[Ayliyra]

The air grew cooler as she descended down below scenting as she went making mental notes as she always did of what she scented and where and how strong the scent was. Scents helped to prevent one from getting lost and helped to prevent one from being ambushed and since it was unknown what they would find down here and whether it would be light enough everywhere to see scratch marks that left scent to be the guide as sound could be distorted. Of course scent wasn't always a sure thing in such conditions but it was usually more reliable and she could and would combine hearing to ensure the best chance at not getting lost down here. She was especially concerned about the lost part as she wasn't alone. There were others who needed to be protected and kept safe as well and she had experience enough in dealing with natural disasters that she was fairly sure she could mitigate any threats that might come up that would endanger any of the searching parties.

At present though she couldn't detect anything that seemed particularly dangerous even as she progressed further into the system along with the others. Of course that didn't mean she was going to let her guard down. Oh no. There still plenty more to explore before this place could be deemed safe, if it ever could be deemed safe, which of course they wouldn't know whether it could be or not until all the explorations were through and there was no way to know at present how long that would take. But she at least intended to be thorough so however long it took to check every nook and cranny was time she would consider as being well spent and she didn't exactly have anything else to do besides and since she rather disliked not doing anything or having anything to do that wouldn't cause everyone to raise a fuss exploring this new underground tunnel system suited her just fine.



((so here is a really short horrible starter for the plot..I will likely be really very extremely slow in replies though since I'm still more gone than I am here especially in regards to IC things but I like doing Aylie/Nardir things so..yeah))

[Sekirei]

(While this may not be a good idea ICly where Aylie's standing with the Clan is but I'm tired of sitting on my hands and not having anything to do so I'm throwing Akutan in here. Judging from the pack meeting, Aylie seems cordial enough and if Akutan keeps a respectful distance, I don't see a need or reason for her to throw shade at him, even without others around. He's not one to start things either, given his focus and newfound resolve to keep the past in the past. Byakko's close to being retired from active play so Akutan needs to keep his eyes forward and not let anyone drag him back.)

He knew it wasn't a good idea but when Aylie headed down to explore, he followed. All the same, he kept his distance and pretty much ignored her. He didn't think she'd address him much, if at all, so he wasn't overly worried about...really anything. What he had felt in the cave the first time was true. He did feel a sense of peace and acknowledge that the past was important but it should never define anyone more than it should. He was determined to make the Clan better and rise above their failings of the past. In a sense, it was to prove to his ex-sister that they could learn from their mistakes and that the time had long past the period of accountability. Given the chaos of the past couple of years, it seemed the general consensus of the longest-tenured members of the pack was that everyone be given a blank slate and start over the same way the pack had done. Whatever issues in the past were no longer relevant anymore and all that mattered was moving forward.

Akutan had to start this process for himself as well. He and Kyra wanted a family of their own and he also needed to prepare himself for the eventuality of his uncle's demise. Byakko was getting older and his eyes were ever focused on being judged worthy by the Black Wolf and making it to the Afterworld. When he was gone, that was it. The Clan would fully be in Akutan's paws and he wanted to make sure he could lead it the way his grandparents had led his ancestral pack, Lindras. So with that in mind, the Maelstrom kept his pale eyes forward, content to ignore and be ignored by anyone who followed him and Aylie down into the caves. His overall posture was relaxed, though, inviting anyone to engage him in conversation if they so desired. This included Aylie but he also had contingencies for shutting her down if necessary, including pulling rank since she was still an Astronomer. But if things progressed well, there would be no need for it. His boosted confidence came with a sense of knowing she was smarter than she used to be and wouldn't cause trouble with others around. Perhaps she felt the same he did: fine with being ignored by those who should've done more to help her but couldn't because of outside forces.

[Ayliyra]

She heard pawsteps behind her and without turning her head realized it was Akutan trailing her. Great. Just great. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance, not that it mattered since no one would see her expression of annoyance unless they were walking backwards. Working with Akutan in a crises, or any other instance really, was not exactly high on her list of things she wanted to do or goals she wanted to accomplish but she supposed she would tolerate him, or at least she would try to, but if he tried to do anything like he had in the past of throwing his weight around literally or figuratively well..her patience was not endless nor was her tolerance and Sycon had done a splendid job of eating away at both at the meeting. Of course Sycon wasn't the only one responsible for eating away at her patience..this whole thing, the earthquake and..everything had further wound and further frayed nerves that were always rather tightly wound anyway and despite the time she'd had in trying to prevent it..sometimes those frayed nerves still snapped usually leaving plenty of blood in their wake. Hopefully that wouldn't be the case here but she supposed she should be prepared for such a scenario anyway given the way things usually went for her where Nardir was concerned.

