"Nearer the water, then, so I might use the river if needed. And what is your name?"

Dragon was shuffling along slowly, his twisted, somewhat withered right hind limb dragging behind him. He was never swift, and now he moved even more slowly, necessitating a snail's pace which he was certain irritated his lion companion--but there was little that he could do. The scars on his back, deep and thick, which led to the wounded leg were testament to an old and brutal battle, one that had left him lame, and there was no way to fix that.

As they drew farther from the strange runes upon the walls, Dragon spoke again--still keeping his voice fairly quiet. "Did you wish to tell me something, then--or do you wish to hear more of what I know?" His tone was a wary rumble, his dark eyes scanning Polaris as they moved.

This was where Raheerah had fought. Where the Betrayer had come. This was where Tenzin and Astraea had battled, and the great moth had fallen.

There was no telling when someone, anyone, might step in and overhear. The alligator was cautious--but to anyone else, it might seem like outright paranoia.

@Faelan

Despite what his companion might think, Faelan did not mind the step by step pace he was forced to if he wished to remain beside Dragon. He was weary from the events of the competitions, and hollowed by Mercurius's parting. The fact that he didn't know when he would see the other lion again made him anxious, sad and guilty all at once.
One tattered ear flicked toward the reptile as he commanded they near the water. Faelan nodded, grateful for the chance to wet his throat, and angled toward the lower ground as Dragon asked after his name.

"I am Faelan," he said simply. The mere statement of his name made him wonder so many things though. Who was he, beyond his name? Was he good? Evil? Would he ever really know? Did anyone...?
The reptile's voice, which Faelan gratefully noted was still low, pulled him out of his brooding. He kept walking in silence for a moment, mulling over how he wanted to approach the topic of the void, and the eyes. Finally, Faelan decided that head-on probably worked best for Dragon.

"I have seen the eyes. I have...been in the void," the lion didn't bother to suppress the shudder that crawled over him. He would never get used to the emptiness, or the memory of it. He hoped with every fiber of his being that he never had to experience it again.

@Dragon

Dragon felt himself stirred to curiosity. He eyed Faelan sidelong, the lion's seemingly aloof demeanor--or was he grieving?--and his tattered ears. A beast of some experience, then, perhaps, he thought to himself.

Aloud, he spoke cautiously, and only after glancing around to ensure that they were alone. "So they are real? These Eyes. My father told me long ago that the darkness and its eyes would come; that these eyes watched, and had seen me, I believe from Eridanus. That they eat the minds of those they do not like; that one day they will eat the Betrayer. He swore that should we--his Children--feed him, that he would keep us alive. We fed him--I still do--but I do not think I have ever seen these Eyes. What are they?" His questioning was blunt; he still had no idea, to this day, what these Eyes were.

He had the faintest memory--a tug at his mind from long-ago cycles--of diving, swimming deep, of being watched in the cold dark, of faces in the nothing. He remembered fleeing that water, understanding that no good would come of it. But he could not remember where--certainly not Cetus, not the safety of his home. Perhaps it had been the jungle-cave. Eridanus, then? Was that it? He'd never particularly bothered to learn the names of the places that the Elders gave.

Dragon pondered to himself as he watched Faelan. And what strange names. I wonder if they hold some meaning? Why would these Eyes not enter my home?

@Faelan

Faelan nodded in response to Dragon's first question, but otherwise kept silent throughout his speech. The reptile's words were a bit strange, referencing things that the lion did not know about. But he spoke true of the Eyes, of them eating minds. Whatever, or whomever, else Dragon spoke of, was right about that at least.

Unfortunately, the alligator's second question was not so easily answered. Faelan's brow furrowed as he mulled over how to reply. He didn't truly know what the Eyes were, but he had his speculations. Memories of the creatures that he had seen just after exiting the void chafed him. He thought of them before he slept, and when he woke. The wonderings nipped at his moments of his peace with Mercurius, and had snuck up him during the competitions. He couldn't get the sight of the odd pair out of his mind anymore than he could the Eyes.

"The Eyes, I believe, are magic," Faelan finally said, his thoughts bouncing in between the floating eyes and the naked, eye-covered monster. "I, and a few others, encountered them in Orion. They floated in the air all around us, peeling open before you from nothingness. With the Eyes, came the darkness. The nothing. It swallowed me, and I think some of the others too. We weren't together in the nothing, the void though, so I'm can't be sure."

The lion paused to take a deep, steadying breath. His heart hammered against his broad chest, so hard that he was surprised the alligator couldn't hear it. He needed to tell this, he had told no one since it happened. Not even Mercurius.

"I couldn't feel anything in the darkness. I couldn't see, taste, or hear. I tried to speak, thought of my magic often, hoping it would do something...But nothing happened. Nothing but the Eyes. Them, and the laughter, were the only things there..."

