Lilli looked at Leon as he described his fiancee and she smiled. But after she had fallen he asked her if she was alright. He cared for her like a father or brother would and that made Lilli happy to know that someone cared. "I like anyone, Mr. Leon. I cant wait to meet her. Are there others that are new gembounds that she takes care of? I am okay. I still have these paws to grow into." she said looking at her paws. Watching Leon stand on his hind legs and call out to the creatures he was looking for made Lillith want to do it. The gembound cub stood on her little hind legs and let out a cub call and she swatted at the air at the same time. The little girl didnt know how Leon would react to her trying to help Maybe he would think it was cute. Getting to her four feet, Lillith looked around then went to Leon's side but laid down underneath him watching for any danger. Something scared her which made her hide. Not knowing what scared her, Lilli thought she would be safer under the big gembound.

Czernobog had been restlessly pacing the swamp, collecting plants and seeds, tangling them in his fur for bat-friend to use. It was work, important work, but the boar was hungry, itching for a fight, to travel down into the tunnels to bite into arachnid flesh, to fulfill his role as one of the "big ones" that Dragon had mentioned. Still, the boar knew better than to stray from his task, and continued on, fording across small lazy streams of swamp water, black bristles soaked to the skin. He looked rather like an oversized drowned rat, snorting wetly as he paddled across a muddy path, hopping back to the waterline with a shake of his coat. Trotting along, the beast probably looked ridiculous - fur coated in a mix of swamp water, old blood, muck, and bright green plant matter.

Snuffling at the ground, ripping up a strange reed he'd yet to see, Czernobog froze as a strange roar emitted from nearby, echoing across the swamp. The piglet swung about in place, eyes narrowing, ears flicking back, letting out an angry bellow in return before starting to paw at the ground with his front feet, anxious to move. Not grand-boat. Not singer. Stranger. That was all the convincing he needed to take off like a shot, squealing, towards the sound's epicenter. Jaw hanging open and tusks glinting in the light, it took the boar mere moments to burst through the reeds and screech to a stop in front of the intruders.

The roar-thing was... massive. Even at Czernobog's current size, the intruder towered over him, and the piglet huffed, uncertain, ears twitching in place as he paced back and forth, eyeing the massive creature. Uncertain, it took him a moment to notice that there were not one, but two of the things - the big-roar and a mini-roar. "Chuuuurn. In... intruuuuder! Frieeeeend?" He snorted proudly, raising his head and closing his mouth, trying to look like a proper representative of his family, a protector and defender. The mini-roar looked frightened, which the boar thought was rather appropriate, but the big-roar had yet to respond, and so Czernobog sat back on his haunches, tail still for once in his life. "Frieeeeend or foooooe?"

@Leon

Evening

Sleeping in a tree, somewhere high above, was a crow in her nest. Her nap didn't last long however- if the shouting of Leon hadn't woken her up, the brutal roar certainly did. With a startled squawk Eve leapt to her feet, looking around below. Below was misty -- it always was, but she could make out two unusual figures, one huge and one tiny.

Hobbling onto the edge of her nest she leaned over and looked down, grumbling somewhat before her wings sprawled out beside her and she began to swoop down. She nearly hit the ground, wings beating frantically to keep herself in the air, crowing out as she flew towards the bear and the cub, landing on an upturned root nearby.

She peered at them, at length, then squawked, opening her beak to speak before the boar ran in. She looked, and then squawked once more, moving to fly onto the top of Czernobog's head. "Stop that!" she chirped, weakly stomping on the pig's head. She looked back up at the bears with curious eyes. "Whaddyah want?" she didn't sound angry as much as she did sound curious, peering over the shattered chyrsalis.

The sound rumbled and exploded out into the air, a primal bellow that soared through the swamp; it was quickly complimented by the juvenile bleat of the bear cub beneath him, further inspiring the bear's strong parental instinct. The sound of the two bear calls was just... Right. When the call faded, he found himself grinning down at her. He hadn't had the chance to answer her question before bellowing for the Gembounds that lived here, so he shook out his fur and looked down at her, watching as she took shelter beneath him. "A few, but they tend to be pretty independent. She'd like having you around." He said idly.

