(ThAt'S gReAt! Lol I can guess it's some kind of sport's team although I'm not sure which sport exactly XDD I don't really know much about anything like that but it makes me happy to see my fam get so excited about football and/or horse sports, so I enjoy being supportive haha )
Uh…. Bernon stopped walking and let go of Tanrial for a moment, glancing uneasily at the sky. I can try….. He reached up one hand, and after a moment lighting lanced down into his palm. There was quite a bit of it, enough to boil away the raindrops in the surrounding air and pick out every detail of the path in stark white. A loud hum temporarily drowned out the wind as Bernon struggled to gain control of the lightning without setting anything on fire. He had just managed to roll the electricity into a sort of ball when another strike hit his hand, sending up sparks. He yelped and wrestled with it like it was a writhing fire hose, frantically reeling it in as creeping tendrils of it reached out for Tanrial and Mike. A third strike came down, then a fourth. Now Bernon's entire arm was glowing like hot metal, and his sleeve was beginning to smoke.
"It's too much!" He shouted, and with a great effort he flung the lighting back up into the sky where it exploded with an enormous crash of thunder. "I'm sorry, guys! The bolts ganged up on me–it's like they were a pack of dogs or something!"
(Lololololol, it's AFL (Australian football league) it's kinda hard to explain but it's very competitive. YoU'lL hAvE tO cOmE tO aUsTrAlIa aNd WaTcH a GaMe XDD I wonder if you can find a video of the game in America… hmmm…)
"That's fine!" Tanrial shouted right before another lid crash of thunder drowned out any sound in the surrounding area. At least you tried. She converted back to telepathy for convenience.
(Cracks knuckles Lemme check YouTube real quick….
(Five minutes later:) Okay, so it's like American football but OMG THEY HAVE NO HELMETS AND I THINK THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER WOAH WOAH THIS IS TERRIFYING TO WATCH ooh nice kick BUT THAT OTHER GUY ALMOST BROKE YOUR LEG HOW ARE ANY OF YOU ALIVE huh, they have a real cool passing-the-ball system THIS ISN'T SPORT THIS IS WAR hey, that dude kinda looks like Mike lol
…Long story short, I think I will have to watch a game in Australia sometime if it's at all humanly possible, just to convince myself that this sport is real lolol)
Bernon nodded and tried to shield his face from the rain with one hand while digging in his pocket with the other. It might not be very helpful at the moment, but I do have a brand-new lantern that's supposed to be watertight, if I can just get it lit. That'll be better than nothing, anyway….Here, can you and Mike help me block the wind for a second?
(Ehehe, yissss. Also, I dunno what game you watched but Jack Watts, a guy on the Port team did actually break his right fibula and dislocate his right ankle in the game on Saturday, it was one hell of a tackle by Carlton)
Yeah, wait hang on, Tanrial extended her arm in front of her the wind seemed to converge on her. A moment later, the wind hardened into an almost invisible shield, blocking the wind from most directions, That okay?
(Ouch…..I'm not surprised lol, sounds painful though ^^;)
Thanks! Bernon pulled out his matchbox and struck a single match in the shelter of Tanrial's shield, then quickly opened the window of the lantern and lit the thick candle inside. Closing the window again quickly to keep out the rain, he held it up and let the yellow glow fall over them. Good. Not great, but we should be able to stay on the path now. Let's keep moving.
(Yeah, I hope he heals quickly 'cause he's a good player)
I'll keep the shield up for as long as I can, Tanrial replied, extending the shield as she spoke, well, thought, It'll prove useful against this rain and wind.
(Yeah me too)
Sounds good. Don't use up your energy too quick, though. We don't know how long it'll take to get back to the lake.
They started to slowly follow the path again, Bernon in front with the light and Mike in back to watch for danger. There were no signs of any animals or birds in the dark, thrashing undergrowth, making it seem as if the three travelers were the only living things in the forest. Bernon quickly lost track of time as they slogged their way up the path, fighting against the current of muddy water that swept down at them. They walked for what felt like an hour, but the storm stayed at full strength the whole time. The sounds of the gale, chaotic and intense as they were, started to fade into the background as the group got used to them.
Then Bernon suddenly came to a halt and lifted his lantern higher, peering into the swirling rain ahead of them. Um….guys? I need your professional opinion on something.
Tanrial raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side a little, What's wrong? What do you need our opinions on?
