ORIGIN

Deep at the bottom of the pool in Pisces, a pocket of chilled water surrounded his place of rest. Encased in a chrysalis of rough ice, the creature had meditated into a state of unconsciousness. At first glance, one might not notice that a being was within the ice because of the odd glow that surrounded it. A soft white-blue shimmer reflected off of the many angles the ice created, making a clear view into the chrysalis difficult. Inside, the creature itself was blue and white, curled into a loose 'C' shape with its head tucked under a large wing. It had long, peacock-like feathers that made up its tail, curled around to cover where his face would be behind the wing. He was hidden. He was still hiding. Ice crystals had formed on much of its mass, shimmering like diamonds behind the thicker wall of ice that surrounded him in whole.

As the dolphin approached, his mind noticed. He never had visitors. The ice chrysalis seemed to shift, crack, regrow, and move in some places in response to the other living being. He had come here to rest, to heal; his conscious was still lost in time, remembering when he retreated to the pool half-dead, crisp with burns. Though fully recovered, his body was still in a state of over-protection.

"What... Who..."

The ice shifted a bit more before settling as a call came to him- no, it had gone back. What was it? Was it searching for him? He had never experienced that feeling, a small vibration, so small...

"Waters moving..."

As Eeya moved deeper, the being's mind followed; the waters this far down were rarely so active. The soft roaring that had kept him still for so long was a quiet purr as he focused on what was approaching.

"Small..."

His mind didn't feel it was a threat, but the ice that encased him was ready to move again if the need for defense arose. His mind returned to the focal point, the water, the rush.

Deep at the bottom of the pool in Pisces, the phoenix existed; he had existed here for longer than he knew. He existed for his partner, he existed to counter the fire, he existed... so long ago. His partner... once, his life was dependent on the other, but he needed to heal. He needed to escape, to hide, to wait.

"Who... comes?"

Drawn away from them and with a look of fury and hatred plastered on his face that pathetic bird beast was the next to talk. "You keep your filthy bird magic away from me," spitting on the ground at Bevy's feet, he made sure to put a good deal of distance between the two as he stalked towards the edge of the water. No one was saying much of anything, there wasn't really much to say as that thing stalked Origin caves with only blood lust and chaos in its heart. There was supposedly something that could help them at the bottom of this pool but he doubted it. What morons.

When Eeya burst through the water, Louie scrambled backwards in surprise as he cried out. That, he had not been expecting and he had never seen a fish beast before. At least not one so large and actually talking. It was a true gembound and he found himself in awe of its physique. Did make him question whether poisoning the water source was such a good idea but oh well. Maybe if he could come up with some sort of device to remove him from the water he wouldn't have to die so instantly. Merely shaking his head as they read minds and blabbed about how there was a being at the bottom of the water, he wasn't sure what to think of it all.

So fish beast could swim to the bottom and find their savior. Not really sure he believed him he just watched as he began to swim deep until he was out of sight. Now what. Wait here and converse awkwardly just as they had been doing? Not really sure if revealing himself was the best idea, he shuffled awkwardly and looked at Deer Dad, "You better know what the fuck you're doing." Was the only comment he had as he sat on his haunches and pouted at the waterfall.

He watched the dolphin dive back down into the waters, and there the group of them seemed to wait in silence. The fox appeared unreasonably bitter about something, after refusing the bird's help and then winding back around him with a statement that sounded like an idle threat. Perhaps these Gembounds forgot that he was supposed to be their protector - or maybe... it just meant he wasn't doing that great of a job. The stag stiffened his shoulders and flicked his gaze towards the newcomer, the black horse, as she spoke to Arkrael. They couldn't sit around here and keep doing nothing... the dolphin wouldn't be awake to wake the creature beneath the lagoon by himself. "Which of you can shake the earth?" He asked, gaze sweeping across the gathering. Those he met before, he knew; Arkrael could, but Tamelyn could not. The fox he didn't know, nor did he for the black horse, Bevy, or the owl. "I need any of you that can to do so now - maybe it will help the fish creature below." The stag added, pointing his nose at the lagoon.

There was so much happening at once that the young filly found her mind working into overdrive, trying but failing to understand what was happening. Words were exchanged, some venomous, others concerned but so far as observations went, something was happening. Something big. Somehow, Delphine had walked herself right into the center of it. It was no mystery that there was a fire in Polaris, the cause of it a source of her biggest fear, a dragon. For that reason, she'd actively avoided her place of birth during her excavations, hearing only of the treacherous stories through those who'd experienced the creature's wrath. The most tell-tale victim, if she were right in her assumption, was the fox who's words were built of venom and poison, not dissimilar to his half-burnt face.

