Somewhere along the way between Ursa and Andromeda, Jinyi had dropped the wings. They'd become too tiring magically to maintain, especially with the long, convoluted route they'd taken to avoid suspect areas like Cepheus, and also, a white creature with an exoskeleton flying along on glittering pink wings was not exactly subtle. Unfortunately, this did make the journey take a whole lot longer, even aided by Yellow's magic putting the wind at their backs.
Andromeda was dimly lit, which was not promising for a visual search—manually, at least. Luckily, being Hive meant one had access to more... solutions. As the two Hivers picked through the oasis, Jinyi peered through the minds of the local infected population as well. If his vision didn't pick anything up, would theirs?
Aug 29 2026, 04:04 AM
Aug 29 2026, 04:29 AM
Yellow was practically vibrating with intensity—if it hadn't been the secrecy and stealth part of the mission, they'd have just amplified their voice with magic and started calling Teosar's name. Although—would that be rude? Normally they wouldn't have thought twice, but the sheer importance of their task had made them go over everything in their head over and over. Although surely, judging from the scant few memories they'd been shown of the tiger, Teosar was not the exacting judgemental type?
The oasis was filled with plants unlike anything Yellow had seen before, but one thing was for sure: they were still climbable, and height would help their vision more than anything. They clambered up a... tree...? and cast their eyes out, searching for a glimpse of white fur amid the dimly-glowing crystals and the burbling water. ...Is that water glowing? They shook themselves; focus.
The oasis was filled with plants unlike anything Yellow had seen before, but one thing was for sure: they were still climbable, and height would help their vision more than anything. They clambered up a... tree...? and cast their eyes out, searching for a glimpse of white fur amid the dimly-glowing crystals and the burbling water. ...Is that water glowing? They shook themselves; focus.
Sep 02 2026, 09:06 AM
The water within the oasis bubbled serenely, many false-eyed fish swimming swiftly through the water as the drones approached. Some, of course, did not - pockets of white mold clinging tightly to them even under the surface of the water. Unafraid of their familial bonds.
Indeed, Andromeda was dim, and offered little in the hope of catching Teosar by sight, although they felt that if he was nearby, he would be relatively easy to spot - white fur would be quite visible even with the little light they were afforded.
Somewhere, on the south side of the oasis, Jinyi would see through the eyes of an infected mystfox, which had gone on alert to assist in their mission as soon as they'd entered. It sniffed at the ground, where there was a large, feline pawprint headed away from the area. It was fresh - whoever had set it had passed by rather recently.
@Jinyi (Yellow)Indeed, Andromeda was dim, and offered little in the hope of catching Teosar by sight, although they felt that if he was nearby, he would be relatively easy to spot - white fur would be quite visible even with the little light they were afforded.
Somewhere, on the south side of the oasis, Jinyi would see through the eyes of an infected mystfox, which had gone on alert to assist in their mission as soon as they'd entered. It sniffed at the ground, where there was a large, feline pawprint headed away from the area. It was fresh - whoever had set it had passed by rather recently.
Sep 14 2026, 12:12 AM
As soon as he saw the footprints through the eyes of the mystfox, Jinyi prodded for Yellow's attention and quietly led them both south. He was no expert in tracking, but it was simple enough just to head in the direction the toes were pointed—unless, of course, Teosar had doubled back or changed direction somewhere.
The Drone's shoulders lifted slightly, in anticipation for wings to sprout again—it'd get them across the oasis quicker. He abandoned the idea rather than force it when the magic felt reluctant, though, and just picked his way through the plants at a brisk pace. When they reached the pawprint, he wandered further out in the direction it pointed, searching the ground for more signs.
Sep 14 2026, 12:37 AM
Looking at Jinyi's white-and-vermilion form moving through the oasis, Yellow thought distractedly that at least it should be easy to spot Teosar's similarly unsubtly-colored fur. They followed along, scampering on branches above the ground, looking over at every bird call or rustle of leaves—even if it seemed unlikely to be him, in their nervous state they couldn't help their attention jumping to every little disturbance.
Upon seeing the pawprint in person, they frowned in thought. The ground in the oasis was fairly soft, and Teosar was big. There had to be more traces of him nearby, at least until he'd wandered into an area where the floor was more crystal than soil. Yellow clambered down to the ground and proceeded on all fours, searching carefully for more prints, trampled plants, or any other hints that could give them a trail to follow.
Upon seeing the pawprint in person, they frowned in thought. The ground in the oasis was fairly soft, and Teosar was big. There had to be more traces of him nearby, at least until he'd wandered into an area where the floor was more crystal than soil. Yellow clambered down to the ground and proceeded on all fours, searching carefully for more prints, trampled plants, or any other hints that could give them a trail to follow.
Sep 16 2026, 09:50 AM
The pawprints were easy to find, the mystfox marking the spot until the two Drones arrived. At first it was hard to follow them - it was easy enough to find the direciton they were heading, up around the side of the pool - but they quickly moved onto stone where there was no longer soft earth to step through. However, Yellow would find tiny signs of the white tiger having passed through - a broken branch, a bit of mud on the rock, another pawprint some way away.
They were beginning to veer away from the oasis, towards the tunnel that led to Pegasus.
@Jinyi (Yellow)They were beginning to veer away from the oasis, towards the tunnel that led to Pegasus.