Pride lay quiet, lazing with awkwardly-curled legs across the once-red stone of the Throne. He didn't often merely lay about; usually he was practicing magic, or testing theories, or wandering the caves. Otherwise he'd be grazing or warmly accompanying his family in Eridanus. Today, though, something about the newly-dry air and the chill winds left him languid, even drowsy.

Livius had left him--for now--in charge of the Seven. But there was no Seven. There was hardly anyone, in fact; Orion had been eerily quiet, eerily empty, and now, too, strangely dim and cool. It felt like some autumn he'd never known, and this was doubled by the drift of browning leaves from the very few trees that had been grown here by the Kingdom of Eridanus.

At the top of the Throne's back, and on the massive armrests and scattered about it, lay the bones of Reseda. The komodo dragon--one who had been nothing but a threat to the members of the Seven, and beyond--had been killed in a battle between himself, Amazon and Livius, and Reseda. He had left her bones piled beside the throne for a cycle before at last using his magic to place them lying about it, a display--a warning--for any of those who might threaten the Seven again.

...If there were a Seven to threaten.

Crownless steward for an empty kingdom, the stag lay silent, dozing in his diamond armor. Between his forelimbs dozed the little white arctic hare, as sleepy as he, and as quiet.

Behind and above a half-asleep Pride, a strange phosphorescent glow bloomed within the empty eye sockets of Reseda's skull. One of those sockets was damaged, having been partially deformed and blackened by her own ill-fated fire--but the eerie glow was as strong in this one.

Slowly, the various bones around the throne began to rise, twisting and settling into place across its tall back as if the komodo dragon's skeleton were putting itself back together...

She'd stepped into Cetus again not long ago, with all the intents and purpose to join the Children of Rot, but she'd hesitated. You barely know anything about this "Dragon," besides what his jackass of a son has already told you. He could be dangerous or secretly working for them after all. Sister's voice had whispered hesitantly in her ear and for the first time in a while, she felt doubt weighing her down. That alone had her leaving the swamp and returning back to Pisces for a while. She'd grown restless. Where was the power, the people that she could speak to about the dangers of the Overseers and the Masters? Who could she trust?

Most likely none of the previous Champions. Some of the new ones, like Styx, perhaps, or Shango. Or the little lizard - Amazon? Hadn't she mentioned being part of some Kingdom?

The larger lizard had been part of it too and she hadn't particularly trusted the brute. But the smaller one she felt she could put some faith into. So that was her next best guess. The Kindom of the Seven, ruling in Orion. Perhaps they would have answers for her, or at least a trustworthy superior she could express her doubts to.

As she sailed by the ceiling, she watched as the throne grew closer. There as someone sitting on it, stark white against the darker-colored stone behind him. She began to descend, slowly, pulling her wings just a little bit closer to her body before her eyes caught on something. There were bones around him and they were moving.

She pushed it off as some sort of magic. There were plenty of creatures across the caves that could make things move without touching them. She set herself down before him when she realized that something was off. That glow, what is that? It couldn't be natural.

"Are you Pride?" she rumbled. "What's going on?"

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags: @Pride
notes:

Pride's head came up, ears cupping forward, at the sound of wingbeats. For a moment he expected Dread, the black dragon who had turned up once or twice demanding "shinies" as "payment" for something or other that Livius had asked of him. Pride was both annoyed and relieved; the dragon was irritatingly childlike at times, but at the same time, it had been so damn quiet here.

But it wasn't Dread: it was a silver dragon, and after a moment's thought, he placed her. A little groggy, he pulled himself together, standing atop the Throne's seat to offer the most regal greeting he could manage while still waking from being half-asleep. "Asimona, isn't it-? I think we've met, briefly, when trying to bring some snow to summer; I'm Pride, steward of the Seven in the temporary absence of King Livius."

And as to what's 'going on'-? Pride glanced around, and his wide prey animal's vision caught movement almost behind him. Instinctively he sprang forward, shouting a warning to Mischief along their link; as his hooves clattered to the ground below he felt her shoot past him with the lightning reflexes of a hare. He turned, backing toward Asimona as he faced the Throne.

What's going on? he felt Mischief demand, though not in so many words. I don't know, he answered, and--not unkindly--asked her to Wait.

He kept backing up, though, and Mischief leapt and scrambled onto his back, peering over at Asimona. Pride, meanwhile, had to take a few moments to blink past what he was seeing, and be sure that it was real. Slowly, to Asimona, he spoke.

"Those are Reseda's bones-... Coming... alive?" Blank dread filled his voice, twinned with equal amounts of thick confusion. Was this a bad dream--a nightmare? Or had the lizard somehow imbued herself with the ability to rise after death? He'd never heard of it, but-... But here it was...

