James bobbed his head as he wandered Orion again, this time much more carefully, in case of any kaiju that may be hiding. He was certainly wary now, and a bit traumatized, his ears constantly perked and anxiety making his heart pound a bit too quickly for his tastes. It felt like a river rushing every time it constricted, before relaxing, then constricting again, the cycle repeating.

He took a deep breath and let it out, trying to reassure himself that, no, there was no scary monster hiding behind those rocks, and there was no need to side-step every corner so he could see around it sooner and have an opportunity to run in the opposite direction, should anything be there. He'd already been spooked quite badly by a stone that happened to fall due to a breeze, and had taken off a good distance before stopping to see what had fallen, and berated himself quite badly for it.

Needless to say, the encounter did not help his poor self-esteem get any better. Thanks Alpha.

@Eythan

Eythan? Eythan'd thrown being wary out the window ages ago — well, two years ago. (That seemed like so long ago… strange how the world changes.)

He soared through Orion on careless broad wings, not at all intimidated by what could catch him or be lobbed at him. Sure, he'd still notice a laser beam shot at him or something intending to barrel straight into him, but… well, most Gembound in these caves wouldn't do that. It was nice, freeing; even with that gnawing worry about mind-rending fungus taking over or violet (and violent) behemoths lurking in the corners of Canis at times.

Bright eyes flickered down at the sound of clattering hooves, watching a colt bolting down a corridor. Feathers flared, his trajectory shifting to trail him and watch for whatever was apparently chasing him and —

"Hey?! What're y'runnin' from?" Eythan hollered down, adjusting into a low circle, "I don't see anythin' kiddo, you're all good!"

@James

James yelped as a voice crowed out at him, not expecting anyone to be here. He stood off at a dead gallop and dared to look back, slowing down as he realized that he wasn't being chased by anything scary.

"... Hello," James spoke, "Um, thank you. I just got startled, a-and I tend to run away when something spooks me."

Having to explain to someone that he was a coward was a bit embarrassing, but it was really the only explanation that made sense. From what he could tell of the circling bird- he thought they were a bird, at least- they seemed peaceful. Nice, even, for telling him there was nothing there. It reassured him, definitely.

"I'm James!" he called up to the other, "Who are you?"

Maybe he was another member of the Seven, someone he could possibly befriend.

@Eythan

The colt went off in a tizz again and - ah, shit, should I've made more noise? That would've been smart. A chirp in greeting, or maybe a couple loud wingbeats... ah, the damage was done.

Eythan spiraled down to meet him, ears back and eyes averting in exaggerated bashfulness, "I didn't mean'ta scare you, kid!" His brows furrowed a fair bit, a frown ghosting at the edges of his beak before he perked up, nodding, "everything's spooky at some point. Are y'new?" Have I seen one of these before? ... No... ? "You'll be running the caves soon, I'm sure." A flashed grin, warm, friendly, certainly already brotherly.

"Pleasure to meet you, James - nice name by the way," and here he gestured towards himself, "my name's Eythan. I'm from that cave down yonder." Hooked talons swept away from his chest, and towards Tunnel K. The gryphon stared back at the kid, ears pricking in eager curiousity, "you live around here, kiddo?"

@James

"Oh... I am. New, that is," James said softly.

He looked in the direction Ethan pointed, ears perking up before he looked back at Eythan, "Oh... Thank you... Um, I live here, in Orion. Pride brought me here."

James looked up, ears perked, "Are you part of the seven?"

He seemed alright after his scares, and calm again, though his heart was still coming down from the adrenaline surge he'd had. Aside from that, he was alright.

@Eythan

"Ah, I see - nothin' wrong with that, kiddo," Eythan acknowledged warmly with a dip of his head.

James mentioned living in this cave, and the gryphon made a show of scanning his surroundings before shifting his weight to one side - as close to standing akimbo as one can get when they're on four legs. "Pretty sweet digs. I like the open air," he chirped, flexing his wings.

"Are you part of the Seven?"

"Nah, but I am part of the Bonebound. I'm sure Pride's mentioned us at least once; allies 'n all that." Best not get into the details of why that existed in the first place, not while James was still a kid. "It's pretty casual, though. Him and my brother are always talkin' about trainin' together."

@James

James immediately lit up, grinning, "Bone bound!! Like Dragon! I met them in Cetus where I hatched, they were super nice!".

He shook his head and neck out and pointed his nose off in the distance, "I don't live here... I live over there, in one of the ruins! I have a grass bed and flowers, and even a big gem piece that Pride made for me as a gift. It's really nice."

James flicked his tail and glanced up at Eythan again, head cocked.

"So... what's your name?"

@Eythan

Eythan squinted a little, and awkwardly corrected, "aw, no. That's the Children of Rot, kiddo." He chuckled softly, ears pricking, "but, they are a pretty chill bunch. I've hung out with them a time or two." (Let's not talk about what that epic hang sesh was like.)

"The Bonebound are in Canis. The king's named Aure - he's my little brother," he chirped regardless, then quieted down to listen to the eager real estate explanation. "Ah, yeah, some of these ruins look like y'could live in 'em. I just sleep on the hard floor." The gryphon ignored his vaguely aching back when he said, "doesn't bother me, though. Grass bed sure sounds nice, though - but doesn't it get dry?"

Bright eyes widened - "oh, yeah! M'name's Eythan. Pleased to meet you, James."

@James

Bonebound, Children of Rot... same general theme, he thought.

"What's Canis like?" James asked, ears perked up as he listened to Eythan explain everything.

Slowly, he started to pace a bit and nudged Eythan with his nose, "Can we go somewhere a bit less exposed? I ran into a monster last time I was here... I think his name was Alph... Alphie? Alpha?"

He wasn't good at names. Except his own, of course. He already felt bad about having to ask Pride's name two days after they'd met and come here to Orion because he'd totally forgotten.

@Eythan

Same general theme, indeed.

"Brown, dusty - full of bones from before... uh, this time, I guess," he said noncommittally, "it's kind of a big graveyard, but... it's not as scary as it sounds. The tunnel to it is, though. There's nothing in it though!" Eythan fluffed up, quick to assure the colt.

Nudge. The gryphon picked up the arm that'd been nudged, instinctively thinking that he was maybe in the way or something. His talons met the ground again and he nodded mutely, "uh, yeah - we can go to your... house, if you want?" Best to ask about this... Alphie? Alpha? when the kid was safe.

Eythan stood in place, brows quirking as he indicated a sort of lead the way gesture.

@James