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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.
Jan 13 2017, 02:54 AM (This post was last modified: Jan 13 2017, 02:59 AM by Tacitus.)
MAGICKA LEVEL 100% RESTORED TO 100%
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He found himself back in the room where his first battle took place, he swore he could still see the blood upon the ground. No matter, he would not dwell in the past. It was time to look to the future and to healing.
And learning.
Canis didn't have much by way of plants so he returned to the room that he knew was grassy. The Room of Stars. He began to hop around on one leg with his injured tucked closely to his underbelly The owl balanced easily with the combination of his natural talents and his small wings. He hopped here and there searching for anything that might seem useful. He looked and looked and his looking brought him up to a large tower and while this intrigued him --he noted it for later-- this was not what he was currently searching for. With a little huff he turned his head around and began to scan for something, anything, else that was foliage. Unknown to him just a few yards away there was an Iceberry Bush but it was just out of his sight and the medicinal properties were as yet unknown to the fledgling.
Jan 14 2017, 01:04 PM (This post was last modified: Jan 14 2017, 01:10 PM by Zeno.)
MAGICKA LEVEL 100% RESTORED TO 100%
Up on the side of the tower a tiny creature sat, resting from his climb in what may have once been a window. Days had passed since the small bat had hatched, and in that time many things had changed. For one thing Zeno had grown much more attuned to his physical form, and in turn his body had grown stronger and revealed secrets to him. Closing his eyes for a moment and clicking his wings his tiny ears scanned the area around him for echoes. He was getting better at this, but felt he was reaching the limits of his ability; he could sense the fuzzy outlines of a couple of the large buildings around, could tell that there was nothing above for a very long way, and could find a few bumps in the ground somewhere below that he knew had been fruit bushes. One of them sounded a bit different than last time, a tiny almost indiscernible one that hadn't been there last time? Without light it wasn't very easy to tell from this distance.
That was the other big change that had happened; the stars had gone out. What had once been a beautiful view of the ruined city was now gone, replaced by a vague ability to see what was near him and nothing but darkness further out. The loss of the stars had been unexpected, and little Zeno had indeed been overcome by sadness and fear as one more of the beauties of life had slipped away. There was no use in dwelling on it for long however. After all; who was he that he had agency over their glow? Was he a master of the lights that he might make them bend to his will just because he found them beautiful? No, but at the same time that didn't mean that he should just do nothing. If he couldn't bring back the lights by emotion alone, he decided that he would channel that willpower into something that might be productive to his goals.
And so Zeno once more crawled to the edge, spreading out his wings and taking a deep breath. He had glided before, and in the past days of exhausting work he had learned to gain some small amount of altitude. If he was to reach the burnt-out stars however he would need to learn to leave the ground behind for more than a few seconds at a time. Another click. Had that bush moved from last time? The ability to find things with sound was so fuzzy it was almost certainly a false reading.
The little bat hopped out the window of the old tower and began his struggle to stay in the air. Wings beat as quickly as his little heart could move them, and he did gain a small amount of altitude. The effort, however, was more than he could take and slowly he lost as much height as he had gained and began plummeting at rapid speeds toward the ground. His wings clicked furiously as the fuzzy view of the world let him know how close he was to crashing into anything larger than a tree branch.
His mental effort was reaching a limit, for his physical ability seemed to have passed a few seconds before. He knew that if he made a decent landing he'd have a chance to eat something, renew his energy, and try again in a short amount of time. if he pushed himself any harder he might incur injuries and have to wait even longer.
Zeno swerved quickly and aimed to crash into a bush, remembering that it contained berries and would be both a decent landing pad and a good place to eat.
Limbs rustled gently as he touched down; not gracefully at all but safely.
ROLL 14
Zeno attempts Other ( Keep off the ground for more than a second, or at least land safely )
He was turning away now, on the prowl once more for something that would ameliorate his wounds. A few hops were made before he heard the rustling of something nearby, the sound of wind... Or maybe it was something else entirely. The sound of the rustling bush was easy enough to follow and lead him straight to the sort of plant that he was looking for. He didn't know what it was but perhaps he could figure it out.
The owlet hopped forward, blue eyes locked onto the berries of the plant. Would those help? Or perhaps... The leaves themselves? He leaned forward with his beak, coming very close to inspect the leaves of the plants. That was when he noticed the motion of the tiny creature latched onto the bush. "Oh!" Slightly surprised he leaned back, eyes locked onto the minuscule bat. It looked... familiar... Ah! The very same bat who'd hatched a few days before when he'd found out the unfortunate fate of Astaroth's mind. "I remember you. I saw when you emerged here." Now that he was alone with the diminutive mammal he could ask him all the questions he wanted, without fear of someone sneaking up and throwing rats at them... Hopefully. He glanced once around just to be safe, but upon finding nothing out of the ordinary he continued. "Did you find out what your species is?" A question he tended to ask everyone and one he already knew of the bat but was curious if the gembound found it out himself yet.
