M for the greatest tirade Origin Cave has ever seen

He flew in out of breath, and the first thing he did was flare up his magicka, landing awkwardly and in a haphazard sprawl, testing to see who was ahead of him. Only two--and one a familiar shape. Like Kalama (faint twinge of guilt, here, and then relief that he didn't have to deal with her shit right now), but larger--Agate? One of the other Champions, anyway. And the other, one that he didn't think he recognized.

"Hey," Imp offered, pulling himself back upright. He was still dazed, exhausted, ready to just pass out and-

-and was that Vargas?

Imp... took a breath.

"YOUUU!" he crowed, oblivious to the presence of the Masked Merchant standing there. He ignored him. He was focused on the big spiky fuck whose shape he most definitely recognized. "Look at you, you ugly piece of shit! Look at ME! LOOK AT ME! TEAR MY FUCKIN' EYES OUT?! LOOK AT ME! YOU CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT TO ME BUT I WON! I MEAN I ALMOST--I SURVIVED, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! Nemean's a whiny crybaby bitch and you're just a big stupid dog BULLY. I bet I COULD FIGHT YOU," and Imp, still in his half-concussed state, vaguely wondered if that threat were a good idea; "AND YOU'RE FUCKIN' UGLY, TOO! Even without EYES I'm better-looking than you, you ugly bastard! YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST GO AROUND RIPPING PEOPLES' EYES OUT, you giant purple FUCK? Huh? I bet you're just her fuckin' PET! Do you even do anything for yourself? Does fuckin' Garnet do anything for itself, or are you just the little fuck-fairy's fuckin' SLAVES?"

Imp wing-waddled closer. The others were probably arriving, by now, but he didn't care, his hoarse voice screaming insults as the cold at last faded from his hide. "Whaddya do just run around fucking sending Gembound to die? Huh? Hunting 'em down and PULLING OUT THEIR CAVES-DAMNED EYES? Is that a life?! HA! Learn some fuckin' art, you fuck! I was a fuckin' ARTIST! AND I LIVED! HERE I AM! YOU THOUGHT I WAS USELESS BUT I-"

The Masked Merchant's touch--perhaps intended to finally shut the hybrid up--lightly brushed him; there was an agonizing flash of pain, and Imp returned, slumping into unconsciousness, to his chrysalis.

exit Imp!

Imp will be taking the Feathers mutation, pretty much without IC choice. Whee!

Ivory lumbered along with the rest, ensuring that those who needed support got it; she tried, even, to offer her back to the limping, three-legged black fox. She did not rush ahead, instead making sure that everybody made it.

Even Kalama.

Once she found herself back in Tunnel P, however--ears flattening against Imp's tirade--the stress of it all overwhelmed her. Even before the Merchant's touch sent that agony tearing through her, she was sinking to her knees, the knowledge of safety, at last, pouring over her with an exhausting rush.

She did not fight the pain that jarred her back into her gemstone.

Instead, she let it take her, and she drifted into blissful slumber, the pearl flowing around her form like a swaddling, protective blanket.

exit Ivory
Ivory will be taking the primal teeth: Tusks mutation.

Like Ivory, Warrior went with the group. He helped along those who needed it, offering encouragement, guidance. "We're not far, now," he'd promise them, his tone mild.

Quentin was right. There was something fundamentally wrong about them and, when he'd had the chance, he murmured to the fox. "I think you're right. Maybe we can look about making a safe place here, once these are all gone, and... when the cold is gone? We can invite them back, but-... Only the ones who aren't going to--to do all this," he added, glancing among them. Not the victims--but the ones who'd start all this, who'd send Gembound to fight and die, for nothing.

The Bone-Cavers were strange beings, but at least... most of them had survived. Warrior's eyes briefly closed, remembering the two that would not come back. Both of those had, at least, run off on their own--a fundamental mistake out here, if one didn't know the terrain.

But all of the rest of this-... It was pointless.

The horse shook his mane, and trotted through the snow to Tunnel P. Part of him was reluctant to even enter the mouth of the cave, given the Merchant lurking there and the monstrous violet-and-toxic-green beast at his side, but Warrior was apparently extremely determined to make sure that everyone made it out safe and sound.

Quietly he nudged and encouraged those who needed it, and--the Merchant's touch, when it came, was unexpected. The horse slumped, eyes rolling wide--to make this far, only to die-? Why-... and collapsed on his side, the obsidian sweeping up to consume, and hide, his form.

exit Warrior
probs going with White mutation

One by one, they staggered to the end.

One by one, they fell in the end.

Virgil shed the small weights on her back and immediately buckled to her knees. Her eyes closed, and she sighed out her last peaceful breath as white-hot energy surged through her. For a moment, her entire body was alight, alive, even as she lay stock-still, near-dead.

