[Blinded By Silence]

Pestilence woke with a start and a gasp. His bright green eyes shot open and, blinded by the bright sun of the morning, he closed them fast. And there they were. He couldn't escape them. Burned into his mind were those eleven streaks of light, dividing the sky with their eerie glow. He shuddered and settled, trying to calm his breathing. Slowly, he opened his eyes once more, blinking until his vision was clear.

He was home. He saw the familiar earthen floor of his cave. He felt the soft grass and warm moss of their nest. Beside him, he could hear Guardian breathing. All was well. All was well.

"It was just a dream..." He said softly to himself, "Just a dream. Right?"

@Lirilei

[Lirilei]

His words hit her hard moments after she woke up, and she knew without a doubt he'd experienced something just as moving, and perhaps disturbing as her.

"Did you see it?" It could have been anything and yet, the way she said it... perhaps it left little to imagine. Her voice was low, not more than a quiet hiss and she pressed closer to him.

"I dreamed...about a time before. Or experienced it. I can't tell. But I saw it... the Obelisk...heard other kin... the lights... those lights..." her voice trailed off a little as she nuzzled against him. Maybe he had a different dream. That'd be a good thing.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

Her first words brought a stillness to him that unnerved even himself. There was no breath in his lungs, no blood in his veins. He could have sworn that, for a moment, a long moment, his heart stopped in pure dread.

Then, slowly, he relaxed, although only slightly, and that familiar feeling of curiosity, the same feeling that overtook him a long time ago when he saw the half-rotted rox. The more she spoke, the stronger the feeling became. How? How could two kin share the same dream? Did that mean that dreams meant more than what they seemed?

"N-No, I..." His voice croaked as if he hadn't spoken in weeks, "I dreamed of them, too."

He shivered next to her, despite the warmth. Beneath the buzz of curiosity, the sense of existential trepidation. His emotions played out on his face, clearer than ever.

Why? How? And what did this mean?

@Lirilei

[Lirilei]

"You did?" no actual surprise, more statement than question. Of course he did.

She felt him shivering, and pressed closer, trying to share her warmth though she knew it wasn't the cold making him shiver like that, no it was something other, causing it.

"We're being called, Stil." words soft, but knowing. "We were shown the same thing for a reason. We need to figure out what it is." her voice was steady, and gentle. Despite the last time she'd felt a call she'd been near death this was different somehow. She could sense it wasn't because she, or he was dying. At least not any more than one usually was.

"We need to be ready. For what I don't know. Maybe more dreams...maybe more."

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

His lips became a hard line and his brow furrowed deeply, "I don't like this," He said plainly and stood, stepping from the nest and looking out at the sky overhead.

It was grey.

He shuddered again but shook the thought from his head. No, just over-cast. Besides, the wind blew here. Clouds moved, leaves rustled. Pestilence sighed.

"We should... go there?" The words came out of his mouth as a question, but the certainty he felt answered it before anyone else could speak. He closed his mouth, working his tongue around his teeth as if he was unsure from where those words came from. He turned back and looked at her, fear and worry in his eyes. "But we can't. You've only just healed. A journey like that could..."

He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to. The scars of her last adventure still stung his heart.

@Lirilei

[Lirilei]

She stayed put in the nest, sitting up and watching him. She knew he was uneasy, so was she to be honest. It'd be foolish not to be, all things considered. "I can't say I like it a whole lot either, Stil." well it was the truth.

His words earned a slow nod from her. "We should. We should go find the Obelisk we were shown. To see it ourselves." which made sense, but why did it make sense? What would see this accomplish? She wasn't sure, but she could feel it, like he could, that they needed to go together and see it.

"If we're together, and are careful, take provisions...we should be fine. I'm healed. Yes my strength isn't completely back, but I'll have you at my side." she smiled at him and carefully eased to her own hooves, and twined her neck around his. "It will be okay if we prepare." the only other idea she had was they take another with them, someone who could help keep them safe but she doubted any would want to wander from the Mothborn lands to play protector to them, not when it would leave the rest of the tribe with one less protector. No, it wasn't a suggestion she'd make at this point. The needs of the many vastly outweighed their potential need.

Besides, who would they ask to take with? Who would have even possibly been willing? They could have also maybe taken the children with them but, she didn't want to risk their lives either. It would be a hard enough trip for two adults, let alone adding in their young. Still the idea of leaving them, after she'd just healed up, after her near death was a hard idea. Hopefully, they wouldn't fear they'd lose both of their parents on this little trip they were likely to be making very soon.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

Pestilence was quiet for a long, stretched out moment. He thought of what she said, of what they had seen. His hooves shifted on the stone as if some strange itch had overtaken them. But no, the itch was inside, burrowing through his mind like a worm. None of this made sense, and yet he felt as if it did. At last he nodded and looked back at her.

"We should talk to Rot."

The leader of their tribe would allow them to go, he knew this too. But there were duties to delegate and jobs to handoff, not to even begin to mention organizing who would care for the children while they were away. He nodded to himself, yes, that seemed like the most sensical course of action.

@Lirilei

[Lirilei]

"Talking to Rot is a good idea. She might not even want us to go." which was within her rights, she knew. So until they worried about anything else, they would have to talk to the tribe leader.

