something was beating. pounding out the steady rhythm of water on rock, so audacious in the confined space of frozen body. thump. thump. what was this? mind swam in undisguised confusion, aware of only the beat of her heart. heart. yes, that was it. heart. and lungs. eyes burst open -- in the safety of black and white, the explosion of colour, however muted it might be, is overwhelming, and lids are quickly drawn again. and yet, every instinct screams for her to shed her cocoon of rock, to see the world as it is.


and she does.


she is a pitiful creature, and the first thing her feeble mind feels is regret -- regret, regret, regret, for the choice she has made ( the world is so cold, and she is alone ). however, she struggles to swollen paws, eyes clouded and jaw locked in her frenzy to escape from her binding. fur is sparse, and mucus clings onto skin, and she is cold. o so very cold. and in a pitiful, fetal position, she whimpers.

Heya, hope you don't mind me saying this takes place during this thread! Just makes sense, timeline-wise, and I think it would be interesting for Seraph :P To summarize: a group of Gembounds are charging into Polaris to fight Raheerah; he's distracted by them and a giant moth, so nobody will be in danger in this thread (yet).

Just out of the corner of his eye, he had seen fire wash against the side of the dragon, and the moth took to the air above him, flapping its great dusty wings. Then another ground-shattering roar, and the dragon spewed a stream of fire, engulfing whoever was before him. He could feel the air heat up and shimmer with fire, but it wasn't close enough to affect him or the child he was running towards. Leon furrowed his brow and focused on reaching her, running as fast as his thick limbs could carry him while keeping an eye on the battle nearby. If the fight came anywhere close to where this babe was hatching, they'd have to get out of there as fast as possible.

Leon eventually reached her, noting the slick mucus that lined her body and the shards of gleaming white rock that had once made up her chrysalis. The bear skidded to a halt, panting. His muscles screamed for reprieve and his back was already cut and bleeding from the fallen rocks above; his fretful eyes washed over her, checking for any wounds. "Hey, are you okay? We need to get out of here right away!" The bear warned, twisting his round, short ears back against his head. He glanced back over his shoulder again, making sure they'd be safe where they were.

@Arkrael @Seraph

The roars of battle was nigh deafening, trying to pull her attention from the task at hand. Everything in her screamed to turn and run back, to assist in bringing the monster down. Yet, there was more important matters at hand just for now. She skidded to a stop, panting for breath as she too turned her attention to the pup that still had their goo all over them from hatching. "We can carry you if you can't walk yet, little one, but we must get you to a safer place than this..." She added to Leon's words to the young canine.

Her gaze fluttered over towards the fight at hand and her heart drummed as flames continued to rush out from the dragon. "We must hurry before he sees us," Her body stiffed as she quickly looked to Leon, eyes wide and anxiuos.

"Speech"
'Thoughts'

---

Tags:
OoC: sorry it's crappy.

to say that she was lost was a slight understatement, as she had no home to belong to, nothing to be tethered by. chrysalis lay in shards of pastel greys, sharp and unforgiving underfoot. it was only so cruel to enter this world in fire and rage -- the sounds of sanguine battle roaring overhead. polaris itself pulsed with heat and the dragon's tirade, war cries lost in tumultuous screams. ears were shielded against immense cacophony -- simply born at the wrong time, wrong place. whimpers pierced air pipe, and little paws scrabbled at cold, cold ground.


she barely notices the two beasts approaching her, with her clouded vision. it would take some time to find out that her stiff jaw and numb face was the result of her defecting gem, yet she lived in muted colours and difficulty speaking.
" help... " a genuine entreaty, and her first uttered word.

They came up to the small child, and all she spoke was a plea for help - Leon's heart went out to her, and he looked to Arkrael, ready to shout a command before the ground began to shake again. The effects of the battle on the far side of Polaris reached them, even; he stole a glance at what was happening, but he didn't know if the shaking ground was due to Raheerah or somebody else. For a moment, he was stunned by what he saw - boundless Gembounds, some of them his friends, others mere acquaintances, launching themselves at the massive dragon. They were all trying to take him down, but Leon feared for what may come of them - there was no way they could kill him, even with the army that they had. The dragon could crush them with a single swing of his massive paws. Before he realized what was happening, he saw the dragon suddenly ignite himself, and thick clouds of smoke began to roll off of him combined with sparks of red-hot fire. Blazing blood exploded from the beast and Leon tried to shield himself, the wolf, and the hatchling.

The smoke was coming in fast, causing his eyes to water and his lungs to tighten. "We need to go NOW!" Leon coughed, grimacing. He looked over to Arkrael then gestured to the child. "If you can carry her, I'll cover you wihle you run. Head to the tunnel." The tunnel that Bevy and Makyna were supposed to be. The tunnel they were hiding in to help those who had gotten injured. They could protect the babe, and then he and Arkrael would have to plunge once more into the fray.

With a grunt, Leon turned and his paws carried him as fast as he could back towards the tunnel entrance, hoping that Arkrael would follow his lead.

(because the fight is almost over, maybe we can exit into this thread? i hope thats alright!) @Arkrael

The pup called for help and Arkrael's heart quickly went out to it. It had truly came at such a bad time that it did not even have the change to use their legs for the first time. Leon's cry of urgency urged her on and she quickly went up to the pup and gave a short, friendly nuzzle against her side. Without hesitation Arkarel moved and gripped her fangs into the pups hackles, careful not to pinch too hard and cause any pain. Easily she lifted the pup up and turned a disgruntled look towards the battle, watching as one gembound after another went rushing in to battle the beast. Arkrael's fur bristled as a low rumble began in her throat, but she quickly shook it off and bolted off towards the entrance of the cave.

She didn't wait, didn't spare one more glance behind her at the fight going on as her ears pinned back against her skull. She would take this pup to safety and then she would return. Hopefully on time. She did, however, glance to the bear before she disappeared into the entrance and headed for where Bevy and Makyna were supposedly waiting.

"Speech"
'Thoughts'

---

Tags: @Leon @Seraph
OoC: I was given permission to PP taking Seraph from this thread to the next.

-Exit Rae-

@Leon @Seraph