James had told her about this meeting, how Tahi was gathering everyone together for war. That was definitely not something that she expected at all from the deer, although to be fair, she didn't know him too well. Fighting was something she could do! Although James had specifically told her (he knew her too well) that he did not want her to do get in danger and be in the fighting. Main reasoning had been that someone needed to take care of her siblings. And so she would, but she was here to train, and learn these things so that she would be ready if any danger came. It didn't hurt to learn.

Comet padded up to James, and leaned against his side to alert him to her presence. Her eyes drifted to his legs, which were at her eye level, and she felt a sudden flash of pain in her heart. His legs were covered in scars from the snake bites which he had sustained, and chrysalised from. She solidified in her heart that if he were thinking of rushing into the fight, she would have to try and keep him safe. Comet wasn't going to fail him again, like she had done before.

Looking around, she was able to spot what looked like a weird bee. "Carja!" she called out to her friend, and then her gaze drifted to Pride. "Hello Pride!" the wolf could still remember her meeting with the deer, who had agreed to let her join his group. She was able to spot Twisted too, and wondered for a bit why the cat was here, since she didn't seem to be the type to get involved in this kind of thing. But who knew, animals could change. There were many others who she didn't know, and she couldn't help but look at the big gembound who was wearing a mask (Madhukar, although she didn't know that).

This was a big gathering! She couldn't wait to start learning.

Anxiety was thrumming in his veins, but James's comforting presence by his side was more than enough to settle him. He took a brief moment to nose at him, looking around and murmuring greetings to the first few who came forward. The crown felt heavy atop his head at the soft, slightly teasing Mr. Deimos, and his ear flicked with visible discomfort. No time for that now, though. "You'd be a great teacher," he said, and scraped his eyes over Orion. "But honestly, I don't care who shows up as long as there's a lot of them. You can mold anyone into a good soldier." His eyes closed for a few moments as he reflected on how he'd murdered Elias, how he lay awake at night thinking about it, how he now busied himself to the point of exhaustion so he'd have no time to think about it.

He was living proof.

Arwen was the first who stopped to speak to him, and he dipped his head to her. "Queen of Lies. I am glad to see that you have arrived." Immediately, he stiffened when she called James his boyfriend -- Tahi-shei was thoroughly caught off guard, and started to stammer for a moment before squeaking out a "K-kind of?"

They hadn't actually discussed labels, and his ears laid flat. Thankfully, she gave him a quick out, and he cleared his throat as she started to inspect James like he was her next meal. He gave her a look, and inclined his head slightly towards the entrance. "This one is under my protection, Queen." He could have said something more possessive, like this one is mine or leave him be, but he didn't want to seem too overbearing and he also didn't want James to think that Tahi-shei saw him as some sort of damsel in distress. He just didn't want him getting his feathers torn out by the unassuming-looking creature. His tongue touched over the gap in his teeth -- thankfully, it had healed pretty quickly.

He cleared his throat and looked over at the others as they approached. "Hello, Carja," he greeted warmly, and then gave a nod to Pride. He saw Attikias slip by to meet up with Carja, and saw a weasel-looking thing who seemed skittish, to Tahi-shei didn't push him to say hello. Then, a strange shape indeed stumbled by -- it was sort of humanoid, with bulk and fur, and something about the patterning was familiar to him but he couldn't quite say why. Madhukar had disguised herself well enough, between the change in her shape, the change in her posture, and the change in her disguise. There was really no way for Tahi-shei to have recognized her.

Then, he caught sight of a flash of white fur skittering up behind James, and his eyes narrowed. "Comet." His voice was harder than he'd meant for it to be, and he paused before continuing in a more gentle tone of voice, "You shouldn't be here. I don't want you involved with Mother or with this war." He drew in a long breath through his nose, and looked back out over the forum. Many Gembound were gathered now -- he didn't want them getting restless. "... James," he said gently, somewhere between asking him and giving him permission to deal with her, and then he was gathering up all of his loose ends and binding them up tightly.

