The shaking of the earth had kept her up all night. Despite her mother's insistence they stay close to home, Gilda would not be contained. Pythia seemed pretty switched on about all things spiritual, at least, compared to some her siblings, so she had nosed the pale girl northward, keeping close enough that her sister wouldn't get lost, but allowing the blind wolf to stand on her own four paws all the same.

She could smell familiar scents ahead, their dad, Sag, Sid... She didn't want to get caught out of bounds, so she skirted to the west of the trail, eyes growing wider at the tinge of the sky and the spikes that ominously jutted upwards.

Gilda wasn't sure why she whispered, but it felt in her bones like it was the right thing to do. "The sky's all red, like blood... and there's big spikes stickin' outta the ground..." A minor aftershock rocked the earth beneath their paws. Did the obelisks grow taller, or was it a trick of the light? "What do yer reckon is goin' on?"

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coded by NachoMumma

Though Pythia could not see the ominous phenomenon that was happening to their world, she felt it in her bones. In her nerves that lit up like electricity every time the ground shook beneath her paws. And like her sister Gilda, she would not be deterred from scoping out what was going on. Easily convinced by the Raid King's lookalike, Pythia followed with as hurried of a step as she could manage. At least with Gilda's guidance and the ethereal pull from what was happening made it slightly easier.

The closer they moved toward it, the more her belly clenched and her heart rate quickened. She could taste the difference in the air on her tongue. Thick, almost syrupy. Even her nose twitches at the tinge of something unidentifiable in the air. What was that? It wasn't quite coppery like she found blood to be, but it definitely wasn't something she'd ever found before.

When Gilda begins to whisper beside her, she turns an ear in her sister's direction. Blood red sky? Big spikes poking from the ground? Was he finally here to take her? To take them all? Surely she hadn't been given enough time to prove her worth to their mighty god... "Abraxas," Pythia's voice is a breathy whisper as she leans in a tad closer to Gilda. She's not afraid, but at the same time, she is. "Tell me more," she murmurs.

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coded by NachoMumma

At her sisters request for more, Gilda stepped closer. She had been anticipating hard packed earth but instead met soft, almost upturned soil. She tripped on a stray clod and careened face-first into the side of one of the spikes. The noise that left her was an ungodly shriek, having bitten her tongue in the fall. Gilda's nose stung with the cold bite that followed most nose injuries and the taste of copper filled the back of her throat.

She shook, droplets of blood flying from her nose and mouth across the loosened soil and onto the stones, one in particular catching her eye. "Tia, there's a face on one of em... I've never seen anythin' like it before... but they look scared..." Her golden eyes darted between her sister and the stones, absentmindedly wiping her bleeding face with her paw before swiping it across the bottom of one to try and make out the strange scratches at the bottom. Whoops, good thing her sister couldn't see her making such a mess.

"There's somethin' down 'ere too, but I can't make it out..."

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coded by NachoMumma

When Pythia expected a verbal response from her sister, her ears were instead met with a startled shriek. Blind as she was, Pythia goes careening backward, stumbling over her large paws and onto her rump. Dirt cushions around her, breaking her fall, which is also surprising. Shouldn't the dirt be harder packed here? Weren't they close to the plateau or the knolls? She's not given time to really think about the consistency of the dirt because the sharp tinge of copper is brought to her on a sudden rise of the wind. "Gilly, you alright?" The concern in her tone is clear as she rises back to her own paws, giving her snow-white coat a good shake.

As Gilda speaks, Pythia walks slowly to where her sister stands before the towering spire. It's ghostly wails pierce her ears in a way that makes her stomach churn. Had the wind merely changed direction? She hadn't noticed it moments prior. Her attention is drawn back to Gilda though, nose twitching as she leans closer to the metal tower in front of them. "A face?" Pythia questions, reaching out a paw in hopes her sister would help guide her to also feel the etched marking.

Her paw finally finds the cool surface of the old, rusted metal and as it slides slowly, she can begin to feel the curved indents. There indeed was something there, but what? She tries to remember the teachings from her mother and uncle. Had they said anything other than their chosen runes? Moving her paw lower toward the earth, she thinks she feels something wet, but doesn't question if its from Gilda or not. Surely her sister wouldn't be wiping blood all over these strange formations...

"Do we dig than?" Pythia asks instead, but doesn't wait for an answer before she starts to cautiously move away some of the upturned dirt around the bottom of the spire.

