Much as she enjoyed the brief challenge that was a sword-bearing canine, if none were there to witness her chaotic impulses, what was the point? The Hunt was moving, and Draconua leapt at the opportunity to apply herself elsewhere. Pegasus was not far from the Womb, after all.

They cut through tunnel after tunnel—and mentally categorized only in brief. All those in the path to Polaris were marked down by their flammibility; she recoiled at the Core and the way that putrid blue glow of the Spire won out over His influence beneath it; and, at last, she reveled in the dampness and darkness of this tunnel. This reminded her of Draco.

Except... Draco wasn't quite so flammable.

The Valkhound grinned.Draconua is attempting to aid the Huntsmen by setting the swamp on fire.
This is in a separate thread so people can split up and focus on her.
(Also, so that they can avoid being Touched, as contact with her magic will cause +1 Corruption Point.)

It took him some time to understand what was going on. He had lived here--mostly hidden--for many cycles, now, and the sight of streams of creatures suddenly filling Cetus first shocked him into stillness (black and melting against the dark behind) and then sparked curiosity.

And concern.

He heard Draconua's distant roars, saw the quiet patter of those streaking through half-hidden, and he watched as others chased something that had fled into the dark. He saw, too, the huntsmen: atop their horses, milling about, searching with the hounds that dropped their heads to the marsh and searched fruitlessly for ghostly scent.

He was torn, at first.

The prey--he certainly sided with an underdog. And the hunters--he, too, was equine; he, too, had once carried death. And perhaps still did.

"What is all of this?" he asked, at last, calling out quietly. That sense of sameness at last won out and the black horse pranced up alongside the horsemen uncertainly, hoping that one would not (or perhaps would-) leap onto his back (for was that not what he was made for-?). He broke into a slow trot, sloshing through the black marsh, the muddy water slicking his legs and staining them afresh.

"What is it that you are hunting--and why?" he called out, and when the ghostly figures turned toward him he slowed, paused, almost afraid that he had caught their eye.


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Comet had followed James here, as the Quarry and Hunters had exited Pegasus only to enter this cave of Cetus. It was one of her least favorite caves, but watching this hunt was one of those things that happened once in a lifetime, so she went to watch. Normally she would think of helping, since James was helping the Quarry, she would have gone to help the Quarry too, but she thought it was better to just watch. Something just felt... wrong about trying to interfere with what was happening. So, she sat and watched.

[Comet is observing]

Effluvium after the Quarry. It panted as it ran, limbs eating up the ground with great, galloping strides. It didn't understand much of what was going on, but chasing the quarry was simple and enjoyable. Its attention hadn't swayed yet, the Quarry was always just out of reach. Just close enough for Effluvium's interest to hold. But the Quarry wasn't stronger than Effluvium's fear. It's foot hit liquid, and it paused. Cold on its legs. Effluvium's gaze swept downward.

Water. Mud. The swamp. Cetus. Fire. Burning. Effluvium squealed in fear, whites showing. It backed out of the cave, growling and hissing all the while. Only when it hit the solid ground of Tunnel H did the hissing slow, the growl slowing to a gutteral grumble. It dug its claws into the ground. The solid ground of the tunnel. It sat there. At the mouth. Effluvium would wait for the Quarry to pass by, instead. It kept its eyes trained for the spark of blue in the grey, foggy cave. Motionless, save for the pulsating of flesh.

"When I speak."

When I think.

;Exit efflu, joining at the next section

THE WILD HUNT

THE STALK

Aiding the Huntsmen and Hounds Kitty, Draconua, Madhukar, Effluvium
Aiding the Quarry James, Talys, Abaddon, Khloros
Observing Tahi-shei, Aran, Sharp, Comet

_____________

James's stamp splashed swamp water over himself, black mud that would stick and stain. His wisp bobbed ahead, dimly lighting the drifting fog and wet earth with flashes of eerie light, sent out into the dark for whomever might pursue. By his side Talys's point perhaps drew attention to the Quarry where it vanished into the reeds and roots.

Kitty's stalking took her closer: the cluster of Gembound who might aid the Prey gaining ground, their shapes below as they drew in half-obscured by dark and mist. Sharp could likewise spy the events, as could Aran, Comet, and Tahi-shei--if they were quick and cautious, they would miss very little of the Hunt.

To Abaddon's attacks there came glances from the Huntsmen, as little horns tore into smoky forms that reshaped themselves each time he tried to disperse them. One cast out a hand, a cold grip grabbing the calf and tossing him aside, into the mud: anyone observing would note that these creatures at least held the power to interact with the physical world, one way or another.

Warrior would be one of those to find his way to the Quarry: now taking the shape of a fox-like creature, it slipped beneath tree roots where they formed a sort of den, and hid. Though the fog-shape cowered, bright eyes glowed with what might have been fear; the very mist seemed to tremble, and it looked to those aiding it as if imploring them, pleading for their help. Madhukar would not be far behind: there ahead, at the mercy of her telling--or not telling--the Huntsmen, she would at last spot the Quarry gone to ground.

Draconua would find that the earth was easily corrupted, here, but the fire did very little. The swamp was as damp and wet as one could get, and even the cold fire of Corruption would do very little to ignite the wood. Yet, as she made the attempt, there was a distant hiss and whisper: something unpleasant, something angered by her attacks. Something possibly more powerful than she was, potentially by an overwhelming margin.

