Aaand We're Lost [Rini]

[Alexandria Duvell]

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[atrb=background,http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/_Tsukiyo_/middlef3.png] Alex clenched the reigns of her horse as tightly as she could as she sat astride the saddle of the lithe horse that Rini had helped her pick from the stables. They hadn’t been out on the trail more than five minutes before Alex lost control of her horse, for the first of many times that day. Earlier on that Saturday morning, the two had been lounging around on their couch like a couple of bums, trying to figure out what to do. They’d just gone to Willowbrook a few weeks before, so that option was out. The lake was far too cold for a swim, though spring was already well underway. That’s when Rini suggested that they go for a ride through the forest. The weather manipulator’s jaw practically dropped to floor when learned that her roommate had never ridden a horse before. Alex was a little apprehensive, but easily caved in at Rini’s sudden excitement to take her horse out for a ride. The healer couldn’t quite say what it was that made her uneasy while sitting upon the mare, but, perhaps it was the height? Or the treacherous tangles of roots and rocks that threatened to trip them with every step? She had managed to stay calm throughout most of the ride, and was even beginning to enjoy it after a while. But then they lost the trail and night was beginning to fall. Alex would run the trails in the forest several times a week and never got lost. It was all Alex’s fault really. The third time she lost control of the horse, it went bolting off the trail as Alex clung to the saddle and reigns with fright. Luckily, Rini was able to catch up to her easily, but not before they’d taken several turns and got themselves thoroughly lost in the middle of Pinehurst forest. “I’m- brrr.. so sorry Rini…” The healer muttered an apology once again through her chattering teeth. The early spring day had been warm, so Alex was more than glad to leave her jacket at home for once and to just enjoy the feel of the sun on her skin. Had she known that she’d still be in the forest by the time the temperature dropped a good fifteen degrees, she would have thought twice about that. By now it had grown so dark that she was hardly even able to see the blonde leading the way in front of her. How long would they be stuck out here? A few hours? Would anyone at school even notice their absence? Alex tried her best to keep pace with her closest friend at Silas. If her horse took off again, there was hardly a chance that Rini would be able to find her in the blackened forest. As she rocked in the saddle, the healer felt her stomach pinch from hunger before a low rumble was emitted. At least we packed food. They had been wandering for over an hour now and Alex was growing desperate to take a break, but at the same time she just wanted to get out of the forest and to return to the safe confines of Silas Academy.

[Serinity Dawson]

What a day… This is not exactly what I had planned when Alex and I decided to go for a ride. I figured we would ride around for an hour or two, have a little snack, then be back home in time for dinner. Grimacing, the blonde turned her face skyward. It was hard to tell exactly where the last remaining light from the day’s sun was coming from. Within a matter of minutes the light was gone and darkness engulfed the two roommates. Alex’s voice cut through both the dark and Rini’s thoughts calling her attention to the healer. “Ah, don’t sweat it Alex. Think of it as an adventure, huh? Daring Dawson and Adventurous Alex lost in the woods at night facing some of the most dangerous creatures known to man. Will they survive? Or will the two be lost for all eternity? Stay tuned in to find out!” Chuckling, the blonde pulled lightly back on Lightfoot’s reins causing him to slow and match Alex’s mare’s pace.

“Here, you can use my jacket for a while… Next time we’ll have to bring duffle bags in case this happens again.” Awkwardly maneuvering the grey jacket off her, the girl tossed it at Alex. Silence fell between the two. Only the sounds of creaking leather and the forest’s music could be heard. “Why don’t we stop for a small break. It’s not really safe to travel at night through the woods. Even though these guys,” Rini patted Lightfoot’s neck, “can see in the dark better than we can, I don’t want your horse spooking and running off again… I’ll probably never find you!” Ok, so that might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but it was mostly possible!

Again the blonde gently pulled on her horse’s reins, “Whoa, Light, whoa.” Coaxing softly the Haflinger came to a stop tossing his head up and down rolling the bit on his tongue. Serinity was sliding off Lightfoot moments later and grabbing the mare’s reins to steady her while Alex dismounted. “There you go, good girl.” Smiling the blonde rubbed the mare’s nose. Serinity took the two horses’ reins when Alex was off and tied them around a couple of tree branches. Procuring two sugar cubes, neither horse needed prompting to nibble them down eagerly.

Dusting off her hand, Serinity turned back to Alex and made a slight face at the situation. “Guess it wouldn’t hurt to have a couple of snacks, huh?” Serinity turned back to Lightfoot’s saddle bag and rummaged through it pulling out a bag of chips and her water bottle. It was better than nothing. “Man, after all that riding, I don’t want to sit down but my legs don’t want to keep me up!” Popping open the chip back Serinity dug in and pulled out the largest chip eating it first with a loud crunch. It’s so dark out here... Nervously, the blonde looked around. There was an elephant in the room… or rather the forest.

Both girls would know by now that it’d be near impossible for them to continue on until morning. Sighing heavily, Serinity decided to address the matter first. “So I’m pretty sure we’re not going anywhere else tonight. We might as well make camp. Do you, ugh, think that’d be ok?” Serinity rubbed her arms to stave off the chill that began to set in since she took the jacket off. Would they even be able to make a fire? She doubted either of them had thought to bring matches on this journey and seeing how neither smoked, a lighter was a little much to hope for.

