Event Thread BUT THE EARTH REFUSED TO DIE [WS]

|✬| gemini |✬|
the nymph; whisper & ranger

Water dripped from the bough of the tree above, trickling down the plants that remained in the harsh cold, forming a puddle at the mouth of her den. It splashed and threw microscopic mud droplets into her home, violet eyes watched it lazily until a drop hit her nose. She wrinkled her face and rose to shake her head, before turning to go back to sleep.

Sleep never came. Even on her best nights it seemed to avoid her, escape her; finally, she sighed and gave into the restlessness.

Soft paws sought the muddy ground near her den, the light rain had stopped and the night was breaking into day. Chilled, as if the sky was made of ice—she looked up and it certainly looked as if it could be. Clouds and shadows danced where there should be more light, Iaera’s stomach turned, why? Behind her a shadow of darkness and a glow of light followed, like inmates shackled to one another in a long train of motion.

The Ranger liked the beach, she’d found herself there more often as of late. It was easy to feel like a bother, especially when all the people she knew seemed to have other things to do. Purple eyes studied the sand, the black creeping on black as well but she withdrew from its stench with continued uncertainty.

But she wasn’t in Kansas anymore it didn’t seem. It lay ahead of her, too large to go unnoticed for long—she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t seen it. Serpents came in many sizes she knew, but this size? No. Had this been why her stomach turned? A snake this size… could it be a threat? Or more, how could it not be? The Ranger raised her maw to do her duty, but a shadow gurgle cut her off—

”Don’t.”

Iaera’s fangs bared, snapping her head around to see the apparitions two. Ears pinned hard against her head she spat back, ”Shut up Nekki’e! I have to summon the Vanguard!” Beside the Dark was the Light, she nodded encouragingly to Iaera, it wasn’t enough.

”What if you summon them to their death? Inspect it first?”
”Nekki’e that is a terrible idea. Why are you suddenly so set on killing the poor girl?”
”I’m not trying to kill her Sarime, she wants to be a hero, protect her people, she’s gotta toughen up and do it herself. Can’t hide behind othe—“
”That’s what the Vanguard arEFO—“
”That’s what the Rangers a—“
”She needs their help—“
”Is she a coward?”

Iaera swung her head around to them again, having looked back at the skin while they bickered at each other. ”That’s enough! Do you two ever get anything accomplished?!” The pair solemnly nodded ‘no.’ She sighed.

The Ranger called out then, summoning the Vanguard, or anyone, really. The After shook it’s head, The Before seemed pleased but it crept off her face as Iaera then noticed the long ruts in the sand where it had taken off somewhere it shouldn’t have. Her ears pinned back once again and she sighed, looking back at the pair, shaking her own head slowly at Nekki’e, who was now grinning violently.

”It looks like it may still be here, I think I’m gonna… check. Get a head start or… something. Before the tide comes back to wash it’s track away…” Her words were tentative but Iaera moved toward the toothy entrance of the cave anyway. Sarime and Nekki’e following silently.

The lowlands were strictly off-limits to puppies and Caronel was a good son. Maybe not as good as his mother would have liked him; he suspected Sybella would like him to always be in the den or clung to her tail like a burr so she could make sure he didn't stub his precious toesies on defiant rocks that got in his way. That didn't deter him. Life needed to be lived. Stench on the beaches brought more than white-winged moths, it also brought puppies who were naturally attracted to smelly business and this cub was no exception.

He could hear a voice arguing above the steady rhythm of the waves on the beach and he followed the sound with utmost dedication, picking his way down the rocky cliffs with care.

"Who are you talking to?" he called above the ocean but didn't expect an answer. The voice was moving further away. "OKAY! I'LL CATCH UP LATER!"

He felt the grooves in the sand, sloshing through puddles that lead out to the ocean. The scent was horrible and wonderful all at once. Nose to the sand, he found the scales by scent. The first one was a thick piece of discarded tissue, stretchy but dry under his paws. The next was sticky and he bounced around on one foot as the shed skin stuck to him. Truthfully he had no idea what he was dealing with. It was a first, but there was always an opportunity to learn, wasn't there? When he realized there was no meat, no corpse, and he couldn't make sense of what he had found, he tore off after the sound of paws crunching in the sand and the voice that was scolding no one in particular.

