It had been a long time, a very long time, enough cycles that came one after the other until it made little difference whether another handful was added to the mix. It was only after this time that Asira had emerged. It was a strange feeling, being born again. She almost thought that it was the end, after... the accident. The time spent asleep did little to dampen the spark that had returned to her as instantaneous as her impulse to breathe. She would not stay still in Orion for long. Her being urged her to explore.

Centaurus came to her as a destination by word of mouth. A new place she had never heard of (how many other things had come to be, that she had not heard of?) that supposedly had changing environments. Almost like a place that existed only in the lone adventurer's dreams, a place that could be discovered and mapped out and learned only to be remade and rediscovered again. She could live in a place like that. She knew she wanted to the moment she'd heard about it.

The lion hybrid stumbled upon Centaurus during a time of bitter cold. It felt like drowning alive. Her fur did little to shield her from the cold. Rather than keep her warm, her mane became a burden, entangled with droplets that froze into icicles. Rain and fog made flight a more dangerous option. Asira resolved herself to trudging along the hills that were thankfully relatively flat. Had they been mountains, this would be far too treacherous to attempt though she supposed that wouldn't have stopped her anyway. Despite the fatal accident that had resulted from previous use of magic, the weather conditions were bad enough and the tug instinctive enough that she loosed the impulse from her stone. If the last usage of her magic had been a devastating failure, then this one was the complete opposite. The path before her in the snow cleared with ease, and far further and deeper than she had expected. If she could repeat this success enough times, it would surely ease the strain on her legs.

More than curiosity driving her, she had spoken to some of the shapers here, who had told her about the existence of the Dreamer. There should be a tunnel somewhere this direction she could try and find...

@Amun

After reawakening within the cathedral, Amun had decided to leave. Whomever gifted Amun this newfound feeling of absolute power had left, so Amun had no reason to stay for the time being. Perhaps someday Amun will be able to find who it was... For now, exploring.

The deep cold is a new feeling for Amun. It leaves a deep chill within the bones, one Amun does not enjoy. Shivers rake the Gembounds form - it will take time to get used to this. Time Amun does not want to spend acclimating. Instead of leaving - probably the right choice - Amun continues forward. Curiosity plagues the back of the mind as Amun moves forward.

There is no turning back as long legs cross a cleared pathway. Right near another Amun has never met before.

Amun pulls on magic buried deep inside. Nothing happens. Amun does not get to speak this time, it seems. Perhaps the other will initiate conversation.

@Asira
[rolled torchlight in place of telepathy]

Asira had resolved herself to a lonely journey on the way to the Dreamer, though she did not mind it. The cold - it settled into her bones in a way that called towards a home she never knew. It brought focus to her usually frenzied senses, and sharpened her goal so that she would not wander from the path set for herself. She needed to survive. She needed to find the Dreamer. No matter how tempting it was to also see what lessers may be lurking beneath the waves, the cold forbid such exhaustive uses of energy that did not align with the main task at hand.

And that was when the being appeared. Appeared from nowhere, or had she simply been too focused on putting one paw ahead of the other that any gembound could have emerged without her noticing at all? Asira was not afraid to introduce herself! That was something she was very good at.

"Hello there! Are you here to join me on my quest?" she paused, thinking that maybe that was not the right word to use considering quests were given to you by other people, not self-assigned. "Well, I say quest, but I thought of it myself. You should come along if you'd like! There's this being called the Dreamer and I heard they're stuck someplace and I'm trying to find the tunnel to get there and rescue them. It'll be fun!"

Using her magic, she continued to clear the way forward, slowly and steadily.

@Amun

The other gembound clears their way once again swiftly. Amun wishes magic were that easy to wield. Has she trained for far longer than Amun? It appears knowledge of the magic did not come with the ability to easily use them. Even the spell Amun had been born knowing failed - the one of speech.

When the other asks one more time - giving details Amun had not known, Amun attempts to pull on magic one more time. The spell takes a moment to activate, but Amun can tell something has fundamentally changed. A link between them is formed, thus Amun can speak.

"I have never heard of this dreamer." Amun responds in kind. "I would like to join your quest. Perhaps it would be easier with two."

As the other begins to move, Amun follows. This... Exploring thing, is very new.

@Asira

"Whoa!" she exclaimed as speech that was not hers appeared in her thoughts. "Can you read my thoughts too? Wait wait let me think something and you tell me what I'm thinking." Asira shut her eyes and thought really hard what should I think about? Oh I know! My favorite food is coconut! Can you hear what I'm thinking?

