Reign looked between Tahi-Shei, Pride, and the great roaring valkhound perched before them. At the bubble of tainted air protecting them from the wind. At the gembounds scattered around the crumbling hole like ants. A torrent of roars provided background music to his thoughts. They fell apart before they even reached Mother. Their army was just a gaggle of enemies. The cheetah was a proud cheetah, and he hated to back down from a battle, but sometimes it's just a poor decision.

"We should turn back." his deep voice was unusually resigned. "It's obvious some of us aren't prepared to fight in a team. Barely a few steps in and we're fighting each other. We should head back, regroup, refocus, retrain, and return when the conditions are more favorable. Otherwise we're walking into a bloodbath."

He dipped his head towards the two deer, respectfully, and then padded to the far edge of the circle and looked out into the blizzard. Could they trace their steps back? Or were their pawprints already hidden by snow?

Nemo

"She... she crysalized? She's not gone?" he sounds tentatively hopeful, having been hovering close enough to hear everything that had been said and reported, but of course the one thing he catches is whats being said about Giggle. Nemo desperately wants to stay, to keep watch over those crysalized down in the tunnel, but it's far too small for him, he wouldn't be able to slow his descent, let along fly anyone else out without magic... unless.

Nemo lands, and has his back turned to Dracouna, and the hissing, oily little sidekick she has, and he offers her a blank, "If we want to get rid of that fungus, we have to work on the same side. That means no killing each other... as much as we may dislike it."

Then, he he looks up at Tahi-shei, lungs burning with the tainted wind and something tugging at his magic, tempting him to turn around and set his claws in that beasts face anyway. "We need to find shelter, then, if no matter what we do gets us killed. I won't live the rest of my life in fear, I've done enough of that." Raising his voice to be heard over the gale, he continues, "If we move on, towards the mountains, we have the best chance of surviving this weather and finding Mother, of living another day, cycle, and set of seasons. I say we move on, tentatively, and find someplace that worm can't dig up to us, but someplace that isn't so enclosed that we risk trapping ourselves."

With that, he wades his way across the snow, sinking in and lowing his head against the gale, until he reaches the pit, a black scar against the landscape. Leaning forward, he calls down, "I'm going to try and bring you up, myself."

After his attempt, and Sora is on solid snow, he feels confident enough to say - "I can calm the winds, when we move on. Forward into the unknown, to finish what we started, seems like a more dignified way to freeze than a few steps from the doorway, anyway." the end of what he said is... heavily sarcastic, almost quiet enough to be eaten by the howling winds of the storm.

Nemo is now Touched, 1 pt. of Corruption.
Nemo votes to Move On.

Votes were in; speeches had been made.

While much of the group remained, two had fallen deep below and into their chrysalises, and two more--Esther and Zhusha--had now left the group to become inevitably lost in the snowstorm.

Sora, however, was safe at least; the swirl of wind had been funneled into greater strength by the narrow tunnel, and though it was short-lived, it was enough to draw her up where someone could move her to the side, and to safety.

The ground, very briefly, rumbled.

________________

Esther and Zhusha should roll to attempt to find their way safely out if they wish to do so; any type of perception roll (Other, Sense spells, etc) will do. A failed roll will result in them becoming further lost. Other characters may take any action they choose.

The next GM post will occur on March 16th.

@Tahi-shei (Sora) @Madhukar @Twisted @Marshmallow @Nemo @Reign @Pride (Nidhogg) @Draconua @Zhusha @Esther

Tahi-shei’s ears pinned at Pride’s words. He’d hoped the whiteout had been a side effect of the limited range of the spell — but no, if the others were blind…?

He knew the direction the mountains were in when directed from the tunnel, assuming that they’d been walking in a straight line. But honestly, he’d been hoping that they’d be able to see what was ahead of them. And then — well, the tantruming child that was Draconua reared her ugly head.

Annoyance prickled under his skin, even as she glowered and roared. Despite her sheer size and power, Tahi-shei genuinely could not bring himself to be afraid of her. Not now, not here in Ursa. Draconua’s magic or the fury of her bite were mild consequences compared to… literally anything else he could think of happening, actually. Instead, he let her finish, exhausted and annoyed and not the slightest bit moved or altered by it.

The horrible, nails-on-a-chalkboard cackle was terrible and yet, not even that bothered him. With the picture perfect face of a minimum wage retail worker being screamed at twenty minutes before closing time, he let her whirlwind by.