Tahi-shei Demios, the Fungal Prince, strode out towards the center of the Forum slowly. His steps were calm and measured, every aspect of him perfectly at ease -- he did not betray the terror and nausea and anxiety tearing him apart inside, because he had practiced this. His guise was nearly cold. He cleared his throat to get everybody's attention, and those who had known him since he was young might have thought that he looked very grown up in contrast to the mess of excited questions and gangly limbs he'd once been.

"Some of you know me already," he began, "and to some of you, I am new. But one way or another, every one of you has heard about this meeting from someone who cares." He looked around, mostly to give the illusion of using his eyes -- in fact, he could see rather well with his crown atop his head, and he saw no sign of Mother around him. "Thankfully, the Hive is not present here today." He turned to look at a few more Gembound, trying to keep the crowd engaged. "I will begin by explaining things; I am sure that some of you know more than others, and I wish to make sure that all of us are on the same page about what -- not who, but what -- we are fighting."

His hoof scraped the ground, and a cluster of fungus that was just north of not right appeared on the ground. "Fungal magic can be used to create spores. These spores can be used to track, see, disorient... control." His voice grew a bit tight. "This is what the Mother fungus looks like, more or less. I do not carry it, so I cannot make an exact approximation." He smiled, tight-lipped and tense. "The fungus itself is called Mother. It is a persuasive infection -- it makes you feel... warm. Safe, and loved, like you have a family." He scuffed it into the stone. "But it causes you to hurt the people you love. It will alter your perception of the world, and make you drag in your loved ones against their will thinking that it is... better for them." He sighed. "I, personally, was briefly infected at the Raid a short time ago, and I hurt a dear friend of mine as a result."

He missed her.

"The fungus strips you of your individuality. You are no longer your own creature -- you belong to a stiff and rigid machine. It is the antithesis of the magic that holds you together; it is an infection that was created by a being called Dontacael, and was brought to these Caves to destroy you as an individual and make you a part of his Hive." Well, more or less. As he understood it, the whole matter was actually a bit more complicated, but he didn't think that it was worthwhile to go too deeply into the specifics of 'you are accidents'. He continued. "There are Masters within these caves, as some of you are aware -- supremely powerful and ancient beings. Sometimes they help us, and sometimes they harm us, but I can tell you with certainty that Master Vargas, the Leviathan, and the creature who has set this war in motion, is keeping all of us safe." He looked around the room again. "I do not doubt that some of you might have had bad experiences with Masters in the past. I can understand completely if you do not wish to trust them -- I myself have had unsettling experiences with the Masters. But I implore you, trust me." As if you are trustworthy.

He straightened himself up, and kept going. "I am Tahi-shei Deimos, the Fungal Prince. I am young, having only lived six or so cycles, but I am not a child. I have known kindness and violence, and knowing the distinction between the two, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Mother fungus is violent. I have spells myself which allow me to corrupt the mind and tempt someone to my will, albeit on a smaller scale -- this is exactly what the Mother fungus does. Dontacael has corrupted my element, and he is corrupting these caves. He will corrupt your families and your children. He will take and take and destroy until there is nothing left but order," and he was getting a bit angry now, "but you do not have to be powerless. Just as this infection is born of fungus, so can fungus be used to destroy it."

He smiled, genuine this time. "That is one of the reasons why I have invited all of you here. There are two spells that I seek to teach all of you -- one called Fungal Wake, which allows you to create fungus and attach it to any substrate, and one called Gray Sense, which allows you to see it, no matter where it hides." He cleared his throat. "Fungal Wake will allow you to cleanse yourself and others who become infected. Gray Sense will allow you to see the fungus, as it is carried internally. Even if you do not wish to join myself and Master Vargas in destroying Mother once and for all, I still beg you to learn these spells -- there are those within these caves who have been infected, and it is crucial that you keep yourselves protected." He raised his chin, soft eyes settling on James. "There is no telling what might happen to the ones you love if you allow Mother to poison your mind."

