WARNING: for Gore.

A black wolf hung impaled on a gemstone spike, her ribs punched through by its slender spire. Her breaths came gurgling, blood dripping from her hanging jaws.

Beside her, a great moose--his blue gemstone gleaming clearly at his head--was clattering in a rush to her side. "Jay, can you hear me?" His broad antlers lifted beneath her, pulling her from the spine of stone and laying her across the rocky floor.

The black wolf trembled and coughed, her tongue lolling from her jaws, her eyes wide with pain. She fought, a little, and cried out, agonized. "Daddy," was all she managed, her voice weak.

"Shhh, it's okay Jayberry, Papa is here. I'm gonna take care of you, okay?" The moose lowered his head, plants sprouting up around him; he took them into his jaws and began to quickly chew them. As he spread them over the wolf's wound, her golden eyes slipped shut, only opening again as he touched the bloodied, ragged injury.

"It was... the bird. The bird that... hurt Mother. I'm scared... scared that it will... that it will hurt--hurt the others." Her blood coated her teeth--one front canine a gemstone of her own, flashing in the dim light.

Then came another voice--quiet, soft; a small, black, feathered-and-furred creature familiar to even Nameless came slinking up along the tunnel. Feather-tufted ears were pinned back against his skull. Wide, blue eyes darted over the pair before fixing on the black wolf; and his voice came hesitant, gentle. "Do you--need help? I might be able to help-..."

The vision faded.

@Nameless

The goose shuddered. Arrogant and powerful? And a little sprite that had torn out someone's eyes for something as petty as such rude art? Well...no, she wasn't going to ask them, then. "Thank you, but I think...I'll look elsewhere. I'm sure that there's an explanation somewhere else." Perhaps if she ran into them (not Nemean) she may see if they recognize her, but seeking them out didn't really seem like such a good idea. And what was the point, if it wasn't likely that they had even done this? She'd have to find another lead.

Violence, it seemed, was not uncommon. Although Nameless was sure that Giggle would have seen her fair share of violence in her lifetime, but still, to have two bloodthirsty monsters running around, just fighting people and bringing terror and pain? She wondered if there were anymore and shuddered to think about what would happen if she ran into one. Her stomach churned against as she thought of that dog. She hoped she'd never see something like that again.

But, of course, the vision that came to her didn't give a single shit about what she did or didn't want to see, opening on an absolutely brutal scene that had her reeling back. She didn't know who these were, but as they spoke, she remembered Tyr saying that name as well. "Jayberry." And a moose. One look at him sent something very strange running through the goose's body. Her heard picked up its pace and she felt warm and light. A deep, echoing sadness rang out in her heart and all she wanted to do was step forward and touch him. Just a touch, to know that he was real. But she knew he wasn't, nor did she even know who he was. But one look at his head confirmed - he was the owner of the stone around her neck.

Who were the others? Who was this bird? Who was Mother? Was...was she Mother? Was that monstrous goose, who could have been here, was that who Jayberry was talking about? That didn't make sense, how could a goose create a wolf? Wait...wait a second, Jayberry had called the moose her dad. Perhaps she was adopted? Tyr had said that the moose had found her.

But she forgot about it when she recognized the last to enter. She felt a jolt. Oliver?! Wait, Oliver knew them! He knew Jayberry and that moose! Maybe he'd know Blackberry too! Maybe he'd know who she was before! He hadn't recognized her, but she wasn't sure if that was just because she looked different or he genuinely didn't know her. Or he was lying. No. She trusted Oliver - he was kind and gentle and sincere. He wouldn't lie about something this important.

Once she was out of the memory, she stood up a little taller, eyes gleaming. "I think I have a lead. Do you know Oliver? The black half dog-half bird creature? I met him earlier, when I'd first awoken and I just looked into past of this stone I have. I saw - and heard - of someone named Jayberry and a moose who was definitely the owner of this stone. And Oliver was there too. He might know more." She was so caught up in her excitement that, for a moment, she forgot about her fear. And when she did remember, she stopped for a second, expression falling as she looked at Giggle.

Uncertainty crawled up her throat. "Hey...do you...do you think I'm doing the right thing? Pursuing all of this? I mean...there's gotta be a reason I've forgotten it. What if I'm not supposed to know?"
@Giggle

Giggle gave a little shrug--or the nearest hyena equivalent, and rocked back to scratch at her neck with one hind leg. Her expression was thoughtful, despite the spores flaking from her fur. When she was finished, she took a long, scrutinizing look at the goose.

