An endless, croaking groan rumbled in the owl's throat the second Prince Charmbirb called her name and other things like 'darling.' Disgusting. She watched the lamb at a distance and tilted her head, watching Kerberos now attacking the arrogant excuse of a bird.

She cooed at last, as soft-spoken as ever. "Do come here, won't you, Charmbird?"

The last thing she wanted to see here was death. She'd need a nap before she should put up with handling gembounds killing each other over an unconscious lamb. She then referred to the literal hellhound. "Is the lamb alright?"

The lamb remained slouched upon the ground, her pale coat littered by dust and dirt. There was a semi-steady rise and fall to her ribs which indicated that autonomic function remained constant, but aside from that, she was unconscious and drifting. Clearly she needed help, but the gembounds around her were more interested in bickering among themselves. Her time, therefore, was running out.

Dawa must be aided in some way, or she will die. You have 24 hours (ending on Sept 29th, at 12pm PST) to come to a conclusion.

make my messes matter,

make this chaos count

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos' massive form shifted, placing himself over the fallen lamb, shielding her body with his own, his glowing white fur bristling with fury. They were not leaving. The bird was squawking at him, and while one single head leaned down-- the orange nosed, floppy eared one-- to make sure the lamb was still alive and at least breathing, the others continued to snarl and snap, threatening to snatch anyone who came too close. He would protect her. He had to get them all away, however.

He was used to using his magic to push others away from him, but he had never practiced pushing away from not only himself, but a creature he was shielding. It would be risky, but he had to try. Surely they would see he was dangerous if he could slam them all away with just one push.

"You WILL back away!" He barked, his tail slamming into the wall with a resounding thump, the glow of his inner fires flickering ominously inside his furry frame. "I will CONSUME you all! Gobble you all up! Leave now before I do! This is my LAST WARNING! Three! TWO!" The orange nosed head tilted up to peer at all of them, snorting softly. His last voice came out as a deep rumble, echoing his magic as it pushed out of him in a great, powerful wave.

"Now--"

The spell rushed through his blood, a thundering pulse that seemed to ripple through his skin. As he spoke, he heard the words of another bird-- an owl-- and his ears perked. He had no idea if she was alright, but it was too late to turn back down. They would see him as a monster, an enemy, something to fight after this was all said and done. Which meant he had to flee with her and hope, somehow, that he could save her. He could take her to water, perhaps.

Pain shot through his leg, however, at the last moment. The creatures before him did not get pushed away, he only could let out a whimper in response, nearly falling over the lamb. His foreleg buckling, the rest of him struggled to keep his weight held above her. Frightened, he continued to snarl, though one head let out a terror-filled whine, "We need help." Giggle, or the healer that had seen to Bones, or someone. He didn't know a healer. He just wanted to make sure she would be okay. "Promise you won't hurt her, and help, please."

They were running out of time. He could feel it.

Although their intentions were good, time was not on their side. The poor lamb's breathing gradually slowed; the sound of their straining heart, already dwarfed by their voices, faded completely. By the time Kerberos had uttered his last few words, the creature was already gone. What came next was accurate for any other gembound death - ancient or otherwise - as her body began to glow faintly. As the light picked up in luminosity, her body seemed to dematerialize. And glowing in the center of this bundle of light was her stone - brilliant and pure, the moonstone seemed to levitate for a moment while the rest of her became light, and then nothing. The stone dropped to the cave floor in the next instant, shrouded in dust and shadow.

This part of the quest is over. Feel free to respond to figure out what happens with Dawa's stone though!

The dog barked and bantered with its three heads and Willow called Gertrude over. He called out back to her, "Sorry, dear, I'm a bit busy! Chat later, hmm?" the dog jumped over the lamb and told everyone to get away. The dog- the impudent beast- summoned his magic. It wasn't loud, but the dog whimpered and called for help, then the other gembound began to glow, and a stone rose from it. Flapping his wings, Charmbirb tilted his head. That was curious, not wasn't it? Was this the spell the dog had cast? As the gem settled onto the ground, it suddenly hit Gertrude; the lamb was dead.

The prince's feathers ruffled indignantly, "Why you-" he stuttered, "You... You MONSTER! You... BEAST! I had not meant to harm the fragile creature, but you... you KILLED her! You used your magic and killed her! We all saw it! Under the guise that you wanted to help her, you MURDERED the poor creature- wouldn't even let any of us get near it and now look!" he squawked, "As Prince Charmbirb Gertrude, I hereby denounce you as a murderer and rebuke your right to be near the creature, even if she is just her stone!" Charmbirb folded his wings and dove with a righteous fury beneath the dog, grabbing the stone in his claws and taking back off in one fell swoop. He darted away at his fastest speed, aiming to escape the abbatoir the cave had become, "Now GOOD DAY!"


-exit Charmbirb with Dawa stone-

The owl barely had lifted a talon when the lamb passed and the dove was already screaming at the dog with three heads. Her beak clicked, perhaps consideringly so. Murdered. What a strange word. Murderer What an even stranger word. Not a word fit to leave the beak of self-proclaimed royalty.

The owl watched the 'prince' leave and she turned her head to the dog. "I apologize," she said quietly. "You are no monster and you are no beast; perhaps in the mind of an arrogant and senseless rat-with-wings you are, but I assure you rats only exist in these tunnels to be eaten."

A shrug - at least it looked like a shrug. More of a strange gesture with one of the dusty-coloured wings. "Titles mean nothing. I must 'chat' with Charmbirb, as he says," Willow's tone was unwavering, and her lifted talon shifted to head off in the direction the dove took off in, wings unfolding. "I am sorry I could not be of aid to you."

And with that, the owl was gone.

(exit willow)

make my messes matter,

make this chaos count

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

... It happened so quickly that Kerberos could only stand for a moment, witnessing it as though he was outside of his own body. One pair of teeth snapped at Gertrude-- but it seemed almost half hearted at this point. He was processing the death of the sheep. His brains churned slowly, trying to accept the concept as it happened under his own protection.

Willow spoke to him, abruptly, and then the owl was gone-- and he was more or less alone in the blackness, the glowing of his internal flame snuffed out in the emptiness. Her words and their meaning were as fleeting as her presence, perhaps some other time his minds would recall them and find strength... But for now, he had no attention to give them. He lurched blindly after the green bird, five moments too late, and his hind leg burned with pain. He stumbled, his body slamming into the wall, and he fell over the dead body of the lamb as it became nothing but a memory.

Grief hit the dog hard, so he did the only thing he knew how to do. He howled, a three pitched cry of sorrow, a family of three singing a dirge in the dark tunnel. It echoed around him, the loss of a creature he didn't know, one he had failed to protect, to save-- now lost forever to him.

As the song died, the lights in the tunnel seemed to flicker back on. He blinked his pink eyes up at them, the brightness almost more painful than the ache in his leg-- but nothing compared to the agony in his chest-- and he curled up on the now-grave of the lamb, putting his huge forepaws over his muzzles, and slowly drifted into sleep.

;; kerberos exit