Macawi’s ears twitched as she listened to the scary-shadowy creature who had a pile of trinkets laid before him. Not that being scary-shadowy was a bad thing. Macawi was not often scared by the same things that other Gembounds might be. It took a lot to truly frighten her. Or, it took very little. It all depended on what, exactly, was supposed to be ‘scary.’ And in Totum’s case, he/they were big and tinkling-armor and lots of shadow-limbs and creepy voice, but that didn’t make him/them scary. Just… very interesting. The Shadow Person spoke about their trinkets, and how they each had a story. And how none of them did the Shadow any good anymore. How sad… all trinkets had use! Macawi knew this for sure!

A long, thin, wispy shadow-limb picked up a headdress with feathers and beads and plopped it down in front of Macawi, whose tail wagged immediately. She leaned forward and attempted to plant a kiss on the shadow-hand. It had a very odd… texture. Like it was solid, except it wasn’t? The shadow-hand seemed to hesitate, and then it shook itself like it didn’t like the kiss. Macawi sort of laughed. Not everyone liked kisses, she guessed. That was okay.

Happily, she bent down and struggled into the headdress until it settled over her head snugly. She wriggled a little in happiness, then turned tail and headed for the exit. The feathers and beads surrounding her face swayed a little as she trotted. She grinned, tossing her head from side to side until the beads jangled together. She laughed as she disappeared ‘round the corner and out of sight…

[Exit Macawi]

"Speech"

Arkrael

You don't know what your power has done to me
I want to know if I'll heal inside
I can't go on with a holocaust about to happen
Seeing you laughing another time

Auds were erect into attention as Totum began to speak, listening carefully to their words with the utmost interest. It wasn't long before shadowy tendrils began moving about, passing out gifts to one gembound to the next. When a gem cluster had been sat down in front of her, curiosity instantly bloomed into the she-wolf as she bent down to take a gentle sniff at it. Lifting her gaze up in preparation to express her gratitude Arkrael found Totum's stern gaze on her. A chill fell down her spell, but she held their gaze easily. What ever the look was, it definitely urged Arkrael to remain where she was sitting even as others began to gather their gifts and move along. One by one the others left and Arkrael watched them until the very last one finally lingered out of view.

Finally she turned gaze back towards Totum and gave a curt nod of her head. "Thank you...for the gift," She spoke slowly at first before straightening her posture and setting a serious gaze onto Totum. "Was there something else you needed of me?" She knew the look in the creature's lingering gaze had meant something. If it didn't mean they were wanting her to stay behind the others then that was no big deal. She would pick up her gift and carry on and leave Totum to their shadows. It was a strange sensation as she looked over the creature. She could remember clearly the first day she had ever met Beast. He had been intimidating then, but it was definitely doubled with his friend revived and them combined together.

The thoughts of her adventure in recovering the armor that belonged to Beast's friend brought a reminiscent smile upon her features. Those had been the days spent exploring the caves for the very first time in the dark with her beloved Hatchmate. For a few moments Rae lost her thoughts to the idea of ever seeing Tamelyn again, but she would not get her hopes up. There was no telling where that doe had gone off to and the wolfess had already searched most caves for any kind of trail she may have left behind. It left her heart a little heavy, on top of how wounded it already was, but Arkrael shouldered it and carried on. There was no choice but to do so. She had far too much on her plate to let her 'what-if's get in the way. She had a war to win...


"Speech"
Words:419
Tags:
OoC: Ignore the random last paragraph. That was to bump me over 1.6k words

---

You'll never know why your face has haunted me
My very soul has to bleed this time
Another hole in the wall of my inner defenses
Leaving me breathless, the reason I know....

what ever could this mean...?

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

The beast had given him, given them all, gifts. Kerberos did not understand why or what his gift was, but he knew better than to turn away a gift. Gingerly, one head took the tablet, the rest watching Arkrael and the beast with cautious eyes. She did not seem to will him to stay, almost dismissively glancing over his white coat as he stepped back. He bowed his heads to the Alpha, a soft snort rolling out of his center, pink nose.

The hound of hell left her to speak with the beast, trusting that she was powerful enough to handle whatever may happen to her. He kept his ears out for a cry of pain, of anger, for a howl to summon his return, but none came. Arkrael would be alright, no matter how much it unsettled him to leave her alone with the creature he did not nor could not understand.

;; quick kerberos exit

The big shadow spoke and Ra'Hen startled, not expecting such a beast to be capable of words. She listened, though, and waited. As it finished speaking, it stood and reached, placing items down in front of others. As it came to her, Ra'Hen felt her feathers rustle and stand upright, fluffing out her appearance. The beast wasn't hungry or angry, though- it set a piece of shiny, black rock in front of her and moved away to the next. The mutant stared at the rock for a moment, reached forward tentatively, and pecked at it. The taste was horrible, so it wasn't food rock. Maybe she could present it to Ra'Ma as a gift! Oh, but wouldn't that offend her? Ra'Ma only liked meat.

Ra'Hen reached forward with one foot and rolled it towards her. Then, she bent at the knees and scooped it up between her wings, gripping it with tiny, malformed talons and turning tail. As if stealing some precious object, she fled from the group without looking back- satisfied with the dark thing's offering. She'd be sure to find some use for the pretty, tasteless shiny.

- Exit Hen -

Gradually it seemed the gathered Gembounds were filing out of the tunnel, collecting their gifts and taking them with them as they left. Totum watched quietly, twin eyes following the Gembounds as they trailed away until all that remained was the wolf. The wolf, who had redeemed themselves in the eyes of the twin shadows, the wolf that had helped them to recover themselves and make themselves whole. The wolf that had stood by and allowed them to reform themselves without intervention. It seemed, the most dependable of the creatures that roamed the caves. Her voice rose up, thanking them for the gift and asking if there was anything else they needed.

