[2023] Reflections In Crystal

[viatorai]

ℌerein I commit the ℭhronicles of these 𝔗ravelers.

January

o1. New
o2. Wander

February

o1. Love
o2. Poison

March

o1. Escape

April

o1. Custom
o2. Game
o3. Bloom
o4. Run

May

o1. Spelunking

June

o1.-Skipped-

July

o1.Growth

August

o1.-Skipped-

September

o1.Feelings

October

o1.-Skipped-

November

o1.Vent

December

o1.Fairy Tale

 

[viatorai]

[Guestbook]
RP Manager(s) and other staff please feel free to leave comments/thoughts/maybe even prompts? here!

 

[viatorai]

Life had never been better.

Kaldin found her, and she'd found the courage to stay by his side. Not that he led them into dangerous situations...only farther from home. It was cold still, and it snowed nearly every day for a while, but in the end, they were at least together. And each and every day she fell more in love, felt more loved by him. Her courage grew, and along with it, her confidence. Even her stutter lessened and she was able to hold longer conversations with him.

As a result, one evening when the moon was hiding fully she found herself alone once more. Before her journeys with Kaldin, she would have panicked. She would have assumed he had abandoned her. Before, she would have broken down.

Now? Now she found she felt something...new. Something she hadn't felt before. Contentment. The strong feeling that everything would be fine. He would come back, he had just gone out to- possibly- get supper for them both. Rather than wither and become upset, Ozzie slowly stood up, stretched her legs, shook her mane out and strode out of the thicket they had claimed for the night.

New was the feeling of being independent. New was her making her way to the nearby creek alone in the dark and not feeling alone. Quenching her thirst without feeling like she was doing something bad.

And as Kaldin rounded a bend to approach her, Ozzie raised her head to smile at him confidently. Welcomed him back. It was a new moon, and she was a new mare.  

[viatorai]

It hadn't been so long ago that he had been surrounded by family. A beloved mate, a number of children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren to make him feel as though he were a part of something.

Everything had started to drift away and apart far too soon, it seemed. The mare he once called his mate was gone, his children away finding their own lives...And he couldn't help but yearn to find a new life of his own. Not to forget them, no, but to start anew. To find somewhere he could put down roots more firmly.

And roots were what he found as he entered the cavern. A tree up above had somehow penetrated the solid rock and covered the walls. Some of the smaller roots hung from the ceiling, barely brushing the top of his head. It was strange, being underground, but feeling so...content. There was hardly anything in the cave until he ventured deeper, finding a spring. Frogs seemed to live down here, content as could be. They'd found a new home, and were thriving as evidenced by the tadpoles in the water. There was a miniature ecosystem, and he couldn't hide his amusement that the critters simply looked at him, croaked, and went about their lives.

Smiling, Sadiki settled down at the water's edge. While he had no intention of living here, it gave him a sense of...hope. If frogs and a tree could make their living here in solid rock, there was hope for him yet in this rocky time of his life. Even the moon was starting over, peeking out from behind the shadow once more.  

[viatorai]

I am disgusting.
A weak bloodline. Nothing worthy tying her to the superior breeds. Filth in the form of a mare cursed. Even despite that, her line had been birthed and it was downright revolting. She should never have been born.

I am weak.
Sire unknown, and a dam that barely acknowledged her presence. Even her siblings weren't a presence in her life anymore. The elder of the line that she did know made attempt to know her, but even he couldn't stay for too long. The rest of the family was bogged down in their own affairs. Their own problems. Their own joy.

I am diseased.
No claws. No sharp teeth. Even lacking the parts that one needed to devour meat, she still tried. It was difficult, keeping it down. Even more difficult when she was stumbled upon by those who had the proper body. Called ill. Called wrong. Many different names, and each time it stung like the largest hornet. Especially once she was out of sight, vomiting up what she'd managed to get down. Ill. Sick. Diseased.

I am loved.
Once, he loved her. Once, he pledged his life to her. Once, he looked only at her. Once, they had a future. Two children birthed. Once, she stopped trying to eat what she couldn't. Once, she only needed him to be happy, and to raise their children to be as proud as the both of them were. He loved her, her children loved her. Even her dam came around and could coax a smile out of her. It was a family, growing. It was love.

I am...loved.
He left for another. Sons drifted away.

I...am...loved...
Back to eating that which she could not. Ill. Diseased.

I...love...
No more family. All gone. Nothing left.

Love...
Weak. Love was weak. She was weak. Down to her bones. Love had gripped her tight and broken her beyond salvation. It had taken all that she was and made her into a warped creature so desperate for validation and love she went against her own existence. Love as she had known it was a disease, and she had been infected. Corrupted.

Love...dies.  

[viatorai]

"I...What?"

Ozzie's eyes were blown open wide as she stood dead still in the patch of what she had assumed was a normal bush. The fact that that the bird that warned her had flown off so quickly made her panic even more. Did the bird know where she was coming from and would go and get Kaldin for help? Would it know where her father was and would go and get him? Was the bird going to get a bigger bird to lift her out of the patch of apparently bad plants?!

Although she'd traveled around, especially lately now that her Traveler's Heart had been awoken, Ozzie had never encountered this 'poisoned ivy' before, and had only heard of the results of those who encountered it. Touching any part of the plant was said to cause red, swollen skin, blisters and severe itching, sometimes within hours after exposure. And none of the times she'd been told about the plant had she asked about what to do about it all!

"K-k-kaldin....?" She whispered softly, even as she stood dead still. Being itchy and rashy wasn't going to feel good, and Kaldin would surely know what to do to fix it, right?

...Wait.

In her mind, Ozzie suddenly figured that the ivy couldn't poison her if it didn't exist right?! Leaning down, Ozzie opened her mouth to take a great big bite of the mean plant, only to suddenly get headbutted!

"What are you doing?!" The small ferret screeched, his red eyes wide as he clung to his Bonded's face, clambering up and onto her neck to avoid the ivy.

"Tasu- Tasuhel?" Ozzie blinked, mouth inches from the plant. "I'm...I'm t-trying to m-make sure it's not g-going to make me itchy..." It made perfect sense, right?

"No." Tasuhel huffed, gently stamping his front paws on her neck as a bonk. "That'll be worse, you-- Ugh, okay, just...take big steps." He suggested, crawling down her neck onto her back. "Big steps out, then head home."

Ozzie didn't quite understand why eating it wouldn't fix the problem, but she had never doubted her familiar before. Taking a breath she took the biiiiiiiiiiggest steppy out of the bush as she could...which...wasn't that big, considering her size. But she did manage to step out after a few big steppies!

"Alright..." Tasuhel breathed out, his tail twitching. "Head home. We're going to have to get....a lot of...." He squinted his eyes. "...Tomatoes."

Being told she was in the ivy was awful. Remembering the effects made her feel dread. But...being told they needed to go near tomatoes?!

"I'd rather g-go back..." Ozzie said, even though she kept walking on.

To home.

To the apparent 'cure' that was a tomato bath, that neither of them would realize was the wrong solution until Kaldin returned. Her mate, however, initially assumed she had been skunked and offered to rub the squashed tomato mixture into her mane and tail. It was only when Tasuhel noted that Ozzie's skin was beginning to rash that Kaldin realized....She hadn't been sprayed by a skunk! They were doing the wrong thing?

Ozzie, miserable, covered in tomato and starting to itch, could only giggle at the silliness of the situation and accept that now she was going to covered in a crushed mineral mix. But, in the end, that was alright! She had her mate and familiar to help her. She would itch, but she would be alright.  

[viatorai]

Of course she would find her way to an unknown forest. Of *course* there would be a voice that, a long time ago, would have sent chills to her bones. That was a long time ago, however, a mare that hadn't grown up. To a mare that hadn't found love, and a love of life, it would have made her crumple and run. To the Ozzie of long ago, the voice would have been her death warrant.

To the Ozzie of now, though she was separated from her mate, the voice was an obstacle of itself. All she needed to do was overcome it, as well as anything else that was placed in front of her. Of course, what was in front of her was a lot of...nothing. What seemed like an endless path with trees on either side, the sky obscured by the boughs, though she surmised that she wouldn't see the sun otherwise. That was how these stories went, wasn't it? A darkened sky, so that those who looked up felt discouraged. But she didn't feel discouraged, not one whit. No, she would get through it and return to Kaldin, tell him what she did and celebrate this new success with him. After all, she had been doing so well, she couldn't stop growing now, right?

The whole time she was thinking to herself, she walked. And after she'd walked for what seemed like hours, she finally saw something; A clearing, and on the other side of the clearing, a continuation of the path. All that stood between her and the path was a chasm that she guessed went on for longer than she could walk. At first, she figured she would have to try to jump it, but...it was wide. Much wider than she could jump. If she had wings, maybe?

It took her a moment, but soon she realized the clearing wasn't completely empty. In a semi-circle were four square stones, each teetering precariously on a corner. On each face of the stones were a...symbol? Each symbol was different, but as she examined the stones, she found that each one at least had the same symbols etched upon them. Frowning slightly, she used her nose to gently nudge the one she was closest to, expecting it to fall down. Instead, Ozzie let out a snort of surprise as the stone simply rotated. One turn. Looking to the next nearest stone, she repeated the action. The same thing happened. And the other. And the other. None of them fell, but they all rotated smoothly, no grinding of stone on stone, the only sound a soft hum.

Looking around the clearing some more, Ozzie narrowed her eyes as she concentrated. So many times had she been called 'simple', even by her family. But she wasn't. It only took her a little longer than others to figure things out, and ever since meeting Kaldin, she'd gotten better. Faster. She had always been smart, he told her, she just needed time to process. And now, she could put that to practice.

Making her way to the edge of the clearing, peering down into the chasm, she couldn't help but let out a small gasp. It seemed bottomless, mist hovering and preventing her from seeing if there might be a bottom. There would surely be no clues there, right? Surely she didn't have to climb down, right? Letting out a soft sigh, she turned as if to leave- Only to pause and look back. Not towards the bottom, but at the sides of the chasm. Etched in the rock walls were symbols. They were somewhat faded, but she could make most of them out.

Fox. ???. Rabbit. Moon.

One symbol seemed to have been chipped away, or intentionally left blank, but the other three symbols...Turning back to the rotating stones, she circled the first one. One of the symbols was indeed a fox, or so she thought it looked like a fox. Flicking an ear and swishing her tail, she nudged the stone once. Twice. Thrice until the fox symbol was facing the chasm. Once it was, she let out another soft snort as the symbol faintly glowed.

Aha!

Moving on to the third one, she repeated the actions until there was a rabbit symbol also facing the chasm. It, too, glowed softly and she moved to the fourth stone much quicker. This time she nudged it until it rotated to show the moon sigil. The three symbols all glowed faintly, and she figured that meant she was on the right track! She was, in fact, clever! She hadn't needed to call for help, and here she was figuring this out all on her own!

Trotting happily to the second stone, she nudged it until it, too, showed the moon sigil. It had to be the pattern, and she turned to look expectantly at the chasm as soon as the final rotation was finished. Maybe a bridge would appear? Vines? Maybe she would sprout wings!

Nothing happened.

With a frown, she looked back at the stones, only to pin her ears back; The second stone hadn't lit up.

She'd guessed wrong. A huff escaped her as she looked at the symbols again.

Fox. Rabbit. Moon.

Fox. Rabbit.

Moon.

Fox...rabbit....

Moon...Sun!!

Her ears perked up as her brain lit up, moving back to the second stone to move it until it showed a sun symbol facing the chasm with the others. It lit up, and shortly after all the symbols' brightness intensified so much so that she had to close her eyes. She'd done it! Sure, it wasn't the hardest puzzle she'd ever seen, but she'd done it all on her own!

Turning to the chasm again, she gasped in surprise as it seemed to be filled in with....light? It wasn't the natural bridge she had been expecting, but as she took her first step upon the solid light, she let out a breaths he didn't know she'd been holding. She could cross. And once she crossed, she could see the end of the path.

However, as soon as she crossed the chasm, a sudden bramble of thorns shot out from either side from the trees, blocking her path. Pinning her ears back, she took half a step backwards, so as to not be pricked by the thorns. Why?! She was so close!!

"Well done." An echoing voice from everywhere and nowhere rang in her ears. "Congratulations to you on passing the first trial."

First?! She had to do more?!

"And now, prepare yourself. I will ask a question, and you must answer correctly. Answer incorrectly, and there will be consequences. Answer correctly...and you may leave."

Oh...Oh no...

"What..."

Here it comes...She figured she only had a few moment to think of the right answer! Surely the voice knew she would need a moment or two?! Surely she didn't just solve a puzzle just to lose to a question?!

"Is..."

Ozzie closed her eyes, ready to recieve consequences if the question was too hard. Kaldin would be so disappointed...

"...Your favorite color?" The voice finished, almost sing-song-like, though the tone was still attempting to be sinister.

It took her maybe half a beat to answer.

"Lavender." She answered, opening her eyes quite suddenly, her voice firm and sure. Her favorite color was Lavender. Her favorite was was...Him. Kaldin. His eyes, his mane...

The voice said no more, but the brambles disappeared. Once they did, she strode forwards. On and out.  

[viatorai]

It had been curious, to say the least.

The Usdia herd had been a happy accident to stumble upon, but it was even more of an accident that they seemed to consider him a 'savior'. Honestly, all he'd done was save a filly from being sucked under a raging stream- what was the little thing doing so close to a river alone in the first place?

In any event, thinking back on his few days with the small herd, something had struck a tone with him; Their nighttime routine. A custom that was unique to that herd. To that family.

They would all gather together, related or not, and bow their heads. Each would take turns bumping heads against one another until everyone had touched everyone else. No words were spoken, and it seemed like everyone would control their breathing. Even the elderly among them seemed to have trained to not breathe too heavily, but he noted no one seemed to care if someone coughed. They all breathed as one eventually. And he had been roped into doing so, as well.

Now that he was alone, his breath was his own and no longer shared with the small herd. Alone with his thoughts, his joys, his regrets. No one to share them with, at least not anymore. Briefly he had experienced what it was like to belong once more.

And now, he was alone again. With only his breath. And he was keenly aware of just how ragged it had become.  

[viatorai]

The knucklebones wouldn't go to waste, at least.

From the corpses of the small flock of sheep that she and Kaldin had come across, they saved the wool that they could, the meat for their more carnivorous friends (After Kaldin had his share, of course), and the hide. Ozzie had been much more open about trading with hers, and this was an opportunity!

It was also an opportunity to come up with a game! The knucklebones seemed to roll perfectly, and after she had Tasuhel put markers on the sides of the bones- Black dots- it was easy to roll them!

"Okay." Ozzie started, staring in determination at her ferret familiar, "S-so, this is what I'm thinking."

"We each start with five bones-" She split the bones into two piles of five. "A-and each round, we roll a "hand" of the bones under our shells-" She'd found some seashells big enough to cover at least ten of the bones. "And th-then we look at them while keeping it concealed from the other." Following her own instructions, she then waited for Tasuhel to follow suit.

"S-so now, we s-start the bidding! A-and..."

"Wait, what are we bidding?" The ferret questioned, looking quite confused already.

"O-oh...um..." Ozzie hadn't thought that far. "...Um...B-berries?" She offered, sheepishly.

"...Yeah okay." Tasuhel sighed, huffing in affection towards his bonded.

"O-okay...so, um...Th-then I announce any face value and the number of bones that I believe are showing that value, under all of the shells in the game." She paused, pursing her lips. "Ones will be wild, always counting as the face of the current bid."

"W-we have two choices during our turn: to make a higher bid, or challenge the previous bid- calling the other "liar"--"

"Wait, wait," Tasuhel interrupted, putting a paw to his face. "Darling, you've seen this before, haven't you? But you're turning it into a liar's game..."

Ozzie's ears tilt backwards, and she lowered her head. "I...I th-thought I could make my own. W-with the bones. S-so that I could play games with you, a-and...with any...b-babies..."

Shaking his head, Tasuhel sighed once more. "It's too complicated." He informed her. "What about...You do the same thing, but you gotta-"

"You gotta ask the other person for the same v-value? A-and then they give you their bones?" Ozzie perked up.

"Yes, and then--"

"And then when one p-person has all the b-b-bones, the g-game's over?"

"Yeah. That's better."  

[viatorai]

Usually, the travel to the cave where he sought out his crystals was uneventful. Every now and then he'd come across a fellow traveler, though normally he was left alone. Whether it be due to his size, the vapor wafting off his body, or just his aura, those he met on the path gave him a wide berth. It was a little sad, actually, since he would really have liked to say hello now and again. But he never saw the same soquili twice, thus had no chance to build any sort of camaraderie.

It was fine. It meant that no one had found his cave, so he wouldn't be missing any of his crystals.

Arriving at the cave's entrance, he ducked his head, though the tips of his horns still scraped against the ceiling. The gouges should mean he'd learn by now, honestly, but he could never duck low enough.

Normally, he would have immediately sought out the crystals he had come for. Today, something else caught his eye.

A log he had kept in the cave after it had flooded one night was...glowing. Upon it's bark were now growing several tiny bioluminescent mushrooms. It was astounding, really, since as far as he knew these types of mushrooms didn't grow in this area. Let alone in such a secluded cave.

Well, he'd keep an eye on them. Like his crystals, these were now his mushrooms.

The question now was...how to care for them? Trial and error would be his best bet...  

[viatorai]

Fear was a great motivator.

Sunyeon had been considering leaving the forest, visit the mountains and see what she could find there. But she'd kept second-guessing herself, not sure if that's what she actually wanted to do. The forest was calm, though more and more soquili had been arriving. She'd had to socialize earlier, and it had terrified her. Oh, no, the stallion was perfectly friendly, yes. It was her fear of being let down by someone else who wanted to hit it and quit it that she refused to make any connection.

Seeing the rabbit, she almost wondered if it was a sign to turn back.

When it shifted and made a horrific noise, her decision was made for her.

By the time she had made it out of the forest, the creature hot on her heels, Sunyeon's lungs were burning. Never had she been very active, and she'd never had to run for her life like this before. Her legs ached, her vision was blurry, and the road ahead was turning more rocky than earthy. Again, something she had never encountered before.

Thankfully it seemed that she'd inherited hardiness from somewhere in her family tree, and though she stumbled, she still managed to start climbing a rockpile. She could have run past it, but she'd gotten the idea to kick down rocks as she went.

It was enough, and soon she found herself at the top of the rock mountain, the feral rabbit at the bottom stalking back and forth until it gave up.

She'd made herself more trouble than she was apparently worth, and she could continue on her journey she'd now been forced on.  

[viatorai]

[[Thread Link]]
Duo RP w/Calixta feat. Casimir!

Casimir was in a good mood after a visit with his friend Melody; he'd told her all about his little trip, including meeting a mare from the Flock and what she'd told him about their culture around stallions. (And, more importantly for him, the areas to avoid if he didn't want to get captured.) Other than that uncomfortable encounter, he'd had a good time discovering new places and meeting new friends. Now, though, he was on his way home, thinking about what he would be foraging later that night for dinner... until he spotted a soquili with a strange looking tail lurking about the entrance to some caves on the beach. Curious, he ventured off his path to approach the other soquili instead. "Hello?" Casimir called out, not wanting to startle them. Maybe they were lost? He eyed the caves, wondering what was in there that could be so interesting. "Do you need some help?" he offered.

What was supposed to be a quick trip to the beach had turned into a...well, it wasn't quite an adventure. Not yet.

Cavaliere had only meant to come and leave quickly, but found themself drawn in to some caverns that looked promising. Promising in the way that they'd heard about treasure that others had found in such caves. Not that they really cared too much about it, but they'd met several herd who had been willing to trade for shiny things. And if they could find shiny things to trade for...What did they need to trade for? Ah, that wasn't important.

What was important was they they had lingered at the mouth of the caves for some time now, thinking about warnings they'd heard about going into such places without someone else. A 'buddy system', they'd heard it called. And some part of them seriously lamented not asking the cute mare they'd met in the last herd to come with them.

A voice shook them out of their thoughts, and Cavaliere turned to the source. Lifting their tail, the hand at the end waving at the approaching soquili, Cavaliere burst into a grin.

"Heeee-llo there, looks like I have some good luck after all!" They sing-songed, ears perked. "Yeah, actually, y'feel like comin' and helpin' find some sorta treasure?" Not that they expected to find any, honestly.

Casimir trotted closer to them after the friendly greeting, taking it as an invitation to join them -- and curious at the mention of treasure. He had to force himself not to stare at the strange tail -- he'd never seen anything like it before, but he certainly didn't want to be rude. "Treasure?" he asked, glancing out at the ocean, then up at the sky to judge the time of day to make sure it was safe. "Well... it is a while until the tide comes back in..." He wouldn't feel right letting someone wander into the caves alone. What if they got hurt or trapped? He hadn't heard of any treasure around here, but maybe they knew something he didn't -- and now he wanted to know, too! It could be exciting, and he was developing a taste for going on adventures! "Yes, that sounds like it would be fun. My name is Casimir. It's lovely to meet you," he said with a warm smile.


"Oh, good." Cavaliere flashed their sharp teeth in a sincere smile. Granted, such a smile usually sent those with less courage in their hearts running as far as they could, but they persisted. After all, a smile was as true to oneself as one could be, right? "I find it...handy-" Their tail lift into the air, the humanoid digits wiggling in a wave, "- to have someone watchin' my back. And y'seem capable." Not one to judge others based on appearance, or even within the first few moments of meeting, they could only beam in excitement of the small adventure that was about to happen.

"Name's Cavaliere!" They all but chirped, edging closer to the mouth of the cave. "Y'can call me Cav, Cava, Lir, Va...Well, anythin' you feel like callin' me. It's a pleasure t'have you as my spelunkin' buddy!" Really, they were ecstatic, even kneading their front paws on the rock they were perched atop of.

"Now, I dunno 'bout you, but if we do find us somethin' shiny down in that cave, whaddaya say we split it? Half'n half like good partners, ay?" Not that they were in it for the value, the adventure would be well worth whatever they found.

"That sounds like a fine deal," Casimir agreed, though depending on what they found, he might just let them take it all. Though he liked to keep his home nicely decorated, he didn't really need or want for much; otherwise, he might just take something shiny for Melody. He was reluctant to admit that he didn't think himself very capable -- but he wasn't helpless, either. Not anymore. Besides, Cavaliere's clear enthusiasm and excitement was infectious, and he didn't want to get left behind now. "Is this the kind of thing you do often? Treasure hunting?" he asked, making his way into the cave. It was gloomy and damp, but Casimir wasn't deterred, focused more on his companion and keeping his footing steady than the occasional slimy seaweed here and there. "I can imagine how much easier it is to traverse around with paws and a tail like that, not to mention just being able to carry things around."

"Most excellent!" Cavaliere all but whooped as they turned to lead their new friend deeper into the cave. "This is actually something totally new t'me, but I'm glad I got me a pal to come along. This was we can watch each other, y'know?"

With the tide so low it was easy enough to walk on the floor, avoiding stepping on the poor sea life that hadn't managed to stay with the flow of the water. It was also easy enough for them to take note of any obstacles; like sharp rocks and other hazards that may impede their progress. As Casimir had said, Cavaliere's fifth appendage was indeed helpful, using it to pick up the hazardous objects to put to the side.

"Y'ain't wrong!" They chuckled as they continued deeper, to the point where the it was starting to get dim. "I can carry things easier'n holdin' em in my mouth. I ain't got any complaints 'bout how I was made to be in this world, even though I got some'a that bullyin' nonesense on my arse when I was young." As if to show off a bit, they picked up a rather pretty looking rock with their tail, holding it into what light remained.

"....In hin'sight, I shoulda brought a bucket'a sorts..." How in the world were they gonna carry their treasures?! "But I guess iff'n we find a treasure chest we can drag it, aye?"

Oh... that was a good point. Casimir hadn't considered how they were going to carry the treasure back out. "If we don't, I have a bag back at home. I usually use it for gathering food. We could always come back once the tide goes back down to collect whatever we find," he suggested. Maybe he should make it a habit to keep it on his person whenever he went out; after all, you never knew when you were going to be dragged into a treasure hunt. As it was, Cavaliere seemed to be doing all the heavy lifting -- literally -- while he just tagged along. If he'd had his pack with him, at least he could carry things on his back. Oh, well -- if Cavaliere didn't seem to be too bothered by it, Casimir was happy enough to keep them company on this adventure, help out where he could, and heal any scrapes and bruises.

He squinted out into the darkness ahead, worried that they might not be able to continue much farther. When Casimir looked back at them, his eyes fell on the rock in their hand. "Oh! Is that a gemstone? How lovely!" He couldn't really tell for sure -- but be it a rock or a gem, it was pretty nonetheless. Looking at the ground, he spotted a few others scattered about here and there. If nothing else, they could take a few of these with them. "I think we can only go a little further before it becomes to hard to see. Shall we see if there's anything else deeper in?"

Grip firm on the rock they had found-- It was more than likely an uncut gemstone-- Cavaliere led on. If they didn't find anything else, at least they'd found this, and Cavaliere had a mind to try and smash it in half so they could share it. A friendship rock, if you will.

But that was an idea for after they'd fully explored the cave. Right now, Cavaliere nodded as they approached what looked like a diverging path. The left path was dark as far as they could see, and as much as the thrill of adventure was absolutely prominent, it was probably not the wisest choice. Even though, normally, they weren't wise in the least. Well, not that it mattered too much, the patch to the right was filled with bioluminescent algae. Still, it was possible that it was a red herring of sorts, and going that way would only be a trap. Or...absolutely nothing, in which case they'd both have wasted their time.

"Whatcha think, aye? We go into th' deep dark and see bout gettin' intae trouble, or we gon' follow the glowybits?" They asked, still smiling and rolling the shiny rock around in their hand-tail.

Taking in the two options, the choice was clear -- at least to him. "As curious as I am to see what might be in the dark tunnel.. I just don't think it's safe. I've never been in here before, so I don't know what lies ahead. If we can't see, we could fall right into a hole... and there's no telling how deep it might go." As fun as treasure hunting has been so far, Casimir wasn't keen on falling to his death. "I think it'd be best to go down the glowing path, where at least we can see. Besides, if it's too dark, we could walk right past a treasure and not even realize it." Even if they found nothing, it was a beautiful sight to see.

As the pair made their way down the lightened path, Casimir couldn't help but stare in awe at the beautiful blue glow. It was hard to pay attention to anything else. Had Melody ever been in here? If not, he was definitely going to have to take her here some day. "It's amazing. Some people can go their whole life and never see anything like this."

Casimir was right and he absolutely should say it.

Remaining silent for a while as the two of them went down the tunnel, Cavaliere could hardly hold back their excitement at the beauty of the glow. It was unlike anything they'd seen before, and unless they came back, wouldn't ever again.

"Yeah, y'right." They agreed, stopping to nose gently at a particularly sizeable glowing mushroom. "And y'know, what better way t'forge a friendship than t'see somethin' incredible like this, aye?" they carried on, laughing merrily. "Iffin' we don't find anythin, then at least we can say you found me 'n I found ya!"

As if to suddenly prove them wrong, they reached what seemed to be a cavern. Full of glowing mushrooms as the passageway had been, there were also hundreds, if not thousands, of glittering crystals in the walls and on the ground. In the very middle of the room was a cluster of very, very large mushrooms. And sat next to and around them...

"Well, whaddaya know..." Cavaliere chirped happily as they made their way over to pick through the pile of jewelery, more gemstones, what seemed like human stuff- bottles of wine, tools, cloth- and even more crystals. "The power'a friendship led us right to it, aye?"  

[viatorai]

The mushrooms had almost died.

The heat wave that swept the soquili lands had been relentless, and though Torment was able to withstand the heat fairly well, he was one of the few. Aside from just being able to wade into any body of water with no fear of attack by reptilian water-dwellers, he was able to regulate his body heat just fine. Of course, he would always prefer to be in colder climes, especially places where snow was abundant. Those were the days, honestly, where he could relax near the peak of a mountain with his best friend, not have to worry about nearly anything bothering them. Even then, once they’d adopted their daughters, going up for a family trip wasn’t unheard of.

But, reminiscing about colder weather and his lost family aside, Torment had to deal with the here and the now. And the here and the now was hot, bright and dry.

He thought that he’d been able to seal off the cavern entirely, that the small pool contained within would be safe and enough to keep the humidity levels high. His crystals and the strange mushrooms should have been safe enough as he took a small journey to a forest for the sake of a dear friend.

What he hadn’t expected was to return to the cavern and be greeted by an opening. The boulder he had used to seal the entry had rolled just enough, despite the reinforcing stones, to leave a gap. Torment could have sworn that he had made sure the boulder couldn’t move before he departed, but in his heart he knew that for all his strength, nature sometimes had different ideas. And one could not expect to go against nature’s will and win. Not easily, at least.

Removing the reinforcement stones carefully, and just as carefully rolling the boulder out of the way, Torment was greeted with a stench that made all his hair and fur stand on end. It almost smelled like….decay.

Death.

Rotten flesh was a scent that he would and could never forget, with how much death he had seen in his years. It was unique and terrible, and made him dread stepping further into what was once a sanctuary for him.

While the crystals had not lost any of their luster, their shine, their sparkle, their beauty was dimmed by the stench that filled the cavern. It seemed like the death was trying to permeate the crystals themselves, and Torment felt himself shudder as the shimmer of the crystals seemed tainted by the scent. Though it was impossible to actually be happening, knowledge of such didn’t settle his churning stomach.

Deeper in, the aura of death worsened.

Deeper in, Torment could see the bodies. Creatures lay, decaying, in a way that suggested to him that they were attempting to go back to the exit. Perhaps they had been suffocating? No, that couldn’t be it, the cavern had oxygen well enough between the plantlife and the water. And after it had been opened, even moreso. It wasn’t suffocation.

Especially not when, as he spied on a rabbit, foam seemed to have gathered in their mouths.

Perhaps it was, indeed, suffocation by foam restricting their breathing? But how?

Surely not every animal had come in suffering from rabies, right? And if not rabies, then what other affliction could cause such a reaction? The foaming, the bloodshot eyes, the bleeding out of the nose…

The further he went, the more bodies. It was as if there had been a crowd to get in, and they somehow didn’t make it out. A mass death, perhaps? Torment had heard of groups of animals of some species coming together to die…but that was usually one species. These? These were all different. Rabbits, raccoons, foxes, birds, and he had even passed by the body of a small deer. Something had drawn the creatures in, something in his cave. His sanctuary was a grave for others.

Still, he didn’t understand. He didn’t understand and as he kept going, now having to watch his paws lest her trample upon a body, he didn’t want to understand. It was terrible. It was horrible. It stunk, it filled his heart with dread. What could have happened?

Only when he finally arrived in the cavers did the pieces fall into place.

The corpses there were fresh.

The corpses had half-eaten mushrooms, the bioluminescence faint and pulsing.

Pulsing.

Giving off a sweet scent.

Inviting.

Pulsing.

So much beauty, his mushrooms, so much decay among them.

At least…at least he could place them around the entrance, right…?

Maybe then this wouldn’t happen again. Maybe his sanctuary could still be saved.

Maybe…Maybe the light and the scent would bring her back. Maybe she would be lured, too.

….He’d have to make sure to grow more.