It was time to move. Cetus had grown far too full for his liking; even the marsh and dense foliage wasnt enough to keep him hidden much longer. He assumed the number of gembounds were growing by the day or everyone seemed inclined to live in cetus this cycle. Hed gone for three cycles here, mostly undetected. He was sure others had seen him since his white pelt wasnt hard to miss. Hed even encountered a few, but those meetings hardly went decent.

He managed to make it out of cetus without being seen, but as he neared the core he knew it was going to be harder to hide while moving. He didnt even know where to go... He could just turn down the next tunnel he felt, but he wasnt sure. A lot of things changed since the last time he left cetus. There was something about someone in polaris, so he hoped he didnt accidently turn down that tunnel in his blind run for safety.

Sticking close to the wall, using it as a guide through the tunnels, Ghost was worried someone was going to see him. Since he could only listen and pick up the scents of others, he could easily be around someone and not know until it was too late.

@dark

The owl had heard something leaving Cetus.

The last flight he'd made in from Eridanus, grasses clutched in his talons, he'd heard the thing leave; his own flight had been silent, winging his way in a glide along the top of the tunnel. When he returned, he could hear that it had crept onward; he heard claws gently scraping ice, a movement heading toward Polaris.

The little owl drifted down, landing in a clumsy tumble of feathers and going rather head-over-heels in an attempt to land in front of the sound. Each time he heard another Gembound, he simply landed near them and greeted them; thus far he'd never been attacked, and hadn't had reason to assume he would be.

He was naive, perhaps, but he was curious, and so he righted himself and peered unseeing at the sound-maker.

"Hello," he hooted, his voice soft and musical. He clicked his beak, and wondered what to say next. Was this someone he knew, or not? He couldn't tell by sound alone. "Have we met?" he tried, head tilting awkwardly far to one side.

________________

@Ghost

Someone's here... the sound of wings filled the tunnel and he froze stiff, hoping the winged gembound would just fly past, unaware of his presence. However the winged creature did not fly past and instead landed before him. Ghosts eyes widened in fear and his body compacted like a scared cat. His lips curled up in a snarl, but it didnt seem to matter since the bird spoke anyway.

"Hello... Have we met?" Ghost couldnt be sure, but the voice didnt sound familiar. He backed away from the bird a step or two, his body pressed hard into the wall as if hed disappear into it should he press hard enough. No I... I dont think so. he spoke quietly to the bird, hoping that no one else would hear their voices and come investigate. Hed heard about strange things happening lately and he didnt want any of those strange creatures to find him. How did he know that this winged gembound wasnt one of those creatures? Suddenly more wary, the wolf took another step backwards. He didnt sound particularly large, but did the monsters have to be? He was sure all hell could break loose even from the smallest creature, so the blind wolf had every reason to be more wary of this gembound with these thoughts running through his frantic mind.

@dark

The owl tilted his head again, clicking his beak for a few moments, deep in thought. He hadn't met this stranger, but he could hear it stepping softly backwards. Was it preparing to pounce? Was it afraid? ...WAS THERE SOMETHING BEHIND HIM?

With a soft squeak, the owl leapt up and turned to face the other way. He listened, but there was nothing, and after a moment he peered back toward Ghost, wondering just why it was moving away. He pushed the thought aside; his interactions with Bevy had taught him how to be polite, and he always liked to meet new people.

"Well. Hi. I'm Dark. I'm an owl. I can't see," he told the strange voice cheerfully. "Do you live here?"

He stayed where he was for now, though, fluffing himself down to settle into a comfortable sitting position--right in the middle of the tunnel.

________________

@Ghost
((ooc - I'm really sorry, this never tagged me for some reason :| If you don't want to continue that's fine--if you do, just poke me if I fail to respond after a week!))