"Python. Ya'd do well in Eridanusssssssss" Septiezal sourly hissed, mocking Howl's voice. "There's majeek in this statue!-- Well, there better be, or I'm ssstrangling a certain monkey." The serpent huffed. "And I do not hold my Sssses that long!" He stopped and lifted his head a bit, contemplating the notion with a worried look. "Do I?"

Great, now he was starting to feel self conscious.

The python grumbled and continued his creeping slither over the moss and stones. He had been combing Eridanus for awhile, still no sign of a magical statue piece. Although Septiezal was under no illusions that this would have been a quick search, half of him wanted to believe that Howl made the whole story up to prank a few Gembounds. He only met the guy for a few minutes and already he had that "prankster vibe".

Septiezal forced his thoughts back to the task at hand (er..tail?) and tried to recall the dusty scent of the statute. He slid his tongue out, tasting the rocks around him.

"speak"

**Septiezal is searching for some statue pieces in Eridanus. Feel free to help him out!

One of the statue's missing pieces appears to be in this room... but where? Perhaps if Septiezal searches hard enough, he may find the scent trail leading him towards the Monarch...

The wavy purple surface of the chrysalis could hardly be seen under the thick layer of moss that grew on top of it. It lay half-hidden behind a large fern, nestled against one of the many rocks that speared up from the floor. The Monarch's shadow stretched out over it, helping to conceal it. Unless a Gembound was very curious or looking for it, it was entirely possible for the chrysalis to go completely unnoticed.

That is, until it cracked and shattered, sending the familiar sounds of another new Gembound entering the world through Eridanus.
Amidst the charoite silvers, a small hyena pup lay curled up. She became conscious abruptly, sleeping peacefully one moment and then peeling her eyes open the next.
The deep brown gaze slid over the floor, the huge leaf that hung over her, and the gem shards that lay all around her, and the rock that part of her chrysalis still clung to. She felt the rush of her magic, herself, coming to life, but she didn't recognize its power yet. For now, all she could do was soak in the sights, and sounds, that surrounded her.

After a moment, scents began to distract and entice the newborn. She raised her head to curiously sniff at the leaf above her, Its scent was new, and exciting, for a moment. Then the earthy musk grew boring, and she ventured to stick her head out from under her cover.
A whole other world lay just outside of her birthplace. Most notably, something HUGE grew only a little ways away from where she lay. It was so tall, that the newborn Gembound had to crane her neck back at an awkward angle just to see the silvery cap. She couldn't look for long either, because the position put too much strain on her undeveloped muscles.

Once the strain became too much, the hyena ducked her head back under the fern frond with a huff. She wanted to explore, but she didn't feel capable of doing it.

@Septiezal

In her silent observation of her surroundings, the hyena pup watched and listened as life continued around her.
She heard a stream bubbling a short distance away, and knew, instinctively, that that was water. The fact that she would need it was also known, but it wasn't relevant at the moment.
There was movement on the other side of the ferns, small steps, that scurried so fast they were gone as quickly as they arrived. The Gemling's charcoal ears strained toward the sound, until it faded completely, and then they went back to swiveling around curiously.

What seemed like an eternity to the Gembound, but was actually only a few moments, finally drove Kitaka to her paws. She scampered out into the open area around the Monarch, and then skidded to a halt to take her first look around.
There was so much green, but most notably, there was the big thing. Drawn to it, the hyena padded over and curiously sniffed the Monarch's colossal stem. It smells strange, like the green alive stuff and yet, not like it, she thought, before moving her nose to the ground.

She wasn't looking for anything in particular, didn't know that she could yet. There were so many smells around the base of the goliath, that it was difficult for her focus on just one.

A magically charged scent may faintly be smelled by such a sensitive nose such as Kitaka's, one she would be able to distinguish from plant life. However, it is strangely far away yet close. Circling the huge base of the Monarch would yield no results; but instead, it seems the smell is coming from far atop the massive mushroom.

@Kitaka

Despite the overload of scents, the hyena took time to pause and sniff each new thing that she encountered in her slow loop around the Monarch. It stood over her throughout her search, regal and imposing as ever.

When she completed an entire loop, Kit raised her head and sniffed at the air. She could smell the ferns, moss and dirt, and the refreshingly clean, empty scent of water, but there was something else underneath it all. A distinctly charged scent, something she could sense through smell and through another innate sense.

The feeling had her gem-fang aching with recognition. As a just hatched Gembound, she had no idea what magicka was. If she did, she might have known how to recognize the scent, or, better yet, how to find it. Instead, she was left staring up at the sweeping, silver cap in confusion.

Something was definitely here, the pup realized after a moment, possibly something interesting. What she wasn't sure of was if she wanted to try to find it. She didn't know how to do anything yet, so this vast, unknown challenge was a little daunting. However, she didn't have anything else to do.

There were indistinct sounds deep in the vegetation that made the hyena's ears prick. They faded though, and her interest in them waned once they did. Nothing but the charged, prominent scent stayed constant. She felt drawn to it, drawn to finding it no matter what it took.

This was, perhaps, where her stubborn streak began.

Kitaka began another loop around the Monarch, quicker this time though, and with her head raised instead of low to the ground. The scent seemed more prominent in the air, she noted as she walked, as if it permeated everything around the huge mushroom.
Once she completed her loop, the pup stopped and craned her head to look back up at the silver cap.

It spread over the same area that the scent did, Kit finally realized. Her newborn brain finally began to connect the dots. The mushroom was huge, certainly big enough for her to stand on if she could somehow get up there. So, something could definitely be up there. What exactly that might be didn't matter to the child, just that whatever it was, had to be up there.

The realization sparked the innate power within the Gembound. As she glanced up at the cap, wishing she could somehow be up there to find the source of the scent, her magic swelled. It swept toward the object of her desire as gust of wind, following the whims of its master, however uncontrolled they were.
Kit heard the rustle of wind swooping overhead, but she paid it little heed. That is, until it brought the scent down to her, stronger than ever.

The gust indeed does bring the scent stronger to Kitaka, confirming something on top of the giant mushroom's cap, but whatever it is must be too heavy to be moved by wind. However, this rustling of magic seems to stir the Monarch...? Vines hanging off of its ancient structure twitch and jerk, seeking to grab at whatever has dared to wake them.

A successful other roll is needed to escape the vines OR trust the vines.

@Kitaka

Kitaka's sleek, charcoal-hued facade snapped up the moment the strengthened scent reached her nostrils. It was no different than before, told her nothing new, but it was there. She knew it was now more than ever, and she was bound and determined to get it. Whatever it was.

The ambiguous nature of the vines probably would have unsettled most other Gembounds. In her youthful ignorance though, the hyena was merely curious of their sudden movements. Were they stirred by the gust of wind, she wondered silently, or was this something she had overlooked earlier?
Her nose had been pressed to the ground most of the time, so it seemed completely possible to have not noticed the vines twitching and jerking. Although, truth be told, anything seemed possible to the Gemling at this point.

The longer the pup watched the vines though, the more nervous she became. Her deep brown eyes narrowed as one jerked in what she assumed was her direction. She instinctively tensed up, ready to spring away if the vegetation got any closer.

The vines, possessed by some strange magic, whipped hungrily below the Monarch. They curled and twisted, searching for a victim to entangle. The pup was small but could not hide from them! Eventually the vines snapped straight toward Kitaka, a single strand twisting open into several long and thin reaching fingers—seeking to grab the hyena within their grasp!