Then the antlered sentinel spoke, inquiring of who could shake the earth. For a moment, she reeled in silence knowing fully well that she was capable of what he requested but thinking herself unqualified given her myriad of failures but when no voice volunteered themselves, Delphine did. "I think I can." The filly paused, daring a glance toward Arkrael who was more than powerful enough to accomplish what the deer asked. It would be one thing to fail but another to do so in front of her own mentor. Her eyes narrowed in a newfound determination and she stepped forward to edge of the pool. "I'll try my best."

In nearly all instances when her magic was evoked, it was under duress. This time would be different. With her eyes hooded half-mast, Delphine opened her senses and allowed her facilities to be flooded by the smell of earth that so reminded her of Eridanus. Her limbs tingled as if seeking to root themselves within the ground and in one instinctual movement, she lifted upon her hind legs and imbued her entire being with the energy that roiled from within. Then she descended, forelegs slamming upon the edge of the pool and if she had not slipped upon a particularly slippery ledge, Delphine thought her attempt would have been a phenomenal success. Except it was not. With her loss of concentration, her power was misdirected toward the mouth of the waterfall and as the grounds shook with the impact, so then did the waters cease in their descent.

Seconds that felt more like minutes passed and when the waters returned, the filly was ashamed that even this, she could not do well. "I... I'm sorry." This she directed to the group with her ears pinned against her crown and her pride stung from her failure.

Nostril's flared as a familiar scent suddenly lingered within the room. Multi-colored gems shifted and peered behind her as a black filly came trotting over and she offered a kind smile. She was glad to see the filly back on her hooves and moving about easily. She hadn't seen much of her since the attack of the dragon, but she did hear she was healing accordingly. She offered no words as Deer Dad spoke once more asking who could shake the earth and if they could do so quickly. Audit's twitched as Delphine spoke with a hesitant glance towards her and Arkrael only motioned her own to give it a shot. As it was, Arkrael had already tried once. She would try again if Delphine didn't manage to get it. Turning her gaze back to the water she watched it intently as Delphine cast her magic.

Barely. A soft hum escaped the wolfess as she shifted how she was standing and listened to Delphine apologize. She nodded in agreement with Bevy before setting her own attention to the filly. "She is right. Perhaps it would be enough," Of course that didn't mean she wouldn't throw her attempt into the mix again. Quickly she focused on the water, trying to picture just what exactly it looked like at the bottom of the water and soon called upon her magic. Her gem shimmered and hummed. Almost instantly that familiar vibration began in her chest, strong and full of intent. She heard the ground start to move first, before it was finally felt on her paws as her magic did as she had asked of it this time.


"Speech"
'Thoughts'

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Tags:
OoC:

There was a lot of chattering and clicking that came to him, muffled by the density of the ice. He could make out the words, but in his current state was not able or willing to reply. His meditating sleep had gone on for so long...

Friends? His mind burned with the sudden rush of a memory, nothing clear that he could make out, just the explicit vision of ruby. There was a pause in his near-subconscious thought. However, the ground beneath him moved ever so slightly. His mind shifted to pay closer attention. Another, larger rumble rattled his chrysalis and the ice around the outside began to move again. It formed crude spikes and jagged edges. There were... no earthquakes anymore. What was this? As his outer shell grew more defensive, his mind tried to reconnect with the sound of the waterfall; but it had faltered. The earthquake had disrupted the constant he had meditated to for so long...

A loud crack followed by the shattering sound of smaller cracks rang from his chrysalis. Much like an ice cube dropped into warm water, his protective shell began to split and pop. An awful chill escaped from within, seeping into the water around him as his meditating mind woke. Finally, after all of the ice had settled around him, did the great bird raise his sleepy head.

What.. was that? He hadn't ever seen a dolphin, but to wake to such a strange creature was intriguing. It was the energy he had felt, the noises he had heard, the movement he had followed... the voice that spoke of friends. His moved slowly in the water, testing long-dormant limbs as he studied the fish-like creature before him. He stretched his wings, displaying an impressive wingspan that whispered a cold aura. His crest feathers were laying against his neck, but his tail fanned. Similar to a peacock's, the feathers stretched widely behind him before coming back together to form a long, thick clump of a tail. His dark blue body was comprised mostly of feathers and scales, though the scales were just bits of ice tucked between every feather here and there. In the center of his chest, a sapphire glimmered as be became more awake.

He tilted his head, an icy eye scanning the dolphin once more.

