At the border of the Swamp, Swarm waited. Her form alternated, shifting between wasp and mare freely, from one step to the next, a constant cycle. A call had gone out, messages passed on from one kin to the other, offering those who wanted it a chance to travel beyond the Swamp. The mountains awaited them and Swarm could still feel the biting cold that stole her breath; knew very well the dangers they could face.

It wasn’t a place she would have wanted to go to, not of her own accord, but she had been chosen and she would complete her task. Those kin that chose to travel with her would be part of her family, her swarm, her hive. She would protect them with every fibre of her being and surely the MotherFather had known that.

But would anyone come? She had at least one follower. Her lifemate, Dapper Mantis, would not be left behind. They’d taken so long in finding each other that leaving him in the Swamp had not even occurred to her. She would keep him safe. He was the one she had asked to send the message out, his affable personality the complete opposite of her own was much more suited to such tasks.

It was Brother and Sister who would not come. The cold mountains would not be kind to a pair of giant wasps and she could not bear to lose them though she knew the pain of being separated would be immense. They waited nearby, their presence adding a gentle buzz.

Mare to wasp, wasp to mare - and then suddenly she stopped her nervous pacing and turned her head towards the far off horizon.

“It’s nearly time,” she said.

Now was the time to join her and travel forth into dangerous foreign lands.

The adventure was about to begin.

[This ORP is an excursion out of the Swamp to the mountains, with the ache temporarily suspended, following Swarm in search of an obelisk. Anyone is welcome to jump in and take part! Feel free to @ me at any point if you’d like to interact with Swarm]

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Tidal Terror felt restless. She dreamed of obelisks, and even visited one, and yet she came to closer to understanding any of it. She could not tell if there was some omen, or if her imagination was being too active.

The totoma wasn't used to being so unsettled, especially so regularly. She kept up a good attitude among her peers, but every night she worried about waking up to her one nightmare turned real.

When she heard news of a venture to the mountains, she jumped at the chance. Hooves that would otherwise hesitate at the prospect of seeing anyone she knew in her youth almost bounded to the chance to go somewhere, do something, anything to get away from her own head for a while.

Part of her felt bad for leaving her duties so often as of late, but maybe she would finally find peace of mind. If nothing else, she could maybe help. Or, if there were many totoma on the journey, find plenty of her fellows to talk to. Maybe even some from the mountains, like herself. She missed such company on the Sand Bar, where so many totoma grew up as a part of the swamp. They adjusted well, but they would never understand the difference between beach and mountain.

The totoma, not wanting to burden any others of her tribe, made her way alone to the meeting spot she heard about through the rumors about the journey ahead.

She stopped as she heard a wasp buzzing. When it ceased, she began to walk along again, but then it began again. On and off again, almost rhythmically. With some cautious steps, she approached close enough to see a mare and a wasp, as one, from one to the other. Not far off, there were other wasps. An odd sight, but Tidal Terror remembered dreaming of kin who went between forms too.

She had not expected to witness it firsthoof.

"Hello!" she called in greeting. "I heard that there was a group going to the mountains." However, she didn't really see much in the way of other kin at this point... "Are you the one who will be leading the expedition?"

@Ruriska

Swarm blinked, her head turned - she shifted suddenly, a wasp hanging in the air, wings a flurry - then as a mare again she answered the newly arrived Totoma with a simple, “Yes.”

She studied her first traveller thoughtfully. A Totoma would be good. They were hardy and strong and could navigate the cold mountains without much trouble. This was one she wouldn’t have to hover over.

Some time had passed in silence before she added, as an afterthought, “I am called Swarm.”

@Gl!tch~

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... y_ruri.gif[/imgleft] He had been promised the mountains.

By his dreams and also by the wasplike Legendary who now waited to leave. This was it. This was everything his life had been leading up to.

Journey had travelled endlessly, rarely stopping anywhere for more than a few days, his entire life. His ceaseless need to wander spurred on by an innate knowledge that he was meant to go somewhere else, somewhere far away.

Now it would finally be his chance to break free from the Ache.

He was smiling as he stood by and waited. 

[imgright]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... k_blue.png[/imgright] Badgerlock itched to travel; had heard about past expeditions through the grapevine, greatly filtered and transformed by gossip, and had fought down the bitter taste in his mouth at having missed it. Perhaps, if he'd been there, he could have helped. Could have experienced something that explained his craving for great destiny. Could have explored, and grown, and --

Well. He was here now, swallowing any feelings of uncertainty. His home wasn't far from the border with the mountains anyway, and so meeting up with the group was no great trial. He arrived with Nighteyes in his wake, the pair inseperable. There was no way he'd leave him out of this adventure.

He was quiet and serious, eyes raking over first Swarm and then the other two as he approached. Not speaking, yet, but there. And ready.