"Let me tell you something I've learned," she told white-bird, voice hoarse. "The powers that be, in this cave, they aren't omniscient, they aren't good. Aside from the fungus, the bones--that magic that flows through the world around us, and touches everything, past and future--there are only Masters and shitheads like them." Images of Senka flashed through her mind, and her lip curled unconsciously for a moment, peeling back to show a couple thick fangs along one side of her jaw. She shook her head. "These beings are as selfish and brutal as any other Gembound, if they were given power. There might be good ones; there are definitely bad. But the point is, what you're meant to do--well, that doesn't exist."

The ragged hyena gave the goose a long, hard look, one of appraisal, one of solemnity. "What I'm saying is, what they want is best for them. What you do should be whatever the fuck you want. Nobody decides our fates but us, so don't let them, because it'll only serve them--not you. Yeah, you might be destined for something--but it isn't anyone's choice but yours. Don't overthink it. Just do what you want to, so long as it doesn't hurt anyone else."

A pause, then, with another long, frowning moment of thought. "That being said, if you've been changed this much--if your memory was fucked with--I would wonder why. I wouldn't be able to leave it alone, myself. I'd have to know. But it goes without saying that you should be careful. Be careful who you let know what you find. Be careful about what you might find."

As to the white bird's other question, Giggle had to think about this. She was briefly about to reject any knowledge of Oliver, before the faintest flicker of memory returned. Black dog-bird...

"I might have met him," she began, cautiously--because she honestly wasn't sure. "The bones in Canis came alive some time ago--not all of them!" Giggle laughed roughly. "That would have been a mess. But a few. And there was a black bird-dog here. He was worried, I think, not behind it all. And he comes and goes from Canis. He doesn't talk to us--to the Bonebound, not really--but I think he's the one who's grown that garden in the middle of the cave. Bones know that can't have been easy," she added, and nodded off in the grove's direction. "This cave's not exactly fertile jungle. But I've been told he brought in dirt, fixed the water so it doesn't taste like shit, and grew a lot of plants. I think he's trying to help," she added, a little puzzled, "though I'm not really sure how that helps anyone."

Giggle sat back, watching the goose for a moment longer. "Listen, there's something else," the hyena said, at last. She sounded almost reluctant, here. "I've been through some... shit, myself. Torn off into another... plane. Dark, with nothing in it, and it drove me crazy. For a long time. When I came back I wasn't myself, bird. My memory was fucked. Point is, maybe something like that happened to you. That's not a reason to hide from it, but... you might want to prepare yourself for bad news. Just in case." She paused, thoughtful, and then added--"It's also possible that you did this to yourself. Maybe you did go through some shit, and you made a deal with someone to do this to you so you wouldn't remember it. So you could start fresh. In that case it wasn't any Masters that arranged your fate; it was you. I'd be careful, if I were you, about going back; but it sure sounds like you aren't living with it all that well, if it's the case."

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

@Nameless

Giggle had a lot to say, but the goose was hanging onto each word. She was still shaken, horribly so, and wrapped in the excitement of finally having a solid, living lead that she could grab onto, but she listened, trying to organize the numerous thoughts shooting through her head.

She shifted, eyes narrowing a bit. She didn’t get any kind of emotional reaction when talking or thinking about the Masters - either their memory was unimportant or buried far, far down, or she’d never actually met them before. Either way, if what Giggle was saying was true, if the bitterness in her voice was to be trusted (which she very much believed it was) then she didn’t want anything to do with these Masters. Even if they had been the ones to take her memory from her...she didn’t want to deal with selfish forces when it came to a matter like this.

Her thoughts came to a sudden halt, though. Do what I want to do? What did she want to do? ...That wasn’t an answer that came easily. She wanted to live, but she supposed that everyone wanted to do that. She wanted...she wanted to know, about herself - the good, the bad, and everything in between, despite how horrifying and terrifying it was to find it out. She wanted to do good by others.

”Is that really all I need?” she whispered, almost as if to herself. She didn’t even seem to realize that she’d said it out loud, brows furrowed. But one thing was for sure - she’d figured it out already that information about her past shouldn’t be information freely given. She’d keep all of it to herself, except to those she trusted the most.