Well…. Bernon's mental voice was very small. See that abandoned shed there to the right? He pointed at the very edge of the lantern's glow, where the gleaming rotten wood of a building sat between the bushes. It was leaning crazily as if it was about to fall over. I was wondering if either of you remember passing that on our way to Den Ys earlier….?
(Okay so fair warning, I’m going to Melbourne tonight, well, driving the first half and driving the second tomorrow, so I dunno how active I’ll be over the weekend. I have data on my phone so I might be able to reply and the place I’m staying at has wifi so I’ll be able to reply then)
Tanrial squinted at the cabin, trying to rack he rmemory for any remembrance of the place before she shrugged and shook her head, No, I don’t remember seeing it…
(Gotcha ^^)
Bernon slumped, looking like a heartbroken puppy. Oh. Well….I guess that means we lost the path, then. Even through the telepathic link, the guilt in his voice was clear.
Hey no, it’s okay. Why don’t we go over and see if it’ll provide some shelter until the storm passes? That way we can refined the path in the morning. Tanrial suggested.
Maybe…. Hang on, I'll go check it out. He went forward to investigate the shed. Mike stepped closer to Tanrial with a puzzled frown. "What's going on?"
Tanrial couldn’t be bothered shouting back at him, Bernon and I think we’ve gone off the path as that shed over there wasn’t there when we came in, She nodded towards it, He’s gone to see if it’ll shelter us from the storm.
"What?" Mike looked around at the pitch black forest with a tinge of anger in his expression. "Are you serious? How did he lose the path when he was the one with the light? Of all the–" Then he stopped himself and stared wordlessly at the ground for a few minutes. When he spoke again, his voice was calm and businesslike as usual. "Never mind. I got a new compass so we can't get too lost. If the shed works we can get some rest there and start again in the morn–"
A loud crash suddenly drowned out the sound of the storm, followed soon after by a shout of warning from Bernon as the entire shed–now a tangle of splintered boards–was carried downslope towards them on a small tidal wave of water. Bernon had kept his footing by grabbing onto a tree, but the wreckage bearing down on Tanrial and Mike seemed bent on colliding with them.
There was no time to climb a tree or get out of the way quick enough to escape the wave. Tanrial extended her shield around both her and Mike, like a small protective bubble around them both. If her power held out, it should withstand the wave.
(Hmmm…what do you think, should we keep them together, or should we have Mike and Tanrial get separated from Bernon for extra drama? Up to you, I'm good either way ^^)
The wave and remains of the shed slammed into her shield and stayed there for a moment, groaning as more water and debris started to pile up around it.
(Split them up! It also gives Tanrial and Mike extra bonding time)
The shield faltered as a particularly strong wave hit the side but it was soon holding firm once more. The more water and debris, the harder it was becoming to hold under the weight.
(Oh hey! I didn't expect a quick reply, sorry XD)
Then there was a blinding flash of lightning, an enormous boom, and a tree right next to them was split straight in two. One half fell one way, and the other half came hurtling down onto the shield like a battering ram. Mike instinctively reached out and grabbed Tanrial's arm just as the wreckage gave way, washing over their shield in a tsunami wave of crushing water.
(You’re good, it was like midnight and I was supposed to be sleeping, Ooft)
Tanrial’s magic was straining at this point. One would see if they looked closely at the shield that very faint crack lines and where the air thinned out in some places. Three had made a significant dent into it, more of her magic being used to keep that part holding strong. At this rate, she didn’t know if she could hold it.
(Gotcha XD)
"Tanrial!" Mike shouted. "Make your magic into a ball around us and let it go with the current, we'll rise to the surface and find a way back up from there!"
“Alright, get ready to jump!” Tanrial replied. On three, the two of them jumped while the shield extended and closed, sealing them into a bubble that was quickly swept away by the current.
The slope was steep, and soon they were virtually racing along, buffeted on all sides by branches, small trees, and the pieces of the shed. The water crushed everything in its path except the occasional boulder that jutted out of the earth. It was against one of these boulders that they eventually came to rest, jammed snugly in place by a mid-sized log. This kept them from being swept away again–but on the downside, if their bubble vanished they'd be flattened by the log and the other things quickly piling up behind it.
Mike, looking dizzy but unhurt, looked around quickly. "This rock, we need to climb up onto it somehow!"
(Might be on again later tonight like yesterday btw)
“And how,” Tanrial started, swaying a little on her feet, “Exactly are we going to do that? If I drop the shield we’ll die and I don’t have enough strength to extend it enough for us to climb into the rock the drop it.” Another crashing wave hit them, the shield splitting a little more.
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