Shelter joined the slowly growing group that had gathered. His tail twitched in a hint of nerves as he glanced around taking who had gathered.  Last call had seen Underneath heading out to the desert. This time he wanted to be the one that traveled. His children were grown or under the care of Legion and his familiars were to being cared for. He was as ready as he could be to travel outside the swamp once more.

It had been so long since he came here and had the ache weigh him down and now to be free of it for a little bit... he wanted to see a bit more. 

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... se_bee.gif[/imgleft]It seemed like only yesterday the topic of travel had flowed so easily into a delightful conversation Serpent of Paradise had shared with the most intriguing buck.  And now here it was, the chance to reclaim that lost opportunity.  This wasn't the desert, but it was still away, and the petite doe longed to see what there was to see in this vast, wonderful world they inhabited.

And speak of the devil.  If it wasn't the adventuring buck himself.  "Badgerlock!"  Percussive hoof beats at his side proceeded the overly familiar rub of her shoulder against his flank as she hastened to his side, absolutely buzzing with eager excitement.  "I had a feeling I'd see you.  Isn't this amazing?"  She trilled up at him happily, Skybird swooping in dizzying circles over their heads. 

"What are the odds?"  She continued, a little breathless.  "Lament the want to explore, and the means presents."

@blue

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Rep hated crowds. He hated other kin. He fucking hated the fact he was perpetually drawn to both of them. Rep didn't want to go to the mountains again, he'd been there before and everyone had been horrible. Leaving had brought him no sadness and no regrets. He was a creature of conflicts and opposite opinions, he would believe one thing and another wholly opposite thing and both would live in him, both true.

And yet the rumours had persisted. In the end he wanted to know what was going on, but he didn't want to have anything to do with other kin or their stupid pretending to be his friend or pretending to care about co-operation. No one cared about anything but themselves in the end.

He made his way in the direction of the group, a huge muscular Totoma with two lean and dangerous wolves at his heels. He flicked his ears back and kept them there, and lingered on the outskirts the way his wolves did when assessing a herd for something to try and pull down for a meal.

He knew it was probably something fucking stupid.

"Swarm! Well-met!" the totoma replied with a hearty laugh. Thinking about it, she had no idea how to properly pay respects to someone gifted by the Motherfather. Tidal Terror had heard rumors, the whispers about blessings of shapeshifters and others who were touched by the swamp's power. But no one ever said what to do to avoid insulting them. She would have to play it by ear and hope for the best!

"I am Tidal Terror! I look forward to making this journey with you!" her voice naturally boomed.

From the corner of her eye, she could see that other kin were making their way to the meeting site.

She took a sweeping glance at those she could find by turning her head.

"I look forward to making this journey with all of you!"

She caught sight of another totoma among their ranks. He did not look interested in talking, however, based on the look of his ears. That was his decision to make, but she was impressed by his wolves if nothing else. Perhaps at some point there would be the opening to chat...

@Ruriska
@blue
@Shaddaling
@Beejoux
@Baneful

((Sorry for the @ everybody, she's like this))

[imgright]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... ow_tia.gif[/imgright]Murkcrow spent a few days being an anxious wreck when he first heard the call. What he learned - or, more like, felt - from the dreams screamed at him not to go, and yet, he felt a magnetic pull towards the Obelisks that he could no longer resist. Like a moth to a flame, he thought.

But, if he was being honest, the prospect of seeing the towering snow-capped mountains that lurked on the horizon - he had ventured to the edge of the swamp once to appreciate their distant majesty, with no trees to obscure the view - did make him feel a little excited. But he also remembered cold, the killing cold that had descended on the swamp once before, and concluded he'd better be prepared.

So when Murkcrow arrived to join the group, it was with a thick pelt slung over his back. And inside the pelt, a load of jerky and dried fruit. For the journey, of course. Stalker had made sure he was well provisioned in a mildly threatening way, but changed her mind about coming along at the last second when he told her she absolutely could not bring her caiman. His terror-serpent itself seemed very interested in coming along, but he thought he had bribed it sufficiently to convince it to stay at home.

At any rate, as Murkcrow approached the gathering place, he saw six kin he didn't know, and one he did. "Ah, Tidal Terror," he greeted her with a smile. "Fancy seeing you here." It was not, to be fair, an entirely unexpected coincidence.

@Gl!tch~

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Trailblazer did not have a naturally warm personality. She saw it as her duty in the swamp to maintain the paths, running miles daily to keep them in decent form. It was a life that didn't keep much company. She didn't care much to wait for others that were slower than her.

When she heard talks of an expedition, it felt obvious that she should join. She was painfully familiar with the borders of the swamp, and more than aware of the ache that came with stepping outside. It was unusual for kin to be able to explore at such lengths, and she was eager to take the opportunity. She dreamed of a day that all kin could explore outside those borders, and if any kin would be the first to set those paths, she wanted it to be her.

