MAKYNA
"let's sing a song for the heart"

Makyna heaved a sigh of relief as the hyena said she was only joking. At least she was nice enough not to destroy their very life source. Before she could say another word she felt him coming. Her fiance, the love of her life. Leon. She let out a chuff of greeting as he approached and sat next to her. She couldn't help but agree with him. How could anyone be so foolish?

At Aza'zel's next words Makyna's blood went cold and her eyes wide. The young ones? Booker? Baratheon? "Oh... Oh no..." She felt sick, her ears drooped and her whiskers took on a distinct downwards tilt. "Booker is a dear friend of mine and poor Baratheon! We know of him, he helped Leon fight the dragon in Polaris and rescue some little ones! How... How could anyone be so cruel as to capture either of those sweethearts?" Truly the Merrymen must be an evil group! It boiled her blood and sickened her. "Who cares about the danger? We must stop them! All of this that they're doing is wrong!" There was conviction in her voice. She explicitly hate evil. Would fight to rid every last corner of the cave of it. No. If they thought she would run from this then they were wrong! If the Merrymen were allowed to continue on then who was to say they wouldn't terrorize the entire cave? No little one would be safe. "I... I can't make any executive decisions without Bevy but if she doesn't want to help then I will come aid you myself! In the meantime while we wait for Bevy I will look into the future and attempt to see what lies ahead." With that she went silent attempted to tap into her magic by closing her eyes and concentrating.

______________________________________

"This is how I talk!"
"This is how I sing!"
This is how I think!

302
Aza'zel, Giggle, Bevy, Leon
GM contacted
7/10

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

for naturally blood will be of kind, drawn-to blood, where he may it find

Bevy was curled up in his nest, taking a little break. I see stone, and ice, in your bones, little bird. His den, usually roomy, was cramped with the space of a gemstone that had begun to grow. As heat of a passion has fallen away so has change, and all is left cold and unchanging. It had been Enna. Such un-change must be worked against, but it is the nature of things-- She had brought this crystal to life. --though the way there is slippery. The thought stirred worry among some, and hope among others. And--And I see violence in your bones, Bevy. For Ratchie, he just wanted to make sure that his body got enough rest. Senseless violence, and it comes, perhaps soon. Yet, as the cackle of a laughter that was all too familiar reached his sleep, he felt a deep stirring in his bones.

Likely soon.

... Was that Giggle?

Standing, the small bird shook the thoughts from his mind and pressed through the ferns and vines that had taken hold in the rock around the opening in the cave wall. With a deep breath, he spread his wings, shaking out his flight feathers, and then he dove. His body plummeted towards the ground, the sensation of his heart pressing to the back of his rib cage, enthraling. At seemingly the last moment, the air caught on his wings and he swept over the moss, his talons nearly brushing the soft meadow of green.

He flew towards the group. Aza'zel. Makyna. Giggle. Leon.

I see erected barriers, collapsing. The Bonebound. Why were they here? Hey, Ratchet-- hey! This is MY job, remember? There was a complaint, but it fell deaf on his mental ears. I see a victory, in your distant future-- He swept up as he gained ground, appearing before the others in a frantic flap of onyx wings to stop almost exactly in place. --at the end of the rest of this--

"What's going on?" He asked, his voice that had once been cheery and bright-- well, still energetic and lower in pitch than the others-- much more serious than it had been in his youth. --But it may come at a great cost.

A sacrifice.

A sacrifice.

A sacrifice.

She had been so explicit. A visit from the soothsayer was not one he could take lightly. Did she remember, did she recall, the bones she had read for him?

She would be foolish not to have kept them in mind.

.Ratchet vs .Calypso

A series of scenes will flash rapidly within Makyna's mind's eye. They are mere blips of images of what could come, without context nor explanation, not even a feeling. The members of the Merrymen clash with the Bonebound. A lammergeier lays on the ground, bleeding. A fox's jaw is broken wide open. A large, furry white dragon's mouth cranks open to unleash a blinding blast of pink at a lammergeier. A flock of Bonebound birds attacks a fragile white dog. A lammergeier lays dead on the ground. The Merrymen flee through what looks like Tunnel K. A small numbat lays dead on the ground. The images all zip through Makyna's mind before they are gone, leaving her with no more than fabricated memories of what she's seen.

