The voice did not come to her this time. Maybe it saw no reason in answering her. Was it a game of sorts? See how long the pup could be plunged in this darkness before she snapped? What would she do once she did? To many motives, all of it a threat to her survival and so it fell upon her own shoulders to seek a way out of this soul crushing darkness. Paws pressed her onward, ears swiveling this way and that to catch any other noise other than her own claws against the stone for a long time. ”It watches. It waits.

The glow of her cast began to vanish, leaving her back into the gripping darkness as she had before but instead of recasting she stopped once more. Head swung round but as before caught no sight of anything. ”Who blinds me?” Aleera asked once more, the growl in her voice evident. This time a sound echoed back but it was raspy and far off, as though whoever was speaking were on the other side of a wall. Responding to someone else. With no alternative left to her, the ebony wolf pushed herself forward toward these sounds that seemed absorbed into the darkness until she could finally make out words. ”Who is there?” Aleera called out, her voice firm but cautious in the last few yards of approach.

Ooc: I believe Bones was also in Canis so Aleera came say hi. o3o

table by Sara

Unaware of what he was doing, Azazel skirted the top of the cave, feeling the cool stone. Canis was still here. Thank the gods. Unintentionally broadcasting his thoughts to Giggle, he thought. 'Thank... Cani-... still here. No li-...' Once again, it would sound akin to a choppy radio, dropping in and out, but louder this time. As a slurred and broken sentence returned in a familiar voice, Azazel shook his head. 'Light... good, would be good.' Gears clicked in his head, and he realized that somehow he was communicating with Giggle. Blinking, he looked around. She asked if it was him, and he chirped, focusing on the connection. 'Yes. What is going on?' What was happening. Why was Canis so dark? Distantly, he heard voices sound as if they were miles away, so he flew back to the cave entrance, and he landed with a quiet click of talons. Gazing around warily, he felt around for someone, but could not find anyone. Except for a furry mass that he was pretty sure was Kerberos.

Fallah was a little late to this party. She entered the area, trying not to start a conversation with many of the other gembounds. She was thinking about the shadow. What was it? Where was it? that question was answered when everything went completely black. Fallah backpedaled, but wasn't able to get out of the darkness. She had no spells that could help her, so the lynx, after a moment of wandering, sat down, "Why is it dark?" she asked whatever was around. She didn't know what was going on yet, but she knew she didn't have the knowledge to fix it just yet. "speak"

Sadie had been one of last to give chase to the shadowy creature, following behind Fallah, so it was no surprise to her that a large group of gembounds were already gathered at the place where, presumably, the trail of black goo ended. She studied them as she approached, recognizing the horse and the hyena, but not the black bird nor the...was that a three-headed dog? Weird. When Sadie pulled her gaze away from the oddity, she finally noticed the seemingly impenetrable darkness that shrouded the cave beyond.

Was is the shadow creature that was causing this darkness? Surely, there couldn't be any other reason behind it. In anycase, Sadie immediately knew that she did not want to go in there. But was there any other way to find the creature, or get rid of this darkness? She might've asked Fallah's opinion on what to do, except that the lynx was no longer standing where she thought she'd been. Glancing around the area quickly, Sadie was just in time to see the familiar black-tipped tail disappear into the darkness, already lost completely lost from view before Sadie could utter, "Fallah, wait!"

Cloven hoofs clicked on the stone floor as Sadie hurriedly moved to stand just inches away from the wall of darkness. "Fallah?" she called, her voice anxious. Staring into the darkness was enough to make a chill go through the cow's body--what must it be like to be actually in the dark room? Sadie didn't want to find out, but she also needed to see if Fallah was alright. Assuming that she could even find the lynx once she submerged herself in the darkness. There was a considerable chance that she'd get lost in the darkness too and be of absolutely no use to Fallah, and the thought kept the ginger cow from stepping into the cave of bones just yet.

