.jpg)
Oci jogged after Marco, wondering at his sudden silence. Yes, Marco was a pretty quiet person, but this silence felt… different. Then again, they were about to go walking straight into the Everlasting Woods. That was something not many people walked out of.
In truth, it was more his discomfort at leading someone back to where he lived, a process that didn't take long as he led Oci up onto the rooftops, continuing on for a little while until they found a small tent-like structure, made with tarps and a variety of poles, from sticks to old broomsticks.
"Is your staff a weapon, or something sentimental?" Oci asked when they arrived, not commenting on the tent. After all, he'd lived in something similar at one point.
"Both." sad Marco, slipping inside and grabbing it, revealing it to be a dark mahogny wood, laced with silver and indigo flecks, carved with intricate runes. "It's important to me, and more than once it's been the difference of life and death."
"I see. It's very beautiful." Oci stared at the staff for a few seconds, then looked at Marco. "Are you ready?" He glanced back at the photo and took a deep breath, waiting for Marco to say something.
Marco nodded, both to the complement, and the question as he moved to strap the staff to his back with a strap that clipped onto it with stiff leather, going over his shoulder like a sash.
"Alright. Let's see if I can do this." Oci glanced at the photo one last time, then closed his eyes and raised his hand. "Salire." For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, golden portal swirled into existance, mixed with a bit of sea foam green and bubblegum pink. "Oh, gods, it worked. It looks like my hair!" He gasped, dropping his hand. "In you go. I'm not sure how long I can hold it open."
Marco nodded, dashing through quickly, ignoring the comment about hair. Landing on th other side, it was before what appeared to be a dying forest.
Oci jumped through the portal right after Marco, and just in time. The portal fizzled out as soon as he was through, and Oci crashed into a pile of dry leaves. He pushed himself to his feet and dusted himself off. "Oh, gods, we're here." He turned around. Just visible through the trees was a cheerful-looking village. "We'll need to make a stop there first." Oci said, pointing towards the buildings. "For food."
Marco nodded, his eyes more nervous than before, looking further into the trees,trying to scope out the dangers. He'd heard about the Everlasting all his life, yet he'd never been. Somehow it seemed more peaceful than the stories. Which only served to unsettle him more.
"Come on." Oci started for the village, keeping his eyes on it for as long as he could. He didn't want to get lost in here without the proper equipment, because that would mean certain death. The only sounds he heard was the crunching of leaves between his feet and the whisper of leaves falling from the trees. It was quite eerie.
(boop)
(OMG SORRRY!!!!)
Marco nodded, starting after him. He was already feeling uncomfortable in these woods. It just wasn't natural, and… and who knows what could be out there.
(Also I won't be on much today, later in the evening I might be on more)
(It's okay! I probably won't be on during the later evening, but we'll see. :)
It seemed to take an eternity to reach the edge of the forest. As soon as Oci stepped out of the shade of those pale trees, he let out a huge breath. Everything felt different now– the sunshine was warmer, the air lighter, and he could hear birds singing somewhere in the long grass. "Gods. That place is terrible." He shook his head slightly, then started walking through the pale green knee-length grass towards the village. "What did you think of it? Is it just like the stories said it would be?"
"Worse…." mumbled Marco, seemingly exhausted and drained of all emotion. "The aura of that place is absolutely awful… like.. like death…" he shuddered at the word, "I'm starting to think teaming up with you was a good idea for me, maybe with you along I won't go insane…"
"Yeah, I think they toned the stories down for the kids." Oci shook his head and glanced over his shoulder. The forest loomed at the edge of the field, making him shiver. "They shouldn't have." He glanced at Marco. "Well, we can only hope we don't go insane. And if we do, it's hopefully only after we've killed the king." Oci grinned at Marco.
Marco nodded, "Here's hoping you don't have trouble with me, any kind of Death aura can have really bad effects on the sanity of a shifter." he hummed softly, Meaning I really shouldn't go in there, but I am anyway
"Well, I'll try and make sure you don't go crazy." Oci reached the edge of the field, the ground turning from spongy dirt to paving stones. "Is there anything you can do to stop the Death aura?" He asked, scanning the street for a store.
"Not really, not when the entire forest seems to be soaked in it" he sighed,keeping pace with him.
"That's a shame." Oci spots a store a few doors down and picks up the pace. "Will you be fine, though?" He pushed the door open and held it open for Marco. "Also, what do you want to get?"
"I should be, though a bit on edge…" he said softly, appreciating the distraction from his thoughts. "And as for food, anything is fine I guess.." he said, "You saw where I live, so I'll be honest when I say I'll eat almost anything edible."
"Good." Oci nodded quickly, then turned to the shelves of food. "What do you think of apples and bread?" He asked, pointing to a basket full of pale pink apples with one hand and to a shelf of lilac bread with the other. "They should provide enough energy, shouldn't they?"
Marco nodded, "Should be good enough, and portable too." he said, happy with the selection.
"Okay, then." Oci started grabbing apples. "Can you grab some loaves of bread? Oh, and if you see something you want, just add it to the pile." He gave Marco a strangely soft look. "And I understand if you don't want to, because of debts or whatever, but… I'm not keeping track." He shrugged and started walking towards the counter, arms full of apples.
Marco nodded and grabbed several loaves, following behind him, he also grabbed a bunch of blueberry muffins, reasoning that A), pastries would be nice, and B), he remembered that Oci's usual was blueberry muffin back at the cafe.