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Her sister's concern is met with a carefree smile her sibling can't see. "Yeah, I'm fine, jus' a nosebleed and I bit my tongue. Be careful, the edges're sharp, an' the grounds all uneven, like someone jus' dug it up." She had faith in Pythia's ability to navigate the world without her intervention, so she let her make her way closer to the structures, only cringing a little when her sisters paw smeared more of her errant blood across the surface, bringing out the scratching's in starker relief.

The hollowed-out spires seemed to almost have a web-like appearance as they jutted towards the sky. While her sister considered the carvings, Gilda stuck her head through one of the holes, her ears folding flat against her skull as the wind seemed to wail down through the structure, almost like an endless scream. "Hel-loooo?" She called back curiously, removing her head from the space just in time to hear her sister's query about digging. "Why not?" She answered, digging at the soft soil with abandon, clods of earth flying in her wake. She was gonna dig this ground up so good! "What'der'yer think we're lookin' for?"

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For a blind wolf, the wails were nearly insufferable. The more the wind picked up, the louder it became. By now, Pythia's ears were flattened against her skull, brow slightly scrunched in a disgruntled expression. At least she had her sister's boisterous voice and personality to help keep her distracted. With the sound of Gilda's eager digger, Pythia's own paws dug faster the dirt by the spire. Surprisingly, the dirt there felt... harder than the dirt behind her. That didn't seem right.

Stopping for a second, Pythia turns around to start digging a few feet away from the spire. "Gilda, why's the ground different here?" She questions, lifting her dirt covered nose to seek out her sister's movements. It just wasn't adding up.

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When her sister questioned why the ground was different, she lifted her head and looked a little closer. "Seem's t'be pretty solid close to th' spikes, but looser in between 'em..." That was weird wasn't it? If the stones came up out of the ground recently, then wouldn't the soil around their bases be loose?

Another gust of wind whipped across the prominence and Gilda could have sworn she'd almost... heard something? Was it words? "It almost sounds like that screamin' is comin from the faces carved up on th' spikes..." Surely it was just the way the wind moved between the openings in the spires? Surely...

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Pythia is patient while she waits for her sister to investigate. The scenario is beginning to unnerve her more and more, but she wouldn't run scared to mama. Abraxas brought her here to this lifetime for a reason. She would prove she was brave in the face of adversity. And potentially death because they had no idea what they were actually facing. Yikes. Maybe they should go home while they were ahead. But when did a Raider pup ever say no to adventure?

"Doesn't make sense,"< she ponders quietly under her breath. Both at the statement about the and the wailing. Even if she couldn't see what Gilda was talking about. "Do the carvings have holes that go somewhere? Like a tunnel or a bamboo stalk?"< Pythia questions, turning away from her hole toward the spire. Pythia could swear she felt the spire emanating an energy toward her. As if it beckoned her closer...

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coded by NachoMumma

Gilda firmly believed that Pythia's lack of sight gave her superpowers in other ways, so when her sister seemed to be pulled towards the stone, Gilda made sure to gravitate with her sister, within grabbing distance, just in case someone tried to, she didn't know, levitate her off the earth or something.

As for the carving face? Gilda wiped the blood that was dripping from her face reflexively before sticking her blood-soaked paw into the screaming mouth hole and feeling around. "'S hollow, I dunno about a bamboo stalk..." Surely her paw should be visible through one of the holes in the side of the spire by now? She angled her head to try and catch a glance...

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coded by NachoMumma

She tried to think back to her lessons with Uncle Pontifex. What had he said about monoliths? Was this one of those shrines that they should pray to and offer something? From the sharp copper tinge in the air, she had a feeling her sister had already offered up her blood. Should she say some words as well?

Her chin tilted up, facing hopefully toward the spire that was now covered in Gilda's blood, Pythia lets out a ragged breath. "Abraxas, mighty God, grant my sister and I the gift of your knowledge and guide us on the path to righteousness," Pythia's voice is a low whisper, both hoarse and ethereal as she utters the words. "I use this prayer to invoke your power, oh Abraxas, ask for both protection and answers to the dark times. Amen," she sucks in another breath, her bones trembling and paws quaking. Stepping forward, Pythia quickly bites her tongue until it bleeds and swiftly licks the cool surface of the monolith, trailing her blood and saliva.

Stepping back, it's obvious how nervous she is. Her devout belief and nature used completely in her prayer so that Abraxas may actually hear her. "Let's hope I didn't fuck it all up," Pythia states grimly, a shaky laugh on her breath as she steps back.

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coded by NachoMumma