Beyond the Spiral (tacorem and Nornico, we're back!)

[Nornico]

It was a bright and beautiful day above the Shimmerwood, a mystical forest surrounded by many rumours and legends of magic and beasts. Though calm and peaceful at it's edges, it's depths were deep, and dark, and seldom visited, and even more seldom returned from.

Suddenly, without warning, what few clouds that drifted above the Shimmerwood, started to come together in a spiral pattern, rapidly twirling around, the sounds of thunder cracks and kind of deep, wooshy noises permeating the air.

With even less warning, something shoots out from the core of the spiral and collides with the ground... It is a young man, dressed strangely for this realm. He is average in height, with fairly pale skin, though with black hair, wolfish ears and a furred tail. His clothes are also black, t-shirt and pants. His eyes are a darkened yellowy brown colour.

He pushes himself to his hands and knees, and smoothes some hair from his face. "...what the fuck was that?" Matty Avon, but one of our protaganists, muttered.

[tacorem]

The arms of the spiral spread forth across the sky, blanketing the ground with a strange pattern of light and shadow as the spiral churned. Its movements were clearly unnatural, as it spun with and against the wind. The trees swayed below with the rising air that seemed to be drawn towards the center, which glowed and crackled a strange light blue. Then like a comet the first to arrive was released, Matty Avon plummeting to the ground amidst the trees and landing in a clearing beneath the center of the strange cloud formation.

Theo felt a strange sensation taking hold over him. He slowly stood from his seat, and brushed over the cushion with his long white tail before he headed to look through the window of his study. The sky was clear, yet he had just heard a rumble of thunder. He felt a gust of wind and turned around, his stark white hair blowing back, but he saw nothing disturbed in his room. Then he felt a tug, as if suddenly lifted upwards for a moment before being set down. Splaying down his lupine ears, he took a few steps, only to be lifted again, almost up to the ceiling before dropping down once more. Looking about, he felt himself starting to rise, and quickly grabbed at a nearby dictionary, the heaviest thing within reach. However, his fingers slipped through it, immaterial. He looked over himself, seeing for a moment that his hands and arms were fading, before suddenly he was blinded in a white-blue light. It lasted only for a moment, before he felt air surging around him, and gravity setting in. He flailed instinctively in the air as he came crashing down just a little ways from Matty to the carpet of the forest floor.

The demi wolf quickly jumped to his feet, his tail instinctively brushing down his dark slacks, his dress shirt buttoned only to his chest. A red tied wrapped loosely around his neck, and nearly flew off in another gust of wind. His bright emerald eyes flickered briefly to Matty as he rose, before his attention was drawn skywards to the crackling thundering spiral which, as he gazed up at it, began to scatter, the central core giving away to bright sunshine as the clouds dispersed. Within a matter of moments, the sky was naturally cloudy, but clear, nothing out of the ordinary, save for the two strangers abducted to this land.

[Nornico]

Matty noticed somebody else landing against the ground nearby, throwing a glance over to the other person. Matty pushed himself up to his feet, looking at the other man, Theo, with confusion, before following the brighter wolf's eyes and turning to look up at the spiral in the sky, his eyes widening with surprise as he saw just what exactly he had been launched through.

He continued to stare at the bright and clear sky once the spiral had seemingly dissipated, before he slowly turned his attention all the way back to Theo. He cocked his head in confusion and uncertainty, before he gestured up to the empty sky.

"...I have no idea who you are, but do you have any idea what the hell that was?" Matty questioned. "Because it had absolutely nothing to do with me"

[tacorem]

Theo shook his head as the strange phenomenon seemed to simply vanish without a trace into the calm blue sky. He turned his attention to the other person who seemed to have been dropped in a similar fashion. He tilted his head a little as well, his eyes glinting slightly before he wobbled some on his feet, holding his head as he felt a heavy weight on him, as if someone was turning a vice against the sides of his head. He shook his head again and the feeling disappeared. Ignoring the question for a moment he looked to a nearby tree, gazing at it, feeling the pressure again as he tried to influence the world around him until he gave up with another shake of his head. Rubbing his eyes he turned back to Matty, his tail flicking in irritation. "As to why this happened, I haven't a clue," he said, a huff coming from him afterwards. "We seem to be of a similar species, where are you from? I think it is reasonable to say that wherever we were from before, we have been summoned somewhere else."

[Nornico]

"Me? I'm from Furchester... Well, from somewhere outside L.A, originally, but nowhere you'd have heard of, but I was in Furchester just now, like, a minute ago" Matty told Theo. He looked around, before he started to pat himself down, and rummaged his hands through his pockets. He pulled out a cellphone, eyes lighting up before he immediately frowned. "No signal, damn..." He muttered, before putting it back in his pocket and rummaging further. A guitar plectrum would be the only other thing he seemed to possess. "Great... well, I got nothing..."

