ORIGIN - wait for the blackout

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Ghanyarah was beginning to feel the heat getting to him. It was biting through his skin, agitating his scales. If he could sweat, he would have been drenched; hell, even if reptiles could pant, he would have cracked his mouth open and tried to shed the heat that way. His mouth did hover ajar, but he was only breathing in hot air that disturbed his lungs to the point of making him want to cough. He felt like his skin, the thin pink membranes connecting his fingers and spines, was shriveling up. It was getting hard to focus.

He reached out for any water in the air, but it seemed that the last of it was burned up under the tongues of bright orange flame. Though he had subdued a fair portion of the fire, he knew it wouldn’t be long before it began to mount and spread again. And he was running out of ways to fight it.

The slime dragon had gotten back to her feet. When he felt the ground quake beneath her paces, Ghanyarah turned and found himself freezing with instinctive caution again, seeing her up close and personal. She was much larger than he anticipated. And much more… terrifying. But surely she couldn’t be here to harm him, otherwise she would already. No, all she’d done was just set the jungle on fire. But that was half his fault. “Can you help?” He asked, his throat dry and crackling. “I can’t keep up - I’m running out of water.” He added, lips tugging down. He stepped back from the fire as it leaped onto another bush as though hungrily reaching out for him.

This heat was going to kill him. Slowly but surely, if they didn’t put the fire out, it would likely consume them both.

@Equinox

Hobbling forward, it didn't take long for Equinox to find the other beast again and when she did, she could see that they were struggling to continue. In this moment of desperation, they turned to her; and Equinox wasn't about to turn them down. They had to work together on this, or the forest could go up in flames and be lost forever. Not that she would have declined anyway... Equinox, as scary as she looked, found it hard to say no. She would leap at the chance to prove herself.

Her head gave a quick dip in acknowledgement before the dragon turned tail, not willing to risk even brushing close to those flames again. Perhaps the way beyond the giant mushroom would hold some sort of hidden reservoir or tiny trickle of a stream.

head held low, she bounded out of the danger zone and began to fan out, moving in an ever-growing spiral in order to cover a larger area looking for a water source. Anything would do, from the tiniest trickle of a stream to a pool of condensation on a leaf... just something... she needed something. The more she walked, the more desperate she became, her speed gradually increasing despite the discomfort of the burns that bit into her paws. Frustration mounting, Equinox knew that she just had to keep moving until she found what she was looking for, no matter how long that took.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Ghanyarah
notes: gonna make another attempt after this one, since they're apart and can't really do much else xD

Equinox kept on moving, kept on looking, using the distant shape of the giant mushroom as a baseline to know where she was going. She travelled further and further, eventually hearing a distant trickle. As soon as she caught an inkling of the right direction she picked up the pace, bounding towards the sound. She came upon a tiny stream, and dropped her head into the deepest bit she could find, and inhaled as much as she could. Her throat and belly almost seemed to swell as she filled her cheeks and stomach with as much water as she could possibly hold.

Finally she raised her heavy head, with it now looking more like a whale than the head of a draconian being. She wasn't used to this and very much disliked the ache it put on her fragile neck, but she kept her head low to the ground as she bounded back the way she'd come, slime splattering around her paws with every pace.

She could smell the smoke; the closer she got, the more she could feel the heat... When she finally reached the komodo dragon, Equinox emptied her cheeks and gizzard, forcing all that water out onto the nearest patch of flames. All too soon, her cheeks were empty, steam pouring from where the fire had been. Then she looked around, looking to see what needed putting out next.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Ghanyarah
notes:

tfw you write water instead of fire on your roll attempt OTL

----

Panic was beginning to pile on as he watched the flames continue to consume the plant life. They had tried and gotten this far in preventing the fire from spreading, but unless they could extinguish it completely, it would overtake them - soon. When he turned to look at her again, the slime dragon bounded off somewhere else, beyond the mushroom. For a fleeting moment he was worried that she would be abandoning him. He could see droplets of inky black slime eddy off her body as she went, leaving an obvious trail of her presence - evidence of her existence - the slime trail he’d been following.

But now was not the time for revelations. Ghanyarah swallowed and shuffled backwards, eying the fire. The smoke was thickening above his head and it was harder to find water now. There was no more water in the immediate vicinity for him to utilize, but maybe he could reach the Eyes… How far were they from here? If he left, he’d run the risk of losing control of the fire completely, and if the slimy beast was gone for good, he’d be dooming all of Eridanus. No, he couldn’t go off in search of the Eyes. He’d have to find a source of water closer.

The reptile apprehensively left the fire, quickly scanning the undergrowth on the other side of the clearing, searching for that shimmering surface which would betray the presence of water. He moved with quickness, searching vigorously until he found a spring; the crystal water was bubbling up from a divot in the ground, warmer than usual, likely the effect of some kind of geothermal activity beneath the ground. But it would suffice.