Contingency plans.

That one, well — that one earned a flick of his ear. He knew Vargas had them, of course, and then there was the matter of the fear in Vargas’s own voice, his own warning. Oil-slicked spit splattered across his face, and he felt for a moment like TEARING HER THROAT OUT.

But no. Tahi-shei did not flinch back or back down, beyond the natural reaction of flinching at a sudden loud noise. His ears did not pin, and when she was finished, he just… sighed.

He was cold, and tired, and absolutely exhausted. She would not listen to him, and the best tool he really had in his arsenal at the moment was apathy. He thought about provoking her — he really, genuinely did. He wanted, for a moment, to scream obscenities at her and tell her that the world does not revolve around you. He wanted to pump her full of lightning and spores, to tear her flesh from her body and feel her Oil between his teeth —

but he was tired, and James was angry, and so was Pride, and Giggle was gone, and all he could think of in that moment when he really, genuinely considered trying to kill Draconua was Elias.

He recalled in vivid color the way the alligator had twitched and breathed, dying a slow and painful agony. He recalled the look on Madhukar’s face when he admitted it to her, the crashing of lightning all around him. He recalled the promise he’d made to Giggle, the promise he’d made to James, and most of all, he recalled the way Elias’s stone had shattered into pieces under Aran’s hooves.

He was numb, inside and out. He sighed, and looked more or less in the direction that Draconua was. ”ARE YOU DONE?” he said, raising his voice just barely above the roar of the storm. No anger, just the exasperation of a kindergarten teacher. And then, he turned his head to where he'd heard Sora's mild panic as she was sucked up to the surface and tumbled into the snow with a curse.

Votes were in. They were even, but he knew distantly what Madhukar would have wanted even though she hadn't spoken -- while he didn't know it, people were already leaving the party anyway. ”WE GO BACK,” he declared. "I WILL FACE THE MUSIC. IF ANYONE TAKES THE FALL, LET IT BE ME." He turned to where he was fairly certain Drac was, oil still evaporating off of his skin. ”IF YOU WISH IT, GO ON ALONE, AND DON'T GET INFECTED.”

The roaring of the storm was just too bad — they’d die if they stayed out here, Mother be damned. It was just… too cold. And, at that, the ground was... rumbling. "IT MIGHT BE COMING BACK! GO, AND KEEP AN EYE OUT!" After all, how was he to know that running was the worst possible move? "FOLLOW OUR FOOTPRINTS, AS WELL AS YOU CAN IN THE FALLING SNOW!"

He wanted to leave people to protect Giggle and Wyvern, but... well, how would they get back up? And how would they survive this storm? He was cold, and with cold came tired. Sore and irritable already, Tahi-shei was ready to go home. Let them unleash their contingency plans -- this was not a storm this group could weather, and Tahi-shei had been a fool to lead them into it.

To her shock and terror, Draconua did move. Out, away from the hole, and to... no. Her heart skipped perhaps several beats -- in fact, maybe she had died from the impact. Draconua was big enough to be a building, a titan you could walk into of your own volition... if only it weren't alive. But it was, bombastically and explosively so. Its voice dared to mock the thunder Madhukar produced, its temper rivaled the felinoid's storms. It was not a building one walked into, not in this state. In this state, Draconua was a building that swallowed you whole--

The magic came like instinct, rapid in its attempt to unfurl from her body. Perhaps the whispers goaded it, tempted the wickedness and force that Madhukar intended to display. In its haste, in the wrath it attempted to embody, the magic failed to work. Madhukar should have expected that. She hadn't practiced it as much. Still, it managed to embitter her further.

She had not been herself from the start, and now Madhukar was even less so. This was no help to Tahi-shei. Leaving his side to yell and fail to thrash an enemy was no help to Tahi-shei. Allowing that fiend to do anything this stupid and this threatening at all when Madhukar had the power to keep it in check -- did she? did she really? did anyone? -- was a betrayal to Tahi-shei. If she was what killed him, Draconua directly but Madhukar by proxy, then there would be no hope for these caves.

Madhukar did want to go back. She hadn't said anything, but she wanted Tahi-shei to go back. They had kids. He had James. There was a life for him, and coming out here, continuing forward in these conditions... that was the equivalent to throwing it all away. Maybe he didn't realize yet, just how much space he took up in their lives. Remove those pieces and the world collapses in on itself, the people lost to space. She would be falling aimlessly forever if he ever dared to die. She couldn't stop him from wanting Mother gone, but she could make sure he was ready to complete the task. This was not ready.

