Like Humans Do [Closed]

The rain from the eventful day before had stopped.  Clouds still hung in the sky, slowly drifting with the breeze.  Rays of light shined down, penetrating the trees above creating intricate patterns on the ground below.  The land was still moist from the harsh rainfall of the previous day.  Considering the events that had transpired the day before, a certain human was not being required to train today.  He was plenty sore, and his muscles were hard at work performing their overcompensation.  Once the soreness subsided he'd definitely have a little more muscle than before in his legs.  This cycle of pain and muscle growth would likely be one that has no end in near sight.  Things were running through this man's mind at a mile a minute.  Snopy Saika, the day before he had been in an intense situation what almost ended in him being sold as a sex slave with an elf he was trying to save.  There were so many things about himself that he didn't understand.  His actions never seemed to coincide with what he believed.  When he has no hope of victory, he feels that is the time to run.  Yet he remained to try and help even though he stood no chance.  He doesn't trust anyone, and yet he travels with someone who could kill him with the flick of her wrist.  None of it made sense.  "You, Snopy, are a good man and I will train you until you will easily be able to handle people like them. Even with your current lack of fighting skill and how tired you are, you stayed and fought for my sister... For that, you have my respect. And for that, I will help you with whatever quest you actually do have. People do not wish to learn to fight if they've never had a reason to do so; I know there is something you're not ready to tell us. I will not pry, but once you are ready, know you have my aid for completing it..."

Those words repeated in his head, word for word he could remember it all.  A good man.  Snopy had a definition of a good man, and in his mind he most certainly didn't fit the profile.  What would she have thought of him if she had known every fiber of logic and reasoning in his body had shouted at him to "abandon her".  A good man used that logic and reasoning to help, not run away.  Then again, why did he completely ignore that logic and reason?  Why did he stop and try and save her?  In his head he was simply failing to acknowledge that he still had a lot of emotions, and a good heart.  There were reasons for everything he did, and yet he did not yet understand them.  There was so much about himself that he didn't know, that he had lost touch with.  He remembered the look on Elwyn's face when she said what she had said the day before.  He was definitely being judged, but her words were actually kind, though somehow they seemed to have a harsher feeling when being delivered.  What...is she thinking?  For so long, he had blindly assumed that she had an ulterior motive.  No one does nice things to help him without one after all.  Yet for once that belief had been shaken.  He didn't know what to think...and why was it that he had cared if he let them down?

He wasn't exactly focused on where he was going, and things became weird when he inadvertently stepped on a twig.  Suddenly something came flying through the air.  It was as if there was a freeze frame, the rock sat in the air.  Snopy glanced up, and a dotted line moved from his eyes to the rock.  Then everything seemed to move at full speed once more and the rock hit him right in the face.  "Ow."  He spoke in a half hearted manner, just saying "ow" in a tone that almost sounded disinterested.  That is when he heard a female voice, in a weird way it sounded vaguely familiar (though he knew he hadn't heard this voice in the past) state that she'd set him on fire.  Fire?  FIRE!  A few things clicked in Snopy's head before he realized that she meant him.  "Woah woah, that's a little drastic!"  She shouted out as he put his hands in the air, palms open, to show he had nothing he intended to attack her with.  He came out from the cover, to find a lake.  Sitting on a rock was a woman, an elf actually.  "..."  Snopy's face flared up, turning an incredibly bright red.  The metaphorical sweat drop dropped down his head as he looked forward.  This woman was completely naked.  He stood staring for a moment, dazed, before snapping back to reality.  "You realize you're naked right?!"  She was by no means unattractive, but he knew just staring at a woman while she was naked was incredibly rude.  He turned his head, but the obvious redness of his face was still easily noticeable.  "I'm sorry...I shouldn't be looking right?  Please don't set me on fire.  I didn't mean to look."  Snopy was worried that she'd set him in fire for seeing her naked, but he had to keep a cool head.  Right now he wanted to make sure she had as few reasons to set him on fire as humanly possible.

The woman had taken the time to cross her legs so she wasn't just spreading it for him, but she didn't make any attempt to hide her breasts.  This of course didn't help the redness in Snopy's face.  The woman had something ready, which Snopy worried would kill him if she did whatever it was she could do.  When he asked her if she realized she was naked, she apparently was caught off guard and fell into the water.  Snopy raised an eyebrow right back at her reaction.  She went on to act like it should have been obvious she was taking a bath, and would thus be naked as a result.  She went back to her previous pose, this time in the water rather than on a rock.  "Well I'm sorry, I just don't expect to find naked women bathing in lakes when I'm in the middle of the wilderness.  Not to mention most people aren't so casual when a stranger sees them naked."  A bit of sarcasm was present in his voice for the first statement, and the second statement was merely an explanation as to why he'd ask such a silly question.  "And no, where I come from people bathe naked."  He responded in a non-sarcastic manner to the second question.  He knew people with a fear of being naked might bathe in their clothes, but normally they were indeed naked.

