ORIGIN - HOWL

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there was a hunger to her. no. a thirst.

she found herself in some place mist came in rolls. the humidity was thick, but the woman in a childs flesh thrived here, in this warmth. scents were thicker. for all the knowledge she felt she harbored, she could do n o t h i n g. not so small. so inadequate. so insignificant. but she hungered still; that she was helpless seemed not to affect her—and then, in a moment of pure agony and misery, the feline felt something occur. this thirst controlled her, and her eyes illuminated in the misted light, dilapidated upon her rippling furs as she keened. the cub was left to swoon, looking puzzedly around her. the gem at her throat dulled in its brilliance for a time, and she rose on unsteady legs. in the distance, she thought... she thought she might have heard a thud. not the familiar, light thud of heart against chest... but the thud... of...

she thirsted more.

she was not sure. she lay there, tentative, dry-tongued, dry-bodied. too young to know. but her old heart understood.

as the woods could be—these caves were dark and deep.

This does it, a small turaco thought, scarred legs sinking into the muck of Cetus' floor with every step, this is, officially, worse than that bloody forest. Adeyemi attempted to glare through the ever-present mist, but it was useless - he could as much see as he could fly, which is to say he couldn't. At all. What did I do to deserve this? The thought was accompanied by a glance towards the heavens, as if looking for an answer.

In his distraction, he managed to stumble right over something on the ground, and rolled to a stop a few feet away, spluttering. Turning back to look at the object, he stiffened - it looked... well. It looked like yet another Gembound, and he slowly go to his feet, hopping closer to the creature. "Hello?" He peered at the thing, nudging it with a talon cautiously. "You, beast. Do speak up." The callous words were somewhat soothed by the tone - one of concern, and a heaping helping of nerves.

The cub seemed to be ill, or perhaps simply resting, but Adeyemi stayed where he was - within reach of seeking paws, should the beast turn violent. Still, he had the fire on his side, and, after all, he was more than willing to show his strength.

her tongue was heavy, laden, thick in its dryness; it clung to the roof of her mouth. she needed to drink. the young cub knew what she wanted to drink—but at this point, in this state, anything would do. . .

the feeling of a caress brought her to, and she rose, pulling herself together as best as she could. there were three of him. dehydration made monsters of great men and woman... but, she was already a monster, was she not? simply one coming home to herself again—recognizing, realizing. a foreleg lashed out to bring the little, chirruping creature nearer to her, and she drew him near, but not too near; that beak could undoubtedly poke and pry at eyes... she desired to see him better, near-drunk with her thirst.

artemïs, she corrected, and her bright eyes hold him. i thirst, she rasped, and drunkenly she moves to her feet. your blood will do— her youthful lilt downplayed her ill-intentions, but there was a chance, here... or do you know where there is water?

...she could smell it, water. in the thickness of the mist, it was there.

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From her nest, the crow watched. It wasn't that much of a distance, she could still hear it, the big-cat and the small-bird. Two creatures she hadn't seen in Cetus before, which brought her to the conclusion that they were both newborn.

She hid the enchanted rocks and small, glowing treasures in her nest by tossing some leaves and twigs over them before she flew down, wings beating constantly in an attempt to keep her in the air, though she shortly landed on a rock next to the pair.

"You're in Cetus, dummy," she croaked. "There's water everywhere."

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Oh dear, Adeyemi thought with a gulp as a heavy paw reeled him closer to the downed beast. He laughed uncomfortably, eyes darting from its eyes to the paw situated over one of his wings. "I-I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement," he stuttered, "one that doesn't involve my blood or any other body parts, yes?"

