Mephistopheles

Messi had been hot on the heels of the hounds, chest heaving and flanks wet with sweat as he did his best to keep up.

Deciding he didn't like the trees, the shadows and the lack of light, he slows down, long enough to almost lose the pack.

The blast of fire ahead makes his adrenaline surge once again, and he lengthens his stride and picking up the pace.

Of course, he winds up steaking into the maze anyway, and can't follow the hounds through the walls, but... he can follow them over, and so he leaps up and digs his claws in with all his might, forcing himself up to a vantage point that allows him to watch as the Quarry starts to get away- and that causes a deep frown to crease his muzzle.

Opening his jaw wide, he lets out a roar- as best as he can, being still quite young, and his gem flashes almost like a canon in his jaw and in front of his eye, a beam filtering from the jade gently, and then suddenly hardening and narrowing into almost a round beam and in the direction of the target.

The Hound made no attempt to venture into the maze. No, she paused as the ghastly huntsmen and their bloodhounds bobbed and weaved between obstacles. Her breaths burned hot in her throat, but she was nowhere close to exhausted yet. Whatever beast any of these hunters were in hot pursuit of, Draconua cared not. All she fretted about—as shivers ran down her spine and Oil dribbled from either side of her spreading grin—was how much she could destroy.

There was no method to her madness—only maddened casting. Claws curled into the blackened ground she stood upon; then, she reared up with an earth-shattering roar. It was almost as if the soil recoiled at her presence, splitting apart before her in jagged shelves and forcing wretched black gemstones to the surface. Every Oil-stained tooth in her maw was bared in pure glee. What would flee from her might? What would challenge her?

A war cry boomed from her throat as she clambered over the wreckage.
due to the nature of draconua's magic adding one corruption point (per thread)
make sure to avoid having your characters step in the area of her cast :')

Keeping its silhouette surprisingly small, the orthoclase slunk along in the reeds and longer grasses. Toxic eyes were locked firmly on all of the movement revolving around the quarry's maze. James (it was a little funny that he was here, after what'd happened last time) flitted to and fro, as well as some more unfamiliar faces. The huntsmen came, eventually, and they cantered into the obstacle course—some even literally through.

Yet, Alpha didn't leap into action. Equipped as it was for physical combat, it was better-suited to the long game; it was an ambush predator. Short, hurtling bursts of speed would not find its jaws around that swift-footed quarry's throat.

Its teeth were still packed to the gills with paralytic venom—in case something should come up on it—and the Hunt was on. Corralling could, perhaps, keep them in place for a time; long enough for it to get a good position. The Overseer was not going to bet on the off chance that any creature involved might run this way.

So, it ended up breaking into a run after all, albeit a rather loping one. If the ghostly quarry was running one way, it'd throw up a wall of glassy spines to coax (or impale) them in ano—that's not right. Magicka surged in a vaguely familiar way, but it spiraled through a distorted roulette wheel and twisted into a thickening fog around the entire group.

Alpha was stupefied, and that was not counting its scrabbling-outta-Dodge reaction to a roar that broke the earth itself.

note to whom it may concern: has a nice high-roll ephemevenom primed

When Talys saw the monsters, his brow creased in a frown. The short(er) one looked familiar, in a weird sort of way -- glowing eyes, glowing quills. Armor all over, and horns on top. Sharp, sharp nails -- Talys grabbed the chunk of basalt tucked into his waistband and stared at Orthoclase-Alpha, dark eyes curious and imploring. Too green to be right, but undoubtedly related. Sort of like James and Warrior -- they were obviously similar, despite their differences.

Then the ground was splitting open, and the creature was roaring, and Talys... was a child, so he started to scream, too. Panic clawed at his muscles and he scrambled for purchase on the ground before his grip instinct kicked in and he lunged for James. Sharp nails on one hand scrambled for purchase, probably trying to grab at James's mane and likely scraping at his fur instead. "Help, help, help--" he cried, actually crying now, panicked and hot tears running down his face because WHY was the ground moving?!

The horse, in reaction, made a vaguely complicated movement and carried Talys with him -- thankfully, because otherwise there was no telling what might have happened.