Snopy still had his eyes averted, as long as she wasn't clothed he wouldn't be able to look at her with a face that wasn't solid red.  Still, she said no big deal, so he slowly turned his head back to her, but he locked his eyes on hers so he wouldn't be looking at the rest of her body.  Still, knowing it was there and uncovered didn't help his composure.  Hacil began to explain how most humans looked at elves, and Snopy sighed.  "I am...painfully aware of that fact.  I'd rather not be compared to those people though thank you."  There was obviously something more to what he was saying.  It wasn't just a flat statement, it was obvious something related to how most people treat elves was bugging him.  This woman had no way of knowing that he almost got killed trying to protect an elf from people like that.  He almost seemed a little sad when she mentioned it, which was hard to hide considering he had his eyes locked on hers to avoid "peeking".

She did not lump him in with those others however.  Apparently she recognized he was treating her like a person and not different because she was an elf.  She began to ask how he stumbled across her, and if she was closer to a main road than she thought.  "No, this is fairly out of the way.  The nearest major road is quite a distance away."  He began to explain.  "I've been training myself.  Easier to do that out here than in a city honestly."  He wasn't telling the whole truth, but he was making it very convincing.  "I went out for a walk, and then a rock hit me in the face, thank you by the way, I appreciated it."  He said sarcastically.  "And well here I am.  As far as I know bathing here wasn't exactly a mistake, I just happened to stumble across this lake when you doing it."  Snopy blinked a few times.  "Something about you seems vaguely familiar, but I must be imagining it."

Finally this woman dropped what appeared to be a readied death sentence.  She said how she'd have to question his culture's sanity if they bathed with their clothes on, but he didn't really see it that way.  Who knows, maybe some culture could come up with some fancy way to clean both the person and their clothes in one fell swoop.  Then it might just save time.  Of course, he was likely over thinking things.  He was a bit of an eccentric at times, and he had some strange ideas that didn't really fit in with Arcadian culture, though he was by all means Arcadian.  He was completely unaware of the "thoughts" that were going through her head, probably for the better.  Of course, when Snopy sarcastically "thanked" her she replied with an equally sarcastic, though surprisingly natural, "Don't mention it."  Someone with sarcasm to match him?  Snopy didn't come across people like this often, perhaps a worthy adversary!  He was trying really hard not to upset Elwyn or Nilani so he had been resisting all urges to make sarcastic remarks.  Granted, if what Elwyn said is true, he might be able to loosen up a bit when not training.  He was sarcastic, but not offensive.

When Snopy briefly mentioned she seemed familiar, she began to look at him...more intently?  More closely?  He wasn't sure exactly what she was doing, but she seemed a bit more focused on him.  She traveled to shore and put on her modest amount of clothing.  He chose not to comment on it for he no longer had to stare into her eyes to avert his gaze from about a foot lower.  His gaze eased up and it was no longer completely locked to one spot.  That's not to say he was looking up and down her body, but now his head seemed less stiff.  The woman came up to him and glanced him up and down, and then...she sniffed him?  "An elf is sniffing me, there is a person sniffing me right now."  His tone wasn't shocked or awkward, but more of a "Huh, this is new" type response.  When she pulled back, he clapped his hands together.  "Well, I can officially check be sniffed by a stranger of my list of super important things to do before I die."  He said jokingly.  Not quite sarcastic, just jokingly.

The result of this whole thing was "I think I might know why you think I'm familiar, but it doesn't matter."  He raised an eyebrow.  He heard her muttering something in a language he didn't understand.  "Ooooookay, that isn't suspicious at all."  After that one last sarcastic remark it move onto introductions.  She introduced herself as Hacil, and extended her hand out.  Did elves do handshakes?  Or was she just mimicking human culture because he was a human?  Still, he extended his arm the other halfway and connected it to hers.  "Snopy Saika."  He didn't mention the oddness of his name, he hoped that she wouldn't notice since she was an elf.  If he was from a different culture than her, she might not realize Snopy isn't a normal person's name anywhere.  "Soooooo."  Snopy began to ask.  "What are you doing this far out in the woods?  You don't have to tell me all the details if you don't want, but I would like to know why you are here and...more importantly, lobbing projectiles at my head."  He put emphasis on that last part.  He'd drop it easily, and it was obvious he wasn't holding a grudge for it.  He was just showing his strange sense of humor.  If she took it too seriously he'd counter her with "I'm kidding don't worry.  Realistically I can't blame you for being on the defense."

