"The dragon!" Wyvern agreed, glancing back at Giggle. She had taken a defensive crouch, facing the ant with her wing-hands on the ground. "We're related--more or less--Carja knew her better. But she left! And she wouldn't have, on her own!" Would she? Bone breathed fire, not ice. And there was no way she'd have left Carja like that after a dangerous raid, Wyvern hoped.

She narrowed her eyes. "I do think it's a lie." The words came calmly, more of a statement than an accusation this time. At least she herself didn't feel the touch of a mind-control fungus in her head. At least Giggle seemed to be trustworthy--and she didn't think the fungus (Mother! She refused to call it that. What a ridiculous name.) would have spared her if it had had a chance to infect Giggle. Even so, she wished more than ever that she had the magic to see fungus.

And without it, what could she do? Ask Giggle to accompany her, and check on Bone together? I could ask the fungus, since it probably has spies everywhere--but what good will it do? If Bone was mind-controlled, she could burn Giggle. She could probably outfly Wyvern, too, if she tried to carry the hyena away. Wyvern'd never been a fighter; she couldn't stand up to a mind-controlled dragon with fire breath.

She couldn't ask Giggle to risk her life like that, especially not so soon after they'd both died. Wyvern clacked her beak furiously, digging her claws into the snow. Now, finally, she understood the desire to hurt someone. She felt it: the need to shake this ant and demand that the fungus hand over Bone. But she couldn't, and it was galling.

"Where does she live, then?" Wyvern asked icily, addressing the ant again. "I might like to visit one day." Ha. One day, who knew how far in the future, when she had finally figured out a safe way to do so. Hopefully it wouldn't be never.

@Giggle

Giggle shook her head.

"I don't know. Ursa's big but the dragon has wings; if you look and wait you might find her. It takes effort to keep talking to this fucking thing's brain," she added, with a disdainful glance back at the Cleaner.

Giggle didn't know who Carja was, really--didn't know her--and didn't know anything about the dragons' relationships. She just listened, and shrugged. "If you want, I can try to find her myself," she answered. She doubted she'd sense much--Ursa was huge, after all--but she reached out her senses nonetheless.

For a quiet moment, she probed Ursa. There wasn't a lot of fungus here. She could sense the Cleaner, like an ugly beacon so close. And small blips, here and there, both above and beneath the snow. But... "...I don't sense anything dragon-shaped in the fungus," she said, at last. "That doesn't mean much, though. She might be real far off. Maybe look around and ask yourself where a dragon might live, here. I don't know," she added; as a hyena she had very little inkling of a dragon's preferred living conditions.

Then, thoughtful: "I'm not done here, but when I am I'll head back to Canis. If you're interested, you can find me there. I'm a Seer--a bonereader--and if I look into my magic I might be able to find more."

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

@Wyvern

Wyvern looked around, as Giggle had suggested.

Could Bone be in a cave, in the mountains? She had flown there in her search, but it was a big place. She would have chosen to live near the Drowned Forest, if the fungus had not been an issue, but the dragon was not close by. Or perhaps Bone was hidden far beneath them, somewhere in the tunnels. Wyvern shuddered at the claustrophobic thought. Even if they could somehow fit a full-sized dragon, she couldn't imagine someone being happy to live down there.

She gave a frustrated clack of her beak. This wasn't getting anywhere. She wouldn't get anywhere by herself, either, not without the ability to see fungus like Giggle could.

"Thank you for the offer." Wyvern sighed. "I think I will. You're not--done here?" She couldn't imagine what other business the hyena could have in Ursa... unless it involved talking to the fungus more. "Do you want me to stay with you? I wouldn't trust it," she added, twitching a wing toward the ant. Tahi-shei had bartered them safe passage, but now that they were out, who knew if it would try to infect Giggle again?

@Giggle

She watched as Wyvern looked around, amusement trickling through her. She hadn't meant it quite so literally. "I mean, you'll probably have to explore a little, but be careful," she tried to clarify. Hopefully she hadn't been misunderstood.

