ORIGIN - fix the broken me

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Bones watched as the buzzing cat hopped down from the tree. His ears flickered gently; assuming that what Dovefeather had meant to say was that she was doing fine. "Canis had some trouble," he said quietly. The thoughts of the inky blackness invaded his mind; his mother going missing after it faded. "But it's been safe for a long time now." He decided he wouldn't tell Dove of Giggle right now - the memory was already hurting him.

Eridanus was not safe, but Bones had an idea of this already. He figured he could talk to Dove about it later and get her opinion on it and figure out who had fucked with Booker's head. However, at the mention of a monster the dog jolted upright, legs half-buckling under him. His ears were upright and stiff as he looked around the surrounding area.

He didn't recongize any of the names mentioned, and so he kept his attention on the maw of mosses; eyes wide. One ear swivveled as Booker began swearing and he glanced down briefly. "Only if it's safe," he said quietly. In his mind he imagined the Merrymen agent to be a mass of midnight black, nothing but coarse fur and teeth. A monster.

He shook the thoughts off, however - the numbat would know if it was the Merrymen gem who had been killing things in Eridanus. "You can ask them later," he said, looking back up. He thought, for a moment that he saw something moving in the bushes but he heard nothing. He was getting paranoid, now.

"Canis is safe," Bones confirmed. "Kerberos is usually guarding the gate." He looked back at Booker and Dove, tail flicking.

"We can bring your patient if need be," he said thoughtfully. "But I think we should leave as soon as possible."

@Dovefeather

The feline listened to Bones, ears perking at the answer given. Canis was safe, hopefully, and that was good enough for her. He mentioned Kerberos, and her expression lit up softly at the memory of the massive door guardian-- she remembered him from when she was just a kitten. A strange creature, but with a good heart.

Dovefeather's eyes hardened at the question of who had killed Blackfeather, the stink still fresh on her tongue. She didn't reply, however, the fur on the back of her neck rising as she struggled to keep her purr strong in the face of the memory. Black fur soaked with deep, inky crimson blood-- the stone already torn from what was left of the body-- pieces. It was all just pieces, and Dovefeather could still taste the copper on her tongue from having to wash off the stone and her own paws. Burying what was left was difficult, only possible because of the soft, loamy soil at the base of the great All Mother.

The All Mother has reclaimed her spirit. Perhaps this was what was meant to be... The All Mother guides me to leave, yet again. Blackfeather could never stand to be away... She'll be happier to be one with Eridanus now. Everything will be alright.

The feline thought these things privately, soothing her own nerves as she nodded sternly at Booker's offer, glancing between the numbat and the african wild dog.

"I don't have a lot, but... It's a bit too much for my paws,"

She mewled softly, shifting uneasily on her paws. She didn't want to wait another moment, with the Eyes just around the corner. She did wait, however, as Booker tried to answer the questions-- but he hadn't seen Cayenne, nor Basil, and she didn't dare answer Booker's question. Her purr faltered, her pale gaze unfocusing into the distance as her mind dug up memories of Basil almost dying in front of her eyes.

She jumped slightly at Booker's touch, surprised only because she hadn't seen him approach, and then gently raised a paw to brush to his shoulder. Slowly, her purr returned, and she rasped her tongue over the top of the stinky, shroom covered numbat in a show of affection. She listened quietly, gaze flicking back to Bones, trying to run through the information. The Merrymen-- Diamondfang, the one who had taken her feather. The other names she didn't really know, and her ears twitched with frustration.

"The All Mother can have my corpse when I no longer need it, and not a moment sooner, Brother."

At Booker's final words, she started off back towards the Eyes. The clearing opened up before her, those beautiful, clear waters still as ever-- and she bounded past them, towards the ferns that hung over her tiny, somewhat hidden nest. She dug out the three stones and a green, glowing stick, her paw hesitating over it for a moment. An idea had quietly come to her, and she turned to the pair, whiskers quivering as she asked them for a favor.

