Charles felt lost. It had been a long time - many, many cycles, in fact, since he'd seen any of his family. To be honest, it almost felt like they had never been there, at this point. He'd made a life for himself. A bare life, only a small nest and a constant source of food, but it was enough to keep him alive. But nothing to keep him entertained or as driven as he'd been in his youth. Before all...all that had happened.

He spent his time sleeping or watching the wildlife. He could get up, maybe, and explore Eridanus more but...he simply didn't have the motivation to really do anything with himself. He was content with how his life was - it was a stress-free way of life, but it also wasn't exciting or a particularly happy existence.

But what else could he do? He was scared - scared of being alone and going places he'd never been. He was scared of the caves and only places like Eridanus where there was usually light and things to look at, where he never really felt alone, that he could feel some kind of security.

He sat in his nest, in a dip of a tree stump, and laid his head against his wings. There was no roof above his head - nothing to cast a dark shadow over his living space - but he felt safe here. There were at least a bit of wall around him to keep him out of the true "open". His eyes were open for a while, looking around at the branches above him, watching small birds flutter through the canopy, before they eventually slid closed, snoozing as peaceful as he could get, the smallest buzzing sound coming from his nose. A little bird snore, barely audible above the sounds of the forest.

@Rainstorm

Unlike Charles, Rainstorm did not have any family at all. The stones they revived never hatched, their capsules still glowing with life where they casted those spells. Will they ever hatch? It seems they will never be ready for life - Rainstorm should stop guarding them at this point. It's hard. Even without pure sight, Rainstorm finds it hard to leave them behind. What if they do become something, and are found without their parent? Rainstorm would not want that for them.

They make a clicking sound, 'see' where they are going, and continue to walk on the ground.

They do not notice Charles up in the tree - there's not much sound coming from up there (they do not notice the snore) - but they do pass underneath the nest. Probably another slow day of life.

@Charles

He was a light sleeper, especially the huge bat ears, so of course the sound of someone else walking by would instantly jolt him back to reality. He stayed still, the soft clicking sound and the crunch of leaves and undergrowth under feet felt so loud in his ears. Once he was sure they had at least passed the trunk where he was resting, he ever so carefully looked over the edge.

What he saw wasn't anything that he expected. A familiar shape, one he wouldn't have been able to place immediately if they hadn't also been sporting similar bat ears, jet-black coloration, and wispy blue eyes. Shock held him in place for a moment and he wondered if he should just...let them continue on. No need to interact, right? The past was in the past and that was where it deserved to stay.

But...he couldn't. Not when a piece of him that felt lost was there, right there. Before he even processed he was doing in, Charles was climbing onto the edge of the trunk, gripping hard with long talons, and chirping out. "Hey....you. You ran in that shadow trial...right?"

@Rainstorm

Rainstorm nearly keeps walking before they hear a stranger's voice. They don't recognize it, but there is many gembound in these caves. That one clearly knows who Rainstorm themselves are, though. The trial haunts the bird, but it sounds like that one doesn't seem particularly happy talking about it either. Maybe he was in it as well? They would not wish it upon their worst enemies.

The pigeon turns around, pinpoints where the sound came from, and turns to it.

"I was." They were a coward, who let someone die to save them.

That was cycles ago, though, and Rainstorm won't let something like that happen again.

"Why are you asking?" Surely their features give them away - they just aren't close enough to know Charles matches them pretty well.

@Charles

Charles was quiet for a moment, briefly confused. Were they being cold on purpose? Did they not recognize him, or remember him? But surely the black feathers, bat ears, and glowing eyes gave them away as surely as the features did on Rainstorm. For a moment thoughts battered Charles' mind. Stupid, they don't wanna talk to someone from them. They don't wanna remember any more then you do. They lived and others died and you're a reminder, aren't you?

He didn't realize the vision problems in the other and had little to pull himself out of the sudden pitfall of self-loathing. He deflated and a small sigh escaped his beak. "Oh, um. I just thought you would...oh, nevermind. I'm sorry I reminded you." He let out a small, cruel laugh devoid of any amusement. "I don't like remembering, either."

He turned around to hope back into his treestump and curl up and hate himself more.

@Rainstorm sorry :(

The broken sentence makes Rainstorm feel a little bad. Just a little bit. No one's asked them about the trial since it happened, really. But there's not been anyone for them to talk to about it in the first place - they don't recall most of the gembound that were there, just that there was a lot of pain. Terror from the others, Rainstorm still dreams about the screams for help sometimes...

They do their best to chase the thoughts away, and the surprise of the bird's words do pretty good at that. He was there? Who is this? They make clicking sounds and climb up, up the stump. Possibly getting into Charles' personal space, Rainstorm is curious. They are careful to not nick the other bird with their impossibly sharp claws, gazing down at Charles probably in a creepy way.

"You were there too?" They say, nearly ignoring the fact Charles curled up on himself.

When they realize - or perhaps when their voice makes the images known to them - they back off. Backing away, giving him his space back.

