Tamelyn Thunderhoof And I will fear no darkness

It had been a laborious trek from Cetus to Eriandus. Before, Tamelyn had been able to make the trip in minutes, galloping and bounding through the tunnels on her long legs. Now that she had been chomped on by a water monster, it was considerably slower, not to mention painful. By the time they reached Eriandus, Tamelyn was shaking against Arkrael, her skin burning under her fur. The punctures where Aquarian had bitten her had mostly scabbed over, though in one or two places, she had accidentally reopened them clambering through the cave. Thin trickles of blood leaked from the open wounds down her legs. She collapsed by one of the pools, crawling towards the water. The fawn plunged her muzzle in and drank deeply, then leaned against a mossy boulder and coughed. Her ribcage hurt whenever she moved or breathed, so she tried to do as little as either as she could. The broken rib was likely the worst of her injuries. She'd live, but after a day or so of shooting pains, she'd probably wish she was dead.

"S-stupid fish," she shuddered through clenched jaws. At least he had coughed up the heron and let them all go. And the buzzing was gone, but his appearance had raised more questions than it had answered. Who was Nemean, and why did the fish seem so furious at them? When she was recovered, she resolved to return to the swamps and get some answers.

She looked over at Arkrael, trying to give her a weak smile. "Thanks for helping me get back to Eriandus," She cocked her head at the wolf, looking her over. "Are you hurt at all?" She didn't think she had seen the monster directly attack Arkrael, but it had been so chaotic that she wasn't entirely sure. She was in pain, but she also wanted to make sure her friend was okay. That brought her thoughts back to Fisher as well. She hoped the black dog was taking care of him.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa, image and modifications by FennecFyre

"Speech" Thoughts

Arkrael took her steps slow, her eyes never leaving Tamelyn during their entire travel back to Eridanus. She had wished she had made it there long before those fangs had clasped onto Tamelyn. She would have taken the hit. Would have ran right into those jaws that had damaged her Tamelyn. An overwhelming sense of guild choked the breath from her and she had to fight the burning behind her eyes. How could she allow such things to happen. It was her job, her very duty, to keep her hatchmate safe and unharmed. Sure it had never been spoken, but Arkrael had taken up that spot without word. Tamelyn would be free to do as she wished of course, but Arkrael would be there to oversee it, to make sure no harm would come to her best friend. Of course, the only time Arkrael would see fit to step in is when she felt something would go astray.

Her ears pressed back when Tamelyn murmured a curse towards the amphibian they had so thankfully escaped. She sighed as she too sunk towards the ground when Tamelyn did. She offered a smile, but it did not reach her eyes. "No, I am not hurt..." She murmured as she tentitively nuzzled her nose against Tamelyn's cheek. Her eyes drifted towards her sides, studying the wounds that were scabbing over. Every instinct told her to try and clean the wounds, but she didn't want to hurt the fawn. The smell of her blood was still thick on her senses and it was all Arkrael could do not to whimper at it. The most Arkrael was, was exhausted. Whatever that magic she had used had drained her. It wasn't until she laid down that Arkrael was able to take note of this. "Do you need anything?" She questioned, turning her heterochromia eyes back up towards tamelyn's. She would clean Tam's wounds later, for now she would let the Deer relax.

Tamelyn Thunderhoof And I will fear no darkness

Tamelyn returned the nuzzle, glad for her friend's presence. To tell the truth, being incapacitated like this was scary. She was used to escaping danger by bounding away, running circles around any enemy. She could barely walk with a busted rib, and she certainly couldn't run. What if a golem showed up? Or the yeti Fisher had talked about? She suppressed a shiver of fear, not wanting Arkrael to see her acting so weak. There was some instinctual part of her brain urging her to lie very still, motionless no matter what passed by. Had Tamelyn been a mundane deer, she would have followed these instincts, hiding away in thickets while her mother foraged. But the fawn was not an Earth creature, she had no mother, and she had grown up fearless. She was only now just starting to see the dangers the Cave held.

She was relieved to see Arkrael was unharmed. If they had both been hurt, who knew what would have happened to them? She certainly wouldn't have forgiven herself for letting her friend come to harm. The fawn thought for a moment as Arkrael asked if she needed anything. She had chosen a spot near the eyes for easy access to water, but she still needed food. "Could you maybe find some ferns or grasses for me?" she asked Arkrael. "I'm kinda hungry." It was a blow to her pride to have to ask her friend to feed her, and she wanted to make it up to her somehow when she was better. She considered catching her a meal, though the idea of killing another creature, even one of the nonsentient Gembound, made her stomach twist.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa, image and modifications by FennecFyre

"Speech" Thoughts

Audits pushed forward as she listened to Tamelyn as she made her request. Ferns? Yes. She could get those. Grass? She would try. It would be easier for her to grab a mouthful of ferns than it would for grass. With a curt nod Arkrael gave Tam a quick nuzzle and off she went in search of the best Fern she could manage to find for Tamelyn. She hopped through Eridanus, going Fern bush to fern bush. Trying to decide which one smelt the best. Which one was the greenest, and which one would be the most delicious for tamelyn. It all smelled like nasty tasty foliage to her, but her particular tastes were not what she was trying to satisfy.

