(I'm literally writing this in tears guys)

She couldn't do this anymore.

Cayenne came back to Polaris for what must've been the thousandth time since she'd seen Tenn last, and every time she came he just wasn't here. She searched the garden every time, she searched the tree den every time, the den where they slept and told each other of their love, where she gave him a ring to match her own. And each time she laid there among the soft moss and tried to keep herself together.

Every time she clutched her arms together and rested her head on her knees, hugging herself, trying to keep herself from breaking. Paranoid thoughts of him just up and leaving and never coming back and deliberately avoiding her - they haunted her, they trying to tell her that she was worthless.

Bog didn't love her, she only stole his affection because she saved his life multiple times - she forced him to like her, to be her friend, to reluctantly accept her godawful looks in exchange for her skills. She loved Bog so much, but what other reason did he have to keep her around?

Her sister didn't love her, she loved her mate, that Basil who ran himself into the Eyes and nearly drowned himself. Her sister was only glad of her appearing and saving her, and when she said she thanked her, she was really thanking the All Mother. She loved her sister too, but she knew what she was in Dove's eyes.

She was useful, as a teacher, a savior, a life-support system, but only Tenn had looked at her with the world in his eyes like she was his.

She leaned her head back against the walls of the tree den and stared up, her teeth clenched, her fangs glinting as they ground together, her breath coming ragged through her teeth, her eyes slowly growing blurry with tears until they stung and she had to close them. She couldn't do this anymore, she couldn't be so alone. It threatened to swallow her up, and she just wanted Tenn to come back.

The ground rumbled, shivering against the weight of multiple golems that were advancing rather swiftly along the river. Stone and gems alike ground against one another as the massive bodies moved. Something called to them, pulled them from the dam they would normally remain and linger. It seemed as though they struggled against one another, attempting to pass the one in front of them by pushing their heavy bodies against the other. The sense of magic is what called for them. Pulled them towards the Spire until they were clambering around it towards the pull of magic.

Polaristown was their destination. They drew closer and closer to the magic infused creation. Several golems broke away from the main group as their attention was pulled to a different spot. They would head through an archway, demolishing the thing easily as they crashed through fences and spread out. The lesser gembounds seemed to steal away their attention and many of the golems began to chase around the panicking creatures. Several other golems along the other side smashed through more fences, lumbering around the tree as their large frames began to bump against it in their attempts to find the source of magic.

@Cayenne

She would've been there for hours, just listening to her mind ramble on and on about how no one loved her like a neurotic, paranoid soul if the sounds of violence didn't snap her out of it. The sound of the lesser gembounds, the cave deer and the turkeys, the sound of the fences coming down the sounds of plants being torn and ripped apart all pulled her to the opening of the tree den to look around and sea an ocean of stone monsters ripping apart the ranch she and Tenn had made together.

"NO! No noononono no no!" She screamed, her hand reaching out towards the nearest one, her gem finger flashing amongst the leaves.

All Mother, help me, she prayed, panic and terror seizing her.

Soft tendrils of grass and tree saplings moved with her will, and they grew and wrapped around the nearest golems legs enough to keep it in place, but not enough to bind it, and Cayenne was screaming at it to just go away and leave and stop ruining the only place she had.

Far in the distance, a heavy black head lifted from broad paws.

The mastiff's wrinked face furrowed even further, his pendulous ears pricking up as he listened to the distant sounds of crashing.

With a soft woof of surprise--and the raising of a short brush of hackles along his withers--he was on his feet and scrambling forward. He lived here, in Polaris; he'd generally ignored the presence of the distant strange fenced region, as it did not concern him. But now a great deal of crashing noises were coming from there, and he bolted forward to investigate.

Claws skidded over rock as he slid around a boulder, freezing as his pale blue-grey eyes settled on the destruction before him. A number of enormous, lumbering rock golems were stampeding through the area, wrecking everything.

For an instant, he thought merely to turn and slip back away, before they saw him; this place wasn't his concern, and there didn't seem to be anyone in immediate danger. He was not one to risk his life for some fences.

But then he spotted it: in a strangely out-of-place patch of grasses, moss and even a tree, there was a small, strange black furry thing that briefly shimmered with a touch of magic. Eyes flitted from her, to the golems, and quickly, he tried to cover her presence with his shadow. But he wasn't sure he would be able to conjure it up in time, not before they spotted her; he struggled with it briefly, and then called out.

