Venture of The Spirit [Event!]

[Mousen Heath]

Diesel was determined, today she was finally going to find out what she saw in the woods several weeks previously. When she'd caught a glimpse of the creature, she could barely believe her eyes. How could such a creature exist? No jackalope could grow antlers that size, surely! Then her mind had wandered back to the stories her mother used to tell her when she was only a kit. Stories of creatures that protected the forest, they were spirits and if you ever saw one, it meant you'd be granted with good luck. And if you managed to catch one, it would grant you a wish.

While she didn't believe in spirits for the most part, she couldn't see what other explanation there was. So she decided to set up an expedition and hope for the best. The young doe had asked around and she knew that word had spread, the question was, how far? She was a logical creature, and Diesel thought that it would be easier if she didn't venture out alone. Who knows what might happen to them on this quest of their's? Currently, the pale coloured jackalope sat on the edge of the forest, waiting for any interested jackalope to join her.

She was a rather pretty thing, with wide blue eyes and a coat that was flecked with pale blue and pink leaf-like markings. Around one of her eyes, her fur darkened slightly, turning a grey-ish hue. All in all, she was rather dainty, especially since since she was just a tad smaller than the average jackalope, and she was rather thin. Diesel was well aware that she wasn't the kind of person the others would be expecting. She seemed to delicate for this kind of thing.

Though, Diesel was anything but delicate.

Monkjack knew better than most just how tough Diesel was. Mainly because she was one of the only friends he had, and he trusted her completely. Upon learning of her venture, he decided that he had to join her, whether she liked it or not. As tough as she was, the little jackalope was far from invincible, the feral creature had taken it upon himself to be her guardian, inspite of her protests.

"Dee!" He called, waving a paw frantically as he bounded towards her. His snake-like eyes taking in every detail of her appearance. How on earth did she manage to stay so clean?

"I suppose you expect me to drag you along too, do you?" She asked him cooly. Despite her tone, she really was fond of Monkjack, she just wouldn't admit it.

"I'll drag myself along, thank you very much." He answered, sitting on a rock beside her.

With that, both of them fell silent, waiting for jackalope to show up. The waiting wasn't difficult, the weather was perfect. Sunlight seemed to rain down from the brilliant blue sky. Fluffy white clouds were blown along gently be the slight breeze, while out of the shade it might have been a little too warm for comfort, in the shade of the trees everything seemed simply divine.

(( There's going to be a posting order, and I'd like three/four people to join. Try to post within a week, and if you can't for whatever reason message me and I might be willing to wait for you. If you take longer than a week or so, we'll skip over you for now, you can post again when it's your turn. Also, there might be a chance for you to end up taking home a new kind of pet, no promises though. ;3))

[auntslappy282]

((Lets GOOOOO! I hope it's okay to have the same pet in two roleplays thought the other one died because Someone, (No names here) didn't reply ever. ;3))

For all he knew, and everyone who had ever met him in his life time, he needed luck more than anyone else. He sighed as he approached the place that was said to be the place where the little group going on a hunt for the fabled Jackalope with long horns and luck would be. He hopped, silently grumbling to himself when he saw the other Jackalopes. He smiled and figured this must be the group, though the one didn't really look like the adventuring type, what with the slick clean shiny coat. Goodness he was a pervert. He barely even knew this Jackalope and he thought she was beautiful. Shame on him.

He approached the group, rather shyly and said, "Uhm hello. I hear this is the place where your meetin' to find the fabled Jackalope am I correct?" A strange accent rolled off his lips. Having no g's at the ending of words that usually would have them. Along with, though you couldn't tell in this sentence, v's sounding as w's. He smiled rather sheepishly, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.

((Wee! XD))

[Kitsumi Mahon]

((I won't be back on until Wednesday because I have camp leader training...but I wanted to make sure I got in on this xD))



Misery flicked his head to the left, trying to get his black hair out of his eyes. "Rena, c'mon." he growled. "I want to find out what that thing was. And I'm not going alone."
Behind him came another jackalope, this one more timid and shy. "I'm sorry, Mis-err, Master." she replied cautiously. "But my leg is still healing from when you threw...I mean, when I fell down the stairs. She blushed, trying to recover. "But I'll try harder, honest I will."
Serena knew she should have left Misery a long time ago. But despite the beatings and harsh words, she couldn't help but remember the person he had used to be, back when he had loved her back. She couldn't leave him. And now, she had to obey him. If he wanted her limping after him through the woods after god knows what, well, that's what she was going to do.
She noticed some other jackalopes ahead and felt a burst of relief. If they would be accompanied by others, Misery wouldn't dare hurt her. Before she could be stopped, she called out, "Hello." She bounded up to the others. "I am Serena, this is my mate, Misery. Are you here to look for...well, whatever it is, as well?"

