Wilder brightened at the prospect of sharing information and she lifted her head, looking much more like her normal self again. "Oh, yes! I might not know as much as you, though, you are big and old and I am small and young." It wasn't a mean comment, simply a truthful one. So Wilder sat down and began to think about everyone she met and where she had been.

"I hatched in Polaris and in that cave is a big big glowing thing that zapped me! I met a big black dog and he taught me how to live and about magic. He told me about Aquarian and we came here to try and meet him but he didn't answer. I also met a fox called Miru in Polaris. He's very smart and he told me I have an important destiny. He's my best friend, you know! I've also been in Pisces and in Pisces there's lots of water and its really cold! I met a cat called Indelia and we played for a bit! I have another best friends called Aure and he took me to the bone room. It's called Canis! He says he's trying to bring together his family. He calls it the Bonebound but I don't get it, but I told him I'd be a part of his family." She was about to speak of the Collector but then decided that it would be better if she kept it quiet. She might fail her mission if she spoke of him and Dragon refused to talk any more of the Children.

"I heard some stuff in Canis about other critters around. There's a big wolf called Astaroth in Canis and he's kind of scary but pretty cool too! I visited a big white tiger in Tunnel K on my way out of the bone room and he has a little black dog friend! He hangs corpses outside his tunnel and his fur is stained with blood. I also heard about some group in the tunnel outside of Polaris. They call themselves the Bloodberries and I've heard they're pretty savage but I don't know anything else. Other then that, I've just been through a few tunnels and some other rooms but I don't know their names." She nodded and smiled at Dragon, her report complete. She was pretty sure she hadn't left anything out, except for, of course, the Collector.

@Dragon

Dragon considered, as he listened. The little one was speaking a great deal, and some might have been annoyed by it, but he paid attention with the ageless patience of a reptile.

The black dog, he knew; Aquarian, of course, rarely answered. He started to open his mouth to say as much, then slowly closed it as Wilder went on. He did not know many of the names she listed, nor the Gembound that she described, but he knew of Canis. The mention of a tiger that hung corpses made him wonder. Prey? Decoration? If it were as savage as "corpse decoration" would suggest, it would have likely eaten Wilder.

...Though, he himself was comfortable with her presence here, and hadn't he once decorated the Divine with entrails? Never mind, he thought to himself.

"Hmm. That is a great deal of good information. I will trade you fairly." He thought, for a moment, and then he began. "There are two pools of silver water in the cave of many plants. Do not swim in them. There are nightmares and cold beneath, and it will consume you. Here in this cave--and in many others--you may be tempted to hunt in dark crevices, for your rats. Be very careful, for the cave spiders hunt there with snares of web, and many are far larger than you. There are large rats that mimic sound; they can trick you into fleeing if you believe their noise--but always be careful that it isn't a trick." He paused, thinking. That was three helpful pieces of survival information. He considered, and then went on. "The ice phoenix Tenzin and the stag with the mushroom-antlers have fought alongside us before, though it does not make them our friends. Our allies, temporarily, against the dragon. " And he had already warned her of Nemean. "At times, the lights in the caves go out. It is good in those times to know magic to create light. Usually it is a problem with the round thing that turns in Polaris, near the Spire. You can seek it there."

There. That seemed fair.

Dragon thought, again, mulling everything over in silence. The idea of someone gathering "family" in Canis interested him, moreso with Wilder already claiming she'd join them, as well. He realized almost at once that she was likely young, and may forget the Children as soon as she'd wandered out of the cave; she was too young, certainly, to be depended upon as a stolid member. Still, she might be of use to them.

"I have a task, little one, that I would ask to set you. If you are willing, would you speak to this Aure, and tell him that I--father of the Children of Rot--would speak to him?" He'd have asked of the Bloodberries, too--it would do well for a leader to meet with others--but she had already described them as savage and he had no desire to send her into danger.

Perhaps he could pay them a visit himself, at some point; for now, the Canis "family" held his interest.

@Wilder

Wilder listened closely to the alligator's words and nodded. She was thankful for the information but she couldn't help being curious about things. Giant spiders? What did they look like? What did their webs look like? And what would really happen when she swam in the two silver pools in the cave of plants? But Dragon told her not to and she trusted Dragon's wisdom.

She didn't know the ice phoenix Tenzin nor the stag with mushroom antlers. She had never met them before but she knew that she very much wanted to, the same way she very much wanted to meet Aquarian. She wanted to be friends with them.

But when Dragon spoke of the caves going dark, and she needing to have a source of light, her face lit up. "Oh, I can do that!" Without any physical sign of movement, a single pink and blue wisp popped into existence beside her. It was a small thing and danced gently, giving off a good amount of light. "See, I can make light, no problem!" She'd finally been able to make magic work and Dragon would probably be very proud of her!

She nodded again. "I can do that! I'll be seeing Aure again soon! But I wanted to meet the Bloodberries first! I want to say hi and be friends with them too! I'm going to be friends with everyone, you know." She'd probably already said it before but she didn't hesitate to repeat her life goal. She was very proud of it, after all.

@Dragon

The alligator tilted his head to peer up at the wisp, temporarily distracted. He then looked back to Wilder, rumbling with thought.

