The cat lay motionless, completely unaware of the mushrooms nor the storm dying down around her, nor of the tiny poke against her cheek. Thankfully, when Aure checked her chest, he would feel a heartbeat, and a strong one at that. And as time went on the heartbeat got faster and faster and faster.

Her eyes snapped open, they weren't awake. They were misty, unseeing, and her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. She gasped loudly and her head jerked up. Her breathing was rapid and uneven as she scrambled to her feet. She choked on whatever words she was trying to say, her tongue lolling limply. She tottered where she stood and magic began to pulse in her body.

As she finally managed to speak, her magic touched the mind of Aure and anybody nearby, not caring what mind it spoke to. "ɦ̷̰̄ą̶͚̦̂̈̈́͊͝Ʈ̸̨̨̗̱̻̋̂̏͋̈́͝ƹ̷̖̜͙̮̋̈́͛̀̕ȡ̵̹́ ̶̦͑̚ȿ̶̨̨̮͓̲̝͒̑͒ɨ̸̳̗̈́̔̾̏̒ ̸̢̢̱̣̻̄͊̐̍͘͜͝ą̸̘̬͌͜͠ ̷̞̺̲̒̈́̇̄ͅɨ̷̛͉̹͎̔́̆͑ƹ̶̞̱̭̮͓̃̌̉̓ͅŁ̴͓̗̏̅;̸̨̣̿̈̽̋͊̓͜ ̶̞̋̓̀̕ɦ̵̘̭̫͉̥͒̀̚Ʈ̷̺͙̽ƹ̶̡̱̇̋͌ͅͅ ̴̧̫̣̹̿̅̈́̓ɲ̴̢̭̳͍̿̕ą̸̫̪̮̥̏ρ̶̮͔̈́̒ͅɨ̶̙̮͛̒̾ ̸̨̢̪̈̎͜͜͝ȿ̶̲̞̦̰͚̀ɨ̶̪̖͓̬̐̐͌͘̚ͅ ̸͙̤͋ą̵̻̤̩͑͊͐͘ɲ̸͓̽͆̓̾̚Ʈ̸̧̥͚̏̋̇̈̊Ł̵͖̯͙͔̠̖͐ƹ̴̨̺͉̋͌̾̑͐ƹ̴͚͕͕̞̥̗̆͝ř̷̰̎̊. ȡ̴̩̘̓̾̏̀̚͠ƹ̷̠̫̪̙̠̒̍͠͠ą̴̛͕͚̞̣̖͗̒Ʈ̴͎̘̫̣̥̏̾ɦ̸̜͗́̈́ ̴̙͎̉̍ɨ̶̟̫̓́̊̀̐ȿ̴̤̺͉͓͈̤̀̽̇̾̃̈́ ̸̢͔͖͌̒͋͐̌̕ą̵̭̘̝̀͐̏̎ ̵̗̑̈́̄͂̚Ł̶̮̫̳̆̆̇͆̀͜ɨ̴̘͎̰̖̋̈͝ͅƹ̵̢̲̳͔̀̀̀͒̉̕;̵͈͈̠͉͕̓̂̇͘ ̶̘͕̪͙̿͋͛̾͒Ʈ̶̮̑̔̽ɦ̵͕̣͍̟͋͂ƹ̸͇̀̒ ̶̻͠ρ̵͖̥̪̼͝ą̶̢̛̪́̓̈̒̾ɨ̷̞̒͛̆͋ɲ̷̖͈͉̜̗͗̅̈ͅ ̶̮̳͍̗͔͇̌̎̀̒ɨ̵͍̫̖̎̀ȿ̷͖̪̜̻̊̿̽͘ ̵̢̮̰̘̻͗̍ƹ̸͖͋̅̅͛́͝Ʈ̴̛̹̒̐̔̂ƹ̸͙̘͑ř̷͔̣̙̆͜͠ɲ̶͚̫͇̄͌̎̀̔͝ą̷̘͙̲̠̣̕Ł̵̟͍̭͓͓̳́̏͝͠. ȡ̴̩̘̓̾̏̀̚͠ƹ̷̠̫̪̙̠̒̍͠͠ą̴̛͕͚̞̣̖͗̒Ʈ̴͎̘̫̣̥̏̾ɦ̸̜͗́̈́ ̴̙͎̉̍ɨ̶̟̫̓́̊̀̐ȿ̴̤̺͉͓͈̤̀̽̇̾̃̈́ ̸̢͔͖͌̒͋͐̌̕ą̵̭̘̝̀͐̏̎ ̵̗̑̈́̄͂̚Ł̶̮̫̳̆̆̇͆̀͜ɨ̴̘͎̰̖̋̈͝ͅƹ̵̢̲̳͔̀̀̀͒̉̕;̵͈͈̠͉͕̓̂̇͘ ̶̘͕̪͙̿͋͛̾͒Ʈ̶̮̑̔̽ɦ̵͕̣͍̟͋͂ƹ̸͇̀̒ ̶̻͠ρ̵͖̥̪̼͝ą̶̢̛̪́̓̈̒̾ɨ̷̞̒͛̆͋ɲ̷̖͈͉̜̗͗̅̈ͅ ̶̮̳͍̗͔͇̌̎̀̒ɨ̵͍̫̖̎̀ȿ̷͖̪̜̻̊̿̽͘ ̵̢̮̰̘̻͗̍ƹ̸͖͋̅̅͛́͝Ʈ̴̛̹̒̐̔̂ƹ̸͙̘͑ř̷͔̣̙̆͜͠ɲ̶͚̫͇̄͌̎̀̔͝ą̷̘͙̲̠̣̕Ł̵̟͍̭͓͓̳́̏͝͠. ̸̛̝͖̃͝Ʈ̵̣̮̿̎̿̓̇͜ɦ̴̫̥̩̱͖͌͊̈́ƹ̵̲͇̻̒͐̍ͅ ̵͕̾̉̆͌͂̕ȿ̸̨͓̝̣̘͋̍̎ρ̶̢̟̪̰͓͚́̊͝͝ɨ̴̩͔͓͚̯̑͂̂ř̴̤͉̝̌̈́̿́̾͝ƹ̵̳̜͎̝̠͐̎͐̆͜ ̶̡̱̖̦̐̂̃̈́͌̉ɨ̴̠̂̎ȿ̵̰̘̺̭̲̣͛͐̎͂͘ ̵̣̪͒ɦ̶̨̠̜̓́͗͝ƹ̵̆̾̊̕͜ř̴͍͖̝͔̞̫̊̂̑̿͒̌ƹ̷̛̭̪̞̤̟̋͜ ̸̛̝͖̃͝Ʈ̵̣̮̿̎̿̓̇͜ɦ̴̫̥̩̱͖͌͊̈́ƹ̵̲͇̻̒͐̍ͅ ̵͕̾̉̆͌͂̕ȿ̸̨͓̝̣̘͋̍̎ρ̶̢̟̪̰͓͚́̊͝͝ɨ̴̩͔͓͚̯̑͂̂ř̴̤͉̝̌̈́̿́̾͝ƹ̵̳̜͎̝̠͐̎͐̆͜ ̶̡̱̖̦̐̂̃̈́͌̉ɨ̴̠̂̎ȿ̵̰̘̺̭̲̣͛͐̎͂͘ ̵̣̪͒ɦ̶̨̠̜̓́͗͝ƹ̵̆̾̊̕͜ř̴͍͖̝͔̞̫̊̂̑̿͒̌ƹ̷̛̭̪̞̤̟̋͜ Ţ̶̬͖͝Ḩ̵̦̟̱̫̱̋͒̄̚͠E̸͉̜̮͚̅ ̴̥͓̦͚̓͌̏Š̴͎̠̥̭P̴̻̘͍̿̾̚Ȉ̷͙̤̝̩̭͝Ŗ̵̛̫̿́̌ͅȨ̷̟͓̺̪͙̍̔ ̴̮̣̝͇͕̀͛̈́͒͗I̸̧͈̙̒͌̈S̸̪͔̫͓̗̝̾̀̈͊ ̵͍̣̘̟͐ͅͅH̸̢̠̤̙̫̻̆̒̐E̷̯͐́R̷̛̻̀Ẻ̵̹̝͍̦̏͊͘͠." Her voice was screaming and horrible, echoing in the small cave and within Aure's mind. Within the minds of others. Her eyes, while still glassy and sightless, were almost popping out of her head. Foam began to bubble at the corner of her mouth and her body vibrated out of control.