[clack]

(You know I gotta get in on this x3)

When he'd first spotted it he'd been scared out of his wits. Of course when he'd first heard it he covered his head and jumped into the nearest hiding place he could find. from what he could hear, though, it passed right by, barely taking notice of his presence. it hadn't seemed like a wild, timid animal, but with his good ears Essery could tell it was human nor jackalope. it was something else entirely. Something like a jackalope, but...different. He hadn't gotten a good look at it, he'd been too scared. But it sounded interesting.

The group wasn't far off, but the sky blue buck wasn't in any rush. It was a nice day, he could keep a nice leisurely stroll easy. Maybe he was just stalling, but the day was still young and he was hoping to make the most of it. Okay, he was stalling. Essery didn't have good people skills, or any people skills for that matter. He liked to be by himself, the company of others was just something he'd never really gotten used to. It seemed he didn't have a choice now, especially if he wanted to find out what that thing he'd encountered was.

"H-hi, I'm, um...Essery..."

He kept his ears half perked, wanting to keep them up and yet trying to put them down. Friends might be nice, he didn't have many of them. Other jackalope had friends so he should probably get them as well.

[Mousen Heath]

((One more person may join, if they really have to. ;3 And I totally forgot about that RP Auntie, sorry. D8 <33 Anyway, the posting order will be as follows: Mousen, Auntie, Kitty(I hope you don't mind being called that. XD) then Clack))

Finally! The feral jackalope raised his head slightly, it was a motley crew of jackalope they'd managed to attract. Still, if they managed to get the job done he didn't care how weird they were. Mind you, he was one to talk. You didn't find many feral jackalope around Logmarr any more, they'd all fled to more secluded habitat. "Right, Eridan, Serana, Misery and Essery, I'll try to remember that." He wouldn't.

Sighing, Diesel sat up a little more before jumping on top of the rock where Monkjack was sat. "I'm Diesel, and that thing over there is Monkjack. A few weeks ago, while in the forest I caught sight of something beyond explanation, I would now like to find out what that was. It may be difficult, and indeed, we might return from this venture with nothing more than a greater knowledge of how to get around the forest, or just as easily we could make the discovery that will change everything." Her voice was cool and clear, and it seemed to echo around the little clearing. It had been a practised speech, one she'd been waiting all week to make. "Our job is to find the creature and attempt to speak to it. We are not hear to harm it, nor kill it. This creature, if we go by what all the legends say, is a spirit. And if that's true, it should be treated with great respect. The spirits are the kings and queens of Aeris, and they are in many ways the deities, as such anyone attempting to catch this creature in a less than respectful manner will be immediately removed from the group. Are we quite clear? Good." Without waiting for an answer she jumped down from the rock and gave a slight smile.

"Don't fall behind, because I'm not going to go looking for your sorry ass, okay? And if we don't find this bloody spirit thing by nightfall, we're going to have to set up camp someplace. I don't fancy your chances with the feral jackalope, I've heard that they've turned cannibal now." He laughed, sounding bitter. "Now, let's not give that theory a change to be tested out, eh?" With that he disappeared into the forest, the deep green foliage swallowing him up.

"Er, don't mind him. He lives up by the Ochre Plains, I think the sun, er, gets to him sometimes. No worries though, anyway, let's go." So long as they didn't mind the fact that their guide was a possible lunatic-cannibal, they should be fine.

[auntslappy282]

((It's fine Mousey. <333))

Eridan quickly nodded at the end of Diesels speech. He looked around at the rabbits he would be traveling with. Some of them, to be honest, looked like they were gonna fall apart at the snap of a twig. He scoffed slightly then followed the two Jackalopes in the front, staying closer to them than the others. He'd much rather have the company of the lovely lady jackalope than any of the others that joined, but he would probably not get his way in the end.

