Icy wind blasted across his body, sending chills down his spine. The lion was larger now and stood near the size of a small lioness, yet his coat had not developed at all to protect him from the biting cold. Usui shuddered and let out a small huff. His breath was a visible grey puff which disappeared almost immediately after. He noted this with a slight shake of his head but never paused in his treks. Directing his gaze to the ceiling, the lion noted that the ceiling was laden with frozen moisture and the occasional drip drop lit up his ears with thrilling tunes as water fell from the sharpest points of ice on the ceiling. With a low growl, the sturdy youth picked up his pace and only came to a stop near a huddle of rocks to the side of the room. "Eve should be back soon with a report on any suspicious activity at the cave entrances leading out from Tunnel H.” He spoke authoritatively, young tone ringing out firmly. Although Dragon was the one they were slogging their efforts for, he was the leader here as far as his nose was concerned. His nose never went wrong. Pale green eyes swept across the Komo dragon and Alligator. "Leave no stone unturned. We’ll meet again in 15 minutes.” Usui then turned upon his heel and sniffed at the air. It was tough, given how the moisture drenched out the scent. He sighed and hoped Eve would return soon with some clues before he went on an exploring mission here. He was starting to feel worn out from the search.

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Stupid damn fish-chokin' cave-draggling pieces of dirt, I hate the cold.
Tunnel H was cold, and worst of all, dark. She could barely make out the glowing entrance of Polaris, so she flew over towards it. With a pause, she thought and concentrated in silence, tapping her talons off against the ground briefly

She tried, and what eventually spawned was a dimly-glowing orb. It flickered and wavered, but it seemed somewhat stable. It'd do. She took off once more with the orb just in front of her. It followed where her gaze went, and most importantly of all stopped her from slamming into the cold walls.

Unfortunately it scared a rat away - which she honestly could have caught for food, but it didn't matter. She checked the exits of the tunnel twice and even three times with the aid of the light-orb before she flew back towards the group, taking her place on Dragon's head. The orb remained in her line of sight.

"Nothing weird around here," squawked the crow.


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Dragon was not a dragon.

He did not actually surge with heat and fire--or well, he did, but he was not furry, not feathered, not like the lion or the crow. He was not, in fact, at all warm-blooded.

And this tunnel was cold.

He hated coming through here--he'd done it a few times, but he still hated it. He glanced back to Ghanyarah, scowling with a mixture of irritation and sympathy--surely his brother was as chilled as he? Or did his ice magic dull him to it?

With a huffing, hissing growl, he scampered past Usui, his legs almost entirely off the ground--and smoking, even glowing slightly as he poured his hot magic into his limbs to keep himself warm.

"Cold, cold, cold, I hate the ice!" he complained absently. He paused briefly to flinch down against a hard gust of bitter, biting wind, then hissed again and started off in a full alligator gallop toward Eridanus.

"I found the collar in that place with the big blue crystal and the water. Polaris. Eve was there. We can check the grass-place--Eridanus--then go there?"

He gritted his teeth against the ice nipping at his hot clawed feet, and then slowed, pausing to rest, the warmth of his magic quickly melting a little pool of water around him. He gurgled irritably, looking around.

"...Not much place for it to hide, here," he added, then at length, started to nose around under the rocks and in the bits of icy water here and there. He'd spend a few minutes looking--maybe they'd get lucky--but somehow he doubted that the collar would be hidden here. There just wasn't that much place for it to hide.

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Ghanyarah had never been to this tunnel before, which was probably why he had been so ill prepared for it. If he'd known how cold it would be, perhaps he would have stayed behind, to the potential displeasure of his groupmates. By the time he realized his mistake, they were already plunging into the tunnel. There was no use in turning back. Still, some part of his brain nagged that maybe he should go back to somewhere it would be warmer.

The komodo dragon drastically slowed in the colder temperature. It was difficult for him to metabolize when the environment was so cold; he struggled to keep up with the group, movements sluggish and seeming almost lazy. As a creature of the water and ice, the cold really didn't bother Ghanyarah as much as it should have, but it didn't help him to move any faster. He simply didn't feel the biting cold as much as anybody else, and he enjoyed the slippery sensation of the ice, quick to dig his nails into it and push himself forward. He lagged behind the three others, keeping his eyes peeled on the glowing orb Eve created to illuminate the tunnel. Before long, Ghanyarah had come up beside Dragon, reveling in the heat he seemed to be radiating, mostly from his limbs. "Might it be in the ice?" He asked, cocking his head slightly.

What could he do to help? Maybe he could try his ice again... Ghanyarah stepped away from the alligator and pressed himself down against the floor, closing his eyes. If he could just disrupt the ice in the tunnel, maybe somehow they could see if the collar was there.

A surge of magic fled the komodo, reaching out from his feet through the tunnel; the ice shifted slightly and cracked, creating a torrent of loud cracking noises, before falling silent again. Ghanyarah opened his eyes and raised himself off the floor, looking around. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened - just the cracking of ice, but it was only within their vicinity and not further down the tunnel. If the collar was stashed here, then it wouldn't be in the ice. "Nevermind." He followed up and huffed out a cloud of translucent mist.

