Once upon a time, Aries braved the deep, dark, depths of Cetus in search of the Divine. Back then, he considered it a test of valor, but that was when he was young and new nothing of true valor. Instead of bravery, what he found at the Divine's roots was little, white fawn, the ghost of Cetus. A cold, delicate thing; in the end, he was unable to protect her.

Aries was no stranger to monsters in the dark, and even more so, strangers in Cetus.

That's what went through his head when he saw a black horse staring, dead-eyed, into the water's murky void. Aries carefully sloshed towards the strange gembound, stretching his neck out to see what had him so transfixed. It was impossible for him to lightly in the Heart, the water here was almost up to his belly. He eased up beside the him. The movement sent ripples through water's once placid surface.

For moment, the ram stared in silence with the horse.

Then, upon seeing nothing in the water, he turned him and said. "Are you alright?"

His eyes widened. "Woah wait, you died-- and came back to life?" He did not think that was possible. Aries was flabbergasted. "That's amazing!" Here he thought there was nothing after death, just a great, black void were he would cease to be.

Aries was caught off guard by the horse's question. His mind was still spinning from the gravity of an afterlife. "I um.." He glanced down at the black water. His reflection rippled faintly on the surface. "I'm looking for the Spellweaver." He confessed. Wait, how did he know I'm fiery? His golden eyes flicked suspiciously to the black horse. ..Lucky guess? Aries cleared his throat. "I hear that she's uh.. good at telling the future." To be fair, Giggle was pretty good at telling the future too. He admired her strange skills. However, Aries wanted a second opinion, and some of his questions, he did not want the Bonebound to know.

Aries smirked. "I used to be really selfish, you know? Heh, stones, I kinda still am. I used to do all sorts of crazy things just to prove how brave I was, convinced myself I was a defending the weak." His smiled faded. "But, then, I found a family, something worth fighting for... and now they're in danger and.. I don't know what to do." The once-proud ram looked deflated, lost, scared. "I could really use some guidance..."

He quickly pushed down those feelings. What was he doing? It was rude to unload his problems on a stranger, but, it did feel nice to get it off his chest. Perhaps, it was because he seemed.. familiar. Aries shook his head and scoffed at himself. "Sorry, enough about me. Let's talk about you!" He leaned towards the horse, golden eyes bright with interest. "You said a great being spoke to you? What did she say?"

"You chose to defend others; that is admirable, I think. Or at least, it shows the beginnings of nobility,"

Aries blinked at these words. Profound, they struck a chord within his heart. Then, came an epiphany- everything he did Baratheon's attack, he did, not out of the desire to make himself stronger or braver, but to make the caves safer. How could that be selfish?

Am I being to hard on myself?

He opened up his mouth to say something, but the stranger moved on. His head still spinning from the previous revelation, he was hardly prepared for more. As the horse spoke, Aries could have sworn he heard that "trapped in rebirth" explanation before, but if felt so long ago. Deja Vu? He leaned in closer as the horse paused to gather his thoughts.

Astraea...? Aries couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was this the same Astraea he heard all these wonderful stories about? The same Astraea he had looked up to when he was lamb? That can't be possible, the Stag had always been on their side! Is.. is that what he really thinks of us? Aries didn't want to believe it, but the horse seemed genuine. He stepped back, suddenly dizzy. It felt as if a part of his world had been shattered. Was Hydra's opening his doing too?

The ram was silent for a while, brow furrowed, gazing into his own reflection, deep in thought. He pinned his ears and looked up at the horse, fury swirling in his fiery eyes. "Hydra." He stated grimly. "A new cave has appeared in Canis, a cave of trials they call it. Many gembounds went in, fewer came out. Its a death trap." He hissed. "And its too close to the Bonebound. We lost one of our own there." He flicked his head back and snorted. "You think Astraea is behind this?"

He nded. "Yes, I think she may have some answers." From what he's heard, she was blunt creature-- so, hopefully, less cryptic than Giggle with her bones. Not to think ill of the Bonebound's oldest member, but Aries was straightford gembound. Complex ambiguity made his head hurt.