He tore his eyes away, fur feeling hot. "I will also attempt to show any who might be curious what it feels like to have your mind controlled by fungus. Perhaps this will help you recognize it more readily -- it certainly did me." He continued. "Other authorities on fungal magic in these Caves, other Gembound who can help you, include Giggle the hyena and Master Astraea, a stag like me. But be wary if you approach them with Mother -- I cannot promise that they will be kind, and I can promise you that none of us would let ourselves be infected." His eyes grew cold, and then, finally, he did a last glance all around him and said, "Before I begin, are there any questions?"

---

greetings this post is 1699 words long

characters addressed beyond "hello":
@james (arwen) @comet

tl;dr -- tahi-shei explains why mother is bad (incl: "will take your children", "is just a sentient fungus", "was created by dontacael"), begs the gathered gembound to trust him even if they don't trust the masters, and just generally gives a BADASS speech

i will post again on december 10th

James rubbed his chest where the feather had been tugged free, ears slightly pinned, face hot from all of the compliments (from both the Queen and Tahi) and assumptions. He looked over to Tahi at the mention of boyfriend, blinking gently. Were they? He certainly didn't mind, but that was a conversation for later.

"Um... thank you," he finally mustered, not really sure what to make of her, but Tahi gave her respect, so he did too, bowing his neck slightly.

Something pressed against his side and warmth filled his chest, before it was replaced with cold. He looked at Tahi and then at Comet, and just... sighed.

"Comet," he mumbled, tucking her under his wing, rubbing her fur gently, "It is fine that you are here, but if I see Peggy here you are in big trouble. And if I see you even near Ursa when we go to fight, I'll be very upset. But... I'm glad you're here. If anything happens, you are responsible for your brothers and sisters, and that will mean you need to fight for them. I suppose you can learn that here, but you need to pay attention."

James lifted his wing and stood tall beside Tahi, his lover, friend, and leader. One ear pricked towards him to listen, the other facing forward, at attention. He was silent, only nodding at Carja and Pride as he saw them before listening to the stag.

He respectfully didn't speak, not even when Tahi had questions. His were all answered, at least the relevant ones. Now? It was time to listen.

The Queen cocked her head at Tahi's possessive statement (despite his careful phrasing, she could see it in every gentle touch, every brush of his nose against James' cheek or neck), tying the feather to her necklace instead.

"Alright," she said, her sweet smile unassuming, "... Fungal Prince and Sunset Consort, the Court is at your service."

She backed away so others could greet them, hands clasped together. They were awfully cute together, she only wished her beloved Blue was here, even though she always longed for them when they were apart. Such was love, though.

Queen of Lies had learned one of the spells necessary already. Fungal Wake, the one to create mushrooms, or to move them to a different surface. To purge mother.

The moment the Fungal Prince was finished, she stepped forward again, "I have an offering, Prince!"

She held her hands slightly apart, humming softly as she concentrated, "I've been working on something... a bacteria, a sort of illness that attacks fungus instead of the body. If spores are inhaled or ingested, it'll immediately attack them. Including Mother, hopefully."

A sharp pain shot through her skull, her hands shooting up to clutch her head. She made no noise of pain as she forced her hands down, breathing out slowly despite the jackhammer going to town on her brain.

"Alas, the spell failed. But once I cast it and the bacteria begin to flourish, I can spread it to everyone here and they'll have temporary protection, though double-checking with Grey Sense will be in order, just in case the fungus doesn't behave like the regular kind," she said, rubbing her temples, "Being an entity and all."

