Astraea listened patiently. "I know you are not warriors. I would not ask if it weren't dire. It risks everyone," he repeated solemnly. "But Reji is not a fighter. She is a coward who will flee, and use others as her shields. It is exactly why I ask you: because you are the only ones who might not kill whoever gets in the way." He paused, looking Rift over closely.

"You say you are... gardeners. Think of this as a pruning."

The stag did not speak further. He had places to go, and nests to root out: if left undiscovered, that damn infection would consume the caves. He only hoped that the Gembound finally started proving themselves useful.

If they didn't, he would have to show them the consequences of disobedience.

Astraea stepped away through the foliage, and made his way off through Eridanus.

______

Astraea has exited; however, KoE members are welcome to attempt to follow him to continue the conversation if they wish, at their peril.

@Rift

Rift opened his mouth to tell Astraea exactly how that was even worse and how the little jab at his statement of gardening was the single most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard said so seriously, but he stopped himself in time, remembering what Mercurius had said about the stag. He didn't make an other movements, besides watching Astraea turn to leave with bewilderment.

He was frozen to the spot for a moment, still barely daring to believe what had just happened before he collected himself and waved his tail. "Come, let's return to the garden. We'll discuss things there." He started forward into the forest, choosing not to run through the branches this time, instead staying on the ground with the rest of the Kingdom. Once he arrived back in the garden, he paced towards the tree and sat down in front of the root he usually stood on to address the Kingdom, facing those that were returning from the meeting with Astraea.

He watched them solemnly, waiting for them to voice their opinions on the matter.

@Mercurius @Oliver

Oh, poor Oliver.

The pale beast rumbled softly in reassurance and worked at his magic - hoping to urge a delicate flower from the earth. Come it did, a soft-petaled blossom with blue bells that resembled the crow-dog's own eyes. Mercurius hummed softly, bowing down to pluck it carefully from its roost and show it to Oliver. With another rumble, he tucked it into the fluff where ear met forehead. He would have to work at weaving a crown of flowers for him.

Pale eyes only briefly fell upon Astraea and his poor comparison between pruning and cold-blooded murder. Pruning was a necessary part of gardening, cutting off old, diseased shoots to bring forth new ones. From what he could tell, this was dirty work - mercenary work that the cruel stag seemed to not want any physical part in, because he was allegedly too busy destroying yet more things.

But, Mercy wasn't that bitter, and his thoughts reflected such as he gave Oliver a gentle nod and padded after Rift.

Once they were settled back into the garden - strangely somewhat nibbled on, perhaps by a lesser - the pale beast looked about warily. There seemed to be no dangerous red eyes peering from the brush, and he began softly, "you already know my opinion of this, yet - we cannot risk ill will by cooperating with Astraea." He looked at the queen anne's lace, symbolic of himself. "I do not believe we would fare well in the Trials. There aren't enough of us."

Mercy grimaced, hating to even suggest it: "it may be wise to... leave here, for a time. To go into hiding."

@Oliver

Oliver listened in solemn, wide-eyed silence.

When Rift instructed them to move, he did so--but in a quiet, preoccupied, slinking manner that left him creeping low through the underbrush. He paused only when Mercurius moved toward him, and then he peered up, waiting in silent confusion.

Confusion blossomed, perhaps in a fitting metaphor, into muted delight as he saw the flower--the corners of his mouth curling upward. He tilted his head down, ears back and eyes closing, to allow Mercurius to place it--then smiled up at him, gently.

"Thanks," he half-whispered.

Oliver lingered behind, for a moment, intent on creating a snow-white bloom for the lion, but he could find nothing suitable close by. He had no seeds of any white-flowering plants, either, and so after a moment he gave up, and scurried to catch up. He made a mental note to try and find something fitting later, and to bring it to Mercurius in his garden.

He wasn't about to offer his own opinion on the topic. Oliver was a follower, unless something struck him as important enough to speak out on, and if he felt he had an opinion that should be heard. While this situation was certainly important, nothing the group was thus far discussing struck him as wrong, and he had nothing more to offer.

But when Mercurius spoke about going into hiding, he peered up at him with wide, blinking eyes.

For a moment he felt emotional turmoil. This was home--it had been, for a long time, and he didn't want to leave. But at the same time... Opportunity flashed, inspiration tugging at him. "Oh," he began, softly, wide gaze swivelling sharply toward Rift. "It could be a good time to go to like, a more dead cave? Monoceros, maybe, or Orion, or Canis? Somewhere without a lot of plants? -I don't think he'd think to look for us there, and anyway, we're kinda overdue in spreading plants outside Eridanus. We could bring lots of seeds, and go make forests somewhere else?" he offered, hopefully. "I already have a nice grove in Canis but we--could make it bigger?"

