Pride stood silent, staring up at the Throne.

The bones still lay across it, straddling it, the dead Komodo Dragon staring down at him. It certainly did not look happy, and the diamond stone fusing the bones there yet remained, a grim reminder to those who would threaten Orion's inhabitants.

Yet Pride was not the sorcerer he had been when he had helped to kill Reseda, when he had settled her bones there; his magic was still fickle. And he had been practicing, attempting, since his Transcendence, to re-earn his magical power.

Fireheart--the new Seven member, and a wolf he had been training--had gone off to Cetus to seek a master of fire; and Pride, left alone, had resolved to continue practicing in private. A rest had left him refreshed, and now he sought to settle back into the "practicing" routine.

Out of habit, he aimed to renew his kinetic shield--an invisible thing, formed by invisible magic, but with powerful potential should he be attacked while working... or, perhaps, if some spells backfired on him. To an outside observer he would appear to simply be standing, staring up at the bones atop the Throne--motionless.

@Felina

Felina's wanderings brought her to Orion. The runty female bobcat looked around. It was easy to spot a huge stag standing still as a statue. He seemed to be staring at something.

Ever curious, Felina tried to enter the area called "The Throne". Her undersized body was pushed back with great force! The tiny feline landed on her tail from the sheer impact!

"Ouch! That hurt! Who are you anyway? Are you made of stone or something?"

She got up slowly. Boy! Was her bobbed tail sore!

If Pride notices her, he'll see that her height reaches only to about half the length of his legs. Being much smaller than him, she was no threat to the great stag. Even a predator like Felina knows better than to try to take down such a huge herbivore.

((OOC: Please ignore the dice roll. It was a mistake.))

@Pride

Pride turned, quizzically, at the cry.

It hadn't been his magic; his repel would only affect those who tried to strike him. This bobcat hadn't--she hadn't come close enough. Perhaps she'd hit the rock platform, the edge of it, or the like?

"Hm? Oh--my apologies," Pride offered, still a tad confused. He sidestepped, to make room, inclining his head with a sweep of his pale antlers. "No, I am not made out of stone, not last time I checked, at least," he told the small cat, amused. His gaze wandered over her, briefly: a short-tailed feline, larger than some he'd known, but certainly smaller than the leopard Nassir, or the lion Mercurius. Something in the middle, then, and toward the smaller end, with pretty spots on a tawny coat. A stranger to him, though.

"My name is Pride; did you need something?" he asked, politely.

@Felina

"My name's Felina, Mr. Pride. You asked if I need something. To be totally honest, I've been wandering around the Caves for a very long time. Alone. I heard about several groups of Gembounds living in certain parts of these Caves.

Do you know anything about them? If you do, is it possible that at least one group might let me join them? It would be nice to have friends...or even just one friend. I don't want to be lonely anymore. What I need is some company."

@Pride

Pride inclined his head, offering a brief, soft smile--or as close as a stag could come to one, anyway. "Ahh, just 'Pride' will do, thank you," he started, and then offered a "It's very nice to meet you, Felina."

Her request was a clear one, and he had time to consider his words, tilting his head to think about it before speaking.

"Well, we here--the Seven--try to train ourselves, to protect those who need it, to guard against various dangers." He cast a meaningful nod toward the skeleton gracing the back of the Throne. "Then there's the Children of Rot; they live in Cetus. They aim, I believe, simply for survival, though they take a hand in the happenings of the cave to ensure that. We have allied more than once. Then there are the dragons, living in Monoceros, but they are--well, dragons. The so-called Sentinels of the Sands--I say that, because I know little about them, bar that they live in and around Hydra, which is quite dangerous. Lastly... the Bonebound. They are a family, with allies, in Canis. They are quite kind, in my experience, and simply aim to live peacefully."

Pride considered, for a moment longer. "I would say that the Children of Rot would take in anyone; the Bonebound likely always seek more allies; the the Seven, here, ahh--I lead them at the moment, as steward for our King--are always willing to take in those who seek protection, or to become protectors themselves."

@Felina

Felina took several moments to consider what Pride told her. "I'd like to join The Seven...if you'll have me, Pride. I'd gladly protect you and anyone else in your group. I'll help guard against dangers. I'd be interested in training myself, too.

I'm eager to learn more earth magic. I'll work hard to protect and guard the group and any other Gembounds who need protection and guarding. I won't even expect gratitude or anything else in return.

Will you and the Seven accept me? I'll happily obey your rules and take orders from anyone in the group. Please...please...let me join...?"

@Pride

He was surprised to have so willing a recruit in a stranger, but certainly not displeased. He inclined his head.

"Certainly, we would be glad to have you. You are welcome to live here with us in Orion, if you wish. Our current members include Nassir--he is a black leopard you may see about--and Reign; he is a cheetah. There are a few others, ahh--you will meet them in time," he added, trying hard to imagine just how he could describe Temperantia. A... circle? With eyes, and wings? Ahh, well. Later.

"If you want to go get settled, you may? Or we can discuss what magic you already know, and what you'd like to train in. The rest of us have been working on barriers," he added.

A moment of focus, and a shimmering barrier--like a dome-shield--appeared before him. "Like this," he explained. "It protects against strikes against us--or those we are protecting."

@Felina

Felina felt the Majick as Pride cast the barrier. She couldn't see it, though. Most likely it was invisible, even though some---but not all---felines can see infrared light.

"I felt that spell you just cast, Pride. It feels very strong. I assume that what the spell produced must be invisible. I certainly don't see anything.

I believe you asked for a demonstration of the spells I know? I have a relatively simple one I can show you. It basically makes pebbles shake and rattle. Here...let me try to cast it..."

Felina concentrated for a moment. She then *attempted* to cast "Pebblequake". It had been a while since she used Majick, though, so she wasn't sure if it would work...

@Pride

Pride glanced quizzically at the cat. The shield had been shimmering, but perhaps she had vision problems; beyond that, he assumed she'd been casting some sort of spell to sense the magic. Maybe she'd been focusing too hard to notice. He shook the thought off, and paid closer attention to what she was doing.

The magic she created shook the ground, a surprising little vibration that had him splaying his hooves, a tad, to balance against.

"Ahh, magic of the stones!" he exclaimed, surprised. He hadn't met many who could do that. He'd practiced replicating the shattering of the earth that Dread had cast, before him, though lately such stronger magic was beyond him. "That can go quite a bit further, too. The entire ground can shake hard enough to throw others from their feet--or you can split the earth entirely, and drop someone into the hole, for example. Which is devastating--I've seen a Gembound returned to their chrysalis after the swamp beneath them was split. They fell, and were covered in water, in mud... Luckily we were able to retrieve them."

The white stag turned, facing carefully away from Felina and off to one side, focusing. Nothing came of his concentration, and he was reminded grimly, once again, of the weakening of his magic.

Damn it.

"Ahh, well; I wanted to show you the magic, but it seems mine is still uncooperative." He glanced to her, curious. "What else can you do?"

@Felina

"What else can you do?"
"Well...um...I have more 'stone' spells...as you call them. I'll show you one of my stronger spells." The one she had in mind was quite risky.

Felina walked several steps away from Pride. She then turned to face him. She reached for her Majicka. She concentrated a little harder this time.

She attempted to cast "Shard Storm". Even though her success with "Pebblequake" boosted her confidence a bit, she still had her doubts. A stronger spell might have more of a chance to fail.

@Pride