ORIGIN - BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Pages: 1 2

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Being a lone passenger through Tunnel K was not an experience anyone liked to have. If Kerberos had to guess, it was likely the reason why Giggle-- big, tough, full of teeth Giggle-- never left Canis. It was the only exit, and the dark, dead grey path was always so still and silent and dead. It made the massive mutt's fur prickle every time he did it.

There was nothing ever in the tunnel. No stones to trip over, no cave rats to chase, not even fungi or crystal. Wind didn't blow through it-- it was like walking the passage between life and death. Kerberos? He took this path every day. He preferred to sleep inside of Canis, and hang out in Orion by the massive doorway during the day. He loved his job, though he wasn't sure why he did it... It was something that came naturally to him, like Cancer marking Orion's throne as his territory with his piss. Weirdo.

So Kerberos braved the damp hall of nothingness once more. This day, it seemed even quieter, even stiller, than usual. He found himself holding all three of his breaths as his tail laid out straight behind him like some kind of raptor tail instead of slithering behind him on the ground. His eyes tried to focus in the dark but he found it difficult-- as though the shadows were wrapping blinders around his face.

Red nose caught a scent, lips peeling back in a silent snarl-- he didn't dare make a noise-- as he jerked his head around to peer over his shoulder. Floppy and tall ears cast a worried look at the scarlet, cropped eared head, but then the noise began.

Kerberos fell dead still, stopping in his pawtracks. There was a noise, like a scrapping. His heart was pounding in his chest and he felt the urge to draw up his magic... But he was scared. What if that drew the monster-- or whatever it was-- closer? Golems could sense magic, so couldn't other things? Bigger things? Like the shadow beast and the centaur.

The massive white hound of hell stood out like a star in the dark tunnel, his white fur refracting any speck of light that filtered through the shadows. He was aware there was no place to hide: and he was frightened. It was not a good feeling. No, not a good feeling at all.

@Delphine

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

Tunnel K was a curious thing. Meant to frighten and deter, the ghastly haunt was so unlike its many counterparts in that it was jarringly empty of anything yet for Delphine, it was this self-same lack of existence that drew her to it. Although different, it reminded her of a time before her birth, of a darkness that swathed her whole in a way that was inviting and comforting. The decision to traipse its barren halls came easily and Delphine, an eager passenger into its purgatorial beckoning.

For a while, the filly merely walked, purged of all thoughts but that this place would be one of respite. She made a small sound, a low whicker that rang against the cavern walls and hummed back in dissonance. The tunnel preferred its silence and Delphine thrilled in breaking it. She jumped, ears flicking to drink in the sound of her hooves clicking against the floors. Then it became a game of seeing just what kind of sounds she could make and how the insentient halls would respond. At one point, the young Gembound made to drag her one leg against the floors, creating an uneven, baritone husk that growled in a way that was not unlike two stones dragged across one another. She was entirely fascinated and drawn to her solitary game, so much so that when the filly emerged from the shadows, she had barely noticed the pale creature until it was too late.

Her steps stuttered to a halt and her gaze slowly but surely drifted to that of the behemoth inarguably unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Slack-jawed and uncertain where to look first, Delphine was rendered speechless, not in a way of fear but awe. "Oh." She whispered.

"Oh." As if the first time alone could not justify her shock. "You've three heads!" She dared to step closer because just like the tunnel itself, the goliath was supposed to be terrifying except to Delphine, he was very simply something to be marveled. How strange they must have seemed then, a three-headed dog beside a child of the night.

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

... Something else was in the tunnel. He strained to listen for it, with all six of his ears. His pelt stood on end and he trembled, his teeth in his orange-tipped muzzle clattering together. Noises echoed around him, the tunnel making eerily haunting sounds it had never made before. He was frightened to the point of petrifaction, looking around but not moving a muscle.

And then, from the darkness, a small noise. All three heads jolted to look forward at the shadow before him, colliding together with a muted thwump. He whined and snarled at himself as the small shadow creature (which he could only see the green gem horns of in the shadows, she blended in so well) exclaimed that he had three heads. What, was he really the only one in the whole cave who did? Why did everyone make such a big--

As he lifted a paw and started to cast, to push her away, his gem took on its faint, pink-red glow and lit the area a bit better than her neon green horns lit her jet black body. He jolted, hopping back, as he saw that she was indeed something solid-- but her frame melted into his vision, a small, tiny shadow of a pony or something. It looked precisely like a cave deer. Yet, it had spoken. He stared, absolutely lost, at the horse before him.

