Searching for Everly!

The night in the library with Valentin was quite nice as Zerda felt fully rested and not s single hint of sickness fell upon him. The cozy little faun made a great pillow and blanket for him and he was glad for it! In a moment Zerda then realized he was in the dress he had picked out from the closet. He smiled as he remembered that his clothes were still probably dirty from all his playing around. This time though he thought of trying to keep the dress a little nicer that his traditional clothing. He smiled as the wind blew in his face and it seemed that the day would be clear from there on out for the search. After hearing from Everly that she had lost something dear he tried to think of the clues that she gave him, "It's small, white, and noisy.....A mouse?" He said thinking aloud for a moment. He then realized that she couldn't possibly have a mouse be precious to her....and if so she would be quite disappointed as Zerda would end up eating it upon it being revealed to him.

The breeze felt nice and the scenery of the light house he and Valentin was approaching was splendid! The green grass around it was soft on Zerda's feet and time after time he would stop to wiggle them around a bit to enjoy the feeling. Looking at Valentin he smiled and nodded, "I think we should look here! Its big and seems like a place that I would loose stuff at...and perhaps even Everly." He paused and stared at the size of the light house upon arrival. Looking up he nearly fell backwards as it went out of view. "Ooooooohhh!" He said with amazement. "Look Valentin! Its big!" Captain Obvious was in the building! Walking over to the door, Zerda tugged on it and frowned, "We can't get in!"

Valentin followed Zerda up to the knoll that supported the lighthouse. A breeze lifted and swept over them, the long island grasses around their feet bending and bouncing, heavy with the salt carried up from the ocean below. His ears flipped back to avoid the howling the wind would echo through his helix, and he could make out the gentle hiss of waves caressing the rocks at the bottom of the cliff on the far side of the lighthouse. As the breeze passed it lowered the tails of his scarf--Sionnach orange--which hung off either shoulder and trailed down the back of his vest beside a long and heavy braid of hair. The faun tucked his hands in the pockets of his olive green courderoy capris and tilted his head back to follow Zerda's view of the building towering over them.

He wasn't sure why Everly would lose anything here. He wasn't even sure Everly ever came here, seeing as he'd never witnessed her leaving the main building. But the weather was fair and the mild sun promised a comfortable day, and Valentin figured they might as well pick somewhere enjoyable to search while they did the headmistress this favor.

"It's always been locked." He had been here before, but had yet to really consider a method of breaking in. Slowly, he began to walk around the base of the building, inspecting the foundation as if there would be a hole they could crawl through, reluctant to simply rig up a very modestly sized squib and blow the door off it's hinges. For some reason, he gathered the impression that Every would know, somehow, that he had cause harm to one of her buildings, and he wasn't keen on accepting the consequences for that.

Valentin paused and tilted his head back again to view the building in its entirety. "It's probably so cool on the inside..."

Zerda smiled as he watched the faun looks around the lighthouse for a hole. He wished that there was a magical word that they could say so the door would magically open in an instant. The thought made him laugh a little and he suddenly noticed Valentin stopped his search for an entrance. "Hmm..." The little fox boy shrugged and began to search in the grass, "Maybe she never went in!" He said smiling. Taking a few small steps here and there Zerda began to track around the light house. At one point he frowned as all he found was bugs, but he could never prove it to Valentin, as his appetite got the best of him. They did skip breakfast to get out into the are first, for a better chance of finding what was needed. The search went on and he came across a darker batch of grass that seemed to be a perfect circle. He tilted his head in wonderment at it then finally decided to take a step. Unfortunately, that was bad. In an instant Zerda fell through and he let out a yelp. "V-Valentin!" He he yelled as he tried to hold onto the sides, but ended up slipping.

He wasn't sure how deep the grass was, but when he looked up he only say small rays of light and nothing but darkness after that. He looked around and saw nothing and it began to scare him. "W-where am I?" He questioned himself hoping an answer would magically pop into his head, but nothing came. He pushed through what he could as he tried to find something to grab onto to climb up. The search seemed to go on and he wondered if Valentin had even noticed his disappearance. Sitting down he frowned and tried to relax a bit before he would finally loose it completely. Placing his hand down he felt something warm and he jumped what seemed nearly twenty feet away from it. "Ah! What was that!"