He wasn't sure what was happening, but he knew the golems were not friendly creatures.

"Flee," he barked once, loudly. It was a warning he hoped the stranger would take.

________________

Cayenne's screams were unheard as the Golems continued to trample around. Several continued to try and capture the lesser gembounds for their desired gems. Some would begin to dig and push through the grass in their search for gems. The garden was, by now, trampled into useless mush as the Golems continued to scrambled over it. At the cast of magic by Cayenne a few Golems stopped in their pursuit of the lesser gembounds. Slowly their bodies rolled around until they faced the tree and the single golem who had been caught in vines. The golem would struggle to move again, but in one final shift it's rock body easily broke through the vines and moved with new intent.

The three golems that had taken note of the use of magic moved towards the tree Cayenne was in. Their thick arms reaching up in a desperate attempt to reach what they desired. Their bodies pushed heavily against the tree, causing the thing to groan against the weight being forced upon it. Black goes completely unnoticed in his failed attempt in magic. However, a couple golems begin to move closer towards the canine in their attempts to catch the many lesser gembounds that were still trying to flee away.

@Cayenne @Black

As a rule, Euron was NOT a good person. He wasn't actively a bad person, either-- he just didn't stand in the way of those who did bad, and didn't worry overmuch about the morality of such ignorance. Occasionally, he even enabled it, perpetuated it, but this was mostly for his own gain; rarely did he do things out of malice. In a way, that made everything worse. So, when he heard the shouts of NO NO NO as he picked his way through the eerie glow that suffused Polaris, when he looked in that direction to see hulking stone creations moving towards the gembound who looked to have summoned the plants, his initial urge was to turn away. It would just be smarter to pick his way right back across Polaris, the way he had come, and leave that unfortunate creature to her fate. It was no skin off his back, that she should meet her ending against hungry hulking animated piles of stone, and he didn't want it to be skin off his back. The only little tinge of regret came from a little spark of jealousy, that she should be able to summon such imposing vines and plants with the will of her magic. He wanted to be that powerful, and it didn't sit right with him that the Golems should so easily crash through the imposing vegetation, as if it were nothing. He tried to ignore that part of him that rankled as he turned away, the part of him that flared with a sense of justice-- this was the part of him that was most inconvenient, in the company of Kingsfoil. That part of him refused to be ignored, though, and reached out to another part of him, a deeper and more instinctive part of him, that knew it could do something. The part of him that held his magic, that understood the bacteria he had an unconscious sway over, that knew there were bacteria that ate stone, and that summoning such bacteria might not be as flashy as summoning a wall of vegetation, but it certainly would do the trick if those bacteria could work fast enough. He stopped, mid stride, as that part of him whispered deep into his brain that this was an opportunity to show his power, to exercise that control over the natural world that was his right as a Gembound. Euron was hopeless against the promise of power. So he turned around, put his ears back, and shouted to the Lemur "Run away!" because that was a good idea. Then he reached deep inside himself and summoned that instinctive flare of magic, scowling harshly at the stone-creatures, thinking hard of the specific little entities that could chew their inevitable way through stone.

Dovefeather did not leave Eridanus lightly. It was always with purpose, but in light of current events, the tiny cat did not leave the blinded Eyes if she could help it ever. Only in her rage did she chase after the wind in Monoceros to track down her feather, and with that being a work in progress she was being a little bit more than antsy.

The feline did not like Polaris. Her sister's scent had brought her here, desperate to find where her sister had run off to. The Spire stood in the background, imposing, demanding attention. The air was spiked with energy, giving the cat a neurotic disposition. The All Mother wasn't here. Some other force was in control of this part of the cave, and with her practically Goddess blind-- she felt exposed.

At first the cat avoided the ranch full of lesser gembounds. The whole thing seemed, well, lived in and Cayenne certainly didn't live anywhere but home, did she? It seemed impossible-- she was a Sister, surely, not... But when Dovefeather couldn't pick the scent back up and the golems crashed into the only speck of nature in all of Polaris, the fur on her back stood on end. Her sister screamed.

... Dovefeather hesitated. Deer and strange birds scattered, the attack mounting just beyond her vision. Other gembound came to help, a dog barked, a horse of some kind appearing-- and then she was running, past them, through them, dodging hooves and practically rushing at the golem monsters. Her heard was in her throat, her voice a crackling purr that had no words. She was panicking now, but the adrenaline pressed her to get dangerously close. She was there before she knew she was, at the base of the tree, staring up as the golems tried to tear it down.