He looked back at Theo, and gave a sigh. "Name's Matty... Matty Avon, the next greatest guitarist you've never heard of" He joked dryly, before sighing again. "So, who are you?" He asked Theo.

[tacorem]

The demi wolf frowned some as Matty spoke. The words were simply not ones he understood, the places unknown to him. He contemplated these thoughts while Matty looked over his person. They were certainly alike physically, but similarities seemed to end not far beyond. He stepped forward a little closer, looking over the device in his hand, another thing he did not recognize. Theo would take a moment to straighten the tie still loosely hung about his neck. He seemed to slightly puff up his chest a little as he was spoken to. "I am Theo Niveus, Lord of Castle Niveus and the Haunted Hills," he proudly proclaimed. "And it would seem we are from different realms as I thought. I neither know of this Furchester you speak of, or L.A." He shifted his weight, then looked down at his leg for a moment. He fished in his pocket, tilting his head at the feeling of a small folded piece of paper, that he didn't recall putting in there. He began to unfold, and unfold, and unfold. The paper grew and grew until the last unfolding stretched his arms wide, to hold what looked like a map!

[Nornico]

Matty stared at Theo for a moment as he introduced himself. Then, he smirked. He tried to hold in a laugh, but ultimately couldn't. A guffaw of amusement erupted from, making him double over for a moment, holding his knees before he straightened up, wiping his eyes. "Oh God..." He mumbled, still chuckling a little. "...I'm sorry, it's just... that all sounds so... uh, weird, like... You don't look like any kind of lord I'd imagine, and you sound like you're from somewhere in a video game..." Matty said, regaining his composure and breathing in.

He blinked in surprise however, and cocked his head when Theo appeared to pull out a map. "...Oh, YOU happen to have something useful in YOUR pockets, then?"

[tacorem]

The demi wolf felt his hair and tail fluff standing on end as Matty started to laugh at him. He was clearly unamused, but he seemed to hold his composure... though that was mostly because of the strong headache he received as he tried to enact his will again. It seemed that such things were currently beyond him here. Understandable, but frustrating. "I don't know what a video game is," he mumbled as he looked over the map, grinning some as Matty pointed it out. "Well, one of us has to be competent," he added with a leering smirk before returning his attention to the map. "For whatever reason, it seems the map was drawn with this point as its center... strange, but at least I can say we are in a place called the Shimmerwood... Whether the land is a country or continent, Shimmerwood resides in a place called Vorantor. Hmm... There is no compass here," he muttered, turning the map slightly. Various places were dotted along the map, a town to the left of the forest's marking on the map. Many other places were labeled, with a few roads between the settlements, but there was no making heads or tails of which way was north, unless one assumed that up and down were north and south, but anyone could draw a map differently, and this place was already strange enough. "Here, have a look, tell me what you think," he said, handing the map over to Matty.

[Nornico]

"Shimmerwood? Vorantor?" Matty questioned, cocking his head before he came over to look at the map that Theo was showing him. "...this is a weird map, this is... I don't know anywhere where I come from that looks like this, and some of these names... they ain't the sort of places we'd have back home" Matty remarked.

"Well, you and me clearly don't have any answers for one another" Matty said, turning his attention back to Theo. "So the best thing we can do, is get ourselves oriented and head to the closest settlement... even if they don't know what brought us here, they'll have to know where we are" Matty said, before smirking. "See, I can be competent too" He told Theo.

[tacorem]

The demi wolf reluctantly nodded in agreement with Matty's plan. "I think that would be best, who knows what could be lurking in these trees where a magical phenomena summoning the pair of us and then disappearing might be the norm. It seems the closest settlement is... to the left on this map. He looked up at the sky, thankful that the sky being blue, a solar body exuding warmth above them, and a general arc of its path according to where it looked to be in the sky and the length of the shadows of the trees. "Assuming this body is rotating the same as at home, for me at least, I suppose that West would be in that direction," he said, pointing to one edge of the little clearing they were in.

[Nornico]

"...are you one of those lords that just sits about and reads books all day?" Matty questioned "Because you don't sound like you get out a whole lot" Matty remarked, looking Theo up and down once more. He gave a shrug, eventually. "Whatever, so... that way, then?" Matty gestured to the way that Theo had pointed, before he started walking. He paused for a moment, before he rummaged around on the ground, before picking up a decent sized rock, and sliding it away into one of the many pockets of his cargo pants. "Just in case we run into trouble... unless you've got a gun or a sword hidden away with that map as well?"

