at his location, little sparks of magic and feathers flying off the latter. Jane looked very miffed, and very messy, with blond locks tangled and feathers looking almost expertly braided in. If it wasn't for the fact the sorcerer would know Cedric well enough it would have looked almost pretty, instead it was just a little sad.

"Alright alright, I'm here! Jac, call your pet off please!" Jane sobbed, gauntleted arms covering the guardian's head as she tried to keep the shield between her and the flurry of magical feathers away. "Stupid bird, if you weren't his I'da smacked you around the forest as soon as look at you!" she exclaimed indigently, followed with a "Youch!" as the raven got one last good peck in on her.

W: 461

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 100%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

Jacoben listened in a mixture of amusement and disbelief as Jane continued her search for him rather than waiting to be guided, the Guardian somehow becoming more and more lost as she stubbornly avoided any helpful advice which came from Muininn as the bird tried his very best to complete the order he had been given by his new Tamer, the magical raven expressing his frustration as best he could for one whom couldn't speak to animals by scratching and scraping at Jane's armour as he tried to herd the grumpy little warrior towards the Sorcerer's location (seemingly unsuccessfully for the longest time).

Eventually however the Arcraven managed to batter the blonde haired Guardian into the clearing where his master waited in bemusement, fluttering to land on the sorcerer's shoulder with a put-upon squawk, biting the Foxtail's ear to express his displeasure at the task that he had been set. Jacoben reached up to stroke the creature's ruffled feathers soothingly, not wanting to irritate his new Familiar if he could help it, even though it seemed that Jane had done a stellar job at annoying it already.

"Muininn's pretty high levelled compared to you, I'm not entirely sure you would have been able to hurt him...." Jac stated absently in response to Jane's threats, freezing suddenly as he realised what he had said and the Guardian's likely reaction to being told that the pesky bird was almost thirty levels above her. It wasn't likely to be a pretty sight, and he was almost certain to regret saying what he had. Forcing out some very unconvincing laughter the Foxtail took several steps away from the Human, trying to remain out of tackling reach and conveniently forgetting that not only was Jane's effective tackle range was much further than in their old world, but that he was a reasonably powerful magic user who could teleport short distances when necessary.

After Jane's inevitable retaliation Jac would find his balance once more and turn to his friend as he straightened his clothing with a curious expression on his face. "So what was it you wanted to meet up for? You seemed kinda determined not to wait until I got back to Londinium so I guess you have something in mind? I mean, I would have been there in a couple of hours after all," he stated, tail flicking from side to side as he tilted his head curiously. It had been about a week or so since they had last met, before Jane went out on her most recent exploratory trip out to the countryside. He had expected them to meet up within the next day, but he hadn't expected that she would come all the way out into the forest to find him, especially since she hadn't spent any time in the zone as far as he knew.

"When did you get back anyway? I thought you'd rest after your trip, not come trudging out here after me," worry coloured his voice here, as he realised that perhaps his friend had returned to town and come out into the Forest after him without taking any time to recover after her trip. "It's not good for your health if you don't stop to relax for a while!" he declared agitatedly, causing Muininn to caw grumpily as his perch moved around too much for the Arcraven's preference.

[/b][/b][/div]

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 562
Tags: Jane

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[/div][/div][/div]

[Jane]

Jane's face scrunched up at Jacoben's words, the smallish girl not liking what he was hinting at. In the end all he really got was a full power glower followed by a stick that had been stuck in her hair being pulled out and sent flying towards his pesky bird, none of that more familiar glomping techniques she'd been developing since their arrival in this world. It probably spoke volumes more than an upset hug ever would, though that was only if her fox tail friend was still in touch with the guy behind the girl he was playing at.

"What do I want? What sort of question is that?" Jane demanded, her voice breaking a bit in irritation "I wanted to come out and have an adventure with you! I've been running around the same place for ages, I've seen more than enough of the area to know most of it, and the parts I don't know are so full of monsters you'd probably want a dungeon group to get any further that way at my current level. I'm too busy running around on my own for any of that sort of nonsense!"

Jane's attention was stolen before she could continue much further, that shiny white tail her friend sported these days was so pretty after all. It wouldn't be in character not to want to touch it after all, or that's what Cedric tried to tell himself. Seconds later her attention was back alongside, her glower, as she tried to express her disappointment in his understanding of the situation without words.

"Okay, first of all I've been back ages. I don't go out on long trips and I'm always back with our natural teleport spell. I'm always around, but you're not!" The 'not' was emphasised a pounce aimed at the Fox Tail's tail, Jane more than happy to latch onto her friend and rub her cheek on the fluffy appendage. After a moment Jane stepped back, glared at her friend again, and looked around the clearing they were in.

"But yeah, you're not around enough to bother anymore so this is going to be our adventure. We must find something to do out here!"

W: 366

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 100%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

"What do you mean I'm not around?" he retorted, tail swaying in agitation as he reached up to pet his new familiar, "this is the first time I've left the city in weeks, and all I do is work on my crafting in that workshop I rent, which I've told you about plenty of times." It was likely that his friend wouldn't care for any potential excuses he made, the Welshman would almost certainly focus on the fact that Jacoben didn't leave his workshop very much, which wasn't that different from what he had done back when they were on Earth (though somewhat more productive).

As he pondered the oddity of his friend's tiny female body it seemed that Jane decided to capture his tail, gripping tightly onto the single fluffy appendage and rubbing her face all over the silvery fluff that covered his tail. "H-hey! Let go of that!" the youth complained as he tried to shake free, dancing around the clearing in an attempt to dislodge the small warrior to a minimal amount of success.

Eventually either Jane would let go or he would simple remember that he could make his tail disappear and do so, freeing himself from the grip. "It's not my fault you refuse to come into the workshop, but you've caught me out of it, so what did you want to go and do?" the Foxtail inquired as he brought his tail back up behind him in its usual resting place. He didn't have any urgent orders to fill and he had his familiar so he was game to do something else for a while.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 271
Tags: Jane

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Jane]

"Hay, hay, hay! Don't you give me that." Jane retorted, dropping the tail and glaring up at her friend, "You're the one who was all excited to come into this world of magic and amazement and all you've done is holed yourself up in that room doing art! You've been doing that in real life in your spare time and now it's like you don't want to experience the magic you've got at your fingertips!"

The little guardian humped grumpily, stamping her foot and turning away from the fox tail. "Today we can do what you got me on this game to do with you, party up and fight digital monsters." Jane explained once she'd calmed down a bit, "I'm looking for any drops we can find that are for alchemy, as well as a few quest items I need form the area. The quest wasn't very clear though, so that might be a bit of hit and miss. I'm not sure if they drop from a monster or anything or are just found around the forest, the quest instructions aren't that clear either so it really annoying!"

As the smallish guardian spoke she was getting more and more excited, turning back to her friend and speaking faster, even bouncing on the balls of her feet a little, a habit that was probably born from the leg tapping habit he'd had back in his times as a DM in the real world. His players knew that things were getting real when the table started shaking a little as the Welshman's leg started tapping as quietly as he could manage.

"You think you can keep your damage down though? I don't want you to be tanking, that ruins the mood..."

W: 289