After admiring the building, Valentin resumed inspecting the building, this time traces his fingertips around the door edges to try and figure out how and where it was hinged or bolted. At one point, he glanced over his should to see Zerda poking around in the grass and pop something in his mouth. Deciding not to comment, the faun shook his head with a smirk and resumed the chore in front of him.

Not finding anything useful or unusual about the very solid door, Valentin took a step back and thumped one hand onto his hip in frustration, while the other tapped on his chin thoughtfully. He hadn't quite decided what he should try noext, when he heard Zerda shout for him. He spun in time to see Zerda disappear into the grass. "Zerda!" He leapt forwards and skidded to a halt on his knees at the mouth of the hole. "Zerda??" He was unable to see his friend through the grasses, and he was debating slipping down after him. But if there was no way out except with help from someone still above the hole, it would be a stupid move to enter.

He heard Zerda's exclamation and while relieved that the fox was alive down there, his voice couldn't hide an edge of panic. "Zerda, are you alright??"

Zerda backed away from what ever he felt before and started to push through the grass to where he hear Valentin's voice. He looked up and sniffled his nose. He didn't know what to do as he was trapped, he couldn't climb up and he by far couldn't climb the grass. It would all just collapse under him. "V-Valentin! I don't want to be down here and I can't climb up! What should I do?" As he waited for the answer he looked over his shoulders to see if anything looked tasty. He hoped to find more of the little black bugs that had a light crunch followed by gooey fillings. To his surprise though there was something else waiting for him as he turned: a little black spider. Zerda stood there for a moment and stared at the thing in complete terror. Little known secret was, Zerda would eat anything except, sour fruits, vegetables, and spider.

After a moment to take it all in Zerda screamed and smacked the spider out of the way. "VALENTIN! HELP MEEEE!" He yelled as he started jumping up hoping Valentin would see his hand and grab it quickly enough to pull him up. The only thing he never thought of was that to Valentin it probably looked like whack a mole as his hand came up then quickly disappeared. He didn't care though he just wanted to get out of the deathtrap with spider population of one.

"Oh.. Okay, hold on!" Valentin sat back and his gaze hastily swept the grass, but of course there is nothing there to aid him. He silently repeatedto himself that he mustn't panic because Zerda was fine. He had fallen in this hole but he was unharmed, and what Valentin really needed to do right now was to not panic and calmly find a way to pull Zerda out.

Then Zerda screamed for help. "Zerda!! What? What is it--Are you alright?!" Valentin was leaning over the mouth of the whole with his fingers curled around over the edge. He pulled his face back suddenly when a hand bounced out from between the long stalks of grass, before disappearing back down again. When the hand emerged again, Valentin lunged his own arms forwards and tried to grasp it. This happened a couple times with Valentin missing or being unable to keep his hold on his friend's hand before it vanished back down into the hole. Finally, he managed to hook his palm under Zerda's thumb and before he slipped and lost it again, he thrust his other arm into the grass and gripped Zerda's forearm. When gravity tugged the fox back towards the bottom of the hole, Valentin was pulled forwards, but he scowled and dug his hooves into the dirt stubbornly and refused to let go of Zerda's arm and hand.

Zerda was begining to get tire from jumping so much, but when the little spider returned for his revenge he hopped a little higher, "AHHHH! NO I'M NOT OKAY!" He yelled as he lunged upward with all his might. At the feeling of Valentin a couple times, Zerda didn't give up. He knew that he would be saved by his faun friend, but he wished he was out of there already. A few more hops and he finally felt Valentin wrap his hand around Zerda's forearm and with a smile he thought he was finally free, till he suddenly felt as if he was dropping back down, "AH!" He yelped before digging his feet into the side of what seemed to be the edge of what Valentin was standing above. He looked up and could barely make out Valentin's figure above the grass, but boy was he happy to just see that. Swinging his other hand up, he wrapped it around the faun's forearm and slowly pushed up with his feet. Before long his head was finally above the grass and he smiled as his face met Valentin's. He smiled and licked the tip of his nose happy that Valentin didn't let go. Grabbing the edges he crawled onto the solid ground and let out a sigh of relief. Looking behind him he now saw how the hole seemed to disappear again. "Maybe we should have this marked so no one else falls in....its terrible in there!" He said with a frown on his face.