The bear fell silent until somebody had approached. Snuffling through the grasses came a juvenile boar calling them intruders, confirming his suspicions. "Friends!" He said, raising his paws in an attempt to reassure the pig. Shortly after a crow came flying in, landing first on a twisted root then on the pig's head. "I'm from Maji Walezi, my name's Leon and this is Lillith." He gestured down to the young cub in his shadow. "I've been sent to convene with any other groups in the caves regarding the dragon in Polaris, and to ask if there's anything we can do to help your group flourish." He began, slowly falling back down to his paws on the ground. He remained hovering over Lillith, unsure if these creatures had any hand in frightening her earlier. "Do you know anything about the dragon?" Leon added.

@Lillith

Dragon hadn't been too far away, or rather, he'd been at least close enough to hear the cries of the baby bear as she'd hatched. Often, the alligator found the chrysalises while the young were still inside, and helped them to break free. His paternal protective instinct was a perhaps surprising soft side, especially when compared to his dark and rather merciless pursuit of survival at all costs.

This time, when the cries had come ringing through the mist, he'd been working his way up one of the dark water channels that threaded mazelike from the black Heart to the Divine and its surrounding trees. His body was submerged bar his eyes, nostrils and a few of the slick-black ridges at his back; his legs were tucked up, and he moved forward with slow, languid sweeps of his tail, leaving not even a ripple. He'd be difficult to notice unless someone were specifically watching for him, and even then, he might be mistaken for a piece of dark driftwood, slick with water and rotten with age.

He'd dropped even lower in the water, lying entirely beneath, the moment he'd noticed the large and furry shape up on the shore. The words were distorted by the fluid, but he could make out that the bear was friendly enough with whatever the young one was. He was torn between a sort of possessiveness over the young of the swamp (and tempted to come out and claim it, to at least ensure that Leon wasn't harming the cub), and a sort of delightful feeling of mischievous security as he lay beneath the water unseen.

The bear didn't seem to be harming the newborn, and when Dragon saw the shuffling form of Czernobog, and heard the raucous call of Eve, he decided to wait. He'd wait to see what they said, how they handled this, and then he'd come out and inter--...

Dragon? Did he say--dragon?

The alligator's interest piqued, he bobbed up slowly, a piece of floating wood once more. His hearing was suddenly clear again, and he could hear the bear speaking of a dragon in Polaris.

The alligator didn't let out a huge burst of flame, didn't come bursting out of the black water with an indignant roar. Instead, he slowly hauled his ten-plus-foot, seven-hundred-pound frame from the water, tall, ridged tail dragging with a swish through the mud.

"Another dragon?" he rumbled, tilting his head slightly to see Leon more clearly. The bear certainly had a grizzled, battered look about him, as if he'd been through a fair few fights, and Dragon rumbled with approval, though he wasn't sure why.

He glanced at Czernobog, giving the large young boar a dip of his head in acknowledgement.

"Bog." Then he looked back to Leon, briefly examining the smaller bear to ensure that she was healthy, and safe. She was--good. Leon again, then.

"Welcome," he boomed, throat expanding and throat billowing. May as well make a dramatic first impression on the first impressive stranger they'd seen since forming. "We are the Children of Rot. I am Dragon. First: we thank you for your offer of aid, but we need none." Dragon rumbled this slowly, amusement very faint in his voice; the bear was likely offering merely out of politeness, and the idea that a group perfect at survival could possibly need help, well, surviving, amused him.

