Rift eyed the others that entered the tunnel and, to his relief, none of them were quite as threatening as Dragon had been. Pride and Envy he already knew, and the others didn't seem so bad. He felt himself ease a little more but not enough to make himself comfortable.

He listened carefully as Dragon spoke, his tail twitching curiously. He thought back to the only interactions he ever had with the Elders and remembered it sourly. He'd followed the deer in awe, but the gestone he had lifted from the ground and the creature it had spawned, neither had any care for the forest around them. Skahan had created a huge hole right in the middle of his forest that had taken him cycles to fix completely. And the second time he had seen the deer, he had been different, even a little scary. He could see how Dragon mistrusted them.

He frowned, his eyes slitted. "I understand your mistrust for them. I care only for the forest and for nature, something that the Elders seem to have ignored. They've caused destruction in Eridanus and brushed it off as if it were unimportant. I do not like them, nor do I trust them. However, I don't care as much about the secrets of the caves. My Kingdom is one of nurturing and love, not secrets and mysteries." He paused for a moment, considering. Perhaps he was overstepping himself. He did not, after all, speak for the minds of everyone in his Kingdom.

"However, I see no reason not to share what we find, should we uncover anything. I will admit that the plants carry secrets that I cannot see. There are things in the forest that I haven't yet discovered, most likely. And I'm sure the others in my Kingdom are more thirsty for knowledge then me. But, as I said before, we are not secretive. To keep secrets and tell lies would crumble what I wanted to make when I formed the Kingdom."

@Aure

Aure sat idly for a moment, moving only to acknowledge the other arriving leaders: Envy of the kingdom in Orion and a white stag he vaguely remembered seeing at Aether's revival. Bright eyes shifted over to his mother as she asked of his brother's possible arrival, then suddenly toward Wilder in confusion --- I didn't invite her. How does she know about this meeting? The little black cat took her place near the rot-children, though, and he furrowed a brow. Was she, somehow, among both groups at once? It explains her absences a bit...

Oh, well, at least he finally was meeting Dragon --- who introduced himself as such. The enormous reptile began to speak, and the hybrid listened. He would do as his mother often advised: listen, learn, speak. Ears, rounded and large, pricked forth and were ever-attentive. A great beast seemed to dwell in Cetus --- a cave yet-unexplored by him, even in his two cycles of absence from the bone pit --- giving advice to these culty-sounding Children of Rot; the Bonebound weren't one to talk about dark names.

Dragon spoke of many of the Elders, of their age and strength. He asked for the leaders to band together, to find their own strength in numbers and in knowledge. Aure didn't know who Astraea was, but that name in particular brought an unsettling feeling to the pit of his stomach. Captivity, here?

Moving on from that loaded topic, the alligator sought knowledge from each proverbial corner of the caves, looking for what the age-old plants, stone, bones had seen in their past. A deep bout of shame wracked at Aure's mind --- why hadn't he been so curious? He had been aware, of course, of what lie waiting in the dark. A glance was spared toward Giggle, bright eyes glinting in the half-light of Tunnel H. He quickly gestured to his head with a wing, hopefully clearly enough, and tilted his head. No harm could come from knowledge-seeking, right?

Unless Giggle offered an immediate reason to decline, the wyvern tucked his wing back to his side and bowed his head. "I wish I could say that I already have knowledge on Canis, but I haven't been looking for it. I only know what others have passed along to me --- all things that happened before I was even given life," he paused, suddenly aware of just how young he possibly was, compared to these other Gembound, "but I promise to look into the bones and see what they know. The Bonebound are free to make their own decision about this --- I'm just a... uh, representative for us --- but I will pass along the message to them."

He glanced sidelong to his mother again, feeling that his turn to speak was up and passing the proverbial torch to her.

@Giggle

Giggle glanced to Aure at his little gesture, and did her best to open her mind briefly to him. At his little thought, she did her best to avoid rolling her eyes--and managed. The bones had already told her everything she needed to know--but, dutifully (her son was also her king, and anyway the idea had merit) she turned her mind quickly to Dragon, instead.

