Something terrible has happened in Canis. When approaching down Tunnel K, one will quickly notice that an eerie shadow has taken over the room of bones. Void of light and sound, Canis has been cast in total darkness. It is impossible to navigate using any of the senses. The only sounds that seem to travel through the small room are occasional scratchy giggling and shallow, hoarse breathing. There is no clear direction from which these sounds come from; rather, the sounds appear to follow those that hear them before disappearing into the void.

Upon entering Canis, one will feel immediately lost. They will not be able to see even an inch in front of their faces; and if they are not touching another Gembound, they may become eternally lost from all others. Extreme caution is advised for Gembounds brave enough to explore such a strange anomaly.

all you have is your fire

and the place it need to reach

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Something was wrong.

Giggle had gone out with Dovefeather, and he had been loyally guarding his door. He had been a good boy, his minds stirring with the idea that Giggle and the kitten had about the Tunnel just beyond his door. It was about lunch time, and the mutt had started to go back to Canis to see if he could fetch some rats (or more likely a fish)-- when he found the blackness.

Bones was in there. Trapped, in there. He didn't know what to do-- he couldn't take more than one step forward without being swallowed, and so he stayed in Tunnel K, shivering with fear.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOONES," he howled and howled, "GIIIIIGGGLE!" Hell, he even tried, AZAAAAAAA'ZEL!" But for a long while, no one came to help him. Not a single one. Bones didn't answer his call, no matter what he tried. He was stuck, afraid to go forward, too scared to leave. He even tried to use his magic to cut through the shadows, but he couldn't so much as cough up a little smoke.

His brother was trapped in there, and his mother missing. What was an overgrown pup to do?

Giggle arrived in a rocking, bolting full hyena gallop soon after the darkness, having unknowingly pursued it from Eridanus. She skidded to a halt, and her eyes widened as she stared into the black tunnel, her heart pounding. She gasped for breath as she looked to Kerberos.

"What's happened? Kerberos? What's in there? Is Bones still there?!" Fear filled her voice at this last, and she turned to stare inside, taking a few steps. There were Gembound in there--babies. Young ones, birds, Mau the cat. Were they...

Were they all dead?

Giggle had a fungal garden in Canis, mushrooms she herself had tended and grown. She had piles of mushrooms all along her bone pile, on the ceiling above, all linked to her own magic. Just after asking Kerberos her question she paced forward, listening to the strange and horrible sounds. Her hackles stood on end.

"Lorekeeper... No..." she murmured. The Lorekeeper was a cripple, and if there was danger in there, she'd be unable to escape on her own.

"Kerberos, listen closely. I'm going to try to feel through the mushrooms. To figure out what's going on in there. But if I can't see... Bones is in there. The Lorekeeper is in there. I'll try to get them out, and if you want to come with me..." She shot a glance up at the huge white three-headed dog. His power, his bulk--it would be welcome, and the fear in her eyes, and her clear determination to ignore it, showed it.

She looked forward again, her eyes squeezing shut. She took a breath, forcing herself calmer, forcing herself to focus, to send the tendrils of her own consciousness out into the myriad mycelia of Canis. To try and sense the soil, through them, the air--was it safe to enter...? What was this unnatural darkness? Could she get any hint of anyone still alive within? She wasn't sure if this was within the ability of the fungus, of her magic, but she tried nonetheless.

Please, let them be alive.

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ROLL THE BONES

@Kerberos

((I'll let a GM dictate the crit-failed Feel Around result... *spoopy*))

She had lingered in Canis for a time. And that time, had been too long. In a far back corner of the cavern she had lurked in the shadows, attempting to come to terms with what she had done…and what she intended to do next. A number of creatures passed as time did but none were the thing Aleera sought. None could ease the growing resentment that had now lodged itself between her logical thought process and her sanity. None but the bird who helped to put it there. Sadly enough he wasn’t going to be the first of her victims, and he was far from being the intended last.