"If... If you two don't mind, I want to see if the All Mother has anything to Show me before we go. While I Seek, maybe you should go get that gembound. I don't think it's safe for anyone here anymore, Children of the All Mother or Merrymen alike."

Dovefeather decided not to waste a single moment. She grabbed the stick in her teeth and approached the waters, silently praying for the All Mother to answer her call, and then tossed the stone into the pool, aiming for the center.

Booker huffed, raising his free hand to smooth back the short hair of his head that had been ruffled by his sister's tongue, chest warm from the obvious gesture of affection. "No problem. Diot built a sled for gatherin' food, back when the snow fell. It's still in my den - should be able to fit mosta what we we need," he offered, face settling into what could be described as 'the comfort of having a plan'-mode. Her agreement to leave was met with a tense nod, her own agitation slowly seeping into his system, fur of his ruff twitching upwards. "I'd be good with the whole corpsification thing being a long time from now, if'n you were wonderin'," he muttered, carefully skipping over the idea of Dovefeather, too, falling victim to the still-unnamed killer.

When she turned to leave, he hesitated for a moment, turning to Bones with a determined half-smile. "Canis it is, then. I..." He huffed, the smile flickering into a tired frown, shoulders rolling. "I can't just leave 'er here, not if it's dangerous. The Merrymen are bad news, but she doesn't deserve to be picked off, sick as she is." If he was more petty, or less empathetic - maybe. The angry, cruel side of him wanted to leave the guard to rot, but a Gembound was a Gembound, no matter what they'd done. There was no honor in revenge.

He reached out with his cane, tapping at Bones' leg playfully, and tossed his head over his shoulder, turning to follow his retreating sister. "C'mon, I wanna meet this Kerberos sooner ratha than later." Preferably with all my limbs intact. He meandered after Dovefeather's path, slowed irrevocably by his useless back leg, back straight and ears flickering at every minute rustle of the leaves overhead, senses on high-alert. His cane sounded too loud as it dug into the earth, and the more Booker focused, the more the familiar buzzing that rattled through his bad ear strengthened. The numbat's snout wrinkled in annoyance, slapping at the offending appendage angrily, muttering under his breath as he picked up the pace.

He finally came to a stop before her, peering around the cat's body, gaze coming to rest on the stones of his fallen sisters with a muted flinch. He blinked, unseeing, missing some of Dove's words but nodding anyway, Priest slipping into his skin easily now that they weren't constantly gnawing away at each other's existence. "Of course, Sister. Seek... but call for assistance, should you need it. I can't rely on the Mother alone to protect us, it seems," the preacher muttered, soft and grave. The change would seem infinitesimal to any other group, but it would be obvious to these few, who'd known him since childhood - the tightening of his shoulders, the tense, almost militaristic way he carried himself. Priest forever looked like he was on a mission.

True to form, he turned on his heel, allowing the Seer her space, following the familiar path back to his home - or, perhaps, his former home, after today. "...Bones of Canis," the numbat called over his shoulder, "I will... need your help." The words were almost spit, but considering Priest had never, would never happily accepted an offer of assistance, his reaction was par for the course. "Should the Merryman woman become agitated, I will need to drug her. To do that, we will have to restrain her long enough to get her to take her... medicine," he explained, dark amusement curling through the air like smoke.

The den came into view minutes later, the trek making his good leg ache and tremble, but Priest didn't let it bother him, kept hold of the front until they'd crossed the threshold. His belt, tea cup, and Eve's gift sat just inside, and Booker scooped them up one by one, tying on his belt, looping the cup through its ties and firmly hoisting the glowing pebble to lay at his hip. His head rose slowly, eye narrowing in on his 'guest.' The bone-white skunk was massive in comparison to him, three times his size and bulky, almost tank-like. She twitched when he stepped forward, and he hesitated, glancing over his shoulder and motioning Bones to follow. The main hub of his burrow, at least, was big enough for the dog to hunker into.