The stream of thought she got was fairly clear: Dragon's thoughts were quite aligned with his words. He wasn't specifically thinking about any hidden information, at the moment, so she could hardly steal his knowledge without offering something in return--but his motives were honest enough. He was eager, yes--that much she sensed, and with clarity. But it wasn't a greedy hunger for knowledge--rather, an undying flame burned in the alligator's belly, a low burn, a hot coal. He truly believed that his survival--and that of everyone around him--depended upon outrunning some ticking clock, foreseeing some doom and counteracting it. He felt, she could sense (and with startling clarity), that without their active participation in this seeking-of-knowledge, they would all simply fall to the wayside like dry leaves, and wither there to whatever fate awaited them.

He was, even, worried about how much to tell them all. Worried that the slipped tongue of one might be the doom of the rest of them. She was, to her surprise, rather impressed with his honesty, his single-mindedness. Though he was an expressionless reptile, his mentality foreign to her in many ways, his goal was blunt and true.

Giggle was even more surprised that her link still held, and so strongly. Tentatively she shifted it back to Aure, responding to him mind-to-mind, then holding it open for a moment in case he wished to reply--before at last letting it drop.

He's telling the truth, at least, though whatever hidden knowledge his people might hold, I can't say. I wonder where Serek is..? Oh--that wasn't meant for you, she added. Whoops. The link, it seemed, was a little too clear.

"I'm all for it. You share what you know, I'll keep it secret. That shit-cat Senka's got the power of elders, and the sadism of a bird-deer," she said dourly, not bothering to explain just what this meant. "We don't owe them anything, except maybe Lorekeeper, and I seek knowledge over all else. I'll share what I've got with you." Though, that being said, the bones tended to tell her all she needed to know.

________________

ROLL THE BONES

@Wilder

Wilder wiggled a little bit with excitement but got herself to stay still during Dragon's long speech. She didn't really know the elders, to be honest, and Dragon had already told her stories about how bad they were. But sometimes she could hardly believe that anyone could be that mean. She'd hadn't yet met anyone that would be so cruel!

But she was all for information! After all, she was part of the Children of Rot and that's what they liked to do - collect information and survive. She couldn't help but be curious about things and, most of all, be curious about what drove her to fall into trances and such. Why she always seemed to snap at the thought or sight of the...no, she couldn't think about it now. She wanted to stay focused. She just wanted to know.

She nodded enthusiastically but didn't speak. She wasn't a leader of any group so she didn't think she had a say in it but she was quickly distracted by the weasel that had appeared.

Excitement flared in her when she saw them and she immediately jumped to her feet and rushed over, sniffing curiously. They were so weird looking but they weren't much smaller then her! She didn't often find anyone smaller then her, even if this tiny creature was only a little bit smaller. "Wow, hello! I'm Wilder and you are small!" She had forgotten, once again, that this meeting was serious.

@Envy

as a maiden she tiptoes shy with her light...

One day, Thothaga had a strange vision, the clearest she's ever had.

In it, there was a gathering of Gembounds, ones other Gembounds followed, and among them she recognized Dragon. Within Tunnel H, they shared secrets, ones of great importance to her. It would happen in two days.

That's how Thothaga heard of a meeting between factions leaders. This was important to her. She was not officially invited, but the Cave seemed to have wanted her there. Why else would she have such a vision? As it turns out, it was called by Dragon, no less, that big lizard she met in Cetus, when the Divine was being ravaged by beetles. The Children of Rot were fascinating ones, and she was curious as to what they had to say and what knowledge they would share with these factions. However, that is not the only reason Thothaga camped out in the chilly depths of Tunnel H. These faction leaders were influential to the caves themselves, and she wanted a piece of that influence.

