[Freezair]

((This is a private RP, sort of. It's me and Ender for now, but I am allowing one other person to join this. PM me if you're interested.))

Many times before, I had followed my impulses. But this was the first time I had followed the impulses of someone else.

Our passing over Craiss Caverns was not intended to be something especially dramatic. It was simply the quickest route to the place we needed to be: The Arena near the Slums. There was a fight going on there, and it was one some of our Caravan's members wanted to enter.

But as we passed, Avani went as I'd never seen her before. Her facial branches were in the full flower of spring, and her colors were vibrant to go with them. But her eyes were suddenly glazed. Her vigorous wingbeats, somehow as humorous as the rest of her, slowed to a glide.

Her voice was dark and unexpected. "I need to go down there," she said. It was I wonder I heard her above the roar of flight.

"Avani?" Sky asked.

"I need to go down there!" She pulled her wings close, and dived down to the jungle canopy below. She sunk like a whistling stone. I pulled on Sky's wings with a shriek.

"Sky! Quick! Follow!" To the companions following me in the overworld--Toelespi, who carried the tent, and Memphis, who stood guard--I bellowed, "Come on! We have to go catch her!"

Avani pierced the canopy like an arrow. We caught her not in the air, but on the ground. She had landed gracefully, as befitting a smaller creature like her. Sky and the others skidded to ungainly stops, with Memphis crashing on Toelespi's back. The little Malphas squawked awkwardly.

As soon as we were on the ground, Krii scurried off my back and stared. Avani stood moonily at the front of a cave. Something about the scenery seemed familiar, but I could not place it.

Krii whistled. "Hey! Avi! Vani! Branch-brain!" He waved his paws animatedly. "Yoo-hoo! What are you doing, girl?"

Her golden eyes peered off into the cavern's depths. Sounds beneath it echoed and promised the labyrinthine miles it went beneath the surface.

I looked at Sky. "I don't know how you do it, but I think you can do it. Get Valor. Get his buddies. Get them. Tell them there's some seriously weird crap going on."

"I was just thinking the same thing," Sky said, ruffling her feathers. "I'll send out a psychic signal to them. ...And I just have."

[416, I'll look up Avani's postcount later]

[endermage]

Unlike his normal prompt and direct self, Valor had found it difficult to open a portal near the group, for whatever reason or another, and instead decided to take the arduous task of convincing Glory to carry them to the meeting location.



"But you guys are HEAVY!" said Glory, pouting his draconian face and rolling his eyes, " I don't want to do this...."  

Valor crossed his arms, he was still reeling from the massive failure of his last endeavor and thus would not tolerate the Battlehearts complaints. "It's just me today, Logic is going to stay in the hub working on something in the Network,  he's worried about a leak within the network itself, and Justice can fly on her own. It's less than 5 minutes of flying but the walk would be much longer than I would like...we are already running late.

Glory sulked but sighed out, "Okay....."



Justice spiraled into the room, "Has the sourpuss stopped whining?"
"Yes, HE has...." said Glory, glaring at the female incarnations direction.

Soon enough Jimmy and the rest of her party could see them in the distance, flying towards them for a landing.

[230] [200]

[Freezair]

The wait seemed eternal. I knew telepathy was mostly instant, and I was under the impression Valor's teleporty-thingies were too, but I stood there nonetheless for an indeterminate length of time, wondering when my Incarnated friend would appear.

But a green blotch appeared on the horizon. I waved and jumped, and Krii climbed up my shoulder to do the same. Hopefully, our hairs' combined orangeness would catch his attention.

He found us, though, and landed, with Glory looking peeved about playing taxi. I looked up at the towering Battleheart and squinted. Something about him looked subtly... different.

"Did you... I mean, are you...? I... Um... did you get your horns done?"

"Thank goodness, you're here! Something weird as crap is happening to Avani!" Krii pointed a claw toward the cave. Slowly, Avani's tail began to disappear toward the darkness as she crept into the yawning entrance.

"Ah--no, no, Avani, get back here!" Sky scampered after her. "Hello, you lot, but this is kind of important!"

Avani froze. "...I need to go in," she said patiently.