But in the meantime, she'd keep on going. Surely they were closer to the tunnel now? Hopefully the directions given to her by the shapers were correct. "I don't know much about the Dreamer either. That's what makes this so exciting!"

A sharp nod. "Yes- Ṕ̷̫͙̉͜͝͠ͅͅŗ̸̮̖̽̀̓̾ͅã̷̛͕̙̜̞̿̈́e̵̢̛͍̺͍̰͠ś̷̖͉͂̍͛̕͠ę̸̼̞̞̮̖̌̆̆͝n̵͚̈́̃̀͊ͅţ̴̥͈̗̌͂͊̕ ̶̨͈̹͖͍̐͑̌̀͂e̷͎͊̑͂̽̃̚͜g̶̛̠̖̻̰̰̔̓e̶͖̱͙̖̫̿̂͗͊̚ͅs̵͙̠̋̒̾͝t̵̮̮͓͎͛̃̄͜a̵̝͕̞̩͆̈́̊̑͊͗s̸̗͇̳̈̌̓͠͝ ̷͉͎̼̞͐̎͂̾̈́d̷̠̰̙̟̠̪͂͗͗̄̿i̸̧̗̪̦̬̔̓c̴̡̡̩̺̩̆͗̾͂̓͜t̸̛͓̰̼͑u̵̧̟̠̐͝m̷͉̱̂́̋͆̕̚ ̶̯̣̱̣̰̘̍̐̚d̷̡̰̤͍͎̫͆̋́͘ǐ̵̧̛̩̙̹̙a̶̩̻̟̐̿m̷̜̼̌̓̈͜͝ ̶̨̮͉̻̟̽͒̀́͠e̶̼̽͑ġ̷̺̯̒̿̑ͅe̷͖͒͘t̵͕͊ ̸͔͊d̷̺̠̩̳͚̑͑i̸̗̣̥͑́̔͝g̷̘̦̟̝̍͑̉̊n̶̤͚͈̱͆̈͊ī̶̡̘s̶͚̠̬͕̔͆͗͛̈͘͜s̵̡̖͎̠̽̃͜í̸̼̳͓͈͌̚m̴̤̟͚̘̯̐́.̴͙̥̯̈́̋ ̸͍̼̤̗͌̊̍̚N̸̡̑͑ų̷̲̱̞̃l̶̦̈́̈͝ḷ̸̳̥̻̺̈́̔̊ͅą̸̢̮̙̣͗̔̓͋̕̚ ̶̧͕̖͛̏̀̂f̸̭͇̻̅e̶̹̝͐̀̂͒̓l̴̨͓̮̰̓͒̾̈́̎ȉ̴̜̬̬͚̭̑̉́s̸̭̏̋̀͋̽͝ ̵̞̙̩͍̜̑̒̉͆̈́e̸̟͉͖̹̭̊͆̀͐͘͝s̶̹̗̯͉͂̈̑͝t̷̛͖̂̏̓͂,̴̛͉̯̓͝ ̶̼̊h̴̏̑̂̚͜͝ȩ̸͖̫͂̇̈́̏n̸̢͈̰͗̊d̴̫̤͎̣̼̈́̀̊̄̓͛͜ŕ̴͇̦̿͒̐̓͂e̸͍͔̹̯̒͑̈́ȓ̶̹̫̥͑̀̎́̈́i̴̡̼͙̤̭̭̽͝ṫ̵̢̋͝ ̷̪̩̰̰̣͈́̈í̶̢̢̡̼̙̖͝n̷̢͙͔̺̼͗̇ ̶̟̘͊̕a̶̢̖̩̬̠͈̒̀͝ų̷̖̺̼͂ğ̴̨̢̜͕͖̀͛̽̋͝ͅu̸̧͐e̶͇͒̅̒ ̴̧̞̂̈́͗̎̕s̴̮͓̱̩̹̊͑̀̈́̚e̶̯͎͒͒͊͠d̷̢̯̼͆͑͆̉,̸̨̼̓͒̍ ̷͇͔̐͜p̷̱̌̄̋ͅl̸̛̼̲̠̹̹̏̓͠ḁ̸̛͙̫̒̏͆͘ć̶͎͖̱̘̭̌̈e̴̛̻̍̈̕r̷͙̬̈ȧ̴̪͊̇͒̀t̷͉̳̜̍ ̵͎̱̝͒̽̇̈́̅͆f̴̛͕͖͈͉͠ȩ̸͕̰̭̯͚͗ř̶̖͍͝͝m̶̡̪̓ë̷̦̹̖́n̸̰̘̩̈́͜t̵̡̛̤͍̝͈̦u̸̜̙͙̫̹̓ͅm̶̘̬͍̘̫͑̎̈́̀̌ͅ.̵̢͔̮̪͇̞̋ ̴͇̠̑͜

Though what she stated was clearly in a language not normal to this world, Asira didn't seem to notice it, continuing along in her path-clearing. Unfortunately, it didn't work this time.

