ORIGIN - [[ CONTEST : MW ]] forked paths ;;

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud
ooc ;; notes

There was one thing little Anan hadn't thought about: she had no idea where the gosh darn heck Eridanus was! And even if she did, golly, there were a lot of paths! The ground was horribly icy here, and with every step she risked slipping and scaring the bug away. She shivered, glancing down the many, many branches of the cold, breezy tunnel. In tow, she had her faithful Maji Walezi friends, but what good was that when one of them was blind and the others... Well, maybe one of them knew.

She hopped forward, the heavy weight of a blinking bug and a huge, glowing green mushroom on her head. "So, um, does anyone knoOAHH--" She started as her talons hit a particularly slippy patch of ice and she slipped, her feathers flying as she was sent into a tumble. In a panic, the bug on her head fluttered up into the air and blinked brightly, quickly, flailing through the air.

The group would have to recatch the bug once more, and also find the way-- there were lots of different branches to this tunnel, and only one of them lead to the way home.

Who says you can't go back,
been all around the world and as a matter of fact
There's only one place left I want to go,
who says you can't go home?

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Dark sat blankly cheerful until he heard Bevy call out rather oddly, followed by the sounds of scuffling talons and feathers. Tufted ears flicked up, and blind gem eyes widened.

"Bevy? ...Are you okay?" He hopped quickly forward, oblivious to the fact that there was ice--and, well, quite literally blind to its presence.

He half-lost his traction, slightly underdeveloped wings spreading and flapping frantically as he skated this way and that, sliding toward Bevy and only managing to scratch himself to a stop just in front of her. Beak slightly wide in surprise, he squealed at the feeling of ice beneath his talons. Fear quaked in his voice, mild but audible, as he spoke.

"Beeeeevy, why is the ground biting my feet?!"

Dark had now entirely forgotten about the poor bug, for a few moments at least.

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Paws moved easily over the ice, trending after the others in a silence that was very unbecoming of her. A lot had changed over the last few cycles and it seemed to have caused the once rambunctious, hyperactive feline. Smooth tanned fur had darkened out to its final shade, only being deterred by the pure white of her underbelly and the typical obsidian markings that painted over any clouded leopard.

The ice was cold beneath her paws, yet it did not seem to bother her in the least. Stunning blue eyes watched as the two birds hopped along in front of her, but when bevy went for a tumble. Worry instantly filled Amaria as she quickly rushed over to the birds. "Are you okay?" She splayed her ears out, displaying a form of concern. Though, as the glowing bug suddenly caught her attention, blue eyes lifted towards it. Well that wasn't good. They would have to catch it again.

A frowned marred her features as she studied it, watching with trained eyes with each movement it made. Amaria had made a game of catching bugs since she was a cub. This time, however, she would have to be a lot more careful in trying to grasp the bug. She lowered herself in a crouch, her body instantly relaxing and falling still. Her rump gave a little wiggle as she was just about to jump and make a grab for it. However, a sudden noise startled her off in the distance and with a surprised yelp, Amaria slipped mid jump. Her back paws slipped from out of beneath her and she thudded against the ice on her back. For a moment she just laid there, staring up at the glowing bug. A glimmer of annoyance caught in her eyes and finally with a sigh Amaria rolled over and pushed herself up, brushing off the fact she had just slipped.

They travelled through the Tunnel quietly, slowly. It was all too familiar for her. It hadn’t been too many moons ago that she’ ventured into one of the four tunnels, emerged into a mossy, green, vegetative area and returned with a baby birb. Oh, how “mad” Cancer had been then! Walking over the ice made her think of this once more and she felt mood lighten as they traversed this tunnel. The walls echoed of memories that made the little fennec fox feel very much loved. Small tufts of fur coated the bottom of her paw pads, and added to that fact she was small and light, so walking on ice wasn’t too hard for her. She remained silent through the journey, blue eyes rounded onto the bug on top of Bevy’s head, as though staring at it would root it in place. Bevy spoke out then, slipped and fell – Dark did the same and the bug stayed high in the air. Quix saw Amaria attempt to wriggle her butt and pounced but who also succeeded in sliding onto the ice. Quix giggled at all three of her fallen comrades. "Oh you silly things," she laughed, a twinkle in her eye. Quix looked at the bug and started to cast her chittering, thrilling sounds, conveying that it was safe, beckoning for the bug to come down to her. She lifted a paw for a perch, hoping that it’d hover down and land on her.

Unfortunately, the sounds that exited her throat, weary and coarse from that long period of silence while trekking through this icy area, came out as a grating screech and yowls of a demonized cat. "ESAAAAYARZCCCCDKDSIDHENACCCCCKKCOUGHCOUGHCOUGH.” The bug dashed off, further than they could see, zipping towards the darkened corridors leading to the tunnel entrances. Immediately, she clamped her mouth and looked around at her comrades guiltily. "Um, no time to waste! Tunnel to Eridanus has green moss and lots of leaves and green, not like the other tunnels. Lets catch the bug!” and with that, she scampered desperately forward, hoping the bug could still trust them.

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud
ooc ;; notes

It was a big gosh darn train wreck! First she fell-- which hurt and was quite embarrassing--- but then everyone else was falling and she couldn't help but find a little funny. The ground was so slippery! She got up slowly, clacking her beak playfully at Dark behind her. "It's ICE, silly!" She chirped, a giggle bursting up through her chest. Her feathers puffed up, shaking with the giggling fit she had begun to have.

Anan's attention was shortly grabbed by Quix making some kind of horrible noise. She blinked, wings flapping gently to keep balance as she scampered over to the fox. The bug was getting away now! Oh no! "Dark, you get the bug, I'll look for Eridanny's! Ammy, come on!" She peeped, taking flight and fluttering off to look for the right path. She fluttered around, doing her best to focus on green, lush plants. If she just thought hard enough, surely she could find them, right?

Instead, however, something strange began to happen to the tiny red and black bird. Tiny little green sprout began to poke through her black wings, her feathers growing itty bitty plant life.

Who says you can't go back,
been all around the world and as a matter of fact
There's only one place left I want to go,
who says you can't go home?

ahem @Dark @Amaria @Quix <3

________________

"Dark, you get the bug" ?

The owl tilted his head, chirping softly. Where had it gone? For that matter, where were THEY going? He tried to fluff himself down, and to focus, to connect his mind back to the creature's. It was probably easier for him than for the others; he did not have the distraction of a fifth natural sense, didn't have the glare of ice shimmering through his eyes and making him stare about in awe. He just had the chaos of sound and failure all around.

Dark squeezed blind eyes shut.

"Where are you...?"

It was too afraid, and he was already tired from using his magics. His mind brushed against a brief surge of panic, and then he was falling away, sightless eyes opening once more.

"Too--scared. Have to catch him," Dark explained softly, turning this toward Quix.

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((ooc -- @Amaria ))

The little bug zipped to Eridanus and so did the little fennec fox. Tiny paws scabbled against the cave ground as she attempted to catch up with the bug. It's glow grew dimmer as it headed towards Eridanus and Quix nary had time to hear Dark out, so desperate was she to salvage the situation of her Maji Walezian friends. It occured to her then, though...wasn't Eridanus where they were supposed to return the bug to? Abruptly, the girl skidded in her tracks, and turned to her companions, tail wagging behind her. "Bevy...it's headed towards Eridanus which is its home!" Pale blue eyes grew wider at her own revelation and she looked to Bevy who had sprouted leafy things all over her body! Would it be bad to attempt to attract the bug back?