[Rebel_the_Proud]

Doragon
[ 4 || 16 ]

The sound of his raging, longing voice echoed throughout the caverns. Doragon heard his own echo, the voice haunting him. He heard the loneliness and the sheer desperation that came off the cavern walls. The beast slowly withdrew backwards into his little depression in the wall, a terrified expression stricken across his face. "No..." The maddened beast whispered, no longer wanting to hear his horrid voice again. "Leave me be, please... Just leave, please. Let me die... Let me die," he whispered, his body trembling as the dragon lowered himself to the cold, cold ground. The beast moaned quietly to himself, his heart aching with pain. "Please... Just let me die... I'm not strong enough. I am not strong enough..."

[Rebel_the_Proud]

Memori
[ 1 || 1 ]

The silence of the caves was something that were the norm. When sounds came through the caverns more than drops of underground water, or the occasional sound of wind funneling in from an opening nearby, then something was definitely amiss. Memori could feel it.
Lifting his crowned head, the gravel-like beast listened to the echoes of the caverns. Someone was no doubt near by. It was strange considering this was very deep within the caves. Not many traveled this far. Wondering if it was someone who perhaps needed help, Memori began to make his way towards the sound, calling out through the caverns. "Is someone there?" He called out, hearing the echo of his own voice through the dark caverns.

[Rebel_the_Proud]

Doragon
[ 4 || 17 ]

As the beast wallowed in his painful sorrow, he heard the voices rising again. "No... Please, oh, please, no! Just stop!" Doragon lifted his head, roaring angrily as he vented his frustrations against the voices in his head. They were starting to sound more real, as if the voices were actually manifesting themselves in the caverns, echoing off the walls. But, this was a new voice. One that Doragon had never heard before. As his roar faded away through the caves, he listened again, hoping hear the voice again. "Son? Is... Is that you?" A faint sound of hope clung to his voice as he peered into the darkness, illuminated only by strange, glowing crystals that threw off an eerie blue glow.

[Rebel_the_Proud]

Memori
[ 1 || 2 ]

A sudden screaming voice halted Memori right where he stood, taking him completely off guard. He hadn't expected such a response, though it did not seem to be directed at him. Instead, it seemed more like a roar of distress rather than a threatening one. At this moment, Memori wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to continue or not. Looking back over his shoulder, he easily saw through the darkness, picking his route back should he have to high-tail it out of this place. Something, however, wouldn't allow him to leave just yet. Memori sighed to himself, afraid of what he might come upon. Someone seemed to be in trouble, however, and he couldn't just walk away.

Just as he made the decision to move forward, the creature spoke again, this time asking for his son. Memori felt a pain of sorrow at the sound of the voice. Something was definitely wrong. Glancing back once more, the brute slowly made his way towards the voice, the glow of the crystals starting to illuminate the world around him. The light allowed him to see the faint outline of a rather large creature, tucked away in a hollow crevasse. Memori did not want the brute to attack, so he answered the brute.
"No, I'm afraid not." Memori stopped just within the range of light, not wanting to get any closer to the beast for fear of not knowing if everything was alright.
"Are you alright, sir? You sounded distraught through the caverns." Memori glanced around cautiously, afraid that someone else was around, ready to attack.

[Rebel_the_Proud]

Doragon
[ 4 || 18 ]

The crazed beast kept his hollow eyes on the darkness before him, grasping on the faint hope that it was his sun out there. However, his hope was soon shattered at the answer that came. Clearly, it was not his son, and Doragon felt his hope slip away from him quickly. His son was not here. So caught up in his distress, the beast did not care to notice who it was on the other side of the faint light. He didn't even give the stranger a second glance, turning his head away and shaking it in a terrible manner, cursing to himself.
As the stranger continued to speak, Doragon lifted his head to stare in surprise at the newcomer, as if he hadn't even seen or heard him before. The beast scoffed, quickly raising to his feet, growling in his throat, "I am fine." He snapped his jaws shut, intentionally forceful. Tail whipping in irritation, Doragon grew defensive. "What are you doing here? Leave me!

[Rebel_the_Proud]

Memori
[ 1 || 3 ]

At first, the beast didn't appear to even notice that the hunter was a newcomer. He didn't even appear to want to acknowledge another there with him. Then, it was as if a flip switched in the beast. Memori felt very uneasy about the beasts' sudden change in posture and attitude. He could clearly see that something was very wrong with this individual, but Memori was in quite a bind. He was down here alone with this crazed tundragoon, and no one knew he was here. Memori took a hesitated step backwards as the beast began to get very defensive. Though his answer was that he was fine, Memori knew otherwise. Something was very wrong with this creature.
The offer to leave was very tempting, but Memori feared that if he turned his back on this fella, it would be his end for sure. "I'm used to these caverns. This is where my kind live. That's why I'm here," Memori said carefully, trying not to say anything to trigger the beast into a fit. However, he didn't know any other way to word whathe had to say next. "But, you... You do not belong here. This is not your place, stranger. You need to leave this place."

