She’d been asking around about the strange arm-headed creature she’d seen in her vision. She’d learned his name - Azigh - and that he was what kept Pegasus safe for the innocent. That at least gave her the comfort that he would be, at the very least, safe to talk to. Hopefully.

She approached the area of Pegasus that he apparently dwelled in, but it just…it was just a stone wall. There wasn’t anything there. Confused, she looked around, but didn’t see any real hiding place, nor any kind of huge creature with a face made of hands. She reached out tentatively with magic, trying to find something - anything - that might give her a clue as to his whereabouts. Apparently, he might be hard to find. Somewhere secret and hidden. Which was great. Perfect.

Vaati was standing next to her, nose in the air, sniffing curiously, ears erect. Wilder-friend. There is a strange smell in the air. Her whiskers twitched and she lifted her own nose to scent the wind, but perhaps Vaati was picking up on something else. She let her senses meld with his for a brief moment, and….yes there was something here. Something odd, and faintly sweet.

She took a step towards the wall, looking around. ”Azigh? Azigh are you here?” She called carefully, keeping her eyes in every direction, more out of instinctual nervousness then any fear of the one she was calling for.

He had seen the stranger approach the distant wall, and while he himself was not within right now--his magic did not protect him in there, but another--he did cautiously wind his way over to ensure no one would harass that other.

Imagine his surprise, then, to hear that it was his name being called.

His heavy, muscled body came quiet, only the ruffle of wings announcing his steps as he padded up behind the cat. There he paused, and spoke. The multitude of gold-threaded, pale arms held dark fingers to where a face should be, but there was no visible mouth: the voice (resonant, yet monotone, and touched with caution) seemed to come from all around him. "You call for me?" A beat, as the tail curled in behind him. "Why?"

@Wilder

She only had to wait a moment before she heard the ruffling of feathers and turned, jumping at the sight of the massive creature behind her, a clear vision of the one she’d seen in the past. She felt her heart quicken with a mixture of excitement and anxiety, awe keeping her quiet for a moment as she stared up at the creature. He was…really big. And the lack of a face was throwing her off a lot. Discomfort with its appearance was at the forefront of her mind, but she shoved it away. He was safe, right? He cared. He was good. Not like

Anyways.

She finally broke out of her momentary silence and nodded. ”Y-yes. Hi, I’m Wilder. Um…I just. Wanted to ask you something. About something I saw. In a vision. In, uh. Gemini.” She stumbled through her words for a moment before pausing, taking a deep breath to steady herself before finishing. ”You were talking to someone. They said something about…a Tunnel T?” Her tail flicked behind her, ears twisting back. ”I’m sorry, this is probably just really random for you. I’m just curious, you see.” Hopefully, curiosity was enough.

Even if it wasn’t before.

It was unclear whether or not he noticed her brief moment of anxiety and he stilled at her question, fingers clenching against his face. She did not seem a threat, at least.

"Hmm," the sound was a low vibration. The wings of his tail shifted as he thought. "Yes," he said after a moment. He did not remember the conversation word for word, but he did remember the collapse of the tunnel. "Tunnel T. Dreary place. Tell me, Wilder, what do you seek of it?" His face had tilted downward as if he were looking at her, but there were no eyes one could see.

@Wilder

Talking to this creature was...incredibly strange. There was no eyes to look at, there was no mouth where words came out. There wasn't even a face to gauge emotions or reactions. It was like talking to a talking wall. At this point, though, Wilder had seen about enough to adapt fairly quickly, despite initially being caught off guard.

It was still unnerving, eyes flicking around at each hand before staring at its...head? as a whole instead of searching for a specific point. "I've never been to it, or even heard of it until recently. They said it was collapsed. Why?"

As for her reasons, she realized quite quickly that she didn't exactly have a reason outside of pure curiosity. Was there something else? Anything else? The search for knowledge? Understanding these caves they all lived in? Trying to find some meaning to her pathetic little life? She was silent for a moment before she shrugged. "Honestly...I'm just curious. Is it...dangerous?" Her ears twitched and turned a little back. "I wouldn't want to let loose whatever danger that's there, but I'd like to know. If I'm going to live in these caves for my entire life, might as well learn about them."

