Group 3 consists of: Levi, Araxina, Gilgamesh, Fable, Luminosa



The adventuring party gathers in The Shimmering Shore, and as soon as they come together the world begins to shake violently. The dirt tunnels begin to collapse around them, and everyone begins to panic and scatter, splitting the group up- and trapping them temporarily underground. They can no longer leave the tunnels, nor can they post in any new event threads until this thread concludes.

Levi, Araxina, Gilgamesh, Fable, Luminosa find themselves lost in a winding labyrinth of smaller tunnels, all seemingly connected to one another. Getting lose here seems easy, if not probable. Stay close! As they move through the tunnels, which appear newly-created due to the small earthquakes, they find something strange.... bones of assorted prey animals lie in small piles throughout the tunnels, and often found nearby, other partially digested remains.

Post and uncover more! No time limits, no posting order, but progression may be based on posting frequency! Danger is imminent!

At one moment, Fable was pressed tightly to Noor's side, determined to forge ahead with the gathered group to find some answers - or fresh air. The next, the ground all around started to rumble and panic immediately ensued. She tried to stay close to Noor, shouting and cursing in the dark, but it quickly became a writhing mass of bodies as everyone gathered attempted to scatter. Fable thought she heard screaming, but couldn't tell from where - it was all so dark. So stupid. Of course this would happen. Of course, of course.

Once the dirt settled, she was breathing hard and standing completely still. Clods of dirt fell off of her back from the cave in. She whipped her head back and forth, eyes roving the tunnel erratically for Noor - no such luck. Only strangers were gathered in the darkness. Amongst them was... a deer? Her nose twitched with interest, but everything else took precedence. They had to find a way to get back to the others now. Fable groaned and took a shaking step forward, shaking off the rest of the dust. "Is anyone injured? I'm Fable, and - and we have to get back to the others, please, let's work together," she said with grating certainty. This was not a kitchen, but she was used to barking orders... down here, though, she was completely out of her element. Her eyes were nervous and wild. If someone else stepped forward and took control, she would certainly let them.

"Speech"

One minute she felt her brother Ludo at her hip, startling her with his sudden presence. She was about to playfully snap at him for following her when everything collapsed and her vision went dark. She barely remembered running, calling for her brother, trying to find his half white face in the confusion of the roaring and tumbling sands.

When everything went quiet she sputtered and spat the sand out of her mouth. And rubbed her eyes to get the particles out of her eyes. She huffed and puffed until she felt like she could breathe and see properly.

She was surrounded by strangers. Well strangers and maybe a meal on legs. Where was Ludo? Was he alright?

She pressed her paws against the wall of sand where she swore she had come from and called out
“Ludo!! Brother! Imma find you I promise!” She called into the wall, unsure if he could even hear her. She pressed her ear to the wall but looked back at the gathering strangers as one spoke up.

Her nose wrinkled at the woman as she pleaded weakly about working together. She can do this on her own! She doesn’t need any one!

“Speak for yourself! I’m strong enough on my own!” She snapped while stomping forward. She tripped and fell on her face as her legs got caught in a few scattered bones.

“What the-“ she had seen plenty of bones before. Her territory was rimmed with corpses. Who would be so inconsiderate to leave a mess of bones where you can trip on them? “Who did this?” She growled with abject accusation.

Just as Wake was settling at his side and Deluge on the other, the tunnel around them trembled. From trembling to shaking, everything collapsed and within moments, he was separated from his children. Dirt clung to his fur as he stood, shaking the remnants off and clearing his vision. A rumbling growl echoes in his chest as he glances around at who was left with him. Not far ahead, a rather Ignis-esque looking pup was scrambling over bones, a tiny Fatalis stood looking disgruntled (because when did Levi not?), a fucking deer (what?), and then a vaguely familiar woman that requests they work together. If he recalled correctly, she was Fable? The one who made the bowls with him. Unlike the others, Gilgamesh was a natural born leader. Had actually led a pack and still did - at least on the side now that he'd given the main job over to his not-wife.

