[Firejay]

Lillian and Bobby

"Dare you to go in."

Two bright yellow eyes peered into the darkness of the Craiss Caverns from the entrance. The male dug his claws into the lip of the entrance and leaned as far forward as he could, keeping his feet firmly on the ground. After a moment, he turned to his companion.

"Dare you to go first."

"Not fair! I dared you!"

"Well, I dared you back," replied the Imperial, as if this solved things. It didn't; far from it, in fact, as he realized upon seeing the gleam in the female's eyes.

"Don't tell me you're scared," she said, hunkering down a bit and peering closely at him. Throwing her voice high, she fanned herself and whined, "Oh, look at me, I'm Bobby! I talk tough but I'm really a bit sissy!"

"I am not!" Bobby protested, his fur fluffed out with indignation. He didn't sound like that at all!

"Prove it!" was all the female said. She was smirking triumphantly.

"Fine, I will!" the male huffed. He turned again to the entrance and ducked inside as fast as he could, before he lost his nerve. Only once he was firmly in the dark, peering up at the silhouette of his laughing sister against the lighted entrance, did he realize what had happened. "Lillian, you cheat! You tricked me!"

Lillian only laughed harder.

{L&B1}

[clackno1]

Finally. Her master had let her go somewhere by herself, but with a price. She had to look for an akail. At least she was free. She flew through the sky, looking for the caverns. She finally spotted them, but there are already two creatures at the entrance. She'd just ignore them. She'd just give them a good scare first. She watched from the sky as the male walked inside the caves. Two gyrraptors, perfect. She had met gyrraptors that are so full of themselves they think they can take on a battleheart. Ha! Most can't even take on her. Maybe these two would be the same. She landed near the entrance, pushing up some dust with her wings. She put on a menacing face and made a deep in her throat. That would hopefully give them a scare. She lashed her tail with annoyance, trying to show that she didn't want company. The wind lightly blew the ribbon on her horns. Her glowing markings seemed dull in the sunlight, but they will help her see in the caverns. She doesn't know what this akail is, but if she doesn't come back without one her owner wouldn't let her go anywhere by herself for weeks, maybe months. Keep her locked up in the cage. Idyli would probably go insane if that happened. She'd get her master to get another hollowheart if that happened. She watched the plush gyrraptor laugh, probably at the male. What's so funny? She doesn't see any humour in this.

[Firejay]

"You have to come in with me now!" Bobby moved to the entrance of the caverns and glared up at his plush companion. He was at such an angle that he could only see her - and she was standing at the very edge of the precipice. But her attention was on something behind her and she wasn't even listening. She turned quickly to him, her blue eyes sparkling.

"It's a hollowheart!" she hissed. Bobby jerked back a little. "A huge hollowheart!"

"What are you going to do?" was his wary reply. You could never tell with Lilian.

"Not attack it," she replied, fluffing herself up. "I'm not stupid. I just want to know what it's doing here!" She turned away at once, ignoring that her companion was scrambling to get out of the caverns and take a look himself. His small arms reached up and he had to hop to reach the edge. Bobby hung, scrabbling futilely to get up, and then dropped down unhappily.

Lillian, still oblivious to his plight, charged straight at the hollowheart. The plush gyrraptor ignored the annoyance that seemed to stream off of this curious stranger. Either she ignored it or didn't notice. She skidded to a stop mere feet away from the hollowheart. She had to lean back to see the stranger's face. "What," Lillian asked haughtily, "are you doing here?"

{L&B2}

[clackno1]

Idyli stepped closer to the plush gyrraptor and flicked her pink forked tongue out in annoyance."You dare talk to me in that tone." She paused and glared down at the pink creature,"I admire your bravery, is feeling my teeth sink into your side a good enough reward?" She said. You could almost feel the hostility in her voice as she made the threat. She lashed her tail. She could smell the companion. He's not going to get away unnoticed. She bared her teeth as the glow from her markings brightened as she got more and more angered by the pair. Even though she feels like ripping the two to shreds she answers the question anyways,"I am here, because I am here, why do you want to know." She clenched her fists and looked in the direction of the male. She hates people who hide, for they feel that they can get away just by being out of sight, but they are almost always wrong, and sometimes it costs them their life,"You can come out of hiding, it just increases your chances of getting hurt." She says the words through clenched teeth. She has almost had enough of this.