@james
[perm from charlie given to pp james]

Kitty hissed as the hunters and the quarry approached, panic spiking up in her. Her plan to chew away the vine hadn't worked--! Ah, but they'd just run through it anyway. Okay, that was fi-- HOLY GOD WHAT WAS THAT?!

Alpha and Draconua were a fearsome sight, especially when one of them started to shatter the ground. Kitty, who was usually rather shy, took a hint and darted further into the tree cover. "MAU!" she shouted, not bothering with stealth anymore. The big one had made that point moot. "BIG MONSTER! ON OUR SIDE!" She... was pretty sure they were on her side, anyway.

Her trap worked—even if it incurred only the briefest of pauses—and its explosive activation seemed to be but a precursor to the amount of noise that bloomed afterwards. Hargrave braced herself as the earth recoiled, and hiked her tail up high. A springing leap had her landing on a shifting shelf of rock and a... something lancing through her veins. It burned like electricity, yet pushed deeper into her being. It was—

"Shit."

—familiar.

Fiery eyes glared first at the Oil-black stone threading through the cracks, then the beast that clambered over them. Hargrave barked to the others, "get away from this broken ground!" Her limbs throbbed even standing here, but to take another step would be to invite more of that taint in; and, who would she be to not meet this challenge head-on? Other Gembound were here, and she had vowed to protect them.

With a hope that this monster was somewhat sentient, the gray hare held back in her magic. There was not yet a need to fight with the intent to kill. Her teeth bared and she unsheathed her claws to grip at the rock. She twisted over her shoulder to peer at her sword, but the motion had her suffering backfire and teetering sideways simultaneously. A migraine shot through her skull at the same time her shoulder met the defiled earth, a sharp yelp escaping her.
congrats, hargrave! you're touched again! and also cursed!

Zoisite did their best to hound after their m-- stop it. Overseer, talons tearing the earth as they scrambled, body low to the ground and legs moving rapidly. They still small enough to hide in their mother's-- in the shadow of the larger Chaos Forger, as they kept their jaws clamped tight and their glowing eyes from giving them away.

They had, after all, learned how to Hunt, even if they didn't like it.

The Beast, the thing that was dormant in the Womb and was now alive and forging Chaos better than any of their family could hope to sow, tore through the earth and let out a horrible sound. Zoisite scrambled, trying not to get trampled by the Overseer in their attempt to get away from the oil-cracked earth.

A silver hound howled for the others to avoid the plagued, desecrated ground, and Zoisite reeled. Stick close to the Overseer. Do not hold back. They needed to help with the hunt, needed to prove themself. Mist swirled from the Overseer and surrounded them, and the sounds of teeth and howling grew louder in their ears, the smell of oil and death so vivid and strong... all at once, their magic surged.

Chills raked through their chitin, stealing their breath away. Quills shuttered and they tried to take a breath, but they felt lightheaded immediately. They scrambled further away, further than they should have from their Overseer, their protector. Something was wrong.

They couldn't shiver, not really, their underbelly fur fluffing out as much as it could. Zoisite turned their head, the air cold and their body hot, too hot, too cold, they didn't know; they felt weak. The buglike kaiju stumbled into the nearby grass, head lolling to the side. Golden eyes searched for the Orthoclase in the mist and the chaos of the hunt, but they fell still, and quiet, shuttering.

Something was wrong with the zoisite. With me.

It lingered just behind Zoisite, eyes squinted to hide as much of their glow as possible. It breathed heavily, trying to keep up with its family. It's eyes darted around to observe all the chaos around it- the huntsmen and their hounds, the fleeing, vulpine wisp-like quarry, those trying to make traps to stop those who were trying to hunt. Those like them. We'll have to be careful. It thought, anxiety rising to it's throat.

Then the ground tore, glittering oily-black gemstones gutting out of darkened stone like broken bones. It let out a panicked yelp, darting out of the way of the torn, corrupted earth as mist swirled around them all. conjured by.... It's Overseer? To hide them, to help them hunt. Just like the shadows it oftened conjured with it's magic. But better. It'll hide us all. But... It'd also make it harder to catch the quarry. And the quarry almost resembled fog itself, formed in the shape of a fox. The Overseer knows what they're doing. Just follow their lead. So it tried, dispite the chaos and the fog and the many others running about and yelling and-

Zoisite was falling behind.