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN

The lion stalked out the surrounding area near the entrance, alert to the complaints of his companions. He sympathised with them, not being a fan of the cold himself. His body was adapted to ward off the heat, not for him to live with bitter winds and chilly feet. Gently but firmly, he spoke. “We have to pass by here. The trail leads through here.” It was of utmost importance that they stuck to this trail and not backtrack the opposite way. Eve came back then with no clues so as to speak. Dragon was quick to sweep past him onto the slippery ground but found nothing. He cast a glance at the komodo dragon who’d begun to crack the ice. The lion found himself padding forward, opening his mouth urgently to bid him to stop lest the entire ground swallow them but thankfully, the magic seemed to seep into the critter’s vicinity and went no further, following which he gave up and followed the group. Usui heaved a sigh of relief and padded away from the crack. ”I’ll try,” he spoke, and conjured up his magic. Alas, instead of wielding the red gems to him - yes, he’d focused on the red gems – a whole lot of distorted gems started crumbling from the cracks and swooped back towards Cetus. As dramatically as he felt one of his most powerful magic drain his resources, he watched with horror as the gems swooshed into an oblivion of darkness behind the group. Finally when all was said and done, there was an awkward silence.

Coughing, he shook his ruff and addressed each of the present members. “”No red gems on cloak. Dragon’s right, we should check out those two locations. Would it be wise for us to split? We can meet up again at Tunnel I, or Tunnel H.” It made sense for them to take two different routes and then convene at a common location. At least there wouldn’t be a bunch of them milling around aimlessly. The lion cast his gaze upon Dragon, waiting for him to speak.

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"It's not a bad idea, " croaked the bird. She tapped her talons against the alligator's head. "Me 'n Dragon can check Polaris?"

Eve looked more like a fluff-ball than a bird at this point, feathers puffed up for the sake of keeping heat close to her body. Still, she felt fairly impatient. She definitely wasn't getting any warmer standing here in the middle of the tunnel.

The crow grumbled as she ruffled her feathers once more. "We should hurry."

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Dragon looked between them, listening to each of their suggestions. Not that he was some mighty leader listening to his suboordinates, or anything--he was just a little alligator fresh out of ideas.

But theirs sounded good. They seemed to have scouted out the tunnel, between the four of them, pretty securely. Splitting up, though...

"It'll take more time for two to search a room and if we run into any trouble, we'll be almost alone. If you have trouble, come and find me. If we have trouble, Eve can come find you fast. I need to get off this ice," he hissed. "Usui after you check Eridanus can you smell the tunnels between there and Polaris? Maybe one will smell like the collar-taker?"

It was a long shot, but he was hopeful. "If we still don't find it by then I guess we can search both of the tunnels and look from there. If you all still want to," he added, more uncertainly. He wasn't sure how interested the others were in scouring the entire cave for something that they might not even decide to use, in the end. If they were tired, and cold, he could hardly blame them for wanting to stop.

But there wasn't time to worry about that, now. Instead, he just said--

"Okay--Polaris," and turned to gallop away, content to let the others decide whether to split up, follow him, or, in Eve's case, remain his hat.

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((ooc -- exit the dragon))

Heroes, guardians. Those who would, above all else, protect and help one another. Tal'at had, at first, been unsure of the strange group, but they had led him out of the rain with their strong voices and even stronger Heartbeats. For some reason, the blind bat found a feeling of trust extend down to those that he followed even still.

Although the urge to leave them, to go off and find his brother, was a powerful, swaying feeling in his gut, determination and perhaps a pinch of curiousity, kept the tiny bat after them. So far, they had not noticed him-- perhaps the mist had kept him safe from that before. Now in the tunnels, perhaps one of them would spot his clinging form on the roof, scattering after them from high above.

One of them could fly, another feathered friend, he knew, but the others were land dwellers. His single eye, a giant orb made of gem, glistened red as he focused on Dragon. The leader, of sorts, to this strange band of adventures. Tal'at wanted to be with them...

But for now, he did nothing but tag along, a silent, curious being in the shadows.


!!! ...
tal'at exit~

It's in the eyes!
I can tell, you will always be danger!
We had it tonight! Why do we always seek absolution?

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There was a squeak followed by a sigh as the alligator began to charge off. The crow barely had time to squawk out behind her, "Meet us in Tunnel I!"

The dimly-lit orb followed the two into Cetus, always just a few inches above of Dragon to guide him through the tunnels. Though, as the two rocketed into Polaris, it left the lion and komodo dragon in an almost unsettling, cold darkness.

Oh well.

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((exit eve))

So it seemed the general consensus was that there was nothing here - either that, or they were all just so desperate to escape the cold that they would sacrifice an in depth search of this tunnel in favor of going somewhere warmer. Again, the cold didn't really bother Ghanyarah. Ice crystals would naturally grow and collect on his scales, frosting over until he would move and the ice would shed with the fluid roll of his musculature beneath his hide. The only thing the cold did was slow him down, but maybe once Ghanyarah truly mastered his element, he could overcome the flaws of his physiology. His mind wandered, but quickly returned as Dragon finished explaining the plan; then, he and Eve headed off towards Polaris. So he and Usui would be responsible for scouring Eridanus. No problem.

Ghanyarah looked up to the lion, a deep rumbling of comradery bubbling up from his throat. "Let us explore these eyes that Dragon warned us about, maybe we will see the lost prize through them," he said idly, strangely eloquently. Ghanyarah was hardly intelligent, but he liked the way words rolled off his tongue. They were fluid, and they sounded so much more advanced than the primitive word patterns of his days as prey. Maybe it was just because he was getting older.

The reptile turned, angling his body in the direction that the tunnel would lead to Eridanus. He scampered off, expecting Usui to follow behind him.

(Exit yara)