"No one here will leave you, Delphine," her words were stern, yet still had a soft edge to them. "Not forever. We are here for you."

The nameless owl shot a (slightly pitying) glance down at Adeyemi, as if asking him to confirm her words. Wether he did or not, she turned her head once more to continue preening the filly's mane quietly.

@Adeyemi

Adeyemi stared up at Willow, the bittersweet mix of jealousy and pride that swept through him catching the turaco off guard, and he huffed, looking away, clicking his beak uneasily. It wasn't often he simply... couldn't do what he wanted, was distinctly unable. It upset his natural balancing act of pride and talent, and the self-proclaimed royal took a moment to clear his mind, turning back to Delphine with a - hopefully - comforting coo.

"None of us will be departing permanently," the brightly colored chick assured, pointedly shooting a glare at the rest of the creatures gathered, as if daring them to leave after he and Willow had worked to calm the foal down. Then, he turned back to Delphine, hopping a bit closer to spread out a wing, gesturing to he, Willow and the babe herself. "We may be apart at some times, but family always finds its way back together, yes?"

Booker hummed at Khloros' gentle nudge, blinking back into the present, watching as the tiny foal tried to explain her worries. Again, the birds seemed to have the situation under control; it was... nice, to have help from strangers. He didn't completely trust himself to be able to protect both Khloros and Delphine, and if they could rely on other Gembounds, it would help to assuage that sense of total responsibility that had been instilled in the numbat.

"It's nice, to meet new Gem-bounds," he whispered softly, glancing towards his friend with a soft grin. "Seems like this cave is full of good sir-prizes." Still, the foal looked unsettled, and Booker snuggled closer to his charge, whiskers twitching. "You all-right, Khlor?"

@Khloros

Khloros shifted, letting out the softest of nickers as he leaned down to nudge Booker back. He seemed to be lost in thought, watching Delphine.

Truth be told, her soft plea had twisted something in him, a little heart-wrench that wrung pity from him. He wasn't sure what to do.

"I'm not... adult. But who do you--want to go with? Maybe others can help you find white dog. If you want to come with me I live not far. If you want to go with others, they live I-don't-know," he managed, completing one of the longest speeches of his young life. He didn't want her to leave alone, wasn't sure he wanted her to leave at all but at the same time he wasn't sure if he and Booker could take care of her, protect her.

Maybe they could. It'd be up to her where to go, but Khloros felt bad for the other foal, worried, and most of all he was reluctant to leave someone so like himself. He remembered Rafael saying that he was unique, but Delphine wasn't all that unlike him at all

He wasn't sure how big the caves were, but as long as Delphine didn't end up lost in them, he'd be satisfied with that.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

@Delphine

A young heart was one that was unsurprisingly fickle. Easily distracted by kind words and physical ministrations, Delphine's anxiety flitted back to the crevice from which it'd stemmed. Dammed by the warmth of camaraderie and promises.

She craned her neck, reaching to nuzzle the owl upon her back. The movement was slight, a feather's breath before her attention was cast toward Adeyemi.

'Family.'
In that moment, she wondered if anyone could have known just how much the one word had moved her. How foreign yet fitting it was that the moment it left the colorful bird's lips, the young filly simply had to try it for herself. "Faaa-" Her lips puckered and brows furrowed, struggling but not discouraged. "Fa. Muh. Lee." Broken syllables that refused to cooperate. "Fami-ly." Far from perfection but it was enough and with a beaming smile, Delphine folded her legs beneath her so that she was ground-level with the turaco. She'd offered her back to him so that if he so desired, he could remain by his feathered friend's side. Or if the owl so wished, she could descend. Though Delphine did hope otherwise.

All the while, both Booker and Khloros spoke among one another. The motion of it piquing the young filly's interest as her head hovered closer to the pair. "Go?" Curiosity flickered within emerald eyes and her head bobbed, "Go where? Go too-" Again the linguistic hurdle presented itself mid-speech though Delphine had every and all intention of conquering said obstacles. "Too-geth-ur?" It was a slow process of assimilation but with each success, her pride swelled.

"To-gether?"

( @Willow )

Adeyemi watched, feathers fluffed with a swell of pride, as the foal replied, getting the word down admirably quickly. He blinked when she lowered to the ground, smiling, and tilted his head, unsure of what was being offered - but then, seeing Willow still grooming the horse's mane, the royal huffed out a chuckle, a sweeping wave of affection catching him off guard. It wasn't often that the chick felt attached; indeed, this would be but the second time. Adeyemi waddled over to the babe's side, and with a mighty leap, landed semi-gracefully on her back, cuddling close to Willow and joining the owlet in her grooming, tickling at the backs of Delphine's ears with a playful cluck.

