Rift closed his eyes, breathing in the smells of the forest. Everything was so fresh, so full of life. Eridanus was thriving. At least this part of the cave was. It was quite a large area. But either way, Rift was content for now. It had been relatively peaceful as of late.

He leaned down and lapped gently from the pool, the cool water sweet on his tongue. He could never imagine these waters going bad and he feared for the day that they did. So he walked this way every few days to make sure that the beauty and freshness of the area stayed just the way it was.

Once he was done drinking, he stood, looking around. He had thought Sebastian had come with him, but he didn't see him. "Sebastian?" he called into the forest. He was probably nearby, just hidden by the undergrowth.

He started to walk forward, not at all in a hurry. It was a nice day and he wanted to enjoy it with a nice walk.


___________________________________________________________

"And if it ever starts to feel sad little fang"
Remember that your gifts are your gain.

tags: @Sebastian
notes: here

Sebastian was bored.

There was little to do for the moment in Eridanus; no plants to burn, at least not that he could think of. And in Eridanus there was little else to do; he didn't want to risk harming the plants by hunting, and he wasn't hungry, either. There was nowhere he considered safe to practice his Magick, without leaving Eridanus at least, and he didn't much want to do that. He was feeling particularly lazy today, and didn't particularly have the energy to go seeking somewhere to practice.

So he'd taken to following Rift around like some lovestruck pup, rather surprised to find he no longer had to look up to meet the feline's gaze. As a matter of fact, they were rather close to the same size. No longer was he a tiny little cub, scampering around Rift's paws. Now he was a nearly full grown Puma, able to take care of himself and be of use.

As Rift drink, Sebastian leaped up into a tree, lounging across the branch. He'd found this to be a nice, relaxing time-taker, just stretching out across a branch. It let him see most things that he couldn't before, especially when he'd been a tiny cub. It hadn't been that long ago when he'd hatched, had it?

Hearing a familiar voice call his name, the Puma stood, stretching and digging his claws into the bark of the tree, before leaping down nimbly to land in front of Rift. "You called?" he grinned, tilting his head curiously.


"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

@rift
@Game Master CJ

From deep within the trees, a trio of bickering voices cut through the silence.

"Are you sure it's this way? I can hardly sense her magic..." one voice crowed doubtfully.

"I know what I heard, birdbrain!" another voice irritably snapped back.

"As do I, and I heard them say it was among rocks! Are your tiny eyes so blind you cannot see the trees, Vaogan?" the first voice mocked.

Then, a cacophony of snarls and fluttering feathers exploded through the trees. The owners of the two voices engaged in a quick, agitated tousle, before just as quickly disengaging as a third voice wibbled, "S-Stop! She'll hear us!"

Begrudging silence settled between them.

If one could look close enough, they might be able to make out three figures leering at one another, before searching dubiously through the trees, glaring in the direction of the Eyes...

@Rift @Sebastian

Rift looked over as Sebastian came near. He thought he had heard him around and smelled him on the air. He leaned over and gave him a greeting lick. It suddenly struck him that he didn't have to bend down at all. In fact, he had to stretch his neck to reach the place that he always touched.

"Hey, I thought I heard you prowling about? What are you up to today?" He was about to start a normal conversation between the two when he heard distant whispering in the trees. He halted and angled his ear over in the direction in case Sebastian had not heard them.

Rift squinted into the trees and could barely make out three forms running around. He slowly reached up and took the leaves off his green ear and the sound instantly doubled. At first he cringed from the noise, but then adjusted, wanting to know what the three were saying.

Who are they talking about? He looked around, but there was no one else around. And neither of them were female, so they couldn't be talking about them. For a moment, he juggled whether he should call out to them or not, before deciding that he might as well.

"Is someone there? What are you doing?"


___________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags:
notes:

Sebastian stepped forward, moving to stand next to his Brother, wondering what he was looking at. The tawny big cat licked him where he always did, and the black cat returned it with an affectionate head nudge. He was always glad to see his Brother, even if it had only been a handful of hours since they'd seen each other. Rift, honestly, was all he'd known. Other Gembounds had come and left, but Rift was always there.

Rift asked what he'd been doing, and Sebastian shrugged. He really hadn't been doing much of anything, just trying to burn some of his excess energy. "Just exploring, seeing if anything was happening." he hummed, before hesitating when he thought he heard a voice.

His ears flicked back, and he turned, tilting his head as he tried to find the source. Then there was a second, and then a third, and if he looked closely he could almost make out some figures in the forest. "Hello! Do you need something?" he called out.
"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

The trio were silent for a moment. It was clear that they were all deeply observant of the pools of water, and either unaware of the two felines, or simply ignoring them. Until they had called out to them.

The moment the two felines spoke, the trio snapped to attention, stared their way, and immediately reeled back behind the trees. The sound of a quietly heated discussion could be heard as they began to bicker amongst themselves again, and then a pair of blue wings could be seen shoving the violet, multi-appendaged canine out into view.

The strange canine eyed the pair, his lip lifting to reveal a single long tooth. "Are you her guards?" he asked boldly, though if one listened close enough, they might be able to sense the mild tremor in his words. The single large eye on his brow flickered, staring past them at the Eyes once more.

@Rift @Sebastian

Rift glanced at Sebastian with confusion. Had they not even noticed them before? Then what were they staring at and talking about?

He looked back just in time to see the strange looking canine approaching them. Instinctively, Rift took a step back, his ear flattening, as if ready for the situation to turn hostile. But then, as it stopped, he forced himself to take a deep breath and flattened the fur that was rising on his neck. "Um, who's guards? The pools? Uh..." He was suddenly so distracted by the creature's eye that he almost forgot how to speak.

But he couldn't just freeze up and do nothing! No, these three had to be questioned! He had no idea who they were and they could be there to cause trouble. His ear came back up and he stepped forward again, raising his head proudly. "I am Rift, Guardian of Eridanus. Who are you and why are you here?"

@Sebastian