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.
Polaris was completely different that he imagined. It was much prettier than he could've ever pictured in his mind, though he wasn't quite sure what he expected. It's not like he had any idea on what anything looked like. To be honest, even he didn't know what he looked like until he awoke in Fornax and Iris showed him to himself. What he looked like before, he couldn't quite picture, but he knew what he was now. Tall, muscled, and very much different than he remembered feeling. Before, he was pathetic and weak. Now, well, he was anything but.
Finding the courage to travel the caves alone wasn't hard. While Iris couldn't visit everywhere being waterbound, he got plenty of the alone time he had before he had met her. It was odd being alone now, but it wasn't new and that made it bearable. At least now he could see and even protect himself from threats instead of walking along the wall like a scared mutt. Now he walked through the tunnels and caves with valor, though he was anything but egotistical. He just had more faith, is all.
Wandering around Polaris for a few minutes, there was a percussive sound of something familiar, though he couldn't place it at first. Looking around, as if that would really help when he doesn't have a clue really what made the sound, he laid eyes on a river and tilted his head. Was that were the sound was coming from? He walked towards it and knelt down at the rivers edge, reaching his passive hand-paw in. Water rushed over his pads and between his claws and toes while he just watched in almost awe. He remembered when the first time he had gone swimming, and it hadn't gone well. Since, it was hard to keep Ghost out of the waters with Iris in Fornax. Here, though, he'd never swam. Carefully, without much thought honestly, the man began to slink himself into the river. He stayed in the shallows of the edge so he could lay in it on his stomach like a normal wolf, keeping his nostrils and eyes above water but everything else below his nose underwater, watching. The cool water felt nice on his skin and he easily relaxed, feeling no fear.
She couldn't go back there, not to Pisces. Too many ghosts lived there, the percussive rhythms of the past pounding in her ears and drumming a haunting tune in her heart. Instead of going back to the watery ghost town of Pisces she instead went back to Polaris, far less memories lay here. At least she could walk without being visited by the long-lost soul of one of her old friends. Here she could almost let her troubles slip away... pfft, yeah right. No matter how hard she tried she still couldn't forget that everyone was dead and that she'd killed her best friend. No matter what she did this would always haunt her until her dying day.
Finding Niru had helped but he couldn't mend the hole in her heart, no one could except for Leon and Arkrael. Neither one of them were coming back so it was just something she'd have to get used to.
Her paws beat a steady rhythm on the earth as she made her way over towards the sparkling waters of Polaris. In days long past she remembered that Fisher had nearly been swallowed up by the water. That was her fault too as she'd urged him to go closer to the waves. How many mistakes had she made in her life? Perhaps she should tally them all up and remind herself just how much of a failure she was. It would pass the time and it at least would keep her mind off of him.
As she went forward to take a drink of the water she didn't except to see a white shape out in it. At first she thought nothing of it, if it was some sort of shark at least it would be a quick way to die but then she angled her ears towards it. Curious as to what it was. It was white with a sparkling pink gem and blue eyes... Curious. Hadn't she known a particular wolf with that color pattern.
Two. Two thing she failed at because she hadn't been able to keep up with or raise the wolf properly. If he was alive still then she was surprised... Perhaps the caves hadn't claimed him yet... Or maybe her memories were playing tricks on her. The cat couldn't even tell the difference.
The percussive sound of footsteps drew near and as he saw the lioness approaching, the werewolf sunk deeper into the water, holding his breath even to sink to just below his eyes and holding his short, cropped ears as far back as he could. Haven't never actually known what Makyna looked like, much less what a lioness was, he somewhat hid from the gembound. Although she looked relatively harmless in her state, he still wasn't sure. Who was this gembound?
He could only think of one lioness he actually knew, and that would be the first female he ever met alongside the bear, Leon. He didn't know what a bear was either, but he wondered if this supposed lioness knew Makyna. The way she looked at him though made it seem that this gembound knew him. He wondered the same, honestly, but didn't say anything. He actually kind of wanted to swim away much like the alligator he somewhat resembled lurking in the water the way he was.
No matter how long she lingered the phantom of her imagination never seemed to quite dissipate. It always seemed linger off to the corner of her vision like some treasonous figment bent on breaking down her entire being... but she wouldn't let it. The lioness stopped drinking, head lifting as she turned towards the flicker that was barely visible above the waves. She knew it was there but she still couldn't help but wonder if her broken mind was still playing tricks. Would she still be crazy if she spoke and said something back? Crazy gems thought they were sane when they spoke to nonexistent creatures that replied but perhaps she was better because she knew she was off the deep end... possibly.
The dark-tufted tail flicked contemplatively as she debated on speaking and what to say before finally the words came out. "Are you actually there? Or have I finally lost even my mind?" Pfft, as if a reply would confirm anything. It could truly go either way. "You appear almost like Ghost but everything I love has died so why would you still be alive as well?" Almost as if she'd made up her mind about the situation and her supposed lack of sanity the lioness scoffed and turned as if she were about to leave.
The lioness spoke, finally, to him and asked an odd question. Of course he were here, was she trippin'? She did mention losing her mind, but then continued on, even mentioning his name. Snarling under the surface of the water, he stayed in place as if he were hogtied in the shallows and unable to move. Nothing about this lioness seemed familiar, since the lioness he knew was always happy.
Thats why he left, actually. They were happy and new in love, it was obvious. Ghost was nothing more than a blind third wheel, leaving him feeling very...lonely. He wanted them to be happy, thus the cause of his leaving. But this lion, this lion wasn't the Makyna he remembered, so he was convinced it wasn't her.
