"... your girlfriend."

Aure grimaced slightly, but ultimately just kept his mouth shut - it wasn't worth correcting. Not now. He'd turned to finally leave, twisting back over his shoulder at the mention of magic-users. His thoughts raced too harshly to rattle off any properly for Siren to find, but he just bowed his head, "I know Pride, and others - I think. I'll... be back."

A weak smile was bid to that "good luck" (I'll need it.) and he went off.

temporary exit aure

She noticed the humanoid’s stare but thought nothing of it- only curling the edges of her lips up in a smile, all three tails wagging gently. The wisps that accompanied her whirled around her head briefly, but she hopped back to sit away from the crowd, watching with curiousity as the leader(?) paced in place.

What could she do? She could help, maybe, but… She didn’t know many spells. Huffing to herself, she laid down and placed a paw over her muzzle, looking up to watch the rings as the others attempted to figure out what to do with it.

Another being- a bird?- passed by her, and she traced him with her eyes as he paced before looking back to the wall, thoughtlessly wondering on what to do about it. She knew no magic users- and would they follow a breathless, mute fox? Probably not.

So there she lay, watching for what would happen next.

Pride entered at a calm stride, peering quizzically at the groups of Gembound clustered here. Aure had told him of the rings, and it had taken him the better part of a day simply to travel back here.

He gave nods of greeting, and murmured acknowledgements, as he approached. Most of these Gembound were strangers to him.

"Hello, all of you. Aure's explained to me the rings, though... I must ask; have any of you tried to see what lies beyond this--lock? I can only assume it's a lock," the white stag added, eyeing the rings and their sigils. "If it's to be opened, I'd suggest you prepare for anything, beyond. If someone took this much time, and effort, to lock something away, then whatever lies beyond may be deadly." Raheerah, for example. Last seen turning to Oil here in Polaris. What if he still exists, beyond this new door? What if that's why it's created--to seal him away?

Pride shook his head and drew closer, concentrating on the third ring. He could feel it resonating with energy, and he pressed his magicka forth, searching for a resonance that he could strike with his own power.

The strange energy released by the stag was at first discordant, a horrific stretch and creak of reality, of the matter which bound the door itself. And then the third ring shimmered, glowing a dull, pale pink-white. As the light faded, the ring seemed to absorb the energy of the spell.

The ring lurched into motion, grinding so that the symbol etched in its stone aligned with the first two.

@Aure @Pip @Soumak @Null @Seshat @Siren

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Along with Pride came another towering, white creature-- but this one was more akin a monster than the elegant, graceful deer. The lumbering hound came at Aure's request, three heads focusing in on the massive door locked with rings.

His ears pricked, and his snaking tail wagged, and he sniffed at the crowd with curiosity. "Hello!" He woofed politely, as Pride worked his magic on the door.

The suggestion that a threat may lay beyond the door made the hound's hackles raise, thick, coarse fur bristling. "If there's danger," he growled, pacing closer to the doorway, "I will protect you all." A promise, and a threat to what lay beyond.

This was not the first doorway he had sworn to guard. It felt incredibly natural, as he settled his haunches down, and stared at the door, letting only one head swivel back to look at the others and listen.

In the time that Auré had left, Serendipity graduated from standing to popping a squat next to the little fox and was side-eyeing her nub arm quietly, when she wasn't staring at the rings in front of her. A few ideas had since come into her head; some kind of wooden cane or gemstone fake-leg harnessed around her chest with leather strapping would fit, but there was the likelihood that it'd end up limiting her more.

... never mind that she hadn't even been asked to do anything, mind you. There was a good chance the stranger didn't even want the help and was just quietly tolerating being eyed up by another stranger, but at least Serendipity had good intentions. She just wanted to help.

Her head rose again when the two newcomers came along. Pride she knew, if vaguely, and the three-headed dog she both did not know and had never seen such a thing before. He did seem... Laurel-like, however, and she knew Laurels fairly well.

"Thanks, bud," she said in response to the gargantuan creature, with a slight grin. Amber eyes went to follow Pride, considering his words quietly with a dipping expression. The grinding of rings, at least, was nice enough.

For a moment she thought-- a prison didn't seem exactly right to her, somehow. If she were going to lock anyone away she would keep the door hidden, not out where everyone could just find it, and a hell of a crowd had managed to find it so far. "I'd guess it's something like Hydra," she suggested mildly. "Maybe locked so that people don't go wandering in there by accident or something."

That one didn't seem right to Dip either, though. "Considering how much magic you need to open it, though, I'm sure we'll be fine with whatever saunters outta there," the humanoid assured after a few beats. This much, at least, she was fully confident of.

Ashtoreth had stalked after Aure and Kerberos, warily eyeing the other gembound that Aure had informed of the Door. She had never met Pride before, but her experience with deer had taught her to treat them with a wide berth. Perhaps she would have made it more obvious that she was tagging along if not for his inclusion, but as they approached the crowd, she kept to the outskirts. Not a single sound came from the step of her paws, the swish of her tail, or even the slightest rustle of feather-- she was quieter than an owl as she prowled along.

What a curious collection of individuals they had found. Ash wasn't about to draw attention to herself just yet, instead settling down in silence nearby to watch the events unfold. If it was important enough for Aure to be involved personally, and ask for the help of not just the Bonebound, but the Seven, then it was definitely interesting enough for her to pay attention.

Besides, maybe she could help out. Wouldn't that be something?

Listen to me + Hear my thoughts

The owl tilted his head from side to side, turning to look towards the sound of approached hoofbeats, trying to meet the stag's gazing, likely failing, but ruffled his feathers as it spoke, as something creaked, as magic rattled the air, then as three more somethings spoke, though he heard only one more set of footprints, returning the "Hello," and turning his starry eyes to Kerberos.

Mischief had come from Orion, all sparkling eyes and veering right for where Mercurius had been tending quietly to the gorge's newest forest. Terraforming a barren waste didn't take mere days - and neither did it take a scant few cycles. Yet, he could tear his attention away long enough to feel out in the rabbit's conscious where her companion was, then stretch a mental link to him - at which point he filled Mercy in on some... unusual circumstances.

Which brought him here, slinking into Polaris with his head low and cautious gazes tossed to and fro. He hadn't been in this cave in - ah, he hadn't bothered counting the cycles. The Olympics weren't a terribly momentous date for him, even with Khloros's well-being still on his mind fairly often. At least Cetus was safe, now -

Ah, besides the point. These strange rings.

Mercy knew that he wouldn't fight with the intent to harm, but he could shield the rest - carry these children away and keep them calm in the face of danger. He inclined his head to the white stag, chuffing a soft "hello." It'd been their first meeting in some time. They could catch up in a moment.

Moonset eyes stared along the fourth ring, tracing its full girth before closing at the sight of green. A pulse of magic lanced through, and he extended a calloused paw to lightly graze the shoot and spur its growth. Thinking wiser of standing so close to the wall, he shuffled backwards a few paces to watch.

At Mercurius' touch, the little sprout spread. Green threaded up out of its tiny seed, and across the ring--restricted to it, but twisting through it, becoming part of it.

As the ring flooded with emerald life, it shifted position, grinding into motion--and then the now-derelict seed was left aligned with the first three rings, pointed upward.

The red ring beneath seemed to pulse, once... as if waiting.