Forests of Doubts, Roots of Revival

[Flamebird]

Closed to Logan and Redford. Tarot recruitment thread!




~~~

"Aw you suwe abot dis?"

Right before the needle was injected, a man in his forties looked up to her with a smile. "Of course, m'lady."

A voice came from the other end of the room. A young woman, who only a few weeks ago was a total stranger to her, nodded. "Once we inject you with this formula, you will be able to physically bring out your own passion, your own strength."

The redhead seated on the table leaned back, sighing, "Whateva vat is..."

A chuckle came from the black haired beauty, leaning against the wall, "I started out weak too, Felicity. Trust me, you have potential. You just need to unlock it."



Felicity felt her strength leak away, a stinging pain coming to her left cheek.

She pulled her hand up to her bleeding face, watching the person who was her sparring partner. It was not her old mentor, who unlocked her potential through a few experiments and training. That person had... faded... and she no longer followed her.

The young man across from her, a pale skinned guy in his twenties, put his longsword away. He was a Coronian Ranger, his expert outfit rippled as he put his sword in the sheath that hung off his back. He gave her a smile, "Berserk rage switching off?"

"Yeah," Felicity replied, pulling her hand down, "It onwy stays on for a short time wiv smaw wounds 'ike dat."

The young man walked up to her, putting his hands on her shoulders, "You've obviously learned a lot, Felicity."

Felicity grinned, "Yeah, I did."

The man swat her armor covered arm, chuckling. "Don't get cocky."

Felicity put her flamberge away, then put her hands on her hips. She leaned on one leg, her head tilted towards it, "I'm not cocky... I'm good."

The two chuckled as they walked away from the clearing, into the forest. Leaves gently flew in the wind, the moon shining above as the silently trekked along. Felicity was thankful for the man leading her along. He allowed her to join him with open arms. She had lived with him how many years, she viewed him as a brother rather than a cousin.

The fourteen year old followed her cousin well, although feeling drowsy from the last several weeks. She located him only yesterday, and it took the two weeks before to track him. Even before starting her journey to find him, she had been through some tough junk.

Her cousin turned around for a moment, his rifle bumping his longsword as he turned. "Are you okay back there?"

Felicity had her head down, scuffling her feet. At her cousin's question, she looked up with a weary smile. "Yeah." she stuck her thumb up, "I'm goo-"

The sound of a wolf's howl echoed through the trees. Felicity's eyes widened like dinner plates, her hand zipping towards to sword hanging on her back. Her arming swords, located at her hips, swung. Her brigantine armor shook, hair flipping in her paranoid momentum.

Several crows called, flying from the trees above. Felicity's relative chuckled, "Are you sure?"

Felicity slowly lowered her hand, her eyes went back to normal. "Uhh... Stiw westwess fwom de vast sevewoah days."

A nervous chuckle escaped the teen as she walked up to her cousin, "Um..."

"Yes?"

Felicity bit her lip, bouncing a little, "Vanks 'fo taking me, Jewemiah."

Her cousin, Jeremiah, smiled and pulled her into a hug. They continued walking along. "Aw, you're welcome. I knew the minute your story started, it wouldn't be something my uncle would like to hear."

Jeremiah's uncle - Felicity's father - was a bit older now. He was less patient, and quick to anger. He let Felicity go in the first place because, in Eiskaltian tradition, she was already considered an adult. None the less, she was actually still a child and her daddy warned against it. While, of course, Felicity always had a sore relationship with papa, her recent... failure in good judgement... would threaten to tear them sourly apart. On the contrary, Jeremiah, who maintained close relations with both, understood her story anyways.
So, as the two walked along, Felicity asked what sleeping conditions and food were like there. She was exhausted, and she was in desperate need of rest.

Unfortunately, at the Ranger's camp, there would be little respite.

[Logan]

Thwack! The arrow found its mark in the wooden target. Thwack, thwack, thwack! Three more nearly simultaneous followed suit finding their marks in the trio of oaken practice dummies.

"Good good. Remember, always keep your balance arm straight, but loose. Your draw arm's bicep should be taut, ready to release at any moment. The strength lies in the drawstring, but the aim is entirely on you," the willing instructor offered. "Most important, however, is to breathe. If you hold your breath you will invariably exhale at the wrong moment and your aim will be off-center."

Logan took a deep breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Thank you, Zachary."

Zachary shrugged in response.

"Logan, you needn't thank me. I've spent years honing my craft with the bow and arrow, and I am more than happy a renowned adventurer such as yourself would be willing to train with me. Few understand the elegance of archery, and fewer still truly take the time to master it. It is I who should thank you for this opportunity to train with the famed Master Telepath," the Ranger said as he pulled an apple from a leather pack slung over his shoulder. "Ready for a challenge?"

The wind picked up at the Ranger's words, and leaves began to rustle furiously.

