Open The Lost and Hopeless

[Artur]

Artur had scarfed down enough berries to fill the void that could be considered his gut, and even though he was in animal form he still couldn't hide the belch that came from the joy of eating such a thing. At last his stomach started to feel relief, the ache that gnawed in his belly from hunger subsided to a dull feeling that would soon die out, and the bear turned to Svan to see what he was doing.

It didn't seem like anything at first, but for some reason Svan had a nervoud look on his face. Something had to have bugged him while the bear was eating, because he looked fine last time Artur looked around. The bear stood on his hind legs, and then became enveloped with light once more. He had shifted to the human form he was in earlier, and though it probably would make him hungry again he had eaten enough to occupy his belly. He didn't think if Svan would be embarrassed to see the bear in the nude, but Artur didn't hurry to slip back on his pants and shirt. When he finally slipped on the sandals he walked over to Svan with a pleased gleefull expression.

"Something wrong?" He spoke cheerfully, unaware the garden shifted around him. Since he had gotten what he needed he would be able to focus on Svan more, now that he no longer had the issue of hunger pains. 'I wonder if he knows where I can find the Withering Rose. I know I need to start my job there today!' The thought of learning new types of food to cook made Artie excited, he had a lot of recipes he would have to learn. Thus the fruits in the garden could make excellent samples to try and make food with, Artur made a mental note to buy a sack to carry stuff like the berried in; since he'd likely need it for everything else. "Thanks for helping me out by the way, now I just need to find the Withering Rose. You should come by in a few days, I can cook you something!" He cheered with enthusiasm, again he was unaware they were now lost.

OOCApologies for the delay, thank you SO SO very much for being patient!

[Licearsvansan]

[Well this was bad. Svan was lost in the middle of a garden with a bear, and clue on how to escape. Worse yet? The bear seemed to have suddenly remembered that it had an appointment to get to.

"So um, Artur is it? How soon do you need to get to the withering rose?" Svan's voice came out smoothly but the faintest trace of worry could still be spotted. The kelvic had been fairly passive, but for all Svan knew it could simply be wiping the sleep out of its eyes. The last thing he wanted was to incur a bear's wrath. After all, he had seen the bear eating berries. He shuddered to imagine how ferociously the bear would eat fresh meat.

"I'm just asking, cause I was thinking that maybe we could explore the garden a little more. Think of it as an adventure!" Svan silently prayed the bear would take the bait. He couldn't really think up an excuse for getting lost at the moment, but if the bear was to lead then perhaps Svan could duck the blame.

"How about this. You pick a direction, and I'll follow. Just make sure to remember your steps, we dont want to get lost."

oocSorry school picked up for a bit. short post today.

[Artur]

Artur's expression was a curious one, as he hadn't the slightest clue as to where he could lead them. He was still up for a mini adventure of course, even though he had his fill of being lost for one day, and simply smiled as he patted Svan on the shoulder. "Sure thing! I imagine a small detour couldn't kill the both of us." He turned to his right and almost marched forward, but his sense of direction must be in lack today; as he immediately turned to the other side. After a few brief moments of consideration the bear looked past Svan to see the path that was there.

"That should lead us onward!" He cheered with a naive grin, and then he walked on to lead the way. He would lead Svan deeper into the garden as they would twist her and turn there, and for what felt like forever to Artur they finally reached a point to where he needed a break. Walking too much wore Artur down since he was usually a lazy bear most of the time, with the amount of distance they covered though he felt sure they were closer to the exit.

"I just need to sit and rest for a few chimes, then we should be outta here." He sat on the spring grass near a few flowers that gave a rich sour smell, it was enough to make him wince with disdain as he scooted away. They were orange flowers with a sort of bell shape to them, the ends were tipped as small traces of nectar dripped from within. 'That is one strong smell.' He covered his nose as he scooted away further. "Those flowers are burning my nose!" He exclaimed as he looked to Svan, eyes slightly watery as his nostrils flared.

[Licearsvansan]

Svan couldn't be happier with the bear's willingness to go along with the his plan. Well, he actually could have been happier. He could have never entered the maze to begin with.