[tacorem]

The demi wolf would slightly shrug his shoulders at the question. "I have reasons for... not getting out a lot," he said with a toothy grin. He followed Matty's tail as he started off, following behind and watching him pick up a little rock. "It seems the map was all I had," he said, patting his pockets just to be sure. He didn't feel anything else in them this time, as he contemplated where the map came from. They had been transported here through some sort of clearly magical force. Whether that was natural was doubtful. Someone brought them here, someone who understood civilization to provide them with a map. Someone who must have some kind of reason for doing so, and perhaps a way to send them home. "I have no weaponry. Unfortunately my usual means of self defense are... stifled." he murmured, looking over Matty again. He made a slight hand movement, flicking one of his fingers, and the rock in Matty's pocket suddenly jumped out and bounced a few steps in front of him. "Or perhaps I was just thinking too big..." he murmured, feeling no headache this time as he flicked his finger again, and sending the rock jumping back into Matty's pocket.

[Nornico]

"Uh-huh, I bet..." Matty murmured, disinterestedly at Theo's explanation of his behaviour, continuing to walk on. "So, we got a map... Great, so, we at least know vaguely where we are and what the place looks like from above, whatever dragged us here gave us some real advantages..." Matty remarked, sarcastically. "Stifled? What, you some kind of gun-kata expert or something?" Matty questioned, before blinking as he felt the stone shoot out from his pocket, and watching as it landed in front of him. "...what the fuck..." He muttered, watching again, almost flinching as the rock came back to him, back into his pocket. He turned around to give Theo a look of confusion, and uncertainty... and perhaps the slightest bit of anxiety.

"...Right, whatever" He said, shaking his head and dismissing his uncertainty. He carried on walking westwards, leading the way, though he seemed a little more subdued now.

[tacorem]

Theo chuckled some at the look on Matty's face, and he quickened his pace to walk closer alongside him, ensuring that he didn't brush his tail against the fellow demi wolf's as he matched his stride. "We all have our own talents. You seem to understand and use some technology that I am unaware of, and I can invoke physical manifestations of my will upon my surroundings. It seems however that we are both limited. You didn't seem to find much use for your technology, and I was unable to uproot one of these trees. Flicking a rock around is a pittance, but if that is the most I can accomplish for now, then I will make do with what I can," he said, a bit of a huff coming out afterwards as he walked alongside Matty. "Regardless, I would like to know more about you, and feel free to ask away. I might come off as stiff, but I hope we can get to know one another and work together to find our ways home."

[Nornico]

"Ehh... You talk too fancy" Matt muttered, before brushing his arms down and sighing. "Sorry, I'm used to people who sound like you, looking down on me, so I'm kinda used to fending for myself and not really trusting anyone else... Maybe you're alright, I don't know yet, but then again, maybe I'm wrong and I'm asshole, only time's going to tell" Matty remarked, giving another shrug. "And to be honest, there isn't really that much about me that's worth talking about... Decent home, decent parents, a few siblings, didn't get up to much until college, which I got thrown out of, too aggressive, apparently, but that was all just set-ups and scapegoats" Matt waxed nostalgic. "Took to the streets to earn my way in life, got pretty decent at it, it wasn't so bad, but not a whole lot was happening... Until now, that is"

Matty gave a shrug. "Not exactly a grand backstory, but I like to think my story's still being written... But what about you, Lord of the Haunted Hills? Anything interesting about you?"

[tacorem]

The demi wolf listened politely, walking ever fashionably with his hands behind his back above his silky swaying tail. He didn't feel he had looked down on Matty, but perhaps indulging in his own prowess, when they were both utterly lost in these woods and he truly had no idea where the map had come from, had come off a bit harsh. "I have not behaved in the most respectable manner, sorry," he said, having no qualms with admitting to his fault. "Perhaps not grand, but certainly much to hear about worth listening to. A decent life is well worth it alone, let alone the bumps along the way. Perhaps you'll take a liking to this place, or at least make something of it."

He paused as he was asked in turn, a pleased smile flickering from the use of his title. "Interesting I suppose, though I'm not sure it would make a lot of sense, or at least, I feel my unfazed nature regarding certain subjects could be somewhat bizarre, and I don't wish to come off as alien to you... Let me suffice to say that where I'm from, at least in my domain, I do not have technology such as yours. I imagine others do, but my Castle and Hills are timelocked. Imagine a country with no borders to the ocean. That is landlocked. Think of the same scenario, on a smaller scale, but instead of the absence to a physical coast bordering a body of water, my domain is held within a bubble at a certain period of time, the world progressing without but not within. The Castle is at its epicenter, while fringes of the Hills at the walls are within this bubble. Beyond that, to the edge of the forests that grow atop the Hills, time fluctuates. The dead appears as spirits, light of their pasts giving them form as they traverse the chronologically murky landscape. As for myself, I keep watch over my domain, shooing away wanderers, and ever more tiredly attempting to keep myself entertained. To be honest I was wondering if this event was some sort of hallucination, but I would never limit my abilities in such a haze, nor could I produce such technology in my imagination, so I must believe this to be real. I suppose the place will be quite the mess when I return with just my.... Well you might not understand that either, so let's just call him twin brother. Anyways, I imagine he'll have the run of the place without me, and that will certainly be a chore to tidy up."