For two days, the spider laid still in wait, meditating within a warm, funneled web in a crevice on the tunnel's roof. Then, when she heard the unmistakable plodding of a heavy reptile on ice, Thothaga poked out of her hole and saw the alligator trudging over the slick ice with a black bird. Finially. She hoped they remembered her from the Divine. They would be fools not too. Honestly, she was kind of hurt to have not been formally invited. She was their friend after all, right?

As the meeting commenced, Thothaga dangled over the Children of Rot, her eight, beady eyes staring at the faces around her, some which she knew. She listened to them, unusually silent.

Ahh. So Dragon wants to form a pact? Did she want to bound herself to such a notion? The others seemed quick to sign off on this detached form of friendship. Could be useful.. Her fangs twitched at the other part. Or not.
How were they to learn anything if they just wallowed in their own muddied conclusions? As far as she knew, the elders were the best teachers, even if the lessons could be.. hard ones to learn.

She noted Aquarian, and the other elder names she had not heard of. They might be worth a visit. Thothaga strained closer, now intrigued by the conversations below. At the mention of Astraea, she recalled the strange and shocking events she witnessed at the Spire. Though cruel some of his actions may seem, Thothaga believed Astraea, overall, meant well. He did protect the Spire-Father and all His children at the cost of one.. horribly misguided soul. On that, she disagreed with alligator, but there were some merit to his words, like with Nemean, the Betrayer...

Clearing her non-existent throat, the spider witch finially broke her silence. "Rot-" Suddenly, the icicle from which she dangle from broke off, showering her side with shatter ice. Thothaga landed on her carapace. Toppling on her back, she flailed like a clumsy beetle until she righted herself. Argh! My first impression! Thothaga made a note to herself never to swing from icicles again as she groomed the ice from her sore face.

"Rotten Children, She piped up again, as if that blunder never happened. "Strange--" She eyed the faction members, not knowing what to make their ties to each. "Strange..Families, do you know why your many questions are unanswered?" She paused to let them ponder. "It is because you haven't asked them! Poke around a sticks and stones all you want, they can only tell you so much. From what I've experienced, the elders have been the best teachers." Thr spider's darkening tone hinted a flip side to her words. "You want to survive? Then protect the Spire." She snapped her gaze to Dragon. "Your true Father." Astraea's haunting words echoed in her mind. It was a fact she knew at birth, and one the Fungal Stag cemented. "Because, if He is ever destroyed, we -everyone- will all die."

"Thothaga speaking."
Thothaga thinking.

Envy sat up straight, and listened with interest as Dragon spoke. They listened as he spoke of the Elders, some of whom they had met, and others which they hadn't. Among those the betrayer and the... black dragon. Envy squinted at the alligator as they tried to work out if he was talking about the same black dragon that was often swayed to their command.

Somehow that didn't seem right.

They decided after listening further that it might be best to keep that thought to themselves. "I've met a few of the Elders," they said without thinking, although they remembered with irritation that Dragon most likely knew this. After all, he had been there. The weasel had been tiny, young, and ambitious back then, and the alligator had scolded them for being rude to the phoenix. They hoped he didn't remember that part or, at the very least, thought that they had been a different weasel. Back then their fur hadn't even been green. Their quills prickled with embarrassment.

They shook their head to clear it and returned to the question at hand, glancing back at Pride. If anyone would be enamoured with the thought of this pact, it was him. "As my advisor, Pride has been... diligent in his pursuit of knowledge," they began thoughtfully. "And he's always looking to learn more."

It seemed at times that the deer never stopped, from wanting to meet the bird-kings to his fascination when it came to the existence of the parasite. They were sure that he would be all for this. They were somewhat indifferent, although of course they felt a small thrill of hesitation, reluctance to give away what was theirs. "What do you think, Pride?"