Clearing his throat, Gilgamesh looks to the group and nods in the direction the pup had tripped over a pile of picked-clean bones. "We'll start this way. Better to keep moving in case something comes for us." He wasn't so convinced that they were alone down here. Something had to have made the tunnels and it was clearly larger than them. "Speak up if you see something," his tone is gruff as he gives one last look around at the others, daring them to challenge his take charge attitude.

"speech"

In the chaos Levi found himself bundled into a group with strangers, none of which he personally recognised or cared to get to know, frankly. He squinted in the darkness, crumbs of dirt tumbled off his shoulders as he straightened up, ears flicking as the others spoke. His paw ached a little but it was fine enough, he did not need treatment and would've refused it if offered anyway. He wasn't against the idea of working together, certainly since he knew full well going alone probably wouldn't end well but- he found himself bristling at Gilgamesh's presumption.

Letting out a sharp huff of disapproval, he moved forward with quick strides, punting a bone aside hard enough it skittered and clacked down the tunnel. Judging from the way the sound travelled, these tunnels went deep deep underground, deeper than any wolf ought to. Wolves weren't meant to be here, something else stirred.

"Right, cause we'd keep it to ourselves." He muttered, tone drier than the earth beneath their paws. "I'll take flank."

The world around them began to shake and down, down they fell into a new space, only there were less of them now. Lumi fell on her stomach and remained splayed like a new fawn on the ground while the others began to talk and bicker. Somewhere in the fall, she had gotten a gash on her back left leg. It stung and bled, but she quickly wrapped it with a ribbon from her satchel, scared the smell might affect the wolves around her.

She counted slow breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. As tempting as it was to lay in the cozy dirt, Lumi settled for chewing on a revealed root as she stood slowly. She had no problems with working together. "My eyesight isn't the best in the dark, but I'm good at listening and sniffing out danger." She tried to make herself seem useful, knowing full well that these remarkable creatures may see her as a liability or worse, a meal.

Ouch!

The group begins to move, climbing over piles of bones and rubble as they embark deeper into the collapsed cavern. As Gilgamesh takes charge and moves to lead the group further, it becomes immediately apparent that the tunnel they've ended up in is wildly unstable. The walls of the cavern around them seems to exhale, sending a deep rumble through the ground. The walls seem to ripple, as if something is moving adjacent to them, each tremor sending loose pebbles and dust cascading down. A jagged piece of stone comes tumbling down, colliding with the back of Gilgamesh's head, leaving behind a raw gash that trickles blood.

A thunderous crack can be heard as a massive chunk of rubble dislodges from above. Levi barely manages to react in time as it heads straight toward him. The stone smashes down on Levi's right side, narrowly missing his head but striking his ear, tearing it open. Blood can be felt dripping down the side of his face from his torn ear.

After a long moment the tremors begin to subside, and dust hangs in the air of the cavern. The explorers must press on, no apparent exit in sight.

Fable had almost palpable relief when the large, gruff stranger took point. Stranger... had they met before? It had been so long since she'd been in Boreas, but she did recognize him. That was some small comfort and made it easier for her to immediately fall in line behind him. While she might be experienced barking orders at the head of a kitchen line, she was completely out of her element here. The kid that was stuck with them mouthed off to her, but she couldn't be bothered to respond - there were more important things at hand than keeping a child in line, hopefully she would fall in with the rest of them. Fable wasn't keen on the idea of chasing a kid around in the dark. Strange, how little fear she had, colored by youth and inexperience. Fearlessness made you careless and stupid.

That same fear drove her forward, scrambling over carcasses and bones. The rotting smell was foul, more than enough to turn her stomach. Although it was against instinct, she tried to breathe more through her more than her nose. It helped to avoid the smell of that doe's delicious blood, as much as her hunter's instinct begged her to turn and go for the kill. If they were trapped down here for so long... eventually they'd have to eat. For now, Fable avoided eye contact with the deer - really, she tried to avoid looking at her all together.