The longer the wolf watched the more apparent it became that a pack of gembounds had come to call a portion of Canis their home. She saw familiar faces every day but not the one she wanted most. It was so true, better to be loved by ten who will not remember your name rather than to be courted by the one who can not forget it. They came as they went and she watched. Silently, pertinently, all the more time to plan and know her enemy better than they knew themselves. If he were part of the group or not the growing wolf couldn’t say but, it changed very little about her plans. But even a stalker such as her needed time to rest and recharge and when she laid down that last time, how could she know what it was next she would wake to in that shadowed hallow of a corner?

Luminous eyes opened but nothing came to greet her. Nothing but an infinite blackness with naught a sound or smell to accompany it. Slowly, she got to her feet, able to still feel the earth beneath her paws but unable to see it. Already half blinded, if there was a possibility of penetrating the thickness of this evil veil Aleera was not the one to do it. ”Am I dead then?” She asked, her tone even despite the implications it would have. Death and it’s aspects did not frighten her, not in the same way as so many other things in the world, not since she was younger and much more sensible. Ebony ears flickered in the darkness when the skittering noises began and out of sheer instinct Aleera threw her skull around to gain a direction. She couldn’t though. The sounds came from every direction as soon too did the giggles. ”It begins.”

table by Sara

Asurai wandered slowly, her tail was lowered, her ears were flattened. Her eyes directed towards the ground in front of her as he had sunk. She was, as always in her submissive form. She looked around slowly, eyeing the cave as she walked around. Although soon enough the entire place went pitch black. She froze a little, she wasn't sure what to do. She looked around and slowly stepped forward. Her paw pressing against the ground softly. It wasn't until she heard the sound of giggling that that Asurai rose her head up. Asurai immediately ran towards the sound. She didn't care for her own purpose, she still believed she had none, that she was rather useless at the moment, but if she couldn't see, then maybe there were others trapped in this darkness. She ran towards the strange sounds, bumping into walls as she did until eventually, Asurai slowed down. Her ears flickered softly, she could hear no more sounds. She was lost, and she had no idea what to do now. There had to be somebody somewhere but......where?

"H-hello? Can anyone here me?"

She looked around as she walked softly. The darkness frightened her, but she didn't care about her own safety as long as she got a chance to help others. She sighed softly, but what was the chances of that happening? Asurai just continued to walk through the never ending darkness.

Bones opened his eyes.

At least, he thought he opened his eyes. He couldn't tell.

Canis had been cast over in shadows while he was asleep. He felt around for his femur bone with his paws and once he eventually found it, he leaned down and picked it up in his maw. He knew deep down that this was not a regular occurence - even when the orbs of light went out in Canis was it this dark. Bones couldn't see anything from within in the den of mushrooms.

But what he did know was where they all where. He'd gotten so used to coming in and out of this place he no longer needed to see to navigate himself around. As the dog lifted himself to his feet, his paws landed on every single mark they normally would if he were leaving the den on a normal day; not even half an inch out of place.

But as soon as he left the den he knew that the darkness wasn't just confined to in there. It was everywhere - was he lost? Where was Giggle? Kerberos? Anybody? The lowered his head to the ground and began letting out long whines, repeating over and over again.

He could hear things - scratching and giggling. He could tell, with those massive ears of his, that none of them belonged to his brother or mother. He continued to whine, snout barely an inch away from touching the floor.

He hadn't received any 'what to do when you lose your mom' training from Giggle, but he knew there was one thing he could do when he got lost in pitch blackness. The dog lowered himself onto his haunches and placed his beloved femur bone down.

And he howled.

________________

If there was anyone who knew anything about everything, it was Giggle, and Giggle was exactly who the crow needed right now. The hyena was always a comforting mother-figure she could come home to - only she hadn't actually seen Giggle in about three cycles now.

Still. Eve had felt awfully useless since the fight with the dragon. She wasn't so good at the fighting, or the hunting, or even the scouting. In fact, she wasn't so good at... anything. Only the ability to make things glow and make pretty shiny orbs that would occasionally light the way through the caves, if they were particularly dark.

