Everything hurt. Everything was dark and pain and every step like needles in her skin. Twice she had been hit...with a spell that made her sick. Poisoned her, ripped her apart from the inside...she felt like she was dying. And she could barely remember why. She had been gone, lost, flown into the darkness. She had woken up with blood on her claws. And she didn't know whose blood it was.
She could barely move but she knew she had to...she had to get somewhere safe. Somewhere where the dragon wouldn't find her and attack her again. She had to...she had to.....run...
But she could move no more. There was a ledge nearby, with a crevice beneath. A small cave to find shelter in, but she couldn't make it. Her stumbling feet were numb, they couldn't support her tiny weight anymore and she keeled over, collapsing on her chest. She could barely breathe...she could barely move...she was in so much pain...
s̶͓̓ơ̵͚ ̶̢̈́m̶̦͑u̴̥͝ć̸̱h̸̡͗ ̴̲̓p̵̏͜a̵̅ͅi̶͓̿n̷̜̔...
As her spinning head began to fall into darkness, she reached out desperately with magic. Where she was reaching, she didn't know. She wanted someone familiar. Someone she could trust, no matter how far away they were. She reached all across the caves until it touched the sleeping mind of someone she knew and loved. Wherever Aure rested, his dream would shift and he would see her, lying there in Orion, her breathing so subtle it could almost be missed.
Within his dreams, the wyvern was flying, broad wings brushing against immense rocks. Each jagged stone was stark white against the black ceiling. The unending darkness was littered with little lights like Orion's. If he allowed his feathers to sweep against the crags, they would seem to disintegrate — spiralling currents of white trailing after himself. It was beautiful, and drove Aure to dive straight through the heart of the valley. As he pierced that surface layer, visceral dread filled him. It settled, heavy and cold, within his gut. Then, he was falling, watching the world of light fade into a muted blue. Light glittered above, still, but against a royal backdrop.
A muffled thump! sounded as he hit the earth, sending up a spray of dust and stones. Bright eyes moved from stone to stone, trying to figure out where he was. Aure knew, immediately. This isn't a part of this cave I've seen— "Wilder?!" Unheeding of this being a dream, he rushed forwards. Giving himself a bit of speed with his wings, the wyvern glanced over the little black cat, wounded beyond imagining. "Hey, hey? What happened? How can I help?"
Aure noticed that her flanks didn't seem to be rising or falling, and he felt sick.
@Wilder
Wilder was dreaming as well now, but she did not move from her place. Her dream did not change as Aure's did, she sat there, waiting, when Aure came before her. She still hurt, even in her state of dreaming, but at least now she did not have the wounds of her body to hinder her. She looked up, either unwilling or unable to rise to her feet, bright eyes dull.
Aure was here...but wasn't it just a dream? She opened her mouth to say something but all that came out was a pitiful squeak. She coughed, trying to gather her voice before she smiled weakly at her friend.
With that sense of self-awareness, and the realization of just how intangible he was within the dream, Aure felt even more nauseous. Bile rose in his throat. A bob of his neck feathers showed as he swallowed it all down. Mother used magic — sometimes — to link to the minds of others, showing them images and revealing thoughts at will. He knew that Wilder was rather skilled in the arcane arts like his mother; she could possibly be performing the same magic. Before he could ask, Wilder was already speaking, again.
He forgot that the little black cat was just as young as he was, yet seemingly unmarred by cruelty. Until now, his mind interjected drily, mournfully. Aure looked down at his poor friend, unknowing of what he could do other than offer an intangible wing of assistance. He didn't want to leave her and wake up, but he felt an undying need to go right now. For the time being, he would stay. The wyvern would stay and try to soothe the feline and help her mentally.
To do that, Aure had to think. He took a steadying breath, posture visibly shaking as he did. "I… I used to think so — maybe I still do. Don't tell anyone else but… my brother, Eythan, is the one who killed my father, the old Bone King, the one that previously held my stone. I found out and I hated him for it because I couldn't understand why he had done it. But, when I was away and met you in the Core, I met a big black dog that told me to call him Black, and he told me something that helped me a lot to deal with what Eythan did — please don't blame him or hate him or hurt him, he's had enough — anyways, Black told me that he didn't believe in good or bad. Only actions. And actions can be driven by many things like hatred, anger, sadness."
He sighed, softly, "but the truth is, that I don't know. There might be true evil in the caves and there might not be. I want to know, but I think that's impossible." Aure settled down next to Wilder, trying to offer some semblance of warmth. "Do you know who — or what — did this to you?"