@Aure

There was the gentle thrum of Wilder's heart, still. It was steady, still, and a sure sign of not being dead. Aure celebrated for a moment, bright eyes sparkling in the gentle blue light of the mushrooms.

But, the air seemed to go bad. Something was wrong and the wyvern feared that he may be at fault for it --- Wilder was unseeing, again, twitching and trembling. Every breath was hitched, labored, fast. The little black cat swayed as she stood, and Aure's mind swayed with panic. It didn't help that a primal, distorted voice invaded every facet of his thoughts, screaming and echoing horridly; preaching about the spire, about its presence. The hybrid's ears flickered back, flattening against his skull as he tried desperately to shake the voice away.

In the midst of a few head-shakes, the cursed broadcasting seemed to stop just long enough for Aure to focus. His first idea was to get Wilder out of this cave --- maybe something about the Spire was tipping her off? --- and he had to follow through, given he literally couldn't hear himself think. Completely on autopilot, the wyvern flapped his wings and rose into the air. As soon as he had enough lift, Aure's blunt talons darted forth, hoping to snatch the cat by her scruff. Maybe things would be fine if the thing she was yelling about wasn't there anymore? It was a dumb idea, but just might work.

Now, if he could manage to pick Wilder up was... another story.

@Wilder

As the fit began to pass, hey eyes rolled into her head and she sunk to the ground, motionless again, her eyelids falling once again to cover the glassy, misted orbs. She did not struggle or wake when Aure tried to pick her up and stayed limp and motionless. However, after a few moments, however far Aure got with her, her mind began slowly stirring back into consciousness.

Huh? What? What happened... There was a blue glow coming from somewhere but it was dying away. There was a murmuring in her head, it kept talking, over and over and over and over and she whispered it as if she could not help to whisper it. "Death...is a lie...the pain...is eternal..............."

She suddenly jerked awake, her eyes snapping open. "Huh?! What? What happened? Where's the tornado? Did I survive?" She realized then that she was hanging from Aure's grip and she turned her head to stare quizzically at the hybrid. "Aure? Friend? Why are you carrying me?"

@Aure

Aure looked down worriedly as the little black cat went limp, motionless. He quite literally had no clue what was happening or what to do with this. The wyvern had made it to one of Polaris's many exits --- to Tunnel I, in particular --- by the time Wilder had reawakened. He couldn't possibly prepare for his small friend's enormous jerk, which threw him completely off-balance. "Ack!" Aure cried out involuntarily, beating his wings harder to get some semblance of balance back and to slow his inevitable fall. At least Wilder wouldn't be injured, right?

The wyvern simply set the cat down before himself, landing in a rather sloppy heap. Lifting his head from his mess of ruffled feathers, Aure blinked once or twice. Bright eyes stared into pink ones, confused and wholeheartedly bewildered. "I think you survived? I stopped the tornado with my mushrooms, and then you started shaking and screaming at me and in my mind?" He hesitated for a moment, lowering his head as he stood eye-level with Wilder, "something about the Spire? Maybe you aren't supposed to be in Polaris."

It was out there, but maybe... true. Maybe the Spire wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.

@Wilder

A deep sense of unease arises in mortal minds nearby, accompanied by an impulse like a suggestion shouted from afar.

