Attikias still didn't like Ursa. It's where Mother was supposed to be, but- he kept coming back. Why? Did he expect to handle it by himself? No, of course he didn't. He'd be a fool if that happened, right? But, some awkward sense inside of him wanted him to know what they were up against.

As if he'd find out anything different.

Tahi-Shei had passed by as he was wandering, and he'd caught the deer at the tail end of another trip away from the searching, greeting him briefly and going on about his way after finding out just where everything was coming from.

Well, good thing he had his bag on him. Pulling his cloak in tighter, Attikias trudged on, following the path Tahi had left and coming upon gifts. Or, well, they were the remnants of gifts- boxes and wrapping paper were strewn in the area, and Attikias hummed gently, squinting. Were they concealed items..? He plucked some of the paper, turning it in his hands as he inspected its crinkling-ness. Weird. The piece of trash was shoved into his bag before he continued on, on the lookout for more.

It would take some time before he actually located something. His main issue was following older footsteps, left in the snow and leading away from everything that'd already been opened. He set his jaw, his eyebrows furrowing, and his cloak coming in even closer, before finally finding something nestled in by a pair of boulders. It wasn't a big box by all means- the golden ribbon around it is what got his attention most of all, and he grabbed onto that, the ribbon coming somewhat loose in his gentle tugging.

The box was ticking. Curious, Attikias squatted back and let his tail rest in the snow, eyeing the box and turning it about. Right, the things were inside these things. But, what would tick like that, like some awkward heartbeat? It was steady, too.

Fingers pried at the edges of the paper (what in the world was this stuff holding it together?) as he unfolded it, careful not to tear the wrapping itself as he laid it in the snow beside him. And- ah, shit, there it went, fluttering in the wind. Attikias grumbled under his breath before continuing his expedition, opening the box and pulling out a metronome.

The ticking out here was louder. How was it even moving? The stick was moving from one side to the other, and knobs protruded at the side, which immediately got the elf's attention to poke and prod at. He could stop the ticking easily, he found, or even speed it up with the rolling of the sticks at the side, which only got him more confused. What was its purpose? Why did it tick? Strange.

It made him think of Thalia. Was it for that, keeping beat? Or, maybe just a sort of keeping time? Like, maybe 'five ticks ago'? But, with it able to be adjusted, maybe it wouldn't be the best way to measure seconds. Odd. Dialing it all the way down and shutting it off, Attikias gently placed it in the bottom of his empty satchel, making sure it was nestled in a way to not damage it. The ribbon, along side some extra wrapping paper, found itself on top of the item.

The best thing he could do was strike out on his own. Adjusting the strap of his bag, Attikias continued on, looking to the trees and rocks and anywhere that a box (and more ribbons) could be. As it turns out, most of his luck wasn't there because he was following other people. Out here, when he was looking for himself? He'd gathered up a fair number of boxes, struggling to carry them as his bag space ran out.

Once his arms were full, Attikias seated himself down at a larger tree, after clearing out the minimal snow that'd breezed in under its needles. Right, so, what did he have? He made himself comfortable to unwrap the gifts, taking less care with preserving the wrapping paper this time and just trying to get to the meat of things.

The first unwrapped box was more of a case- or, small enough to be one, holding a freezing pair of iron spectacles. What were these? He squinted into them, turning them over to look in either direction. It was somewhat blurry to look into them- but his hands looked perfectly fine under their inspection. Weird. They fit fine on his face, though, and he hummed gently as he turned to inspect the tree.

He could see so much more, this close. Trying to look far away gave him a headache, but perhaps these would come into use sometime in the future.

The next two gifts were found next to each other. Attikias drew them both into his lap- these, too, were smaller, though more in the vertical side of things rather than width. The first to be opened was the larger of them- were they meant to be paired together, he wondered, as the thin dish-like item slid from its box and into his hands. Its metal, too, was cold- steel, though he didn't have the specific notion of what exactly it was called. All he knew was it had odd designs on its surface, odd gears and everything that he fiddled with for a good moment, inspecting it with his spectacles. An astrolabe- though, he lacked the word for this, too.

He shut his eyes tight. Ugh, no more glasses, and those went in his satchel carefully wrapped in paper.

Continuing his investigation, Attikias pulled open the second, uncovering an iron-bound star chart etched out of vibrant larimar. It matched the astrolabe in some sense. He hummed as he fiddled with its delicate chain, lining it up with the astrolabe and turning it over, adjusting the lining mechanism with no intention to find anything.

He couldn't entirely tell what this was for, not like the metronome or glasses. Measuring? But it had so much around it.

He'll keep that for later. For now, he had more to open, and the next was a more hefty creation. The wrapping on this was pried open (and, once more, the ribbon was preserved), revealing the box that held... A box? Attikias brought this closer to inspect, pulling it out and opening it. It had another knob like the metronome. Intuition drove him to twist this, too, but his face drew tight in confusion when it didn't start ticking, either.

No, that started when he let go. He jumped in surprise for a moment, holding the box away from himself as it began to play, muffled by its closed rose-gold surface. One latch opened later, and he revealed a spring-tight figure, standing tall as a song played out in the winter air. The pink rabbit spun in slow circles, reaching up as though it were midjump, mid dance, circling to the sweet melody.

Attikias smiled. This was... He didn't have a word for it, but now he sorely wish he did, warmth flooding through his body. Vivilene and Thalia would love this. Hell, he loved it, and he watched it even as it slowed its movement, the music trailing out. He sniffed, once, rubbing the butt of his hand at his face- shit, was he crying? He sniffled again, worming his way to the tree, and planting his back on it.

He still had much more to open, but he could be content with this for now.

Ursa was cold- VERY cold. While she knew some liked this cold, Abra certainly wasn't a big fan of it. Luckily, a newly-acquired navy-blue cloak helped to protect her from the worst of the cold. Ursa certainly seemed to be a popular cave- she spotted many sets of footprints in the snow, and others milling about in the distance. Wanting to see what the fuss was about, she followed one of these old sets of footprints- already beginning to get recovered by fresh snow.

Soon enough she spotted a small box wrapped in bright red wrapping paper. Curiosity peaked, she tore off the wrapping paper. Inside was a small pendent, dark purple on a contrasting silvery chain. In the gemstone was carved a series of shapes- a map of a sky Abra had no way of ever seeing. She admired it's pretty (although meaningless to her) design, before putting it around her neck.

Now intrigued, she continued, soon finding another box, this one wrapped in green. She tore off the wrapping paper without hesitation, revealing a strange metal tube. She examined it, twisting it and turning it over until she thought to look inside. Inside was a rainbow of shifting colorful shapes unlike Abra had ever seen before.

However, the cold was getting to her, and she didn't want to stay out in it much longer. Taking her two goodies and the ribbons that had come with them, she quickly left the freezing cold cave.

(exit thread)

strong language

It was so freakin' COLD!!!

Lemon swooped down and shivered as he alighted on a box, fluffing up his feathers and squawking with discomfort, "Bad idea bad idea- why did I think this was a good idea-"

Ursa was a horrible place. A terrible place!! Aure was right, he shouldn't have come- ooh~ shiny!

The vulture opened the box carefully and peered inside, cooing. There were so many nice things... he pulled out a pair of goggles and immediately strapped them on, liking the way they felt. They were snug and secure on his head, and protected his eyes from the bitter cold winds. They were perfect! And gold, which matched his look, which was even better.

A music box lay within and he opened it, cooing softly. Ozzie would love this. But on to the others.

A four pointed star with a six-pointed one made of metal in the center, held in place by silver bands. Metal tipped each point and the chain was braided metal, and instantly he thought of Damask, the gemstone a stripped mix of white and black, like the person the necklace was intended for. It was perfect.

Next was a pair of glasses, round with a goggle-like style, the glass tinted a soft teal. The edges were dark and black, and cool as FUCK. These were for Avi, hands down.

They pulled out a canine figure and twisted the key, watching it hobble forward. Definitely for Bayo, and the other two, a deer and a sort of bear looking one would be for the other two. Perfect for Enoki and Chitin!!

"Man, I hope y'all like this," he said softly, "Gettin' frostbite on my ass for y'all. God... I hope y'all love this."

He chuckled and delicately set everything back, and folded up the box gently. Perfect.

Lemon spread his wings and heaved the box up, careful not to jostle anything as he took to the skies, flying back home, shivering as he flew, and loudly complaining about the terrible weather. Sheesh!

Exit Lemon

V-Chaos-Two trudged through the snow to gently settle down next to Sentinel, listening to the ticking curiously.

"What is it?", they asked, but a different sound distracted them.

They rose to their feet and walked over to a box, colored green and red, setting down their staff to carefully open it. Inside was another box, carved to utter perfection, with intricate designs and beautiful gold work, and he opened it, gasping softly.

A song. A soft little song that they had to sit down to take it in. It was... it was beautiful. They felt along the box as it stopped and turned the key, winding it back up and letting it run again.

"You can keep it," they mumbled, "That is yours, Sentinel, and this is mine."

A beautiful little thing.

All good things had to come to an end with the music- having been wound up again- drawing to a close. Attikias hummed gently, stirring himself back into motion and placing the box over the astrolabe and chart in his lap.

Right. Time to get organized. Opening his satchel, Attikias removed the spare wrapping paper and discarded it to the side, moving the box to the bottom and laying the metronome above it. It all seemed just so precious and easy to break, and he wanted to be careful about this.

With everyone stowed away, Attikias pulled the next gift closer, unwrapping it too to reveal a simple metal tube of silver. It crinkled as one half turned- what? One end had glass, too, and when he looked in, he reared back at the wonder that had been revealed. It glowed in the light, crystals and colors and glass. He squinted as he turned the end and watched the rainbow shift, mirrors altering and colors playing out in front of him.

Wild. He pulled it away and turned it in his hand, inspecting its cold surface. What was inside of it. Crystal? How did it even do that? Well, in any case, his family would certainly like it, and he placed it beside the spectacles before going for another present.

Two left. Could open them both at the same time, but that'd have complications- nah, he pulled the first one closer, then, unravelling it and peeling the box open.

It looked like the music box, in design, this pocket-watch. It had a more golden-brass color to it- simple in design, yes, but as Attikias held it up on its chain, he watched it spin slowly with curiosity. It had a knob, too, like the metronome, but when he held it up to his ear he could hear it tick, too.

Weird. It opened easily on its hinge, revealing a strange face and sticks like the metronome had. One was ticking solidly- the others were... What were they doing? He squinted down at it before messing with the knob, the thinnest of hands skipping forward.

It still ticked at its same speed. It was a constant metronome? The numbers were odd, but it didn't seem to stop, and he hummed quietly. Maybe, like he guessed with the metronome, this was for keeping tack of how long something'd taken? What did the symbols mean, though? Up to four lines, then the weird sectioned one, then more of the lines behind it. Five? But then why was the one line in front of the cross? Was it addition?

In frustration, Attikias shut the pocketwatch closed. He'll figure it out later. It seemed math wasn't quite his forte right now, and he stuffed it into the satchel, moving on to the final present.

This one- once opened- held something like the glasses, but a soft leather wrapping and pink-tinted lenses. They were some sort of crystal, he surmised, as he ran a finger over its surface. It looked... Easy enough to use, perhaps, and he placed it to his face, finding it just a tad too big for him. Hm. He pulled it back, turning it over and inspecting it, feeling the leather over his rough palms.

Perhaps he could use them for something, someday. Right now? He had to get this back, and there was a lot to get back. He rumbled from his throat as he stood up, adjusted his satchel, and made sure he had all the ribbons that had been tied around the presents, before setting off with the goggles in hand.

A good haul for Attikias Elenya, he'd thought. Strange that there were no pearls this time.

;exit Attikias

Yew wasn't entirely sure what she expected to find when she found herself inside of Ursa. What she did find, though, was more confusing than anything else. The glimmering ceiling of colors topped with... whatever it was that was littered all around, it truly was a sight to see despite her want to leave from how cold the cave was. Despite wanting to turn back and go home, Yew moved forward, farther into the beautiful place and into the cold. She didn't like the cold, much, bu the beauty of the place canceled her thoughts of leaving out for now. Until later when her feathers weren't good enough to keep her warm anyway.

And so, she continued on, inside the cold snowy cave. Something red caught her sight - brightly colored compared to the drab grey and white of the ground, but nothing compared to the glowing colors overhead. It had something golden atop of it, bathed in a shining gold of which Yew had never seen before. Moving closer, the sound of crackling snow could be heard under her feet, but she ignored it to look down at the boxy shape before her.

Pretty.

Moving a clawed limb forward, Yew tore away the things covering what was inside, and found a box within the box. She almost would have been disappointed if it were not for the shining metal on the side, drawing her to touch it. So she did. Upon finding that it moved, Yew messed with it some more, only to set her foot back on the ground and stare at it in confusion.

What could it be?

The box started making sounds. Music. Beautiful music that soothed Yew's thoughts from previous things. It felt safe. She would be taking this with her back home.

Exit

Yellow was going on an adventure!

Sure, it was SO COLD here, but... everything was SO INCREDIBLY PRETTY! She'd be fiiiiiiiine, she just had to - had to move around a little more to warm up, that's all! And oh, was the trip worth it! The ceiling of this room glimmered with a rainbow of constantly shifting colors. Yellow thought it was magical. Eridanus was her home, but did it have rainbow ceilings?

And what was that? A pair of small boxes sat nestled by a patch of frozen plants. They were just as vibrant as the ceiling of this room, albeit with a different color scheme, and they were tied together with gold ribbons! Gold was basically a better, glitterier version of yellow, which was Yellow's favorite color! Delighted, the little lemur bounded toward the boxes and started unwrapping them carefully. The first yielded a small box made out of carved wood, with an equally small key sticking out the side and a miniature figure of an upright monkey-like creature attached. The figure was made from wood painted with vibrant swirls of pink and red. When Yellow cautiously turned the key, the figure moved and music played from the box! It was even better than her little humming spell.

Opening the second box revealed a long, tube-like object. Yellow lifted it up to her face, trying to figure out how it worked. There were no buttons to press with this one, nor keys to turn. She looked through it, trying to see what was on the inside - and nearly dropped it with surprise! The magical little tube showed her a world of geometric patterns and seemingly infinite colors. She held it up to her eye and stared into it for a long time, admiring the impossibly intricate images.

Suddenly, she shivered. It was way too cold here! She would have to start back for Eridanus. Regretfully, she took a last long look at the shifting colors of the room's ceiling, then tied the kaleidoscope around her neck with the golden ribbons that had been used to tie the two boxes closed. Finally, she gathered up the music-playing box and the wrapping paper, doing her best not to crumple or crease it, and bounded back into the tunnel that led back to Polaris.

-exit

Holiday filler episode, was it?

After long time, Wolf Splishy Splashy Fishbeard the Great and Wonderful had discovered a wonderful thing: small underground streams that ran parallel to most of the caves. It was wonderful because it was the only accessible way for her to travel when she wasn't a super duper mega-cool anime werewolf! YEAH!

(Writer's note: Wolf Splishy Splashy Fishbeard is not a werewolf.)

Wait, what were we talking about? Oh right, the plot of the latest episode. Because obviously the entire caves hinged around her. Anyways, the lumpy guppy was swimming about, when she went up a chilly stream and found herself in a landscape made of ice and snow. Very chilly, and unfortunately she couldn't see most of the spectacle from the water's edge. But what Wolf could see were the gifts! Tons of little wrapped boxes just like from one of those lame western cartoons (whatever that meant). Plenty of side characters (read: gembound) were investigating them, so with a very anime huff the frogfish swum around to see if there were any protagonist-accessible presents.

A dip back down into the pristine glacial streams, some painstakingly slow swimming-- 'Now would be a good time for some montage music' -- and then she spotted it: a box, floating in the water! Delightful! Obviously the mysterious gift-giver placed it right there just for her. Wolf's paddlelike fins arduously pawed the wrapping off to reveal...

Goggles!

Nice, round, orange-tinted ones like any self-respecting anime protagonist would wear. They bobbed at the surface of the water, the rims frosted over in the chill.

So. Awesome.

The tiny fish swam up until she bobbed behind the straps. "Wolf Splishy Splashy Fishbeard equips... GOGGLE!" And with that she put them on...

... And they immediately fell off because she was a tiny frogfish and cannot feasibly tighten them with lumpy fins.

Wolf Splishy Splashy Fishbeard proceeded to have an identity crisis.

Ursa was close to the place of her hatching. She quite liked it- it was cold, first and foremost, and dark, and had a quiet sense of peace surrounding it. At least, what she saw of it so far was nice.

There were strange boxes all about the area, too. She had yet to investigate- the reason she'd come to Ursa in the first place was hunger that she didn't want to pass through too many caves for, and she had sated that first. Now, she had the free time to wander and wonder and discover more of these cubes, eventually coming to the conclusion that she'd have to get hands on with it.

She approached one near a tree gingerly. It was a box, but why was it colored so vibrantly if it weren't a trap? Not even the structures in Cepheus looked like this. Unaware of any Mother or previous gift giving encounters, she came to the object with a hard glare and a tense body, as if it could jump awake at any moment.

It didn't move, and it only scooted in the way that she nudged it, her paws carefully testing the waters with the objects. Was it from Cepheus? Was a brick out of place? Crouching low, she sniffed at it warily, pinpoint eyes looking over it. What was this-- cloth? Cerilaine plucked at the ribbon with a claw and it easily tugged off, the tip of her nail digging into the wrapping paper below.

Hm. That was thin. Turning her attention to the box itself, she scraped into the colorful paper and shredded it away from the box, getting at whatever was inside. Bone hit metal, and she flinched back, unfamiliar with the feeling of the foreign substance.

She tugged away the rest of the box and let the pocket-watch inside tumble out. What was that thing? It was cold, whatever it was, left out in the cold as it fell into the snow. Ridges surrounded it, and she plucked under them, inspecting hinges and investigating closer. It moved as she twisted her paw the right way. It opened. A moving face inside declared nothing of meaning, but she recoiled again as she noticed it.

"What are you?" she mumbled down to it, scratching a nail across its glass before pressing her magic down into it, looking to draw a response as to just why it was in motion. It wasn't water, obviously- water seemed to have a source from which it flowed, and there was nowhere for water to go in this thing. Living? Definitely not. She hadn't seen anything of this quality on a living person. Though its tick felt like a heartbeat, that theory was shoved right out the window. The answer must be magic.