Vox Arnason, Rebel Scout

"Fear not your ignorance in war. Hold onto it."

[voxarnason]

[akkey you should say no]

[faysalthelost]

Dug Too Deep to the Right [pt 4]

[x]

Woah, hey there little human, no need for swords. You might hurt Alesha! Zsilelac chuckled as he attempted to pull more of his body out of the pile of dirt. I’m Zsil, though most people call me Guardian. He grunted as one of his legs dislodged from the rubble. Even without a head, the suit moved as though it was looking through the occupants of the tunnel. I’m afraid I don’t recognize any of you, you aren’t with Alrund’s forces, are you?

[tree-the-cat]

A barrage of memories flooded into Kendra’s mind’s eye, and she gasped so suddenly, those around her thought she had gotten hurt. Her hands shook aimlessly in excitement, and then she dashed forward and threw her arms as far as they would go around the suit’s waist, tossing her consciousness against his at the same time in joyful greeting. Liam stood like someone had whacked him over the head with a rolling pin, too stunned to stop her.

“Zsil, what…what the fuck!?” he sputtered. 

[faysalthelost]

Wait… those ears… Liam! Kendra! The Guardian bellowed in laughter. Oh it’s so great to see you two! He pulled his other leg from the mound of dirt and scooped up Kendra before rushing to Liam and pulling him into the bear hug. Oh I never thought I would see you kids this close to Central, let alone in one of their tunnels! and you’ve gotten so big Kendra! And my sister, she must be with you, right?! And who are your friends?! Oh this is just so much! He released the two from his hug back onto the ground and took a step back before doing a little dance of joy.

[hubwalker1]

Normally Lila would have stabbed this thing where it stood, but Kendra had moved first, it threw her off. “Does someone want to explain what’s going on?” She asked as she sheathed her sword.

“I’m as lost as you are sis.” Kettil replied quietly.

“Best I can figure, either this is a suit of enchanted and/or cursed armor, or a demon body, possessed by said demon.” Jari assessed.

The commander hummed as she crossed her arms. “I take it you’ve been down here a long time. Central as it was is a thing of the past, fractured into factions. And even now this faction, the Conclave, has been destroyed, their leader scheduled for execution tomorrow.”

[tree-the-cat]

“It can’t have been that long,” Liam wheezed, catching his breath from the Guardian’s bear hug. “We saw him, like…”

Kendra had been counting. I was twelve, she said.

“Okay, then yeah, I was like sixteen or seventeen. Where the Hel have you been?” he demanded. While he talked, Kendra rapidly caught Jari up on their relationship to Nala’s older brother. “What do you mean, one of Central’s tunnels?” 

[faysalthelost]

A barrage of questions for me, your favorite demon! The Guardian let out a hearty laugh. And you, you’re correct on two accounts. He moved to look at Jari as he spoke.

I’ve been quite busy these past few years, chasing ghosts, mostly. Ghosts that  always lead me to Central. Now, keep in mind, almost everything I know about Central is a theory, Whoever is in charge of Central is so far ahead of me, almost everyone thinks I’m crazy. Guardian shifted again to look at Lila. 

I’ve been trapped down here since you took the Jaw, six days ago, right? I had to put Alesha, Guardian tapped his chest, into a deep sleep just in case we weren’t found for some time. I don’t know how long a human can survive without food or water, I’m working on waking her up now, but that’s besides the point. 

Your rebellion took the jaw from the Conclave, which means… He trails off and counts on his fingers. If you haven’t killed their leader yet, Central will be by shortly to finish him off. They can’t have any loose ends, not with their plan, not with how much this system runs like a clock.

[hubwalker1]

Lila paled as she heard this. High Central, come here? They weren’t ready for that, they’d be slaughtered. She shakes her head as she tries to calm herself. “No, that’s not possible.” She says. “Our Intel said they were under siege. They don’t have the capability to come for us. And besides we killed most of the leadership in the battle and Vidar will be put to death by tomorrow.”

[tree-the-cat]

“Hold up, stop.” Liam took an aggressive step forward. He’d been around the block with Zsil before. “You can’t be taking this seriously. A plan? A system?”

Kendra, in the meantime, was tapping curiously on Zsil’s chest and putting an ear to it, feeling for the human he was referring to.

[faysalthelost]

Zsil patted Kendra on the head, Not yet, she’s not ready to wake up. I might have to take her to an infirmary, if you have one. 

Like I said, everything I have is theories and guesses. But I would expect an assassin coming for Vidar soon. That much I know for sure. Everything else I have on Central is a very educated guess. I’ve been on their trail for years now. This isn’t the first time we’ve taken out one of the “splinter factions.” The guardian puts visible air quotes up when he says those last words. 

[voxarnason]

Vox had been watching from a distance, careful not to impose on his children and their reunion. He couldn’t help but crack a smile at Kendra’s excitement.

“We have an infirmary, sure.” He spoke calmly, hoping to counter the Commander’s tone. “I am sure the group wouldn’t mind showing you to it once we accomplish... whatever it is we came here for.”

His mind strayed, remembering that Dario would not be there. Though there was still remnants of guilt, he felt some of it alleviated in the presence of someone quite revered by his own.

“I won’t speak on the happenings with Vidar or Central; the former will get his regardless, and the latter is best left to Lila... but it seems like you’ve got some history with these two.” He looked again to the two young adults, feeling remorse that he couldn’t understand the connection due to his absence. “I would be happy to assist with whatever you might need.”

[tree-the-cat]

Dug Too Deep to the Right [pt 3]

[Part Two]

Kendra yanked her face up out of the ground and spouted mud, sticking out her tongue in disgust, while Liam carefully felt across his back, gritting his teeth as his claws snagged against a sliver of glass, and pulling it out with a grunt. Before he could remark on the possibly life-threatening experience, the sound of earth moving and stones grating drew their attention to the rest of the tunnel ahead, which, upon Kendra highlighting the way once more, led to another cave-in. The Whispering Death mother had zoomed forward, her babies gathered around her, and had begun to flee through the side of the tunnel even faster than before, sending chunks of damp soil scattering through the air. Her thorny tail lashed quickly back and forth before disappearing, and the sound of her teeth shredding through earth quickly grew quiet. She had fled.

“Great,” Liam complained. “Now what?”

[voxarnason]

Vox groaned as he turned over to prop himself up on his arms, feeling every strain and pain in his back. Between the force of his impact and his age, it was impossible to ignore. The bleeding from his head had slowed substantially, but it was still enough to leave him slightly lightheaded. He wouldn’t be getting to his feet on his own anytime soon. His spine had taken too much damage for him to be able to continue for the long haul without Kettil’s intervention.

“We put our hands together and thank the Gods that we didn’t die, Liam.” The scout looked over to his children, who looked well beyond superficial wounds. “Then we ask our daring leaders to get us out of this mess.” He glanced up at Jari and Lila, anticipating any sort of plan they could muster.

[hubwalker1]

Lila looked over everyone. “Juro.” She called to the bird. “Can you send Kettil our way?” She asks.

[akkeyagentofhelheim]

Juro exhaled a little thinly through his nose at the extra strain on his golem, but complied, still with a grin. The connection was cut, and Virion tittered as it folded into itself, then opened into a portal. It was big enough for only one human to pass through.

“You’ve been summoned,” the Bookkeeper called towards Kettil, before leaning his head back to appear at the other end very briefly, “Limit our back and forths, Commander. This isn’t an easy form for Vir to switch to often. Also, update. We opened our door, and we’re checking it out soon.”

[hubwalker1]

“Stay out of trouble and he won’t need to.” Lila replied.

Kettil quickly made his way through the portal and began tending to both Arnasons. “I can’t leave you guys a lone for a second can I? First the Chief now you two.” He says with smile as he finishes up with both of them.

“Are you guys good enough to keep going? I can send you back if you need to.” Lila says as she crosses her arms.

[voxarnason]

It wasn’t a perfect fix, but Kettil’s aid placed Vox in a far better position to proceed than before. He managed to get himself to his feet with the young man’s assistance.

“That’s won’t be necessary.” Vox jokingly hobbled forward with his hand on his lower back. “The next hit will kill me for sure, so we don’t need to worry about me getting hurt again. Just leave my body to the dragons.”

