Dragon lay quiet close beneath an orb-lamp that hung over the rocky cliffs to one end of Cetus. He'd showed this place to the little puffin Pietro; it was a place where one could climb up, then bask, high above the dangers of the swamp below... and, more pleasantly, close to the warmth of a few low-hanging orbs.

The puffin could fly, now. Dragon thought it the oddest of things--the bird did not look as if it were made to fly, yet somehow it could, and it seemed agile, to boot.

He was wondering how he might best put this to use.

The others could hunt; Tal'at was frozen away in a rock within Czernobog's chest, possibly going to reform, or possibly dead. Eve had flown off Aquarian-knew-where, and Willow he hadn't seen in quite a few days. That left him with no one to carry his messages, or to scout. Perhaps the puffin could help him with this. Certainly the little fellow was eager to prove himself; this would be a chance.

"Pietro," he began, voice rumbling, "I have a task for you."

He shifted a little, turning his entire bulk to face the young puffin, who was always so earnestly polite.

"The caves are large, and I am slow. There are several others I would like to... invite, to Cetus, for a meeting. It will be dangerous, so you will need to be very careful. Move fast, deliver the message, and return."

He eyed the puffin to ensure the little one was taking this all in. The last thing he wanted was for one of them to be eaten.

"Find the leader of Maji Walezi in Pisces. The leader of the Bonebound, in Canis. And find the leader of "Merrymen," in Monoceros."

Dragon didn't know much about the groups, or their leaders, but his scouts had given him the most basic of information, and the rest he'd discovered during and leading up to the fight with Raheerah.

"Tell them this: Dragon, of the Children of Rot, would like to gather all three of them for a discussion on something very important. Tell them it is to be a peaceful meeting, and it may concern the survival of us all."

With that the alligator let out another hissing rumble, as if going over his own words. Satisfied that he wasn't skipping anything important, he nodded faintly to the puffin.

"Have them meet me at the offering pile near the lake, if they will come. If they do not... then we will see."

He would go down and await them there; perhaps the other Children of Rot would join them. But if the denizens of the cave were to survive, well, it was time to take things in hand, and set things in motion.

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee and dark }

@Pietro

Time had ticked onward since he had first wandered into the reptilian beast. Everything had happened so quickly, before he knew it he was one of them. A member of the group whose task it was to provide and nourish the beast Aquarian as he slumbered within the lake. Pietro had become committed, each night was spent fishing for both himself with half going to the leviathan. Nights were spent with an empty stomach as he favoured the godly creature over his own needs.

Religion had hit him hard and fast, everything was taken literally. His devotion was real, both to the Children of Rot and to their penultimate leader. Tonight, he lingered close to Dragon, always eager to hear whatever wisdom he would impart on him. Distracted by the beauty he could now visualize out of the murky swamp, he snapped to when his name was spoken. A lot of the black had faded, giving way to the bulk white on his breast and he puffed himself to appear bigger, stronger, braver than he really was.

Deliver, move fast. It was all so confusing, but he didn't waver as he nodded once slowly at Dragon. Maji Walezi, Merry Men and Bonebound. All were exotic in name and their inhabitants, a mystery. Fear threatened to overtake his determination to prove himself. Only young, he wasn't sure he could make it to all those places fast enough, but he would try. Of course he had to try, it was what Aquarian would want.

"I.... I think I've got it sir. I will try and be quick. But it may take some time I'm not sure." Pietro wasn't aware of the distances between caves, but he assumed he could stop to rest between each territory. Missing out on sleep wasn't a concern, irrationally, the only thing he feared was missing out on his daily sacrifices to the leviathan beast. But he didn't voice these concerns as he nodded again. "I will return promptly sir. I won't let you down." With that, he spread his wings and took off through the foliage of the swamp.

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN

-enter and exit Pietro-

In Character the Thread Order will be:
Day 1: Maji Walezi in Pisces
Day 1: Bonebound in Canis
Day 2: Merrymen in Monoceros
Day 2: Return to Cetus presumably with all the groups following after, Maji and Bonebound having been told to go the next day, Merrymen being told to follow him after.

I assume this will be timed correctly given the distances. I will make ALL the threads tomorrow morning as I want you to see this IC timeline thing before I do so Dark. Just to make sure no timelines get messed up and all and everyone else is able to understand what's going on. I will tag everyone in this thread and assume that the thread has timed 2 days as well :)

@Dragon

Certainly, he could have been faster but he was afraid of screwing it up. Afraid that he might miss some crucial piece of information as he tried to rush it along, but the puffin had made it back. It had been many days, it had been longer than he had thought. Dragon would probably scold him for his laziness, for his lack of time management skills. Swallowing, he kept his head down as he flew back into Cetus. Muscles rippled along his back, his plumage had come in properly, he was now a fully fledged beast. Ready to tackle the problems that the Children of Rot faced head on.

"Dragon, sir, I have returned. They agreed to come, I'm still unsure when they will come. But sir, they are coming." Pietro hovered in the air, as he spoke out into the nothingness of the swamp.

table and code © chelsea of ORIGIN

RE-ENTER PIETRO.

Assume that Pietro gets back first, I'm guessing Dragon will post next and then others can enter? <3

@Azazel @Leon @Louie @Makyna @Diamondfang @Dragon

All things considered, the alligator had not gone very far.

He was again laying near the same spot, in the same swamp, in the same cave. He was a little fatter, perhaps, but still waiting. The others--the mammals--they might live a couple dozen years, a few decades, but he--he would live forever.

He could wait.

If they chose to delay; well, that was their loss, not his.

"Thank you, little one," Dragon rumbled, twin threads of smoke briefly twisting from his nostrils. "Rest, eat, while we wait. They are slow creatures." He turned, slightly, though even that small movement required a ponderously (and ironically) slow dragging of his entire length, ridged tail sliding through the mud behind him.

He nudged at a small pile of fish that lay there, indicating it; maybe it was a bit too big for the puffin, for the most part, but he thought there might be a piece or two the bird could swallow. Or, at the very least, shred into.

And now, we wait.

He wondered if the wait would go on too long. If it did, the rest would probably die.

But not the Children.

Never them.

{ art by dark } ~ { table by aura . edited by banshee and dark }