The swarm was in a uproar, diving and grabbing randomly at the Gembounds whether they ran or stood their ground; their blind attacking was not exactly to do harm, but to cause chaos and disturb the group. They had divided them at least, and the chattering between the spawn was high pitched, almost like laughing.

A shrill shrieking pierced the air like a blade, followed by a swift black mass cutting through the mess of batcats with utter preciseness. It rounded on the other side of them, gracefully landing and curling around the tip of a stalagmite rising high from the floor. This one was not dripping goo like the others. It shrieked again while looking up toward the black swarm, a series of clicking following as its ears swiveled like radars; it climbed higher to perch on the stalagmite—a glowing emerald embedded in its sternum. It was busy observing its children, clicking and chattering to see them, and its claws dug into the calcium formation as if it were annoyed by their sheer unwillingness to listen to its calls.

The swarm reacted to its cries however, calling back to it, but they were already too frenzied. They began to attack each other while also continuing to dive toward the Gembounds.

Outstretching his wings, Batcat beat them powerfully in frustration from his perch. Then inhaled with purpose. His claws dug firmly into the stalagmite and his wings braced against his sides, head reaching forward and tilting slightly: "NO!" It was a mix of a spoken word and a shrill sound that would penetrate their insanely sensitive ears. And it worked. The swarm faltered and made pitiful sounds that their ears had been hurt by such a sound. Some even hissed toward the offender, but when Batcat hissed and snarled back, they retreated into the vents.

When Jupiter created Batcat, she specifically left out chaos; so such chaotic swarming of its children made the creature anxious, and it did not understand this, and it did not like it. Once the last of the spawn had settled or were a fair distance, either within the vents or somewhere along the roof, Batcat's ears worked tirelessly to see what they had been after.

"HEL-LO?" he asked curiously from his perch, refusing to leave it. "IS?" His wings shifted and readied at his side, ready to take off at any moment if he did not hear an answer or if he felt like he was in danger.

@Xireidi @Kin-Kin @Albeon @Rinaotei @Aries

Kin-Kin had just set foot on the trail, having pinpointed the direction it lead, when the screeching and buffet of wings caused her to freeze in her tracks, her gaze snapping upwards to the sky, where she caught sight of the spawn enclosing them in a flurry of wings, beating and buffeting frantically around them. Kin-Kin opened her jaws and took in a sharp breath as she realized that they had been ambushed, but she didn't think that they were smart enough to have planned it. The way they moved, erratic and disorganized, didn't seem to possess the complex structure usually present in pack hunters. Vaguely, she was aware of Xireidi frozen, presumably in fear, and the frightened bleating of the proud ram.

But that wasn't important right now.

After mere moments spent in deliberation, Kin-Kin's hackles rose and she made an attempt to dart out between a gap in the beating wings and grabbing claws.

She skidded out between them, just barely dodging a multitude of nasty scratches, feeling one set of claws tear a fresh hole in the fabric of her cape- but she made it, and lowered her head as she calcuated her next move, just beyond the hubbub of beating wings and talons, and the others in the team just beyond. Kin-Kin readied herself for a fight- when there was a shriek that caused the wolf to flatten her ears in pain. And then, a shape- streaking through the storm. The next Kin-kin knew, she saw it- a green gem on its chest, exactly what they were looking for. "It's here!" she yelled out over the ruckus, and then, as she watched- Batcat yelled out a spoken word, or... semi-spoken at least. And all of their escape efforts were pointless then. Kin-Kin's tail waved behind her, contemplating.

So, this creature was intelligent... sort-of. Perhaps there wouldn't need to be a struggle to bring it home after all. Kin-Kin padded to the base of the stalagmite on which Batcat was perched, turning her gaze up towards it, and raising her voice.

"Hello!" she called up to it in as friendly a voice she could manage, a reply to the question she understood. "Batcat, yes? Can you understand me?"

She paused to let the words sink in if need be.

"Think you could come with us?"

Of course, if their had to be a struggle, Kin-Kin had other plans... she just hoped that the hybrid-creature would stay firmly in place on that stalagmite.

---

words:
tagged:
ooc:
muse:

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Xireidi slowed to a stop as a piercing sound echoed above. The attackers were retreating, but not in response to something bigger and more dangerous. At least the figure perched above didn't appear substantially more dangerous than the swarm.

Kin-Kin was the first to react, the first to fully recognize who they were dealing with. What luck to stumble upon the real Batcat after all this time! The wolf, however, kept his distance- partially due to the creature's apparent skittishness and partially because he knew he still smelled of rot from his fall earlier. He'd have to hop in a stream or something before returning to Polaris.

"We are messengers, friendly." he spoke after Kin-Kin, making sure his words were as clear as possible for the elusive creature, "You have been requested. We will make sure you stay safe."

