SOUTHEAST TO THE PATH OF ETERNITY

(Fearful)

What to do?

---

ITEM (Nothing To Use!)

---

ACT (No Enemy Present!)

---

RUN (Paralyzed!)

Health
15/15
No Skill in Progress
0/30

That's not a Rolly Pollie!

---

It was very dark in the caves. It was so dark, he could not see which paw was in front of the other. It was so dark, his eyes could not see even the grey of the floor and walls. It was so dark, he was certain he had his eyes closed the whole time. At least, he thought he did. This all made it very hard to navigate, you must understand. There were no landmarks to go off of and no faint smell except for the one coming from himself, and /that/ was a stretch. To him, that was just how the cave smelled. Following vague directions when you both didn’t know what they meant and had no way of figuring it out was very hard, too. Southeast was the same kind of nonsense word as Hippopotamus and Sunlight! Yet here he was, walking aimlessly. It wasn’t like he could go back to Her. She was long gone by now.

The walking was the least of his worries. What was really awful was stubbing his little paws on little rocks and little stalagmites and little ledges and little divots in the cave floor. Every so often, he’d have to catch himself from completely losing his footing. It was only a matter of time before he stepped down off of some very steep ledge, which was exactly what happened next. There was a yelp, probably from him(Because who else would it have been from?), and then he felt wind on all sides. Wind.. Wind? Oh, Gods!

Southeast hit the ground. Hard. Knocked the air out of his lungs and flattened his chest, and then his throat hit the dirt followed by a scraggly chin. He continued, rolling up(Up?) and out(OUT?!). Completely disoriented, his eyes were certainly closed now as twiggy hindlimbs brought themselves up in the air, kicking and flailing until four paws were on the ground. Dizzy, he shook his head.

Eyes opened, and he flailed again, blinded and pained as something very very bright hit his pupils. The boy was certain he would never see again! Paws came up and over his eyelids with a whine, fur bristled as he sat. What terror, what terror indeed. He felt like a Rolly-pollie, hiding from the terrible world around him. Just without all of the armor.

ALL CODING AND CHARACTER ART ON THIS PROFILE ARE DONE BY MYSELF UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.

skill: orator

Daiyu lay under the willows, close enough so to the coast that she might look out over the waters and see the cosmic isle she had once called home. What little family of hers that had made it to this new world with her had all melted away. Her time was often filled with the warmth of Régis, but even he stretched his legs far from her from time to time. No matter. She completely understood, being a woman who valued her own freedom all the same.

She was content here under the shade, the sound of the veiled willow branches brushing against one another. The sound of the sea as it brought a salted, cold breeze towards her.

Then from somewhere behind she would hear a stirring which caught her attention. Tumbling, maybe a grunt and a few 'oofs!' and the seafarer lifted from her placement to turn and investigate. Dark masked face stretching forward as she peered through the trees, she saw a young, fawn and matted mess of a child there in the sparse forest. Are you alright, little one?

SOUTHEAST TO THE PATH OF ETERNITY

(Fearful)

What to do?

---

ITEM (Nothing To Use!)

---

ACT (No Enemy Present!)

---

RUN (Paralyzed!)

Health
15/15
No Skill in Progress
0/30

That's not a Rolly Pollie!

---

Was this that thing he’d heard of, very long ago? The Son, El Sol? Or at the very least, some kind of Light? The boy had not the faintest clue of why it was here or how he could have missed it when it must have been so close, but maybe there was something about going down that made more of it? Surely, They would have known about an Exit like they were always looking for? But there were Daemons outside, so it was for the better that they did not. OH GODS!

Stiffening like a rock or log in an attempt to hide, Southeast’s ears unconsciously pricked at the unfamiliar voice. He almost had no clue as to what it said. (“Are you all Right, little one?”) Now, he was not made entirely of Rights nor was he made of Lefts, so he had to assume he was alright. Then again, he had never really been able to tell.

A trembling paw slowly but surely did pull away from his eye, and though he could not see and it hurt very much to do so, it did not hurt as badly as before. There was a prolonged silence as his claws inched and inched and inched away from his face until it had adjusted faintly to the Day-light. This.. was not the cave.

Where was he?

How had he gotten here?

Immediately panicked and even more afraid, his eyes closed and locked up again. No way! All of this was Batnonsense. It was Springtail-stupid. It was Cricket crazy! How had he ended up here, and why was there Wind, and why was there a thing speaking to him? Oh no, oh no.