It was once they had her blessing to go, that the rest of it started to fall into place, the means to bring supplies with them, someone to watch the kids, etc. Before finally, they were at the edge of the Mothborn lands, and she turned to her mate, nuzzling at his neck lightly. "Are you ready Stil?" she knew he stayed close to home, that he probably hadn't left since finding the tribe and yet here they were, about to travel, to find the first Obelisk, to sate that urge within them.

"We'll be home soon. I know it." she could feel it in her bones that this trip would be far easier than her last solo trek.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

"No," He said honestly, trying to steady his nerves. He pressed into her side and sighed with a nod, "But now is the time to do it. I can feel it in my bones."

And so it was Pestilence who took the first step of their long journey. It took longer than expected, partially due to Guardian's tender injuries and mostly do to Pestilence's worry. Many times, he would stop her, asking if she needed rest or food or if this path was too hard for her leg. But once he relaxed and learned to trust her and her instincts, after all traversing the swamp was her life before they met, things moved along smoothly. They wanted not for food or shelter. It was almost as if they were guided by the MotherFather herself.

When at last they drew near, Pestilence noticed an odd chill in the air. It felt... still here. The bird song faded the closer they walked and soon, there was no noise other than themselves. The grove they came to seemed long-since abandoned. Vines and lichen overgrew the area, ensnaring it. If Pestilence had to guess, he would have said that it had been ages since a kin had set hoof here, although he knew that to be false if his dreams held any merit.

"T-This is it." He said softly, gawking up at the impossibly smooth stone spire. The waves of unease rolled over him, the same as in his dream.

They were here. Now what?

@Lirilei

[Lirilei]

She couldn't help the soft laugh at his honest answer. That was so like him, and it warmed her heart a little. She pressed back against him, nosing at his neck a little. "Me either but..." they had to. They both knew it.

That he took the first step made her proud, she knew she could do it, but seeing he could too, it proved to her he was stronger and braver than he might've ever given himself credit for. His constant worry was endearing, she understood where he was coming from with his concerns about her own well being. But it was a relief when it was scaled back, and he let her tell him when she needed to stop for whatever reason. Much as he did the same.

As they came upon the first Obelisk, she pressed against him and looked up at the giant stone in silent awe for a long moment. "I wonder how long ago it was since the ones in our dreams found this place..." her words were soft and she took a few steps away from him and towards the stone, walking around it a little inspecting it. "Maybe we could clean it up a little?" her voice was full of uncertainty as she spoke.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

"...Yes." He said slowly, tearing his eyes from the claw that randed clouds.

He looked around, trying to swallow the lump of anxiety that was growing in his throat. While a part of him felt that maybe it was fine to allow the swamp to reclaim this strange structure, he had a nagging feeling that said that the MotherFather wanted it to be seen. He stepped forward, hesitantly. He was loath to approach the thing, so he stuck to the outer fringes, grabbing a large branch and began dragging it off to the tree line.

It didn't take long for the first of the five stones to be uncovered. This, he approached cautiously, his curiosity getting the better of him. He hadn't been able to see the symbols in his dream and so, stepping up on the stone dies. Scraping his hooves over the surface, he tore away the decaying vines.

"It's... a crane," He said, slowly becoming more and more sure of it the longer he looked.

His eyes widened and flashed to the obelisk. In his dreams, when a Kimeti stood upon the crane's stone, the midnight sprite had shone with an eerie light. But there was no change. He sighed with relief.

@Lirilei

[Lirilei]

She was uneasy too, and it was no wonder. This was an important place, really. History had happened here.

She was pulled away from what she was doing, carefully pulling vines away with teeth, and scratching them away with hooves when she heard him talking.

Abandoning what she was doing she made her way to him, and looked down at the stone, a smile on her face. "It is! Looks like Feathers, doesn't it?" she stayed at his side then, helping him clear away the vines and such that accumulated there. Working together in one spot was sure to be faster than working on their own in separate ones, right?

She sure hoped so. "I don't thing we'll be able to get very much of this cleared, the vines go pretty high and are wrapped, but we can clean as high as we can reach." it was really all that could be done.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

He nodded in agreement, although he was loath to touch the center spire. Instead, he focused his efforts on clearing one stone after the other, checking over his shoulder to make sure Guardian was still there. It was hard work, his pelt began to froth in the swamp's humidity as he tugged and pulled away grasses and vines.

Soon enough, the stones were clear. He wasn't sure if it was simply the fact that the dream had told him what these symbols meant or what, but to him, their meaning was clear. A Crane, a Cheetah, a Sanddog, an Eagle and, lastly, a Giant Bat. Each one a symbol for the different species of kin.

"They stood on these," He said, eyes distant as he thought back on their dream, "In specific order. And then..." He shuddered, thinking of the lights that had erupted from the obelisk, breaking the sky into bite-sized portions.

@Lirilei

[Lirilei]

She didn't stray far, working to clear away the vegetation a few short steps from him. She too worked hard, and once they cleared the stones, she stepped back with a deep breath to rest a moment to look at what they'd done.

"They did..." she nodded in agreement looking at the dark stone as she recalled the dream they'd shared, the memory they'd been shown. "I don't know why we were called here, feels like for more than cleaning the stones, but...I don't know what it could be." she hated to admit it, but it was the simple truth.

"For now, lets find something to drink, something to eat and rest a little while we decide what to do next. Be it clean it up more, or what." well a rest wouldn't do them any harm she figured. Between the journey there and their hard work, a bit of rest while they planned would do them some good. Even if all they planned, was to head back home soon.

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@Blinded By Silence