I mean. Okay.

Madhukar was pretty sure what this place was. Snowy. Reminiscent of Polaris... WAAAAAY too many memories there.

But.

She'd gone to Tahi-shei's lesson. She wanted a wide open space to practice magic in. Who knew how good the lesser content was in here? And best of all: it was close enough to the Palace. Certainly closer than, say, Eridanus or Cetus although she really wished that weren't a case, or a deciding factor. No, it was an... adventure! Usually those didn't turn out too great, but this time should-- could-- had the potential to be different. Madhukar could um... handle herself... no, no, no-- gosh darn it, why was she HERE?

Look around! Nothing but SNOW!!! Agh, and it was so cold. Why, why did she choose THIS place of all places? 'Madhukar...'

So there the feline(?) stood(??), hunched over and a little miserable, bundling herself up as much as she could in her costume. Ugh. Just, don't mind her. Regretting her decisions. ...As usual.

Think "Speak"

NOTE THAT PEOPLE SHOULD READ: Madhukar is disguised, as usual. Her disguise DOES NOT USE MUD this time. Assume her disguise is a mess but functional, because I can't roll for it but her skills with setting it up are improving!

Disguise includes a mask and a heck ton of plants.


Madhukar is hunting / foraging for food for this Quest!

SNAKE TONGUE, SPLIT AND BITE

At first glance, one could assume that Tsetse would not enjoy the cold. He certainly doesn't look like a creature of it; he has no thick fur nor feathers to keep him warm, hooves that scrabble upon ice instead of talons to grip it. And while he certainly is not adapted to the cold, he does run hot enough that the howling wind and snow is not all that much of a problem.

The steam rising from his vents is far thicker in such a snowy climate; he is clouded by a veritable fog as they approach, snow melting around their ankles from his internal body heat. His tail trails behind him like some great snake, leaving a path of half-melted ice in his wake.

In fact, he finds himself enjoying the snow of this place much more than he expected. It seems to drive away the cloud of flies that follow him, which is unfortunate, but it is also a soothing balm towards his near-constant fever, the heat that he normally feels not quite driven away by the ice and snow, but close to it.

To their surprise, someone else has come this way to hunt for the feast. One of the bipedal creatures from earlier, he notes; the small one, the one that was covered in mud earlier but is now coated in mostly plants, the mask familiar to him.

...she looks cold.

He can't say he's the same, he notes smugly, but he still deigns to curl his tail around her, providing warmth. "Are you here to hunt for the Feast as well?"

A witness would... complicate things. She may object to the outright poisoning of food; although he wasn't planning to stoop that low initially, the plan of lacing whatever meat he caught with the Oil dripping from his mouth (he needs to pray again soon, he notes) was not one he was planning to completely disregard.

Earlier experimenting has shown him that the disease he carries is found in the brain, which is... also inconvenient, if he wishes to cause an outbreak, but he's sure he can figure out a way to lace the matter in with normal meat. But—that is also a procedure that will take time, away from prying eyes.

Ah, but another gembound here would aid him in actually catching the meat—she looks fairly fast and agile, for her build. He can always carry his own share of the catch away when they're done. "Would you like some assistance?"

@Madhukar

What in the--

Suddenly she was reminded.

The warmth offered to her must have fought the cold and jogged her memory. She shied away from any touch, including this one. People. That's why she'd come here. She wanted to avoid other people.

At the start of it all, other people had not only been a nuisance, but a danger to her "operation" of sorts. Why else would she need to wear a disguise? Now, both instincts still kicked and writhed within her, activating her Introvert Reflexes perhaps more than was actually necessary. But it wasn't just the discomfort around other presences that made Madhukar shy away.

The cold made her lose herself a little bit. It numbed her senses, quelled her nerves like sleeping. When she was asleep, or among the cold, she couldn't feel it. Her Body.

Madhukar didn't know of this creature's intentions. What was most obvious to her at the moment was that it they were freaking massive. And warm??? Out HERE?? How?! Their form was a bonafide mystery to Madhukar, with the closest comparison she could draw being... James, she supposed. And even James was pretty far off, in her opinion.

"Would you like some assistance?"

Well. Um... Madhukar opened her mouth to speak-- 'no.' Okay never mind, not gonna do that. But Madhukar did have a response. She did want "some assistance". Hunting... did the creature know that? Wait, had it they been there, to hear that weird four-armed dude talk about the "Feast"? Huh. Maybe i-- they, they, they had been there, and Madhukar hadn't noticed, or realized, or... whatever.

Madhukar would nod and grunt. "Hunt," she'd say. The brevity of the word meant no soar pain would come with it. Then, she would stalk off, trying once again to look for... something. Anything would do. Maybe it would be good to have such... assistance. At least it wasn't the assistance of anyone familiar.

Think "Speak"

NOTE THAT PEOPLE SHOULD READ: Madhukar is disguised, as usual. Her disguise DOES NOT USE MUD this time. Assume her disguise is a mess but functional, because I can't roll for it but her skills with setting it up are improving!

