A pair of other gembound appeared. One small and armored, the other larger and spotted. Wait--Temperantia knew that cheetah. The yellow spots, atleast, were familiar. Had they been against Mother as well? A surge of anger, of confusion went through Temperantia. How could one so evil have so many young and defensless following them? It...it didn't make sense. None of this made sense. Temperantia felt a want, no, a need to understand. And while Temperantia was trapped within a maze of morality, Pride spoke to them. And ended with a...scream?

Temperantia stared quietly at the display. Wings held close. They weren't aware of what they should do, or say. And then, despite themselves, they let out a single chiming laugh, like that of a child. They quieted, amongst enemies and not wanting to be rude. "Explain...." Temperantia trailed off, gathering their thoughts. "The war. Explain that deer, the one with the fungus. Why they hated Mother. And...and Mother. Why did you--we fight? What..." They paused. It pained Temperantia to think of Mother as anything other than pure good, pure kindness. "What did Mother want."

Temperantia knew that Pride wouldn't have all the answers. They doubted anyone would. But it would comfort them atleast. Temperantia wasn't aware of Amazon, but they at least had a name to put to the face of the small one, Luster. The name of the other gembound, the cub, would remain a mystery.

@Reign
@Syphyl
((Realized I should tag someone whoops lmao))

Perhaps if Reign wasn't in such a panic, he would have been wondering 'Why is Pride on the ground?' as it were, though, he was more concerned with why everyone was gathered here, what was going on with the magic show.

"Ah," he hesitated, rankled that he'd been worried for nothing, but knowing that a cub was more important

he was torn off the cub, knocked to the ground, could do nothing as she was struck down and killed before him

he blinked, stepped back with a shudder, and slunk into the ruins--though Pride might have hunted for the bats, the cheetah would have had to put in a great deal of effort to reach them, effort he didn't care to with his blood buzzing and skin twitching.

Perhaps it was a stone he kicked, or just his approaching pawsteps--whatever it was, a Walleye Rabbit tore out into the open, would have been easily hidden if it weren't for its bioluminescent markings, only the briefest glance needed to confirm that it wasn't Pride's Familiar, and then the chase was on. It was a quick one--it had to be, considering that he wasn't made to swerve through the ruins, and in moments he had the large, fat Walleye dead in his jaws, breath smothered from its lungs.

Panting, head high and eyes bright with the adrenaline of a good hunt, he trotted back to the gathering, only his pride keeping him from strutting, a bit of his cub energy that he'd always restrained slipping through. The kitten looked terrified, though, so he set it down before Pride and backed away, sitting down and licking his paw before beginning to groom his face, tail wrapped around his paws, as he addressed her, "Here, kitten, for you. They're very good-not as good as a Tunnel Runner, but only barely just."

Yeah, pressing against Pride?

Bad idea!

The littler hybrid squealed and scrambled back, "Are you DEAD!" she gasped, even though he was yelling as he went, scrambling forward and reaching to poke at one of his blinking eyes, flinching back and sitting on her haunches, blinking at him innocently when he began to speak.

She had not been going to see if he was dead, no sir!

Her striped ears drooped, and she sighed, curling up against the stag's leg, "I miss her." and nuzzled into his white fur, stranger danger? what is that? In these Caves we don't need no stranger danger! "That light show was pretty," she offered, "Are you okay?" an idea!

A banana manifested in front of her, and she stretched out to grab it, pushing it at Pride's face with a bright grin, "'ll make you feel better!" she muffled around it.

"Sometimes you need a second chance,"
'because you weren't quite ready for the first.'

@Syphyl

With Pride's massive scream, Sy herself found herself scrambling away in fear. Her head low, she tried to hide behind a stone that was nearby.

However, it seemed the attention of the yelling man was still on her, as she heard him speaking of feeding her. Yes, food. But could she eat at a time like this? Well, she'd find out soon, as the other Cheetah - which she didn't yet know was what she was - had gone off to hunt and returned and was speaking to her.

She mewled quietly as she looked suspiciously at the food Reign was offering her. She wasn't sure about it, but she was very, very hungry. Her stomach growling, she walked over to the food - ignoring everything else around her, for now.

She tore into the food, purring as she ate for the first time.


"speaking!"

Tags: @Pride

He was rolling upright as Reign returned, squinting and blinking away the confusion, the brief muscle-cramping pain. But a glance around told him that all was well--the child was eating, Reign looked quite proud of himself, and Luster-... ah, had left him a banana. He distantly remembered her poking at his eyelid, but he politely opened the peel and took a nibble nonetheless.

"Thank you, Reign, Luster," he managed.

His bleary gaze then fixed on Temperantia, as he pulled himself to his feet. He knew he should check her mind for signs of other presences but more than that, this wasn't a conversation to have in front of a child. He was wary about using powerful magic so soon after some had just backfired, so the link was tentative, at best. When he heard no voices swimming in her mind, he offered quiet, muffled mental words of his own.

"The fungus twists your mind. It makes you serve, until you're a husk, or dead, so I'm told. Most of those cleansed have been horrified at what they've done. For most, it... seems to be-..." the link faded, faltered, and Pride--with a faint grimace--continued aloud.

