Right away, a number of Gembound had taken up hers and others's offers to be pack mules - especially one strange manner of beast that was loud-voiced but apparently keen-eyed. Snow already caked to her front, Virgil bellowed, "aye-aye, cap'n! Call 'em when you see 'em!" Because, with magic eyes and prior experience, nothing could go wrong with having Imp scuffling around on top of her. The pale bird-dog clambering barely weighed nothing, and it didn't hurt to have a pair of eyes watching their six. Virgil tossed her head up slightly, lowing in Lyra's direction. "Keep 'n eye out back, will ye? I'm Virgil, by the way! We better get to know each other if we're gonna be pallin' it out in this storm."
Icy eyes went back ahead for a while, plowing a deep, wide path in the snow and acting as a living windbreaker. The freezing chill was harsh on her hooves, but the bison was having a grand 'ol time - up until the ground seemed to rumble. At first, Virgil thought it might have just been a fluke, like accidentally stepping on an air pocket in the snow. But the others were starting to notice it and get worried. "Yeah, I'm feelin' pretty weird, bud!" The horse that'd approached was nickering and cantering away into the blinding white with the promise of shelter, which seemed like a pretty damn smart move for all of these less fat- and fur-laden folks.
No choice but to place blind trust in him!
"If that fella's from 'round these parts, we ought follow 'im. C'mon, guys!" The bison started double-timing through the drifts, putting on a shuffling burst of speed to get off of these grounds.
This particular member of the Trialgoing party wasn't very interested in keeping close, as it turned out. All of these Gembound reminded it pitifully of how little social interaction it'd had in cycles and cycles. Bug-eyes watched from behind Virgil and Ivory's rears as they all chattered back and forth, catching up and discussing so casually. Vinea wanted to join in - he really did - but he didn't have much to offer other than "oh, I can steal stuff and stick to walls!" There was no stuff around and there were definitely no walls.
Not unless the wall of snow counted.
He could maybe glide in these cutting winds, but the cold would freeze his gliders solid in seconds. That was just asking for misery, even if he already felt like frostbite was nipping at his toes. Vinea just resigned himself to quietly following along and trying to muscle in between the larger Gembound and tromping through their footprints.
Well, up until Warrior went a-trotting away towards shelter. Eagerly, Vinea hightailed it ahead, fur puffing up and bio-luminescence flaring bright. The cyans bit right through the fog, like a beacon trailing after the horse.
note: you don't gotta read all this shit its just her overanalyzing i didn't mean to write a novel lmao
Palefur padded along silently with the ground, taking in each of their actions carefully. The loud one (rude one), off insulting Hemlocke and Overseer Vargas and Master Nemean, however ridiculous and foolish it was. Obviously, he was wrong. He had done something bad and he was being punished for it, naturally. Nobody stood up to the Masters like that. That wasn't how it worked. She kept these thoughts to herself, but silently put a note to inform the Overseer of this later. He was riding on top of the bison - Virgil - along with the strange dog-thing Lyra. The bison, at least, would be a very useful ally in these winter storms.
There were the two sisters - Ivory and Shida. They would most likely stick together, especially as Ivory was calling for a group together. She wondered how much Shida cared for anyone but her sister, just as Desert Rose and the Labradorite had supposedly only cared for each others' survival. A horse as well, who apparently...lived in Hydra?! That gave Palefur pause, just as it did the Desert Rose. That was impossible. Gembound didn't just live in Hydra! She narrowed her eyes, regarding the horse with interest. There were scars all over him and he looked strong, well-worn from Hydra's savagery. He would make a very valuable ally. The zebra that came up to meet him, not so much. With only one eye and the nervousness she was displaying, Palefur quickly wrote her off. She'd die quickly.
There were two canines that said little, but seemed to be together for now. She would have to observe them further. A strange alien creature hiding in the bison's shadow that was also quiet. She needed more info on them as well A deer that suggested as the others did - sticking together. Another look showed that he was covered with a thick winter's wool. He would do well to survive in the storms. He also seemed to at least be a little responsible, looking over the group to keep track of everyone. Further observation would be needed.
There was, of course, the two champions - the Agate and the Desert Rose. Palefur did not need to analyze them to know that they would most likely be the most valuable allies here, however little she felt she could actually trust them. She didn't like Desert-Rose much and she knew too little about Agate to want to partner up with them just yet. They weren't a Sentinel and they didn't directly follow all of the Overseer's wishes. Could be a rebel. Or perhaps not, hard to say. She'd have to watch him closely as well.
That left the fisher and the...chicken. Both were loud. Both were obnoxious. Both got on Palefur's nerves to the point where she almost turned around and plucked the chicken naked for suddenly blabbing about whatever fucking rematch nemesis bullshit she was on about. She stayed stoic, however, expressionless, as she analyzed each of the challengers.
And interesting crowd, to say the least.
As the rumbling passed through the ground, however, her mind turned back to the challenge. This wasn't just about the others - this was about her too. And Desert Rose had talked enough about Hydra for Palefur to think that it might be a sandworm underneath them.
If it was...then moving was the last thing they wanted to do. Those monsters could sense vibrations, right? But if all the other creatures were going to sleep, as the horse had said, then perhaps they had as well? Maybe it was something else coming after them. She couldn't be sure but either way, it was too late - everyone was moving, making noise, attracting it closer. If she stayed here...she'd probably die.
So she cast her magicka under the snow to try and locate the monster herself and took off after the group, staying light on her feet in case she'd have to dive out of the way.
"You! You're my Emisis, Imp!" Kalama panted, trying to keep up with Virgil. "What do you mean you haven't got any eyes? You had eyes the last time! Just grow some more!" Trotting and yelling was a good way to get tired. She wished she could stop walking, and just yell instead. Kalama wasn't aware what the word 'fuck' meant, she hadn't heard a swear for the better part of her 11 cycles of life, but she assumed it was bad, and Kalama liked this New and Bad word. She would use it often now. "No! You are fuck Imp!"
Imp went on to rant about some gembound she wasn't aware of, some Gar and Varg and Nemean. Was it Vargar? She nearly zoned out, but then Imp mentioned that one of them had apparently tore Imp's eyes out. Which sucked, because Kalama couldn't boast about beating a blind gembound. She flicked her tail in irritation. Why couldn't they have blinded Imp after she had thoroughly beaten him? But, she realized, beating the gembound that had blinded Imp would be something worth boasting about even more. She liked that idea. Kalama flicked an eye back to the leopard hybrid. She might as well give this group of gembound her name, they would likely be hearing it often."Shida!" She cawed loudly, trying to project her voice to the gembound around, "I am Kalama!" She snorted at the other creature, Lyra, riding on the buffalo. There was nothing out here except for snow.
"What enemies? We're the only gembound here. I could destroy any other Fuck gembound that even considered attacking u-" She paused, tongue still lifted mid word. A strange sense of forboding came over the chicken. "Y-yeah, I... do feel kind of weird." She said, uncharacteristically quiet. There was something terribly wrong here. The snow itself beneath her seemed to tremble at some ambiguous threat. She sped up her steps ever so slightly.
think "speak"
((HER TABLE IS STILL BEAUTIFUL THANK U DARK AND NAVY))
