[Skyspirit]

A Treasure Serraptor cautiously ventured along a tunnel. Her scales glimmered in the faint firelight, from the small torch she held in one hand. The caverns were so much bigger than she had ever imagined. And they were darker, too. Darker and emptier.
Lilakaii was starting to think that maybe she'd gotten herself into something bigger than she could handle.
When she had first decided to go to the caverns, she thought it would be a nice, fun adventure. Maybe she'd meet somebody new, make a friend, investigate an ancient mystery. Maybe she'd even find a mysterious Akail, a creature said to roam these caverns. She hadn't realized it would be so...
That was the problem. She didn't really know how to describe it.  
Firelight glimmered on the rocky walls, illuminating strange carvings. They felt ancient, powerful, like there was a force behind them that no one could truely realize.
So... real.
That was it, maybe.
Lilakaii hadn't realized the caverns were so different from the fantasy world she had pictured.
Thinking about it, she had been so detached from the reality of these caverns, but now... she was here. And it was so different.
So much darker.
So lonely.

[Indigo]

A lone Taigra stalked the caves, excellent night vision removing the need for a light. At least, it appeared to be a lone Taigra...

Suddenly, the Taigra stopped and sat down on the cold stone. It said, in a quite clearly male voice, "All right, get out of the way. It's my turn for control." And then, in a most definitely female voice, it said, "No, it's not. Get a grip on your sense of time, nerd boy. You're supposed to be the smart one."

Condor and Task were two Taigras trapped in the same body. At the moment, they were fighting over control. "I am the smart one," Task said. "It's been nearly two hours."

"Oh, all right." Condor pulled her consciousness most of the way into their mind. She kept her usual minimal connection to the eyes and ears. This allowed her to have some idea of what was going on as Task brought the body under his power. He noticed something gold-ish up ahead. "Let's see what that is."

No, wait! It could be dangerous! yelled Condor inside their mind, but it was too late. Task was already tracking the thing. For an intellectual, he could be really stupid.

{1}

[Skyspirit]

Lilakaii jumped, the firelight from her torch throwing strange patterns of light and shadow on the walls.
She had heard something.
Somebody else is here, she thought. I'm sure of it!
She held completely still, trying to listen for whatever it was.
A few heartbeats passed. Still, nothing.
The serraptor sighed.
Or not.
This place was just making her nervous, she reasoned.
I don't care. I'll find an Akail and then people will just have to pay attention to me! This is worth it. The reward is worth the risk.
She continued on, still unable to shake off the feeling that she was being followed. That someone was watching her.
Curious, the treasure serraptor stopped to look at a pair of carvings on the walls.
One was light, like a beacon or a fire. The carving was simple, just a small, light colored circle with rays and lines branching out from it, like a sun. This carving was much smaller than the other, however. Dark and mysterious, the second carving was in the general shape of an akail. It seemed to be etched into the rock more deeply, like it was more a part of the caverns. Like the light could be extinguished at any second, while the dark creature would always remain. Lilakaii stepped forward slightly to peer at it more closely--
When suddenly, out of the darkness, she heard the noise again, like a paw scraping slightly on a pebble.
With an involuntary squeak of surprise, the serraptor slipped and skidded on a loose stone. She landed heavily on the ground, and shook her head to clear a strange feeling from her thoughts, from looking at the carving, she supposed.
Oh, great. If somebody's actually around, I'm going to be really embarrassed.
"Hello? She called out tentatively, "is anyone there?"

(ooc: thanks for joining )

[Indigo]

Task froze and withdrew involuntarily at the voice. Condor took the chance and shoved him back, taking over the body again. Technically it was her body, anyway. "No, no one's here," she called, grinning inwardly.

"You're really stupid, you know that?" Task said, wresting back a limited amount of control.

"I did that on purpose, you goof," Conder replied. "Now let's split before they find us."

"No! And it's my turn!" Task shoved Condor hard against the back of the mind, filling the space of control. He raced toward the spot where the call had come from, concentrating on that only and giving Condor an opening. She took it, forcing him to stop running. They skidded along the cavern floor, fighting for control, right past some interesting carvings and...a Treasure Serraptor?

"Hah!" Task pulled control away from Condor and walked back over to the Serraptor. "Hello. We are pleased to meet you. Um...probably."

{2}

[Skyspirit]

-'No, no one's here!'- came the reply, echoing of the cavern walls.
Lilakaii rolled her eyes.
Just what I need, some immature pet who'll probably just mess things up.
Still, she couldn't help smiling inside. The voice didn't sound stupid, so whoever it was obviously said it on purpose, and had a sense of humor.
The pet came running toward her, still in the darkness so she couldn't tell what it was.
Suddenly, it came skidding around the corner. The taigra seemed to be trying to run and stay still at the same time.
Well, at least I'm not the only one who did something clumsy.
The taigra walked back over to her, and greeted her.
But there was something odd.
The voice that spoke now was male, and she could have sworm the first had been female.
And what he said was curious too.
"We?" she responded. "I only see one of you."
Was there another pet around somewhere? No, she could only see the taigra.
She took in the rest of what he said.
"I think I am pleased to meet you as well," she added.
"I'm Lilakaii."

[Indigo]

(Taigra.)

"Yes, you can only see one of us because--"

"You are so annoying! Give me the eyes already!" Condor interrupted. Task consented. Condor blinked a few times, then said, "Yeah. We're kind of...stuck...inside this Taigra. Which happens to originally have been my body, by the way, Task."

Task sighed through the nose, which Condor wasn't using. Then he pulled control back. "It's my turn! Jeesh! Anyway, my name is Task. And...uh...this is Condor?"