@Wilder
Wilder listened. It was easy to listen. She didn't have to move to listen. She didn't even nod her head, her ears didn't move, her whiskers didn't twitch in acknowledgement. She was motionless besides the rise and fall of her sides as she listened. She didn't react to the news about Aure's brother, she didn't react to the mention of Black. If she hadn't been like this, she would have gasped at what Eythan had done and jumped for joy when he talked about Black. But she was tired and weak and she was lost.
When she began to speak, it was sudden and she spoke in a voice of monotone.
Wilder's voice was sudden and jarring, void of any inflection or tone. There wasn't any harsh, gutteral undertone, or overjoyed enthusiasm. Nothing. She spoke of someone called the Collector — hadn't Eythan told him about that once? — and a mission given. She was to see the Bloodberries. The cat knew powerful magic, but that was still a terrifying prospect: one little feline versus all of those savages. There was a big lizard along the way, who had stopped her, Greed. Wilder was shaking now and Aure enveloped her in a large wing, trying to draw her close.
"Hey, hey, Wild— I think you did the right thing. Eye for an eye makes all the caves blind, and murdering doesn't really make right, as terrible and murderous as the Bloodberries are," Wilder must have blacked out once the fight started and magic started flying through the air. The wyvern couldn't he certain but… "if you killed her, there'd be a trace or blood or something. Her stone would be around and so would her body." Bright eyes searched the horizon, "and I don't see her."
He paused for a moment, waiting for some response. Aure continued, softly, "you're hurt and I need to wake up so I can come and help you, okay? Is that okay? I'll come as fast as I can."
@Wilder
Wilder shook her head, staring at Aure with her dull eyes.
She rested her head back on her paws and closed her eyes.
Blunt talons scrabbled against the woven branches and mosses of his father's nest; quills clicked against one another as he went to take flight. In his rather frantic motions, Aure nearly sent himself over the cliff. With a steadying breath, he managed to regain composure and swoop low. Gaining momentum and lift, he arced high into the air and out of Canis. Broad wings cut through the fog of Tunnel K with relative ease. Within a few minutes, his world had turned from dreary to blue and sickening. Bright eyes scanned below, looking for his friend's prone form.
Ah, there! Curled up, looking pathetically small, and trying desperately to stay asleep. Without much regard for his own safety, Aure dove down and landed --- yikes, might've sprained an ankle there. Already, his magic was working, hoping to conjure up some mushroom that might help Wilder sleep, or be at ease, or something. They grew against his skin, initially, budding into rather plump caps; they were bursting at the seams with spores, which was perfect. With a shake of his neck, they fell off and onto the floor. With weight on his uninjured ankle, Aure grasped at an especially large shroom. Careful not to inhale, he crushed it up in his beak and teeth over Wilder's face. A veritable rain of spores resulted.
He watched, then, to see how it would do.
@Wilder
The sound of wingbeats woke up the small kitten and she looked up just as the pain hit her again. She yowled in protest as that terrible headache came back, that horrible stomachache, and all the fresh wounds stung horrible. She trembled, trying to contain herself from kicking and screeching and clawing at the ground. Aure was getting closer. When he got here everything would be alright.
It would be alright.
She tried to steady her breathing like she did when she was in a trance but it wasn't working. It was all so overwhelming that she couldn't help but let out small mewls and whimpers. Even when Aure landed, the noises continued. She wanted to say something but all that came out was a high pitched squeak. The spores sprinkled over her and she sneezed but a few moments later, she felt weariness wash over her. Was it from her wounds? Or was it from the spores? She couldn't tell but she gratefully rested her head on the ground, eyes half closed, and enjoyed the dulling sensation that the sleep was bringing. Finally, she drooped off, her breathing easier then before.
The clock was ticking, and all he could bear to do was pace back and forth. There had to be something he could do to stop the bleeding at least. Wilder's skin wasn't accustomed to hosting mycelial life like Aure's was, and the fungi would be all too eager to devour the (possibly) necrotic flesh. That was the full extent of his magical abilities, to— oh, wait! Wings bracing himself against the ground, he lowered himself. Magicka buzzed at the forefront of his skull, just above his eyes and across his forehead. With any luck, dark frills would begin to sprout along his neck and wings.
A vague, prickling sensation began to bloom on his skin, and with it some impressively-large fruiting bodies. Perfect. Aure sat down fully and began to rub his wings against his throat, breaking the inky caps and lathering up with the resulting slime. Carefully and gently as he could, he began to apply the foamy ink mixture, hoping that it would provide some cooling relief and maybe help with the bleeding; at least, until he could get to a proper water source or find someone who could heal.
@Wilder