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Kerberos watched, a silent gatekeeper, as Aza'zel wobbled over to his child, speaking soft, hushed words. Kerberos did not know the correct things to say to the child, but Aza'zel was her father. He would find the words. Giggle always knew the right thing to say because she was a mother-- it was the same. He bowed his heads towards the remains of Mau, giving the corpse a cautious sniff.

Carefully, he picked up what was left-- the corpse, while torn apart in the front, was still mostly in tact otherwise. He delicately gathered what he could between two heads, making sure that he wouldn't drop her, and then his free mouth spoke to Aza'zel softly.

"Aza'zel, young Ashtoreth," he woofed calmly to them. The situation was fragile as a century old bone, so brittle it could snap if he didn't take care. "I will bring her to the tunnel. Giggle has told me there is protective magic there-- it will make sure she finds peace." If that was true or not, he didn't care so much. Perhaps it was just a hope of easing the child's mind.

"Perhaps you should gather the Bonebound, so that we can all pay respects." He raised his snaking tail high, but bowed his heads towards Aza'zel, before he slunk off towards the entrance of Canis-- to the place he called the passageway between life and death.

Azazel hung his head as he saw the autumn-colored amalgam shake her head firmly, putting on a brave face. Somehow, he could tell that she was just as scared as he was. Why had he done this? Why why why why wh-- Kerberos interrupted his thoughts, the great cerberos leaning down to take the corpse of the feline in his jaws, and using his free mouth to speak. The tunnel. It was made of pure stone and gave anyone a foreboding feeling upon entry. At the mention of Giggle's beliefs, he simply nodded. His throat was taut, as if he couldn't speak. Mau would find peace there. For a moment, his carmine eyes fell upon the aquamarine skull. What if she could see him through the stone? He knew that a Gembound's magicka fled into their stone upon death. Perhaps her soul was embodied in that stone. Perhaps she could be brought back... just like the jaguar cub. But she was a Bonebound. She deserved to be honored, no matter how ambigous her existence had been in the past few cycles. "Yes. I'll be there in a bit," he croaked.

As Kerberos stalked away towards Tunnel O, he cast a glance to Ashtoreth, and grabbed the gem skull and flew off towards the center of the room, where water pooled. He believed it would be best if he cleaned himself up and cleaned the gem.

[ Exit Azazel ]
@Ashtoreth

Kerberos spoke soft and calmly, but Ash could feel the tears building up in the corners of her eyes again. She had to get away, but oh how scared she was of fleeing from her father. She felt rooted in place, at least until Aza'zel flew off at the guardian hound's words. She did not move for a while longer, heart beating hard in her chest.

In the end, when Kerberos had finally wandered off, the tiny Ashtoreth, star-lit feathered mustelid, forced herself to scamper off somewhere where the nightmares couldn't chase her. Perhaps she could find a friend in the world of stars, the place just outside the home of bones, where she felt like she belonged to a dream.

... Maybe, this wouldn't haunt her forever.

Listen to me + Hear my thoughts

;; ash exit

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Satisfied that he had said the proper thing, Ashtoreth becoming more attentive if not still quite out of it and Aza'zel answering him properly, he nodded and rose to his full height. He wagged his tail gently at Ashtoreth, taking the remains of Mau towards the tunnel.

Ash seemed to follow him, though she kept her distance and still seemed to be avoiding meeting any of his eyes. That was alright-- she would recover from this if they handled it properly, he was sure. Death was natural, and it would come to them all one day.

;; kerb exit