Fire, fire, fire—no. The Gray Hare reconsidered even as she raced the others for the exit; the others, who were too concerned with disappearing down this particular point to consider others. Filling the tunnel with fire had not worked to dissuade... whatever this was. Astraea was here, aiding them—and a horse, galloping after one of the fleeing dragons.

At the side of the tunnel, a strange, hoofed creature, not doing much of anything. Hargrave could already recognize the glassy look in her eyes. Claws unsheathed and dug into the icy floor like picks.

Her tail wagged a frantic rhythm as she focused her magic on scooping the pig up and swinging her towards the winged horse. "Here!" she barked, hoisting Sora up high and struggling to maintain her grip.

@James

James took flight and turned towards Hargrave, looking at the dragon and clenching his jaw. He sped over as fast as he could, ears pinning so that the wind didn't whistle in them. This had to work, just one more time-

He touched her with a hoof and sent as much magic as he could into the spell, grunting with effort. But it worked.

"She's purged," he said, "Thank you."

He landed and looked back over to the dragon, watching her leave. Too late. But at least he saved one of them.

Exit James
@Sora

Dread flapped his wings hard, managing a sharp turn to curve around over his children in a circle.

He was surprised when Bone moved to Azigh--and moreso when she just... began to leave. He didn't quite understand Mother's threat. He knew they'd fought it, but not exactly what it did; he'd been little more than a mercenary at the time and his intellect wasn't exactly the highest among the Gembound present. He only knew that both she and Svartis were leaving, heading for the snowy rock as the fires died (with nothing for them to catch on).

"BONE?" he cried, confused. "SVARTIS?" Those were his children, and for a moment heartbreak tore at him; he was protective of nothing in the world so much as they. Oh, he was fiercely possessive of his hoard... but his children, those he loved.

An anguished roar escaped him, but so far as he knew, they had reasons to depart. And they seemed... okay..?

Bewildered and anxious, and unwilling to land until he knew the threat was fully over (and therefore unable to yet traverse the tunnel's length), Dread swept to circle over Astraea. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!" he shouted, a shrill and rather upset demand. "WHY ARE THEY LEAVING?"

Carja cried out as she watched Bone leave, ignoring her cries. Tears rolled down her face as regret welled up. She couldn't save her. It was practically suicide to go after those who'd followed Mother, and she had the rest of her family to try to protect. If she even could.

"I'm sorry!", she cried out after Bone, sniffling as she turned and fled, racing towards the rest of her family.

She'd be back. To save Bone. When she was bigger and stronger, and not weak. She didn't know what it would entail.

"Dad!", she cried out, "Grandpa!! Bone's gone!"

She skid to a halt, hot tears falling down her cheeks despite her trying hard to be strong and brave, her face contorting uncomfortably. She looked back and whimpered, lip wobbling.

"I-I couldn't save her," she said, "I-I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas grimaced as he looked after the dragons. He wasn't certain they weren't both infected, wasn't sure if they were. He couldn't sense that the way Astraea could, but the other Master did not call out directions--and didn't interfere when the dragon did-... something, to Azigh. Vargas started their way with hurried strides and then, taking his cue from Astraea's pause, he hesitated too.

Damn it all--if only I could SEE! he thought, irritated. Was the corruption calling them to Ursa-?

He looked around, a grimace crossing his rigid features. If it was, the twin dragons might be a threat; and if Dread was fool enough to defend them, even moreso. Possibly that other littler one, too. Vargas tucked the idea away in his mind that he'd need to devise some plan to deal with Mother-corrupted dragons, and then turned toward his own people.

"THOSE WITH ME--SOUND OFF! ARE YOU YOURSELVES?" he demanded, striding toward them with booming voice.

First things first; he wanted to be sure that his spawn and allies were safe. Everything else could wait, if only for the moment.

Sora snorted in shock as, suddenly, the floor dropped from under her feet and she was tossed into the air like a football. Her legs flailed, and she let out a howl of panic, but then realized that nothing had its claws in her -- magic, then? Her eyes searched around frantically for whomever might have been casting it, but she wasn't so experienced in the ways of magic so as to have been able to pick out a member of the chaotic crowd who was controlling her movement.

Then, the feathered bay horse was filling her field of vision, and a panic ricocheted through her. "No, no, nonono-- don't take my family, don't, please--" before he touched her, and with a searing pain (though not particularly unlike a milder fire), the fungus was cleansed from her body. Sora let out a shuddering gasp and tensed before rasping out a thank you and going limp. When the spell dropped, she'd stay on the floor, fighting to catch her breath as everything surged with suffering around her.

Comet stayed by James's side, shooting a growl at those who looked menacing. There was something off about some of the gembounds, and she didn't want it to happen to him too. But soon it was over, there was nothing left to be done, and she followed close by her renny's side, leaving the war zone.