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

hello I don't know what I just wrote but please don't read it, way too much of it is just Madhukar fighting a panic attack

It was physically hard to watch this deer behind her mask and her... watery eyes, but in every other way it was much harder to listen to him. The information was valuable, was important, mandatory to understand if Madhukar wanted to avoid a big portion of the worst-case scenarios her brain could come up with. The problem wasn't being bored or annoyed by the information at all. The real contest was between her emotions and her mind: could Madhukar listen to him, to the way he spoke and the memories he evoked, and take in all that information without completely breaking down because of everything else?

Well.

'James is here. Comet is here too. You remember them.' Not- Not helping. Like, at all.

Deep breath, and: anyways, the way he began his speech was already a donkey kick in the gut made her wonder if he would introduce himself. Maybe he didn't need to if that bug-person-thing had introduced him to everyone who had come that Madhukar didn't recognize.

Turns out, Mother's introduction came first. Mother. Naturally, everyone was probably flashing back to the Raid. Madhukar did not want to, did not want to, would give anything not to should have known this was coming from the get go. After all, the first time he had encountered Mother, Madhukar had-- had also been the first time for Madhukar. The Raid. Going over what fungi, and by extension what Mother and he could do brought back memories of when things were a lot simpler, but still no better, not really the times when you and he were friends before either of you were wicked, murderous fools when-- you felt anything besides panic and fog because you felt anger because you didn't know how to-- when-- stop running when-- LISTEN TO ME-- KEEP IT TOGETHER-- It brought back memories. As one would expect.

As she should have expected. And you should have expected he would too. And you should have expected to remember when you-- DON'T YOU DARE RUN FROM THIS YOU LISTEN TO ME YOU FIRED A BOLT DIRECTLY AT HIM YOU FAILED TO SAVE HIM YOU FAILED TO PROTECT HIM YOU BASICALLY KILLED HIM YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM YOU COULD KILL HIM YOU COULD KILL HIM RIGHT NOW-- Please, please, please, let her breathe. Let her breathe. Let her breathe.

He moved away from any mention of the Raid thankfully and Madhukar could breathe as long as she didn't think about the possibilities. As long as she thought about strategy, rime and reason. Or just didn't think too much in general. Any Most problems were easily avoided by proper preparation. Case in point: Madhukar's disguise keeping her from dealing with people she was clearly not ready to face yet. He appeared to be trying to convince others of why Mother was bad. That was much more useful for those who didn't know. Madhukar was well aware, not of the fungus's name prior to this meeting, but of its effect. She knew why it was crucial to loathe fight against. What was more interesting to her in the moment was its creator... Dontacael? How did he... he's really grown a lot while you've been making terrible decisions and waiting too long and making yourself completely absent from other people's lives, huh? I wonder how the Voidcrawlers are doing-- He tended to know lots of things. Not that surprising.

What was surprising was the knowledge that he was apparently acting under the order of a Master. "Master Vargas, the Leviathan". How did... just what had he been doing in the time Madhukar had been gone?You have missed so much. You have missed him so much. If you had moved faster with the plan, you could have-- And then he went and asked this crowd to, if not the Masters, trust him.

Tahi-shei Deimos, the Fungal Prince.

’Hold steady, hold steady, hold steady, hold steady, hold steady, hold steady, MADHUKAR LISTEN TO ME YOU HAVE TO BREATHE IF YOU DON’T HE’LL NOTICE YOU HE’LL SEE YOU HE’LL REALIZE AND YOU’LL HAVE TO-- AND YOU CAN’T-- AND YOU NEED TO BREATHE, BREATHE, BREATHE, PROMISE, I PROMISE, THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE--’

But all there was was bones. Mounds and mounds of bones, everywhere. All around them. Mounds and mounds of bones and in the center was a murderer, his condoner, and a hypocrite. They were all hypocrites in that moment. Madhukar had terrorized them without remorse and James had shouted and accused while their best friend broke down and amidst them all, pleading with them, begging them to stop, lucky to not have been drowned out by the phantom agony of his own DEAD victim:

Tahi-shei Deimos. The Fungal Prince.

