As soon as Leeta speaks her mind to the boys, Rixi comes to a complete halt. What she said, well, she's not wrong. That's something that his best friend Ethan would say too since he's just cautious as she is. Daisy would reconsider if she was here... so would Tenebris... and Shijiro; The Wildland Shifters who plan in advance rather than to deal with last minute changes. But... they're not here. These people are different. And besides, for some reason the thought of reuniting with the rest seemed to stress him even more. Part of him agrees that maybe this isn't worth the trio, but a part of him also tells him that, if she doesn't halt whatever she's doing, more people may end up disappearing; And also, and exaggerative imagination of her schematics reaching to Neverwinter didn't really help cool down his impulses either for a minute. 

"She's inside there somewhere. I feel like... she's waiting for us." Rixi replies with a low voice with a less aggressive tone this time as breathes heavily in his place without making eye contact with the other two, though his distinct, oriental accent becomes ever more noticeable as he does so. "Even if... even if we head back... even if we warn them, what if she has already taken another victim? And... did anyone even keep track of how far away we are from the house?" Most of the time whenever a last minute plan comes up Rixi's flexibility enables him to cope with the change and enable him to rapidly adjust. But this time, he doesn't like this idea. Something is coercing him to go and finish the job... something inside him disagrees with this last minute plan and focus on dealing with the threat first, even if it's just the three of them, let alone by himself. After all, this is what he intends to do alone away from the comforts of his home and friends... right?

- Who's that "she" you are refering to, Rixian? Do yo mean Twig? She's just a kid! Or do you mean someone else? - Leeta is clearly confused. But she keeps talking - In any case, if you are so intent on entering the woods right now - despite we've been already warned against this - let me just go grab the others. They don't know where we are right now, but we do know where they are. I'm quick. Tell him, Mizu - she says, looking at the water genasi - I'm very quick. I can go look for them and bring them here shortly so we can all go together. But I need you to promise that you will wait for us to come here. Then we can check on the forest and also, did you notice? That rose didn't reflect the moonlight for some reason. The others will want to know about that. 

Mizu very nearly walks right past Rixian when alerts stops them. He stops, then hesitates before saying slowly, “If Twig is still alive, time is not on our side. Waiting could cost her life.” He grips his swords tightly. As much as he values Leeta’s opinion, he really feels pressed for time right now. It’s clear he feels this way, especially since he usually takes more time in decision making.

He glances towards the woods, then up to where Soma is circling, “You are fast Leeta, but Soma is faster. Let her get the others while we go ahead. We… may not even find anything. But if we wait our chances of finding Twig, or whatever it was Soma saw, will be reduced.” 

He takes a tentative step in the direction they were headed, eyes flicking to Leeta as if expecting an objection. He really doesn’t want to wait. 

Leeta clicks her tongue. She clearly does not agree of this course of action, but if she's the only one of the trio thinking this way, then there's not much else to say.

- Fine. Let's have Soma lead the others here and let's go.

Quote from FairIthilien >>

- Who's that "she" you are refering to, Rixian? Do yo mean Twig? She's just a kid! Or do you mean someone else? - Leeta is clearly confused. But she keeps talking - In any case, if you are so intent on entering the woods right now - despite we've been already warned against this - let me just go grab the others. They don't know where we are right now, but we do know where they are. I'm quick. Tell him, Mizu - she says, looking at the water genasi - I'm very quick. I can go look for them and bring them here shortly so we can all go together. But I need you to promise that you will wait for us to come here. Then we can check on the forest and also, did you notice? That rose didn't reflect the moonlight for some reason. The others will want to know about that. 

Rixi flinches slightly as Leeta is confused at who he attempted to address. Of course it had to be Twig. Who else is there that the poor paladin saw rushing into the woods? It's not like any of the other two saw someone else other than her right? But even so remains silent... until he flinches again when Leeta suggests to leave the two boys alone whilst the heads back to the inn. No... that's a terrible idea... his stability depends on Leeta being able to watch over the two. He doesn't trust himself being around his polar opposite; He's the supposed oil to Mizu's water, and thinking about his former comrades (plus Daisy, who he loves) would not be enough to elude this fact that he's still facing three of them in his vicnitiy. And then he hears Mizu talking about-

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >>

Mizu very nearly walks right past Rixian when alerts stops them. He stops, then hesitates before saying slowly, “If Twig is still alive, time is not on our side. Waiting could cost her life.” He grips his swords tightly. As much as he values Leeta’s opinion, he really feels pressed for time right now. It’s clear he feels this way, especially since he usually takes more time in decision making.

