It didn't take much to convince the komodo dragon that it was time to leave; the force of the three headed dog's dispel was enough of an extra push for Ghanyarah to pick up the pace, his powerful limbs churning and urging him forward and away from the two Gembounds he had tried to harass. For now, Canis would be safe from any further vandalization by the icy lizard. He snorted and scuttled out of the entrance of the cave, nay shedding a glance over his shoulder at the ones he was leaving behind before carrying on into the tunnel and away from them. He'd be back to cause more damage later, but for now Ghanyarah was simply going to revel in the small amount of chaos he'd wrought.

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN


exit Ghanyarah

Giggle stared with a mix of wry amusement and sour irritation as the lizard made his way out with a whip of a tail. She turned to eye Kerberos, appraising him with a glance up and down.

The dog had grown. He was massive, even since the last time she had seen him--almost bear-sized, certainly outsizing her much smaller frame. Though she knew that this was not likely how she would die, the "likely" wasn't enough to keep the fearful squirm out of her stomach. Still, he'd jumped to her defense--but was it only because it was a focus for his violence?

Had Kerberos changed? Had he truly learned restraint, as he'd seemed to be doing the last time they'd met? Or had it only been an appearance, as he'd stalked Aza'zel--the illusion of control? Would he turn on her? She eyed him, and softly cleared her throat, speaking--though she knew any moment he might leap to charge after Ghanyarah, and disappear.

As for her... her feet were still thawing from the ice.

"Are you all right?" she asked again, trying to hide her slight tenseness. She had no desire to be chomped and thrown about. ...Maybe eaten.

What else can I even say?

________________

Roll the bones.

@Kerberos

Runnin' wild and runnin' free~

Two kids, you and me~ !

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos' pink eyes, almost red, glared as they watched the weird lizard finally run off. His ears rang, his mouth ached, his bones felt tingly. He wasn't about to be frugal in defending his friends and family-- if this was the sacrifice he had to make, then so be it. His lips remained pulled back in snarls as he watched, ready, in case the awful creature came back with more teeth. He was lost in his hunt, despite being pinned in place, at least until a voice hit his ears.

Blinking, the overgrown puppy-- who was more and more an adult by the day-- looked at Giggle. There was a pause, and then his tail began to wag at a hundred miles an hour. "Yessss!" He barked and, "Woooooo!" howled, baring his teeth in an excited grin.

"I did it! I did it!" He was so proud of himself. He tried to lunge forward to tackle Giggle and give her a bunch of kisses, but his paws were still frozen. With a grunt, he began chomping at his forepaws, wriggling in frustration. Eventually he struggled free, plopping down at the hyena's paws. He beamed up at her, eyes bright.

"Stupid lizard! He better not come back, huh Giggle? I did good, didn't I?"

@Giggle !

Giggle looked out across the cave, but when Ghanyarah showed no sign of returning, she turned her gaze back to Kerberos. The massive dog was biting the ice away, and something about his naive, joyful pride melted her wary heart just a little. Her motherly side peeked out again, and she smiled, letting out a soft chortle as the beast dropped down at her feet.

She leaned down, giving a lick to the top of each of his heads before turning her attention to breaking herself fully out of the ice, gnawing and biting at it.

"Yes--yes, you did. You did very well, in fact--... Thank you," she added. She was realizing, rather abruptly, that Kerberos had come to her defense. She'd been worried about Kerberos killing her, but he seemed to have lost his manic aggression. Maybe it had only been a phase--the hunger of a silly pup who hadn't known any better...?

She could only hope.

She looked back up at Kerberos, and tilted her head just a little. Giggle then spoke, asking a few questions in a friendly, lighthearted tone; she was curious, but also wanted to just catch up with the dog--to be polite. "How have you been? Where have you been travelling? Have you learned anything?"

________________

Roll the bones.

@Kerberos

Runnin' wild and runnin' free~

Two kids, you and me~ !

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos was proud. What brave guard dog wouldn't be? But as his mother-figure confirmed his feelings, told him that he had done good and perhaps even was good, he couldn't help but lick her back with his three slobbery tongues-- though he only have her three licks (one for each moist appendage) as she did still taste quite bad... Perhaps even worse than she once had before, as though she had farmed and groomed herself a nice plumage of the nastiest fungi around. To be fair, she likely had.

Now that the hellhound had managed to gnaw his way free of the sharp, biting ice, he plopped his butt down and grew quite grave. He had a lot to tell Giggle, about the world he had seen-- and boy, had he seen a lot of it. There was so much to tell, and he was prepared to waste the day away with it. "First, I went out to the place of stars again. It's just on the other side of the tunnel-- I do not like the tunnel. It is empty, a passage of nothingness-- and it is bright and shiny and wonderful. I practiced my magic a bunch, and now I can do this:"

All three heads snapped to attention, smirks on his muzzle impossible to hide. "Three, two, NOW!" He barked, his paw taking on that glowing shade of crimson it always did when he went to use magic. He sat there, for a moment, as his magic slowly fizzled out, and blinked. Perhaps, perhaps he had used all of his energy up already? His ears twitched and he looked around, a bit bewildered.

"It usually works," he complained, looking rather defeated. How come it hadn't this time? Maybe he just needed to concentrate more. With a huff, he swished his tail and stood up. "Hold on," he insisted, giving a pointed look to Giggle before continuing.

@Giggle !

Runnin' wild and runnin' free~

Two kids, you and me~ !

