ORIGIN - Rise of the Harvest Moon

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Although the rooms of the Origin cave were indeed wonders to be had, the oft overlooked tunnels were gems themselves. Each hall that connected the spaces to one another bore with it a unique quality of its own like the one that Kerberos guarded in its dismal silence or the ice-born one by Pisces. Delphine adored them, each and every single one, so much so that much of her time was spent within their confines, studying their depictions and knick-knacks. Not for the purposes of research but simply to sate her curiosity. While she did wonder where these things came from, it was never so much as an afterthought, too soon forgotten beneath her fickle heart and fleeting interests.

Tunnel I, though plainer than the rest, was intriguing in its simplicity. Not unlike others, it had scenes carved into its stone yet different by its own right. Illuminated by a string of lights along its walls, Delphine contemplated frequently of its origin. How did it find its power source? Surely there must be something to the contraption yet all of these inquiries remained unanswered as she walked along the path, emerald eyes roving the peculiar depictions without truly understanding their implications. Would the intelligent cat, Bartos, know? Surely there was someone out there who bore the knowledge of the intimacies of these caverns and if there wasn't, she would unbury it herself, one by one. Piece by piece.

(@Willow)

Willow sat where she always did; in front of the carvings. Next to her, a ragged little satchel that held rocks inside - collected by her, of course. Each one had been collected and carved with utmost care and love, as if they were her own children.The scratchings upon every rock had grinded her talons short and blunt. The owl didn't care much, the sooner she was done, the better.

Starting at the wall, the owl was beginning to feel tired and drowsy as she reached into her satchel, eyelids heavy and slowly closing when she was startled by a familiar clip-clop of the hooves of a friend she hadn't seen in a long time - or at least, she hoped it was a friend. Packing the rocks away, the owl picked up the satchel by it's leather strap and began wandering down the tunnel with wide eyes, following the sound of the walking horse.

It wasn't long until she found the black horse and she spread both wings to fly in pure silence up onto Delphine's back, placing the satchel on her back carefully and hooting once more, soft-spoken as always. "Hello, dearest Delphine. How nice of you to visit."

@Delphine

The tunnel woke to the sounds of soft rustling and gentle clicks, familiar but buried beneath all that had come to pass since her birth day. Delphine turned, her gaze sweeping toward the direction from which the sound come and sure enough, an avian creature she'd met but once yet had come to love, waddled from beyond the rocky depths. Her effect was instantaneous. A smile so bright, it could have rivaled the strings of light.

"Willow." Delphine cooed fondly. She stilled to a halt, waiting for the owl to land on her back in a moment of deja vu. Her heart fluttered affectionately with the added weight and her neck craned so that she could bestow a brief nuzzle upon the owl. "I've missed you so." Such was a truth that could not be veiled, not beneath her too gentle nuzzle nor the softening of her voice. "It's been so long, how have you been?" Sincerity bled through her tone, punctuated by a curious gaze that fell upon Willow's satchel and the passing thought of Adeyemi, concerned for her missing friend. "I saw Adeyemi, he misses you terribly. Have you seen him since your separation?" There were so many questions she wanted to ask but unlike the way she'd been with the turaco, she tried to pace herself so as not to overwhelm the owl.

(@Willow)

The owl was quiet as Delphine's snout found it's way to her and she lightly tapped the horse's nose with her beak, affectionately. It had been a while indeed - in fact Willow couldn't remember the last time she'd seen another face, but she was glad it was this one she saw again.

"I am alright," the soft voice came. "I have missed you too." Only briefly did the owl's gaze brush over the scar running down the foal's back - yet no reaction came from the avian's throat save for a soft croak, nor did her expression change (though, that said, Willow is not a woman of many faces) and she instead turned back to look at Delphine's head with a sigh.

