Dragon jumped a little when he heard the gentle swish of water, the sudden chattering behind him. He managed to contain himself as he turned, blinking age-darkening eyes up at Aquarian, who was suddenly there, suddenly right behind him, looming and enormous.

He was looking at the golden collar, he was eyeing them all--and then, suddenly, he was rearing back and chanting the words. The name. Their name.

Dragon hardly had time to be frightened--instead, he was suddenly filled with a strange mix of emotions. First was a sort of awed wonder, a gratitude that Aquarian had shown up at such a pivotal moment, apparently not only supporting them but--cheering them on? Second was a fierce triumph which surged through him, ironically the same ferocity that had propelled Dragon since the moment he was hatched, had propelled him into attacking Aquarian when the alligator had been but a hatchling, barely a foot long.

He found himself turning and echoing the chant with a pleased, bass rumble, the water around him shivering in sprays as he vibrated the sound, shouting their name only once, to the others.

Aquarian, it seemed, approved.

"CHILDREN OF ROT!" the alligator boomed--echoing Aquarian's cry, though eclipsed by the far larger creature in volume.

They were here. They would learn everything that there was to learn about the Origin Cave.

And they would live forever.

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura aka rare . edited by banshee and dark }

(( ooc -- @Czernobog ; and that was the day the Cetus Cheerleading Squad was formed ))

The tiny, fluffy beast, half-covered in mud and eyes shining, grunted happily, tiny hooves tapping against the ground, tail waving wildly. The big-boat was screeching out what Dragon had said, their name, and Czernobog snuffled, ears flicking lazily, tusks glinting in the light. "Rooooooooot," it squealed out, happy to join in the chorus, glancing between his boat and the bigger-boat with wide eyes. "Rot! Rot! Rooooot!" The thing was huge and powerful and loud and Czernobog was utterly, completely enraptured. This had to be family, like Dragon was! They were both singers, after all, and so the piglet snuffled, content, letting out a low bellow. "Graaaaaaaaand-boat!"

Despite his miniscule size - perfect for snacking, really, from Aquarian's point of view - the boar was not the least bit frightened. No, singers were protectors, not attackers, and so all the little beast saw when he peered up at the gigantic serpent was a bigger, more noodle-y version of Dragon. So elated was he that the plants rooted in his skin began to drive deeper, tearing through muscle and clinging to bone, growing only inwardly, sending fresh trickles of blood oozing from the green sprouts' places on the pig's cheekbone and ankle. Huffing at the piercing burn, Czernobog focused on the celebration, licking at the blood with a snort.

@Talat

And the chorus began, great and loud. The world under his wings shook, and he vibrated, the sound so deafening in its closeness that for a great moment, he was only one solid thought.

"Children of Rot," he breathed, his voice drowned by the countless echos that flooded his ears. His senses be damned, there was only the cry for Children of Rot and the endless pulse of red that was so large, so vast, under him. The beast that was their... Father... Aquarian. Could they really live forever? There was no way to doubt that now, with such mammoth strength, mammoth proof.

And Tal'at knew this was the place he was supposed to be. It would take him a long, great long time, to see all that he was capable of. So long as he lived forever, one day he would become what he was destined to be. With these fellows helping him, he knew he would come to find that day.

And so, his voice chirped, a soft, timid undertone to Aquarian's and the smaller echo of Dragon and the others:

"Children of Rot, Children of Rot, Children of Rot."

He had made the right decision for sure, to help the Guardians of Cetus. Pride swelled in his chest and he marveled in it, his once strong fear washed away by hope and power spread under him. Who could challenge them with such value? He would be able to do anything he wished, without fear of those who might hurt him. Tal'at had never been a happier little bat.

!!! ...
@Willow

It's in the eyes!
I can tell, you will always be danger!
We had it tonight! Why do we always seek absolution?

There was no doubt about it now. Aquarian was on their side. They were mere children, and this huge serpent had decided to be on their side. Aquarian could eat them in less than three seconds, but instead he was bellowing until her ears were ringing and ached.

Dragon was chanting. The bat was chanting. To an extent, the piglet was chanting. The owl lifed her head and found herself repeating the words in a harsh squawk, "Children of rot! Children of rot! Children of rot!" As a unit, as one, as a family, they were loud and powerful. Nothing would come in the way of them.

Dragon rumbled, the chanting pleasing him. Eve was the only one quiet--she remained motionless and silent on his head, perhaps frightened, and he thought with amusement how strange it was that the normally deafeningly-raucous corvid was, for once, the quiet one.