[tree-the-cat]

Dug Too Deep to the Right [pt 3]

[Part Two]

Kendra yanked her face up out of the ground and spouted mud, sticking out her tongue in disgust, while Liam carefully felt across his back, gritting his teeth as his claws snagged against a sliver of glass, and pulling it out with a grunt. Before he could remark on the possibly life-threatening experience, the sound of earth moving and stones grating drew their attention to the rest of the tunnel ahead, which, upon Kendra highlighting the way once more, led to another cave-in. The Whispering Death mother had zoomed forward, her babies gathered around her, and had begun to flee through the side of the tunnel even faster than before, sending chunks of damp soil scattering through the air. Her thorny tail lashed quickly back and forth before disappearing, and the sound of her teeth shredding through earth quickly grew quiet. She had fled.

“Great,” Liam complained. “Now what?”

[voxarnason]

Vox groaned as he turned over to prop himself up on his arms, feeling every strain and pain in his back. Between the force of his impact and his age, it was impossible to ignore. The bleeding from his head had slowed substantially, but it was still enough to leave him slightly lightheaded. He wouldn’t be getting to his feet on his own anytime soon. His spine had taken too much damage for him to be able to continue for the long haul without Kettil’s intervention.

“We put our hands together and thank the Gods that we didn’t die, Liam.” The scout looked over to his children, who looked well beyond superficial wounds. “Then we ask our daring leaders to get us out of this mess.” He glanced up at Jari and Lila, anticipating any sort of plan they could muster.

[tree-the-cat]

Dug Too Deep to the Right [pt 2]

[Part One]

Kendra was amused, but sympathetically put her head on his shoulder as the hatchling in her lap curled up, making a rather horrifying gurgling noise that could be vaguely equated to purring.

Meanwhile, the mother dragon continued her thunderous tunneling, her body spiraling quickly back into the ground in a hooked shape around the loose earth of the cave-in. Clouds of drier dust billowed out of the large hole she left in her wake. The noises paused, echoing for a moment, and then a hiss crawled out of the dark, damp hole, indicating that she was finished. 

The Arnasons got to their feet, and Liam leaned over and tapped Virion on the head, who had been twittering excitedly the whole time at the excitement surrounding it. “Everything good over there?”

[akkeyagentofhelheim]

Virion ruffled its tiny feathers, before flapping its way to settle on Liam’s nest of hair. It opened its beak in response and announced in a loud, clear voice, “Ah. Mm. Define… good?”

Juro leaned an elbow on a hand, twirling pen in fingers as he watched Kettil fuss over his aunt, taking his time to relay the message, “We found a door and it’s sealed shut, so the Chief is trying to melt it open, after some… complications. She should be alright, though. There’s a bunch of mechanical sounds and a really strong smell coming from the other side.

[tree-the-cat]

“A fucking door…?”

Liam and Kendra looked at each other, him having translated for her. There was clearly more to this tunnel than initially met the eye. “How much further are we going, Cap?” he called out to Lila, as the babies flooded towards the new tunnel and zoomed inside. “Sounds like Grey got kinda roughed up.”

[hubwalker1]

“We’re going to the time limit.” She said firmly. It sucked that Grey got hurt but Kettil was with them and it seemed like it wasn’t too bad. “Or until something worse happens.”

[tree-the-cat]

Another glance. Kendra seemed unhappy, but she pressed forward, letting the light on the wall dim while she took a brighter beam around the curve of the tunnel. They emerged into something that looked almost identical to the stretch of cave from before, with the tracks resuming and running off into the darkness. But here, this side of the cave-in looked different. There was some kind of scaffolding around the entire circumference of the tunnel, thought it was half-covered in the same earth that had blocked their way, and Jari managed to catch an old whiff of a very familiar smell. Black powder. There were metal and glass fragments shattered across the ground, smeared in mud and sealing wax. Kendra’s light revealed several methodical craters blasted into the earth in a circle that went over their heads, with several embedded chains hanging from each one. They had all been shattered and blasted as heavily as the debris at their feet.

[hubwalker1]

Jari’s nose twitched as the smell hits it. “This is black powder.” She murmured. “How the Hel did they get their hands on black powder?! It took me months to perfect it and even then I discovered it by accident!”

“I’m more concerned with what they were doing here.” She lit a blue ball of fire in her hand before sending it around the tunnel examining it. “It looks like it was a mining operation. But what were they ming?” She asks.

Jari walks over to the wall and runs her hand over the wall and taking a closer look, looking for a vein they hadn’t completely tapped.

[tree-the-cat]

There didn’t seem to be any evidence of excavation or mineral extraction. The smell of powder was strongest in these areas, and the chains hanging from each crater were deeply anchored in the center, very intentionally placed before the earth had fallen away from them, as though something had been embedded in the walls of the tunnel before the cave-in.

Something rattled against Vox’s foot as he stepped forward. It was covered in mud, but it was a mostly-intact canister, with an anchor for a chain similar to the ones in the wall. It called back to a faint memory from his childhood–an authoritative shout before hearing a nearly-earsplitting blast even through his father’s calloused hands protecting his hearing, the smell of dust as it billowed out from new cracks caused by these very same canisters hammered into certain points of a massive cliff face. An explosive charge. The one at his feet had already been blown.

[voxarnason]

The scout kneeled to inspect the canister that brought back a flood of childhood memories; they were few and far between, as much of his life prior to leaving High Central was a blur after the events of the Rebellion. He ran his fingers along it’s shape, gently removing some of the mud to get a better look. Vox motioned to Liam and Kendra to join him.

“Your grandfather knew about these sorts of things far better than I ever could, but I can remember being so terrified of these blasts going off when he would take me to a work site.” He laughed at how frail and frightened he was as a child compared to his own son. “I definitely feel a lot of nostalgia here, and that probably isn’t a good thing. High Central already had these mechanics worked out over forty years ago – who knows how advanced they are now when it comes to masonry and construction.”

[hubwalker1]

“Fourty years?” Jari murmured. It was disheartening. They had this technology long before she was even born. It would take a long time for her to catch up, let alone take them down. But it was also an exciting prospect. If they did manage to take them down, all of that technology an research would be hers. It was rather bitter sweet.

“Lets not waste any more time here.” The Commander said as she continued down the tunnel.

[tree-the-cat]

Liam caught Kendra up with the conversations, and the half-breed peered up and across at the ring of detonation craters that were left behind, her ears flicking a bit as she thought. They did this on purpose, she said, and Liam nodded.

“Yeah, whatever passage this is isn’t weak.” A bit of dirt fell on their heads as the hatchlings tugged at something in the ceiling, excitedly screaming. “Someone didn’t want something to be f–”

Something clanked above them and began hissing in a different dissonance than the Whispering Deaths. Liam’s ears pricked up and he yanked his gaze upward, where something flashed in Kendra’s light as it turned end over end, falling towards the ground. He didn’t have time to get her attention. He pushed off into a powerful sprint and threw himself into her middle, wrapping his arms around her and sending them both skidding forward in the mud as one last untriggered canister fell from the mouth of one of the baby dragons and cracked on a large stone, and the cavern was briefly filled with a huge flash and a deafening bang. A broken chain snapped across the ground as a few shards of shrapnel skidded through the water. Liam felt a few hot lines of pain across his back; Kendra was unscathed.

[voxarnason]

His son was a blur in his vision, and before Vox could turn and see what Liam was so desperately running from, the blast caught the scout from behind in a terrifying assault on every sense. His body was launched forward, and with a stroke of luck, he managed to angle his body to impact evenly against a ragged wall of the cavern. He crumpled to the floor; the idea of moving and harming himself further was out of the question. Though stiff, he managed to pull his hand up to his head, feeling dampness on the back of his scalp. His perception to pain was dulled heavily by the fact that his ears were ringing wildly, along with the probable shock.

“L-Liam!” Vox coughed heavily, fighting his lungs to function adequately enough to communicate. “Are you two alright? Jari? Lila?”

[tree-the-cat]

Dug Too Deep to the Right [pt 2]

[Part One]

Kendra was amused, but sympathetically put her head on his shoulder as the hatchling in her lap curled up, making a rather horrifying gurgling noise that could be vaguely equated to purring.

Meanwhile, the mother dragon continued her thunderous tunneling, her body spiraling quickly back into the ground in a hooked shape around the loose earth of the cave-in. Clouds of drier dust billowed out of the large hole she left in her wake. The noises paused, echoing for a moment, and then a hiss crawled out of the dark, damp hole, indicating that she was finished. 

The Arnasons got to their feet, and Liam leaned over and tapped Virion on the head, who had been twittering excitedly the whole time at the excitement surrounding it. “Everything good over there?”

[akkeyagentofhelheim]

Virion ruffled its tiny feathers, before flapping its way to settle on Liam’s nest of hair. It opened its beak in response and announced in a loud, clear voice, “Ah. Mm. Define… good?”

Juro leaned an elbow on a hand, twirling pen in fingers as he watched Kettil fuss over his aunt, taking his time to relay the message, “We found a door and it’s sealed shut, so the Chief is trying to melt it open, after some… complications. She should be alright, though. There’s a bunch of mechanical sounds and a really strong smell coming from the other side.

[tree-the-cat]

“A fucking door…?”

Liam and Kendra looked at each other, him having translated for her. There was clearly more to this tunnel than initially met the eye. “How much further are we going, Cap?” he called out to Lila, as the babies flooded towards the new tunnel and zoomed inside. “Sounds like Grey got kinda roughed up.”

[hubwalker1]

“We’re going to the time limit.” She said firmly. It sucked that Grey got hurt but Kettil was with them and it seemed like it wasn’t too bad. “Or until something worse happens.”

[tree-the-cat]

Another glance. Kendra seemed unhappy, but she pressed forward, letting the light on the wall dim while she took a brighter beam around the curve of the tunnel. They emerged into something that looked almost identical to the stretch of cave from before, with the tracks resuming and running off into the darkness. But here, this side of the cave-in looked different. There was some kind of scaffolding around the entire circumference of the tunnel, thought it was half-covered in the same earth that had blocked their way, and Jari managed to catch an old whiff of a very familiar smell. Black powder. There were metal and glass fragments shattered across the ground, smeared in mud and sealing wax. Kendra’s light revealed several methodical craters blasted into the earth in a circle that went over their heads, with several embedded chains hanging from each one. They had all been shattered and blasted as heavily as the debris at their feet.

[hubwalker1]

Jari’s nose twitched as the smell hits it. “This is black powder.” She murmured. “How the Hel did they get their hands on black powder?! It took me months to perfect it and even then I discovered it by accident!”

“I’m more concerned with what they were doing here.” She lit a blue ball of fire in her hand before sending it around the tunnel examining it. “It looks like it was a mining operation. But what were they ming?” She asks.

Jari walks over to the wall and runs her hand over the wall and taking a closer look, looking for a vein they hadn’t completely tapped.

[tree-the-cat]

There didn’t seem to be any evidence of excavation or mineral extraction. The smell of powder was strongest in these areas, and the chains hanging from each crater were deeply anchored in the center, very intentionally placed before the earth had fallen away from them, as though something had been embedded in the walls of the tunnel before the cave-in.

Something rattled against Vox’s foot as he stepped forward. It was covered in mud, but it was a mostly-intact canister, with an anchor for a chain similar to the ones in the wall. It called back to a faint memory from his childhood–an authoritative shout before hearing a nearly-earsplitting blast even through his father’s calloused hands protecting his hearing, the smell of dust as it billowed out from new cracks caused by these very same canisters hammered into certain points of a massive cliff face. An explosive charge. The one at his feet had already been blown.

[voxarnason]

The scout kneeled to inspect the canister that brought back a flood of childhood memories; they were few and far between, as much of his life prior to leaving High Central was a blur after the events of the Rebellion. He ran his fingers along it’s shape, gently removing some of the mud to get a better look. Vox motioned to Liam and Kendra to join him.

“Your grandfather knew about these sorts of things far better than I ever could, but I can remember being so terrified of these blasts going off when he would take me to a work site.” He laughed at how frail and frightened he was as a child compared to his own son. “I definitely feel a lot of nostalgia here, and that probably isn’t a good thing. High Central already had these mechanics worked out over forty years ago -- who knows how advanced they are now when it comes to masonry and construction.”

[tree-the-cat]

Dug Too Deep to the Right

[Main Thread]

Kendra strengthened her light to shine as far down as it would comfortably go, and as the larger group began trudging through the mud, keeping an eye out for anything of note. The Whispering Death watched them move for a moment, and then folded in her wings and began snaking after them on her belly to stay by their side, and her hatchlings came with, zooming overhead in loop-de-loops and zig-zags, squealing to each other the whole time. But they had barely walked what felt like a minute before Kendra’s light began refracting off something in their line of sight, and as they drew closer, they saw that it was the foot of what seemed to be a massive mound of earth, sloping up from the wet ground to fill the entire width of the tunnel. Most of the mass seemed to be boulders, and they were too regularly sized to be something coincidental. The tracks led straight under the enormous pile and disappeared; they had been regularly used before any kind of blockage existed.

Liam stopped short when he saw the cave-in. “Oh shit. Now what?”

Kendra moved further and walked a few paces up the slope, facing her palms this way and that over the crumbled dirt and tiny cascades of water dripping over the stone faces. She pressed the side of her face and her ear to one of the boulders, frowning in concentration as her hand drifted across it, feeling. The baby Whispering Deaths were gleeful at the sight of so much loose debris; they took turns swooping down and scooping up fist-sized rocks and playing tug-of-war with them off to the side of the tunnel. 

[voxarnason]

Vox stood next to Kendra, also taking in the state of the tunnel. The initial view felt ominous, but there had to be more than just accepting that this was the end of the line.

“Do we… try to get through it?” He tapped on some stone that was more firmly rooted in the debris, hoping to have some sort of indication of the amount they would need to shift in order to progress. He had no luck in doing so. “I don’t imagine that we want to waste our time, but we got here quick. Who’s up for digging? I’ll be sure to…”

He directed his eye contact straight to Liam, adorned with a menacing grin.

“…lend a hand.”

[hubwalker1]

Jari turned to the Whispering death and asks if she could please help them tunnel through the blockage.

[tree-the-cat]

The dragon, curled back up in a thorny coil to watch her children, rattled her spines as she considered the cave-in. “Not safe…for passing through. Earth…will move. May go…around. May go…up high.”

[hubwalker1]

Around? She looked over it again and saw that the dirt filled the tunnel width wise. Then it clicked. She asked if she could help them dig around the pile.

[tree-the-cat]

Her head swung over them as she inspected the wall she meant to dig through, and then she bent over Jari, tilting her head, her teeth rotating slowly once and then stopping. Her breath was hot and smelled of scorched earth. “Humans must…watch brood,” she rumbled decisively.

[hubwalker1]

Technically she was a Half-Breed but she wasn’t about to waste time explaining that. She thanked the mother before vowing to protect her children with her life before calling them over to her.

She turned to the rest of the group as she reached into her bag and pulled out her brush for Rock Crusher. “So, here’s the deal guys. The mother is going to dig around for us, and we are going to look after her little ones until she is done.”

[voxarnason]

The scout’s face went pale, swinging his head towards Jari. There had to be something lost in translation.

“Absolutely not. No. Not happening.” He crept away from the group, distancing himself as much as he could from the Hel spawn. “Good luck to you all. I’ll be over here.” He mumbled angrily to himself as he found himself as far away from the dragons as he could be without losing light.

[tree-the-cat]

Liam groaned in tandem with Vox’s leave. “Are you kidding m–”

Kendra put her hands to the wall, making one of the nodes glow bright to keep them all in the light, and then happily skipped past Liam to sit right down in the thick mud and cozy up to the baby with the darkest scales, scratching under its very round chin and cooing at it. It guzzled up the attention like a puppy. Liam rolled his eyes and went to nudge back at one of the hatchlings that tried to escape, but he was too slow, and it excitedly chased one of Vox’s boots as it swung with his quick paces, managing to get its baby mouth around his ankle with a shrill scream.

[voxarnason]

Vox hadn’t had enough time to move away from the dragon before it clamped itself around his ankle; one protruding tooth slicing through his pants with an audible rip. The scout fell onto his side, afraid to move his leg and possibly lose another appendage.

“Gods, Liam, get it off! Get it off!” His voice did not carry far, as his “yells” were more of a pathetic whine. “It’s going to kill me!”

He began to shake his leg, watching as the dragon kept it’s grip and flung around in the same motions that he did.

[hubwalker1]

Jari and Lila both looked at the scout with a deadpan expression. “What a fucking pansy.” Jari said as the last one settled down in her hand, wrapping its tail around her arm. “I honestly don’t know how we won the last war.” She said as she began to brush the hatchling.

[tree-the-cat]

The mother dragon paused in her excavation and growled in warning, and Liam rushed to aid Vox, trying to find a good place to grab the squirming dragon without pricking himself. He wasn’t very successful, and he grit his teeth as he felt several small stabs in the pads of his paws, fitting a finger between the Death’s gums to try and pry it off. “Come on, come on, come on, let go…” Kendra spread her arms out to keep the rest of the babies from investigating the commotion. 

[voxarnason]

He watched in horror as the vile offspring refused to release itself. He leaned to assist Liam, pulling at the dragon’s mouth just enough for him to free his leg.

“Gods... no, never again. I’m done.” Vox stood, wiping off his pants. He was visibly panting from the panic and struggle. “I’m too old to go on adventures anymore. Your mother is a smart woman.”

He walked back over to where Kendra remained with the rest of the horrid beasts and sat behind her, hoping she would distract them enough to leave him alone.

[tree-the-cat]

Dug Too Deep to the Right

[Main Thread]

Kendra strengthened her light to shine as far down as it would comfortably go, and as the larger group began trudging through the mud, keeping an eye out for anything of note. The Whispering Death watched them move for a moment, and then folded in her wings and began snaking after them on her belly to stay by their side, and her hatchlings came with, zooming overhead in loop-de-loops and zig-zags, squealing to each other the whole time. But they had barely walked what felt like a minute before Kendra’s light began refracting off something in their line of sight, and as they drew closer, they saw that it was the foot of what seemed to be a massive mound of earth, sloping up from the wet ground to fill the entire width of the tunnel. Most of the mass seemed to be boulders, and they were too regularly sized to be something coincidental. The tracks led straight under the enormous pile and disappeared; they had been regularly used before any kind of blockage existed.

Liam stopped short when he saw the cave-in. “Oh shit. Now what?”

Kendra moved further and walked a few paces up the slope, facing her palms this way and that over the crumbled dirt and tiny cascades of water dripping over the stone faces. She pressed the side of her face and her ear to one of the boulders, frowning in concentration as her hand drifted across it, feeling. The baby Whispering Deaths were gleeful at the sight of so much loose debris; they took turns swooping down and scooping up fist-sized rocks and playing tug-of-war with them off to the side of the tunnel. 

[voxarnason]

Vox stood next to Kendra, also taking in the state of the tunnel. The initial view felt ominous, but there had to be more than just accepting that this was the end of the line.

“Do we… try to get through it?” He tapped on some stone that was more firmly rooted in the debris, hoping to have some sort of indication of the amount they would need to shift in order to progress. He had no luck in doing so. “I don’t imagine that we want to waste our time, but we got here quick. Who’s up for digging? I’ll be sure to…”

He directed his eye contact straight to Liam, adorned with a menacing grin.

“…lend a hand.”

[hubwalker1]

Jari turned to the Whispering death and asks if she could please help them tunnel through the blockage.

[tree-the-cat]

The dragon, curled back up in a thorny coil to watch her children, rattled her spines as she considered the cave-in. “Not safe…for passing through. Earth…will move. May go…around. May go…up high.”

[hubwalker1]

Around? She looked over it again and saw that the dirt filled the tunnel width wise. Then it clicked. She asked if she could help them dig around the pile.

[tree-the-cat]

Her head swung over them as she inspected the wall she meant to dig through, and then she bent over Jari, tilting her head, her teeth rotating slowly once and then stopping. Her breath was hot and smelled of scorched earth. “Humans must…watch brood,” she rumbled decisively.

[hubwalker1]

Technically she was a Half-Breed but she wasn’t about to waste time explaining that. She thanked the mother before vowing to protect her children with her life before calling them over to her.

She turned to the rest of the group as she reached into her bag and pulled out her brush for Rock Crusher. “So, here’s the deal guys. The mother is going to dig around for us, and we are going to look after her little ones until she is done.”

[voxarnason]

The scout’s face went pale, swinging his head towards Jari. There had to be something lost in translation.

“Absolutely not. No. Not happening.” He crept away from the group, distancing himself as much as he could from the Hel spawn. “Good luck to you all. I’ll be over here.” He mumbled angrily to himself as he found himself as far away from the dragons as he could be without losing light.

[tree-the-cat]

Liam groaned in tandem with Vox’s leave. “Are you kidding m–”

Kendra put her hands to the wall, making one of the nodes glow bright to keep them all in the light, and then happily skipped past Liam to sit right down in the thick mud and cozy up to the baby with the darkest scales, scratching under its very round chin and cooing at it. It guzzled up the attention like a puppy. Liam rolled his eyes and went to nudge back at one of the hatchlings that tried to escape, but he was too slow, and it excitedly chased one of Vox’s boots as it swung with his quick paces, managing to get its baby mouth around his ankle with a shrill scream.

[voxarnason]

Vox hadn’t had enough time to move away from the dragon before it clamped itself around his ankle; one protruding tooth slicing through his pants with an audible rip. The scout fell onto his side, afraid to move his leg and possibly lose another appendage.

“Gods, Liam, get it off! Get it off!” His voice did not carry far, as his “yells” were more of a pathetic whine. “It’s going to kill me!”

He began to shake his leg, watching as the dragon kept it’s grip and flung around in the same motions that he did.

[tree-the-cat]

Dug Too Deep to the Right

[Main Thread]

Kendra strengthened her light to shine as far down as it would comfortably go, and as the larger group began trudging through the mud, keeping an eye out for anything of note. The Whispering Death watched them move for a moment, and then folded in her wings and began snaking after them on her belly to stay by their side, and her hatchlings came with, zooming overhead in loop-de-loops and zig-zags, squealing to each other the whole time. But they had barely walked what felt like a minute before Kendra’s light began refracting off something in their line of sight, and as they drew closer, they saw that it was the foot of what seemed to be a massive mound of earth, sloping up from the wet ground to fill the entire width of the tunnel. Most of the mass seemed to be boulders, and they were too regularly sized to be something coincidental. The tracks led straight under the enormous pile and disappeared; they had been regularly used before any kind of blockage existed.

Liam stopped short when he saw the cave-in. “Oh shit. Now what?”

Kendra moved further and walked a few paces up the slope, facing her palms this way and that over the crumbled dirt and tiny cascades of water dripping over the stone faces. She pressed the side of her face and her ear to one of the boulders, frowning in concentration as her hand drifted across it, feeling. The baby Whispering Deaths were gleeful at the sight of so much loose debris; they took turns swooping down and scooping up fist-sized rocks and playing tug-of-war with them off to the side of the tunnel. 

[voxarnason]

Vox stood next to Kendra, also taking in the state of the tunnel. The initial view felt ominous, but there had to be more than just accepting that this was the end of the line.

“Do we… try to get through it?” He tapped on some stone that was more firmly rooted in the debris, hoping to have some sort of indication of the amount they would need to shift in order to progress. He had no luck in doing so. “I don’t imagine that we want to waste our time, but we got here quick. Who’s up for digging? I’ll be sure to…”

He directed his eye contact straight to Liam, adorned with a menacing grin.

“…lend a hand.”

[hubwalker1]

Jari turned to the Whispering death and asks if she could please help them tunnel through the blockage.

[tree-the-cat]

The dragon, curled back up in a thorny coil to watch her children, rattled her spines as she considered the cave-in. “Not safe…for passing through. Earth…will move. May go…around. May go…up high.”

[hubwalker1]

Around? She looked over it again and saw that the dirt filled the tunnel width wise. Then it clicked. She asked if she could help them dig around the pile.

[tree-the-cat]

Her head swung over them as she inspected the wall she meant to dig through, and then she bent over Jari, tilting her head, her teeth rotating slowly once and then stopping. Her breath was hot and smelled of scorched earth. “Humans must…watch brood,” she rumbled decisively.

[hubwalker1]

Technically she was a Half-Breed but she wasn’t about to waste time explaining that. She thanked the mother before vowing to protect her children with her life before calling them over to her.

She turned to the rest of the group as she reached into her bag and pulled out her brush for Rock Crusher. “So, here’s the deal guys. The mother is going to dig around for us, and we are going to look after her little ones until she is done.”

[voxarnason]

The scout’s face went pale, swinging his head towards Jari. There had to be something lost in translation.

“Absolutely not. No. Not happening.” He crept away from the group, distancing himself as much as he could from the Hel spawn. “Good luck to you all. I’ll be over here.” He mumbled angrily to himself as he found himself as far away from the dragons as he could be without losing light.

[tree-the-cat]

Dug Too Deep to the Right

[Main Thread]

Kendra strengthened her light to shine as far down as it would comfortably go, and as the larger group began trudging through the mud, keeping an eye out for anything of note. The Whispering Death watched them move for a moment, and then folded in her wings and began snaking after them on her belly to stay by their side, and her hatchlings came with, zooming overhead in loop-de-loops and zig-zags, squealing to each other the whole time. But they had barely walked what felt like a minute before Kendra’s light began refracting off something in their line of sight, and as they drew closer, they saw that it was the foot of what seemed to be a massive mound of earth, sloping up from the wet ground to fill the entire width of the tunnel. Most of the mass seemed to be boulders, and they were too regularly sized to be something coincidental. The tracks led straight under the enormous pile and disappeared; they had been regularly used before any kind of blockage existed.

Liam stopped short when he saw the cave-in. “Oh shit. Now what?”

Kendra moved further and walked a few paces up the slope, facing her palms this way and that over the crumbled dirt and tiny cascades of water dripping over the stone faces. She pressed the side of her face and her ear to one of the boulders, frowning in concentration as her hand drifted across it, feeling. The baby Whispering Deaths were gleeful at the sight of so much loose debris; they took turns swooping down and scooping up fist-sized rocks and playing tug-of-war with them off to the side of the tunnel. 

[voxarnason]

Vox stood next to Kendra, also taking in the state of the tunnel. The initial view felt ominous, but there had to be more than just accepting that this was the end of the line.

“Do we... try to get through it?” He tapped on some stone that was more firmly rooted in the debris, hoping to have some sort of indication of the amount they would need to shift in order to progress. He had no luck in doing so. “I don’t imagine that we want to waste our time, but we got here quick. Who’s up for digging? I’ll be sure to...”

He directed his eye contact straight to Liam, adorned with a menacing grin.

“...lend a hand.”

[tree-the-cat]

Dug Too Deep [pt 2]

[Part One]

She shook her head with a grin and saluted the others with her free, glowing hand before stepping through, right in front of a mud-splattered Liam sitting up with Vox’s help. He squinted and threw up a paw at the sudden light, and she lessened it, making it more diffused and ambient versus a beam. You look great, she teased. Need that rope, still?

Piss off. Liam stumbled to his feet, sloughing mud off his arms, and his ears flicked as he attuned to the darkness, feeling his senses spread through the immediate area. Between that and Kendra’s light, it revealed that they were standing next to a huge, curved wall, and it sloped right up over their heads until it was interrupted by the opening they had fallen out of. They couldn’t see the other side, but from the shape of things, they could surmise that they were standing in a massive, dripping wet tunnel carved of simple earth and embedded with boulders and straggly roots, larger than anything they could have expected. The dragon’s growls came again, a bit closer this time, and the Arnasons whirled around, searching for the source but seeing nothing yet. 

[hubwalker1]

Jari was the next through the portal. She got a running start before diving head first through the portal. She does a flip as she exits and sticks the landing. An invisible panel of judges from across the world each gave her a 10, except for the German judge who gave her a 9.

Kettil grins and shakes his head at his twin. He took a running jump through the portal as well, stumbling as he exits.

Lila just walks through like a regular mortal because she is the most normal one here apparently.

Jari hears the sound of whispering deaths and reaches into one of her pockets as she steps forward in front of the group, standing between them and where the sound came from.

[lbigreyhound13]

As soon as Lila, Kettil, and Jari walked through the portal, Grey and Shadow looked at each other and nodded. The Chief followed her nieces and nephew’s lead and walked through the portal with Shadow in tow, and within seconds, Grey and Shadow could see that they were in a dark hole. There was no source of light other than the one from Kendra’s hand. 

She moved forward a step when Shadow bumped into her with her snout. “This just got a whole lot interesting,” Grey said to her Night Fury. 

[tree-the-cat]

With everyone’s words and movements echoing down the tunnel, it didn’t take long for them to hear a vicious hiss, along with scales sliding through the mud. There were also several additional high-pitched squeals, which sounded almost entirely unfamiliar.

The Arnason siblings backed away, but Kendra increased the light to let everyone see the glimmer of a huge, spiked body, lashing and spiraling as it moved towards them. The biggest Whispering Death any of them had ever seen raised its Gronckle-sized head above its own ebony black coils, pale eyes shifting back and forth as teeth rotated in its throat in warning. Its wings, though absurdly small for its huge body, spread out wide above the group.

Then, below the shuddering flaps of skin, five smaller heads popped up, mouths just as wide and gaping, but far less threatening, as each of them only held one huge fang right in the center of their pink gums. Their hides ranged from black like the adult to bright scarlet. They all screamed in an imitation of what must have been their mother, who was still hovering in a threat display.

[hubwalker1]

Jari had the most experience with Whispering Deaths out of all of them but she’d never seen anything like this. If she had to guess she would say that it was a brood mother of some kind. She knew how protective the mothers were of their young, it had cost the Pookans dearly when they accidentally dug into their nesting grounds, this one would be doubly so. She slowly lowered her hand to the ground and dropped a handful of her Whispering Death’s favorite treat. The Half-Breed begins to hiss at various pitches and lengths as she backed up. “Juro keep the portal up just in case huh?” Jari murmured.

“What was all that hissing?” Lila asked.

“I told them we came in peace and left an offering for them.”

The Commander blinked at that. Of course she could speak to Whispering Deaths, why not.

[tree-the-cat]

Juro nodded in response to Jari’s warning. The mother flexed her spikes when Jari approached, causing all of them to stand on end and making her appear far larger, but as the half-breed backed away, she narrowed her eyes and her nostrils flared, searching for the food on the ground by lowering her head. Her body tightened around the babies, which all screeched and yapped at varying pitches and intervals. Then the dragon’s head swung over to Jari, her teeth spinning very slowly in concentric rings as she bumped her nose spike by both of Jari’s legs. Her breath snuffled in and out loudly as her thorny coils relaxed, and the babies all swarmed out in a shower of wings and thin spines and splashing water and mud as they fought over the treats, devouring them in seconds. 

Kendra had a hand over her heart, and if she could smile any bigger, she might have exploded on the spot. Liam held her elbow. Don’t you get any ideas. They’re covered in teeth and spikes.

They’re babies…!!

[akkeyagentofhelheim]

He kept the portal wide open as requested, but curiosity killed the bookkeeper. After scribbling on paper, Juro slowly, carefully, shuffled his way to the left, trying to conceal himself as much as he could while both dragon and human groups were distracted by each other without telling anyone. The scarf secured over his chin, he took quiet steps away along the wall, in hopes to find anything else beyond the wild dragons, what was hidden so secretly in such a large tunnel and guarded by dangerous beasts.

[tree-the-cat]

He was helped by Kendra feeling safe enough to shine a beam of light down the tunnel in both directions, and the more details the group uncovered, the stronger their sense of unease grew. In their immediate area, it was clear that this tunnel was not carved out by normal means. Despite its size, which was taller than the Construct on the surface, the walls had organic ripples and scrapes in them, something akin to the creation of an underground beast like the Whispering Death they had encountered. But the dragon was far too small to have made anything close to this size, and would look different if it had. From the direction Juro began sliding towards, there was a faint breeze. But the scout of the group once more managed to pick out a groove in the ground, and though it was washed of anything truly discernible, it told of something very heavy being consistently dragged to and from their current location, almost like a supply train, leading towards the right side of the tunnel. 

As Liam started to follow curiously behind Vox, the mother dragon took notice, and stopped inspecting her visitors to sharply train her pale eyes on them. Her spikes trembled briefly, but not aggressively. She made a low noise in her narrow belly.

[voxarnason]

Vox knew next to nothing about dragons - partially due to a lack of interest growing up, but soon would evolve into a genuine discomfort around them. He could never verbalize what about them caused this, but the feelings remained as he watched Juro venture dangerously close on the left side of the tunnel. His skin crawled at the sight, and he almost felt a twinge of jealousy at the man’s ability to take action.

The scout chose to take the route that would place him farther away from the dragons, despite the difference being nearly imperceptible to the human eye. He stepped lightly to follow the path of the groove, veering to the opposite side of Juro and beckoning for Kendra to continue shining her light. He placed his hand on Liam’s shoulder, giving him a distressed look.

“If the dragons come for us...” he whispered, “...throw me to them. Save yourselves.”

[hubwalker1]

Dug Too Deep

Lila looked out over the groups of rebels who had volunteered for this exploration mission. The numbers in each group varied but there was at least 5 in each group and each group had at least one engineer, a medic and a soldier each. The Half-Breed cleared her throat before she spoke loud enough to be heard by all. "Thank you all for coming today. One of our allies recently informed us there is something under the jaw but was unable to supply it's nature or location. So today we will be venturing deep under the Jaw to find what it is, reclaim it, or neutralize it if necessary. Above all be careful. We do not know what traps may be employed if any, so take it slow, and if you see something suspicious have an engineer investigate it before touching anything or moving on. Don't be afraid to turn back if things get too dicey. Lastly, if you find anything you have permission to investigate just be smart about it. Your lives are more important than whatever we find down there. You all have your assignments, dismissed."

The group's began to disperse as they went to fulfill their assignments. Lila came down from the stairs she was speaking from and found her group. "Are we ready to go?"

[akkeyagentofhelheim]

Juro tilted his chin up, already writing the moment he arrived at the Jaw with Vox, and the Chief and her dragon. There was a very slight, unnoticeable shadow under his eyes from the previous night's events, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from doing his job. After all, that was what he told Yun when they left.

"I'm fine, I promise. I'm still here, aren't I? I'm just bringing them back to the Jaw. You stay with Milae and Dario, then I'll return as quick as I can."

Perhaps that last bit was untrue, but the notion of an exploration and discovery was too exciting of a bait to pass up. And it was a distraction--a welcome one at that.

He snapped the notebook shut and twisted his face back to its usual position, grinning silently at the Commander in confirmation.

[voxarnason]

The scout had spent much of the night before being filled in on the events regarding Dario, and only left the healer after he was assured that they would be fine for the time being. His return to the Jaw with Juro was essentially silent -- he did not want to pry about what the man saw, and if he was being honest, he didn’t want to hear the specifics. The idea that he wasn’t there already hurt as it currently stood.

He noted Liam and Kendra’s presence, hoping for just a few more moments to collect himself before putting on a brave face for the two. He couldn’t help but wonder how the stag and goat were faring back on Haligan.

[lbigreyhound13]

The Chief had arrived to the Jaw with Shadow via portal earlier that morning. This was one of the first of her agreed check-ins that she promised to do with Lila, and it seemed that she and Shadow came at the right time. She wasn’t going to be at the Jaw full-time, but it would be nice to scout out the area with her comrades and her niece to get to know the Jaw...the new living quarters of the Rebellion...to see if there was anything they could find and maybe even use. 

[tree-the-cat]

Liam gruffly pulled his newly-made shawl straight across his shoulders and Kendra bumped his arm, signing for him to stop worrying, to which he vehemently disagreed that he was doing so in the first place. 

Everyone mentally checked in with Nala, who would be facilitating major communications with the surface, since many key Rebels were going to be underground for a time. I will not be afraid to come down there and search for you myself if one of you goes dark, she warned with dark amusement. Try not to get lost. 

“Where are we starting, Cap?” Liam spoke up to Lila, folding his arms. He felt like this could very much be a waste of time--every Conclave member they had either asked or interrogated had no clue what Yun had been talking about--but it was work to do while they prepared for their next steps in their takedown of the other factions. 

[hubwalker1]

"It's Commander, or Lila." She corrected. "And we're heading to to the underground bunkers. From what I've heard it's where they kept their most important goods and people. It might lead down somewhere deeper." She began walking, taking the lead amongst the group and heading west towards the bunker..

Jari was humming, "On the Road Again," audibly, while her twin rolled his eyes and chuckled following behind the eldest.

[tree-the-cat]

Everything was still quite soggy and muddy from the recent floodings, with a few inches of groundwater in several of the deeper areas, so with a bit of splitting up, Lila’s team entered the Jaw and followed the main corridors to the western end of the bunkers. As they grew closer, the hallways grew a little more manicured, sandstone cut simply but accurately to keep dirt, water, and underground vermin out of the higher officials’ commonways. They passed several Rebellion members doing the last cleanups of one of the supply rounds, in order to get out of the way for the exploratory teams. 

The oldest scout of the group pushed open one of the previously-well-sealed doors at the end of a secluded hallway with his good hand, and found an extremely comfortable but also very badly treated and also flooded living quarters. There was a harsh map of southern Aidorin with several enraged daggers sticking out of many locations, one of which he recognized as White Hallows. Under his feet was a thick dragonhide rug, but there was a strange sort of ridge that he could feel under his feet, and when the rug was moved aside, there was a circular seam carved into the stone with an indentation to allow it to be pulled up. 

[voxarnason]

He ran his fingers over the stone, stopping to take in what was obviously a dwelling prior to the flooding. He had seen a location specifically pointed out on the map, but chose to ignore it for his own sanity. With a swift motion, he strained to pull at the stone, revealing a hole with no signs of light coming from it. He remained crouched as he stared down into it, unsure of whether this was a blessing or a curse.

“Uh, does anyone feel like exploring?” He peered into it once more before looking to the group behind him. “I’ll go if someone wants to lower me in.”

[hubwalker1]

Dug Too Deep

Lila looked out over the groups of rebels who had volunteered for this exploration mission. The numbers in each group varied but there was at least 5 in each group and each group had at least one engineer, a medic and a soldier each. The Half-Breed cleared her throat before she spoke loud enough to be heard by all. "Thank you all for coming today. One of our allies recently informed us there is something under the jaw but was unable to supply it's nature or location. So today we will be venturing deep under the Jaw to find what it is, reclaim it, or neutralize it if necessary. Above all be careful. We do not know what traps may be employed if any, so take it slow, and if you see something suspicious have an engineer investigate it before touching anything or moving on. Don't be afraid to turn back if things get too dicey. Lastly, if you find anything you have permission to investigate just be smart about it. Your lives are more important than whatever we find down there. You all have your assignments, dismissed."

The group's began to disperse as they went to fulfill their assignments. Lila came down from the stairs she was speaking from and found her group. "Are we ready to go?"

[akkeyagentofhelheim]

Juro tilted his chin up, already writing the moment he arrived at the Jaw with Vox, and the Chief and her dragon. There was a very slight, unnoticeable shadow under his eyes from the previous night's events, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from doing his job. After all, that was what he told Yun when they left.

"I'm fine, I promise. I'm still here, aren't I? I'm just bringing them back to the Jaw. You stay with Milae and Dario, then I'll return as quick as I can."

Perhaps that last bit was untrue, but the notion of an exploration and discovery was too exciting of a bait to pass up. And it was a distraction--a welcome one at that.

He snapped the notebook shut and twisted his face back to its usual position, grinning silently at the Commander in confirmation.

[voxarnason]

The scout had spent much of the night before being filled in on the events regarding Dario, and only left the healer after he was assured that they would be fine for the time being. His return to the Jaw with Juro was essentially silent -- he did not want to pry about what the man saw, and if he was being honest, he didn’t want to hear the specifics. The idea that he wasn’t there already hurt as it currently stood.

He noted Liam and Kendra’s presence, hoping for just a few more moments to collect himself before putting on a brave face for the two. He couldn’t help but wonder how the stag and goat were faring back on Haligan.

[dario-the-deer]

Steady Hands

There was something about the familiarity of Haligan that felt wrong, given the circumstance of the past week. Taking a deep breath of cold air, Dario relished in the lack of wartime that the island provided, even if it was just temporary. It was eerily silent, as a good portion of it’s populous was back at the Jaw.

“It’s strange to be back… so soon, at least.” The stag, welcoming the calm as a light breeze wisped between the three figures that had arrived just moments before. “Do me a favor, Juro. If anything goes wrong, you know, during all of this…” He looked to Vox with a nervous grin, understanding that the scout knew better of what to expect from Tree. “…please tell Milae. Alive or dead, I’m sure he would love to hear about what is about to happen.”

“You know it’s not going to be as bad as you think it is.” Vox tried to give a reassuring laugh, but he himself hadn’t had the best interactions with her prior to this day. “You’ll feel a ton better when you get this all off your chest.”

[akkeyagentofhelheim]

The small ball of warping space that was their portal to the island flicked around their heads before nestling itself in the back of Juro’s scarf, while the Bookkeeper rummaged around in his bag for his usual pen and journal. The pencil twirled impressively between fingers then settled into a point towards both men, “I’m getting one heck of a story out of this so–absolutely, whatever you need.” He said, doing an almost perfect job of masking his excitement save for the grin wider than the norm that stretched across his face. He followed Dario and Vox with an energetic step.

[dario-the-deer]

Juro’s tone and demeanor would have lightened the mood if this had been any time but now. Dario continued to survey the nearby homes, his heart beating faster as they wandered.

“Vox, do you remember the house? I don’t reca-”

“This one.” The scout stopped dead in a hesitant stance. “I honestly didn’t expect us to get here so quick.”

Dario looked onto it from a few feet behind Vox, feeling a dread creep over him. He had played out the hypotheticals of a conversation with Tree, but never had a single one end in a manner that he would be prepared for.

“Let’s get it over with.” Dario spoke softly, his confidence he tried to portray drowned out by his shaky nerves. He felt his fingers begin to bounce off of one another as he approached the door, opening it as lightly as he could muster. 

“…Tree? You home? It’s… it’s Dario.”

[tree-the-cat]

“…took you long enough…”

They heard a shuffle from across the house, and Treepelt emerged from behind the partition of what had previously been Liam and Verdandi’s place of residence. The half-breed laid a paw on the main pole supporting the house, and her pupils shrank in the light of the door frame as her eyes flicked from man to man, resting on Juro for much longer than the others before finalizing an increasingly alert, serious gaze on Vox. She looked tired; she had been in some kind of rest before the three arrived. She still had one bandage remaining under the collar of her shirt from her time in the Jaw. 

“The kits?” Tree said in a low voice.

[voxarnason]

The realization hit him has hard as her tone did – the perception was not good.

“Okay, uh, this probably looks bad, now that I think about it.” He put his hand on the back of his head as he watched his wife’s demeanor grow more impatient by the second. “They’re fine! They are doing just fine.”

“Yeah, they’re good, I promise Tree.” Dario interjected, feeling a compulsion to try and justify their absence. His words were frantic. “Kendra’s leg will be good as new in no time, and I don’t think Liam had anything too bad happ-”

“Dario, please, shut the Hel up.” Vox stepped towards him and grabbed his arm tight. He leaned close to him to whisper. “You’re making this so much worse. Please, Gods, just stop talking.”

[tree-the-cat]

“Will you just tell me what happened?” Tree’s claws dug into the wood with a slight crackle, not as a sign of impending doom, but a simple sense of stress and impatience by the two of them going back and forth. “I promise I can take it. They’re alive, right?”

[voxarnason]

“Ignore him.” Vox glared to Dario for a second before returning his focus back to Tree. “They are fine, and I’m not just saying it. I would have brought them with us, but they’re doing great work back at the Jaw. You would be very proud of them.”

He coughed into his hand, unsure of how to transition the topic.

“We are actually going to be heading back, but Dario... Dario needed to talk to you. It’s important to him.”

He pushed the deer forward, who stumbled over his hooves against the wood floor. He felt perspiration forming on his head, and his already racing heart was on the brink of exploding in his chest.

“Y-yeah. I wanted... I was hoping to talk to you about... the whole ‘being gone’ thing with Vox and I, and some things that I didn’t tell you before.”

[dario-the-deer]

Steady Hands

There was something about the familiarity of Haligan that felt wrong, given the circumstance of the past week. Taking a deep breath of cold air, Dario relished in the lack of wartime that the island provided, even if it was just temporary. It was eerily silent, as a good portion of it’s populous was back at the Jaw.

“It’s strange to be back… so soon, at least.” The stag, welcoming the calm as a light breeze wisped between the three figures that had arrived just moments before. “Do me a favor, Juro. If anything goes wrong, you know, during all of this…” He looked to Vox with a nervous grin, understanding that the scout knew better of what to expect from Tree. “…please tell Milae. Alive or dead, I’m sure he would love to hear about what is about to happen.”

“You know it’s not going to be as bad as you think it is.” Vox tried to give a reassuring laugh, but he himself hadn’t had the best interactions with her prior to this day. “You’ll feel a ton better when you get this all off your chest.”

[akkeyagentofhelheim]

The small ball of warping space that was their portal to the island flicked around their heads before nestling itself in the back of Juro’s scarf, while the Bookkeeper rummaged around in his bag for his usual pen and journal. The pencil twirled impressively between fingers then settled into a point towards both men, “I’m getting one heck of a story out of this so–absolutely, whatever you need.” He said, doing an almost perfect job of masking his excitement save for the grin wider than the norm that stretched across his face. He followed Dario and Vox with an energetic step.

[dario-the-deer]

Juro’s tone and demeanor would have lightened the mood if this had been any time but now. Dario continued to survey the nearby homes, his heart beating faster as they wandered.

“Vox, do you remember the house? I don’t reca-”

“This one.” The scout stopped dead in a hesitant stance. “I honestly didn’t expect us to get here so quick.”

Dario looked onto it from a few feet behind Vox, feeling a dread creep over him. He had played out the hypotheticals of a conversation with Tree, but never had a single one end in a manner that he would be prepared for.

“Let’s get it over with.” Dario spoke softly, his confidence he tried to portray drowned out by his shaky nerves. He felt his fingers begin to bounce off of one another as he approached the door, opening it as lightly as he could muster. 

“…Tree? You home? It’s… it’s Dario.”

[tree-the-cat]

“…took you long enough…”

They heard a shuffle from across the house, and Treepelt emerged from behind the partition of what had previously been Liam and Verdandi’s place of residence. The half-breed laid a paw on the main pole supporting the house, and her pupils shrank in the light of the door frame as her eyes flicked from man to man, resting on Juro for much longer than the others before finalizing an increasingly alert, serious gaze on Vox. She looked tired; she had been in some kind of rest before the three arrived. She still had one bandage remaining under the collar of her shirt from her time in the Jaw. 

“The kits?” Tree said in a low voice.

[voxarnason]

The realization hit him has hard as her tone did -- the perception was not good.

“Okay, uh, this probably looks bad, now that I think about it.” He put his hand on the back of his head as he watched his wife’s demeanor grow more impatient by the second. “They’re fine! They are doing just fine.”

“Yeah, they’re good, I promise Tree.” Dario interjected, feeling a compulsion to try and justify their absence. His words were frantic. “Kendra’s leg will be good as new in no time, and I don’t think Liam had anything too bad happ-”

“Dario, please, shut the Hel up.” Vox stepped towards him and grabbed his arm tight. He leaned close to him to whisper. “You’re making this so much worse. Please, Gods, just stop talking.”

[dario-the-deer]

A Different Breed of Broken

The commotion had all but settled after the fall of the Construct – separate groups had congregated, and the feeling surrounding the events leading up to this point were scattered as they could be. Many were cautious of how to proceed, and others were thankful for their lives. For a stag, it was a blend of relief and grief.

Dario, standing a few feet away from the Arnason family now, routinely shifted his gaze over to the goat, taking note of his mannerisms as he spoke, and held his gratitude close. He was not sure how close he had come to losing Milae at multiple points during the fight, and he didn’t let a moment pass without acknowledging how lucky he was to still be able to look upon him in an upright state.

“What’s got him in good spirits?”

The interruption of the deer’s thoughts by Vox’s voice caused Dario to jump. He flashed a small grin; where the two stood was still an unknown.

“Your guess is as good as mine… but I guess it’s the same as any of us.” Dario looked around to the Construct ruins and the disorganized pockets of Rebellion members, taking in the numbers that were still too early to understand. “Thankful to still be here.”

He watched as Vox’s eyes moved back to his children – Liam was looking over Kendra once more. Even the scout had an unmistakable look of worry.

“How’s her leg?”

“Gonna take some work, but she seems at peace with it. For now, at the very least. We’ll see how things go once we get out of here. Jin is going to kill me in my sleep.”

“That’s… something, I suppose.”

Dario kicked at some small bits of debris near the two old friends. He couldn’t stop thinking about their last interaction, and the idea that it could have been their last if things had gone differently.

“Hey, I need you to know I’m sorry. I should tell the-”

Vox reached out to grab Dario’s arm before he could finish the sentence. The look he gave the deer wasn’t one of anger, or of frustration. He just looked… exhausted.

“No. Not now. It’s really not the time.” He shifted his head to watch the half-breed children, while still addressing the stag. “You and I both have a bigger responsibility to our family. That’s got to come first.”

Even if Dario wanted to continue his thought, the lump in his throat at the mention of family would have stopped him dead in his tracks. It was a welcomed development; a temporary armistice that couldn’t come at a better time.

“…okay.” He gripped Vox’s arm, expanding on the smile from before. The two turned to make their way over to Liam and Kendra, hoping they would find a similar silver lining in the two young Rebels. They both took to a knee in unison.

I’d be happy to look at your leg, Kendra. Only if you would want that, of course.

[tree-the-cat]

Kendra nodded and reached out to squeeze his hand as he did so, looking over at Liam. She could tell he was off; he was staring down at the ground beside her, his shoulders moving with his breathing, which was too heavy. She waved under his face to get his attention and they had a rapid conversation.

You ok?

Fine.

He’s gone.

I know. But his eyes were distant and foggy. 

Your chest.

It’s tight. I’m fine. Lots of dust.

You need to sit and breathe.

I’m fine. His hackles started to go up and she waved again, even though she already had his attention. She frowned and pointed aggressively down at the ground, and instead of crouching on his catlike heels, Liam sighed and fully sat down, resting his paws on his knees and shutting his eyes. Kendra rested a tender hand on top of his arm as he tried to slow his breathing, using his recent connection to Nala to try and steady himself.

[voxarnason]

The scout and stag watched the conversation unfold, trying not to be obvious of their intrusion. It wasn’t until Vox noticed Kendra’s concern that he fixated on Liam’s face… he was more than just tired. His chest continuously rose and fell at a pace that was far too quick. Without a second thought, Vox shifted his weight to sit next to his son.

Vox placed his arm parallel to Liam’s spine, letting his hand fall into the dusty mop of hair atop his head. His fingers gently ran along his scalp while pulling the half-breed to lean against him. Every bit of him anticipated some level of resistance, and he was surprised to find that Liam wasn’t fighting back. He matched his breathing as closely as he could with his son’s, and slowing his own pace in hopes that it would motivate Liam to do the same.

“You know, I just had a thought…” Vox spoke very softly, while Dario took a moment away from tending to Kendra’s leg to begin signing for her. “Your mother and I were fairly close to your age in all of those stories I used to tell you when the two of you were so very small. Although, I will say… the pair of you are far wiser and capable than we ever were. It brings back a lot.”

He reached out to Kendra to allow her to grab onto his arm. It had been too long since the three of them were able to exist in a passive manner, and he tried to let the moment hold a larger place in his heart over his regrets.

“Whatever needs to be done from here on out, you have your Uncle Dario and I in your corner… always.”

[tree-the-cat]

Liam had been on the verge of breaking down into uneasy tears–Vidar had been right there–but with Vox’s arm around him, he felt secured, and he hugged his knees and leaned into his father. He felt the ache and cold of the night start to settle in.

“I dunno how you all did it. You’re crazy,” he tried to joke, through his stuffed nose. “That was…that was fucking scary.” Kendra squeezed Vox’s arm; she thought the same, even though, in the moment, she was willing to do whatever she had to, in order to get Nala back. 

[voxarnason]

Vox had been resting his head against Liam’s for a few moments, feeling nearly each emotion the young man tried to stifle. He turned his head to give Liam’s a kiss, and nestling his head under the scout’s chin.

“It was... but I’ve never seen more bravery than what I saw today from the two of you. This Rebellion would not have been able to do it without you.”

Letting another moment pass, he squeezed Liam’s neck. Despite the circumstances, he never wanted this moment to pass. He stared at Dario’s eye with a wave of guilt; his feelings hadn’t shifted too much since that night back on Haligan, but his methods of dealing with them were unfair. The scout would owe him a conversation about it later.

“I guess... we figure out what we do next. Any ideas?”

[dario-the-deer]

A Different Breed of Broken

The commotion had all but settled after the fall of the Construct – separate groups had congregated, and the feeling surrounding the events leading up to this point were scattered as they could be. Many were cautious of how to proceed, and others were thankful for their lives. For a stag, it was a blend of relief and grief.

Dario, standing a few feet away from the Arnason family now, routinely shifted his gaze over to the goat, taking note of his mannerisms as he spoke, and held his gratitude close. He was not sure how close he had come to losing Milae at multiple points during the fight, and he didn’t let a moment pass without acknowledging how lucky he was to still be able to look upon him in an upright state.

“What’s got him in good spirits?”

The interruption of the deer’s thoughts by Vox’s voice caused Dario to jump. He flashed a small grin; where the two stood was still an unknown.

“Your guess is as good as mine… but I guess it’s the same as any of us.” Dario looked around to the Construct ruins and the disorganized pockets of Rebellion members, taking in the numbers that were still too early to understand. “Thankful to still be here.”

He watched as Vox’s eyes moved back to his children – Liam was looking over Kendra once more. Even the scout had an unmistakable look of worry.

“How’s her leg?”

“Gonna take some work, but she seems at peace with it. For now, at the very least. We’ll see how things go once we get out of here. Jin is going to kill me in my sleep.”

“That’s… something, I suppose.”

Dario kicked at some small bits of debris near the two old friends. He couldn’t stop thinking about their last interaction, and the idea that it could have been their last if things had gone differently.

“Hey, I need you to know I’m sorry. I should tell the-”

Vox reached out to grab Dario’s arm before he could finish the sentence. The look he gave the deer wasn’t one of anger, or of frustration. He just looked… exhausted.

“No. Not now. It’s really not the time.” He shifted his head to watch the half-breed children, while still addressing the stag. “You and I both have a bigger responsibility to our family. That’s got to come first.”

Even if Dario wanted to continue his thought, the lump in his throat at the mention of family would have stopped him dead in his tracks. It was a welcomed development; a temporary armistice that couldn’t come at a better time.

“…okay.” He gripped Vox’s arm, expanding on the smile from before. The two turned to make their way over to Liam and Kendra, hoping they would find a similar silver lining in the two young Rebels. They both took to a knee in unison.

I’d be happy to look at your leg, Kendra. Only if you would want that, of course.

[tree-the-cat]

Kendra nodded and reached out to squeeze his hand as he did so, looking over at Liam. She could tell he was off; he was staring down at the ground beside her, his shoulders moving with his breathing, which was too heavy. She waved under his face to get his attention and they had a rapid conversation.

You ok?

Fine.

He’s gone.

I know. But his eyes were distant and foggy. 

Your chest.

It’s tight. I’m fine. Lots of dust.

You need to sit and breathe.

I’m fine. His hackles started to go up and she waved again, even though she already had his attention. She frowned and pointed aggressively down at the ground, and instead of crouching on his catlike heels, Liam sighed and fully sat down, resting his paws on his knees and shutting his eyes. Kendra rested a tender hand on top of his arm as he tried to slow his breathing, using his recent connection to Nala to try and steady himself.

[voxarnason]

The scout and stag watched the conversation unfold, trying not to be obvious of their intrusion. It wasn’t until Vox noticed Kendra’s concern that he fixated on Liam’s face... he was more than just tired. His chest continuously rose and fell at a pace that was far too quick. Without a second thought, Vox shifted his weight to sit next to his son.

Vox placed his arm parallel to Liam’s spine, letting his hand fall into the dusty mop of hair atop his head. His fingers gently ran along his scalp while pulling the half-breed to lean against him. Every bit of him anticipated some level of resistance, and he was surprised to find that Liam wasn’t fighting back. He matched his breathing as closely as he could with his son’s, and slowing his own pace in hopes that it would motivate Liam to do the same.

“You know, I just had a thought...” Vox spoke very softly, while Dario took a moment away from tending to Kendra’s leg to begin signing for her. “Your mother and I were fairly close to your age in all of those stories I used to tell you when the two of you were so very small. Although, I will say... the pair of you are far wiser and capable than we ever were. It brings back a lot.”

He reached out to Kendra to allow her to grab onto his arm. It had been too long since the three of them were able to exist in a passive manner, and he tried to let the moment hold a larger place in his heart over his regrets.

“Whatever needs to be done from here on out, you have your Uncle Dario and I in your corner... always.”