[META ORP] Called To The Caves

[rexcorvus]

[imgright]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgright]

The sound of Dusk Wave's voice made Fierce turn his head, and the buck was given a small smile in greeting, Fierce feeling a sense of relief that he couldn't quite manage to tamper down. Being without his familiars was one thing; being alone in a group of others was another. He was not the sort of kn who felt as though he needed the company of others, but in this place, at this time, when they were facing the unknown - well, it was nice to have someone to rely on.

"Unfortunately," he said, with a shake of his head, long hair falling over his neck. "I suppose you and I just keep running into these situations, don't we? How have you been?"

@peanutbutter

[Ryuukishin]

[imgright]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... raitor.png[/imgright]Despite possessing a historian's interest in the Obelisks, Keeper had kept them in the back of his mind; portentous though they seemed, he had been preoccupied with more immediate concerns.

"The Motherfather must be looking after us," Traitor murmured, watching the buck from the corner of his eye. "It would have been impossible for us to go to the mountains alone—yet here we are, assured of passage."

Traitor had heard the tales: the excursions past the reach of the Ache and, always, it seemed, to an Obelisk. "Do you think we'll find an Obelisk this time, too?"

"Perhaps."

The response—brief, bereft of any invitation for further discussion—was easy enough to interpret. Traitor held his tongue, and turned his attention instead to the dried fish being distributed amongst the group.

[Gl!tch~]

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft]
A dignified white zikwa with many eyes slowly blinking across her face made her way into the fold, head high and with all the grace and confidence in the world.

She almost seemed irked that it took so long for such a moment to present itself.

How Quaint, after all, always knew she would return to the caves, despite the Ache. If she had so many eyes, it meant she was to see all that the cavern-dwelling zikwa couldn't. If she could find her way out of the caves, it meant she was supposed to. The zikwa idea of life and the life beyond always felt so cyclical, so clearly her journey would be similar. If she was to leave, she was to return. And she would have so much to share, so much to give.

However. She had anticipated that she alone would be called to make that journey to the caves, or at least be made to lead it. She always imagined she had a great destiny to bring knowledge of the outside world to the zikwa, so of course the way she would do it would also be great.

But she had never received any power to push past the Ache. No boons came her way for any of her deeds, no matter how many kin she guided. Meanwhile an eagle...no...totoma? One of the mountain-dwellers was to lead them, apparently. And this group certainly seemed to be a mix of all sorts of kin. How interesting indeed.

But, still. A totoma? What an insulting notion, really. What did a totoma know about the caverns? What made the Motherfather decide anything other than a zikwa would do, much less a kin from so far above? Removed from the depths she knew so well?

The zikwa considered that, perhaps, she would have opportunity to lend her knowledge. Few other zikwa seemed to have arrived so far. If any responsibility were to fall to her enlightened self, then she would gladly take it.

Maybe that was why she was here. Yes, that made sense. Perhaps she could prove her capabilities yet.

For now, she would watch. And she would wait.

[peanutbutter]

Timorous jumped in surprise as the Totoma - Real Big Fish, she quickly learned, and a legendary as well - set her sights on her. "I'm Timorous," She replied back instantaneously, manners making her reply automatic, ingrained habit that she had been taught (and then passed down to her children, who were hopefully passing it down to their children). She hesitated on her next reply though, worried about what to say.

She didn't want to seem a burden, or unprepared, or like she shouldn't come along. Yet at the same time, even without growing up with the stories of them, she had come to learn that the ones with firefly eyes could be trusted.

And feeling so very out of her depth, Timorous decided to trust.

"I'm just... n-nervous. Could I maybe follow you? To h-help?" She managed to get out, feeling slightly awkward, and embarrassed but... she had come all this way. She wanted to try to change. Even a little.