Svan followed the bear deep into the garden. The snake stopped occasionally to look at the plants and try to gleam some sort of info out of them, but to little avail. The garden was filled with plants Svan had never even seen, and possessed abilities he could scarcely imagine. The deeper they went the stranger the plants became. It was as if the gardens ecosystem was entirely separate from the rest of the world, and the plants were adapting to a new set of rules in this strange maze. Svan feared that eating any of the plants this deep in had just as much a chance of sending him to another world as they did of providing him nourishment.

Eventually the bear grew tired of walking through the endless winding paths of the garden and the pair came to a stop. The snake decided to take full advantage of the situation to rest his own tired legs. Moving over to a rather fluffy plant, Svan flopped down and allowed his back to rest against its marshmallow-like surface. The dhani grabbed at his throat with his right hand and massaged it gently. He had been holding back his accent for a while now and it was quickly beginning to drain him. Svan allowed the small morphs to relax in his throat and tongue and his voice returned to its normal serpent like self. The snakes mind practically breathed a sigh of relief as the morph was loosened. Svan let exhaled deeply though his unmorphed mouth, but nearly swallowed his own breath in shock as the bear shouted.

With his mind still exhausted from holding his morph, Svan was unable to think of any better action than coiling his feet and leaping backwards as if a dire wolf had tried to jump him. The result was Svan smashing his back into the shrugs behind him and receiving a noseful of the sour smell as he choked on his own breath. His torment didn't end there however, as Svan lie against the hedges he felt the slightest movement behind him and looked down to see thin vines slowly wrapping his leg. With the manliest scream Svan could muster he leaped away from the bush with his hands covering his mouth to keep out the flower's pollen.

"A small detour can't kill us?! I just got felt up by a ficus!"

[Artur]

"What?!" Artur jumped as he heard Svan say that, his gaze gone from the orange flower to his acquaintance in a shocked manner. The smell grew stronger after Svan moved, the pollen burned his nose enough to where the bear couldn't stop a sneeze from coming. With a few huffs Artur finally let out the painful sneeze without holding back, the pressure that clouded his mind for a moment relieved itself as he opened his eyes lazily.

"We shouldn't hang around here then! The smell is killing my nose already, I'd rather keep the rest of me intact." He remarked as he stood up, another sneeze ready to make way. His nose burned from the rich sour smell, a slight sweetness hidden within the scent. He wanted to get away as fast as possible, should a carnivorous plant decide to reveal itself. The idea of a large plant able to swallow a entire bear came to his mind, as Artur's imagination played out the rest of the scary thought; and resulted in a shiver. "You lead the way this time." He cheered but not as enthusiatically, since his nose was in a bit of a predicament.

[Licearsvansan]

Svan didn't need to be told twice.

Almost before the bear finished his sentence, Svan was marching quickly down a random path. The route he had chose was twisting and winding. The branches seemed to reach out from the bushes like claws eager to snatch up the pair. The snake ducked below a outstretched bark limb and hurried his pace. You know, this day started off pretty well. I should expected this to happen. No such thing as a free meal, and no such thing as a petching good day! Just as Svan finished his thought a branch hooked onto his leg and caused him to fall.

Lifting himself back onto his feet the dhani looked around their current area and found that a large mass of branches and vines was weaved over the top of the hedges. The strange leafy roof cast a think inky shadow over Svan and the ground. Where most of the garden seemed bright and extravagant, this part seemed almost gloomy.There was a certain nervous tension humming through the air as the snake did his best to keep what little was left of his composure. The dhani turned to meet Artur, and spoke in an exhausted manner, "Okay Artur, the plant that burned your nose, and the plant that still owes me a dinner are at least 100 meters..." Svan looked around, unsure of which direction they had come from, "-that way." he said pointing to nowhere in particular. "We should be safe. At least for now."

The snake gave a sideways glance to the bear, "You are alright?" Still listening for an answer Svan turned back around to face the foliage dark path before them. Good idea Svan, lets walk through the scary part of the garden. I'm sure none of those other plants will be here. Why? Because those plants would be eaten alive by the things likely hiding in here! Doing his best to ignore his common sense Svan continued deeper into the dark.

"It looks like its going to be a little rough this way Artur. How about this? Why don't you tell me a little about yourself. Nothing like a little health conversation to lighten the mood."