He glances towards the woods, then up to where Soma is circling, “You are fast Leeta, but Soma is faster. Let her get the others while we go ahead. We… may not even find anything. But if we wait our chances of finding Twig, or whatever it was Soma saw, will be reduced.” 

Oh yeah. Soma. That beautiful falcon. It has to be his love nature that also helps to calm his instability... Maybe this Water Genasi might be proving something that Rixi doesn't know... (What kind of falcon species is Soma? I keep imagining she's a peregrine falcon) Arigato, Mizu-kun... (ありがと, 水ーくん...) Rixi heavily breathes in his thoughts as his muscles relax. Just this once, he'll let this slide, but no more. And besides, he needs to move. The urge to burn is slowly overtaking him as his pain sort of eases but still remains.  "Let's... let's not delay." he stutters before he moves forward again. He's already gripped into his seemingly impractical weapon with his hand now wreathed in flames. If anyone tries to attack him, control him with a spell or even ambush, he will instantly retaliate before they can do so.

Mizu nods, and sends Soma off. The bird circles over them once before flying towards the inn, though Mizu took a moment to look through the bird's eyes in order to note their own destination before she left them. He blinks when Rixian says something in a language that he doesn't understand (though it sounds vaguely familiar), he tilts his head slightly but stays quiet--nodding when the fire genasi says they should not delay. So, he continues on, now leading the way since Soma is not guiding them anymore. 

He still keeps his sabers out, ready for anything. Though, he walks briskly now, more concerned with speed than stealth since they chose to dally for a while. The last thing he wants to find is a body, but at the same time... he'd almost rather find a body than nothing at all. At least then they would have confirmation... but then again, they would also know she is dead and they were too late. No, he'll just have to hope that they can get there in time. If not... he'll seek vengeance for Twig and everyone else who has gone missing. Just as he must do for himself when the time comes. 

(So, I called Soma a snow hawk, which isn't a real species. So the closest species in resemblance would be the White Hawk, which is native to Africa. Honestly I just wanted him to have a white hawk, so I had to look up what species area actually white to figure out if there are any hawks with the coloring I've imagined for her. The white hawk is surprisingly close to how I pictured Soma--white with some black markings on face tips of wings and tail.)

(I actually made a character reference sheet for Mizu a while ago, so I'll put that image here...)

Kulogall heads out with Mina and Rowarin, saying to them “We should find the others.  Do you know which direction they were headed?  Let’s start walking and see if we can find them, we need to stick together ..”

With their minds made up, Leeta, Rixian, and Mizu start making their way towards the dark forest. The trio soon exit the rundown block of houses and find themselves on the outskirts of town. As they continue, they pass a few ramshackle farmhouses before finding themselves just outside the treeline. Thick brush creates a sort of natural wall along these trees. Most of it is the typical underbrush found within these kinds of woods, however upon closer inspection you can all make out thorny vines wrapping around the trunks of trees and shrubs alike. This woody mass makes the place look like a kind of fortress, one that no sane person would try to push through unless their life depended on it. Not in the dark at least.

Meanwhile, Kulogall, Rowarin, and Mina exit the Stonedog and enter into the night. Mina's keen elven eyes don't pick up anything of note in the silent streets nor in or on any of the houses. She does however, easily spot Soma flying towards them. The hawk lightly lands on her shoulder, before taking flight again to lead the three in the right direction. After traveling through the still mostly populated portion of town, you find yourself among more rundown, clearly abandoned houses. While passing through a dark alley, dimly illuminated by the few rays of moonlight peaking over the rooftops, Mina spots a small cluster of thorns growing from the cobbled street, headed by a single deep red rose in full bloom. Notably, the plant is in the darkest shadow of the alley.

Kulogall sees the thorns and rose in the darkness, he grips his hand around a small piece of copper wire and sends a message forward in the direction they are going, concentrating on Leeta, then Rixian, then Mizu.  He sends a signal, hoping to reach them if they are close enough, “We are trying to follow you.  Found a rose and thorns.  Be careful!  Come back and join up with us!”

(OOC: @Rynn: does the message reach Leeta? Just to post accordingly :) ) 

(@Leeta Unfortunately,  you are to far away right now. The edge of the woods is about a mile outside of town. Mina, Kulogall and Rowarin are near the area where you all started, which is close to Twig's house/hideout where the other children are.)

When their group reaches the fortress of vines, Mizu pulls up short. His eyes scan and measure the barrier, and he maintains his usual calm as he slowly realizes that there is no way for them to enter the woods now. Upon realizing this, his first reaction is to take a swing at the wall cutting the outermost layer before making a frustrated noise and turning around to face the town and where Soma flew off to. He clenches his teeth, forcing himself to keep his cool as his hopes of moving forward are suddenly crushed.

