ORIGIN

Pride was trotting gracefully through Eridanus. Ears were pressed forward, alert, and his movements seemed to carry him nearly floating over tree roots and through the ferns. His fluting voice was calling out, too, as he neared Mercurius' garden--even as he tried to send his Drift-double coiling through the undergrowth to Rift's tree.

"MERCURIUS?" he called, and there was a thread of urgency to his voice, though no real panic. And then, in case the cat was somewhere in earshot--"RIFT?"

He thought he caught a glimpse of movement through his double--green in green, but maybe it had just been the leaves. Rift was difficult to spot at the best of times, through the foliage. Still, he sent his double spinning in a few rapid circles--an indication that, perhaps, it was looking for him--before he controlled it to trot back toward Mercy's garden. With luck, he'd bring the two together to share his rather dire news.

@Mercurius @Rift

Rift, as per usual, was hanging around in his garden, doing his daily upkeep to its health, watering, weeding, and cleaning up any sickness he found. Something rang through his sensitive ear and he paused, glancing over in its direction. A flash of white and he stood at the sight of Pride. But...that wasn't right, that wasn't Pride? Was it? The way the light shone on its fur just wasn't correct.

It turned and disappeared into the forest and Rift, ever suspicious of intruders, and even more suspicious of this not-Pride but almost-Pride, leaped after it.

Thankfully, his suspicions were for nothing as the double led him to Mercurius's garden where the real creature awaited. He slowed to a stop, blinking slowly as he gazed at the white stag with concern. "Pride," he rumbled. "Is something wrong? Does Orion require our aid?"

@Pride

The old storyteller had already been in the grove as Pride's urgent call came, clear and sharp in all its bleating glory. Moonlit eyes met a silvery gaze, Mercurius hoped, as he pushed out from the garden's entrance. They were hooded slightly, fogged slightly with a half-awake daze; not inattentive, by any means. As the ferns shifted to allow Rift --- hot on the tail of a drifted copy of the white stag --- through, Mercy offered a quick glance towards Pride. Such urgency seemed to require privacy, and he bowed his head to either Gembound.

"Come in, come in," he murmured softly, backpedaling through the grove's entrance. He turned as soon as he found the room to, pacing toward the back of the glowing abode. Barely indicating toward various moss beds, Mercurius took a seat, tail curling lazily about his paws and tassel flicking gently.

@Pride

Pride glanced at the opening foliage, realized what it meant, and quickly stepped into the little grove. He was obviously rushing, but as he dropped his magic, he was still stepping carefully--over the grasses rather than driving hooves into them.

He'd hardly entered the little clearing before he turned to Rift, sounding slightly out of breath as he nodded.

"Rift--yes. Well--no, it is not Orion. It is a warning for you. For both of you," he went on, flanks rapidly rising and falling. He turned to focus, for a beat, on his magicka--speaking as he did so.

"I've just been speaking with Huckleberry. From what he says, Jayberry was here--and badly harmed Yew." His magic rapidly took shape, a life-sized image of Jayberry's new form rising--snarling, half-crouched--before them. It rotated, for a moment, showing off every detail he'd picked from Huckleberry's willing mind. It looked savage, distinctly distorted from its prior form, its proportions different, its natural weaponry greatly enhanced.

"She is still aggressive, she is mutated beyond recognition--long forelimbs, twisted claws, curled horns. Still a black canine in overall appearance--I need to warn you, Rift, that your people may be in danger. They need to know what to look out for, now--and Mercy, if you are looking after Yew-? I strongly recommend that you seek her out. From what Huckleberry has said, she is quite damaged." He paused to catch his breath, and then added--still with that urgency to him--"I sensed no lies in Huckleberry's mind."

He then cut himself off, and after a moment, dropped the illusions, too. He expected that they'd have immediate action to take--and this was all that he'd come here to say.

He moved away, leaving the two to speak, as his work here was now done.

editing into an exit due to inactivity
@Rift

The news was both a shock and basically a punch in the gut. Jayberry was here, here, in Eridanus. She'd harmed one of his citizens and he didn't know about either her presence or the injuries. He knew nothing. Nobody had told him and he hadn't found out himself. A growl began to rumble in his throat as he observed the illusion that Pride conjured before him. Not just out of anger towards Jayberry, but anger at himself, for his negligence - he had sworn to defend his Kingdom. He'd sworn the safety of Eridanus. And he'd failed. One of their greatest enemies had slipped in right under his nose, hurt and beat one of those that was being protected, and he'd done nothing.

"Where is she now? Do you know?" he managed to get out beneath the rising growl. "And why didn't Huckleberry speak to me about this before? Or Yew?" That was another thing. He'd allowed both of them into his Kingdom, given them a home, given them safety. Mercurius had cared for and nurtured them. And they'd paid them back with nothing but silence. He closed his eyes to try and steady his anger. He was going to have a long, long talk with Huckleberry soon.

@Mercurius

A warning.

Magic shimmered and rippled through the air, taking the clear shape of a distorted canine creature, black as the shadows that once plagued Clover. Glistening yellow eyes, curled horns, fangs glistening even in the dance of lights. It was a wretched creature. It was Jayberry, and she had hurt one of the poor children in his own care.

Mercurius's lips pulled taut into a thin line, a feeling close to anger blossoming through him. It was the same thing he had felt as Rift --- supposedly a king --- had impulsively bound the then-Bloodberries by the mouth rather than soothing them. Moonlit eyes drifted over to the chlorophyll-ridden cat, visibly seething and growling. It is a blessing, Mercy reassured himself, calming himself down with the gentle ebb and flow of magicka as he attempted to spin it into a dance of moths, that she seems to have survived. Pride would have come out with it, if Yew were to be dead.

Instead of glimmering white moths, a swarm of vantablack locusts threatened to form in the space before Mercurius with a deafening buzz in his own mind. Pain lanced across his vision, and he immediately cut off his flow of magic. The locusts vanished from sight, scattering in inky-black sparks. He dropped his head, dizziness overwhelming his thoughts for a moment (at least he had something to think about other than his quiet frustrations.) Shaking them away, against his better judgement, he huffed towards Rift, "I know it isn't much in the way of--- of condolences, but you cannot be everywhere at once. What is done is done, and we can only clean up the aftermath."

Eyes glassy with the migraine clawing at his skull, he stated firmly to Rift, "I will find her. Please do not pressure Huckleberry, if you see him --- I don't believe it will... be helpful, in the long run. Simply speak to him, if you must."

nice one, old man
@Rift

Pride

Rift (Original)

Mercy

Pride

Rift (Original)

Mercy