At the moment though she would tamp those thoughts down so she could focus on searching. There were no enemy scents at present but there was a familiar scent she was now picking up and it wasn't the scent of any packmate. She followed the scent along the corridor as it got stronger and stronger until it finally led her to..there it was. A small pool along the tunnel wall of mineral water where the wall itself was also wet from the water running down it adding itself to the collection and combination of water and minerals below. It was a good find. Mineral water could be rather useful especially if there was a prey shortage which, might very well end up being the case for Nardir as it was difficult enough for predators to deal with something like an earthquake but for creatures more prone to fear and flight than even herself, or herself as she used to be, any prey animals that were around when it started were probably either dead already or long gone and far out of reach. At least she hadn't spotted or scented any prey earlier during her searches above ground but then that had been in the more in the direct afterwards of the quake so perhaps that would change but she wasn't going to count on it.

That meant the mineral water would need to be protected at least she supposed so as she wasn't sure how many others in Nardir would even know what it was. How to protect it though? That was the question. It was rather dark in this spot so while a ring of rocks would protect the pool it would also be difficult to see and others might trip or step on the rocks and become injured. That would not do. The glowing though..it was mostly at the entrances yet Mercury had had some on her so..perhaps there was a way to use it as a marker here. Yes. All she needed to do was locate the glow. Shouldn't be too hard to locate something glowing in this darkness right? Guess she would find out. First she needed to mark this spot so she did what she had done with the sage plant colony and where the wall was dry but still near enough to the pool to serve the purpose she rubbed her head and face against it to leave a strong scent marker here, for herself and for anyone else that knew anything about the versatility of scent markers and then with a quick glance in Akutan's direction to make sure he was still there she began moving off to search for glowing things.

Of course it had occurred to her that maybe she should say something to him about the mineral water, in case he didn't know what it was, and what her plans were for marking it but she had found that explaining her plans and thoughts to even those she trusted, like Rio and Mercury, was difficult, awkward and highly uncomfortable and with Akutan..with the history they had along with the history they didn't..she figured it would probably be better and less likely to become an argument which neither of them, or anyone else in the pack for that matter, needed right now or..probably ever. So the lingering silence would continue and hopefully they'd be able to put up with one another better as long as the silence continued.

((no idea if this makes sense I'm tired and had to think about how to access drafts to be able to finish this and that was after not being able to remember how to even log on at first so..yeah.))

[Mercury]

The Dark Moon of Nardir                    ☿ "Being brave means to know something is scary, difficult, and dangerous, and doing it anyway, because the possibility of winning the fight is worth the chance of losing it. - Emilie Autumn

There was much that still unsettled the Dark Moon, but with the opening of the caverns, she felt some of her youthful exuberance reawaken within her. With a crown of glowing spores, she embraced the darkness as her own.  Here was something entirely new, something she could use to forge a bond of shared memory.  She had always been called the Dark, but here, she had found new light, and it gave her hope.  She explored as soon as she had found out about the new landscape, quickly committing the catacombs to memory.  Her internal compass still led true, and she had yet to find herself lost.

After her pronouncement, she had hoped for a bit quicker of a response, but she supposed caution was not a quality she could fault them for having.  So she had waited patiently in the shadows, thinking they would be along quickly enough.  Ayliyra, she expected.  The wayward Nardirian had caught her gaze in the aboveworld, and she knew with certainty that Ay would follow. What surprised her was that her apprentice was not alone.  After all she had been told, Akutan was among those she would have expected.  She rounded the bend and came upon them, her aqua eyes shining in the dark, her brow still dusted with spores.  Then she bared her teeth in a grin.     Well, well.  Let's see how good of a memory the son of Storm and Starfire possessed.

☿

[Rieal]

((so just trying to..take stock of things due to..everything so..do yall want to continue this or? I mean any replies from me will take awhile but...))

[Sekirei]

(I'm personally abandoning this thread. With Byakko's time growing short, I want to focus on him. Since we're going back to the Old Forest where he's going to die, Aylie and Byakko have one last shot at making peace but if not, no skin off my nose. The Clan's content to ignore and be ignored by her moving forward. I doubt she'll give them trouble, even if she decides to keep her grudge going.)

[Rieal]

((@EhwazAzi are you okay with this being done or..did/do you want to try and have Aylie/Merc try and do some bonding? it would need to be some form of short rp if so but...))

[EhwazAzi]

We can cancel it. I don't really have any attachment to this thread, and we can pickup their bonding at a later date when you have more time.

[Rieal]

alright..thank you.