Disguise includes a mask and a heck ton of plants.


Madhukar is hunting / foraging for food for this Quest!

@Tsetse (i've made a gm request)

The cave seemed, at first glance, desolate: cold, full of sweeping winds and white expanse, its bitter air filled with fog and flakes of chilled and drifting snow.

Should the hunters search, a little, they would find tracks nearby: the small, soft prints of a quadruped, something perhaps Madhukar's size or a tad smaller. These were filling with snow, already, and the faint scent of something warm was mostly lost, by now, to the metallic thread of snow-smell.

But perhaps, with skill, the tracks--or scent--could be followed.

SNAKE TONGUE, SPLIT AND BITE

His question earns a notable pause from the bipedal Gembound; for a moment, he's expecting her to say no. Not like he minds the idea of being left to his own devices to hunt, but... ah, he doesn't consider himself a tracker.

That needs to be rectified, he notes to himself. After all, his entire purpose is to, well, track! To find someone of fair skin and two wings—to kill, as he was created for.

This hunt will help in that regard, at the least. Especially, when, to his surprise, the Gembound before him agrees with a single word.

Not very talkative, is she? Mm. He would like a decent conversational partner. He supposes he's missing his siblings, after being so long away from them.

He allows the Gembound to lead, slowing his strides to keep up with her. He takes the moment to examine the snowy world around him, head swiveling this way and that. He can feel little pinpricks of snowflakes melting over his neck and back, small, cold droplets running over his skin—the snow seems unending, for now. This cave is quite big, leading away into the horizon; he notes, with interest, the sweeping spires of rock in the distance, partially obscured by clouds. The sky shines above, but this he takes the least note of as simply an aesthetic feature. It owes him barely a scintilla of importance in favor of the bigger picture.

Still, this cave is proving to be quite interesting... perhaps he will come back here in the future, to explore. Surely there must be something of use in a cave this big?

His searching gaze picks out the tracks nearby soon enough. He pauses his train of thought for a moment in favor of the present, sidling past his hunting companion and bending his head down to examine the tracks. Hm. Only the same thin, cold smell of snow reaches his nose, and he doesn't deign to spend his time with his head next to the snow like a fool for any longer than he has to, but the tracks are still quite visible.

Perhaps he should follow them? But—ah, he should let his fellow hunter examine them, first. "There are tracks, here. Do you consider yourself good at tracking, perchance?"

@Madhukar

This assistance was weird. Walking by a massive James-lookin' thing person was weird. But! When i-- they pointed out the tracks in the snow, that assistance seemed a little more worthwhile. Although, honestly, Madhukar might've seen those tracks herself if she hadn't been so distracted by the experience of walking beside a- NOT THE POINT.

Point was, she was happy. Well, happier than she'd been before. Happier to know that this wasn't all for nothing, and happier still to have something to do here. Now for the question: did she consider herself good at tracking? Well...

Memories, memories, memories, memoriiiiie-- oh- memories, memories, MEMORIES, M E M O R I E S, C A N I S-- NEVER MIND. NEVER MIND. Memories are DUMB, we don't NEED memories, we just need answers.

Except we don't need those either, we need EVIDENCE! Evidence comes in the form of action.

So Madhukar was going to prove herself at "good tracking". By... tracking. Tracking the tracks. Track those tracks... the tracks that were close to her size... being covered up by the snoooow....

Without a single word as a response, Madhukar attempted to do some good tracking.

Which. Wouldn't turn out so great. It was hard to see, the snow was covering things up fast, and, AGH, the scent was so HARD TO CATCH--

Madhukar was, perhaps expectedly, not a good tracker. She looked, um... up, very up, at the big James-like... person. "Ah... help." That's all she had. Maybe that assistance was going to be... carrying her for a good part of this unfortunate journey.

Think "Speak"

NOTE THAT PEOPLE SHOULD READ: Madhukar is disguised, as usual. Her disguise DOES NOT USE MUD this time. Assume her disguise is a mess but functional, because I can't roll for it but her skills with setting it up are improving!

Disguise includes a mask and a heck ton of plants.


Madhukar is hunting / foraging for food for this Quest!

@Tsetse

SNAKE TONGUE, SPLIT AND BITE

He could almost laugh at the helplessness of the Gembound before him. She's trying her best, poor thing, but—oh, it's a waste! Even without the convenience of expression, her face obscured by that strange mask of hers, it's all too clear she's struggling to pick up the trail.

In fact, the only reason he doesn't laugh—although his vents do shudder with the effort of holding his amusement back, a series of harsh clicks emanating from over his neck as they rattle shut and pop back open—is because, frankly, there's no guarantee he'll be any better.

It is a little endearing to watch her look up at him, voice strained as she asks for help. Cute. Like a baby bird struggling to get out of the nest. He wonders what she looks like behind the mask.

He could attempt to pry it off, of course—he could attempt to pin her down beneath his weight, tear the mask off with his teeth and revel in the way she squirms beneath six sets of hooves, see those mysterious green eyes grow pinprick and terrified—

—mm, the thought is tempting. He stares for a long, quiet moment, considering the pros and cons of the whisper of a chaotic thought. He hasn't done something so delightfully chaotic as such in so long!