Tear the flesh from the bone. Tear the bone from the gem.

Easy to disobey but impossible to ignore as the alien impulse fades as quickly as it arises.

A small crack appears in the ground as the impulse fades completely away. Something is near.

TW in the fourth paragraph

Wilder's eyes clouded with worry. Miru had said something about this. Actually, a lot of people had said something about this. She knew that she sometimes blacked out but she didn't know what happened during them. What had she been screaming? How was she screaming in his mind?

Tears collected at the corner of her eyes. "I-I..." She bowed her head in shame, worried that she had hurt her friend. "I didn't hurt you did I? I'm sorry that I scared you..."

She glanced at the Spire, which was gleaming in the distance, and felt the same feeling she was used to now, stirring in her chest. She forced herself to look away and it was like an addict falling off their substance. She had to look back. She couldn't leave! "B-but...where will I go if I'm not in Polaris?" The strength of the trance and the realization that she couldn't control herself had completely drained her of her excitement and instead filled her with dread and shame. "Nobody wants me around if I'm going to be like this."

She froze as something passed over her. An impulse. A dark impulse that resonated through her head and whispered deeply in her ears. Her eyes went hazy and she sucked in a breath. "Ţ̸̝̘̻́̈͘é̷̜̥̬̌̕à̷̪̜͚r̵̡̳̦͉̾͛̒ ̴̙͎͉̈̀͋ͅt̸̢͍̺̀̿͑͜h̶͎̲͐͛̓͛ͅe̷̦̪̯̐̅̅͠ ̸̼̔f̸̗̼͋͒́l̴̢̰̣̠̏e̸̲͎͕͓̾̽s̴̤͖̒ḫ̸͓͈͌̒͜ ̴̦̻̽͝f̷̘̺͌͌̃͆r̸̺̆o̴͕̓͑m̴̧̟̮͚̒̀̿ ̵͕͈̒t̶̬̠͖̅́ẖ̸̨̳̈̌͗ͅḙ̵̫͓͒̾͜ ̶̲͂ḅ̴̠̇ő̸̮͖̅̂́n̶͗ͅé̷̥̟̣̝̇̍̕.̷̼̤̲̺̌" Without hesitating, she unsheathed the claws on her right paw and dug them into her other front leg. But as soon as the presence passed and the earth cracked below her, her eyes returned to normal and she looked down at her leg in horror. Her own claws dug into her skin, her black fur turning red with blood. She gasped and immediately sheathed her claws, stumbling back with shock. "W-what?!"

What had she done? What had she done?!

@Aure

Aure quickly extended a wing, patting with a careful claw at the little cat. "No, it's fine! You didn't hurt me or anything. I was just scared and didn't know what was going on and thought I had really hurt you with the tornado." It was a valid bit of panic, right? Yeah, definitely. He watched rather mournfully as the little black cat looked at the spire and desperately tried to keep herself from looking at it. No, she definitely needed to leave here and now. Hopeful, the wyvern chirped, "hey, no, you could come to Canis? It's far away from here and there's no Spire or anything." Was the Spire controlling Wilder, somehow? It was worth a shot. "I can carry you---"

The air went wrong, again. He froze on the spot, feathers puffing up uncertainly. Unlike for Wilder, the impulse and thought of it lasted a mere second, forgotten already. The little black cat was not so lucky, eyes clouding once more and a garbled voice escaping her. Aure scampered forth, a clipped "hey!" slipping from his beak. The earth split beneath them both, and something was wrong. They had to get out of here.

With a few quick beats of his wings, the wyvern had risen into the air again. "We need to get out of here, something's happening and it feels wrong!" Tunnel I was so close. All it would take was just a quick flight and they could be home free, right? Aure's legs stuck out, hoping to snatch Wilder up. "I'll carry you, Wilder, come on!"

