Sora looked to Pumpkin, her eye wide. Confused. Hurt, maybe? Probably. Her mind raced -- why was he leaving? Was it something she had done? Did he just need to breathe? (She could understand that. Ice Flows, she needed to breathe.) She frowned, her heart thrumming violently in her chest. She'd-- support him. Swallow her pride and take herself and she nodded, knowing Pumpkin had never really gotten along with Kini -- of course he'd be a little salty that someone was taking Kini's place in the family -- and knowing that he would always be her brother.

Pumpkin would always be her brother.

Meanwhile, the big one with the horns went ballistic. Sora squinted at Eythan as he continued to moan about how "Gather, Gembound" was not an invitation... somehow... and then a pang went through her chest violently as he started to talk some more. Sora flicked her ear at @charles to indicate for him to stay quiet -- he was escalating the situation and being wholly unhelpful while Sora tried to diffuse it. Her head turned slightly to the side, though -- which one was it that had set him off? Was it--?

The gears turned in Sora's head. The crab thing with the beard was Eythan's daughter, and... wait, wasn't she the six-legged thing's stone-giver? She'd definitely heard that. The puzzle pieces fit together, and because she didn't have the best internal filter, she said, "Wait, Master Vargas's kid is your grandchild?" before her mouth clicked shut audibly. Okay, yeah -- she'd sounded too surprised there, but it suddenly made sense. Why they were so defensive of the Masters and everything!

She looked to Giggle as she started to speak, and a rage bubbled up in her -- something ornery, a desire to refuse, to fight, to-- yeah, no. Sora was tired and was sick of being yelled at. She turned back to her family, inclining her head towards Giggle. "Bone Seer's probably right." She lowered her voice, then, and said, "Charles... maybe you should apologize?"

--

@eythan mostly

People addressed in this post... Eythan! She rants at him for being vulgar in front of the children (wait what children-). Sora! She'd mad at her!! (But don't get her wrong, she's pissed at herself too). Charles! But it's mostly the same thing as Sora to keep quiet and stop ranting. Pumpkin!!! She loves her boy, she'll miss him. :( But she'll be back!! Giggle!! Her deepest apologies for her and her family being giant douche canoes.

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

graphic themes

[Insert gif of John Travolta looking around in confusion.] No one? Alright!

Morganite felt the static in her ears increase and the lump in her throat turn to solid rock. Her eyes were out of focus and it felt like someone had stuffed cotton in her ears. She jumped, shaking horribly as Giggle spoke, though the sudden yell allowed her to shake off some of the panic and focus on her.

Staring at Giggle, her chest heaved gently, and for a moment, she understood.

Ignorance lifted like a veil, and her ears drooped as she realized that they'd been horribly rude, their comments not welcome, Sora's blatant monologues definitely grating against the ears of those who were just here to catch up. Hell, this might have turned into some domestic discussion that families had. She wanted to run all of a sudden, ashamed and embarrassed by not only her own behavior, but that of Sora's. (She'd been sadly a bit out of it by the time Charles spoke up).

Though all of a sudden, she growled at Sora.

"Shut up and take a hint," she said, "We've been stubborn since the beginning, since all of this started. If her speech didn't alert you to the fact that we've been more than rude, but showing absolutely disgusting behavior, then I believe you need to take a time out and think for a few minutes. And don't tell someone else to apologize when you owe one too."

Morgan glanced at her, and then at Charles, before turning to Pumpkin and looking at him evenly, "Good luck, Pumpkin. Stay... stay safe."

A silent promise was made, and she could only hope he saw it in her sad green eyes. When she was healed, she would return. Perhaps Pumpkin could forgive her one day.

And finally... to Eythan she turned.

"My apologies for our behavior. But I will listen to her, the one who spoke of kindness and understanding, not of violence and vulgarity. Honestly. Take soap to your mouth, fool! You have people who look up to you, judging by those here. You curse your own self by speaking so harshly. Be the example we haven't been," she said, regretting terribly that she didn't know Giggle's name.

Maybe she ought to ask, when this was all over. She seemed like she gave great advice. She could use some of that.

"And Sora," she mumbled, ears pinning, "Not. A. Word. You forget that the agreement was for me to be ultimately in charge, and you are getting ahead of yourself. You are well aware that Kini wouldn't have stood for this kind of talk. Neither will I, from now on."

Morgan wasn't happy. Not a bit. Though on one hand, the gears were starting to turn.

Charles is addressing Giggle and Aure, quite gently, at least compared to his incoming rant, Eythan, towards whom he goes Completely Off, and Sora and Morganite, for a brief moment to say he's sorry for nothing.

