Tethys nodded at the small canine, accepting her offer to come inside. She motioned for her members to follow as she went inside the den. The mud was so uncomfortable but she just decided to suck it up. She did keep her guard up though. If anything were to go wrong, well, she wouldn't stop Orlaith from handling the situation. She knew that tigress had a dangerous temper, especially when it came to the kingdom. You would have to be stupid to mess with a tiger. She followed Reji inside, making sure Lamia followed as well.

@Game Master Dark @Pallas

Pallas basked in the admiration from his Mother, drunk on the praise she washed over them all. He'd helped this happen- helped direct them here, helped lead them to join their family.

Of course, they didn't know that. Not yet. Instead, he backed up as Reji made her appearance, offering the smile that'd come from the silent joy given via Mother as though he was simply happy to see his sister again. He let her talk, played his part with fitting expressions of polite sympathy and interest with a shepherding tail.

He made to follow behind, yet the den was crowded, especially with the tiger in it. Zelk would most likely only able to fit her front half without endangering the structure, if Orlaith and Tethys managed to get comfortable at all in there with the roots twisting through most of the available space.

Instead, Pallas trotted around and peeled back the makeshift cover for Mother, poking down his head beside her to try and see if he could witness anything. His part was done, for now.

@Game Master Dark

Lamia had never actually been to the den before, only seeing fleeting glimpses through the link they all shared. She knew where it was, and who was in it, but nothing else. So as she dragged herself through the mud and inside the den, she looked around curiously, bulbous, unblinking eyes taking in all the sights of her family's home. They all seemed to be fairly disgusted by the muddy atmosphere, but she didn't mind. It was wet and cool and smelled of mother.

And her eyes fell upon the mass of fungus and her breath caught in her throat (figuratively). She hadn't seen Mother properly since before she'd been destroyed. The love and gratitude that washed over her warmed her heart and she sunk comfortably against the floor of the den. You're welcome, Mother. I cannot stay long but...I will stay for this. She waited and watched as the Sea Kingdom entered, trying to pull scattered moisture in the air into her body, to add to the reserves, but she was too distracted for it to work properly.

As the Sea Kingdom approached, Azrael stepped from the trees, still cloaked in shadows. He fell in behind them, silent but his presence was heavy and hard to ignore. As they entered, he stopped behind them, staying outside of the den, but he would hear everything through the link. If they tried to leave, he would stop them.

"No," came Reji's warning--but only through the link; "not the big one. Keep that one outside."

Aloud, before Orlaith could enter, she spoke up--gesturing to the small space of the den. "You and I--you are the leader, yes? It is too tight in here for all of us."

@Pallas @Azrael @Tethys

Tethys felt Reji's words make a lot of sense. They were the leaders, so the meeting should be confidential. But, she still trusted Orlaith to keep on her toes, or claws. Tethys spoke to Orlaith in a authoritative tone. "Stay here, Orlaith. This should not take long." She gave the tigress a look telling her to be aware. With that she entered the den, waiting for Reji to enter with her. Orlaith was right outside. Tethys hoped that they had not underestimated the tigress for just being obedient at the moment. She was picked as a duchess for The Sea Kingdom for a reason.

@Pallas, @Game Master Dark

Reji slipped down into the den ahead of them, giving solemn nods to Pallas, to Lamia, to Tethys.

"I'll try and make this short, for your sake, Lamia--I know you struggle out here," Reji offered, sympathetically.

Her attention then went to Tethys. "Leader of the Sea Kingdom, I have asked you here because, as I mentioned--I think we've got a common enemy. But you're young; all of your people are, and you don't know much about the Masters. I'm from an older time," she went on.

Behind her, the wall of the den seemed matted with white mold, or fungus, in strange and stringy filaments. The rank stench was powerful, and Reji nodded toward it. "This is an ancient mind. We call it, Mother. And Mother was here when the caves were young. So was I. We saw the terrible shit the Masters did. We know their faces. Their methods. Their goals. I'm offering to share that knowledge with you--through Mother; but I ask that you tell no one outside this den, bar your own people, what you will see, and learn. And please ask them, too, not to spread this knowledge." Reji turned, pacing to the fungus, pulling off a very small piece with her incisors. She then turned, walking back to the sea lion, whose bulk barely squeezed within the den, and laid the piece before her. "If you accept, this will grant you knowledge. You will see their faces... and know their names, and what they've done."

@Tethys

Tethys was was very skeptical bout eating that. It didn't seem right to her. She had a kingdom to look after. Orlaith already gave her suspicions. All of a sudden they wanted her to eat that? No, this leopard seal was diligent. She was a queen, and she did not know what consequences could come from eating that. She spoke of something called Mother, but this was not her mother. "I apologize, but I refuse to eat that. I thought that I would be hearing the truth, not eating something mysterious as that. I could find out the same amount of truth from using my hindsight, and yes it may perhaps take longer than eating that, but I know I am using my own power. I am sorry, but I refuse. I will never take that, this is the word from the queen of The sea Kingdom. If this is all you have to offer me, then I will just have to go back Fornax, I would have thought you had more to offer than just that." Tethys made a call for Orlaith, Tethys, and Zelk to leave. She was a queen and would display herself as such. She turned and made her way to leave. If they thought she would just come here and eat nonsense, then they were wrong. She was ready to leave, exiting the den, not really caring for what else they had to say. She would have a talk with Orlaith to see if this alliance was worth keeping. She was not stupid enough to eat something just given to her like that.

@Game Master Dark

The call went out to all the Hive--here and elsewhere, near and far. It was urgent, and it was a compulsion, as powerful as Mother's voice had ever been.

...Frighteningly powerful.

"DO NOT LET THEM LEAVE." It roared through their minds, strong enough to practically move their limbs for them, and all the while came the overwhelming knowledge that Mother Knew Best.

"Defeat them if they resist: and we will convert them then."

@Pallas @Azrael

Sergei shook himself with a snort, blinking and standing more upright, as Mother's message bellowed through his mind. It was powerful, overwhelming--unsettlingly so, and his heart gave a twitch of misgiving before her will overrode his completely.

The bear turned, blank-eyed, and obeyed: aiming a powerful blow down without warning toward the tiger's head. With luck, it might stun her; or even knock her out. Best, he thought, to neutralize them quickly.