Within the unearthly glow of Polaris, an odd pair of creatures hid in a secluded alcove, away from the light. In the entrance of an age-old burrow with a formation of pebbles by its entrance, two pairs of dull, red-tinged eyes watched the river gushing past in silence, huddling together in their newfound shelter. They, of course, would never know the sentiment that this place once held. The sounds of their harsh breaths were drowned by the sound of the river, and their pelts shrouded in shadow.

One lowered its head to the ground, and the flash of its once-yellow eyes showed its presence in the dark. The other inched just a little bit closer, and began to groom its companion's neck and back with long yellow fangs. It was two rats; a pitch rat and a red rat. The pitch rat was curled up as the red rat groomed it,chin resting on its taloned paws. Its dull yellow eyes, ringed with red, were half closed and its teeth were ever so slightly bared as though in warning. The red rat, it seemed, had attached itself to the pitch rat in its loneliness and its chest and shoulders were covered in healing scabs.

The Pitch rat, too, had its own fair share of wounds; they seemed old, but raw just the same, great, green-flecked rents in its hide and haunches. The red-rat was careful to avoid touching these wounds and in time, the pitch rat's eyes had drifted closed.

Unbeknownst to this, the red kept on grooming, licking a fine orange powder from the rat's black fur.

To join this event, post with your character below! Any and all are welcome to join this thread at any time up until its completion.

Participants:
Joy, Error.

After having met Fira after cycles and cycles of not seeing her, Joy had stuck around in Polaris. He had wandered away from the den, mostly to find something to eat. After that, he still stayed away from the den for some time until something told him to go back. He didn't know why, but something seemed to be drawing him back to his old den. Everything was still so silent, and he still absolutely hated it with a burning passion, but for once in his life it was bearable. The silence didn't seem so deafening after he saw Fira, and knew she wasn't dead. He still had yet to meet Emendri, and for all he knew, she was dead. He liked to believe she was alive though.

With those thoughts, helping to at least sort of fill the silence, he walked back to the place he once called home. He didn't think he could ever live in there again, not with all the memories it held. It was just a place he might come back to sometimes. A place other gembounds could use as a home if they needed it. He couldn't keep it for himself, or Fira. If someone needed the den, they could use it. It was a well made den, with pebbles by the entrance. He gave a small smile as he thought about that.

Coming across the den, he sniffed around the edge and realized someone was in there. Or, at the very least, they had been there recently. He walked in slowly, crouching down slightly and was met with the sight of two rats; a pitch rat and a red rat. Immediately, he stiffened. Rats? He didn't want rats living in here! They'd never understand how much this place meant to him. He let out a growl at the sight of them. "What are you doing in here? This is my home! Get out!" He snapped at them, his beak topped mouth clacking against his teeth. The fur along his back was hunched up, instead of the usual smooth feeling it held. His eyes held a fiery gaze, seeming to match his already fiery colored eyes.

It had noticed something whilst pausing to drink. A curious pair of rats, different species but huddled together, battered and broken. They were quite a ways further downstream but the thing had picked up on them the moment the two had come into contact with eachother- their scents combined were enough to garner the oddity's interest... but their behavior, curious, had the thing actually moving closer to investigate.

That was until, the arrival of something bigger and spotty. The thing stopped, watching, until the spotty thing began to yell. That wouldn't do! It'd scare away it's new subjects!

The thing could move quickly when it wanted to, and in an instant, it shot between the spotted offender and its new study subjects.

It didn't speak. Imposing with ruffled fur and feathers, wings flared and tail curled in the air, tip moving too quickly to see- well, it knew it was an ugly sight. Surely enough to startle the thing back a step. Hopefully not so much so that its tinier interests didn't flee.

Cold eyes locked onto the hybrid's own, unblinking, steady and demanding. The message was clear. These rats were now under its professional protection. This spotted offender would be wiser to back down...

@Joy

The pitch rat raised its head only briefly, staring with hollow eyes at the intruder that had broken their peace, before sinking back down onto the ground with a quiet huff of breath.

Almost immediately, the red rat was standing over its much larger friend, puffing out its fur to the hybrid, and the message was clear; I'll fight for this home, and I'll fight for this rat. leave us alone. It was a moment that would have caused anyone to question the intelligence of the rat's little brain, as the little beings had never been known for empathy.

The pitch rat, though, was no longer responding. Heedless to this, the red rat edged out of the den, suddenly aware that there were two large beings out there now. The creature bunched up nervously, but there was a fire growing in its brain, drowning out instinct and any semblance of logical thought. As it looked from being to being, it slowly went from calculating to enraged. A madness crept into its eye and it sidled up to the hybrid who'd first spoke, puffing its fur and grinding teeth together.

Meanwhile, in the opening of the den, the pitch rat lay still.

Its life was gone, but its fur was soft and clean.

@Joy @Error

Almost immediately, Joy was blocked from the rats. Glaring furiously, he looked at the creature, only to see another hybrid. If he thought he looked weird, this one was even weirder. He looked at it, eyes narrowed and growling low and his throat. He wanted to make it get out of his way, but something told him that would be a bad idea. He watched one of the rats come out and bristled some more, but soon turned his attention back to the hybrid.

He thought about going against his gut and attacking, but after a huff, smoothed his fur over and backed down. He'd never been in a fight, and this was hardly worth getting into one now. This place was no longer his home. Anyone should get a chance to live here, whether he liked it or not. He kept the glare, however, now looking back into the den to see the red rat laying still. Was it dead? He didn't dare approach it, out of fear of what they hybrid might do. So he ignored it for now.

@Error

The red rat ground its teeth, peeping and hissing, fur puffing out along its spine and making it look much bigger. Along its whiskers were traces of a fine powder, but the creature seemed less driven to clean it off every moment. At first, the rat bared its teeth and seemed about to spring, but then, as the moments turned into minutes, it appeared to forget. as though there had been nothing wrong, as though it had never been angry, the pitch rat sat back on its haunches and cleaned its whiskers.

Then, as it looked up and saw the two large Gembounds standing over it, the rat let out a frightened squeal, and without waiting to see what they'd do, the rat fled and was lost in the dark, like any normal rat should.

You may now post your rolls! What will the Gembounds do? Most importantly, what is it that's causing the rats to behave so strangely?
@Error @Joy

The hybrid with its strange spots backed off, thankfully, without a fight. The fox cross seemed pleased, not gloating but patiently grateful. From there, it turned its eyes to the rats again. The pitch rat, though tidied by its unusual friend, now dead.

Disappointment flashed across its features for a moment before attention turned to the puffing red. It seemed to calm after a moment, blinking away some sort of trance before scurrying off into the darkness of the caves.

The hybrid let it go, attention turning back to the dead pitch.

The stone on its back lit up bright gold, eyes doing the same, as the hybrid sought out signs of smaller life upon the rat; a hint perhaps to see why the pair had been acting so oddly together.