Tahi looked around, considering James's advice. "Well, I can't exactly make big mushrooms, but I can try and make a big field of them... I can also cast a spell that gives me these frills that melt into black goo when they get touched -- its awfully sticky, but that might just be more irritating than difficult to navigate." He figured that mushroom fields would be easier, and started pacing around to try and spawn as many as he could. Then, he accidentally stepped into a pile of Madhukar's bile, and let out a shrill squeal at the feeling of the jolt running through him. He fell back and landed hard, knocking the wind out of himself.

"Guess I need to pay better attention to my surroundings," he groaned, starting to get up slowly. He felt nauseous, though that was probably just from his spectacular failure with the magic. No mushrooms had spawned, likely because of his sudden distraction, and he was certain that he was going to sulk home today with a nasty bruise.

Scout walked in, ready to assist... and nearly turned around and walked right back out. It was chaos, with barf (what the Hell) on the ground, various crazed Gembound and only a horse that seemed to know what the actual Hell was going on.

"... Hi,", she said, her small ears pinning as she looked around, "Um... so... what's up?"

Madhukar watched as, RIGHT after she'd WARNED everyone, someone went walking right into her pile.

Dang it.

And it was Tahi! She recognized that one! The deer who was... surprisingly nice. And gooey. Tahi was talking about that goo she'd witnessed the creation of. Perhaps she could forgive it then... gooey ones were always weird. Kind of not always right in their heads, and always, ALWAYS confusing.

Madhukar guessed she'd have to try to make another one then. Try to make another one? As in TRY, using the kind of control she'd been wanting? The kind of control she did not yet have? Well... alright, maybe. Maybe it could work! She had to have a little bit of... faith? Hope? Nah, those were goofy words. She just had to have some more action. Less monologue!

She stared at the ground. Really, she stared right at it; somewhere that looked like it was in the path they were all creating.

And instead she made a giant BOOM! over their heads. And in a tunnel, that kind of noise could echo quite a ways.

OKAY. So, THAT was not the intention AT ALL, whatsoever! If Madhukar were more of an optimist by nature, perhaps she would've thought it at least a step in the right direction that she could make something happen when she wanted it, even if that something wasn't the exact thing that she wanted.

But Madhukar wasn't an optimist by nature. She was just an angry kitten. So instead of celebrating her small victories, or apologizing for the inconvenience she may have just caused everyone, the kitten looked at the newcomer and called out "Obstah-cle course," before stomping off to go find... I dunno, sticks or something! Who cared anyways!

@Scout ((Madhukar attempted to answer Scout's question so I tagged but you can ignore her because she sucks at explaining :,D))

The heavy thud of powerful wingbeats... would have been an impressive entrance; but the tunnel was too narrow, so what the gathered Gembound got was the huffing, puffing and talons-on-ice-scratching of the dragon Dread slowly hauling himself up through Tunnel M.

Now and then his bulk--light for a dragon though it was--would thud through a snowdrift, sending him whoomphing down through the crust, powdered snow avalanching down behind him.

When the smaller Gembound up ahead came into sight, he paused, eyeing them over. His eyes settled on James. For a moment, he thought of cave deer--food--but then he remembered other horses he'd spoken to, like the foal who'd insisted that he was part of Monoceros' wind.

"YOU ARE NOT FOOD," he bellow-screeched, in James' general direction, half statement and half accusation. He then shook himself, dog-like, the spines and fins along his neck rattling; and pulled himself higher up the snowy ledges toward them.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he then demanded, coming to a halt closer by.

joining by request because apparently gortys wants the obstacle course to be on fire...

James was about to say something before he heard the rumbling thuds of a creature that had to be massive at least. He turned and backed up, thoughts immediately pointing to Alpha as the culprit before he blinked, staring at the massive dragon.

"... What?" he asked in confusion, "Um... I'm not food, you're right."

Dread deserved a gold sticker for observation honestly.

"We're making an obstacle course!" James said, wary of the dragon, "We haven't got much done, just planning. But we have ideas for some obstacles... are you here to help?"

"Erm... sorry, Madhukar," Tahi mumbled, getting more carefully to his feet and flinching at what he assumed was a backfire before looking around to try and find... something better to do. "I guess I'll try my-- oh!" He was cut off by a massive lizard with wings flopping over to them like he'd been disturbed from a nap. The creature spoke loudly and Tahi flinched again. At least it was addressing James rather than him.