Aries cocked his head at the notion that he and horse had crossed paths before. He did seem familiar, but there was only one horse Aries remembered well... Wait.

As the stranger explained further, realization dropped in his gut like a pile of stones. This "stranger" was no stranger at all. He was none other than Khloros, the Carrier of Death, a demented bastard, festering with so much boils and rot back then, he was barely recognizable now. Khloros tried unleashed a plague to kill everything many cycles ago. Aries remembered him all too well, and felt dumb for not recognizing him sooner. He had fought against him, and lost, breaking his leg and contracting his plague in process. That nearly destroyed him.

The ram visibly stiffened, his nostrils flared, but instead of hatred, there was confusion in his golden eyes.

He sent Valeria to me?

This was not far-fetched idea, the little vampire bat was unusually knowledgeable about the plague. He was would have died if it weren't for her efforts. She gave him a second chance, and by association, so did Khloros. ..But why?

Aries was at a loss of words. Here, a great antagonist from his past stood before him, purely by chance, reborn, redeemed, and called him noble. Khloros never tried to (directly) kill him, yet, Aries tried to put him down. It seemed like a just call at the time, but now, things didn't seemed so black and white.

Great, now his head hurt.

For a few, long heartbeats, silence fell over the ram. Shock, conflict, guilt, all swirled in his head. Finally, he drew a deep breath, and gave an uneasy chuckle. "Wow.. what are odds," Aries couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. It was all he could think to do. "To meet a gembound in the middle of Cetus who, get this.. ,happens to be that bastard who tried to kill everyone back then." He snorted and looked over Khloros, with slight concern in his eyes. "What happened to you? You look.. cleaner. Did the Spire do that?"

The ram shook his head. At one time, he would have attacked the horse on sight. Perhaps, maim him like he once was, and bring him before the Bonebound to exact justice before he could harm anyone else, but, Khloros seemed different now, and it wasn't because his coat was shinier. "Look," His tone was earnest. He looked to meet Khloros' brown gaze. "You're a crazy one, Khloros, and what you've done in the past with your... sickness was not cool, but..." Aries raised his head and looked around at all the gnarled plant life, flicking an ear to a shrieker cry far off in the distance. "I don't see anything dying off from it, so.." He settled back on the horse and smirked. "I'll let it slide, besides, I may have misjudged you.. " Aries dipped his head, humbled by a side Khloros he never knew existed. He looked up at the black horse, gratitude flickering in his golden eyes. "Thank you, for sending her."

Aries let out a sigh of relief as well. With out his magic, Khloros was no longer a threat to anyone in the cave. The ram was grateful that they wouldn't have to pick up where they left off on their last meeting. He didn't want the horse's blood on his hooves any more then Khloros wanted his. He was also amazed at his story. There is a creature in the Spire? It sounded like she had chosen Khloros. Because he defied Astraea... He wondered if the deer was trapping them here as little test subjects. He recalled the memories of slaughter the Canis bones told him and shivered. Whatever happened, that dark time must not come to pass, not again, and if it did, it would be over his dead body.

He raised a brow at Khloros' statement, then realized it was just a joke.
"Oh, ha." Ok, so Khloros isn't a comedian.. Still, Aries looked around out the rotten swamplands, wondering if he was actually serious for a moment. Feeling awkward, Aries just nodded his head and turned back to the black horse, changing the subject.

"Well, you know what they say, He breathed. "That the enemy of my enemy is my friend." The ram stood stall and smiled at Khloros, acceptance. "I say we teach Astraea a lesson he won't soon forget. " His eyes blazed, passionate and determined. It was a look that Khloros might have been familiar with, but instead of distain and abhorrence, it said, boldy, "join me, brother".

Aries flicked his head towards the direction of the Divine. "Yes, of course! Come, follow me. Maybe the Spellweaver can help you sort things out. You should pass on your word to her." He peeled away from Khloros, sloshing through the black, belly-high water, leaving a trail of ripples in his wake. He glanced back one more time to see if the redeemed horse was following, then continued on through Cetus, towards the Spellweaver.

-Exit Aries (unless stopped)