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Outfit:
Credit: [Numb] - Linkin Park

[Alexandria Duvell]

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[atrb=background,http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/_Tsukiyo_/middlef3.png] Alex couldn’t help but smile at Serinity’s efforts to brighten their moods despite the troubling situation. She was glad that the weather manipulator was her roommate, although the two started off on the wrong foot, they became close friends. Although the healer was incredibly thankful that Rini offered her the jacket for warmth, Alex couldn’t find it in herself to take it. When she tossed it to her, Alex caught it, but then balled it up again to toss it back. “No you should keep it. If I get sick… well I can’t get sick,” she giggled before adding, “but if you get sick, I’ll end up disinfecting every surface and doorknob in our dorm for days.” Alex then tossed it back to her. When Rini suggested that they take a break, Alex was more than eager to agree, dying to stand up and get off of her sore bottom. “You know, I think I would just jump off of her if she tried to bolt again. I could deal with some bruises or a broken arm, but I’d be completely hopeless if I was lost in the forest alone.” The healer was telling the truth. Besides being able to heal herself from injuries, she had utterly no survival instincts. The brunette struggled to get off of the horse, but managed to slide awkward slide off after a few minutes. Before Rini took the reins, Alex dug out a ziplock bag of grapes and a bottle of water from the saddle pack. Alex stood and ate a few grapes as Rini tied the horses to a tree, her legs and bum sore from hours of riding. Horseback riding would probably not be joining her list of favorite activities, not after today. “Yea I’m starving. I could seriously go for a steak right now, or a juicy burger.” But she settled with grapes and continued eating them until nothing was left but the tangle of stems and vines. She chased down the sweet fruit with several gulps of water before sighing, feeling somewhat better after having eaten something. She couldn’t agree with Serinity more when she talked about how her butt was too sore to sit but her legs were too tired to stand. But she opted to sit anyways, resting her back against the trunk of a tree. Surprising the position was quite comfortable. When Rini asked if she thought the idea of making camp for the night was good, Alex nodded, “I don’t think we have much of a choice. But what would we ‘make camp’ with?” Alex couldn’t help but chuckle, the two were unprepared for such a situation and didn’t even have anything to sleep on or anything to light a fire with. \

[Serinity Dawson]

Serinity stared down at the jacket in her hands and blinked once. “You know, you do have a really good point,” she said and put it back on to keep away the chill. Already her arms were warming up. Sheepishly, she smiled over at Alex. “I could always make it warmer…” The thought struck the blonde as she peered around for a moment. That would take up a good bit of energy though and the two needed to at least get a fire started. The thought of Alex’s horse spooking again and throwing her off made Rini shiver. She knew any damage done would be healed within a matter of minutes depending on the severity of the wound. Still, Serinity still didn’t like the idea of her roommate falling off a horse with the possibility of being dragged along the ground. It made her cringe with sympathy.

“Aw man, don’t talk about steaks and burgers! That sounds delicious.” Frowning the blonde eyed her measly bag of chips eating a few more with a dour expression. “The leaves could make for a soft enough bed. They’ll probably smell funny, though.” Wrinkling her nose Rini peered around at her surroundings. “If we pick up some sticks and tinder, maybe we can make a fire… somehow…” The situation was looking grim. How were they going to make a fire? Neither of them really had the power to do so. “I’m not sure if striking the wood with lightning would be such a good idea. I’d probably cause a forest fire.” Rubbing the back of her neck the girl stood looking up at the forest canopy. A forest fire wouldn’t be the most ideal way to go about this. In fact, it’d be bad. Very bad.

Suddenly a devious thought occurred to Serinity. Playfully, she glanced over at Alexandria. “You know, we could always snuggle together for warmth. Just a thought.” Serinity innocently went about her business walking over to Lightfoot and taking his tack off. The reins and bridle could stay to keep the horses from wandering, but the saddle should come off. Undoing the straps and what not the blonde heaved the saddle off Lightfoot’s back and placed it on the ground. Next she began working on Alex’s mare’s saddle. Once finished she dusted off her hands and shirt looking back over to her roommate.

In all seriousness, their best bet was to gather a pile of leaves for bedding. Their saddles could be used as “pillows” but somehow the idea seemed a little painful. Saddles weren’t exactly made of fluff. While the night itself was chilly, there wasn’t much of a driving wind force. That, at least, was something they could be grateful for. With no wind, the night temperature shouldn’t drop much while they slept. Sighing, Serinity finished off her chips and choked down some water. This day hadn’t gone as planned. In fact, it almost down right sucked. Ok, ok, so it didn’t totally suck. It was cool being out in the woods with Alex no less. Rini would kill for a tent though. A couple matches wouldn’t hurt, either.

Serinity began to get to work on gathering a pile of leaves. It wouldn’t be too hard. The fallen leaves littered the floor. Silence took over once more. Serinity found herself hating it. “How are your classes going so far? I hope you didn’t get any snotty teachers this semester.” It was a lame attempt at a conversation. Talking about the weather or how each other was doing wouldn’t make the cut.

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Outfit:
Credit: [Numb] - Linkin Park