[2913] [13757] Urged to Follow [Watchers p1]

The deeper Pyrrah-Vos and Theneras ventured into the Watchers’ domain, the more the air seemed to thicken with silence. The cavernous forest felt alive, but in a way that was difficult to grasp; like they were constantly being watched from the treetops. Pyrrah couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on him, even though he hadn’t seen a single Haedian since they left the Druids’ welcome.Theneras beside him marvelled at the sight- coming from forests himself he found himself more occupied with the actual scenery than the disturbing feeling, or Pyrrah’s discomfort.

Pyrrah glanced at Theneras, his voice low but casual.

Pyrrah-Vos - "You get the feeling we’re not alone? I heard the Watchers are hard to impress, but they’re probably watching us right now… Guess it’s in the name though, hah…"

Before Theneras could answer, a figure dropped soundlessly onto a platform above them. A Watcher Haedian stood there, cloaked in shadow, their eyes glinting as they stared down at the pair. More shapes darted between the branches, moving too quickly to fully see, just enough to remind them that they were surrounded. Great.

Watcher - "What business do you have here, outsiders?"

Pyrrah hesitated, his eyes flicking from the Watcher to the shadows above. The rumours he’d heard about this clan– their distrust of outsiders, their watchful eyes in the treetops– suddenly felt very real. He wasn’t sure if words would get him anywhere with these Haedians. Clearing his throat, he took a breath and spoke up.

Pyrrah-Vos - "We’re here to explore the Beneath and learn about the clans. But… We’ve heard you don’t trust strangers easily, right?"

The Watcher’s gaze remained sharp and unyielding, as if weighing Pyrrah’s worth in that very moment. Above them, the dark figures continued to move gracefully between the branches, silent but ever-present. The quiet felt heavy, like the forest was watching too at this point.Theneras gulped nervously as well. While he wasn’t as intimidated- or so he would claim- the fact of the matter was still that they were outnumbered in a strange territory unlike any other.

Finally, the haedian gave a small, amused smirk. Held-back laughter almost filling the space between them in silence.

Watcher - "Words won’t get you far here. If you want our respect, you’ll need to earn it with action. You'll need to move like we do. Let’s see if you can keep pace in the canopy - so keep up, little ones."

Pyrrah’s eyes shifted to the platforms and branches above. They stretched far into the canopy, a maze of winding paths where the Watchers effortlessly moved like ghosts. His heart sank a little. Jumping from tree to tree wasn’t exactly his strength– not with his build. He glanced over at Theneras, his expression a mix of pre-defeat and humour.The other Chaser looked at him, then, too. His own stubby and short legs seemed far from able to do what the Haedians did. They had wings!! What did he and Pyrrah have?? 

Pyrrah-Vos - "Of course it’s jumping…"

He sighed, knowing this would be far from easy for him. As a chaser, he wasn’t built for graceful leaps through the air, and his slightly tubby frame didn’t help either. Still, he wasn’t about to back down from the challenge. Looking back up at the Watcher, Pyrrah gave a determined nod. Theneras hardly had it easy either, after all.

Pyrrah-Vos - "Alright… We’ll give it a shot."

The Watcher’s smirk grew and Pyrrah shot another glance at Theneras, gulping down his dread.

Pyrrah-Vos - "Well, here goes nothing, huh?"

He took a breath, false laughter lacing his words. He was mentally preparing himself for what was bound to be a difficult, and very clumsy, leap through the canopy. Wings would be great right now.

Theneras- “Let’s just… hope that they would catch us if we fall, right… ?”

The chaser laughed in turn, then, too. It wouldn’t suit them well to have deaths on their paws… hands… after all. But looking up at the trees, they were posed with the first difficult challenge. Getting up there. While he had the experience, he was hardly an agile climber. Jumping he could maybe do- keeping up pace with others much, much bigger than him. But climbing? And something so high? 

Theneras- “I don’t suppose you happen to know levitation magic to get us up there? I can… I can climb I suppose but… that’s… that’s an awful high climb…”

The more he said the word high, the higher the canopy seemed to get. He swallowed nervously and laughed, again, in disbelief and anxiousness. They weren’t even going to make it to the top before the Haedians were out of view- he was sure of it. Well… like Pyrrah said. Here goes nothing. He stepped towards the tree, placing a careful paw against it and testing to see if the grip of his claws would even keep him up. Surprisingly… it seemed that he could lift himself without any effort. What the–

Theneras- “Holy– Holy! We might actually make this!”

He turned his head to Pyrrah, not even a foot from the ground, and gestured for the chaser to join him. The tree’s lining seemed to be imbued with crystal magic. It made sense, seeing as the Haedian’s legs were hardly buff enough to lift their own weight as much, that the trees helped them in a way? What way? Who knows! Not Theneras! But he wasn’t going to question it, when they had Haedians to catch up to.