ORIGIN

Giggle was lapping at the stale, metallic water down at the honeycomb pools at her den. A "garden" of various cultivated fungi grew on the ledges and niches up past the natural-growing ferns and grasses at one side--all sparse, but it was life, and it was, at least with care, thriving. She'd been checking on the bioluminescent ones, doing this somewhat obsessively recently.

The hyena was now about to rest, taking her drink of water, and--

"Mother? Are you here?

Giggle's head shot up, dark eyes widening as she swung to stare around frantically. The word erupted from her jaws before she could even think, heart racing, her masculine voice roaring hoarsely into the cave.

"BONES?!" For a split second she knew it could be a trick--but then she pushed the thought away, and took a few swiftly-galloping paces toward where she thought the voice had come from. Omen took flight, the black Hallowed Caller startled at the suddenness and the intensity of her emotions, its haunting cries coming fast and loud.

The hyena felt the world crashing down around her.

Bones? Alive? Here? My son?! She had to find him. Relief, fear, love, a mother's tangle of overwhelming emotions that threatened to burst her into hysteria. She fought it down and bolted up toward her bone pit, mere seconds after hearing the call, and Bones came into sight. He was right there, with his big round ears and his splashes of bright colors and his FACE--his precious face, her son--...

Giggle turned aside only at the last instant, skidding to a halt beside him rather than crashing into him, rapidly sniffing him over. Dog, stone, bone, gem-cocoon--he's been sleeping. The hyena began frantically licking her adoptive son, trembling as words escaped through it her stump tail thrashing about as he licked her back. The part of her mind not entirely overwhelmed was checking him over--no wounds, that she could see, just his older scars and those looked somewhat healed--and his stance, his legs, they seemed stronger. Relief.

"Bones, you're all right--I was so WORRIED--where have you been?! Sleeping, asleep, in the gems?! In the bones? Are you all right? ARE you all right? Tell me everything, tell me--it's so good to see you."

Her demeanor was still touched by her madness--moreso in this moment of heightened stress--but it could be clear to the painted dog that his mother was more "herself" than she had been in a very long time. Perhaps time had mended her to some extent, as well.

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With his massive ears perked, Bones took a moment to listen. He could hear the lapping of water, somewhere, but he promptly realised that he didn't have to listen all that hard because Giggle was shouting his name as well, followed by Omen's cries.

He pushed up, moving to meet his mother, though as he saw the lumbering hyena coming he realised that she probably wasn't going to stop running. He hesitated, then he grimaced and prepared himself for impact with a fully-grown hyena-- but instead, he heard the skidding of paws and the sniffing of a nose.

The dog looked over Giggle briefly before his tail began to thump hollowly against the cave floor, craning his head to lick the hyena's forehead affectionately. She looked good-- better than he remembered, at least. He had vague images of Giggle, broken and solemn and babbling nonsense, but she seemed better.

Not like she used to be. But better than she was. "I'm okay, mom," he answered between grooming Giggle's face. "I'm fine, everything's alright-- it's good to see you, too. I'm sorry you were worried." He added this last part with a slight grimace of guilt. Perhaps he should have said something beforehand-- Bones and Kerberos and Dovefeather must have been worried too.

"I slept," he explained. "But I don't know how long for. I feel fine- everything's fine. How have you been-- and Omen, are you two okay?"

He stayed close for a moment-- if not grooming Giggle's fur, he pressed his forehead to her shoulder or he cautiously sniffed at her, looking for wounds, for new scars-- but she seemed alright. He just hoped nothing bad had happened while he was gone.

"How long has it been?" He asked a little more cautiously. "What did I miss?"

She listened, her own rounded ears twisting and shifting. Everything's all right. Good--he slept! Only slept! He wasn't--dead or hurt or missing-... With a chitter the hyena stood back, sniffing at Bones intently.

"Missed? Missed. What have you missed. Hrm. Azazel Bone King is just gone. I have not seen him in a long time! Kerberos too. I miss him. I missed you. It's good to see you alive, Bones. Good!" She shook herself out, bits of fungus flinging around--luckily not at her son.