Hacil made no remarks regarding the fact that she was sniffing him.  It was a little strange to be sniffed and get no explanations.  While he didn't smell particularly bad as he had washed himself off recently, he knew he couldn't have smelled particularly good either.  There was no foreseeable reason she'd do that.  However, he also didn't known elven culture, and since she wasn't doing something openly hostile he chose not to worry about it.  Hacil moved over to a tree and listened as Snopy spoke.  She seemed to take the opportunity to put a braid in her hair, though Snopy just ignored it.  She began to explain how she was trying to find someone, who was also trying to find someone, which sounded a little trippy.  One part he took as an interesting note was it would get ripped up if not delivered face to face.  "I take it someone doesn't want to hear what you have to say?"  He had leaned back against a tree, an oak actually, at this point.  His arms were crossed over his chest, while he had one leg crossed over the other.  A light breeze blew through his hair, which blew gently with the wind.

Hacil continued explaining, mentioning she thought she had come close.  It was the storm, the one Snopy knew all too well, that threw her off.  "I'd say that storm was both a blessing and a curse really."  Yes it only seemed to cause her problems, so maybe saying it without explaining wasn't the greatest idea.  Still, while it allowed him and Nilani to be caught off guard, it seemed to give Elwyn quite a boost.  "You'd be surprised what someone can do in a torrential downpour like that."  He referred to both Elwyn and the bandits.  Snopy looked up as a particularly strong gust of wind blew.  One of the branches looked eerily like a flagpole in it's orientation, and it snapped right off the tree.  Strange.  He went back to focusing on Hacil who seemed suddenly a little down.  He kept quiet and just silently listened.  Only one person in her clan seemed to like her.  She was worried she'd get...whacked?  "You get used to it.  Though honestly, you're pleasant enough to talk to, that's more than enough for me."

Honestly Snopy's ability to fully trust people was almost non-existent, so no he didn't trust Hacil completely.  However, in spite of his lack of ability to trust she's been pleasant enough conversation so far.  He couldn't see why if he, who felt better off alone many a time, could find her good company that others wouldn't.  Of course, the no one liking her thing seemed to hit home to him.  All someone's friends betraying and bailing on them would do that.  Her next words though, caught him totally off guard.  She ended the statement by calling him a cute young man.  At that moment the foot he had planted on the ground (as the other was crossed it wasn't exactly supporting his body weight much) lost it's grip and he somehow managed to fall sideways onto the ground.  "I'm sorry, did you say...cute?"  He was at a loss for words.  That wasn't a word he had heard used on him ever.  His face returned to being red once more.  "Uhhh..."  Hacil did continue on to ask about his training, so he decided to quickly shuffle the conversation onward and move to the next topic as fast as possible.  "T-training, yes training.  Um, no I'm not a soldier...geez."  He looked away, since he couldn't believe how unraveled he got.  "I've...well I have my reasons.  I'm not exactly alone though, someone's helping me out.  And..."  Snopy began to look around like something was missing.  "My pet Felli was with me too, where the heck did she run off to.  Ahri!"  He called out, before turning back to Hacil and shrugging.  "I'm sure she'll be fine, but..."  Something just dawned on him, but he was going to keep his cool for the moment.  "What does the person you're searching for look like?  I've seen some people around."

Snopy chuckled a little as she responded, well that answered a bunch of questions, and raised about a dozen more.  Snopy raised an eyebrow though when she said that his people actually seemed to like her.  "Don't get your hopes up.  I've had to help a few elves because...well people tend to fear the unknown and the different.  To a lot of humans elves are the unknown and different, and when people get scared they have a bad habit of getting stupid."  He sighed as he spoke.  He didn't trust people equally.  Humans, elves, it shouldn't make a difference.  Of course her little teasing performance almost knocked her herself on her ass.  The conversation continued to move, with Snopy occasionally blinking a few times almost vacantly.  He wasn't so much vacant as he was worrying.  Supposedly a flagpole breaking in the wind was an omen.  But...it wasn't a flagpole, it was a branch.  Yet at the same time, it looked just like a flag pole.  It even had a single large leaf swaying like the flag itself.  Still he kept his focus up when she began describing the woman she was looking for.