Her sister was up there.

Light swelled on her pelt and washed over the destructive golems, tiny fireflies playing at their churning, stony bodies. The magic flickered as she went but she held it strong, swirling around the creatures, trying to pull them away from the tree. Her eyes should have been on the golems as she did this, but the Seer couldn't help but stare up at her sister, begging for the All Mother's mercy.

but at least we stole the show

Black was in trouble! Polaris was in trouble! And no way was a tiny little noodle clad in armor going to miss out on the best fight this cycle. He darted after Black, stopping along side his friend as he barked out a warning-- run-- to a creature up in a tree. Fisher's tail swished as he looked around at the scene.

Golems golems everywhere and not an offensive spell to be seen. Well, Fish' would take care of this! A few golems were heading towards Black, so first he was gonna take care of them.

Collecting a huge was of spit in his mouth, he tried to electrically charge his bile before spitting it out on the ground before him and Black. A dangerous moat of electroball that hopefully the stupid things would be oblivious too until it was too late!

... except the magic spitball lost all of its charge as soon as it hit the ground. Good job, Fisher boy.

He couldn't help but be attracted to all the commotion. Not in a good way, either - loud noises generally piqued his curiosity, especially sounds of a struggle, and especially when they were coming from Polaristown. Now, keep in mind that Caravaggio was no hero. He wasn't brave, he wasn't daring, and he certainly wasn't a risk taker. When he saw someone in trouble, he was usually the kind of Gembound to stumble over themselves and add to the body count rather than be of any use. But when he heard the destruction - the sound of the grinding golems churning towards the little ranch - his protective streak did swell up and push him towards the source. It wasn't as if he really liked the ranch, or Tennessee. He just... They shared a common home. And he helped out sometimes. And so... It was his responsibility to protect it. Kind of. In a way.

Also, White would totally be impressed at all the brave stuff he was doing.

He spotted a few more Gembounds charging in to help against the attack, and for a fleeting moment he thought they wouldn't need his help, they could handle this on their own, and then he spotted Cayenne. Stuck in the tree while the golems wrought havoc all around her. And then he saw them, and he froze, wide-eyed.

Ahh, golems. His old rivals. Time for revange.

He really didn't know where this was coming from. They could tear him apart and eat his gem. But they could also do that to Cayenne. Times like this, his selfishness really came in handy. He liked Cayenne. Kind of. More than he liked Tenn. There was no way in hell he'd let these golems take her away. So the cow bowed his head, shook it in a show of intimidation, and charged. He ran full force at the nearest golem harrassing the tree and collided with a loud thunk. Recoil from the impact caused him to bounce back a few steps, scowling, but at least he cleared a path. The cow huffed and looked up at Cayenne. "Never fear my lady, Caravaggio is here! Jump onto my back!" He announced boldly, and then glanced at the smaller Gembounds nearby. "Well, come on now." He said impatiently and looked back to the golems. It wouldn't be long before they moved back in.

@Cayenne

He had ventured far from Eridanus; ensuring his father that he would be back with good faith. There was just something out in Origin calling him. Nature pulsating so heavily within the center of the cave systems. Magic rich in the air as he crawled through the trees and underbrush all the way there. It wasn't until he arrived that he felt both at peace and yet on edge. Similar to how unnerving it is when you're alone and all the sounds of nature come to a unexpected stop. He sat there, in the tree for a calming break. Snacking on a delectable fruit he had packed in his small satchel before then. Diot was alone, having left his sweet millipede at home. Not wanting her to be harmed along the way should anything go astray. Hopefully she would stay inside her designated room of the burrow until he returned.

Though Diot's return would probably not be anytime soon. The branches of the trees shook as the ground rumbled against the weight of the golems below. Luckily rushing right past him and onto bigger and better things. These things were neurotic; obsessively grabbing at any source of gem holding life beneath their massive bodies. But Diot followed them; towards the pull of magic that they seemed to be after. Until he came across the sight of a farm? A beautiful archway now destroyed and the foliage beneath their feet smashed into mush. His heart felt a twang of pain; he could barely stand there conscious. Listening to the panicked and pained speakings of the trees and wind.

He struggled to move, barely able to register that there were other gembounds down there who were in danger's path.

"Speech"