It had scrambled away to dodge the Valkhound's chaotic magic, but now it was stumbling and shuddering. It's eyes widened with panic. This was not normal, and VERY not good. It half-coiled protectively around it's sibling, should anyone try to approach. "Are you hurt? What happened?" It nudged Zoisite in an attempt to help it up, and recoiled with concerned surprise. Their sibling was hot, heat radiating off them in waves which didn't happen, Zoisite never felt warmer than room temperature, much less hot.

"Come on, we gotta-" Gotta what, continue the hunt? Could Zoisite even hunt like this? Labradorite had to do something to help. Anything.

"Overseer Alpha! Something's happened to Zoisite! I-" Its cry for help came out much louder than intended. Much MUCH louder. It's eyes widened for a moment. It had wanted to draw attention to the situation, but only Alpha's attention, and not THIS much attention. It tensed, glaring (hopefully) intimidatingly at anyone besides Alpha who dared to approach. It didn't trust any of them- but it didn't want to attack, either. Hopefully a fifteen foot or so long serpentine monster was scary enough for others to leave them alone.

@V-Zoisite-One @Orthoclase-Alpha

""MAU! BIG MONSTER! ON OUR SIDE!" Oh, it was on their side? Wait-- that was the little wisp-maker right? 'Oh shoot.' "COVE' SELF!" Madhukar had been a little too focused on getting through these traps to really be paying attention to what felt like was quickly turning into a battlefield. The only thing that had gotten in her way so far was... a vine. Real impressive.

The cat would choose to focus on the task in front of her:

'Remember why you're here, Mau-- Madhukar.'
She... didn't mind that nickname.

ANYWAYS! Focus because what's going on here is about to get even MORE dangerous.

Madhukar stopped at a certain point, scanning for Quarry -- really more for their path.

'Not a single stray shot is allowed.'
You got it. Summon: Lightning.

The lightning fell; a barrage of calculated, restrained force. Madhukar had trained her eyes mainly on the ground in front of where she believed might be the Quarry's path, although one or two strikes may have hit the Quarry themselves. Madhukar wanted to see what would happen. "LOOK OU'! LIGHTNING!" she would call to others. The least she could do was give a warning. Only idiots would dare to provoke the storm further.

It wouldn't be the first time, if any came and did just that.

Think "Speak"

((Madhukar is trying to REDIRECT the Quarry with the threat of lightning. Maybe hit it once or twice also, for science.))

Cryogen

Warrior Approaching them had broken some sort of dam in their heart- they'd missed their life giver.

Immensely.

Cryogen's ears and face fold into the sort of expression that proceeds crying, and he takes one step, then another, before he can bend down and lean into Warrior, the closest thing to a hug that they ca give without arms.

"I... I missed you," he whispers, "Of course I recognize you... it's just... you've changed, quite a lot. You're still you, though.." the tentative Right? remaining unsaid, and they had to tamp down their childish fear.

Well, not so childish, since they didn't know that Warrior had nearly died thanks to the antithesis of a monster that Hydra had become for a few weeks. But. Details.

"Nothing big has happened to me, until recently- It's quite the story, I should tell you after we've... finished this." The white steed's eyes crease in a smile, and he takes a half step away so that he can face James, and finally mentally acknowledge what the other horse had said-

I can't throw up a barrier, but...

"I can try to make it harder to see," he offers, and begins to ramp up his magic, gazing out to track the hunters.

The appearance of the kaiju and chaos monster didn't... phase them, actually, not much. They recognize some of them from the qolum fight, so they don't register any danger until the ground splits and begins to seem all types of wrong. They kick away, talking a few skittering side steps from the oozing beast and it's carnage, before one again focusing away and aiming for the phantasmal hunters.

Cryogen can feel their magic arc off once again, and the small cloud of shards and dust that kicks up isn't what they wanted, but does form none the less- it'll have to do.