"Hello?"

Switching gears rapidly on his magic, he tried to warm the cool cave. His paw continued to light the area dimly-- but only just enough to make out the form of the creature. What was she? She wasn't a threat to him, surely (though she reminded him of the Beast, and of the other Kerberos-- the one that was black and winged) and this left him confused, and more importantly, exhausted.

With a huff, the massive white beast plopped to the ground, tired of trembling and standing perfectly still.

"Kerberos," he told her simply, his snake-like tail swishing behind him. "Why did you scare me?"

@Delphine

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

The creature proved to be one marvel after another. Not soon after he lifted his large paws did the dim tunnels shudder with light and what was unmistakably warmth. How fascinating! She'd witnessed magic that stemmed from the Earth, briefly even, a different kind of pull from Magdalena but never had she seen anyone capable of playing tricks with temperature or illumination. Forgetting her manners, Delphine quickly returned a greeting of her own. "Hello." She observed that only one spoke when the inquiry was placed before them and the filly's head canted to the side, curious still of the behemoth.

'Kerberos.'
Each head uttered a singular syllable to a name that was all too suited for the dogs. If she'd been born with three heads, how would she have parsed her own calling, she wondered. "Delphine." Again her attention shifted but this time to the serpentine caudal flicking behind the creature, also the only form of blatant coloration along a palette of alabaster hues. She snuck a glance to her own tail, finding it extraordinarily lacking in comparison to the canine hybrid. Well, that hardly seemed fair.

Another voice, different from the first, spoke up, calling Delphine's attention to it. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was here." She admittedly sheepishly, her head dropping to hide her awkward smile. "I've never been to this tunnel before and since I thought I was alone, I was just playing a game by myself." Suddenly the whole premise behind her game seemed silly now that she'd discovered that it had frightened- She ceased mid-thought, digressing to entertain the notion that anyone could be frightened of her. The situation could very easily — and perhaps should have been — that she ran from the sight of the three-headed creature yet instead, their roles were reversed. Her smile widened and she bit back a small laugh.

"Could I maybe come closer?" The filly inquired, her voice gentle but her curiosity unrelenting.

( @Kerberos )

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos had stopped and was currently practicing his listening skills. As well as watching, but watching wasn't as importing as speak-listen-learn. The filly pranced to the side and peered back at her tail, doing all sorts of silly things-- but gave her name, Delphine. It was a pretty name. A distant part of him felt a tingle of a memory-- Delphi. Center. Middle. Core. His thoughts grew distracted for a moment, but he refocused as she continued to speak.

As she told the dog that she was playing a game, he couldn't help but grin. A game? Who in their right mind came to this scary tunnel to play a game, alone, by themselves? Three pairs of teeth flashed brightly in the shadows, his tail thumping against the earth.

"Yeah sure!" He woofed, amusement filling his voice. It seemed that he too found the hilarity in the moment, and he wasn't afraid to show that he had embarrassed himself. "I won't eat you, promise," he offered, as though this most certainly was not a given. By all accounts, Delphine seemed quite eatable.

"Could you teach me the game? I have a friend," he commented lightly, sheared-earred licking at his paw as the others spoke, "and he loves games. We aren't the best at thinkin' em up though."

@Delphine

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

Was he smiling? Delphine watched as three pairs of teeth flashed in the dark tunnel, not soon after accompanied by a slow thump from behind. She had yet to see the connection from the tail to the body but the movement, as a whole, certainly seemed as if Kerberos were expressing elation of some sort. Again she looked to her own caudal and attempted to wag it except, the gesture was frustratingly minuscule when it came from her own body. Sneaking yet another glance to the serpentine tail, the filly tried again to mimic its wide sweep which resulted in her whole rump shaking from one end to the other. It was a comical display that ended all too soon when Delphine finally acknowledged that her tail would never quite accomplish the magnificent feat that she wished unto it. "Well that's hardly fair." She murmured with a small huff.