Could she mean...  The description fit perfectly.  Elwyn was THAT description.  The hair, the eyes, the clothing was the same color as Hacil's description.  Oh, and she was also an elf, not that THAT was an important detail.  Snopy shook his head and blinked a few more times before...he froze.  He turned his head over and saw something.  It was a little off to the side of Hacil, but it was just barely showing itself through the foliage and whatnot that littered the ground.  "What's this..."  He got up off of the tree and walked over towards Hacil, then past her.  Kneeling on the ground, he began analyzing it.  He could barely see it, but...it wasn't natural.  By no means could this thing be natural, it was sorta metallic.  And the shape, of what he could see, seemed to...rounded.  This wasn't close enough to the lake to be perfectly worn like that, rocks and objects at this distance should still be fairly rough.  "Poachers?"

He began to brush away the leaves to reveal more of the object.  It was...Snopy jumped up in surprise, up and away to be exact.  "Wait, that's the thing that grabbed Nilani!"  Without thinking he shouted.  There was no doubt about it, even untriggered he recognized it.  It was an Arcane trap with an unknown trigger.  "Get away from it!"  Kept seemingly hidden through either foliage or other means, such as use in a powerful rainstorm.  "They're slavers!  It's a trap!"  Designed to catch a humanoid target, most easily if standing upright.  Wrapping around their body and neck and tightly immobilizing them.  "Just move!!!!"  The chain would lead down to the location of the trappers, slavers.  Using this they'd carry their quarry off to be sold as a sex slave.  Snopy jumped back to avoid it as well.  Hopefully Hacil had enough warning to dodge, because sure enough the chain shot up, and regardless of whether it met its intended target or not, the chain would lead none other than to a large group of them who seemed all too eager to do horrible things to pretty young women.

Hacil had gotten fairly startled at the name he accidentally cried out. Maybe if there weren't slavers right there he'd be kicking himself for giving away names that easily. He did manage to get her out of the way of the trap though, which made him happy. Though they weren't out of the fire yet, Hacil baited the slavers out by burning them with the chain. As they came out, Snopy stood back. He was more of the analyzing type, and until his training bore fruit, that's all he'd be. He kept an eye on the fight, but Hacil seemed to have it. The things she did to them seemed unbelievably cruel. He'd be worried about her obvious rage, but he wasn't going to stop her from obliterating some slavers. He watched, impressed and horrified at the things she did.

However...something was wrong. This was going too well. Slavers didn't travel in such small groups. Sure, they didn't travel in giant packs, but only 3 being there did not add up. Why would there only be three? Small traveling parties often traveled in groups of two, so the the ease of capturing people such as those, they'd want at least enough that several men were on each captive. That was when it hit him, there's another. Snopy took up a light fighting pose, and began to do a detailed scan of the area. He observed every tree and every bush. Discrepancies in color, movement, noise, no detail would be overlooked. "Where are you." He said as he kept looking around. Then he had an idea. Hacil's most vulnerable spot, her back. All of her foes were on one side of her, so her back would be approximately... Snopy calculated the exact spot that was directly behind Hacil. Surely enough, there he was. In his hand was... "BEHIND YOU, HACIL!" It was too late. He took too long to figure out the man's location and warn her. The bolt was fired, and an elven body hit the dirt. "HA...cil?" Hacil didn't have a bolt in her back, and Elwyn had turned up, checking Hacil's back too. There was no bolt. Fuck, on the ground was...Nilani. "You've to to be kidding me, Nilani!" Snopy cried out. He ran over, then glared over at the man. "You son of a motherfucking bitch."

Wait...what. This...wasn't right. There is not a single human or elf who has ever heard or seen Snopy like this. He was calm about everything, but pure rage had finally broken through. He was sick and fucking tired of it. The ground beneath Snopy's feet suddenly...shook? A pink aura enveloped him...but he was powerless wasn't he? Even scarier was his eyes, the energy that encompassed his body gave his eyes an incredibly frightening look to them. There was nothing Snopy could particularly do with this power, as a scholar can't just tap into their powers blindly as a Sorcerer can, some knowledge of drawing it out needs to occur. Even as the man was pinned to a tree by Elwyn, Snopy began to walk over. He looked to the ground, the man's crossbow was perfectly intact. It was a rather nice one actually. Snopy picked it up, the fucker somehow had already loaded another shot into it just before he was pinned to the wall. All the man was doing was...laughing. Snopy aimed the crossbow right for the man's head. He could probably peg it right into his brain if he aimed through the eye socket.