She glanced over at the smaller dark wolf who took up their flank, about to speak before the walls around them began to tremble again. "No, no, no, no..." she panted, splaying her legs and ducking down closer to the ground in order to steady herself as the world around them quaked and spun. The walls undulated next to her and Fable bit back a scream as rocks tumbled down around them as a result. She screwed up her eyes against the dust and scree, praying it would settle soon. She heard a few dull thuds that told her rocks had met flesh.

When the tremors subsided, she opened her eyes to see blood trickling from the back of Gilgamesh's head and Levi's ear torn open. The doe, herself, and the child were unscathed. Fable's muscles vibrated with adrenaline and she resisted the urge to just dash forward in the tunnels. "Are you dizzy, nauseous? Is your vision clear?" she asked Gil, her words quick and businesslike, covering the terror that coiled like a snake in her belly. Levi's ear was torn, but the injury seemed less severe. The dust had settled though, and it seemed there was no other choice but to keep moving forward. Fable trudged forward and paused for a moment by Gil. He seemed like a straight shooter, unwilling to accept help. Still, she offered: "I'll watch your back as we keep moving." Fable glanced around at everyone, her heart beating in her throat. Noor. I have to get back to Noor. Were these cave ins happening elsewhere?

"We have to keep going." With Noor in mind, Fable trudged forward, keeping her ears open wide for the sounds of the walls beginning to move again.

"Speech"

Xina scowled at them all and hustled alongside the biggest guy with the crystal back. She wanted some! Those were cool! She hopped over weirdly digested bones and old dusty ones. Then screamed unexpectedly as the world around her changed and rumbled again! Fuck fuck fuck! She dove under the grey male's legs, using him like a meat shield against the falling rocks. As soon as he seemed unsteady in the falling debris she bolted away from him and hugged the edge of the cavern until the dust settled. Wide-eyed and frightened, her little chest heaving with panicked breaths she looked around wildly for any means of escaping this hell hole. Where was Ludo??! Was he okay? The scent of blood, more than the doe's scent filled her nose as she saw how the others had gotten injured. She huffed at them, uncomfortable in this mess with strangers. Her face turned back into an ill-tempered scowl. The dumb grown-ups got hurt! Maybe they should have clung to the walls if they didn't want to get hurt! Don't they know that if they're not smart they could DIE?

Without checking on any of them she carefully picked her way onward, she had to find Ludo. She led him here, she knew it. It would be her fault if he got hurt. She would completely ignore any of the adults attempts to call her back to them or to urge her to stick close.

At least they would have food if they became stranded down here. The doe wasn't skinny by any means so she could provide for them until they were rescued. But by how nice and well-adjusted being around wolves as she was, Gil wondered if she belonged to a wolf. Or another predator. Surely that must be the reason for to not be so frightened around them. He tries not to think about these things, such as being trapped permanently down here, as they continue along the corridor. Avoiding bones and seemingly dead ends, he stops suddenly in his tracks when the whole tunnel begins to shimmy and shake.

Gil's eyes go wide, every muscle in him freezes. This was it. He was going to die down here. Dust cascaded into his vision, bones fall into his path as he stumbles, trying to avoid the large stone that careens toward him from above. It's too late. He feels something sharp scrape down the back of his head and the spot instantly warming and feeling wet. His vision beings to swirl and sparkle, his breathing hitching as his legs shake. "Abraxas dammit," he curses under his breath, giving his head a small shake as he tries to see again.

The woman who he recognizes as Fable is asking him questions, but he can hardly answer. With the dust clearing around them, he can't help but wonder what had caused the tunnel to nearly collapse. "I'll be fine, but we need to move," he urges, bright yellow goat-like eyes looking from Fable to the rest of the group to see what shape they were all in. Luckily, only the small dark-coated Fatalis was the only other one injured. They could keep moving forward just as Fable had urged. And just like the others, Gil began to desperately want to reunite with his kids. Were they okay?

"Save yourself first," he snaps at Fable because she's right. He doesn't want help and doesn't want the guilt of someone else's death riding on his conscience. Moving forward quickly now, he continues to lead the group down the nearest tunnel. At the first turn, he tries to pick up his speed. He ignores the piles of bones, ignores the things that are clear indications they aren't alone. All they needed was to find the exit...

"speech"

Following from the rear, Levi was more than content to let silence settle. But of course nothing ever went to plan, cause why would it? Any other wolf would have gotten their head smashed in by the falling rock that came hurtling down towards him, Levi was quick, fast as a wolf could be and even he barely just managed to dodge out of the way. And even then that wasn't enough. He felt..not quite a slice, but a ripping sensation, sharp and jagged, earning a ttcht sound, lost amidst the crumbling rocks and quaking ground.

Ow.

As the dust cleared, Levi gritted his teeth. His injury was superficial but distracting all the same as he felt the drip-drip of blood, caught the tang of it in the air. Had he a mirror he would have noticed how similar the tear was to his sire's ripped up ears, a fact that wouldn't have amused him at all.

From the looks of it both of them could walk, no reason to stop now.

"Maybe if you didn't stomp around-" he hissed.

The wolves move together and Lumi followed. Some of the wolves averted their gazes from her entirely, and she couldn't blame them.

The tunnel around them vibrated and rumbled, stones tumbled around and some of the wolves were injured in the chaos. Long legs splayed out for balance. Some of the wolves called out in a panic, others stayed silent. After what felt like a lifetime, the tremors subsided, and the cave was just a cave again.

One of the wolves moved into questioning the injured. Her movements were quick, nervous, much like the prey animals Lumi had known. Perhaps they were more similar than she had thought. She hadn't thought a Wolf would cower where a deer did not, but there were all types. The big spikey one snapped at her briefly, but he didn't seem to mean it.

After getting their bearings straight, the group continued, and Lumi followed.

The group regains their footing, in the process Fable finding the strength to possess a third companion in the process (item has been placed on your OOC account). The moment is short-lived, though, as a strange haunting sound begins to echo from all around them. It's a low rumble that sends small tremors rippling throughout the floor of the cavern, and loose bones and debris, once firmly lodged into the dirt walls, come flying loose.

A deafening boom can be heard as they edge forward, as a large figure emerges from the cloud of dirt and dust- the grotesque figure is marked by its wide fleshy body and otherworldly glow that illuminates the cavern faintly. Its body gyrates slightly as it orients toward the group of trapped explorers, each movement ridding its hardened body of pebbles and debris crusted on.

Centered on the monstrosity's head is a single bulbous eye, cross-shaped pupil dancing back and forth rapidly. Its gaze finally locks onto the group, the fleshy petals surrounding its eye furling and unfurling again, as if blinking. There's no mistaking the way it zeroes in on the group, its aggressive intent clear.

Save yourself first. Gilgamesh's gruff response was good advice. Fable had never had the best self-preservation instincts, and she was always trying to please others. With her cooking, with her hunting. She was a giver. It was in her nature to be selfless. And yet, when that thing erupted from the ground beneath them and turned a single, bulbous eye on the group before it, she felt herself all of a sudden wanting to be particularly selfish. Her mouth dried out all at once, and even if she tried to speak, she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to squeak a single word out.

It looked upon them like a wolf might look upon - well, that injured deer that traveled with them, she supposed. The look about it was all predator, not prey. Fable wished it looked more like an oversized earthworm than what it did. That single eye was haunting. She gulped and swayed from side to side, feeling light headed at the sight of it. Noor, where is Noor... Her stomach felt like it might turn upside down. How were they going to get out of this mess? She paled beneath the gaze of that big, big eye. Save yourself. Save yourself. But there was a child with them... and a useless, hooved creature... Ah! The deer! She'd already bandaged her back leg with something out of that pack.