He never wanted to go back in there again! Looking at Valentin who sat next to him he crawled close and hugged him. "Thanks! Now...back to uh...oh yeah searching! I want more food from Everly and if we find this i'm sure she will be so happy that there will be a whole gigantic mountain of food for us!" He then paused and frowned at his selfishness, "Oooorr she will be really happy. Either way I'll be happy!" He said with a big grin on his face. He got up and helped Valentin up, but never let go of his hand. "Lets look together Valentin, I don't want to fall again." Gripping harder he tried to forget the evil little spider.

Valentin fell onto his rear with a huff after Zerda was out of the grassy hole. He eyed the offending cavity with a frown, silently blaming it for that short but stressful moment. He nodded in response to the suggestion that they mark the hole. "What was down there?" Valentin turn his gaze from the grass to the friend at his side as he shifted closer. He draped one arm around Zerda, using his other arm to lean on.

He laughed when Zerda's statement betrayed his apparently insatiable infatuation with food. "I'm sure she'll be willing to find you some food after this." He hummed thoughtfully as he took Zerda's offered hand and the pair rose to their feet. "I say we just hit up the kitchen in our dorm building and make whatever we feel like." He didn't consider before the words left his mouth that he didn't think either of them knew how to cook. But surely, it could be an adventure.

His hand remained in Zerda's but he didn't seem to really notice as he batted the grass from his trousers with his free hand. At the mention of falling, Valentin finds his attention drawn back to the inconspicuous hole hidden by the untrimmed grasses. He takes a step closer to it and observes that he is undeniably curious. "Do you know how big it was down there? It's kind of cool..."

Zerda still had his grip on Valentin's hand as he walked around looking through the grass. He then lifted his head at what Valentin had said. He stopped to think for a moment as if the moment that just passed was forever ago. Finally he smiled a little then nodded, "Well it was dark and mysterious...and dark....with s-sp...." He trailed off as he realized Valentin didn't know his fear for spiders yet, and was relieved that he wasn't asked for why he was screaming so much under the tall grass. He shrugged and then popped his head up at a sudden thought, "Oh! There was something that felt warm down there, and if my ears were not deceiving me, then there was some kind of path. I would hear air coming from a different direction....I just didn't want to go alone was all...." He said trailing off once more. He looked up at Valentin and smiled as he pulled Valentin towards the hole and attempted to push him in as he laughed with pure excitement. "You can protect me Valentin!" He yelled still trying to push the faun in hoping he would just give in.

The thought of a new world under the island or even inside would be just amazing and fun! He really wanted to see even if there were spiders awaiting for him. "Hahahahahaha! Valentin!!!!" He wasn't even sure what the look on his friends face was like at this point.

((XD short post XD))

"Oh! Well, I--What? Hey, hey!" Valentin dug the points of his hooves into the dirt beneath the grass to prevent himself from being pushed too close to the hole. He snickered at the fox and leaned back against the pushing. "We'll check it out! Just give me one sec." He turned and prodded Zerda's forehead--or rather the bangs covering his forehead--teasingly. He unwound the orange scarf from his neck and spun around until he spotted a bush of fanflower nestled in the grasses. He kneeled in front of it and reached below the bunch of greens and small flowers to find the roots. He gave them a good tug, but the bush was steadfast, so he proceeded to knot the cloth around the lowest and thickest bit of stalk. Turning, he dropped the other end of the scarf into the hole. He was sure it wouldn't be long enough to reach the bottom, but hopefully it would offer a decent hold if they needed to climb back out.