"Exit Comet"

There was a great dispersal, both of those afflicted with Hive and those who were not, parting opposite ways of each other. Dread's booming voice drowned out his thoughts for a moment, but he nodded to James attempted to cleanse those he could before fleeing himself, Comet in tow. Despite the bulk of the fight having ended, it still felt like a mess.

His attention turned mostly to Azigh, who seemed semi-conscious at best.

"The Hive," he muttered, half to Dread, have to others who might be listening. "There must be a node in Ursa, then; it was a suspicion, but perhaps now a confirmation. We probably cannot do anything about it right now. Let's—let's take care of those we have here, any wounded or recovering, and... we'll deal with it later. I need time." His body shuffled toward Azigh, nudging the large creature to stand and move.

Ruby eyes glanced up to the circling dragon. Hopefully it would not attempt a foolish rescue on its own, but Astraea did not feel like he could command it otherwise.

"Regroup. With those you know or those you don't. This isn't about alliance between ourselves—it's about working together against The Hive. We must not be so divided if you wish to save those who have gone to Ursa," he said loudly, eyes tracing those still close enough to hear him. He glanced around those present once more, noting some laying limp or unable to move. "Help those who cannot stand. Please."

With that, he struggled to move with Azigh, able to offer no true support physically, but still guiding him home.

Characters may exit the thread or continue to interact with one another. Astraea and Azigh are heading toward Ursa, but attempted to exit. They can be stopped for conversation.

New spell Cold Snap unlocked! This will be sent to all participating characters.

Cold Snap
Low Intensity Transformation. Extreme cold radiates from the extremities (feet, tail, nose, ears) by decreasing internal water temperature in these areas, and may freeze surfaces on contact. May give the user frostbite and can cause ice burns upon contact with non-users.

Thank you. No. Thank you. NO. Thank you. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE. WHAT HAVE I DONE. NO DON'T YOU DARE THANK ME, I HAVE DONE IT ALL WRONG.

She knew how it hurt. The lightning created this split second of pure, awful agony before it all popped into silence and nothingness. That rock that now surrounded his body had shown Tahi-shei more mercy than she could have ever managed in her whole lifetime. There was no apology that would do, because nothing could fix what had happened now.

Would it even work? Would it even matter-- had she just trapped him in there with it? Breathing quickly became a struggle to manage at these thoughts, because Madhukar had no way of knowing. It would be too much time, too much time alone, knowing what she did. Living with herself. Screaming at herself. And if he was in there with it that whole time... The dread of it was already crushing.

Well, she couldn't break down here, so she would clamp her jaw tight, screw the top and the bottom together.

At least it was over, for now. For now. For now. At least it was-- for now. The other stag was talking. Madhukar could barely hear it. She could hardly care. By the time they were finished with their speech, she was just about gone from this room, knowing she'd have to return. The only name that stuck was "The Hive", and the only message her brain held onto (in order to sting her even more with) was the one about regrouping. She had just turned her friend into a pillar of salt. Who else was there to 'regroup' with? Well, there was Sunny. There was still Sunny. That was comforting enough. For now--

Madhukar wasn't going to stick around. She was sick of this place. Tired. She would have to come back for Tahi anyways. 'Why is his gemstone so pretty?' It was a sickening thought. She had never seen his gemstone before. Now she couldn't get the sight of it out of her head.

Think "Speak"

- exit -

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

gore

strong language

Nemesis stood panting, her sides heaving from the magical effort and the burns that scored her body. She felt the whispers from the Hive fade into nothing, until she was certain that the only thing she was hearing was the desperate cries of those around her. With a snort, she swung her head one way, and then the other, trying to clear her mind.

She turned toward the deer that was barking the orders for others to group up and get everyone out, and grunted. The information was new to her, but she tried to absorb it all while her head was pounding like a drum. She was strong enough to keep moving (even if she felt like shit). "Who needs help?" She demanded in a rasping voice, taking a few steps forward, wincing at the heat the simmered across her flesh. The flame that had kept her sane. Pulling on that magic to keep her warm despite the cold--

Something wasn't right.

Immediately the hot was replaced with a wash of cold, as frost bit at her nose and fogged her breath, her feet icing over as she stumbled. Where had the heat of her body gone? Some new magic had formed here, and she instinctively jerked, throwing her head. "--What," she grunted as the ice formed over her bare skin. Ice burned almost as sharply as fire itself, and she shuttered.

"I'm getting the hell out of this cave-forsaken tunnel," she snapped aloud, stomping the ice from her feet, and she broke into a charge out of there. As much as she wanted to help (which, she only sort of did) this had been bad news after bad news. What had gotten into her mind and corrupted her fucking magic?

;; nem exit