Wayrift Origins: Under the ship… (Ben)
-Originally posted Jan 29, 2001, Written by Aywren –
Ben makes his reply to Leona and gets her out from under that ship!
………………..
[ Written by Syn:
She forgot about the promise of not swearing. “For all of Ifrit’s Flame! C-c.. Ben! Get me the heck out of here!” In excitement, she almost called him “Creepy Ben” out loud, but caught her tongue. She waved her hand from under the ship frantically, slapping her fingers against the mud.]
It took a moment for Ben to make out the separation between person and mud, but the voice was unmistakable. And the fact that the muddled contraption looked to be one that once had wings… there was no doubt.
“Leona?” He asked peering for a moment.
~No time for questions…~
His first instinct was to gather the forces of earth and wind about him, which together would have easily sent the mass of mangled wings skyward a good hundred yards or so. But seeing that the girl was tangled in the straps, she would have been airborne with it, and that probably wouldn’t have been the most amusing trip on her behalf.
Besides, he was only praying that she wouldn’t refer to his true name.. not in front of Argithen, anyway. For the time being, he wanted to remain unknown as best as he could, so spectacular magic-type displays were certainly out of the question.
~Got to get her out of those straps…~
Ben lunged forward over the wreckage, causing the ship to sink a bit faster, catching hold of the harness straps that lay nearly out of his reach. Just a tiny channel of flame, not enough to be noticed he hoped, but enough to melt the material away and free her.
The contraption had managed to sink a good deal further into the mud under his weight, however.
“Gaahh… hang on..”
The wizard back-winded down, then wrapped his arms around the nearest pole-like structure, lifting. It creaked slightly, refusing to move. His boots were slipping in the mud as he attempted to gather footing below. With a heavy groan, he summoned all his strength, pleading to the passing winds to lend a hand.
And they did, casting up around him, ever so slightly, catching at the remaining wing material, pulling it upward in cohesion with his own efforts. There was a sickly suctioned sound as the wreckage was slowly lifted, though still not by much.
But maybe enough for her to wiggle out?
~It’s the best I can do on mundane terms…~
He looked down to see how she was faring. “Can you make it out? Do you need me to lift it more?”
[ Written by Syn:
As he peeked down to observe the underside of the ship, she looked into his eyes gave him the most soulful, long face she could muster. With the mud covering her face, she thought that she must look awfully pathetic anyhow.
“You aren’t going to tell dad… are ya?” She mumbled softly in defeat from the underside of the ship.]
~Was she leaving town too? Ironic.. Running away, just like me.~
“Only if you promise not to tell Ce- er…” He stopped himself, grunting under the weight of his burden. “My brother… you saw me. I’d be in big trouble if he caught up with me…” A grin slipped across his face in spite of himself. “Sound like a pretty good deal to you?”