Nodding up to Zerda, Valentin gripped the edge of the hole. "I'll go first then, yea?" And with that, he hopped down inside, disappearing beneath the grasses.

Valentin landed in a crouch, this hooves thumping softly against the cool dirt at the bottom of the hole. He remained silent and still for a moment, ears fanned out wide cautiously while he allowed his eyes to adjust. He looked up and saw patches of sunlight where the grasses parted and waved in the breeze. "Alright Zerda! Your turn!"

Zerda frowned a little as Valentin took his time it setting the scarf around the bush. He waited patiently, or what he could mutter, to finish. As he saw Valentin finish the scarf and tossed the other end down the hole he smiled and ran up to Valentin. Looking down at the dress he was given he frowned and then laughed a little, "I don't need this to get dirty... surprisingly its not already!" He said as he started to take off his clothes. Placing them on a rock next to the the lighthouse he placed another rock on top so to assure that it wouldn't blow away. The day seemed nice enough as the weather was just wonderful. Wasn't a single drop of rain nor was there any sign of it coming, but he had to be safe. Looking down at it for a moment, he found himself satisfied and ran back over to Valentin. "I really need my shorts again...and shoes..." He said as he looked down at his man hood.

Looking back up, Zerda watched as Valentin jumped down into the hole and waited for confirmation from him. After a short moment he finally heard him and he happily crawled in slowly. Landing next to the faun he slowly stood strait and looked around. Gripping Valentin's hand quickly he closed his eyes, "Ah...sorry friend, uh just listening to where the air was coming from..." Perking up his ears he started walking forwards pushing through the tall grass. After a time of pushing through he smiled as the vegetation began to thin a little. He hoped Valentin didn't get anything caught in his antlers that would be embarrassing to meet everyone with nothing but grass on. Zerda laughed to himself as he thought of what the mountain man called Sasquache (don't know how to spell) looked like. His mind then snapped out of the amusing thoughts as finally an open seemed to come to their aide. "W....where are we exactly?" He asked not looking up at Valentin.

((Yaya I like when you explain places ^^ So I leave it to you! To be truthful, I have to clue whats in store for them!))

Valentin opened mouth stupidly as the naked form of his friend entered the cavern beside him. He clicked his mouth shut, shook his head with a smirk, and decided just not to say anything. When Zerda took his hand, he thought he could sense some unease from the fox, but before he could consider what it was that had scared him down here in the first place, the other boy had started forward, and Valentin trotted after him, hand in tow. He heard Zerda laugh and grinned in the darkness, glad that his friend had overcome his fear and seemed to be having a good time exploring.

With his free hand, Valentin had been pushing aside some of the vegetation so that his antlers didn't slow them down, but he was pretty used to maneuvering through dense forests already, and this wasn't very different.

Valentin's eyes were wide, trying to allow as much light to be filtered in as possible. Ears batted about, trying to pick up on any little noises. There were some drafty noises, but he wasn't sure where from since he could still vaguely hear the wind sweeping through the grasses back at the entrance.

"I.. I'm not really sure, kiddo."

The tunnel they had passed through had opened up into a smallish cavern. There was less vegetation here and the dirt beneath them was soft and moist. The smell of dirt was almost refreshing. It was rich and uninfluenced down here by the smells of the ocean, gardens, livestock, and the makings of man. As his eyes continued to adjust, Valentin recognized some very small beams of light that were hiding behind a sort of root system that covered the walls of the cavern. With Zerda's hand still clasped in his own, he stepped towards them and brushed away some dirt, pulling at some of those roots to let more light in. It wasn't much of an improvement. It seemed like behind that caked-up dirt, this was possibly a pile of stone, but it was impossible to tell yet if it was man-made or formed naturally.