ALL CODING AND CHARACTER ART ON THIS PROFILE ARE DONE BY MYSELF UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.

skill: orator

Frozen stiff the boy becomes, when the sound of her voice reaches him. It allows Daiyu precious moments to turn fully into his direction. Creeping forward if only but a few paces. It takes some time, yet slowly he would move the paw covering his face from the world around him. Brown eyes taking in the sunlight, the world around, only for a even deeper fear to settle in as he slams them shut.

Daiyu takes this opportunity to sit and wait a moment longer patiently. He was obviously terrified and so Daiyu could only assume he was lost and alone on top of that. If you are lost, I can try and help you... She spoke slowly, smoothly and with a voice softened and low, so to try and not startle him even further.

Try being the key word. After all, she hadn't done too much exploring since she had winded up here herself. When she had, it had been mainly along the coastline until she ended up settling on an island away from mostly anything and anyone. In many ways, this place was still new to her, although these willows themselves had at least been a frequent haunt.

SOUTHEAST TO THE PATH OF ETERNITY

(Worried)

What to do?

---

ITEM (Nothing To Use!)

---

ACT (Choosing To Speak!)

---

RUN (Nowhere To Go!)

Health
15/15
No Skill in Progress
0/30

That's not a Rolly Pollie!

---

She- Definitely she, and not it- speaks again. Southeast cringes again. He opens an eye, the left, angled at her. This woman is not a Daemon, that is what he knows. She’s a wolf, as well. She must have been from that other pack- the one that took over the forest and sent them into the caves. But wouldn’t she be able to smell the difference between them? He could.

Nose twitching with rapid sniffs of the air, his mouth watered at something as equally foreign as everything else. Salt, and then something very pungent. Almost sour, but not quite. It was a pleasant sour, like a fragrant mushroom. It was nice, if strong. The boy figured that this situation was fine. Just that. Could be better, could be worse, but it was more than alright. No sé, Starting with a warbly voice, he cleared his throat for another attempt. I.. I’m fine.

There was a bend of ankles, then an attempt to stand to prove his point. Hind lifted, tail tucked, then he shoved himself upward. Not too high, not too fast. His head still hurt. Big eyes could finally afford a proper look at the sleek dame ahead of him. She was dark, as all wolves were, but the black was in the wrong places. Usually, there was a cape of it around their back and shoulders and.. All of their upper body, really. There was no reason to judge, he decided. I think.. He struggled to find his words- days, near weeks of silence had taken its toll on him. I think I’m lost. I was just in the cave, but..

The boy spins about to spot the foxhole he rolled out of. He hadn’t seen grass or shrubbery or trees before, and it was all incredibly disorienting. Was this what Out-side looked like? So overwhelming. Taking a seat to figure out where he was looking, Southeast twisted over his right shoulder to look at Daiyu. Where am I? Speech grew more difficult as he continued, now having to clear his throat again. He hoped that was enough, for he was almost certain he’d start coughing if he spoke any more.

ALL CODING AND CHARACTER ART ON THIS PROFILE ARE DONE BY MYSELF UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.

skill: orator

A single eye opened and set on her. It didn't immediately close shut again. That was a start. Daiyu, while having been around pups before, had not ever met one so very afraid. Then again, she didn't know if she had ever met anyone so openly afraid before. She hadnt her own children ever. Didn't know if she would say or do the right things to sooth, but she could try. She had swayed the hearts of men before, why not the pups?

He would speak then. Broken up at first. Then clearer as he lifted himself from the ground, slowly but surely.

Ears swept back as he spoke of a cave. Only doing so as he turned away, if only to hide any sense of confusion in her gaze that came with it. How could she help the confused boy if she was confused herself?

This place, it is the weeping willows in the world of Mythris. Her Mandarin accent still thick, it had loosened up if only because she rarely used it now being outside of her natal pack. Do you remember the last place you were? It's name?

SOUTHEAST TO THE PATH OF ETERNITY

(Worried)

What to do?

---

ITEM (Nothing To Use!)

---

ACT (Choosing To Speak!)

---

RUN (Nowhere To Go!)

Health
15/15
No Skill in Progress
0/30

That's not a Rolly Pollie!

---

Quite frankly, he had no idea why he’d asked.

It wasn’t like he knew what that meant. It was complete and utter gibberish. Weeping.. Willow.. In somewhere. He didn’t think he heard her right, but he didn’t want to ask and confirm either.