They looked up as a black cat bounded up to them, narrowing their eyes slightly. As she spoke they opened their mouth, taken aback by the sheer audacity and rudeness, and the apparrent effort to humiliate them in front of everyone. Their quills flared up and out, an obvious sign that she'd hit a sore spot, and they could hardly think of anything to say in response. Half of them wanted to use their magic to simply toss her aside, but in front of the other rulers of the cave that was out of the question. The cat had to belong to someone. Instead, they simply stared at her for a moment, before straightening themselves upright.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" they answered coldly. "Because that's no way to talk to a king."

A moment later they turned their back on the cat, before looking up as someone-- or something-- fell into their midst. They opened their mouth and stared at her, recognising the spider immediately. "You again?"


Speech. Thought.

@Pride

Pride listened to the others, dignified and silent.

Thothaga's arrival was a surprise to him--he only heard her skittering along the ceiling a moment before she fell. He stepped back, watching her bemusedly.

Her presumption, however, irked him; she had always had, he'd found, an air of forced superiority, regardless of whether she was ever actually useful or not. Mildly, taking a step back forward, he began to speak--glancing to Envy before he replied. "I think it is a good idea. From what I have heard of the stag, at least, he is not a kind being, not benevolent. And the Spire most certainly is not," he went on, looking at Thothaga drily. "I have linked it to my mind, and its agonized raging howls shattered me, for a short time. It said, 'death is a lie; pain is eternal,' over and over again. I do not think it is anyone's father, and I would also add that it is terribly presumptious of you to assume that none here have consulted the Elders of our own accord. We have--I know several of us have." This rebuke amusedly given, dour (Thothaga's attitude had not impressed him), he looked to Envy and to Dragon, again. "I do not know what our Seven stand for, bar a family, of sorts--but I am all for gathering knowledge, as my King rightly states. And I do not trust the Elders completely. The Kings, perhaps--they are wise, and benevolent, so far as I can tell, as perhaps is the phoenix. But certainly not all of them. I would be in favor of sharing knowledge, and having it shared; if these Elders hold issue with our not bringing it to them, they can let us know." This, too, was added drily; Pride then stepped back, his piece said.

Dragon saw Thothaga coming with his magic some ways away, and though he stopped speaking as she arrived, apparently she had overheard. Annoyed, he huffed through his nose. Before he could chide her, however, Envy was snapping at Wilder. The alligator turned toward the cat and the weasel.

"Wilder. Step away from the King of the Seven," he rumbled sharply, a barked order, of sorts. "She is but a child," he added apologetically to Envy, as if to explain her behavior. Though you are very small, he thought, but did not say. "It is not polite to point out another's small size! And it will have no bearing on their magical power, or their ability to lead."

Next he looked toward Thothaga, and his thoughts somewhat aligned with Pride's, though he was himself more well-intentioned toward her given their shared past with the Divine. Still, his words were biting and to the point with her, as well. "OF COURSE WE SPEAK TO THE ELDERS," he bellowed irritably. "WE SPEAK AND WE QUESTION! SKAHAN, ASTRAEA, TENZIN, THE KINGS--AQUARIAN IS OUR FATHER!" he pointed out, loudly. This was followed by a growling huff. Dragon remained alert with all his senses; he paused, for a moment, to keep watch with his magic, as well. Hopefully anyone anywhere in the tunnel would give ample warning of their approach through their heartbeat alone.

This checked, the alligator then looked over his guests, and continued. Though gnarled and ancient-looking, like some sort of scarred-up swamp horror, his voice was dignified: slow and deep, and perhaps surprisingly well-spoken.

"Now. I suggest that those who are willing to keep secrets remain, and share some knowledge now! As a gesture of good will, a token of this pact. Those who are not willing--Rift, perhaps--then thank you for coming, and should I hear anything that suggests that your Kingdom is in danger, you will be warned. But if you are unwilling to keep secrets, then I will ask you to leave--that includes of course anyone unwilling to hold them." He looked again to Thothaga. "And that goes for you. You were not invited! You are not a leader here. You seem to worship the very Elders I suggest we do not fully trust, and so I ask you to leave. If you wish to speak with me later--in private!--in Cetus, you will find me there!" This was not entirely unfriendly; Dragon was somewhat, darkly amused at Thothaga's arrival. She had a knack for popping up at important junctures; the trick was to know when she and her opinions weren't welcome to them.

