while slightly startled by the sudden outburst, forgraves was extremely happy Azrael was awake! he smiled, making happy barks as for he was picked up, shaking his head. "good! all good!" he chirped, he seemed happy and unharmed, his tongue still hanging out the side of his mouth.

Azrael sighed, letting out another grunt to affirm and replaced Forgraves back on his shoulder. "Do not come up here," he growled, eyeing the spore cloud. "Do not inhale that. I saw things." Things he didn't want to ever see again, and things he might be thinking about in nights to come, but this was not important yet.

Trying leaped forward spreading his wings, trying not to make contact with the mushroom's cap again and cleared the edge, leaving them falling. He caught their descent with his wings and slowed them until they drifted back to the floor and touched down gently. "We will go somewhere else. There are still the eyes - pools of water - and the fern trench here, but there are also other caves. Where do you want me to take you?"

@Forgraves

forgraves nodded, clinging back onto Azrael, practically hug him as they returned to the ground, still a bit shaken, unsure what "seeing things" meant in that context.

he thought for a moment, whats a pool? he tilted his head, thinking. "pool!" he yipped, excited. exploring was so much fun, he was worried about Azrael though..

Azrael grunted. "Pools it is." If there was one good thing that had come of Mother, it was all of the information that had come with sharing minds with others. He knew more about the pools then some of the other places - he would not forget the conversation between Reji (curse her to oblivion) and the black cat that had so foolishly been pulled in. The eyes were special and he was not sure it was in a good way.

He trampled through the forest again, picking a different direction this time and taking longer to get there - the Eyes were at the very back of the cave, after all. When the treeline broke, however, he stepped out of the undergrowth and approached the two pools of water that looked very much like a pair of eyes. "These are the Eyes. This is a strange place, I think - many things have happened here throughout history. I have one such story I heard from another about this place. It is not a pleasant one, but would you care to hear it?"

@Forgraves

Forgraves stared at the pools, tilting his head. he looked up at Azrael, nodding, he didn't know much about the cave, so might as well learn, right? he stayed close, but climbed off to stare into the pools as he listened, laying near the edge

Azrael sat down next to the pup and crossing his legs in front of him, one pair of arms leaning back against the ground while the other crossed in front of him. "Long ago, there were two - one was called Rezik and the other N'chard. N'chard was a leader in a time of bad things and wanted his people to be free. Rezik wanted to survive, even if it meant servitude. I think. Nobody liked Rezik, apparently. He betrayed many to the Masters and the Overseers to save his own skin. Like a coward." Here Azrael snorted with disapproval. If there was at least one thing he could agree with Reji with a clear head, it was that Rezik was scum. If the story had been told right.

"Anyways, Rezik took N'chard to this place, to the Eyes, since this was a lonely place. They talked about a hard choice, as N'chard only wanted his people to be free of the cruelty of their overlords. And for these reasons, Rezik killed him and drowned him within in the Eyes." As Azrael spoke, he pointed before them, where darkness was collecting in the water at his command. The shapes of these creatures, of Rezik with his branching antlers, and a rough figure of N'chard - not clear, either of them, as they had been seen only in visions of memories, but their shadows were clear and deliberate, moving at his command. The figure of N'chard melted away and disappated before Rezik turned and walked to the other pool. "Rezik took control of N'chard's kingdom and they lived in servitude until, I guess, Rezik was put to sleep and the rest were either killed, died on their own, or fell into slumber." Rezik's figure folded in on itself and became a massive black dot.

"Rezik is ancient - nobody knows how old he was but he is still alive. And he has a sister, Reji." Another figure, far clearer then Rezik's, appeared - a small fox-like creature with a halo on her head. "Well, had a sister. I knew Reji, once. I never met Rezik, but he is still skulking around the caves somewhere. Not that Reji was much better - she protected and guarded the mind-controlling fungus that held me for many cycles. But she is gone now. Killed in a fight. I could not protect her." Sadness crept into his tone as the massive shadow of a seal appeared and consumed Reji, her body dissipating away under the light while Rezik emerged from his own stone. "I may have gone on a little longer then I intended, but that is the story that the eyes witnessed - some of it at least."

@Forgraves

Forgraves listened closely. as Azrael spoke, the little fox seemed to not understand what some of it meant, but seemed as interested as ever. he watched the shadows in the water.

he frowned as the story continued, the shadows telling, how could a creature just... kill another creature? for wanting something good, no less? he put his head on his paws, ears flicking. he looked at Azrael after a moment as he mentioned Reji, and then back to the water, looking at the figure. he seemed sad, was this someone he cared about? and what was this fungus he was talking about? he seemed saddened as he watched reji's form be consumed, but he had wanted to learn, hadn't he?

he whimpered, leaning into Azrael's side, looking up at him.

Azrael looked over and down at Forgraves as he pressed up against him, feeling a warmth he had not felt before growing in his chest. Not the kind of fire-warmth that come to him when he tried to cast his flaming magic, but something softer, more tender, that he never thought he'd experience in his time. He did really care about this fox - it wasn't just a moment or two of time that he was spending, but in fact a bond that he had not forged before.

At first, he was a little scared - the last time he had felt this sort of love, it had been Mother artificially forcing it onto him, to control him to her whims. He was scared that it was happening again now, something forcing him to care for the newly hatched fox, since, before now, he had not cared for anyone before. Sure, he desired this - he desired everything after all, but now that he had it, it was terrifying.

But looking down at Forgraves, the innocent little fox looking up at him with concern in his expression, Azrael felt himself melt a little bit. For, perhaps, the first time as a free creature, the edges of his mouth curled up in a little smile. "I am sorry. These are dark things. I will tell you about the fungus someday, but this should be your day to be happy. We will leave now." He patted his shoulder and held out his arm so that Forgraves could climb up easily.

@Forgraves

he immediately climbed back onto Azrael, smiling again, hugging him tightly. he thought about the story for a moment more, before going back to thinking of somewhere else to go, unaware of the significance of Azrael smiling for the first time since they had met. before he could think of anything else, anywhere else to go, he had to ask something, because Azrael had been looking after him all day, wasn't it his turn?

"Azzy okay?" he asked, worry in his tone, head rested between his horns.

Azrael stood, used to the very small weight of Forgraves on his head by now, and turned away from the Eyes. He paused when Forgraves asked and looked up without moving his head. "Yes, I am okay. Do not worry about me." Pride kept him from admitting anything else, that he had not been okay less then a cycle ago, that Mother still haunted him. Not that it mattered now - he was giving this day to the kid.

"Now, we can still go see the fern trench? I do not have any stories but there is a big skeleton there to see. Or we can skip it and go to another cave. There are many caves to visit."

@Forgraves