The arrival of a second creature made him jump, which got him away from the jaguar, but closer to the crow. Still, her appearance relaxed him. "Ah, there we are, someone who won't threaten to drink my blood," he muttered to himself, sarcasm lacing the words. The turaco turned to Eve, bowing to her, wings outspread in a colorful display. "A pleasure, of course. Perhaps you can lead this... Artemïs to the water, yes?"

her body shuddered at the sound of a cawing avian, her companion flinching backward. its discomfort was met with a grimacing smirk, but she let him be—there was another matter to attend to.

cetus, she purrs to the crow so black its wings glistened in a plethora of other colors, as though a victim of an oil-slick, i know of orion... but, not cetus. she drew nearer to the rock-dwelling crow, admiring its wings, its myriad of colors despite its stark-blackness... her eyes twinkled as she moved to swipe lazily at the dark, pretty thing, the gesture relatively harmless. for it providing her information, she would not seek to quench her thirst from it... no, nevermind. she would. she would t a k e what she could get, even knowing she could fail—

and all that was given was but a little drop as she leeched thirstily—

i want more,

she implored, the demand a lilting hiss, her eyes twinkled with her malicious intent. if the winged, fluttering thing would not provide, she would utilize this newfound power, cultivate it, practice it upon the winged beast.

how she hoped it would not come to that! & yet, how she hoped it would...

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As scarlet liquid dripped out of the crow's wing, she screeched. It was a horribly loud noise for such a tiny creature to create. At first, she backed off, but then she abruptly came forward, wings awkwardly beating, more frantically than usual given that one of them was injured, hovering over Artemis.

She began using a sharp beak to bite and tear at the jaguar's back and shoulders, quite indeed with the intent to draw blood, but not to the point where she will be severely injured. A rather harsh warning, really.

Though, as it happened, an injured wing will greatly lessen the severity of one's attack, and the crow was quick to fly to a lower branch, feathers pressed tight against her scrawny body and carefully nursing her wing.

"Stupid cave-draggling boulderhead! Hunt for mice if you're hungry!" she screeched.

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"Sweet flames of Eridanus!" The screech was matched with a great flap of Adeyemi's wings, pushing him back from the fight. Whatever power the cub had, it was just as dangerous as his own - perhaps even more so - and he had no desire to become a practice dummy. The turaco watched, dumbfounded, as the crow swiftly took her vengeance on the cub, sharp beak puncturing its back in a flurry of movement before she retreated to a nearby tree.

If Adeyemi could have stars in his eyes, he would, staring after the crow like he'd just witnessed a miracle. True power. That settles it. Us of the beaks and talons, this must be our purpose. He turned his gaze to the cub, letting out a short "g'way!" in warning. The realisation that he was now alone against the beast made him falter, and he took off in a mad scramble for the nearest tree trunk.

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His talons hooked into the tree's bark, harsh scraping sounds ringing out as he scurried up to the lowest branch, gem-studded toe securing his place. He settled with a triumphant krawk!, crest and chest feathers raised in pride. "Just try it, foul creature," he announced theatrically, "and you shall wish you hadn't!"

she watched it happen with ample interest, water moving in slow droplets toward her—but the magic was quick to end as it seeped into she herself, and, barely revitalized, there was a yearning for more. The sound of wings was heard, and then the obnoxious poking of beak. Her flesh was young, but still, not thin enough to break against a beak that could not break flesh of lesser mammals. Still, the pressure was enough to cause the feeling of a bruise to blossom... and, to rid herself of the creature, one foreleg lazily lashed outward as she pirouetted 'round to knock the avian away from her—

but, laziness prevailed, and she wholly hit air. it mattered not—the spindly tree in which the crow winged to offered ample support for her to climb. come, now the cub soothed chidingly, i only meant to make a point— her claws scraped lazily against the wood, a scratching post for claws she did not yet know how to sheath, the sound d r a g g i n g as she pulled downward. to the other bird, who made a fuss, the cub glanced to him, vaguely amused, before she danced backward to observe the two creatures. for a while, she was content to stay—but they offered... what?

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The crow only shook her feathers briefly before she took off once more, not even bothering to look behind her as her wings lifted her into the air, albeit with some difficulty due to her injury. She had much better things to do than be chased up a tree like some scared mouse, like watch Ghanyarah draw, hunt with Dragon or even irritate other gembounds.

So, she decided to do the latter. Within seconds the crow was flapping her way through Cetus and straight into the cold tunnels leading out of the marsh.

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((exit eve))

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