ENDLESS JOURNEYS (O/A)

[PixelMuse]

The doppelganger had a vile around his neck. The soul curled into it, it smelled like Kerana, and sounded like her as there was an on going sound which could not be understood, perhaps it was muffled by the glass she was held in.

"Very well.. then" Trinity said as she took her trench cloak. She hate to run back to him so soon but there wasn't any choice. Nova may know of some way to better the odds for him.

"Looking for this?" the doppelganger teased and jingled the vile with Kerana's soul then started heading off. Being in the line of sight.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Alec's heightened sense pick up Kerana almost immediately. He squeezes his eyes shut, tears beginning to pool into them. How dare they do this to her. Her, who had never done anything to harm a soul in her life. And now it is up to him to save her. Weak, unconfident, timid Alec.

It was this that worried him the most. What if he can't do it, simply because he is too weak. He is greatly tempted to leave his body to the wolf spirit within him. But he knows this would be folly, because the fae are clever and cannot be beaten with strength and speed alone.

Within him, deep within his subconscious, Alec converses with the wolf spirit. It towers over him, over three times his height. It looks down at him and scoffs. "You are a damned fool. If you had just played their game for your clothes, she would be safe. But you got greedy and stupid, and now she is in danger."

Alec stares down at his feet at the wolf's harsh words. "I've spent years compiling that book. Since the day I met her."

The wolf growls at him fiercely, "You are not worthy of my gift boy. You would risk her life for a book? Where is your sense of protection, to keep those of your pack safe?"

"You are a stupid child Alec, but I will lend you some of my power willingly this once. I do this for her, and not for you. She shouldn't have to pay for your weakness."

Back in the corporeal plane, Alec's eyes snap open and he breaths sharply as he feels his muscles expand and tighten slightly. Everything around him becomes more clear and visible. His five senses are on edge.

He glares at his departing copy, then growls deeply. He drops to all fours and bounds after the doppelganger with everything he has.  

[PixelMuse]

The scent became as bright as day to Alec the doppelgänger figured this and came to an opening that had four trees surrounding it. The doppelganger weaved around the trees to see if he could cause confusion. Then continued on.  

[Nova Blancke]

"Kerana!"

Nova who had been right behind Kerena saw her fell down and managed to catch her by sliding next to her in order to catch her. This caused his perfectly clean outfit to have a nasty stripe of mud on it.
Should have used magic
It was strange how calm Nova was under this situation. He checked her pulse and pupil reaction.

"Everything's working..she's breathing but...lights are on but no one is home"

He visualized his mind as gigantic library where books and words were flying around in a chaotic but organized way with Nova floating in the middle of everything. The first words that went through him was 'Curse' but he dismissed it because there is no such curse that would cause this so easily. All books and words related to magic flew away from him literally. 'Food' followed by 'Poison' went through him. This was possible so it continued to float around him. Still it didn't feel right to him. There had to be more. 'Magic' found it's way back to him along with 'Environment'

Of course! Magical creatures. They had magics that humans just can't wield no matter how much they struggle to gain it. This wasn't a parallelization magic but her soul was taken! Fairies! They could very well use it. Lore dictates that they are sometimes spotted around this area. But they won't take someone's soul for no reason. They are tricksters but honest ones. They make deals and honor them. But that leaves another question, who would bet her soul as payment? The library disappeared in his mind and Nova's mind returned to the normal world.

This deduction of logic took Nova a few seconds to reach. Gently he carried her back to her room and laid her on the bed before heading out towards the forest.  

[PixelMuse]

Trinity dropped into her shadow and went back to where she last saw him. She walked in from the closet,"Look I'm sorry we started off on the wrong foot but Al-" she took a moment to realize that he wasn't in the room but Kerana was. She approached her and tried to rouse her to no avail. She then went down stairs no sign of him she went outside and saw him heading toward the woods. She dropped into her shadow and emerged from his shadow. "I'm sorry about before. Alec needs our help."  

[Nova Blancke]

"It's okay, I had used the wrong word. I am to blame. But not for this idiot. Why the hell did he make a deal with Fairies with Kerana's soul on the line?!" Nova cursed as he continued to walk onwards.

"Don't these kids learn anything at Inverse anymore?!"  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Alec concentrates his nose and ears not on the dodgy faeries, but the scent and sound of the soul in their possession. That soul is precious to him, and we would sooner die then lose it.

He enters the clearing and stops when he notices the conflicting smells. He clises his eyes and keens his ears to his surroundings. He picks up on the faerie with little difficulty, but realizes that he could end up doing this until it was too late.

Alec stands tall and takes a deep breath. He throws his head back and howls. The howl is indistinguishable from a real wolf's call for assistance. He calls out to any beast, critter, or bird that will hear him. He needs their eyes, their ears, their swift wings or feet. He implores them to do what they can to distract or stop his fae doppelganger. Not for him, but for the innocent soul they have in their possession.

Alec ceases his call and drops to all fours again. He prays that the denizens of the forest hear his call, then continues his pursuit.  

[PixelMuse]

Nova Blancke

"It's okay, I had used the wrong word. I am to blame. But not for this idiot. Why the hell did he make a deal with Fairies with Kerana's soul on the line?!" Nova cursed as he continued to walk onwards.

"Don't these kids learn anything at Inverse anymore?!"