As for the warning, she gave a solemn nod. "Don't worry about me. You don't need to stay; this isn't the first time I've dealt with this shit. I'm going to try and get an idea of where it is. But if it tries to infect me, I've got the magic to get rid of it," she assured the hybrid. "And I sure as hell won't trust it."

This was said firmly. She'd seen firsthand into the thing's clumsy attempts, seen what the control looked like without the influence of chemicals and emotions. It was blunt and fumbling. It was lies. She spoke the words with a glance toward the waiting Cleaner, but her meaning was all the fungus--the Cleaner, the fungus behind it, the "mother"--assuming that was separate from the fungus itself.

"I just want to see if I can find anything else out before I go. But, it's kind of you to be worried. You seem really nice," she added, with a nod to the bird-dragon; and then, with genuine sincerity, "I'm glad you're all right. It looked bad--when you got hit."

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

@Wyvern

Wyvern still didn't feel quite right leaving Giggle alone with the ant, but--Giggle had the fungal magic, and she did not. She had no way of purging the infection from Giggle, if the hyena was infected. The only thing she could really do was carry Giggle away, but she could become a liability herself if she was the one to be infected.

"All right. If you're sure," she agreed hesitantly. "I'll stick by the lake for a little longer, maybe catch some food. Yell if you need me." Honestly, she would have preferred fruit over fish any day, but she didn't feel hopeful about finding fruit here, and she was hungry. Plus, she needed to preen all the worm tunnel dust out of her feathers as soon as possible.

The corners of her eyes crinkled, as if in a smile, at Giggle's kind words. "Thank you," she said warmly. "I'm glad you're all right, too. Good luck," she added, then backed away and opened her wings to take off.

@Giggle exit

"You, too," Giggle responded, and her usually-hoarse voice was distinctly touched with warmth. She gave a nod of her head as she glanced one last time at Wyvern; the hybrid was a kind soul, and she felt vaguely protective of her.

But--now to the task at hand. It seemed Wyvern wouldn't be far off, and that was fine by her; a final call over her shoulder offered warning. "Just don't eat anything you find in this cave. Lessers can carry the fungus," she warned. That's how she'd initially found the stuff, after all--when she'd finally gone searching for it.

Giggle turned, and slowly, deliberately, faced the Cleaner and sat her rump down in the snow. Fuck, that's cold, she thought, and then grimaced with a backwards flick of rounded ears. She settled her legs in close to her body, huddling a little against the chill. At least the tunnel had given shelter.

Dark eyes sought out the cleaner. She struggled to make a connection, but the magic lashed back: a roaring black whip through her mind, an agonizing denial that seemed to crack the insides of her skull. She went from sitting to lying on her side, but she didn't remember having gotten there, and the throbbing pain had left her panting. What the hell?! She flicked her eyes toward the Cleaner again, but it was still standing there, utterly passive. Had it done that..? Or had it been her own magic, a complete refusal to link again?

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

She needed a rest, before trying again. She rocked back up onto her chest, lying sphinxlike (and boy, she did not like this cold), and gave herself a few moments to recover. And all the while, she stared dourly at the Cleaner, as if this had somehow been its fault.

It just stared blankly, placidly, back. Like it's empty, she realized, after awhile, and her curiosity gradually drove away her annoyance. It was like a shell, a husk, just standing there--awaiting input.

Once she felt as if the worst of it had faded, she inhaled deeply--feeling the icy spike through her lungs. And then she focused again, more... slowly? (Could one call magic slow?) this time.

The link flickered up, and then strengthened, and Giggle sent out a dour message, aimed at the Cleaner's mind. Or... what passed for one, anyway.

You have about thirty seconds to tell me what you want to say and make your case. Then I'm outta here, she told it, simply. And then--as if to explain--I want to know what you are, where you came from, and what you want.

It was bluntly honest, and not a demand; and she waited to see how it would respond.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

The flow of words came slow at first, and then faster; it was empty of emotion, for Mother could not impart such things through such a simple link.