@Scaramouche Fandango

---

"We do keep meeting in strange ways," Dusk agreed, his tone dry but bordering somewhere on amused. He offered his own smile to Fierce, small but genuine. As long as there was one other he could rely on while here, surely this would be okay. "Good. Better than last time. How about you?"

@kuropeco

[Corn]

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... -corn3.gif[/imgleft][imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... -corn4.gif[/imgright]

The dream that spread through the swamp was strange, but had a touch of familiarity, as well. A dark, enclosed space, with no sky to be seen. Faintly glimmering lights all around, some still, some moving. Unnaturally still air, the soft flapping of bats' wings multiplied by the close space. In the center, the point around which everything revolved - another obelisk, deep beneath the surface. There was no light, but he could still see its precise, straight lines cutting boldly through the air, defying all reason.

Well, Wildflower Breeze was no stranger to the beckoning dreams of Matope by now. When the Motherfather asked him to walk, he would simply ask how far. There were important events to be witnessed and recorded, and fresh sights to see besides! Most certainly worth the trip.

[imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... -corn5.gif[/imgright]It was easiest to fly to the meeting place, but once he was there, he spent an almost equal amount of time in all of the shapes available to him. He fluttered to and fro among the smaller groups as a songbird, calling sweetly; he bounced and gamboled underfoot as an otter; he chatted amiably with all as a stag. In all shapes, his message was the same - keep heart, step lively, there are wonders to be seen!

---

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft]

The dreams had also called to a much younger soul. In a strange echo of her first dream, her name, she saw herself walking far, through strange lands, to reach what, before, was a destination unknown. In these dreams, however, she saw her goal - a strange, dark place, with strange sounds, strange smells, strange everything. And so, so many zikwa.

The dreams provided something of a sense of urgency, which was backed up when she heard news in a more conventional way that a journey was being led by one blessed by Motherfather-Sisterbrother, to meet at such a place at such a time, be there or be left behind. Well, she certainly wasn't being left behind when the journey of a lifetime beckoned! Seeing every nook and cranny of the swamp could wait, it'd be there when she got back. She crammed as much dried meat and fruit as she could into a turtleshell sledge and hauled it with her to the meeting place.

Eyes bright and tail twitching faintly with excitement, Traveling Cat surveyed the crowd. So many other kin answering this call to adventure! There must be many kindred spirits among them. She waded in.

[Mima]

[imgright]http://www.matope-swamp.com/images/maxx ... uncert.png[/imgright]Halo of the Sun had this feeling in the back of her mind that had been nagging her for days now. While the old bones of her Zikwa body weren’t in much shape for adventuring, sometimes, it called to her. Called to her in the same way the warm light of the sun had called her out from the depths of the caves below in her dream. It was destiny, she figured. Perhaps one last hurrah to see the old homestead before she finally kicked it. Or to return to offer wisdom, the word of the world above, to those who needed it.

She traipsed delicately through the swamp, and slipped her way through the veritable herd of kin that had been positioned at the loud-voiced totoma mare’s side as they prepared to begin their journey back into the caves where her life had begun. ”Assembled a little going-away party, have we?” The old doe batted all six of her eyes innocently. Perhaps she should have brought something more exciting for the trip besides just her own ass and enough dried-out fruits and mushrooms to carry herself the whole way down.

[Nashawryn]

[imgleft]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... rtwork.png[/imgleft] "Come on! Let's get in there." Hidden Beauty said before she made her way into the crowded gathering of kin, her humblebee following close behind and above her. This was her first calling, and her first attempt to leave the swamp. She knew nothing but swamp and roses, really. She'd thought of staying put, but the pull to come along was deeper than her desire to stay. Hidden touched noses with the totoma and moved out of the way. She took some dried fish and nibbled it, a little distastefully. She did not care much for dried foods, really. Unless it was the only thing to eat at all. Which, considering they were heading to the caves, would probably be the case here. Hidden raised her head to check on Bee Mine, satisfying herself with watching his flying acrobats. Once he got tired, he'd land on her back to rest. She wouldn't be alone, thankfully. Not only had she brought her pet but she'd also dragged her grandchild along with her (not that this particular granddaughter had cared either way).