@Eve

Eve took her duties very seriously.

No, really.

This meant two things-- first of all, while the crow had been flying around looking for the leaders, she had told them the message with relative quietness. Eve knew that it was fairly important the Elders (and their allies) didn't hear about the meeting. She'd also, being a bird, thoroughly checked her surroundings. Including, looking up. Eve knew a few things about things being above others to listen in on them.

How this giant spider heard about it, Eve did not know.

Secondly, on her job as lookout, the bird was quick to spot a gigantic spider strutting on up the walls. She had no idea how good a spider's hearing was, but she was quick to start casting, her gemstone toe glittering faintly on top of Dragon's head.

SQUAWK-SQUAWK-SQUAWK-SQUAWK.

The near-constant, ear-splitting noise coming out of Eve's beak was far too loud for anything that small to actually be making. Where she even kept the lung capacity needed to make said noise was unclear. Regardless, it would have made it difficult for even the leaders in their close proximity to hear what was being said-- nevermind someone lingering some distance away, trying to listen in.

Eventually, however, when the arachnid fell from her hiding spot, Eve stopped. The crow spent a moment grinding her beak together in irritation, ruffling herself out on Dragon's head. Dragon said just about what she wanted to, however, but perhaps with less swearing involved.

Briefly, she tapped Dragon lightly with her beak. "I don't know how she heard of the meeting," she said in a comparatively far softer voice than the alarm-squawking of fifteen seconds ago. "I checked the area surrounding these guys before talking to them and I talked quietly." It was half a defense for herself-- Eve didn't want her loyalties to be questioned when she didn't do anything wrong.

And if one of the leaders had told the newcomer, they must have been lying. What else could they be lying about?

The crow kept her eyes on the spider for a moment before she turned and fluttered up and out of Dragon's way, landing on a small overhang above the leaders-- small enough that even tiny Eve struggled to get comfortable on it. She knew if things turned ugly, Dragon would start flinging fire straight out of his mouth.

Eve quite liked having her feathers intact, thank you very much, and if Dragon started fighting, Eve would have to join in. The advantage of height always helped, after all-- but for now, Eve went back to keeping watch.

She wouldn't let this happen again so easily.

@Rift

Rift watched the spider drop with surprise before his fur began to bristle. His eyes narrowed and he crouched, ready to defend those gathered if she tried anything. But it seemed that nobody was quite interested in it. In fact, most of them seemed to know her.

With a huff, he relaxed, but his tail still lashed with agitation. He had thought that this meeting would be secret and selective. He had not brought anyone because of this and he had not told anyone where he was going, much to his distaste. But still, she was here, not a leader, not even a part of a group. Not that he cared what she heard - after all, the keeping of secrets was not something he wanted nurtured.

But as Dragon began to continue, he gave a small dip of his head. He wasn't going to change any minds here, being the only one to partially disagree. "I understand. I will not hold secrets unless lives are dependent on it. However, before I go, there is something I wish to share. Your mistrust for the Elders is reflected in me. I have seen the stag, Astraea, he was in the forest some time ago. He spoke with a wolf that had a cape upon her back and glowed like the lights. They spoke of keys, orbs of some kind, and a place, locked away by such keys. He expressed the importance of keeping such a place locked and insisted on keeping the keys for himself. When the wolf refused to give up the one she had, he grew violent. I do not know what happened, I fled when their magic filled the forest, and it happened some cycles ago but still...I thought it best you know."

His tail flicked. "Otherwise, besides the fire and the incident with Skahan, which I believe you were there for, little else has happened within Eridanus of importance. If you ever have need of my, my Kingdom, or Eridanus, then you need only come and ask." He then turned towards the tunnel to return to his Kingdom, hoping that nobody had followed him here.

*exit, unless stopped

@Aure