He considered, for a moment, and then spoke aloud another thought. "I'm--small, and black, and good at moving quietly. I could see if I can find the um. Reji, not to kill it but. Just to see if he's right about the danger, if you want? And then if I do and he comes back and does find us, I could at least tell him where it is, if it really is a danger and then maybe he won't. Kill us." Oliver shrunk down a little, as if worried about having spoken too long, or suggested something foolish, but bright eyes slipped between the others, hoping he'd offered something useful, or good.

@Huckleberry

Huckleberry missed Rift's command to follow him back to the garden and only started moving when he realized that the others were moving off. So lost in thought - and anxiety - that sounds escaped his ears. Wide eyed and silent, he trailed behind the group, eyes narrowed and shoulders tense. How would he tell Rift? The cat would surely forbid him from going. But he couldn't just disappear without saying anything. Or...maybe he could?

No, he didn't want to go behind Rift's back like that. He'd worked hard to be accepted into this family. He cared for all of them and he didn't want to betray them.

Still, as soon as Rift turned around, he opened his mouth to speak...but Mercurius got there first. Talking about turning tail and leaving? Leaving the garden? Huckleberry could see all kinds of emotions passing across Rift's face as Mercurius talked about abandoning their home. And Oliver joined in. They were content to just...run? Abandon their home on the whims of some stag? For the sake of a single life, they'd tear down everything they'd built here?

Huckleberry didn't understand. How could he, having been raised to believe all others were beneath him. That a life of a single person, even a family member, was less important then the safety of the whole. And he'd said that it was evil, right? That would make...killing it justified. "I'll do it, Rift," he blurted out. "Let me. Please. You all don't deserve to be murderers but I'm...it's too late for me. We shouldn't abandon our home just like that! This is where we belong! If we turn around and run, do you think he's ever going to let us back? That he's ever going to stop hunting us? We'll all be killed in the end, then! Better just...just...I'll bear it...I can do it." He looked between the other three, trying to keep a determined expression on his face - because he was determined, he wanted to be useful, to finally give back to the gembound that had kept him safe and helped him heal all these cycles. But the thought of killing again...it still sent shivers running down his spine.

Rift listened in silence as they spoke to him, turning his weary eyes first to Mercurius. "If Astraea demands us for the Trials, I'll go. Perhaps if the leader steps forward, he won't take any more of you. I won't choose any of you go to that horrible cave." He didn't want to, oh, he would rather burn the garden then step foot in Hydra again, but if it was to save the other members of his Kingdom from that same fate, then he'd do it. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

Leaving? It was hard to even think about. He didn't want to, he never wanted to leave. He'd spent so long in this garden, raising it from nothing and caring for it for countless cycles. And the thought of leaving it and going into hiding...it made him almost sick. Astraea would surely ruin it if he found them missing and he wondered if the stag would be able to find them regardless. He didn't know how far reaching his powers were. Although, he supposed, if he didn't know where this Reji was, he doubted he'd be able to find a few more runaways.

He listened next to Oliver, his ear perking a little as his suggestion. It was a good one, a purpose to his Kingdom that he'd, unfortunately, never really followed through with. He regretted that now, but the bitter thought of Well, it's never too late crossed his mind. His brows tightened a bit at his second suggestion, however. It wasn't a bad one, but putting any of them in danger like that, for if Astraea was right and this thing was evil, then even finding it would be dangerous. "I wouldn't want to put you in that kind of danger-" he started, but Huckleberry cut him off.

He turned around with surprise, but his expression immediately hardened. "No you will not," he commanded. "We're not going to kill it, end of story. You're not going to, I will not, none of us will. We're not murderers, even if it's for a good reason. It's not our responsibility to end lives or even harm them, it's our job to nurture and protect. I'm sorry," his eyes softened for a moment, "but I don't want you to go back to that, anyways. You don't have to hurt anyone. Not for us, not for anyone. However," and here, he turned back to the others, "Huckleberry is right about one thing. I doubt Astraea is going to be anything like content if he finds us missing. We'll most likely be on the run from him for the rest of our lives. We'll be the ones he wants dead. I'll protect you if it comes to that, but if we're to do this...then we all need to understand the danger we're putting ourselves in." He turned his head back towards Oliver, to finish what he'd started before. "If you're willing, knowing at least who Astraea wants dead would be useful, but if it proves to be dangerous, I want you to come back. It's not worth your life."

@Mercurius

Mercurius hummed, eyes averting to the earth beneath his paws, "I do not believe Astraea would be so reasonable, Rift." Moonlit eyes moved to Oliver and Huckleberry, young still, with a life ahead of themselves - "I will volunteer myself, too, if it comes to pass." If we are found went the unsaid message, for fleeing seemed to be a unanimous choice.

The beast swung his head towards Oliver, ears attentive, rumbling in thought. Any of those options could provide opportunity, nooks and crannies to hide within. Yet - "Monoceros may be the best option, I think - Orion and Canis are occupied by the Seven and the Bonebound; I would hate to bring the stag's ill will to their people, too. I can, however, pass along to Pride that we are in hiding - and haven't simply disappeared." Mercy pressed reassuringly into the crow-dog's flank, nudging softly. "There will be danger, if you go look," he murmured, trying to offer a voice of reason where the hybrid likely already had one.