There were a lot of things Madhukar wanted to do. She wanted to laugh at him. She wanted to cry and cry. She wanted to hyperventilate until her body kicked her brain out and she could go numb again. She wanted to sit there and turn to stone and watch the rest of eternity play out alone. She wanted to run away so fast she became the very air that she struggled to hold in her lungs and never have to see any of them ever again. And never have to see any of them again. And never have to-- And she wanted to explode and blow up these walls and send them all running. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted to embrace him. Then, all at once, every emotion vanished in a fog and Madhukar hungered for the ability to just disappear. Seconds later, every emotion would come back down on her again, beating her to a pulp. In the periods between, she was left only with sick anticipation and desperation.

Her heart was pounding too hard, and her breathing was getting way, way too fast. With every attempt to breathe deep and act calm soon came another wave of crushing emotional pain. She couldn’t stop the flashbacks. One chained to another and that chained to yet another and-- They surged at her with such a remarkable intensity, disarming her and taking over. She was helpless. She felt helpless.

The best thing Madhukar could try to do was find something to tether her. Something to keep her calm. It was hard to catch glimpses of it, lying in her imagination. The thing she always came back to. The one positive future on her radar, the one goal in her mind. It was hard to see it in between all of those moments of fury. She had to have a steady hand. She had to let it guide her.

Somehow, Madhukar would manage to keep the worst of it in, hidden behind moss and mask. However, even a cursory glance at this point might definitely tell a watching soul that something was wrong with this scene.

And unfortunately for Madhukar, this internal battle would prohibit her from really hearing anything else. A few scattered words made it into her brain now and then, but none of it really mattered. The fog in her mind was a defense. Part of her hand. Part of her holding.

Think "Speak"

Succeeding on a roll to see what is up with Madhukar right now will probably tell you that this random stranger is having trouble breathing and something is really wrong (DM if you want to work out Details).

Carja was overjoyed when she saw Charon, dashing forward and crashing into him, rubbing her head against her uncle-brother's scales, breathing in the familiar scent he carried of home. She was relieved.

”I've missed you,” she said, ”I'm so sorry Dread left... I tried to talk to him to help us out here, but...”

She shrugged helplessly, ”He's always been a bit... dense.”

She looked back at her saddle and grinned, ”It's a saddle, Attikias made it for me!”

She nudged him forward and brought him over, sitting down as Tahi started to speak, whispering gently instead.

”Attikias, this is Charon,” she said softly, ”Charon, he made my saddle and he flies with me. Together we can do anything!”

Carja lay down and held her head next to Attikias, touching his hand gently with one of her horns, seeking a bit of comfort even now. She'd found an unlimited source and was definitely taking advantage of it, that was for sure.

@Attikias

CHARON

the very mountains whisper your name

Charon pressed into the hug, the affection. He'd been starved for it and eagerly took his place in the crook of her tail as she lay down, nodding at Attikias. No offense to him, but he didn't trust strangers all that much.

"It's alright, Carja," he grumbled, shrugging, "I doubt Dread knew I existed. Not like I lived there or anything... 'S fine."

He flopped his tail down and flopped against her, not really the snuggly type normally, but it was hard when it came to Carja. She always made him feel... better.

He nosed at the saddle curiously, careful not to nick anything with his horns, "Cool. You made this?"

Charon looked at Attikias with newfound respect. Maybe he wasn't so bad. It was definitely useful, at least.

TEMA, the Voidkin
There can be love in Chaos; just follow the Void

Tema was never good with strangers.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. She enjoyed making new friends and learning all kinds of little things that made them happy, but she wasn't good with big groups of strangers. She had a hard enough time with big groups of close friends! Her head just wasn't made for splitting her focus more than three ways on a good day, and today was not a good day.

