[Shadow]

[center]Akemi growled, trying to inturrupt the fight, and to draw attention to her unanswered question, which she revoiced, however differently. "What is going on, and what's wrong with this place?" She nearly shouted in her frustration. Electric energy began to build itself up in her body due to her frustration and sudden outburst; it was something that happened quite frequently, although Akemi still didn't have complete control over her electricity yet.

Elenion almost started crying. He wanted to go home. He knew coming here, especially with Akemi, would be a bad idea. He continued to wimper, although decreasing it's volume. It wasn't his falt that he was scared! This place needed to stop being so spooky.

He winced at the scent of blood that suddenly tainted the air. He hated that scent; it reminded him of that thing, the seemingly black void that was eating at his vision... He sat down on the stone floor, his skin going pale under his fur, trying to use its cold stone to stay consious. He hoped nobody would notice, just that they would think that he was sitting down to rest...

[MythicDusk]

Styx was slowly calming, and he mumbled, he was still turned away from them, but his mumblings bounced off the walls gently. "I...Don't know...." Beatrix nudged Elenion gently with her nose, blood was splattered slightly across the floor, and there were small drips leading to Styx, where her blood was dripping off his maw. "You Alright?" she asked, nudging the Yonyuu gently, trying to get him to stand up. "Do you want to go back to Braska? He can take care of you. And it would give him somesort of company. If your scared, you don't have to do this..." Styx spoke up. "Beatrix, we need eve-" He was cut off by Beatrix's ferocious snarl. "Shut it Styx! if he wants to go back, he can, you can't keep us here!" Styx seemed to be calm. Although, they could of been wrong, as his eyes were not seen.

"Beatrix, listen to me, if we come across a hunter, and if it attacks, what are we going to do? 3 against a hunter, is no good, but 4, and he can fly, may just give us a slight advantage." Bearix was snarling, her eyes filled to the very brim with chaotic anger, he howled with ferocity and she turned to Elenion and said, as calm as she could muster, through gritted teeth, beginning to turn towards the archway. "C'mon, I'l take you back to Braska."
"Beatrix!" Styx snapped, spinning around, staring at her with his crimson gaze, and she returned it, but with more ferocity. Styx winced at the chaotic gaze and Beatrix turned away from him.

[Shadow]

[center]Elenion shook his head, standing up, and his head clearing. His vision came back to it's fullest. He would be able to deal with the scent. The cold floor had definitely helped him; it had allowed him to meditate temporarily, to find his consiousness and his senses.

"No. I'm fine," he said. He drew himself up to his full height (which was still small, seeing as he was a size smaller than a normal Yonyuu). He would see a Hunter. He badly wanted it now, more than before, when he had almost wanted to go home. Still, he was scared. Something wasn't right about this place.

Akemi straightened herself, tension still seeming to be everywhere, electricity still building inside her. Experimentally, she walked over to one of the paths in the floor where the water traveled, and put her paw halfway into the liquid, trying to let go of the electricity.

The result was instantanious. She felt the discharge of the energy around her paw, traveling through the liquid. It hadn't been too powerful at that point, but she hoped that she wouldn't cause a disturbance, whereever the water went. She felt a lot better now, calmer, with the electric energy released. She withdrew her paw from the water.

"Okay, are you guys finished?" She asked, a slight nasty hint in her voice. "Or are you going to make me wait another five minutes?" She asked, seeming to tap her paw on the stone floor.

[MythicDusk]

Styx turned to her and nodded slightly. He felt a heavy gust of wind flow down the hall from a pair of large wings. Braska's thoughts echoed through. 'I must go, take care, you four.' Beatrix looked worried and began to run forward. "Braska! Wait!" But she was tossed back by a heavy gust of wind, Braska took flight and was now out of the shrine, heading home. beatrix landed softly on her feet, her tail twitching and her ears laying back. "He left me." She sounded hurt, her voice almost dripping with sadness. Styx padded over beside her and nuzzled her sheek in a fatherly way. "Its fine Beatrix, I'm sure Duskie just needed her steed, or one of her other pets transported." Beatrix nodded slightly and turned back to the others. Walking past them.

"We may as well keep moving, we aren't going to find anything if we just stand around." Her ears were still laying back and Styx nodded slightly, beginning to walk beside her, his ears pricked and ready. They both looked back at Akemi and Elenion. Wating for them to follow, Styx had all four paws on the ground, staning erect while Beatrix was leaning forward slightly, one of her paws halfway in another step. Her eyes were filled with worry. She just wanted to be out of these halls, hopefully, as soon as possible.