Slowly, Booker moved closer - close enough for the guard's breath to ruffle his chest fur, and raised his cane to poke at her chin.

What? He'd never been crowned the king of good ideas.

There was something poking her chin.

One ruby-red eye slid open, lip curling back into a defensive snarl instinctually, heavy gemstone teeth glinting in the low light of the den. Her focus rolled, flickering from the rat that had jabbed at her, stumbling back towards the exit, to the other branching tunnels, and finally letting her eyelid slide back down, focus inward.

Alone.

They had left her alone.

Fleur's snout wrinkled with a furious grumbling whine, one heavy paw raising to cover the side of her face, hiding the disfiguration that lay in the devastation of the seizure's path. It felt, and she knew it looked, like the left side of her face was sliding off the bone. Vanity had never been among her vices, but pride - pride in the knowledge that she scared others when she advanced, could make wanderers leave with a look - that pride was being dealt a blow deep and twisting. Her drooping eye flickered open again, and her paw twitched - the only warning before it came down hard towards the ground in front of her nose, a snarl rattling from her chest.

The rat spooked, nearly jumped out of its skin, dropping its stick and managing to dart to safety. Fleur grinned drunkenly, the expression soured as her situation finally hit home.

Abandoned. Dragged away, apparently, into enemy territory. Panic made her tiny ears flatten back to her head, and she bared her teeth again, chomping them down to create an unsettling series of clacks to accompany the defensive hiss. Slowly, she rolled to her stomach, noises dying off as nausea slid in her gullet, the only thing leaving her mouth a dry retch. A deep, wheezing breath, two, and she finally set both eyes on her captors, glare sparking with anger. Her family - some family, Florence was the only one who ever cared, Nemesis and Magdalena were smart enough to leave dead weight behind - had left her to die, like she had become a liability now, with tremors catching her limbs unexpectedly, bringing her to the cold ground every few hours.

But it hadn't started off that bad, and the 'Men had healers, so why hadn't they just... helped her? Frustration brought her front claws digging into the soft earth below, and she finally choked out speech, slurred and hurt. "Well? You. Gonna. Kill me? Or get your. Friend. To do it, vermin?" Her glare twitched between the two of them, long tail slowly raising to flatten against her back, whole body tense enough to vibrate.

©sanctuare-2k15

Watching the cat and numbat only made Bones realise that he was beginning to feel exhaustion weighing down on his shoulders. He let him talk, not particularly understanding the words exchanged between them - he was more focused on the surroundings. With wide eyes and ears pricked he watched the trunks of trees and shubbery with the same likeness of a guard dog, scraps of fur on his back lifted upright.

He flinched a little at Booker's touch but he smiled down at him. The muscles around his eyes relaxed as he lifted a black-toed paw to very gently nudge the numbat's chin. The touch was so careful and delicate that it couldn't even come remotely close to moving his head, nevermind knocking him off his paws. He watched the numbat move after Dove for a moment before following.

"I can carry some things for you if you need it," he croaked quietly. The lanky dog watched Dovefeather for a moment before he dipped his head politely at the cat's request to be left alone, turning and limping back to the direction of the Mother.

He glanced down at Booker - who seemingly had retreated and allowed Priest to front instead - licking his muzzle in discomfort. "I'll try," he said uncertainly. He was still imagining the Merrymen agent to be something along the likes of Baratheon; perhaps even bigger.

He wasn't sure how Priest had managed to tend for her at such a size.

Regardless the wild dog crouched by the numbat's den and quietly peered in. He watched Priest touch the skunk - who really was much smaller than Bones had thought - and the dog crinkled his nose ever so slightly. "I don't know if that's-" he had started, but he scrambled into the den quickly as the white beast's paw came down dangerously close to the numbat.

"Stop that," he spat, lip curled. He didn't dare fully snarl at the half-paralysed patient. "We're not here to kill you."