[Firejay]

Bobby heard the cry for him to come out - but what was he supposed to do? He tried again. His claws hooked the lip of the entrance, two feet above his head, and he heaved in hopes of getting over the edge. His hind feet scrabbled uselessly. The stone was too smooth for him to get much purchase on. Finally he dropped to the ground, frustrated and a little scared. That hollowheart thought he was hiding?! Hmph! Bobby didn't hide from anyone! But she - it sounded female - was very, very annoyed if her words were anything to go by and he didn't think that getting attacked on a misunderstanding would be much fun.

"Lils!" he cried, moving to his last resort. "Dare you to come help me out of here!"

"What's the matter?" she called back. "Big bad Bobby is too wittle to get out of the hole by himself?"

Despite her taunting, babyish tone, he called, "Yes I am! Now come help me!" She laughed and trotted over, oblivious to the fact that her back was turned to an angry hollowheart.

{L&B3}

[clackno1]

Idyli watched as the gyrraptor turned her back to her. She wanted so badly to get into a fight, but realised that it wouldn't be a fight. One swift move and the gyrraptor's life would end. That's not how Idyli does things. It's no fun to fight if the opponent isn't fighting back, and this creature probably doesn't have any skill or experience. What a fight that would be. She turned her head away from temptation and thought about what her master would do if she gave in to temptation. Horrible, horrible things. Idyli almost shivered at the thought, but held it back for she knew it would show weakness. Her master may not see the punishment as horrible, but she certainly would.

Idyli heard the taunt from the female. What a way to treat a companion, exactly why Idyli always likes to travel alone, though she barely gets the chance. If she ever went somewhere with a companion that could easily perish from her claws would be dead before they got to their destination. If the companion was bigger than her, and could put up a fight, one that she could never win, then she wouldn't even try. She watched as the female went to help the male. At least there is kindness between them.

[Firejay]

Lillian crouched by the hole, hunkering down as far as she could and waved her front claws toward her friend. "Jump, Bobby!" she called enthusiastically. In the dim light she could see Bobby crouch a little as well, then launch himself up. Their claws latched together and she heaved backward until he was far enough out to finish the job himself. Satisfied, the female nudged his shoulder hard enough to make him stagger sideways half a step. The both of them trotted back to the hollowheart, enamored with the novelty. Lillian, of course, walked ahead of Bobby.

"We didn't introduce ourselves," she announced, once again peering up into the stranger's face. "I'm Lillian." She tilted her head to the side and, without looking around, flicked Bobby with her tail.

"I'm Bobby," he said promptly. Then, "Sorry about Lillian. She's always rude!"

"I'm not rude!"

"Want to bet?"

"I don't need to! I'm not rude, you - you dung face!" She stomped a foot grumpily and stuck her tongue out. Bobby grinned; she had only proved him right.

{L&B4}

[clackno1]

Idyli watched as Lillian helped Bobby out of the caverns. They gave her their names and she thought about whether or not she should give them her's. What harm could they do with her name,
"Idyli, a pleasure."
She almost spat the words out. She's not used to using manners. She reached out her claws in a gesture for one of them to shake it, wondering if one of them would be foolish enough to take it. Her mouth stretched into a toothy grin. She did not mind Lillian's rudeness, though she thought that Lillian should treat her with more respect. She clenched her other claw, almost pooping her knuckles. She was starting to become impatient with the two. It's almost like they haven't seen the real danger from her. Hopefully, they would see it soon, the less company the better. If she did just happen to kill one, then she would use the carcass to coax out an akail. A good plan, but her master would find out. Maybe she would be less brutal if Idyli managed to capture one. Idyli always has a taste for blood, and when the temptation becomes too overwhelming, nothing can stop her.

[Indigo]

Chalice L'mel

The Yonyuu kept to the shadows as he stalked toward the entrance, not wanting to shock anyone with his appearance. Clockwork Yonyuus weren't exactly common around here. Besides, it didn't bother him. Ever since M'rek Lu...was lost...and Morphox disappeared, he'd been on his own. He wondered, as he often did, what had become of Rambam.

He heard voices and ducked back, watching the entrance. While boldness was a L'mel family trait, Chalice was wary of everything since the accident. What he saw was bizarre, even to his mind.

A Dreamsnare Hollowheart was having a conversation of sorts with two Gyrraptors. The Gyrraptors didn't seem to have noticed the barely contained fury and impatience of the Hollowheart, but Chalice could feel it pulsating through the earth, sending out small tremors only his sensors could detect. He sighed; those Gyrraptors wouldn't last long.

Oh well. Too bad for them. While normally he would be willing to help, today Fetish wanted him to look for an Akail, and nothing could stop him. He'd even started to believe that this would go some way to compensating for his friends. He tried to slip through the entrance unnoticed.