Once Eridan got close to the front, he decided it to be best to start up a conversation. "So how'd you learn about the spirit Diesel?" He asked, trying to seem somewhat cool, but in the end, he probably failed... Miserably. He smiled, trying to seem somewhat nice.

[Kitsumi Mahon]

Ooc: Ooooh! I like that nickname :3 And sorry it took me so long...just got back from camp!

Ic: Misery glared at the jackelope who seemed to be taking charge. How dare he try to boss them around like that! They were supposed to be a team...right? Misery liked teamwork. That's why he'd never allow Serena to leave him...
Luckily, the kinder jackalope's words calmed Misery down. Serena let out a sigh of relief as she saw his fierce expression fade. Misery was not a fun person when he was angry. Not a fun person at all.

[clack]

Essery followed the group just a bit hesitantly, sticking closer to the back where he'd have a lesser chance of being included in a conversation. This wasn't a situation where he could easily hang on in the back and just tag along. It was likely he'd have to take part at some point, but hopefully it wouldn't be too big a part. He wasn't good under pressure, he would stutter and stumble over his words and forget things. He wasn't all too graceful.

A different jackalope was taking charge, that was good. Essery was a better follower than leader. He didn't have good leadership skills. He liked being the third wheel, as weird as that may sound. Though he didn't like being left out, he didn't like being included all that much either. it could be hard for him to find a place sometimes. Still, as he made his way through the foliage and keeping the others in sight, maybe he would have a little fun and get to know some.

[Mousen Heath]

"So how'd you learn about the spirit, Diesel?"

"Well, most people know the old legends, right? Just fairy stories. I was in the woods, looking for Monkjack, oddly enough, and I just managed to catch a glimpse of it. Now I want to know what it really was. Jack thinks I'm crazy, but he won't let me do this without him." Monkjack, who had been previously leading ahead, slowed down to meet Diesel, and Eridan. He glared at the dark coloured jackalope from behind Diesel, the meaning was painfully obvious. Just for a moment, Diesel leant her head against the feral jackalope's shoulder. It was one of those 'blink and you miss it' things. Were they a couple? It was hard to say for certain, either way, Monkjack was willing to skin poor Eridan alive if he was too friendly with her.

While some of the jackalope lagged behind, others lead the group. Nothing much was said for a time, and Diesel became increasingly aware of the feeling that she didn't know this path, or that interesting-looking tree. Slowly, she began to realize that it was possibly only Monkjack that knew where they were. At the very least, she was new to this part of the forest. "Is everyone okay? 'Cause the ground's getting a little steeper from 'ere on in." That was out of character for Monkjack, generally he wasn't an overly-social jackalope, he was rather gruff. Perhaps the walk had made him warm up a little to his fellow travellers.

Diesel found herself moving towards the back of the group. "You haven't spoken much, Serena. Are you allright?" She asked, oblivious to the jackalope's problems. "What about you, Essery? You're the other quiet one. I knew an uncle who told me to 'always watch out for the quiet ones' you're not planning to murder us all are you?" Quite clearly, she wasn't being serious, but it was something to break the silence with.

In the deeper parts of the woods the morning dew had yet to evaporate, it made the grass and leaves slippery underfoot. Dappled sunlight shone down from above the tree line, despite the little chill now that the group was under the shade of the trees, it made for fairly pleasant travelling conditions. Monkjack stopped suddenly and sat up on his hind legs, his ears flickering. "Do you hear that? It almost sounds like... Speaking... Chattering almost."

"Let's go, I don't think spirits squeak." The doe sighed, she didn't have time for this.

"No, I haven't heard anything quite like this before. It almost sounds like... bats, not not quite. Maybe it's birds? I think we take a look around, just in case."

(( There's a couple of time lapses, I didn't know how else to move the group onwards into a deeper part of the woods. x3; <3 I hope that's okay. I've tried to give everyone something to reply to, so that you're not stuck for anything. <3 Aunty's next up. <3))

[TheLethalFuzzyBunny]

Somehow, somehow, she had heard the rumors, and she had originally made the choice to ignore them. After all, it wasn't Domino that had witnessed any of these... spirits, or what-have-you. She could recall hearing some such legends about spirits, but that was some time ago. It could have all been her imagination running away on her again. Some time of being something like a lab rat could do that to you, she supposed, even though "lab rat" wasn't quite the correct word choice. Perhaps "patient" fit better?

