Mar 27 — [Quest] EMERGENT INFLUENCE (READ MORE) Mar 8 — [Event] Spring Regrowth! (READ MORE) Feb 6 — Domain Migration Complete! (READ MORE)
CAVE STATUS
QUESTS/EVENTS
Torrential downpours cause localized flooding and many upset cats. Along with these frequent rain, from gentle drizzles to heavy rainfall, there seems to be a flux of Magicka drawn in particular to water sources. Occasional jet streams of warm air make narrower tunnels harder to navigate. On occasion, the rain intensifies, becoming howling storms with sleet or large hail. However, the temperatures overall are a little warmer, with snow and ice in temperate caves somewhat receding.
The musty stink of the canyon again filled her senses. It felt like it had been too long since she relished its familiar tastes; like dust, like decay, fresh and stale all the same, like hot and cold, the first time her Fire had described it to her. That's what Monoceros was to her. It was a memory, but alive; it was everything good that had ever come to her. It was everything that had ever filled her. It was the joy of Delphine coming to visit her for the first time after Baratheon's attack, it was seeing the horrible white dragon taken under Louie as a captive, it was meeting Nemesis and then spending every day with her for her warmth, and her stories, and then her presence. And then it was finding Graham, and the little feline who almost got trapped in the twister, and meeting Nemesis' dear child. It was learning under Louie, her master, the father of their prokaryotic monster. It was being the progenitor of something great. Something terrible.
The dog had descended into the canyons to see what she could find. Surely much had changed since they were there; she wondered if the shards of Nemesis' chrysalis remained, where she had burst forth as a new creature after the attack of the dragon Raheerah. She wondered if she could find Graham's chrysalis, or the remains of the hunts she had conducted - mostly poorly, but Magdalena could be fast enough to grab something if she knew where it was. Most of all, she was reacquainting herself with the place she called her home. After being away from it for so long, it was easy for her paws to forget the feel of it. It was easy for its layout to waste away into a fuzzy wall-less memory, and Magdalena would not allow herself to grow so weak from such a lack of knowledge.
Above all that, she'd been devising internally. Plans and great intentions. She had to prepare, and she had to be strong enough to teach, like Louie. She had to be strong enough to search. She wouldn't settle for mere memories of the ones she lost - Graham, Delphine, Booker - she would find them. But she had to practice first, and it was with that in mind that she'd come to hope that she would find another Merryman down here in the canyon. Somebody to test the first batch of what she'd been brewing.
Noise. The clacking of claw tips tapping along the stone floor of Monoceros. No one had been to these parts for awhile and it was the one place Erebus had ever found solitude. He had grown over the cycles, filling out with thick corded muscles. His height had grown as well. No longer shorter than most, Erebus stood at a majestic height and now it was he who looked down upon others. Others that he did not interact with. In fact, Erebus did not do a lot of socializing ever. It was better that way. It was how he enjoyed it. He spent time with his own being. Explored when he wanted to, ate where he wanted to. There were no rules he had to follow. No scrutinizing gaze for his choices. But most importantly... there was no annoying rhino who kept telling him he was some fake thing.
"Hmph..stupid gray blob," His voice, burly and deep in it's tone, grumbled out and finally the large horse flicked his ears forwards. It wasn't normal for him to find curiosity in who could possibly be around, but for some reason in that moment he wanted to know. Who in the hell was traveling around in his part of the gorge?! With a loud blow of air rushing from his nostrils the stud went towards the sound of paws moving across the stone. His hooves clip clopped loudly, but he did not care. He was not here to hide himself away. Only cowards did that and Erebus was no coward. His head was kept tall while his tail swished about with his movements.
It wasn't long before he came upon the white dog and his eyes stared down at her in a scrutinizing manner. Her body was frail and her ears were droopy. What in this Cave was she to have such droopy ears?! He nickered with his annoyance as he stomped a single hoof down against the ground and ringed his neck towards her. "You there! What are you doing here?" He grunted, demanding an answer as he took a few more steps towards the floppy eared dog. He scented at her, almost curious to know what she smelt like, but his interest didn't last long as he stepped a few more paces closer. "Not many people come through here much any more," he continued to grumble at her. It probably wasn't true, he just never payed attention to anyone that may have lingered in the area.
