[Follow] M E {Down} /Kuri

[{{Roxï-kun-+]

SO F O L L O W ME D O W N~

Levi wasn't pleased to put it lightly. The gardener had asked his mother for a favor, which was rare, so of course she had agreed to the simple task. Somehow he had ended up as part of it, as per usual. The gardener simply had wanted the Prince to go check on a certain tree that had begun to get sick. Levi's powers had been abused as such in the past, making him grow irritated at the fact that the servant couldn't deal with it himself. He wasn't usually this grumpy towards people, but waking early did that to him. It must have been quite early actually, the sun still rising in the spring sky. He rubbed one raspberry-colored eye, the garden's flowers straightening instantly as he passed by before slowly lowering themselves back into their natural positions. The prince gave up on glaring at them years ago, instead ignoring the fact that they did this. He continued to shuffle, clothes surprisingly unruffled by the fact he had pulled them on in a matter of seconds and was now moving quite slowly in them. His hair appeared as it always did, sort of messy as random sections of his hair spiked outward slightly. He continued to move slowly until he got to the tree that had been planted by the front iron cast gate. Levi didn't bother to look around, fully knowing (or thinking, at least) that no one in their right mind would be up so early. He put a hand to the tree, which creaked loudly as it bent into a healthier looking shape instead of leaning dangerously as it had been. The prince looked at the rest of the tree before something caught his eye. He crouched down, balancing on his toes as he looking at the large hole in the base of the tree. The sixteen year old blinked, rubbed the one eye that wouldn't become clear due to lack of sleep, and looking at it again. Since when had that been there? He opened a palm, a large thorn appearing from nothingness. The prince moved forward slightly, still balanced on his toes, before rolling the thorn off of his palm and into the hole. He sat there quietly for a few moments. Then for a few more. A confused expression crossed his face as he moved even closer, peering down into the dark depths. He cautiously leaned forward, putting his hand into the hole to see if he could feel the bottom and if the thorn had simply fallen onto the close dirt. Levi continued to put more and more of his arm into the hole until it was up to his elbow, fingers brushing something. The prince was about to withdraw his lower arm, thinking he now knew how deep the hole was so he could fill it up. A moment later something grabbed his wrist and tugged with force. He yelped, suddenly wide awake, and teetered on his toes before falling headfirst into the darkness.

[Kuri]

I closed my eyes as I slowly walked to the large gate of the castle. The tree just inside the gates had been my home for many days now, though, because of this, the tree was slowly beginning to die.
In fact, it was already beginning to wilt dangerously now, I only have a few more days left at this home, before I have to move on. I sighed softly. Just as I turned around the corner of the gates, something caught my attention, it was the prince f the castle. Levi.. I think he liked to be called. I couldn't quite remember, I had never met him before, and was never invited to the castle. I quickly ducked behind the large brick column of the gate as I watched the strange prince just stand there in front of the tree. He didn't look like much of a prince, all scruffy and uncaring about the way he looked. Not that it really matters to me.

I felt my eyes slowly widen as slowly the tree began to stand up right again, as if it was being given new life. It was so weird and confusing, so I closed my eyes to try and find out why, and sure enough, there it was. The flow of steady magic slowly flowing from the young princes body, into the tree and in fact, all of the plant life around him. Breathing a new wisp of life into them. It was the strangest thing I had ever seen. Until the prince seemed to have noticed something beneath the tree and lean towards it, before quickly disappearing. I wasn't sure what to do as I watched the prince seemingly become engulfed by the tree, and quickly vanish. My legs moved before I had decided what to do, and already, I was running to the front of the tree where the Prince had been.

A yawn managed to escape my lips as I investigate the tree, it was usually around this time that I decided to call it a day and head off to sleep. It was why I was coming my home in the tree, in fact. I preferred the night life when compared to they day, it was quieter, and nobody was around to annoy me or bully me because of how different I am from everyone else. I peered down into the small hole that my silver eyes had caught sight of. It wasn't there before? I thought I stared down into the abyss. It looked deep, but surely it couldn't be any deeper than just a few inches. Slowly and cautiously, my shadow crept towards the hole and sank into it. I couldn't detect any abnormalities, other than the flow of magic seemingly radiating around the tree and the hole, but I put that down to my use of magic, and the princes. I slowly leaned down in front of the hole, just as the prince did, when I felt a sharp tug on my shadow. A shrill gasp escaped my lips as I was pulled down into the black void.