He turned to the others, a newfound fire burning in his heart and in his eyes.

He was no longer a lone alligator, left to fight for his own survival, no. He was a part of something greater. He, and these others--they would work together, they would stay together, they would help one another to survive.

With a grumbling roar, a hissing bellow, he announced his intention to speak. His voice carried, strong and full of life, as he explained.

"CHILDREN OF ROT! From now until the end of time... we will never be alone. We will never die. Now... there is much to discuss."

It was a simple speech, but a heartfelt one, and the alligator seemed to grin broadly as he finished, wide jaws curving up farther than usual.

It is time.

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura aka rare . edited by banshee and dark }

@Ghanyarah

((Unless something else happens, EXIT DRAGON -- moving to this thread for further planning & activity! I might un-exit him for a post if Aquarian has anything more to say ;) ))

Suddenly he watched the sea monster tilt his head back and fill the room with loud, screeching chanting - the name of the group, over and over. Everybody else joined in the chanting, and it took Ghanyarah a few moments to swallow his fear and straighten up to join in the chanting. "Children of Rot... Children of Rot! Children of Rot!" He followed, by the end of it shouting the name alongside the rest of his groupmates. The sight of the sea beast still made him tremble, but he found reassurance in his support of Dragon's new family. He just couldn't let anybody else know of his fear. Besides, what did he have to be afraid of, truly? Aquarian was his father. He needn't fear the vicious snake monster that he called kin.

Once the chanting had died, Dragon formally announced their ultimate fate: to never be alone. Never die. Ghanyarah hissed his pleasure and elevated himself from the ground, standing boldly before his brother-leader with a confident rise of his head.

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN


exit to next thread

The collective in his shadow joined in the sea monster's chant, indulging him as their small voices added to the thunder that echoed through the cave. Aquarian persisted, chanting the name a few more times before the words tapered off into incomprehensible and shrill cackling. Elated, he allowed his body to fall backwards, throwing himself even as he body slammed back into the water. Gargantuan waves exploded out from the collision, and his long body followed the motion, serpentine torso sliding up and back into the marshy water until it all disappeared in a single, fluid movement, leaving nothing but ripples to reach out to the edge of the shore.

Exit Aquarian

Tal'at was consumed by the chanting, the voices rising and echoing up, deafening the little bat, so much so that he felt like apart of the mob-- his mind blanked, his spirit caught up in the whirlpool of emotion.

So much so that when the massive Guardian of Cetus moved, he didn't notice at first. His tiny body-- which had stopped clinging and was only lightly sitting-- suddenly had no beast under him. In a panicked squeak, he spread his wings and flapped-- and that was when the chanting stopped.

There was a great crashing sound, and next he knew, ice cold water smacking the air right out of him. He hadn't fallen into the water, but instead the great waves had come up to snatch him and pull him under. Frightened, alarmed, the poor bat scrambled in the air, desperate not to join the murky depths with Aquarian.

He managed to glide-flap his way over to land, plopping in the mud a bit anticlimactically.

That was enough excitement for one little bat for the day. He shivered, gathering himself, and cast his blind eye towards Dragon and the others-- and tried to wipe the mud off of his face.

;; Tal'at exit

!!! ...
@Willow

It's in the eyes!
I can tell, you will always be danger!
We had it tonight! Why do we always seek absolution?

Evening

The crow's ears hurt, even after the chanting died down. She had not dared to join in even though she was confident she could be louder than the giant serpent that was hovering above them. She squawked as Tal'at fell off Aquarian's face and scrambled down Dragon's back, near the water.

She looked around the murky depths but she couldn't see the little bad. Stomping on Dragon again, she stuck her head under the water a few times until she finally noticed him scrambling to land again.

She chirped sadly and fluttered over to the bat, going to lift him up and place him on Dragon to sit down and attempt cleaning the mud off Tal'at, preening at the back of his neck and nuzzling his face with her beak. She grumbled somewhat once the bat was clean and ambled back up to assume hat position on Dragon's head, chirping at Tal'at to come sit next to her.

She grumbled slightly and half-closed her eyes, craning her neck down to preen at her chest-feathers and soon lifting her wing to preen and straighten her flight feathers in a relative silence. She glanced down at Dragon as she tucked her wing away, listening to what the alligator had to say.

Willow was quiet, watching those gathered. She got a littler closer to Dragon as he spoke, to listen to his words - in fact she didn't even notice the little bat falling out the sky and being swallowed up by the marsh water.
If she could grin, she probably would - in fact it'd reach her ears easily.


(short post whoops exit) @Czernobog