"I am sure you two are not looking forward to the cold," Trailblazer attempted to make light conversation with the acha in the group. She was surprised to see any acha willing to make the journey, with their bodies better suited for deserts.

@Shaddaling
@Ruriska

[imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgright]Her old bones snapped and popped like fire.

She had not slept well. A deeper, more physical than metaphorical ache had taken root behind the battered plate on her skull and grown its way through her skin, through her flesh, through every fiber of her being. The pain burned in a way somehow unlike any she'd felt before, and she did not like it one bit.

The peaceful world of her dreams, where she was youthful, full of vigor- it had been interrupted. Sleeping had long been her escape from the world around her, and yet now even that was wrenched from her grasp. Visions of stones she did not understand, of places she had never been... Well, the latter was not unusual. But the former? It bothered her. Why now, of all times, was her tired life thrust into chaos?

Answers. She thirsted for answers, more than anything else.

The great plodding of her stride through the swamp was slow yet unyielding, the doe's displeasure evident in how limply she carried her head and dragged her hooves. She and Swarm were the same- she too had the sense that she needed to be here more than she wanted to be. Unpleasant or not, her dreams were a part of her life that she could not ignore. They were telling her something, along with- she assumed- all the others here.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, dubious but somewhat hopeful. While the mare seemed a bit ill-suited for the task... that same gaze landed on Tidal Terror and Repeats Mistakes, pleasantly surprised at least a couple of her kind were joining them. Come inferno, blizzard or high water, even a few of them could probably sort the rest of the group out when it came to the mountains. The muscular buck gave her some hope she wasn't going to be the only one capable of holding her own in a scuffle, as well.

Still, she brightened up at least a bit as she spoke, "no Totoma scales a mountain in a day, and we certainly won't be either. I hope for everyone else's sake they are prepared for quite a journey." A journey she too had made, when she was younger and without-purpose. For everyone else's sake, she needed to be on her best behavior, like she had been the first time. Not a Terror- just a Totoma, like the rest of them.

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft] After having dreamed of the obelisks and their strange puzzles, it simply didn't feel right to ignore the call to travel to a new one. And yet...Cloy was no social kin. She stalked towards the place where she'd seen others gathering, trying to peer over the rolling ground before she got there. Even from far off, she could tell there were many in the group already. At least one had a loud voice that carried over the swamp in such a way that made her think she'd be happier going back the way she came. But when would the call come again? Would she be punished in some way for ignoring the dreams? It was all to cryptic to tell and she had no interest in asking if anyone knew better than she did

Trying to push her discomfort into a place where it couldn't bother her, she made the decision to creep onward. She'd make no move to announce herself as joining the party. Maybe, she thought, they'd just accept her presence. Perhaps they'd even dislike her and leave her alone... She gave the kin lingering around an exceptionally wide berth before taking up standing off by herself. She sat, trying to make her figure appear smaller. There would be less chance of being approached if she didn't draw the eye. Yet, her orange coat wouldn't do her any favors. She shoved the thoughts further into her mind a second time and instead perked her ears to listen to the group to occupy her focus

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... y_ruri.gif[/imgleft]

Journey had been staring off into the distance, imagining the adventure that awaited, when Trailblazer spoke. He gave his head a gentle shake to clear his thoughts and turned to look at the Kiokote. “Ah,” he said, giving himself a moment to consider his response.

“I wish to experience all the mountain has to offer,” he replied with a small smile. He was strong for an Acha and though older than most here, he was covered in travel dust and his limbs were still strong. They would carry him as high as they needed to go, through any weather. They always had.

"Nights in the desert can be bitterly cold. We will do fine." He looked to the other Acha nearby and nodded companionably.



@zeflamigo
@Shaddaling

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... ncert3.png[/imgleft] The Totoma was loud, which was fine, of course. It took all types. Though Swarm preferred silence it would be in her favour to have someone strong and boisterous on her side. If her own voice could not carry (as rusty as it often was), then a Tidal Terror’s certainly would.

Swarm tucked that useful thought away for the moment and continued to watch as other kin arrived, some shy and holding back, some already chatting, some familiar with each other. Only three Totoma so far. She had expected more. Would they not all wish to return to their homeland for one last time? Perhaps the Swamp was all they needed now. Though there was still time for new arrivals.

She blinked, slow and ponderous.

The flowery Totoma was correct. She too hoped they were all prepared. For some of them this would be a great test of wills, a great struggle. But she would tell no kin to stay behind. If they wished to go, then she would help them reach their destination, even if she had to push them half the way there.

"We shall endure," she said in response to Sleeping Terror. They were a collective now.

@Gl!tch~
@Mima