(everyone and anyone is welcome!)

The owl had long memorized the carvings; every curve and line, every strange figure that lingered and even the parts that had been scratched out. She spent hours upon hours staring at the carvings on the walls, trying to figure them out. Every moment she wasn't looking at them, they plagued her mind. Even when she traveled with Adeyemi and overlooked whatever antics he'd get into, if it be quarreling with false royalty or getting roped into looking over a passive-aggressive dog-rat, the carvings would be the only thing she was concerned about.

Adeyemi. She wasn't sure where he was now. That didn't matter right now. He would be alright.

... Maybe.

She found a satchel in Eridanus, the placed she was born. It was old and worn, but it would do. She knew what it was for. The next few days in the maw of moss were spent collecting rocks - each were virtually identical. They had to be. Similar shape, size, colour, but of course some were different - some had imperfections. She would learn those imperfections in time, but for now it didn't matter. With the satchel's strap held in her beak she flew into Tunnel I, and headed to the all-too-familiar wall.

She looked at the carvings fondly, as if she had seen an old friend for the first time in years. She was sure they were part of the purpose she had been looking for since she hatched, and now that she was comfortable with the name she found for herself, she was ready to delve into that purpose.

She nestled down in front of the wall and placed the satchel down next to her, taking out a stone. She only briefly glanced at the carvings once more before she began scratching into the stone with sharp talons.

Athena Ignis
The hottest fire makes the hardest steel.

Athena's first waddling steps led her away from the fiery hell that was her birthplace. She had troubled controlling her muscles and often fell, but she was nowhere near giving up.
As soon as the Gembound felt that her legs were starting to support her better and she was getting the hang of walking (if that's what you wanted to call her waddling) she had to kick it up a notch. In the middle of the path rested a small stone, long and maybe half as big as Athena's head.
Instead of walking around it, the Alaskan Malamute decided to take the challenge and go for the first jump of her still very young life.

POST ROLL EDIT
Athena crouched down, her front pressed to the ground, butt up in the air; tail wagging. Her blue eyes narrowed at the stone, taking in the obstacle.
The minimum amount of strength the baby Gembound had in its body found its way into its hindlegs. Athena pushed herself off the ground and- "Ouch!" She cried out, whimpering. Her thin voice echoed through the Tunnel, thrown off the walls and traveling far through the cave system.

Instead of jumping over the stone, Athena had jumped against the stone, successfully hitting the nub of her Gemstone with the obstacle. She blinked her confusion away and growled at the stone. How did it dare to attack her! She hadn't done anything! "Attack!" She barked, barring her baby teeth at the stone before she kicked it away with her front legs.
The stone moved a little and Athena giggled. This was fun! And she would show the mean stone for attacking her! Nobody messed with her!

And so Athena found herself pushing the stone through the tunnel, giggling and growling playfully. A little further down the path, another Gembound sat next to some carvings in the wall, both of which the Alaskan Malamute took no notice at all.


"Listen to me."

The owl had been sitting for a long time now - in fact one of her talons was now completely blunt and she had to use the other to continue carving the rocks. They were coming along fine now, though she hadn't had any physical contact with any kind of creature in a long time. Days, weeks, maybe an entire cycle? Willow wasn't sure, time seemingly stood still in these caves.

Ouch!

That is irregular, thought the owl as she turned her head to look down the tunnels. Not many people came here since the dragon had made roost in Polaris. Someone isn't trying to disturb the dragon, are they? That thing would make quick work of whoever had disturbed it.

As the owl began packing away the stones carefully into her satchel and moved to pick it up by the strap with her beak, she noticed a strange little figure - similar to Feral. Upon remembering Feral's rather brutish way of displaying affection, Willow seemingly decided to place the satchel back down with a sigh. It didn't seem injured, if it had came out of Polaris, which the owl assumed was a good thing.

At least it wasn't annoying the dragon.

Athena Ignis
The hottest fire makes the hardest steel.

Athena was quite absorbed in her little game; so much, she at first didn't take notice of the other gembound's presence. As fun as it had been before though, pushing around a stone did get boring eventually. Giving the stone one last push with her tiny legs, the pup sat down on its fluffy butt and pondered what else to do now. Her blue orbs fell on a creature. It had feathers and wings and was much different from Athena herself.

She cocked her head, curiously regarding the other. "Hello?" She spoke with a smile, tail moving excitedly from side to side. "I'm Athena, you?" The Alaskan Malamute asked, wondering what kind of creature the other was and how long they'd been here already. Were they born in the fire of Polaris too? Were there others?