"We found the Eyes. Where they came from. The dark-place. A cat! A filthy cat!" Giggle chattered and chortled for a moment, irritated and amused at the idea. She hated cats, hated them, always had. "Filthy cat pulled people in, pulled them in and took them but Omen knows, sister-daughter knows, she can see in the dark and she found us."

For a moment Giggle fell silent, thinking. She'd spent the last couple of years just resting, living, surviving--giving fortunes to those who asked. Recovering, if gradually. What else was there? Ahh! "And I took bones, from the pile. You know, yes, how many still have stones in them? I took three and I put life into them and they came alive. They hatched. They are children, now--Serek, Skeena and Vinea. You would like them! You should meet them. Though--Serek has left, for now. A fat alligator came here and spoke of cave secrets and children of 'rot,' and when he left, Serek went with him! But Vinea is here--somewhere--and Skeena too. Skeena is small like a rat but she has spots and long ears. Don't eat her."

The hyena chittered softly. "The lights were out. They were put back on; there is a white wolf who brings them. Young! But there is little more. Mostly--I have simply lived!"

It didn't really occur to her to discuss the goings-on of the caves--the voices, the runes, Lorekeeper's words. She didn't know if it all, anyway. "I rarely leave the bones," she added, almost apologetically. "Did you only now awaken?"

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ROLL THE BONES

Bones listened, sitting himself down to rest his legs. His adoptive mother's first piece of news was... something he already knew. He thought for a moment, remembering-- Azazel, his adoptive grandfather, was dead. His children were.. well, Bones did not know what had become of them.

Kerberos wasn't around either-- dead or sleeping, Bones decided. He wondered what had become of the Bonebound but he reckoned that, if it hadn't been mentioned, that Giggle did not know. He took a short breath, thinking, worrying for a moment until the hyena's words took him out of brief thought. "I'm glad you're alive, too, mom," he said. "Have you seen anyone else around? Booker, or Ash, or Scarborough-- do you know Scarborough?"

Giggle spoke more, but this time it took Bones a few seconds to try and translate what she had said. The Eyes were a cat? "Where are they?" He asked, the fur on his back standing on end, briefly, from fear. "The Eyes, the-- she-cat? Is she a danger to people?"

There was nothing Bones could do, truthfully, if the Eyes were a danger. He was a lame dog. He could find Kerboros and Scarborough and all the Bonebound, where ever they were, and they could help. Maybe. With a breath, Bones resumed listening to Giggle's report, a little tense. He waited patiently for her to continue when she paused, ear flicking, taking a moment to look around Canis.

Things seemed normal. Light. Not dark. Nothing lurking in the corners. He was hungry, but hunting and eating could wait. Dark eyes flicked back to Giggle as she began chattering again, waiting. "Their gems, yes," he replied quietly as Giggle mentioned the stones within the bones, ears high. His eyes grew a little wider as the hyena spoke, and he thought.

He wondered what they were like, what they looked like-- well, Skeena was a rat-like thing that shouldn't be eaten. More like a rabbit than a rat, maybe? Vinea and Serek-- he didn't know, but they must look like Giggle, somehow. His ears perked up and his tail thumped against the floor again, excitedly.

"That's great, mother!" He said, shifting weight from paw to paw. "What are they like? Are they kind? Where are they-- I'd love to meet them." He half-cut himself off, bristling with questions, but afraid to overwhelm his mother by asking too much too quickly. He wondered if they had fur, or scales, or feathers or manes or talons. He didn't know. There were a lot of possibilities!

He settled down quickly, nodding slowly. "Will the lights stay on?" He asked much more quietly, looking off across to the bone pile again. "I came straight here," he then added. "I haven't eaten yet, or painted. I haven't seen Booker or Kerberos or Dovefeather, either, but I'll find them soon."

Giggle listened quizzically. Booker? Ash? Scarborough? She'd heard the name Booker, once--she couldn't remember, but she thought someone who had come for a reading had mentioned him. Or Azazel. He'd been Bones' friend, too, though--hadn't he? But she'd never met him, and Ash? Who was Ash?

