Reign
He who is to be a good ruler
must have first been ruled

Reign inclined his head to Nassir's words in agreement, and found that he quite liked Nassir when he moved to protect Pride as well.

He hadn't a clue how the panther had come to join the Seven, but he looked forward to sitting and speaking with him at some point.

Finally, Pride managed to conjure his mist, and so Reign focused on keeping his shield up so the stag could continue his work.

@Nassir

Better to be safe than sorry, Pride's narrative - and Nassir'd entirely intended for his protection to be for against the boiling water in the air. They'd tangoed with plenty of heat before (see: the Raheerah incident) for the dark beast to know that it did one's body very few favors. He could almost feel the sensation of ash and smoke licking at his lungs, dragonfire that still scarred Orion startlingly near to him as he laid in quiet pain - wishing it all to be a dream.

His subsequent months coughing in excessively strenuous activity was a testament to it not being a fantasy gone wrong.

Anyways. Nassir hummed softly through his wavering shield, bowing his head with a few, choice words of encouragement: "hope this works." He wanted to go back to bed without fear of having his gem eaten clean off.

@Pride

The stag was too closely-focused on his magic now to pay much mind to either feline. It wasn't that it was a do-or-die moment; it was more that maintaining the mist long enough to then focus on the boiling of it took intense concentration. Pride steeled himself, carefully peeling his mind from the one spell to the other, concentrating on both at once.

The proof that it was working came not in an increase of temperature, at first--he was careful not to boil himself, after all, or his allies--but in the quiet, gruesome popping of hundreds of tiny carapaces. Even Pride, no stranger to violence, grimaced. And this isn't their fault, he thought, again. It was a grim thought; for their fault or not, they were dying by the dozens all around him. And at his hand--or, hoof, rather--to boot.

Soon the mist had converted wholly to hissing steam, steam that rose up around them and faded. In its wake were swathes of dead green millipedes, but looking around, Pride noted grimly that they were hardly making a dent.

"I think perhaps it's best if we guard the tunnels in and out for a day or two, instead. Warn those coming in what they might be dealing with. We have... what, four tunnels coming out of Orion?" A quick headcount, and a frown. "Five? -We can't cover them all. I could cover two, with Mischief, but--that's my familiar," he added, toward Reign.

Pride glanced around, and sighed. "That being said, I doubt anyone could miss that noise." The constant sussurration of a million tiny feet continued. "We could at least warn the other groups?" he suggested, looking to the cats.

@Reign

Reign
He who is to be a good ruler
must have first been ruled

The mites began to boil, and Reign's fur stood on end. They were mindless, and non-sentient, but it was still cruel, and they didn't deserve a death such as this. The sound was chilling, and his ears flattened back against his skull, but still he couldn't drown it out.

He listened to Pride, and a deep frown settled on his features, "Where is everyone?" it hadn't escaped him that only the three of them were there, but he had been a bit pre-occupied.

"We should, I can run and warn one of the nearest?" maybe, he wast still worn out, but that was more important.

@Nassir

For a few minutes, Orion sounded like the inside of a movie theater's popcorn machine. The hiss of steam rising and shouldering violently through the cooler air was muffled by hundreds of tiny millipedes popping beneath the increasing heat and pressure of their innards. Nassir'd never cared for bugs, but he wasn't the only one that felt bad for killing them en masse. His hackles rose at the unnatural sound.

Pride and he'd felt the blasting heat and burn of Raheerah, yet subjected these wallcrawlers to it all the same. It's us or them, he reminded himself gently, shrugging away his pulsating - and frankly wavering - shield to face the stag. Nassir dipped his head, waxen gaze staring up from beneath his brow as he offered, "I can watch over the ones leading to Canis and Monoceros? They're close together and - I can do it after I... go to the Bonebound."

With that plan possibly in motion, he suggested another, "I'll patrol around, too - and... clear them off of any chrysalises I find." That was the best they could do. Not every developing neonate would be protected, but at least some.

@Pride

Pride glanced grimly at Reign.

"Everyone is, for the most part, asleep or... gone. I do not know, with all of them. A moment," he added, in afterthought.

A clattering of hooves took him back to Livius' chrysalis (and never let it be said that Pride was not, at least, a loyal friend) and there he focused again upon his magic. A flare of magic, and his own stone--or rather, the same type, one he knew to be hard and strong (if brittle) shot up around the chrysalis, and over it. He'd remove it later; Livius could, if they somehow woke now, clamber out anyway.

"I cannot leave King Livius' chrysalis for too long," he said, turning back to the others with a worried expression on his face (and never mind the crunching under-hoof as he returned to them). "-But that diamond should keep any of these worms busy for awhile, if they swarm the stone. Reign: I am trusting you now, as I wrongly trusted Zothra, to do just as you say: to make the rounds, to warn the other groups of this as quickly as you can. We angered Nemean, by not killing this Rezik; and now Orion is not safe, and its gemstone-eating swarm may spill over into other caves. Warn them, would you? Nassir can, as you say," and here he turned to Nassir, nodding appreciation, "watch the tunnels to Pisces and Monoceros, meanwhile, and I will watch the eastern ones as best I can. Come back and relieve us as soon as the others are warned, so we can rest--we'll need to switch watches on Livius's stone..."

The stag sounded distressed, grim, but at least he was still thinking clearly. He awaited some confirmation from the others--and, assuming he got it:

"Good luck--and swift travels, Reign. We'll catch up once you're back, yes?"

And then he turned, clattering off toward the tunnels to the east.

exit Pride unless further addressed! @Reign

Reign
He who is to be a good ruler
must have first been ruled

Reign didn't know Nassir, but he seemed to have a good mind, and so he hoped he could trust him, though his attention was quickly drawn away to Reign. "Gone?" Gone how? Amazon, Luster, Shengxiao, all gone? And their King, in their chrysalis, his eyes darted towards--what had happened while he was asleep?

'I am trusting you now, as I wrongly trusted Zothra, to do just as you say' Pride said, and something about that made him hesitate--did Pride not trust him? While he couldn't blame him, that still set something wrong deep in his bones--had he ever proven himself to be anything but trustworthy? He'd known Pride since he was a cub, and here was Pride implying that he was not to be trusted.

"I'll move as fast as I can," he promised, and moved to run off, before pausing and looking back over his shoulder, "Both of you, stay safe." and then he was off.

What a thing to wake up to.

-exit Reign unless stopped


@Nassir

Patrols would be routine for only a day or two, and Nassir was more than willing to follow up on his offerings. His paws would be weary after wandering back and forth between Canis and Monoceros for that time, but it was worth it to - well, ensure the relative safety of the rest of the caves. Perhaps allowing the wallcrawlers to spread throughout would be a wise decision; then, at least, the swarms wouldn't be quite so large and dangerous. Ten was far easier to deal with than hundreds.

He dipped his head in the confirmation that Pride needed, and blinked into Reign's direction. "You too," he called, and found himself alone.

Shaking himself off, blearily shrugging off the last of his being asleep, Nassir plodded off in the direction of Canis and the rest of the Bonebound to pass along a friendly message.

;exit nassir