[Shadow]

[center]"Another look through the halls, maybe, and then we'll go looking in the other parts of the Shrine?" Akemi asked, sensing Beatrix's wasnt to get out of the Halls of the Lost. She wondered why Beatrix had been so upset when Braska had left, but didn't give it too much thought, pushing it to the back of her mind. She knew something was here; she wanted something to be here, badly.

She turned to walk farther into the halls of the lost. There was something about this place that... drew her here, in a way. She stopped to have a close look at the wall; a strange, yet familliar symbol was engraved there. Where had she seen it? She ran it through her mind, trying to match it up to everything that she had ever seen before, yet she couldn't make the link.

She reached out her paw, to touch the symbol on the wall. It was surprisingly warm to the touch; it was plesant. But she shouldn't be touching it. It didn't feel right, in her mind. She withdrew her paw from the wall, thinking.

"Akemi, can't we just get out of here?" Elenion asked, trying to keep the fear out of his tone.

[MythicDusk]

Styx flicked his ears and looked behind them, Beatrix swung her tail lightly, knowing she had seen the symbol somewhere before....She shut her crimson eyes tightly, remebering when Duskie took her to adopt some new pets. She saw cursed pets, wandering the cages, hissing at the owners that passed...The cursed albies tail...That marking....Her eyes suddenly flew open and she sprung back, as if someone had just bit her. Styx looked worried as she bumped into him, she didn't snarl, she just looked panicked.

"Whats wrong Beatrix?" Styx asked, she turned her head towards him. "Its the marking of the cursed pet." Styx nodded slightly and gave Beatrix a reassuring nuzzle. "Its fine, nothing is going to hurt you." Beatrix nodded and nupped his shoulder, gently and playfully. Styx yelped lightly, he gave off a short whimper and Beatrix grinned. Turning to Akemi. "Shall we move on? I don't think there is anything else here." Her ears twitched lightly, listening for any sounds.

[Shadow]

[center]Akemi nodded, but she was reluctant to go. She was somewhat intreigued by this place. She wanted to find out more about it; she was drawn to it. She would have loved to watch the snow that was falling into the dip in the floor melt forever... She took one last look at the Halls of the Lost before turning to follow the others.

Elenion seemed to sigh with relief that Akemi finally was turning to come with them elsewhere. He had sensed a feeling of being drawn to the place in her; a resistance to their wants for her to come to the next hall. A thought of staying forever... He shuddered. He would be glad to get out of this place, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't like the next hall, either.

He spoke after a little while. "Y-yes. Let's move on." He pretended to shiver, trying to make them think that he was cold, rather than scared. It was rather chilly in here, after all.

[MythicDusk]

As styx began to walk outside of the halls, Beatrix felt a heavy shudder run down her spinal cord. Something was deeply and dreadfully wrong. As they exited the hall into the main part of the shrine, Beatrix reeled back and seemed to scream, Styx looked away in horror. There, infront of them, lay a mangled, dead glacial Albie. Styx growled slightly. "Braska done this." Beatrix shuddered again, unable to pry her eyes from the bloody, glassy-eyed stare of the albie, its mouth hanging open, blood spewing from its slit-open stomach. there was no band around its foreleg. It was wild, that was somewhat better. Styx growled and slowly badded towards it, grabbing one of its hind legs in his muzzle with the greated respect of wich he could offer to a dead, wild, glacial albie of wich his freind had killed and begun to drag it outside. Beatrix felt her ears laying back, her tail tucking between her legs and her legs slowly bending so she was in a chrouch, shivering and whimpering.

[Shadow]

[center]"But why?" Akemi asked, her paws tingling again, trying not to look at the corpse. This was supposed to be a holy place, a shrine, yet here was a dead glacial Albie. She had a strong urge to correct Beatrix's grammar, but resisted it. She followed Styx to help bring the Albie outside, keeping silent.

Look who was the baby now! Elenion noticed that Beatrix was shivering and whimpering, as he had done before. Ignoring the black void creeping in around his vision and the urge to shiver and whimper himself, he asked quietly, "Do you want to go home now?"

He didn't ask it in a mean way; he couldn't bring himself to be nasty. He tried to keep what concern he had out of his voice, despite the discomfort he had felt.

[MythicDusk]

Beatrix swung about, tears beginning to well in her chaotic, scared gaze, sobs echoing in her voice. "I just saw one of my own kin, sprawled on the floor, killed by my best freind! You were about to fain at the look of blood! and even then, i was just trying to be helpful! i kept Styx from beating you sencless, didn't I? I tried to stop you fanting, Didn't I!? Of course I want to go home! Of course I want my mother! of course I want the feel of my owners hand stroking my head! I just want to get out of this place alive now!" Tears rolled down her cheeks, making small grooves in her fur.