He did not warn her to avoid the Bloodberries--he'd only just now heard of them, for the first time, and Wilder knew more of them than he. If she described them as savage, but chose to go to them regardless, that was wholly her decision. He did not think it either foolish or wise; he did not know enough about them to form an opinion.

Well, aside from their name being rather foolish; but then, he hardly knew all of the caves' plants. Perhaps there were red berries, somewhere, called "bloodberries," and these had named themselves after them.

"The light is good, for when the darkness goes out," Dragon said at last, his deep tone as close to "approving" as it ever got. "As a Child, you may rest here if you wish. Take from the pile if you hunger; but do not linger there or Aquarian may swallow you by accident. When you go, pass on my message, and you will have my thanks."

He couldn't think of much more to say, or do, though he did add--after a brief and thoughtful pause--"Do you have any questions?"

@Wilder

Wilder's ears perked happily. She was part of something now. The Children of Rot! Part of, maybe not a family, but something! Her tail twitched and she wanted to jump up and go meet the rest of them. "Nope, no more questions! But I want to go meet the rest of them. Are they around here? Just around somewhere?"

She glanced around, sniffing, wanting to try and sense anyone close by but the scents were just too new and heavy for her to discern anyone. The Children were well hidden in this swamp.

@Dragon

The alligator rumbled thoughtfully, and then turned, shuffling himself to face into the swamp.

"I will try to find out."

His jaws cracked open, and a plume of flame roared high into the air, illuminating the mist in many directions. "ARE ANY OF THE CHILDREN PRESENT," he bellowed. "THERE IS ONE WHO WOULD MEET WITH YOU."

He then pausd, listening into the mists--wondering if anyone would even answer.

The Children were rarely sociable; they were often off, and doing their own things. Were any even close enough to hear..?

@Naja @Ceicei @Sizzle @Septiezal

Serek saw the fire blaze through the trees and frowned. Dragon was calling the Children for some reason. He was lying in a tense, rather uncomfortable-looking position wedged in the roots of a tree. Should he go out and see what was going on? It didn't seem to important to him. Then again, very little seemed important to him now. There was no purpose, no motive, no drive to anything. He had truly fallen into a pit of depression and uselessness.

But, since he was close by, he decided that he might as well see what was going on. He wiggled out from his cramped spot and scrambled to his feet, trudging through the wet foliage and mud that he had become used to, but still despised.

He was met with Dragon, just Dragon, and a tiny little black cat that didn't even make it halfway up his leg. He scowled as he came to a halt next to Dragon. "What's this about?" His voice was rasping and hoarse, as if he had not used it in a long time.

@Dragon

That was Dragon's flame. His scale-brother was calling for a meeting. He wonder if it had to do with the.. recent harrowing events. Septiezal slithered towards the flare, his curiosity spiking. He could not remember the last time Dragon called the Children together.

This must be important.

As he pushed his way through the ferns, Septiezal picked up the scent of Serek, along with a familar smelling feline, but not of the Children. His ember eyes shone as he peered through the darkness. New blood? From the misty veil, the serpent silently slithered into view and lifted his head. "I am here, Dragon" He announced. Serek had beaten him there, but his gaze was fixed on the small, black, warm body besides the alligator.

Septiezal arched his long neck forward. "Ah, hello there," He rasped, flicking his tongue. "You smell familar, have we met?"



"speak"

@Wilder @Dragon

Wilder jumped again as Dragon released a torrent of flame from his jaws and her eyes widened with awe. That was so amazing...she wanted to be able to do that too someday! She would have to learn how sometime!

She waited for a moment, her tail slowly curling and padding softly in the mud before there was a shuffle in the ferns and a creature stepped out. She hadn't seen anything like him before, although he was shaped similarly to the white stag she had met. Her ears twitched and she stood, watching him as he came closer. He looked kind of...down. Depressed. And his snarling tone came as a little bit of a surprise. But she refused to let that dampen her spirits! She gave him a large smile and purred, stepping forward to greet him with a touch of her head. "Hi there! I'm Wilder! I just joined the Children of Rot!"

Another sound and another creature was appearing. She sniffed and she thought, for a second, that he was familiar too but she couldn't place where she knew him. Wilder didn't really have that good of a memory, though, so she gave up after just a few seconds of thinking. "I don't think so. I'm Wilder!" She stepped away from the stag-thing and went to try and give him a friendly rub with her cheek as well. "You look really cool! Are you all the Children of Rot?"

@Dragon

Dragon rumbled in surprised pleasure as a couple of the Children crept out of the dark. He pushed aside the grass and a few other calamitean reeds as they spoke, listening.

"I wished to introduce you," he offered, before immediately adding--"It is good to see you both."

Wilder had introduced herself, and so he added on information without again giving her name. "The little one bears knowledge, and travels perhaps where we do not. She speaks of other groups within the caves: in Canis, some called the Bonebound, led by one named Aure. And elsewhere, she speaks of savage ones called... Bloodberries," he went on, still bemused by the name. Perhaps Wilder had misheard it..? "I have asked her to ask this Aure to arrange a meeting. It would be good to know them. Serek, you are from Canis, are you not? Do you know of them, at all?"

Dragon was curious, curious about these others--what their goals might be, what they might intend to do. He'd swear he knew the name "Bonebound" from long ago, but he couldn't say how, or when. It held no emotion with it, in any case, so perhaps he had merely heard it in passing.

"How are you both faring?" he added, glancing to them.

@Serek