She was quiet again as Adeyemi was mentioned. She hadn't seen him in a while either - not since the strange 'prince' had approached him in the other tunnels, and quite frankly refused to talk to her. That felt like another life ago. The owl bristled slightly, ruffling her feathers briefly. "I have not seen him in a long time, now," she said. Willow's voice seemed to waver with her next sentence, ever so slightly. "I miss him, too. Is he alright?"

@Delphine

Soft was the voice that met her ear, a gentle croon that would have lulled her to sleep on dreamless nights. Her eyes fluttered shut, reveling in the sweet affectations. If Meredith had not come to her, she thought that she would have liked if it were Willow by her side. Willow with her soft voice and dulcet tones. She watched, eyes half-mast, as the owl gazed upon the scar along her back but inquired not of its origins; erring for privacy.

"I was attacked, not soon after our separation." Delphine mused, "But I am well now and it is of no import." Though Willow had not asked, the sable Gembound thought a simple explanation would suffice in place of the wayward glances. That and it seemed an appropriate response to share with her friend her trials and tribulations, especially after so much time had come to pass. Yet it all seemed insignificant when she detected the slightest of trembles beneath the facade of indifference the owl so often wore.

Her brows knitted and the smallest of frowns edged upon her lips, "He is fine; taller perhaps, a little less bright, and his voice is deeper too." For the sake of her avian friend, she tried to recall the details if only to further assure her of the truce's state. "Otherwise he is unchanged. Still proud, still Adeyemi." Again she reached forward to dispatch a tender nudge upon the feathered Gembound. "You will see him again. He hasn't stopped looking for you, you know." Her gaze then dropped to the owl's small satchel and with a curious raise of brow, the horse vied for digression to lighten their reunion. "What is that?"

(@Willow)

Willow looked almost unconvinced by Delphine's words, but the owl shook her head lightly. She looked at the scar once more. What creature would attack a delicate thing like Delphine? something in the back of her head demanded, yet the words never left her mind. She turned her head back to Delphine, ruffling herself up a little with a sigh. She did not pry further despite the protesting voice in her head, still demanding vengeance.

She listened in silence, for a moment, as Delphine went on about Adeyemi. Willow shook her head once more with a solemn sigh. "His proudness can also be referred to a thing called 'arrogance,' my dear," the owl said. She sounded almost dissapointed with her own words, softness almost entirely gone from her tone - instead it sounded like something cold, but quiet - not because of Adeyemi's arrogance, but because of her mentioning his arrogance. "It worries me, but Adeyemi is one of good intentions. I will look for him soon, but-"
Willow's head turned to her satchel and continued. "I am working on something. A purpose, yes?" the softness returned to her voice, almost warm-sounding now. She appeared to be proud of herself and the rocks inside the satchel. "You see the markings on the walls? They are fascinating, don't you think? I am copying them onto stones."

The owl opened the satchel with her beak and used a talon to take a stone out from the bag. She hobbled awkwardly on one foot, to show the horse the rock. It had a single carving on it - something Delphine could see on the walls. It appeared to have been scratched into the rock with her own-- now blunt --talons.

@Delphine

The truth lay itself bare between them and when Willow sighed, Delphine could only smile in gentle resignation. There was no changing what'd been done and of her present mind, she bore no grudge against past transgressions. Within them were kernel of lessons to be learned, naïvety swept beneath the tides of ordeals that she would eventually be forced to confront, one way or another. Yet she, like her companion, touched upon the subject no further for it bore with it no fruits of promise. Though she did find herself flattered by the concern weighed beneath the silence of the owl's unsaid words, a sentiment she would not soon forget.

"Arrogance perhaps, to others but not to me. He will always be my proud Adeyemi and you, my sweet Willow." Delphine returned affectionately but she knew that the owl meant well, if only unable to truly express the loss she felt without her companion by her side. Loneliness was a dangerous venom that, when taken in doses, could very well kill the mortal soul. It made her wish then that the turaco were there beside them now, all three of them reunited. Perhaps then she would not see the cold that had taken to Willow's heart, ever the more so pained to know that there was nothing she could do.