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

strong language

He was silent for just a moment, still trying to hold himself together, the weariness of all the emotional turmoil just too much for him to bear right now. He just wanted to sleep and rest and go find a place to call home but everyone was arguing now. His own words seemed to have some kind of effect. Good. Maybe they would take them seriously, maybe they would listen to their warnings.

But words were bouncing into his head now, from Sora and Pumpkin, the Bone King and his brother and the Seer, and it was just. It was so much. It was too much. And Charles, never the one to be underwhelming, snapped so hard back into reality that he quite literally hopped once in place as glowing eyes focused right on Eythan. "Oh is that right?! He opened his beak to start on another rant but that was when the Bone Seer struck her paw down and called for attention. And Charles turned his head to listen, despite the words boiling deep within the pit of his stomach. For a moment, selfless shame curled in his throat - this had been a perfectly happy meeting until they had come along - but then it ripped through his head how wrong all of this was. He didn't know what a 'party' was or a 'funeral' but he guessed that the former was positive while the second was negative, by the tone of her voice. His eyes flicked between the Bone King and his mother, deciding to address them both at once. "You shouldn't be having a party right now," he rasped. "Not while the blood of so many innocent lives lies on your doorsteps. You're right - tact isn't important. Sorry that we broke up the fun, but there's kind of the matter of uncaring, borderline sadistic Masters roaming around pretending to play nice with you." He shook his head. "Have your party another time. Too many have died."

With the Bone Seer addressed, Charles was able to turn his attention back to Eythan. For a second, he thought he could hold it in, but now looking at him, seeing the unbridled rage and hatred, his words still ringing in his head, and realizing that yes. This was that creature's father. Then, completely ignoring Sora and Morganite, he lost it.

"Sorry that the truth sucks but you gotta swallow it and realize that you're not the only one in the room that hurts!! Does it really suck more to find out your daughter is dead when you wouldn't have heard it at all then to watch your family get eaten in front of you and then have their bodies use like puppets, to taunt you and trick you to the same cruel fate? You think the Masters would have told you about her death?! It's worse to hear about it then watching the bodies of half the family you ever knew bubble and decay into oil around you, knowing that you only survived because they died for you?! When YOU should have been the one protecting them?! It's worse to hear the words 'YOUR DAUGHTER IS DEAD' then to watch all of that SHIT and have to live with the guilt knowing that it was your fault they died and you didn't die in their stead, like you were supposed to, that all of this was for a cruel, sick reason?! They died feed some shadow that was locked away when its playtime was up!!" He didn't know when he started crying, but his voice had risen to a melancholy shriek, wings flapping with agitation at his side. It was far too much to bottle up for someone that had never any reason to bottle anything up. It was too much to handle for someone who had never known pain or death or tragedy and it all came spilling out before Charles could stop himself. "Listen to her!" he cried, swinging a wing to point at Giggle. "We're not your enemies! If you're angry, then be angry at the truth!! Be angry and then get prepared! You have the time - and the choice - to get yourselves ready for whatever those Masters are planning next! So shut the fuck up and start getting ready! So you can keep safe the people you c-can keep safe! So your family d-doesn't d-die like ours did!"

He swallowed heavily, voice breaking up right at the very end and deflated, the last of his energy spent, sagging forward where he sat on Sora. He took in a shuddering breath and managed to bleat out, "There's nothing I've said that I'm sorry for. Only that we were the ones to tell them about this and that we had to spoil their fun." He said the last words bitterly. Wouldn't that be fucking nice, having some fun? The concept now seemed so alien to him - had he ever even experienced it before?

Pumpkin literally refused to look at charles or sora. the audacity they had was horrifying. he could understand, partly, but every word that came out of sora and charles mouth hurt to listen to. it hurt to hear them be so insensitive to others when they should know better than anyone not to.

for the first time in.. ever.. Pumpkin was ashamed of his family. ashamed that these were the people he came along with. but mostly, at how much they had changed. he wanted the good days back. why couldn't it go back to how it was?

he gave a weak smile to morganite, who finally stood up to how horrible this meeting had become, how thin the air had seemed to be now. he gave her a silent farewell as he buried himself in the feathers of nemo, accepting the comfort that he had been offered like a lifeline. "thank you.." he chirped quietly to aure and nemo

Eythan started in—and Aure could do nothing to stop it. His voice crackled in his throat as he tried to call; only a soft "Eythan…" came out. It wasn't enough to be heard over that furious uproar. That uproar that was just as hypocritical as the gryphon was calling all of them, that tried to drown out every possibility that these Gembound—the ones that'd been made to die as his brother said—just didn't know. The young King'd met someone once… one of those creatures inhabiting the tunnel just over yonder, serving an ancient relic of a now-defunct system. It'd seen the brutish child they'd made in there, too, all green points and dangerously-glimmering eyes: Vargas's spawn, made as a weapon (flaunted before the caves at the forum, no less!) and knowing little different.

