Giggle glanced with some amusement at Aure.

"Because I asked. I made sure, with that second throw, that it meant the fungus and nothing else." She turned back toward the pit.

A second bone, lifted--this one broad, thin, with strange protrusions and a milky-white gemstone glinting dully at its center. She lobbed it, and briefly watched. The way it landed--flinging this way and that, haphazard...

"...Funny," she offered, softly. "I think it may be... mindless, in a way. It would protect us from everything. Like... armor, or thorns," she offered.

To Serek, she tilted her head, and let out a short, harsh laugh. "Interpret all you want. I'm just a speaker for them, I don't speak as them. Hell, with this sort of reading I almost wish we had a second seer. Someone trustworthy. I'd feel a lot better knowing I'm not wrong," she added, casting a brief, thoughtful glance back at the bones.

"And there's always room in my den. Maybe Serek should let them know we'll be there in a few days, so they aren't waiting gathered up, or something? It might make them a target," the hyena added.

"Though remembering the sort of shit Dragon said at that, eh, tunnel-meeting... I'm not sure he'll be pleased with Astraea turning up." Another harsh laugh, and she shook her head, rocking back to scratch behind one ear.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

@Aure

At least there were a few perspectives at play, different ways to interpret whatever it was that Giggle saw in the bones. Serek considered an alliance, only good for themselves and little more. Aure trusted the remains of the dead long-gone, but he couldn't help the dissatisfied feeling churning through his gut; it was like an omen, unable to settle against his preconceived notions that this fungus was wretched - that this fungus was bad.

He shook himself, ears slapping against the sides of his head rather loudly. "You're welcome, Serek - I'm glad you're home, even if it's not... um," Aure laughed nervously (a chirping little sound,) "not the greatest light." Bright eyes flickered, setting on his mother's, "there was Skeena, but -" The wyvern's face dropped slightly, and he shook himself again. She was fine. She had to be.

Serek had a place here, but - "he - it might be wise to do that. But, I think - Dragon's smart enough to keep the Children spread out, right?" Staying separated sounded like the opposite of a good strategy, but it might be all the swamp-dwelling fire-breathers had until the Bonebound came. "We'll all leave for Cetus together." However... many of us that ends up being, Aure thought demurely.

"I doubt that Astraea'll follow us to Cetus, if we ask him about all of this," the young King added, "but if he does - with the intentions of helping - Dragon might have to just... take it or leave it." His gaze shifted back to Serek, as if asking if that was an alright thing to just say.

@Serek

Serek's head tilted. He wasn't really aware of how the bones were read- and, rather, he figured they spoke through them after some childish misinterpretation all those years ago.

"Maybe the fungus itself is bad. Or- the issue. Not bad. But- fungus would be mindless," he shrugged. But, when she barked out, his ears dialed forward to the bones as well. He- his magic wasn't strong, but...

Now he felt kind of guilty. He held her magic, didn't he? Maybe he could help read- no. No, he had a life in Cetus, and he tried to squish down the desperate homesickness clogging his senses. He could stay around temporarily, but not forever. He couldn't be split between two families for his entire life. Not that he was going to cut one off, just-- he had to choose one to stay with a bit more permanently, especially since he was actually starting to be alive more often.

He nodded to letting them know. "I will. And- I'll stay in here, then." His eyes glanced to Aure. A pause was given, before, "Skeena, is she fine..?- No wait not right now," The words were quick but he had to focus.

Serek's head bobbed again. "Dragon and the rest of them are already on edge because of Raheerah. But- Yeah, Astraea would... Maybe know more. Anyone'll help, especially him." Including anyone he could tell on the way there and back.

"It'll be good to wait here for a while, at least. I... I don't think the fungus is going to attack the Children themselves. They're... I mean, if it's fungus, they're probably growing slowly around themselves, not overbranching. We didn't have any issues for the two cycles they've been there." He gave a nervous swallow. "I hate the... The waiting, though. But- we need to ask Astraea."

He shuffled his feet. "I'll go now, though, to let Dragon now- um, I won't mention anything about Astraea yet. Just- say that you need to gather Gembounds. Do you know how long it'll take for Astraea to get here?" His eyes moved to Aure, now, trying to gather the rest of the information he needed to telegram back to his mentor.

@Giggle

Giggle listened, idly rocking back to scratch at her own ever-present fungal coating where it flaked and matted her fur. Say what you want about fungus, she thought to herself, wryly, good, or bad, it's always itchy.

"If you go now, be careful," she said to Serek quietly. And then, as an afterthought, she reached for him with concentration, a soft burst of spores drifting toward his fur.

"Here," she said, "so I can keep track of you. If you come back today, my den's still got room," she added, with reluctance and affection both. It was hard to see him leave again so soon after his return, but the practical side of her knew the wisdom of it, the necessity of it.

She just hoped he'd not be gone too long.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

@Aure

Was she - "She is, I'm sure," Aure assured, wings fluttering against his sides. As they folded away neatly again, he murmured, "we're all strong, together or apart."

Fortune favored the patient, and as desperate as the situation was, they all had to sit on their hands for just a moment. "I don't think rushing in will do us any good. We'll all figure this out, Serek - I promise." His gaze was earnest where it fixed on the other hybrid's, and their mother's dark eyes. Aure wasn't the sort to go back on whatever he swore, and he'd several cycles of living to back that up. "He'll be here in - uh, no more than a few days - he'll come and we'll ask." The young King nodded with a slightly dissatisfied sound knowing that that was all the more information he could provide.

Giggle gave the send-off, and he trotted forwards, giving Serek another nuzzle and reassurance: "the Children of Rot'll be okay. Be careful while you're going and coming, please."

@Serek