She moved slowly, precisely, raising her nose to the air to drink in every smell that settled in at the bottom of the canyon. When the clip clop sound of hooves suddenly rose up through the stagnant silence, Magdalena was quick to realize that she wasn't alone, and a little thankful. It had been hard traversing the canyon by herself without her vision and detecting others was difficult unless she could hear or smell them. The stranger had announced his presence with regular footfalls, and eventually Magdalena slowed her pace and swung her head in his direction. Her nose leveled with him and she waited as he drew nearer, eventually nickering gently into the air and stamping his hoof down. His voice came not long after, demanding to know her purpose down here in the canyon.
His words coincided with her, Nemesis and Louie's recent absence. Perhaps this too meant that Diamondfang had been busy elsewhere. Magdalena hadn't heard from the mongoose in a while, so she wondered what exactly Diamondfang was up to. It seemed, in the meanwhile, this hoofbeast had taken up residence in the canyons. Perhaps he had not been around while Nemesis was hiding in her chrysalis, for Magdalena couldn't recall a day she had ever left the canyon. Or maybe the canyon was just so vast that they had never encountered one another. It was possible - without her sight, Magdalena couldn't know how large it truly was.
Her head tilted slightly, straw eyes lingering slow in the direction of the equine before they rose to the ceiling. "Revisiting." She answered whimsically, allowing a small smile to take its place on her lips. "Are you of the Merrymen?" The dog added. It would be odd for somebody who didn't belong to their group to take up residence here, but perhaps in Diamondfang's absence he had snuck in and settled down.
Revisiting? That certainly was an interesting claim. Perhaps she had hatched from her Chrysalis here? Erebus couldn't recall anything hatching in the area for awhile, but then again... It's not like he had went searching for annoying children that were freshly hatched either. Ears flicked forward as his gaze was drawn back to the weird floppy eared canine. Here next question peeked a mild interest. The Merrymen. "I had been at one time..." He grumbled lowly, snorting with derision as he shuffled his hooves for a moment. "But I got tired of that stupid gray blob," He spat with one more thud of his hoof hitting the ground. The audacity that thing had! It still boiled his blood just thinking about the beast.
"Fang had brought me here a long time ago," He eyed the dog again, ears flicking towards her with mild interest. "Am I to assume you're part of that ragtag team" It wasn't that he cared if she were or not, it was none of his business and she was certainly no friend of his. Not with those freakish floppy ears of hers. At leaest even that gray blob had decent ears. A part of him may have missed Fang. She had been the first he had ever met after freeing himself from his Chrysalis back in Cetus. A place he would be damned sure to never go back to. And though she had brought him here and introduced him to the annoying gray blob, Erebus had never forgotten the mongoose.
With her head cocked back and her nose pointed at the ceiling, it was difficult to tell that her brows had arched. But her expression metamorphosed from emptiness to a mild, lofty curiosity and as she listened to his words, she couldn't resist the sly (outwardly, it was more humble and modest) smile that had begun to form on her lips. She couldn't recall his presence, but perhaps he had faded away around the time that Magdalena had come to be - and she couldn't deny her curiosity over what he referred to as a stupid grey blob. Considering Magdalena lacked the ability to identify anything by their colour or shape (intelligence level was another thing, on that front she knew of several stupid Gembounds) she really had no idea of who he may have been talking about.
Thankfully, he brought up another Gembound that Magdalena was familiar with. She cocked her ear towards him as he mentioned Fang, Diamondfang, and that she had brought the male to the group a long time ago. She did have to give him credit for realizing that the group was ragtag, considering the three of them, Louie, Magdalena and Nemesis, had all parted ways for reasons of their own. Perhaps now that the three of them had returned to Monoceros, they could convince the horse to join their ranks again. Well... that was one option. Slowly, the dog lowered her head and pointed her nose at the horse - a startlingly accurate direction, landing her sightless straw eyes on his breast. She took a step closer, taking in his scent, stowing it away. "Yes. I am Magdalena." The dog answered dutifully, and took another step.
