ORIGIN - Chasing the Stars

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The large, black mastiff blinked pale grey-blue eyes as he emerged from the cold of tunnel M, paws scratched up, ice clinging to two of his legs. On his back lay a tawny fennec fox, young and bright.

The mastiff was quite tired. The tunnel had taken a lot out of him; the steep slopes had been slick with ice, jagged in places, and he'd had to struggle to clamber up them--particularly to do so without dropping the fennec female on his back.

Her magic had come in very handy, though; he knew that he was stronger than he would have been without it, healthier, more enduring. Still, he had his limits.

"I am the Black Dog. I am void," he had told the fox as they had entered the tunnel. From then on, she'd peppered him with questions and statements, and he had calmly answered, where necessary, as best he could. Sometimes, when focusing on a particularly tricky climb, he had ignored the fox, though he would pick up the conversation some minutes after attaining the crest of each ledge.

Now, though, he was silent, staring up and around as he viewed Orion for the first time.

It was vast--that much he could see; there were cliffs, a tall tower, and what looked like the ruins of some old city, all beneath a roof of quartz that twinkled like a night sky he had never seen.

"I have not been here before. Do you know this place?" he asked Quix.

He lowered his head and snuffled around as he awaited her response, casting briefly about for the strange scent of earlier. But it just smelled of rock and dirt and, more faintly, of other Gembound--no sign of the sickly-sweet metallic stench.

“You’re funny one aren’t you,” the fox commented amusedly whenever Black gave her an answer referring to himself as “it”. He was so lovely and stoic, that the lively girl did like him very much for his unique personality. “Your name is Void?” Her eyes rounded as she put more pressure onto her paws and kneaded his back, easing out the aches in them. Finally, they were out of Tunnel M, and she trusted that the dog’s nose would pick up the unqiue scent from earlier on. They entered another room which was huge. High ceilings greeted them as well as buildings of sorts. It reminded her of the disaster with the lion cub Usui.

As Black leaned his head to pick up some trails, Quix hopped off his back daintily and replied Void. “No, but I’ve seen abandoned buildings before. Stairs. And weird paintings. Some Tunnel. She then shuffled across the room, feeling the sand beneath her furry paws and sniffing about for some clues. “Pick up anything Void?” she called out to him. Meantime, she tried to gather the itty bitties to her, but perhaps the place was too dusty. She failed to do so. What a bummer, she had wanted to examine the itty bitties in this new place!

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Black listened to the fox's chattering, unbothered by it. Some Gembound might be annoyed, or even find it endearing; Black simply accepted her and her talk. It is how she was, and that was that.

"Name. I do not know. The wolf-waker spoke the name Void. I am the Black Dog. You may call me what you wish."

His language skills vastly improved every day; this little speech would have been unthinkable a week ago. Now he began to wander forth, sniffing sometimes as he went, but mostly keeping an eye on their new surroundings.

"I must find a place to rest. What do you know of 'buildings?'"

When I think.

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The black dog spoke. She cocked one ear in his direction and her lively eyes caught his sombre ones. “I’ll call you Void then!” She wagged her tail, pleased with the name she had chosen to call him by. It sounded wonderful and matched his stoic features. Her companion mentioned ‘rest’ then and asked her about buildings. The fennec was surprised that a big black dog like him would not know and became eager to teach him. “Buildings are these things Void,” she spoke and scampered to the base of some of the abandoned structures to direct his attention to them. “Rock, stone, you name it. She sniffed eagerly at the rocks and found a perfect snuggly smaller building to the left. “You can rest in here,” she called from inside, the tight chamber causing an echo. The ground was sandy with bits of rock, sand and perhaps some broken crystals here and there. It was relatively dusty. No one had come by this particular hut for quite a bit. With a giggle, Quix retreated into the shadows, lay down, and tucked her paws in close to her body while curling her tail around her body. She kept herself warm this way. The fennec then poked her head out and stared at Void with her cute blue eyes. “Come ‘ere, rest for a bit1” she encouraged Void and waited for him to come lie beside her. There was more than enough space for both of them.

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Black was no coward, nor was he lazy. He was also, however, not a fool: he instinctively knew that his task might turn out at any moment to become a test of physical strength, either through catching their prey or running into other danger.

It was imperative, then, that he remain well-rested, rather than running into this danger on the verge of collapse. Pondering the cloying coppery scent from the tunnel, he entered the building slowly after Quix and sniffed about. There was no sign of anything; just dusty old stone and the fox's scent. He moved his bulk on heavy paws around behind her and flopped down, exhaling through his nose with a slight grunt, body half curled around hers so he could function as pillow and as guardian in case anything unwelcome joined them.

But what were these things? Quix had explained that the buildings were ...well, buildings; but who had made them? For what purpose? Where had they gone?

"Who has built 'buildings?' What purpose do they serve?" He turned his massive head to look down at Quix, brow furrowed. She was clearly turning out to be the brains of the outfit--and the magical support; he was merely bulk and a free ride for the little foxling. He stared at her, fully expecting her to know the answers to all of these questions, and perhaps more. She was a clever little thing, after all.