---

[imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgright] Blossoms in Despair shook her head at Hidden Beauty before also touching noses with the totoma. Her grandmother had insisted that since she was leaving the swamps, so too could Despair. Despair did not dispute this argument, deciding it was best just to shut her mouth and follow along for the trip. Besides, she'd been feeling an unsettling pull to go with her grandmother as soon as her grandmother mentioned the trip past where the Ache stopped and new lands appeared. Perhaps she'd meet up with others of the family, perhaps she'd just meet new kin. She snorted at the thought. New kin were trouble, always thinking just because she didn't have visible eyes meant she couldn't see a thing. She followed her grandmother away from the totoma, snorting again when she noticed Hidden Beauty nibbling on the dried fish before they'd even started the trip.

[phoe]

[imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgright]
The fluttering of a songbird above the crowd caught No Escape's eye. She began to follow it as it winged its way over the heads of the kimeti after noticing that the bird had intensely glowing firefly eyes. No mere bird, then. Something swamp-touched, though she was unsure as to what. She had not yet seen Real Big Fish's other-shape, or any other legendary shape. This was something special, something worth following. A question that she could answer -- and she wasn't about to let such an opportunity pass her by.

A life spent hunting and tracking small (and sometimes large) game meant that she could wend and wind her way through the crowd without much jostling. A couple of times she lost sight of the bird, and would find it somewhere else entirely. It meant that she backtracked and turned in circles more than once, and No Escape found herself on the edge of true frustration before she suddenly stepped through a small gap in a flock of acha and came face to face with a kimeti the twin of the songbird. He wore the same sprigs of leaves in his mane, had the same glowing markings, and there was the same air of -- knowledge, of wisdom, about him.

She composed herself and took a step forward. "Did you receive the call too?" Her gaze was fervid, yellow eyes intent on reading the stag's face and expression.

@Corn

[rexcorvus]

At least he was not doing this solo - whatever this was. Fierce was glad of the presence of other kin as a general rule, even if he did not show it, but he was more glad of the presence of someone that he could actually speak to comfortably. He was not, perhaps, the most gregarious kimeti there was; at least in this way he could express his thoughts (some of them, that was) with someone he found easy to talk to.

"Good," he said, "I'm glad to hear it. I'm...well, all right. None of my children are here; I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, if I'm being quite honest."


@peanutbutter

[peanutbutter]

"It could be both," Dusk offered, after a moment of consideration. "I'm sure some would be a help, or at the very least able to take care of themselves. Others though..." He trailed off, obviously thinking back to the conversation they had previously had about their children. "I must admit, I'm glad my own isn't here - I was half expecting to spot her amongst the crowd. I'm glad this wouldn't be your first introduction to her."

Dusk paused, realizing the implication of his words a moment late. Was that too forward? Would Fierce even want to meet Breaking Free? He was torn between taking back what he said and trying to offer anymore explanation to it, and ultimately decided on silence. Maybe fate would be kind and he would be able to move past it entirely.

@kuropeco

[rexcorvus]

Fierce let out a small laugh that was less out of humor and more out of a resigned acknowledgement of his offspring's continued antics. He tilted his head, long hair falling over his shoulder, and said ruefully, "A fair enough point. I'd like to believe that the majority of my children are capable of fending for themselves - and that being said, they do - but there's always at least one that would step into a trap somewhere."

One brow arched as he turned his head in Dusk's direction, but the sentiment was nice, more so than Fierce had thought it would be. "Later, then," he said with a little bit of a half smile at the other buck. "When we're not...well, here, it would be nice to meet her. Under less...extreme circumstances."

He hoped not too extreme.

"I'd like you to meet my daughter as well," he added, and then, resisting a strong urge to roll his eyes, "If I can catch her, that is."


