[Kyrit]

To think that there were so many that wouldn't be returning to this place.... Her claw grazed across one of the tunnel walls, light trailing after her claw. "Even the lights have gone... It seems as I am the only one willing to return for now..." To think that she and many others had been quite the source of light for this empty shell of a place. "I wish you could have seen the true glory, little one... but all I can do now is show you what my home is as of now."

The male Paragon, which she had been taking care of since it had been in an egg and the Imperials had given it to one of their best soldiers, looked up at the Hollowheart and tilted his head to the side. Home? All he saw now was her and a a bit of the tunnel walls that surrounded them. Well, one did have to travel the tunnels to get there after all. Surely he'd actually get to see something soon. Seeing that the female Hollowheart had begun forward again, he stood and bounded off after her to try to catch up. He wanted to see this thing called home...

(Please pm me and ask before you join. Also, this isn't quite a 'hunt'. If Ayri does run into an Akail I'll be happy because it'll help her see what this place has turned into, but it's not going to hurt if she doesn't find one. So yeah. I dun care.)

[Flame]

The dark tunnels seemed to pulse with a gentle, golden glow, one that throbbed with a slow, steady rhythm, almost like that of a heartbeat. The faint light washed the walls with a strange, almost unworldly luminescence, throwing shadows into the nooks and crannies that dotted and marked the stone surface. Large claws tapped gently against the ground, worn flat and smooth from past millenia of wearing under countless, unidentified feet. Bright, pupiless eyes the shade of new-fallen snow glittered in the semi-darkness, their expression unreadable, yet full of an indifferent omniscience. A long, whiplike tail followed the huge, reptilian beast, raised mere centimeters from the stone floor to keep from dragging, its tip flicking the air sporadically, like a cat's. Although she moved quite slowly through the tunnels, there was a feline grace to each of her steps, smooth, liquid, and all bu silent. Translucent silver wings were tucked neatly at her sides, to keep from getting in the way in the tunnel.

The unbroken silence seemed to press upon her, her unblinking gaze calm, yet searching as she peered about at the limited amount that she could see. Occasionally, her eyes flickered to the side, as if checking to see if something was still there. Bathed in the warm glow of her scales, one could easily have mistaken the small form fluttering at her shoulder for a flame or a flyaway ember that burned in midair. Upon close scrutinization, it turned out that the small figure was actually a reptilian creature of sorts, one rarely seen around Evelon. The little Magma Creeper, who went by the name of Ares, had taken to following the golden Hollowheart, Galatea, around, when he wasn't trailing after Riot. For the most part, he remained mute, although he would occasionally speak, but only through his mind. There was very little known about the little fellow, but the dragoness took it in her stride, her almost motherly nature seeing it upon herself to care for the little winged reptilian.

Although she had never been here before, Galatea felt some kind of subconscious connection to the place, as if it might have once been her home, although she knew very well that it hadn't, at least, not in this lifetime. The walls spoke of some hidden past that little knew of, and it seemed almost as if the air itself were alive, small breezes coming to life here and there as the pair traversed these stone corridors.
Stay close, little one,
the Hollowheart warned Ares, afraid that he might wander off and get lost in the caverns. He simply blinked back at her, fluttering closer to her on coal-hued wings.

[Kyrit]

A voice... She could hear the voice of another, even though it was just for a second or two. Ayri stopped without warning, which caused the Paragon, such a tiny creature compared to her for now as he went through the process of growing in to being a grand dragon, to crash into her leg. He let out a growl, huffing in annoyance. Why would she do something like that? Women....

The Hollowheart coiled her neck a bit to look back at the much smaller dragon. "Sorry, young one... I just wanted to see if whoever else is here may be near enough to see..." Her voice was mellow, almost hollow as if she had a deep sadness within her. Maybe her heart was aching, longing for others to return. But that wouldn't happen... It was probably just some human explorer. Humans... They tended to not take care of things as they should. "Come... We will continue to the city. I don't think we're too far now." She continued on her way, knowing that either she had been hearing things, or whatever she heard possibly wasn't something that she wanted to see.

