Between the Roots and Branches [Open to All]

[applesaucemod]

Don't worry, dreamers of Manhattan. There will be no humiliating episodes of sudden-onset-clumsiness tonight - at least, nothing more severe than what you might experience naturally. Your physical and mental faculties will be left perfectly intact. What a treat! And what luck, because if you do lose your footing, it's a long way down to the forest floor.

But hey, who wants to be on the boring old ground when there are so many wonderful treehouses to explore? There are dozens of them spread throughout the surrounding forest, connected by a series of bridges and catwalks (some, admittedly, a bit more stable than others). It's easy to forget - or fail to notice - that there really is no easy or conventional way down to the ground when you're surrounded by such splendor.

The houses' styles range from charming and rustic to modern and sleek, with many falling somewhere in between. There are viewing platforms for bird-watching or simply taking in the scenery (trees, mostly, though if you venture high enough, you'll be treated the sight of the forest canopy stretched across a valley far below). But the insides of the treehouses are comfortably furnished to varying degrees as well, so there's no need to immerse yourself in nature if you'd really rather not. Some are complete houses in their own right, with all the amenities of a Manhattan apartment and then some.

Go for a climb, or kick back and relax. The only enemies you'll find here are other dreamers... and, potentially, gravity.

Comments

[elcor]

"Skeptical. You do not seem fine, human," Erryl answers. He stops moving and looks around, assessing the situation. The branch is durable enough to hold them both, of that he's almost completely certain. But the swaying that Erryl's movements cause are probably the bigger problem. He doesn't want to dislodge this man by rocking the branch. Or cause him to panic and thus dislodge himself.

"Reassuring. I am going to help you," he says, a definite tone to his odour. "Gently warning. I am going to take another step so I can reach you. Please remain still." With that he carefully steps with on arm out onto the branch, gripping the wood with his large fingers, very slowly putting his weight on it.

[peacefulexplorer]

"Ahhhh, no, no, nonononono I really would not do that." The desperation in his voice gets panicked and he actually scoots back a few inches, fixing his grayish would-be rescuer with a pleading look. "I don't think it can support both of us, all right?"

[elcor]

The old saying that human emotions are about as subtle as a fireworks display rings especially true at the moment.

"Exasperated insistence: It is a good, strong branch. It will hold," he answers. Trust him on this, he's good at judging what will or won't make solid support. He leans forward, gripping tightly onto the branch with one hand, his feet firmly planted on the balcony still. He reaches out with his other hand, but Daniel's just out of reach, especially now he went even further out.

"Confident encouragement: You will be alright. Take my hand, and I will help you to safety."

[peacefulexplorer]

Daniel squints, taken aback for a short minute by the odd speech patterns. Rather than putting any weight or inflection on individual words, they appear to simply preface everything with a statement of emotional designation. That's quite fascinating in its own right, and is -

- and is so very not the point right now.

"I'd rather not risk it, if it's all the same to you." Daniel's talent for negotiation at a breakneck pace kicks in, and his rate of speech ramps up considerably. "I'm really entirely capable of getting myself off this branch without, um, without outside assistance if you will - if you will just - please?"

[elcor]

Damnit, Daniel, why won't you just let the nice elcor pick you up and lift you to safety? Erryl's plenty strong and sure-footed enough.

"Disgruntled agreement: Fine." He leans back slowly, putting his weight back on the balcony and putting his arm back down. The branch sways gently upwards as a result. He's still going to stand here and watch though, a bit grumpy about not being trusted.

[peacefulexplorer]

A stuttered sigh of relief escapes him when the branch slowly stabilizes in absence of the extra weight. The nagging worry that Daniel's large, oddly-shaped rescuer might attempt to help again is the primary incentive when he begins rapidly crawling the length of the branch, making impressive, speedy headway to the nearest platform.

"Doing fine," he mutters, as much to console himself as his would-be savior. "Doing just - doing just fine."

He's getting close. He's barely a few feet away, making impressively swift progress, when the telltale, high-pitched splinter of groaning wood jolts him to a wide-eyed, petrified halt.

[elcor]

Elcor aren't exactly known for their swift reaction times, but it probably helps that Erryl specifically had been waiting and watching Daniel to make sure he's alright.

Even so, it's only barely in time when the wood starts cracking that he reaches out. He grabs Daniel by the sides, perhaps a bit more roughly than intended or necessary, with fingers roughly the diameter of Daniel's wrists, and lifts him to safety, just as the branch breaks and goes tumbling downwards. Not wanting to let the human feel more airborne than necessary, Erryl immediately deposits the human onto the floor of the balcony, then steps back.

[peacefulexplorer]

Muscles locked in terrified stiffness, Daniel has very little wherewithal to do anything but screw his eyes shut and try not to think of the pitiless drop beneath him. Maybe he'll wake up if the branch truly breaks. Maybe he won't have to actually endure the absolute horror of the entire lengthy fall.

He almost latches onto the branch out of instinct, the only remotely solid anchor in his life right now, when he's seized and lifted and spilled onto the mercifully solid wooden floor in breathless heap.

For a long minute he splays there, unable to articulate much between the wordless panting, until he rolls onto his side and levers himself up on one elbow to give his rescuer a cautious look.

"Er." His eyes need a couple moments of rapid blinking and head-shaking to readjust. "Thanks."