[Jaden Wolf]

Estelle | Kori
(Names linked to human forms)

Even though it was approaching sunset on a bright sunny day, the Cathedral itself seemed almost shrouded in shadow. The inside was barely lit by the odd stream of sunlight, which didn't reach the dais at all. No wonder the place had such an ominous reputation.

Two figures could be seen by the dais, barely visible except for the light of a single candle. One, a male, was kneeling in the center with an open book in one hand and...something in the other. It wasn't clear what he was doing, exactly, but one would think he was drawing something on the ground. The other figure, feminine in shape, was draped across the steps up to it, waiting quietly. It wasn't exactly clear how old either of them were, but was probably a fair guess to say late teens or early 20s.
"I thought doing this kind of thing in the day was bad?" the girl's quiet voice echoed in the space.
"It's not bad, it just doesn't work very well," responded the boy.
"Then why are we doing it now?"
"We aren't." The boy threw a withering look at his sister. "This stuff takes time to set up, you know."

[Silver]

"Are we there yet?" The whine voice belonged to a preteen boy. He had golden eyes and hair so dark blonde it was practically orange. He was idly kicking a rock as he walked down the path.

"Not yet, you already know that. Don't be a pest, Sprout." The older woman said. Her long blonde hair was tied back into a messy ponytail. She had olive green eyes, freckles, and tanned skin that indicated she spent a lot of time outside. The two were noticeably related, siblings perhaps.

Sprout rolled his eyes and dramatically kicked his litte rock, sending it flying off toward the Cathedral. He squinted into the distance to see where it landed. However, he was having quite a bit of trouble seeing it, as the whole place was eerily dark.

"Hey Cider," he said, turning to his sister. Her eyes were fixated on the road, and she was stubbornly stomping forward.

"Didn't I just say..."

"No really, I'm serious. Look!"

"Sprout! I really want to get going, knock it off."

"Oh my Gooooood," Sprout groaned. He physically grabbed his sister's face and forced her to look at the Cathedral.

"Oh. Well ain't that somethin'?"

[Jaden Wolf]

Kori put down the objects in his hands and reached out into the darkness for more candles. After lighting them, he placed them around the edges of the dais.
"This is one time I wished I had more talent with fire," the boy muttered, and his sister tilted her head at him with a soft smile.
"But you never liked fire to begin with," she commented lightly. He put down the last candle and rolled his eyes in her direction, with a hint of a smile softening his attitude.

They were oblivious to the approaching humans as Kori went back to his original position and stared down at the open book.
"I need some kind of altar," he muttered. He didn't have to look up to know his sister would oblige. She gracefully rose to her feet and walked over.

She held a perfectly manicured hand out and the ground rumbled. Only a moment later, small wooden vines rose from new cracks in the ground around the dais. They thickened into beams of wood before snapping from their roots and forming themselves into a surfaced structure.

[Silver]

"Let's go check it out!" Sprout said, ready to charge straight into the darkness.

"Now I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Cider said. She grabbed his forearm to stop him from running off like he often did. "We don't know what's goin' on in there."

"We don't know because we haven't looked! Maybe it's something, like, really cool, an' we'll be the first to see it!" He tugged against her, trying to free himself.

"Ya can't just go rushin' into strange places, Sprout. Who knows what's in there? It could be really dangerous!" Now Cider was a tough girl, and she probably would have been the first one to go rushing in if she were on her own. However, she had Sprout with her, and she was very protective of him. She just wouldn't know what to do with herself if she let him get hurt.

"Wow, holy moly, did you hear that? I think there might be someone in there! We have to go see," Sprout said. He yanked his arm away from his sister's grasp and started running for the cathedral. "What's the worst that could happen?"

[Jaden Wolf]

The cracking sound of the roots retreating back into the ground masked the noise the newcomers were making, unfortunately for them. If the siblings had realized they had guests, Elle would no doubt have created a barrier to keep them out.

The two of them didn't expect anyone to come to such a place, much less while night was approaching. Perhaps some darkness dwelling creatures, but anything of that nature would no doubt sense what they were and wisely leave them alone.

Kori moved his book onto the new altar before picking up an empty bowl off the floor. Placing it next to the book, he glanced at the pages before hovering his hand over the bowl. A faint burbling sound could be heard, the sound of moving liquid, like a stream out of the ground or a small waterfall.

Elle, meanwhile, just went back to her spot on the dais steps.

[Silver]

"Sprout! Sprout ya get back here right this instant," Cider shouted. She stomped her feet and stood her ground for a moment before she realized that he was definitely not going to listen to her. She let out an annoyed sigh and bolted off after him.

"This isn't funny, Sprout. Ya shouldn't go wanderin' around weird places, especially not when it's gettin' dark," she continued to yell at him, but he clearly wasn't paying attention.

Sprout bolted right for the cathedral and tried to assess a way to get inside. As he ran, he looked for a door or an open window that he might crawl through to get inside. Something cool was happening in there, and he had to figure out what it was. Before Cider grabbed him and literally dragged him back home by his ankles.

[Jaden Wolf]

This time, Elle did notice some kind of noise that seemed to come from outside. She wasn't immediately concerned, though she did glance at the main doors. Kori, of course, was too engrossed in what he was doing to notice anything. After a moment, Elle went back to watching her brother.

When she heard another noise, this time inside, she frowned. She peered into the darkness without rising from her resting place.
She didn't see anything, but flicked her hand for good measure. A single vine rose out of a nearby crack and whipped at the direction of the sound. When she heard a rodent shriek and scuttle away, she figured it must have crawled in from outside and did not concern herself with investigating outdoors.

On the other hand, Kori huffed over his bowl, declaring, "[i]Of course[i] there isn't enough water in here. Why would there be?"
He raised his hand again, this time palm up, and water started to trickle into the buildings through the windows and ceiling. They flowed towards his bowl in tiny streams that barely wet the stones they passed over.