He really hoped that they weren't leading this Batcat to a trap. After sabotaging the lights Nimean was certainly not to be trusted, but they had to do what they could to ensure their return.

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags:
notes: None

And endless quiet chattering continued as his large ears twitched and turned to see them, and as one of the strangers approached his perch, his fur rose sharply. But it said hello, and he knew hello. It said Batcat, he knew Batcat. He was Batcat. They said other things, a different voice. He picked through the words; he did not have an extensive vocabulary, but he understood enough. Jupiter did not always communicate with him through spoken language, but he could understand the gist of what these Gembounds wanted. At least one of them had answered his question, but he didn't know what messengers were.

He did know "safe."

"WHERE?" the creature asked, remaining atop its perch. Briefly, he looked up toward the vents, a silent ultrasonic chattering questing toward the roof. Was she there? Could she hear him? Was it okay for him to go? The nervousness in his tone set off the spawn roosting there, and they scattered into the vents.

@Kin-Kin @Xireidi

The creature didn’t seem aggressive, only cautious, and she tried to force relaxation into her stance, soothingly. "Polaris," she explained simply, ears perking, she kept watching the hybrid cautiously. The wolf tensed briefly at the chattering sound it made, as the spawn-creatures took to the sky in a swarm, preparing for another fight.


But it seemed that the batcat swarm had other plans, and were simply fleeing. Kin-Kin shook her head and tried to relaz the fur that had started to prickle along her back. "So, will you come with us?" She asked, trying her hardest to keep her tone gentle, and mask her brewing impatience.

---

words:
tagged: @xireidi
ooc:
muse:

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

While Kin-Kin's stance relaxed Xireidi found himself unable to fully follow. This 'real' batcat was still an unknown element, and while it seemed more cautious than combative they couldn't afford to let their guard down too much. Instead of letting his attention stay on their quarry, however, and possibly leave them ill at ease with them he turned toward the direction the swarm had left to, letting his gaze wander from size to side to make sure nothing snuck up on them.

Once he was reasonably sure that they were alone the wolf began to walk away toward the nearest tunnel that would lead to Polaris. "I can go ahead," he called back to the others, "Make sure there are no surprises."

Of course the limited negotiations had not fully ended, there was no guarantee that Batcat would follow them, but at least this way they might be able to convey that they were serious about trying to keep them safe. To be perfectly honest Xireidi wasn't expecting to get out of this encounter without some sort of violence. He could hope that Nimean was being truthful in just wanting to talk to Batcat but they could just as easily be lying and wanting to exterminate them for some reason. He wasn't going to let that happen; the primary objective of the gathered group was to get the lights back on but if a fight broke out they would now at least have a new ally in Batcat to chase Nimean away by force.

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags:
notes: None

He waited, listening, watching with his ears. There was no response above him and he felt uncertain, a primal caution sinking into his flesh. Polaris. He knew that room. He knew also that they avoided it because of the magic density there; at least, that was her decision. His head shifted from side to side as he regarded the Gembound below him, deciding. There was not harm. A creature was curious. She was not here to tell him otherwise.

Some distance from the pair, the other had started to travel. Batcat would follow, he decided, but did not have the mental capacity to further decide to relay this. Instead, he dropped swiftly from his perch and extended his wings, gliding with his legs tucked just above the ground. His silent seeking of objects continued, ears swiveling; when he found another stalagmite near the red wolf's path, the creature landed at its base and scurried up, dropping again to glide in Xireidi's direction.

Batcat is following Xireidi and Kin-Kin.

@Xireidi @Kin-Kin

Xireidi's ears shifted back as he heard the almost imperceptible sound of the real Batcat landing on a stalagmite behind him. There had been no further exchange, but it seemed that the creature trusted them enough to hear them out at least. He could only hope that trust was well placed. Though the dreams of becoming a hero were long past there was no way that the wolf would stand idly by if the dark fae of light intended harm.

He would move ahead taking the most direct possible route back to the generator. He would deliver this Batcat to Nimean and observe what was needed. Should a fight break out he would certainly come to this creature's defense even if it meant facing an absolute terror. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that though. Hopefully Nimean just needed information or something of the sort and would bring the caves back to light as promised.


-Exit Xireidi -

---

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away
tags:
notes: None

Kin-Kin watched Batcat's motions for a while before she was certain that it meant no harm, and definitely wouldn't need to be subdued by force. She breathed out a small sigh of relief, glancing after Xireidi as the other wolf left, before following with a swish of her tail to beckon the strange hybrid after.

With her golden fur as a beacon, she wouldn't be hard to follow. Hopefully it would be a beacon of hope for the odd being, and not a wisp-light leading the Batcat astray, and to its untimely demise. Her claws scraping gently against stone, Kin-Kin kept a wary eye out as she trotted after Xireidi towards Polaris.

-exit Kin-Kin-

---

words:
tagged:
ooc:
muse:

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...