"You have a plan?" The question was directed to the small group of gembounds nearby, though not to anyone in particular, as she was uncertain about which one was currently in charge. Sadie had not been listening to their discussion, too preoccupied with Fallah's disappearance. She'd missed the details of their plan, and Sadie was quite anxious to hear them now. If they had a way to enter the cave in relative safety, she would join them. From there it should be a simple enough matter to find Fallah. At least, that's what she hoped.

With or without them, Sadie would search for her best friend, but Sadie would much rather be with them. In the darkness, even the help of strangers would be preferable to being on her own.

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN

Asurai continued to shiver in the darkness. Where was she, how did she get out. She took a deep breath and tried to relax herself. She took a moment, but when she became calm she looked around once more. She couldn't see but maybe she would be able to find some light in this darkness. "Hello......how do I get out? What is this place? Tell me please!" She looked around and then suddenly, she felt herself bump into Sadie. She stepped back a little, unable to see due to the darkness. "Is.......is anyone there?" She looked around and took a deep breath. She was getting scared. She was really getting scared now.

while in canis, the adolescent eagle liked to stick close to giggle. whether visibly, if she knew it, or not, he thought of her as some sort of mentor that pushed the little eagle on his way in life. but a quick transformation would prove that the little eagle was not so little anymore, nor flightless. creamed feathers turned brown, white feathers turned grey, and together they mesh to show the last stage before the eaglet became the eagle. but it would seem this day, canis had exploded. but the eagle could not see, as pitch covered everything. instead, voices of different creatures, creatures he had and hadn't met all about, yet he remained quite. silent as he perched high upon a ledge, with a proud stance and a hidden body due to the abyss.

the eagle was able to pinpoint a few creatures he did and didn't come across in his growing life, via voice. and one among them stood out, a wolf pup, black in color with a hideous pattern about her flesh- that voice he'd never forget. the eagle sneered at the thought of her, still not sure of her name, but remained where he was upon his perch, listening intently. he heard as giggle began telling something named kerberos to pay attention. he'd never met a kerberos, and wondered what on earth it was.

then, azazel's voice. but, trouble stirred. and what was it? ambrus listened closely, keeping his attention on each individual that spoke, filing away what they'd said. he decided he'd visit with giggle, to help her in any way he could. or this..kerberos thing. he listened for her voice again, and aimed for that general direction. browned wings unfurled as the eagle leaped from his perch with incredible grace, one proud glide as he landed with the same momentum, his beak chattering for a moment, deciding to break the silence - hoping he was somewhere close to her.
"giggle?"
he spoke aloud, moderate tones reaching out for her as he remained still now upon the floor of the area.

all you have is your fire

and the place it need to reach

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

"Mrff? Zzhzzl?" His mouthful mumbled, curious but not enough to follow the thought much farther. If Giggle heard Aza'zel, that was a good thing, right? He certainly didn't, but that was alright. Bones was more important to him, anyway.

Kerberos felt Delphine touch his tail and a reassured feeling flowed through him. Many gembounds gathered behind them as Giggle stepped forward, his paws shuffling forward carefully-- his neck stretched out as far forward as it could go as either head to the side looked around the blackness. He did not want to step on his mother, and he was careful to keep gentle but firm hold of her. If they were separated, he was quite afraid he would never find them again.

While he could not bare to lose Bones, he truly couldn't afford to lose his friend and mother as well. "Giggle," his voice came, barking loudly in the deafening silence, knowing his words would fall away quite shortly in the void. "I won't let go. I have Delphine, too. It'll be alright. You know the way back," he was sure of this. "If anyone can find Bones, it'll be you, and me." His tail wanted to wag but again, he kept it still, tangled up in the horses' horns.

"Thank you for coming by the way, you really didn't have to," he woofed, softer this time, to the black horse-- he could only barely make out the green of gemstone. A shiver crawled up his spine as he tried to force the darkness away. A heat built up in his chest, but though his body became warm, it was not too hot to the touch. His white body began to glow internally with a pale, pinkish-orange flame that started in his heart. He would be the torch, the light that would show the way to Bones. He had to try.

