When the consensus was reached that the lost collar wasn't anywhere around the tree, Ghanyarah huffed and rounded back towards his friends. They too had taken a look around and found nothing, so the komodo resolved to go elsewhere. First they would check the grass, then they would likely to go a different room. The idea of leaving Cetus left him with a feeling of discomfort. It had been a few cycles since he first arrived here, only to never again leave. But then again... He'd only been a small reptile then, susceptible to the predatory whims of other animals. Ghanyarah was bigger now, surely he would have no problem outside of Cetus?

Regardless, the dragon wasn't very keen on leaving. Especially if Dragon spoke of something trying to eat him in the room they were supposed to go. He turned and scampered away from the tree onto solid ground, vibrating his tail with excitement. Maybe he could use his magic to survery the grass. Sucking in a breath, Ghanyarah focused on his magic, extending his sensory reach to the water seeping through the mud and soil.

Feeling the water, he tried to freeze it and raise the soil layer in order to reveal the collar should it be lost in the grass. However over such a vast expanse of grass, he couldn't focus and produced only ice at his feet. Ghanyarah snorted and shook his head, opting to manually comb over the grass instead. As he did so he shouted over his shoulder at Dragon, "How did the water try to eat you? What happened?"

________________

Dragon watched (rather nobly, he thought, what with his puffed-up little crowhat) as the others searched, Usui and Ghanyarah combing through the grass. He sensed a buzz of magic here and there, and he wondered, briefly, if he should use his own.

Then he realized that he'd likely just burn the cape away, and quickly dismissed that idea.

He started to plow through the marsh grass, flattening it where he could, dipping his head down to below eye-level (enough to wet Eve's feet if she didn't move) to peer beneath the pooled water from time to time. He couldn't find anything either, though. As he continued his search, spreading out from the others but remaining in eye- and ear-shot, he responded to Ghanyarah--calling out so his voice could be heard.

"Well... There's two big pools of water there. Or not that big but deep? And they're really clear. I was swimming with another dragon--Baratheon, I think he's our brother too but he's fuzzy--and he got into a fight with Usui here and he left and when I went swimming, well... I thought after they left, maybe, that I could swim down and see if there was anything else for Dad. Only there was something watching me, in the water. I could feel it."

Dragon paused, in his searching, resting a moment and lifting and tilting his head in thought. "The water started to get dark really fast. I mean real dark, and way too soon. It was like swimming down into blackness, not like Dad's marsh but... like light can't go down there. And then the water got ice. I mean, ice cold. Really cold, like the tunnel and lke your magic," he added, referring to the tunnel that led from Cetus. "Then I started to see all these faces and flickering things in front of me and I couldn't actually SEE anything 'cause it was so dark and I got scared, and then there was this feeling that I had to leave now or it'd eat me so I left. 'Cause I don't want to get eaten."

With all of this logically and far-too-verbosely explained, the alligator seemed satisfied. He began to comb the reeds again, pushing snout-first through the long grass. Finally, he stopped, and sighed.

"Usui? If we go to the tunnel out, do you think you can sniff around and see if the smell from the rocks where the collar was is there? I mean, can you smell to see if whoever took it, left, do you think?"

Dragon turned, blinking curiously and rather hopefully at the lion. So far as he was aware, the mammal was the only one among them who could track a scent--well, maybe Ghanyarah could, but he hadn't sniffed the rocks Eve had brought down. Dragon himself had a great sense of smell but it was mostly for finding dead things, not tracking scents like a dog. He just wasn't very good at that.

________________

________________

There were a series of displeasured croaks coming from Dragon's hat as the water began to touch her talons - she lifted the right one, where one of her talons was a brilliant blue-white - to spare it from the marsh water. She thought quietly as her noble Gator-Steed frolicked forwards.

"Well, maybe we should avoid it?" suggested the crow. "Everything here is as much of a danger to us as it is to them. Besides, what use will thieves have to a shiny with a dumb scrappa' cloth on it?"

Eve tapped rapidly on Dragon's head with a nail, letting out a wheezy little sigh. She knew he was worried - and of course he would be, if you were on the verge of dissapointing your three-hundred foot long noodle-father, you would be too - but he was rambling now.

Or rather, he had been rambling for fifteen minutes.

She gave an inward sigh. She just wanted to find the damn crown and take a nap.