The bear wasn't too informed about the threat in the caves, most of what she knew was just second hand information she collected from fellow Voidcrawlers aiding in the fight. She knew that this "Mother" was using fungus to take control of gembounds and lessers alike, though, and that was more than enough to send Tema running when she heard a group was gathering to take her down. It was scary, she had to admit; fighting something that could twist your mind to work against you like that. But if no one fought it? That was even scarier.

So she was here. Greeting the host as she entered, pausing for a deep breath as she took a long look around this cave she had never seen before. It was pointless to try and admire it with so many gembounds drawing her attention though. She'd have to explore it on her own after they disbanded. For now, she took a mental note of everyone she knew, comforted by their presence. Everyone seemed pretty wrapped up in their conversations, but the straggler standing upright drew her in. They seemed vaguely familiar, perhaps someone she had passed by at the festival or in one of the tunnels. It was hard to tell when the creature had covered themselves with moss and a mask. The bear's mind hummed at the thought of someone else loving the softness of moss like she did.

So she stepped towards the stranger, intending to introduce herself. She stopped short as she stepped closer, noticing the panicked rise and fall of their chest and the slightest hint of a shake in their stance. Their quiet gasps made her heart race, worry drowning out anything else happening around her.

"Can I help? If you can't talk just..." She spoke quietly, realizing that the creature silencing their gasps was probably an attempt to hide. She placed herself between them and the rest of the group, hoping that it would offer them some comfort until she could figure out what was happening. "Stomp; once for yes and twice for no." She offered, remembering her own past struggles and doing her best to figure out something, anything that might help. Even a little.

OOC Notes: I plan to join the effort! I'd appreciate Tema learning more IC info through this thread before she makes it official though.

Edit: My role was for a closer look at Madhukar but the text cut off-

@Madhukar

Aran might have shown up a tad late (read: very late) but he didn't even know if he was going to help out this group with their endeavors. It would be the right thing to do. Helping out the other gembound, especially when it meant getting rid of something dangerous was always the right thing to do. Maybe seeing what Tahi was working with would be a good start, to see who he was working with.

He approached, more watching than anything else.

The last of the people arrived, and Tahi-Shei began.

Twisted moved into the Forum with the rest of the crowd, picking out a stony seat far away from anyone else. Funny how nature made structures like these. Here and there she saw the pelt of a particular wolf, who met her eye before they both turned away. It wasn't that Twisted changed, at least not yet, she was simply here for the fighting. And a fight she would receive.

She listened to the deer's words, picked it out among the other gembound's hushed whispers. Listened about the Hive ('Wait, I thought it was called Mother?'), watched him demonstrate what it looked like ('Now he's calling it Mother again--'), explained how it works ('Dontacael...? Honestly at this point I'm just gonna give up') and the oh-so mysterious Masters that orchestrated this whole operation. He ended with his goal: teach others the use of fungal magic, and organize the militia into one that can go against a hivemind.

Well.

Twisted came here to fight, and nothing else. Every day she battled, whether it was against a gembound or a lesser or just clawing at the walls in frustration. That was as far as her intentions went. But looking around the crowd, the emerald-gilded cat could tell most of them had far different motivations for being here. They were fighting for family. For friends.

She had neither.

An emotion rose in her throat. She couldn't tell what it was, just that it was there. She wished she had those things. But she always pushed people away and insulted them and fought them the moment they met. ...Maybe if she did something "good" for once, they'll like her.

She'll fight against this mother-hive-donta-yadda-yadda thing. And she'll be damn good at it.

By this point the feline was practically leaning forth in her seat, completely oblivious to the rough texture of the stone. The funny stranger was here again, apparently having some trouble with... something. Her green eyes stared at her a bit in confusion until a bear came along and dealt with her. Funny how familiar she looked. Twisted turned back to Tahi-Shei and chirruped the only question on her mind:

"Where's the heart of this Mother-guy again? In the caves, I mean. And we'll be striking right at the core, right?"