[Artur]

"Ha-CHOO!" Artur cringed as he felr the full force of another sneeze, he glad to have left behind the strong fragrance of whatever that plant was, though his nose still burned as if he were next to it. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just my allergies I guess, that smell really burns." He looked ahead to see the garden beginning to take an eerie turn compared to earlier, one that gave Artur chills as he went pale. Still he followed Svan and listened closely, he liked the idea that a bit of chatter would distract them from the creepy plants they'd likely find inside. Hopefully the giant man eating plant he imagined was just his imagination, as he didn't want to be flower food just yet.

"So long as you share too." he remarked with a heightened tone, the fear that some man sized cannibal plant tried to haunt his mind. "Let's see, I love food; absolutely kill for salmon. I love to cook food, and uh... um..." He peered around nervously as they passed a few overgrown bushes, unsure if his imagination made the whispers come from them. "And I want to learn everything I can about cooking. Hopefully I'll go out and see the world, and learn what food waits out there." Artur couldn't help it, generally when it came to food it was his way to comfort himself. Even if it would make him hungry in the end, which is exactly what he began to do. Already he could feel his tummy lighten a bit as he rambled, thus he decided to make Svan speak next. "You're turn! What do you like and do?" He kept his attention on Svan now, he hoped his curiosity would blur out the fear of perilous plants in the garden.

[Licearsvansan]

One thing was very clear to Svan. The last place he ever wanted to be was between this bear and a plate of salmon. Aside from that however, it seemed that the kelvic was fairly tame.

"What about me? Well I'm not a fan of cooking exactly, but I do have quite the appitite. I don't tend to like plants and fruits that much though." Svan looked over at a small cluster of dark berries. "That being said I'm also a follower of Caiyha. She's the goddess of nature. Some people seem to think that just means that I try t protect the forests but there is alot more to it than that. Oceans, deserts, mountains, and even cities are part of her domain. Its the job of people like me to try to return some level of balance back to nature. Well...it would be if I had a gnosis mark that is." Svan let his gaze fall to the side, obviously troubled by his lack of marks. "I guess its fair though, I'm not exactly her best follower yet. In fact I have almost no clue what the petch any of these plants are." He looked at one particularly twisted plant, "My guess would be 'evil'."

Svan could have gone on about his life story and what exactly had led him to his decision to follow Caiyha, but he had long ago learned that keeping a few secrets to himself was the safest thing to do.

The Dhani walked down through the many forked paths of the garden until eventually the pair reached a dead end. At the end of the path was a bushy leaved plant with several large violet flowers. Svan was immeditatly suspicious of the plant. One lone plant at the end of a dimly lit corridor? He had heard this story before, and he didn't like how it ended. There was not a force in all of Mizahar that could make him get close to that thing.

At least thats what he told himself as he unconciously walked towards it. Finally realizing what he was doing Svan stopped in his tracks and cursed his apperent curiosity. Just once it would be nice if my body would listen to my brain long enough to avoid falling into the incredibly obvious trap-petch me! Lost in self loathing, Svan failed to notice that his hand was moving towards the petals of the flower. He managed to snap back to focus just in time to avoid touching the plant.

The snake smiled at the victory over his subconcious, but soon he began to doubt that there was any actual danger in this place. He had come so close to the plant, certainly if there was some sort of trap it would have already been sprung. Catiously Svan moved his hand so that it ever so gently brushed against the petal. Immediately his entire body tensed up. A brief moment of quiet went by as the snake waited for something to happen but nothing did. "Well thats odd. Hey Artur come over and check this plant out.", he said as he waved to the bear. With the threat now gone Svan was able to finaly analyze the plant in its entiretly. It had a thick base and large roots that sprawled out over the ground. Hey, do you think you could cook something out of this? I wonder what it would taste like.", Svan spoke curiously. The mention of food reminded the snake that the two had to make it out of the garden quickly before it was too late. Realizing that he wouldn't have enough time to examine the plant right now Svan decided to take a sample home so that he could track down this plant later. The snake popped of a single petal of the flower and jumped back at least ten feet as the plant screamed out in bloody murder.

"WHAT-THE-PETCH-WAS-THAT?!" Svan shouted between intervals of hyperventilation. He had never seen a plant scream before, and honestly part of him was curious to learn how the plant preformed such a feat. The other part of him was horrified. The entire garden seemed to be springing to life as if the plants had been woken from some deep slumber by the ear splitting screech. No long concerned with learning more about the plants, Svan turned around and bolted down the nearest path.

