Pallas never liked the tunnel before Fornax. It was slippery, cold, and freezing. Nothing like the rest of the terrain he experienced. Cetus? Sure, that was swampy, and all around hard to traverse, but the ice gave such a disadvantage. His claws ached by the time they approached Fornax.

"You know, I don't believe you mentioned a king in this kingdom." He spoke to Aquamarine as they traveled. He had to make this interesting somehow. He didn't really expect a response, though, as his tail swayed past the entrance of Fornax.

They'd made it. Now, Pallas turned to Aqua. "Now where are they?" His ears flicked forward to her and he waited for her to show the way. Lamia should be in here- somewhere. He'd call for her when they were closer to the others.

@Aquamarine @Lamia

Lamia had arrived in Fornax already and was lurking in the waters near the entrance of the cave. It was shallow here but far cooler then the water at the other end, where the steam vents caused it to boil. She stayed just under the surface, hidden in a small crevice, every so often leaving to poke her head above the surface, to check if Pallas and Aquamarine had arrived yet.

Eventually, she peeked out at the right time - there they were, some distance away. She raised herself farther from the water before reaching forward and hauling herself onto shore, leaving her gills in the water, but tall enough so that they might see her from where she was. I am here, siblings, she spoke through the link and gently into the water.

Aquamarine answered Pallas's comments as she stood at the water's shore. "There can only be one ruler at a time, either one king or queen. Hold on, I will call them." The capybara let out a few barks, waiting for Tethys to come so she could give her a hug and greet her. Tethys was very kind, and her love for her queen would never waver. Unless mother wished it of course. She waited for the leopard seal to appear, waiting to show Pallas her great queen. Her eyes were keen on the water. She hoped that Tethys would come with her and at least listen to her.

Tethys heard the call from the child of the kingdom. She appeared at the surface from the water. She swam up to Aquamarine, and gently put her head to Aqua's nose in greeting. As soon as she did though, hindsight activated, and a vision appeared. It may have had some pieces missing, but it was clear. The seal showed no signs of seeing this vision, but mentally, she paid attention.

She ignored the vision and greeted Aqua. "Hello Aqua, where have you been. And who have you brought with you?" The large sea predator turned to look at Pallas, a kind expression on her face. She did not know why they were here. She waited for Zelk and Orlaith to appear. Tethys also noticed a familiar face not too far away. It was that sea creature she had met when she was a pup. Tethys let out a friendly bark towards the creature. Though she did not know the creature's name was Lamia, nonetheless she was a kind friend.

A mysterious vision, swimming with dark shadows and echoed sounds, flickered through Tethys' mind.

Aquamarine: in a dark crevice of stone, her paw placed delicately upon a time-pitted, rusted sword.

How strange...

@Tethys

Orlaith heard Aquamarine's call, and gracefully stepped from the water. She dipped her head in greeting to the small rodent. Helle, Aquamarine. Why have you called the kingdom for? Is there something you need of us? Who have you brought with you?" She tilted her head in curiosity. She was patient with the rodent because she was simply a child. Children required patience. She sat waiting for the rodent to speak, wondering what she wanted. She may have been patient, but she was also very fierce. She was a tigress, so she was not to be mistaken for a weak creature. She wondered what Aquamarine wanted.

Zelk already knew why Aquamarine had called. She had not wished for Aqua to get mixed up with mother, but now that she did, she was one of them. A slight grief came upon her, but a satisfaction that Aqua was a part of the hive. She greeted Aqua with a low chuff. "Hello Aqua, what do you need?" She already knew, but she wanted to play along as to not draw suspicion to herself. She sat next to Orlaith, taking a glance at Pallas. She already knew Pallas was one of them, but it was best not to be suspicious near Orlaith or Tethys. She did not know how this was going to go. She heard the link from Lamia, acknowledging she was there. She glanced at Lamia as a brief hello, before focusing back on Aqua.

Thank you, Pallas directed to both Lamia and Aqua, feeling the former's presence nearby. He shooed away the small talk about the semantics of it being a kingdom mentally. Now was not the time to give a response.

