His travel through the tunnel was slow. Not that this bothered him, it was his way of life, not having sight tended to make things harder in some instances. Days ago he had heard another gembound speaking of plants or maybe it was kingdom he wasn't all that sure of what they had said, after all he hadn't been paying that much attention. Still a kingdom of plants seemed interesting enough it would allow him some reprieve of the nothingness that was his daily view. A small meandering warmth filled him as he tapped into his magic casting it forth in an attempt to pinpoint plant growth that would tell him he was going the right direction.

The way before him lit up like a match giving him an imprint of the plant life before him, outlining the entrance in shades of grey. It seems he was here. The problem was if he could get through the thick vegetation, not to mention the fact that he wasn't sure if he would be welcome.

@Mercurius

Mercurius hummed softly as he pruned at a bush here, a thicket there. It was a delicate process, tearing away old growth and allowing newer shoots to see the orb-light. While he could simply charm the larger branches and grasses out of the way, they would inevitably ease back into their original shape --- plant life seemed persistent in that manner, tame for only the briefest moments. The old storyteller would describe them as compliant, at best.

Azizos had gone quickly, breaking a comfortable routine of a few cycles after speaking with one of the Gembound (they were hardly children, physically, at least) in Mercurius's care. Nothing in that boy's harried, excited tone suggested a negative conversation, which pleased him. Neither had devolved into violent acts; a testament to his and Pride's teachings, he supposed. The precipice of both of their careful advice and counsel, really. The lion-stag's quick exit had inspired a prickling sensation in Mercurius's limbs, one that couldn't simply be cured by a bit of tending to his garden alongside Huckleberry. Even encouraging words and a brief story of Promethean scale wasn't enough to stave off the edge.

Which was, of course, how the old storyteller found himself here, playing the role of groundskeeper for even Eridanus's entrance and exit. Moonlit eyes studied his handiwork, rudimentary as it was, from a slight distance. The gnarled plant life seemed a bit more welcoming than before, and perhaps showed that there were an organized group within the maw of mosses. Off to the sides were a myriad of pebbles --- some dull-grey and others lit up in an ethereal, warm glow. Of his doing, of course.

Ears pricked toward the sound of slow, careful footsteps, pawpads gracing the earth solidly. Something moving at a measured pace. Mercurius lifted his head from the many pebbles, casually crossing toward the source of the sounds. He chuffed softly, then rumbled, "hello?" His magicka flared up, coalescing in spiraling moonstone and tapping into the plant life far ahead. It was a briefly dissociative experience, as Mercurius felt out-of-his-body with the input of a thousand blades of grass, fern fronds, steadily shifting branches. He had forgotten, for a moment, what the Kingdom's specialized magic felt like. Shaking his mane out with an audible rustle, he dismissed the phantom sensations crawling up and down his body.

He moved more confidently towards a possibly unwitting Vasili, not completely at a pace that suggested that they were being hunted. Another rumbling call echoed from him, reassuring, "hello, visitor. I mean no harm."

@Vasili

He heard rather than smelled the stranger that called out. That too had been damage since birth but it did not hinder him as badly as his sight. Something rustled, what he couldn't be sure as he tracked the strangers faint footfalls, his head minutely moving to better catch the sound. " The same can be said for me stranger. I thank you for calling out for I cannot see you and your footfalls are the barest of whispers. I've heard of a kingdom of plants? In truth it was said in passing, I do not know where I am, but I am looking for a home." He wanted to settle, constantly moving these past cycles was wearing on him.
@Mercurius

A voice called in return, and Mercurius plodded more confidently in its direction. Upon the mention that his footfalls were almost too quiet, the old storyteller pointedly allowed his posture to be heavier. He didn't worry much about avoiding branches and leaves on the ground, if it would allow the stranger to know his presence a little better. Moonset eyes found a canine sort of creature among the undergrowth, clearly lost in the underbrush but not too far off the beaten path. Mercy rumbled softly, approaching with an involuntary bow of his head.

He maintained a respectful distance from the canine, but spoke, nonetheless: "there is a Kingdom in Eridanus, yes; it is peaceful and seeks to protect the Maw of Mosses and those who reside in it." This stranger sought a home, and Mercy felt at ease with them immediately. "My name is Mercurius, and I am happy to offer you a home in Eridanus --- either in my garden or at the Rift--- the leader's tree."

Glancing up and down the dog's form, he wondered idly, "I have magic of the mind and could, perhaps, show you the Kingdom and the plants within." Could he, perhaps, offer a momentary gift of sight?

@Vasili

The footsteps grew louder and with that his head jerk to the direction of where the stranger... Mercurius as it were, was coming from. " I seek peace, and knowledge, more importantly I seek to know the plants around me so that I may better heal another, bloodshed has never been in my bones." That was all he wanted, to be of use to someone. In this past cycles he had become downtrodden, unable to pinpoint why. Maybe joining Eridanus would brighten his spirits. " I wouldn't mind seeing the world through your eyes, however brief the time. My connection with plants give me some sight when my magic flares but the rest of my days are spent in the dark." Anything to break this unceasing black.
@Mercurius

The canine's head jerked toward him, though he made no further indication of actually seeing Mercurius. Of course, blind. As stated. Ears perked forth in an involuntary show of interest, and he brushed the edge of magicka itself before Vasili even spoke of seeing the world, only to detect the earnest truth that was already there --- the canine simply wanted peace and quiet, a home, a purpose... don't we all? (the old storyteller thought quietly to himself, not quite having made the mental link two-way yet.)

Mercurius bowed his head once, rumbling softly, "very well--- I'm sure that you will find what you seek in Eridanus." Blinking, he warned, "prepare yourself." Gently at first, he began to cast imagery of Eridanus toward Vasili: his own garden, gleaming and filled with many-a bauble and fern, cut in half by a gentle brook; the Divine and its sweeping silvery cap; the Kingdom's home tree, branches many; and the Eyes, crystalline and clear, with a foreboding and dangerous aura (be wary of these, he thought warily to Vasili, if you fall in, you may not reemerge); and, briefly, an --- imagined --- image of his own self gazing at Vasili.

The images faded to black, and the lion settled onto his haunches, tail flicking and awaiting a response.

@Vasili