Halfway out of sight Svan turned and shouted to bear, "I recomend running Artur, its good for the heart. And by that I mean its a good way you heart inside your body.

[Artur]

Artur listened intently with nods as he agreed with Svan, he too had a pretty big apetite when it came to food. However Artur loved food a lot, and that's one reason why he loved cooking as well. The desire to learn all he can and discover all the possible foods that reside in Mizahar, that was the idea of an adventure to Artur. He felt slightly glad to know that Svan followed Caiyha, even though his own deity was Oriana. Caiyha was the protector of all wilderness and the life that resided in it, so Artur already felt a little connected to her coming from the wilderness as he did. Still he wondered about Oriana, and if she watched over him at all. His curiosity usually got the better of him like that, and only left him in the unknown. He could only believe that she protected him as she does all bears, and feel his devotion to her like an instinct. He laughed though after Svan gave his remark on the floral around them. "They definitely don't look... friendly." He observed a few that had long leaves, leaves that had edges that looked as though they could cut skin. His gut churned a little inside, as he began to feel anxious once more. 'Not good...' Artur had... problems, when it came to getting anxious. Especially after eating foods like berries, that tended to give him gas. He did his best to hide it though, as he stuck close to Svan. He was a brave and adventurous human, so he would surely keep Artur safe.

He came to a stop as he examined some of the roots, the way they were gnarled and twisted together almost convince Artur that the plants were nearly alive. Alive and mobile anyway. When Svan called him over to check out a plant he examined, Artur quickly pattered his way to his friend. His brown eyes showed curiosity as they looked upon the violet shades of the leaf. "I dunno. Maybe?" He never considered using a violet leaf as an ingredient, he wasn't sure if it would pass as an herb or spice. If anything he could smoke it with something, he always wanted to try smoking some sort of greenery wrapped around meat on a grill. When Svan plucked a sample of the plant a screech cried out that startled Artur, it made him jump back a couple of feet in fear as he forgot to control his flatulence. When Svan took off Artur was afraid he chased his friend away, but that wasn't the case it seems. The plants started to quake here and there, as though they too were coming out of hibernation.

'I think... I agree.' He thought to himself with a frown. He stood there for a moment as the gnarled roots began to slither, then he immediately took off after Svan screaming. "What did you do?!" He hollared as he caught up with his companion, for a man with a little fluff in his human form he could keep up with Svan it seems, then again he was running for his life now that the floral of the garden had been disturbed.

[Licearsvansan]

"The petch should I know?!" Svan was far too busy running to stop and wonder what was going on. There was a time and place for everything, and a violent plant maze was not the place for questions. It was the place for running. Fast.

The Dhani sprinted up and down through the maze until his legs gave out and he found himself lying belly up on the ground gasping for air. "Never-huff-again, he breathed out between breaths. The snake's chest shuttering as he choked down as much air as he could. Within him, his heart beat like large drum, and seemed almost fit to pop out of his chest. He placed a hand lazily over it and exhaled deeply. As the oxygen returned to his mind, Svan realized that the petal he had taken was no longer in his hand. While it didn't surprise him to have lost it in his panic, he was still glum that he had ventured so deeply only to return with nothing. A courageous story without any sort of proof that such a journey took place was hardly a tale at all. Not that a petal would really make any anyone believe such a tale.

Still lying down, Svan looked up towards the sky above and wondered how long the pair of them would remain in this god forsaken place. A day, a week, a season, forever? The mere idea of living his entire life out in such a place almost made the Dhani want to cry. But then a strange thought suddenly struck Svan. The entire garden was full plants. Perhaps if he could learn more about them he could use them to find a way out. Considering he knew next to nothing about plants, it was a fairly poor plan.

Regardless, Svan turned himself onto his side so that he could see the plants beside him. "Lets see here...Blue strawberries, giant blackberries..." Svan made a face and rolled onto his stomach before looking forward. Just ahead lie the very same entrance they had come through. "Really?" he said in a voice that wasn't quite as amused as it should have been. With a groan Svan rose slowly to his aching feet and looked over to Artur. "Lets get going before the god of illusion decides to hide the entrance again."

Svan walk forward and didn't stop until he was sure he was out of the garden.