Jesper
01-23-2019, 06:54 PM
In case this reads out of place, the story was supposed to read with my post as #3. Thanks to my crazy work schedule and cold/sinus congestion, I was unable to finish until now. I am sorry for any inconvenience!
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lora|Nothing+You+Could+Do" rel="stylesheet"> <style type="text/css">.jesperlayer1{position:relative;z-index:0;background:url('http://i63.tinypic.com/30tko01.jpg');width:540px;padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:20px;border:4px solid #000000;border-radius:50px 50px 250px 250px;}.jesperlayer1:hover .jesperimage{-webkit-filter:grayscale(0%);filter:grayscale(0%);}.jesperlayer1:hover .jespername{-webkit-filter:grayscale(0%);filter:grayscale(0%);}.jesperlayer2{position:relative;z-index:1;background-color:#000000;border:5px solid #333333;width:500px;border-radius:50px 50px 250px 250px;box-shadow:0px 0px 10px 5px #000000;} .jesperimage{position:relative;z-index:2;background:url('http://i64.tinypic.com/2q060r5.jpg') no-repeat;transition:filter .5s ease-in-out;-webkit-filter: grayscale(100%);filter: grayscale(100%);height:338px;border-radius:50px 50px 0px 0px;}.jespergradient{position:relative;z-index:3;width:500px;top:-50px;margin-bottom:-50px;height:50px;background:-ms-linear-gradient(top, rgba(125,185,232,0) 0%, rgba(0,0,0,1) 100%);background:-webkit-linear-gradient(top, rgba(125,185,232,0) 0%,rgba(0,0,0,1) 100%);background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(125,185,232,0) 0%,rgba(0,0,0,1) 100%);}.jespertextbox{position:relative;z-index:4;width:450px;text-align:justify;color:#999999;font:14px 'Times',serif;border:0px solid #000000;border-radius:0px 0px 250px 250px;margin-bottom:25px;margin-top:25px;}.jespername{position:relative;z-index:5;color:#b2f6ff;font:80px 'Nothing You Could Do', cursive;padding:0px;transition:filter .5s ease-in-out;-webkit-filter: grayscale(100%);filter: grayscale(100%);}.jesperlineage{position:relative;z-index:5;color:#666666;text-shadow:0px 0px 5px #3f808c;font:15px 'Lora', serif;bottom:25px;}.jesperpaw{position:relative;z-index:6;background:url('http://i63.tinypic.com/2gt5aok.png');width:100px;height:105px;margin-bottom:25px;}</style><center><div class="jesperlayer1"><div class="jesperlayer2"><div class="jesperimage"></div><div class="jespergradient"></div><div class="jespertextbox">Jesper steps into the cavern behind Pteron. His aquamarine gaze is instantly drawn to the shimmer of ice and, he nearly loses his grip on the young lad's pale cyan hued tail, as he gawks in awe. Icicle Isle certainly did not possess anything this magical. At least, not that he was aware of. With the gold spotted and the sheer white mares safely inside, out of the fierce blizzard, Jesper purposefully let's go of Pteron's tail. For a moment, the canine ponders as to whether his equine form would be better suited for these paths and their lurking unknowns.<br><br> <i>Which would be best to help the group and, the Queen of the Frost Pixies?</i><br><br> He had yet to fight as a fox but he imagines his bite is slightly worse in this form. He could scratch, as well but, he lacked the muscular strength a horse possesses. At last, he decides his acute senses as a canine are more desirable than his strength as a horse. Light blue eyes survey the numerous paths carved through the ice. His focus returns to the group where he voices a proposal. <b>"I think it best if we split into pairs. You know to cover more ground."</b> Making eye contact with the black and gold appaloosa, Jesper invites her along with him. He offers a smile when she accepts and, nods to the other two as they wish <i>"Good luck"</i> and head off.<br><br>The appaloosa's voice draws his attention back and, he nods before trotting towards the path. The fox stops just at the beginning of the path, lowers his head and, engages his senses. Triangular ears hone in on the echoes of the cavern. He hears the shuffles of the young mare's hooves against the hard floor. The floor is solid but not ice - stone perhaps. It is hard to tell its exact make with the film of dust that coats it. He tries to take a whiff of the heavy coating; however, all he is left with is a pair of irritated nostrils. He sneezes instinctively and, casts a billow of dust away from the pair. Seemingly undisturbed, the dust did not give away any more details to what lurked down here. After inspecting the floor, aquamarine gaze inspects the darkness in front of them. He pads forward and searches the shadows for any signs of movement. Jesper notes their reflections in the wall and, how every angle of the path seems the same. He sighs when Naia questions if they should turn back. If they were to find the Queen of the Frost Pixies near the top of the mountain, he would expect that their path would require navigating mostly uphill. He did not expect the correct path to begin climbing in elevation right away but, it is clear, now, that this one is actually doing the opposite.<br><br>Before he can suggest that they backtrack, a wave of light amongst the shadows catches his eye. His stance stiffens and, the long hairs upon his spine rise. His upper lip does also, revealing his pointy carnivorous dentition. The male is grateful that the filly seems eager to stand their ground as she positions herself defensively, as well. As the creature slinks forward, seemingly out of the wall and, into the body of an ancient cat. Its body moves like a feline and, it appears the creature is more than excited for their company. It speaks and, before long, the duo are mulling over a riddle. Jesper had no idea though, he forces himself to appear as if he is thinking hard on the answer. As the sphinx's time limit seems to draw to an end, the fox watches as he stalks closer. The sphinx seems to fully enjoy the attention and, their interaction. It soon cackles loudly, echoing down the tunnel before he spews the answer.<br><br><i>A penny.