Gemstone crept up and shrouded her in darkness, such painful magic inadvertently rescuing her from death's door.

exit Virgil
taking primal teeth - tusks!

She was at the end, icy steel in jaws and heat fanning out around the hilt.

Hargrave gave a soft laugh, eyes watering - she'd made it, she'd... !

Oh, oh, no -

The blade clattered against her teeth before the floor, faint specks of blood from her gums marring the otherwise pristine carvings and glow. Something akin to electricity surged through her, bringing up walls of aventurine around her and rooting her paws to the ground. Hargrave twisted, craning her neck, howling into the wind at Hydra's entrance: "Null - ?!"

Her legs buckled beneath her and the resulting yelp was muffled by a violent crackle of chrysalis coming into being.

exit Hargrave
taking snow feet!

Gatto rode the winds past the others until they streaked to the front of the pack, guiding the group back across the snow dunes. Though the flight was not easy, as they approached Vargas and the Merchant, their eyes gleamed.

Like last time, defiance burned like a fire in their chest, and it took all of their strength to resist the urge to attack-- all it would do would bring them more pain. They were weak, and not ready... The cockatrice landed, staggering into the snow, and raised their beak proudly. Their mangled mandibles tried to click, but with their broken jaw, only half of their face moved and it took everything not to flinch at the thrumming pain.

"Hah!" Was all they could spit as a retort, plumage fanning with pride at their success. They would have smugly yammered the Trial judges ears off, but like every time, it only took a brief flicker of magic-- and whoosh.

Like that, Gatto was gone-- and so were the others falling in line behind-- turned back to chrysalis. Until next time.

gatto will be taking the insulation mutation, probably

Kalama used her beak to grip onto Ivory's hide. She pulled herself up with her wings, and the assistance of Ivory, using what little remained of her strength. She panted, relieved she didn't have to drag herself along anymore. But then Kalama realized something. There were gembound missing. A trail of pawprints in snow, many of them in fact, ahead of Kalama and Ivory. There were gembound ahead of her. She'd--no Ivory had taken too long! Gembound were ahead of them! "Hey, hey hey! We're behind!" She clucked at Ivory. "Go faster!"

Not fast enough. Gembound passed them. She hated every second of it. When they arrived at tunnel P, Kalama was filled with chagrin that Imp had not only gotten there before her, but also long enough to rant at the masked merchant. There were many gembound ahead of her. This really sucked. Having no other idea of how to express it, Kalama took her anger out on Imp. "Imp, you no good ass cheater! This was my vic--" She stopped, seeing how the masked merchant put him back into the chrysalis with a single touch. And moved onto other gembound. Seeing how gembound crumpled under his touch gave her a twinge of fear. One that only grew as he approached.

"Not fair, I want a redo!" She said. "A-a redo!" She repeated, stammering fearfully as the collector's hand grew closer. Then, with a flash of pain Kalama was gone. A rough chrysalis of flint in her place.


Kalama is taking the saber tooth mutation!

She raced all the way to the tunnel, not looking behind her, only growling lowly when some chicken creature passed her, only stopping when she came skidding to a halt in front of the merchant, breathing heavily from her sprint. She watched and waited, a little smugly, as the others came in behind her. She was second only to a former champion - that proved she was the strongest.

And the knowledge granted to her, the storm and snow whipping up from just within Hydra, had he breathing out a soft sigh. She didn't know magic much, but perhaps this would be useful. When the sudden pain streaked over Lyra, she widened her eyes but had no time to process it before a bright pink pearl stood where she'd been before.

*exit

Lyra will be taking the Primal Teeth mutation

Oleander

Melt all your art and drink the paint

Oleander came stumbling back, eyes fixed on Gatto, the gem clutched in her mouth. For a moment, clarity came back to her as they arrived before the merchant and she looked over at Warrior, wondering if he was going to leave Hydra with them.

That would be...wonderful? Well, on one hand, she'd have her best friend in the caves with her but on the other, she couldn't have anyone distracting her, not from her love with Gatto. And when there were others nearby, that meant competition. And she was not going to have anyone in her way.

"W-Warrior, I..." But what was she going to say? That she was sorry? That she wanted him to stay? Or leave? But she didn't have time to think about it as pain suddenly consumed her and she became nothing more then a jet-black gemstone.

*exit

Oleander will be taking the guaranteed give life.

Shida followed her sister, watching everyone's back, although the others seemed to be on top of that already. Now that all the danger was past and they were headed on back to the finish line, she began to feel the same exhaustion and considered just...stopping for a moment. Just to rest. But, no, she had to get all the way to the end. She had to push through and finish her journey.

And she did, heaving and aching all over, welcoming that calling to her chrysalis. It would be nice to rest awhile.

*Exit

Shida is taking the insulation mutation.