Aza'zel and Giggle both had the same thing to say - they didn't know why the Merrymen wanted to declare war against them, they hadn't done anything to provoke them, but the Merrymen were intent on causing havoc none the less. Not only that, but they had captured two Gembounds they might have intended to use against the Bonebound. He cast a look of concern towards Makyna at their names - Booker and Baratheon. Leon didn't know the numbat well, but he did know that Makyna was friends with him. Baratheon, though... That was cause for real concern. Baratheon had implied that he was a dangerous creature when they met in Eridanus, then proved it when they had gone to investigate the dragon and ended up helping the two canines that he had been terrorizing. He knew Baratheon was a force to be reckoned with, so if the Bonebound were forced to fight against him... It could be bad news.

Now they were here seeking aid. He didn't know if they'd be able to fight Baratheon - hell, Leon didn't even want to fight a war at all. It was then that Makyna agreed to use her magic to peer into the future. He nodded and watched her for a moment, but Bevy quickly arrived, questioning what was going on. Leon straightened up and looked to her, quickly explaining. "The Bonebound may be under attack by the Merrymen soon. They need our help." It was up to Bevy whether or not they actually could help. As much as Leon didn't want to fight in a war, he was beholden to his friend Aza'zel. "I think we should. I would be willing to fight alongside your ranks." The bear glanced over at Bevy, as though quietly asking her permission.

His attention had shifted back to Makyna before long, taking note of her reaction to whatever future vision she had received. "What did you see?" Leon asked quietly, leaning closer to her.

MAKYNA
"let's sing a song for the heart"

Behind her closed eyes she saw the images unfold, the Merrymen and Bonebound fighting with one another. Aza'zel on the ground, dead. Booker on the ground, dead. A dog, one that she could tell was weak was beset by angry carrion birds. Her heart, hurt, it went out for them all but mostly her friends. War. It was a terrible thing.

After the spell was released Ky opened her eyes and lowered her head, panting as she made sense of everything and tried to get her breather back. The lioness' eyes stared wildly at the floor while her body trembled with exertion and fear. At Leon's words one ear twitched towards him and subconsciously she leaned against him. "Death. Terrible bloodshed and... death." Her eyes closed for a moment as she leaned into her fiance, trying to steady herself and gain strength.

Finally after a few moments she straightened up and looked at their guests, her eyes were serious and sad. "I... I saw the Bonebound and Merrymen... fighting. You, if you fight, will die and so will Booker." She shook her head sadly. "The white dragon will kill you but... I believe your side would win but it's hardly worth the cost." How could they fight knowing their leader would die? But.. The Merrymen? Would anything stop them? "However, the future is subjective. One action can change the course of the entire timeline... Perhaps... Something else could be done? To stop the war. Anything." She didn't want anyone to die, not her friends... Not even her enemies. It was all so horrible. War was evil.

______________________________________

"This is how I talk!"
"This is how I sing!"
This is how I think!

266
Aza'zel, Giggle, Bevy, Leon
---
7/10

Giggle listened very intently, deep in thought. Her dark eyes became vacant pools, twin voids, as she became lost in her own intense contemplation of the lioness's words.

He will die if he fights. He would--... I wonder if that is the sacrifice. If he would do something foolish to try to throw himself to the dragon to save us, and buy us nothing. It's good we didn't try that--maybe it'd have gone wrong. But to avoid it altogether? How? I spoke to Aza'zel of stopping it before it began--or, rather, winning before it started. Freeing their weapon, or sating him, or using him against them. But still, we know nothing about the Merrymen--or what it was they even want. What do they want? What can we do to stop them?

The thoughts that returned to her were not her own. It was an answer from another place, another being, or rather another set of beings, so many that perhaps it could simply be called "truth."

Or, perhaps, it was insanity. Perhaps what Giggle heard and saw and interpreted as the ever-present fungus all around them... was merely her own mind.

Do not enter into negotiation. Do not enter into conflict. A failed endeavor. Defenses are to be prepared.

In a matter of seconds, Giggle was having a conversation within her own mind. On the outside, she seemed to be staring off into the distance as she sat there, concentrating. Focusing.

So is it best to simply prepare our defenses, to stay in Canis?

Things remain the same. HOMELAND. A split from the rest.

The thoughts came as tangled words and whispers, shapes that held strong over other shapes that flickered behind them in her mind's eye. She tried to untangle them, to weave the strands into a coherent message. To understand.

Is that bad? Is it our best chance of survival, to hole up there, apart from the rest?

You lack a challenge. You are not prepared. IT REMAINS IN IGNORANCE AND DARKNESS. FRIENDS EXIST BUT WILL NOT BE SEEN. You will be separated from the young.

The first part gave her pause; it meant there was no challenge, or that it was so challenging they simply couldn't overcome it. Either way it suggested not struggling against it, but finding another way was still a possibility. Giggle frowned to herself.

Is there a better way?