Her gaze shifted to the satchel, interest piqued by what lay within. "Yes, they are." She agreed as she herself had been, not moments ago, enamored by the strange depictions though it seemed the owl would only feed further into her fascination as she withdrew from her bag pieces of rock with the self-same paintings etched into their hard surface. "Oh Willow." She gasped with wide eyes, unable to stop herself from appraising the meticulous handiwork clutched between dulled talons. "They are so lovely, how long did this take you?"

Slowly, Delphine lowered herself to the ground so that she may curl her legs beneath her and allow them both an easier vantage to communicate and share the labors of her companion's diligence. "And your talons, will they be alright?"

(@Willow)

Willow's beak started to open a little before it closed again. She wanted to mention that if Adeyemi showed the arrogance to the wrong person he would get hurt like Delphine had; but for whatever reason, something in the back of her mind told her simply not to - and so she did not. The owl placed the rock into her satchel again, picking the bag up to hop down and amble in front of the horse.

She nestled down a little in front of her, cooing quietly. "They will grow back. I have been working on them for a long time now," of course, Willow had no concept of time in the caves. Things simply came and went, at times she would sleep and other times she would be awake and doing things. She shifted, somewhat. "Perhaps I should leave some time. Make more contact with people."
She nodded, somewhat. There was the strange group in Cetus, of course. Perhaps she could introduce Adeyemi and Delphine to them. The owl looked over the horse for a moment and shook her head slightly with a hollow sigh. Hooves wouldn't be able to handle a swamp and Adeyemi had rather loudly exclaimed his distaste for the swamps.

@Delphine

Willow and Adeyemi were polar opposites of one another. The former, inclined toward quietude and humility, diligence and research whereas the latter tended toward pompous displays of aristocracy, sparse affection and what Delphine believed to be a good heart. Yet somehow they fit. Whensoever she thought on Adeyemi, Willow was not far from her mind. Similarly, when she thought of Willow, the turaco was always an illustrious figure by her side. It was impossible to separate the two yet here they were now, one without the other. The whole thing left a bitter taste on her tongue and she wished then, just as before that the turaco were there with them now.

Willow shuffled and Delphine adjusted herself, nodding in relief when she heard that the talons would grow back. "I am glad to hear, I would hate if anything happened to you." The mare admitted for it was a truth that lingered still when she thought on her first few friends who'd gathered for her birthing. "Oh that would be a splendid idea! Perhaps you'll come upon Adeyemi again in fact, I have someone who I'd love to introduce to you, Willow." The inflection in her dulcet tones flourished at the ends with excitement. "I met someone during my travels through these caverns. Another one, just like me. His name is Meredith and I think you'd like him. He's quiet but sweet, sometimes he reminds me of you." Unknowingly her smile had grown significantly at the mention of the colt, not unlike how Magdalena had seemed when she mentioned her Fire or how Adeyemi was when he spoke of Willow.

(@Willow)

Willow wasn't very sure what Delphine was thinking about. As much as Willow liked to try know everything, thoughts were always something she struggled with. She nodded along with Delphine's words and even began to open her beak when she paused, tilting her head.

She'd be damned if she didn't know that tone in the horse's voice, or that sudden expression of bliss.

The owl emitted a strange sound, a quiet little chortle, almost like an amused chuckle. Shaking her head, the owl spoke. "Perhaps one day I will meet your Meredith. Quietness is not a bad thing, after all," the owl nodded cheerfully, more of a strange bopping up and down motion, and she moved to lift a wing to lean over and preen the inside of her wing, hurriedly picking and bending the feathers that were lined up along her wing.

Once the owl was content with all the picking and straightening of her flight feathers, she tucked her wing away before she gently ruffled her feathers up, cooing wordlessly but contentedly. "Do you travel with him?" she asked with a hint of lingering amusement in her soft voice. She would probably be smirking if she had a mammal's mouth.

@Delphine

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