Either way, after being bothered relentlessly by Wynston, some other Jacklope that was a member of the tea party, Domino had changed her mind on the venture that others were gathering for. However, it was apparent that she had missed the initial gathering, so she began to wander around the forest almost aimlessly. She wasn't frightened to travel alone, believing that she was more than capable enough to fend for herself.

She must have made it fairly deep into the forest, at least deeper then most went, for the forest seemed especially untouched. Was that squeking she heard? And... voices? 'Perhaps I have found the troupe,' she thought, not sure if that was a good thing or not. It would be easier in a gathering rather then alone, wouldn't it? Ah, how she hated having to rely on anyone else. Still, if it needed to be done...

"Pardon me?" She called out. "Hello?" Her word was drawn out and her ears perked up high, hoping for an answer, even if it was something that wanted to eat her, in the end.

[auntslappy282]

When Diesel answered Eridan's question, he opened his mouth to reply, but he quickly closed it when he saw Monkjack come over and threaten to skin him alive with his eyes. Eridan took a swallow and then when Diesel started to cuddle up to Monkjack, he sighed slightly and backed away from the front of the group. He fell back to more of the middle of the group. He just got lost in his own thoughts, which, by no means, were happy ones.

Eridan was snapped out of his thoughts when Monkjack started speaking again.He listened to the noise and heard a whispering and then heard someone calling out. He pinpointed where it was coming from and he hopped slightly closer to the front. "Who is it? Come out!" He shouted towards the noise. He knew well that this wasn't something to be scared of. Well hopefully. If it was, he had science on his side.

[Kitsumi Mahon]

Serena shrank back at the unfamiliar voice, and let a small squeek of fear. She quickly clapped a paw over her mouth, hoping no one had noticed. She hadn't always been this afraid. But now that Misery wasn't himself, and she didn't know who were her friends and who were her enemies...well, it was gonna be tough for her to trust anyone.

Misery saw that Serena was frightened and he pressed gently against her. Today was one of his good days; all thoughts of torture were gone from his mind. Serena was once again his mate, not his toy, and he wanted to comfort her. "Who's there?" he called out. The sooner this person showed themselves, the sooner Serena would be able to calm her fears.

[clack]

Essery perked his ears in surprise when Diesel spoke to him. He didn't know how to respond to such a comment. He knew it was meant to be a joke, but he wasn't a social master or anything. "Um, n-no, I wouldn't do that..." his ears hung a little lower and a blush spread across his face. His lack of experience in conversation was something to be embarrassed about he thought. Not many had such a natural talent to kill a conversation. It was the same with plants as well.

Essery's sensitive ears picked up the faint noises and they went straight up, moving almost like satellites, scanning the area to pinpoint it. It wasn't a squeak exactly, but not quite like the chatter of a squirrel either. Lower than a squeak, higher in pitch than chatter. He didn't know what made such a noise. It was a mystery to him. He couldn't quite pinpoint the location either. The bushes, the trees. Like it was coming from everywhere.

[TheLethalFuzzyBunny]

"My, my, my, aren't we all jumpy now?" Domino spoke, hopping out of the brush to reveal herself to the traveling group. All of their insecure shouting had made it incredibly easy to pin-point their location. She dipped her head slightly. Though she wasn't often all too polite, she needed not to start needless fights with those that she would be forced to travel with. "Pardon my intrusion. I was late, you see, and you left before I could find you all, so I went on my own."

Her ears twitched as her bright pink eyes scanned the lot of Jackalope that had gathered. It seemed that there was more bucks than doe in this troupe, something that made the corners of her mouth turn down. She was probably the odd one out, too, she just had the feeling. Fantastic. "Name is D009," she motioned with her head toward the numbers tattooed on her leg. "Well, that's what they called me. You may call me Domino."

[Mousen Heath]

As she'd heard the voice, Diesel had looked around quickly. She'd learnt to be wary, but the voice didn't seem to have any particular malice to it, though she'd admit she was relieved once the jackalope relieved itself, or rather, herself. "Well better late than never. It's nice to meet you Domino, I'm Diesel. My, er, good friend Monkjack is the snake-skin feral Jackalope over there." Good friend? That was one way of putting it. "He's preoccupied with a non-existent noise at the moment." She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. It was normal for Diesel to speak for Monkjack, though he'd soon interrupt her if she said something he didn't agree with.

Part of the buck wanted to run off and follow the noise, the other part of him knew Diesel would kill him if he did. Monkjack was never very good at listening to the other part of him. After a moment's hesitation he was off the trail and sprinting through the undergrowth, his path was easy to follow as he left broken bracken stems and scattered leaves everywhere he went.

"Monkjack, you dolt!" She yelled, though he didn't stop to reply. "I knew he'd do this, he's such an idiot. Well, we had better go and find him. If anyone wants to stay behind, they can, but there's safety in numbers, right? If we hurry we should catch up to him soon. Sorry for the trouble."

She gestured for the others to follow her before she hopped after the jackalope. The path they were taking was decidedly steep and in places rather slippery, as the make-shift leader of the group she found herself worrying about the safety of those that were following her. "Eridan, you shouldn't worry too much about Monkjack, y'know. He's the jealous type, but I don't think he'd really hurt you. He's a softie underneath it all, y'know." She said, even though Monkjack would probably cause some damage given the chance. Her attempt to make small talk was rather weak, and she soon gave up altogether.

"Hey, look!" she said suddenly, turning the corner. "A cave!" Tucked behind towering oaks, and covered with ivy, there was indeed a small cave built into the limestone hillside. And just stood just outside of it was a feral jackalope, that jackalope in particular was very familiar to Diesel.

"So, guys, do you think we should have a quick look inside?" Diesel could kill him later, right now he wanted to find out what was up with that cave.

(( I want to keep moving the RP along, y'know so we don't end up just going in circles, but I hope I don't keep moving it along too fast for you guys. <3 The actual story line, not the speed of replies. xD; And your characters can interact with people's that aren't mine, there isn't too many people in this RP to prevent some characters having a conversion. D8 The silence, it burns! /shot.))

[auntslappy282]

Eridan smiled slightly at Domino. "Eridan," He said. Eridan watched as Monkjack ran off, only hesitating slightly to chase after him. I bite my lip slightly and then turned back to Diesel, and sighed. Eridan followed her afterwards. When she started talking again, He gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, I knew that...," He said, dropping his gaze to the floor. He really was socially awkward wasn't he? He sighed and just kept trudging on. He really didn't feel the need to talk to anyone, unless someone talked to him. He was just awkward that way.

He trudged on silently, not wanting to make conversation with anyone except himself. He looked up when he saw Monkjack again, and the cave. What an idiot to go run ahead and scare Diesel half to death and probably some of the other jackalopes here. He really didn't like Monkjack for some reason. Maybe he was just being hostile for no reason. Maybe he was just being dumb. He was lame.... He knew that. I looked up, slightly angrily at Monkjack, and then nodded slightly. It couldn't hurt right? Right?

((Eridan is just being an antisocial tweeb and thinks he's forevver alone. Anywho, you're doing just fine Mousey~<33 Eridan doesn't like conversation much. XD))

[Kitsumi Mahon]

Misery looked the new jackalope up and down, then grunted and followed Monkjack and the others. He looked back, gesturing for Serena to keep close beside him. He didn't want her getting too close to any of the others. She was his.

Serena obediantly stood beside Misery, her eyes downcast. At least he seemed to be in a good mood today. He was actually being protective of her, for a change.
Looking at Domino, her curiousity got the best of her. "Who gave you that tattoo?" she asked.

[clack]

Essery was semi-relieved that the newcomer wasn't a spirit or a monster, but they still weren't any closer to solving the mystery. Her bright fur intrigued him along with that strange number tattoo on her hip. He wondered where she'd gotten it from, but Serena was already forming his thoughts into words.