[Nornico]

"...That all sounds like a bunch of crazy" Matty remarked, before shrugging. "But I suppose living somewhere like Furchester would sound just as crazy to you, I guess" He reasoned. "...So, all I got is 'why?' pretty much to everything you just said... Why are you in a timelocked realm? Why do the dead appear? Who wanders in? Why do you have powers? How powerful are they?... That's a how, not a why, but you get what I mean" Matty remarked, waving his hand.

Matty glanced over to take another look at the map. "...what's the scale on this thing? How long is it going to take to reach... wherever it is we're headed? Because we're not equipped for camping... And the weather looks fine now, but I've got no idea how quickly this could change"

[tacorem]

Theo chuckled dryly at all the questions thrown his way, but he was happy they were asked all the same. He nodded his head in agreement. This Furchester place seemed farther along than he knew, and he would certainly be lost were he stranded in such a place. "There are answers to your questions, but I can't answer all of them. Why the realm is as it is, I will not say. Why the dead rise, is because of the fluctuations in time at the border of the barrier causing them to exist once again, but such things cannot bring them back to life fully. As for who wanders in, campers, hikers, people that ignore the tales, or want to see spooky spirits. My powers are natural, gifted down the family line, and it appears that power is relevant. Here, so far flicking a rock has been the best I could manage. At home, I could uproot trees thicker than these, or fly myself around, amongst many other things." His ear flicked a little, glancing off to the side. "I should hope we will leave soon... Should we perhaps climb a tree and attempt to look for a landmark?"

[Nornico]

"Well Damn, that's some mystical mumbo-jumbo stuff right there" Matty remarked. "But, since you're able to do that thing with the rock at all, I don't see why you can't do all that other stuff with time, maybe you just need to... I don't know, be here a little longer? Maybe it's something in the air" Matty remarked with a shrug. "But yeah, that's a good idea... Hopefully we get somewhere before I get too hungry, I tend to have a big appetite... having vorgies all the time'll do that to you" Matty remarked, before finding a decent-looking tree with branches that were easy to reach. He started to climb up, ascending quickly. He seemed to be quite an active soul, perhaps better equipped for this land than he really knew.

"...Well, okay, I can see this big, huge lonely mountain, way way over there, looks like purple storm clouds around it... So if there's anything on the map that looks like that... It's super far away, like, we're not going to get there in one day" Matty called down. There was some rustling as he shifted positions.

"...I can see a big tree on top of a hill, the way we were heading, that's not too far away, that's gotta be less than a mile"

((Hey, on Wednesday I'm going to be away for a week, jsyk)

[tacorem]

The demi wolf chuckled, inclining his head. "Well, mystical wouldn't be the correct term for it, but I understand what you mean. The good news and the bad news is that, normally, I should be confined to my home more or less. It would be dangerous to leave the time barrier around my domain, as even I am not quite sure what would happen, yet here I am and I seem unharmed, if underpowered. I believe that my power is connected with my home, so on the one hand, having such limits at the moment might be changed in time as I get accustomed to this plane, or perhaps this is the extent of my power while I am here. But, the good news I suppose is that I still have some power, meaning some connection still exists between ourselves and our homes. Meaning, it is safe to assume that we can find some way back."

Theo would tilt his head some as Matty climbed up, watching him go. "Vorgies is a new term for me," he mumbled, deciding to ask later as he perked up his ears to listen to his report. He stood near the base of the tree as he pulled out the map to look over the symbols again. The symbol of the Shimmerwood was that of a very large tree. Perhaps the center, or perhaps the large tree Matty can see. It wasn't quite the same as what he thought was the symbol of the town near to the symbol of the large tree in that direction. Maybe they were the same, maybe not. He looked up on the map, Seeing there was indeed the marking of a mountain a little distance away from the forest. That at least confirmed the direction of the map as he started to fold it up. "I think that could be the town, or it could be some civilization within these woods. Either way it's probably our best bet. Good job up there," he called up to his fellow demi wolf.

(Thanks for letting me know! Hope you have a fun time wherever you're headed ^^)