"What friends?" he asked as he stretched his long legs. He became aware of other energies. The surface held several medians. He felt through all of them carefully, but none were his friends- his crest feathers suddenly raised. An alertness took over him and he paused to stare toward the one energy he did know. The ruby.

Without saying anything more to the creature who had been there to greet him, the large phoenix lifted his heavy wings and then pushed downward, propelling himself up through the water. He spun lightly as he neared the top, giving another great beat of his wings just before the surface to push himself out of the water and in to the air. He broke the surface and seemed to hang in the air as his body curled and his wings expanded. As his wings took faster beats to adjust to flying, he unintentionally showered the bystanders with icy water droplets. One of his legs stretched as he turned, searching for ground, but the shore had been crowded. His wings slowed as he remained in place, taking up a large portion of the area with wingspan alone.

He hovered in front of them for a moment before locking onto the deer. That was... his ruby. The one he knew. But the body was wrong. Besides that, a nasty feeling hung in the air. The aura of the Caves was thrown off. It was hot. It was angered.

"What has happened?" he asked of the ill aura, still focused on the deer. The ruby belonged to Astraea, but his Astraea was not some small deer. Even so, he felt compelled to ask this question to the stag rather than the others. Was this truly his Astraea?

The stag stepped back, watching with anticipation as Delphine first tried to shake the earth. She focused, and in silence it seemed the whole group was waiting on her move - but in expecting the ground beneath his hooves to shake, he was startled to only feel the smallest of tremors. Instead, it was the waterfall that seemed to quake with her magic; enough to cause a small pause in the water as it jumped as a result of the spell. He saw that small break in the cascade, watching it fall down to the lagoon. When the water no longer hit the surface, his heart gave a thud of excitement. But maybe it wouldn't be enough... While the Bevy praised Delphine for her good work, Arkrael instead stepped up and attempted to do the same. Sure enough, the waterfall shook and another space between the falling water opened up.

The waterfall had been stopped, even if only for a second.

He held his breath, watching as silence fell over the lagoon. It seemed like nothing was moving, and yet... he could feel it. There was a pulling within his heart towards the deep of the lagoon. A coldness that ran across his back that breathed familiarity. The surface of the water began to shake, small ripples blossoming up from below. Bubbles. Then before he realized, a form burst from the surface, glistening cerulean and sapphire. It exploded from the water and extended its massive wings, spraying the group in sparkling, ice cold water. The stag shielded his eyes, turning his head away; but he was quick to return his sights to the creature that now hovered above them, flapping his majestic wings as though they were born new from the chrysalis beneath the lagoon.

For a moment, the stag didn't know what to say. He stared at the creature to whom he felt so drawn. A creature he felt like he belonged with. There was an inexplicable happiness that bubbled up from his chest at the sight, but he didn't know why. Maybe he was just starstruck. The stag blinked and tried to find his tongue again. "Raheerah." He answered, desperate. "Raheerah is woken. Can... can you help us?"

Raheerah. The Dragon. Brug.

Awareness took over him. This was his Astraea, his partner - the others were strangers. The angry aura that sent hot pain into his chest was what he expected, but least wanted to hear. Raheerah.

The mighty bird made a short move forward, reaching out with his large talons to firmly plant himself on the ground to the side of the others. The lagoon's waters had settled, but the chill had not left. Cold air enveloped him in his entirety. Wings shifted to rest at his side as he peered down to the children, and to Astraea. "Brug," he spat, stretching his head lightly to shake excess ice crystals that had frozen from water droplets. "I will always help you, Astraea."

His memory from the night the great battle had nearly taken his life was empty; his decision to interfere where he should not have, his decision that went against his partner's wishes, was lost to him. But something was amiss between them. There was a different aura that bound them. Bound still, but different. It pained him to know he would have to leave to conquer fire once more, to immediately leave Astraea behind, but most of the children that surrounded the stag had a great connection to him. A smile sneaked its way into the bird's worried look. They had always tended the children together, and though he wanted to ask how much time had passed—how long had Astraea been alone?—he knew he couldn't. Now was not the time.

Turning toward the direction of Polaris, the phoenix readied himself to leave. If Raheerah was awake, he needed to be spellbound as quickly as possible. There was no safety to be guaranteed with that beast roaming about. The aura that pained him in his chest pulled tightest toward Polaris. He could feel the heat. He could feel his nemesis.

"Always."

With a great lurch, the phoenix lifted into the air. Heavy beats of his wings carried him higher until he was leveled with the roof of Tunnel H. Cold air washed underneath him as his wings churned the air, and with a graceful movement, he set on his way down the tunnel, leaving the others behind.

exit