When Monkjack took off Essery gave a small squeak of surprise. He was quick to follow after the group. They were deep in the forest now and, though he couldn't hear anything strange anymore, he still didn't trust it. He wasn't about to get lost in this place with whatever was lurking in the bushes waiting to spring. Essery kept close for safety, but still kept his distance. He resisted looking around for fear of losing sight of the group. When they came across the cave Essery couldn't believe they actually wanted to go in there. Who knows what might be lurking around, but he didn't really have a choice. He could wait outside for them to come back, but what if there was a different entrance and they went out that way? Then he would be left behind. Essery decided that if the group went in, he would follow.

[TheLethalFuzzyBunny]

Domino nodded her head, silently absorbing the names that she was given to remember, along with the faces of the group. If she was going to be traveling with them, even if only for a short period, she needed to keep things in order, yes, indeed. She sized everyone up very breifly, particularly Misery and Serena. Just the way the other doe acted seemed...strange, as did Misery, himself. Because of Serena's downcast gaze, it mildly surprised Domino when she asked about her tattoo. "Its difficult to remember, I'm afraid," she replied. "I believe it was a human, but I cannot say for sure. It is a code, an irremovable tag, identifying my place when I was...contained. Cell block D's resident number zero-zero-nine." If anything, she wasn't all that shy about explanations of her tattoo. She wouldn't go into to detail about the place, but she would at least answer with the basics.

Before she could say anything more, Monjack and the rest of the group was on the move. She wasn't opposed to staying together, in this one case, so she quickly followed Diesel through the forest. In moments, they reunited with the feral Jackalope. A cave? How very interesting this could be.

"We came all this way, didn't we? Might as well have a look-see." There was no turning back now, was there?

[Mousen Heath]

"What is with you! You're supposed to be our guide, not run off into the forest the minute that you hear something odd! We're trying to find spirits, not... Birds or something! What if you'd gotten hurt? I don't know about anyone else, but without you I'd be lost right now, not only that, we can't afford for anyone to be compromised!" Diesel sighed, turned away from him. Even Monjack could admit she had a fair point.

"Sorry, Dee." He said gruffly. "Anyway, if everyone agrees, we better head inside. It's probably slippery, I think a small stream runs above and into the place. I think I've passed this way once before, if I'm right, there's another exit somewhere." They were pretty deep into the forest now, and honestly Monkjack couldn't say how long they'd been travelling. It must have been a couple of hours atleast, Jackalope were pretty hardy creatures, but not exactly built for endurance. How many more miles were they willing to travel?

The doe nodded, wordlessly accepting his small apology. "I assume everyone's happy to continue, if you want to turn back, I'd suggest you do that now. You'd probably be able to find you way back from here, but once we get past the cave it would be difficult to turn back. I don't blame you if you want to back out." At the beginning of the journey, she'd been much colder, lke a politician trying to win votes with polished speeches and a professional manner, while she still sounded a little formal, she most definitely sounded more friendly.

Diesel's shouting had alerted something within the cave to their presence. While previously, they'd just been chatting amongst themselves, the little creatures were now curious. Who was it that were sat talking outside their homes? A couple of louder squeaks came from inside the cave, then the chattering noise again. This time, instead of it being one voice, it sounded like thousands.

Monkjack cast a look around at the rest of the group, as if expecting them to have any idea what was making such a noise, Diesel too was nonplussed. Right now, the noise didn't sound too friendly. While they wouldn't admit it, the noise was worrying them both.

If anything the chattering only kept getting louder, and the subtle sound of beating wings could be heard mixed in with the din. Without warning, a cloud of creatures flew out of the cave, a single black mass swerving around the trees. Diesel screamed. As she screamed, the black-looking mass scattered and landed. Large, bat-like creatures hung down of tree branches. They had small, blinking eyes that squinted in the sunlight, and a prehensile tail they seemed to use instead of feet.

One of them, a tan and blue specimen decided it would be funny to drop down on to Essery's back, giving a high-pitched giggle as it did so.

Another bat-creature, this time an olive one dropped down from it's branch, onto another, lower branch before climbing down the trunk of the tree. "Oh, hello." It said, what had just happened was the most natural thing in the world. "Not many hoppink creatures come zis vay. We see some... Never do they see us. Little hoppink creatures do not see so well in the dark, no?"

"Oh spirits, you can talk!"

"Very vell, too! Vhy, little hoppink creature, do you assume that because you can talk, ve cannot?"