"Maybe the others will have things to request, but as a whole, we need no aid. As for the dragon... this other dragon. We concern ourselves with Cetus--but we are aware of what is happening outside of the cave. The health of the caves is the health of our home. We know that the pools of Eridanus see, and drag you down and drown you, and are tended by mad cats," Dragon said, echoing what Ghanyarah had told him along with his own experiences. Best to seem knowledgeable, perhaps mysterious, and not powerless in the eyes of this stranger. He continued to keep a deep, slow tone as he spoke, a hissing growl, though non-hostile.

"We know of the rains that came, and that a distant cave dried, when the rains came; and that it has now reversed. We have not heard of another dragon." Dragon had a questioning lilt at the end, polite; the group had shared their knowledge shortly after forming, and nobody, he thought, had mentioned a dragon.

"What is it that you ask of us?" he added, more abruptly. It was clear that the bear's pretense of merely being here to meet them was secondary to his news. Yet Dragon had to admit that the idea of another dragon interested him (and he still firmly believed himself to be a dragon). If it was harming the cave as a whole, if it looked like it would threaten the swamp, then the Children should intervene.

If not, the group would remain here; there was little point in risking themselves for no reward. ...Though the temptation to pit himself against another of his kind, to test himself, to prove himself, was tempting.

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

Lillith was afraid now. She stayed hidden underneath the big bear. She didnt trust this group. She didnt know if she could trust any of them. "Mr. Leon...I dont like any of them." she said. The cub saw different animals show up but she couldnt tell who they were. One came out of the water and started talking to Leon. "Do they know you, Mr. Leon? Will they eat me?" she asked. Her eyes landed on the bird and the pig. They didnt seem bad but then again she didnt know them. "Please dont eat me. I belong to Mr. Leon. He already claimed me so you cant have me. Plus I will fight back." she said. She pawed at the ground as if to swat at them. The black bird looked good for food so did the pig but she didnt really want to eat them. She liked fish and hoped that they would go home soon to eat. She wanted to meet Leon's fiancee and learn from the both of them.

Czernobog, sitting tall and proud, jumped and squealed when something landed on his head, peering up with a pout at the crow. "Chuuuurn?" Grumbling to himself, the boar huffed, returning his attention to the intruders, ears twitching as he adjusted his position to let Eve sit on his head, if she so desired. The big-roar's proclamation of being friends seemed a bit farfetched to the piglet, but he wasn't the leader, and so he sat, waiting patiently for his father to appear. Leon. Lillith. Their names weren't important, yet, and so they were quickly forgotten as Czernobog glanced this way and that, occasionally looking up to make sure his loud-friend was alright.

As he'd suspected, it only took moments for Dragon to make his appearance, sliding out of the water with his usual predatory grace. The boar straightened up, trying to look serious, like a guard was supposed to, only barely containing a happy squeal at the acknowledgement from the alligator. No aid. Other dragon. Ask of us? The words, like most, flew in one fluffy ear and out the other. That was alright with the beast - after all, his job was to fight, to kill, to seek, to hunt... not to know. Instead, Czernobog focused on the mini-roar, curious but rather lacking in empathy. That kind of connection to other Gembounds wasn't something the pig had in spades, and he only wanted to know what he always did: a) was it friendly, and if a was a no, then b) was it edible. Mini-roar didn't look tasty, but then again, neither had spiders... until he'd tried them, of course.

Black eyes flickered between analyzing the mini-roar and checking to see if Eve was alright. After all, he took his job very seriously - and that meant tossing the bird somewhere safe if the roars became foes.

@Eve

The crow adjusted herself with a scowl on top of Czernobog, nestling down to assume Hat Position. "Your kid is rude and I don't like her either," she commented after she came out of the inital shock of the bear wanting to help, or perhaps even spy on the Children of Cetus. Her gaze shifted to Dragon, briefly, and she squawked a greeting.

"Since when was there a dragon in Polaris, though?" she asked. "The last time we were there, there were only very slow rock-things that chased him," the crow waved a talon idly at the not so dragon Dragon. "We got away, though. Very slow. Why are you asking us, anyway?"