Summoning his magic, he ripped the water from the ground, manipulating the spring into a thick stream that he pulled up and up until it hovered in a coil above him. The fire was easy to see in the distance, flashing bright red and orange, where a cloud of smoke was turning the trees into a grey haze. Ghanyarah galloped back to the fire, pulling water from the spring as he went and eying it carefully to ensure it remained within his hold. Some of it splashed free - admittedly, he was slightly sloppy in his urgency - but when he arrived back, the slime dragon had just unleashed a mouthful of water on a patch of the blaze. Ghanyarah skidded beside her and whipped his head, casting sparkling water across the remainder of the fire. It fizzled and hissed, the burning vegetation popping at the sudden change of temperature.

As the smoke from the water disappeared, he could see the ground still smoldering where the fire once grew. But it looked like, for now, they had smothered the majority of it. The rest would just be stomping out the embers. Ghanyarah huffed and sunk into the ground, feeling the over use of his magic already wearing on him.

@Equinox

Equinox didn't have any water left in her mouth and she daren't stomp on the embers to try and put them out, but she did have another idea, her belly as swollen with swallowed water as it was. opening her jaws and watching for a moment as the other creature slumped down where they stood, the beaky maw soon closed over her eye as a shudder ran throughout her body, hesitation exponentially growing the more she stopped to think about it. But she didn't want to risk those embers catching alight on anything again; and this was the only way she could think to quickly put a stop to the smouldering without taking her eye off it.

Placing her paws squarely, the draconian being shuddered, her belly and throat convulsing. However, no matter how hard she tried, Equinox was unable to cough out a single drop. She'd never tried to do anything of this kind before, and didn't know if it was even possible... that being said however, she soon gave up as the action was making her feel rather unwell. Was that the point, though? Equinox was unsure as she began to plod shamefacedly back towards the lizard who'd helped her put out the fire, head hanging low and skin rippling with uncertainty. Her steps were hesitant; part of her wanted to simply turn tail and run, but she had to make sure that they were okay.

She felt guilt welling in her chest at having caused such a blaze and almost brought calamity to the entire cave system. reaching out, Equinox went to nudge the strange lizard apologetically, only to realize her mistake, and recoil instead. She couldn't touch them after what this slime had almost caused. Instead, the slimy being opened her jaws and looked at them through the red sheen that was her gem. She didn't want to leave them alone for fear that the flames would return, but in the same vein she was terrified of her mere presence making it worse.

Her already long neck seeming to stretch out like a snake to coil around them, she moved her head so that she could look over their entire form- were they burned anywhere? Was there anything she knew how to better?

But she found that she didn't know enough about the other residents of the cave to truly be of use. a worried gurgle began in the depths of her chest and continued.

She was getting more and more worked up the more she thought about it, and the silence wasn't helping either.

"I'm sssorry..." she uttered, gurgling voice shaking and laden with guilt. By this point, her apologies seemed like the only words she knew. "A-are you okay? I'll leave if you wish. I didn't mean to hurt anyone..."

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Ghanyarah
notes: here

He pressed his belly into the loam which felt marginally cooler than the still sweltering air around them. Especially in Eridanus, which was already humid and warm, any refreshing coldness was a blessing in the midst of all the fire. Ghanyarah cracked open his jaws and gulped in air, stretching his limbs out in an attempt to feel the cool moisture of the dirt on as much of his skin as possible, watching the remains of the fire fizzle sadly among the dripping undergrowth. He knew they still weren't done, but at least the fire was no longer at risk of raging out of control.

Then she spoke. It was a voice he wasn't expecting to come from her, and words too; her earlier words, a mix of a primal roar and a hiss, hardly sounded cognizant at all. Yet now she turned to him and apologized, saying she'd leave if he wanted her to. The slime dragon, a creature that evaded him and existed only as a figment of mystery, hadn't meant to hurt anyone. This was just an unfortunate accident. Ghanyarah felt he couldn't necessarily pin the blame entirely on her either - he had jumped to conclusions, he had caused her to start the fire in the first place.

"I am fine." The reptile answered, but his voice was strained and crackling, wistful for hydration. "I apologize for my rashness. I thought you were a beast of some kind." He clarified, lifting his head slightly. Within her maw, he saw a bright red gem, her stone no doubt. What a peculiar creature. "I was actually following your trail. Despite the fire, it is quite beneficial to my quest that you have arrived here." He said, slowly elevating himself from the ground again and gesturing with his snout to the slime that dripped off of her. Then he trudged forward, back into the bushes, intent on stomping out the remaining embers.

@Equinox

There was a moment of silence as Equinox watched the creature spreading itself out in the dirt. She tipped her head slightly to one side as she tried to understand what it was they were trying to do with this motion... she didn't seem too affected by the heat, but then again, her belly was swollen with water she'd consumed from the nearby stream.