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

He would do it this time, he would! The hellhound snorted and turned away from Giggle, sharing glances of sharp determination with one another. He lifted his paw and licked at the vibrant red and yellow gemstone, making sure it wasn't hurt-- and of course, it was fine. With another snort, he began to mutter to himself.

"Okay, okay, let's try this again. A bit quieter. Remember-- focus." As the middle head spoke, the others nodded-- he was solidified in his goal. All six eyes closed at the same time, and stayed shut. "Ready, more teeth." "I can do this." "Focus. Focus. Focus. He took a deep breath through his central mouth, exhaling out the side mouths. All at once, his voices rang out in three separate tones, harmonizing with one another.

"One, Two, now!"

As the white beast spoke, he began to visualize himself. The air around him flickered, flicks of crimson fluttering off of his paw and into the air, forming shapes. At first, they were faint, but they grew stronger, more focused. As he snapped the word now, his body seemed to blur and split, as he took on two forms-- now, where one huge cerberos stood, there were two. He didn't open his eyes just yet, turning himself and his copy around to face Giggle.

And hesitantly, the clone opened his eyes and trot wide circles around Giggle.

The real Kerberos' tail began to wag. He finally gave his triple pink stare-- currently sextuplet-- to observe Giggle's reaction. "SEE!" Barked all sixes mouths-- though the source was hard to differentiate. More tail wagging. He sat back down, mouths full of grins-- and his clone kept and kept circling.

"I'm not the only one! There was a strange beast, who's name might... also...? Be Kerberos? Who was black and wings and junk and he made a clone but it was real it almost died but I brought it to life and it yelled and ran off. That's only the first part though!"

"I've learned and listened and saw so much, said so much, Giggle, I'm gonna tell you everything! You'll love it."

@Giggle !

Giggle listened with bemused interest as the three-headed dog began to cast, speaking cheerfully about all the things he'd done and seen. When the flecks of red light entered the sky and Kerberos split in two, and a second trotted around her, she stared in nothing less than awe.

"That... is incredible," she breathed, wide-eyed as she turned her head to track it. Then she looked between them, trying to figure out which was which. Could both speak? Was one merely an illusion, a hallucination, or were there fifty Kerberoses running around the caves...?

"How did you do that? And--yes, tell me all about your trip," she added, firing a warm smile at first one, and then the other--to cover her bases. "You seem to have done well. I'm proud of you," she added matter-of-factly.

And she was; he'd overcome his puppyhood bloodthirst, it seemed, and had a balanced, confident outlook. This was good. The hyena looked at him, then, waiting with interest to hear what more he had to say.

I bet this will be good.

________________

Roll the bones.

@Kerberos !

Runnin' wild and runnin' free~

Two kids, you and me~ !

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

The clone slid to a stop as Giggle asked about his new found power, six pairs of sparkling fangs grinning in front of her. He pawed at the pure energy, careful not to disturb it too much. It wasn't so much solid, but nor was it an illusion. To be fair, he didn't understand his power much himself.

"I just... I just decided to make more teeth for myself, and I made this appear. Like the painful popping blast! Strong.. Strength. Strength to protect you, and Bones, and my home and family." There was no hiding the pride that swelled in the puppy's heart. "So I was practicing, and this weird thing flew over. It was black, with wings, and it had no eyes, four legs... Um. Anyway, I was like "I'm Kerberos!" and he was all "KER BER OS!" And I showed him my trick, and he... Split, in two, making this weird REAL clone. It was barely alive, but I warmed it up and it screeched at me and flew off." He repeated the first part of his story, clarifying it slightly.

Kerberos' tail kept wagging, scattering bones away from him in a large radius. There was so much more! "I went off exploring more and I found a tiny thing. It was so small. But her ears were huge! Bigger than Bones! She was called Quix and we hunted cave deer together-- and I actually caught one!"

"Still can't catch one on my own though," he snorted, shaking his head. "But then! Later, I went to this tunnel, and it was so cold. But the ice broke under me, and I fell!" He stood up at this point, falling dramatically on to his side, tossing his paws up into the air. "It was real scary! But it wasn't as cold in the water. Not as cold as the river. And this weird gembound saved me. He was all silver and didn't have legs but he could swim real good. He could even talk under water with whistles! He taught me to swim. And how to eat fish. I'm real good at catching fish, Giggle, you should see!"

As if he thought he could show her right away, he pranced back to his paws and bolted off towards one of Canis' pools-- never mind that they hardly ever had fish in them.

@Giggle !

Giggle stared in bemusement as the giant three-headed puppy flung his feet into the air, dramatically telling his story with all three heads' words bumbling over one another from one moment to the next. She laughed quietly but good-naturedly, her short fluff tail flicking to and fro with humor.

When he suddenly bounded off she scrambled to follow, startled. Was he going to fish? Right NOW?

As she ran after Kerberos, heading down toward the pools near her den, she found herself wondering what the strange creature had been, the one he'd mentioned. Or, rather, both of them.

A black, four-legged, no-eyed, winged beast that split in two and screeched? A silver creature that whistles beneath the water, and only swims...?

To Kerberos, as she slowed to a trot near the pools, she said only "What a strange world the place outside of Canis must be. Is it much different?"

It was surprising to learn that the three-headed dog she'd once urged to travel had now gone and seen more than she, learned more than she, but she didn't resent him for it, nor was she envious. Instead she only wondered at what he knew, and what he might now be able to teach her.

How things have changed.

________________

Roll the bones.

@Kerberos