Tahi-shei had been on his way to Cetus with the full intention of accosting the snail who led the Voidcrawlers, and hopefully Madhukar beforehand (as he wanted to ask her on the basis of friendship, rather than going above her head and asking on the basis of loyalty). On the way, however, he had caught a familiar scent, and his curiosity had been piqued. Many places to pass between in Tunnel H, after all.

"Aran?" he called, looking around. "Is that you, or am I going crazy? I actually wanted to speak to you, if you have a moment." He guessed that his acquaintance had probably been going to or from Eridanus, considering that he lived there, or maybe Polaris to practice magic. Either way, Tahi was lucky to have found him there in the first place.


@aran

A chilly gust of wind caught his wooly form within it and Aran nearly shivered. It wasn't as cold as it could have been, but still, this tunnel always seemed to be cold no matter what the other caves felt like. He would have avoided the place if he could, but getting back home to Eridanus was on the mind. Though maybe he could turn through a different path and wander more. All of it seemed boring to him. Not being able to see the things he was looking at, to grasp how it should feel to him in that way. The deer felt numb most of the time, but none of it was new. He always felt like this.

His name on another's voice made the ears on the sides of his head perk, and his head turn in that direction. He would have missed Tahi if it wasn't for the voice that echoed into his brain.

"Tahi-Shei." He called back, voice flat, though aware of the other gembound.

"I always have time."

@Tahi-shei

Tahi-shei flinched. Was he crazy, or did it almost sound like Aran was irritated? He wouldn't have blamed him -- they'd both come out of the deal with the Collector worse for having started it. He and Aran weren't really... friends. They kind of just used each other to push their agendas, and that was that. He sighed -- Aran was to the point, so Tahi-shei would be, too. "There's an infection in the caves. A fungus called Mother. Master Vargas has asked me to help gather a group of Gembound to help destroy it -- an army, more or less. I plan to teach interested parties some spells to protect themselves in Orion in a couple of weeks. I think you could be useful to us -- besides already knowing Master Vargas."

There was something a little selfish in this. He was hoping that Vargas might remember Aran somewhat fondly (as fondly as a leviathan could), and be to some degree impressed that Tahi-shei had fetched him for this endeavor. But in the same vein, he had a feeling Aran might not want to come with him -- either way, though, Tahi-shei felt a little awkward in approaching him in part due to the tone, and was planning to get out of his hair as soon as possible.

@aran
sorry for the wait!

Aran wasn't irritated, he always spoke like that. Flat, almost emotionless. He didn't really know what was in the other deer's head, so he couldn't entirely explain any of that. Either way, hearing about the plan was... Confusing. How would he be useful? All Aran could really do was prevent infection or make someone extremely sick - which could work for certain things but he was pretty sure last time he tried that he nearly killed himself.

"I don't know him well. We spoke once when I was a child." He brought back up first. Vargas had spoke to him about death, but so had the others. "I'm not sure how useful i'd be." Which was about as honest as he could get.

@Tahi-shei

Tahi looked Aran over, resisting the urge to sigh. Ah, yes -- sometimes he forgot how strange Aran was. "I didn't say you knew him well. Just that you knew him." He cleared his throat -- "In any case, if you can fight, you'll be helpful. You've got a strong grasp of your magic and that's enough for me. I'd like to see you in Orion, even if you have no intention of actually joining us; knowing how to use the spells in the first place will be beneficial if the infection happens to spread. Besides the fact that one of them could help you know more about your surroundings, at least for a moment."

@aran

Tahi's reasons were good enough, Aran supposed. Besides, the other deer was right about him having a mostly-good grasp on his magic, even if the spells failed or backfired more than he would like to admit. Especially in important situations too (the fight with Elias came to mind, but he ignored it). Aran supposed he would show, it was the right thing to do even if he wasn't all right.

"I will be there."

@Tahi-shei

Tahi-shei gave a curt nod. "I am glad to hear it. I will see you then, Aran -- the Forum in Orion." More power would never go wrong. He felt an anxiety and a pride coil tight and hot in his stomach -- this was coming to an end now, wasn't it? His time was drawing close? He'd be done with this soon. He'd be fighting soon.

He still hadn't gotten the chance speak to Madhukar.

He cleared his throat, breaking himself from his thoughts. "I'll see you then." And then, he was leaving.



/exit tahi-shei unless stopped
@aran

He nodded when he was told the location. Figuring out how to get there wouldn't be much a problem - he wondered if this was the right thing to do. Wasn't it right to help out your friends when they asked it of you? Aran well considered Tahi a friend to him, so helping would only be the correct thing to do. Aran wasn't a correct gembound, he did much wrong. He supposed it wouldn't stop him from doing the good thing here.

"See you soon."

Exit @Tahi-shei for visibility