The failure was too soon eclipsed by the dog's approval to come closer and so she did. With a small bounce to her steps, Delphine closed the distance between them with a smile to her lips and a gleam to her eyes. "Of course you shouldn't! I imagine I wouldn't taste all too good." The child stated in a way that was without dispute. "Look, a dragon tried to eat me before-" Her head lowered to reveal the scar along her shoulder and back. "But he said that I tasted terrible so he stopped." It was more a joke than it was a lie but at the time, it seemed the most adequate response though she was quick to amend herself. (It was an infringement on her moral compass; something of this caliber.) "Well that's not really what happened but you shouldn't eat me anyway. If you do, I won't tell you the game!"

Then it came time to explain the game she'd created. "Well it's nothing too special but since these tunnels are so quiet, I wanted to see what sounds I could make and how it would echo back. Look, watch." Suddenly the young filly jumped into the air, her hooves clicking against the rocky floors with a small tap-tap. The staccato'd sounds reverberated through the walls as she jumped over one of Kerberos' paws and stopped soon after with a firm stomp. "Do you hear that? It's like the walls are talking back! It helps with the silence and well, I was alone so... I was entertaining myself. I don't know if you'd enjoy the game so much."

( @Kerberos )

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos blinked, staring at the scar lit up by the pale, pinkish light. A dragon? He sniffed, the memory of a white noodle made of teeth flickering through his mind. "Baratheon?" He woofed, the word thick on his tongue. It had been forever, but that was the only dragon he knew. If he made a mark like that... Had the dragon grown as he had, into a huge beast?

Such a thought made him smirk. He wanted to fight the dragon, to prove he was strong enough to eat him now. If he had to pick a way to go, fighting for survival against the dragon, that was how he wanted to do it. It would be either him or Bara, when they met again. He was sure of it.

Kerberos dispatched the thoughts of the white noodle for a while to listen to the game. It seemed simple enough-- he fell still to listen to the echoing noises in the cave. Hm. He stood up as she finished, ears twitching, to listen to the sounds. He sniffed, and bowed two of his heads, reaching forward with his floppy-eared, orange nosed muzzle. "Does it hurt?" He asked softly, delicately trying to lick the scar on her shoulder as he took a cautious step towards her.

"Let me try," the middle head chuffed, snorting. His tail twitched with impatience and the dog retreated slightly, tail flopping on to the cold, hard ground. "Three," offered the far left head. "Two!"

And with that, Kerberos raised his middle head and made a loud, piercing howl through the tunnel, cutting it off half-way through. The sounds vibrated around them, echoing back in a deathly howl that took on new pitches and tones as it came slithering back through the shadows. His fur prickled on his scruff and he grinned, his tail starting to wag and thump loudly behind him.

"That was awesome!"

@Delphine

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

Her ears perked upon hearing the familiar name and with a quick whinny, Delphine nodded her head in affirmation. "Do you know him?" The question seemed silly when it was clear that the hound knew something of the dragon's existence, enough at least to know of his name. In fact, it was not too long since the filly herself had last seen the dragon though their second encounter was nothing like their first. Wrought instead in apologies and stories of their lives, they had sought to build and cross the bridge. Forget, even, their differences manifested from blood and violence. It was a slow start but one, she thought, that held promise.

The filly stilled in her movements, allowing the creature to come closer so that he may better scrutinize the scar along her back. The heated graze of a hesitant lick brought a nicker to her lips, a half-laugh half-exhalation that had her craning her neck so as to bestow the slightest of nuzzles along the floppy-eared head. "It used to but not anymore, no. Now it's just there for me to show off, a story to share with strangers." It had become a point of pride for her, that though she barely managed to accomplish escaping and would very well have died if not for the interference of fellow Gembounds, it was still a sign of survival and perseverance. "Do you have any scars to share?" She offered a cursory glance to the behemoth's body, tempted to make a circle around him.