The small bat let himself tumble through the bush, absorbing the impact of the fall and slowing to a stop on the other side near where he had sensed the false reading of a moving bush. His body ached, but mostly from the effort spent in climbing the tower and straining his muscles trying to fly away from it rather than from the landing itself. While he had originally intended to do one more attempt before sleeping perhaps it would be more efficient to rest until after the next time he slept. At the very most he might try making the climb again, perhaps he'd have better luck with the flying part if he did so after a long break.
As Zeno reached out to grab one of the tart berries on the bush a figure approached him, large and intimidating but familiar somehow. It took him a minute, especially since the figure looked a good bit smaller than it had last time, but as soon as a voice rang out Zeno recognized it for sure. The owl had been there when he'd first emerged, and his thoughtful question had led him down the path of reflection.
The owl was polite as he had been upon their very first interaction, though Zeno knew from what had happened afterwards that he had the strength of will to back up his genial nature. His question, however, was a bit confusing at first. He'd never asked Zeno what his species was. That would have been an easy question! A small flair of frustration arose for a brief moment in the bat's mind, indicated outwardly only by a momentary disruption in his breath.
No, that made sense that that would have been his intention behind asking what he was. Defining consciousness, his individual experience of the world and thought patterns, would have been much too complex for one just born. Even now, having had days to ponder it the question seemed almost impossible to tackle fully. Emotions calmed, and the fit of indignation became nothing more than a memory. He would decide to see the beauty and luck he had in being able to interact once more with someone outside himself.
"My species is that of a bat, one that is not yet very strong." he squeaked in his tiny but clear tone. "And you reside in the form of an owl, is that correct?"
He briefly wondered what it would have been like to be an owl. Would his attempts at flight have been easier with such large wings and feathers, or would it be just as difficult? Would he be able to see better, or hear the sounds of his clicks better? Did owls even make wing clicks? So many questions raced through the bat's mind as he took a bite of the berry he had managed to dislodge.
The young owlet waited again with patience as the bat pondered over what was said. This go round the creature knew what he was and was able to answer much quicker than before and this time without interruption. Tacitus seemed pleased with what was said, his head nodded and he blinked at the tiny creature. The little bat even went further to say what Tactius' own species was and this pleased the fellow even further. Intelligent, he was, or so it seemed. Again he was impressed with the little one's answers and found that this one might make a decent conversation partner.
"That is correct." The owlet said. If he was any good at smiling with a beak he might have done so then. "You are not strong now but I am certain that with time that will be fixed." After all, they were all young weren't they? With time they would grow into their adult sizes, whatever that was. Tacitus wasn't overly concerned with how large he would be in the future or even how strong he would be. That would come and until then he had many things to do.
"What about a name? Mine is Tacitus." He put emphasis on "Tacitus" to show that that was indeed it and not "Tac" as he had been called before. Such a nickname was foolish, in his opinion. Nicknames in general were foolish. He didn't know if the bat had picked up his name before with all of the bad blood that was going on before but he would make sure he knew now.
The owl's words were patient, genial. He did not display signs of inner turmoil or doubt, a fact that left a keen expression in Zeno's mind. His words of encouragement also indicated a hope for the future and instilled a sense of happiness in the small bat, which showed through brightly on his countenance. This emotion, unlike extended fear, was harmless and no logical reason passed his mind why he should look past it. He would revel in the joys of finding a friendly face without guilt!
The next question Tacitus presented was as astute as the first one he had given. Simple on the surface but shining light on a much deeper mental quagmire that had yet to be explored. "It's good to meet you, Tacitus. I am to be called Zeno. he spoke, electing to answer straight away before thinking on the question aloud. It seemed more respectful to do that anyways. "I'm not sure where the name came from though. First there was awareness, and then I suddenly had a pronoun- a realization of self. Then, just before entering this world once full of lights I instinctually had a title to refer to my self as."
Zeno wondered for a second how long Tacitus had been in the world before him, if the lights had been there for long before going out. That was a tangent, however and not relevant to the topic at hand when there were so much better questions to explore. "Was it the same for you? Do you know if it's the same for others?" Curiosity urged him to continue on but sense told him to cease before he asked too many questions at once.
Their conversation continued, the young bat seeming to have a face of joy with how everything was going between them. "Likewise, Zeno." He responded truthfully. It was always nice to meet someone who seemed to be of the same mind as himself.