It struck him all of a sudden, and it hurt. The young King's ears pinned back, even as he turned his head to regard his mother, speaking to the rest in that firm way of hers, trying to snuff out what argument there was. His blink of acknowledgement came altogether too late when Giggle spoke to him, and he gave a single dip of the head—that was all he had time for, with her moving on. It was enough, he was sure. Were it not for the frenetic tension coursing through all the bodies here, Aure would've reached for his wisps.

All he could do was swallow and clutch at the stone beneath him like it was a lifeline. The darker one—the one that'd been stumbling around, cursing minutes ago—railed against Eythan, now, but it was for good reason. He took a step forward, beak opening to speak, but Aure flapped a wing out with a bid: "please." The gryphon's mouth shut with a click!

Alas, that could not be the end of it—for the now-named Charles started to speak again, tactless as before and sharpening the talons on Eythan's forelimbs. "Too many have died," and that was the knife wedged into Aure's ribs because yes, there was death and there was destruction. (He called again, futile as it was, "please...") There was chaos and there was sacrifice. ("Please.") There was hatred and hurt, and it pained him to know that, even if he was fully-aware that he could not help everyone. Not if there was too much expense for him and if it left him unable to help himself. The young King had needed to learn that the hard way.

This… this reminded him of that persistent niggling at the back of his head that called him selfish so often.

Wings flicked out, and he reached for the other bird with a shaky grip. His hold was tentative at first, uncertain of how strong it was—(and this was right around "You think the Masters would have told you about her death?!")—before slowly expanding it and muffling Charles. It was careful, almost gentle; Aure wasn't trying to hurt him, just… keep the voice out of his mouth. There wasn't any restraining—just this strange sort of soundless vacuum.

"I'm holding you, okay… ?" he chirped, "that's me." Bright eyes flickered to the others. He hoped that making himself known would help in some strange way.

His beak opened again, but I didn't think of what I was going to say. What was there to say? How could one define what it meant to work within your own limits, yet avoid becoming complacent? It would not be fair to say to each their own. Giggle was right in that the Bonebound would do what they could, but he needed to establish that boundary.

There's the ticket.

The young King's throat bobbed, and he tried his best to hold steady: "it's hard knowing that—that bad things happen in the Caves, and that the people that caused them get away with it. That they know they can, or are unaware that they did. It's hard knowing that and not being able to do enough to fix it. But, please... if you want to talk about it, find a way to do something about it…" Wait, how am I to phrase this— "please don't use guilt and don't ambush me—or anyone else—with it; I don't have an answer for any of that." How was anyone supposed to? "Give us—and yourself—time. Time will help."

… and, once it wasn't so raw: "we can talk later, if you want." He was left wanting for this escalator to stop its dizzying climb higher and higher.

Aure stared at the avian in earnest, bright eyes molten with a weary sort of sadness. "I promise that we understand. We just aren't—I'm not ready for it," and he slumped slightly, focus wavering on his spell, "I have to let go of my magic, but, please…" ...don't make this worse. "... listen and give yourself time. I can't—do anything for you, right now."

The young King sighed, and he gazed at Charles, Morganite, Sora—all of them, "will you do that?"

Next post from me's... got an unknown ETA!

@Giggle @Charles @Pumpkin @Nemo @Sora @Morganite @Damask @Kerberos (Ashtoreth)

The rest of them, she offered nods to--or at least her attention--as they spoke. Morganite's words interested her, and she offered that one an acknowledging incline of her head. Charles pissed her off, though, and Giggle didn't hesitate to snap at him: "We're not holding a party, that was a metaphor. This is a MEETING, as we've said." But then he'd stopped talking-... Oh, Aure had stopped him. Giggle went silent, glancing at him; she wasn't sure silencing them was the best route (in her mind, that would only lead to frustration) but it was probably better than trying to shout over them, as she'd done, at least.

She looked to her son.

Aure was nervous--that much she could tell--but even as his mother, she didn't worry about him overmuch. When he had to be, when the situation called for it, he'd find his strength; he had that in him. Right now it was his emotions getting to him, and she gave him her attention and not her pity. There was no need for that.