Then he backed away and she waited, anticipation mounting with each second that passed, for what sound he would emit in a space as this. Though she didn't know what to expect, the piercing howl certainly didn't make it anywhere on her list of imagined sounds. It was sharp and foreign, melodious until it was forced to an end. Her mouth parted in a small 'o', fascination drawn along her sable features. "How did you do that!? I've never heard anything like it!" She exclaimed with a small jump. "Could you do it again? Do you think I'd be able to do it?" Without pause, she pursed her lips and threw her head back but what came out resembled more of a warble than anything else. Delphine stopped, mortified by the sound and even more so how it deflected from the walls with its pitiful vibrato. "Oh." She murmured dejectedly. "Well that's not very fair either."

( @Kerberos )

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

The horse asked him if he knew Baratheon and he only blinked in response. It had been a long, long time. He knew Baratheon as he knew Eridanus: that is, as a color, and as a texture, and as a sound. Not who he had become, but he didn't put much more thought into it. If he was going around hurting gembounds, it was just a better reason to eat him.

As for the scars, he raised his heads to show off the small patches of scars on his neck. They were quite small, mostly formed when he was a baby, and the fur covered most of them. There was his tail, too, but he didn't feel like showing that scar off. He hardly knew it was their himself-- but drawing weakness to the sensitive scales of his back end was not something he was fond of.

He did bark and laugh when she tried to howl, however, his tail set off in a giant wag. "Good try!" He woofed, a grin crossing his lips. That was really something. Not a very good howl, but still. He wondered if Bones was feeling better, if he would be up to playing with them-- but Giggle probably wouldn't let them anywhere near his buddy. Little did he know that Delphine and Bones had got into exactly the same fight with Baratheon. Little did he know that Arkrael had been in that same fight. Little did he know, did he know that Baratheon was becoming QUITE the trouble maker.

Ah, fate would have much to do with the overgrown wrigglenoodle of a dragon and the monsterous sized puppy.

That aside, the puppy focused on showing her how to properly howl. "Lets try that again!" The fluffy dog stood and trotted right up close and personal to the comparatively tiny foal. With his tail wagging hard, he reached up his paw, gem glistening crimson and mustard under his toes, and touched her chest gently.

"Take a deep breath and throw your head back. Don't worry about the shape of your mouth, just focus on this, okay?" His middle head took a deep breath as he spoke, tilting his head back. "Now take that breath, and make an Awoooooo~ noise, and hold it as long as you can with that breath! Like a river! Flowing, running, racing, awwooooooooooo!" And with that, he was off howling again, tail thumping hard on the solid earth.

@Delphine

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

Delphine's head lifted and craned to catch better sight of the scars, squinting just so in a way that the details seemed to enhance beneath the alabaster pelt. It was almost fascinating how though her scar was more prominent it did not bear with it the same implications the ones the three-headed dog bore. What he wore he wore upon his neck, a place that could well have meant death. "How did you come upon them?" Oh how she wanted to bridge the distance between them if only to better examine the details if not for her desire to afford the beast his personal space, one he would soon extricate from them altogether.

To her credit, she neither flinched nor shied away when his paw gently touched upon her chest, demonstrating where the sound should originate. Her ears perked and her brows furrowed, bowed in his instruction and determined to succeed. His howl reverberated through the tunnels in a strong vibrato that shook her to her very core, speaking of power born within him. She nodded once to him though the gesture seemed more to stem from the need to reassure herself that this would not end in total failure. "Okay, I can do it." The child whispered before her gaze locked with the dark space beyond the white beast and in one fell movement, her head knocked back and sound boomed from her infinitely smaller frame.

A wail. That's what came from the filly. A warbling cry that though meant to sound threatening resembled more a dying neigh and hoot. It trembled pathetically in the space around them and the cave howled back, its response a mimicry of the failure in her wholehearted attempt to be something she was not. Petrified into speechlessness, Delphine stopped and pedaled backward. If there were a hole she would be buried beneath it. If there were death, she would hide beneath its welcoming embrace. "Oh god." She murmured to herself with her head drooped to the ground, ears flat against the crown of her head. "Oh god, that was terrible. I..." She peered from beneath long lashes and if she could, she would have been blushing like a madman. "I just, I want to be as powerful as you." If power could be deduced to voice alone but it was more than that, she could sense it within the beast, she could feel it in the Gembounds around her and she wanted to learn.

( i left this part fairly open-ended incase you wanted to lead this thread to when they're in canis practicing magic together? it could make for a fairly good transition! @Kerberos )

Pages: 1 2