[{{Roxï-kun-+]

The prince closed his eyes a moment later, waiting for his head to meet the ground at the bottom of the hole. He did this for endless seconds, wind whizzing in his ears. He slowly opened his eyes and then wished he hadn't. He was falling down a seemingly endless hole which was somewhat...decorated? He tilted his head to the side only to see clocks and other decor fly by, as if suspended where they had been left. As he did this Levi must have twisted too far for a good luck and, with the air pushing against him as he fell, his body twisted harshly for moments before he gained control again, spreading his arms and legs until he was flat against the wind. As he did this, though, a terrible thought came upon the blue blood. What was at the bottom of the hole? No, the worst one was if he was going to land safely. He could easily just land bloody and broken from falling so far. Pushing the thought from his mind Levi pondered how long he had been falling. It seemed as if no time and a long time at the same time. But the next time the teenage prince blinked he opened his eyes to find the floor, or something resembling a floor, rushing up on him. His eyes were squeezed closed violently for the second time that day and he did nothing to make the landing easier. But the next thing he knew, Levi was safely sitting on the floor, dazed as the wind from his falling ruffled his hair and clothing for a second before completely disappearing. Both of his legs were bent on either side of him while his hands rested in front of both knees. Slowly, mostly due to his legs being weak from the fall, the prince stood to look around. Well, look upwards first. The way he had come from had been decorated, clocks, lamps, and other items littering the walls on all sides of the hole. He still stood under it, peering up until it disappeared into darkness. The only thought it really left him with was along the lines of where the hell was he. The room was brightly lit with sunlight, though it only should have been dim lighting due to the lamps...Wait, sunlight? Sure enough there were a few windows that were channeling bright sunlight somehow, even though Levi was sure they were very far from the surface and the fact that the sun was still lazily climbing. It was around that time that the sixteen year old looked up in time to have something land on him, making him crumple to the floor suddenly.

[Kuri]

The first thought that came to my mind was. ”What the fuck?!” My voice echoed, bouncing from wall to wall as I fell down the vast hole. This is the weirdest hole that I've ever seen, pictures, clocks, all twisted and simply suspended in the air, attached to nothing but the molecules in the air. I tried to look down to the bottom of the hole, to try and estimate how deep it was, how much longer I had to fall. But my eyes failed me. Either I was falling to fast, or it was just too deep to tell, but I couldn't see the bottom. Which meant that I would either have to encase my body in shadow to survive, or snap judge the distance, and try and sink into a shadow before a I fell to my death and hit the ground.

I spread my legs and arms to try and slow my fall by increasing my surface area against the wind, I didn't want to hit the ground too hard. Falling at the speeds I had been, it would have been dangerous even if I had my shadows protect me, and to make matters worse, it was bright, as far as I could tell, which meant my abnormal body made of shadow would solidify and become damaged. I quickly looked left and right of me, to try and find any shadows at all. Luckily, there were a few on the walls, being cast by the various strange, floating decorations near the holes walls. I tried to focus on them by closing my eyes, and felt them stretch towards my falling body. I then completely broke the shadows away from their source, and made them continuously grow until they were long enough that I could sharpen their points and stab them into the walls, to slow my fall. It worked, and my shadows fed on other shadows near them to increase their strength, but because of my weight and their speed, they didn't stop me.

BAM! The loud noise was all that filled my minds seconds before I was plunged into total darkness and lost conciousness.

[/Dream !]

I'm gonna wake up?
Yes and No...

