Mar 27 — [Quest] EMERGENT INFLUENCE (READ MORE) Mar 8 — [Event] Spring Regrowth! (READ MORE) Feb 6 — Domain Migration Complete! (READ MORE)
CAVE STATUS
QUESTS/EVENTS
Torrential downpours cause localized flooding and many upset cats. Along with these frequent rain, from gentle drizzles to heavy rainfall, there seems to be a flux of Magicka drawn in particular to water sources. Occasional jet streams of warm air make narrower tunnels harder to navigate. On occasion, the rain intensifies, becoming howling storms with sleet or large hail. However, the temperatures overall are a little warmer, with snow and ice in temperate caves somewhat receding.
"I'm not overthinking, you're just underthinking," Zhi snipped at him, their head tilting a bit from one side to the next. "Not made up, anything could happen! Fear is what keeps us aware and alive." Zhi didn't know why they said this, it almost just... fell from their lips as if it was a drop of saliva. the bat could only stay still as it continued to watch Kyo with curious eyes. they locked onto the stone, watching it carefully. what exactly was a stone?
"What exactly is a stone?" Zhi asked him, wondering why such an object would be tethered to a living being. As far as the fox was concerned, stones belonged on the ground or within the ground itself, not connected to something living. Zhi continued to look at the stone with curiosity, wondering what would happen if it just fell from Kyo's neck or it was smashed. "What happens if it gets smashed?" Zhi asked Kyo, staying still while looking down to their own body. where was their stone? at first, Zhi looked at their wings, though found nothing. a gruff breath left zhi's lips as they continued to search for the stone, perhaps looking funny to the puppy below them.
it seemed like bigger things were happening around Zhi while they looked for their stone. As they continued to search for a rock on their skin, something attacked them, something they couldn't see. Zhi let out a screech of fear as they were met with a force, as if it was a wind current, that pushed them off their crystal. Zhi was not prepared for such a thing to happen, therefore, was not able to fly in time to avoid falling. like a bird shot with a gun, the bat fell to the ground limply but remained alive throughout the entire thing. screaming, shrieking, writhing, the fox was almost stuck where it was. it didn't even notice that the puppy was on the ground with them.
with Zhi down, this gave Kyo the chance to hold her down, or at least, do something much worse than that. the bat was so afraid and distracted, their surroundings became white noise.
After aches dulled out from limbs, he peered up at the bat with a disapproving noise escaping his maw. Quite fearful this creature was; it honestly baffled the male with how intent they were to stay above and away from anything on the ground. From what he has not heard or seen, nothing happened near the ceiling nor the entirety of the upper cave which would certainly get boring. "Aware and alive, but also scared. You can't be scared forever!" he exclaimed, staggering back onto all fours. To the canine, there was a difference in being aware and just plain fear. The bat seemed to only exhibit fear rather than an understanding for this situation. Walking to another crooked crystal, he would attempt to find his way up the spire again, although it appeared it would not be needed anymore.
Forelegs pressed against the mineral to help elevate him, scanning the others before continuing. Listening to company's inquiries, he looked their way but what came was a surprise to him. Apparently, the short burst of wind in which knocked him off balance reached the creature above. All paws settled on the ground, witnessing the whole thing as they fell to the ground. Well, well, things certainly had not remained in a stand still. Head angled while he gazed at them, mind snapping up an action to do to the fallen bat. Now that they were down here, he could not allow them to fly off again. Kyorai bounded toward them, going into a sliding stop once right next to them. Then, he proceeded to pin both, or at least one of their wings, to the ground. As tempted as he was to grab a wing with his maw and run around with them in a temporary kidnapping, self would hold off from such for the time being.
Eyes examined the bat before him, finding their appearance interesting. Remembering what they had asked previously, he sat down while keeping them down, silently laughing at how Zhi ended up down here anyhow. "Well, glad to have you down here!" he chuckled before continuing, "A stone is what gives you magic! It's the very source of it. As for if you smashed it... I would think you wouldn't be able to use magic anymore," he guessed. Although he was partially right, thoughts had no idea how fatal it would be to lose one's stone. Bringing his head down, nose would nudge the stone on the bat's chest. "Yours is on your chest," he told with a smile.
"If it keeps me alive, then I can!" No matter what Kyo had to say, Zhi would never let go of this sort of philosophy of fear. If it keeps Zhi breathing, then it will be used continuously. Zhi was unaware of a gembounds' immortality with magic and all, though had no attention or time to think about it. They stayed focused on Kyo.
However, the focus of the flying fox dwindled as they fell from atop the crystal to on the cold and hard ground. The shrieks Zhi emitted didn't seem to phase Kyo, he came right towards the fox and tried to hold them down. When he managed the first wing, Zhi panicked. Shrieking as loud as possible, the bat lifted up their other wing that wasn't held down and began to swat Kyo's face and entire being as hard as possible, though didn't really do anything due to how thin and small she was compared to the pineapple.
"off Off OFF!" They yelled at him as they continued to swat before the other wing got flattened on the ground. Zhi shifted around, thrashing about like a fish out of water and trying to kick out with their legs, though failed with the lack of coordination from all the frantic activity. With his snide comment, the stuck out a tongue and attempted to spit in Kyo's face, though was off by just a bit. I wouldn't be down here had it not been for that gust!" Zhi snapped towards the puppy, still writhing and wiggling like a worm.
