[Event] The Trial of Hydra - Darkness

Styx paced ahead, shaking his head at the foolish gembound that raced into the dangerous shadows, risking their necks for those who might already be dead. His wings ruffled, mantled, snapped back into place, twitched his ears to listen to those who were calling out to help and protect.

His paws stepped carefully, not wanting to sink into the quicksand, or to suffocate over the pockets of air he knew to be there. The torch was... well, not quite a torch, and he moved to pace around it, twitching his nose hesitantly, only to retch as his breath caught in his throat, clogging as though it were some tangible thing, and his heart thrummed, racing as though it were trying to account for all the beats it might miss, the doberman panicking as he recognized the poisonous air he feared so.

Gembounds yelled, and screamed, but no matter how hard Hera squinted into the darkness, she saw nothing.

As someone who had always taken pride in her keen site, it was terrifying, felt as though she'd lost one of her very limbs.

They came upon the torch, it would seem, although it was strange, if it weren't for the wisp she wouldn't have taken it for anything more than an odd, odd tree - after all, she had no sense of smell, how would she know it smelled of pitch? So she landed on the ground and knuckle walked around it, trying to get as best a look as she could.

And then, because her writer has horrible luck, she plummeted into quicksand with a terrified shriek.

Speech. Thought.

He was not happy about the group splitting - the decrease in light was quite stressful for the young bird, but at least he could see them. His family was safe and rejoining now. "Do not go running off again! I am quite worried for all of you! We must be safe, okay?" He opened his wings and fluttered up, this time to perch on Anemoi's shoulder, looking around at the rest of the family. "It is scary, but we will press on!"

But it was starting to occur to Charles, as they approached the first torch, that he was, effectively, useless when it came to helping. If one of them fell behind, could he pull them back? If one of them was attacked, could he fight anyone off? If one of them fell into the water...could he even do anything about it? His beak clacked again, more with annoyance at this then anything but forced himself to think positively. He wouldn't need to do anything! Because they would live together!

He looked down at Anemoi. "You are okay, sister? It was tough and frightening! But we are all still safe! Perhaps worse for the wear, but just think - this is such an adventure! We've never in our life had a journey like this, we've never had so much excitement and adrenaline rushing through our veins! It's quite thrilling, don't you think? Ah, if only we could see what hunts us." He lifted his head and looked around. "That would be most magnificent!"

It was suddenly becoming harder to speak. His throat...it was closing and he felt himself choking a bit. Eyes widened and he twittered with alarm at what Anemoi was saying. "Poison gas?!" He coughed and pulled back just as Anemoi reacted. "Be careful my siblings," he squeaked. "Don't breath too deeply here."

They returned safely, and he noted that not many others had attempted to save the wolf: Pumpkin, himself, Orenstein, and a long creature he barely glimpsed—a large snake of some kind? Much... much larger than Simon... When they returned, though, they each got an earful from the others, and he frowned. Were they not all in this together? Ifrit had always believed he would protect his family, but the others? Was it worth sacrificing strangers?

As Fireheart spoke and thanked them, it made him feel good about his decision. But shortly after, Sora reprimanded them, and then Kini; he snorted and flicked his long ears. "Alright," was all he said to them.

It would be hard, he assumed, to watch others sink or suffocate or get drawn into the void, but fine. If his family wanted to value themselves over others facing the same trial as them, he'd listen, but—his fiery eyes watched as Fireheart attempted to light the torch. Yeah. He'd stick his neck out for the wolf again.

Again, as the chill of the dark came creeping in on the air, he summoned the warmth inside of him. As the others warned of toxic gas, quicksand, and other dangers, he grunted. Oh, yeah, sure, don't breathe in the gas when you have the biggest nostrils of anyone here probably. The panic, perhaps, kept him from offering as much warmth as possible—but still, he did his best to follow safe paths while attempting to keep an eye on both his family and Fireheart.

When Sora was lost to the water, he passed one last glance by Fireheart before rushing into the depths of the dark to save his family this time. Hopefully his long legs would let him navigate it easily, but in a place as twisted as this, he wasn't very hopeful.

TRIAL OF HYDRA - DARKNESS

FALLEN GUARDIANS - BLACK AND NASSIR

Morganite was the first to see it.

They touched quicksand, peering in--and slipped, and in that instant they would see. The pool beneath them moved--shifted, ever-so-slightly; and for the briefest instant, as they fell, they would see shadows move within. It was not mere sand, and water; it churned with an unnatural strength as it dragged them down. Simon, and Sora; Usingizi, and Owlface; Styx, and Hera, and Mayngo... All of them found themselves mired, drowning, the thick muck dragging them down, the water pouring into mouths and nostrils.

Others--Oreinstein and Rainstorm--found themselves choking on the poison gases, a gas which burned the eyes and seared the lungs.

None of these would be pleasant deaths; and yet death did not come for them, not yet. The protectors--the guardians--stepped forth through the chaos. Black and Nassir would save Mayngo and Hera, and fall in their stead, sinking away...

...and the quicksand would seem to relinquish its hold on the others, for a moment--a lapse in strength just enough for them to work themselves free, at a cost. Any Gembound fighting quicksand or deep water would be left near exhaustion, sore and soaking wet. Any who breathed in poison gas would have burned eyes and seared lungs, potentially causing long-term or permanent vision damage or breathing troubles. Any fallen into shadow will have been further slashed by icy nothing.

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This thread will be temporarily locked for Nassir and Black to write their falls. Regular posting will resume next round.