Subject: RPG Meeting Clip Date: Wed, 20 May 98 23:33:24 -0400 From: Skyechan Save Address Block Sender Stana threw herself back as the Unicorn drew a bead on her with its horn. Not bothering to wonder at the bizareness of this whole situation she squinched her eyes shut and waited, hoping it wouldn't hurt too much... Seconds passed and she finally garnered the courage to open an eye. The Unicorn was tugging futily at a golden net that was wrapped around its body. There was blood showing where the netting had dug into the tender flesh. The Unicorn stood there trembling with fear or suppressed rage she couldn't tell. ::Well obviously I have to be dreaming...or maybe it was the sherbert?:: Stana thought crazily. Crazy or not she knew enough about lore to know that a trapped Unicorn was a dead one. Not if she could help it. When se was growing up the Unicorn was her dream-it was a fantasy that protected her from hearing her parents fighting downstairs or the sound of her dad striking her mom. Besides, mothering instinct was flaring full strength ahead. She couldn't let this creature end up as Unicorn stew-or as a poison detector. "Look." she explained awkwardly."If you stand still I can get that off..." she took a half step forward-arms wide to show it she had nothing there. The horn swung around and followed her move. There was a definite feel of hostility in the too-wide eyes and the backswept ears. The Unicorn shook its head and bared its teeth. "That thing is gonna kill you if whoever sent you doesn't. It's not like I can hurt you-I mean you have an Alicorn, more than a few pounds on me, and sharp hooves. What would I do tickle you to death?" There was a snort-she wondered if it was laughing. "can I?" she asked, feeling silly and wishing she would wake up. Her dream interpretation notebook was screaming to be used... After a moment of hesitation th Unicorn dipped its head. Stana nodded uneasily. "Ok, I'm going to take my knife out and-" The Unicorn shied, half bucking. "Whoa!" she exclaimed "I'm not even near you yet! Look do you expect me to bite through the ropes?" It stopped, shuddering and looking at her warily. The Alicorn never wavered from her chest. Exagerrating her every move, Stana started to saw through the first rope Then another. The Unicorn pranced uneasily, and whinnied anxiously. "I'm sorry Unicorn. I imagine this must hurt. But less than a dehorning." she snapped the last strand of rope and pulled back as the Unicorn surged forward. Then he stopped. Stana saw that there was a nasty gash on his foreleg and he was holding it off the ground. She also heard voices. The finely tipped ears swept forward and back and he bared his teeth out. Stana hurried forward, dropping the rope, and urged him forward. "You can't stay here." she told him "I know you hear them. You have to get away. Now." The Unicorn tried a step, stumbled and stood still whickering. The tail flicked quickly. Stana leaned against his shoulder and although he shuddered as she touched him he stood still and looked at her quizzically. A moment later she staggered under the weight of the Unicorn as he leaned into her. Only it wasn't the Unicorn-or rather it was-but he was a human. This dream was really getting wacky. "Hmm this I never read about." she commented. "Can you walk?" He grunted an affirmative and limped out, Stana trying her best to help hold him. She heard the voices growing louder and was afraid that they would get caught. That was when the ground opened up and swallowed them both. "OOoomph!" That was the sound of a CucumberMonk hitting the hard ground after a long fall. "OOOOOOOMPPPPH OWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" was the sound of a humanized Unicorn landing on top of the said Cucumber Monk. Stana rolled him off of her and sat up, rubbing her back as best she could. Human or no, she still felt he weighed as much as he did as a Unicorn! "Where are we?" she asked looking around at the dimly glowing moss. It illuminated the cavern in a sickly green light. She was uncomfortably reminded of pea soup. The Unicorn looked disgustedly at the close quarters-if he turned back now he'd never fit. "I didn't know you could turn into a human." she told him rhetorically. "There is much that mortals do not know. Less that they can know." he answered rudely. Stana blinked, startled."You're welcome." she answered. "This mortal just saved your Unicorn hide-I'd say that took more than a bit of know how. And nevermind that a mortal was good enough to trap you to begin with. I'd remind you to keep a civil tongue in that horsey head of yours." He frowned angrily, clearly offended, frankly Stana didn't care. She'd been drenched, scared, nearly killed, half crushed and nearly flattened. She was tired, sore and the last thing she wanted was a sarcastic Unicorn that condenscended to her. Then as he tried to rise he winced. Stana saw the pooling blood being hungrily soaked up by the moss. It started to glow redly. "You're still injured?" she asked surprised. "I thought Unicorns-oh! Not to yourself though." she looked around. "Is this moss safe?" "I've not seen its like." the Unicorn admitted reluctantly. "I know not." "Is it hurting you?" "Neigh" "Great." Stana ripped out two large handfuls and placed them on the wound. "Here hold this there. Don't let up on the pressure." He obeyed. And watched her as she looked around curiously. Then startled as she threw her backpack off her shoulders and ripped open a pocket. She removed a handful of leaves and crushed them in her hands. "Lamb's ears." she explained, he looked at her blankly "umm....Woundwort?" Finally a reaction, he nodded and a ghost of a smile flipped his lips. "Indeed. You are a healer then?" "A healer?" Stana inquired. "Gosh no. I know something about herbs though." "A student then?" She hesitated. Then nodded. "It is odd to find a human that heals iinstead of kills." "How many humans have you met?" "I do not need to see what I know." he replied. "I suffered just now greatly at the hands of mortals." "You were also rescued at the hands of a mortal." "As I told you it is odd." Stana shut up-it wasn't worth the breath to argue. She finished pummeling the leaves and then had the Unicorn lift the moss. It was still bleeding a little and she placed the Woundwort and the moss back on. "Hold it tight." she repeated. And went back to her pocket. SHe had made a wreath of herbs for her old roommate Sharon and in typical fashion had forotten about it. There were several potentially useful items there-Chamomille, Sage, Lovage, Lavendar, Borage, Rosemary. Not much-but if he recognized the woundwart then there must be a similar fauna that grew here. "Voices!" he hissed suddenly. "Humans!" Stana glanced up at the open space where they had fell through. Then she shushed the Unicorn back into the cave deeper and did likewise. The moss was still faintly giving off illumination, hopefully noone would come close enough here to see it...