ORIGIN

James' hooves clip-clopped on the stone floor of Orion as he wandered around, exploring the massive cave, which was much more barren than Eridanus, meaning he could see much further and still be able to locate his 'home'. Home being where Pride had taken him to start training.

He exhaled softly and stared up at the massive Tower he'd seen coming into Orion, a structure he'd been dying to explore as they'd walked further into the massive room.

James shook his head and inhaled before taking off at a gentle canter, ears perked and eyes glancing about. It was quiet, the quartz above shining like stars, giving the illusion of nighttime, though it was more mid-afternoon. The perfect time to explore. After lunch but before dinner.

"... Hello?", he spoke as he approached the tower, slowing down until he stopped, ears perked and tail raised.

Nothing. Good, that meant he was alone.

James snorted and trotted towards the nearest opening, poking his head inside. It was dark and gloomy, too dim to see, so he closed his eyes, focusing... and attempted to summon a wisp. He perked up as a small light popped up before fizzling into nothingness, not even being enough to see his own hooves with. Hmph.

@Alpha

not particularly relevant to you but i'm personally gonna pre-date this to before worm time
like a few days before hsdfnngh - so no worm in alpha's eye rn
How an eight-foot kaiju manages to slink around in Orion relatively unnoticed and undisturbed should be beyond anyone; well, maybe not the former part. It was certainly noticed, given it'd just been stomping around and not trying to be stealthy. Red sensing away, there weren't any dragons to worry about - only nervous side-eyes. Those bounced right off of its hide.

Rather than just walk back home from whatever it'd been doing, Alpha decided: it was going to take a nap right here.

Right here being the very tower a certain equine was poking his nose into. It hadn't heard the prodding call (or had just plain ignored it) and was sound sleep, half-curled so it fit the curve of the wall. Quills were dimmed with sleepiness, but each clip-clop of hooves brightened them. Toxic-green eyes slid open warily, and it watched quietly with a slowly lifting head. Not worth getting up out of a comfy position if it was just a passerby, y'know?

@James

James took a step inside and looked directly up, sniffing upwards at the spiral of stairs leading up to the very top. Not doing that, thank you very much.

He spotted something glowing and approached, before freezing in place as several toxic green eyes opened, glowing in the same way.

James swallowed and stepped back, and tried to summon another Wisp, this time successful. The Will 'O Wisp lit up the room, and he followed the glowing eyes down a muscular body, shrinking back more and more as there seemed to not be an end to the massive creature.

He turned tail and bolted, tearing ass out of the building and rounding the edge, running along the outside as he tried to get away, hoping to throw it off by not running in the most obvious direction. He leaped onto a pile of boulders, jumping from rock to rock as he made his way to the top, daring to glance behind him to see if the monster he'd seen was following him.

Vaguely, he remembered Titanite's size, though he was a gentle giant, not nearly as big as this creature he'd encountered. Those eyes... he didn't see the same kindness in them that he'd seen in other's. It scared him.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Eye contact was made, and off the strange hoofed creature went.

Nonplussed, Alpha set its head back down, closed its eyes again. Peace reigned again in this tower. Its imposing teeth'd won out again in preventing any extra effort. There was literally one thing it'd learned from its hatchmate, and that was that laziness had its benefits. Why bother bolting after something for the sake of it?

Except... it hadn't seen that kind of animal before. Hooves, but no horns? Was there any means of defense?

Damn its curiosity.

Rocking up with a hiss, stretching each leg out one at a time, magicka buzzed. If it could get a bead - it'd follow; if not, oh well. Back to napping. The orthoclase sniffed at the ground and blinked into the light of Orion. A fresh scent it assumed was the creature's lay scattered out and away, and it fixed its gaze on the signature growing smaller and smaller by the second.

It stalked quietly after it, slinking and weaving between the buildings but otherwise maintaining a direct path and a respectable distance. Just to watch - maybe get an idea of what this species could do.

@James

James swallowed and pawed at the ground nervously before trotting off. He still felt eyes on him, and a presence, so he knew he wasn't safe yet. He'd been stalked once before, but this time felt serious. This time, if he kicked, he didn't think he'd get his leg back.

He stopped just behind some rocks, ears flicking back and forth as he tried to get a read on the giant creature. He exhaled slowly, an idea popping up. He turned towards an outcropping of rocks, one that could possibly be hiding something of his size, and attempted to throw his voice, in an effort to get the monster to go that way and allow him to run the other way.

He felt no noise leave his mouth as he spoke something along the lines of, 'Oh no, I hope I don't get eaten!'

