Glacialis-Quasar

Zavrakavo isn't surprised - not one bit - that it takes time for Domino to stop staring sightlessly at the flat ground of the mountain path. They need time to grieve, time to stare the betrayal in the face and know it for what it is, and the time to process what all of that means, knocking on down the line. But Zavrakavo isn't a scholar for no reason. And it knows about more than just artefacts. For instance - it knows that laying here stiff and unmoving like Domino currently is is a bad idea, and it also knows that there's a good chance they won't hear a damn word it says if it tries to speak in order to get them moving. So what Zavrakavo does instead of brace itself up against Domino's side, and start to gently push. The force of the movement means Domino has to shift their weight, which makes them grumble and blink and start moving on their own. This isn't a fast or smooth process, not really, but it get Domino staggering up to their feet and taking a deep breath the likes of

(Content warning for some textual gore and death) Despite how determined he was, Zorian does have to admit that he wasn't expecting to come out of the Mounted Show with a first place trophy, much less a first place prize purse. But that's how things have wound up, and so maybe that's why when he gets home and finds that his stables have been utterly wrecked - the first thing he can think is that he should ask Viatrix for help. Zorian expects that asking the white and black rukaan for help probably won't go well, but when he gets there and asks - all Viatrix really does is tilt his head to one side. "Do you have a suspicion as to what's happened?" even as Viatrix asks the question, he's getting to his hooves and making a low noise that gets Zoh'raalis's attention. The gilded rukaan stretches, yawning - and that's about when Zorian realizes that Zoh'raalis was there at all. It must have been laying beside Viatrix, napping. "I had trouble with some tomtar a while back. This

As it turns out, that is all they can expect from the forest's defenses - just like Zavrakavo said it would be. Not that Domino ever thought that the other rukaan would actually lie, but their ability to trust feels like a thin branch being whipped about in the wind at the moment - leaving them on unsteady ground despite how solid the rocks of the mountain path are underneath their hooves. Zavrakavo and Heisenberg are two of the rukaan that Domino trusts to a perhaps astonishing degree given their own past. They've never imagined that either would do anything to shake said trust, and the truth is that neither have. But Domino feels fragile in a way they'd long forgotten about. So much time has passed since they last felt this kind of fragile, like they have to sit and gnaw at reality to figure out what's real and what's not. It's easy enough to try and act like this revelation isn't affecting them at all - but… It feels like falling under current of that damned river, betrayed and

After about a week it becomes pretty obvious that the other realm isn't going to call them back quickly. Which means that Suzume and Prazenvoi and Goose need to stockpile supplies and set things up so that they're not just stuck in waiting mode for who knows how long. Suzume is pleasantly surprised when Prazenvoi actually doesn't argue that point, to his credit. She grins at him and bumps her head up against his shoulder and then starts moving. Collecting a stockpile - a stash - isn't really a difficult task. Nor is it even one that either of them are unaccustomed to. They set Goose to guarding it - the fluffy feline holding her head high and patrolling back and forth with pleasure at being a major part of this, and then they get to work. So, it's not the getting and guarding of the stash that's the problem. Hell, it's not even the gnawing feeling of being watched that's the problem, though it certainly is a problem, given the sheer fact that both rukaan and their feline

The two of them watch Zavrakavo take off, and then Stray exhales and shakes his head. White eyes track Vincent's movement as the grey rukaan shakes himself and starts moving as well. It's heartening, at least, that Vincent takes the time to stamp out each the flames that haven't finished quenching themselves yet. Stray's glad to see it. For a short period, it means that this part of the plains gets filled with even more smoke before all of that clears to reveal the moon still shining overhead. No matter what else has happened - the moon still shines. There's something nice about that, Stray decides. Something that serves as a good reminder. Silently, the pitch black rukaan helps quench the flames. It reminds him of the work he did with Idunn not too long ago, and Stray hopes that she's doing alright. Then again, a big strong stag like Idunn? Yeah, she's probably doing fine. Ears flicking, Stray focuses on both putting out the flames and keeping an eye on Vincent. He's less

