Jayberry was still looking for Mother.

She was healing, recovering for the mess that had been the last few cycles. The burns from the Stag had scarred over, leaving her fur stiff and patchy. Her left foreleg still dragged, unable to bend as much as it should, the break having not healed quite right. Her ribs ached as she walked, and she wheezed--something inside her was broken, still healing.

The wolf was determined, however, and so she continued on. Ignored the pain, and continued on. Her head was low to the ground, seeking any sign of Mother: shed feathers, a scent trail. Her ears twitched, listening for the Goose's screeching voice.

Something was knocked aside by her paw, and she lifted her head. It clattered, tumbling away, and she made a note to return to see what it was. It hadn't sounded like a rock, and so she needed to find the... whatever it was... when she could. Out of curiosity, if anything.

Tasting the air, she shook her head. There had been some hope that it had been something belonging to Mother--a talon, a bone from something she had eaten. But, no, there was nothing in the air that smelled of Mother. Not even blood.

So she walked on.

There was a chattering up ahead, and she raised her head.

A pair of catsquirrels raced by, and her heart gave a painful pang. Caves, they looked like Shiny. She missed Huckleberry so much--he may not have been the most Loyal Bloodberry, but he had still been family. And she had failed him, had left him at the mercy of those monsters in Eridanus.

A growl rumbled in her chest at the thought, and the catsquirrels, alarmed, jolted their heads her way. Spotting the wolf, they tore off at full speed, and she didn't bother to give chase.

She had tried, had tried desperately to get close enough to get Cloudberry, her dear Niece, Huckleberry, her beloved Brother, and Yewberry, her wayward Daughter, free from their confines. But with her injuries, she had to be careful, for fear of being caught by that damned cat, or its kin, or the stag.

The stag, she bared her fangs, shaking her head. If she saw him again, she would tear out his throat. It had been he who had killed Elderberry, who had left them with naught even a stone to remember him by.

And, as if summoned by the thought, a bird fumbled a gemstone in its nest above her head, and dropped it. The gemstone landed right atop her head, and she yelped, the gemstone bouncing off and skittering down the side of the path. She gawked after it, looking between the nest and where the gemstone had gone.

Rolling for magical presence...

Jayberry sets paw on a pretty chunk of natural turquoise. It glints like a piece of water, frozen in stone form. It is lifeless.

Rolling for magical presence...

The second stone Jayberry stumbles across is a Fire Opal, shining like various shades of flame. Within the orange and yellow shimmers lie a few hints of green, as well. This stone is lifeless, and cracks a little when touched.

Once she had gotten over her shock (and the slight embarrassment), the she-wolf began to follow where she had seen the stone go. It was hard to miss, a pawful of flame in the middle of green grass, and she approached it curiously. The only Gems she could remember ever seeing were either inside a Gembound, or torn out of them--never just sitting out in the open.

Her nose nudged it, and she balked, backing away hesitantly, watching as it cracked. Well, that wasn't good. Were all un-Bound stones so fragile?

The she-wolf grumbled, shaking her head. What was she doing? She needed to be looking for Mother!

Leaving the Gemstone to... rot, or whatever they did when left outside of a Gembound, she stumbled back to the path. Her leg was beginning to throb, and she gritted her teeth against the pain. Her ears remained keen, twitching this way and that--although, if Mother vocalized anywhere nearby, everyone in Polaris would know. Mother had never been particularly quiet.

Rolling for magical presence...

What was she doing? She was meant to be looking for Mother.

Yet now her paw scuffed a small black piece of Jet gemstone, dull matte dark and barely-discernable from the rest of the pebbles strewn across the floor.

This stone once belonged to a Fledgling (+1) creature: a mottled brown-and-green fish-like creature the size of a large buffalo, purely aquatic. Its scales once shimmered in the depths of icy water, iridescent spots on each scale; two large and staring silvery eyes perched over a small mouth lined with small, sharp teeth. Overall this creature looked much like a massive cichlid fish, and was carnivorous, probably feeding on much smaller creatures that lived in its domain.

The wolf continued her search, paws thudding along the ground. The off-thud-thud-thump was irritating to her ears, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her leg to work as she wanted.

And she was beginning to drag, beginning to grow tired. But she wanted, she needed to finish searching through Polaris. There were so many Tunnels, so many Caves, and she couldn't even get through the one. How pathetic was she?

Her paw nudged against something and, for some reason, she stopped. Looking down, she found herself captivated by a Gemstone--it would have been incredible easy to miss, if not for the light that hit it just so. It was small, and dull in color, reminding her of the sheen her fur had taken after being burnt so many times.

And--she sniffed it--it had Magic. There wasn't a smell to it, not one that gave it away at least, but she could tell that there was some sort of Magic to it.

The wolf balked, shaking her head and looking around. What should she do with it?