"B-but, it's impossible! We have tried for years to find other sentient creatures, and only now the h-human-"

"Oho! Hoppink creature, do you not think ve are capable of jokes! Zhis is our little joke on you!" The little bat creature giggled to itself, beady red eyes gleaming in an amused kind of way. [color=darkred]"We are aures, and some of us are as old as the rocks, but others are as young as butterflies. Ve have big ears, like you, but ve use our ears to hear zhings. Like I hear how you vere yellink, and I here how zhe pretty black jackalope got her tattoo."[/color] He was only up to Diesel's thy, yet he kept calling them 'little hoppink creatures', the aures were certainly an odd bunch.

"Then you heard what ve- I mean we are looking for, then?" Monkjack interjected.
"Do enlighten me, little carnivorous vun."
"Carnivorous?" He asked, before continuing. "We're looking for the spirits."

Upon hearing these words, the little bat-like creature jumped and flew three times around them all. "Ze spirits?!" It squeaked in surprise, as it landed. "Oho, I've been vondering vhen zhey vould reveal themselves! You have seen zem, yes? Ve see them often, no hoppink spirit can hide from six eyes at vunce!" He giggled again, rolling on his back. The other aures remained silent and watchful, at times he seemed to be speaking all of their thoughts instead of just his.

"You've seen the spirits! That's brilliant, I knew they existed! Can you take us to them?" Diesel asked.

"I, Vincent, vill take you all through ze cave, but I vant to varn you... Zhere are zings zhat don't vant you to see zhe spirits, zhey might be tryinks to stop you. I von't vork against zhem for you, zhis is your journey." He said quietly.

"We're willing to face anything to understand the spirits." Diesel answered, looking around at the other jackalope that had travelled with her. "Right?"

Nodding once, Vincent jumped up onto Monkjack's shoulder, where the little bead at the end of his tail went a deep green before returning back to it's normal colour.

(( Clack, you've won an aures! Congrats. ;3 It can continue in the journey with Essery, if you like, but it doesn't have to. And yes, these are a new customizable species. It's pronounced like the ores on boats, and the plural is the same as the singular. ;3 I'll explain it all in the updates topic. <3 Vincent's accent is supposed to be a mix of different accents, because I fail at typing zhem, uh, them.))

[auntslappy282]

((Bats! ))

Eridan had to refrain from laughing when Monkjack was being yelled at. He soon stopped laughing and focused in everything they needed to be focusing on. He listened carefully and then noticed the sound coming from the cave. He peered forward, trying his best to be brave. He grabbed his science wand out of it's hiding spot in his scarf. It began to sparkle, and then he peered closer forward. He looked around, and then he heard Diesel scream. He peered forward at far as he could with out falling head over heals into the cave himself. He jumped back a few feet when the bats flew out of the cave. He managed not to scream and then just stood there, shaking slightly.

He listened silently to the bats as they spoke, standing up straighter and straighter. He shoved his wand back into his scarf. Eridan nodded vigorously as Diesel asked the question. "I've gone through much worse, and I'm ready to take on the spirits no matter what! I'm prepared. This'll be a simple task compared to some other thin's I've been through." He said, a confident smile forming on his face. He stood up even straighter, chest puffing out. I wonder if Diesel notices... He thought to himself. He shook those thoughts away, because he didn't want to die, not today.

[Kitsumi Mahon]

For a moment, Serena hesitated. Maybe she should go back...she wasn't really sure what was here. But then Misery's fur pressed against hers, and she felt comfort. Apparently, he was more protective of her around crowds of people. Perhaps it was because he wasn't constantly reminded of the accident, as he was at home...
Either way, it seemed as if she would be well protected by him for now, and they had obtained a guide. Backing out now would be foolish; they were so close! So she walked forward, although letting Misery go first.

He sensed Serena's fear, and it brought out the guardian spirit in him. Misery was darting his eyes this way and that, looking for any potential threats that could possibly harm his beloved.

[clack]

(baw it's so cute <33 i think i'll bring it with x3)

Essery's ears perked again when the chattering started up once more. It was now apparent that the sounds were coming from the cave, though the source had yet to be discovered. Deisel's yelling had apparently alerted whatever was creating the noises to their presence. Essery could only hope that they were friendly while he sat there, trembling slightly from fear and anticipation.

