The contentment was mutual with Pippy even if the worry of glowing flying things was in her mind. Still, the air around Pippy rippled with peacefulness and Equinox's contentedness is enough to make Pippy feel more at ease despite this, giving smiles to Equinox when she sees then open their beak time and again. When Pippy asked her question she whispered it to them to see if Equinox can hear her then too that and if so she'll have to be quieter to let Equinox hear better on what's around them, Pippy so interested and worried at the same time that she's bobbing her head right now.


Staying quiet so Equinox can hear anything that's not Pippy that way, choosing not to mention about her worry of another glowing flying thing since she doesn't know how to describe it. Quickly taking the thought out of her head the images of that Lesser just inches away from her small form from possibly ending it all making Pippy having an absolute look of terror for a brief moment until she managed to push it all apart from her mind again. Pippy takes a deep breath and lets herself relax once more watching fluctuating ripples all over Equinox's flesh, each ripple looking almost like water around a dropped rock to Pippy. She was a bit startled when Equinox head snapped to a different direction. Is it another glowing flying thing that's going to get her? She stays still and watches Equinox silently, swallowing the temptation to bolt back into her den where she can't get attacked.

Deer? Bugs? Birds? That's a new one, but from how relaxed Equinox is still there's probably no cause for alarm, so she eases again, Pippy has noticed that her mood seems to be morphing from panic back to relaxed quite a lot right now. Pippy listens to the surroundings too, almost wants to ask what each are; still she was surprised that a lot were hiding were there lots of others that lurk in fear as she does then?

"E-Equinox...?" she reluctantly breathed out that question in worry when they stood up, were they leaving? Even though she feels a lot better now, she somewhat still doesn't want them to leave just yet, backing away a bit to avoid the sludge dripping but watching their every move. Was something here?

Pippy's ears perked when she noticed that the ever-present high whine she heard all the time in the caves which she learned was of the lanterns came to a sudden stop so much the silence was jarring. What happened next was utterly terrifying as all the lights and colours of the world extinguished, and overwhelming black nothingness fell across the caves and blanketed everywhere. Pippy has been rendered to severe distress as she fluttered both of her wings in a panicked matter, the vacuum of darkness suddenly surrounding her was utterly frightening and suffocating she tries to gasp for breath desparately, making it sound like she's sobbing and she probably is. Pippy just wanted to let out a scream, but she felt too weak from the panic to do so.

Dark! Dark nothingness! It's so endlessly dark! W-Why's it so dark!? Has the nothingness engulfed her and her soul to be taken away from the world forever?! Where's Equinox!? Where's everyone?! Help! Help!

"E-Equinox?! W-Where are you?! P-p-please s-save me! Help! Help!" Pippy choked, tears trailing in her small eyes, genuinely crying again as she worries that Equinox is no longer by her anymore and is all alone once more with no light.

@Equinox

Equinox had gotten onto all four paws, her long neck swinging in the dark, her paws sinking with her weight into the muck. Her jaws stretched wide almost as though unhinged, as she fought for a glimpse of anything in the dark- anything at all. There was a muffled thud and a squelch as she stepped back, a soft hiss rasping out past her gem. Her skin writhed in the dark with the sound of tendrils squelching against one another, until the dragon had almost lost her shape entirely, claws flexing and spines trembling, the bat was very nearly forgotten in this brief moment in primal fear.

Then, its terrified voice brought Equinox back; the draconian's head dropped down onto its level, and peered through the dark, desperate to perceive the soft and furry shape. An unhappy rumble responded their desperate plea, causing the nearby air to tremble. Her breath was becoming hot, swelling in her throat, uncomfortably, her gem heating up slightly. She hissed, quieter this time, her neck curling as she fought to wrestle back the fear.

She knew full well that fear lead to nothing good; her primal self wrestled with her compassionate soul. Clamping her jaws shut, she shook her head, a steaming breath hissing out of her nostrils.

