backdated to the day after the trial participants emerged.

---

Sora was still in shock. She'd only emerged from her trial yesterday -- no, two weeks ago? Time didn't pass properly in chrysalis, and the pain of it all hadn't diminished a shred. The hog was struggling -- compartmentalizing. The only way she knew to function was to do what Kini-yolotl had asked her. Sora had to keep them safe, and in her mind, the only visible enemy was Hydra (and the Sentinels, but mostly that damned cave).

As far as she knew, there was only one way in or out. So, she'd posted herself up outside Tunnel P, several yards away to avoid being spoken to by the guards. She'd scarcely moved since she'd woken up, and the lights above were already dimming and turning orange to indicate that it was almost time for sleeping. But she hadn't wavered. Hunger gnawed at her, and she kind of had to pee, but she needed to keep them safe -- needed to be there for her family. She needed to do what Kini-yolotl had asked her to, because they'd trusted her, because-- because-- the horse was right. you let them die. you didn't try to save them.

She set her jaw. Ignored the voice. Watched the tunnel.

The hydra shifted uncomfortably, the center head (called Hellfire, in their heads) standing watch. It was rather boring, so the other two had woven themselves around his neck like a scarf and gone to sleep, effectively shutting down and giving all control to Hellfire. They'd learned how to fly, by now, even with their bulky body, which was lighter than it appeared.

But this confused him. What was he supposed to do? Just... watch the pig while it watched him? No one had told him or trained him to know what to do in such a situation. He wanted to talk to it, but then again, he could get in trouble.

Tilting his head back, he asked silently why he had to be the one to deal with this.

"What are you doing?", he finally asked, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

Hellfire hoped that someone would come to assist him, or something.

"Same thing as you," she grunted, eyeing Bloodstone. A lethal looking animal, to say the least, but certainly young. She flicked an ear. "You can claim as much dominion over your tunnel as you want, but you don't own the whole cave system." She had as much right to sit here as Bloodstone did, but also wasn't interested in fighting a scaled monster with three heads. Her whiskers twitched absently.

Then again... maybe she could get a child to divulge information--? But no. What did she care about what the Sentinels had to say? They had been aggressive when she'd seen them, and even though this child wasn't trying to attack her, she didn't want to take her chances. Sora gazed over Bloodstone's shoulder, to see if anyone else was coming.


@bloodstone

Ah... this was why Bloodstone couldn't do diplomatic things.

"Er... sorry?" Hellfire said, "I'm just in training..."

He shifted and glanced at the others, who were still asleep, wishing they were awake to help out. He was a bit lost.

"So um... hi? I'm Bloodstone. Or well- we're Bloodstone," he said, "I call myself Hellfire. I'm not sure if I'm allowed but I didn't want to use numbers or 'Middle, Left, Right'... yeah."

Kind of lame, and not at all as ferocious as he aspired to be, but he was kind of bored and tired and not really up for kicking up a fuss over nothing. Luci was asleep, anyway, and that was their schtick.

@Sora

She softened a bit -- yeah, Bloodstone was a kid. Why was she being so brutal? "... Sorry. The last time I talked to the Sentinels, one of you threatened to kill me, one cast magic on my brother, and one bit my sister." Sora sighed. Bad memories, and bad Gembound.

But a stroke of curiosity hit her. "Why are you all so protective over that tunnel, anyway? I mean, not that I want Hydra unleashed on everyone else, but... seems kinda dumb to keep anyone from walking in there if all you're going to do is host death games inside." Plus, she recalled Warrior, who seemed to live inside. What if he wanted to go visit a friend in another cave or something?

Then again, maybe Bloodstone -- or, rather, Hellfire -- didn't know anything about it. She frowned. "Hey, and why would you not be allowed to call yourself 'Hellfire'?"


@bloodstone

"Something about earning your name," he said, "I... haven't earned mine. I can catch rats really good, but I'm not important enough to get my own name. So I'm just Bloodstone."

Hellfire looked around to make sure no one was coming before taking a seat, and then laying down, "I think there's something important in there, but it was pretty vague. I think you had to have known beforehand when I got given my orders."

His head cocked at 'death games'.

"Oh- those, the Trials," he said, wincing, "I um... I'm sorry. I heard a lot of people didn't make it."

@Sora

Sora frowned, but figured it wasn't her place to argue about what another Gembound's culture looked like. For all she knew, all Gembound had to 'earn' their names and her and her siblings were just unique. Still, Bloodstone's explanation was a little more understandable than just "we're bullies who want to keep others from walking around in public". But Bloodstone knew what the Trials were, hm?

She nodded. "Yeah. A lot did. My group -- my family. We used to be ten strong. Four of us died -- Kini-yolotl, Orenstein, Owlface, and Simon." Her breath caught at the last name; Sora was unlikely to ever fully recover from the trauma of watching him melt, of choosing to abandon his stone, of choosing her duty over her soul. She'd sworn she'd return for him, one day -- and she would, even if it meant she'd eventually have to fight off the whole Sentinels to do it.

But not yet.

"I didn't look like this, either." Her whiskers twitched. "No whiskers, ears, or glowy eyes. I was brown and black all over, and I didn't have this piece of rock in my ear -- just the one on my eye." She shook her head. "All of us were changed. We didn't agree to it -- my family? We didn't even go into the Trial willingly." Sora grunted. "But that's a little heavy, huh? I probably don't need to be bothering you with that."


@bloodstone

Hellfire was quiet as the other spoke, head lowered.

"I'm sorry," he said, not sure what else to say.

Hellfire shuffled a bit and stared at his front paws, flexing his fingers. He couldn't imagine just waking up different.

"... There's six of you left," he said softly, "Do you... still have them? Like, are you still with them?"

Bloodstone had... never known a family. The closest thing he had was Garnet-Epsilon, who was just nice. They'd taught him how to fly, which was the biggest gift he could ask for. They could ask for.

@Sora

"They are," she said, the cold in her chest cavity starting to warm. "Morganite, Charles, Pumpkin, Anemoi, and Ifrit. That's why I'm watching here. I need to make sure nothing comes out and hurts them." A Sentinel or a monster. "We're all afraid, but I have to pretend I'm not -- Kini-yolotl asked me to keep them safe. I need to be brave." She shifted on her feet.

Then, she turned her head and looked at Bloodstone. "What's your family like? I've only met a couple of them. Master Vargas, his kid, and the flying one who cast magic on my brother. None of them seemed too pleasant, but I guess I'm not very pleasant to outsiders either."


@bloodstone

Hellfire carefully sprawled out like a cat, tucking his wings up comfortably, "What are they like?"

Already he liked this weird Gembound, his eyes warm and the fire in his chest no more than a soft flicker, like a candle.

Then she asked about his.

What could only be despair crossed his face, and he looked away, tensing, "... They're not my family. I... They took me in because I look strong, and Vargas offered to train me. Alpha barely even looks at me, same with the others. Garnet-Epsilon at least notices me and treats me okay. They taught me to fly."

@Sora