The child's head moved towards the red rat and the other horse, and the firebird huffed, eyeing the pair distrustfully. They were... amusing, but amusement had never amounted to much for the bird. He valued power above all else... and, perhaps, he had a few soft spots. Two, now, to be exact. "Yes, I suppose we could go after the ill beast," he finally drawled, letting out a rather exasperated sigh. "I'm not very keen on staying here, anyhow," Adeyemi added, eyeing the cold tunnel walls with distaste. Eridanus was not his favorite place, but at the very least, it had open air, sunlight, and nourishment. Polaris made him feel cramped, caged in, and restless. "But we will, of course, do whatever is best for the little one," the prince asserted, eyeing the others as if challenging them to disagree.

Booker nodded in agreement to Khloros' words, whiskers twitching as he spoke up. "Yes, yes, I live very close to here, if you'd like to go there. Or we could try to find Mag," he tacked on, aware of the duo of feathered Gembounds' overall null response to the dog. She was his friend, though, one of his first - and that made him feel responsible for her safety, in some way, small and weak as he was. At the colorful chick's words, the numbat huffed, amusement warring with a tiny flicker of annoyance. "Of course. 's up to Delphine," he assured, sending the foal a small, tired smile.

"We could go together," he added, in response to her question. "All of us." A doubtful glance towards the birds, and a trusting, happy one towards Khloros, signalled the end of Booker's little speech. "What-ev-er you want," he directed to the foal. Something in him was a bit jealous of the brightly-plumed bird's apparent connection the foal, but he tamped that down - after all, he couldn't have what he had with Khloros with everyone, no matter how much they might resemble his friend.

@Khloros

Khloros simply remained silent.

He moved, tottering and staggering with youthful ungainliness, to stand alongside Booker. Then he turned his large-eyed gaze back to Delphine, waiting; whatever she decided, he would follow along. He was barely newborn--certainly not old enough to make such decisions on his own.

He just listened, and followed, and waited to see, and hoped that whatever she chose, she'd be okay. Safe. He flicked eyes over the others--the strangers to him--and hoped that they would look after her. And--glancing behind him--hoped that the white dog, too, was safe somewhere.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

(( ooc -- @Delphine ; be warned that after this post, Polaris is on fire, and Booker/Khloros are separated, so going with them may be a bad idea but if it's what she would do I'm sure we can work it out! ))

For a moment, Delphine thought the turaco would reject her offer to alight upon her back but her worries were easily assuaged when in a mighty huff, he jumped. She nickered and tossed her head joyously before standing upon spindly legs; an uncertain tremor still sending a shiver through her but with passengers aboard, she refused to fall. Her face lit with a smile when she felt the tickling along the back of her ears and in turn, the filly tossed her head again but slightly.

Listening to their exchanges, the newborn Gembound contemplated their options though the only thing that she knew for certain was that she did not wish to follow Magdalena. It was not for lack of desire to see the pale dog rather than the thought that if the Gembound wished to be found, she would be. She shot an emerald gaze to Adeyemi and Booker, struggling for a moment to intonate the words necessary to explain herself. "Mmmm-agda go." Her lips puttered and her brows furrowed. "N-No Delphine." Then she stepped closer to the numbat and colt, first dipping her head to fondly nudge Booker and not soon after, Khloros. "We go?"

It came from beyond, a singular roar that rose without warning. More captivated than shocked, the filly started with a jolt and stared, wide-eyed, at the space beyond unsure of what to expect. Knowing not what it was, she neither reacted nor detracted but her placidity would not remain. "Ww-wwha-" Then a terrible scream soared, licking high toward the ceiling and roaring to wakefulness. In a manic stupor, Delphine reared with a high-pitched shriek, her front legs kicking into the air as if to fend off the unseen demons. A rush of energy, frail and weak, rushed from where her hooves met earth and the world trembled with the impact. She'd awoken her magic and the caverns shivered from the momentum. The newborn, too terrified by the unknown, turned without warning and ran — blind with an instinctual fear that denied her the necessary logic to seek safety among those who she'd just met. If she'd known that she would not see her friends for some time to come, perhaps she would have found the courage to stay but nature had a way of paving its own path when it thought necessary and in it, Delphine was but a pawn.

exit delphine!

( that works out perfectly. we can say the whole group split because of the golems/unknown source since i assumed delphine woke with no one by her side during baratheon's attack. @adeyemi )

What began as a dull thunder would slowly and steadily mount into a deafening roar. The creatures comprised of rock all fell over one another, advancing through the core like a tidal wave of stone. Their boulders churned and rotated beneath their weights, unseeing, ever grasping hands and feet pushing them forward. They would sweep across the ground towards the gathering of Gembounds, but it was not the accumulation of magic that had attracted them. Something else was shaking the earth below; something far more powerful. And it was coming.

The golems will continue to charge through Polaris until Raheerah's arrival. Leaving Polaris would be the wisest course of action, lest you become consumed in the rocks.