Bones was long asleep by the time the hyena and hellhound made it into Canis; his chest was visibly heaving up and down as he slept on Kerberos' back. For a moment, he was at peace with no dreams or thoughts in his mind, only a content emptiness.

However, within mere minutes that was subject to change. He was suddenly running. There was no pain, no stiffness in his limbs and no worries in his mind. He ran through the caves of orion, of tunnel H, Cetus and Pisces. He ran through Polaris the way it was when he met Booker, cool and exciting, rather than hot with burning flames and a dragon looming overhead.

The ground felt warm under his paws as he approached the spire; alive. The dog tilted his head as he watched the spire, even as it began to sink into the ground with a deafening crack that at first, he did not hear. It wasn't normal, of course, yet in this dreamish world, it was the most natural thing that could ever have happened.

He was falling now. He had barely noticed the cave floor cracking under his feet and sending him also sinking into the ground. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't anything right now, just a thing quietly falling and falling and falling.

Down and down the african wild dog went. He hit the ground without any pain, or injury. He was somewhere new now, but the spire was nowhere to be found. This 'somewhere new' was cold and dark, and as he rolled onto his back he could see what was above him.

Blackened void. It did not scare him either. There were pieces of dark fluff rolling around it and a huge, shiny and silver orb hovering around it. Bones watched it, as mesmerized as he was when he first saw Orion's ceiling. Slowly, eventually did the pup roll back onto his legs as he began to walk through this black world.

It felt like hours, that he walked, until he came to a dead end, a spiral of tall and black trees, threaded thickly together. Bones hadn't even noticed how thick the fog was until now, thicker than Cetus itself. If he squinted through the fog he could see long, gangly figures with silver prying eyes, watching him.

They didn't move. He didn't move. He was stuck here. He closed his eyes.

And then he opened them again. The agonizing pain and stiffness returned to him, and he whined quietly. Canis was unusally bright compared to his dream, so much so that it almost hurt him. He was still on Kerberos, and there was the hyena walking beside him.

Bones sighed. He was silent, for now.


________________

@Giggle @Kerberos

Giggle wove her way through the pile of bones, turning to look at and wait for Kerberos, trying to suppress her panic. To hold down the fear that welled up in her throat, that threatened to consume her in panic.

"This way, fast," she urged, for the sixth or seventh time. Bones bless Kerberos, bless him and his patience, his willingness to push past his fear and carry her son here, here to safety.

What was it that hurt him? I'll kill it. By the bones, I'll kill it. I will hunt it DOWN.

But the anger was quickly forgotten as she saw the wild dog lift his head, weakly--wakening. Giggle bolted up, offering a brief lick to Bones' face, before she turned and trotted down toward her den.

"Thank you, Kerberos--keep him warm, please, get him down in my den, by the water... Bones, hang in there. You're almost home."

She glanced back again. The pup was weak, half-conscious. He smelled of burned flesh and seared fur, of caked and drying blood. She remembered him when she had first met him--young and bumbling, first trying out chasing a rat, trying halfheartedly to clean her fur, or bringing her rats when she focused too long on the bones. He'd matured, for the most part. He was a lean thing, sleek, swift and agile, and beautiful in his own way. She was so proud of him--and her eyes flicked to Kerberos, worried. She took position up on the far side of the sleeping-place in her den, which should be just large enough for the giant dog.

Kerberos, too, had been so small when she'd met him... about her size, true, but compared to now, he'd been outright tiny. He was the size of a monster. He had the potential of one. Yet he was growing into something more like a hero and a guardian, with a heart of gold, than any mindless villain. She felt the briefest flicker of concern that it had been Kerberos who'd harmed Bones--burnt him somehow--but again she pushed the thought away. He wouldn't.

She hoped.

She looked back to Bones, and began to run over, in her mind, how best to treat him and save him. How to mend his wounds, keep him warm, get water into him. She took a deep breath, preparing for what was bound to be a long period of near-panic, and tried to compose herself.

Don't die on me now.

________________

Roll the bones.

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos followed despite his unwillingness. Bones hadn't outright died on the first step into Canis, so that was a good sign. His brother and friend was strong in spirit, so perhaps he could pull through. The hound stopped thinking about it after that, his pawsteps methodical and careful. He knew he was clumsy, and he wasn't about to trip over some bones and mess everything up. Not now.

