private thread, marked m for shoal's swearing

Fucking cave deer, she lamented.

The last thing that Shoal remembered was landing in Polaris with a click of her talons against smooth stone. Above her had been the Spire, bleaching dark stone blue around her. For a while, she had just admired it from afar, peacefully. It had been the first time she felt at peace, well-rested and energized. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when she turned her head she saw a herd of lesser does stampeding towards her.

From there, it had been dark. The pain wasn't anything new to her-- the claustrophobia of being stuck in an amber chrysalis again didn't bother her. It was her mistake that frustrated her. Shoal swore at herself repeatedly through the healing process, as slowly, day by day, crushed bones were rejuvenated and the torn skin sew itself back together into calloused scars.

She knew this process but she was never sure how long it would take. Days and cycles and years melded into each other. But when she was ready, when the throbbing pain had dulled into nothing, she knew exactly what to do, and she could do it well. She stretched her legs out and pushed her back against the walls of the amber, forcing it open. Shards of yellow splintered and cracked with an echoing, hollow crunch that was followed by a thump as a bag of ragged feathers fell to the cave floor.

There was a scrape of talons against the stone underneath her as-- "fuck me" --Shoal struggled to get back to her feet. It wasn't until she was upright again that she was hit with the stench of ash and smoke, that she noticed the scorched ground around her. Whatever had happened here she sure as hell didn't want anything to do with it. She was unlucky as it was and she didn't feel like getting burned to death back into her chrysalis.

The owl shook off the orange shards off her back and unfurled a pair of massive wings, lifting them high above her head to flex out cramped limbs before she took off into the air. She flew in dead silence but she didn't do so for long-- just enough to get herself onto some stone to perch on higher ground, out of reach of rats and cave deer.

The Spire still illuminated the stone azure. She was exhausted, but the Spire still brought some odd, instinctive comfort to her. A shallow sigh left the bird's beak as she settled down above the ground floor, ruffling her feathers out a second time. Fucking cave deer, Shoal lamented again, as she observed the room below.

@Nótt

The last thing Nott remembered was the lull in activity - the shifting of gears into a time of less movement, progress, discovery. Some had evaded the momentary hibernation, pushing on and wandering the Caves as if nothing had changed. Others... well, they went to sleep.

He she? She had been one of those that'd gone into slumber. There, wrapped up in her own wings and star-studded lapis lazuli, Nott had simply thought. Those thoughts, though, lied with nothing in particular. They existed like dreams, fluttering away and bleeding away from her as her mind seemed to rearrange itself in preparation for yet another awakening. Being in a chrysalis, apparently, meant the owl had time to find a new sort of cognition to follow, another persona to try out and internalize; because the last one's methods and strategies hadn't been too successful in acquiring the information she...

- she thought she'd wanted information. Perhaps, perhaps not anymore.

Wanting was something that quickly plagued her, the desire to know what it was that she wanted so badly coming second. Along came another thought, and another, until the shell (proverbially and literally) broke and spat her into the harsh cool and hum of reality.

Nott, with instinctive and practiced ease, clambered out of her chrysalis's remains, shoving aside shards for the golems to gather up later on. Wet as she was with the scent of newness, she could smell - and see - the ruin of Polaris, all ash and smoke just barely settled proper. The soot stained the bottom of her leg feathers. She wasn't the vain sort, but she couldn't stand the sensation of it, and began smearing her talons across the slick inner surface of her chrysalis.

Twisting her head around to take a peek at any potential observers, she scraped up the membrane and choked it down.

"It's free food," she would whisper, if she were a man of particular comedic talent, then shrug nonchalantly.

@Shoal

Watching the Spire, Shoal's eyelids began to feel heavier-- dragging down further and further until she couldn't see at all. Actual sleep, time to rest out in the open, might have been what she needed. If she slept it was short-lived, however-- nowhere long enough to even dream.

A familiar sound crashed through her ears. The shattering of a chrysalis, though this one was a lot quieter than she was accustomed to. It was still loud enough for her to hear; enough for her to jolt awake, pale eyes wide and scanning the cave floor again. The source of her disturbance had been easy enough to spot-- a creature not unlike her stood bathed in the amaranthine light provided by red crystals and the Spire.

She watched her in silence, expressionlessly-- (as if owls could have facial expression) --as the other owl washed her talons. The creature turned her head, and then began to choke down the inner lining of her chrysalis. Shoal wasn't sure, but she thought she heard her speak. 'It's free food.'

Well she's not fucking wrong, the owl conceded.

For a moment Shoal wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want to sit and stare at the bird horking down her own placenta like it was a fucking thing to do but she didn't want to leave. Shoal didn't have much in the terms of socialization and whatever this thing was it looked like her. Albeit with less scars, she observed after another quick scan.

There was a gentle scrape of talons-on-stone from the perch above. The owl below didn't seem young but she was just standing on the ground where Shoal had died caves-only-knows how long ago. With a clack of her beak that echoed like a distant gunshot, she drew herself up a bit to speak. "You shouldn't be down there."

One beat. Two beats. Three beats. "It's dangerous," she continued after a moment of silence, her voice low and rasping, hoarse as if she'd been caught in the fires. "You could get hurt. Can you fly?"

@Nótt

The raptor finished horking down her rock-placenta in a flash. Monochromatic feathers shuffled against one another as she preened, shaking off the amniotic residue and puffing up like a cotton ball. Her 'ears' flicked up, golden eyes growing wide as she twisted to follow a clicking noise - another Greater nearby, Nott hoped.

Her gaze immediately traveled up, keenly falling upon another bird. Seeing no extra eyes or mutilated limbs (but the scars were definitely there,) the owl tilted her head, almost curiously, "and why not?" Nott peered around again, giving more than a glancing look to her surroundings; she more closely inspected the environment (rather than making a quick scan for movement) and - ah, Polaris certainly looked burnt compared to before. The destruction was not in just small patches - no, normal Gembound practicing their own spells couldn't cause such a thing. If it were on such a large scale, how had her chrysalis not been utterly destroyed. Fortune, perhaps.

Taking the stranger's warning as an invitation to come up, Nott hooted, "I suppose you might be right, stranger." Flexing her wings once or twice, she took easily to the air and fell silently next to Shoal on her perch and settling down. The raptor inhaled briefly, humming - "you smell new - like I do."

"I'm Nott," she tacked on, like she'd suddenly remembered her basic manners.

@Shoal