Faelan picked up Mercurius's trail on the riverbank in Polaris, just like he had hoped he would. He did not, however, find the meal that he needed. The lion followed his companion's trail through Polaris, back to where they had met, and did not see one lesser Gembound on the way.

That thought, as well as the bellyache that worsened by the minute, made Faelan stop at the intersection. His gilded gaze drifted from one tunnel to the next, trying to consider where to go. He had only been this way twice before, and the most recent of those trips had ended a few feet behind him. Part of him wanted to follow Mercurius's scent down the tunnel to his right, but the scent of earth and growth that drifted from the tunnel ahead of him made the lion think there'd be more likely be prey that way.

An idea struck him, and, seeing as he had no better ones, he decided to try it.
Faelan closed his eyes and focused on the feel of the cool stone beneath him. He thought back to the last time he had tried casting this spell, when he had been with Sebastian. His focus centered on the radiant red glow that had surrounded his friend, and the specks of light that he had seen that signaled other Gembounds, ones that were farther away.

The memory, or was his concentration, stirred the magicka inside the lion. He felt it swell, and then, like one of the lightbulbs clicking on or off, sparks of color flickered into his minds-eye.


((Faelan will be hunting a plagued cave deer as part of the Epidemic plot. Feel free to jump in at anytime!))

From the direction of Cetus, a single stone resonates with Faelan's spell. There are undoubtedly more, farther in the other caves--but this one is oddly close, at the edge of the muddy, musty cave mouth.

Should Faelan venture further in that direction, he would see one of Cetus' cave deer lingering there: one of those with rubbery hides, and bioluminescent markings glowing over its fur.

However, rather than alert and bright, this one is listless. Its head hangs low, eyes clouded with a pale and milky haze. Mucus drips from its nose and mouth, and its thin fur is tangled and matted, the glowing markings giving off a dim, dull red pulse, as if in warning. It is trembling, and its breaths come in short, wet gasps. It appears to be lost, and unwilling to move or uncertain where to move to.

@Faelan

The single closest gem shone like a beacon in Faelan's mindseye. He turned his head toward it, brow furrowing as if he were squinting to see it better. It was too far to make out a shape in the light though, so he opened his eyes and blinked away the sight. The spell had worked, he had a target. He just wasn't sure if the target was actually what he intended it to be.

Large paws started forward slowly, carefully. He was, hopefully, hunting, and didn't want anything to hear him coming. Even if the gem he had seen turned out to be a greater Gembound, it would be best to have the advantage of stealth. He didn't trust so openly, didn't welcome strangers so readily, as he once had. The "Terror of the Caves" had ripped that right out of him.

Whenever the cave deer finally came into sight, Faelan had a hard time keeping up his slow, quiet steps. His stomach clenched, urging him forward, urging him to kill and consume. Subconsciously, he sped up for a couple of steps, but then the sight of the deer hit him. It is...not right, the lion thought as he slowed his pace again, nearly to a standstill this time.
The glowing red markings were the most obvious sign that the lesser Gembound was different. As the lion continued to watch though, he noted its trembling, the runny nose, and the short gasps for air. It's definitely not right, Faelan finally concluded.

The resolution brought no satisfaction though. If Faelan could not eat this deer, what use was it? The fact that it was very obviously sick should have hinted at that, but hunger distracted the lion.

If Faelan needed any more proof that the cave deer was not well, it came in its listless demeanor. He stood, plainly in sight for it to see if it would only lift its head and look around.

Phantoms jaws gnawed at the lion's stomach, eating him from the inside out. He desperately considered the cave deer again, but one look at it made his stomach flip as well as clench. There's no use eating, just to die from it, Faelan thought somewhat bitterly.

Hunger pains masked the feeling of his magic stirring. Seemingly out of nowhere, two bright yellow bananas appeared in between Faelan's paws. Their sparkle and glow drew the lion's gaze, and, undoubtedly, anything else's gaze that was anywhere close in the tunnel.
They seemed edible, but Faelan considered that thought might be one born from his own desires and not from any true knowledge. It was hard to tell at this point because he'd never been this hungry before. So much had happened recently, that the tawny brute hadn't been thinking of basic necessities lately. It was all doom and gloom, Eyes and disembodied voices stirring up fear and trouble.

The lion shook his massive crown, as to shake the eerie thoughts away, and focused back on the, possible, food at paw. He lifted his right forepaw, his oval-shaped gem glistening in the light of the tunnel as it moved, and gingerly poked the banana.

The strange fruit felt as smooth as it looked, though it was surprisingly soft. Faelan's claw dented the peel, making him certain that he could eat the thing, though he still had doubts on if he wanted to. It had magically appeared, which wasn't exactly a reassurance to him. Many things stemmed from magic in the caves, and many of them were definitely not good.

Suddenly remembering the cave deer, Faelan looked up from the pair of bananas and was surprised to see it still staring at the floor. The sparkle and glow that the fruit emitted patterned the nearby walls, and yet, the lesser Gembound didn't respond at all. It continued to stand there, trembling, mucus dripping from its nose.
The lion's belly clenched again, and, after one last, long look at the bananas, he reached down and snapped one up. His teeth pierced the rubbery peel easily, though it was slightly difficult to chew. Faelan persisted though, hungry enough to consume almost anything at this point.