Still, just in the hopes that someone had come there for some reason, she kept she area around her lit up. Hopefully this would keep the Paragon from running into her too.

[Flame]

Even as the party ahead stopped, the strangely similar one close behind them came to a standstill as well, Galatea tilting her head to the side slightly, so as to better catch the sound filtering weakly through the tunnel, seeming evanescent as it reverberated softly against the tunnel walls. It was a voice, no doubt about it, female, perhaps. For the sake of curiosity, the golden Hollowheart continued down the tunnel, feeling the slope decline at a gentle angle. Her pace was slightly faster, although she was careful to keep all limbs closely tucked in, so as not to damage the walls of the ancient structure, although she rather doubted that was possible without some effort.

After a few moments, a glow up ahead appeared, something akin to the soft light that her own form gave off, although she didn't know of any other Hollowhearts that glowed like she did. All the others back at home certainly weren't that luminous. She could tell though, that it was definately a creature that the light belonged to, although whether it was 'self-produced' or something like a lamp, she didn't know. Upon drawing this close, her gait slowed once again, suddenly unsure of whether or not to approach. The little Magma Creeper at her side though, had different plans. Instead of stopping when she did, Ares simply continued down the tunnel, bobbing slightly in the air as he fluttered towards the bend in the stone corridor that hid the others from view.
Ares!
Galatea's motherly side kicked in, and knowing that she couldn't stand for the little dragon getting injured, she simply sighed resignedly before hurriedly chasing after him. As she turned the corner, she stalled again, seeing a glowing figure dead ahead. Ares let out a little sound, somewhere between a friendly growl and a chirp, and zoomed towards the ground, lighting down near the hulking figure's long tail. Only upon closer inspection did Galatea notice the little dragon there, crimson and ebon in color, and very similar in stature to Ares. Padding on slightly unsteady paws towards the little Paragon, the Magma Creeper chirped again, almost as if he were looking to play. Neither he, nor his temporary caretaker had seen such a creature as the Paragon, but it mattered not to Ares, not if he made a good playmate.

Galatea, on the other hand, was busy scrutinizing the huge, reptilian figure nearby. It took her for a moment to register the fact that it was actually a Hollowheart much like herself, the source of the light. There were strange markings that ran the length of the other Hollowheart's form, strange, yet beautiful at the same time.
For the time being, she held her silence, sure that Ares, who wasn't in any immediate danger, would alert the other pair to their existence.

[Kyrit]

The male Paragon turned around at the sound of the growling. He returned such noise, only his didn't turn out to sound so friendly. Some strange creature he hadn't ever seen before had come running up to him, so what else was he expected to do? his amber eyes gleamed, watching the Magma Creeper draw closer to him. No words, only the growl spilling from his throat.

The Sentinel Hollowheart turned her head back to see what the young dragon was fussing about. She figured it's be just a rat, or something of the sort. Her gaze quickly fell upon something else... a creature that wasn't always thought of as a friendly being. This one didn't seem to be asking for any trouble though. Seemed as though it was young, as like the one in her company. "It's alright young one... I don't believe we're in any danger from this one." her airy voice spilled forth again as she carefully turned around and left a claw rest on the crimson dragon's shoulder. then her silvery orbs fell upon another site. A site that silenced her for a while, causing her to just stand there in amazement. Another Hollowheart... sure, this one wasn't one of her kind, one of the ones that had once lived here, but she appeared to have such a brilliant glow to her as well.

The juvenile Paragon looked up at Ayri, letting out a small snort. What was she doing, just standing there like a statue? His amber eyes slid over to look at the other creature that had come with the strange little lizard. What were they doing here? He padded over to Galatea and let out a small growl, as if warning her to stay away from his... mother? Well it was possible that he thought of her as such since no one knew where his real parents were thanks to those bloody Imperials.

