ORIGIN - The Black Tree

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Wolfhound twined their way through the tunnel, holding themselves low as they searched for potential prey. Their heads occasionally spoke, but only softly, so as not to spook anything they might come across.

"Hunting is good," Furud wisely offered, though the tone was somewhat bitter and the look he gave Rajani suggested he was holding a grudge. Which was quite silly, but Furud was barely more than an impulsive child himself, at least in terms of personality. The four heads then lifted, swaying oddly in various directions as each, separately, struggled to catch a scent.

"You will be large enough for cave deer, I'd think. Once you're grown," Mirzim remarked, turning to eye Rajani speculatively.

The four heads then focused again, the hydra as a whole striding with surprising grace along the tunnel. Clawed feet were careful not to splash in the places where water lapped up over the stones; the wings folded down, hiding the shifting aurora within. The tail was raised, held out straight so as not to drag or make a sound.

But still, the sniffing found nothing; Sirius peered down for a beat, seeing if Rajani had any better luck.

@Rajani

He glanced up at Furud for a moment, huffing softly to himself at the tone that was given to him. It wasn't his fault he reacted the way he did. How the hell else was one supposed to react when a giant head of an even more giant creature lunged directly at you? If anything, Furud should be be glad all he did was hiss and swipe.

Nonetheless, he turned his attention back to the other heads, taking in what they said. Cave deer. That didn't seem too bad, though he wasn't entirely sure how well that would work until he was more grown. But that was an issue for another day. Right now, he wanted to find something to eat, and he was determined to do so.

Lifting his head, he paused for a moment, catching the scent of something, barely on the wind. Ahead. Something.... not sure what. He said simply, turning to look up at them. He would give them only a moment to scent for themselves before he began to stalk forward, wanting to know what exactly was the scent that he caught, and hoping it wasn't something too tiny, or way too big.

The moment Rajani spoke, Wolfhound--Adhara, judging by her eyes, narrowing in focus--used its magic. A cloak of shadows fell over the entirety of the beast, so that the aurora glow and iridescent shimmer of it suddenly melded with the darker edges of the tunnel.

The hydra slinked forward, and a moment later its wings flared--and it flew: a powerful leap, a glide, and then a crash up ahead. It struggled only for a moment to gain a grip on the deer it had snagged in its talons, but though it held it immobile, none of the heads aimed to kill the prey. It flailed, struggling and panting, its eyes wild--but it bled from the claws pinning it to the ground, and could go nowhere with the weight that pressed it to the rock.

Shadows bled away, and Wolfhound's four heads looked to Rajani. "Would you like to do the honors?" Sirius asked.

@Rajani

He wasn't really sure what he was expecting.... but that wasn't it. He couldn't help the look of shock on his face that he quickly hid behind a neutral mask, carefully watching the creature before him. What caught him more off guard though, was the way they plopped the deer down in front of him, not dead, but captured, an offering for him to end it.

Flicking his gaze up at the heads, he debated questioning it, wondering why they would do something like this, but they had already confused him several times already, so he doubted he'd get a real answer right now. Still, he probably shouldn't look a gift .... hydra... in the mouth...s?

He simply nodded and walked over, glancing down at the writhing creature for a moment before lunging forward. He bit down on the creature's throat, a quick and effective attack, not that he had any real chance of messing this up with how the large creature was holding it down.

He sank his teeth into the throat, lingering for just a moment longer as he made sure it completely stopped trashing before slowly pulling back, tongue lapping at his chin to clean the blood dropping from his maw.

Wolfhound released its grip, withdrawing claws and teeth after it became clear that the deer was well and truly dead. They lowered themselves as a whole to rest upon the rock a couple feet away. One paw crossed over the other, hooked claws gleaming with blood; Furud's head dipped down, licking it away, more a grooming behavior than a hungry one. The other heads regarded Rajani with observant calm.

"Eat; we'll take leftovers," Adhara offered, voice kind. They waited a moment, letting Rajani perhaps begin his meal; in the meantime, Mirzim turned to glance idly around as Sirius spoke. "If you have other questions you'd ask of a stranger while we're here, you may as well ask them. That is--it's an opportunity for you to learn, if you wish." Mirzim laughed lightly, turning to peer at Sirius. "Don't let him give you the impression that we know everything. We're new, too. -I wish we did know more. Where have we all come from; what's the nature of this place? It feels..." She flexed her wings, thinking for a word. "Trapped? Like a trap. Or... restrictive, at least." The wings spread farther, then folded atop their back. It seemed the hydra wished for open sky.