"The grip of the fungus seems to be terrible, controlling. Those who lived in Cetus asked for aid, and the Seven--we are protectors. Guardians. And so we came to help."

Pride looked down to the child, wondering again at the apparent gravitation of cheetahs to Orion, and spoke again. "We take in those too-... Those who need protection," he corrected himself, because "too weak to defend themselves" seemed an insult; "and we train our combat skills for times like those. You--you feel nothing of relief, being freed from it?" he then asked, peering to Temperantia curiously.

@Temperantia @Reign @Syphyl @Luster

Temperantia was taken aback by the words in their mind. They backed up, fearful. It reminded them distinctly of Mother's influence. Yet there was no flood of emotions from others. No hivemind. Just speaking. They were Pride's words, Temperantia could recognize the voice from the short time they'd been around. Pride's words forced them to reflect. Had Mother twisted Temperantia's words...their thoughts..,as Pride had said? They hadn't done anything horrible, as far as they could tell. But they had converted lessers. Lessers that were ultimately killed by Astraea. Did Temperantia have a death toll? These were things to mull over.

Temperantia tucked themselves in closely, narrowing eyes. "Your help hurt many of her children." It said. Their voice was smooth, free of inflection, but there was implied anger in there. But the allure of helping. That was what Pride's group did. All they ever wanted.

"We...do not know. We feel confusion. She worked for the good of all gembound." They paused. "That... that is what she told us. Perhaphs...one does not need to control others to do good. You...help gembound without control?"

@Reign
@Syphyl

Pride purred as he watched Syphyl eat, trying to soothe the cub, returning the sound she'd made. He couldn't say he'd met another cheetah before, though according to Pride there'd been another one before, one that had caused a great deal of trouble, but this one was young and he intended not to let that happen.

He inclined his head to Pride, continuing to groom his face, tail tapping where it wrapped around his paws, twitching his ears as he listened to Pride, not wanting to be reminded of the war that still haunted his nightmares, but knowing it needed to be heard.

At the thought of the... the ring, not feeling any relief from being freed, he wondered if it would continue its 'Mother's' work, and felt his fur stand on end as he turned to look at Temperantia.

The ring had a point, but Reign twitched his gaze to Pride, letting the stag continue to speak, to speak for his... for his group? his home? his family?

Luster beamed at Pride, cuddling into his leg as he stood, "Uh huh! Bananas are great, they are tasty and they make you feel better!" Speaking of bananas, one appeared in front of her, and she sat back on her haunches to grab it, eating it peel and all, beginning to glow as she looked at Pride, then the ring, not entirely certain what he was speaking of but curious--it had been while she was asleep, but it sounded Serious and Important so, for once, she held her mouth shut and listened.

"Sometimes you need a second chance,"
'because you weren't quite ready for the first.'

@Syphyl

Sy ate greedily, not paying much attention now to the words around her. She was lost in the food, happily so. Her little tail flicking around behind her as she heard the older Cheetah's purring in her ears. What an interesting sound they were making, together.

Her eyes looked up at the other Cheetah with curiosity, before focusing on Pride. He was speaking, and she was listening, her purring finished. She focused her attention on the ungulate, head tilted to the side with curiosity. She wondered about the story he was telling, and listened.

"speaking!"

Tags: @Pride

He had to admit, at least in the privacy of his own mind, surprise. Given how some of the others--Azrael, for one, and from what he'd been told of Opal's release--had reacted upon being freed of Mother's influence, hearing of a Gembound who was almost angry about being "taken" from "Mother" was... strange.

But "helped hurt-?" Pride peered quizzically at the... the sentient... circle. "We did not harm any of you. I took the time, afterward--with the dragon's help-" (don't think about that Pride warned himself, not wanting to recall, right now, Dread's impatience and subsequent threats of violence) "-to dig out the one who was buried. I think none of you were harmed, really?" He then grimaced and looked away, with a shake of his head. "Do not mistake me for Astraea. His form of 'help'--what he did to those Lessers--was unconscionable." He paused, briefly, reflecting. "I do not shy from violence when I must resort to it, but that was unnecessary and cruel."

Pride glanced to the cheetahs. Reign had admirably risen to the simple-seeming task of caring for the cub. He was glad for it, because as simple as it might be, he had failed. He stepped over, offering Reign a brief nudge behind one ear, an affectionate sort of gratitude. "Thank you," he said, "my magic does not seem to be cooperating today."

The cub--and Luster--both seemed content enough, and after looking them over, Pride inclined his head in thought. "In fact, in general, I'd like to see our numbers rise, a little. Those of us who joined the fight in Cetus were too few, had we been on our own. I was thinking of asking the other groups if they have anyone they would like to send to train with us, as well--young ones, or the like. Does anyone have any ideas, to further our interests? Our numbers, our influence? I don't want us to come up short if a larger challenge arises," he added, thoughtfully.

Ahh, well. Planning could be done later--for now he'd enjoy their company.

@Reign @Syphyl @Luster @Temperantia

editing into an exit