"I don't know them. I don't think I've seen them. Vinea and Skeena? I'm unsure. Around, somewhere. Serek is in the swamp-cave with the alligator now. To find the secrets of the cave, he said; I don't know if I trust him but the bones spoke of it well enough. The eyes were in the room full of glittery crystals, not far from here." She leaned forward again, cautiously licking out a few perceived bits of mislaid fur on Bone's belt, considering his words.

"The Eyes-... It is another place, an outside place, and a darkness. Even though many of us were inside, we could not see or hear one another. I don't know how Omen sees into it but she does. I think the she-cat's simply mad. Senka, her name is. She can pull people in and out of that--not-space, but the real danger -is- that not-space. That void. Darkness." Giggle considered, eyeing Bones. "If you can, find yourself one of these birds. Then, if you are taken in, it can find you, and lead others to you. Without her I would have died. But! I'm not dead. And I'm glad about that, too!" She laughed, raucous and hoarse. "I hope that the lights will stay on. If they do not, the white wolf will bring them back again, I hope." There was a soft calling overhead, and Giggle felt Omen flicking a faint question into her mind. She translated it into words, and responded thought-to-thought.

You think of me, Mother-Sister?

I do. I'm grateful to have you. It was said, but with it came a flood of love and gratitude that the bird quite understood. It flew down, and landed with a quiet clatter of talons. The hyena leaned over to nuzzle it, and it fluffed out its feathers to squat beside her as she looked back to Bones, continuing.

"Serek was born from half-me and half a tall long-legged horned thing, probably a grass-eater. He's big, strong, and smart. He'll get very big, I think. Vinea as well--he is stranger. Sees things differently. He has big eyes, and lots of pieces that most others don't have--little fins and many legs--but he is still beautiful! And Skeena is very small, very sharp and smart and swift. You will like racing with her--" Giggle stopped herself. Bones had used to run--before his injuries. But now..?

She peered at him, pushing up to sniff over his back, and his hind legs. "How are your legs?" she asked.

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Pausing, Bones thought through his words carefully. He was sure that Giggle knew of Booker and Ash, but maybe not Scarborough. "Booker is a good friend," he said, thinking. "Like a brother, but closer than that-- Scarborough is Kerberos' son. He's very nice, but he struggles with eating sometimes, I think. Ash is Azazel's daughter, she doesn't speak." He paused and looked over Giggle for a moment, for any sign of recgonition that she knew who he was talking about.

He listened regardless, ear flicking as Giggle came forward and he turned his head to nose at the back of Giggle's head, briefly, before speaking further. "If the bones speak well of it, then it'll be okay," he said. The bones didn't lie-- why would they? They were bones. Bones himself certainly did not lie. He looked across towards Omen, thoughtful, and then nodded. "I'll try, mom, if I go somewhere," he said-- though he was doubtful that he would ever leave Canis.

It seemed dangerous out there. All the Eyes and Senkas and dragons. Bones didn't like to think of it and he certainly didn't like to consider that he might have lost all sense of adventure in the last several cycles.

He thought for a while, half-listening to Giggle. Maybe Serek was a deer, and Vinea was a fish, and Skeena a rabbit. He paused, train of thought breaking off for a moment. You will like racing with her.

The dog's massive ears lowered close to his skull for a moment. He hadn't been able to run for a very long time-- he missed it. He used to race Kerberos through Canis, and jump and run past bones and fall into piles of them. He used to hunt properly for rats. Uncomfortably, he shifted, but he let Giggle sniff at him.

"They're... stiff," he answered hesitantly. The scars had began to heal over; his legs seemed a little stronger, but Bones wasn't particularly ready to test them yet. "I haven't walked very far and I don't want to make them worse."

He shook out his fur, briefly. "Maybe Kerberos can race with her?" He suggested. "Or maybe one day I can, but- I don't know yet. Why don't you race with her?"

Giggle gave a soft, chortling laugh.

"Don't know them. Me, race? I'm not a racer. I'm not even a fighter! I am a Seer, and that is all that I need to be. Lorekeeper is still well," she added.

The hyena watched the painted dog with warm affection, for a moment, head slightly tilted--then moved forward, wrapping one forelimb over him to hold him close. She sighed. "I missed you. I pass your paintings, and I look at them. It is so good to see you again."