Still, he quivers in anger for a moment before taking a breath and once more eyeing the wall. Slowly, his eyes climb to the top of the trees and grow distant for a short time. Then he blinks and lets out a sigh before plopping down onto the ground, setting his sabers to the side and crossing his legs. He stares at the ground for a moment, clearly not really seeing it as he lets his vision link up with Soma's--who is currently flying over the rest of their group. It seems they had already left when Soma met up with them, so they were closer than Mizu had anticipated--not that it matters now. They can't move forward. 

They were too late after all. 

Blinking again, Mizu stays sitting for a while. He seems completely calm, in spite of his posture being that of either a meditating monk or a pouting child... or something in between. He tilts his head, indicating that he is trying to think of a new solution. What can they do now aside from head back? 

"The others are heading this way," he says finally, voice even quieter than normal. "They... found another rose." He doesn't make any move to get up and lead them to the other half of their party. Instead maintaining his crosslegged position on the ground. He crosses his arms, still contemplating what to do. As Leeta knows, he is not the fastest at making decisions. At least, not normally. 

Mina runs up to the rose and takes in the scent of it.  Looking around, she tries to find something that might connect her to the rose or at the very least a door that connects to this wall.  If she finds a door, she wrenches it open, charging through to try and stop whatever might be happening, fearing she is too late.

There wasn't much that Rixi could react to now that the trio have reached this wall blocking the path. Of course, he was kind of expecting this to occur, but somehow, Mizu's frustration when he knows that he cannot tear them down with his blades was immediately picked up unknowingly by his fire counterpart. It's as if his anger has been transferred to him; Rixi's feeling what Mizu is feeling except that he's trying to suppress... Oh yeah. He's know why now: The other two cannot burn them down so easily, so he deduces that this must be is job once again. Maybe that's why he feels helpless.

Still though, the Fire Genasi remains undeterred by the wall of vines obscuring him, let alone that Mizu alerted that his other three so-called teammates preparing to meet up with him again. They found another rose too? That must be Twig's doing no doubt. In fact just thinking about them... his stomach lurches for a brief 3 seconds before he returns to his current obstacle. As such, his hands once again burn hotter and brighter than usual, though both blades on his glaive doesn't follow suit. "Shiakata ga nai... (仕方がない, It can't be helped...) Get back!" He growls as a medium-sized flame shoots from his right hand and onto the mass wall of vines, hoping that a path can be cleared without spreading to the trees that connect to them.

Leeta frowned when they found the vines blocking their way. They were so thick and intertwined that not even one small as her could be able to cross it. She cursed under her lips, and was about to address Mizu about this, but his distant face told her that he was connected to Soma's senses, as she had seen him do before so many times, before so she just waited for him to finish.

Once he's back and tells them about the others, she gasps:

- That rose could perfectly be Telron's. Twig's friend.

Then, after they move to allow Rixian space so he can try to burn down these vines, she sits next to Mizu and puts a hand in his forearm for an instant.

- If Rixian's fire doesn't work, we can wait a little while for the rest to come. They may have some more magic tricks up their sleeves they could try here. But if that doesn't work either, then ... I think we would have already done what we can today. Tomorrow, with the light of day, we can try again.

She stops for a moment and thinks. "With the light of day....?"

- Guys. Did you realize that the rose we found was in the darkest part of the alley? And the one in the blacksmith's house was also very hidden. What if they don't like the light? What if those vines there don't like the light, either? I wonder if they'll be easier to overcome in the morning.

Rowarin stops briefly to examine the strange rose. How does it grow in the dark? 

He stoops down, carefully cutting the flower from its stem and keeping it in some wrappings. We can show Cassian later. 

"Guys, this looks fresh. I think we better pick the pace up, I fear something has happened."

With this, Rowarin starts to go into a light jog.

As Rixian carefully tries to burn the underbrush without lighting the entire forest on fire, the first thing he notices is that the vines almost immediately turn to dust after igniting, while the rest of the vegetation burns as normal. The genasi's flames do seem to be having an affect on the brush, but it's slow going.

Mina frantically looks around where the rose is growing. Though the plant is in the middle of the cobbled street, there is a door a few paces ahead. As Mina goes to wrench the door open, she ends up wrenching it part of the way out of it's frame. These houses are in very bad shape, and the state of this particular building becomes even more evident when looking inside. It looks like part of the roof has fallen in, and the soft moonlight reflects off of dust particles floating inside the abandoned space. There seems to be no clues inside this abandoned home. 