The linsang tracked Aquamarine's eyes to the sea, as well, giving a short nod to Lamia who'd made her appearance. Everyone was in place. Time to put on a game face. He took in a deep breath and forced out a smile, perking up his ears and trying to look as personable as he could be. Looks like he'd have to please a crowd- but, really, only one seemed mostly suited for the water? The others were. Well. Walking, and all.

Maybe them being the sea kingdom just meant they were aligned with the water, but not beings for it. Well, except their queen. That one made sense.

He waited for their questions of Aqua's well-being and such before clearing his throat, stepping forward before more could be given. "Greetings, all." Pallas bowed his head to them all, curling a front paw in and his tail around himself. "My name is Pallas." He stood, now, straight, his head in the air to look at all of them. "I have been told by Aquamarine that you're- well, not really pleased with some individuals of the caves around here." His voice was low and through his teeth, and he glanced around himself like he were divulging a secret. Well, with how Aqua told him in the first five sentences he'd heard from her? It wasn't really a secret, now, was it.

Still. Best to keep up theatrics. "My group has information that may prove useful against them. Against him. I know you're ones to hear them, no?" Especially with their knowledge of Astraea's past form. "I can't tell you it myself- it's forbidden for me to say anything about it. Don't know who you can trust, and all- and with my family, information is typically earned, rather than divulged so easily." Here, he was lying. He knew he was lying. But he made no movement against it, only sending out hard confidence in waves to the others and particularly to himself at this. "Besides, you never know who is watching. I hear these waters are deep."

He held his head high, again, conspiratorial episode over. "However. I can bring you to someone who can tell you. She is the lorekeeper of my family, and she and she alone is the exception to our code. She guards what you seek, and under oath to keep it from others we may pass our knowledge to you." That wasn't entirely wrong- Aqua had been given an oath in the form of a full indoctrination. "If you are interested, I may escort you to her in Cetus. We are tucked away- the Masters are not all too pleased with what we know of them." Ah, there it was. The mention of their enemies, the Masters, spoken with a hiss and a hard inflection. This should drive home the point of how he felt about them. "I feel as though we should form an alliance. With your location and skills, we can spread out in this operation against the Masters. Keep them from harming us further. The information we can provide may prove helpful in this."

'Do not tell them anything of the hive. I can handle this,' he pushed to the others, particularly Aquamarine. 'For all they know, I am a stranger, and a keeper of knowledge. You found me and I let you speak with my 'lorekeeper' under oath that you would not tell anyone.' This thinking took a brief pause that he disguised as waiting for an answer between the two remaining kingdom members. 'Do not indict yourselves if you can help it. Keep Mother's safety as a priority.'

@Aquamarine @Lamia (unsure if lamia will do anything? i don't want to skip you, though.)

As both the hive and the Sea Kingdom gathered around, Lamia glanced at each of them. Tethys, however, made her bulbous eyes widen farther. Oh! She knew that one! Was that Tethys? She hadn't learned the seal's name (or she'd forgotten - hard to tell) so she didn't connect the dots but seeing her now, she remembered. "TETHYS," she rasped. "GOOD SEE." And that was about all she seemed to be able to say for now.

She was silent as Pallas spoke to the others, lounging comfortably on the shore, fanned tail gently waving over the surface of the water behind her. She didn't indicate that she was speaking to Pallas, nor did she make any of her strange, otherwordly noises as she spoke through the connection. And me, brother? What do you wish for me to say?

Tethys listened to everything that Pallas said. It seemed that Aquamarine had told him of their pure distrust of the masters. But, how was Tethys to know if her kingdom could trust them as well. Orlaith may have been The Duchess, and Zelk a part of The Sacred Council, but Tethys had to make the call for her kingdom. She was the queen after all. Tethys flashed Lamia a smile when she spoke. Her attention went back to Pallas, her face turning serious. She spoke with the voice of that of a royal monarch. "Yes, we are not pleased with the masters, and we don't trust them. But, how are we supposed to trust you and your family? How do we know you don't wish to harm us? I am not doubting you know any secrets, but, I can't just trust someone just from words." She contemplated for a minute before speaking again. "I am still deciding whether or not to form this alliance. Tell me more about your family, if you will." It was more of a demand than an inquiry. It seemed strange for this male to just come up and ask for an alliance. She needed to know they were trustworthy. If he couldn't prove that, then she would send them on their way.

@Pallas