Eyes shot to Eythan, too. His daughter? Giggle didn't know he'd lost anyone; had no idea who. She'd have to ask him about this later, but grief briefly twisted her features. Had he truly lost someone, someone they'd never even met..? She forced her attention back to Aure, who was still speaking.

When he'd finished--when he'd asked his question to the 'guests'--another thought occurred to her. Dark eyes narrowed in thought as she looked them over, and she added to what Aure had said: "Something constructive, when it's your turn to talk, would also be useful. A 'what do you plan to do about it,' instead of just anger." It was softly-said, but that was purely due to the knowledge behind it: there was nothing they could do.

There was nothing any of them could do, which made the situation perhaps all the more frustrating for the Bonebound--and all the more tragic.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

a rather graphic metaphor for a panic attack, and also a panic attack

---

Invoking Kini's name was like stabbing her in the chest. Her sparring partner, her sibling, her-- her friend. The leader of her drove. Sora felt like she was choking, just a little bit -- Morganite was angry at her for trying to take charge? They led the family together -- that was the deal, anyway, and when Morganite was incapacitated, what was Sora meant to do? Just sit there and not try to fix things? But on top of that. On top of that. Disgusting rang in Sora's ears, clawed at her like the shadows had, and she felt cold. She was. She was. Her body had been ruined and nobody else seemed angry about it -- and then there was Pumpkin, totally unscathed, and what made him special? (And there it was -- insecurity breeding jealousy breeding division. Morganite embracing her newness, Pumpkin avoiding it, and here was Sora, who refused to change being changed against her will.)

Something was squeezing her heart. Was this what Thalia had felt? Sora swallowed hard and lowered her head. Something was stirring within her, sparking up her exhaustion, and this wasn't true anger anymore. It was grief and hurt and insecurity tearing out chunks of her too-white flesh like a carrion bird and she was faced with an option -- succumb to it, or let anger begin to rise like bile. She pushed both away, for now -- but it was inevitable that one would overflow.

Sora was totally catatonic at the moment. Staring blankly at Auré's feet, the panic and fear and grief threatening to swallow her. This had never happened to her before, and she had no idea how she was meant to fight it.

Nemo

More arguing, more anger and pain, and Nemo shuffles a bit and lowers his chest slightly closer to the stone, his bauble clinking awkwardly in the silence as Aure interacts with the angry bird from the other group-

But. He can't leave.

I wanted to see what went on, I do hope this isn't how it normally is... this one here doesn't deserve the stress. None of us do.

The feathers up his spine are ruffled, and around his face, and he fluffs out his chest feathers so that Pumpkin, who had surprisingly taken his offer of shelter, had a soft and quieter place to hide. Offering a gentle bump of acknowledgement with his beak, he picks his head back up and re-engages with tension filled reality.

Nemo wants to say something, he really does, but the demands for silence have him hesitating, beak half open as he eyes the Bonebound proper and wonders if they think he's... just an annoying tourist too. That would hurt.

But he can address that when the air feels less like it's charged like the Spire.

So, he amuses himself for a short time looking around the circle- looking at Ethyan, Ashtoreth, Damask, basically any Gembound with fur and feathers catches his eye and he watches them for a small while, taking mental note on how they move and behave.

I assume this meeting was called for a good reason, and I hope we get back to the discussion we had at the beginning. It would make things far less awkward, I think.

he appreciates the sentiment from nemo, he doesn't even know this bird, and he offered his wing. it hurt. this was so tense. he hated it, every second of it.

he looked up at aure, and eythan, and everyone else. this clearly wasn't normal.

he missed normal. he wondered what normal meant out here. he wanted to find out, for the better or worse. this had to stop. and he hoped it did.

Look, Morgan was angry, but it didn't stop a cold hand of ice from gripping her heart as Aure grabbed Charles, forcing him to be quiet. Her ears rang and she was watching them all be swallowed by the shadows again, watching their sibling Thalia run off only to be cut down mid-stride.

"Let-", her words caught in her throat and the panic from before that she'd so stubbornly forced down welled up again, choking her and making her stiffen and quake where she stood.

She was helpless to it, as helpless as she had been to the devastating shadows. She was angry, and upset, and more than a little anguished at everything that was happening. Slowly, she backed away from Sora and Charles, finding herself... alone all of a sudden.

At the edge of the crowd (she didn't remember getting here, but she'd felt her feet walking) she stood, green eyes hazy and ears pinned, her throat tightening more and more with every second that passed. Big fat tears welled up and she hid her face as best as she could, desperately wanting like... a hug or something.

Poor pathetic Morgan.

She shivered as if cold and turned to the side, not saying a word. She would when she was allowed, but no sooner.