<span style="font-size: 26px">Despite the fact that Altima was about to charge forward and get a move on, Brand felt like he shouldnât be going anywhere. Or rather, he had no will to do such a thing. The world was a bleak and dark place for him now.<br/>
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But like an angel that parted the heavens and came down with shining rays of light, it seemed that TsuâRo had the perfect gift for him. The Naturalist held out little golden bits of candy, each of which seemed to glitter in his eyes. Brand gave his friend a vibrant and almost glistening look. It was the look that he had used to give the other male when he was younger. Bright, amber eyes that seemed to glow under both sun and eclipse light, looking at the brunette like the other male was his god and savior. <br/>
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Only difference from now and back then seemed to be the height difference.<br/>
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He happily cheered an undistinguishable sound, scooped up the golden candy and transferred it into his special pouch he had âborrowedâ from Ranis. Immediately after plopping one into his mouth, he gave his friend an enclosing hug. Awkward arms wrapped around the otherâs frame and his body nearly collapsed against TsuâRoâs. After a soft nuzzle of his face against the otherâs neck, feeling the vine there tickle his face and nearly take out his eye, he leapt back and happily moved to follow the others â<br/>
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Only to jump back and yelped at the large statues. Large, <i>moving</i> statues.<br/>
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<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffff00">âTheyâre moving!â</span> Brand stated the obvious. One of the earthen statues with an axe made a rather swift move and lashed downwards toward the spot that the Lightning Knight was standing. It was much faster than it should have been, considering its size. The youngest gave a yelp and barely jumped out of the way, only to have his pouchâs strands to be slashed at by the razor leaves that littered the earthen creatureâs form and blade.<br/>
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He gave a short cry of surprise and quickly stepped to retrieve the pouch, only to take one too many steps to the left. The dense area was forest-like, so he couldnât have noticed the bedded area before him. For anyone watching, it wasnât a surprise for what occurred next, but like a train wreck, one just couldnât help but watch the youngest knight in slow motion.<br/>
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Brand reached out to catch the pouch of lemon drops, took a wrong step, and the entire ground gave out on him. The leaves and twigs that covered the area crackled and fell, opening up the area to view as part ledge and part hole. The drop that swallowed Brand was so fast, it was like he was there one moment, and gone the next.<br/>
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Besides the sound of the earth rustling with the weight of Brand falling down the hole into wherever it led, it might not have been a surprise to hear a confused <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffff00">âOops!?â</span> coming from the fallen one. For sure, the sparks of light and lightning that slowly faded indicated that Brand was still spiraling away from the group.</span>