YOUR OBSTACLES STEM FROM YOURSELF. FROM YOUR OWN HOMELAND. FROM WHAT YOU OWN.

This was a poor translation that she could make, and she still didn't understand it. Maybe something they'd missed, some information Aza'zel had gotten, was going to cause them the greatest difficulty of all. She'd have to ask him about it.

You will work together, with the others.

And then, again, the fungus was blasting her mind with words twisting around the concept of being unprepared for what they would face, or a lack of challenge to begin with. She huffed softly, finally making a connection, as if a dark corner of her mind had finally, and suddenly, illuminated.

...Are they preparing a surprise strike, something in secret, and not all-out war at all?

YOU WORK WITH THE OTHERS. WATER. WATER. A RETURNING TIDE. YOUR EFFORTS WILL BEAR FRUIT.

Finally, the hyena's eyes cleared. Only ten or twenty seconds had passed, but it felt like a lifetime as she raised her eyes to the others, to Aza'zel, to the strangers offering them aid.

"I believe," she began carefully, "that they will begin with a targeted strike, and in secret, to cripple us before anything else begins. I would ask, Aza'zel, that we return home to prepare a defense... and that any who wish to aid us might accompany us there. If their strike hits a larger defense than they could have expected--larger numbers than the Bonebound alone--we may be able to repel them. At the very least, we can host some guests, for awhile," she added, offering a polite and friendly smile to the bear, the lioness and the bird.

The bird.

Giggle blinked; she hadn't noticed Bevy there.

"Hello, Bevy," she added warmly.

________________

Roll the bones.

@Azazel @Leon @Bevy (the order's all sorts of weird so EVERYONE GETS A TAG)

The Bone King raised a brow as he thought. So Bevy had become the new leader of Maji Walezi? It wasn't that he was surprised... but he was surprised. Of course, Azazel had not been around the small pitohui, and he didn't know about the tiny little bird's other consciousnesses inhabiting her body. In fact, he was completely unaware. As the small bird flitted in, Azazel dipped his head in respect. Whilst his head was lowered, he briefly wondered where the melanestic leopard was. Had he left the group now that he wasn't leader? Of course, Azazel was also oblivious to the fact that Cancer had been banished and that he and Leon had warred viciously over Makyna.

Subconsciously, he focused his magicka into his foot, and he tapped the floor gently. His head tilted slightly as he became lost in thought, lost in the images that flashed through his eyes via his spell. A gathering of what looked like Maji Walezi members. He could only recognize Leon, Makyna, Cancer, and Bevy. Leon and Cancer were scarred, and stood far apart from one another. Makyna was upset. Leon was upset. Cancer seemed angry, and it looked like he had been banished. Awakening from the vision, Azazel blinked quietly. Had the rivalry gone too far? Had Cancer and Leon fought one another over the lioness? The Bone King exhaled quietly, hiding his confusion and sadness for now, putting a friendly smile upon his face. Bevy had asked what was happening, and as the lammergeier readied to speak, Leon answered for him. He nodded, appreciating what Leon had said. It made him happy to know that The Bonebound had loyal allies on their side.

Makyna was done using her abilities, and every bit of her bristled. The Bone King was concerned, eyes widening, but he soon realized. She had Leon at her side, and from what Azazel knew... he was the best man for her. Hearing what the lioness saw in her vision, Azazel raised a wing as if he were trying to clutch at his chest. His own death. He only knew what pain felt like.

What did death feel like? Azazel always had thought of it being cold and dark. Silence. Nothing.

What concerned him even more was that... Booker would die. With how close Baratheon was to the numbat, surely that would drive him into permanent bloodlust. Many would die as cause of it. Closing his eyes, he held back a few choking sobs. If they hadn't come here. If they hadn't had Makyna see into the future if they continued just as they had... things would have gone a whole lot worse. All because of him. "I..." he gulped, "I'm glad we saw into the future... so we can know to change our course of action... Yes. They would have to change their course of action... but to what? To that of Giggle's suggestions? That would likely push the Merrymen even further towards war, if they attempted to win it before it occurred. The Bonebound would have to fortify their defenses and simply prepare. To be ready. Just as he turned to look to Giggle for confirmation to his plan.

She was completely spacing out.

Then suddenly she moved and closed her eyes, looking to him as well. It seemed she had the same idea. The Merrymen probably were not stupid. It was a clever thought that they would perhaps attempt to cripple the group before charging into battle. To lessen their numbers or weaken their ties. "Perhaps we should watch our members closely... and watch newcomers for suspicious activity. If the Merrymen sends a spy to infiltrate our group, I would not be surprised."