Snopy began to look at the tips of the bolts on the man's hips, they were dark. The kind of dark that shows there is a fluid on it. "What're you..." Snopy cut the man off. "Shut up!" Snopy backhanded the man right across the face. "If you know what's good for you you'll answer my questions, and only my questions." Snopy was holding the crossbow with surprising steadiness. "What did you put on that bolt?" Snopy asked, demanding an answer. The man sneered, about to talk back, but was quickly slapped again by Snopy. "Answer the question, unless..." Snopy observed the bolt that was loaded, yep, something was also at the tip of this bolt as well. "You'd like me to test this on you. Shoot you in the arm, see what happens." Snopy smiled when the man's demeanor shifted. The man seemed to be trying to hide it, but he obviously didn't like the prospect. Whatever was on the bolt was something this man was afraid of. "You're fidgeting at the thought. You seemed to fearless a moment ago, I suppose if you won't tell me I should just fire into your arm and see what..." Snopy began aiming for the arm and the man began to freak out, Snopy had figured something out.

"Okay okay! Viridescent Forest Snake venom! These bolts are all laced with Viradescent Forest Snake venom!" He shouted out, and Snopy realized just how serious this was. Researching poisonous creatures that one might find during travel work, one would be hard pressed to find a book in Arcadia that didn't mention the Viridescent Forest Snake. It'd venom was fatal, and the cure was found only in Arcadia. Snopy pressed the crossbow right up to the man's face, the bolt pointed right in his eye, and blew the fucker's brains out. He had a little trouble handling the recoil, but he held it with all his might to make sure the bold went into the man's brain. He was dead now. The arcanic energy that had been surrounding Snopy dissipated. "Of all poisons, it has to be that one." Snopy casually slung the crossbow over his shoulder as he turned to Nilani. "Stop the bleeding, so long as she doesn't bleed out she'll be fine for at least 7 days...but..." Snopy shook his head, once the combat was over he'd explain what they had to do if Nilani wanted to keep living.

Snopy simply looked back on the scene.  There was carnage, every slaver was dead.  As the rage and adrenaline died down, Snopy looked back on the man he had killed.  No, it wasn't regret he was feeling.  These were the lowest of the low.  Cruelty, nothing justified such cruelty.  The cruelty towards their fellow man, the cruelty to elves.  The cruelty to anyone.  Now he was just mad about the fact that they live in a world where such cruelty and carnage was common.  "I'll never understand how someone can just go up and treat others with such cruelty."  Snopy shook his head.  Snopy kept the crossbow slung over his shoulder, he knew they had a bit of a journey ahead of them.  He decided a crossbow wouldn't be a bad thing to have, so he'd have to makeshift a way to carry it more easily.  On the bright side his blade already had a way for him to carry it at his hip.  Actually he remembers seeing something lying around the hut they were in that could probably strap the crossbow to his back.  He began to walk towards Elwyn as she pulled the bolt out and iced over the wound.  Well, that should definitely halt the bleeding until the wound can close.  He'd say he hopes the wound won't get infected,  but technically the fact the snake venom getting through the wound was the infection.

Snopy then looked towards Hacil.  Despite what she did to the men, she was completely losing it.  She couldn't bare to be the cause of Nilani's death it seemed.  Well it was obvious they were all sisters, so he couldn't blame her.  Snopy could tell Elwyn wasn't holding quite as together as she usually did.  She was still able to speak semi-calmly, but this was obviously affecting her.  Apparently Nilani had never shown that kind of power before.  Elwyn kept repeating it, seven days.  "I wish we could say we had longer but...she's small.  She might be able to last an extra day or two, but we have to move.  There's no reason to take the chance, 7 days we need the antidote."  Elwyn asked Snopy to hold Nilani for a moment, and he placed the crossbow on the ground and took Nilani.  He looked down to her.  She was small...but, something told him she'd be a bit of a fighter.  They'd be rushing to find the antidote before the 7 days were up, but he was confident she should be able to hang on to that thread of life for an extra day at least.  Snopy watched as Elwyn began to point out Hillfort.  Well wasn't that convenient.  Hillfort was a military base, while they'd have to be on their best behavior since 90% of it's population was fighters, and a large portion of the rest were enablers (blacksmiths and the like), but a Military base should have a cure for just about any poison that could be used on them.  And Elwyn seemed extra determined, but some of her words.