It wasn't long before she came across a rather large fern bush. Arkrael stood in awe of it for a long moment. It had such long fern stems! They draped over and still did no grace the ground with it's fern...tips. She sniffed thoughtfully before beaming with joy. This one! It was the biggest, most greenest, fern bush she had spotted! It was perfect! Arkrael dove into the fern bush. Wrapping her fangs instantly around the base of that big crop. Her fangs dug in deep to the base of the fern bush and with one powerful yank Arkrael nearly flew back off her paws as the Fern Bush gave way.

Ha! Silly big fern bush! It was no match for Arkrael! Her tail wagged happily as she quickly turned and, albeit awkwardly with a large fern bush in her mouth, trotted back over to where she had left Tamelyn. Upon her return ARkrael dropped the massive fern bush in front of Tamelyn, her tail wagging back and forth quickly. "Here! This looked like the best one that I had seen! I hope it's super tasty for you!" She chimed as she moved around the fern bush and slowly lowered herself to lay against her stomach close to Tamelyn. Her gaze drifted to the wounds once more, but she quickly pushed it from her mind and looked to Tamelyn's face, eager to see her reaction.

Tamelyn Thunderhoof And I will fear no darkness

Arkrael bounded off, looking determined, and Tamelyn lowered her head back down onto the smooth stone, trying to breathe without hurting herself. She just wanted to rest, but she knew she had to at least eat something before she did. The fight with Aquarian had left her shaken, to be honest. What if there were other creatures out there, prowling the tunnels, looking to hurt other Gembound? It was frightening, to be sure. Therefore, it was impertive that she become stronger, if only to better protect others.

Of course, she likely wasn't going to be protecting anyone for some time, at least until she got better. The deer huffed. She needed to hurry up and do that, then.

A sudden rustling and crashing made her head snap out, and she looked about, wondering if some new horror had come to try and kill her. Instead, it turned out to be Arkrael, dragging an enormous fernbush behind her. she blinked as the wolf proudly deposited her catch, then grinned. "You're a mighty hunter indeed, Rae. Thanks." She pulled herself forward a bit to reach it, stripping some of the fronds and chewing. When she was done, she lay back again, her gaze becoming worried once more. "I've never seen such a big creature in my life," she said quietly, recalling how massive the guardian of Cetus had been. "Do...do you think there's more giant creatures out there like him?" The caves, while huge, weren't exactly boundless. How big could the monsters be?

"Listen to me."

table by lisa, image and modifications by FennecFyre

A deep hum escaped Arkrael as she pondered over Tamelyn's question. Beast had been large, much larger than any other gembound she had ever met. Svarog seemed to be just as large if not a bit bigger and way more muscular than Beast had been. The longer they lived in the cave it seemed the more and more they learned of creatures that had been here much longer than they had even been a thought of production. Aquarian had definitely been the largest thing Arkrael had ever set eyes upon. And the waters of Cetus could contain it. It was just mind boggling to think that there was so much beneath the water she, nor any other creature whom did not live within water, knew about.

"It would be foolish to assume there are not other things within this cave we have not met or seen..." She finally spoke as she pondered on it. There was one creature she knew about. One creature she had yet to set her eyes upon as of yet. "I was with a friend a few days ago. Fisher, you may know him. He told me of this creature he had seen...he called it a BatCat and the way he described it was... scary" She didn't want to use the term 'terrifying' as she did not want to take a jab at her own pride with the term. She lowered her head onto her legs as she looked at Tamelyn again. Her tail wagged a bit, happy to have been able to provide her beloved hatchmate food when she was in such dire condition. She just wished she could do more to ease the pain she knew for certain Tamelyn was feeling. She would take it all from her if only she could.

---

"Arkrael Speech"
"Vazi Speech"

OoC: --

Tamelyn Thunderhoof And I will fear no darkness

Arkrael took a moment to consider the question, then finally spoke again. It didn't ease Tamelyn's mind very much. What kind of horrors lurked in the darkness, unseen by others? She did perk up some as Arkrael mentioned Fisher, and nodded. "He's a friend of mine." They had met shortly after Fisher's hatching, and discovered a kinship in their electric abilities. It wasn't quite what Arkrael and Tamelyn shared, but Fisher was certainly one of her close friends. The happiness disappeared again as Arkrael spoke of the creature Fisher had encountered. "Bat...cat?" She had seen small bats flitting about the caves, but couldn't imagine what a cross between a feline and a bat would look like. Grotesque, surely.