@peanutbutter

[LOLLI qAq]

[imgleft]https://i.imgur.com/KaMWQrj.png[/imgleft]Story stood tentatively just on the outside of the gathering. He'd found a couple of trees, very handsome couple in his humble opinion, and was standing just within their shadows. He wasn't hiding, though. He would never do such a thing. He'd lived too long to do such silly and young a thing as to hide in such a situation. The fact that the last time he'd been part of such a large group was when he was positive he'd died on a mountain top had nothing to do with it.

His only non-arboreal company in this moment were happy to stay scampering underfoot(Merry and Pip) or had curled up inside the moss of his beard(Short). He was anxious about bringing them along on what was sure to be a dangerous excursion, but the idea of being without them scared him more. There were few he trusted to keep him safe and alert more than the constantly chittering creatures at his feet. Short would also alert him to danger, but more importantly he knew he could keep her safe.

Never mind that he hadn't realized she was even in his beard until after he'd heard the call, collected the mongooses, and was well on his way.

---

Glowing eyes peered out of a face that resembled a picked-clean skull. They moved with the movement of the other kin around them, mouth tight and body tense. A bat almost as large as the zikwa it was with had draped itself along their back and looked more like a second skin than a separate being.

They had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Sure, they'd had the dreams of the other obelisks but those were well before their time and they figured that was old news. No more obelisks. No more weird adventures where kin came back emotionally changed or whatever. Sure, they were bummed that they'd missed out on something seemingly pretty epic ... but it also meant they didn't have to do anything about it either. Free to live their best life, with their best batty pal, and eat and sleep however much they liked.[imgright]https://i.imgur.com/scsSLom.png[/imgright]

A flash of gold caught their eye at the mouth of the cave, next to the very large and loud totoma babe that seemed to be running the show. Before their mind that time to catch up to their feet they were moving in that direction. There were two very lovely, and very smart seeming, ladies in their sights.

If there was one thing they loved the most it was a doe that could tell them what to do.

@Mima
@Scaramouche Fandango

[Dizzy_Kat]

[imgleft]https://i.ibb.co/GdCjnDj/Biteand-Bat.png[/imgleft] Seeing them up close Bite of Passage now understood what firefly eyes meant. At least, better than he had before. He still felt it was a little flamboyant though he had to admit his first observations were incorrect. Their eyes did not glow like his. Or more accurately Bite supposed, his did not glow like theirs. There was more to it that set them apart but he hadn't yet found the right words to describe what exactly he was seeing. Was it a feeling? Not in the physical sense no. He was used to things that he could take apart. Things he could see and smell. Things he could touch (we'll not dwell on the things he has tasted, not yet anyways). One thing he could firmly say. They were not like the Harbinger. This was neither good nor bad. He didn't judge things such ways but it was something to file away for later thought once he returned to the tar pits.

The purposeless milling about was starting to grate on him, fanning the coals of that uncharacteristic anger that had simmered since he woke from his dreaming. It was still too bright, too noisy, and as time went on it was becoming far too crowded. He had dreamed of a frozen bloody mountaintop but the snippets of conversations that drifted through the noise suggested that that was not where the group was going. They were going underground deep into the earth beneath them in search of another obelisk. His skin prickled. They would go beyond the Ache of the Swamp. "Bat. Is Night Father here? or grandmother?" He nudged the drowsy creature draped over his back. Bat grouched but fluttered up into the sky sluggishly, doing a wide and lazy loop before dropping like a rock back into his previous position half asleep on Bite's back. Bite of Passage took the lack of answer to mean no, they weren't.

That was curious actually now that he thought about it. Had they not had dreams or heard the call? Night Father was sure to have at least heard of the gathering by now. It was a surprise that he wasn't here anyways, attempting to break the gathered kin free of the blind obedience they gave the MotherFather. Bite could imagine the speech word for word he'd heard enough of it day in and day out. Nameless Ghoul though... his grandmother was an enigma even to him. She had been distancing herself recently though Bite hadn't payed much attention beyond noticing. What she did or didn't do was none of his business but he was fond of her. Moreso than he was of Night Father truth be told.