"Tahi-shei... knows more," it began. "I am... the Mother. Sent by... the one who Orders. This place... your home... these caves... are of Chaos."

There was a stretch of quiet, in which the wind blew softly across the snow, ruffling fur and sending flakes tumbling skyward.

"I came... when all were asleep. I tried to reach out. My task was... to infiltrate this nest of Chaos. The Creator of this place... the House of Chaos... is hatred. Darkness. Empty destruction. We are... order. Cooperation. Unity. Tahi-shei... believes in a balance. But there is no place... where the two forces... hold truce." Again there was a silence, and Giggle might feel that there was meant to be emotion behind these words--a habit of Mother; whether these feelings were truth or manufactured, or what they would have been, was unclear. "As I searched... my magic... my master's magic... swept through this place. Seeking. I touched... your stones. I touched... the Spire, most of all. I think... by accident... I awoke you. You are... my children," she went on.

All the while Mother spoke, she was probing, in turn. Pushing along, delicately, the link that the hyena had opened. Her initial backfire had opened the way further; a gate swung wide, so that Mother's prying would likely go unnoticed. She found things, there, and she spoke of them, though whether it were truth or lies there was no way to know.

"I am in... all things, here. My magic--my master's magic--lingers. In the bones of the dead. In the plants, and the fungus... In the stones. I am all. An accident... but I try to guide others toward me."

Time was running out. It was time for a closing statement, and Mother considered carefully what to offer this potentially-useful servant ally.

"I am only here... to fight Chaos. Its darkness, and its fire. I will take... allies. But you are... my children, accidental... or not. I wish you no harm. Speak with me... when you wish. You can find me. But I will not... pursue you. I do not care... for control." And with that, the link faded away.

Giggle listened in silence. She'd only been here a few minutes longer than it would've taken her to just depart; she hadn't risked herself here for hours, at least. Maybe Wyvern would be surprised to find her leaving before even the hybrid left the lake.

Lucky, then, that Mother chose to be concise, because it was fucking cold and she didn't want to spend longer here than necessary. But truth--knowledge; that's what drove her, and she'd feel a fool for running off without at least asking what this creature wanted. Not its... side, exactly, of a story; but its reasoning, true or false.

She didn't notice the prying, and so when Mother launched into what was a perfect echo of Giggle's own views--that magic pervaded everything, that the bones and fungus and the spirits of the dead guided them all--she startled back. She tried not to reveal it, but it rang with truth--whether a lie or not, she had no idea. Has it been this shit guiding me all along? she wondered, but no answer was forthcoming. And the cleaner was turning, departing now, leaving Giggle with her thoughts.

Is that why the bones told me to seek it out..? she wondered.

At length she pushed up, and then looked around. Ursa was... large; she'd need to find her way out, from here. And for now she pushed aside the more worrying thoughts of bones and fungus and mind-controlling ants. She'd go home; she'd return to Omen (and she could feel the joy thrilling through the bird at this--she returned it warmly) and she'd check in on her children.

How long had she been gone..?

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

Mother had no real reason to spy. But that wasn't to say she wasn't... interested.

She wouldn't send someone to follow; that would be too obvious. But she had other creatures, other servants, throughout the caves. Those who could observe Giggle; get a better idea of who she really was. What she wanted. What powers she held.

Perhaps, even weaknesses.

The creatures were alerted. They would be subtle enough: not perfect; Giggle might perhaps notice them if she were aware of her surroundings. But they would be... around.

A Gray in the darkness of a tunnel. A displaced Pitch Rat, clinging to a ceiling as she passed beneath. A tiny Phantom Biter lost in Tunnel K. Perhaps a moth or two in Canis. She'd try to keep an eye--even if Giggle noticed her followers along the way. She could always pass it off, after all, as her influence merely present; claim it had nothing to do with the hyena at all. Assuming, that was, that Giggle ever chose to confront her on it.

They would have to wait and see, but Mother held interest, now, in many of these Gembound creatures.

What could she do with them..?