________________

Usui swiped his paws across the bushes. To his disappointment, there was nothing. He looked around the tunnel which seemed desolate. Perhaps there really wasn’t anything here and the thief had taken it far away. Retrieving his paws from the bushes, the lion turned around and padded back to the group. A low, unimpressed growl rang from deep in his belly as he announced his return. Dragon was saying a ton of stuff now which the lion was inclined to ignore from feeling weary but his moral code would not have it. Patiently, he flicked his ears and listened to every word that the alligator spewed forth, with his monologue ending with a request for his help. The youth chuffed and fixed his pale, green eyes onto Dragon for a moment, thinking, ”ungrateful alligator, you’re nice to me only when you need help.” It vexed him however, to see everyone losing their spirits regarding the cape. "Yeah I can do that,” he spoke and brushed his way past several straggly weeds to reach the pile of rocks Eve had collected previously. Bending down, he inhaled the scent of the rocks. The tawny youth was quick to discern between the foggy green smells of Cetus from the faint metallic tang of the collar and cape. Having imprinted the scent in his memory, Usui rose to his full height and looked at the party genially. "Follow me.”

The lion let his tail hang languidly behind him as he padded to Tunnel H without hesitation. He curled his lips again and sniffed the air. The scent was faint, but still lingered somehow. Nearing the dark tunnel entrance now, Usui brought his nose close to the corners and inhaled deeply. Yes…something had dragged the metal collar over. "Everybody, to Tunnel H. It’s going to be a long journey,” he spoke gruffly as he promptly lose interest in the entrance of the tunnel and padded through it instead. He flicked his tail at his companions, indicating for them to stay close. His nose told him that it had been a short while since the collar and cape were dragged away, and he did not know whether Tunnel H contained what they were searching for. "Eve, fly on ahead if you may, and check out the different tunnel exits from Tunnel H. Our thief may have made a short transition through the tunnels. It is unlikely he stopped short.” He then disappeared through the darkness, ready to burst out the other side and check out Tunnel H.

-Exit Usui-

OOC: part 2 here: /showthread.php?tid=923

________________

Dragon turned, and nodded, then glanced to his brother Ghanyarah before turning to crawl after the lion.

"A long journey...? But the tunnel entrance isn't far--... I wonder if the water stole it," he added thoughtfully. Could pools of water up and steal a collar? Could water creep through the tunnels? Maybe that's why it was ice.

His thoughts were doubtful, but he knew it was possible, and he assumed unlikely but truth be told he didn't know how unlikely. As Aquarian had suggested, Origin Cave held many secrets, and the alligator was hardly privy to them all. Or to any, really.

He slogged quietly along behind the lion, lost in his own thoughts, far more comfortable and at ease in the dark wet than the poor mammal probably was.

________________

((ooc -- exit the dragon))

________________

Eve remained on Dragon's head for a few moments, shaking rain off her feathers. She seemed to think over the alligator's words for a moment before she spoke, "I think Polaris water would rather steal it. You sorta took it outta there. Maybe we should check Polaris?"

The crow gave a sort of shrug before she shook herself dry once more and took off, off of Dragon's head. The bird gave a couple of shrieks as she dived into the caves, dipping up and down as her own wings struggled to keep her weight in the air.

________________

((exit eve))

Ghanyarah listened eagerly to his friend's story, even from far away the alligator's voice rose up through the rain. He spoke of names, Baratheon, a name he didn't know, and Usui - for a second, Ghanyarah couldn't place the name but was quick to remember that it was the big lion that joined them. He snuffled around the grass, allowing the alligator's story to roll through his mind. Two ponds in Eridanus, the water growing deep and cold as he plunged further and further down. Ghanyarah couldn't understand why that would happen, but he also wasn't too familiar with clear water. Most of what he'd seen was the murky, black swamp water here in Cetus, so the cold dark waters was something he was accustomed to. He later described voices and faces, and that was definitely something Ghanyarah had never experienced before. He could understand how it would be scary, but Ghanyarah would remain skeptical until something like that happened to him.

Soon enough, Usui had caught onto the scent of the collar and declared that they were headed out towards a tunnel. Ghanyarah raised his head, looking at the group. They all converged again, including Ghanyarah who hesitantly wandered back over to them. A long journey - was he prepared for that? Well, he had agreed to help search for the collar... there was really no other way around it. He had given them his word, so he would follow through and head out to the tunnel to help them.

exit Ghanyarah