[PRP] Ruin Mishap [Floren + Tantoe]

[nepsah]

Safety first!

 

[nepsah]

Floren had recently heard about some ruins in the desert that he hadn't explored yet. Desert explorations were dangerous, but... he had a feeling that they would hold the key to the history he wanted so badly to unlock. It took some convincing, but eventually he managed to talk Skoli into accompanying him to the ruins. These ones were said to be haunted! Floren wasn't sure if he really bought that - it was probably just traps or something.

Either way, he wasn't about to take chances. He packed up a satchel with some snacks, extra water, and a first aid kit in case he ran into any trouble, then made the journey with Skoli shortly after moonrise. Unlike most trolls he didn't have to worry about the sun's harsh light, but Floren wasn't exactly eager to travel during the day anyway. Daywalkers were no laughing matter.

Upon finding them, he took a few moments to assess the surroundings. Sand filled most of the ancient buildings- though... looking at them Floren wasn't sure exactly how old they were. Not so old as to be totally decrepit, but definitely outdated in comparison to recent architecture. Perhaps he should look into studying that.

Assuming that they were alone, he started up a whistle as he picked his way through the sand to reach the closest entrance - a hole in a crumbling wall.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

The second Tantoe heard about a desert and the word dangerous was associated he was out the door. SlimeMama had collided with him, snapping the boy back with a barrage of questions. Where was he going? Would he have snacks? Was it dangerous? The answers she was given was not ones she wanted to hear, and the boy was lucky all he received was a stern command to turn his butt around and properly pack for the trip. She knew, from experience, if she told him he couldn't go then he'd be gone when her head was turned. She couldn't have that.

So there he was, perched on-top of the four story SlimeMama as she padded through the sand, giggling whenever his lusus released an annoyed trill in response to the sand soaking into her slime. They had reached the ruins, causing a loud shriek of excitement to explode from Tantoe.

"It's haunted, Mama." He announced. She rolled a sigh in return, head tilting so one eye could be seen by her charge.

"I doubt it." She responded softly, more in hope. Tantoe ignored her, instead leaning off to the side and sliding down his lusus, shaking off slime once his feet collided with the sand. She froze, shrinking her size to house cat size to leap onto his shoulders. "Be careful." Came the concerned mewl. Careful? Who? Him? He was the most careful, didn't she know that?!

Immediately, he bolted to start climbing anything he could get his hands on, pulling himself onto broken pillars and fallen walls. Anything and everything, no matter how much his lusus howled or complained. Except, he wasn't really the careful sort, despite his own beliefs, and as he approached a crumbling wall he found himself skidding to a stop, the worst idea popping into his head.

Climb it.

Before SlimeMama could even gather what he was considering Tantoe was on the wall, and then suddenly he wasn't. A section came crashing, and he went violently colliding into the ground. As his head snapped up rocks fell on-top, although luckily it wasn't enough to do serious damage. He let out a soft gasp as he felt his ankle and elbow sting sharply, eyes flicking to look at them. He had ripped the skin open, leaving light bleeding wounds. Bruises covered his body, but it was the blood that really frightened him. That was inside him! Inside was coming out! Oh no!

As he sat there panicking and SlimeMama paced as she accessed the situation they heard whistling. Instantly, the lusus morphed into the size of a panther, standing over her fallen boy protectively.

Tantoe was not as cautious.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

Up ahead the sound of scrambling reached his ears. Animals? Probably.. though it sounded quite heavy for most of the desert creatures that would be active during the night. Floren slowed to a stop as the scrambling turned into crumbling, then crashing as something up ahead fell down. Clearly, whatever had been meaning the sounds must have been a troll. He just hoped whatever they'd broken wasn't useful for learning about the past.

Before continuing, he glanced around to see if Skoli had risen - and seeing nothing, decided that it wasn't anything that worried his lusus enough to surface. He shrugged to himself, then carefully picked his way through the ruins until he spotted what had made the ruckus. A troll, and his lusus. A large catlike creature, coated in sandy slime. Or was it made of slime? He couldn't tell right off the bat.