Elwyn explained how if nothing was at Hillfort Nilani was dead.  "What kind of attitude is that?"  Snopy would have folded his arms, but the small elf was still being held gently in his arms.  "Hillfort's a military base.  The antidote will be there, we just have to make sure we don't show them hostility or they will kill us.  Don't give me this "if it's not there" crap.  There is no can't.  It's not "What if I can't protect her."  It's 'I'll protect her no matter what.'  After all, you're sisters."  Snopy spoke, figuring if that if he was the one to carry Nilani, he'd have to leave the crossbow behind.  He wasn't complaining, Nilani's life was infinitely more important.  Still, it'd have been nice.  Snopy walked over to Elwyn and looked at her with a smile.  Elwyn didn't normally get to be the target of Snopy's rare smiles, but he knew the pain of losing a sister all too well.  She needed some comfort, and even if it didn't help it didn't hurt to try.  "It'll be all right...no one is going to lose their family...never again."  Snopy stated.  He wouldn't explain what he meant, but it was obvious he was dead set on the rescue excursion on being a success.  He turned to look at both of them.  "Now say it.  Say "She isn't going to die, we'll make sure of it."  Snopy wasn't going to drop it until they said it.  If they refused he'd just keep pressing them.  "Come on, say it."  He'd drop it after a few minutes though, he didn't have time to deal with their stubbornness.  Nilani's life WAS on the line.

Somehow Hacil's genuine regret was flipped back on her in a rather harsh manner. Elwyn did have a point, but it seemed painfully unnecessary. Even more so Elwyn seemed to get just as wrapped up in the less important details as Hacil, aka details that weren't Nilani. Waiting for Elwyn to finish, Snopy decided add at the end. "Look, we all know mistakes were made. There isn't a damned one of us who can say they didn't make some kind of mistake, but this conversation is the least of our concerns. Nilani is terminally poisoned and we have to fucking move." If they were observant enough they'd be able to tell the fact that they chose to argue over work together on helping Nilani ticked him off a bit. They continued the conversation, but when Snopy began to stress that they'd make sure she didn't die, Elwyn was having none of it, and looked at Snopy like he was an idiot. Hacil at least worked with it. Elwyn gave no effort. He shrugged. "Well it was worth a shot." Snopy looked back to both of them as Elwyn took Nilani from him. "I'm worried sick, but we need to remember being miserable does not help Nilani." Snopy went over and grabbed the crossbow really quick, and also began taking things from the man who had (since the ice had now melted) fallen from the tree on the ground. Snopy quickly used his intelligence as best he could to quickly mount the crossbow on his back and the quiver at his hip. "Lets just get moving."

Elwyn came up to him and told him about how he was about to get some intense training. He did wonder what this elf meant, and if she realized the consequences of trying too hard, but he brushed it off. She was way stronger than him, she could probably handle it. In spite of some differences in opinion, he did hold her in high respect, and when it came to her power, he secretly idolized her a bit. Snopy nodded. "Right." Even if they didn't see eye to eye all the time, he showed her through body language and a slight nod that he was showing his respect to her. He wasn't the one with a sister currently at risk for dying, and his "losing" of his sister was so far in the past he couldn't possibly have still been in as much pain as those two were. After a strange touch on the shoulder's, Snopy suddenly felt...lighter. "What did you..." He didn't have time to finish as Elwyn began to run, and Snopy soon found he could keep up fairly well. How he was keeping up was beyond him, and even stranger was whatever she did made him able to dodge things better. Snopy decided that since Hacil was blasting away threats from the front, he'd keep his senses open for the rear. He doubted much could possibly follow them, or would even want to try, but with Nilani's life on the line, they can't afford to not have their backs secure. Snopy had stealthily loaded another bolt into the crossbow. If anything did try to come at them that Hacil didn't get, he'd make sure he blasted in the face. He didn't like that the bolts were still poisoned, but when they stopped for rest he'd try and wash it off.

This lasted for hours, and while Snopy was definitely feeling it, Elwyn's power kept him relatively stable. They had passed the hut on the way and Snopy managed to snatch his blade and, while running, attach it to his hip. Whatever this power was on him, it was helping a lot. Elwyn however...something was off. It just didn't feel right. He brushed it off again, he figured the worry over his sister was getting to her. Maybe in another hour or so he'd ask to take a short break, since it couldn't possibly be healthy for anyone to run this long. Then...Elwyn collapsed. "Aw shit, Elwyn!" Snopy turned his feet to skid to a halt, like one would do on skis. Unfortunately Elwyn's boost wore off in that moment and his balance and reactions returned to normal, and he ended up falling into the dirt. He hopped back up rather quickly and ran over to the two elves, now on the ground. Nilani woke up and wondered what had happened. "Your sister just collapsed." Snopy shook his head. "Damn it, if we go and get ourselves KO'd...then no one can..." Snopy shook his head again. "No, she only did it because she was worried about you. She's still breathing, I think she just needs some rest and maybe food when we get the chance."

