ORIGIN

Few times in the caves did Karma feel truly camouflaged, but being curled at the base of trees did the trick. The caramel colored fawn was often difficult to discern in the underbrush, among the mottled lamp light as it passed through the plants. Though her latest pursuits often found her lurking in Canis or Orion, she came here at times to sink into blissful sleep, confident that she was safe more than her other encounters. This was the mission she came with today: find a shaded grove and rest, for much was happening in her world. None of it followed her here, to her lush world of food and safety- or so she thought.

Karma was not one who felt connected to the plants, like some of the others, but even she could feel some kind of unrest bristling through the ferns. Was it magical? Every step made her more uneasy as she traversed familiar earthen paths, feeling a sort of buzzing in her head she’d come to associate with strong, ancient magic. The kind of magic that usually went about trying to kill her. It fed her curiosity and her fears in nearly equal measure, the thrill of adventure wrestling against self-preservation in a bloody, vicious brawl.

She had nearly given the feeling up as a false alarm when the giant mushroom came into view, and with it a much smaller figure. Unable to resist, she drew closer, terribly interested in what the other gembound was doing. She stopped dead, however, as she saw the tendrils reaching out, immediately understanding the sense of foreboding that had made her nervous in the first place. “Watch OUT!” she cried, her gemstone antler glowing brightly, reaching out with her magic to try to grab the furry form and pull it away from the offending tendrils.

@Kitaka

The pup barely had time to widen her eyes in alarm at the vine before it snapped toward her. At first, it seemed like just one green rope had whipped at her, but the closer it got, it looked like multiple vines reaching out. She had no real reason to be afraid of the thing yet, but its quick movements scared her nonetheless. This was not the sleeping giant that she had entered the world next to. This was something different, something else...

The shout of warning from the fawn rang out too late for the pup to stop herself. As soon as the vine got close enough, she snapped out at it. Kitaka intended to rip into it, to shred it so that it couldn't grab her. She may be young, and small, but her teeth were needle sharp. They hadn't been dulled by cycles of grinding down bone and tearing through hide yet.
The moment that she felt her teeth grab hold of it though, she felt herself be pulled backward. The force, though no more than a slight shove, sent her stumbling back. She tripped over a clump of moss and then tumbled head over paws right into a nearby clump of ferns. Somewhere in the process, she let go of the vine and momentarily forgot about it.

By the time she scrambled back up and leaped out of the ferns, Kitaka was focused on finding out what the strange sound was. It had rung out just before she was hit, meaning it must be connected to whatever had hit her. As soon as her dark gaze swept over the scene though, she remembered her predicament. The vines. Could they have made the sound, she wondered suddenly. Her ears flicked back at the possibility, and the soft, downy fur along her spine bristled. If they did, it was just another trick, like them moving, Kit decided after a moment. It wouldn't stop her from biting and tearing them. If they tried to grab her again, she would end them!

@Kitaka @Karma

Despite her compulsion for violence, Kitaka stood rooted to the spot, too shocked to move or fight back whenever the vines whipped toward her again. She watched with wide, fearful eyes as they separated, and then came at her from each side. Within the blink of an eye, she felt the smooth, green ropes wrap around her.

The instinct to fight back was a roaring, ripping screaming inside of her head. It felt enraged that something had her against her will. However, the wrath disappeared in a instant. As soon as the grip on her loosened, and she was released into the air, all the hyena pup could do was wail in distress. She assumed she was being tossed to her death, but was surprised to find something soft, and squishy, beneath her paws instead.

Just like that, within another blink of a eye, Kit went from midair to being on top of the giant mushroom. It seemed too strange and wild to be true, but so did the floating piece of stone in front of her.
Its shape meant nothing to her. In fact, the only thing she did recognize about it was its scent. The charge of magicka pulsed off of it, so strong that it made the downy hair along her back stand up. If that wasn't enough of a sign that it was not ordinary, then the fact that the rock was literally floating made Kit stop and think.

This was what she had smelled on the ground. It was obviously different than the other pebbles and stones that she had come across down there. She didn't understand it completely, but she didn't understand how she was going to get down from up here either.
So, the hyena pup did what she did best. She went with the first idea that popped into her head, and hoped for the best.

Kitaka lowered her head and charged up the mushroom cap toward the stone. A few feet from it, her haunches bunched up in preparation to spring her toward it. When she went to jump, she slipped on the smooth, rubbery surface of the cap and lost most of her momentum.

@Karma