OF WISPS AND WHISPERS

ENGAGED: TERROR OF THE CAVES

KRA'RAUM, TERROR OF THE CAVES

91 / 100 HP

Its body was flesh in the darkness, a sudden vacuum of air knocking it aside. Thankfully the loud calling of the trapped Gembound might have muffled the hollow thump and scrambled shuffling that followed the deer's spell. Its long limbs pushed to right itself and it snorted quietly, glaring at the soft glow of the metal bars where they all still gathered. Well, most of them. The creature wasn't keen enough to notice one or two missing; it was mostly proud to see a cluster gathered at all. How typical they were to help one in need, despite an obvious trap or danger.

It continued its pressure from the shadows, its empty threats and taunts; throwing echoing snarls and flashing its eyes as it skittered around before retreating back into the shadows.

With a large inhale of air, it began for its first offensive attack. In an attempt to hide the shimmering glow of feldspar around its left front ankle, it urged the shadows to its leg so that its location might not be given away while it was preparing for its attack.

Huckleberry 86/100	Shiny 100/100	Galactic 100/100
Pride 100/100	Thothaga 100/100	Jayberry 85/100

Kra'raum takes 9 damage from Vacuum.

Huckleberry takes 4 damage from failed Lightning Storm.
Jayberry takes 10 damage from the burning metal bars.

@Huckleberry @Galactic @Pride @Thothaga @Jayberry

Pride snorted loudly, nostrils flared and eyes wide. His heart raced in his chest, hammering, and he turned to glance over the situation behind him.

Cage intact? Huckleberry--panicked, harmed--the wolf likewise--none of the others useful. Creature missing, unsure if I hit. He thought perhaps he'd struck something in the darkness, but he couldn't be sure.

It was time to go.

Pride took a single short leap toward Huckleberry's cage and braced himself, surging his magicka out past his fear and around his frantic adrenaline in an attempt to ensnare the cage whole with his very mind.

Magic, don't fail me now.

It occurred to him, at the last moment, that if he could lift the cage--well, then he could wield it.

As a weapon.

With Huckleberry inside, yes, but it would still be painful to be struck with. Unfortunately, the thought distracted him, so that his magicka very much did fail him, and he wound up stood panting, splay-legged and bowed forward facing the cage, doing--absolutely nothing.

Huckleberry just kept screaming for the lights and for somebody to help him as electricity raced through his fur. He didn't want to touch the bars but he was so squished that it was all he could do to not get hurt by the hot metal. He could barely even see Jayberry anymore beyond his haze of fear but then Shiny's comforting presence came across through their link as she sensed his raging terror. Huckle-friend, calm down. Be calm. Calm. I am here, Huckle-friend. He latched onto the voice like a lifeline and let Shiny's sotthing voice in his head calm himself enough to start thinking clearer. He closed his eyes for a moment, took a few deep breaths as Shiny continued to talk, and then opened them again.

There were shadows everywhere and Huckleberry knew that one of them contained the monster-thing. If he could somehow find its location, perhaps they could attack it. But he didn't want to risk another lightning attack - that had already proven to be not too useful. So Huckleberry found a non-burning spot in the cage to stick his muzzle out, sucked in a deep breath, and exhaled as forcefully as he could.

His magic went into the air with the breath and it began stirring he directed it into the shadows and, suddenly, the air whipped into a tornado, howling in the darkness of the tunnel. He kept himself as focused as he could, ignoring everything else as he began to direct the swirling air to sweep around the gathered gembounds and through the shadows, trying to find the location of whatever dark creatures was haunting them.

Jay snarled, digging in her paws and feeling muscles tear as she strained against the metal. The wolf thrashed her head from side to side, only to let go in shock as the world began to snarl around her.

She whined, bringing her paw up to paw up at her mouth. Oh, it hurt! It was bloody, and burnt, and boils were beginning to come up.

And then she got an idea. Her eyes began to glow red, and she snapped her head around, attempting to meet their opponents' gaze.

Of course, in the process, she locked eyes with all of her companions', casting the spell on them, as well.

@Huckleberry @Pride @Thothaga

"She speaks." 'She thinks.' She does.

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

Galactic didn't understand. He huddled to the ground, pathetic whimpers that belonged to a dog, not an owl, kreeling from his throat. There was yelling and sparking Magic and snarling and he wanted out!

And then there were nonsense noises, shrieking and howling, and explosions and noises he didn't even have words for! It felt as though his feathers were being yanked at, torn on, as though he were being gutted.