The early morning dew still clung to the leaves and petals, and the sun was yet to warm the air. A heavy wetness lingered in the atmosphere, causing a light yawn to slip between the young princess's finger tips. She pulled her black wrap, tighter against her shoulders. The material was light and silky to the touch. Her current attire was also light, and fell to her knees. Riatha's dress tightened along her waist and elbows, leaving the fabric to fan out around her legs and lower arms. The color, shaped into a square, left just enough room for the pendant of a choker to hang undisturbed. Ebon stockings met the hem of her dress, protecting her legs from the chill. Early morning was a time for quiet in the palace, and Riatha was commonly seen when the castle was at its least busy hours. The Princess grew up around crowds, so she didn't exactly dislike them, but they could be quite...troublesome. Now, however, she was left to gaze absently at the flowering blossoms. Letting a finger trail the leaves of a small, willowing oak, she left her mind to wander. While she was typically left to her own devices at such an hour, Riatha had plainly heard one of her older siblings leave their room this morning. Reno? Unlikely. It didn't take a genious to know that Reno had a tendency to slip away in the night -- well, maybe it did. As such, Reno normally came out from her bedroom later than Levi, and far later than Riatha. So Levi was to blame for the slight creaking that ran through her walls that morning. Was he also responsible for the vulgar vocabulary that now temporarily had her brain scattered? Living the life of a sheltered Princess, the word almost made her blush as it came faintly from some where nearby. No, not Levi, Levi would never speak in such a way. At least, she didn't think so -- and Riatha was rarely wrong. Well, as they say, curiosity killed the cat. Picking her way through the relatively small, yet beautiful, garden, she followed the sound. Her interested only heightened as she came to a tree. Riatha could have swore that same tree had been near dead quite recently. Either Levi had been here or the gardener was suddenly doing his job. What was this? Shoeprints. The toe dug into the ground, indicating they had been trying to stop themselves from a fall. While the tree itself wasn't terribly huge, the hole was large enough for a person to fall in easily. Crouching on her toes, Riatha ignored the dirt catching on her hem and instead lightly brushed the ground. "Curious..." she hummed to herself softly. "Levi? Brother?" she called. When after a few moments there was no reply, Riatha slowly stood back up. Casting a few suspicious glances over her shoulders, Riatha removed her wrap and tossed both it and her shoes into a nearby bush. While the burrow couldn't possibly be that deep, even the lowest heel could end in a sprained ankle. Slipping her legs into the opening, she slowly slid off her pearch and waited to meet solid ground. Riatha's heart began to pound as she realized that the ground wasn't coming quickly enough, and her speed increased. Despite this shock, her mind stayed calm and collected. Lengthening her arms, she did her best to stay steady while realizing that the darkness was beginning to lighten. Decorations lined the walls around her (the she would soon realize were not made out of dirt and mud), from pictures to clocks to candles. Squinting her eyes at a particularly interesting drawing, she reached out to touch it just as the area around her opened almost drastically. Opening her eyes wide, she didn't utter a sound as she landed on someone's back and tumbled off with her arms against her chest and her legs folded. Her head hit some what hard against the ground, but that only managed to give her a slight headache that quickly disappeared. Allowing her eyes to flicker open, she turned to see her brother crushed under another person she was yet to meet. Using her palms to get herself upright, Riatha tried to make sense of what had just happened.

[/size][/color]

I'm gonna break the cycle,
It's not my time to go...

RIATHA!![/font][/size][/color][/size]

[{{Roxï-kun-+]

The Daikan prince laid there, dazed, for a few collective moments, something or someone putting weight on him. Levi slowly opened his eyes, first only seeing the tunnel that he had fallen down. He stared at it now seeing that things weren't hanging like he had thought but instead hanging in the air. Then his scattered mind came back together just as a quiet whisper drifted down the hole. He couldn't tell what it said, but the voice seemed familiar. He tried to get up, looking to see what had landed on him. Or who, it seemed. The only thing Levi could really see was a shock of white or silver hair sprayed everywhere. He propped himself up on his elbows before he saw something else falling, which looked suspiciously like his youngest sister. She landed right on top of the pile, Levi smacking the back of his head on the floor. Riatha rolled off of them before picking herself up and also looking around like the prince had when he had first gotten there. The sixteen year old then propped himself up again before moving the unconscious male so he could sit up. "Riatha, how did you get down here? No, I meant to say why are you down here as well?" She seemed to be the smartest of the three siblings, though her curiosity often got her into situations such as this. Looking down at the person who had fallen on him, Levi tried to recall such a servant. The Palace had many servants, most of whom Levi didn't know or even see most of the time, but this person couldn't have been one. He was slightly older then the prince himself and seemed to be taller then the below average blue blood. The brown haired male moved the older male's body from his person before standing, almost waiting for another person to fall into the hole. Though it was absurd that someone else would come after the three Levi wouldn't be surprised. He crouched down next to the light haired male, balanced on his toes for the second time that day. He seemed to be out cold and they couldn't just leave the poor person there. The prince surely couldn't carry him, seeing as the person was taller, and heavier Levi noted, then the sixteen year old. Instead he slowly poked the male's face, waiting for a reaction of some sort. Surely the male couldn't be too far gone, seeing as he had had a cushion. Levi grimaced for a moment, eye close to comically twitching. His body was sore from the impact of the stranger but he stayed balanced on his toes, moving his fingers from the person's cheek to their wrist, looking for a pulse. It was there, of course. His other hand had made its way to the prince's mouth, where his thumb nail was being chewed on absentmindedly. It was a bad habit he had had for years that always bubbled to the surface at times such as this. No, he couldn't put it that way seeing as this was the first time he had plummeted down a hole followed by a stranger that fell on him and then his youngest sister who had landed on the top of the pile.

