//------------------------------// // CHAPTER 8 1/2 // Story: EntiQuest [OLD] // by Sputniik //------------------------------// A subtle smirk rose upon the cervitaur's face, as Danny instantly brightened, reaching out to grab the book. "Wait, seriously?" he seemed a bit skeptical, but reached out for the journal nonetheless. "W-where did you get this?" Dipper rolled his eyes, now moving the book higher out of reach. "Not important; we just need to decode..." He fumbled with the book, flipping wildly into one of the many marked sections, to one particular page that appeared a tad more wrinkled and feeble than the rest. Tracing his finger down the page, Danny had quickly hurried to his side, glancing over his shoulder to get a glance at the inscriptions. "...This." Danny frowned. "Decode.... what?" "That's the point," Dipper cast a knowing glance, "You're the only one of us that can understand it. It's written in a foreign spirit language-- Roviian." Danny looked thoughtful. "So I do have some sort of relevance here after all," "If we can translate the recipe for the antidote, we should be back to normal in no time," Danny would have been ecstatic if the second thought hadn't fogged his mind. "But... how do you know this is the book for the antidote...?" he murmured, as if struggling whether the question was even worth asking. "I mean, you can't... you can't speak 'Roviian', can you?" "Of course not." Dipper raised a brow, opening the book to the first page, "But the cover page does mention it being a personal research diary on antidotes to otherworldly plagues, and such. It's in english." "Wait," Danny narrowed his eyes, finally taking the book in his hands, "Why would the cover page be an english translation, and the rest of it in another language I didn't even know existed?" Snatching back the journal, Dipper sighed, although the sudden eruption of thunder covered it up, "Roviian is a language that people used back during the Era of Time, remember?" Not waiting for a reply, he continued. "There were paranoias based on an evil entity that... threatened to kill the people who spoke of him. So in desperation, one scientist and his assistants ventured off to seek a ghost-- Huskivian, if i'm correct-- who was believed to be a watcher spirit, the wisest ghost who watched over his people. The scientist pleaded to him for advice, and so Huskivian granted him the ability to learn one of his many languages. One that the evil entity was unable to understand. He'd taught it to his assistants, who passed on the language only to the ones who grew responsible enough not to fall for the tricks of the evil spirit. Some say to this day, he still lurks around, searching for prey who's naive enough to make a deal with him in order to learn the language." he twirled his finger around one of the bookmarks, "It's not a comforting thought... he reminds me of someone." The empty space of conversation was filled in with a sudden burst of rain, as the sky precipitated at an unnatural level. Danny grunted, mere seconds before the wind picked up as well, blowing the hood of his jacket off to the side. "And now that story time's over, can we please get inside? It's literally raining sideways." Dipper snickered, "No need to tell me twice," He stuffed the book into the pocket on the inside of his now soaking wet vest. "Kids?" A faint voice called out in mild surprise. The two boys flinched, flickering their gaze towards the exit of the garden where a just-as-faint figure appeared at the mouth of the path. The sudden pulse of fear throbbed in his ears, as Dipper tipped his cap in anxiety-- There was one distinct set of features that kept hooves to ground. A pair of antlers-- or more specifically, an antler and a half. His shoulders dropped, as the younger teen let out an audible breath. "Ivor..." The face had become visible, all of a sudden, as Danny, too, had released a sigh. 'Ivor' broke into a run, gripping the hood of his cloak with furred black fingers. His breathing grew ragged, as he stumbled into the territory of his front yard, his scent of worry filling the thin air. He removed his hood, detaching it from the cloak, as it plopped into the mud beneath his feet. The absence of the hood revealed his much deer-like face, with the antlers atop his head to complete the picture. His hands fell over the boys' shoulders, as Ivor paused to catch a breath. "Wh...what were you two... doing out here?" If his worry hadn't come out in exasperated breathes, the edge of concern in his voice would have been more than obvious. Danny raised a brow, glancing accusingly over towards Dipper, who avoided his gaze. Ivor sighed, ushering the two towards the yard door hidden well behind a cluster of trees. "Alright, hurry up on inside, quickly-- we'll talk about this later," As if on cue, a flash of lightning duoed with a pounding against the earth with a white light. Ivor gasped, blinking away the dots in his vision, as he sighed in relief as the door had shut behind the two, shutting out the streak of golden light. "AGH!" Dipper exclaimed, flailing his free hand as the hot liquid dribbled out the corner of his mouth. The mug tilted sideways in his other hand, daring to tip over and splatter it's contents onto the bedsheets. Ivor breathed a laugh, before placing down his own drink on the ottoman. "You're drinking too fast," Ignoring his comment, the deertaur lolled his tongue out to the side, slightly red from the temperature of the tea. He placed an almost playful glare, rubbing the dry section of his vest against his mouth. "You could have told me that sooner," "And... on a similar topic," Twilight piped up, levitating the mug just below her muzzle, "What have to two been doing out there?" She paused to massage her temples. "It's on the verge of forty degrees, in the literal eye of a storm. And you were...?" Danny rolled his eyes, nudging Dipper, unknowingly spilling a good amount of chamomile on his top. "Summoning the devil," "We were not--" Drip. The four glanced upwards, all eyes now glued to the lower ceiling, in which a wet spot had sprouted in the crevasses of the wood. Ivor groaned, removing himself from his seat. "Not again. I'll be quick, you three-- stay right there." He hurried off into the other doorway, placed conveniently near the selection of cots that lined the room. And then it was quiet. The room had fallen silent, the only sounds now were the clinking of glass mugs, sipping on tea, and the crashing of the rage of the storm. And-- Drip. Twilight bristled, backing out, as the spot quickly grew larger. Her eyes flashed in fear, as her body seemed to move on it's own, pressing her flank against the back wall. Shudders ran up and down her spine, spreading prickles of cold through her veins like needles. A sound escaped her mouth, as her vision had darkened. Scared? "Shut it," Twilight hissed, "I'm not in the mood." Suit yourself, Princess. And suddenly the sensation was gone. Her body sprang upright, as Twilight shook her head briskly. She'd lost control. Again. That thing was taking over her body... "Uh..." Dipper murmured, inching close to the mare against the wall, "Is everything--" "No." Twilight blurted, almost hysterically, "No, everything isn't fine-- not like hell." "Do I... need to ask you if you want to talk about it? I mean, it seems like you--" "Yes! I mean, I might!" Her ears pinned back as she mentally scolded herself, "I-it's... you wouldn't understand..." She replied in a whisper, averting her eyes, hoping for them to get lost on anything else in the world. But she could feel something. Some sort of warm, tingling itch that surfaced beneath her fur. It felt... familiar, yet... nice, almost. And at the same time, wrong. She let out a shuddered huff, slowly returning her eyes to the preteen. "Wh...What..." but she shook her head. "I mean, this!" She motioned to the boy before her, who flinched back a bit, which went unnoted by Twilight. Her eyes were suddenly filled with concern. "Y-you're not... you anymore..." Dipper had returned the stare, looking slightly offended. "Of course I am. I don't know what made you think that." He squinted, taking another sip from his cup. Twilight gritted her teeth. "Then what about me?" She pointed to the golden yellow horns protruding from the sides of her head. "Can you explain any of this?" Drip. The mare's eyes instinctively dodged towards the spot on the ceiling, only to widen, as she noticed Ivor, pinning a tarp over the spot. It hadn't been the ceiling. Dipper's mug had tilted lifelessly to the side, blotching a light brown stain between them on the old blanket. Twilight paled, hesitantly meeting his stare. His mouth was half open, as if his mind was still sifting for words to respond. Then, Dipper blinked. "You don't know?"