With Rowarin's prompting, the trio continues to follow Soma at a faster pace. By the time you meet up with Rixi, Mizu, and Leeta, Rixi has made a fairly decent dent in the forest's underbrush, but the vegetation doesn't seem to be letting up. Furthermore, the young paladin feels a growing sense of danger as he continues, the closeness of the trees is almost claustrophobic, and an aura of anger pushes towards you from the depths, clearly something does not want you there.

Mizu nods to Leeta, though his gaze is currently fixed on Rixian and his flames as the paladin makes his way into the overgrowth. As he watches, the vines crumble away, and something clicks into place in his mind. 

Tilting his head sideways he says to Leeta, "Yes... I think you are right." Watching the vines crumble with the light of the flames, it leaves him to wonder if they will even be present at all in the morning. Still, is he willing to turn back when this could lead them to Twig? "But... should we turn back if we can make progress now?" His voice sounds conflicted, as he still wants to press on in spite of realizing that Leeta might be right in wanting to wait until the morrow. 

Then he realizes that they've let Rixian get a ways ahead of them. Whether out of concern for the paladin or perhaps some other reason, he feels the need to follow. While the fire genasi may see Mizu as a polar opposite... or perhaps an arch nemesis of some sort... Mizu seems almost drawn to the fire. He doesn't have any particular feelings towards Rixian, other than thinking him a little strange, but the presence of the fiery paladin (and the way he just dove headfirst into the vines) reminds him of someone else. For a moment, he almost forgets that it's Rixian he's following and not his overly enthusiastic Master. However, the sentiment quickly disintegrates as he nears Rixian and the feeling of claustrophobia and animosity creeps in. The feeling causes him to stop, and glance around. Perhaps Leeta has the right of it after all... perhaps it is time to turn back.

Vaguely he is aware of Soma entering his proximity, and the sounds of the others gathering just outside the wall of vegetation. Yet for some reason, the sound of his own heart is the loudest thing, that and the sound of his own breathing. He stands there for a moment, then another, and another, until he finally grips the front of his shirt and shakes himself. Now is not the time to act like a frightened child. That version of Mizu is dead and he cannot afford to be resurrected. Setting his jaw, he grips his sabers and quickly closes the distance between himself and Rixian. 

"The others just arrived," he says in a tone barely loud enough to be heard over the crackling flames. "Leeta thinks these vines will be easier to overcome in the morning... I think she's right." He falls silent for a moment, watching as the flames burn and seeming to have regained his full, calm, confidence. "If you wish to continue anyways... I have your back." 

Regardless of whether or not the others decide to follow, or Leeta tries to stop them. If Rixian decides to push forward, Mizu will follow. 

- Let's just see what they think, okay? They are just there, after all - the monk points to Rowaring, Mina and Kullogall as they approach, and then turns to greet them - Guys, everything okay? We found Twig and the other kids at their house. They looked fine, if not a bit jumpy, but when Twig realized that one of her friends - Telron, who has fey heritage, same as her - hadn't arrived home, she got so upset that run to look for him. We tried to follow as fast as possible, but ended up loosing her in an alley. When we reached it - the monk sighs - ... well, she was nowhere to be seen and we only found more vines, and another of those roses. They seem to be fond of the darkness, these flowers. Like the one in the blacksmith's house that was so hidden, remember?

Leeta waits for the trio to process all this info before continuing:

- Twig also mentioned that she and Telron have been chased by some kind of plant dogs, who only come out at night and chase them both, but ignore the rest of the kids. Most of the time, she said. Adults can't see them, apparently. Perhaps they have been charmed to ignore both the roses and the plant dogs.

She gasps when she suddenly remembers something

- Oh wait! Twig also said that the plant dogs are afraid of fire, remember guys? - she says to Mizu and Rixian - They kept torches lit all the time, but only at night, because they never saw anything weird during the day. I'm pretty convinced that light affects whatever dark magic is happening here negatively. Do we really want to enter the forest when this magic is in its strongest peak? Soma did see a shadow heading this way, but ... I'm not sure this is a good idea.

Rowarin, slightly out of breath from the jog across town, takes a moment to process the information Leeta just advised them on.

"Seems we were right to come see what was taking you so long.. wait, did you say plant dogs??" Rowarin tries to recall if he has ever heard of such a creature, and whatever information that can be made useful (History: 22)

"Well, it sounds like they are pressing on, and really it's probably best we stick together from here. If there is a chance we can save this child you speak of now, I think we should take it. If we need to create some light, just say the word and I can do just that."

With this Rowarin holds his hands out, palms exposed, fingers arched, readying himself for the potential need to cast a spell.