[Flame]

An indignant growl bubbled from the little Magma Creeper's throat, somewhat startled by how quickly the little red dragon had taken offense to his approach. Huffing, he drew himself up in what he thought was a dignified manner, which was rather amusing to watch as he tried to fly horizontally, snorting a thin stream of smoke from his petit nostrils before fluttering back to Galatea, lighting upon her shoulder, looking down imperiously at the Paragon from his lofty perch. The Hollowheart bit back a small chuckle at the miniature drama unfolding, knowing that it would be out of place to do so. Her long, whiplike tail merely reached up to brush Ares gently, soothing him with her mind. Finally, he settled again, still looking slightly affronted.

There was a flicker of amusement in the golden Hollowheart's eyes as she watched the little Paragon parade up to her, growling in what he believed was a somewhat threatening manner. She admired the sheer audacity and bravery in the little dragon though, and she dipped her proud head slightly, both to him and the Hollowheart behind him.
Peace, little one. We mean you no harm.
She let a small smile touch her maw, softening the reptilian features. The Paragon's little figure glowed sporadically with the rhythmic beat of the silver light that reflected off of his form from the design splashed across Galatea's chest. Ares simply huffed again, his form seeming to puff up slightly, glowing the color of burning embers.

[Mojave]

It wasn't just the ending of the war, nor was it just another discovery. Not for him... No, this place was something he and his kind had known and loved for years. And now.. it would be something to miss. How depressing. The male sentinel traversed the tunnels amid his own faint luminescence, lost in these thoughts and not paying attention.

"Lights ahead." A soft voice chirped. "Looks big." The source of the voice was a tiny anura sitting atop the hollowheart's head. "So there is." His deep voice rumbled in agreement. It was nice that he was brought out of his reveries as he'd nearly tripped over an outcropping of rock.

The male came to a corner and poked his head around it, leaving the rest of his body hidden. He was glad his species had long necks for this reason. Quickly, before they saw him, he retracted his head back around the corner. "What do you think, Anye?" He dipped his head toward an uplifted head letting the anura leap to his hand so they could discuss this face to face. "I say let's at least say hi. We're gonna run into them to pass through anyway. Besides, it's a female sentinel over there, Reyu." She dragged this statement out and winked up at the hollowheart.

In response, Reyu dropped her back atop his head and grumbled low in his throat. "Don't start picturing yourself as a matchmaker, Anye. It doesn't suit you." The anura began to laugh, the sound very similar to a chorus of cricket frogs. Of course, when the sound reverbrated through the cavern, the tiny fore-feet clamped over her mouth and she watched the group ahead nervously. Reyu too stopped and waited for them to react to Anye's announcement of their presence.

[Kyrit]

It had taken her a few minutes to recover from the sight of another Hollowheart, but Ayri finally managed to compose herself once again. She moved forward a tiny bit, bringing her tail around infront of her to wrap the end of it around the Paragon. She actually had to do a bit of jerking, as he had dug his little claws in to the ground. "Come now. There is no need for such a fuss, when I've told you that everything is alright." Why wouldn't he listen to her? Usually he was so good about doing as told... But now his eyes appeared to be looked on Ares, a nasty gleam held within them.

Suddenly the Paragon's attention broke from glaring at the other small creature as the Anura's laughter broke through the air. He jerked away from his adoptive mother's grip on him, moving toward the other two. He soon met with the wing of the one that had been holding him back before, letting out a growl to show he wasn't happy.

Once Ayri knew that she had him close, she began to slowly walk over toward Reyu and Anye. She was happy to see the two that first ran in to her, but actually getting to talk to them could wait until she was sure there was no danger from another area. She wanted to know where this other voice had come from, and what it belonged to. Walking was hard, when you had a young one running around your feet and trying to get away from you to find things out on his own too. Eventually she managed to make it over toward the corner. Rounding that corner... was quite possibly a turning point in her life. Once again, she was frozen.