Tahi noticed that James didn't seem to be afraid of it, and reasoned that if James wasn't scared then he didn't have to be, either. Thus, Tahi-shei immediately approached the dragon and tried to assess his size. "Hello, my name is Tahi-shei. What are you? Why do you talk so loudly? What's your stone? I've never seen a Gembound as big as you are, are you a monster like Overseer Alpha? Or are you something different?" He looked up at Dread with wide eyes before continuing without really bothering to take a breath. "What's that shiny thing on your head? Is that your stone, or is it like dye? Are those wings? Can you fly with them, or are they only good for gliding? Oh! What sort of magic do you have?" He figured that one might have been obvious because of the fire-like markings on Dread's skin, but Tahi-shei didn't want to make assumptions.



i'm so sorry

Pip, like everyone else in that small tunnel, heard the thunderous sound of snow drifts falling. The noise was more vibrations than sound to her. As if an earthquake rumbled underfoot. She felt a bit of fear at first. Then, she realized that the noise was probably the sound of an awesome obstacle being made. Excited, she hopped from her massive stick pile, and scuttled over the ground of the tunnel, to where she heard James speaking with another gembound. One that really liked talking loud.

They were taller than any animal Pip could remember. An actual tree sized gembound. "Hi tree monster! I didn't know gembound could get that big!" She said, speaking to the massive dragon. Comparatively, she felt like a talking chip of amethyst. "You're really tall!" She said. She wondered how long it would take for her to climb to the top. She was tempted.

"I'm making a fire jump! I don't know where fire comes from...but it looks pretty!" Pip chimed in after James. The way the bright oranges sparkled was mesmerizing. Like a sparkling gemstone but one that burned your hands. She liked it!

Something so large must know where fire comes from, she thought. The bigger something was, the more knowledge they had. They could see forever up there, Pip was sure. "Do you know?" She asked.

@Dread
Pip channeling her inner dora the explorer

The apple from James had quieted Tupu. She stood, head down, chewing through the apple without a thought. Her mind absent for the most part. Save for the odd thoughts of 'crunchy', and 'sweet'. There was stuff happening around her but she was... unperturbed. Satisfied. Her world currently revolved around James, the apple, and then once she finished it, the sparse vegetation that grew in this icy tunnel.

Tupu paused in her grazing when she heard the scuffling, and the heavy footsteps. Dread appeared, and fear nearly consumed her. She bleated for the others to flee, but...they didn't? They did not fear Dread? She tilted her head, puzzled. Herd knew best, and herd decided to stay. And speak to the big thing. So Tupu would follow suit.

"SORRY," Tupu yelled. Her ears flicked. She felt content. She was doing a good job of blending in with herd.

An obstacle course? Dread didn't know what that meant, but before he could ask, the other thing--the deer thing that might have also been food, or one of them, at least--was talking.

Talking too much.

Dread stared, nonplussed, as it belted out question after question and, at last, he roared a response.

"STOP TALKING!" he bellow-screamed, then shook himself again, blinking, as if to shake away all the pestering words that were buzzing in his head like flies.

The bug calling up to him drew his attention, though, and he blinked down at this one. It was asking about... Fire?

Dread didn't know a lot of things--but he knew about fire. He inhaled, wings spreading a bit from his back as he rocked his weight back on his feet, turning so that he faced one of the piles of sticks. Ember-glow illuminated his throat as his jaws snapped open, and a short, fierce blast of hot flame coursed out, crackling, to ignite the wood. "FIRE COMES FROM DRAGONS," he then roared, in answer--his default voice was apparently "as loud as he can be" and his knowledge of fire rather restricted.

He then swung his head toward Tupu, as she spoke. She was saying 'sorry,' and Dread didn't know how to respond to that but he was not the sort to admit ignorance, and so he bellowed at her, in turn: "YOU'RE WELCOME."

@James

James blinked and looked down. He sighed, feeling like the bags under his eyes were drooping the more he listened to everyone talk over each other before turning to go back more Baubles.

The bellowing of the dragon snapped him out of his little trance and the only thing he managed to do was kick the rock halfway across the tunnel as he startled. Lovely.

His ears pinned and he sighed harder, annoyed.

Ah Exit James ig???