(( I have no idea either! xD ))

Zerda looked to Valentin, then looked to the cavern. He was amazed that they had even found anything like this on the island. Stepping forward with Valentin he looked around some more at what he was able to see with the new light that was revieled to the room by the faun. He smiled when he saw something shinny in the corder of the cavern. He unconsiously let go of Valentin's hand and ran over to the corner. It had seemed that their entire mission of finding what Everly lost was out the window, till Zerda picked up what looked to be some jewels. "Hmm...." He said as he observed a small pearl. He didn't think that Everly would loose one single little pearl, but he put it in his mouth for the time being in case it really was. Putting th rest of the jewels down he walked over to Valentin and pulled the pearl oyt of his mouth placing it in Valentin's hand. "Here...don't take anything that doesn't look like what she may have lost....the dead don't like when people take their other world belongings for greed..." He said as he pointed to the corner he was just in.

There in the corner next to what jewels he had found were remains of on of the last adventurer. He stared at it sadely then sniffed a little before dashing off to what looked to be a small pool of water. Looking into it he smiled at his reflextion and decided it looked clean enough to drink. Kneeling down he plopped his face into the water and drank desperately. He didn't realize how thirsty he was till now. Pulling his soaking wet face out of the water he looked down at what seemed to be a little locket that hanged from his mouth. He swore he didn't see the little trinket in the water before, but there is was in his mouth. He pulled it out and examined it. Plopping down on his behind he called Valentin to join him. "I found water Val! Oh and look maybe this is what she was looking for....but the again so does the pearl." He then stopped to think about the last clue he had completely over looked. It had to make noise too. "PUT IT DOWN VALENTIN!" He yelled hoping the dead wasn't going to be mad at them for mistaking the little pearl for something he was looking for. He hoped that this little locket was what she was looking for and hoped that all three of the clues would match it. It was small, white, but did it make noise. Maybe Valentin could figure this out.

"Ah, okay.." Valentin glanced down at the pearl Zerda had placed in his palm, then followed direction the finger was pointed. His jaw tightened at the sight of the corpse. He was momentarily surprised that he had not smelled it as soon as they entered, but lifting his chin and sniffing again proved that the corpse was probably simply too old and had long since deteriorated into smelling just as much like dirt as the rest of the cavern.

Stepping closer to the remains, Valentin's curious gaze moved over the possessions. A bony arm was resting atop a small wooden box that looked like it might be ebony, or just stained by years sitting in the earth. Glancing back over his shoulder at Zerda showed him to be busy drinking water, so Valentin took a moment to observe this more closely. He winced with a small bit of disgust and nudged the hand slowly with his hoof because he wanted to see what was inside the box. But before his task was completed, his sensitive ears were bombarded with Zerda's shout. The sound reverberated off the walls and the faun nearly leapt out of his skin. If he didn't already known it was Zerda who had shouted, he probably would have bolted back into the tunnel and straight out the entrance. The muscles in his legs jerked anyway, which just resulted in a very ungraceful stumble and the faun fell straight back onto his rear, barely catching himself on one elbow and a palm in the dirt before his torso hit the earth as well. He heard his heart echo in his head and squeezed his eyes shut until the instant onslaught of panic had subsided. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed he could feel the little pearl now pressed into the dirt beneath his palm.

He sighed. "Kiddo... please don't do that."

Zerda looked back to see Valentin fall flat on his rear and he couldn't help but snicker to himself. He waited for the faun to come close to try and show him what he found, but before he could speak Valentin asked him to not do that. Zerda frowned and nodded accepting what he said, "Sorry I just don't want the spirits to come after us is all..." He said as he fiddled with the trinket he had in his hands. Looking at it he handed it to Valentin and tilted his head. "Its small and white, but does it play anything?" He asked while scratching his arm as a sudden itch overcame him. As he waited to hear what Valentin could do with the locket, he decided to take a look at the remains one more time. Walking over he sat in the same spot that Valentin was just in. Looking at the box he tilted his head then shook in disaproval. Valentin moved the bones, how unkind of him. Yeah sure he was dead, but still. Zerda then laughed at his serious self thinking as he never used to take things so seriously before. He tried to think back to when he was little, but suddenly he found himself not being able to recall any memories.

Sitting silence he looked down, trying to recall once more, but still nothing came. He started to tear up a little and just as quickly he whipped it away. Why couldn't he remember anything. "Maybe, i'm just hungry....." He said before deciding to see how Valentin was doing. He whipped his face once more then walked over. "So....how is it coming?"