She then carefully stood, untangling her leg from around his shoulder, ending the "hug." She turned to face along the length of the western wall. Bones' paintings were not far from here--nor was Lorekeeper, in fact; but she was thinking of the big boulders that littered the area, and the water honeycombed between them. It was where the few rats of Canis dwelt, and where she hunted for them.

"Let's test your legs, anyway--don't strain them, but you said you need to eat? Let's see what we can catch, Bones," she said, turning to offer him a kind expression.

Or what catches us. The darkness and the eyes, returning and blinking, everything good and then all bad, all a trick, all a-- Giggle shook her head rapidly, staring off for a moment, and pushed the thoughts away.

Not now, she told herself harshly. Omen sent her a questioning thought, and she gave dismissive reassurance in turn.

She was fine; and she would stay fine. Bones was back.

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ROLL THE BONES

Bones nodded, briefly saddened that Giggle did not know the people he considered his friends, but he could tell her about them. It was alright. He was glad to hear that, at least, the Lorekeeper was alright. Bones and the Lorekeeper shared their lame legs in common.

He leaned into Giggle's hug, nose going right into her fur. He did not mind the smell of fungus and half-groomed hyena-- hell, to him, it just smelled like his mother, like home, like childhood. He sighed faintly, content. "I missed you too," he said, moving to nudge Giggle's face lightly. "It's been a long time since I've painted. Let me paint you?"

He flicked an ear at the thought of testing his legs-- but it was alright. He took a breath and nodded. "After hunting, then," he agreed, pushing himself up again and looking off briefly to the wall, to his den, then back again. "I hope the rats are still here."

He turned and moved away from the bone pile and Giggle's garden, hobbling along Canis and pushing his nose close to the ground, sniffing around for the scent of rats.

He didn't have to, in truth-- he knew where the rat-dens were and he knew that in the time he had been awake, they did not really move from there. Why would they now, while he slept?

As he limped across Canis the fresh scent caught the roof of his mouth. Dark eyes flicked upwards and he caught sight of the tail-end of a rat, shuffling away. With a grunt, he burst into action.

His legs were more responsive than he remembered-- he sprung up across the cave floor and for a moment he felt... young. He wasn't particularly old, but he felt almost like a child again, if a bit slower. He dove for the rat, catching it between his jaws and with a fluid motion and a low crunch, he broke the spine and went hobbling back to Giggle.

His legs ached even worse, now-- but he felt good. With his tail wagging, he dropped it near Giggle and licked his muzzle with a doglike grin. Because he's a dog. "Have you eaten?" He asked.

Giggle huffed, pleased, when her son offered to paint her on the walls. To immortalize her, perhaps, alongside the old carvings. She would be proud, in a motherly way--pleased and proud of Bones' work.

"I would be pleased if you painted me," she answered solemnly, yet there was a faint grin on her hyena face. She trotted down alongside him--heavier than he'd last seen, healthier. She'd regained a lot of weight in the last few weeks, along with some measure of your confidence. Ever since the lights had gone away, then come back on, she felt stronger. She knew that they would come back--they would never stay gone forever. Or if they did--she could survive it. She had been eating more; she no longer feared sleep. She was no longer bone-thin and rangy, but rather, more approaching the healthy musculature she'd had long ago.

When Bones moved out to hunt, so did she. "No, they haven't left," she answered, veering off to trot behind a boulder a bit away from her son. She let him hunt on his own, for a moment, though he caught his prey much more quickly. When he returned her back was to him, and she was digging out a particularly stubborn prey she'd found half-crouched beneath the stones.

"Eaten?" she echoed, half out-of-breath, then laughed. "Not--QUITe--yet--" There was a crunch, a squeak, and a scramble of claws on dusty stone as she pulled back quickly, shaking the rat out. It stopped struggling as she snapped its spine with a few good shakes, and turned, dropping it beside Bones's. She then sat with a huff, and eyed him.

"We'll eat together," she decided--and ignored that Omen swept down, picking apart a strip of the rat and hopping back, sharing its own piece of her meal.

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ROLL THE BONES