She is awake, and the last thing she remembers is the pain that fills her body. The memory is heavy, and yet as soon as the small creature is aware of it, she is distinctly aware of the absence of such pain. The lamb has found herself in a different place - an old place, but familiar - and stares blankly at the intricate designs upon the walls. It is familiar for its smell, for its feeling, because Dawa's misted eyes are of no use to her. Around her body there is a fog of energy which glows dully against the rock face beside her; and as the last of the magicka dissipates, as the light vanishes, she is left wondering what to do next. Her charge is missing - she knows she has failed in her duty, somehow - and this is not the great pit where Raheerah once slept. But what can she do? The poor lamb was lost in the dark again, and would not tempt fate by walking plainly through the abyss. A small sigh breaks the stillness, but she does not rise from her crumpled position upon the ground - alive, but not entirely whole.

This quest is optional.
It appears Dawa has survived, through some miracle, but she cannot be of use without a set of eyes. If nobody responds by Sunday, September 27, this thread will become read-only and she will either set out on her own, or become a victim of the cave.

If you are currently participating in the Fiery Pit (part 4) thread, or being healed by Bevy/Makyna in their thread, your character cannot be here.

TENNESSEE

"Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play"

The sound of cheery singing and a banjo going through a series of playful tunes rang down the tunnel long before the owner of the tones did.


"This is the story of,
Anna coo chee catchee kama tos a near a tos a nok a sama kama wacky Brown.
Who?
Anna coo chee catchee kama tos a near a tos a nok a sama kama wacky Brown.
Fell into the well, Fell into the well,
Fell into the deep, dark well."


The sound started off faint, echoing but then the creature rounded the tunnel and it was clear who was singing and playing the catchy tune.


"
Susie Jones, milkin' in the barn,
Saw her fall, ran inside and told her ma that...

Anna coo chee catchee kama tos a near a tos a nok a sama kama wacky Brown.
Fell into the well, Fell into the well,
Fell into the deep, dark well.."


The little lemur walked along the tunnel, strumming and singing until he saw something strange ahead. The lemur's ice blue eyes squinted as it tried to make out the strange glowing thing. "Daisy-darlin', now, my eyes ain't the best 'round these parts but I reckon that that's a lil' lamb over yonder. What d'ya say? Do we approach'er?" Along behind the red lemur was a Red Rat. She cared not for the singing and had been ignoring the lemur's tune but now when it was spoken directly to... It continued ignoring him and sat down whereupon it began to nibble at its dirty flank.

"Daisy-girl! Are ya listenin'?" At the slightly raised tone the rat raised its head and gave the lemur a particularly disinterested expression before it started nibbling again. "Right! I think we should go too! C'mon!" With that the lemur walked off, straight towards the strange lamb. Daisy, lifted her head to watch him go but didn't get up. The rat didn't particularly like how the lamb looked and was just fine with nibbling at the tiny vermin in her fur.

Tennesse ambled right up to the resting lamb and gave a polite bow to what he figured was a fair maiden. "Howdy there, darlin'! My name's Tennessee. Can I be of assistance to ya?" Now that he was up close he noticed that she looked particularly unwell... Poor lady. He'd certainly help if he could!

______________________________________

"This is how I talk!"
This is how I think!

392
Dawa
---
6/10

Another sleepless night.

Or perhaps it was still day. There was no concept of time in these caves.

This time, what kept her up, was a racket that some gembound was causing near her nest. It was singing, like Adeyemi would, but without the harmony that a bird would sing with. The thing that was singing had a maw, not a beak, but it made peculiar sounds.

As the owl clambered out of her nest and looked over the ledge she saw that the source of the more peculiar sounds came from some sort of weapon or utensil, Willow wasn't sure which one. Following it, appeared to be a... cave rat? It sang and it yammered on to the rat, before going on about a lamb.

Willow didn't know what a lamb was, but still she made the effort to swoop down, wings making absolutely no sound as she landed with only a faint clack of her talons behind the lemur and rat, head tilted as she watches the two.