Valentin frowned up at Zerda, a little disappointed with himself at the comment. He hadn't meant it to sound rude, but his poor heart had really been tried these past 24 hours. He reached forward and accepted the locket, his ears flicking forwards with interest. "I dunno..." He nudged at the locket's clasp but years of corrosion have sealed it with a crusty yellow-brown coating. Rather than trying to force it open and risk breaking the old trinket, Valentin went to work untangling the chain. "I'm not sure how it would make noise, but we can't find out with it stuck shut like this." He turned it over in his palm and scratched gently at the backing, then sniffed it. "But it's silver. It's got silver bromide all over it. It'll take about a week, but I've got some muriatic acid that'll clean this up nicely..." Then realizing Zerda might not be interested in the science of cleaning silver, he cleared his throat and dropped the subject.

When Zerda turned back towards the body, Valentin plucked the little salt water pearl out of the dirt and deftly tucked it into his trouser pocket. He had gotten the impression that Zerda would not approve of him wanting to keep it.

Valentin hefted himself back onto his hooves and dusted some of the dirt from his pants and tail. He lifted his head to respond to his friend in time to see him finish wiping at his face. The faun pouted as his nose picked up on the faintest waft of saline. It could just be salt traveling down from the ocean air, but a moment ago all he could smell was the dirt. Did he smell tears?

"Everything okay, kiddo?"


(( So sorry it took longer than usual~! /fail ))

Zerda was silent for a short time as he over heard Valentin ask him if he was okay. Zerda shook his head and sighed a little. Still silent he grabbed the locket from Valentin's hand and he began licking it. "It's nothing Valentin, i'm...i'm just hungry is all." He said as the taste of the rust was even appealing to him at this point. Looking around the ground for any type of bugs he found nothing. Sighing a little he sat down and crossed his legs over one another while holding his stomach. "Valentin, though it seems to shine a silver underneath, do you still believe Everly lost this?" He asked hoping that it really was something she dropped. He wanted to make her happy and proud especially since it seemed she was coming down with something. The morning was already eventful and in a way Zerda was glad, but an adventure without food was just horrible.

Closing his eyes he tried once more to remember. Taking in deep breathes he relaxed his body and found himself motionless for quite some time. As if a statue he stared blankly off into the distance as if there was nothing left in the world but himself. Lost in thought he felt something warm trickle down the side of his face. Lifting his hand up to his cheek he whipped away the tear and looked down. Getting up he realized Valentin was still there. Staring at him for a moment with tears still in his eyes. After a moment of silence he shook his head and ran out of the cavern saying nothing.

((Gah so much multitasking DX))

Valentin went to protest when Zerda began licking the locket, but decides against it since he figures it wouldn't hurt him, even if it wasn't exactly food..

"Well, I don't know.." He didn't want to tell his friend that no, he didn't think this is what Everly was looking for since it looked like it had been here for a very long time, but he couldn't lie to him either. "I don't think this is what she's looking for right now, but.. maybe she lost it so long ago, she'd forgotten she ever had it. Imagine how excited she might be when we bring it back to her. And if it isn't hers, then it's still a beautiful little treasure and I'm sure she'll love it." He offered his words optimistically.

He watched as Zerda lowered himself to the dirt floor, unsure as to whether or not the fox was even listening, he looked so far away. The tears did not escape his notice and his brows furrowed with concern. When Zerda then turned tail and ran out of the cavern, Valentin hesitated. If Zerda needed to be alone in whatever was grieving him, then he shouldn't follow, but then again, he knew he wouldn't be able to sit tight knowing Zerda could be off crying alone somewhere without someone to comfort him. Driven by that last thought, Valentin took chase after the other student. He ducked his head so that the dangling roots overhead didn't slow him down as he leaped deftly through the dark over the uneven ground.