Oddly enough, the crow didn't sound particularly irritated or mad, simply polite and curious - even when she declared a disliking to the tiny white bear. She began to pet the top of the pig's head with a low chortle, quiet.

@leon

Lillith expressed her concerns from below, prompting Leon to tilt his head down at the cub, twisting back his short, round ears. Before he could do anything to assure her, she looked out to the gathering of Gembounds, quietly imploring them not to eat her. The bear felt a brief surge of panic - these Gembounds didn't pose a threat, that much was clear after they had all gathered to the bear's summoning and the alligator, who appeared to be their leader, answered his questions calmly. "Hey, shh, it's alright. Nobody's eating anybody." He laughed quietly, placing his paw gently atop her head before glancing up at Eve - a small frown - then Dragon, a look of apology in his eyes.

The alligator went on to answer his questions, seemingly unaware that another dragon had plagued the caves - then again, if they were holed up in here the whole time, he couldn't imagine that they'd even be bothered by it. Raheerah seemed to only be concerned with Polaris, but... for how long? Leon made a note to remember their name - Children of Rot - and nodded as they declined his offer. He understood why Bevy had told him to extend a helping hand to other groups, but at the same time, he didn't know exactly what they could do to help them. Give them food? Advice? Would it even make a difference? He followed along as Dragon spoke of the things he knew, mentioning the Eyes in Eridanus that were tended to by a bunch of mad cats - cats, yes, he remembered hearing about them. "The All Mother." He interjected, but left no implications as to his feelings for the cult. They hadn't hindered him in any way, so as of now, Leon was neutral towards them (despite his belief that they were totally crazy).

Despite all they knew, they remained oblivious to the dragon in Polaris. Leon frowned slightly, and his gaze shifted to the boar, then to the bird as she supplemented the alligator's response. "He hasn't been there very long, but he's causing absolute chaos. Setting everything on fire. Anybody that goes in there is pretty much dead meat." He answered. "My leader sent me out to see if the other groups in the cave knew anything about it." The bear added, and then turned to Dragon. "Ah... help, I guess. We can't let that dragon terrorize the caves. He's in Polaris for now, but he could very well travel to a different room, one that's inhabited - like Pisces, or here. I don't know when, but we need to rise up against him. Would you offer your help?" He asked finally, hoping for the best. In the mean time, he glanced down at Lillith, offering another look of assurance to the cub.

@Dragon

The alligator let out a rumbling laugh at the tiny white cub's protests, even going so far as to crawl a few steps closer and tilt his head to get a better look. She was pawing at the ground, her voice a tiny little growl, and he found himself amused.

"I imagine you would fight back, too, and size means little when there is magic in our grasp. Don't fear; if I'd found you first, you'd be hiding behind me instead of behind the bear. But you are probably better off with another of your kind." His comment was a hint to the fact that--had Leon not been here first--Dragon would likely have adopted the little one. Leon was, in some small sense, stealing from him--but it mattered little. And in any case, she probably was better off with another bear, one who would know how to raise her. Still, it meant one less in their own number, one less to ensure their survival.

With a grunt, Dragon lifted his head, turning his attention back to Leon. "Were this dragon to come here, to a land of water and mist, he would be ended," Dragon said confidently. He had absolutely no doubts that if any creature of fire were to challenge the marsh, that Aquarian would decimate them--possibly even swallow them whole. Of course, he hadn't seen Raheerah--but that didn't mean he was wrong.

"But if there are many who intend to fight it at once, it may be best if we helped when the chances are high. Come. There is another far older and wiser than we, and he will know more of this, and what we should do."

Dragon paused to give Leon time to scoop the cub up, if needed, and then slowly turned and began the slithering march back to the black Heart. He'd ask Aquarian. The old serpent knew all, and no doubt he would know if this dragon was a threat that required dealing with, or if they should simply wait in Cetus for it to arrive. Dragon was no coward, but nor did he want to throw away the lives of the Children of Rot--especially if it turned out that there was no need for it.

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

@Lilith