"We... were sealing Cassiopeia from Draco. It was a stronghold, until it became a tomb," he answered.

The trees rustled in a breeze as he considered her next question.

"I suppose it would not be dangerous, but then it has not been exposed in some time. It is not possible to say without an investigation." The fingers of his hands opened and then clasped back together as he regarded her, his head still tilted down as if looking at her. "It is good to be curious and I appreciate you understand it can also be dangerous," he said, unknowing of her surface visit, "but if you would like to see the tunnel, and Cassiopeia proper, I would need time to excavate it. Its sister tunnel as well, from Cepheus. Hmm."

His head turned upward and the breeze picked up around him.

"I would ask that you do not visit the excavation sites in case there is indeed danger to be found beyond their collapsed walls." Several hands unfurled to move and stretch, and he once again looked down to her, two of the hands clasping together under his strange face. "Come back to see me in seven dimming cycles. I hope to have made progress by then."

If it hadn't been asked of him, he could have easily gone lifetimes without thinking of Cassiopeia again. "Anything else that nibbles at your curious mind, Wilder?"

@Wilder

Wilder's ears pointed forward at the name. "Cassiopeia? Is that another cave?" Excitement reared in her at the thought of a new cave that the Gembound hadn't seen before. It was quickly dampened, however, by the word 'tomb'. It made her think of Canis, with its endless blackened bones, or Hydra with its thousand dangers. She frowned. "What happened? Was it attacked?" By Order? Chaos? Something else?

She seemed to grow more confident and eager, however, the more Azigh spoke. He wasn't only answering his questions, but talking of investigating. Excavating. Wtihout knowing, she seemed to grow more animated, whiskers and nose twitching, her hindquarters wiggling the tinniest bit as she slowly kneaded the ground. "Oh, an investigation! I can help with that, if you want! I may not look it, but I have strong magic! I did Emuh's test and everything!" How would she get through a tunnel? Well, explode it, move the stones with her mind, break them up with bursts of energy, etc. Or maybe she could try that new magic she felt in her. To check for danger beyond the tunnel walls.

A thought flicked from Vaati gave Wilder yet another idea (she definitely would not have thought it before, so used to being alone) that made her pause. "Or, if you want to do an investigation or something I can...get others. So that if there's danger, we can face it together. It'll give you time to excavate." She'd rather help Azigh by herself - after all, who trusted her? Who would want to team up with her? But this might be a smarter way anyways.

Of course, the third option - shut up and come back in 7 days, like Azigh said. If he could handle danger by himself, well who was Wilder to doubt him?

But his final offer, to sate any other curiosity of hers, brought up a question lingering in her. She tilted her head at the many hands in front of her. "Yeah...who are you, anyways? Are you...a Master? Or do you work for them?"

It occurred to him then that there were yet areas the recent awakenings did not know the names of. He nodded at the name—yes, it was another cave—and said, "It... yes, it was attacked." Struggling to find words to explain it, he simply left it at that. It is complicated, I suppose.

"Emuh..." he repeated, and then shook his head. "No, Wilder. I do not know what might have survived, or what might not have. It would be too dangerous to employ you in this endeavor, however much I appreciate your gesture." Though there was little emotion in the sounds that made his voice, it was clear he meant that genuinely. "I especially would be hesitant to gather others. If you want to do that, you may bring them with you after the seven dimming cycles. We would meet first in Cepheus, opposite the river and shy of Tunnel E's entrance. You will know it when you see it, I will have cleared the way by then."

Her final question stilled the breeze and his head dropped slightly as he considered answering.

"Azigh," he said finally, "Guardian of Pegasus, and master only of the Seals." He did not want to align himself with anything if he did not have to, but he prefered life over... His head shifted to glance toward Draco. He had his opinions but they were not the kind to be spoken aloud.

@Wilder