ORIGIN

Kimen walked quite comfortably down the well trodden path of the tunnel on his hind legs. Progress was slow but it was beginning to get easier and certainly much less painful than walking on all fours. His gem, imbued into his left shoulder had crippled him since birth. It often made him feel weak but he didn't let that get in his way.

He stumbled a little, his balance impaired by a tail that was half the size it should have been. Even still he was happy to be moving again, he had spent too long healing in Pieces. It seemed that fate never wanted him to walk by himself, it always threw things into his way. He was too determined to let anything stop him though, not whilst his deity was still with him. His deity had named him and saved him many times, without her he would have still been in the miserable windy cave where he had hatched.

He wasn't quite sure where he was headed, though he continued hoping to find an opening to another cave soon.

Nyx Dawnwalker put on your war paint

Since "returning" to the life in the Caves of Origin, Nyx had turned into a nomad. She didn't stay anywhere for too long && traveled around a lot, only returning to Orion && Polaris on a regular basis. Something about those rooms drew her in.
The starry sky of Orion && the thick, tangible magic in Polaris were, seemingly, the only constants in Nyx's life.

She'd found herself using Tunnel O a little more frequently than the others, though the reason was not known to Nyx. She never made conscious decisions where to go && where to stay.

This time, Nyx came upon a small gembound. She was behind the Red Panda, walking in the same direction as him when he began stumbling. "Do you need help?" She asked, cocking her head, the weight of the crooked antlers atop her head still feeling strange.

"Listen to me."

@Kimen

Eira Look into my eyes, it's where my Demons hide...

Eira's lithe body followed closely behind Kimen, one slow and careful step at a time. With every movement, she was there mirroring it, glancing around and making sure that the world was safe. For now, at least. Eira felt certain that something could spring upon them at any given moment, because that was just how her mind worked. The disjointed couple seemed prone to that sort of thing, and it was pretty much established that she could handle it far better than she could. She might be a bit battered up and be one eye down, but she fought a demon... and won!

At the thought, Eira let out a small snort, and chuckled.

Those demons were stupid to mess with her! Of course they were! But she couldn't grow cocky. that would lead to all the better chance for them to---

Eira was startled out of her thoughts by a voice, and jerked into action. She arched her back and curled as though readying for battle. She turned to look at the newcomer, struggling to get them into the focus of her one eye. "Ah-" she quickly realized her mistake. "Greetings, citizen."

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

@Kimen @Nyx

Kimen's stumble soon turned into a fall as a unfamiliar voice startled him. He fell to his chest and tried to quickly regain himself, feeling rather embarrassed.

Another stranger? He thought, recalling the last encounter and just how 'well' that went for him. Still though he was relieved there was no water to almost drown in this time. Learning from his mistakes he crawled behind Eira before analysing the potential threat.

He looked from over Eira's shoulder and winced slightly in fear. The stranger was of similar build as the one who attacked him or at least so he thought, he never really got a proper look at them.
Was it them? Were they back for more? He waited, not wanting to embarrass himself like he had last time.

@Nyx
@Eira

Nyx Dawnwalker put on your war paint

The Red Panda was accompanied by an Otter, who greeted Nyx first. The two made for a cute sight together, but that may very well just be because the fallow deer was taller than them && she found almost everything cute that was smaller than her.

"Hello you two." She said with a smile tugging at the corners of her ebony lips. Dark eyes watched the Red Panda scurry over to his friend, a coo threatening to spill over Nyx' lips.

"I hope I didn't startle you too bad? It wasn't my intention." The deer admitted, looking apologetic for accidently scaring the Red Panda into tripping && falling over.

"Listen to me."

@Eira @Kimen

Eira Look into my eyes, it's where my Demons hide...

In response to the deer's greeting, Eira gave her head a soft bow. "Hello, to you too," the otter replied, giving a smile that aimed to be comforting, remembering how the last stranger they'd met had cowered away from her. Whether it was her missing, hollow eye socket or her general demeanor, Eira wasn't sure but... she was here to help others, not scare them!

"Of course not," Eira said reassuringly, though she arched her back a bit more so that Kimen had more to hide behind. She made an effort to glance back, quizzically, but couldn't quite find him in a way that would also be polite to the stranger. "My companion here isn't... all that confident around newcomers..." She tried to be as polite to her partner as possible without outright implying you're a complete wuss. That would be rude, especially seeing as not everyone handled demons as well as she did.

Eira gave a small snort, blinking her eye, and craning her neck so that she could see up to the deer's face.
"What is your purpose here? Are you in need of aid?" the otter asked, businesslike in tone.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

@Nyx @Kimen

Eira glanced back at Kimen with a look that beckoned disappointment to him. He tried to hide behind her some more despite the strangers demeanour being only friendly.

He knew that the problem was not with them but within himself. With memories of the attack haunting him, Kimen just wanted to run away but he knew he couldn't do that. For a start he was physically unable to run, his last attempt to do so landed him in a large body of water, his gem would click his bones into place and make him fall. He also didn't want to leave his Eira. He never ever wanted to leave his Eira.

For now, he just waited, standing on the spot. Allowing Eira to do all the talking.

@Nyx @Eira

Kimen

Nyx

Eira the Undying

Kimen

Nyx

Eira the Undying

Kimen