[Kuri]

”"Riatha, how did you get down here? No, I meant to say why are you down here as well?" Whos voice was that? I'm sure it wasn't any that I recognize. I rubbed my head as I slowly came to, for a few seconds, everything was blurry and my hearing was dull, but it didn't last long. I sat up slowly, so the blood didn't rush instantly from my head and cause me to get dizzy again. For a few minutes, I just sat there, dazed; not really registering what was going on around me. All I knew was that I was in some brightly coloured room, with a young girl with brown locks, and an older male teen with a black mess on his head. I felt my hands very slowly sink into the shadows beneath me, and they slowly released cool air into the atmosphere as I opened up the shadow realm. The cool helped, and very slowly, I was able to clear my head, and remember just how I had managed to get to this strange room, and who the people were who were watching me.

”Prince Carlington, Princess Carlington...” My voice was rough and hoarse, which made me sound a loud older than I actually am; and I guessed a lot scarier. My eyes widened slightly as I the names registered in my head. I was in front of Royalty! How could I be so stupid, and so rude! I quickly got up onto my feet and bowed to them, although I didn't really care that much for royalty, I still had to respectful around them. Don't want to enlist the wrath of their father upon me. I hastily stumbled away from them after realising just how close they were too me. A clear breach in my personal space, and theirs. But I suddenly felt dizzy again at the sudden change in velocity and to hold my head to try and steady myself again. I looked down at my white clothes briefly, and wiped away the dirt and dust that had gathered on them since my fall down the hole, and when I was sure that my white clothes would not stain, I looked up at where we had all fallen from.

”I wonder if I can use my shadows to get back out...” I thought aloud to myself; once again completely forgetting about the company I was in. But this time, I didn't worry so much. Why would the royal children listen to a person, lower than a commoner, like me? My eyes slowly looked around the strange room, examining the decorations and my surroundings. There were a lot of shadows here. All of them would most likely be needed to get back up to the top, if possible at all. I eyed the destruction on the sides of the walls that my shadows had caused earlier when I had used them to try and break my fall; which obviously, didn't work all that well. And the low light of the room annoyed me, it was bright enough that I would be able to turn my body into shadow if needed, but only portion of my body would be affected, which could have some catastrophic effects. Especially considering I've never tried it before. Who knows what could happen.

[/Dream !]

I'm gonna wake up?
Yes and No...

Perhaps it was the slight chill that made her shiver, but the oddness of it all was a more likely culprit. Riatha had an issue with the unexplained, for the unknown was frightening to her. Now that something so strange was currently holding her captive, she was beginning to feel claustrophobic. Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she tried to clear her mind. Riatha blinked blankly once in her brothers general direction. She considered the question and resisted the urge to say I fell. -- if only because that wasn't the whole truth. "Because I jumped in." Well, that was a little bit better. The young Princess preferred her brother over her older sister, if only because Reno was socially distant. Not to mention that sneaking out of the castle in the dead of night wasn't a smart thing to do. Riatha did an almost mental shrug at the thought -- that wasn't her business. Reno did hold a special place in her heart, but she wouldn't be too concerned about Reno's midnight excursions...though sneaking along at some point wasn't completely out of the question. Looking above her, her mind spun and she had to close her eyes to prevent dizziness. Feeling a little unstable, she stayed sitting in the dirt. 2 + 2 = 4. 112543/2 = 56271.5 the familiarity of the problems calmed her graciously. The coolness of the ground aided her fall from anxiety. She had a feeling she would regret taking her sheos off, though. How would she have known she may actually need them? She thought it with complete and utter distaste. Riatha had expected a large cavern at most, not this. Her curiosity was drawn to the stranger. He was a tresspasser. Not that it mattered, the Palace had some land to spare. Riatha's posture relaxed and she finally got to her feet, nodding her head dismissively -- she knew who she was. Riatha never understood such curtesy. She almost rolled her eyes at the stranger. "Perhaps." She figured that by answering a rhetorical question he'd be more apt to listen. "What's your name, fool?" Riatha wasn't exactly known for her manners. Sure, she made it a point to be good in the company of the Palace. The reason behind that was simple: angering the parental's wasn't a good idea. Outside of that, she was slightly harsher when it came to silly things. Only a few people had ever gained her complete respect -- and most of them were dead, their death being long before her own.

[/size][/color]

I'm gonna break the cycle,
It's not my time to go...