He knew to stop running when the sounds were too loud. He learned the hard way that running recklessly often resulted in him bodily colliding with others and that was considered rude.

"Hey! What was that?" Caronel asked as if the voice should know. As he approached the cavern he knew it for the way the sound echoed back at him, the way the cool wind bounced off the walls back in his face at the entrance. "You're tracking something? Lemme go with. I got an expert nose you knows. Wanna' smell what I picked up?"

He picked up his little front paw to show the stranger the black goo stuck in the fur at the bottom of his feet. At least, he thought it was there. He could still feel and smell it, but he often forgot others had a very different perspective on the world than he did.

"I got this smell real good," he announced and then without waiting for her, fumble-hopped in the direction of the hollow space that held all the bouncing sounds. "I'll protect you, just stand behind me and tell me if I'm gonna' run into anything, okay?"

"When looking back doesn't interest you anymore
Then you're doing something right.
And now I'll do something best for me. "

He had not originally intended to come to this dark stretch of coastline but he had finished his patrol of Geminis borders earlier than expected which left him with some free time to explore his homeland a bit more extensively. Closing his eyes he let the sounds of the sea wash over him. New and foreign the constant dance of the waves crashing against the shore created a soothing rhythm that was broken only by the call of hungry gulls drifting on the air currents further down the beach. The air here was colder than what he was use to causing a shiver overcome his large bulk; resulting in the fur on his nape to stand on end in its aftermath. Eyes of amber opened once more allowing the dark Ranger to glance upwards where he easily located the feathered pests...but...something about their behavior wasn't right. Although there were a few gulls out over the sea he saw swarms of them flying further down shore. Drawn to something, food more than likely, but they never flew down to take perch on their find which was very peculiar since they were known to go into a feeding frenzy once a meal had been found.

The second thing to catch his attention was the two different set of tracks that marred the ebony sands of the shore. Both belonged to fellow wolves and after taking in their scent realized that he was familiar with one of the two but the other was a stranger; although they too belonged to Gemini. Curious the Fringe dire made his way towards the rucus. As he made his way towards the sound of voices in the distance he noticed the large black scales that littered the rocky coast. They were darker than the sands and seemed to be quite thick, three inches or so he'd guess, coated in a strange liquid substance that gave off an odor most foul. His nose scrunched up in discust as it assaulted his senses temporarily leaving him breathless. Whatever creature left these behind was something unknown to the inquisitive canine and for once Necros did not wish to lay eye upon this mystery guest. Everything about this was setting him on edge; almost as if a long forgotten fear was warning him of grave danger but too dulled to put him on alert. Like a whisper of dread over a sea of voices; there but unnoticed amongst the fray.

Picking up his pace the ranger jogged down the coastline eager to catch up with the two others ahead of him. His breathing became heavier and his lungs burned as they worked to keep oxygen flowing through his system. Luckily the large male was use to such strain seeing as he walked endless miles around Geminis borders religiously. This conditioning had made it so when he arrived near the fellow investigators he felt no exhaustion from the long run but he had to take a moment for his breathing to ease before he could speak. "Fancy meeting you here Iaera," he mused his deep voice giving life to his words, "if you are going to say hello it'd be best to have some backup wouldn't you say." Although the words were light and teasing Necros wasn't going to give her an option to leave him behind. As anxious as he was he would never allow someone to head off into danger while he cowered in the shadows and judging by the direction she was heading she wasn't going to be put off either. Taking a moment he turned his attention to the other wolf. Necros could only think of two reasons they seemed to be more carefree than the two rangers.

One, he was braver than he appeared; two, he was too naive to grasp the situation at hand. Judging by the remark he just made about the black liquid he 'picked up' on the bottom of his foot the large ranger was going to place his bet on his second theory. "Perhaps he should stay and keep watch outside," he asked hinting heavily towards the smaller female; hoping she'd catch his drift on leaving the possible safety hazard behind. If they were going to investigate that things living space it would require stealth and caution not....well...a ball of bouncing fluff just screaming to be eaten.