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The kit mewled in delight as Void came around and snuggled around her. She buried herself into his fur and rubbed her head contentedly against the larger gembound’s stomach. It was smooth and sleek to the touch. The thick fur also provided her extra comfort. The horned creature tucked her head onto her paws and shut her eyes even as the dog spoke. “Mm…I don’t know,” the girl answered him honestly. She did not really care though. Intellectual questions that were meant for the visionary did not sit well with her. She lived in the moment and took things as they came. But then, the cave paintings emerged in her mind’s eye. There was an assortment of unfamiliar beasts – dragons, they called it – and tons of symbols etched into the walls, not to mention random rusty pieces of what used to be armour lying around, abandoned but not entirely unforgotten by resourceful gembounds. She continued her reply to Black in a wistful, childlike manner. “Maybe strange, large creatures. Gembounds bigger than this room. Dragons. Paintings, in caves show them. Stairs. No ordinary Gembound did these stuff Void. That’s…all I know.”

She yawned and tucked her fluffy tail around her lithe tan body, then dozed off to sleep quickly and entered her own dreamworld.

-Quix sleeps- OOC: she’ll wake in the next post

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Black lay silent for a time, resting but not sleeping. Instead, he kept watch, alert in case something came for them. It wouldn't do to have the little fox snatched out and killed before he could react.

But nothing came--indeed, nothing stirred outside the building--and so, eventually, he shuffled himself a bit, laying his large square head over and in front of the fox, and went to sleep.

Lucky for Quix, Black didn't seem to be the type of mastiff to ring the air with echoing snores. Instead he slept quietly, motionless, for several hours. When he woke he did so gradually, with that sort of contented peace that comes from knowing that all is well around you.

He lifted his head, at length, bleary-eyed and groggy, sniffing the air and glancing down at the fox. She still slept, for now, at least. He had some time to think, before she awoke. He looked back forward again, eyeing the open door of the building. The door's overhang was too low for him to make out the beautiful sparkling quartz ceiling of Orion, but he could see the other buildings lined up and stretching out into the distance, and a slope off to one side where they led down to the bowl-shaped cave's center.

Black then tested his muscles--they were sore, but not achingly so. He could continue today.

He looked down at Quix again, then lowered his head with a soft through-the-nose sigh to lay his chin on his paws, waiting for her to wake. He'd let the little one rest, for now.

She is small. She will require more sleep. I will wait.

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Quix was dreaming of birbs and grass, and insects! She was creeping towards one particularly delicious one when a gust of wind blew towards her and sent the worm catapulting to the other end of the room! ”Nooooo.” she cried out sadly in her sleep while two tear drops fell dramatically from her eyes. With a jerk, the girl barked and awakened to reality and saw Void’s face right in front of her. His gaze was doleful and stoic as always, and he seemed to exude an air of guardianship and great patience. He was waiting for her to wake! How long had it been since she had slept? Invigorated, the girl was once again a large bundle of energy. She attempted to lick his nose teasingly, and realized that the “gust of wind” must have been the soft exhalations of the larger beast.

The girl got to her feet then and looked at Void innocently. “What do you wanna see big guy?” The girl sat on her haunches and licked her paws to clean off the dirt that had settled. Then, realizing that she should increase her own health as well, she attempted to cast her magic, only this time she was her own target.

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Black blinked as the fox cried out in her sleep--and literally cried; and then, suddenly, she was awake. And just like that, she had gone from fast asleep to perfectly alert and hyper, as before--licking his nose and chatting cheerfully.

Bemused, he slowly lifted his heavy head from the floor and stood, pacing to the doorway before shaking out his coat. He pondered, looking out over the massive cave, barely spending any time on admiring the sparkling ceiling.

"Do you know this place? I must find all ways out. Smell them. Find the thing-that-ran. Do you know them?"

He turned to look back at Quix, and then stepped aside so she could join him--though she could have probably just scurried between his paws. Then he looked forward again, wondering where, exactly, he ought to be heading. He could see buildings, and a large broad area down in the middle, and a tower far in the distance. He tilted his large head, and then looked back down at the fennec fox, deciding to trust her judgement on the matter.

"Is there anywhere in here that a thing may hide, once we have searched the exits, or on the way to them? I do not wish it to escape."

It didn't even occur to him that the thing needn't "escape" at all, and would probably destroy the mastiff pup as easily as it could breathe.

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The mastiff got up and so did Quix in an overly delighted manner. She barked a couple of times and happily darted among this black, furry legs, ignoring the fact that he had deliberately stood aside so that she could have her own place to walk.

Quix was concerned about the condition of her ride. It could not fail or she would have a lack of shelter and protection! As such, the kit attempted to jump onto the black dog and knead his muscles using her paws. She could sense he was a bit weary at this point in time and no, she would not allow him to drop dead or sleep just from his fatigue.

At least, he seemed to trust her now for he spoke many more words. Quix shook her head in response to his first statement. In reply to his statement, the bright eye girl wagged her tail and grinned. “What makes you think it's in here? You smell something?" As far as she was concerned, this place was rather empty and desolate at the moment. Though she did not think much about the dog's questions, she was extremely excited to explore! "Hide? Well. They could hide anywhere in those buildings," she gestured with her paw in a wave-like motion across the entire town. All the of buildings held ancient secrets and other stuff she could only guess at.

But she was supposed to be useful, and she was bright and hyper. “Lets sweep the area. We can start from left, then right, then slowly go to the end if you'd like," she offered, then (if she was on his back jumped of his back) and scampered to the buildings over to the left. She kept her nose low to the ground and tried to pick up a scent. There was nothing. She turned to the dog. "Any luck?" she called out to him.

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