DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Hall of Fame - Latest Top 10 completed games OAHE: Once upon an All Hallows Eve OAHE: Into Darkness They are Borne

Jayden can't quite fall asleep, as much as his grandfather spirit tried to be quiet, he chomped his non-existent gums. "We just can't sit here," the spirit finally said. "We need to do something. What? I have no idea. But I will bet your cat knows something."

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Tiger knew that if they went as far as they had gone into the woods originally, it would take time. Did they have time? Every little bit that passed, the veil between became thinner and thinner.

[OOC: So the plan is to ride in the car to the woods, and then get into trouble.]

Jayden


He stood and stretched right and left, grunting as a couple of compressed vertebrae popped into a new position.

"I don't doubt she knows something, Grandpa. But do you know where she is so I can go ask her?"

Granpa considered "I might be able to find her. The real question will be if we can convince her to let you help. I might be signing your death warrant," the last was muttered almost under his breath.

Jayden


"Well, I've got to do something or all this will drive me crazy."

He pulled on a light jacket and headed for the door.

"C'mon... we'll take the car... you point the way."

[OOC: Assume that Tiger will hear the car when it gets near. We will need to give Ex some time to post, but we can start the gathering process.]

Not far from the museum Tiger hears a familiar sound of her burden's conveyance.

Jayden


"Back to the woods?" he asked the spirit of his grandfather as soon as he realized the direction they were taking.

Dizzy

She looks sideways at Shadow.

"That sounds like my burden."

And then taking up her courage, adds..

"And we need a lift."

Shadow

He stopped, back arched, and looked at her aghast.

"That one again?", he hissed. "We're about to go into what may be great danger, and will almost certainly deal with things their fragile little minds cannot handle. We were very, very lucky that it did not break the last time, and that we were able to get it back home and safe. Why are you... why do you want to take it with us a second time? Do you really want to see it break that much? What did it do to you that you would seek to be so cruel in return?"

Jayden


"Ahead and to the left?" he questioned the spirit as he maneuvered the car. Then he saw cats up ahead and stopped the car and climbed out.

"Dizzy! Damn you crazy cat! What are you doing way out here?"

Dizzy

And then she hears him call to her. It does generate a warm feeling inside. Not alone any more.

She looks at Shadow with that helpless 'what can I do?' expression.

"He has a spirit and me to look after him."

She turns towards her burden, taking courage and comfort from his presence. The future will have to look after itself. Then she strolls over, rubbing around his legs, making sure other cats know that he belongs to her.

"You'll have to help me protect him." She says to the spirit. It is not a question.

Shadow

He faded into his namesake, then tagged along in the darkness, following the younger cat.

"We go into danger. If that burden so much as sees one thing that his mind cannot handle I will personally shred you into nonexistence, spirit. Do not let it be exposed to any risk."

And to Tiger,

"Your burden is yours. But if it breaks, and you need it ended, I am willing to help if it would be too much for you."

Jayden


Jayden squatted beside the small cat, grunting as his left knee popped and then rubbed Dizzy behind the ears.

"How come you ran off with that other cat," he asked.

"Without at least telling me first."

Dizzy

She accepted her petting as well deserved, which it was, not understanding what he is saying but liking the attention.

"We will all look after him. It will not come to that" she meows to Shadow, knowing the spirit will hear her words too. "But thank you."

Underneath her new confidence, she had been worried that Shadow might refuse to let her burden come. But she knows how stubborn and reckless her burden can be and in many ways feels it is safer to keep him under observation. And she likes the attention..

Grandpa said "she is headed someplace that way," which was remarkably unhelpful for a mostly invisible form. Realizing his mistake he said "up hill, I think they want to go. Seems like either we could drive for a while towards the hills or walk a long ways. Not sure, just guessing, but..." The way grandpa said the last, he wasn't just addressing Jayden, but possibly the cats as well.

Jayden


Scowling and rolling his eyes briefly skyward, Jayden stood, made his way back to the car, calling for his damned cat to follow him. Once at the car, he held open the back door, gesturing for the felines to enter.

"Up hill, you say," he said, proving he had a remarkable grasp of the obvious.

Dizzy

She stalks towards the car, pauses for the door to be opened and jump in, her regal bearing intact. Settling down on the seat, ready to take a firm grasp of the upholstery if needed, she turns to the Spirit.

"He knows to go to the woods, yes?"

"We do now. More information is better than less," he shook his head.

To Jayden he said "to the woods boy, take the same road you did before."

Jayden


He rolled his eyes as he started the car's engine, then fastened his seat belt and headed off toward the woods, following the same road as he had the last time.

"Is the other cat with us?"

Shadow

In his two-dimensional form, he was, having tagged along with Tiger's shadow, but there was no way he'd reveal that to the Burden even if he could comprehend the question. Indeed, if the Burden did become aware of Shadow's current appearance, that would be enough to require its death.

"Drive boy," was all the old tired grandpa spirit's voice.

Up the road they went towards where the boy's shoe had been found. Though the body of the boy had not been recovered. Soon the lights of town were left behind and lost in the trees. It was a different world up here, especially at night.

They came to a dirt road that wound further up the mountain or they could continue along the main road. The dirt road lead further up hill, and away from civilization, such as it was out here.

Dizzy

She raises her head and then puts her front paws on the back of the seat in front of her so she can see why they have slowed. Her instincts tell her that deeper into the wood and up the hill is the right direction. She conveys that to the spirit.

Granpa says "take the dirt road. We are going further into the woods." He didn't sound happy. Though to be fair he hadn't sounded happy since Jayden discovered he could talk with the spirit of his dead grandfather.

Jayden


"Dirt road it is, Gramps," he said and made the turn, heading uphill and deeper into the forest.

"You sound like somebody licked the red off of your candy," he said, coming up with a line from some old western movie.

Grandpa was silent for a bit before responding. "Just don't have a good feeling about this. What can I say?"


They continued up the road and it got smaller and smaller. Soon it was little more than a pair of ruts and grass in between. Eventually they come to a place where a car can pull over, and the can continue on as well. After all they were the only people out here this night, or so it seemed.

Eventually the road petered out into a clearing where it was obvious people came up here to park. There was trash along the edges of the clearing, and marks where vehicles had pulled around, or even sat over night. This was a good spot to hike the more wild trails from, given the number of ways out of this little area.

The car wasn't going to go any further. They would have to hike now.

Shadow

A quiet aside to Tiger,

"Do not put your Burden in further danger. It is of no use to us where we must go, and will likely see too much if it is with us."