@Rajani

He simply nodded as he began to eat, though he doubted any leftovers he would leave would be sufficient enough for them. Still, he figured they would have no problems finding another deer to eat, considering how easy this hunt was for them. As he ate, he seemed to think for a moment, not originally answering their comments, taking his time to eat and lick away the blood on his chin.

Only then would he look back up at the heads, flicking his gaze between them all before landing on Mirzim first. Trapped? From what I see there caves more open for someone your size. His gaze flicked to their wings for a moment. Plus you have advantage most would kill for. He was one of them, silently wondering what it would be like to not always be stuck on the ground level, but he didn't add that part. What make you feel trapped? He wasn't sure why he was asking, wasn't sure why he really cared, but something about their comment made him want to know more, want to understand how something that could fly, something that could kill damn near anything they came across, something that could do whatever they wanted, could possibly feel trapped.

The hydra considered. Two heads exchanged glances; Mirzim eyed the ceiling of the tunnel.

Furud kept licking their claws.

"The stone, mostly," Adhara replied at some length. "It's too... tight, too claustrophobic. If we spread our wings and fly, we have to be careful not to hit the walls. I'd--we'd all--like more space to fly." Sirius nodded just a little. "It's not that we don't have space in the larger caves, but even then, it's restrictive. Likely less so for those without wings." The sheer wingspan the hydra sported probably didn't help. It seemed like when the wings were fully spread, some of the smaller tunnels might have been too narrow to safely navigate--and that was the truth of it.

@Rajani

He nodded slightly as he listened to them speak, flicking his tail gently behind him as he thought to himself. Unfortunately there wasn't anything he could do to ameliorate their issues, it wasn't like he would have those issues so he didn't have to worry about it, but he would have liked to ease their issues. Unfortunately he couldn't shift around the caves, or make the hydra smaller in anyway, so he just kinda had to nod in understanding, though he couldn't understand.

Maybe you not explore all yet. Perhaps there cave larger than you think. That was really all he could offer. Surely there was areas this creature hadn't explored. At least he could hope, for their sake at least. He wasn't sure why he cared about them really. Since he hatched he really only cared for himself, only wanted to make sure he survived and he succeeded. But they had taken him under his wing so to speak, and while he would never say it out loud, he trusted them and even in this short time, had already grown to like them. Well... at least most of them. He gave a sideways glance at Furud before snorting and turning to lick his paws clean.

The heads shared a brief laugh; all but Furud, who had turned away and was flea-biting the body's mane with his teeth, scratching an itch. Adhara offered a gentle smile. "Thank you. Maybe," she returned, as if not wanting to thrust aside that gift of words with a denial. "We'll hope you're right."

And Sirius, more--well, serious: "Is there anything else we can teach you or offer whilst you're here?" He asked it so strangely. Almost in an official capacity. It might've been his practical nature, but he seemed unable to simply make small talk as Adhara did. Since Rajani was here, he could only address the points that he felt they might aid with. "Magic, or-" "Again, we are new, too. Caves, Sirius, you need to learn to relax," Mirzim interjected, with an amused roll of her eyes. Her head lowered, peering at Rajani. "I think all this one needs to remember is how to stay alive, and how to hunt. He'll do well."

Furud's head whipped back around, taking a blinking moment to find Rajani and fix on him again. "WE COULD STILL BE FRIENDS," he said, far too loudly. And maybe far too hopefully.

"Sirius" "Adhara" "Mirzim" "Furud"
Thoughts.

@Rajani

His lips twitched into a bit of a smile as he nodded at Adhara for a moment before flicking his gaze back over to Sirius. He seemed to think for a moment but before he could agree to anymore teachings or other assistance, the other head, Mirzim, spoke up and Rajani had to work to keep the chuckle from escaping his maw. They were certainly all very different in personality and he was starting to warm up to them each, bit by bit.

I think I got it for most part, however I not say no to training at later date. He would raise an eyebrow at Sirius as he said that, hoping at least one of the heads would agree. But Mirzim was right, for now he was good, and he should probably start heading out, as it was getting later in the day. At least that's what he assumed based on how long they had been together regardless of how little the dim lights around showed the passage of time.

His ears airplaned as Furud spoke up, though at least he didn't smack the head this time. With a small sigh, he would nod, a bit of a smile on his lips. Perhaps we can. I sure we see each other again soon. He figured that was something he could agree with. Even if that one head still put him on edge with how forward he was.

@Wolfhound

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