In his hurry, and in the dark, with the muted thumping of his own swift steps in the soft dirt reverberating through the tunnel, Valentin did not notice that he had caught up to the fox until he ran straight into him. He released a bark of alarm, the impact sending the pair sprawling into the entry cavern.

Zerda didn't know why he ran away from the only person he could say anything to, but he couldn't help it. Running as fast as he could he ducked through the upcoming tall grass till his foot got stuck. Nearly tripping he looked down at his feet. Whimpering he untangled his foot and as he did he heard the foot steps of Valentin coming. Getting up he dashed through the grass once more, but it seemed he was a bit to late as Valentin had literally bum rushed him back to the ground. For a moment he held his head as it spun round and round. He felt as if he was going to just pass out, but it never happened. Sitting up he felt his head throb and he already knew he was bleeding. Touching his head he wiped some of the blood away and with no where but dirty ground and himself to wipe it, he just smeared it on his chest leaving only a small smear of red across it. He looked at it and had the idea of one day using his blood for art, though it may be a little disturbing to others.

Now looking at Valentin he stared at him cross. Crossing his arms he turned away and frowned. "Valentin....why did you hurt me? "He asked with a quiver in his voice. He wasn't sure if it was an accident or what, but all he knew was that it was fairly painful. Trying to stand up he collapsed under his own weight and a yelp of pain escaped his lips. He looked down at his leg and noticed a fairly large bruise on his leg. It was sore and changing to a darker color as he watched. "Never in all my life...have I had a bruise like this. Valentin...I need my bandages, I hope they were not thrown away..." He said with a worried look on his face.

After the collision, Valentin laid still for a moment and groaned protestingly. He could feel the unforgiving surface of a rock he'd landed heavily on trying to invade the space between his ribs. Gingerly and with a quiet hiss, he pushed his torso off the ground. He cradled his bruised ribs in one hand as he pivoted to look to Zerda. The grasses waving above them still blocked out most of the light, but between the blades of light that filtered through,

"I'm so sorry kiddo, I didn't mean to.." When Zerda made to get up only to collapse again with a yelp, Valentin picked himself up back onto his hooves and moved a little closer, so that he might be able to offer help if his friend wanted to try rising again.

"I'm sure your bandages were taken to be washed with your shorts."

The faun eyed his friend's bruise with concern and guilt clearly displayed on his face. His ears batted backwards and down, like a scolded dog.

Zerda stared down at his bruise and sighed once he saw the look on Valentins face. He felt like he was to blame now for his sad expression. Taking a moment to think he finally smiled and lifted Valentin's head with his right hand. He looked into the fauns eyes and saw how sorry he was and for that he was happy yo know, "Valentin...its alright I'm sure i'll be okay, we both just have to be careful!" He said with a slight laugh. He knew that he didn't mean any harm, if anything Zerda was the one trying to eat him the night before. The one thing that matter was that they both were gonna be okay. Looking up at the little beams of light that danced down on them, he nodded and steadily pulled himself up off the ground. He held onto the faun and as he got up he knew he would also.

The injury that Valentin had endured was also on Zerda's mind and he hugged him gently so as to not hurt him in anyway. "Come on Valentin, lets get out of here and back to the castle. We both could use something to fill our bellies and to lift our.....AH! SP-SP-SP-SPIDER!" He yelled as he hopped as fast as he could over to the orange scarf Valentin left behind, and pulled himself up. "L-lets go!!!" He yelled down hoping Valentin was close behind him.

When Zerda lifted his face, Valentin turned his gaze up to meet his friends, only to be reminded by the veil of bangs that constantly hid those eyes. He nodded in response to Zerda's comment on being careful, suddenly feeling like they had briefly switched roles and Zerda was sort of the one comforting him. Valentin was thankful after they rose, that the fox was mindful of his new bruise when he hugged him. He returned the gesture with the arm on his unhindered side. It was then, in an extremely rare instance of bitterness, that Valentin recalled the exceptional healing abilities the experienced members of his herd had such a will over. He himself, of course, had never been good at anything involving magic, but at this moment he wished he could simply cast a few runes and make both of their bruises disappear like a faun should. But the moment passed quickly, and Valentin was distracted by the thought of the trinket that Zerda had found.

