As the lioness kept her paw pressed to the wall and her eyes closed she saw the images in her mind. The sound of scratching and carving along with the creature's of the past. Strange-looking creatures... Were they like that of Beast? Perhaps so, perhaps they were kin of some sort and maybe friends? Makyna didn't know but it certainly had to be connected, right? Not knowing was driving her crazy because that vision had meant something. A few someone's needed to carve into this wall to make something.

Now... what was this something?

The lioness narrowed her eyes as she studied the wall. The gears in her mind were turning as she attempted to come up with an understanding to this whole thing. Slowly she began to reach her own conclusions. The scratched and smudged thing in the middle... the other beast-looking things coming from that single point. If she looked hard enough what did they remind her of? Dragons, monsters? Not the same things that beast or the things in her vision were. While those things had drawn this they weren't them... No. Perhaps the things she'd seen had revered or feared them? She didn't know... It was so hard to come up with these conclusions with nothing really to go on.

A curiosity was awoken in Ky then... Who were these creature fleeing the center one? Or perhaps being sent by the center one? The lioness was dying to know but she knew that it probably be a while before she found out. Still, there she sat with her blue eyes staring at the wall as she tried to piece these things together.

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words: ---
tagged: Quest
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

The cub padded silently through the tunnel. Rumours of a strange carving had surfaced and this gossip had spread to the nomad. Immediately, he had set forth on this journey, mentally prepared to grasp at the newer truths which Origin should wish to bestow upon them. He had grown a lot over the past couple of moons and was now three-quarters the size of a small lioness. Not fully grown yet to have a mane, but stocky and sturdy, larger than a large-sized dog. Usui had yet to outgrow the spots dotting his limbs but his muscles were visibly tougher and spoke of his future strength. Furred skin hung down against the flabby parts between his limbs and around his belly as he now quickened his pace into a quick jog, scenting a familiar, intimate smell in the air.

”Makyna,” he spoke in greeting as the lioness came into view. It had been a while since they’d met, the necklace being their parting gift till this day. Usui flashed her a grin, boyish looks not lost within his more mature features. Then, he turned to look at the carving and what he saw shocked him. Never before had he feasted his eyes on such an intricately symmetrical image. He looked towards Makyna swiftly, then back at the wall. “What do you see?” he asked her, hushed tones an older version of his young self, when he conducted pebble stories. After a moment’s pause, the lion placed one paw on the surface of the drawing and attempted to draw forth its memory that he might have an understanding of this slab of rock.

Images will come to to Usui, as well, but they are similar to what Makyna sees. Several creatures, small and large, working on the mural in times of fleeting darkness or solitude. It appears that they are trying to be stealthy, constantly looking left and right, looking for... something. The particular rock that Usui had touched is being chipped away by a wedge being hit by a stone mallet. He can feel every sensation of it, every reverberating impact as the mallet hits the wedge and dislodges another few flecks of stone. He can feel the vibrations of footsteps and quiet words on the air, but he won't be able to understand them. The air feels cold and clammy. Then the image fades away.

He saw several images but was unable to discern the intentions of the gembounds. He felt the pounding sensation of metal upon the chipped part that he had touched. They were deliberate strikes and were very strong. “It is by no accident…” he murmured and with furrowed brows looked over the picture. “I think that it’s a warning. A warning to the future of an ancient description.” He sighed and lifted his paw to brush against the surface again, feeling the dents where rock had been chipped away. Why, why had these markings been created? Surely it was for communication and it was…to them? It puzzled him and most of all, worried the lion. The youth could feel a strong sense of foreboding. Things would change soon. And he wondered what this would spell for all of the gembounds.

The lioness twitched an ear to hear the other lion's approach. "Hello, Usui," She watched him approach silently before looking back at the carvings. Usui had a great mind, perhaps he was just the cat to help her decipher this mystery. "I saw many strange shadow-y creatures working to make these... They seemed to be, secretive about it." Her eyes again turned to the male. "What did yous see?" For she had seen the male lift a paw to the wall.

After a moment he told her of the warning he thought it was and Makyna nodded her head. "I think you are right. The center figure," She indicated it, as scratched as it was. "Some evil thing or deity or something that is frightening these fellows away or perhaps sending them away to wreak havoc? But what of the ones that carved it? Who are they?" Were they killed off? Or hiding? Makyna didn't know but her curiosity burned, she wanted to know everything.

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words: 165
tagged: Quest
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Alas, Usui had no answers for Makyna. Although her questions were well-framed, the lion did not know anything apart from his inferences which may not have been close to accurate either. With a heavy heart, he turned to look at Makyna. Solemn worry filled his pale, green eyes. "I do not know, Makyna. These carvings are from a long time ago. If they are still alive and are in hiding, then they do not roam our world. I've been through all the tunnels and there is no sign of them. Perhaps they are in an alternate universe such as that which Aquarian is from. I believe he fell out of favour with Nemean. Whoever Nemean is, he is someone who holds great power...power enough to alter our destinies."

Usui twitched his tail and returned his attention to the carving. "Don't you think it odd Makyna? None of us are old. You and Leon are one of the oldest gembounds around here and even still you are still growing. This place is old Makyna, but we are a young nation." He looked down at his toes and whispered. "We are not designed by accident."

Makyna listened intently and though she was a little upset with their overall lack of knowledge she was still impressed with what all Usui knew. Aquarian... she'd heard whispers of him living in Cetus but Nemean she knew not of. Who was Nemean? For a moment she was silent, mulling over her thoughts. "It is a bit odd. All gembounds like us are young but... those like Beast are quite old. Where do they come from...?" Again, any of their guesses would be wrong. Perhaps they should stop guessing and ask questions.

"Aquarian... He knows of this Nemean and he is older than all of us. Could we perhaps seek him for some answers? Perhaps he could shed some light on this Nemean and maybe he even knows something of this carving or at least who did it and what it means." Seemed like a sensible idea to her. "Perhaps we could even find out why we were here."
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words: 15-something
tagged: Quest
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Makyna seemed unsure of Nemean. It was as though it were her first time hearing about it. He twitched his ear and looked at her, wondering why she did not have this knowledge. “Beast, deer dad…those might have been from a previous generation. But either they do not wish to divulge their memories or it has been…suppressed.” It occurred to him that old gembounds would have their own agenda to even bother sticking around for so long. She spoke of finding Aquarian then to which he nodded. “I hatched because of the vibrations produced by Aquarian. He was…angry, with Nemean. A couple of gembounds fought against him as he proved violent but soon he decided that we were not his enemy and so agreed to cooperate with us. He will grant us an audience if we bring him an offering of food.” Usui cast one last glance at the carvings wistfully. “Yes, he may have answers.” His last audience with Aquarian had been with reference to “the creature” who was wrecking the caves. Was that creature related to the carving? “Lets find him in Cetus, Makyna. But first…” Here, he retrieved a pebble from his bag and used his left forepaw to hold it steady against the wall. Then with his right claw, he made his best attempt to copy the image. When he was done, he put the pebble back in his bag and nodded at the lioness. ”Lets go,” he called, and fell into step beside her.

-Exit Usui-