Then the great, draconian being sighed deeply, the sound gurgling in her throat. "Here, sssssmall one," she murmured in her gurgling, struggling voice, the sound reverberating up and down her long neck. "Heeere..." and then her voice trailed away into the silence, as the dragon tried to find a way to answer their question. Words faded, and they were left with nothing. The dragon rumbled in frustration, raising their head to sniff the air, seeking the scent of something, anything, that would help. Something to tell them where they were, perhaps. Or something that would allow them to help, in some way...?

They couldn't leave the little bat on their own; Cetus was dangerous enough in the light. Equinox didn't even want to think about what would happen if she left them alone.

Her nose brought her the fresh, sweet scent of lush vegetation, and Equinox's paws began to move, carrying the great being towards the scent. Her paws letting out deep thuds, she left the little bat behind. She waded, knee-deep, through a stagnant pond, and climbed a low rise until she wound up at a cluster of large, fan-like leaves, grown huge due to moisture, and the abundance of nutrients in the soil. She reached down, plucked a leaf from its stem, and then began the journey back, a thrumming rumble marking her passage through the mist.


---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Pippy
notes: here

Shivers quaked through the entirety of Pippy's body as he huddled his tiny form with his wings again, the emotional floodgates breaking which causes an intense emotional deluge to consume him as he quakes with sobs completely. His eyes dark with dread, still struggling to even his breathing yet that he's going to be hyperventilating again soon. Pippy wishes he wasn't all alone in this darkness. So frightened of this nothingness. Scared.

His head started with a jolt out of his cocoon of supposed protection when he heard the thud of massive steps right by him which made the ground shake again, making Pippy lose his balance entirely and toppling over, letting out a squeaked yelp while hearing hisses, making Pippy cower in response.

There's s-something here! I-Is it Equinox?! B-But it could also be someone else who wants to hurt Pippy, which made him change his mind now he wishes he was alone as whatever it could be if it isn't Equinox it sounds big.He wants to cry out for Equinox again to help him but worries if he did if this here really isn't Equinox then it'll hear him and may do horrifying things all that won't end well for Pippy. When he felt something just inches away from him so much, he can sense the warmth of its breath he stays still in hopes that even if it seems like it can sniff to find him. Very carefully trying to back away if he can although the sounds this presence were making don't sound malicious and sounded like Equinox's, though the hiss they made with being right next to him startled him. A-Are they upset at him? Please don't do that; he's sorry if so.

The moment he heard Equinox's voice right by him which doesn't sound upset Pippy felt relieved only a little though, just a bit of his crying is not as loud now. "...E-Equinox!" he was so tempted to toss his tiny wings around the giant Gembound's, beak and hug them for as long as he can. But with how their slime is apparently dangerous and the large Gembound seems to get scared themselves when the sludge gets on him he tried his best to refrain glomping them with his little wings. Maybe it's Pippy himself who wants a hug though. Tears were gathering more from a mixture of relief and even more fear of the darkness as though Equinox is here the dark still is too.

D-Does Equinox know what's happening right now? Just where are they right now? Are the two them still in Cetus? He has no idea; he needs a hint, anything that could give a clue where he can get out of this void of nothingness.

W-Wait where were they going, please don't leave him alone here in this scary darkness... Please. The thuds of their steps sounded further away each second. He desperately wanted to chase them, but he did not want to trek through that nothingness, so instead, he just remained still. A tsunami of tears from his intense fear and loneliness coming with the sound of his thundering heart being his only company for noise which is pounding so much each beat seems to be making his Gem vibrate. But hearing the heavy heaving return made Pippy look up with a sniffle, at first he was scared that it was something else again, but it was passing when he heard the purring like rumbles that he's learns to associate with Equinox now. "E-Equinox...?" please be them...

@Equinox

In the dark, Equinox padded, her great paws creating muffled thuds and deep squelching sounds as they sank deep into the marsh. At first, she followed her own intuition, but soon the sound of Pippy's crying guided her on, as well as putting valuable speed into her already lengthy steps. Her quiet rumbles became louder, the mist around her trembled, and finally she stopped as the little bat's home tree emerged from the dark, a comforting purr throbbing in her throat.