When they spoke, Equinox wilted slightly; they didn't seem fine at all! Their voice sounded parched and exhausted. And it was hear fault, because... of course it was. Let's face it, when was something not her fault? "Well, I can't blame you for that," she tried to force a slight laugh, but now really didn't feel like the time. Perhaps it'd be best to just fade out of existence and hide in the darker.... less-smouldery parts of the woods. if there were any. A pang of fear resonated in her chest. Equinox hung her great head slightly, gazing at them with her bejeweled eye."Can I... can I bring you water?" she asked, guessing that that was what they needed.

It turned out that the lizard had tracked her here; how odd. Why had they been looking for her though? Was it out of fear, or a desire to protect? Or just... an odd curiosity? "Why?" she asked curiously. Equinox couldn't deny that there was a lot to learn about this strange cave system. The more she thought about it, the more she'd want to know why too. After all, there was no other creature in the caves like her. At least she'd helped this other creature somehow, then... even if it wasn't intentional by any means. "Well... Am I what you were expecting?" she asked quizzically.

As... rocky, as their encounter had been, Equinox was surprised by how it had all turned out in the end. It almost seemed to have gone too well. But perhaps that was just her pessimism speaking.

She watched as they trudged off into the bushes, and nervously followed after, her head hanging close to the ground. If they were going to put out the embers, then she couldn't let them do that on their own. Perhaps she could go get more water...

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Ghanyarah
notes: here

He tilted his head, briefly glancing back at her. Ghanyarah could use some water, but he'd seen her try to hack something up over the fire, and he had no desire to really try and drink something that had already been in... another creature's body. "No thank you." He said and focused on the embers, crushing them with his feet. The heat bit at his scales, but Ghanyarah persisted, stomping out the embers until they were nothing but thin streams of smoke spiraling up from the blackened earth.

Understandably, she'd want to know why he was following her. As Ghanyarah continued to smother the embers, he walked in circles, sweeping his head low left and right in search of any remaining sparks of bright red and orange. His tongue flicked mindlessly, but all he could taste was the ashy heat of the fire and the burnt foliage. "No." He answered, pausing to lift his head and peer back at her, looking her up and down. "I was expecting something a little more... mollusc-y." Ghanyarah added, lips tugging down thoughtfully, then back up with a snicker. It would have been quite fitting if she turned out to be a giant snail.

"What exactly are you? A Gembound like me? Do you have a name?" He asked as he continued to walk through the bushes, stamping out embers.

@Equinox

Equinox could only watch from a distance, feeling a little helpless and in awkward silence, as the komodo dragon stomped out the last of the glowing embers. Even though the embers remaining were so little, it was something that she herself daren't even try after the catastrophe she'd just caused. It was relieving to see, however, and bit by bit, the tension was leaving her gelatinous body, to be replaced by nervous sadness. Her jaws were closed, blinding her to the rest of the world and hiding away her eye and the gem shielding it.

As she heard their voice once more again, however, she raised her head and looked at them, jaws parting. She didn't quite know what they meant by... mollusc-y, but she tried to smile at their little joke nontheless, forcing an awkward laugh to go with it.

"Well... When I emerged, I had no legsss," she told them, unsure if that was relevant to their joke or not, but saying it anyway.

She followed the lizard from some distance away, weaving between trees and keeping well out of the fire's way. Her steps were careful too- she tried her best not to brush against any leaves or trunks, flinching whenever she caused anything to so much as rustle. "I... don't know. I assssume a Gembound, I can sssee a jewel in my reflection when I drink," Equinox said, although it felt somewhat unhelpful. At least she had a jewel. She didn't know what she'd be if she wasn't a Gembound. was there even anything other than Gembounds living in these caves? "My name iss Equinox. You can jussst call me Nox if that'sss too much, though."

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Ghanyarah
notes: here

Ghanyarah paused and snapped his eyes back at her. No legs? His eyes narrowed, and he tried to imagine the massive, tar black dragon without any legs. The image formed in his mind was enough to make him snigger, then continue on his way through the undergrowth. Behind him, she explained that she figured she was a Gembound. She was aware of the bright red gem in her mouth, saying she could see it. But how? She didn't have any eyes.

The reptile huffed when he felt he had stamped out most of the embers. He finally turned and started to head back to the dragon, who called herself Equinox. "No. Equinox is fantastic." He said seriously, coming to stop in front of the dragon and crane his neck up towards her head. Really, it was a great name. He loved long, complicated names - evidence of creativity beyond his own wandering, artistic mind, a creativity that he couldn't even grasp. He adored it such complexity, it made him think. "My name is Ghanyarah." He added, tilting his head as he tried to catch a glimpse of the gem inside her mouth.

"Do you mind me looking? You're so odd." Ghanyarah asked, failing to stop and think that she might consider odd to be bad. Odd was excellent. It was a derivative from the norm, and what was the norm? Boring.

(would he be able to see her eye through her gem?) @Equinox

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