"Hello." He replied to the question, eyes scanning the scene before him. What a mess... He spotted the gathering blue on the boy's body and blinked. "Can you move? Where does it hurt?" He pointed at the wounds, though made no effort to move closer. He knew better than to approach a stranger and their lusus- the lusus would probably lash out.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

SlimeMama shifted as the other spoke, eyes flicking from her fallen charge and then the green-blood. Finally, with a faint hesitance, she stepped off Tantoe to expose him further to the other child, ears flicking back as she settled on her haunches. Tantoe squirmed, raising an arm to show his elbow.

"And my ankle." He murmured softly. It wasn't as if he didn't have a high pain tolerance. He got scraps all the time! That, and Tantoe was hardy. He could fall down a mountain and only get a light sprain. However, it was the shock of the wall falling plus the collision into the ground that had shook him, causing him to move delicately. How hadn't he broken something?

He shifted slightly, sitting up slowly and checking his limbs, then torso. Yup, just his elbow and ankle... He let out a loose, nervous laugh, checking the wall around him. That really happened, scary! For some reason, the next thing he had to say was; "I'm sorry." Really, he felt bad he had distracted the other troll from whatever they were doing just because he was clumsy.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

Floren eyed the lusus warily as she moved, then looked to the other boy. Ah, an elbow and an ankle... he'd gotten off easy considering the damage he'd done. "What are you sorry for? These aren't mine." He tilted his head, motioning to the ruins around them as he spoke. "I have some stuff that will help. But you're not in a safe place to do anything yet." Again he looked around for the subtle signs that Skoli had risen closer to the surface... nothing. He must be waiting further down for Floren to signal - there was no way his lusus hadn't "heard" the commotion.

He shuffled forward, shifting the bag on his side so that it rested over his back. Once he was close enough, he tested some of the rubble before extending his hands for the other boy to take. "Here, I'll help you up. We'll go to that rock over there and I can look at those." He nodded to a rock off to one side, safely away from the crumbling wall.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

Tantoe didn't answer the first question, figuring it didn't matter in the end. Instead, relief crossed his features. Something that would help? Was this troll more responsible at he, despite them both being young? How many times had SlimeMama told him to bring a first aid kit, or even just rags? He shifted slightly, pulling his injured leg closer to his body and effectively dragging the wounded ankle through rubble, causing a sharp wince. The other boy came closer, extending their hands towards him, which Tantoe gratefully took and braced himself to allow the other boy to pull him up with little resistance.

"Thank you." He added before he could be pulled up. SlimeMama flicked her tail, her eyes trailing around the new boy. Where.... was his lusus, anyway? Her head jerked upwards, then at the ground. Maybe the boy was alone. How irresponsible!

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

"It's no problem, I like to help." Floren guided him over to the rock, careful of his injured leg. Dragging it through the rubble probably hadn't done it much good. Once he was settled, Floren pulled the bag off of his shoulder, then set it on the ground to open it up. He then pulled out a small first aid kit, then looked to Tantoe's elbow. "I'm Floren, by the way. Can I see your elbow? We'll need to clean these out before I put bandages on or you'll get sick." He held up some cleaning ointment, then motioned to Tantoe's elbow. "It'll probably sting."

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

"Tantoe." He offered softly in return, lifting his elbow for the other to see. The other - Floren - was little, like him, but they clearly knew what to do. How cool was that? Being able to fix up other trolls was awesome! If he had the patience for all that he'd try it, although one could debate that if he had the patience for gardening then clearly he could take a minute to learn basic first-aid skills.

"That's okay, this stings." He laughed softly, gesturing at himself. If he could handle getting smashed in by a wall then he was pretty sure he could deal with whatever Floren brought at him.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

Floren blinked, then smiled a little. "True, I suppose that would sting. Though I think this will be different." He shrugged, readying some antiseptic on a cotton swab. Once he was satisfied with the amount, he carefully began cleaning the debris out of Tantoe's elbow wound. "What were you doing? Ruins are fragile, you know?" He didn't bother looking up from his work when he spoke - it was too important, after all. Once he was finished cleaning that out, he turned to dig in his first aid kit again for some bandages. "This one doesn't look too bad, you're really lucky."

Yushika