@Amun

Amun's pointed ears pull back in confusion.

"I cannot read thoughts and speak at the same time."

Although, there is probably a spell that could read the mind of this one in the massive arsenal of spells Amun obtained. Perhaps Amun needs to test more of this magic. Now is not the time - for now they must search for this so-called 'Dreamer'.

"Perhaps we can learn more about them when we locate them. You have piqued my curiosity."

The language spoken is... Not one Amun knows. Amun's ears go forward again, trying to make out any understanding in the words being spoken. There is nothing - Amun has no clue what Asira is saying.

"Ah, what was that? I did not understand."

"I see! Kind of like I can't listen and speak at the same time either." Magical communication didn't seem all that different from regular speech. Just that it took a bit to get used to 'hearing' it in her mind.

"Yes. Hopefully we're close by now!" Or else she would've led them both on an expedition to nowhere. What did this Dreamer look like? Would they be friendly? Would they still be... dreaming? Many questions, all with answers that were to come.

She tilted her head. "The two of us, we'll make a great team! All quests are better the more who join." A pause. Considering if what she said was an idea not commonly accepted. Or maybe she hadn't spoken loud enough? The snow was pretty heavy after all. "Though we did just meet each other. We'll get more familiar with time!"

The Shapers had explained it, mostly: when the water was deep within Centaurus (roiling oceans or smooth lake-like seas), the Shaper's chamber was sealed at the top. The grate there, which normally let light shaft down upon the chain-bound throne, would become covered to prevent it flooding. This covering could take many forms, but at a time like this, it was a sheet of thick ice.

The tunnel, then, was the only access into the Oubliette. The way was cold, dark, but with the Shapers' directions, the Gembounds could find it: a gap in the snow-covered, icy earth not far from the Barracks. It was unlit, dark in this wintry landscape. To delve into that narrow dark was a sort of leap of faith, or at the very least the kind of action that would instill a smidge of apprehension into any creature with common sense. But it was, as per the Shapers' assurances, safe enough despite the ominous appearance of it.

The tunnel was long, cold enough for them to still see their breath, rock and ice intermingled. A little slippery, but safe enough. And the Oubliette at the end was dark, a little warmer, but the usual light from above was barely anything at all given the ocean atop its ice-blocked grate.

@Amun @Asira

There- a dark gap amongst the snow. Her breath caught in her throat. She didn't want to raise her companion's spirits before she made sure of it, though she couldn't talk even if she wanted to. It was there. It was really there. No no wait, walk a bit closer...

"I think we made it!" the words burst from her in an exhale visible in the icy wind. A glance at Amun, then back at the blackness. "Come on! Let's go!" Asira plunged into the depths of the tunnel, still chilly despite offering shelter from the more hazardous conditions outside. Though she didn't need to brute force her way through the snow anymore. Perhaps her magic could help a different way?

Focus, visualize pushing your body heat outwards. The temperature around them warmed, if only by a few degrees. Enough to take the edge off the cold.

"It's kinda dark in here," she noted. Did the being have a way to light things up? She didn't want to ask directly, in case Amun couldn't, and then it would be awkward. From what feats she witnessed so far though (like talking to her in her mind!!) she had little doubt it was possible.

@Amun

Amun pauses with the other when they reach the small gap in the snow. It's a very thin opening, enough to give less-confident ones pause. Not Amun, or Asira it seems. As the temperature around them raises enough to become comfortable, Amun follows Asira inside.

The comment about the darkness does not go unnoticed to Amun. Perhaps there is a spell that could help with this? If the other hybrid can warm the area around them, surely Amun could do something with the lights?

Instinctively, Amun knows what to do. Quickly a small, yellow wisp forms in front of them. Yes, this will do. Amun thinks.

The wisp is enough to lead the way, but not enough to truly light up the whole area. It will be good enough for now, at least. Amun motions for Asira to lead the way, the wisp will follow.

@Asira