His ears were flat against his skull again, tail flickering. He briefly cast a glance back at the numbat, before he settled his gaze back on Fleur. "It's not safe here," he said through his teeth. There was still a softness to his voice, as there always was, but an edge of alarm rather than aggression in it. "We're only here to help."

@Dovefeather @Diot

Dovefeather's toss was lousy, bouncing across the water and scattering the pool in a wild, chaotic way before the glowing, green stick began to sank, casting ripples out through the Eyes. The cat's ear twitched as her brother and his companion left, only half paying them any mind.

The water crashed about, breaking apart any vision she might have found in it. The feline inhaled, staring patiently at the light stick's slow descent into the pool. The motion had clearly disturbed the All Mother, the waters usual clarity hampered by the strange green glow and churning current.

"O All Mother, I don't have much time,"

The cat hissed softly, her fur crawling as though her whole pelt had been invaded by an army of ants.

"I know You have taught us patience, that everything will happen in due course, but my sisters are dead, O All Mother, and I... I'm so frightened, please. Please, give me a sign. Tell me... Show me, what I must do, I beg of you."

And as she spoke, a deep, seeping blackness spread out from her paws. It was faint, almost flickering, at first, as it went out and dove into the water, chasing after the glow of green. It swallowed the Eye whole, spreading across to the twin pool, enveloping them both in darkness. Soon, it started to creep around the entire clearing, choking out the light until it had consumed Dovefeather in the unpenetrable darkness.

Dovefeather found she had lost her voice.

She trembled, reaching forward with a paw to touch the water-- finding the damp soil at the edge of the Eyes, and then the sharp, bitingly cold pond. A tiny mewl came after a few attempts to find her tongue, a rasping whisper into the blinding black:

"A-All Mother...?"

Diot hadn't been in Eridanus for quite a few days, well seven days to be precise. While he spent most of his time roaming the forest of Eridanus he also left this cave room to explore for small treasures. Polaris was his favorite for peculiar crystals and gems, Cetus had interesting swamp flowers and Orion had fruit that looked to be very much out of this world! But all that mattered is that he was back, his magical woven bag full of goodies for both him and his father!

Speaking of his father what was that smell? Had he returned home to the burrow? Excitement bubbling up the tamarin jumped through the trees, leaving spouts of moss in his wake. Stopping near the burrow to take in quite the sight. There was a dog? And...his father he could somewhat make him out inside the burrow, but there was another wasn't there? He could make out something fluffy in there. Curiosity and the 'matter of factness' that this was his home, Diot slowly descended to the forest floor using one of the many flourishing vines. Small juvenile plant life sprouting up where he feet had once been.

"Hello! May I help you friends?"

Half mindedly reaching into his bag he simply nibbled on one of the small berries residing within. Taking in the sights of this large dog and a rather peeved skunk who were traveling with his father?

"Speech"

Well that was a shitty idea.

Claws swiped through the air, millimeters from his nose, and Booker stumbled back with a frightened chatter, cane slipping from his grasp to roll across the room. Eye wide and ears pinned back to his head, the numbat stilled closer to Bones than his angered patient, shooting the dog an apologetic 'yes, you were right' glance before turning his attention back to the skunk, expression set. The woman was retching, now, and he ignored her words at first, slowly inching closer on raised toes, tail fanning out behind him. He eyed her defensive posture with a grim frown, and then, quick as his bad leg would allow, scrambled on all-fours to grab his cane again, returning her startled hiss with a snap of his triangular teeth, raising up on two legs for long enough to wave the deceptively heavy wood in warning.

"I've been pumpin' painkillers into ya for days, lady, if I wanted ya dead you would be," he muttered, wincing back when her murky gaze was suddenly much closer, a long, hot breath rolling over him. His nose bumped into her own, and the creature blinked, slow and considering, before she was suddenly moving back into her slump, and he let out a stilted breath, chest tight with contained panic. "...right. Now. Listen to us, okay? Something's out there, killin' Gems, and you're gonna be fast food unless we leave now, got it?" Her glare only deepened, muscles tensing and lip flipping up, and Booker suddenly had had enough of everything to do with this situation.