Fallah heard Sadie, but she couldn't see her. This darkness was all-consuming. It was a void. The lynx's nose started twitching, hunter instincts kicking in. It wasn't too hard to sniff out the familiar moo-friend. She almost bumped into the cow's long legs, but stopped just before, "Sadie..." she murmured, her voice naturally quiet. Slowly she nuzzled her friend, gently, but firm enough as not to spook the cow. She offered a small lick of comfort, but didn't know what to say or think, so she stayed silent, waiting for what was next.


ooc: sorry it's crap

The crow shifted somewhat as the hyena padded into the darkness. Her talons curled slightly to grip onto the fur she stood on. "Before you go in too deep," the crow squawked. "Why not try to stay near a wall, follow it? I know you have uh.. what didja call them? Mushrooms? I know you have a trail of those but it might be good to follow a wall a little, too."

Eve made sure her voice was loud - or at least as loud as she could without hurting Giggle's ears. She couldn't see anything ahead, or if they were even near a wall at all, by now. It felt almost like they had been walking for years now.

The crow shifted again, talon shimmering as she attempted to emit a soft glow through her feathers.

A deafening silence fell over Canis. It had been there to sneer, to taunt, to tease, but now it was quiet. Like fireflies lighting briefly in the distant for a moment, its many eyes watched the Gembounds sparingly. The wolf who cried desperately for help, the Lorekeeper and bone-dog, the curious wolf, the eagle who searched, the large bird lost within the lichen, the cow and the cat - and the group.

The group tried to use their light and the darkness swallowed so much of everything that they would barely see the faint flicker against the Gembound beside them. Even the three-headed creature would barely reflect to those around him. Together, they were fine. Together, if they kept close, they would not lose each other.

And that bothered the shadows that had swallowed Canis whole.

The bird that had landed in the lichen was assuming he had landed near his friends. Most of the Gembounds that were wandering around the void seemed to use the hyena as a focus point. They followed her. They asked for her. The knew her. Shifting around some of the lichen, the darkness moved so that it fooled Aza'zel. Was he moving? Was the lichen moving? Did he even know where he was?

To Asurai, it was silent. Where once it had been speaking to her, now it was gone. She was alone. "Over here!" called the mimicking cry of Giggle in the distance. Asurai would be the only one to hear it. Unsure if this Gembound was connected to Giggle, the shadows knew that any voice offering aid would lure the wolf away.

Aleera had been talking. Asking. Searching. A breathy voice moved around her as her paws lost their glow, "They have all gone." Curious for her reaction, the darkness did nothing more to her, waiting.

For the searching eagle, a distant voice came to greet him shortly after his landing. "Over here!" it mimicked Giggle again, this time making it seem as if the voice was just beyond reach. It was only for the ears of Ambrus.

It remained silent for Sadie and Fallah. Eyes opened here more than anywhere else, watching. Observing. Such a large creature and a small one. How curious.

The group. Intrigued with their solid connection, it merely watch for a while. It swallowed their lights and swept the trail of mushrooms away. It followed them with a curiousness that only brought dismay. For now, it watched them. It swallowed all of their light and all of their voices. It let them keep their feeling of security, their togetherness - waiting. Waiting for it to grow just enough that breaking it would be... fun.

It watched Giggle the closest. She was the first it had taken an interest in. It studied her and made note of her connections. Searching for Bones, were they? That's what they said. Going over the small list of Gembounds it had trapped within Canis, it could only assume the one whose bone was shifted was the creature they called Bones. Bone-dog was with the Lorekeeper. A nearly-tangible tendril scooped up the femur bone. Moving the bone quickly through the vastness of itself brought it to the group in no time. Without wait or warning, the bone came scattering across the floor before them as if it had been rolled. It bounced right past them, back into the void where another tendril would scoop up its prize. For all they knew, it had just rolled past.