"How do you know my name?" He growled, mouth lifting just enough above the surface to speak. His teeth were barred, but the lycan man hadn't yet moved from his relaxed positiom in the river.
Perhaps she was going insane, the apparition continued to stare at her from partially beneath the waters and said nothing in reply to her question. The lioness' ears flicked backwards momentarily in irritation at her own silly thoughts before she finally turned away and started to walk off...
Until the ghost finally spoke.
"How do you know my name?" The words were a snarl. The golden cat felt her blood turn cold, not because she was frightened of the snarl but because she recognized the voice. It was Ghost... but why didn't he know it was her? Had he forgotten? Was she so poor of a mother that the one she tried to raise could just forget she existed? That seemed about right.
Even though she tried not to let it show, it hurt and echoed in her words as she mewled, "I would think since I watched you hatch when you were a pup that I would never forget it. I'm sorry though, that I was such a horrible caretaker that you've forgotten about me." With that she continued on her way, head dead and soul shattered...
The cave truly was a terrible place.
Of course she couldn't stop her mind from reaching out, from giving him the memories that she had of him as a babe and the joy she felt when she was reunited with him and now of the heartbreak that one of her long-lost children seemingly didn't recognize her at all.
She returned his snarl with a nasty hiss of her own and sending him memories of from when he was nothing more than a four legged pup, waddling around Makyna and Leon just seconds after hatching. Memories he thought he'd never see, or really even remember, flooded his thoughts. This was Makyna? When did she become such a bitch? Sympathy somewhat filled Ghost, yet he was still annoyed. He hadn't recognized her... why? He was blind when he knew her and this was the first time he had actually gotten to see her. He didn't know who she was, and it had certainly been a long time since he had heard her voice... but even that had changed.
The memories ended and he frowned, looking back towards the lioness who was now walking away. The disaster that this had turned in to caused the man to stand. Six feet of lyncanthrope rose out of the river, the water cascading down his fur and back into its home. "Makyna... I'm sorry," He frowned, standing still in the water and looking down at his reflection. "I never forgot about you. It's been a while...and I'm not blind anymore. I didn't recognize your voice." Cropped ears did their best to flatten, but didn't make it very far. He felt guilty, honestly, but who could blame him? The once caring lioness had changed, even he could see it, so he really didn't feel that either of them were wrong. Maybe she didn't know he was blind... He didn't know what blind looked like, if anything, so she could've gone without knowing that he ran into things because he didn't see them.
What a disaster this all turned out to be. The lioness didn't even turn around as she heard the water dripping down, an indicator of the wolf coming out. It was when he called her... name, that she stopped. The lioness didn't correct him --not that she had anything to correct him with yet-- and instead tilted one ear back in his direction to show that she was listening. His words washed over her and realization dawned as he spoke about his blindness. She hadn't pondered on it before but was that the reason he was always running into things? For some reason the feline had always equated it to him being a newborn and a combination of clumsiness, not an eye impairment.
"Understandable. I'm not the same lioness I once was... much has changed. Don't apologize, I understand your mistake and I don't hold it against you." With a sigh she finally turned around to see a completely different beast in front of her. From what she recalled Ghost had been a rather small and timid wolf but not anymore. He was tall, far taller than even Leon and built in a way that reminded her of Beast, he also seemed to ooze confidence. She could see that even he wasn't the same anymore.
Still, seeing him like this... It was like seeing a child grown up into an adult and it made her... proud. A tiny grin appeared on her face when she inspected him. "Glad to see this cave hasn't consumed you like the others." Her voice, though tired, wasn't angry or snarky... there was genuine pride there.
Legitamately feeling guilty for not even recognizing her voice, it left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. How coukd he have not recognized her voice? Ghost mentally kicked himself and walked out of the after as she spoke, sinking to his knees then on the shore. He reached his arms out to her, inviting her into an embrace. It had been so long and so many things had changed. In his wanderings, he hadn't caught wind of Leon or much of anyone. Even Makyna's scent was vacant from Pisces.
"I wouldn't say that..." He mumbled, a small smile masking a frown that threatened. He knew he had changed, he could feel it. A new sense of adrenaline coursed through his veins, just waiting to be used. Hunting wasn't enough, not that he was good or anything yet. This body was still new to him, as were most of the rooms and tunnels. While he kight have been there before, he didn't recognize the scents of anything. A lot had definitely changed.
Guilt. It was written all over his face and inside of her she felt the longings of a mother, the want to hold him and tell him that everything was going to be alright. It was a feeling that she would never be rid of, not so long as her children roamed the caves... if they still roamed the caves. Ghost could have just been a stroke of luck but even he was not unchanged.
Needless to say when he opened his arms up to her the lioness went forward and as easily as if she'd been born to do it, she pulled him into her with one paw. "It's alright, everything is fine." Even though it wasn't... It just felt like the right thing to say, it was the thing that Makyna would do. "No harm's been done." Nothing past what had already been done to her.
"Consumed in one sense... I fear that the evil here has gotten to us all in one way or another." She didn't step away from him as she decided to let him decide when the contact was enough. "I fear the worst has happened to everyone in Pisces." She couldn't hold everything back anymore. He needed to know, perhaps it would explain to him why she was so down and why she couldn't muster up the happy emotions that she usually held. Nothing remained within her except the immodest feelings that plagued within her soul coupled with the flickers of old self that tried to show.
![[Image: kysmaller_by_solaris_meadow-da6s5hx.png]](http://orig03.deviantart.net/18ec/f/2016/169/3/9/kysmaller_by_solaris_meadow-da6s5hx.png)
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