Draconua had a lot of words, many of which Madhukar did not entirely understand. They only made Madhukar more afraid. When would they end? What would the punchline be? Would Draconua just crane down that disgusting head and chomp him down like a rat? That must be how he looked from that high up, both actually and metaphorically. And even when the end came tumbling down and no death came of it, Madhukar's ire couldn't steam off her skin. It remained trapped by the whispers, held down and fed upon, even as Tahi-shei handled the situation verbally.

He sounded exhausted. This could not go on.

If she could have reached Draconua in any capacity, the infighting of this assault might have killed them all. The fury was too distracting. They could not continue, Madhukar had to settle it -- but not here, not here. Tahi-shei announced that they would return, that he would take the fall, whatever that meant. Madhukar could beat down the anger just long enough to shoot him a look full of her concern, what little empathy remained in her. Then the anger swallowed her up again.

She had to settle this. She had to settle this. She had to settle this. She had to-- Maybe this would not amount to much. A simple removal of a stain upon these caves. Down one enemy so they could focus better on the other. Nobody needed Draconua anyway, not like they needed Tahi-shei. Did that idiot realize that? 'I grant death wishes, Draconua.' Did it even know that? Obedience, mercy, only after death? Then let there be neither. Let there be nothing. Not until the dragon was slain.

Abruptly, Sora was swept off her feet and sucked up into the air by a small tornado. Her little legs flailed and kicked as she spit obscenities, but she calmed down rather quickly once she realized they were just pulling her back up. Someone else grabbed her and pulled her onto the snow, where she flopped down onto her side for a moment to catch her breath. Tahi-shei was... well, he was barking orders again, and it looked like he had decided to retreat.

Sora felt nausea stir up within her. She understood Tahi-shei's choice, but... well, there was no telling what the Merchant was going to do. The monster had eaten recently, she knew that, but still, it made her shiver. However, Sora still got to her feet. Sora felt the rumble, and heard the panic in Tahi-shei's voice. Her head swung around as he directed her to start moving -- she rather felt like holding still might have been better, since the damn thing didn't have eyes, but she was a soldier and she wasn't going to question orders.

Tahi-shei's face was unchanging, frozen in what she knew (she knew! she knew!) was a facsimile of composure, fortitude, immovability; but he'd been afraid of her before. He'd cowered away, lashed back out like some cornered animal despite being out in the open Mile. Lips peeled further past jagged teeth—where was that chaotic spark? That penchant for striking back at what looms? No bowing to authority, no shrugging it off—

That was what infuriated her most, the pretending. Pretending at some superiority, at being some King atop a Hill of morality. Sigh, like he was some sort of wistful beast at the precipice, longing after a simpler time. "ARE YOU DONE?" like she was not justified in her riotous fury.

(Still, yet—! They had the gall to be disappointed, torn-up about methodologies and promises of failures, angry with her for quelling the infestation that was Order. Draconua simmered where she did, skin boiling in negatives.)

The Sleepless Chaos let loose a terrible howl, and reared up to drop her head like a guillotine—

Teeth snapped shut on thin, icy air, of her own volition and no one else's. Her hide twitched and flanks seized in the same rhythm as the faint rumble beneath her gnarled claws. A dozen eyes blurring and refocusing on the distance, she twisted and shoved through the snow. Sanguine faceplate buffeted by the snow, Draconua yowled to the earth, and bid it shatter. It was a warcry, a beacon, a COME AND FACE ME.

Order would end—she'd tear down every banister, put a bloody slash through every node, burn it all at the stake.

Then, these Caves would fall; Masters, Guardians be damned—this was not His cave. These were not His creatures. Draconua had known this to be true, already, but in this epiphany, she had discovered something lost to the years: purpose.

What else but to be the reclaimer? The one to raze this nest and remove the fetid influences that had overtaken it? To wipe away every last bit of Order and whatever vile incense had sprung in His wake?

Every last one of these pathetic little creatures would die.