Thankfully, his son had excellent timing.

Shooting Fleur a warning glance, Booker turned to greet his son, smile bright enough to crinkle the corners of his eye. "Welcome back, kiddo. You mind waitin' with uncle Bones for a sec? My patient's decided now would be a great time to put us all in danger," he added with a drone, hoping he imagined the surprised huff of laughter from said skunk. "We're gettin' outta dodge - something... somethin' got Sister Blackfeather," he mumbled, eye dipping closed for a moment, breath whistling through his nose. Checking 'update son on possibly deathly situation' off of his list, the scribe turned back to the guard of the Merrymen - only to find her inches from his face, raised up to her full height on shaking limbs, tail slowly sweeping down to the floor. Red eyes stared into his own, clearing from the haze of anger, and moved over Diot and Bones like the sights of a rifle, slow and methodical, before settling back on Booker.

The whole show would've been more intimidating, had he not once stared into the eye of a homicidal dragon. He set his jaw and stayed where he was, leaning on his cane as his working foot tapped out a slow beat on the ground. "We're waiting."

Fleur's eyes followed the cane in a way that would have been comical if it didn't make her dizzy - and wasn't that a blow to the gut, that something as simply as looking at something could trigger whatever was wrong with her. Disgruntled scowl pinned on the rat's back, she swallowed thickly, trying to keep her stomach contents from evacuating onto the thing's den. It had probably told her its name at some point, but frankly, she didn't care as long as it didn't, apparently, intend to off her like the Merrymen should've.

That didn't mean she could trust them.

Slowly, she slunk forward, rising up on tremoring limbs, claws digging deep into the ground as they searched for purchase. Scowl smoothing into a placid mask, the hulking guard stood for the first time in days, panting out short, pained breaths, ears flat against soft fur. When the rat turned, she stared into his eye, waiting for that hint of dismissal that had always clued her in to Diamondfang's utter disinterest, Louie's manipulation - but it didn't come. Only concern and impatience lurked there, and Fleur huffed, muzzle twitching at the disgusted flinch from the... medic.

"How. Quaint. I've never. Met. Food with. Such. Personality." Impressed confusion laced her rumbled words, voice like stone grinding on stone. Red eyes flickered again over the dog and the... disturbingly at-ease monkey, shoulders rolling under tight skin. "Fine. I will. Follow. Begrudgingly. Don't expect. Gratitude, little man," she intoned, no malice in her tone as her head slowly lifted, gaze still on Booker.

A slow blink, and she finally raised her head, stepping over the stranger and eyeing the two guarding the door with a raised eyebrow, tail sweeping upwards in an elegant curve. "Well? I do. Hope. You have. A plan. Beyond. Bothering my. Rest." She grinned, wide and humorless, clicking stone and natural teeth together mockingly.

The dog looked bleary-eyed now as he looked down at Diot. Uncle Bones was such an odd thing to say, given that he had never seen this creature before in his life. "Hello," he said softly regardless, ears flickering. "I'm Bones."

He turned his head back to Fleur, watching her for a moment. "You can rest," he said, moving over to bury his head under one of Fleur's legs and hoist her up onto his back - teeth clamping down on the air right next to his ear - and he scooted out of the den with the skunk, snorting somewhat.

The weight didn't bother his legs as much as he initially thought - his back legs were surprisingly stable with lifting Fleur. "We're going somewhere safer," he said quietly, yawning briefly before eyeing Diot once more.

Bones didn't consider himself to be the best with kids, despite his grandfather's incessant need for more children. "Um," he started, ears flickering. "What was your name?"

His eyes darted between the tamarin to Booker in his den, then his head shifted and glanced towards the direction of the Eyes, where Dovefeather was. "Do you think she's alright?"

@Dovefeather

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