[endermage]

"I'm sorry," said Valor as he quickly dismounted,"There is something wrong with the network, so certain functions, like pinpoint transportation, are not currently operational. "  

Glory scoffed at Jimmy,"I've always looked this way...I have no idea what you are talking about."

Justice spiraled around Avani to get ahead of her in the passage, her spectral body slipping through the rock, becoming solid to impede the Paragon,"Slow down Avani! What do you need? Valor, come quick.... she's gonna need a full spectral work up."

Valor attempted to sense Avani's condition once he was inside the cave next to her, sending out both metaphysical and psychic signals, looking for any information at all.


[231] [201]

[Freezair]

The weird tingle I felt in the air around me suggested that Valor and his buddies were trying something. Not ten seconds later, Avani's strange haze seemed to snap. She shook her body abruptly and spoke lucidly. "Ah--no! Please don't do that! I'm trying to listen," she hushed. "Something's calling me. I can hear it. If you keep doing that, I won't be able to." Her neck strained into the cave.

"Hearing something?" Krii brushed the hair away from his ears and poked his own head toward the cave. "I don't hear anything."

"I hear jungle sounds," Sky said, "but not much else."

"Can you scan the environment or something?" I asked Valor. "Could it be a kinda psychic wave thing?"

[endermage]

Valor focused, his eyes glowed blueish white as he began to send out a wave of psychic energy, it made a grid like pattern on the ground as it mapped out the area.

"There is something odd about the scan." said Valor,"I'm not picking anything up, but there's something odd about this scan, there is a lot more area than there should be."

"What do you mean Valor?" said Justice.

"Either my scan is faulty, or this cave system is MASSIVE." said Valor.

[232] [202]

[Freezair]

Well, that I could answer. "The Craiss Caverns are said to be the biggest cavern system in all of Evelon. Unless... unless you knew that, and you're talking... more massive than that?!"

"It's down there," Avani said. "Deep. It wants me to go in... Please, we must go!" Her voice tugged insistantly.

"Does this mean walking?" Krii sighed.

Skycutter scanned between us. "Well, Valor? What do you think? Should we give in and follow her? You're not picking up anything dangerous, are you?"

[endermage]

"Not really," said Valor,"I mean, it's not like I can detect malice or anything, but it seem pretty stable and safe. But this system is way huge, I mean it goes deeper and is more expansive than any map of the Caverns I've ever seen. We have to be extra careful that we don't get lost. Glory, I suggest you take your human form...it's just best for right now. "

Glory sighed,"I suppose.", a burst of flame enveloped his body and then when it died down he was in his human form.

Justice spiraled about,"Am I too big?"

"No....Justice you are Ethereal. If you occupy too much space you can just phase out till there is more again." Said Valor, rubbing his temples,"Lets go down all, into the abyss I suppose.... Avani, lets hope whatever is calling you is friendly."

[233] [203]

[Freezair]

"I know it is," Avani shook. "I know it is! I know this voice! I'd know it anywhere... but I don't know how. I've met this voice before! ...But I don't remember it... It's like something from a half-remembered dream." She swallowed deeply. "I know the way. We won't get lost... I promise." She began to walk inside, tail quivering

We began to follow after her, though we shook less from excitement and more from worry and cold. The cave walls seemed damp, and the inside was dark. Krii lit fireballs and waved his head around to look. I walked beside Sky, just to be sure we didn't get separated.

The path ahead seemed straightforward, at least. I'd been here once before, back when Avani was little, and was surprised to see how well I remembered at least this part of it.

[endermage]

Although Valor trusted Avani, he was somewhat nervous. Valor disliked mazes, he loathed them with such passion that on the first few particularly bad days after he had escaped Prometheus, his powers and anger still not under control, rather than yelling at the other Incarnations about his frustration, loneliness, and fear, he looked for hedge mazes and burned them to the ground. He still didn't understand this particularly odd feature of himself, but he had seen the inside of that cavern system. If they got lost they were sure to die.

Glory, uncomfortable in his human form, was more excited for this adventure then usual. Something about the caves were making him feel exuberant. Glory new there was something down there...treasure, a good fight, maybe a damsel in distress. He thought of Gray, he sighed, knowing he might not see her again, at least not as anything more then friends.

While Glory and Valor were preoccupied with their own nerves and desires, Justice was focused on Avani. It was very worrisome when something pulled you to a place, it was ominous and foreboding. Things that pull, that you can't explain, Justice believed led to disaster and tragedy. A pull or a call, that does not identify itself, could very well be the Abyss itself. Justice worried not for herself, but Avani, as the call seeming to consume her desires and her identity.

[234] [204]

[Freezair]

Everyone in Valor's group seemed to be bristling. I felt hot waves of uneasiness pouring off Valor, full of the tingly sensation of rage. Glory seemed to be a strange combination of giddiness and uncertainty. And Justice, like myself, seemed to be just plain old worried. I moved towards her, because I felt the same way. I didn't know how to ask her about her worry, but I looked at her very strongly, wondering what to ask.

"Yes!" Avani said brightly. "We are definitely moving closer! Mmmm... There are people down here," she said matter-of-factly. "Maybe they know..."

"People? I think you mean 'Akail,'" Krii said, scratching his forehead. "Everyone knows there's an old Hunter city full of 'em, but I don't think they're too friendly..." His fur got even spikier as it stood on end.

"No. People," Avani said definately.

"People can live down here?" Sky sounded skeptical, but followed Avani. My Paragon friend seemed slightly less dreamy now, and more with us. But the things she was saying still made no sense.

((Damn weasel. Since they're both reddish, quippy sidekicks, I now cannot stop hearing Krii speak in Daxter's voice. MY BRAIN DID NOT NEED THAT IMAGE!))

[endermage]

One of Justice's spirit orbs swirled about and glowed brightly in front of Jimmy, providing much needed additional light. She smiled, knowing that Jimmy shared her concerns for their friend who may have gone crazy.

"So if people are living down here....what do they eat?" said Glory matter of factly.

Valor thought for a moment,"Ummmm Mushrooms?"

Glory said, "Is it possible...they might be hungry...for...meat?"

[235] [205]

[Freezair]

I thought at first that Avani was going down the main path of the cave. But she veered suddenly. At first I thought she was walking directly into a wall. But there was a cleft in the rock I'd barely noticed, and as she turned herself around the corner, I realized it was wider than it looked. And deeper--there was a decent pathway back there.

Krii zoomed to the front of the group, bearing fireballs for light in front of Avani. Sky flared her wings. "Hold on! This is starting to look really dangerous!"

Suddenly, I heard a skittering noise behind me. I turned around abruptly. I had the sudden feeling someone was watching me... and it wasn't anyone of Valor's friends.

[endermage]

Valor sensed Jimmy's concern and could feel eyes on him as well. "Jimmy, please tell me you have had some combat practice since the war....I think someone is here..."

Glory summoned one of his flame blades and attempted to make it as large as possible, the large fire caused the shadows to stretch far into the darkness, but he could still see nothing. "Hey, Jimmy..Valor.. what are you guys talking about... I don't see anything..."

Justice spiraled about, try as she might, she could not detect anything or sense anyone. "Are you sure there is someone there?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She was unsure if she had truly been discovered yet. They may have found her, but it was possible she was not the only one following the odd party.

[236] [206] [1]

[Freezair]

((Nice avatar, dude.))

Combat practice? What did he think I was up to, running around with a garden implement to impale people? I swallowed heavily. Krii shuddered with his fireballs jangling, and Sky's wings bristled. Avani stood there with all the serenity and ease her species afforded her, tail delicately flicking.

I jumped suddenly when a sudden glint appeared in the darkness. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the light off a pair of eyes. And another. My neck hairs flared up with the feeling of being stared at.

And then, one of the two lights spoke.

"'Alt! 'O goes there?"

I cocked my head. "Ex...scuse...me?"

"I said who goes there!"



Two Batties moved into the light made by Krii's fire. They carried spears in their wing-arms and wore helmets over what of their heads weren't ears. The sight was so unexpected, I couldn't help but stop and stare.

"What?" Krii said, saying what I was thinking.

The blue Batti spoke, revealing that he wasn't the voice from before. "She's asking who goes there; you'd better tell her! She gets ornrey if you don't. Just give your names or something!"