Snopy took the quiver of bolts off his hip, and set his crossbow to the side as well and looked up to Hacil. "Lets set up a makeshift camp for now, we should regain our strength. It'll be no good if we push ourselves til we actually break." Snopy took Nilani into his arms and pulled out his canteen. He was sure they had passed a small pool of water at some point, so he could refill it. "Drink." He told Nilani, he'd insist for a bit if she refused, but he wouldn't force it down her throat. He was just concerned. The ground...rocks, figures. He wanted a good place to set the two down in a lying position so they might rest better, but there were rocks. He began meticulously trying to clear the ground next to him so that he could lay Nilani down for a moment, so he could check Elwyn again. "How are you feeling Nilani?" He asked, worried and afraid of what the answer might be. Snopy looked up to Hacil. "Watch over Nilani please." Snopy hadn't yet made an area where she could lay, but he picked her up, princess style, and went to hand her to Hacil. "I need to check on Elwyn and make sure she's really okay." Snopy would then go over to Elwyn and lie her on her back, her head on his lap. He'd but on hand to his forehead while another was to hers. "She's warm, though it could just be how much running she just did." Even if Nilani had drunk from the canteen, it carried plenty. Snopy sighed while continuing to monitor her. He'd sigh sadly, speaking to her, whether or not she regained consciousness. "Please be okay."

It was official, Snopy seemed to be the only one who hadn't pushed himself to the brink. He hadn't expected it, but Hacil simultaneously collapsed with Elwyn. The difference was Hacil still had enough energy in her body to move. She heaved up a little bit of what she had eaten, that is never good. How was it that Snopy was still able to retain consciousness? Elwyn had been using her magic in excess, and while Snopy wasn't an expert on elves, he was fairly certain they didn't just have an unlimited supply of magic. She might have drained herself, but what about Hacil? Hacil had to have more endurance than him, but she had also been slinging magic at anything that might slow them down. That's when it hit him. "You two were using magic...and I'm the only one who can't, no wonder I'm not completely unconscious." He wasn't an expert on magic, he didn't realize that humans using magic typically didn't cause fatigue the same way it did to elves. A human can drain their magic to 0 and feel fine, an elf does it they die. Nilani began to talk about how she didn't feel well and had a fever. Not surprising unfortunately, but Snopy wished the symptoms had held off for a little longer. If they held off for a little while it might mean Nilani had more time to survive, which meant more time to grab an antidote. As Nilani grabbed onto his shirt, he sighed but managed a smile. "It'll be alright."

That was when Snopy moved over to Elwyn. Hacil quickly went about making sure Nilani was comfortable while Snopy rested Elwyn's head on his lap. As Hacil tossed him the food, Snopy was caught off guard and fumbled it a bit. He was a bit tired himself, so now that Elwyn wasn't boosting him his reflexes were on the slow side. Snopy was about to feed Elwyn when she began to speak. Snopy wanted to tell her not to speak, but something caught his ear. "Nilani will be fine." He stopped and let her continue for just a little bit, before stopping her, though she may have been about to stop on her own anyway. "Save your energy." He said as he took out some of the food. Before she fell right back to sleep he fed her a bit of the mix. Once she fell asleep, he stopped. He was scared she'd choke if he tried. As long as she didn't fight him or spit it up, she had what should have been enough to help her regain some of her energy as she slept. As he held her on his lap, he began to hum something his mother used to sing to him. This was an awkward situation, he didn't know what else to do. He just remembered this song now for some reason. He was not a singer and didn't have a singing voice, but he had heard this so many times when he was young he could hum it perfectly. It was a gentle soothing tune, by most people's standards anyway.

He sat there humming for a little while, not sure what else to do now. "You really gave it your all...didn't you." He'd say to the sleeping Elwyn after some time had passed, before looking back at Hacil. "You too." That's when Snopy realized he was gently stroking Elwyn's head as she slept, he must have been doing this for awhile now. "How long have I..." He said as he dropped his hand, it's no wonder his already fatigued body was feeling a little more tired. He must have been doing that for at least 5 minutes, and repetitive motion can wear on an already tired body. Snopy left Elwyn there, she seemed to be resting comfortably and didn't want to disturb her. He turned to Hacil. "You heard what Elwyn said right? Nilani will be fine. She refused to say it earlier...which somehow makes it all the more reassuring that she said it now." He smiled a bit, but it quickly dropped back down. He seemed focused on something. "Proud of? I've done nothing anyone should be proud of." Snopy didn't know about Elwyn and Hacil's history, so he didn't question her being proud of her sister in some way. But him? He literally just followed them. Hacil might not have even been NEAR the slavers if he hadn't held her up with conversation. He sighed. The silence continued on for a little while before he had to ask. "So, food and water. What are we going to do about that? We want to regain our strength we need proper nourishment." Snopy was beginning to feel drowsy, he wasn't sure how much longer he himself could remain awake. He'd likely be falling asleep soon too.