Southeast found himself in a bit of a pickle. More than the pup already was. Here were the both of them, sat confusedly, pondering the differences between themselves. This was so weird! It was like he ended up in some kind of place the Daemons had taken over. All memory of the subterranean packs, wiped from the face of the world, in only four months? If it had not been at the cost of his family, he’d be impressed. How could everything up here be so weird and different? His packmates had said it was beautiful, but he found it hard to understand why. Maybe if he gave it more time...

The boy realized he had been giving the lady a very bug-eyed, blank stare for the past few minutes. She must have been expecting him to respond.. Oh boy. Brow wrinkled with worry and his mouth gaped open in some fishlike manner before he snapped back to reality. Hhn- The attempts to reply had scratched his throat raw. Coughing, Southeast’s paw lifted in a stiff manner, as if telling the woman to wait.

We.. KhhRKn-! Didn’t have a name. They t-kkhhn- ..Told me it was the wolves up HERE, A brief pause to have a coughing fit. Eyes watered. Paw on his throat, he patted it to soothe the irritation. ..Who put us in the cave. Don’t you remember? He, at least, assumed she did. It had happened all across the lands! His packmates had told him that the sky went dark with red estrellas y luna, so surely anybody above ground would have seen it.

ALL CODING AND CHARACTER ART ON THIS PROFILE ARE DONE BY MYSELF UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.

skill: orator

The child stares, blankly. Then a wave of coughing comes over him, holding up a paw for her to give him a moment. A frown touches her features, worry sweeping her gray-blue gaze. He had come from the caves. Apparently, had been forced down into the caves by other wolves, but she really had no idea what he was talking about. If he had mentioned the red sky, the blood moon, she would have known about that, but she didn't know what he was meaning thus far.

Slowly, she would shake her head, her black silken ears remaining back. I don't think - But then it dawned on her. Her head tilting and muzzle tipping upwards in thought. She tried thinking back on the weird dreams she had been having. The plague lands, the guardian island, the tunnels... There. There are these tunnels I've heard about... Yes, yes, maybe this is what he had meant! She looked back to the sandy boy again. When you enter them, you walk for a very long time before you find the light again and you find you've been transported to another land, very far away.

If he didnt know this place, didnt know the names, perhaps he belonged far from here? Maybe the desert lands, the alpines? Even much further east?

SOUTHEAST TO THE PATH OF ETERNITY

(Worried)

What to do?

---

ITEM (Nothing To Use!)

---

ACT (Choosing To Speak!)

---

RUN (Nowhere To Go!)

Health
15/15
No Skill in Progress
0/30

That's not a Rolly Pollie!

---

He put a paw to his chin, deep in thought. A tunnel and cave were essentially the same thing to him. She must have been correct, because the other option was that he had been lied to for his entire life and everything he’d been through had been for nothing. Of course, the suggestion that everyone could have just walked somewhere else instead of staying in that cavern for the rest of their lives was also upsetting, but he would not confront a stranger with that realization now. (Especially when she doesn’t even seem certain.)

Possible or not, the boy’s eyes widened some. It was a stretch to say he didn’t look worried anymore, but he wasn’t on the brink of tears. A shaky breath, the tilt of a scruffy head, yes! An answer he could understand! Ah-huh.. That was almost exactly what happened to him, verbatim! He entered the cave, walked and walked, and now he was here, with Light!

But the question of what to do about this newfound information was.. ever present. Faint smile straightened out and his blank stare returned, squinting as he looked around the area. He still didn’t know where he was, nor did he know what anything was. Southeast now understood what it meant to have a very big problem. Usually, they would have been sorted by now. Such was the life of a child.

The tan wolf resorted to staring at her again. If he could, perhaps, communicate telepathically, that would solve this issue. What did he do now, he wondered? Surely, she knew.

ALL CODING AND CHARACTER ART ON THIS PROFILE ARE DONE BY MYSELF UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.

skill: orator

The young boy seemed rather appeased with the answer Daiyu had given him, of how he had gotten here. Although this might have seemed like a breakthrough, it didn't necessarily help him with getting back to where he had come from. To his pack. To his family. Even if there was a chance he didnt want to go back home, there was still perhaps a want for him to return to the land he knew. To be determined, she guessed.

Now, the faint smile she had managed to get out of him fell flat. He was silent. Staring again blankly. Well, he was a boy. She was the adult. Surely he was waiting for her to figure out exactly how to fix this.

I am Daiyu. Let's start with that. Then, allowing him enough room to introduce himself if he so pleased first, Your home... was it near the ocean, like here?