His spiralling gemstone arced through the air as he rounded on Huckleberry - ah, well, rounded was an aggressive-sounding word... it was more as if he simply turned to face the child and grimaced (as close to a snarl as he could provide.) Fixing the ex-Bloodberry with a stern, almost fatherly stare, Mercurius sighed, "you are part of 'we,' too." But, there was little more to say. It would be... a shame to live as a refugee, to hide for an indefinite amount of time, keep his voice to a mere whisper lest a stag come along.

That was familiar.

@Oliver

Oliver listened closely, noting Monoceros down in his mind. He was attentive, sitting up straighter, now, fully focused on Rift.

It felt good, somehow, to be doing things. To be part of them, together.

He slipped a glance to Mercurius at the lion's warning, and swallowed, and then nodded a little. "It might? But nobody will know what I'm doing, anyway. I travel all over, anyway. I'm from Cetus and I visit Mom there, I grow stuff in Canis and in Orion... I visit Dad in Polaris." He really was a bit of an optimal spy, when he thought about it. And then, perhaps surprisingly: "I can do trials, too." It was an odd offer to make at random, and it seemed half as though Oliver were just trying to show solidarity, to be brave past his obvious fear.

Yet there was more to it: there was a calculating sharpness of mind behind the offer, and he explained a moment later. "I've done a lot of work with my magic. To be a guardian. A mender. Dad says that's what I am. If I go in, if there's more trials, I'll be okay and I can probably help others through it, too, if they get hurt."

Bravely-said, perhaps, and he seemed to mean it, but faint fear still lingered in his eyes.

He didn't want to do it, no. But he would, if it came down to it--and he hoped that he could help others, too.

@Huckleberry

Huckleberry recoiled for a moment, head lowering with shame as Rift gently reprimanded him. No, he knew Rift was going to say no. And, in his heart, he didn't really want to kill this Reji. He didn't want to kill anyone. He would do it to spare the Kingdom from pain, but if he had a choice, he wouldn't. But he wasn't going to be a burden. Not anymore. He wasn't just going to sit around and be protected by them anymore. Not when their lives could be at stake!

He took a deep breath, looking down at Shiny, who sat in front of him now, head tilted up to gaze into his eyes. He'd told himself he wouldn't be weak anymore, he wasn't going to be the same. He'd be someone new, someone better then the broken Huckleberry he'd been before was gone.

He raised his head to look back at Rift, then, and sighed. They were all agreeing to leave and...he knew that there wasn't a better option. Astraea hadn't given them much time too, only a couple of cycles to disappear. And the only real protector of the Kingdom was hibernating somewhere - he would not help them. "Then I'll protect you. I won't kill, but I know how to fight. I have magic. If anyone tries to come after us, I'll stop them." He didn't quiver this time, because this was something he knew how to do.

Rift glanced at Mercurius, fear flashing through his features. He knew little of what the lion had done in his lifetime, if he was even remotely suited for the harsh terrain and dangers of Hydra, but knowing him now, Rift couldn't see him surviving long in that terrible cave. He shook his head, but didn't respond, more out of the anguishing choice of having to choose someone else to go in his stead - how could he make that decision? Oliver, too, volunteered himself. He responded to neither of these, instead saying, "Hopefully, we won't have to make the choice of who will go. We won't discuss it further. For now, we'll focus on the future of the Kingdom."

It seemed that the future they were agreeing on was a future in Monoceros. Not a bad place to settle, since, as Mercurius had pointed out, they didn't want to get in the way of the Seven or the Bonebound, nor risk Astraea's wrath if they're found in the same cave. He nodded to the lion. "I think telling Pride would be a good idea, but I don't think we should tell anyone, even if we trust them, where we are going, in case Astraea can read their memories. Both for our safety and for theirs. The fewer people that know that we're leaving at all, the better for us and the more time we have."

Oliver's reasoning was...a good one. If there was anyone among them suited to be a scout, it was him. He was a good size, dark-furred, and agile. He knew the caves and he wouldn't harm. And Huckleberry...he was hesitant to give the hybrid any responsibilities just yet, more on of account of his mental state, but he'd been doing far better lately and Rift found himself believing - and trusting - that he had broken free from his lineage. A short nod announced his decision. He stood up taller, a commanding, confident tone at last slipping into his voice. "Alright, once we've found a place in Monoceros to settle, that'll be your mission, Oliver, to find Reji and get some information on who she is. As for you," he turned towards Huckleberry, "I'll allow you to guard and protect us. I would perform the proper Ceremony to make you one of the Guard, but I don't think it's necessary and we do not have the time. Mercurius," he looked towards the lion, "once we reach Monoceros and find a place for our new home, I'll need you to help me set it up. And I supposed..." he paused, ear flicking and expression falling a little, "that we'll need to find a new name. The Kingdom of Eridanus won't suit us anymore if we're no longer in Eridanus."

@Mercurius