"STOP! PLEASE!" he howled, and he collapsed onto his back. His magic began to react, and a weak wind kicked up around him.

As a maiden she tiptoes shy with her light
She is modest and pure as she graces the night
So it was creature of flesh after all! The white stag's spell had knocked it aside.

Her plan would most definitely work.

Thothaga finally reach the ceiling of the tunnel, laying a silken safety line behind her. It was good that she did, because shortly after, one of the gembounds had summoned great winds. Thothaga pressed her body to the ceiling and clung tightly as the air spell buffeted her fur. Fool! She hissed in her thoughts. I am up here!

After the wind died down, Thothaga carefully suspended herself from the ceiling. Hanging from only a cord of spider silk, she got to work. While the other gembounds shrieked below, she combed threads from her spinnerets, and began weaving her sticky net. She used her four front legs as frame, stretching it out over time as she spun. Thothaga wove as fast as she could, knowing any moment the creature could strike. Eventually, she finished, though her worked looked horrendously rushed, but her silk was very strong and the shadow creature was no more than unsuspecting prey now. All she had to do was cast it.

Unfortunately, her target had vanished again, but that was okay. Thothaga was very patient. She dangled, silently still from above, with her woven trap ready, waiting for the first glimpse of yellow eyes.


"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Pride // OOC:

OF WISPS AND WHISPERS

ENGAGED: TERROR OF THE CAVES

KRA'RAUM, TERROR OF THE CAVES

80 / 100 HP

The world around Jayberry would seem to twist and run with fading, bleeding color, shifting to inky blacks. It would be difficult to tell reality from falsehood, by the hand of her own backfiring magics, even as it lashed out at those around her.

As the dust devil hurtled into the shadows, there was a screech sharp enough to deafen--and another snarl of wind roared back out of the same darkness, aiming to ensnare and violently throw all who stood before it, and to further feed the chaos that threatened to overwhelm the Gembound present.

Huckleberry 86/100	Shiny 50/50	Galactic 100/100
Pride 100/100	Thothaga 100/100	Jayberry 85/100

Kra'raum takes 11 damage from Huckleberry's Dust Devil.

All who do not roll successfully to dodge will take 14 damage next turn from Kra'raum's own Dust Devil.

@Huckleberry @Galactic @Pride @Thothaga @Jayberry

Huckleberry heard the screech from the darkness and their eyes immediately snapped to the place where it had come from. That's where the monster was. A moment later, the same tornado, or perhaps a different one, came whipping from the shadows. Huckleberry couldn't dodge, even if they had time to do it. The wind smashed against them and they screeched as they were thrown right into the burning bars. The heat stung against their skin and they scrabbled at the cage floor, trying to get themselves away from it and stop from touching it.

Shiny was knocked around as well, the little catsquirrel thrown from her hiding spot. There were loud screeches as she was thrown into rock after rock before she regained her footing. At the same time, Huckleberry stared at the spot where the screech had come from and shot a bolt of bright lightning towards the place, both to attempt to illuminate the creature, even if for a second, and to hit it again. Make it hurt, just like he was hurting!

@Galactic @Pride @Thothaga @Jayberry

Pride blanched as a sudden curl of terror sheared through his mind. This--he recognized this magic and furiously he glanced to the black wolf. Sure enough, her eyes were briefly locked on his. Fury rushed along the tail end of the fear, coal-hot to the icy cold, escaping him in a loud snort.

He gathered his magic again, this time trying to grab Jayberry and to hurl her at the enemy. The spell didn't even form, and he had to assume that something was interfering. With another enraged snort he turned, a clatter of hooves announcing his movement, and took up position in front of Huckleberry's cage, antlers lowered forth toward the monster in the darkness. The bolt had burst forth, and now it should be safe to stand there--at least to protect the more naive, strangely gentle "bloodberry" (cue internal snort again) from the shadows in the darkness.

Nothing should have to die in a cage.

The she-wolf froze, whining loudly as the world around her twisted and turned. What little light she had been able to see faded away, and she widened her eyes, whimpering as she tried to peer through the darkness. There were whispering words that, no matter how hard she strained her ears, she couldn't make out, and flickering silhouettes that vanished when she turned to see them full on.

She was only barely aware of the dust devil as it tore passed her, tugging at her fur but not throwing her. Te wolf remained wholly unaware of Pride's attempts at flinging her, and she backed up until her rear was pressed against the cold bars of Huckle's cage.

Family sticks together, even if one of them was out of her mind with hallucinations.

@Pride @Thothaga @Huckleberry

"She speaks." 'She thinks.' She does.