The way that the other had come across his name seemed to be the same as he and his family had come across his own. In fact, it seemed to be a recurring theme on how names seemed to be gained. One hatched and then after coming to terms with who they were, they found the name that they were to be known as.
A question came from Zeno then, a question on how he'd gathered his own name and if others had gathered there's the same way. Ah, here he was able to explain some of his own knowledge, some of the things that he'd gathered from his longer --but still brief-- time in the world. "For me, yes. I hatched into the world among my brethren and after gathering who I was the name came to me. From them and others I have also gathered that their own names were gained in the same way." He wondered if Zeno would get along with Gabriel and if they would be able to share theories and swap information with one another.
"I find it fascinating how our names seem to come to us once we find our 'self'. How does this happen? Are we born with all of this knowledge within our chrysalis and upon self discovery revealed to us just as our species is?" He liked to think so, that many answers --not all- lay within their own minds and it was upon finding themselves that they were revealed.
Jan 22 2017, 11:08 PM (This post was last modified: Jan 22 2017, 11:15 PM by Zeno.)
MAGICKA LEVEL 100% RESTORED TO 100%
Zeno nodded attentively as he listened, and would have grinned at confirmation of other other's experiences were it not for the berry he was stuffing in his mouth. He tried to be neat about it, but there was only so much you could actually do about something that juicy. Tongue darted out to lap up what juice he could to keep his fur from becoming sticky, though his mind churned on what information was given.
"So it is common then. A name is a result of self-realization." he deduced aloud as he decided against going after another berry at the moment. "Finding the origin of knowledge itself may be a tricky task, but I'm sure we can work together with others of a like mind." Perhaps not every gembound was suited for the task, but it was obvious that they were on the same page.
There was a small lull in the conversation as Zeno let himself down from the bush and started to move closer to his new friend. Or at least conversation partner- he thought he remembered something or another about Tacitus being wary about friends. "What brings you over here anyways? Was it by chance or choice?"
An odd smell, and in the almost-darkness he could detect something different about the owl's leg. "Injury?" He wondered aloud, "Was that from..."
The sentence trailed off as he remembered a ruckus behind him as he glided away after emerging. How much of a tussle had those two gotten into?
"Indeed. I am always on the search for such gembounds that think similarly to ourselves but it can be difficult when many of the creatures here allow emotion to cloud their reasoning." It was a pity when a bright individual allowed some silly emotion like sadness or anger guide them. Sure, he could understand such a feeling and had felt them himself but he knew better than to let it stand in the way of research. Emotions had their time and place but not within the field of knowledge unless they were the very subject being studied.
The little bat began to make his way down the bush which Tacitus allowed him to without interference. He used the time to take a closer look at the bush, remembering why he'd come here in the first place. It just so happened that Zeno questioned him about the very thing that was crossing his mind at that moment. "By choice. I am searching for something that will possibly aid the healing of my leg." Ah, so the bat had discovered it on his own, and with a nod of his head he confirmed that it was from their previous meetup. "It is. The altercation that Astaroth and I had came to a physical fight. I was able to escape but not before he injured my leg." No matter, this would just give him an opportunity to expand his own knowledge.
Here, he opened a wing and gestured to the bush before them. "I was wondering if this bush held any secrets locked away within it. Perhaps the leaves or the berries could help to heal my leg." He didn't know for sure but he had a hunch about it that perhaps plants could be used to speed up the healing process. "Would you happen to know anything about it?" He asked curiously, after all, the bat had been eating from the bush so maybe he knew something about it.
A twinge of unchecked worry and fear tugged at the back of Zeno's mind as he listened to the confirmation that a fight had indeed broken out. What would have happened had he stayed there? Would he have accidentally triggered the ire of such a creature full of unchecked emotions? How could anyone boil to such anger in the face of cold logic as to escalate matters to physical confrontation?
It took a few seconds for the small bat to register his own direction of thought. These were indeed valid concerns, or rather they would have been issues to take into account in that moment. Right now though there was no way to transmit knowledge to the past and the only proper course of action was to look at it as the already told story it was.
"I would advise against using the berries, Tacitus, unless you feel pain to be a desirable outcome." He said, with another unpleasant memory surfacing and threatening to disturb his current state, "While eating once the juice from one of them touched a small wound I'd gotten from a sharp stone. I think the word that came to mind was 'acidic', it wasn't pleasant."
The wound was not visible on his body now and had healed fairly quickly. Now that he really considered it perhaps there was some benefit to the pain? "I did get the juice out with one of the leaves and that seemed to help a lot, though I'm not sure if it was because of the leaves themselves or because of the absence of the juice."