But, that was rarely needed, even though she was particularly good at it. She'd thought about it and brisky decided that He-Who-Is-Void must be a whole lot more useful than she ever will be. And thus brought her to the excuse to come crawling back to Canis.

She had absolutely no idea how she fucked this one up so badly. Nestled at the bottom of her tree, was a black rock that was practically throbbing with life and she couldn't move it. She might have destroyed her own shiny which wasn't even a shiny at all. The crow fluttered her way through tunnel K.

And then she stopped.
Something was wrong. It was dark. Inexplicibly dark. Below, was Giggle. She let out a sharp cry of greeting, but there were also distressed tones in her call. She flew down and landed on top of Giggle's head, peering into the blackness.

And without a word, she grinned.

The silver-white talon on her foot - which was now missing a nail - began to shimmer gently as she attempted to form a golden orb in front of her to pierce the darkness with.

________________

So much had already happened in the caverns she had been foolish enough to think that perhaps they would be allowed a taste of reprieve but alas, no such kindness would be afforded the inhabitants of this world. Not here, not now. Delphine raced through the rooms and tunnels until at last she found herself at the entrance of Tunnel K with but darkness to greet her sight. Immediately her thoughts fled to Kerberos, the three-headed dog, and even of the Lorekeeper that'd been born within the confines of this bone-riddled room. Immediately though she would be met with relief when her eyes caught sight of the familiar dog and it was without reservation did she approach his side. Her neck arched and craned forth to press her muzzle to the behemoth's neck where she would then bestow an affectionate nuzzle for she was truly grateful to find that he'd been fine. "Oh Kerberos..."

Only after she'd been ascertained to his safety did her attention shift to the others collected by the entrance; the hyena and bird who had found a light source. Wordlessly she dipped her head in greeting, remaining still by the dogs side. "I am without the gift of light, if possible, may I come along with you that is if you intend to enter the room." Delphine inquired of the hyena who seemed to play matron-figure to the other two Gembounds.

Nothing came of any of their attempts. Kerberos would hear his cries fall short of his muzzle. For Giggle, a haunting nothingness came back to answer her. It wasn't that they hadn't answered, but that they couldn't portray what had enshrouded them. Bones would hear his howl be sucked into the void; it would not carry to the others. Eve would see her light for a moment, before it too was swallowed by the darkness of the room.

Aleera asked an interesting question. "Are you?" a voice snickered, bouncing around her ears before utter silence left her all alone.

Asurai had called out to nobody in particular, but with words. "I can," a voice started on her right side, and traveled to her left as it spoke, growing into a laughter, "hear you!" Several green eyes opened and closed in the space that extended endlessly all around her, then vanished.

And to Bones, poor Bones, the voice was cruel. "Oh! Thanks!" it exclaimed, shifting the place of his beloved femur bone just slightly, but enough for Bones to lose it within the eternal void.

Giggle stared with growing horror into the cave.

She did not want to go in there. She didn't.

But she had to. Bones was in there. Her son was in there. Lorekeeper, too, alone, crippled--... Giggle snorted through her nose and spoke, voice trembling faintly, trying to keep the fear out. Her eyes remained locked blindly on the void ahead, contemplating the horrors that might lie within. What could silence her from her fungus? What could sever their innate bond...? Flashes of tentacles and spines and horrid blinking eyes ran through her imagination, though she couldn't have said where they came from. She shuddered, blinking out of it and turning to the others.

"I don't want to go in there, and I won't ask any of you to come--... Hello, horse. Eve. But I have to go in. Bones--my son. He's in there. There's a crippled Gembound at the far wall. It might just be a darkness--but if it's dark magic, if we're going to get hurt, I can't just leave them there. Eve, could you make something that will glow as we walk? Another one of those, but like the rocks?" she asked, glancing to the crow.

She was hoping that at least one would go with her.

As brave a face as she put on, she didn't want to be alone. Not now.

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ROLL THE BONES