Totum's eyes fixated on the wolf, though it seemed no expression was discernible from its constantly shifting face. As though the vivid green and purple eyes and mouth were but a wavering illusion, an oasis in the dark. "It is a child that sits before you." The shadowy mass hummed, twin voices entwined in revelry and ancient wisdom. "We have beheld these creatures that now inhabit the great cave. We have judged them. And among them all, it is you we see, host of the purest of hearts." "The bravest." The feminine voice rose. "The kindest." The beast's familiar drawling intonation now took over.

They paused and allowed this information to register to the wolf, then their voices rose up again, entrenched in each others' sweet and baritone dialects. "This is a special child. It will require great adoration, passion, and attention. You must teach it to love deeply." Totum nodded the murky mass of their head, the violet eyes clinging attentively to the wolf while the lime pair sank down to behold the stibnite cluster on the ground. "But you must ward it against bright lights. They are dangerous - unpredictable - and it will find its death in them." The female voice warned, its words hardened, before the beast's voice blossomed again. "And you must never touch it. This stone is a poison, and the child will be as well. It may never touch anyone, not you, not us, for we will die." There was a hint of sadness behind this second warning that seemed to exist only behind the beast's voice.

"Vow that you will raise this child as such, and we will grant you ability to make it yours."

@Arkrael

ARKRAEL

When I turn and walk away I'm not holding onto this I'm not wasting words on you I sleep alone in spite of it I'll do anything for you

It was a child. Totum's words reached her auds easily and her dual-optics fluttered down towars the stone just before her paws. It was a curious thing, something that spurred her attention more than anything ever had. This gem belonged to something, no someone, that had to be important to Totum. Why else would the great beast still have such a thing? Totum's words drew her gaze up, studying it's every shifting features with a studying gaze. A small smile ghosted across her features, but she had no words to give in return for the praises they seemed to share for her. It felt good. Knowing that she had truly been doing the right things no matter how hard, or how hard it hurt to do at some times.

Audits perked and stood in attention, listening even closer to Totum as they began to speak of the child. It was of no shock to hear that they had called it special and she knew instantly she would devote every last bit of time she had to it. It was no hard task for Arkrael to give adoration and time to things. Even though here lately she had been busy forming a group to help fend off a stag that threatened the caves. Her brows furrowed together at the idea of light causing great harm to a child and for a moment, Arkrael wondered if perhaps this child was something a bit far closely related to the creature that stood before her. She knew next to nothing about them, only that they were two in one. It wasn't something she would question as it was just how they existed.

Soon she was warned never to touch the child, including the gem that now sat before her. Her ears flopped to the sides of her cranium and Arkrael turned her gaze down to the stone once again. How would she even carry it out of here if she wasn't to even touch it? The thoughts ran through her mind, twisting around ideas and pondering just how she would manage it. Her thoughts were interrupted by Totum's voice once again and she lifted her head up to gaze at them. "To you I vow...I will love and protect this child for as long as I breathe...and then even after," Her words were firm, carrying her promise strongly to Totum with ease. If they would approve of her taking the child then she would. She would seek something to carry it in no matter if it took a while to do so. Then she would take it to her den and keep it safe and hidden there until it was time for the child to come back.

"Speech" | 'Thoughts'

OOC |
Words | 455
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The wolf pledged her loyalty and her love to the child, and Totum produced the essence of a smile swirling in its fronds of darkness. The creature reached forward with a soft hum, "Come.", summoning the wolf. There was a swell of magic deep within its core. An energy that twisted and spun in the very depths of its shadows, slowly crawling through its extended appendage to the wolf. Arkrael will feel a surge of new energy that will allow her to give life to the stibnite cluster when she is ready.

Totum returned its appendage to its form, and the limb seemed to melt into the creature's darkness. Then, another limb extended from the other side. It reached behind the beast, withdrawing a patch of canvas. Totum placed the canvas over the cluster, and then a second, and a third appendage emerged from the shadowy mass. Its hands worked swiftly and gracefully to turn the cluster upright and tie the corners of the canvas together, providing a safe means for the wolf to carry it where ever she desired. "It is up to you now. May you and this child be blessed." The twin voices rumbled. Totum hesitated for a second and then withdrew its limbs again. Its dual gaze never moved from Arkrael, but the shadowy creature had fallen silent, expectant.

Arkrael has been granted one Give Life and is now free to exit the thread.

ARKRAEL

When I turn and walk away I'm not holding onto this I'm not wasting words on you I sleep alone in spite of it I'll do anything for you

Arkrael smiled and stepped closer to Totum when he had summoned her too. Their arm, or what she would guess to be the equivelent of an arm, reached out and touched heer and for a moment Arkrael was lost to the strange sensation that filled her body. She paused in her breathing and held her breath before releasing it when Totum pulled their tendril away from her. Curiously she watched them bind the stone into a canvas and was truly thankful they had even given her a means of carrying it without harm to herself.

she lifted her gaze and smiled warming at them before slowly nodding her head in acceptance. "Again I thank you...I will not let you down," With that spoken Arkrael turned to the wrapped gem and picked it up with her jowls easily. With one last final look to the beast and his friend Arkrael gave a small wag of her tail before she trotted away, leaving the area and heading back towards home.

"Speech" | 'Thoughts'

OOC | Exit Rae
Words | 169
Tags |