Darkness. She blinked, she was sure, but still nothing came to view. Not even a flicker of shadow. So, she tried turning her head, but realized she couldn't. Yinehi was trapped in something, but the panic didn't come like you'd expect. It was a familiar feeling. Cramped, like inside an egg you'd outgrown. She began to squirm, shoving her wings outward and kicking her clawed feet out....or at least, trying to. Until eventually, something gave under her, weakening the confines of what could of been her Forever Home. Why she woke up, she didn't know. The memory of hibernating in the first place failed to come to mind, but such was not currently a priority, anyhow. Gigatsuhali stretched her wings first and looked at her sur-- wait... I still can't see. I don't think it's my eyes, either. With faint memory and luck, the bird climbed down the wall from a ledge she had spent most of her youth retreating to, coming to the horizontal surface with a thud and continued confusion. Why was it so dark? What happened to Polaris's lights? The vulture swallowed hard, nervous about her next bright idea, but feeling increasingly desperate in the mysterious darkness she no longer knew... "Hello! Is anyone else here?" she paused, "What happened to Polaris?" ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag:

A dislodged rock clattered nearby, followed by a soft thud and exhaled breath breaking the silence. Hidden in the darkness the canid who had caused the sound groaned and picked himself off the ground, mentally cursing himself for forgetting the existence of that small ledge just outside the path. His ability to see had never been that great, but he'd figured out a way around it. Now with no light to guide him he felt like a pup again, tripping over everything in his way.

He knew he probably would have a good collection of scars from his walk back to the core, and that there were probably injuries he hadn't even noticed thanks to his diminished sense of touch. The red wolf thought back to an acquaintance of his as he righted himself on all four paws, remembering her glow and imagining how useful such a skill would be at this time. He would make do, however, or he would starve for lack of ability to hunt.

A voice pierced the darkness, causing Xireidi's ears to perk up. It was unfamiliar, but didn't sound unfriendly. "Hey!" he chanced calling out in response, turning himself to slowly approach the direction the voice was coming from. Step, step, adjust for the sudden dip, step, over the rock, close enough.

"I don't know who you might be, but I'm glad to hear that light and life have not shared the same fate." he added with as casual of a tone as possible given the circumstances. He didn't answer the question immediately though, having his suspicions what entity was responsible for the current disaster but daring not jump to conclusions.

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags: @Gigatsuhali
notes: Hope you don't mind me joining in

The clap of rock against rock made her swing her head toward a new direction. A few more useless blinks into the darkness and she waited, listening. As a voice followed her own, she perked up and stood tall, even as he spoke again. She too, was thankful light and life were not both gone, even if the light being gone was such a hindrance, already. "I feel similarly... my name is Gigatsuhali Yinehi, but many just call me Giga or Fairy," she said. She took several steps forward, squinting hard until she saw a shape that seemed to be moving. It was hard to be wary when you re-hatch into such a world of loneliness. ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag: @Xireidi

The voice sounded again, helping Xireidi reposition himself toward the company he had discovered in the void. As far as he could tell her voice sounded gentle, trustworthy. Her form, on the other hand, was very much different from his now that he could discern an outline.

"It is good to meet you Gigatsa... Gigatsuhi. It is good to meet you Giga." he greeted, stumbling helplessly over his own words. For once Xireidi was glad the lights were out; his expression of embarrassment was likely well concealed.

"My name is Xireidi, though I don't have any nicknames to go along with that." No need to mention that Kin-Kin had dubbed him 'fluffy'. "I came back to Polaris since it seemed like the most likely place for light to still exist, though sadly it seems that it's been as affected by the darkness as the rest of the cave, or at least Pisces."

The wolf lowered his head as he carefully moved in a bit closer, hoping to get a bit better look at Giga so he'd remember them should they meet later. "have you been through Orion to see if the stars are out there as well?"

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags: @Gigatsuhali
notes: None

As the furred being came to view, he returned her greeting and a smile shown on her face. The stumbling over on her name was unsurprising. It was a bit of a mouthful, which is why she offered substitutes upon introduction. Her neck feathers fluffed out, purposefully giving herself a softer appearance... or at least trying to. She listened to his name very intently, nodding out and acknowledgement as he continued to speak. A drift of sadness passed over her and she tried her best to not let it show while it lingered. The entire cave system was cast in darkness as she speculated. Xireidi's question caught Giga off guard and she blinked a couple times, coming back to earth from her thoughts. Orion? She hadn't been there in quite a long time... "No, I haven't. My guess is... if Polaris is dark, all the rooms are. Wouldn't it be something if the stars in Orion still shined, though?" The idea was fond in her heart and she made personal note to travel there as soon as possible. In the meantime, she had a new friend to make and a darkness to adjust to. Preferably without face-planting or flying into walls. ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag: @Xireidi

"That would be lovely," he sighed as he sat down near the darkened bird, "though I'm afraid you're probably right. With the core masked in shadows there is no reason to believe the starry city might have avoided the same fate."

This was definitely troubling news; and perhaps karma for his failure in the past. He had lost someone close to him due to his need to hunt and now the cave left him with practically no ability to do so. He would probably be good for a while but how long would the darkness take hold?

"I actually grew up in Orion." he mused, hoping to push his worries aside for the moment. "I knew from early on that if I didn't grow strong there'd be no way I could protect others from the coming danger, or even survive myself."

A chuckle escaped his maw as memories made fond by the passage of time came back to him. "I spent countless days jumping between rocks and eventually between dilapidated buildings. I imagine to a creature of the air such as yourself such a pastime probably seems silly, but all the falls were worth it in the end."

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags: @Gigatsuhali
notes: Sorry on shortish dialogue-heavy post ^_^;

There was a need to reach for him and try to comfort him, but she resisted the urge. Orion was a beautiful place. Ruins and stars, a place of mystery and history. Her eyes met his with a bit of sadness as the shadows of the caves overtaking everything. Still, at least there was friends to be made and place she could still see. Thank goodness for her night vision. He spoke of leaping from ruin to ruin, and wide smile crossing her face. With a shake of her head, she denied finding it silly, feeling a need to reaffirm such with her voice as well: "It's not silly. And I wasn't always capable of flight. I was never able to jump like that, but I can see the appeal. Although, flight is quite wonderful." ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag: @Xireidi

Xireidi nodded to the odd bird as he looked around once more, hoping to find even a hint of light somewhere in the distance. "We all have our own strengths and talents I suppose. The diversity is one of the nicer things about life in the caves."

Nothing, still completely dark all around. Worry continued to gnaw at the back of the red wolf's mind as he conversed with his unexpected company.

"Just be careful if you decide to fly around here now. I'm not sure how your eyesight compares to mine but it seems like it would be easy to accidentally hit a wall in the current conditions." A pause was given as Xireidi absent-mindedly paced a few steps in a random direction. Even if Orion was most likely dark it might be worth it to check out right? There were also other parts of the cave he hadn’t explored in detail yet, perhaps there was a root cause in one of those locations? Whatever the case was he’d have to act with some degree of haste.

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags: @Gigatsuhali
notes: My muse appears to be fairly low on this thread. Any particular direction we want to take it or shall we close it up early as a passing meeting?