"Yes-s-s. I am here," the words reverberated from deep inside her, the leaf trembling in her grasp.

She could hear Pippy clearly now. close, almost between her font paws- and she coiled her head downwards until the large, sturdy leaf she carried rested upon the ground. there was by far enough space for the small one to climb in if she so desired.

"Leaf," Equinox explained, her rumbles contorting into a word deep in her throat. "Dangerous-s-s here. Come in leaf..." She nudged the object a little bit closer to the small bat so that they could sniff it if they wanted, careful to avoid dragging it through the pool she'd formed earlier. "Come with me."



---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Pippy
notes: here

Pippy looks on to where the sound is coming from preparing for the worst but inwardly hoping for the best, and that 'best' is that what is coming over to where Pippy is, is Equinox returning to her. Although since Pippy herself is anything myopic with her wild imagination, many thoughts came to her as to what else it could be; what if it's another glowing flying thing that's bigger than even Equinox? Or something that lives in the tree that her den is in and won't be happy to see her in their territory? However just as more thoughts that were worse than the last, what Pippy could hear and believes she sees were not like the horrified imaginings conjured up by the little bat's mind. What she hears is a purring that sounds so soothing, it seemed to have managed to make all the previous anxiety from those scary imaginings pass by like a quick drizzle of rain.

And to her relief, it was, in fact, Equinox from the looks of it.

"O-Oh! There you are Equinox!" Pippy was relieved to see them back, and perhaps make them not see she had been crying so much even though Equinox heard her sobbing when things got too dark and many other times. Looking up at the silhouette in the darkness that resembles Equinox, she tilted her head with a smile in wonder at Equinox carefully lowering their head to Pippy's level they seem to have something in their beak. When placed in front of Pippy she shuffled to it in curiosity, narrowing her eyes to try and make out what it is while sniffing at it to get a whiff of what it smells like that may give her an idea what it is, which she took note seems like a plant.

"Leaf?" Pippy inquires Equinox with confusion, now she knows what a leaf is, but Pippy doesn't understand why Equinox brought one here. Is it something to show she's not in complete nothingness, and other things like leaves are still around her? The little bat from realising that possibility does make her a bit more relieved now that she might not be in nothingness and things are just dark, even so, that doesn't mean things being completely dark isn't scary it's terrifying, but it's not as bad as being taken to nothingness.

D-Dangerous? The moment she heard them say that she got nervous and instantly made an attempt to go on the leaf. Slowly shuffling over to it to approach to the broad green sheet, giving it another sniff with her nose as she tries to poke it with her nose as well only to quickly jump back from it as the moment her sensitive nose made contact it instantly felt freezing which was surprising for Pippy. OK, OK... Relax you weren't hurt you were just surprised. Carefully crawling as her wings went on top of the leaf and soon her whole body was as she goes to lie down on it.

"OK, on the leaf." Letting Equinox know and permitting them to take her and the leaf to where ever it is they wanted to take Pippy. Now that she remembers though, Zeno did mention something about a time of darkness and said quite a few times about a 'room of stars' which makes Pippy consider asking Equinox if they could take her there, but what if they can't go there since things are dark. "W-Where we going?" Pippy asked to see if Equinox had something in mind, if not maybe she can ask them if they can take her to the 'room of stars'.

@Equinox

Equinox felt the miniscule vibrations on the leaf as Pippy climbed in, but waited until they had called to her before, with ease, she raised the piece of foliage high off the ground, her neck arching so that if they fell out, the tiny bat would land on her chest and not the distant ground below. Then she began to move, her motion slow and rocking in the dark. She remembered, roughly, the way to the entrance of the cave but without her diamond-encased eye and the help of the lights, she was as good as blind. The skin along her body wound itself into patterns of anxiety, tendrils squirming through her skin in waves.

