The moment Amazon woke up that morning, she knew it was time. She had awoken to nothing but darkness - a world she had become trapped in for the last week. When it had first happened, when finally she could see no more, she had been distressed. She couldn't see any more of the cave, she could not travel, she couldn't see Envy, no, Livius anymore...she would never see Luster's face ever again.

She had taken off the crystal cover Pride had made for her. The scales around her gem had grown far too swollen and it was more then uncomfortable now. Not that it was unique - everything hurt now. Her head, her chest, her skin, her scales, everything. Her breathing was fast and uneven as she struggled to take in breath after breath. It was like a pressure was building up behind her head, a pressure she fought back against but it was starting to win, spreading through her body, numbing her, threatening to wash her over with a tide of darkness.

She wanted out of her cave. If anything, she was determined not to die in the little crevice that had wasted so much of her time. She tried to move forward, but her whole body felt so heavy. She could barely move her claws forward to drag herself around. It was excruciating work, but inch by inch, she finally collapsed outside, right next to the tiny pool. She couldn't see it, but she could smell the freshness of the water. She didn't lean forward, however, to take a drink. It was too late for any of that.

She tried to call for someone. Anyone. Luster, Livius, Pride, whoever was nearby. She wasn't going to die alone. She couldn't die alone. But all that came out with a breathy, pitiful squeak that took all her effort to create. It barely carried, but it sent her into a fit of gasps and coughs.

She needed them now. A selfish need, but she didn't care anymore. She wanted to be with them one more time.

@Livius @Luster @Pride
Tagging you guys in case you wanted to join.
Also welcome to anyone else Amazon has met before.

Pride wasn't too far off. He rarely was--but then, he also rarely heard this... whatever he was hearing now.

A mouse? Was some young Gembound just learning to hunt, and accidentally (he hoped) playing with their food? -Or maybe it was a newly-hatched still stuck within the chrysalis? Curious, he paced quickly toward it, though it was soft enough that he had to pause several times, one hoof sometimes hanging midair as he tilted his head this way and that, his ears cupping toward the noise.

Only when he drew quite close did he recognize it as coughing, and only then did he realize who it was: Amazon. His gait sped up at once, a swift few trotting paces bringing him to the lizard, collapsed beside a little pool. He blinked, and quickly drew himself down, nosing at her very carefully--the barest touch, but his nostrils were flaring. She did not smell good. She smelled of sickness--had it been a cycle already...? Damn, he thought, heart sinking and urgency flaring through him.

"Amazon-?" he asked, worriedly, and the concern was deeply evident in his tone. "Are you all right? Do we need to go back to Pisces?"

Luster
Sometimes you need a second chance
because you weren't quite ready for the first

There was a funny sound.

Luster lifted her head, not noticing that her tongue was still sticking out. Her ears twitched, trying to find the source of the sound. It was nearby and, after a moment, she realized it came from Mama's cave. Her eyes widened, and she squeaked, "Mama!" before unfurlin gfrom where she had lain, taking only the briefest moment to shake her muscles loose.

Stumbling, she bolted towards the sound, eyes wide with alarm. She was a fool, but she knew Mama was sick, and those gasps and coughs weren't good, so she took off at a dead sprint, claws digging into her ground, drawing her tongue back into her mouth. She wasn't fast, but she could have fooled herself considering how fast she hauled towards Mama's cave--she hadn't been too far away, but she cut her normal time in half.

Something big and fuzzy and white blocked her way, and she nipped at his hocks as she darted beneath him. She skidded to a stop in front of Mama, pressing her nose to Mama's face and pushing some Magic into her, before beginning to lick it, "Mama? Mama, are you okay?" she whimpered, looking back at the stag that she had snapped at, "What's happening?" she flattened her ears back. She didn't understand death. Luster understood pain, and illness, but she didn't understand the concept of death, despite having killed countless cave spiders.

Amazon felt the faintest touch and quickly reached out and breathed in. It was a familiar scent and the nose she touched felt familiar. But she didn't exactly pinpoint who it was until they spoke. "Pride?" she squeaked a little pitifully.

His offer to go back to Pisces made her suddenly freeze. She had made the decision before to refuse him if he ever asked to take her back to Tenzin. She wanted to accept that she was to die soon, that she could finally release her hold on this painful life. But now, hearing his offer, and the chance to be healthy again, to experience that one more cycle of bliss...she couldn't help it.

"Yes," she gasped, reaching forward. Selfish, so selfish, but she didn't care. She was dying. She wanted to live. She needed to live. She wasn't done yet! She could hear Luster's voice nearby and that spurred her on further. The concern and worry in her daughter's voice, the thought she, maybe, she could see her again. That she wouldn't have to leave her. "Luster, Luster, I'm okay. It'll be okay. Just...just wait here, okay?"

The lizard reached forward, trying to climb onto Pride's snout but she was still too weak. He'd have to pick her up. There was no way she was getting up on her own.

@Pride
oops change of plans!

Pride looked on in dawning horror, guilt immediately striking him.

"I'm sorry, Amazon, I had no idea you were this bad, again." He didn't consider the fact that he was, only now, feeling healthy again--that he'd have to go back to weak, to sickly. It didn't matter, not for a life.

Carefully he leaned down, trying to lift Amazon with a careful nip and settle her on his back, though he knew she was quite liable to fall off. "I will need to walk slowly--are you able to--..." he glanced at Luster, and quickly changed his wording. He couldn't ask if she'd survive, not in front of her kid. "...To stay astride my back, long enough?" The implication was there, but unsaid.

"She may join us if you wish? But we must be swift." He tried to use his magic to ensure that Amazon would not fall off, even as he turned to go, his steps swift--but careful.

exit Pride, @Luster

It had been a while since Livius had seen Amazon; not since the gathering, at least. And they hadn't heard from her since. They'd long since been growing worried about her. Whenever they thought about the ticking clock their quills shuddered, and rose.

They found themselves hanging around a lot more, hanging around near her den, but then always hesitating to enter. Today, they expected, as they pattered towards it, would be no different. But, to their surprise, they weren't alone. Livius picked up the pace as they caught sight of Pride, and then, as well, the small dog-thing that had burst into the gathering.

They were late. Pride was already leaving, Amazon atop his back. They tried to catch his eye for a moment, their gaunt face solemn.

And then, as though following a funeral procession, they dropped their head and scurried after.

They didn't know where Pride was going, not fully, but if Amazon were to die on the way, they wouldn't miss it for the world.

--exit Envy--

Luster
Sometimes you need a second chance
because you weren't quite ready for the first

The hybrid continued to lick and nuzzle her mother, tail lashing in irritation. She was worried, very worried, clicking her teeth as she did it. Luster didn't understand, she wanted Mama to be healthy again, like when she was a Hatchling.

"Yes Mama," she said when she was told to stay, looking up to the stag hopefully--'Please, help her,' she didn't say it, but she desperately hoped he understood.

The hybrid sat, watching as the white stag walked away with Mama, before crawling into her Mama's den, curling into a tiny ball and hoping that, somehow, everything would be okay.

-exit Luster-

Amazon went limp when Pride lifted her from the ground and onto his back. She reached forward and held onto his white fur with tiny claws with all of her pitiful strength. As Pride began to walk away, she glanced back at Luster. Is this the last time I'll ever see her again? No, she couldn't think like that. It would all work out. They'd make it. She'd come back. It would all be okay.

But she couldn't help but despair as her daughter disappeared into her den. She closed her eyes and tried not to be sick on the way to Pisces.

Trying not to die.

*exit