When they had finally reached Giggle's den, Bones had begun to wake up. He whimpered and Kerberos stopped in his tracks, tail going rigidly straight behind him. Bones. He didn't look back, didn't move, didn't disturb his friend. Don't die. Not now. The hyena mom came running up, paws jumping up his shoulder to give the painted dog a lick of encouragement, a few words of instruction and then she was off again.

Kerberos did exactly as he was told. He was quite quiet, his whimpers stifled since he had entered Canis. He laid down gently by the water, twisting around to sniff at his friend.

He knew how to make things warm. Even if that was all he could do, carry Bones and heat the air, it could make all the difference. He took a soft breath, his exhale stirring the tawny fur of his friend, and then he focused. Warm. Comfort. Life.

He had saved the strange black shadow beast. He could save his friend.

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

Home. It sounded nice. Home. He hadn't been there in a long time, now. He saw his mother reach up- all the way up, oh how his best friend had grown -to lick his face. She smelled, as usual, but instead of recoiling in disgusted horror, Bones felt himself welcome the stank of hyena mom. Perhaps he was desending into madness.

He noticed the familiar sights of Canis, blurry but definitely there. He felt warmer now, too. He was sure he'd be okay now that he had Kerberos and Giggle with him. He thought, for a moment- they'd have to know what happened, right? The dog lifted his head a little, peering at the back of Kerberos' heads.

"K-Kerby," rasped the dog. "Th-there was a l-lizard, with wings.. and.. and he tried to.. he.. tried to kill.. a little kid.." His voice sounded low and hoarse, more like an old mongrel than a young pup. He tried to repeat, louder for Giggle, but there only came a soft whine.

As Bones was laid down by the water he whined again. He couldn't remember what happened to the foal, if she had survived. Where the dogs went. Where Booker went. He was scared. Closing his eyes again, he was silent once more, basking in the warmth for a while.

She heard Bones speaking, speaking of a lizard--she couldn't catch it all, and when he began again, she softly hushed him.

"Rest now. Explain later," she murmured, as he tried to repeat whatever he'd said more loudly.

She felt the flush of warmth and the tingle of magic from Kerberos, and she threw him the most grateful glance she could manage--and a curt nod--before bolting the few yards to her fungal garden.

What can I do? I'm not a creator of healing fungus. I can't grow life, the way Bevy does--maybe that's what she meant, by that? I can't send for her, either--he might be dead by the time I get back. Let's see--hallucinations won't help. I can't just remove the burnt flesh off his back, not when he's this weak. I--oh. I can do this...

The hyena nosed around in the carpet of fungus, instead pulling up strips of soft plant bark, wet and rotting. She carried this quickly to Bone's burnt back, laying it carefully out over his wounded flesh, hoping to keep it covered and damp enough that it would heal. If she could stabilize him, maybe then she could make a run for Bevy.

She turned, trotting over quickly to the fungus again, this time tearing large fruiting bodies up with her powerful jaws. Her actions seemed haphazard, violent even, but in her mind she was thanking the fungus--heartfelt gratitude seizing her. The stuff would serve as food for her injured son, much-needed nutrition.

First she dipped it in water, and brought it to his lips, lying before him. At the very least, if he licked it, he'd get water; if he managed to eat any, the stuff was packed full of healthy nutrients.

Half in the protective circle of Kerberos's warm body, facing Bones, she spoke. "Can you eat this? Drink?" she asked softly, trying to keep the quiver of fear from her voice--and the sense of hope from rising too high.

________________

Roll the bones.

@Kerberos

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos listened, but he did not reply to Bones. Their mother told the pup to rest, to be quiet, as the Hellhound laid curled around his friend. There wasn't much he could do, could say. He was focused on keeping the air warm, on providing that support of life beside Bones. One head watched Giggle grab her things and work her magic, but the others just nuzzled Bones, gently licking at his muzzle until hyena mom came over.

Kerberos settled his heads on his forepaws, letting out a soft sigh. He just... Didn't know what to do. Was he doing enough? Was there something else he could be doing? Did Giggle know how to save him? Worries churned in his head as he focused on his breathing, in one head, out the other two. In, out. In... Out.

He tried not to make the air too warm, but he did mostly make a blanket of warmth between his body heat and the magic from his pink-glowing paw. It was nerve wracking, waiting for Giggle to announce that Bones would be fine with just some rest. That was what Kerberos wanted to hear.

It seemed like she would never say that.

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces