Mostly a magic thread but anyone is welcome to join!

It was rare that Aethereal slept without nightmarish visions, making her current half-delirious state all the more unusual. Tunnel O was... maybe not the best place to fall asleep? Kind of short. Cramped. Still, she couldn't afford to be picky about where she slept. If she could, she'd take it gladly. At least it was wide enough that she wouldn't block it off for others.

It was some time before she awakened, if you could even call it waking up. Cold, Aethereal thought, her mind a jumbled mess. Confusion. Had she ever been cold before? Not even in Ursa, where everything was wind and snow and six legged siblings in the shelter of the tunnels. For a moment, she thought she might be home.

Cold, she thought again. Tunnel O was warmer than Ursa, and she was well insulated, but still... cold. She curled up tighter. She was pretty sure the nightmares had been dulled, blurred. But she was still so tired. There was buzzing next to her ears, and tickling on the skin of her wings. Flies? Did they think she was a corpse ripe for the picking?

"No," Aethereal mumbled, magic flickering. Go bother someone else. Go away, go away, go away. And to her surprise--they did. The cloud of Blackflies buzzed with a newfound purpose, racing after an alarmed echoing gray and biting with very un-Blackfly-like viciousness. It squeaked, running from the swarm in increasingly lethargic circles. Then, every blood vessel dilating, its blood pressure plummeted and it collapsed, staring up at the tunnel ceiling. It felt very dizzy all of a sudden... the black encroaching at the edges of its vision elicited a weak twitch of panic, but it was too sick to do much more.

Meanwhile, the Blackflies had returned to bother Aethereal. She groaned, twitching her wings but still not getting up. Still hopeful for some real rest, it seemed.

strong language

a single f word

Mosaic sneezed, unfortunately ruining the better-than-you effect as she swaggered through the tunnel. Why was this place so damp, anyway? It was either awful, cold humidity; a literal graveyard; or stupid rocks whichever way she went. She kicked at the ground sullenly.

A blackfly buzzed at her nostril, and Mosaic snapped her jaw at it. Ugh! Where were all these nasties coming from?! ... a humongous wheezing monster lying on the ground, apparently. It was dripping the stuff that prey turned to when it rotted... was it dead? No Mosaic, dead people don't wheeze. Duh. She snorted, snarling at a cloud of blackflies that was getting a little too friendly.

"HEY!" she barked at the gross monster. Was she scared? Of COURSE NOT! How dare you suggest such a thing--LOOK at it, it was half dead! Mosaic bet she could outrun it hopping on one foot if she had to. But she wouldn't do that, because it'd make her look ridiculous. Hmph. "Will you fuck OFF?! There are PEOPLE in this tunnel, you know, who DON'T APPRECIATE a rotting half corpse blocking their path and attracting disgusting scavengers!" She scowled at a nearby puddle of oil and rat bones. NASTY. It was like people who walked their dogs and let them poop everywhere, and refused to pick them up! ... if one were to look for a real-world, non-Origin, non-valkhound-involved scenario for comparison. So really, her frustration was perfectly understandable.

strong language

Aethereal shifted blearily. There was somebody... yelling at her? Irritation spiked. It was hard enough to get some rest as it was, and now some random shrill Gembound thought they could just interrupt her? She wasn't... a corpse?

"Go away," she mumbled again, tucking her head against her chest and tenting her wings around it. Unfortunately for both of them, it failed to block out the string of offended swears Mosaic tossed at her when she didn't move. The insults were... pretty rancid. A growl rumbled in Aethereal's chest. Why wouldn't anybody just leave her alone?

They were increasing in volume: '... and you know WHAT, your FUCKING DROOL smells like SHIT! You're probably worse than the COLLECTOR, and YOU CAN'T FUCKING HIDE FROM ME, DONTACAEL!!!*

Aethereal's neck jerked upward. She half-rose to her feet, and immediately regretted the movement as her world seemed to list sideways. Staggering, she managed to choke out a snarl. She didn't know why Tahi-shei was back--or was that one of Vargas' little monsters, come to accuse her of crawling back to Mother? Not that she didn't want to sometimes, but this was completely unprovoked. Not that it'd stop her from getting hurt: she remembered what had happened the last time, when she'd just tried to run away at first.

And, of course, according to all the voices clamoring in her mind, the best way to respond to such a threat was COMPLETELY DISPROPORTIONATE RETRIBUTION.

"LEAVE ME ALONE," she roared, thought the effect was probably ruined by her struggle to balance while standing up and the fact that the words were slurred from fever. The wind picked up, lifting Mosaic bodily into the air and tossing her a short distance away. "I CAN SLEEP WHEREVER I WANT." Her tongue felt thick. Maybe it was time to get some water, anyway? Aethereal took a stumbling step toward Pisces.

*forsaken mind hallucination

The lights flickered strangely as the air began to whisper. Mosaic narrowed her eyes. "What do you think you're doing, you--" She choked on her own saliva as she was lifted into the air, paws scrabbling at absolutely nothing as she was tossed onto the stone floor. She landed on her side with an exaggerated "OOF," and just lay there for a while, stunned.

Her silence didn't last long, though. It never did. "What the FUCK, you JERK?! I was just TALKING TO YOU!!!" She hadn't considered that the monster might have magic! That wasn't FAIR!!! How was she supposed to outrun magic?! She leapt to her feet as the headless abomination took a step toward her. "NO!!! Go away! I was going in that direction! You don't get to DO shit like this! And stop using magic! It's NOT FAIR!!! CHEATER!"

The valkhound took a rasping breath. Realizing that there was approximately a -1% chance that whatever was about to happen would be good for her, Mosaic turned tail and sprinted toward Pisces. Sure, yeah, Polaris was where the monster wasn't going, but then she'd have to run past it, which she was NOT DOING.

Aethereal had, in fact, not been about to do anything. It was just kind of hard to breathe without sound ominous when you were really sick and dehydrated. Nevertheless, the sound of the dog's fleeing footsteps gave her an odd kind of satisfaction. She'd stood up for herself! Against a totally unprovoked ... verbal attack?

Huh. That was kind of true, actually. The yelling person hadn't really... done anything, apart from yelling and interrupting her sleep. And she'd kind of attacked them anyway. Should she feel guilty about that...? No, Aethereal decided, in a moment of savage spite. Rest was hard enough to get as it was; who did this guy think she was, to just saunter up and harass her for taking a nap? And who knew if this was a person like Tahi-shei, hiding behind words to wait for the perfect opportunity to attack? It had been necessary. It had been self-defense. And even if the dog turned out not to be a threat, it would send a message to anyone who thought about messing with Aethereal again.

Lash your magic like a whip! Maybe Vargas had had a point somewhere in his speech. If she'd been strong enough, none of this would have happened. She'd have been able to go safely anywhere she wanted. (And would Mother still be there, in the back of her mind? Would she warn Aethereal against hurting strangers? Attacking them with magic?)

But Mother hid. Aethereal didn't like the idea of hiding anymore. These caves were hers as much as anyone else's, and who did they think they were, telling her where she could and couldn't go? Vargas could, because he was stronger, but she'd get him eventually. (GET HIM EVENTUALLY! the chaos whispered in a delighted echo.) This... this dog could NOT.

She wanted to hiss another threat at the dog, another indignant defense of her right to go where she wanted and how magic was not... cheating? But her voice hurt whenever she used it, and like it or not, she was more used to communicating through minds anyway. THESE CAVES DON'T BELONG TO YOU, she pressed into Mosaic's mind. I CAN GO THAT WAY, TOO. YOU WILL NOT STOP ME.

Either it was the magic, or terror, or both, but Mosaic suddenly didn't feel much like arguing anymore. Yeah, this headless abomination was a disgusting jerk, but she was also still alive right now and she'd really like to keep things that way. Mosaic didn't fancy her chances in any fight, especially not against someone this big.

"Okay! Bye!" she yelped, skirting around Aethereal and dashing back toward Polaris. It was probably lucky the tunnel was so wide. Fine. She'd call this a detour, a mere inconvenience caused by inconsiderate jerks like this guy. She could come back later, maybe--or maybe not. It was damp and cold and miserable anyway; she couldn't imagine there'd be anything better on the other side. At least, that was what she told herself now.

- exit

And just like that, the bother was gone. Were the thoughts really that convincing? Aethereal stood for a moment, half in disbelief at how easy it had been. Oh, well; she wasn't going to complain.

The Witch of Winter took a staggering step forward, pausing as her hearing rang with the sound of blood rushing and her sense of balance tilted askew and refused to return to normal. When did I get sick? she wondered, lowering herself to lie down before she fell down. It was pretty miserable, actually.

A blackfly buzzed near her mouth. Aethereal shook her neck, shooing it away. Magic. Magic could help with this. She wasn't sure if there was an exact spell, but it seemed to respond to her general intentions just fine. ... or maybe not, she thought with disappointment, as a moment of concentration brought no noticeable relief.

A moment passed, and the pounding of her heart slowed down somewhat. Okay. She could try this again--go to Pisces, get a drink of water, maybe stay in the cold for a while. Or go back to Ursa--? Maybe it was the humidity that was hurting her. Can I even make it that far?

But if it really was the awful dampness doing a number on her health, then who knew if continuing in this direction would just make things worse? And if I end up not getting better in Pisces, it'll be even farther to Ursa. It was worth returning to a place she knew would be comfortable.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Aethereal rose slowly to her feet. (She'd learned her lesson about standing up too quickly.) All right, that wasn't so bad. She remained still, trying to make sure no sudden dizziness would come trip her just as she took another step. Then, she'd try again to gather her magic, to point it inward at whatever disease was affecting her. Surprisingly, she did feel a little bit better after that. Aethereal would head back toward Polaris in cautious little steps, en route to returning to Ursa.

exit