She glanced back up at Giggle. She’d seen the patch of greenery in the middle of Canis, but she hadn’t realized it was Oliver’s. She hadn’t seen him there, though - she should probably check at some point. ”Oh, yeah, he mentioned something about a Kingdom in Eridanus that went around and planted things. I might check there for him, it’s probably a good option.” However much she didn’t like the thought of returning to Eridanus for some reason.

Returning? The thought came and left in a second, her head too full to dwell on it for now.

She watched Giggle carefully, head tilted just a little to the side. Curiosity wanted her to ask about this dark plane, but the reluctance in her speaking about it held the goose back. She nodded solemnly and didn’t question it further but it remained there, like an itch. ”I think I’m prepared. I think I’ve seen enough “bad news” to be ready for whatever’s coming next. Hopefully.” There were a lot of reasons, now, that she could have lost her memory like this and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. She was confused - there was a lot of information swirling around her head, but she had a start.

”If what I was before is as horrible as all these memories are making it out to seem, I don’t think I could go back at all, even if I wanted to. I don’t know, violence just seems...terrible to me. Any form of it. I can’t stand the thought. Just seeing those things happening made me sick to my stomach. I just want to know, I guess. I can’t help but be curious about all that missing time.”

She dipped her head to Giggle. ”Thank you for everything. I know I’m just...a stranger, you don’t know me at all, but you’ve done so much for me. If there’s anything you ever need from me, you or your Bonebound, let me know.”

@Giggle

Giggle thought the goose's words a bit strange--something of an overreaction to just a vision of a baby bird and a wolf cub scuffling. Maybe she'd seen more, before..? The hyena didn't know; she hadn't been party to the white bird's visions of stone-impaled wolf.

"I don't know if that's all you need," she said gruffly, answering what to all appearances had been merely the bird's talking to herself.
"Only you can answer that. I guess you'll know if it's everything once you find it," she added, humorously.

As for the rest, the hyena just listened, polite as Giggle could be--which is to say, not interrupting or mocking in any way. When the goose had given her offer, she nodded solemnly. Some might have brushed it off; and Giggle was, in truth, half-tempted to. What could a single bird, with unknown magic, offer one of the largest groups in the caves--especially when Giggle had no idea where to find her? But the old hyena knew the hidden value, hidden powers, that could sometimes be found in others, and she just gave a businesslike nod, instead.

"Appreciated. I'm not sure where I can find you but I'll bear it in mind. My help doesn't come with a price, of course, but I guess this is... mutual help." The hyena made an animal gesture, a twist of her shoulders and a glance away, that might be construed as a shrug. "Hopefully it won't be needed, eh?" A raucous, harsh laugh followed.

She then stood, giving the white bird a nod. It was clear that she intended to move on--to find this Oliver, to seek him out--and Giggle, after a moment's thought, cast her senses through Canis. She stood stiff and still, for a long moment, concentrating--her magic flaring as her mind left her, momentarily, her consciousness flicking through the fungus that invisibly swathed the Room of Bones.

Her fungus-shrouded senses flicked past scurrying rats, a sleeping Lorekeeper, Bonebound members here and there--and... ahh, yes. A dark figure, briefly sensed, moving through the life-thick grove.

Her dark eyes opened as she returned to herself. "I think your bird-dog's in the grove now. I don't know if you wanted to speak to him, or not. Good luck, whatever your choice, bird." She glanced briefly at the bones, and saw in them--in that short glance--chaos; possibly destruction. She could not tell, for certain, but it was hardly the neat and ordered placidness of a peaceful life. She said nothing of this, instead looking back to the white bird, and cryptically adding--"I hope that you won't need it."

The hyena then turned, lurching up to trot back up to the overhanging ledge--leaving the white goose to find her past and purpose... or not.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

exit Giggle ; @Nameless

Nameless let out her own short chuckle. Honestly, she wasn't sure herself how she could help, but if they needed anything, she'd do her best. She didn't care that Giggle wasn't asking for some kind of payment - she'd gone above and beyond just telling her fortune with bones. "Yeah. I wish you and your Bonebound well."

She glanced back at the distant grove and nodded. "Thank you. I'll head there, then." She watched Giggle retreat for a moment before heading out, trotting across Canis, thoughts fighting between hope and darkness, still reeling and coming to terms with what she'd seen. Hopefully...Oliver would have more insight. And hopefully she'd be able to cope with the news she'd inevitably be getting.

*exit