Relieved to find that Carja had made it to the surface, Comet started the task of saving herself. It was good that the waves naturally carried her towards the shore, but the only problem now was staying afloat. With waterlogged fur it wasn't exactly easy to stay on the surface of the water. And the storm was picking up too, with the huge waves crashing down on her, sending her below the water more and more often.

As both Gembound floundered in the surf's storm, there was a flash--like that of lightning--and something else rose from Fornax's seas.

There was good news, and there was bad.

The good: the stranger seemed non-hostile, at least. It was a large creature--sparking with energy, translucent, almost gaseous; it would have looked something like a stag, the size of a large horse, were it not ethereal and glowing. Traces of electricity sparked across the ocean surface as it rose--and with a glance at Carja, with eyes like mirrors, it swept past. It led Comet, too; the poor pup being tumbled badly by the wash of waves. But the ethereal creature guided them and in its wake, the seas appeared to calm.

The bad: the largest Redfang passed them on the way out, a single baleful glare striking them as it swept into the sea.

@Carja

Carja flopped onto the shore like a wet newspaper, her wings soaked as she dragged herself further onto the sand and away from the ocean. She coughed weakly and curled up in a ball, shying away from the surf as it hit her feet. She wheezed softly and dragged herself further up the beach until she was too far for the waves to touch.

"Th-thank you," she said towards the sea, towards the creatures that saved her life.

She let her head fall onto the sand and let her eyes shut, too tired to do anything but lay there. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth and she whined gently, a chunk bitten out of it. Ouch...

Her muscles were sore and those tentacles hadn't been kind as they dragged her down. She would be sore for a while, that was for sure. She kind of wanted to curl up with Dread, hoping his heat would chase away the chill in her bones.

What an unlucky turn of events, honestly. Why had they wanted to kill Redfangs in the first place? They were stupid.

@Comet

Comet could feel herself start to sink below the surface, her muscles having finally given away. But that was when it happened. A creature that resembled James's shape, except it glowed, and sparkled with electricity. Ah, this must be the animal that would be leading her heaven. Because it was all over. There was no way she would be able to make it to shore.

But in the glowing horse's wake, the sea was calmed, as the force pulled her to shore, where she was deposited onto the sand. She was-- alive. Comet paid no attention to the fact that the Redfang was gone. She was too busy heaving up sea water and taking in deep breaths. Carja was saved by the horse too, everything was going to be okay. "Thank you." she gasped. Was it a gembound? Or something else?

Even though she was not in a very comfortable position, she didn't make any motion to adjust herself. Her muscles were too sore for that.

The deer-like creature did not speak. Instead it turned away, branching antlers shimmering, lights darting and sparkling through its form. It passed back into the sea, the frothing waves roaring back up in its passage--and then it disappeared.

@Carja

Carja sniffled and rose slowly to her feet, tail and wings dragging on the ground.

"I-I'm going to go home," she said softly, "Um... I'll see you later."

She was silent as she trekked away, so exhausted that she didn't have the strength to fly. She shivered as she walked, head low and feet dragging in the sand. She was quiet, her energy gone. She spat blood to the side and onto the sand, wiping her face before heading towards the exit of Fornax.

@Comet

Comet was almost too exhausted to talk, but she saw Carja leaving... without having her tongue fixed?! "Carja wait! Let me fix your tongue for you." she stumbled onto her feet. This was all her fault. She was the one that had dragged them into this. She could've gotten her friend killed. The least she could do was help with her tongue.

But when she stood up to find a leaf, she fell flat on her face, her legs apparently unable to handle the strain of walking.

@Carja

Carja turned slowly to face Comet, shoulders hunched. She made her way over and helped Comet up, still shivering.

"Oh- thank you. Um... what are you looking for?", she asked, "I'm not sure any of this stuff can really help... I was going to go home to ask my family to help me."|

Caves she was tired... she could fall asleep right there and just pass out. She nearly died down there. If it weren't for whatever shape saved her, she'd be dead.

"There was something down there," she mumbled, "Bigger than the horse and that octopus thing. It was huge!"

Another monster. She could only hope that it was benevolent and not that she'd just gotten lucky.

@Comet

"A leaf, stop your tongue from bleeding." Comet stumbled back onto her feet with Carja's help. But it was true that Carja's family could probably help her recover better, and she was too tired to get a leaf anyway.

"Really?" How could anything be bigger than the octopus thingy? Those tentacles were so big! That meant the body must be even bigger than the dragon! She shivered. Fornax was too deep, who knew what could live down there. Big, scary things. Redfangs were nothing compared to that.

Comet sniffled. "I'm really sorry Carja. It's my fault that you almost died." It was true, she came up with the idea, and the whole situation had escalated to her almost drowning and being eaten by the giant octopus.

@Carja

Carja shook her head and sat down, "It wasn't your fault. We were both being stupid."

She rubbed her eyes and sighed, squinting, "There were weird runes... they were purple and glowing, and I think there was something else but I was... It was..."

She swallowed and shuddered, flicking her tail to the side, "It was going to eat me, Comet... it was awful!"

She shuddered and lay down, covering her face with her paws, "It was so awful..."

@Comet