James turned and trotted away as silently as possible, wincing as his hooves continued to click. Damn them... He exhaled and slowed down since a fast-moving target was more noticeable, often prompting a chase, one which he wouldn't succeed in getting away from.

He continued to look over his shoulder, anxious and terrified, his heart racing a mile a minute. He picked up the pace as he grew further, and finally broke into a sprint, the terror welling up.

Please don't chase him...

@Orthoclase-Alpha

The figure slowed, so it did as well. Distance was good, although it slunk through the buildings, keeping to those intact enough to cover its full height. Orion had a slight scarcity of those, and sometimes it had to hunker low or dart between walls.

Alpha rocked to a sharp halt as the lifelight went completely still, turned on the spot - "oh no, I hope I don't get eaten!" echoed from elsewhere, in a similar voice to the one it'd heard before. Eyes stared in that direction, and back at the figure now trotting off. Mental math ensued, precious time lost in this contest between hunter and prey.

Red pulsed faster and faster from the equine, and an idea cropped up in its mind when he started sprinting again.

Blink. The reds faded.

Blink. Magicka welled up again, reaching for the horse's last known position.

Misfire.

The orthoclase's jaw cracked in an ugly snarl, and it finally gave proper chase, crashing through and over the dilapidated buildings.

@James

He heard the crashes and his head whirled around, pupils narrowing and ears pinning. He took off at a dead gallop, legs extending so far they were nearly parallel to the ground. Tears welled up and his breaths hitched with terrified sobs, every prey instinct inside of him screaming at him to run faster and faster, even as his legs grew numb from them trampling against the hard rock over and over.

James felt shaky and shivery, adrenaline pumping and heart beating a mile a minute, his lungs burning as he gasped for air.

He just had to keep running and hope he could outrun whatever was chasing him.

James leaped onto an outcropping, hooves barely scraping the edge, making his teeth grit before he touched down and took off again. He darted behind a set of rocks, hooves scrabbling against the smooth surface, nearly coming out from under him before catching and letting him keep going.

He just hoped he didn't pass out before then...

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Even without visual contact, it wasn't hard to figure out where the horse was. Every step was broadcast across Orion and any slowdowns from slamming into buildings trying to weave through them were essentially moot in the long run. It was a matter of who'd exhaust first - or if it could get the wind beneath its feet down this long straightaway.

Nothing.

It snarled again, plowing down the hall with increasingly heavy breaths and stumbling steps from sheer momentum. Every step adjusted to dodge a brick or half-leap over a fallen wall was enough to nearly send it onto its side.

Time was running out for this chase. Any longer, and it'd need to stop and cool off, catch its breath.

@James

James felt faint, and he knew that he was starting to lag, his lungs struggling to take in enough air. He bunched up to jump over a rock, just needing to go a little further, a little bit faster...

His leg caught and he was sent tumbling head-over-heels with a startled yelp. His knees hit first, then his neck, back, and rump, and he skidded across the rock, landing in a heap, dazed and dizzy.

James was shaking like a leaf as he struggled to stand, his legs shaking and bruised up all over, though his legs were the worst. He staggered forward and stumbled, falling to the ground, and he panted, foaming at the edges of his mouth from exertion. He crawled towards a pile of rocks and squeezed his eyes shut as he curled up, tail between his legs and his head hidden under a leg.

He could hear blood rushing in his ears, and it was all he could do not to start sobbing like a baby, though he was definitely crying, tears streaming down his face as he prayed to whatever was out there that he didn't get eaten. He didn't want to die, he suddenly thought as he trembled. He didn't have much to live for, but he wanted to find a reason. He wanted to grow up, at least, before he died.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Hoofbeats stopped, and Alpha did not - it was spurred on by the development, if only for about twenty meters. Claws ground into the dirt as it slowed, sides heaving and quills drooping. Acidic eyes whirled around and around, searching.

It sniffed once, twice in the air, and put its snout to the ground like a jacked-up bloodhound. That scent was still around, moving here - there - and finally... past this pile of rocks.

The orthoclase's movements were slow, with exertion and looking for any further reaction. It was half-hunched over as it walked, panting heavily. Paused again, it stared into the distant backdrop of Orion; knowing that its head was in full view. Nothing.

Finally, the monster turned to look at the creature curled up and looking pathetic. It sneered at the sight, yet immediately crowded in, legs spread like a nightmarish cage. Out-of-breath and slightly wheezy, it huffed, "what are you?" Not who. Eyes stared at the gangly, knobby legs, the childish demeanor of hiding his eyes from whatever danger there was. Not fully-grown.

Hm.

With no preamble, Alpha leaned down to sniff more thoroughly at the colt.

@James