OF WISPS AND WHISPERS

TUNNEL I — RADIANT GIFT IN THE DARK

The generator had been weak for hours, but the extra strings of lights along Tunnel I were completely dark except for a lone few bulbs, mysteriously gleaming through the darkness as if calling others to their sacred well of radiance. The thick blackness that overtook the tunnel was overwhelming, perhaps unnatural—traversing through it might even make one feel sluggish, cold, and sick... or was that just an illusion?

Ah, but the light! The few lit bulbs, saviors in the pitch black! It one could reach them, they instantly feel better! They would even find a most curious item displayed beneath their subtle warm glow: a tiny box, no larger than a pumpkin, wrapped in shimmering gold cloth and donned with an iridescent white bow. It had a fairly nice smell, too, like cinnamon and spice.

Huckleberry had noticed the dark tunnel from Polaris - how strange, usually it was as well lit as the rest of the caves. But now it was dark, very dark. Interested, they ventured in and immediately felt the pressure of the darkness. They felt the claws of Shiny digging into their scruff but they didn't mind. They had grown used to the weight on their back. Together, they went deeper into the tunnel, following that one distant light. There was fear in Huckleberry's chest, dark, heavy fear and they only kept going because of their focus on the warmth of the catsquirrel on their back. As long as Shiny was there, they would be okay.

Finally, they reached the path of light and instantly warmth went through their bones. They sighed as Shiny's claws loosened and they kneeled to the ground, lounging luxuriously in the bright light. They rolled onto their back as if soaking in sunlight and hummed contently. How nice to be in light again.

They heard the pattering of pawsteps and felt a quiver of questioning through their link. Huckle-friend, look at this. It smells good. The hybrid opened their eyes and stretched their head back, looking at where Shiny had gone from an upside down point. A box, a little gold and white. It was pretty!

Huckleberry flipped themselves back on their stomach and got to their feet, stepping over to the box as Shiny stepped away. They sniffed the box and found that it, in fact, did smell really nice! "Wow, how pretty! Should I open it? Should I, Shiny?" The catsquirrel's tail waved thoughtfully. I think you should, Huckle-friend. I want to play with the bow.

Carefully, Huckleberry reached for the box and undid the box from the cloth. They handed the pretty white bow to Shiny who gleefully took it in their mouth and began batting it around on the ground. Huckleberry, meanwhile, carefully started to unwrap the gold cloth from the box, being very careful not to destroy it with their talons. They wanted that cloth it was pretty and it smelled good!

The only thing worse than being blindis having sight but no vision

Galactic was, of course, wholly unaware of the dark.

However, he was unable to ignore the chill in the air, making him feel sluggish and sickly. But, oddly enough, on occasion he would suddenly feel wholly better. Sometimes, when he felt better, he would trip over something. The first time, he had grabbed what he had tripped over, and now dragged it with him. But he feared being alone now, in this unknown, and so kept walking.

And he kept walking until he bumped into something. The something was large, and he stumbled, 'looking' up with blank eyes. "Is someone there?" he asked, "Who are you?"

@Huckleberry

OF WISPS AND WHISPERS

TRAPPED!

The bow was off and the cloth was loose—a magical surge of energy erupted from the box it was contained in, sending out a small shockwave that pushed back both the familiar and the owl. A metallic cage had sprung up around the creature it had caught, glowing at first before sizing down to fit Huckleberry with little room for them to move. (If noticed, the cloth rested unharmed beneath the magical cage.) There seemed to be no door or way to open the cage, and the metal seemed foreign; it also seemed impervious to magic, teeth, and claws.

@Huckleberry

As Huckleberry admired the cloth they felt something bump into their leg. They flinched a little and looked down to find themselves face to face with an owl with very strange looking eyes. "Hello. I'm Huckleberry and that's my friend Shiny!" The catsquirrel gave no notice as it continued to bat at and play with the white bow. They narrowed their eyes at the owl a little confused. What did they mean? They were standing right there! And the owl was looking at them! "Hi I'm right here. In front of you. Do you not see me?" Suddenly afraid that they had somehow turned invisible they jerked up, sending a spark through their connection. "Shiny! Am I invisible?!"

The catsquirrel looked up and tilted their head. I can see you, Huckle-friend.

But before Huckleberry could ask anymore questions they felt the air shiver and a shockwave passed through their body. They yelped with surprise and backed away but found their path blocked. They turned back and their eyes nearly popped out of their head at the sudden cage that had been created around them. And then it was pressing down, locking them in. They struggled and clawed, but nothing they did loosened it.

Realizing they were trapped, terror raced through their veins and they screamed. They screamed so loudly that magic erupted in the back of their throat sending a colossal boom through the entire tunnel. The ground quivered from the force and dust and rocks rained down from the ceiling, having been disturbed by the power of the spell. Shiny screamed and covered their ears, desperately searching for a tree to climb, but there was none. So they decided, instead, to leap behind a rock until the sound was gone.

"HELP," Huckleberry cried. "PLEASE! MAMA, HELP ME!!" They bashed at the bars as best they could but they could barely move. Tears rolled down their face from the sheer horror of their situation. They couldn't think at all, they were pure instinct, a trapped animal desperately trying to break free.

@Galactic

The tunnel between his group's home, and his feeding grounds, had gone dark. He was picking his way through with a frown when he heard the screams, the familiar voice crying for Mama. Pride's frown immediately deepened, and his heart began to race with fear and concern. He did not even consider that it might be a trap as he broke into a swift trot, calling out on his own.

