ORIGIN - CRASH, CRASH, BURN

Eurydome finally had some instructions. Not from Jupiter, and not from a Master, but they were instructions. It was something to do, something to occupy her mind with. Dragon's kindness had been overwhelming, and she trusted her little life-- her future --in his claws for the time being. In exchange, Eurydome was told to hide, and the centuar figured that she could kill two birds with one stone. She was tired of hauling her sword around on one shoulder. She needed to find the scabbard for it and regain access to use of both of her hands without having to put the weapon down.

So, that's where she was at right now.

For 'several milennia,' if Vakornol was to be believed, Eurydome had been asleep in Usra, undisturbed, undestroyed. Presumably, her scabbard would be somewhere near where her chrysalis was, buried under 'several milennia's worth of snow. In the process, she'd hopefully be hidden enough if Vargas decided to come after her.

Oversized paws brought her through Polaris, and though she was quiet and careful, she quietly hoped she would see a Master by the spire, working in silence, quietly creating-- but there was nothing, no one, and she passed into tunnel B without incident, thick fur bristling against the cold.

It was only then, as her pace slowed and she pushed forward, that she felt... sad. Distantly, quietly, but sad nontheless. The caves were more like a shadow to what she could remember. She missed even the simple interaction in quietly squeezing past a much-too-large stranger in the tunnels, and the low murmur of barely-heard conversation elsewhere.

Even if Jupiter was around, even if she won, even if Eurydome would have order in her life once again -- was there any... point to it? If there was no one to entertain, no one to talk to, what good was Jupiter's fight for freedom?

Eurydome didn't want to think about it too hard. She shook her fur out and pushed onwards through the tunnel, paws crunching in the snow.

@Pollen

Pollen was on a mission. Trotting on all fours, her thick and tan poncho billowed out behind her, bobbing with each step down the snowy path. Rodd would be somewhere here- or, the beginning of the trail, at least. it all looked unfamiliar, even if she'd walked this path a million times. She had the map in the bag that hung at her side, a writing stick, and extra paper, just in case she needed to make more notes. It all rustled as she walked.

The thick patch of moss over her skin helped keep in the warmth too, at least. She had to go through Ursa a lot, and she'd started to figure this method was beginning to work for keeping warm in it, especially since the temperature started to lower in general. It was a little tiring, though, and it hurt to pull off and smelled off if she kept it in warmth for too long so eegghhh.

She should have come in from the other side, but, oh well. Backed by a soft breeze, snow billowed over Pollen's form while she slowly picked her way through patches of ice. She wouldn't want to slip and fall. That would be kind of embarrassing. It was completely possible while she kept her eyes to the walls, however, looking (and failing) to find any sort of crevice that five giant rebels could have hid in.

The muta stopped for a moment and stared at a crack. Maybe it resealed? Changing her trajectory, Pollen meandered closer and stuck her arm in without even looking inside, slapping around and feeling nothing but rock. Nope, nothing. Hissing out through her teeth, Pollen yanked back her arm and sat right on the ground, pulling out her notes and re-reading them again.

Two tunnels, a cave. Started in Orion. Mint? Snow? Ugh, none of this helped! Why couldn't there have been more information? She'd been down here tons of times before and stared at the walls, even without notes, and didn't find anything. Why would she find anything now?

Frustrated, Pollen drew her head out and groaned into the air, a cloud of breath rising up from her muzzle. This was going to be a long, long day, if she didn't find a lead soon.

@Eurydome

There was something ahead.

Eurydome stopped in the middle of the tunnel, watching. The little green thing skittered around some rocks with a cloth draped around its torso, snuffling around some rocks and then sitting back. The creature took something and began looking over them with something the centuar would describe as frustration on its face.

They were familiar, however-- they had been fighting in Ursa. Did they... live there?

Paws twisted, and then brought her slowly towards towards the creature. Her knuckles were pale as she gripped her sword tighter, half-anticipating her to turn around and attack-- ears flat against her skull and claws slowly crunching in the snow. She hesitated, giving the muta some distance, but craning her head to look at the papers in her hands.

There was something written on them-- illegible little shapes and lines that Eurydome didn't understand, because someone had skipped the reading and writing classes.