Nemo

We're... turning back. We're going back, really? After everything? It's a decent idea, but given our time crunch I assumed back wasn't an actual option... Nemo is seething, internally, this roiling rage almost alien in it's intensity, and some part of his still calm mind points out the oddly tainted winds that had been in his lungs, saturated his feathers. He's lucky that his unfocused glare into the screeching white is broken by the ominous rumble underfoot, and the feathers along his spine rise in alarm as he realizes that the partially crushed worm is still around.

Waiting, hunting.

How odd, to be the one hunted by something he cannot see. How the tables have turned. How will they make it back to the entrance?

"I-" he starts, his words catching a bit before he clears his throat, one wing fiddling with the knotwork of his wrapped bauble, the glow mostly muffled but the wrapping coming loose, now. "I'll try distract the worm - unless that thing can sense me in the air, I'll be fine. I can buy you time to get back to the entrance." Nemo let's his voice sort of grate, a shrieking to counterpoint the wind as it snarls overhead. The raptor has some hope that his feathering will help insulate him against the cold, that it'll give him more time to get back and hunker down between the chrysili before it's too late for him.

When everyone else had spoken , or moved, or generally had their fits, he opens his wings to take off, his insides swooping as he's pulled off the ground by the storm, and he has to fight the winds around him and in his memories to even out and make sure he's headed away from both the doorway, and the party... and slightly further out into the fields.

He hopes against whatever that monster was on that his distraction would work, that his magic wouldn't fail him, that the worm would chase him - huh. What an odd wish.

But here goes nothing, so he climbs, before dropping and snapping his wings together as if attempting to fan away the snow from the snow it covered, and he detonates his magic (if this works) with a fury.

Pride was turning back, as told. It was sour, a disappointed knot in his gut--not a bloodthirst denied but a realization that danger remained, even triumphed. That this threat would linger, here, for all those innocents who passed it by.

But there was little time to ponder, little time to plan. He got as far as I'll come back in better weather, secure the chrysalises- and then Mount Draconua erupted.

The white stag wheeled from his short journey of only a few steps, silvered eyes snapping wide, shimmering with the dance of aurora-light above. His magic flared out instinctively, reflexively, reaching like protective arms for all of those close by. There were many Gembound here--so many--and the magic didn't discriminate; it reached for the Sleepless Chaos as well. He struggled with the weight of it.

But it snared them nonetheless: it fought to lift every Gembound present a few feet off the ground, wavering, unsteadily, to prevent them from being slashed to ribbons or tumbling into the earth of Draconua's tantrum.

"Enough, please," he directed Draconua's way, and his voice was perhaps too calm, perhaps wouldn't carry over the thunder of it all. "If you want a fight, I will fight you when we are out of here. If it makes you feel better, but now is not the time."

Head inclined toward Tahi-shei. "Perhaps a little respect for the giant Chaos monstrosity here to help us-?" he suggested drily.

His heart was pounding in his chest. Terror had given way to blank calm. Oh, he would feel it later: it would come back in a trembling rush, if Draconua or the ice worm did not eat him first. It would leave him lying and heaving and shaking, broad pupils dilated as he thought about how close they'd come to death. But right now-? Right now there were things that had to be done. And some part of his mind, some cold, blank part, had (for now) taken over.

For EVERYONE--Pride is trying to lift those close to Drac and himself off the ground so they aren't smooshed, crushed or scrambled in her Chaos Blender.

Nidhogg listened, oblivious to the more subtle nuances here. To Tahi's snub or Draconua's taking insult--he himself wouldn't have grasped any of those social cues. He was waiting, instead, to be told what to do. To kill, chase, to go down into the tunnels, but no--it seemed that they were turning back. He hissed and turned, slinking low, disappointed at the lack of a fight--and then Draconua was enraging!

Nidhogg turned, interest sparking back up. A fight? Would they-

All at once, the earth shattered. The Gembound, himself included, were floating clear of the ground. Nidhogg screeched in fear, his supple neck twisting to stare upward in horror: why was he FALLING upward?! Would he hit the ceiling? Would he fall forever, then fall back the other way? Would he die?! The sensation of no ground beneath his feet, of weightless tumbling, was terrifying and a few seconds of cat-like air-twisting and scrabbling at snowflakes left him clutching in desperate inspiration for Draconua.

"HELP!" was all he yelped, snaggling clawed hands and feet for any part of her he could reach--her Husssar-wings, her spines, it didn't matter; any point of stability, anything that might anchor him to her violent safety and keep him from flying off into the white.