There was a battle beginning in Polaris; she did not need to be present to feel the animosity within the air, within the very essence of the caves. A battle she should have been witness to - for it was her duty, her purpose - the one that subdues the beast and ends the torment. Dawa could know nothing of the struggles of these gembound; and like the others of her ancient ilk, she cared little for them either way. It was Raheerah that she cared for - Raheerah, Tenzin, the many others.

But she could be of no help here. She could not aid them until the precise moment, and that was not this moment.

When the sound of a voice drifted to her through the darkness, she ignored it. The song spoke of things not of this world nor of this time, and Dawa was far too concerned for other things. But the song became louder and louder, eventually overwhelming her thoughts, until it ceased and the lamb was faced with something else, something new. She felt their arrival - multiple beasts, one of the earth and one of the air - but she remained silent, pensive and worried.

Tennessee's voice boomed, swelling around her, and Dawa finally moved; imperceptibly shaking her head, her milky gaze growing wide when she realized the strangers had stopped to aid her. No, no, they must keep on moving - they must escape before the end. "Go," the lamb murmured, her voice heavy and tired, "Go before you are consumed," a sheen overtook her eyes then, and the poor thing squeezed her eyes shut to prevent the tears from falling. I warned them before, she suddenly thought, her mouth pursing in to a hard line, then a frown, as she remembered: the pit, the pain, the terror - an escape. These children, they do not listen.

Prince Charmirb Gertrude flew around. He could fly for great stretches of time. He could strut or fly, it was up to him, of course, he would be the master of both. He flew, surveying the area when He spotted a small group, "My my, if it isn't Willow... Willow! Darling!" He called, his voice cheery. Then he noticed the lamb. It warned them to go before they were consumed. Consumed? Hah! He was the prince of this place, no one could eat him! Gertrude circled once, then dove to land on the small creature loftily, "Tut tut, now, what is all this of being consumed? Who or what is going to consume us, if I may ask?"

make my messes matter,

make this chaos count

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

On one paw, Kerberos wanted to stay and guard his door and his home like a good boy. On the other, the noise of the fight in Polaris drew his attention-- though he was much too far off to hear most of it, the initial roar, the thunder, the earthquakes, had all trembled off to hit his senses, and he was much too curious to stay away.

So he was drawn, down Tunnel J, down towards the junction where he could turn into Polaris-- but for some reason, it was incredibly dark. He could hear voices, and he froze, ears perked, listening to those up ahead.

Go.

Go before you are consumed.

The massive hound considered this, wondering if what was up ahead saw him and thought-- oh, shit, the hell hound that eats everyone is coming... Or if there was another danger, a bigger, worse danger-- or perhaps, unlikely, but perhaps, the voice was like him. Protecting the weak with threats of violence. Somehow, he had a feeling it was a warning about a true danger, not him or the voice. Something worse.

Kerberos didn't move from his spot, only simply tried to create a light-- a light to perhaps illuminate the tunnel, and perhaps lead the lost gembounds out of trouble. He lifted a paw, hoping to channel his magic into it and make it glow like it usually did...

The massive dog, however, began to swell with heat and fire-- it didn't actually hurt too much, but it did light him up not unlike a jack-o-latern. So now, three terrifying dog faces lit up the dark, casting long shadows of the gembounds through the tunnel. His tail wagged, a glowstick in the once-pitch black, and he woofed softly.

"This way, quickly," he woofed gently towards the others.

TENNESSEE

"Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play"

After he spoke to the lamb, things seemed to happen very quickly. The sound of clicking talons came from behind him and before he could turn to see what it was there was a hiss from Daisy who then shuffled up to the lemur. Her ruby-red eyes glared at the owl and then at the new bird who came out of nowhere and landed on the lamb. Tennessee's eyes lit up with happiness at the unexpected arrivals. "Daisy-darlin' don't be rude! Howdy there, friends! An' yeah! I'd like t'know what ya mean too, darlin'." His eyes turned back to the lamb, questioning her. What on earth was she talking about?

It was then that he heard the sound of louder pawsteps and out of the darkness came a three-headed glowing dog. Now, if he was wise the lemur probably would have hightailed it out of there at the new houseguest but as it was... He only seemed impressed by the sheer size of it. Tennessee whistled, obviously impressed by the use of magic. However, his rat companion was terrified but instead of showing cowardice it showed bravery by climbing up onto Tennessee's head and giving a full-throated hiss. One paw swiped at the air as if she were trying to threaten the huge canine.