@Wilder

The little cat was freaking out, looking more terrified then she had ever looked in her entire life. There was no amusement gleaming in her eyes. No excited twitch of her tail. Her ears were flat against her head and she gaped soundlessly at the wound on her leg. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me?!" Terror and panic were gripping her like steel claws. She shrieked and backed away from the crack in the ground. She felt the presence against her skin, pressing down on her psyche and she whipped around, trying to find the source. "Who are you?! What do you want?!"

As she turned and spun, she found herself staring again at the Spire. It's blue glow penetrated her mind and whispers and echoes bounced through he ears. Ṱ̴̇ḛ̴̋a̸̧̓r̸͔̉ ̶̼͗t̶͕͐ḣ̵̰e̵̯͝ ̵͍̉f̴͈͑l̷̻͒ẹ̶́s̶͓̍h̶̢̾ ̶̩͛f̸͍̋r̵̯̆o̷̭̎m̷͉̈ ̸̙̇t̸̻͝h̴̦̍e̶͕̐ ̷͖̆b̵̯̿o̵̮͊n̸̦̓e̶̜͊.̸̝͝ ̵͍̄T̵͈̈e̴̟̕a̸͘͜r̴̦̐ ̴̪͌ẗ̶̹́h̴̢͛e̶̝͐ ̷̞̍b̶̥̉o̸̲͋n̸̙͝è̸̹ ̸̯̑f̷̥̓r̸̮̋o̵̭̊m̴̱̅ ̵̩̔t̴͖̐h̴͍̕e̶̟͘ ̶̖̽g̵̖͘e̷̪̅m̴̼͛.̷̥̏ ̶͓̈́Ḑ̶͆ȇ̵̯ą̸̓t̷̫̅h̴̑͜ ̵̈́͜i̵͓̍š̷̭ ̸̡͌a̵̛̪ ̶̜̇l̵͈̈́i̸̲͑ḛ̶͝.̵̮͘ ̶̢͌T̷̜͆ḧ̵̥́ḛ̷͝ ̵̀͜è̶͔n̸͒͜d̴̻͝ ̵̺͒i̸̧̚s̴͚̄ ̸̘̋c̶͚̾o̷̥͆m̶̭̌i̴̟͛n̷̗̄ģ̵̄.̵̩͂ ̶͔̎T̷̰͊h̷͎̊ė̵̘ ̸̞̄c̶͚̔y̵͇̐c̷͘ͅl̵͔̊ḙ̷̀ ̵̭̾c̶͍̓o̴̗̓ń̸͕t̵̘͘ȋ̵͜n̸͍͝ǘ̶̺e̵̮̋s̸͈̽.̶̞͘

She backed away, unable to look anywhere else and the only part of her mind that still could function knew that Aure was right. She had to go. Go to Canis. "Get me out of here!" she cried, trying to still herself. "I wanna go with you I don't wanna be here!" She was still enough that Aure would be able to pick her up easily.

@Aure

To say that Aure was also freaking out was an understatement. Why were impulses flitting in and out of his mind? The air was still wrong, rank with the peculiar stench of death and decay. Canis smelled as such, but it wasn't right, here. Where were the bones? The grounds of the Core were splitting in two, bringing forth some horror he did not want to stay around and stay. Bright eyes watched as Wilder turned back toward the spire, terror seizing her. "I don't know what's wrong but we'll figure it out, okay? We'll figure it out, Wilder."

Mere seconds after the little black cat had voiced her desire to leave, the wyvern took her up into his talons, ("let's go!") carefully placing one foot on her scruff and the other about her back. His wings carried him up and up, and Aure did not dare look back.

;exit Aure to Tunnel I unless stopped
@Wilder

As soon as Aure picked up the little cat, she began struggling. It was weak, halfhearted, and not enough to make him drop her, but it was still movement. As if she was trying to turn around and go back. Like half of her mind wanted to stay and the other wanted to leave. For a while she fought this until the moment they passed from Polaris into the tunnel. Her body went limp and her consciousness sunk into darkness.

*exit