She rumbled as she moved, the sound quite possibly deafening now that the tiny bat was up close, but the draconian was trying (and failing) to use her voice for a very important purpose; echolocation. She'd heard the echoes of her voice in Orion and distant memory or some form of instinct told her it was possible, but the world around was as good as nonexistent to her.

And so she moved, blindly in the dark. She waded through shallow pools and paused to listen to distant sounds in the dark which held no pull on her.

In time, the ground began to grow firmer beneath her paws. They still drew moisture, but they didn't leave tracks so deep. Equinox followed the ground's firming.

Her rumbles became quieter as Pippy spoke to listen. "Where is safe?" she asked them, with a deep-throated purr, wondering whether the bat had anywhere in mind. When she'd picked them up, she didn't have any sort of a plan, really. she just knew that Cetus wasn't the safest place they could be.

---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Pippy
notes: here

The moment Equinox picked the leaf up Pippy immediately just started turning his head everywhere that he can muster out of intense curiosity as he gets whisked off from the ground but sadly even from this height there's nothing but darkness still with the exception of Equinox's face. Pippy kept tight hold of the foliage as it begun to sway out out fear that he may fall, he would try and wrap his wings around Equinox but just like with his strong temptation to hug them it won't be a good idea if Equinox gets scared of their slime being on someone else.

He stayed quiet to let Equinox concentrate; the only sounds heard being their purring grumbles and the squelching sound of the ground below them though eventually, it started to sound more like the sound of grating pebbles maybe. When Equinox asked if he knew anywhere safe he began to consider as the only other place in mind was the 'room of stars' but he didn't know if it was safe despite how pretty it looked in Zeno's light showcase still it was the other place he knew. "I-I've heard of a 'room of stars'. Do you know which one? If so maybe there?" he stuttered a little as he worries they may not understand what he was talking about, his description was pretty vague after all.


@Equinox

Equinox gave a responsive rumble at the words of the tiny bat. She felt a tree brush against the tip of her wing, and wove around it, carefully avoiding the prickly tips of its branches. Soon, she felt another one scoring the slime from her side. They must be almost back on solid ground if there were trees here! And that meant that the cavern entrance couldn’t be far away.

They took in a breath of the musty air, trying to pinpoint some telltale scent, then moved on. "Orion," Equinox finally replied to Pippy’s question. She had been there before, and knew where it could be found. With a great deal of potential hiding spots and no mist or marsh to hide predators, she knew that Pippy had chosen well. They would almost certainly be safer there.

Equinox sniffed again, and smelled a musty draft from elsewhere in the cave. She followed it towards Cetus’ exit, knowing that they were nearing their journey’s end.


---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Pippy
notes: here

With more and more trees and from the sounds of Equinox's steps the ground is probably getting even less slushy now, which means they are closer to finding a new area in the caves. Listening to Equinox's answer to see if they knew which place Pippy mentioned, and to her surprise they did. Orion. That's what it's called? Pippy supposes that implies that Orion is the only room with stars then, well should be the case, if not then Zeno would've called it the room for something else.

"OK, could you... Take me to O-Orion, please?" Stuttering a bit again as she struggled to remember the name for a brief second. To Pippy's surprise, she let out a pretty big yawn as her eyes drooped a little, not realising all the stress from glowing flying things and dark nothingness has started to take a toll on her a bit.

@Equinox

Finally, the draconian’s hard talons went from sinking into mud, to rasping against hard stone. She shuddered as a breeze chilled her almost to the core, sweeping past and causing the mist in Cetus to form into whirlwind tendrils before closing up behind them as it settled into serene stuillness. The scent was brought to her again, and she snorted happily, its fragrance far fresher and cleaner than the stench hanging over the deep bog.

Equinox heard Pippy’s voice once more, and rumbled as stones skittered away from her great paws. "I will," She gurgled quietly as she walked, the sounds of the marsh finally lost to the tunnel that stretched away behind them.

-Exit Equinox-


---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Pippy
notes: here