Styx finally got it outside and he dragged it into the snow, begunning to bury the already slowly freezing corpse. Once it was done he sighed slightly and looked over to Akemi. "Are you alright?" His ears flicked at the sound of Beatrix's voice and sighed, looking over to Akemi and then back at the doorway. "We had better get inside before the kill eachother, not a good choice of words, but the only thing I could come up with." He looked at the large, white mound sadly and he headed back inside.

[Shadow]

[center]Elenion was silent for a few seconds, unsure what to do or say. He wanted to comfort her, but really wasn't sure how to. It would be hard for her to forget this, he knew. "Listen, it's hard for all of us, especially me," he said gently, licking the top of her head. He projected an image of a Hunter to her; he knew how to use telepathy, but rarely felt the need to use it. He wanted to remind her that they were here to find a Hunter.

"I'm okay," Akemi reassured him. She stayed close to him as they went back into the shrine. She wasn't really built for cold environments; she was built to run at low altitudes, although she was okay. Before returning back into the Shrine, she turned back to look at the grave.

May the Gods guide your path...

[Jenso]

Tilden Vaclav

Footfalls were muffled by the thick blanket of snow, the wisps of his being escaping into the freezing air like clouds of breath. A slightly more grey cloud billowed out before his face every so often, face icy from condensation where his exhales caught 'pon the fur of his face. Tilden Vaclav hauled himself further up the mountain, the pain coursing through his muscles almost impossible to ignore. Somehow, though, he managed it with little more than the occasional wince, his tails jerking with irritation.

As he reached the Shrine, he noticed a small mound of snow. Usually, he would have put it down to the weather dumping it but this looked deliberate. Pawprints were also around here, and so now he crouched and proceeded a little more cautiously. Blood stains tainted the otherwise perfect carpet of icy crystals and his snout twitched, legs stiffened defensively. He crept forward towards the entrance to the Shrine and peered inside.

Before him stood two Lucains, a Yonyuu and a sobbing Albie. Suddenly, it twigged and sent his tails striking the cool, crisp air nervously. That little mound was a grave, the Albie clearly the most upset at the passing. What had happened here? Tilden was beginning to consider turning back.

[MythicDusk]

Beatrix flicked her ears at the lick and swallowed her sobs as a image of a hunter echoed in her mind. She nodded slightly and whispered a thankyou. Styx smiled slightly as he entred the shrine at the sight and he then spun around to see a Fellox, his sharp bark rung through the shrine, Beatrix tore herself away from Elenion to look at the stranger, taking a small step back and snarling half-heartedly. She didn't want a fight, she just wanted to be left in peace, she wanted to find this Hunter and go home.

Styx growled at Tilden. "Who are you? Why are you hear? What do you want?!" His head low and the questions blurting from him so fast they were hardly recognisable. His ears laying back, his legs parted, a snarl pulling at his thick, black lips, his hackles risen and his ruby red eyes glinting with ferocity of protection.

[Shadow]

[center]Akemi and Elenion also turned around to see the fellox, Akemi keeping close to Styx. She flicked her ears, creating a small spark of electricity. Her pose was niether agressive nor friendly; she wanted to see if the creature was a friend or a foe before moving.

Elenion took a step or two forward. He didn't look as scared or nervous as he had been previously, but he still wasn't completely comfortable with his surroundings. He projected several images and sounds of the last few minutes to the fellox: the corpse of the Albie, the moment when they had determined that Braska had done it, and spoke with thoughts the reason they had come here.

We are looking for a Hunter.

"He's using telepathy to talk to that Fellox," Akemi whispered to Styx. She could tell that Elenion was using it by the way he was standing; amost majectically.

[Jenso]

The questions stunned him for a moment and he shrank away, flews drawn back defensively and ears pressed on his head as he crouched low to the ground. The smoky wisps of being escaped quicker than usual, clouding the air around him in a protective haze and hiding him. Then the thoughts entered his mind and his gaze, as the air cleared, was drawn from the hostile Lucain to the Yonyuu. He calmed a little, the bristling fur 'pon his haunches settling as he lowered his head in a bow.

"Please, excuse me. I wasn't hiding for any reason other than I hadn't expected to see anyone here... the crimson oil staining the snow alert me to your presence; I was merely being cautious." He explained, voice smooth and steady now that he knew this gathering was not hostile.
"My name is Tilden Valclav and I, too, am looking for a Hunter," he added, tails snaking through the air so low they gathered snow and left smooth trails in the ice.

The sounds of crying, the feeling of shock and sadness, the images of the late-Albie's corpse: They echoed in his mind as he stood, being fully absorbed even as he had spoken. Their traumas became his and he himself felt shaken from the events, stunned and confused. He didn't know why Braska had done it, or even if they knew why, but he knew that the living, breathing Albie before him was the most troubled from it.