Without waiting for permission, Fable slowly (if she moved quickly, would it startle the beast?) edged toward the deer and winnowed a slip of ribbon out of her pouch. Out of her own travelling bag, she grabbed flint and worked quickly by wrapping the ribbon around a thick dead root that had fallen from the ceiling. If this creature spent so much time underground, there was no telling how it would react to the flare of a torch. Maybe it could buy them some time! If nothing else, she was comfortable with fire. She knew fire, intimately. "If this buys us some time, go, and if you see a white and grey wolf named Noor... tell her I'm coming," she sputtered, fidgeting with the flint rock until finally an errant spark erupted into flames on the ribbon-wrapped root. Fable held it aloft and approach the worm slowly, her lips curled in a snarl, the torch nearly bright as sun in the dark tunnel. The worm was disgusting - not even fit enough to eat. She'd learned her lesson harvesting rare ingredients the last time the world had turned upside down.

"Speech"

Luminosa had barely made it a few steps when the worm erupted from the ground. She stopped, heart exploding into action. She was no stranger to fear or feeling like prey, and worked all the methods to try to calm herself down. Were giant worms normal here? Luminosa wanted to err on the side of no, but with the red moon and everything else happening in the wolves' land, maybe to keep the wolves in check, there were even bigger predators... Yikes.

One of the wolves slowly grabbed a ribbon from Lumi's bag and she watched. Then it made fire. Usually fire making was something the hands helped with - like Lumi's own companion. The deerling followed suit, pulling a ribbon, and wrapping it around a branch... or... root. She understood the thought behind the wolf's actions and came up beside her, inclining her torch to the lit one to spread its flame. They could do this together. Today, they were prey together. They needed to escape together. Lumi nodded at the wolf, shakily standing her ground.

"Together, then."

The ground rumbled again as her ears caught an ominous sound that struck one of her first tastes of true fear. The bones and debris skittered around her as the image of a nightmarish grotesquerie emerged from the soil and oriented its alien gaze upon the small disjointed party. As she caught sight of the sweet woman slowly move Xina stepped backward. The lessons of knowing when to retreat heavy in her mind. Sometimes to survive for another day you had to avoid a fight. Survival survival survival echoed in her brain. Food for the crabs echoed in her mother's voice. She had no qualms of her mother's love but she held no question that her mother would barely mourn her if she died. She had to get to Ludo, she had to get him home. It was one thing to get herself into trouble, it was quite another to get her brother into it. Her ears were radio-dishing in every direction, trying to come up with her own plan. If this thing was in their tunnel, at least it wasn't in his! So maybe if they could tear it apart there wouldn't be a beast to hurt him! Believing there was only one beast.

She saw the deer and wolf wield sticks of fire. That was all she needed. Xina set her stance and lowered her head. She was ready to take a piece of it if moved toward them.

Fucking hell. From bad to worse, Levi could barely believe his eyes as the beast rose up ahead of them. Time dragged on, molasses slow as the dust settled, the crumbling rock as his ears pinned against his skull. Ignoring the sting of his wounded ear, the blood still fresh, his gaze flitted to the fire as it illuminated the dark tunnel. What were the chances of them making it out of this? The odds certainly weren't in their favour and yet Levi had never been one to back out of a fight, the thought in and of itself made him grimace, teeth bared and lips pulled taut.

The fear and uncertainty was palpable in the air, they wanted to flee, not fight. But they even have a choice? It seemed perfectly adapted to living down here, could they really outrun it when it was in its element?

"Yeah yeah, together." He groused, there was no time for this kumbaya bullshit. Still, the fire was a good enough idea, he figured that if nothing else the fire would distract it long enough he'd be able to land at least one decent strike, if not more. They others might not be fighters, but Levi certainly was.

He skulked to the side, only to kick off into a sprint, raptor claws angled as he launched himself onto the side of the creature in an attempt to sink his claws in deep. If it bled, it could die, right?

Worse was an understatement. Whatever this thing was that writhed in front of them was something worse than the fireflies. Its unblinking eye staring at them. Fleshy skin trembling and twisting, assessing, calculating. Where to go, what to do with them. No, when to eat them. Unregulated fear grasped Gilgamesh so tightly that he could hardly breathe. His conscious did not register the wolves around him. Not the lighting of the fire or the other two readying for battle. They were going to FIGHT it?