It seemed like Zhi's question was finally answered. The stone was something that gave the animals magic? Magic, what was this magic? "Magic you say? Wait a minute... magic... are you telling me that's how you got me down here and that's how you saw me in the first place?!" Zhi was totally creeped out, yet intrigued by such magic. How could it give something the ability to create wind from their body (if Kyo was responsible for that) or even give them the ability to see something without their eyes? The fox finally stopped squirming, knowing that struggling had no use at this point. Besides, it didn't look like Kyo was going to try and mangle them like Zhi had feared.
As Kyo showed Zhi where their stone was, the fox managed to snag a look. A white, smooth stone that looked clean and pearly. The fox wanted to run their wing across it but huffed realizing that both wings were strapped to the ground with two small paws. "How long do you intend on keeping me here, Kyo?" she asked, shortening his name and giving him the wide-eyed stare, centering at his pupils and never once blinking.
It was a surprise to see the other try and spit at him to which he responded with a snarl. Though the action had not lasted long as expression buried away once Zhi had calmed down. With being hung up for what they done, he exerted a bit more pressure to ensure they were not going anywhere for the moment. He snickered when they pointed out the gust of wind that had brought them down here. Whatever the casue, they were down here and that was all that matter.
The topic of magic found its way back between the two, raising back head to only rest chin onto chest. He listened to what they had to say about the mysterious powers they had, looking as if he realized something as they spoke. Oh, that did explain the sudden gust in which knocked him and company to the ground. Apparently, he could do more than just see in the dark and hear heartbeats. Wagging his tail as a result, he gazed at the bat in which questioned his responsibility for how he found them and knocked them down. "Heard not saw," he corrected, "Perhaps so! I had no idea that was possible for me to do with the wind," he admitted—having a small laugh follow behind it.
As the pup peered up to where he could recall the wind, he brought attention back to Zhi when they asked how long he was going to keep them down here. Multi-hued eyes stared within theirs, not blinking as well. However, Kyorai let out a long "pfft" for his initial answer to their question. Even with that, eyes retained connection with the other's. "Hmm. I don't know, you tell me," he directed while tilting his head. Bringing skull down, the pup aimed to grab the creature by its feet to try and drag them somewhere.
"How could you have possibly heard my heart beat? It's so faint from up there," Zhi said in awe at his abilities. What a strange world they was born- well, scratch that created in. His remarks of unknowing the wind skill made their brow quirk as if they didn't believe him. "You're telling me that you never knew that was possible until you just stumbled upon me? Sounds a bit... coincidental." Zhi didn't exactly have complete trust in this one, though he might be the bat's best chance at surviving. then Zhi realized that she was being kidnapped, so it was against their will anyways.
"I can't tell you because you won't listen anyways-" Zhi was about to finish before being cut off by feeling something by their feet-er, paws. The bat couldn't help but try to snuggle them into their wings and try to curl into a ball (though this really wasn't successful due to Zhi's anatomy and all). Instead, Zhi tried to kick at Kyo, even though their legs were meant to hang onto something, not kick something. The attempts would be overall useless. Zhi was going to be stuck with Kyo whether they liked it or not.
Realizing this, the struggle within the fox ended rather quickly. instead of arguing, zhi gave him a bored glare with her large eyes and waited for him to take her away. if he tried anything, zhi could always try to fly away again, in a hopefully a regal looking way as normal flying foxes do.
for @Kyorai (sweet jesus i am so sorry this took so dang long!)
The sensation of holding a live creature within maw was slightly conflicting. As they tried to kick him with little success, mind wanted to bite on what it had but he knew such a thing was uncalled for. Returning back to their previous statements, he would attempt to readjust his grip on the bat as it proved difficult to speak. "Mm," he uttered first before finding the right placement to talk, "ya hardly eva kno if ya have a shertain shpell. It jus comes tu ya," he explained with muffled words, a bit of drool leaving him while telling his forced company.
Gait went into a trot, ensuring he did not trip up on the creature he carried nor any other objects. Although he remained careless in whether any object hit or caused "passenger" any discomfort. Kyorai was taking them quite far from the pillar, far enough to feel the energy it poured gradually subside. Such thing was good for the puppy as he had enough energy as is. Even though he left the spire behind, he was not leaving the room entirely but going to another section of it. Being farther away from their spot felt like it would do the trick and the pup just wanted to show more of this sector, whether they realize or not the pillar is not the only part. Whenever he peered down to check on his company, he snorted from the look in which they placed on their face, finding it amusing. Oh, they were nearly there!
Pass a cluster of crystal lights, legs were trying to lope over to their destination but the chance of tripping on bat was overly there. So, it was a mixture of a trot and lope in carefully speeding up self. The sound and smell of water would begin to fill the air. Where the spitz had dragged them to was the river, figuring it would be something more useful. He ambled a few inches near the edge while examining the water. Kyorai was looking for a spot that did not carry a steep shore and it seemed that he found one where the river narrows. Knowing paws would be able to enter the water without immediately toppling into it, he reasserted himself onto the bat as he let go of their feet; using paws to try and force wings to the ground again, sitting on the bat if it proved to be no problem.
Tail wagged at the light sound of running water, smiling at company but turning it into something curious after a few seconds. "I say someone needs a bath. What would you say?" he asked, raising a brow in piqued interest. They did not have feathers unlike him so, he would not think water would not harm their flying. Although he was being a bit more playfully dominate than usual, he still had the mindfulness to ask before doing.