They fell quiet again, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Tamelyn nibbled at the fern again, willing herself to eat despite the twinges of pain it caused. She needed nourishment if she was going to get any better. As she ate, she became aware of the worry Arkrael practically exuded. Her face flushed slightly, embarrassed at her condition and having to make her friend find food for her. "Don't look at me like that," she teased the wolf, trying to give her a grin. "A few days of rest and I'll be fine, I promise." She didn't like to see the wolf fret over her.

However, no matter how she jested, she couldn't help but worry about this newfound knowledge that monsters roamed the Caves. "You know, you and I can fend for ourselves," she said quietly, "but who's going to protect the younger, smaller Gembound?" There was Deer Dad, but she hadn't seen much of him recently. Even though Gembound were self-sufficient from the moment they hatched, they were naive. Looking back, she could remember when she hadn't know fear or anger. It had been a brief time, but she missed it all the same, when everything had been new and wonderful.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa, image and modifications by FennecFyre

Arkrael gave a soft grin as her ears splayed out to the side as Tamelyn finally broke the silence after her comments about Fisher and the batcat. She couldn't help it. Feeling like she had failed in the protection of her closest friend was not a pleasant sensation for the growing wolf. She knew full well Tamelyn could fend for herself, but that didn't mean Arkrael could not keep an eye on things should things turn sour for her hatchmate. Much like it had back in Cetus. She offered no words in response as she let out a heavy breath and rest her head on the front of her paws, keeping her gaze on Tamelyn as she did so.

Audit's pricked forward, listening as she began to speak once again. She had a point with that. There was a time even they were too young to take care of themselves. There would have been no way for them to protect themselves against the creature they had come across in Cetus if they had still been that young. To think she had once splashed and played through Cetus while being that young and now knowing that such a beast lurked within it's waters. It left a chill rushing down her spine and she had to shake herself just to get it away.

"There's no reason why we cannot offer the young ones protection," Arkrael lifted her head as she turned her gaze away from Tamelyn, gazing into the pools of crystalline water. "It would probably be a large task, but I'm sure there are others who would offer aid to the younger ones as well. So we wouldn't be the only one's doing so," She glanced to Tamelyn from the corner of her eye, studying the expression she had upon her face.

---

"Arkrael Speech"
"Vazi Speech"

OoC: --

Tamelyn Thunderhoof And I will fear no darkness

Tamelyn's mood lifted as Akrael agreed that they could help keep the younger Gembound safe. "We can give them advice at the very least, teach them what's safe and what's not." Tamelyn could teach the herbivores how to forage, while Arkrael could help the young carnivores learn to hunt. They could teach them to defend themselves and navigate the caves. Granted, It was possible to learn all this on one's own, but hopefully, a little extra help would prevent them from being hurt or potentially even killed.

However, she was too pooped to do any planning for now. At the moment, she just wanted to rest and enjoy being with her hatchmate again. It wasn't often they got to just hang out, even if the circumstances were somewhat grim. With a quiet grunt, she shifted her position again and rested her head between her folded forelegs. "So what have you been up to?" she asked Arkrael curiously. They both tended to roam further away from eachother now that they were older, and Tamelyn found herself wondering what new adventures the wolf had gone on. "Met any new friends? Seen anything cool?"

(Sorry for how short it is, Tamelyn's really not talking to me >_<)

"Listen to me."

table by lisa, image and modifications by FennecFyre

A deep hum resonated from the she-wolf's chest, nearly sounding like a low growl that was used to express her contentment. Tamelyn was eating, which was a good thing, and it looked as though her wounds had stopped bleeding. However, now her fur coat was caked with it. Arkrael's ears flicked about for a moment before she shifted forward and, very tentatively, began to groom her hatchmate's coat. Eager to help get the blood off, but made complete sure that she did not get close to the wounds. When Tamelyn began to speek again, Arkrael pushed her ears forward to listen curiously. "Well," She began thoughtfully as she pondered over her question. She hadn't really seen anything extraordinaire. Though it wasn't like she had been off in search for it lately either.

The thoughts of what had been keeping most of her time seemed to make her ears heat up a bit and she pulled away from Tamelyn as she tried to clear her thoughts instantly. "Well uhm, I met someone," She splayed her ears out to the side with a sheepish grin before she shook herself. "Vazi. He says he knows you, but yeah. We're kind of, uh, close," She avoided straight eye contact with her hatchmate as she flipped her tail back and forth, nervous to hear what her hatchmate had to say about that.

---

"ArkraelSpeech"
"Vazi Speech"

Tags: Tam
OoC: You're fine :) I've given small posts before lol.