[Rebel_the_Proud]

Doragon
[ 4 || 19 ]

The beast sneered at the stranger's response, though it didn't fully register in his mind. Doragon did not connect that Memori was a hunter, who live in these caverns without any problems. The tundragoon took a step forward, tossing his head as he bared his teeth. His actions weren't validated by anything the stranger had said. It was merely his reaction. In a voice level to defiance, Doragon retaliated. "I belong here!" His terrifying voice echoed through the caverns, making it sound far worse than it should have. "This is the only place for me! Don't you see!? Of course you don't! No one sees! Not even I can see! Damn this darkness!" Doragon's mind drifted to the darkness that surrounded them, only faintly illuminated by the crystals. He struck at the darkness with his foreclaws, roaring fiercely at it, as if to ward it off. "Leave me, you miserable monster!" As if he was suddenly sprung back to the strangers' previous statement, the beast suddenly calmed, and said, "This is the only place for me. Out there, I am..." He lowered his head. "A monster." Like that of a child, he pushed a loose rock across the floor with his forepaw, mumbling, "Monsters live in the darkness..."

[Rebel_the_Proud]

Memori
[ 1 || 4 ]

Doragon's initial response caused Memori take another few steps back, preparing to flee at any moment. The one good thing was that Memori knew the caverns better than the beast, but that didn't mean that one with a mind like this one couldn't find his way through the dark. The entire situation had Memori extremely on edge, and he didn't like being in the midst of it at all. It was terrifying for him, though he tried his best to be brave. It became increasing difficult, however, as the creature yelled out, clearly angry.
The beasts' curses to the darkness only made Memori more terrified, though he still stayed put. He watched in the faint glow of the crystals as the beast attacked the emptiness, and, suddenly, he felt a pain of sorrow for the creature. And, as he watched the pitiful creature call himself a 'monster', Memori's sorrow grew more, though it did not quell his fears.
For a long moment, Memori watched him in silence, eyes studying the pitiful looking creature. He had to resist every urge to run, afraid the creature would suddenly spring to life and try to follow, so he decided to offer, once more, to lead him out of his place. "You don't have to stay here. The darkness can be more than most can handle. You should come out. I... I will lead you out, if you promise not to harm me." The hunter had to prevent himself from cringing at this offer, knowing that it could very well end badly.

[Rebel_the_Proud]

Doragon
[ 5 || 20 ]

After Doragon admitted to what he felt like, he fell silent, looking down at the earth beneath his paws. He knew that things weren't right with him, but, at the same time, he didn't truly know. Doragon knew he was 'off', but could not register why, or what exactly was different. His thoughts were far too scattered to help him think clearly. Thus, Doragon could not reason correctly. His mind was far too much of a mess for him to sort through.
At the strangers' voice, Doragon looked up quickly, as if surprised at the voice again. He blinked a few times, staring into the direction of the voice, unable to see it in the darkness. Finally, he growled in response. "I don't need anything. I'm not leaving here!" Again, his tortured voice echoed on the cavern walls. "Leave! Go! NOW!" With a frustrated roar, Doragon spun around and slammed his body against the solid rock wall, crumpling to a heap on the stone floor with a moan. The dark world around him swayed and swirled as artificial stars danced across his field of vision. With a moan, he whispered, "Oh... My son..." Unconsciousness settled quickly in, taking the beast away from his troubled mind.

[Rebel_the_Proud]

Memori
[ 2 || 5 ]

The hunter waited for a tense moment for a response, very unsure if he'd made the right decision, but his answer soon came. The creature reacted in a very aggressive way, causing Memori to confirm that he'd not done a very good thing - for his survival, that is. Suddenly, the tortured stranger was yelling at him to leave, and Memori watched in horror as the beast slammed himself into the back wall with such force that Memori could hear rocks clattering to the floor from the ceiling. It only took that to get the terrified Memori moving.
Without a word, Memori wheeled around and took off down the path of the caverns, looking back to be sure that the beast was not following - though, he was sure he wasn't. When he felt a safe distance, Memori slowed a stop, looking back down the pathway. Part of him truly hoped that the beast was following, just for Doragon's sake, but Memori was certain he was not going to be moving for a while. There was no one behind him, however. He was slightly relieved, but still quite troubled. Deciding not to stick around for too long, Memori quickly turned and continued his trek out of the caverns. As he ran, though, Memori could not help but think that the beast had been right.
The darkness really was a place for monsters.

ᕮﬡᖙ.