RIATHA!![/font][/size][/color][/size]

[{{Roxï-kun-+]

Levi continued to chew his thumb nail for a little while longer, if only to make himself feel better at what had just happened. Where were they anyway? He hadn't known about anything like this so close to the Palace -- or even on its grounds for that matter! He then decided to pull the appendage away from his mouth as Riatha spoke. The prince stopped movement for a second as she spoke and then laughed quietly. Though his sister was quite smart, it seemed her curiosity had gotten the better of her once again. But, for some reason, it comforted him to have someone other then the unconscious stranger here in the unknown place with him. Though if they were both missing, it could only be so long until either the servants or their parents....No, that thought wasn't worth completing. Thankfully, Reno wouldn't wake for hours and be able to notice their absence, if she even would notice anyway. Levi was sort of close to his eldest sister, though not as much as he was to the one who stood in front of him. He liked Reno well enough, she was just distant to others, rarely away from her bedroom or, in the rare case she was there and away from her living space, in the gardens with Levi. Those few moments were when she acted like herself, besides when the princess trained for battles or when dueling. Though she was a very good fighter, especially with her set of daggers Levi knew hid from their parents, both the siblings knew that if there was ever a battle, Reno wouldn't be allowed to fight. Speaking of fighting reminded the prince of his own weapon, his longbow, and suddenly he wished that he had brought it with him. The Daikan prince was snapped from his thoughts when he realized the light-haired male was scrambling up and saying something. Levi almost fell from his perch on his toes out of surprise that the older male was moving again. The prince raised an eyebrow at the person's rushed actions and, specifically, the fact he bowed. Levi was used to being bowed toward, but it was still strange to him. He said nothing about it though, not doubting some sort of embarrassment was on his face. But the prince felt better as his sister pipped up again, asking for the name of the stranger. Levi realized he was still balanced on his toes during this and slowly leaned back on one hand before getting up easily, looking up at the person. The prince noted the fact that he had been right and the male had been taller then him before frowning slightly. He wiped it from his face though, not really listening as the stranger spoke to himself. "Well, you might as well try. It doesn't seem we're going to be getting out of here in any other way." he said, wondering if he could use his powers. No, he wouldn't embarrass himself further by conjuring some sort of tall plant. And besides, there wasn't enough room to make a strong enough plant to be able to hoist anyone but Riatha up to the surface. Instead he looked around, seeing a hallway that he was sure had not be there before when he had first looked. The layer of dirt fell away to multicolored tiles at the entrance of the hall, which was decorated with portraits of many strange things and candles as well as sunlight lighting it up. At the end Levi could see a doorway, the wooden door cracked slightly, as if beckoning to the small group of three. He brushed himself off as well, mostly because the stranger had, and waited for an answer to Riatha's question of his name. He looked at the door once more before looking back at the other two, pondering if they were going to waste time trying to get to the top of the hole, which had seemed endless, or move onto the area past the slightly opened door.

[Kuri]

So, both the prince and the princess felt like it would be worth a try for me to try and use my shadows to escape this strange and, although odd, rather beautiful hole. I pursed my lips as I began to muse the thought of just how deep exactly this hole was; it must be far deeper than it appeared, because I seemed to fall for a rather long time before I passed out. I looked down at my shadows again and closed my eyes, focusing on a form that might be of use. A bird. A bird would easily be able to fly to the top of the hole to allow me to see just how deep the hole was. The shadow at my feet very slowly started to rise into the air in front of me as I smiled, watching it carefully. I made it slowly curl around my hand before making it slowly transform into a small, black dove like creature, with seemingly, a mind of it's own. Though, I couldn't put much detail into the bird; detail is a rather hard thing to do when your woking with a shadow, but I still managed to give the shadow dove many of a doves features. Like the apparent feather wings, though of course, they weren't feathers. Just layer after layer of different shaped shadow.

”Fly~” I said softly to the creature rested in my hand and threw it high into the air above me, where it took to the skies and began to fly quickly up the hole, before disappearing completely. I furrowed my brow as I concentrated on the bird as best I could, it was hard to do. I had never made a shadow go so far away from me before. It wasn't long before a small sweat beaded my creased forehead as the control of the bird became increasingly more difficult, but the end of the hole was yet to be seen. I tried to push myself over my limits, but my concentration quickly lapsed and the shadow bird fell back to the floor with great speed and splattered into the ground, turning back into a small blob of a shadow on the floor by my feet once more. I couldn't tell how far it had gone up, but it seemed to be fly for what seemed to be a long time, in my mind at least. ”Dang...” I sighed as I closed my eyes in disappointment. Though, dang wasn't the word I was thinking of, I didn't want to use the more obscene of my vocabulary in front of the young princess, who would no doubt, still be pure of heart, even if she was a rude bitch. But I was used to being called a fool.

I had heard her question long before my shadow dove fell to the ground, but I was trying to focus on keeping that that shouldn't be in the air, in the air; a lot harder than it looks. But now that I no longer had to worry about keeping the shadow airborne, I turned my attention to Riatha, I think that's what her name is. It's what the male prince had called her anyway. ”Why would you want to know my name?”