"I cannot in good conscience say no," the psion replied as his fingers wrapped around the middle of the bow.

His instructor took a few steps toward him as he began, "Close your eyes and focus on my voice."

As he closed his eyes, the sounds of the leaves fluttering about in the gusting wind fought to disrupt his focus.

"Push out everything else. Push out the leaves, the wind, the sounds from the Outpost. Leave only the sound of my voice as your single focus."

The more he focused, the less the darkness felt empty. The voice of the Ranger guided him, and he began to find vision through his ears. No longer were the leaves a distraction, they were the underlying melody of the rising chorus around him. The beating of his heart, slowed and controlled, the rhythmic percussion lines. The sole voice in the clearing found its solo in the symphony. Every beat, every thought played with the music in his mind.

"Listen for the apple, and then shoot it."

The pace of the rhythm quickened, but a deep breath slowed it down once more. The solo was no more, and try as he might he couldn't find the apple's part in the music. It was then Zachary bit into the apple. In an instant, Logan knocked an arrow and let fly with no pause to consider the potential consequence of his action.

The rhythm intensified more and more as the symphony took off into multiple directions. Moments became eternities, even if the passage of time was only half of a second.

Thwooshck!

"Haha! You can open your eyes now, Psion."

Logan opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times as they adjusted to the bits of sunlight. At final blink, the form of the apple pinned into a tree some fifty yards away came into view. Zachary's hand was near his mouth, which was still open where the apple must have been only moments before. The student let out a deep sigh of relief.

"You must trust your instincts, your focus, and yourself. Let the rhythm of the world be your guide. She will never let you down."

==========

As they returned to the camp an unnamed Ranger approached the veteran marksman, "Sir, Jeremiah arrived with his cousin a couple of hours ago shortly after you both left. As you requested, I have given her a place to rest next to the Marshal's office as to ensure her safety."

Zachary gave a commanding nod and turned to the psion, "We are having a small dinner gathering tonight to discuss our preparations, and the Marshal extends an invitation to you. Stay with us the night, and you may return to your work at your leisure. I assure you, you won't want to miss it."

Logan raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Jeremiah's cousin is Felicity, isn't she?"

Both Rangers gave him quite the look of astonishment and awe.

"Oh, I uh, I stay up to date on the Rangers and their associations per Stormcrow's request," he offered in explanation.

His instructor shot him a look of curiosity in return, but it was the younger messenger who offered a verbal response.

"The Marshal requested -- "

Before he could finish Zachary lifted his hand to silence the Ranger.

"Return to your post, Ranger," the veteran interrupted with the order.

The messenger closed his mouth and left without further questions. Logan was thankful for the respite from the possible interrogation. Especially since Stormcrow requested the research to assist with preparations, and asked him to remain cautious with whom he let know about his involvement.

"We will discuss this later. For now, I need to tend to Jeremiah's cousin," Zachary stated as he left without further discussion.

[Flamebird]

As soon as they set foot in that cabin, Felicity fell face first onto the closest bunk. Jeremiah watched her with a smile on his face, but at the same time was filled with sadness over her recent struggles.

The cabin itself was mostly dusty, nothing too fancy. The bunks had mattresses barely filled with feathers, but an exhausted Felicity didn't seem to care. The young girl just lay there, not at all removing any of her weapons or equipment, and dozed.

Jeremiah removed his rifle and placed it lightly on his own bunk. He pulled his steel longsword off his back when a familiar man walked up to the open door.

"So, this is the fearless, flaming hero I've heard so much about."

Jeremiah turned to see Zackary, leaning against the door. His tone was warm hearted and amused, meaning no disrespect for the slumbering girl. Jeremiah smiled at his old mentor and friend, "Sir."

Zackary nodded at him, "It seems as if fighting runs down your family, son. I just hope she fights well."

"Of course she fights well," Jeremiah smirked, "She's my cousin."

As Jeremiah leaned his sword against the wall, Zackary chuckled, "You've seen her in action?"

Jeremiah turned to him and nodded, "She is skilled with a blade. Not too bad with her fists either."

Zackary nodded, "She may very well need those skills..." his smile faded, "She was her student, after all..."

Jeremiah let out a low growl, sitting on his bed. "How could she trust such a woman?"

Zackary sighed, "Keep in mind, at the time she joined her, Ashla Icebreaker was a strong and disciplined leader of what was basically the Ixian Knights junior. She was jaded at the time, but her intentions were just. No one could of predicated she would fall into such dark places."

Jeremiah just sighed, "Felicity just... stuck with her though."

Zackary got up and walked over to him, placing his hand on his shoulder, "No matter how good of a warrior she's become, Felicity is still a child. Often times, the naive stubborness of a child goes unmatched. Felicity already comes off as a strong one though -"

- a loud snore from the object of attention served as background music -

"She already has come far, and she will go much farther."