[clackno1]

Idyli could sense the new arrival. She pulled back her had and turned to face him as he tried for the entrance."Very sly, though did you really think you could pull it off?" She said this sarcasm. A Clockwork Yonyuu, how quaint. She wanted to lunge, and even made the movement with her arms/wings, but held herself back. Her pen for the rest of her life sickened her. She instead rested her tail on the ground and tried to relax. She took a deep breathe. He's probably here for an akail too. She clasped her claws together tightly to make sure that they wouldn't lunge out at the gyrraptors or yonyuu. Her teeth ached for the feeling of flesh and the taste of blood. The occasional mouse that wanders into her pen isn't enough.

(bad post, sorry)

[Indigo]

"Pull what off?" Chalice asked, trying to look innocent, although that's hard to do when you're mostly titanium and gears. "I was just looking for an Akail. I didn't see you; must be something wrong with my optic overlay." As if to prove a point, he settled his zoom lenses over his eyes. In reality, he was checking the eyes of the Hollowheart.

He could practically see her self-restraint, emotions coiled like a snake about to strike. He would have to be careful not to set her off. He searched his mind for a suitable statement. Come on! You've got an intelligence solution soaked into your brain, he growled internally, and finally came up with a safe question:

"So what brings you here?" It was directed at the Gyrraptors as well. He cringed when he heard himself speak, and for the first time in years wished his sister Marquee was still alive. She'd always been a natural diplomat.

[clackno1]

Idyli grunted with annoyance, but she ignored the pathetic attempt to sneak past her. Even the yonyuu's attempt to lie to her was pathetic."Well, I'm here also to search for an akail. Mostly to show my master that I can be trusted to be sent out alone." She gave a toothy grin. Her patience was wearing thin, and this yonyuu was not helping. Somehow she'd have to kill him without leaving blood stains on the rock, then kill the gyrraptors for they witnessed it. She'd have to find a crevice of something to stash the bodies in. Seems easy enough.

Idyli moved towards the caverns. If any of them followed her she'd try to put her plan into action. If they entered the caverns less than 30 seconds after her, they'd die. If any of them came within 5 feet of her, they'd die. Simple enough. She didn't give any warning or threat before entering the caverns, just a small hiss.

[Indigo]

"I see," Chalice said warily. "And I know what you're thinking, by the way." He did, too. Mental sensors came in handy sometimes, even if he did miss his old life. "I'm not stupid, you know. I know I should be afraid of you, I know you're restraining yourself, and I know that the only reason I'm not dead is that you're afraid of what your owner would do."

Actually, he'd just gotten this information. He'd been trying to get into her mind just to get something to defend himself...and he'd been assaulted by a barrage of restrained thoughts.

[clackno1]

Idyli halted. She felt a large stone under her foot and crushed it to get her anger out. She made a warning hiss in her throat."Good for you. Count yourself lucky, if that wasn't the case you'd already be in a crevice, battered and bloody. My patience is wearing thin." She felt like she wanted to let out an evil cackle, but that wasn't her. She just made threats, did the job, and left the scene. That's just her way. She continued through the tunnel. Her marking came in handy now. Without them she wouldn't be able to see 3 ft. in front of her.

The cave smelled of decay, one of her favourite scents. Stalagmites started to appear as she continued into the darkness. She broke one off with her foot and crushed it to keep her anger from boiling over.

[Indigo]

(Cue superlong post with unnecessary embellishments)

Chalice waited a few minutes before entering the cave. His optic overlay automatically adjusted to equalize the light, but he switched it off. He didn't need enhanced vision to see in the dark, and of course, that Hollowheart's markings were helpful.

He stepped in a small indentation in the floor accidentally. Lifting his paw out, he traced the letters recently etched into the stone. RML. How curious. The next time he set his foot down, it was on the inscription ROFL. Growling in annoyance, he stepped out of the indent, lost in thought.

RML. Those were Rambam's initials; Rambam Mellit L'mel. Had his brother been here? Why had he scratched his initials into the floor?

And who was ROFL?

Rambam's wing scraped the side of the tunnel. "Ow!" he yelped, and nearly hit Flightling with his waving wing. Flightling jumped back and began fiddling with his collar.

"Stop it!" he hissed. "Chalice can't know we're here, remember?"

"Of course," whispered Rambam.

"Keep quiet then."

Rambam L'mel and Ratson Oliver Flightling Larzsin were sneaking through the cave, looking for an Akail and to surprise Chalice L'mel. They'd already carved their intitials into the floor to distract him. Now they were sitting in the tunnel, resting; it had taken a lot of work to get this far. The tunnel was narrow here, and even with just one wing Rambam was having trouble finding room.