"Listen to me."

Willow watched the dog play. The second the creature turned to look at her she quickly realised that, unlike her dingo-sister, this dog actually talked. The owl tilted her head one way, and then the other. "I am Willow," the owl said simply.

The bird seemingly decided to leave her satchel behind as she approached the dog who had named itself Athena. Perhaps it is related to Madga, thought the owl as she looked over the malamute's form. She quickly decided this wasn't the case, else she would look more like a horse rather than the brutishly friendly dingo; though there was a surprising amount of hair.

"What brings you here, stranger?" asked Willow, voice as soft as ever. There was no territorial or even threatening edge to her voice, rather the mild curiosity a teacher might hold when asking her student where their homework is. The owl's head tilted left and right again as she eyed up the stranger.

At length, the owl looked behind her and down the tunnel to the angry red fires of Polaris and with a slight tut (or rather the short grind of a beak) her eyes switched back to the malamute with a soft, wordless coo.

@Athena

Athena Ignis
The hottest fire makes the hardest steel.

Athena grinned and nodded. Willow. Maybe she and Willow could be friends! The canine was excited at the idea of that and decided to try to be on her best behavior.
Stranger? But they were no strangers! They knew each other's names now! Still, Athena shrugged that thought off, the other was obviously older than her after all and wiser too, even she noticed that. "Adventure." She answered with a dorky grin, shifting where she sat on the ground. "And you?"


"Listen to me."

The owl tilted her head once more. While Athena seemed to have many faces and expressions, Willow had none - simply because she didn't have the features for it. A talon raised, the one with nails left on it, to scratch her neck.

"I roost here. This is my home," she said, before she hobbled a little closer, extending a talon curiously. She waited, almost as if expecting Athena to touch the extended claw. She watched as the dog extended her own paw, tilting her head at it before she moved to place her talon on top of the paw - very gently, and making sure the sharp nails don't touch the pup's skin.

Willow seemed to concentrate for a moment, the blue eye on the back of her head shimmering ever so slightly. With a slight jerk, the owl would attempt to see some random part of Athena's life - it could be anything. Just as long as she doesn't pull away.

The owl, while holding Athena's paw, was oddly still, eyes practically staring holes into her own talons that was on top of the little paw. The only thing that left her beak was a soft and quiet sigh, as if she were tired.

@Athena

Athena Ignis

Everything is hard before it is easy.

Athena watched as the winged gembound seemingly starred into nothingness. She kept her paw held up to its talon because that's what the other did and she didn't know when she was allowed to pull back. Patiently, very much so for a young pup, Athena sat on the ground, holding her paw up and watched her new friend curiously. "What are you doing?" She asked quietly, head cocked to the side.


"Listen to me."

Willow was silent while the images flashed through her mind - though it'd be only a few seconds, it felt like an eternity for the owl. The burning fires of Polaris, the monstrous dragon that ruled over the room. The damned thing was taunting the pup, like a cat playing with mice before it finally kills and eats it's prey. Not only did it send surges of disgust through Willow, it caused the bird to shiver in horror. A soft scowl crossed her face as as she pulled her talon away, beak clacking. Not to Athena, but to the dragon that lingered not so far away from here. "I see," she said. "The Dragon of Polaris is correct. You were lucky."

The owl sat in place for a moment, fuming for a good while before she shook her head and he owl turned and began ambling off, talons clacking unevenly. "Are you hungry? There are rats in these caves you can eat. I assume you'd prefer meat over fruits and plants," she was still soft-spoken, practically unwavering. She was only a little tired after using hindsight, but she wasn't tired enough to hunt for the pup. She had done it before, after all.

@Athena

Athena Ignis

Everything is hard before it is easy.

Athena pulled her paw back once Willow settled her foot back on the ground too. "How do you know that?" The dog's blue eyes widened in wonder. "Magic? I have magic too!" She spoke, hoping to find someone else with fire powers. Maybe Willow could teach her that special cool magic she just used! Athena wanted to meet all the gembounds with fire magic because obviously fire was the best!

"Rats!" The puppy exclaimed in a hushed whisper and jumped into a standing position. Her eyes flew around the tunnel, watching out for the silhouette of a meaty critter. "Meat is better." Athena spoke quietly, blue orbs roaming over the dirt as she pressed her body close to the ground. "Much better."


"Listen to me."