The branches overhead rustled as she disturbed them.

To Khloros, directly addressing the Huntsmen, there was a response: a ghostly echo of voices, words spoken from shifting shapes with no movement of their jaw. "We hunt...." came the words, as if from every Hunter all at once: and with that, the Hounds began to bay. Perhaps they had caught the spectral 'scent,' but the sudden howling of the Hounds filled all of Cetus, a resonating boom that chilled the blood and prickled the skin to hear.

At their heels came the Huntsmen: lurching into motion, spectral steeds leaping over marsh channels and driving deep into the swamp.

_____________

The Hounds have scented the Quarry. They are now attempting to find it, and those who have found the Quarry may attempt to hide or otherwise aid it, or to call the Hunters over. The Hunt will then move on, with the result and third leg depending on character interactions this round!

@Kitty (Talys, Tahi-shei) @James @Warrior (Khloros, Abaddon), @Aran @Sharp @Madhukar @Draconua (for visibility as much as anything!) @Comet

He didn't know why James wasn't following the light, but he did know that now, the dogs were howling, and that... didn't exactly strike him as a good thing. "HEY!!" he yelled, slipping off of James to grab a rock and throw it at a random foggy thing. The rock made contact with a misty figure, but kind of just passed through it. Hopefully though, it would distract them--? He picked a random direction, hoping to confuse the creatures, and shouted, "WENT THAT WAY!" before scurrying back to hide between James's front legs.

(Talys is trying to point the hunters away from the Quarry!)

James hissed, "Talys, keep trying to lure them away. I have... a terrible idea."

The wisp was still flying off, still distracting, which was good. He exhaled and turned towards the hounds, towards the hunters. If he could just distract them somehow... but he could only target one at a time, and he didn't have time for such a thing.

... Well he may as well try.

Aaaand backfire. Because why wouldn't it? It wasn't as if almost everything was riding on his and the other protector's actions right now!! Honestly you may as well call it foreshadowing because James' rolls don't get any better from here!

A horrible squeal lift his mouth as the spell internalized, echoing and reverberating on itself until it practically deafened and blinded James to everything else. He slipped and fell into the mud, turning his feathers brown as he thrashed and flailed.

When it stopped he just laid there, eyes watery. This quarry was going to die, wasn't it? There was nothing he could do for it, because he was just useless wasn't he? His spells always backfired when it mattered. He just hoped Comet didn't see his stupid mistake. He wouldn't be able to look at her for days if she had.

The gray stallion hesitated. He could hear the distant baying--feel it reverberating in his bones--and could smell the distant, acrid scent of Draconua's fire. Whatever was happening, it wasn't pleasant, and neither was Cetus with its black mud and eerie fog. It was so unlike the bright warmth of his home, the clarity and open spaces of Hydra.

The Quarry was ahead: cowering, hiding, and Warrior wasn't sure what to do. Memories of darkness swam back to him: the shadows that had coalesced, writhing and alive, that had consumed him and spat him back out, in the last Trial. And it had left him tainted, hadn't it-? A distant knowledge of those shadows, the ability to utilize them. Warrior hadn't done so, but-... now it was for a good cause. He hurried in against the Quarry's den, huddling there, casting his mind back--eyes closed--to the horrors he had seen.

Could he recreate them, here in this darkness? A shadow that engulfed all light, that consumed any who drew too close--not to harm, but to hide-?

He could try.

The attempt was made, but as with James an uncanny unluckiness seemed to surround him. He was suddenly bright, his white coat standing out against the dark where he crouched before the Quarry's den. It was as though he'd cast all shadows away from them, instead, and with a startled apology--wisp-eyes springing wide to meet the Quarry's ghostly gaze--he sprang away, scrambling into the swamp.

Warrior stumbled, fell, black mud coating him as panic took him, as he tried to flee and draw off the attention he'd surely marked, clear as a beacon, upon the hapless prey.

Something picked up his body.

Something threw it.

The black calf rolled over and over in the mud, a high-pitched baby bellow escaping him, cloven hooves briefly flailing at the misty air. When he came back to his feet--soaked black and angry-eyed--the Hunt was underway.

He charged after them, it taking a moment for his body to collect itself and lurch into motion; even at this age his form had heft and bulk, some two hundred pounds of gangly-legged muscle. His hooves he wanted to smolder in rage--to spark and steam the mud--but the magic didn't come, and instead it was just a lone black calf, charging stubbornly, determinedly, after the Huntsmen and their Hounds.

Well, the "hunt" thing didn't sit super well with him. He was tempted to follow along, to simply observe, but curiosity--and faint pity--drove him to intervene. He spared only a glance for the black calf tossed by the wayside, for the winged horse faceplanting the mud--not yet recognized as James. They were only barely visible in the murky dark, and Khloros' attention lay with the Huntsmen.

"What are you hunting?" he asked, leggy body lurching into motion to keep up with the hunt. Had he still held his old form--skeletal, pustulant--he might have looked like one of the Huntsmens' steeds become flesh. As it was he still looked like one of them but not, his slender shape black on black, but splashing where the Huntsmen seemed to glide. "And why-? What is this? What are you--and do you need to hunt?" he asked, and his voice took on the faint urgency that came with rush.

It was genuine curiosity, but also half distraction attempt. Khloros was not terribly invested, but surely it wouldn't hurt to buy some time to figure out what was going on-?

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