Faelan trailed off again, but he shook away the pressing tide of memories quickly. If he got all of it out, perhaps Dragon could help him. The reptile already knew of someone that was familiar with the Eyes.

"Nothing I did, did anything at all. And yet, after some time, I awoke from the darkness in Orion. The others were around me, not far from where we had been before. And there was...there was something resembling a Gembound in front of us. Something covered in eyes, naked of fur or hair. It stood next to what looked like living lightning bolts. The eye-creature, it commanded we all go, and I did not argue or linger."

@Dragon

Dragon considered all of this for a long moment, in silence. His thoughts ran slow and deep, as Cetus' waters, and at length, he shifted his dark eyes to Faelan thoughtfully. His voice was again a quiet rumble.

"I do not understand the connection," he began slowly, "between the 'Eyes' in Eridanus--the pools, there--and the many eyes that you have seen. Perhaps another knows." He eyed Faelan, and then, eventually--reluctant--he continued.

He may not be trustworthy, or again he may be, but it is best to share, and to learn. This is for all our survivals.

"Those waters once pulled me down, bitter ice and pitch black, and there were faces, and words that I could not comprehend. I know not if there is a connection, but they, too, are called the Eyes. I have things to do, but after that, perhaps--in time--should the Children come back together, we will look into the Eyes, and see what we find. You are welcome to watch for us there--and to join us in our search."

Dragon considered, further. "Nothing but eyes, and laughter in the darkness? It sounds as thought it were trying to frighten you. Do not fear it," Dragon declared, though he had no inkling that Faelan had been afraid. "Anything that feels the need to threaten is no true predator." This, at least, was said with disdain. "But this information is good, and I thank you for it! Should you come to Cetus, you will be welcomed among any I call ally."

@Faelan

Despite being in the presence of a near stranger, and having just rendered one of the traumatic experiences of his life, Faelan was oddly at ease. The weight of the secrets that he had kept locked inside finally lifted from his broad shoulders. He wondered briefly why he never told Mercurius before, and then quickly decided it didn't matter now.
When he saw the other lion again, he would tell him, Faelan decided definitively. They had much to discuss, he thought as he continued to walk beside Dragon.

The reptile's deep, rumbling tones pulled the tawny brute out from his brooding and back on to the subject at hand. Faelan did not see the connection either, but he figured that there had to be one. Surely, such a thing was more than a mere coincidence, he thought just before Dragon spoke again.

The alligator's confession of being pulled into the watery Eyes, into darkness and madness, sent a familiar chill down Faelan's spine. Yes, more than a coincidence, he thought, his brown furrowing further.
At the mention of the Children, the lion's ears flicked toward his companion curiously. It seemed to be a group, with the 'Father' that Dragon had spoken of before possibly being their leader. The Father knew of the Eyes, knew of their power. That alone made Faelan want to meet them.
He had little desire to seek out the Eyes in Eridanus, and yet, he felt partially responsible. Even more so when Dragon declared that the thing had probably been trying to scare Faelan and the others. If Dragon and his allies meant to do something, and he could help them then...shouldn't he? He knew no more than they did, and yet, he knew more about himself now. There was magic in him that he could use, and strength in his muscles if that failed.

The exclamation that his information was good, that he would be welcomed somewhere, made the lion cast all other thoughts away. Only moments before, he had considered himself useless, worthless even. Now, he couldn't say the same.

"I am glad to have helped," Faelan said as he turned to look at Dragn."And thank you for your time, and words. You have helped me too."

With the river only a few tail-lengths away now, the lion considered anything else he might have to tell Dragon, or to ask of him. He would have told him the names of the others involved, had he known any of them. Any questions he could think of revolved around the Children, and the Father, which he could learn by going to Cetus.
A slight twinge of bellyache distracted Faelan, reminding him he hadn't eaten since well before the magicka competition. He paused at the water's edge, quenching his thirst as Dragon slid into the river. Unfortunately, the water did little to satisfy his hunger.

Faelan waited for the alligator to resurface before calling out,"I will meet you at the Eyes in Eridanus. I must hunt now." After a nod, the lion turned and began to follow the river downstream. Maybe there would be a deer, or maybe he'd find Mercurius. Either one would be welcome now, though he'd prefer to eat sooner rather than later.

[EXIT]

Dragon let out a rumbling hiss of approval, then turned, hauling his heavy body off.

He had learned something new--and that was of interest, despite the mysterious voice and unsolved glyphs. And he had, potentially, found an ally. One interested in secrets and survival, and perhaps not so foolish as to at once forget these lessons.

The alligator turned, hauling himself slowly off over the rock, already lost in thought as he made his way out. He had much to ponder, but Cetus was the place to do it. He already missed the marshy ground--compared to this awful, rough stone--and the clinging, comforting mists.

Polaris was a place of dragons, and not the good kind. Stupid dragons, dry-skinned dragons.

Dragon limped away, away from the crackling Spire and its humming river, and back toward his home.

exit Dragon