All too soon, his magical snack was gone, and the lion was left to stare at the other banana hungrily. They were, surprisingly, delicious, and he could already feel his hunger pains abating. He may not prefer the fruit, but they could keep him alive apparently.
Faelan looked up at the pitiful lesser Gembound just as he reached for the other banana. Sympathy tugged at the lion's heart-strings. It looked so lost, so pitiful standing there all alone, trembling and sick. His first thought was to end its life, to make its misery end. Then, he wondered if the magical bananas could help it. They were magical, after all, perhaps they had some healing qualities to them.

Gingerly picking up the long yellow fruit, Faelan cocked his head to the side and then quickly jerked it to the other. His attempt to throw the banana at the deer was not successful though. The banana went the completely opposite direction, arcing straight into the wall.
The wet splat seemed to echo through the silent tunnel like thunder. Faelan jerked his head from the sight of the banana oozing down the wall, back to the cave deer.

The cave deer was too ill and miserable to hear the sound of a lion eating, but the splat of a banana against the cave wall drew its attention.

It looked up sharply, and then, with hesitant, staggering movements, turned to blindly flee the tunnel.

@Faelan

Faelan tensed as the cave deer jerked its head up, his breath bated as he waited for it to see him. It still didn't turn toward him though. In fact, it had acted as if he weren't there entirely.

On shaky legs, the pitiful thing spun about and tried to flee further down the tunnel. A part of Faelan wanted to let it go, to let it curl up and go to sleep forever so that it might finally know some peace. The other part of him knew he couldn't do that though. It was sick, very, very sick, and he realized now that it could possibly make other Gembounds sick too. Is that where all the lessers have gone? the lion wondered as he started forward slowly.

The poor cave deer seemed to run about as fast as Faelan could walk. That made it easier to decide to catch up to it, to end its miserable life. It didn't deserve to suffer, and neither did anyone else because of it, he thought.
A plan of attack formed quickly, with the lion focusing on keeping a distance. He didn't want to get sick, so he'd have to try and bring the cave deer down with magic. This would be the first time he would "hunt" solely using his magic, but Faelan had confidence that he could.

The spell came quickly this time, though it lacked the power that the lion had intended. He wanted to knock the deer down, but he wasn't sure if the brief quivering of the ground beneath its hooves was enough to do so.

The shaking of the ground may not have been strong enough to down a healthy deer. Without its eyes to provide some reference for its balance, and with illness weakening it so badly, though, the sick one first stumbled, then fell. With a pathetic bleat of fear it toppled onto its side, where it lay flailing with weak kicks of slender hind legs.

Up close, the swollen, matted areas of the bioluminescent coat are clearer; the milky eyes are very obviously blind.

The panicking lesser gembound's markings begin to pulse a frantic red.

@Faelan

Though he should have felt triumph whenever the cave deer stumbled and then fell, Faelan only felt pity. The terrified cry it let loose sent a pang through his broad chest, making him ache inside. He did not mind killing to eat, to sustain himself, it was only natural. He abhorred killing for pleasure, or sport, though. It was wasteful and cruel, and he felt awful for deciding to do so now.

The only thing that comforted Faelan was the thought that he was preventing further needless death. This sickness was the first of its kind he had come across. Granted, though he was many cycles old, he had only been active for a pawful of cycles so he hadn't seen that much. The Gembound's inexperience made him doubt himself somewhat, but he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that this illness wasn't natural.

Where it came from doesn't matter right now though, Faelan thought as he stopped a couple of tail-lengths from the cave deer. It struggled to get up, laying helplessly on its sides while its legs uselessly flailed in the air and its markings pulsed.

This part of the plan was where Faelan lost a lot of his confidence. He didn't know what other spells he could do since he hadn't ever tried any more than the few he had done by accident. The lion knew that his magic was earth-based though, so he focused on that, hoping it would draw forth something useful.
He stared at the cave deer, willing power up from the stone beneath his paws. He felt the familiar swell of magicka, felt it build inside of him until he couldn't hold it anymore it. It burst forth in an unseen wave, reaching down into the ground to summon forth particles of sand. The tiny grains flew up, drawn by the uncontrolled wave of earth energy that Faelan had set loose. He watched, stunned, as sand began to circle around the cave deer, faster and faster. It condensed into tiny glass spears, spinning so fast now that he could barely make out the outline of the cave deer within the mini-maelstrom.

Tagged for Mature: violence and gore

The bleating came again, more frantic this time and pained, as Faelan surrounded the sick deer with whirling shards of glass. Blood sprayed out, the little hooves kicking out desperately.

When the magic died down, the deer kept kicking feebly for a long moment, struggling to stand, to escape the pain whose source it could not see. But the illness and now the bleeding had weakened it greatly. It lay on its side, panting, covered with dozens of deep cuts--terrified and unable to move. Blood pooled beneath it, and glass shards were embedded in its red-flashing hide here and there.

The blind cave deer is now dying, but nothing fatal has been struck, so it will survive for two more rounds of posting.

@Faelan