Caution and Optimism <Foggy Swamp, Earth Kingdom>

[hok]

"Y'all admit it, see!" Hok exclaimed with a laugh, scurrying up the path as plain as day and leaving Yun (as far as he knew) far away in his tracks. He knew, her being Yun, she probably couldn't, wouldn't and didn't resist the lure of the race that hadn't ended and would thus be chasing him as he thought, which was all the more reason to keep on trying. If he lost, no big deal - at least he'd be at the top of the tree and so would she, and the two could enjoy the view from there, blah blah peaceful and idyllic, blah blah inspirational and pretty. Yep, that sounded about right, even though the sound of his heartbeat and breath was pretty important now.

He had to keep his eye out for slippery moss, though wet patches from one of many daily rains hadn't come yet. Clouds heavy with rain loomed over the canopy, granting the land much of the Foggy Swamp's trademark mists and threatening to pour within an hour, if not minutes. Would Yun realize the threat though? If he made her pay attention to something other than the footrace, just what would happen? An interesting thought indeed. "Look out fer wet patches! Dun' wanna go n' slip!" Hok yelled back to the teen.

[yun]

It was all she could do to keep from laughing at Hok, where had this whole competitive nature come from and where was it before? Regardless of how much she liked winning she liked having a real challenge. There wasn't as much glory in winning when the person you were competing against didn't even try. But this was exciting, she was solely focused on Hok, she'd catch up to him and oh boy when she did he'd be in for it! He would be eating so much of her dust he'd be full for a year. Her smile turned into a full fledged grin and she pumped her arms with each stride trying to keep stride with Hok until she could find an opening to pass him.

She was even a little surprised when he warned her about the possible dangers of running up the tree. She hadn't even thought about that but could there be a little subtext there that he cared about her and didn't want her hurt? the though silenced the amusement in her head instead a small expression of surprise crossed her freckled face and a slight peach tint surfaced on her lightly tanned skin. She didn't reply at all, she didn't have any snippy comments for him she just kept running wondering if he really cared, perhaps it distracted her but she wasn't thinking right at the moment.

[hok]

It hadn't been his greatest trait, competitiveness, but it was still there. He rarely showed that side, but being a teenage boy really meant it came as default. He didn't see it like a big deal really, since it did little to set him apart from the other teen boys he knew, even if it did (mostly unbeknownst to him) happen to surprise Yun. Running and leaping over roots where necessary, he was gliding up the tree with little trouble at all. Until the trunk got steeper, it would probably be how he stayed on his track. He wasn't going to slow down just yet, until the terrain changed.

A few times, he looked back to insure Yun even heeded his suggestion at all. Wet spots were inclined to make her slip and fall, effectively harmind herself on rough bark or sliding slipperily on gooey moss all the way back down the path. Either way she'd face a setback, but Hok at least didn't want her to get hurt - even if, by his words, he wanted to derail her train of thought and effectively distract her.

"Wut's a-matter? Cat-gator got'cher tongue?!" An unpleasant mental image, sure, but it was a common turn of phrase 'round those parts.

[yun]

Falling quiet she noticed she was falling behind, it was a little bit of a startling realization, honestly when was she so prone to being distracted? It just wasn't like her to give up or slow down so she picked up her speed. Hidden romantic undertones or not she wasn't about to provide poor competition to the boy, rather she's whip him into the ground and laugh with her soon to be victory. The swamp girl cast a cautious glance towards the swamp floor seemingly miles below them. It'd be a long wat to fall and it was a good thing neither seemed to be afraid of heights, if they were it would be a great time to head back.

Ever more she was surprised when Hok began to heckle her, that boy was asking for it but perhaps she'd play with him instead of whacking him. Like any predator there was no shame in playing with your food." Yew wish!" Yun hollered at him before taking an alternate route up the tree, he was still running up the ever increasing incline while she had stopped beginning to pull herself up on the thick creeping plants that lined the tree.

Sure it wasn't the quickest way but it was more direct and without a doubt less tiring then running up the branches with moss and all other manner of things that could hinder his progress.

[hok]

"Hey, that's cheatin'!" Hok stopped slowly, slipping his right heel a bit on some moss that just happened to be there - coincidental, since he'd yelled for Yun to watch out for the very same thing. Even if his arms did tense for compensation and his muscles contracted a bit painfully from that unexpected move, he regained balance and looked back at the alternate route she chose to take. It was a bit rougher looking, not as clear-cut as the way he was taking, but it went to show what Yun was willing to do to win. He wondered, if it were possible...

"Wait up, dummy!" Hok ran after that more dangerous course, since wherever it lead, it was certain to go straight upward toward the high, sheltered branches of the tree. Up in the canopy would be their end after climbing the tangled vines just as well as it would be on the incline of gnarled roots that once made up their byway. He had wondered why neither of them had thought of it before, really.

"That's just gonna take yuh longer!" Hok warned just as he reached the base of such a place where Yun chose to ascend. However, that apparently meant nothing, for he grabbed onto the first green tendril before him and lugged himself up as well. Apparently to the two teens, taking longer was more fun.

[yun]

" So says yew!" She shouted back quickly, her expression becoming a mask of her characteristic stubbornness. Honestly did he think she wouldn't go to whatever lengths necessary to win? Even if it meant dragging herself up the side of the large tree? As far as she was concerned she was getting further climbing then running, mostly because she didn't have to deal with treacherous footing though looking back to see where Hok was she was slightly satisfied to see he was following suit with her though she did roll her eyes, honestly what a copy catowl.