He stared, blinking emptily, backing slowly away from the Throne--wondering what sort of magic to use against animated bones.

The bones drew themselves together, until there--on the Throne--stood the somewhat-battered skeleton of Reseda. Strange phosphorescent light wreathed it, and it turned, settling on the Throne itself, turning this way and that.

Like a ghost, an echo, it crouched there--until it seemed to 'see' Pride, and then, slowly, it shifted to face him. Perched atop the Throne, it seemed to claim it: a skeleton, bereft of life or flesh, yet crouched over its prize all the same.

@Asimona

Asimona hissed and stepped back as Pride suddenly leaped forward, turning to face the bones that were pulling themselves together. He wasn't behind this? Then it was unnatural. Probably malevolent. She crouched and growled at the reformed skeleton that was laying across the Throne. It looked familiar, with its general shape and the wing bones...where had she seen that before?

And then Pride gave her the name and she froze. Reseda? Her jaw gaped open with surprise. The lizard that had pushed her way through Hydra? Who'd gone through it all by herself, despite the sabotage thrown at her by the others? She was dead?

And apparently it'd been a while - the bones didn't exactly look extremely fresh and there was no trace of oily black goo. Perhaps she'd died not long after reawakening. Asimona glanced towards Pride. He must have been the one to end her. And laid her bones across the Throne. She wasn't sure how she felt about that last bit.

"Reseda?" she snarled. "How long has she been dead? Is this some of her magic?" Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the bones crouched upon the throne. "What do you want?"

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags: @Pride
notes:

Riding along currents a bit like a tiny paraglider, the champion gazed down in wonder. It had heard tell of this particular cavern, a burgeoning center of activity and prime real estate. Well — as it used to be. Presently, each dwelling seemed dilapidated, further proof of just how long had passed since its last trial. Thousands of cycles, it surmised, from the state of it all. The throne lay bare, now, save for a collection of bones coiled into a vicious, looming figure.

Suspiciously familiar.

Ruby-red eyes flickered to the side, immediately captivated by the sight of its — oh, it's target! Garnet Five-Seven-Nine ground its beak, ears pricking up with glee from such a distance. It most certainly remembered the foolish dragon, her lack of bite to match so much bark. She must not have gone far since the strange reawakening. Not far at all.

With a tilt of its tail and shoulder, it spiraled down into the cover of some crumbling stone and propped itself up just enough to allow one eye to check out the proceedings. If I'm caught, it surmised, I'll simply play the part of lesser prey. That wouldn't be too difficult to achieve; simply let go of any grip on logic.

just doing a little bit of spying orz

At Asimona's words, the bones went from lounging to--after a moment--active. The skeletal form--the wing-bones still looking fresh and new--suddenly... rose up. The strange wings spread, Reseda's skeleton taking flight, hovering there over the Throne.

It turned its empty sockets toward Pride, as if in answer--and began to dive for him.

Pride hadn't noticed Garnet--his full attention was on the skeleton, so much so that he nearly forgot to be suspicious of Asimona.

Nearly.

He fired her an uncertain glance--she'd turned up, and now this skeleton was alive? Could it be coincidence? He was about to ask her if it was her magic, some prank, some attack, when her words cut through the air. Perhaps she was hiding her motives, but it didn't seem like it.

He backed away from both, away from the Throne, though he wanted to split off as much for tactics as for anything else. When the skeleton rose into the air, though, and turned to face him, he quickly summoned up his magicka. He debated only briefly what to do. The bones seemed to still just be bones, and with a huff he sent out a brief and simple blast of magicka, aiming to scatter them back with the burst of power.

As it dove for him he released it, glancing to Asimona to see what she might do.

@Asimona

Too focused on the bones, Asimona didn't notice the spy nearby, nor did she even check scents to see if anyone else was around. Perhaps it would have been smart too, in case someone nearby was controlling the bones, but she was preoccupied as the bones suddenly lunged forward.

"Shit," she hissed, opening her jaws. It was going for Pride. She'd heard of his talents with magic, the strength of his abilities, but still, she wasn't going to just let reanimated bones attack someone. She'd freeze its wings together, to stop it from flying (however it was even flying without feathers or membrane was beyond her comprehension) but Pride reacted quicker, sending out a shockwave to scatter the bones.

As soon as the spell ended, she let out a torrent of freezing air and ice shards to lock the skeleton onto the throne, freeze over its bones so that it couldn't reform. At least not immediately. She wasn't sure how long the ice would last, but it would at least give them a bit of time.

She turned her head down towards Pride. "She attacked us physically. She didn't use magic. Maybe she's incapable of it like this, or maybe she didn't want to yet...or maybe it's not her at all? Someone could just be controlling her bones."

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags: @Pride
notes: