To be completely honest with himself, Edric did not think that Gemini would be the place he would find a second Dark Altar. It was too... glittery, whereas Tunnel K had been foreboding and dark. But life was full of surprises, and anyway there could be no harm in exploring the place.

The boar lowered his head to drink from the waterfall, but paused, frowning slightly, when his ears caught a whirling noise. It was not the same as the Whispers, no, but... it didn't sound natural, either. Similar to the rushing water nearby, but not the same.

Edric stuck his head into the alcove, poking the rift curiously with his snout. It felt kind of like a wall, but what kind of wall spun with colors like these? He frowned harder. "What do you want?" he demanded loudly. It seemed too pretty, too cheerful, to require Oil sacrifice like the Altar. And there were no Whispers to tell him what to do with it.

@Melinoe

Melinoe- thats what he called himself, now, having traded his old name old one for something new. It had no longer suited him anyways. He walked slowly through the cave, bright orange eyes scanning the area for anything interesting. Gemini was… interesting. It had a certain beauty about it, though the seemingly endless amount of reflective crystals did get a bit disorienting.

A nearby voice caught his attention. He rounded the corner of the waterfall to find.. A boar yelling at some weird glowing thing floating mid-air. "Um, excuse me." He called, more out of a need to announce his presence than being polite. "Who are you? And what exact is that thing?"


@Edric

The tear in space warbled and shifted, its noise both a deafening roar and an impending silence. It wobbled where it lay set into the alcove.

Edric's interrogation techniques received no answer.

@Edric @Melinoe

Edric's question went unanswered, which was pretty much how he'd expected things to go. The Whispers didn't talk coherently much, either, and this thing's whoosh didn't even remotely sound like words. He wondered, briefly, if bringing it oil would help, but he was feeling no more murderous than usual. It did not seem to be urging him toward that, then.

He would have continued to stare at it, as he once had at the Altar for days on end, but a second voice came from just behind him. Edric jerked, nearly falling over with surprise. "HMPF?" he managed, then: "Edric!" Then he blinked, taking in the animal before him. A lion? Bigger than he was, annoyingly, but at least they were polite. It was probably best to keep things that way. "I don't know what it is. What's your name?"

@Melinoe

Luminous eyes scrutinized the boar, who already Melinoe had labeled internally as a fool. Yelling at some weird rift? Nearly falling over just at the sight of another? Top tier foolish behavior. At least he was unlikely to be a threat. And, seeing as there wasn't anyone else around... maybe he could have some fun with this... Edric.

He'd move a couple steps closer, making a point of looking down at the boar like the peasant he was. "Ah, I shouldn't have expected you to. It is quite... mysterious." His tufted tail swished as if chasing away flies, looking down with a sort of faked polite interest as he scrutinized the boar. "I am Melinoe." No real threat. Stupid, and probably can't run far with that gemstone leg. Could be boring, though. "What brings you to this place? Have you come to investigate as I have?" No reason not to continue this conversation- would probably be more interesting than any fight Edric could put up.

@Edric

Edric was silent for a moment, staring at the lion before him. He had the distinct feeling that he was being made fun of, somehow, and his little boar heart resented it.

But this was a lion, someone best not offended, and so he did not react past the slight narrowing of his eyes. And-- ah! He brightened at the question. Here was a chance for him to deliver his business pitch again! Yes, the one that had worked so well last time. "I have," he declared proudly. "It is a mysterious alcove--I have explored another like it, and found enlightenment." Edric paused dramatically, watching Melinoe's face for signs of interest in his little exposition.

"This one is nothing special," the boar continued, shaking his head with exaggerated mournfulness. "But the other--it spoke to me, as it speaks to others, and it has shown me the true way of the world."

@Melinoe

Melinoe saw the slight narrowing of the boar's eyes. Smarter than I first thought, if he recognized the insult and yet chose not to react. He didn't really care whether the boar was insulted or not. If he got riled up enough to become aggressive, well... that'd certainly make things a little more interesting.

"Hm. Enlightenment, huh?" Intrigued, certainly, but heavily skeptical. "What exactly is so special about the other alcove? What sort of.. words did it speak to you?" Partially narrowed flame-colored eyes scrutinized the boar. It was certainly possibly he was just crazy- some nut who stared at a glowing rift in space for too long. But if what Edric was talking about had at least some bit of truth to it... well, it'd certainly be worth further investigating.

@Edric

Oh, yes! The lion was interested! Edric grinned. This was going a lot more smoothly than it had the first time--clearly, he was getting better with practice. "Oh, I've heard it says different things to everyone!" he lied blatantly. Truthfully, he hadn't gotten a single word out of the Altar past YES, and he had no idea if others had had any better luck. Probably not. Who else was there, anyway? Some tiny little koala thing that didn't even like chaos before they visited the Hole? If anyone deserved to be spoken to, it was Edric: Edric who had prayed at the Altar, Edric who had sacrificed to it, Edric who had brought it a second disciple. "You'll just have to go there and listen for yourself."

"But there's one main thing that connects it all, I heard," Edric added conspiratorially. This was also a lie; he'd never bothered to ask Enoki what he'd heard or seen, and he didn't know anyone else who visited the Altar. "Chaos. And Oil--it is what all things start as, and all things return to. And! It's powerful. Black arms that come out of nowhere and can lift you up like nothing. It could make you powerful, too."

The light of a fanatic glinted in Edric's eyes. "Well?" he asked, leaning slightly closer. "Wanna come see?"

@Melinoe

The boar seemed quite pleased by his curiosity. Excited, even. What a fanatic. Whatever this other alcove is must be quite persuasive. Just more ticks in the "Crazy Box," really. It would be unwise to completely disregard his words, however. In every river bank there's at least a few flecks of gold. It was just a matter of sifting it out. "If it says something to everyone, then what did it say to you." If the boar was even willing to disclose what seemed borderline sacred to him.

A politely intrigued 'oh?' as the little cultist went more in depth. Chaos and Oil, huh? This is sounding more and more like some sort of death cult. But the word 'powerful' made his ears quite literally perk up. Power was something he needed- nay, deserved. If this alter- or rather, whatever being lived within it, could give him that power. Well. He'd give it however much Oil it needed.

But that was only if this was anything of substance in the first place.

"Well, I'd like to see how powerful it has really made you." He lifted a large paw, flexing his claws. "If you can beat me in a spar, then this thing must be truly worth checking out." He got into a battle-readied position, waiting for the boar to make the first move.

@Edric (Spar? <:)

Oh, like hell was Edric admitting he'd only ever gotten one word from the Altar. He snorted dramatically. "And WHY," he cried, "should I tell YOU? Those words were meant for ME. It has not judged YOU worthy of hearing them!" Hopefully, the lion wouldn't question it too much. Darn thing was too suspicious.

He snorted at the challenge to spar. Beat him in a fight? Well... maybe the lion was a little on the big side. But it wasn't like he was completely incapable of defeating the lion! Edric was blessed, after all. And he was good at fighting! "Of course I can!" he declared confidently, the only warning he gave before he lowered his head and lunged toward the lion with narrowed eyes.

@Melinoe of course :D
Round 1/5?
Attempt: charge at Melinoe's legs to trip him
Defense: narrowed eyes, lowered head
Injuries: none