"I will admit, I am pleased to find you here." Magdalena's voice came as a guiltless lilt, rolling from her tongue light as snowflakes taking to the air. Her head tilted slightly, an expression of innocence ground into a sad smile. "You see, I am blind, and I have been wandering the gorge here for quite some time unable to find the path back up. Perhaps, as but a former Merryman, you would deign to help out a lost friend?"
She soon spoke her name and Erebus wasn't impressed at all. Okay so maybe that weren't true. It was a strange name, but it held an interesting ring to to. Hey eyes the dog as she set her straw eyes on him and he gave a snort in response. To find that she was pleased to have come across him left Erebus with an odd emotion and he wasn't quite sure he liked it. So with a flick of his long, gorgeous tail Erebus stomped a hoof down once again. As if to make himself seem just a tad bit grumpier. His whithers twitched as she continued on with her words. It wasn't surprising to hear she had been blind. Her eyes were far to strange to work properly in his own opinion. It was when she asked if he would assist her did he give off another blow of air through his nostrils.
Why should he? He was a derelict. Sure of his own choosing, but it wasn't like Fang had come seeking him out at all! She didn't care at all and he knew damned sure that stupid gray blob was probably partying it up now that he kept his distance. But...- With a heavy sigh Erebus craned his neck up and looked around, almost as if he were searching for the best way to get out of the gorge. What would it hurt to help the lost weird floppy eared dog out of the gorge anyways? It would get her away from him and back to where she belonged. Not that she didn't belong in that area seeing as it was part of Monoceros which ultimately belonged to Fang and the MerryMen.
"Fine...I will give you my assistance," He grumbled his response to her as he settled his purple gaze onto her form once more. "Though, if you're blind, how did you know you were in the gorge?" Suspicious eyes narrowed at the canine as he looked her over once more. Perhaps it was memory that led her to the answer. Or perhaps she was trying to fool him and make him assume she was blind! After all she did pointedly look right at him a few times. How else would she have done that if she was blind as she had claimed. He suppose he would play along for now, and if she were truly blind then he would admit he was wrong. Not out loud of course. He would not dare speak an apology for his pride would surely be wounded if he did so.
Nov 12 2015, 01:13 PM (This post was last modified: Nov 12 2015, 01:25 PM by Magdalena.)
MAGICKA LEVEL 91% RESTORED TO 100%
The stamp of his hoof against the ground, unprecedented, did cause a small shudder in the dog. Hopefully it hadn't been too noticeable - or if it had, maybe it would serve to swell his ego a little. There was no harm in appealing to those who would lend you a hand, against their will or not, and Magdalena found she had a penchant for buttering up the unfortunate targets of her games. When her heart stilled, her expression had settled into that same modest smile, drinking in first his agreement to help - then his suspicion. I'm blind, not stupid. The thought didn't dare pass through her lips. Instead, Magdalena laughed and turned her shoulder slightly, that festering cloud in the pit of her chest rolling up and out, into the stale air, lurching silently and unseen towards her unwitting companion.
"If I have not descended any further, then I am assuming I've gone as far as I can go." Magdalena answered gently, smiling though in no direction in particular. She was quite conscious about where she walked - she knew the feel of the earth between her paws well, memorizing textures and debris as she walked. Minor slopes and curves in the ground, rocky terrain, it all helped point her in the right direction. She had just as good an idea of the layout of the gorge as the horse, but she would feign ignorance for now.
Erebus eyed the canine before shrugging it off with a careless movement. "Okay well..." He began as he looked around the area trying to decide which way would be best to get the blind weird floppy eared canine out of the gorge. A frown suddenly marred his features as a strange sensation suddenly tingled along his belly. Shaking it off merely blaming it on hunger. It was about time he found his way out of the gorgeous and trotted off to find some food anyways. With a shake of his head he glanced to the blind canine. "You'll be able to keep up? Or should I walk slowly," For once he wasn't trying to be rude with his inquiry. She had been nothing but pleasant since he showed himself to her and that was more he could saw for others.
With a nicker of thought mostly directed to himself Erebus turned and began walking, his hooves clip clopping loudly against the stone flooring. The longer he walked the more he realized something definitely did not feel right, but he quickly pushed it aside once again blaming it on his lack of feeding. A frown marred his features, but he did not say a thing as he continued his slow pace towards the path that would lead them out of the gorges. "So...are you pals with that crazy rhino like Fang is too?" His tail whipped back and forth as he continued his pace. Just thinking about that annoying creature boiled his blood. One day he would show her! He was no fake 'rhino'. He was no stupid rhino! He was a proud equine!