</i> As if Jesper even knew what such an object looked like. He feels the filly's eyes upon him and, he matches her light brown gaze with his light blue eyes. He would need to think quickly. Clearly, the beast stands too close to make a clean get away, now. The fox is not even sure they can fight this creature. Would his teeth or nails penetrate its ice-like body? But, Jesper remembers that this quest is meant to test their wisdom. Maybe they did not need strength or, fighting skills. A plan soon comes to mind. He offers a small smile to the spotted mare, which grows bigger as he faces the sphinx once more. He laughs, deep and loud (as if reflecting the depth of his enjoyment), before speaking. <b>"That is a great riddle! I know some riddles myself. I would be honored if you answer one of mine."</b> Jesper levels his gaze with the sphinx, all while formulating a riddle that would have this beast pondering so hard, the duo could make their get away. Finally, he decides upon one and, speaks again. <b>"The more of them you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?"</b> He casts a silent glance to the spotted mare as he backs away. Before the sphinx can answer, Jesper pivots on his heels and follows the <i>footprints<i> they left behind, in the dust, on their way down. He didn't waste time looking behind him as he could hear Naia's hooves echoing off the walls. The sad outcry of the sphinx bounces off of the wall and, follows them down the path as they flee.<br><br>Jesper slides to a halt as a wall of ice stands before them, panting from their jaunt. Adrenaline courses through his veins and, the canine can feel his heart pounding in his chest. So, they escaped the clutches of the sphinx but, took a wrong turn. Aquamarine gaze flicks to the floor and, he realizes that there are only one set of pawprints and, one set of hoofprints. In his frantic haste to escape, he must have missed the curve of the path. He apologizes to the mare and leads her out of the dead end. After a few paces, they reach a fork. To their right is a path whose dusty footing remains undisturbed, meaning they had not used this path to get to the sphinx. To their left is the path they were just on, still echoing in the beast's wallows. Had the sphinx followed them down the path? The path to the right might not be the correct one either. It could very easily take them down an endless spiral of dangers. All at once, the whistle of an arctic wind reaches his right ear. The scent of fresh snow causes his nose to twitch. Sensing that the path to the right just led them outside, Jesper decides to pad to the left. At first, his keen eyesight focuses into the shadows to see if the sphinx had followed them. It does not feel as though strange eyes are upon them so, he allows himself to relax a little.<br><br>He heeds close attention to the dust and, when their own double set appears, Jesper looks to the right. Sure enough, there is a path that only bears their incoming set of footprints. He eagerly bounds down this path to return to the mouth of the cavern. The pegasus and snow white mare are no where to be seen but, a dual set of hoof prints can be seen in the dust down one of the other paths. Jesper marches down the closest untravelled path. He pads along, ears and eyes honing in on the darkness. His nose cannot pick up anything of note either.<br><br>After several horse lengths, a shrill scream comes from the darkness. Jesper feels his chassis tense and he starts to growl lowly as they proceed forward. The next thing the fox feels is multiple tugs on his tail. He scoots forward, narrowly dodging a low hanging icicle. He tries to tuck his tail between his haunches. Jesper spins around to see the gold spotted mare snapping at the air between them. Aquamarine gaze fixates on the multiple winged creatures hovering around them. The imps are thin and bony, with mousy-colored, leather-like, hairless skin. A pair of wings sit on its back and a pair of horns atop its head. Their ears are conical and proportionately large for their head and, their eyes are dark and beady. A swarm targets the filly with a smirk across their faces. They squeal with delight as they pull at her ears and mane. Jesper lunges at them, snapping and prepared to grab one. The imps are faster than he and leave him pushing back off the wall until gravity pulls him onto all fours. The swarm of imps now fly straight at him and burrow themselves into his fur. They pull at his hairs and scream in his ears. One even manages to latch onto his upper lip. He growls and attempts to shake them off but, to no avail. Jesper takes a moment to look over at the spotted mare who is also being poked and prodded at the imps' whim. He shouts to the filly above the squeals, <b>"I have an idea! Try this."</b> Next, the fox dives towards the hard ground and somersaults to squish the winged pesks under his own body weight. He proceeds to dive towards the ground a second time until all of the imps have released him from their childish antics. He takes a second to make sure his trick worked for Naia also. Her smirk reassures him and, with them retreating, he chooses to press on down this path. Honestly, what beast would willingly choose to occupy the same tunnel as those pesks?<br><br>The canine and equine do not encounter any other beasts on this path; however, this is one of those loops that brings them back to where they started. The imps choose not to engage the second time around and, before long, Jesper and Naia can see the snow white mare and the cremello and pale sky blue pegasus come into view. Jesper offers a smile - of recognition and, genuine relief. Everyone had triumphed thus far. After listening carefully to what Ilma and Pteron had discovered, Jesper shares their own experiences. He even makes a point of noting the coating of dust and ice crystals on the floor of each path. He explains that following their footprints was instrumental in navigating the paths and their dangers. The group processes this information for quite some time before Ilma exclaims that she found what must be the correct one. Jesper bounds to her side and focuses his acute pair of eyes upon the disturbed coating of dust that coats the floor of the identified path. A sly grin spreads across features and with a gleeful yip, the fox offers a nod in agreement with the white mare's discovery. Jesper quickly falls into step behind the mare as the Queen's pleading voices resonates in his head.</div><div class="jespername">jesper</div><div class="jesperlineage">carnage x bethanie</div><div class="jesperpaw"></div></div></div><font size="2">devin's∇designs</font></center>
posted at 6:54pm EST