In Darkness We Dwell
BIC| You are undeniably impressive, M'Lady.
The gigantic wyvern rolled her eyes in abject dismissal, a fact which earned a derisive smirk from the black and flame coated stallion beside her. The deep indigo stud on her other side let out a snort; rather or not it was in amusement was hard to tell.
Caustic, the black stallion, gave his powerful muscles a long stretch and allowed the spikes on his shoulders to flex lazily. His was the most dangerous kind of strength; that which came easily.
Tell me, Mistress, what is it we wander towards?
Mind yer own, the beast rumbled, and continued her near-silent plodding. With only back legs and a pair of wings with which to balance upon, a soft leathery rustle and the faint click of claws accompanied her every move. The dark was so complete that spotting any detail was nearly impossible, even for Caustic's talented eyes, but he could see the dull gleam of the creature's eye as she glared straight ahead.
It's a fair question now, missy, BlackIce chastised. His indigo hide was only slightly more visible than the two black creatures he accompanied, though even that minor difference seemed to glare in the utter blackness.
The only answer he got was a rolling growl.
Be still, Caustic scolded, cutting a glare towards the flicker of blue on the other side of the sheer wall of dark which was his bonded, Else you risk more than a growl.
They were her only company. There was neither trees nor ground overhead to block the light in such an absolute manner, but instead clouds obscured the light from reaching the rolling stone mountainside. Occasionally a boulder would appear and while it loomed, even the scant bit of sight granted them was snatched away.
The air was charged with a pending storm, the scent sharp and crisp in their noses as the darkness overhead growled in a manner to mimic the massive wyvern's warning. Not so much as a flicker of light was to be seen; nor a whiff of plant or water, amid the stone face of the cliffs they wandered upon. The air was hot and sticky, yet a cold wind ripped at their eyes whenever the stones parted; none of them took any particular notice.
Away, the beast grumbled, making the two Serians wince and shy slightly at her sudden speech. That is where we are going.
Away from the light. Away from sounds and touch and all the others. Simply away.
Caustic took quite naturally to such austerity, but BlackIce was of a different mindset. He came for her; for 'the beast,' as the others said. He had no idea what brought Caustic along, in all honesty, but he himself came because few others could tolerate such a level of darkness; and someone had to keep an eye on her, had to make sure she would be alright until she went back again. From all accounts, this darkness was unlike Shine; and he knew he had the fortitude required to keep a proper eye on her.
The scrape of more claws caught his interest while he tossed a side-long glance towards Caustic, attempting to figure out this other's motivations. He did not entirely trust the warrior in this matter, though he knew that if trouble were to come he would be glad for the extra muscle.
A deep green appeared as he looked around, a rather intense relief in all the darkness, and BlackIce relaxed just a little more.
Hybrid, he breathed, glad to see what he could of the scaled stallion, What bring you here, Soldier?
Shine, he found, asked a similar question; through another growl, this one bordering on a roar as it built.
Just checking in, Ol' Son.
On what? All is black and dead. There is nothing to check on.
Noted, Hybrid murmured, quickly suppressing the lightning sparks that wanted to sizzle over his skin, Mountains are dark and lifeless at night.
If you could find something for her to eat, Caustic interjected, clearly trying to get the words out quickly, It would help. We found grass and a stream down at the foothills, but nothing for her in days.
That got her to stop.
Swinging her long neck around, Caustic was granted his first clear view of his bonded's face while in his form; and instantly felt himself hardening against fear. And he was the one that was supposed to have the deadly gaze...
If I wanted to eat, she said quietly, boring into his eyes with her own Then I would eat.
She waited long enough for him to blink before turning back to her walk, the leathery rustle of her wings quickly fading under the oppressive shadow of the pending storm.
Going for a walk with her while she's like this is...
Different.
Indeed, Caustic said dryly, letting out a low snort. They were used to her walking; it was a frequent event. And she always found at least one of them accompanying her. This was, however, their first time experiencing their bonded in this form for any significant length of time; they had walked with her in all others, but darkness of this level was rare in her.
Caustic found it reassuring; it gave him more to relate to her with. BlackIce was only focused on watching her until she reached another of her forms; shifting was not exactly voluntary for her. Both of them agreed that a walk was better than remaining in the home realm; the last thing some of their bond-mates needed was exposure to a complete absence of light.
Hybrid more or less agreed with BlackIce; he felt she bore watching while in this state. He didn't ask after her as a keeper, however, but as a companion. He was perfectly willing to give her the space she seemed to desire.
BlackIce would attempt to hide and continue his surveillance if it came down to it, be it for her own good or some demand.
For the moment, Hybrid merely shrugged and allowed himself to be left behind, content to return to his home realm.
Caustic, meanwhile, had his curiosity roused; ignoring the glares from BlackIce under the pretext of pretending not to see them, he went with it.
What do you eat?
Meat.
You're huge in this form.
Large meat.
How do you hunt?
In answer, a pair of massive teeth came crashing together close enough to his snout for him to feel the vibration. A single tooth was as long as his body.
You are undeniably impressive, M'Lady.
Shine merely grunted.
They walked.