He began to shake his head, trembling paws taking him back a few steps. "No, no way," he whispers, terrified that if any sound or movement would attract the monstrosity's attention. Did they seriously want to die? His family... He had to think about them. About saving himself first. Gilgamesh wasn't righteous, wasn't a savior or a hero, he cared not for the lives that surrounded him. Surely... if he turned and ran, the worm would care more about eating them than himself... But would he want them to help save him? Would he want them to spare their lives?

"We should have scattered," Gilgamesh hissed as his fangs unsheathed from where they hid in his mouth. His yellow goat-like eyes darted from the pup to small man who leaped, from the two wielding fire. Idiots. Absolute fucking idiots. His mind roared as his heart rammed into his chest. It was now or never. Run to find Deluge, Wake, this Noor Fable spoke of.. or fight the beast. Now or never.

It was now.

Sailing easily over the others, in a few bounds, Gilgamesh approached the worm head on. A snarl rippled from his throat, bellowing into the dark as dirt and debris sprinkled down from the ceiling. Each step he grew closer, the tighter his muscles coiled. Winding up until he was within reach. Leaping up into the air, paws outstretched and jaws open, aiming straight for the eye at the center of the worm.

Save yourselves.

"speech"

Fable is the first to react to the worm's arrival, cautiously moving to spark a fire alongside a few others; the flame does little to deter the beast, though the light helps illuminate more of the monstrosity.

The light reveals something unusual about the surface of its apparent eye, which isn't as smooth as originally thought- its pupil seems to grow and shrink slightly, like a mouth testing the air, preparing to consume, to devour, the sharp tendrils surrounding its flower-petal head twitching.

It seems to come to life when Levi strikes, bulky body shoving forward in an attempt to push the small wolf backwards. His claws dig deep into the worm's flesh, though the liquid that seeps from its wounds is odd- thick, sticky, viscous, pooling around his paws.

Gilgamesh's attack reveals even more about the worm; its tendrils fold in, trying to form a defensive shield of sorts around what seems to be its eye, clearly enraged by the attack. When it reels back, the pupil grows wide, revealing a mouth with a circle of sharp, glimmering teeth.

The beast only waits for a moment before it aims to strike Gilgamesh again, its rage as obvious as the sticky spit that flies out onto the wolves before it.

The light flickered over the worm's body, showing how grotesque and enormous it was. Lumi's body went cold, numb. she tried to see the beauty in everything, she did, but she was shocked with terror, her legs locked and adrenaline pumped hard through her body. She wanted to run. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. She wanted to scream.

Stop. Breathe.

Luminosa forced herself to suck in a rough breath. It wanted to come back out as a scream, a cry for help. A wolf launched at it, truly ferocious. Another wolf did the same. She again wanted to scream. It was weird being on this end of a wolf attack. The worm reeled, opening its eye to reveal a true mouth.

She screamed.

Her torch rattled to the ground and she scrambled to pick it back up. She looked for an escape, any escape, her prey instincts driving hard. The cold shock melted into red hot fear. She had seen the wolves with their friends in the beginning, their families. they had people here. The thing lunged at the goat-eyed wolf and Lumi felt her legs wanting to move. She needed to get away. She had to run the other way. She was prey. She was prey. She was prey.

She was tired of being prey, but she was prey.

She was tired of acting like prey, even though she was prey.

Her legs moved. She pushed forward, torch in her maw. Hooves clattered against the stone floor. She threw the flaming stick with all her might, aiming for the worm's open mouth as it dove forward. She slid to a halt. "Go! Leave! We can't win this!" She used all the force, every part of her that wanted to scream, to shout to the wolves. "Get back to your families! It's fine-" Luminosa kicked off again, aiming to butt her head into the worm's exposed belly, hoping it might be a weak spot. "I'm prey anyway!"