There wasn't much else that happened the first night.  Hacil's criticizing Snopy's thought of having nothing to be proud of only made him sigh a little.  The thing she chose to use as an example was a terrible one for one reason.  "I wish we didn't live in a world where that was something to be proud of, rather than a something that was a given."  It's true, he wished that people wouldn't choose to discriminate someone because they were an elf.  The reverse also likely existed, though to a lesser degree, and he wished it didn't as well.  By the time Hacil came back with food Snopy had fallen asleep, and ended up cuddling up to Elwyn in his sleep.  When they woke up they got right to running, after they ate of course.  Snopy didn't have much time to react before he got tackled by a certain Felli who had been left behind.  She apparently tracked and followed him all that way.  From there though, they ran.  Snopy had a sword at his hip, a crossbow at his back, and a Felli tightly gripping his shoulder.  Snopy was not built for this.  His muscles might only have been enduring Elwyn's strain as long as they had because of adrenaline.  If permanent damage wasn't done, Snopy was definitely going to come out of this stronger.  He tried to come up with ways to lessen the burden.  He was tall, so he'd take long strides whenever he was in an open space, which did lessen the effort a tiny bit.  Still, by day 3 he probably could only walk because of Elwyn's boost.  Whenever they'd stop for the night, after the second night he didn't exactly move from one spot.  He unfortunately needed to rely on the others to get water and food.

Snopy though almost cringed whenever he saw Elwyn asleep.  She was in so much pain.  He wished he knew how to give massages that could relax the muscles a little, but even if he could she might cry out in unimaginable pain.  She seemed to be that bad.  She was soaked in sweat, or at least he thought it was sweat.  It didn't smell like sweat, but it didn't occur to him her powers were drawing water to her.  They hit day four and honestly, Snopy could not handle more.  When Elwyn decided to stop early Snopy collapsed right onto the ground and didn't move for a few seconds.  It might worry them that he died, but he just blacked out for a few moments before coming back to, moving a little.  "I think I passed out for a moment there."  He'd say to alleviate worries that he might have died.   He tried pushing himself to an upright sitting position, but he determined this wouldn't work quite yet.  "I'm...not going to be able to go any further tonight."  He naturally wished he could so they could just acquire the antidote, but he knew if he kept going right now, if he could muster the strength to begin running again, he'd die within an hour.  

He laid on the ground, just letting his body desperately transfer all energy and sustenance it could to his muscles and limbs to begin an attempted healing process.  He might need an actual healer at this point, but he wasn't acquiring one like this.  He wished he knew healing techniques, at least he could help out the others in recuperating.  Seeing how Elwyn reacted to running out of Arcana though, he worried he'd just get himself killed.  One day he might learn human's don't use Arcana like elves to Anima.  He listened as Elwyn reassured Nilani.  He'd have smiled a bit at how much Elwyn cares for Nilani, if it wasn't for that will make Nilani dying even worse.  They had to get to Hillfort...no one needed to lose family today.  He struggled to a sitting position.  The boost was taken off of Snopy, which almost sent him right back on the ground.  He was so fatigued he didn't realize she had yet to remove it.  

Elwyn stated something that worried him.  She was going?  By herself?  It was obvious she meant to since she took the boost from Hacil too.  "Wait Elwyn!"    He was about to try and stop her, but she said something that made it impossible.  All she could do for Nilani at this point was keep running.  He listened as Elwyn gave Hacil a kiss on the forehead, and she even asked Snopy to protect both of them.  He nodded back to her.  "I won't let a single thing bring them harm."  He spoke with confidence, if only to give Elwyn as much peace of mind as he could.  "Don't work yourself to death, you hear me?  You'd better come back.  I don't want to see anyone lose family today." He looked with the most dead serious look he had ever given someone straight into Elwyn's eyes before she turned to leave. Not serious as in threatening, serious as in how concerned her was and how much he seemed to care for all of their well being. Snopy clumsily pulled the crossbow off his back and set it next to him. It'd be easier to move into position there than mounted on his back. It had a safety, so he felt confident in loading a bolt, making sure to still, just in case, point it away from Hacil, Nilani, and the direction Elwyn was now barreling off into. Ahri cuddled up next to him and he lightly patted her head. He managed to keep her with him the entire run. "If only I had some kind of healing magic. It'd come in handy right about now." Snopy turned to Hacil and Nilani."I can't move from this spot...so all I can do is watch out for danger. Hopefully nothing will come our way though." He said as he turned to Nilani. "It'll be all right. You need anything?"