Kaija wasn't exactly a prisoner anymore, but she hadn't gone far from Obscura. And why would she? Scylla wasn't half bad, besides the whole imprisonment thing, but Kaija couldn't overlook that- at least for now. Wasn't like she had anywhere better to be. Raiders hadn't come looking for her anyway, so maybe it was some kind of sign from the universe that her time there was over. Maybe there was something better around the corner or some corny shit like that.

Just when she started to think that though, it was like the universe pulled the rug out from under her. The world shook with a series of long but not too strong earthquakes, and the sky turned red when the morning finally broke. It wasn't at all familiar, not really, yet she couldn't help but be reminded of the strange occurrences that had began when she was just a yearling. The night that never seemed to end, the sickness that had taken her mother...

Kaija shuddered. Nah, she was just being paranoid, that was surely it. All that stuff happened so long ago anyway.

That didn't make stumbling upon this place any less weird though. Tall spikes, unlike anything she'd ever seen before, towered high above. They leaned in different directions, almost looking like they might fall, but something about them told Kaija they weren't going anywhere. Weird...

Wary, but with her curiosity always getting the better of her, Kaija pushed forward and moved between two of the spires, sniffing at the air as it whisked past.

Speech // thought // Serbian

Morwenna hid. Or was it resting? She had stuck her nose where it didn't belong and literally got bit for it. She had misread the situation entirely. Never approach a potential patient if they are pacing and wild-eyed without A. Back up, or B. a fucking plan.

She had grown too comfortable. She had grown too close to some of them. She needed to move away... She needed to return to her nomadic life. It was the only to keep herself and... others, safe.

Then came the rousing, the trembles the bucking and buckling of the earth. She had missed the gathering darkness of night until she scrambled, three legged, into the open, out of the den, and into the open air while the earth trembled around her.

The morning was the color of blood and the sky didn't return to normal as the sun continued to rise. It didn't burn off like the fogs of late summer.

She was drawn, as were others to what seemed the epicenter.

She hobbled onward, not used to her new life on three legs. But as she drew closer she had found a rhythm to bounce on her remaining front leg over the terrain. With practice, she could manage all right. Her hobbled limb was mostly healed already. Maybe after she was done investigating this strange new world she'll head to Obscura, see if she could find Kaija.

She crested a hill and found the strangest terrain. Spires towered over the land. Ominous and foreboding. She carefully made her way down, the ground crumbling and soft until she clung to one of the monumental spikes.

The world was bathed in a terrible red light, but despite that... her wildflower gaze fell over a familiar figure and her breath caught in her throat.

"Kaija!" She called happily, but her voice was lost as the wind wove through the gaps in the spikes and howled mournfully. She hopped and hobbled quickly down the slope toward her, ignoring the ominous features just for a moment.