[Jai]

ooc| i'm so lazy with jai it's painful but here it is guys. this is the cave exploration thread. jai is gonna have everyone kinda convene and given them a silly little safety talk and then partner them up and let them explore. if you wanna find something interesting or unique absolutely go for it as long as it's chill with alphas rick and ethan.
at this point he's already explored some, the main entrance, found the valley and etc just to make sure they are safe before kinda calling gemini in to hang out.

Darkness was his friend in a sincerely non-cliche sort of way, he'd traveled and lived in it all his life, it's familiarity and safety was special to him. He'd found these caves and then had a strange conversation with the blue woman about being able to live in them. It was an entirely new concept to him, but the man was willing to wrap his head around it and accept the oddities of other cultures. After all, one did not learn with a closed mind; only lived with hate and ignorance. He was part of this pack now, this land called Gemini that the people apparently owned from others. That was new too, the idea that one might possess more than was necessary to den themselves. To possess open fields and forests full of trees and posses a full mountain of caves and rocks, what ownership must be exerted to keep such things as possessions? It interested him, and part of him wanted to say he owned the caves and call them his possessions but he wasn't sure that he was able to? The laws and bylaws of ownership of locations was a little blurry to him to Jai simply accepted his self-relegation to the area. He would watch over them, and keep them safe and standing, explore their depths and they would be his. A gate keeper with glowing red eyes in the dark, a formidable guardian. He paid little attention to the rise and set of the sun, though thankfully it appears his rhythm was nocturnal. The hellion had been up most of the night, edging through the darkness, marking places with claw marks and with his fur to scent in places where even his specialized eyes could not see. Perhaps these Gemini people would want to mark it with fire torches or glow worms, perhaps Jai would have to limit their presence in his darkness... But the man was a social creature and was interested in learning about his new home, since he was one of them he felt some odd obligation to try and befriend them. So he decided he would invite them in to his realm, and allow them to accompany him, to enjoy his caves with him. After all, these caves belonged to Gemini in their strange way of possessing. So did he. Jai wasn't so sure he liked that, but for now he would concede and try to be a part of this. These were lovely caves, and filled with nothing half as nasty as his family, with beautiful valleys tucked away within them. So his feathered paws moved towards the main entrance, the one he had cleared from the rubble when he met the blue woman. A Ranger she said, interesting title; he'd have to learn more about these titles and what they meant as well. The beast clicked his tongue and began to look out the opening, the sun was just starting to rise, they would be awake soon. Long leather strings and feathers tickling his sides, glowing red eyes blinked softly as he popped out of the cave and perched himself back atop the rock. Long whip-like tail wrapped around his feathered feet, fur on his neck puffed up around him slightly. The man would send out a call, 'all those of Gemini interested in exploring the caves' should arrive promptly. He didn't have time for dilly-dallying; he'd leave stragglers behind. Then the newcomer would close his blood red eyes and wait for anyone interested to approach.

✎ JAI ✎ |✎| gemini |✎| the scholar resident cave keeper "The pen is mightier than the sword..." Profile

[Gaven]

Despite his clever title the Starreaver hated to be separated from his precious stars. The thought of having tons of rock hanging above his head had no appeal to him. That was how one prematurely perished: suffocated, poisoned, or crushed in the earth, the place bodies typically went after they became corpses (unless you were from Gemini- then sometimes they ended up strung up on trees and walls). He should stay curled in the warm pocket of air trapped in his sleeping furs and ignore what called him. Later he could revisit the library and…what? Play it safe and boring like some nerd? No, that would never satisfy the Starreaver. That wasn’t who he was.

“Congratulations friend!” Gaven barked upon his arrival with the sort of manic tone of someone who hadn’t enough rest. “Your local good fellow, Gemini’s very own Lorekeeper, has deigned to grace you with his presence. What luck has blessed you, indeed!”

The Starreaver wore his familiar wolf-shaped mask over his true face. Crimson painted eyes stared blankly at his audience before he tilted it up enough to bring a wooden cup of hot drink to his lips. His other arm was curled around rolls of scraped, dried animal skins, and his fingers were black from pieces of charcoal clutched in his fist. He came prepared at the cost of mentally kicking himself for being too responsible. The wolves were going to start expecting things from him if he kept this up. Perhaps, this once, it was alright. He owed the Dire Queen much and more after the emotional turmoil he left her in. He swallowed his drink and sighed dramatically, blowing hot air through his teeth.

“Caves are not my area of expertise but I’m here to provide some visual representation of the lay of the tunnels,” his voice was a long sigh. He didn’t mention the part where he felt in his soul that a very excellent, exaggerated story could be made from his excursion in spelunking. “If we become trapped I am also an exceptional source of entertainment, though I am fully aware that if we must resort to eating each other I will be the first to die.”

He finished his drink and plopped the empty cup on a nearby rock to be gathered later. He gestured towards the hole in the ground, directing his attention to the spirit-touched wolf. Lead the way.

[.eclipse.]

OOC | can't play in caves until their discovered. Love to have more to join poor Jai and potentially eat Gaven? Lol

[Excalibur]

Gemini had many wonders, the castle being her particular favourite, but she had not heard of these caves. She pictured natural cathedrals of vaulted stone, intricately painted walls between stretching stalagmites and stalactites all inexplicable well lit by glowing crystals. When she arrived she was a bit disappointed; it looked more like a giant rabbit had made a warren here than a major geological occurrence. She peered down into the dark rubble strewn hole, unable to penetrate the gloom and see just how far it went.  "How far does this go exactly?" She asked the strange looking Hellion –presumably the caller- who sat on a rock by the entrance. ”Far…?” She added not wanting to sound hesitant but absolutely feeling like getting swallowed by a mountain was not the best idea she had ever had. Unfortunately for her she was here now and her pride and general desire to present and cool and unruffled persona meant backing out wasn’t an option.

Drawing her eyes away from the gloom, Excalibur then spent far longer than was polite just staring at Gaven. What. On. Earth. The creature was heaped in furs and wearing a wolf mask but was quite clearly no wolf -even in the low light of dawn she was not that blind- It was a... Human? Of some sort? Gemini collected a weird assortment of waifs and strays, they really needed to sharpen up their acceptance criteria, she thought to herself – which was rather ironic, being she was one of those strays herself. Her stare was not a particularly friendly one; she had met humans before and they had been a much smellier and more violent so there was little trust for this one... But he smelled of Gemini so he must be some sort of member of the pack. She would just have to put up with him.

“Caves are not my area of expertise but I’m here to provide some visual representation of the lay of the tunnels.”

Ugh, he wasn’t coming too, was he? Putting up with him didn’t mean actually spending time with him surely?

”If we become trapped I am also an exceptional source of entertainment, though I am fully aware that if we must resort to eating each other I will be the first to die.”

Alright, the human was funny and edible. He could stay.

”Lead on then.” She said to Jai with the sort of boundless confidence reserved for those pretending they are not wondering why they had just agreed to follow a complete stranger down a dark hole.