"Do you still have the.." The faun was about to ask after the locket, but was interrupted by the boy's exclamation. He watched with slight confusion as the other student made a bee-line for the scarf and went about hurriedly hauling himself upwards. Valentin turned his head with his ears pitched froward, and spotted a small brown spider lounging innocently on a thick bit of root protruding from the dirt wall. He frowned at it and lifted his hand to the root. His thumb hovered threateningly over the defenseless thing, and he had every intention of squishing it. But with narrowed eyes, he huffed and dropped his arm back to his side, leaving the spider to creep ignorantly on its merry way.

The faun turned towards the scarf and hefted himself up after Zerda, emerging through the long grasses at the head of the cavern and pulling himself onto the solid ground.

Zerda looked down into the hole and awaited for Valentin to come crawling out. While waiting he crawled away in case the spider decided to follow him up and out. wagging his tail he watched as his head popped out of the hole followed by the rest of his body. He smiled and ran up to him on all fours to relieve the pressure on his hind leg and he circled around Valentin for a moment. After reassuring the spider didn't get him he went over to his dress and smiled at it. Putting it on he sat down and then laid back on the grass. He needed to catch his breath and oh what luck he had to find a few ants that were franticly scurrying away from him. He leaned over and made his way on picking at them one by one till they all seemed to far away to reach with out moving. He went flat on his back once more then smiled. "Come Valentin! Lay with me!" He was happy that it was such a warm day and the sun was giving him is once lost energy. Looking down at his leg he smiled as the pain seemed to melt away. "Aaaaaahhhh...." He muttered. This day was pretty fun so far and it made him happy.

A moment later and Zerda sat up quickly while holding his chest. It throbbed as something seemed to be jammed there, "Gah! Forgot...." He said as he bent over and coughed up the locket. He looked at it then to Valentin hinting at him to pick it up.

Glancing over at his friend fussing over the ants in the grass, Valentin shook his head with amusement and untangled his scarf from the bush before making his way over to Zerda. He settled his knees into the grass, kneeling before Zerda with his scarf in hand. When the other student sat up suddenly, Valentin thought something was wrong, until it was only the locket that was coughed up. His ears flicked forwards and he eyed the trinket with an uncertain expression. But looking back at his friend, he decided the trinket could wait a moment. In a similar manner to the previous evening in the bathroom, Valentin leaned in and used the end of his scarf to gingerly pat at the drying blood that was matting Zerda's hair.

"Partial to head injuries, are you?" He asked playfully. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the heavy bruise on Zerda's leg, still feeling guilty.

The sun felt strong on his back and warmed his vest, which in turn eased the pang of his own bruise. He wasn't very concerned about it, though, since he had some very decent balms back in the dorm room for such injuries, as common as they were because of his explosive hobbies.

Zerda watched the locket as he waited for Valentin to reach over and grab it, but instead he jolted back a little when he felt something touch his head. Looking up he realized it was just Valentin. He smiled and crawled up to him as he wiped the blood away from his head. Listening to Valentin for a moment he found himself laughing gently then faded off to a fake smile. "I...I uh guess so huh, but...maybe its the reason I can't remember....." He shook his head and then sighed. He wanted to remember but it didn't seem like it was going to happen anytime soon. Slowly he patted his own head to feel if the blood was dry and it seemed Valentin was doing a great job. He smiled and slowly stood. He wobbled a little till he found himself stable enough to walk, "Come come!" He said as he started to walk down the grassy path back to the castle, "Don't forget the locket! Ooooooorrrr I'll eat ya!" He said laughing a little, but was totally serious.

After a moment of walking Zerda stopped and looked around him franticly. He wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like a presence he had felt before. Was it possible one of his family survived other than himself. No it couldn't have been. Zerda was only saved accidentally after being thrown off a building and landing in the Nile River. Lucky enough he could swim and he just managed to crawl to shore and hide in a small cave till what ever it was that killed his mother and family ended. So obviously it was impossible...right?