But, ah, he should extend her a bit of respect. She is trying her best to help, and her assistance may prove invaluable in other ways.

Maybe if the hunt doesn't work out, then he can turn on her. Would the chef possess the kind of acumen to tell Lesser meat from Greater?

...was there even a difference?

A thought for later. For now, he finally deigns to speak, shaking his head slightly to clear it of the thoughts. They're on a hunt; there's no time to waste in idle fantasies of chaos. "Let me see..."

He stares down at the tracks, tracing their outline through the snow; quietly, he damns the snowy weather for filling in their shape. It's not impossible to spot, but it's certainly going to be a trial in observation.

With slow, measured hoofsteps, he proceeds alongside the tracks, keeping his tail carefully swept to the side in order to not disturb the snow. The harsh gleam from the neon pits in his face dulls slightly as he concentrates.

It's not nearly long enough before the tracks abruptly end. Whether because the beast had taken a turn and he had missed it, or simply because the snow had filled in the shallow divots of its footfalls, it's gone. He shakes his head, huffing in disappointment; a soft hiss echoes through his vents.

He turns back to his companion. "Nothing. The snow has covered the tracks here."

Unfortunate.

@Madhukar

Madhukar hadn't the slightest clue who she was working with. Then again, perhaps in a twist of comedy, neither did they have a clue about her. This was, most likely for both of them, a really embarrassing example of what they were capable of. The shuttering vents of the James-like creature, which registered in Madhukar's ears as just... pure biological oddity, made her nervous. Curious. Perhaps the best word for it all was apprehensive. If the degenerate thoughts running through the head of the chaos beast had in any way been voiced or shown, Madhukar might have had more of a concrete reason to feel like she was on a swaying, creaking rope bridge. For now, her apprehension was run entirely on anxiety-induced paranoia, and was being rather numbed by the cold.

They had also found nothing in this accursed snow it appeared. It was good that Madhukar's mask gave her the illusion of obstinate neutrality, because right now, internally, her temperatures were rising and a scowl was cutting through her sullen expression. The anger wasn't directed at her colleague here, so they were safe. But... the climate... well, Madhukar had never tried to cast her more explosive spells in the snow. She wondered what might react to a thunderclap.

It felt like an easier alternative to trying to find something with dulled senses. Madhukar picked a spot, focused, and reached; they tell you it's dangerous to dry fire, but in this case it was more like snapping. The storm without the arrows of lightning was actually safer. The power was harmless, channeled entirely into the production of the noise. Hopefully only Madhukar would be aware of this fact.

Maybe she should've warned the other to be ready?

Well, no matter. It was a pitiful boom, by her standards. She'd done ones so big it could be heard beyond the cave it was made in. This was like a little dinky personal pizza version of what she was capable of. Ah, oh well. Maybe it would still do something more productive than just lollygagging in the snow, getting their feets cold.

"This is Speaking."
This is Thinking.

NOTE THAT PEOPLE SHOULD READ: Madhukar is disguised, as usual. Her disguise DOES NOT USE MUD this time. Assume her disguise is a mess but functional, because I can't roll for it but her skills with setting it up are improving!

Disguise includes a mask and a heck ton of plants.


Madhukar is hunting / foraging for food for this Quest!

@Tsetse

The sound cracked the air overhead, rolling up through the fog and along the mountainsides in its rattling echoes. Snow, here and there, loosened and slid down, tumbling over distant cliffsides.

It faded, given time, each rumble dimming away, back into snow-muffled silence.

SNAKE TONGUE, SPLIT AND BITE

Something in the sky snaps. The very air seems to buckle under an unknown weight, breaking; had he had ears, they would have certainly flattened against his head instinctively at the sound. Tsetse himself is no stranger to thunderstorms. He's spent enough time in Fornax for that, at least; and rain seemed to be a universal constant throughout many of the caves, however dry or wet.

In this case, however...

Tsetse's head raises in curiosity, and he turns a half-step, peering into the sky in an attempt to discern the storm that caused the sound. White clouds hang in the sky, coiling around the peaks of distant mountains; he's expecting something violent, for familiar rain to come quick and heavy, or at least for the snowfall around them to become thicker, but nothing happens. In an anticlimax, the sound simply fades away into the snow. Not even a single creature appears to reward their efforts.

Hmph. Still no results, and his hooves are getting numb from the cold.

Still, the thunderclap echoing from nowhere was interesting... now what in the caves could have caused that? The clouds above promise no storm and no lightning no matter how long he stares up at them, and after a while of searching for the source above him the pits of his eyes dim slightly in disinterest as he glances back down at the Gembound beside him.

Magic can do many things. Fire and flesh, among his siblings; perhaps...?

"Was that your doing?" he asks his hunting partner, curious.

Maybe he should keep her around even if the hunt is unsuccessful, after all. If she wields storm, then perhaps she could be of use yet.

@Madhukar