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Arvid pokes his head around the corner of a darkened hallway in the Canterlot Library, seeing the books beyond locked off by a firm iron gate. He slides over, quiet on his talons and paws before fiddling with the lock. He’d practiced for quite a while to get this thing opened, and once he did he’d have to be quick… the guards came by every half hour so the clock was ticking! Ever since the Library had denied his multitudinous requests for access to the restricted section so that he could research some of the more magical and deadly plants within Everfree he’d been planning to get—

In! With a click and a metallic ping he’d picked the lock, pulling his talon and the pin out and slowly turning the creaky gate open. He gently shuts it behind him, careful not to pull it all the way as it would be difficult to impossible to pick it back open from the other side if it re-locked.

The griffon takes a deep breath, savouring the smell of the ancient books within. Most books had a scent of their own, but those that were centuries old, printed on fibrous parchment or stretched vellum had a scent like no other when gathered together, slightly sweet and woody, with a hint of smokiness and dust. Coming back from that moment of glee he adjusts his cap, scanning the shelves and the markings thereon, looking for the one that contained the particular cosmographia he was after.

Spotting the shelf he moves towards it, but had taken scarce a step before an errant placement of his paw triggered some sort of pressure plate and in a moment found himself tumbling head over heels down a chute and into a room below.

“Argh! Gah…” He grumbles, rolling into what seemed to be a wall… he had forgotten that there were ancient traps there in the restricted sanctum of the Library, disabled when accessed legally, but active otherwise. He looks around quickly, eyes adjusting to the light to see just where he was. It was a smallish room, dark and fairly cramped, looking down he was on some odd sort of plinth with a tall backing on it- undoubtedly the wall he’d run into after falling down the chute.

The griffon rolls his shoulders, twisting his weight to try and stand back up but was met with a pulling sensation from his back, like it was stuck with adhesive to the stone wall behind him. Arvid quickly found that it his rump was similarly fastened, quirking a brow quizzically as he tried to figure out this predicament. Glue trap…? No, this was just stone, nothing else on it. Must be some sort of magic… indeed, he spots the faint hint of a seal on the stone beneath him glowing and fading away to leave the polished marble behind. Whatever the case, he was quite stuck in a rather awkward position, splayed back with his paws in the air.

He shivers, another sensation creeping over him, starting on his back and rump where they met the marble. A coolness seeping along and squeezing at his skin, the griffon shudders and squirms in response, peering down in the dimness to see the colour on his hind regions starting to fade, subsumed beneath a steadily encroaching stony texture. Arvid’s eyes go wide!

“A-aaahh no no no, not good…” He mutters, realizing just what sort of trap this was meant to be, ignoring the little voice in his head murmuring that there was no way out of it as a creature without magic.

The stone squeezes his form, compacting in his flesh from the outside in and turning all to lifeless stony material. It spread out over his chest, feathers freezing still and taking the entirely of his waist before creeping down his tail and up his outstretched legs. Before any more panic could set in, his whole world turns to mush around him, swirling in a magical vortex and fading to black.

When his sight returned he found himself elsewhere- still firmly stuck to the bizarre plinth, but… elsewhere. He blinks, turning his head out to survey the surroundings, it seemed that he was up high, outside? No… He blinks again, noting what seemed to be a giant book behind him and the floor fair below. It added up in his head, a shelf! He was on a shelf, and this plinth was…

His mind was brought back to the situation at hand with the sound of crackling stone and the feeling of constriction around his chest, breath cut short by the stone. He wheezes, unable to draw in much air as he kicks with his legs, desperately trying to free himself from the stone, tail thrashing wildly along the length not yet taken by the stone as silently his name etches onto a small plaque along the front edge of the plinth beneath him.

Arvid sets a talon on the marble below and grabs hold of a leg to try and push more leverage. The only result of the effort was the marble grabbing hold of that talon, fusing it to the plinth below as it crept over his scaly talon. He squeezes that leg in his other, feeling it solidify beneath his touch and encroaching upon his paws. Flexing his toes in the air, the stone covers them rapidly, freezing the pose inelegantly. To his dismay he found himself unable to let go, that talon now fused in the grip of the stone as his arms fell to the curse, wings following suit behind him.

All around the stone squished inward, barely able to draw any breath at all. He shudders and gasps, feeling like a thousand pounds were pressing in on him from all angles. A pop and a crackle echoes out as his neck solidifies, trapping his gaze facing forward towards his paws as it slipped up over his beak, the last sliver of air trapped inside him with a muffled whine. He blinks rapidly, not ready as the creeping marble steals the whole of his countenance, even taking the cap upon his head with him.

Nothing remained flesh beyond the tip of his tail, flicking agitatedly from side to side before it too fell still. His vision was dimmed slightly, but still present, stuck staring straight. He heard soft cracks echoing about within him as the stone continued to squeeze him into a tighter, more solid form, settling into stone.

In the distance he could hear the subtle chink as the gate re-locked, leaving him to sit, now nary more than a simple bookend, a possession of the Library, in silence with nothing but his thoughts and the books around to keep him company in the dim light of the dusty library.

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Redesigned Arvid a little bit, I definitely need to be using him as a character more. I found a Greek fishing cap seems to work better on him than the slouch hat, but might switch it around from time to time. Overall, this one was fun to work on, and I'm slowly getting the hang of the new shading style that I tested in the Trophy Cabinet.

Paw style referenced and learned here from the fantabulous Keihound (Cassius)

Upvotes at import: 67 | Stars at import: 46
Posted previously at: 2016-01-03T06:11:37 | Posted previously by: Saga