It's decided - after Fylgja shares what she knows with the others and Einar wonders aloud if the Winter Doe might be the kind of rukaan that needs quite a lot of reasons to speak with mortals if she is real - that the four of them will go together. Sadie is more than fine with this - the more the merrier, the more likely at least one set of eyes will be able to spot something that the others might not have. Stray seems much less pleased with the idea, but he quickly confirms that he's mostly concerned that a group of four rukaan approaching might scare anyone with more information off. Fylgja tilts her head at that one, first this way and then that way. She's uncertain of how four rukaan would be intimidating to a legend, but Stray is an information gatherer. He knows quite a lot about getting intel from unlikely or even strange sources. "Would it be better if we did a staggered approach then? Or perhaps… hmm…" she trails off, frowning gently. Einar snorts. "If it were a fight,

There's something terrible going on. Sadie can feel it in a way that has her head ducked and her teeth on edge, yellow eyes darting this way and that as she tries to pick up on what little bits of information the world seems keen to give her. This ain't a situation where she's getting paid, which means she ain't got a steady knowledge base to start with. Usually, betwixt jobs like this, Sadie spends time reading to folks at the library and chugging along with her life. But the lingering frost has caught her eye. The way everywhere she turns, it seems like winter just won't relax its grip on the land. She's heard things - rumors, mostly - about how calves aren't being born right, about how something major has happened somewhere and now it's the problem and fault of… someone. No one quite seems to know what's going on. Who might know something. Gazes are flicked this way and that, and information is freely shared with her. Of course it is - she's Miss Sadie, and there ain't a soul

Out. Out of the water now. Rufus shudders as he gets his hooves underneath himself, as he breathes out and watches the chill of the air create a cloud. Feathers and cloak alike are sodden, soggy - perils of coming this far inland before hauling himself up out of the water. He's cold - the taiga is not the kindest of places for a fool like himself, coming up here and testing his luck. But better here than where he tried before - off the coast of Breakkathorpe, where his mother had felt him leave the ocean and dragged him back down below. This far inland, she won't know where he came up. Not unless she catches a trail. …He needs to get further from the water. The end of the feathers adorning his tail are still trailing in it, and the longer he lingers nearby, the easier it'll be for her to find him. One hoof in front of the other, and it's so much like always isn't it? Find the role, the pace, the key that's needed to get the reaction he needs. What part is the play missing?

Zavrakavo doesn't dare waste any time after that. It takes off in the direction of home with haste digging into its hooves. Best course of action would be to make sure that it gets the artefact that's needed and then go meet up with Domino immediately so the two of them can just instantly take off and get going. This isn't going to be an easy trek, and it is going to be a long one. But Zavrakavo already knows that Domino knows that - and won't be dissuaded by such a thing. Though, honestly… in their place it might not be able to be talked down either. This is… a lot. This was a lot when all Zavrakavo and Stray had to handle was keeping an eye on Vincent. Now there's a conspiracy behind one of the most traumatic days of both Domino and Vincent's lives, and a betrayal that's several years in the making. Much less in the reveal. Zavrakavo now also carries the knowledge of the most recent encounter with Vincent's sire in its mind. That's the sort of thing that's going to end so very

It feels… strange. Laying here for a time, resting with Goose and Suzume should not feel strange - we have rested together often as we have traveled. I muse on why it could feel strange now and come to a singular answer. We do not have the weight of another world currently bearing down upon us, nor do we have some kind of rushing impetus driving us to need to hurry to some other place. We are allowed to simply exist in this time, in this space, and that is what feels so strange about it. Suzume has long asserted that we (primarily I. I am not unwise to her thought process, especially as I have asked her to share it with me once in the past and I remember it even now) deserve a break from everything that has been going on in the other realm. That we deserve some time to simply sit and exist, as many other rukaan do, without any keen demands of our time. In getting precisely what she has been declaring we deserve, the oddness settles in underneath my fur and feathers. And in