"Huckleberry?" he cried. "Is that you?!" The wails tore at him, and despite the darkness he began to race, running as fast as he could directly toward the calls. He could hardly see where he was going, and at his speed his legs tripped over a set of stairs. Down he went, tumbling with heavy thumps, a sharp bleat of pain escaping him.

His entrance, then, was not grand and graceful--instead he came rolling to a halt by the cage, scrambling to get his legs back beneath him as dust spilled upward at his arrival.

His eyes were wide, his head turning quickly as he took stock of the situation: Huckleberry--what is that? And a bird? He had little time to puzzle this out, though, nor to figure out why there was a soft, sweet smell from somewhere nearby. Instead he stumbled up, disregarding the pain in his knees, not noticing the blood smeared over them from the scrapes of his fall. His voice was as full of alarm as it had ever been as he spoke, his fluting voice urgent. "Huckleberry! What's happening?!"

The only thing worse than being blindis having sight but no vision

Galactic blinked blankly up at Huckleberry, tilting his head. Ah, so he had walked into someone. "My apologies for walking into you. It's a pleasure to meet you both, my name is Galactic. You can call me Gal if you want."

He couldn't help but to grin - as well as an owl could grin, at least - as the Gembound fussed, panicking at the thought of being invisible. "No, no, you haven't become invisible. I'm blind, so I cannot see either of you. I hatched blind."

And then, suddenly, Galactic found himself thrown back. He shrieked, tumbling head over tail feathers, and struggled to reorient himself, staggering back to his talons. He cowered, low to the ground, heavily disoriented and terrified further at a loud boom, followed by screaming. "HUCKLE! HUCKLE! HUCKLE, WHAT'S HAPPENING!?"

And then there was a loud thud, and another voice. The owl fluttered his wings, and cried out, "Hello! Who's there! Where's Huckleberry!?"

@Pride
@Huckleberry

As a maiden she tiptoes shy with her light
She is modest and pure as she graces the night
Thothaga was glad she did not touch the pretty little box. A cage had sprung forth and trapped a few curious gembounds. She was startled at the sight. It was not what she expected. This was to be approached with caution. A white stag had gotten here before her. She did not recognize him.

Blue, hairy spider legs unfurled from the shadows like long, crooked fingers. Thothaga, stepped into the warm light. Now roughly the size of a large dog, she towered over her lesser cave kin. Her beady, black eyes stared at the strange cage and its victims, blank and expressionless, or at least that what it seemed. Spiders weren't known for their demoting.

"What do we have here?" She rasped, slightly chuckling. "Caught in a stone web?" Thothaga found this whole pardicment amusing. Not at the victim's unfortunate expense, but because this was almost her.

Thothaga had the shadows partially to thank for her late arrival, or she might have been trapped instead. The tunnel buzzed with magick, but they were not as strong as it used to be. She had a feeling something was disrupting the output, but she would investigate this later. Right now, the metallic trap-thing was more intriguing.



"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Huckleberry @Galactic @Pride @Jayberry // OOC:

She knew that voice.

Jayberry raised her head, dropping the corpse of the windhopper that sat in her mouth. She swallowed the chunk of flesh without a second thought, before taking off at a dead sprint.

Huckleberry may have caused trouble. May have revolted, may have fought. But, for better or for worse, Huckleberry was still family. Until Mama said otherwise, they were as much a part of Jayberry as her own Gem.

She raced into the tunnel, not caring that it had gone dark. Her fur melded with the shadows, leaving her to be little more than a pair of gleaming gold eyes, the rest of her visible only when she darted through the brief spots of light.

The wolf only had a moment to take in everything. She ignored the white stag, despite recognizing him. She ignored the little bird that she sent flying as she barreled over him. She ignored the cat-squirrel thing. And the wolf slammed bodily into the thing that surrounded her sibling with a horrible rattling sound, bouncing off before setting her teeth into the bars. Horrible snarls rumbled in her chest, as she tried, however futile, to pry the bars open.

She was no Mama, but hopefully she would do.

@Huckleberry
@Pride

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

OF WISPS AND WHISPERS

YOU'VE ENCOUNTERED: TERROR OF THE CAVES

KRA'RAUM, TERROR OF THE CAVES

100 / 100 HP    100%

Like lamps violently bursting open through the void, shadows peeled back from his glowing yellow gaze. They barely illuminated the edges of his tar-black features: elongated jaw with curled lips, pointed teeth rising all the way up to his cheeks; eyes that sat too far down on his face, giving him in unnatural and unsettling appearance; ears that were crooked and too long; and though only his front legs were visible, they also were clearly too long, as if the joints were misplaced.

An airy hiss-like cackle breathed from between his teeth.

And as suddenly as he appeared—all of the lights blinked out, including the warm glow that had attracted all of his flies to one spot.

The sinking darkness closed in and the yellow glow of his eyes moved like a trail through the tunnel, approaching the Gembounds at breakneck speeds with chilling growls, unnaturally quick and jaunting. At some points, it seemed as if he were teleporting—and then he seemingly disappeared, too. A wave of hot air and foul breath washed over them, but nothing was there to meet them.

The only sounds that continued were echoing, guttural snarls, but the space around them was empty.

Huckleberry 100/100	Shiny 50/50	Galactic 100/100
Pride 100/100	Thothaga 100/100	Jayberry 100/100

@Huckleberry