Slowly, but surely, a sense of restlessness began to set in and Erebus found himself glancing around. As if he were paranoid someone else was around. It didn't make sense at all. The sudden feeling concerned Erebus. Surely having gone a day or so without eating wouldn't cause such sensations within him. At least, he didn't think so. He snorted through his nostrils before glancing over his shoulder just to make sure Magdalena was still following him with no trouble.
She wasn't entirely sure if her exhalation had succeeded. She could feel the brew festering in her chest slowly crawl up and out of her lungs, entering the world. She could feel it brushing past her lips and cheeks, crawling through her fur, taking off into the air. Her distraction snapped back to the horse; his words, rough and uncertain, wormed into her ears and grasped for her listening. The dog kept her noctambulous pace. She couldn't move too fast for fear of stumbling over her paws. She had to mind the ground after all, she had to know where she was going, had to ensure that the horse wasn't attempting to do her under while she did the same to him. Perhaps she'd deserve it, but she hadn't given him grounds to do so. He would be persecuted. She would be rewarded.
He somehow didn't think she'd be able to keep up, but maybe that was due to her slow, mindful pace. Magdalena cocked her head to him, still smiling humbly, almost with amusement. "I will be fine." She answered and sped up. More of her focus went into her careful steps. She'd just have to be careful not to graze any rocks. Her head shifted, nose pointing downward as she went. It seemed he was intent on a brisk journey back to her safety, so she complied. It wouldn't be long, anyways. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she tried to reach out to him. She tried to understand, and she was searching, grasping for the pull of the familiar-
But there was nothing coming back to her. The smile faltered, but only slightly. Had her attempt to poison him failed? Or maybe she just couldn't detect it - the sickness roiling inside of her was beginning to spill up, she could feel her nerves tightening. Soon the need to cough would consume her. It was better if she let her magic rest and just hope for the best. He distracted her again, and that smile flickered back to life. "Nemesis?" Magdalena didn't agree with the horse's opinion of her. Nemesis was far from crazy - well, maybe she was a little strange in the mind, but they all were. "She is a Merryman. I am bound to her by alliance." The dog answered. It wasn't necessarily a lie, but she failed to mention anything more on their relationship, instead turning the focus to him. "Why do you call her crazy?" Magdalena asked curiously. Humor was evident in her voice, seeking only knowledge, not to redeem her friend. Soon enough, there would be no point.
ROLL 3
Magdalena attempts to Cast Spell — White Sense( did it work??? )
A roll of his eyes was Magdalena's response from the big stallion. An annoyed flick of his tail was her only other response as Erebus grumbled on about the gray blob to himself. Eventually Mag's next question led the stallion to glance over his shoulder at her, almost scrutinizing her for asking such a self answered question. "Because she is!" He snapped loudly, hooves stomping just a little louder against he stone flooring. "The first time we ever met that stupid rhino had the audacity to call me a fraud. A fake!" For a moment he carried on with the many slurs that Nemesis had dared call him. Him! the might steed that had no equal! At least...not in his eyes.
He blew through his nose loudly as he ringed his neck a couple times as he walked. "I am no rhino! I don't eveen know how she dared call me such!" It still boiled his blood thinking about how the gray blob had assumed he was some fake rhino. He was a gallant steed! Who would want to be a silly no brainer rhino anyway! Another snort escaped the stallion as he glanced around for a moment. A frown marred his features as his muscles felt strangely odd. His reeling mind soon sidetracked off of Nemesis to more so ponder of the strange feelings of restlessness that was slowly gripping hold at him.
"Anyways..." He grumbled as he searched the walls of the Gorge, trying to determine just how long it would take to get the weird floppy eared canine back on track to wherever it was she was going. "I'm more interested in Fang. Have you seen her lately?" He spoke up, a curious gaze being passed over his shoulder towards the borzoi behind him. He was earnestly interested to hear about Fang and what the mongoose had been up to.
