driftfleet | enchanted forest . mingle

[He was glancing around when Lloyd speaks up. The conversation on the previous planet doesn't pop into his mind immediately, so he looks curious (even if he's still annoyed Lloyd dragged him in here)]

Huh?

Back on the planet with all the snow.

We talked about how cool it'd be if the next planet was sunny and had a forest. [ AND LOOK WHERE THEY ENDED UP. ]

[That's right...they did talk about that. The remnants of annoyance start to leave his face at that realization]

[...Huh]

Oh, that's right. I'd forgotten about that...

Weird how that worked out.

Isn't it?

Too bad we didn't get the beach, but this isn't too bad!

[ the spa was at least a nice replacement. ]

So far. [He reminds him, but it lacks a lot of the bite of before]

The spa's a nice compromise for a beach. Wouldn't mind if the waystations had less fruit flavored foods, though.

You're telling me. I didn't think black coffee could be so sweet. [ or even more disgusting than it already was. ]

I still don't get the obsession for all the Floot Loops stuff they had everywhere.

Yeah. It's like someone with Colette's cooking tastes went nuts with it.

[And he thought fruit steak was the worst it could go...]

It's advertising. They're hoping the name familiarity will up their sales.

Yeah, but they don't have to stick it all over everything. That just gets annoying.

[ it could be because he's not used to advertising, but if there was ever a point where something became too much, then these guys surpassed it fifty times over.

not even Regal's company was this bad. ]

It is pretty excessive. Almost makes me wonder how far they take it.

[Like were there Floot Loop medicine? Toilet paper? Condoms? Sex Toys? He is morbidly curious]

[But as they walk, the trees of the forest seem to get thicker and thicket, slowly blotting out daylight]

I dunno if I want to know...

[ he hasn't thought of the stuff that Kaneis did, but if they already have meat coated with that fruity stuff, then he doesn't want to know what else they came up with.

it's probably because of his familiarity with forests, but Lloyd manages to catch on quick when he notices the forest thickening. he does a brief sweep through. ]

It kinda got thicker, huh?

You're not even a little curious?

[And being the city boy he is, he doesn't quite catch on that it's getting thicker until Lloyd points it out. He frowns and looks around. Yep. Definitely getting darker in here.]

Sure is...that's not ominous or anything.

Not really, just looks like there's more trees here than at the entrance.

[ he pauses to see if he can at least look at the sun's positioning through the leaves, and... nope. he can't see shit.

eh, whatever. he turns back to Kaneis. ]

Come on.

[More trees to cover up them getting axe murdered better, gosh!]

[But he gives that sigh of dissent, and follows Lloyd further down the path. Which as for the woods itself, it continues to get darker and darker. Within another five to ten minutes of walking, it gets dark enough that it might as well be nighttime- with the area becoming extremely dark and extremely hard to see more than a few inches in front of you.]

[Try not to trip on any roots or wander off the path!]

[ Lloyd is still trucking on even as it gets darker, though he does slow down when vision starts to get difficult.

he stops, getting a good listen for anything since that's all he can do. ]

Man... How'd it get dark so fast?

[ he's pretty sure the sun was still high up when they went in, and they couldn't have been walking for more than twenty minutes! ]

[And Kaneis pipes up rather dryly]

I don't know, but I'm willing to be 5 credits the explanation has the word magic in it.

[But sassing aside, he'll lift up the palm of his hand and conjure up a ball of fire- which thanks to the high level of magic in the area (and his own rustiness) - flares up a lot bigger and brighter than he intended]

Whoa!

[TRYING TO MAKE THAT SMALLER NOW]

Sorry! I didn't burn you did I?

Whoa!!

[ JESUS KANEIS Lloyd steps back as he tries to shrink the fire ball. ]

Nah, I'm alright. [ at least, he's pretty sure he is. he doesn't smell burning hair, so that's a plus. ]

Ha-

[Slowly, he gets it down to a more reasonable small fireball, the size of a torch]

This place must be full of mana or something. I've gotten used to casting on dry husks.

But anyway, this should help us stay on the path. Just don't startle me or I might throw this fireball in your face by accident.

Yeah, I'll keep that in mind.

[ said about as dryly as he can muster. stiil, he's careful not to make any sudden movements as they continue down the path.

it's a while before Lloyd starts to get bothered by the forest. how long have they been walking since Kaneis conjured the fireball. ten minutes? twenty? thirty? an hour? he's lost track and it only serves to irritate him because this path NEVER ENDS UGH.

after a while, Lloyd sighs, which ends up turning into an irritated groan. ]

How big is this stupid forest supposed to be, anyway?

[Kaneis meanwhile had been keeping quiet just to focus on keeping the fire going. Even if it was a small spell, it did slowly drain on his energy. As such, when he lets out a sigh at Lloyd's predictable behavior, it's a bit shakier than he would've liked, and he really can't bring himself to think up a proper sarcastic remark.]

How should I know?

This is stupid. It didn't take us this long to get through Gaorrachia Forest.

[ actually lloyd, yes it did. it actually took longer because of the monsters.

Lloyd does catch how shaky Kaneis's sigh was and, needless to say, it was a little concerning. he knows that constantly using magic can wear a person out (if Genis didn't already pound it into his head all the time), so maybe that fireball is tiring him out? he had it going for a while...

he turns back to Kaneis. ]

You okay?

No, it took longer.

[Believe him, he was not about to forget how long it took to go through those wretched woods. Ugh.]

[Honestly? Even by the small bit of light, Kaneis is starting to look drained by the magic. But you know old Chosen habits die hard, so he'll just give a little nod]

Yeah, I'm fine.

[ SIGH

there he goes again. Lloyd doesn't even bother to hold back the dry, unimpressed look directed at Kaneis. if there was anything that annoyed him, it was people insisting they were fine when they clearly weren't.

much like Kaneis is doing now. he may look worse for the wear most days, but he can see how drained he is. ]

Look, let's just switch off when we need light. Here, I'll take over. [ almost as soon as he says that, he's surrounded by feathers and a blue glow before his wings are summoned, folded inward. it's a little more creepy with the blue tinge, but at least there's more light. ]

[He has no idea what that facial expression is about! He's totally fine Lloyd! Totally]

[But oh. Lloyd's summoning his wings. He seems a bit surprised for a moment. But he dismisses his fireball and lets out a little breath of relief to feel the mana drain stop. He rubs the back of his neck]

...Oh. Right. Good idea.

[ BBBBBULLSHIT

he has to adjust his position because even with them folded in, the wings are still pretty large in comparison to the path's width. he turns to Kaneis with a small smile. ]

I'll cover for the light until you're feeling better. Just let me know if you get tired again next time.

[ there's no "okay?" in there because he IS expecting it. he nudges his head towards the path ] Come on.

It wasn't like I was gonna pass out, you know.

[Just a little drained, that's all! Gosh. Nevermind the fact he's secretly grateful for the help. But he'll start walking again]

Is it just me or is it kinda creepier with the blue light?

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