Talking was not the most pleasant when stuttering over words, so Cadenza waited until it mostly cleared to speak. "I am- I am alright. The spell backfired." It was the first time one of their spells had done so.

"No need to worry about me, the feeling has faded now," The antlered dragon reassured the feline. "I will try the spell again. I was at the melting stage, I believe?"

And so Cadenza focused on the concept of melting the spit ice. They pictured the results.

It melted, but it was not nearly as good a job as they had pictured.

"I think freezing and melting it once more might do it?" Especially because it was beginning to get into the visible cracks while melted.

@Mossie

She bunts her head against the dragon's leg. "Magic is a bitch," she said with a sympathetic sigh. "Glad you're feeling better now, though!"

Mossie cannot help the undignified whoop that leaves her mouth at Cadenza's proclamation. It's the first taste of uncomplicated joy she's felt since feeling her son's spine crack beneath her teeth, and wow that's pathetic, isn't it? She coughs awkwardly, ears burning, and turns away to spit on the cracks some more.

She attempts to confirm Cadenza's assessment, feeling around once more. Sure enough, the ground's weakened.

"Thank you," Cadenza genuinely stated in response. They were glad they were feeling better now too. It had been rather unpleasant.

Mossie's excitement is both wonderful and sad, because Cadenza cannot forget the purpose here.

But they tried not to focus on that. No, they would instead focus on their magic. It was time to freeze this once more.

It froze, but it was not as solid as it could be. Still. The rapidly shifting temperature was a good thing for this task, even if the magic was imperfect.

@Mossie

"I should be thanking you," Mossie said awkwardly, shuffling her paws. "I never would've been able to dig through all this without your kindness, your magic, and your creativity." She blinked slowly at Cadenza. "You've given me my son back."


...

"Symbolically," she clarifies.

She treads around the patch of ground the altar's buried in once more, trying to spread mycelium. If all goes to plan, it's one more cast till things are Right again.

The fungi follow her pawsteps, burrowing into the ground.

@Cadenza

Cadenza ducked their antlered head at the expressed gratitude. "I am happy to help," Their musical voice is kind and shy. Surely, any good-hearted being would help as they did?

They do not let themself get distracted from the task at hand because of their internal question, however. It is time to melt the ice, for perhaps the last time if the two are lucky.

However, as they try to cast the magic, they yelp and half-collapse. Dizziness and a general feeling of awfulness has overcome them. They are simultaneously lightheaded and cold and hot all at the same time. This time, they cannot articulate their reason for pause, overwhelmed as they are.

@Mossie

Mossie's fur bushes in alarm. "Oh dear!" She briefly despairs that the caves seem to be conspiring against them once more, and this time the bad luck isn't just hitting her, it's getting her friend (?)) too.

Well fuck you too, caves.

Mossie presses against their side and wraps her tail around their leg, purring softly, attempting to provide a modicum of comfort while the spell-sickness passes.

She wonders, absentmindedly, how far the mycelium have spread, and briefly attempts to check.

It takes a bit, but she can sense the sprawling tangled threads in her mind's eye.

It takes an overwhelmingly unpleasant moment for the spell-sickness to pass. They have never felt so physically horrible in their life.

But when clarity returns, they are comforted by the small purring feline pressed close to them. "...Thank... Thank you, Mossie," Their words falter at first, as if worried the feeling will return. It still has not fully left, really.

A bit unsteadily, they return to standing. "Just, one more cast, right?" Without waiting for an answer, they are back to attempting spellcasting. This is so very important, after all.

The frozen spit melts obligingly this time. They try to look at the result, but they still feel somewhat dizzy. "Did it... Did it work?"

@Mossie

"It's no problem," she chirped, dipping her head. "Yup! Just one more, I think...I'll check! Then epic altar loot drop," she purrs.


The cracks have widened and spread, the fungi tangling their way through the earth. It looks vulnerable to one stomp from Cadenza's mighty talons. Still, she double-checks--she couldn't have them accidentally breaking a claw.


"The ground is weak enough!" she announces. "You'd probably be able to break it, cuz you're so big."

Cadenza is relieved to hear that the ground is breakable. Almost as relieved as they are that the awful sensations have just about faded. "I will do it," Cadenza agreed. They shifted forward so that one of their feet is on the weak ground.

Then they stomped, as hard as they could. The ground crumbled in the area the two have been working on. Cadenza moves back. "Is it the right color?" They ask as they lay onto the ground nearby. They still feel warm, a bit. To think, they had felt cold earlier. It seems like forever ago.

Almost automatically, Cadenza reaches for their magic to try and cool the air down around them. It works, the air shifting a few degrees. They give a sigh of relief.

@Mossie

Before Mossie knows it, she's giving Cadenza a hug.

It's not a very effective one, considering her forelimbs are only long enough to wrap around one of Cadenza's scaly limbs, but it's a hug nonetheless.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou," she says, before glancing back down at the hollow to her new altar (!!!!!!!!!), dark in color like most of Orion's stones. All she needed to do now was go to the Collector, get this accursed stone out of her possession immediately, and then she could be Great.

"Yes, it's the right color," she added as an afterthought.

@Cadenza