There was a
crash, and a
clatter. Suddenly, a good chunk of rock crumbled, collapsing with a dust-plume and a roar of smashing and rolling stone as it slammed into the ground below.
Snow, bitter cold and pure white, poured down and out, washing over Pisces and coating it in a powdery white dust.
The temperature of the caves dropped, an icy wind roaring from Pisces through the tunnels to the rest; snow would undoubtedly visit Origin for a time.
The impact shook the caves; above, more stone could be heard falling, crashing, settling into place, blocking the hole and whatever lay above. Below, however, the snow cloud slowly cleared...
And a figure stepped forth. It was tall, but not very tall; slender, with bulbous, sticky fingers that shone pink where the light struck them, and a glinting, rubbery blue-green skin. Tendrils of wispy white hair clung to its deer-like dewlap, and black antennae glistened where the light hit.
The figure crawled from the rubble and stood upright, glancing around, and then spoke in a mild, confused tone, its voice gentle. Large, black eyes blinked, a reflection of Pisces' water dancing over them.
"...Where am I?" he asked, bewilderedly. He sounded very alone, and even a little afraid. From the pile of snow and rock behind him, creatures--perhaps dropped from the hole above--began to spring out, peering around wide-eyed before racing past those present and into the tunnels behind. Caribou--brown ones, and white ones--little snow-white ptarmigan, and pure white Arctic hares--all tumbled past, clearly afraid.
"Oh!" cried the stranger. "My creatures!" He took a few stumbling steps after them, then halted, as if knowing he could not catch them.
Behind him, as the last of the snowflakes settled, a massive contraption became visible: a sled, of sorts, but studded at the forefront with a large glowing emerald, a sack strapped to the sleigh's rear. The alien creature turned, picking through the wreckage and lifting a large and jagged red gem that seemed to glow in Pisces' light, and inspected it. "...Now I can't tell who's been good, and bad," he lamented.
He looked toward Aeroth, toward Dezba and Astaroth, and hope crossed his face. "...Will you help me?"