Shocked at the rat pup's sudden assent Tennessee gave squeal before "tsk tsk tsk'ing" at his pet. "Daisy! What did I tell ya about bein' rude!" Another hiss but she stayed firmly rooted to his head and shoulders. From underneath rat he looked at the dog, "Sorry, she don't mean nothin'... An' I know yer tryin' t'help but... We'd like t'hear what this 'ere lamb has t'say. I'm really curious."

______________________________________

"This is how I talk!"
This is how I think!

284
Dawa, @Willow @Gertrude @Kerberos
---
6/10

They would not listen to her warnings - even now, with the whole of Polaris going up in flames and their comrades dying by the hundreds -- no, that was before - that was before but it was happening again. Always happening. History repeating, always, always -

And suddenly the lamb lurched sideways, stepping and slouching against the rock wall wherein before she had only been poised next to it. A large green bird had landed atop her body, and as soon as it made contact, a scream wrenched itself from her lungs. The touch of talons upon her back (as soft as they were intended, perhaps) seared her body; the nerves upon her skin flared as if exposed to the great fire of the dragon itself. The lamb was overwhelmed - and as she hit the rock wall, her pelt tangling in the carvings, the scream became a bellow of horrified pain.

None could touch Dawa, it was once known. Tenzin knew of this - she remembered him, remembered how he would come running when the slightest thing disturbed her flesh. But she screamed and screamed, and there was no reprieve, not until she ran out of breath and collapsed outright.

Had she been privy to the ongoing battle with Raheerah, her body's connection to the cave floor would have been coincidentally timed with Tenzin's own devastation and plummet to the ground below.

Dawa is unconscious. You may attempt to revive her, or seek help from an outside source.

make my messes matter,

make this chaos count

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

The lamb let out the most horrible noise and Kerberos echoed it-- a roar mixed with a snarl mixed with furious barking, all of his heads went off in different, furious noises as he lurched forward, unafraid of trampling or hurting the other gembounds in his way. They would move or face his flame-filled teeth and claws.

"GET AWAY!" The canine snarled, his teeth snapping at the charmbirb. He would get that cocky bastard away from the lamb-- he would protect the lamb. She had been trying to help. They hadn't listened.

"EVERYONE LEAVE! I WILL EAT YOU ALL!" Came his snapping, baying, barking, snarling voices, filled to the brim with venom. He had no idea what the bird had done, but he would not do it again. Kerberos would save everyone, even if it meant attacking, even hurting them. He would do his best... And his best was trying to scare them into leaving.

He didn't know how to help the lamb, but he was more than willing to make sure nothing touched her, nothing hurt her, and that everyone fled the danger that she said was coming. His fur bristled, tail lashing, a he stumbled through the gembounds, snapping at the bird's feathers, trying to get him to leave the lamb alone. He would eat the dumb bird if he didn't back off. And he would love to have some chicken right then.

As soon as she touched the lamb, it screamed and fell into the wall. Gertrude fluttered away as the body fell. At first he thought the lamb was just being dramatic, but it was really seriously knocked out, wasn't it? He knew he had grown stronger, but he didn't know he had grown that strong. Still, he did feel a little-

OUCH

That dog just BIT him! The nerve of some of these creatures. The dog's teeth scraped past his rear end, snagging his tail feathers and plucking several out as he pulled away, "Excuse you large, wingless, land creature with too many heads, but what do you think you're doing?" he flew higher and higher, turning to face the dog, "Do you- oh my goodness, you really are a fool, aren't you? I wasn't trying to hurt the delicate little fluff, it just happened that I was stronger than I initially thought!" His ego swelled as he thought of his own strength, "Now, I say you're not helping anyone by being aggressive, so stand down if you will." His head tilted indignantly, "Don't you hunt things like that for breakfast, dog-beast? What's your problem? Do you even know who I am? I am Prince Charmbirb Gertrude and I am appalled that you think I would attack the innocent!" The prince continued rambling, "Now, if you don't want me to try and figure out why the lamb shattered, you might want to turn your attention to it first." Really, the nerve of some gembounds!