It did at some point dawn on her that it was past noon at this point and it would take a while to climb down, her parents would no doubt be angry once they learned she broke the rules of her punishment and left the village but for now she shoved that thought out of her mind. It was a bridge she'd cross later and no doubt suffer some slaps for it, her parents stuck to their corporal punishment when everything else failed which it generally did with the teenage girl.

Tugging herself onto a branch she stopped to catch her breath, a hand over her chest as it rose and fell awkwardly. Her head tilted back in her attempt to relax her body as much as she could for as few moments as she could. But once her eyes opened again it was startling to see just how much they had left to go before reaching the top. She dreaded looking down to see about how far they were up the tree, if they were less than half way there she might be a little disappointed.

Her vision suddenly began to swim as vertigo hit, it was awkward and she couldn't place it right away, but a simple step back had a very odd result as the ground seemed to vanish below her, it wasn't until she hit the first limb of the tree that she realized she'd slipped and was falling, a scream came out of her and then her head slammed onto one of the larger branches, her vision went black and her body dropped a couple more feet before landing, her legs let out a sickening snap and her arm was twisted awkwardly under her body. Into the wood of the branch a dark stain was forming, there weren't many guesses needed to tell what it was.

[hok]

"Oh mah gawds!" Hok turned as he heard...something, not sure what, go wrong. It sounded from behind like Yun simply ceased to be there, but that telltale scream didn't leave much guesswork to be done. In a moment it was silenced by too many cracking sounds for comfort, and poor Hok was at a loss to help. He stared like a worthless being after he finally cracked a peek downward, seeing the splayed body of the girl far, far down. It was enough to make his blood curdle, but the gentleman in him told him to help the poor creature far below-- if she was even alive, that was! He was uncertain, panicky, and generally all atwittter.

"Yun? Yun?!" Hok called as he slid down the slippery wall of vines. He too almost fell, but an intense focus curled many small tendrils around his wrists before he could drop too far and suffer the same as Yun. Hoisted by plant matter, poor Hok's multicolored eyes narrowed and widened in pain and angst seeing the battered girl's suffering. His face was alternating between red and white from both exertion and fear, altogether a destraught mess of his normal self. "Yuuun!!!"

When he finally let go after all those vines safely allowed him to rappel down, Hok took a far leap and scurried over to the girl. He hadn't the first idea of healing and things of that nature, and their distance from swamp society only made it worse. Although now, he knew the girl was breathing, and two pointed fingers felt around her neck for a pulse. She was alive, but who knew for how long? Hok hadn't the slightest idea of just who wasn't far off from them, what vastly enlightened figure he admired so greatly, but he certainly felt like yelling loud enough to summon the portly old man. Hok raised his fist to the sky. "Why?!!!"

[yun]

It was somewhat surprising, how much a person could take, her heart, stubbornly kept beating refusing to be silenced by the pain that was definatly pulsing through every part of her body. Even her subconsious instead of a warm inviting bath was more of a sore sticky mess, no wait, that was what she was laying in. Somehow she felt the spirits were laughing at her, as if this were the punishment for all of the misdeeds she'd taken such joy in. Making her parents worry, chasing her friends away and disrespecting the shaman in all of her sour rude wisdom.Maybe this was what she was sent here to learn, humility and a healthy respect for everyone that wasn't her own self.

Her hand twitched, the one underneith her she couldn't feel but awkwardly she brought herself back from the darkness to the filtered green eerie light of the swamp. What the hell? Everything was fuzz, even the face that seemed to be hovering over her. She tried to move but it hurt, like a bolt of lightning the pain traveled from all extremities up her spine making her cringe with a pained gasp barely making it through her lips. Why did it hurt?! It was so painful she couldn;t think but there was someone there right? Would they make it worse or better, she couldn't wrap herself around that idea completly.

Forcably her chest rose and fell subtly, like a frieghtened rabbiroo caught in a hunters glowfly light. Her teeth gritted together under her lips, pulled taught to keep herself some manner of composed, not that it helped much or at all. Yun attempted to move again but once more she was met with a painful bolt traveling through her body she she cringed and coughed her chest writhing painfully. Why couldn't she just pass out again, make it go away for a moment or two, that'd be enough. Still she'd learned her lesson with pain being the teacher, she wouldn't move a muscle.

[hok]

Hok didn't know whether to cry (except that wasn't very manly) or to just do something about it without thinking too hard. The latter sounded like a better idea, but could he really bring himself to ignore his own feelings and carry Yun over his shoulder like she was a lost possum-chicken and walk all the way back to town? He was kind of panicked to do that sort of thing, but a sudden providence was most certainly helpful.

Hok didn't remember much what was was said, descending into a blur of memory, but the first and last things he recalled was a hurried nodding up to the man who helped him considerably. He knew the man by name, having trained under him here and there throughout his life. Master Huu was his name, a wise and rotund man who journeyed the swamp to gain even more enlightenment, but now a simple kind word wouldn't suffice.

At least he was strong enough, or perhaps stable enough to carry the teenage girl in his arms all the way back to the town, while the worried Hok followed on his heels. There would be countless questions when the trio came close enough to town for anyone to see, but Hok just hoped no one blamed him and prayed Yun would survive.