"You don't need to hide." gentle, now.

@Charles

Charles kind of expected the bird to leave. He’d be alone with his thoughts and misery once again, but then there was the clatter of claws and suddenly the bird was in front of him, right in his space on the log, peering down at him with eyes that, a Charles realized then, might be blind or mostly blind.

That would explain why it didn’t recognize him.

He stared up at Rainstorm with surprise, for a moment afraid at someone getting so physically close. Nobody had been this close to him in so many cycles. Not since he had been with what remained of his family. A family that had now disappeared again.

”Y-yeah, I was there. My family we…we all ran it. We were raised to run it.” When Rainstorm backed off, Charles felt his breath return and he sat up properly, adjusting his wings to a more comfortable folded position. ”S-sorry. For…I don’t know, never mind. Um. I’m Charles. Sorry, I don’t remember your name.” He ducked his head, feeling a little ashamed, although he couldn’t be blamed. There was a lot more to worry about and remember besides runners in the trial that hadn’t been part of his family.

@Rainstorm

Being raised to run in the trials? Who in their right mind would create a child for such a thing? Rainstorm feels their talons dig into the trunk underneath them - but they quickly force the grip away. This is not their trunk to damage, the place seems like Charles lives here. It's his home - they will not destroy it. At least his movement makes him seem slightly more comfortable.

Rainstorm wouldn't remember their name either, honestly. There wasn't a lot of talking from them when they wandered into the trial - there wasn't much they could do. Too small to really protect others, too fragile to do much on their own. At least they were able to fly over that toxic cloud of something to get away. Even if it damaged them so much that they couldn't see now.

Here is safe. There is no trial here. It still hurts, though.

"Rainstorm." They say. "I'm not important enough for you to remember me anyway." A little addition, it's true. They didn't do a whole lot but almost die and run away.

Someone died for them... They don't know if that gembound had family or friends, would they blame the bird for it? Rainstorm hopes not. There was a lot of hurt from that place for everyone.

"If it's okay to ask... You don't need to say." They pause. "Who raised your family to participate?" It's cruel. Charles probably knows that himself.

Rainstorm wants to make sure they never ever meet this guy.

@Charles

Round eyes blinked with surprise and Charles quickly shook his head. "No, don't say that. We are all important in our own right. It was just...very chaotic for us. At the time. We had other things to worry about. Like not dying." And saving each other, he thought, bitterly, although he pushed the thought away as forcefully as he could. Not the time, Charles.

The question didn't make Charles shy away, no, in fact it did the opposite. A fire burned behind his eyes, an anger and rage he hadn't felt for many cycles. His beak clacked sharply before he spat out, "The Masked Merchent." That disgusting traitor, the foul creature that had raised them, protected them, and then led them to slaughter. "We hatched together, all of us. We were raised together in a cave, isolated and alone, but we had each other. And then as soon as we were four cycles, he led us out into the cave. To run the Trial. And we...we were made to feed it, whatever that monster was. Our purpose was to die. It's sick." He shook his head, tail fluttering behind him.

He remembered those days, when he'd been so full of life and hope. When he wanted to explore and see everything the caves had to offer. But those days were long gone. Only haunting memories remained.

@Rainstorm

Rainstorm lets his words sit in their head for a little while. They don't really feel like they have some sort of purpose - and what if they do? Surely they won't have some kind of extravagant future. They're small in a world full of monsters. Rainstorm wonders if Charles feels the same. Probably. Surely anyone small would find this place dangerous.

"You're right." They say, just because he is.

Everyone there had a lot more to worry about than remembering who anyone was. Survival was the most important thing there. Staying within the light and out of the darkness. Rainstorm is getting tired of only seeing the darkness... But the strange ears they have, they can still see very detailed images of the things around them. Sometimes it just takes Rainstorm a lot to notice these things (like Charles).

The Masked Merchant...? Rainstorm can't recall if they've ever heard of that guy before. They make a mental note to stay far far away. Someone who raised children to fight in something they had no reason to... That person could not be anything nice. The fire in Charles' voice is an odd change of pace, but reminds them that not everyone is sad all the time.

When he tells the story, Rainstorm wonders what ever happened to that monster. What exactly was it? None of them would know, but terrifying darkness seeping over all of the lands is... Unusual. Something Rainstorm would think is a product of magic (like that spell they have, the one that they somehow knew how to use after the trial). But that magic, it is not the same. It does not coat the lands, does not take over entire caves to feast. It does not kill anyone. Least Rainstorm has not tried to use it in such a way. What good would it do if they fed the beast? Does it mean the beast is inside them?

"Someone like that... They're disgusting." They struggle on the words, but they come out eventually.

"I'm sorry that your family was abandoned that way." Rainstorm says. How many were killed? the question stabs them through. They will not ask it. Rainstorm cannot do anything other than apologize, but apologies mean nothing when you were not the one who hurt him in that way.

"How long have you been living here?" Rainstorm is surprised they've not ran into Charles before. They've been living in Eridanus their whole life.

@Charles