"I'm so happy to meet you," Condor said flatly. "Now, I have two questions. One: Do you know where we can find an Akail? And two: Do you know any mad scientists who can get this...brainiac...out of my head?"

"We don't even know where my body is!"

"Does it sound like I care?" Condor sat down, ignoring Task's protests. Normally they didn't fight so much, but Condor was particularly mad about the control-related complaints.

{3}

[Skyspirit]

(Sorry!!!   I'm really tired right now, I'm sorry I mis-spoke. Previous post has been edited)

Lilakaii blinked a couple times before responding.
Well this is... different.
"Uh, sorry. Don't happen to know anyone who does brain surgery. I'm looking for an Akail too, though."
She thought for a couple heartbeats, then scrambled to her feet. "We could help each other. I found..."
Suddenly her thoughts seemed cloudy, like she could barely remember what the carving had looked like. She blinked a couple times and shook her head, but the fog stayed. "I found... ne-nevermind."
This was unsettling. But then she started to not really remember that she had seen the carving.
"Why don't we go farther into the tunnels, and see if we find one? If you want to, that is.
She stood waiting for Condor's and Task's answers. Hopefully they would agree- she worried about what might happen if they didn't

Behind her, unseen and unremembered, the Akail carving seemed darker, like it would drown out the light if it could.

[Indigo]

Condor and Task tilted their head at the same time and almost laughed. That was odd. What do you think, Mr. Brain? Condor asked.

Don't call me that. Anyway, any help is good help, as they say.

You just made that saying up.

Your point?

Ugh. "We want to go with you, yes. Right, Mr. Brain?" Condor asked pointedly. She sketched faint lines in the stone floor with one claw. They began to resemble...a blobby thing.

"Yes, oh Mighty Ignoramus," Task muttered. "That's not how you do it." He took over the paw and drew an Akail in the floor.

"If you weren't in my body I'd beat you senseless," Condor snarled. "Whoah!" They sprang back as one as Task's sketch of an Akail deepened suddenly. "What did you do?"

{4}

[Skyspirit]

Lilakaii stared at Task's sketch, surprised. That was like...
She spun around to see the carving on the wall that she had 'forgotten.'
Thanks, Task.
"Hey, Task and Condor! Look at this..."
Both carving and drawing seemed to glow with the same dark aura. There was some sort of ancient magic here, realized Lilakaii. Something beyond my understanding

(ooc: sorry about my short post)

[Indigo]

Condor and Task, each controlling half of the body at the moment, turned to look at the carving. "What the heck is going on?" growled Condor. "Task, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Task replied. "This is some kind of magic."

"Magic?"

"It's what occurs when there is lots of excess energy in the atmosphere, I believe," Task said, slipping into educator mode. "Although a magic this old was probably caused by the release of energy of a certain creature, which in turn would be released and possibly continue to inhabit the immediate area of death."

"Meaning?" Condor snarled. She was beginning to lose patience.

"Something died, and now this place is either haunted or magical, or possibly both," Task translated.

"Great." Condor lay down with their paws over their head. "Poke me when we're dead."

{5}

[Skyspirit]

Haunted?? thought Lilakaii.
"Okay, so you're telling me there's magic here, because something died? Then that means... these carvings..."
She peered closely at the rock. The darkness pulsed deep within it, fed by the torch's flickering firelight.
"I think an Akail killed something here. A long time ago. And now this place is tainted."
The darkness seemed to spread the longer she looked at it, becoming fierce and threatening to wipe out the light-carving.
"And I think that this magic is growing stronger."

(sorry again. My muse is trying to desert me =P)

[Indigo]

(I liiiiive!)

"That...is probably a bad thing," Task said. Condor tried to glare at him, which resulted in the rather amusing spectacle of a Taigra glaring at its nose with its eyes crossed. She sighed.

"A bad thing? Really? I thought it was wonderful!" she said sarcastically. "I love it when death magic is all over the place!"

"There's no need to be hurtful," Task said in an affronted tone. He raised a paw and tried to wipe away the darkness, with Condor explaining all the time how it wasn't going to work and they were going to die.

{6}

[Skyspirit]

( =D )

Lilakaii's mind was whirling with one question: Stay, or leave?
If she, Condor, and Task stayed where they were, they were in danger. Of this, she was pretty sure. But if they left, they could lose their chance. Her chance.
She glanced down at Task's drawing and the carving on the wall, and was suddenly thrown off balence as she tried to look away from the carving on the wall and realized that she couldn't.
Panic took over, and she managed to wrench her eyes away from the carving.
Her mind was made up.
A jolt of fear sent her running down the tunnel, and as she turned her head to see if the Taigra was following, she slipped, again, and skidded to a halt at the edge of a sharp precipice. Scrambling backwards, she got to her feet and said, "We can't go this way," a note of fear creeping into her voice.
It's the darkness that's making you feel this way, she told herself. Don't give into it.

[Indigo]

Task and Condor followed, still struggling, until Condor managed to push Task away, running blindly.

Stop! Task shouted, but Condor ignored him and continued running until there was nothing left to run on. For once they managed to work together and groped at the cliff with their paws until they were fairly stable, although still dangling.

Aren't we supposed to have excellent night vision? Task asked. Being a cat?

Not helping. As they scrambled back onto solid rock, they heard Lilakaii say, "We can't go this way."

"No, really?" Condor muttered before Task wrenched control back. Hey!

You almost got us killed, he reminded her. "So, uh..." He stared bleakly into the dark. "Pardon me--us--for asking, but now what?"

{7} [fails]