[Flame]

Ares still looked highly affronted at the little Paragon's behavior towards him, but there was a glimmer of triumph when he watched the Temple Hollowheart drag him back with her tail, even though he tried to put up a fight. He let a small, victorious chirrup bubble from his throat at the sight, quickly silenced as Galatea slapped the tip of her tail over his parted jaws. Now, he glared with the same vehemence at her, his attention momentarily diverted from the Paragon. Huffing again in his annoyance, he launched himself from her shoulder, tiny claws scraping against her scales as he maneuvered out of her reach. True, if she tried, she could restrain him with her tail, as she saw the other female was doing at the moment, but she decided that it wasn't worth the trouble. The little Magma Creeper should have enough sense to avoid looking for trouble with the Paragon again.
Of course, she shouldn't have been so sure.

Before Ares had a chance to retaliate, a sudden loud croaking chirp sounded through the tunnel, echoing as it reverberated down the long stone corridor. The golden Hollowheart's head whipped around at the noise, white eyes searching for the source. One could never know for sure what they would find down here. She regretted letting Ares get away, and glanced up for him, belatedly realizing that he had zoomed off towards the bend in the path that obscured her vision.
Ares!
Her voice was exasperated as she pursued him, more worried about his safety than what could possibly be able to harm her. The little winged lizard had long rounded the bend before Galatea caught up with him, nearly running into the female Sentinel Hollowheart who had stopped abruptly. A small sound of surprise escaped her at the sudden stall, and she had to catch herself before ramming the other Hollowheart straight on. Regal head perched upon the serpentine neck snaked around Ayri to try and catch a glimpse of what Ares was up to.

Once again, the Magma Creeper had let his fascination of meeting a new species, and prospective playmate, get the better of him. He fluttered up to a few feet away from the Anura, his lizard-like head cocked to one side as he scrutinized her, his pulsing orange glow shining off of her slick, amphibian skin. He chirped curiously at her, but was wary enough this time not to immediately approach, as his last attempt with the Paragon had not fared all that well.
All Galatea could do was sigh and shake her head at his antics, knowing that one day, his curiosity would get the better of him, and he would end up hurting himself.
Hopefully, that day was a long, long way away.

[Mojave]

Reyu cleared his throat and dipped his head in respect to both females, his left wing scratching the right in his uncertainty. He hadn't seen another hollowheart like him since the war... add the fact this one and the strangely golden one were both females... he was embarrassed to be alone with them. And he just knew Anye wasn't going to be deterred by his advice.

"Evening......" He took a step back from them, realizing that they were almost face to face. But his feet continued to shift his weight about and his tail began to twitch nervously. Why were they both staring at him so? Especially the female sentinel... was he oddly marked? Fat? Were his colors wrong? What?

But he was saved putting his foot in his mouth by Anye. "Well, lookit thar Reyu! TWO females~ Attractive Females~ Now what do you say about that?"

He groaned and his head curved down and back in shame. "I think you should be quiet. That's what I think." He was glad his face was turned away as he blushed, hoping neither would take offense to the blunt anura's antics.

[Kyrit]

Ayri's eyes shifted to look at the Anura, a tiny little thing compared to the large dragon she was sitting upon. It was then that she realized that her constant gaze on him had probably been quite the bother. She looked away, her gaze moving down to the ground. "Yes... Good evening." She was trying to keep her mind off of Anye's words. Good looking? She was just a regular Hollowheart. Well, one of the Sentinel breed, but just a regular Hollowheart none the less.

Taking his chance how that the female Hollowheart was distracted, the male Paragon managed to break free of his prison behind her wing. He ran forward, not paying attention to where he was going at the moment as he had just gotten free. Because of this, his small skull found itself slamming into the foot of the only male Hollowheart in the group. Falling back down he looked up and let out a tiny growl. Bloody things getting in his way....

His growl didn't last long though, seeing as how this one looked a lot like his 'mother'. Tilting his head to the side, the little dragon blinked. Ayri couldn't have been infront of him, she was behind him. Then there was the feeling of her tail wrapping around him once again, dragging him back to the safety of being behind her wing. "Please pardon my little companion...."