"What are you... doing?" She asked, voice hoarse but too gentle to be described as 'demanding.' It seemed like it was looking for something, using the runes as a guide, but what she could possibly want in this tunnel was beyond her. "Do you need help?"

Crunch, crunch. She paced a little, instinctively, towards Pollen's left, closer to the Ursa-end of the tunnel. "Do you live in there?" Eurydome nodded to the further room, conversationally-- albeit largely stiffly. "I remember seeing you there."

viv didn't fucking untick the other roll sorry for being stupid

@Pollen

Pollen nearly jumped out of her skin at Eurydome's voice. She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't expect to see someone else, the surprise setting her fur on edge. "-- oh," she squeaked after a second, before shaking her head and staring up. "-- I'm looking for... someone." Her golden eyes searched Eurydome, before looking back down to her paper, then up to her.

She was familiar. Was she from Ursa? Probably. "I live in Cepheus," Pollen provided. "But, um- I travel, sometimes." Distracted from her quest, Pollen made the decision to fold up her papers again and put them back in her bag. It'd be rude to have them out in front of her while talking, right? She didn't see this gembound at the lesson, either, so it'd be unlikely that they could read unless word got out fast...

Hm. She almost asked, her mouth even opening to do so, but she shut it soon after. No, no, probably rude, too. "It... hm. Do you know anything about Rodd Danger?" She held up her hands, palms facing Eurydome as she stood on two legs. "He's... from before the uh-- I think they call it the awakening? I kind of forgot. But-- he's an elf, and the last record of him is probably in this tunnel." Twisting around, Pollen looked back to Ursa, then swiveled her head to stare down the path to Polaris. "... I don't think there'd be anything left, though. It's been a while." She huffed out a half-laugh at this.

Maybe-- no, that'd be too convenient, for someone to have a way to look into the past. All Pollen had was books and cinema to go after, and, by her gem, she would solve this mystery on her own. It just might take a whole lot of digging to do so.

@Eurydome

A large hand lifted to itch at the thick, red-purple hair growing out of Eurydome's scalp. A gembound living in Cepheus, searching for someone named Rodd Danger (a name, like many, that rang a distant bell in Eurydome's big, empty skull) and could apparently read told Eurydome that this was someone important. Not a Hand-- that much was clear. Pollen was easy on the eyes, not like any Valkhand she had ever seen.

So, what?

It took several long moments for Eurydome to answer, shuffling on titanic paws, listening with attentive, flicking ears. "You need a magic-user," she offered at last. "I think.. the ones aligned to earth can sometimes read the past from stones. There's another, maybe more-- but I don't remember them."

Her head craned to look around the tunnel, tail flicking once. Rodd Danger-- "I think he was... created to hunt?" She was half-asking, side-eyeing Pollen through the corner of her eye. She only really remembered the name in passing-- but Pollen's interest in the character was... concerning? Was this one of the people that Dragon would have warned her about? "Why are you looking for him?"

Would it be suspicious to just... ask, if this creature was on a side? Eurydome leant forward a little to inspect the muta, her brow furrowing. Surely not. "Are you trying to kill him? Did he... do something bad?"

@Pollen

Pollen's lips drew thin. She'd need a magic user, she echoed in her mind, keeping her eyes down the tunnel. There was more to explore, but if the rebels dragged him into Ursa, the search would be dead the moment it started. Her paw rubbed across her chin as her mind ran circles.

Would this stranger know anything? She was aware of Rodd, after all. Pollen's ears laid perpendicular to her skull, her gaze turning on Eurydome. She studied the huge gladiator a little too intently, her digits curling up on her jaw as she contemplated. "Rebels, yeah," she affirmed on the half-question, returning her gaze down the path of the cave. "... I uh- I guess I've just wanted to meet him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's... dead, or something, though. It'd be nice to know, though, y'know?" A hefty sigh released all the tension in her thinking, her muscles dropping. It'd be so unlikely to find him at this point, and there was so much to look for. She couldn't inspect every nook and cranny in the world. She was just one Gembound.

Pollen's nostrils flared as she took in a deep breath, shaking her head. "Sorry, um- my name's Pollen. I don't think we... talked? It's good to meet you officially." She laughed gently with a smile, adjusting her bag back into a comfortable place. "You were really good in that fight."

@Eurydome