ORIGIN

Winter slid away from the rest of the gembounds, still hidden from their view. Her senses were fixed on a section of the storm that none of the others had yet noticed. It was reaching towards the generator. She knew that if it were to reach and destroy or damage the generator, the lights would never come back on. And, while having light wouldn't make a huge difference for her, she knew that the other gembounds would rather walk in light then in darkness.

She reached the edge of the water and looked into the water, her tongue flicking out trying to catch any kind of scents. She looked back up at the storm, trying to figure out how she was going to stop it.

When I speak.

When I think.

A part of Kera wondered-- as she limp-ran away from the group towards the generator --if the lightning from the storm above would turn the lights back on should it strike the generator. She also wondered if it would completely break the thing instead.

Kera decided not to take that risk.

Ignoring all else for a moment, Kera limp-charged towards the generator, then stopped. She limped away from it, getting some distance. She knew that the storm was, for some reason, interested in hitting things that were magical.

In the off-chance she could delay or set the storm completely off its course, Kera began to concentrate very hard into creating her eerily-glowing blue-green mushrooms in a ring around herself, bowing her head to touch the cave floor.

...but nothing happened. Perhaps the storm was disrupting her, somehow. She did not know.

Black crept closer, head raised and pendulous ears pricked up. He was watching the storm lashing high above, and he was wondering.

It is a storm,
his slow and steady mind gradually cranked out by way of conclusion.

And it is rife with magicka, I think.

The black dog held no interest in returning the lights to the cave; he was unaware it was problematic for others, and he himself simply lived in Polaris, hunting fish and rats and remaining content in the darkness, which shrouded him from sight.

There were other gembounds ahead, he could see: one was a white wolf, and this one reminded him of his daughter, only far less impressive. He stepped up out of the darkness alongside her without a word, ignoring all three of them in a manner that almost suggested he simply assumed them to be comrades, friendly. No introduction was given and no questions were asked as he stared up at the storm.

He wondered if it were dangerous; he wondered if he ought to send it to the void.

Yes, that seemed wise.

He stood staring, still, and felt his own magicka gather around him, pricking and sparking and shivering along his fur as it drew inward. He drew it together, and let the magic shape itself, remembering the void that had dragged the meat-thing, the bone-thing, backwards and into the chasm that lay somewhere below them.

Yes. That will do,
he thought, and felt his magic begin to shape, and shift, as it formed.

Darkness seemed to form behind it, flickering--then failed, sputtering out.

The black dog tilted his head, pale blue eyes staring through his wrinkles, and at last he spoke, voice a deep and rumbling bass, but his tone amiably blank.

"It is chaos," he said, and then looked to the others for their opinions.

________________

Kera stared up at the storm for a very long time, watching but not entirely thinking. With the fur rising along her back she eyed up the storm for a few beats before alarmedly turning her head towards the silver-backed fox moving towards her, absently edging out of the way as the creature began touching the generator below.

She almost bumped into the dog that had appeared-- seemingly from nowhere --right next to her, only stopping short of barging into him when he spoke. "It's what?" She echoed quizzically, before turning her head back up towards the storm, pink tongue sweeping across her jowls.

What was it doing? The clouds were making noises and were churning above and--

Instinct took over the wolf's body as she realised in a split second what was about to happen, diving out of the way as the storm hit the ground near the generator, where she had been standing a second ago.

Hesitantly, she moved back, ears lifted as she listened to the generator. "It might turn it back on," she offered. "It sounds like it wants to turn on."

Craning her head forward, she hesitantly began to sniff the generator before speaking further. "It's attracted to magic. It broke apart a stone that someone made not long ago." With this brief explanation, Kera pressed her nose against the generator and focused.

There was no glimmer of light under her fur or the familiar feeling of magic flowing through her as her spell failed once more. Bristling briefly, the wolf backed off and shook out her fur quietly, eyeing over the generator again, briefly.

Black stepped forward, at the flash of lightning, staring up.

"It is chaos," he repeated. "What lies above was taken from it. Perhaps, it can be returned."

He stepped forward, slowly, sniffing over the generator itself. It was dangerous. He might be struck. He might even die; but that mattered little. What mattered was fixing the problem that lay before him.

"I will see what has been done, as I have seen echoes in the past," he rumbled slowly. He didn't bother, still, to introduce himself. He just got right to the point. "If we know what has been done; then perhaps it can be undone."

Slowly, he paced around it, away from where the lightning had struck--and pressed one paw up to it, staring intently at the object whose purpose he did not understand.

He felt his magic flood in, perhaps fed by the very storm that was causing so much chaotic interference--and he closed his eyes, and patiently waited.

________________

Winter watched as all the other gembounds joined her at the edge of the water. She was disappointed - she hadn't really learned much from her investigation. However, the other gembounds were at it, using their magic to try and attract the storm. She wished that she was better at magic. Perhaps then she would be more useful in trying to get the attention of the storm.

She did know hindsight, but she wasn't sure how useful it would be to attract anything. However, she did have a small inkling of an idea. Perhaps if she only focused on the spot where the storm had hit, maybe she could catch some residual energy and figure out what was going on. She slid forward and pressed her nose against the spot and focused. She felt the magic flooding her body and she shuddered. She hadn't used magic too often and it still was a very uncomfortable feeling.

When I speak.

When I think.