[Flame]

Seeing that the little, over-curious Magma Creeper wasn't in any immediate danger, the golden dragoness breathed a small sigh of relief, although she kept a wary eye out for Ares. She had no doubt that he'd get himself into more trouble before long. Now that she had relaxed slightly though, her gaze only occasionally flickering over to the little winged lizard, she let some of her concentration slip to observe the new male, who bore the Anura upon one paw, and rivaled both her and the other female Hollowheart in size and strength. For a few moments, she simply studied him, his form, markings and built, and marvelled at how similar he and the femme standing before her were. She suddenly noticed though, how awkward the male Sentinel looked under the close scrutinization of the little group, and she dropped her gaze slightly, but not before the Anura had the chance to throw in her own two cents. It managed to elicit a small, light-hearted chuckle from Galatea, one that somewhat loosened up some of the tension she felt had built up in the cavern since the individuals had first laid eyes upon each other.
"Good evening to all of you,"
she chimed in after the female Sentinel had spoken.
"This is quite the fortuitous meeting, if I do say so myself."
She gradually tried to ease the awkwardness in the little space, figuring that if she could get everyone talking, then things would just flow naturally from there.

Seeing as there seemed to be no immediate threat to him, Ares cautiously fluttered towards the Anura, a small chirrup bubbling from his little throat as he dropped to face her, head cocked to the side curiously. The little fellow truly had no sense of caution.

[Mojave]

Reyu still took another step back, fighting the urge to duck back behind the corner. He was rather young, and the easy flow and companionship with females still eluded him. He swallowed, and decided it would be best to be civil. "Yes.. uh.. good day." Despite his reluctant attitude, he couldn't help but notice that he wasn't much larger than them, if he even was to begin with. Needless to say, this didn't help at all as he was now worried of offending them. Already, they could have tag-teamed him, but as their sizes and strength wasn't too one sided, he'd have to be doubly careful.

Anye, on the other hand, looked to the magma creeper and chirped happily. "Why, hello! Good day, whatever salutation you want. You're mighty curious. Who are you?" She took a hop closer and tilted her own head to the side, her large amber eyes widened as she did her own measuring. Her companion's own discomfort escaped her mind for the moment.

[Kyrit]

So there they all stood... the Magma Creeper really the only one breaking the distance, and the Anura happily reacting to it. Ayri didn't really know what to do. It had been so long since she had seen another of her kind... and yet now as she stood before this other Sentinel Hollowheart she had no clue what to say. 'Where have you been'? Not likely a good question to hit off with if you wanted to get someone to stick around. But what else was there to say? They had already exchanged greetings, but what more?

Her words weren't really chosen. they more just came out all on their own. "So it appears that I am not the only one that wishes to come back and see what has gone on within these walls for so long..." Afterwards, she hoped she didn't sound snobbish. It was just a little comment, noting that she hadn't exactly expected to run into another like her down here. Would they run into a Hunter as well? That'd be quite the sight...

Two amber eyes peered between the translucent gaps in the Hollowheart's wings, watching Reyu as well as the other small creatures. What was going on? Was he supposed to like them? Didn't seem like his mother hated them, so he'd be nice for now. Didn't mean he liked them though.

[Flame]

At the Anura's bright answer, the little Magma Creeper, blinked at her with intensely curious eyes, which pulsed a luminous white. He was not much of a talker, in fact, he had never spoken to anyone in his 'family' back home since he moved in, perhaps excepting Riot, to whom he was extremely close. This animated little amphibian seemed to have caught his interest though, and when she questioned him, there was a momentary pause before he reached out with his mind, somewhat tentatively at first, to touch hers.
I'm Ares...who are you?
It was the first time he had opened up to another, let alone a complete stranger. Perhaps it was all for the better for him. It was about time he got a social life.

Galatea, on the other hand, simply watched the volley of nervous glances bouncing between the two Sentinel Hollowhearts with a veiled sort of amusement. It was curious, how awkward the two seemed together: Yet the vibe in the cavern was not negative either. If she were the one to judge, she might venture a guess as to the age-old saying, 'love at first sight.' Chuckling under her breath, she broke eye contact with the male, glancing with a detached interest about the tunnel, anywhere but towards the strange couple. She figured they needed a little...quiet time. Obviously, her presence was not helping much, thus, she took herself out of the picture as much as a huge Hollowheart could in such a small area.