He heard the flapping wings before the creatures made their appearance. He heard Deisel scream, but all that came out of his own mouth was a small squeak of fright. Too focused on the main mass, he didn't notice the few that broke off, especially the one that had focused its curiosity onto him. he froze when he felt something land on him and was too afraid to look. He didn't have to, though, for the creature crawled around to the front, clinging to Essery's fur. It sniffed and examined and crawled all over the buck before finally going to his head and clinging to one of his antlers, using one of the branches as a perch. The aures was small, but its weight was enough to send Essery off balance. He did his best not to stumble, but it was a little hard. The buck was quite a sight, trying to counter the weight of the aures and not fall on his face at the same time.

Essery really wasn't sure if he wanted to go or not. The aures didn't look like it was going to leave him alone anytime soon. For the aures, Essery was taking too long to decide so it took matters into its own hands...wings...tail? Leaving its perch on Essery's antler, the little bat chomped down on one of Essery's sensitive ears with its small, but sharp, fangs and continued to pull Essery forward. "Ow, that hurts, let go." he said, trying to reach the aures but his arms not being quite long enough.

[TheLethalFuzzyBunny]

The black and pink doe's ears pulled back against her skull in instinct when the chattering grew so terribly loud. Unlike some of the others, she didn't shriek or step back in fear as the hoard of bat creatures swarmed from the cave and all around them. In fact, she welcomed them, her eyes scanning through all of the new creatures and absorbing as much detail as she could make it. It was difficult not to let out an amused laugh at their discovery, these new found creatures peeking her curiosity instantly. These, perhaps, were even more interesting than spirits, to her, at any rate.

When Vincent stepped forth as a leader of sorts of the new creatures, Domino stepped closer to hear him more easily, as well as taking the opportunity to better examine him. A grin graced her face when the Aures spoke of her, referring to her as pretty. It was something that she hadn't heard before, save for perhaps some sarcastic remarks.

"I have faced things frightening enough," Domino said, finally, when Diesel questioned them, "That I couldn't possibly back out now." They had already made progress. Why compromise their journey now?

[Mousen Heath]

Having got a reasonable reply from them all (or at the very least, none of the party ran back towards civilisation) Diesel seemed satisfied to continue. "Well, I can't you promise how safe these tunnels will be. They're quite slippery and there's always the danger of falling rocks and low ceilings--"
"In other words, watch your head."

With that enlightening statement from Monkjack, he and Diesel headed inside the cave. Almost immediately, the darkness swallowed them up and the only thing that distinguished the jackalope from the sandstone caves were their eyes glinting. Thankfully, Vincent seemed to have everything under control, the little aures uttered a echoing squeaks, and he was quickly presented with a candle (which he held in his tail). It flickered about in the cave air, and it was obvious that monkjack had been right about that other exit. As the group walked along the tunnels, it became quite apparent how unpredictable these tunnels were, as they headed a corner, Diesel had to come to a quick stop as fallen tunnel blocked their path. Vincent was oddly quiet, and she could only think back to what he said earlier about not helping them with these 'challenges' they had to go through.

As they walked further along the caves, the atmosphere seemed to get heavier and heavier. The silence more profound with each step, the smell of wet limestone suffocating. As if in answer, a tiny pygmy jackalope darted through the tunnel, it seemed to emanate it's own light.

"We should follow it, quickly!" Diesel yelled as it dashed down a particularly slippy looking tunnel. The roof of said tunnel was very low, and the jackalope had to bend down to go through it, as they all emerged on the other side, two twin tunnels lead off from each other.

Turning to face everyone from Diesel to Misery, Monkjack said. "We'll have to split up. Myself, Eridan, Essery and his bat friend will go this way. Diesel, Vincent, Misery, Serena and Domino will take the left tunnel. If you hit a dead end, turn back, and if you hit another fork, turn back. We'll do the same, it will prevent us from getting too split up."

((As of right now, this is going to become more like a game. The spirits are challenging your jackalope, my replies will obviously be split into two groups, replying to both groups. They'll meet up again soon, though for this particular challenge, they'll be separated. As of right now, the posting order is abolished, it may return again though. I will ask that each person only reply once between my replies to their group. And yes, there will be prizes. ^w~ And questions, post in the new, spiffy event-questions thread. x3; ))

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