@Bevy

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

for naturally blood will be of kind, drawn-to blood, where he may it find

This was precisely what Enna had wanted... For them to help-- for Maji Walezi to help-- not just themselves, but everyone. Ratchie's eyes leveled on Leon's as he spoke, a quiet sense of pride burning in the bird's gut. Of course his friends would want to do the right thing and help those in need. He didn't speak up yet, instead waiting for Makyna's word, but when it came he felt the fire in his heart die out.

"And--And I see violence in your bones, Bevy.
"Death. Terrible bloodshed and... death."
Senseless violence, and it comes, perhaps soon."
... Giggle's voice came up next, trapping his attention like a fly in a spider's web, his feathers ruffling as she spoke. He shifted his beak to his wing and preened at his flight feathers, appearing more distracted than he was. The words of her prophecy haunted him even now-- perhaps more so than ever. A sacrifice. What if Ratchet wasn't willing to make a sacrifice? And how could Bevy ever let all those deaths happen? Was there anyway to prevent the hell that was coming for them?

The hyena greeted him and his eyes wandered to his talons, shifting slightly where he stood, an unlikely shyness holding his tongue at bay.

Aza'zel began to speak but it was lost on Ratchie, his thoughts spinning. He wanted to go back to his nest, curl up and sleep next to the growing chyrasilis... Things had been so easy when they were younger. He felt his grip on the pitohui bird slip, and with a sudden flutter of Bevy's wings, he tore his control back away from Calypso. She wanted so badly to decide this-- but for some reason, he wouldn't... He couldn't let her. She didn't understand these gembound like he did.

Carefully, the bird landed back on the ground, his eyes flicking between everyone. Hopefully he hadn't startled them with his sudden wingflapping, but it wasn't that important if he did or not. "I don't want anyone to get hurt!" He cheeped, fright filling his feathers. "There's got to be a way to avoid the battle-- Leon, maybe you can go talk to the Merrymen? Get them to change their mind?"

The bird looked to Giggle, just for a moment holding her gaze, and then turned his eyes to Aza'zel. "Why are you fighting with them? What did you do?" Surely there had to be something. Why would gembounds just turn against one another-- especially when there were bigger dangers, worse threats...

"I-I mean... We'll help, but-- but if there's anything we can do to stop it, no matter what, we gotta stop it."

.Ratchet vs .Calypso

Leon was quick to provide a supportive shoulder as his mate leaned against him. He steeled himself, accepting her weight and turning his head to gently snuffle his nose over hers. Physical contact would do well to ease her heart, he hoped. He listened patiently as she explained what she'd seen. Bloodshed and death - they would die, almost all of them. She predicted the Bonebound could still win the war, but most of them, again, would die. Leon grimaced at the news, and yet... the last thing she said gave him an ounce of hope. They could still do something to prevent the war. But what? The bear shifted his gaze to the others, but his muzzle remained turned and pressed into the flat of Makyna's head, offering that ever persistent presence of comfort.

Giggle gave her prediction and Aza'zel threw up some suggestions, all of which Leon accepted and held onto in the back of his mind. It wasn't until Bevy spoke again that Leon tuned in, finding himself attaching to what she suggested. "I can try to negotiate with them." He agreed, finally pulling away from Makyna to look at the rest of the group. "Since we don't know why they're planning an attack against the Bonebound, I think the best way to go about this would be to confront them head on. It could be the fastest way to avoid a war... maybe we could resolve it then." The bear huffed and looked to Aza'zel. "What do you think?"

That sounded a hell of a lot better than hiding out in Canis waiting for death.

@Makyna

MAKYNA
"let's sing a song for the heart"

Makyna's ears perked as she listened to the hyena, no animosity was in her gaze this time. This was serious. The lioness was silent, listening to everyone else present and gathering her thoughts before deciding to speak up after all was quiet. "Leon, if you are going to Canis then I shall go with you. The more the merrier and if something changes and they want to attack perhaps we can indeed deter or dissuade them." She hoped her dear bearfriend wouldn't think that she would let him go into foreign territory alone without any backup. Besides, her particular talents would be quite useful before the fight even started.

Just like Bevy she didn't want to fight either and she especially didn't want to have anyone killed on either side. She turned to Aza'zel as well, wondering what he would say.

______________________________________

"This is how I talk!"
"This is how I sing!"
This is how I think!

---
Aza'zel, Giggle, Bevy, Leon
WOO! LOOK AT THIS CRAP POST! ISN'T IT AWESOMELY CRAPPY! 8D PLEASE IGNORE ITS AWFULNESS...
4/10