The Curse of Beast

As Deandre ran, he started to feel more and more pressured, as the limbs of trees began to fall, and smoke began to fill his lungs. And worst yet the forest seemed to be a glorified labyrinth that will never end. Deandre quickly looked around, trying not to panic, trying to reignite the hope he once had...he achieved it as there was an open pathway, not much fire and it seemed to be the path he once took. He ran towards it at his top speed, only to be stopped by a crackling above him. An inflamed branch fell in front of him, the once untouchable clean grass now began to blacken and burn with the flame.

Emily narrowed her eyes. "Jump!" She shouted. "Jump Over it!" She suddenly took the fur around the squirrel's neck into her mouth gently before getting him on Deandre's back. "I. Said. JUMP!" She shouted loudly, glaring at the flaming wood. "We don't have much time to just stand around here before a branch falls on us!"

"Come one guy, Do it! JUMP!" He said pointing towards the path ahead of the branch.

Deandre looked up on his back at the two rodents "Okay! Okay! Say......" Deandre stepped back and charged towards the flaming branch, jumping over it, the flames scorching his underbelly. He landed and grimaced at the pain. He shook it off and bolted through the open path, not attempting to waste any time as a result of the possible chance that he may be flattened by the next falling tree branch.

Emily sighed slightly, holding onto Deandre as she looks around. She sighed quietly. (Don't have much to form a very well done post. So yea, have a one liner for the time being till better details are said ^^' )

The Squirrel boy looked at the two. "We did it!" He said with a delighted smile. "So where do you two think this path leads?"

Deandre sighed and sat down from exhaustion. He looked up to the sky to see that dawn was almost arriving, and that the ominous night could lay down and rest once more. In contrast to the forest's once shady atmosphere, outside the forest was nothing more than a slight barren field, with a small path that lead north to the snowy mountains for anyone who dared to venture thus far. He looked around for the "thing" That the forest guardian mentioned, and sure enough at the entrance to the woods he spotted something that was wrapped and resembled a ovalish shape. Deandre walked towards it and bit off what wrapped it to see that it was nothing more but a mirror that showed an image of the forest in its current state. But...if looked a bit closer one can see tiny life already began to poke out the ground, out of the seemingly desolate burned down forest. ".....Come look at this..." Deandre said weakly.

Emily looks. "Hey, that mirror might be magical..." She sighed before staying on his back and looking around the area. She sniff the air for any senses before getting down off deandre's back as walks around the area in silents. "We only got a week..."

He gets off Deandre's back. "Guess we will have to make this week last." He said seeming a bit strange. 'Cause this is very interesting, it's not every day you get to say that you were turned into an animal.

"This isn't a game, we're not people anymore. We have to take advantage of the time we have....and considering we're animals chances are we are greater risk by being killed." He picked up the mirror in his mouth, and tried to talk through it but his speech came out slurred. "Okay....we havesh a couple plashes to look for him. We couldsh go north to the mountainsh southsh towards the lake-bed or west to cut through an abandoned city.....any suggestionsh?"

Emily when over and took the mirror out of his mouth. "Best to let one of us little ground creatures to hold this. Anyway, Mountains won't be go for use, neither would the lake-bed... One opinion left is the abandoned city, and we'll have to be careful."

"Right." He said knowing something that they probably wouldn't, he didn't want to scare them, but it was the right thing for him too do. So he hid it in his usual confidence and moved along with them.

Deandre nodded and started walking towards the general direction of the abandoned city. The city itself was taken over by growth, and is unsure whether anyone even lives there. However because its abundance of growth it is possible that the guardian might be camping out there. "So, may i ask, what were you guys doing the woods by any chance? Its not like for someone to just wonder in there."

Emily frown. "My church sent me to find something powerful and magical. Something that would very dangerous if fallen into the wrong hands..." She sighed to herself as she stay on deandre's back. "Sad to say, I'm not strong... Just smart and somewhat quick... I-I do need my spells for everything..."

"I was dared too, plus it seemed very interesting." He said walking alongside them

(may i jump in?)

The rest of the walk was silent, and the sun began to set as soon as it had risen, stretching a violet hue across the land. Deandre squinted his eyes, to see what seemed to be a small town. But from their location the small town seemed to be covered in many vines, with trees starting to reclaim the land.

Emily looked to the place. "The city.... Maybe it holds what I was looking for, however, We can't stay to look due to the time we're forced to watch over... " She sighed to herself. "One day gone, six more to go...."

"Then we should get going" He said standing on his back legs. "Should we split up and look, or stay in a group?"

"It probably would be best to stay in the group, we're not actually familiar with out surroundings." he walked into the abandoned city, all of it covered in plant life, with many vines covering what used to be buildings. As they walked by a large flower began to grow from one of the vines quite fast and opened up, revealing an eye of some sort. "........"

Emily seem to tenses, ears perked as if she felt watched. "We're not alone..." She whispered. "Someone is watching us right now." She glance around, still being on Deandre's back.

"What makes you say that?" He said swinging his tail around

Deandre looked around in the town, as he too felt like it he was somewhat being watched, but he tried his best to shake it off as he initially thought it was just him being paranoid of his surroundings. "Where should we look around here? Considering we only got a week to find the Forest Guardian, his hiding spot won't exactly be obvious."

Emily sighed. "If I had magic sight, it be helpful... I'm sure he knows how to hide his sense from forest creatures." She hope off Deandre's back. "However, there has to be a way..."

The Squirrel boy looks around his surroundings, trying to get a sense of where might be good hiding places.