Hera made a vague gesture. "I was never all that stealthy." It was a blatant deflection, a dismissal of the subject of her glowing, wispy eyes. Hera hated them, too. But when Dragon asked if she was afraid of the dark now, she scrambled for an answer. If I say yes, will he kick me out? said the irrational part of her brain. She knew better, of course, but Hera didn't want to disappoint Dragon...!

"Uhhh. What? Me? Pfft-- no! No, I'm-- fine," she said, voice breaking a little bit. Hera was an awful liar, especially when she was clinging to the orb of light like she'd die if she lost sight of it. Her whole body drooped and she sighed loudly. "... yes. Every time I see a shadow I think it's... followed me." The very idea made her blood cold, and she couldn't help but look up sharply towards a dark bird as it flew to another tree.



@dragon

Dragon considered Hera's words, then turned, jaws snapping open. ...Nothing came. The alligator growled, a low and rumbling hiss, and he shook himself like a dog--as best such a rigid-bodied creature could--and looked back to her, mouth slowly closing again.

"I would make fire, but it seems it does not want to listen," he explained, irritably. "Still! That begs the question. Do you want to stay in Cetus, or somewhere... brighter, for the moment? I can arrange something with the Bonebound, I'm sure. It's brighter there. Or you can light somewhere here, in the swamp. There is magic to do that! Constant lights." Eve, the crow, had done that with aplomb; her baubled stones still hung, here and there, along the branches of Cetus' trees.

"Perhaps it is a fear that will fade in time, but if it does not, then it does not, and it will not matter overmuch. You can bring your own light." Another long pause, and then a second tick in favor of a visit to the Bonebound occurred to him. "There is someone you can speak to about it, if you need to. I don't have the answers, and I don't know if she does, but the Bonebound's seer was afraid of darkness for a very long time. She was pulled into it. She might tell you how she coped, if it doesn't fade," Dragon suggested.

"As for the rest, I think it may be time to plan further for our survival. To make sure that we can lock ourselves here in Cetus, if we must--and survive. To make it defensible. To make sure we'll want for nothing. I will have to call a meeting, after I've considered it; thank you for the information, despite its cost." His rumble was solemn, though truthful, his dark eyes distant now with thought.

@Hera

Hera shifted anxiously at the question, laughing a little nervously. "Well, uh-- I like Cetus!" was the first thing out of her mouth, and it was clear that a 'but' was coming. "It's... safe here, with the Children. With, uh-- y'know." She gestured in the vague direction of the meat spire. "But, uh... dark?" the hawk said, her voice pitching up and getting small. "I'd... like to stay here, with lights, I think, but-- n-not right now."

She needed time to sort things out a little bit. But the news that the Bonebound had someone who might be able to help her caused her new ears to prick up with curiosity. "Uh, hey, I'm not opposed to that. Visiting the Bonebound to meet their, uh, Seer? Just for a little while! I hope." Hera ruffled her feathers against the damp chill of Cetus and then automatically began to smooth them down. Self-soothing was always important in times like these. Dragon kept talking, though, and she gave a hard swallow. Allowed it to be a distraction, a subject change. Her voice took on a tone approaching its usual, bubbly cadence.

"What sort of thing are you planning? D'you think the -- the, uh-- You-Know-Whos will come knocking?" She couldn't even say the word Masters, her mind filled with the grim, toxic green eyes of Vargas and the warped, grim smile (it was just his face, but she didn't know that) he'd worn.


@dragon

The alligator rumbled his assent. "It would always be good to assume it," he answered wisely, and then: "I think it would be good to block off a part of Cetus. Hidden. We will need Lessers for food, and plants for those who eat it. Some way to hide us--rocks or trees... to truly make it defensible. I will need to look around and consider. It would be difficult--a great deal of work--and most of the Children now are lazy creatures, half-feral. We will see if there are enough of us."

Dragon considered, for a moment.

"Go to brighter caves for now, if you wish it. I will call a meeting in a couple weeks' time: and then, those that are left can respond--or not. But I will begin this work on my own if there is no response."

It would be the work of many cycles--but it wasn't like Dragon was doing much else at the moment.

@Hera

Hera instinctively glanced behind her, and then back at Dragon. She felt weird about hearing him insult the Children of Rot, but she certainly wasn't going to argue with Dragon. Everyone was probably lazy and weak compared to him! "Sounds like a plan, my man!" Hera regretted the words immediately and cringed. "Yeah. Not gonna use that one again. Okay."

She cleared her throat and shifted her stance on the branch. "A-Anyway, I'll, uh, help you. Maybe what I know can help us out. For now though..." She swallowed hard and drew together her orb of light, preparing to fly out of Cetus. "See you around! I'll, uh, go to Canis I think. See if the Seer can help me w-work on this." She breathed in, and then out, and nodded. "Bye!"

And then she was off, dropping from the branch and beating her wings hard to get a little lift before she hit the ground. The orb wavered and dissipated as she began to make her way out of the dark, misty swamps -- Hera had business to attend to elsewhere, after all, and a whole hell of a lot of therapy to do.


/exit hera unless stopped
@dragon

In Dragon's defense, he had not called the Children weak. He had called them lazy and half-feral, and so they were; Phlegethon and Hunger, his own children, chief among those. Lazy was not a bad thing; there was no point in expending unnecessary energy (and why would they? Just to run around, and waste it?). But half-feral was difficult to... organize, or mobilize. Hunger hardly understood language, and Phlegethon was hardly any better.

At her rhyming agreement and immediate cringe, Dragon broke into hearty laughter. "It is cheerful, at least," he told her--a sort of encouragement toward joy after the shit she'd been through. Any cheer should be clung to, in his eyes. "Keep a hold on that."

Her own plan, brief as it was, was laid out then and the old alligator nodded. "Go, then; and good luck," he told her. She dropped, winging away, and in that time he turned and snapped at the air; a puff of magicka arose into a wisp, a turquoise flash of ignis fatuus, a mischievous little light. He sent this after Hera: light accompaniment, a little reassurance (and an acknowledgment, at least, of his attention and care for family) as far as he could maintain it--likely near enough to the exit, and whatever lay beyond for her.

exit Dragon;
@Hera (for visibility)