Well, we had figured out this flying business but we weren't very good at it. No longer were we in that odd Colosseum type thing, instead we had made it to the supposed 'outskirts' of this strange area. Fallen structures and decrepit buildings seemed to be the baseline for this place. Not much else was going for it. Hunger gripped our stomach and in between our spurts of gliding we had decided to come in to land. Next lesson was hunting. Now we had never tried hunting, we weren't going to be good at it just as we weren't good at flying to begin with. Feathers ruffled, there didn't appear to be anything of use to us within the area and we let out a harsh cry to try and startle whatever would be hiding within the cracks.

Nothing.

Irritated our first attempt hadn't work, we scraped our talons along the ground before taking flight once again with a heavy beat. One. Two. We were high enough to gently glide back down. If we had some food in us, maybe we could go higher but as it was we were too hungry to expend much energy on it when we could just as easily waddle walk. 'To dungeons deep and caverns old.' Ahead, we could see the vast expanse of a dark tunnel and we came down to rest on a rock, merely peering into the blackness out of curiosity.

@Clover

Clover jaunted her way down the Orion rooms, at ease and happy after her long meeting with the Bartos. The clever cat was just so sweet and enthusiastic! She really hoped to see them again soon, and maybe to bring along Pounce. they would get along, she thought! Two cute kittens with the same love of life. She already was dreaming up a story to tell them both, testing it out here and there in the open air, her eye again watching the ceiling glisten and glitter instead of the floor. Making the long trek back to Cetus would be lonely, though, even if she did have something to occupy her mind on the way. She felt like bringing up some companions with her magic. Stopping to concentrate, she slowly, slowly, took a deep breath in and out. Calm. No rush. One by one, small swirling threads of light gathered at her hooves, forming several kinds of lesser gembound like they were weaving their flesh together to form a very clear tapestry of skin and fur. Squirrels, rabbits, and even two smaller deer joined her, making her smile. She shouldn't be so pressure-bound to perform her magic, she had realized over her storytelling with Bartos. She should let it come to her, come what may, and not need to worry about the consequences or results. Again, she started her trek home at a brisk jaunt, the various creatures dancing around her and behind her. "This is how I speak."

Positivity wasn't something we experienced. Yes, it was a great thing to be alive and breathing, but was that necessarily a means to be positive? Our talons scraped along the rock beneath us as we drew them in and out, but they clenched together when a foreign light begun to illuminate the cave wall in front of us. Where the hell was that light coming from? Crest raising, we whipped around to look over our shoulder, black eyes immediately needing to be shielded from the obscenity of the dancing creatures.

They weren't real, that much was obvious, but the fawn in the middle appeared to carry some substance so perhaps, she was. In order to attempt to counteract what she had done, we shrouded ourselves in shadow. Much better, we figured it was best to address this creature rather than ignore her. First, we needed to assess the beasts in the cave before we could begin to "ignore them" and opt for a more solitary life. "You. Light one." Adopting the words that Usui had given to me, the supposed names of others, we weren't sure what else to address her by. Not entirely sure if she had seen us, and no being shrouded in shadow, we were interested to see how she would react to being addressed.

@Clover

She was startled out of her story reverie by an incredibly spooky voice coming from seemingly nowhere! Her head darted around, searching for the source, and a slim form in the shadows caught her good eye. If she squinted really really hard, she could make out- well, something. She thought the form reminded her somewhat of Ambrus or Azazel, but that was her best guess. It could be anything, really. "Well hello there," She said politely, bowing low to the ground. "A very excellent disguise and use of shadow, my friend. I wouldn't have known you were there had you not spoken up." "I am a nameless storyteller, and I'm pleased to make your dark acquaintance." She said with honest humor. "This is how I speak."

After spending some time seeking us out, she managed to fix her bright gaze on us. We met it with our own dull one, but we didn't have words of mirth to return as she bowed low to us. It was wrong, it was an odd gesture and right now we did not appreciate it. "That's an odd thing to do light one." Complimenting our shadowy figure, we fluffed up out of pride. At least she had done something right.

Nameless storyteller, our dark acquaintance. This creature spoke in riddles, but they weren't hard to decipher so we decided her intention wasn't to confuse us or blindsight us. Since she gave no name, we would continue to address her as light one. "Why then, light one, do you travel this way?" Those distracting balls of dancing light were beginning to fade, our gaze was hard to keep focused on her as the squirrels and small lesser gembound frolicked with such enjoyment. Not up to our full size, weight and wingspan, we felt naked next to her. Just coming into her prime, that was the only thing we found we could admire about her. Admiration for something else wasn't something we usually experienced, but we could acknowledge and appreciate her newfound adulthood.

@Clover

"Hm? My bowing, you mean?" She asked, smiling. "Its a sign of respect for the one you're meeting, very easily done. It costs nothing, and means a lot when addressing others. At least that's what I've found." Perhaps this new creature liked frank speech? She tried to speak as plainly as possible. She rather liked being called the light one. She laughed a little, her little animals dancing around her, growing a bit weaker as time moved on. It was of no consequence, she thought. If she wanted them again, she would call them up again. "I've just come from meeting and becoming fast friends with a young gem I came across not too long ago, and I'm making my way back to Cetus. Their name is Bartos the cat, and if you please, they would adore showing you their beautiful rock collection. They have everything, you could hope to see, from lovely glass to polished stones the shine all sorts of gorgeous colors. Fiery reds, crystal blues, even some yellows." She said this with a glowing grin, referencing the gem in her eye. "And they are very friendly." She turned her head down the lane, her head tilted a little. "My Pounce is sure to miss me by now, I should imagine." "This is how I speak."

She shook her head. She had stayed in Orion for too long and she needed to go.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, keeper of shadows. I do hope we will meet again, under better circumstances to properly talk, but I must away. I need to get back to Pounce."

She called a polite goodbye as she continued her brisk pace down the path.

[Exit Clover]

"This is how I speak."