Wilder marveled at the Trolley while Azigh explained, barely noticing the other Gembound appearing until he was ushering them all into the car. She jumped as one of the others stepped past her and realized that she wasn’t alone anymore. Oh, others had come after all! She hadn’t actually expected anyone to be curious enough, but what a delight! She purred and trotted onto the trolley as well, immediately jumping up on one of the seats and looking up out of the window, paws on the glass.
Vaati followed after her, slower, curling up under the chair she’d chosen, wide eyes regarding the other gembound with apprehension. Through his sight, Wilder saw the others and realized that she had come here. The one that had called that…thing. Her whiskers twitched and she looked to the side, briefly glancing over Mossie but not greeting her directly. She didn’t know what her intentions were here, or at all. Anywhere. She’d have to keep an eye on her.
She turned around and waved to the others with a flick of her tail.
The softest ruffle of wings announced Hecate's arrival.
Head swivelled this way and that before locking on Kai--she wasn't about to say as much, but Hecate had been stalking her. From the trees, of course, gracefully; nothing so crass as crawling along in the bushes or the like. But Kai was... eerily familiar, from her face to her gemstone. Hecate wished to know why.
That, however, would have to wait. It seemed there was some adventure to be had and, despite her haughty demeanor, she found herself excited. A new place, and a new cave-? She glanced around, then down, clamping talons carefully around the railing beneath her and attempting to touch her mind to it with magic.
As they traveled, Azigh made an effort to lightly brush the tracks with smooth gusts of wind. Anything the others did from within (or beside) the trolley would be helpful, as well.
@Wilder @Kai (Manticore, Hecate) @Tourmaline @Mossie
Kai settled in, keeping herself primly upright and trying her best not to blurt that she wasn't actually anyone important (and didn't really understand where they were going, or what was happening). She stayed quiet, instead, accidentally superimposed on Hecate's vision of a beast-woman, peering forward out the window.
Ahead lay a tangle of vines, woven with the weight of eras across the ancient tracks. Kai looked to them, alarmed.
Reality--fogged green by her gemstone-capped eyes--faded, and was replaced as it so often was by brilliant color. Hecate fell still, losing herself gladly to this vision: one of glorious fabrics (they looked so decadent!) and tall, slender, ugly creatures. The trolley looked new, clean and pristine; the glass, clear of dust and dirt. There was no sign of decay, no tangles of plants nor rubble on the tracks.
Her gaze fixed briefly on the figure at the front. She could tell that this one was different--larger, stronger, the beast-like lower limbs powerful--and there was a haughtiness to it that reminded her of, well, her. But Hecate of course had no idea of the significance of that figure. Of its authority, or power. To her it was simply another of the passengers, if perhaps one with some authority.
Strange, that when the vision faded--colors bleeding away into that cast of green once more, dust and filth seeping back into the image of the trolley--Kai (the target of her curiosity to begin with) was standing precisely where that figure had been.
Hecate eyed her for a moment, wondering if this might mean something--and then turned her attention to the tunnel up ahead.
Out of the flickering gloom up ahead, through the rising steam of the pools, Hecate spotted a chunk of old stone on the tracks.
Manticore made his way, docile enough, alongside Azigh. He seemed content simply to be a part of whatever it was that was happening, though it was clear from his curious glances ahead that he didn't really understand. Well--he understood that it was a new place that he'd never seen. That they were clearing the way. But he'd arrived late, and didn't know who the others were or what this place had been--if even it'd been explained.
Once or twice, he unfolded his wings as best he could and flapped (somewhat clumsily; his wingspan did not make for easy maneuvering in tunnels) ahead, trying to scoop rubble from the tracks, as Azigh had instructed.
Twice, however, the orb-lights overhead intervened. He found it difficult: every time he swept toward rubble, the lights of the tunnel almost blinded him. His magic, as so often happened, did not answer his call; and he found himself cringing back, blinking and near-blinded, forced to stick to the shadows away from the tracks.
"This place clearly has a lot of history," she says, listening to Hecate's proclamation. What awaits on the other side? There's no way to know.
She's not exactly sure how to use her magic to help with clearing the tracks, but she can keep a lookout. Focusing her magic, she tries to peer through the fog. Her ears flick around, listening to the disturbed rocks. But she looks ahead, and calls out, "Looks like there's some more vines ahead."
Wilder watched from the window of the trolley as they passed through the tunnel - old, decrepit, but once a thriving place, apparently. As if such a wondrous device like this had been built through a tunnel as abandoned as it looked now. Perhaps...they could work together to restore it to how it had been before. She eyed the hot springs as they passed and, while she didn't usually like getting her fur wet, she could imagine how wonderful they felt, to soak in the steaming water and simply relax. It was something she seldom could do nowadays. Perhaps the hot water would clear her mind at last.
She kept an eye to the tracks as well, wishing she could clear what she could, but that yawning pit in her stomach, that still hadn't gone away or lessened much at all, held her back still. She huffed and tried not to feel too bad about it - she wasn't going to let it ruin this for her, this moment, this experience. A new cave! Ahead!
"There were many who used the trolley, yes," he said, and a thoughtful hum followed Tourmaline's words. "Yes. It was always bustling. I avoided it." As he would, anyhow; leaving Pegasus for any period of time left him anxious. "An architect of things lived in this city," he continued, "an... inventor they called him. The tracks used to be cleared by some of the things he had made." What ever happened to the little cleaner critters? Hopefully, they would start minding their tasks again if others wished to visit the city, he thought.
Briefly, his attention turned to the creature that had been beside him, and Azigh felt a moment of pity for it, helping them all as willingly as it had despite the clumsy way it was forced to move through the tunnel. "We are almost there," he decided to say, regretful he could not help or comfort its journey. "I understand." He had difficultly himself and much preferred the open space of his own room.
@Wilder @Kai (Manticore, Hecate) @Tourmaline @Mossie
More vines, someone called, and Kai leaned forward, squinting into the alternating bright-dim patches along the track ahead.
Again, her magic flicked out, though this time she had a bit of a harder time convincing, maneuvering, the plants to pull free and fall away. It was a battle, brief but struggling, and with an audible
She exhaled in relief and looked briefly back (directly over her own shoulders), studying the other passengers. A strange gathering, really. She wished her Prince could be here. But she could report back, at least. For now she turned her owlish stare forward again.