"Bah!" He spat, shaking himself. A final shrug to help Bat reposition itself across his back as he stalked back towards the darker edge of the trees where he could watch another of the legendaries. This one appeared even more energetic than the totoma if that were possible but at least the stag seemed inclined to show off their shapeshifting ability. He was far more comfortable analyzing these mysteries than he was attempting to understand things like emotions or drives.

[Ruriska]

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Even when Buried Alive had arrived in the Swamp, one of the very first to step out into sunlight, feeling the cool air and the dappled shade, hearing a myriad of wonderful sounds that would one day become normal and everyday, he had not been young. He hadn’t been old either but he was not some soft-hoofed colt, and as the seasons turned, he felt age settle on him, across his back and shoulder. Each step was slower now, more measured. Waking up brought aches and pains that hadn’t been there a few seasons ago.

He didn't mind. Everyone grew old eventually. With the passing of time, he was given the blessing of days spent with friends and family, hearing stories from his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There was a comforting familiarity to his days.

But beneath it all, in his heart of hearts, he still missed the underground. He missed the family he had left behind, those who had been his entire world, whose glow was imprinted on his brain even still. Buried Alive had spent many a night wondering how they fared, missed the sound of their songs echoing through the cave.

He had presumed he would never return. He would one day die in the swamp and his body would feed the roots.

But then the dream had come, and soon after word had travelled across the swamp that there was to be an expedition. It hadn’t occurred to him to stay behind.

The caves were calling. He was old but nothing would stop him, it was time to return home.

And so he arrived at the gathering place, the ever faithful Take Root at his side. It had long been established that where he went, she did too. They were both excited to return. They had spent many nights  discussing the old ways, the old rituals, and fondly discussed Zikwa that they had both known long ago.

They weren’t alone, the whole brood had arrived to see them off. One Step Away, Plague, Locust, and Writhe had all declined to accompany them any further. Plague especially was fretting, worried they would never return, certain only death awaited them. Shroud however was excited for the trip, having already conquered the mountains.

Not that he had arrived yet.

‘I’ll catch up!’ He had called, as his tortoise trundled along.

“Are you sure you want to go?” Plague asked for the hundredth time.

Buried Alive gave a soft smile and touched him, nose to cheek, a comforting breath against his skin. “Hush now, we will be fine. No matter what occurs, there is no need for worry or sadness. This is the path we must travel.”

"If Shroud doesn't make, someone else has to go!" Plague squeaked nervously, pressing his cheek into the touch. "Writhe? You're the youngest!"

Writhe frowned.

"Don't pressure her," Locust chided. "Nobody has to go if they don't want to. I'm sure Shroud will be along soon. And look at all the other kin. The guide said no one will be left behind and she looks quite trustworthy."

"I think she looks scary," Plague muttered.

[Ruriska]

[imgright]https://media.discordapp.net/attachment ... i_scar.png[/imgright] As the group continued to grow, Journey surveyed the various kin, looking for familiar faces or perhaps someone young and uncertain that might want an experienced traveller by their side. There were a few kin he had met before but it was the pale Acha that his gaze landed on, the sight of her immediately making him smile.

It made sense he would find one of his own blood here, his granddaughter had clearly inherited his lust for adventure. A father was not meant to choose favourites, but deep in his heart Wrap You In Stories had always been one of his. And that fondness carried over to her children.

“Air,” he called as he approached. “I’m glad to see you.”

He couldn’t help but worry, knowing how dangerous the last expedition had been. But he would not try holding her back from the experience. She had her own path to follow, regardless of where it took her.

At least he would be there to keep an eye on her.

(( @lolternative hope you don't mind! ))