"It wasn't his idea. Apparently without realizing Kerana placed his satchel that had his clothes in the middle of a fairy circle. The faeries thought it was a gift. When Alec found his satchel without his items the faeries were willing to return his things if he chase them and catch them in the form of a doppelgänger. He was tired from doing his shapeshifting, he tried to see if he could chase one to get his journal back. The faeries didn't like that idea and raised stakes with Kerana's soul. They couldn't touch his because... I think they mentioned a wolf guardian?" she wasn't sure but she thought it had something to do with the pact his clan made.  

[Nova Blancke]

"I see...I am afraid I don't know much about his clan. But if he truly did make a pact with a wolf spirit then it would make sense that the Faeries would not mess with him. Different planes of existence and all that.. Not much is known about those. But enough about that. Did the Faeries say that he had to chase them alone or just to catch them? If it is the latter then that is the key to getting the soul back if he cannot do so himself. We shall help him catch them." Nova explained as they continued to walk.  

[PixelMuse]

"The request for chasing and capturing were directed to him. However, they did not say anything about doing it without help. Hopefully that's the gray area we can help him out with."


The doppelganger lead him to an area where sound travels strangely. He laughs and the sound comes from all around him, it was hard to pinpoint on sound alone where he was. He couldn't see him.

"Dead by dawn
Dead by dawn
She'll be long gone
When the dawn comes.

And she'll be ours."
 

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Alec spins around frantically. The sound of their laughter and taunting is almost too much for him to bare. The taunting, the laughter, he has lived with it nearly every day of his life. No one respects him, not even his own father. His father, who thought that Inverse could make a man out of Alec. No other druid in his family had gone to the school, or any other.

The tears come close to falling when he hears the sound of birds in the air. Quickly he scales the nearest tree to see over the forest canopy. Some birds had heard his cries for help, and are now circling over a single part of the forest.

A faint glimmer of hope shines in his eyes. He still has a chance. He drops a bit to the branches and starts bounding over the limbs. He wasn't going to let her soul become theirs, or anyone elses.  

[Nova Blancke]

"It should be safe for us to do just that. Now I do not know everything about them but I don't think that they can change or break a rule of a deal because that would cancel the deal thus freeing Kerana. That's what I hope for anyway."  

[PixelMuse]

Trinity nodded at Nova, "I hope you're right. I really don't know much about them. Never thought I'd see one."

When Alec arrived to the spot where the birds lead him.
"Cheater! Cheater! Cheater" called out the doppelganger in a fit, with every time he called him that another one appeared. Now three identical Alecs are in front of him and only one of them is real and all have the same expression. He seemed to be more upset about not saying anything about help. They danced with each other shuffling them about. All three had a necklace with Kerana's soul but only one had her scent.

All three sung in unison.
"You cheated
We will not be defeated!

The fox girl's soul is ours
Even with all your powers

By the light of the dawn
She'll be gone!"

This whole chase seemed to be more like a test than anything else, a test of his senses. Perhaps it was unknown to Alec but this is normal for one possessing a pact with a guardian to test their worth of having it. Normally this wouldn't happen for a soul but for something much less important, like clothes. The fae called it a chase because it allowed them to run away from the one taking the test.
 

[Nova Blancke]

"Still it's that they took a soul. Why would they do that?" Nova said to himself."This is going nowhere...we need to find them now before things get out of hand. Since he is chasing them they could be everywhere."

Nova stopped running and placed his hand on a tree. A green ring of magic formed at the place of his hand. The ring expanded rapidly like a ripple in the water after which many followed.. You could see it going across trees and the ground. Everything that was in it's way it went over. This is how you used Nature magic for searching. By having the forest tell you where something was.

"Found em. Give me your hand." Nova said and extended his hand.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

PixelMuse

When Alec arrived to the spot where the birds lead him.
"Cheater! Cheater! Cheater" called out the doppelganger in a fit, with every time he called him that another one appeared. Now three identical Alecs are in front of him and only one of them is real and all have the same expression. He seemed to be more upset about not saying anything about help. They danced with each other shuffling them about. All three had a necklace with Kerana's soul but only one had her scent.

All three sung in unison.
"You cheated
We will not be defeated!

The fox girl's soul is ours
Even with all your powers

By the light of the dawn
She'll be gone!"

This whole chase seemed to be more like a test than anything else, a test of his senses. Perhaps it was unknown to Alec but this is normal for one possessing a pact with a guardian to test their worth of having it. Normally this wouldn't happen for a soul but for something much less important, like clothes. The fae called it a chase because it allowed them to run away from the one taking the test.

Alec drops back down to the woodland ground and approaches the tricksters. He can smell Kerana's scent on one of them. But he knows they are quick, and has to find a way to catch the one without it running off. Without addressing any particular one, he starts to speak.

"Cheat? You have a funny way of thinking to accuse me of cheating. You've put my friend, my dearest friend, in danger. All I asked for was a book, and you threaten to take her soul. For what? Your own amusement, to test me, to torment me...what?!"

He can feel his strength starting to fade, his vision blurring. He catches wind of the one that has Kerana's soul. He blinks hard to clear his vision, still addressing the fae. "So I called upon the assistance of the creatures within these forests. That is within my ability, part of my gift, to communicate with nature. I used it because I will leave nothing to chance. I will not risk her life for your game. To protect her I will do whatever it takes, even if it destroys my body"

He approaches one that doesn't have her scent and growls at it, evident tears creating a line in his fur. "I will not let you take the girl that I love."

He spins on his feet and pounces at the copy that smells of Kerana, his eyes determined and wild.