Catpone Cerberus

"Honestly, I rather not have anyone I need to convince here." Jenna mentioned "I can't imagine anyone, or anything, that lives in a place like this, to be pleasant to talk to." "I almost prefer the idea of something feral, since you don't need to try to guess what they are going to do."

"Hard to speak to someone...you don't know the location of." Jenna argued "Or know if they truly even... exist." "And persuading the Great Wyrm?" She started laughing, but had to stop because it was still quite painful "That's just silly." "The Great Wyrm is one of the founders." "They build the system...They are Talon." "Everything that happens in Talon, is under the command...of the Great Wyrm."

"Turning it off was the original plan, it's just so far from our entrance that it's no longer viable." Jenna reminded "But regardless, seeing how mindless the things that entered our world seemed, I have a feeling that whatever may or may not be protecting things, is likely more feral than something that can be reasoned with."

"Depends on change." Jenna pointed out "You can't predict the mind...of a dragon." "But there's a bigger problem with the... whole thing." "I have no idea, who they are" "The only name I know...Is the Great Wyrm, the leader of the whole thing." "But I don't know who she...or he, is." "It is believed that there is other elders too...running things on the background." "But it is not known how many, where, or who."

@Blitz Boom Asildae shrugged, she didn't have much to add since she didn't know for sure how she had ended up there, though she was equally surprised how few creatures made their way to her, sure there had been some critters that had come to investigate the singing, but it had been relatively few. Her best guess was that animals around here just weren't stupid enough to wander into a dark cave with sounds inside, or maybe there was a local predator that made similar sounds? She wasn't that well educated on the wildlife here. Asildae did notice the change in Glutton, and was more curious than anything, in big part because magic was one of those things her kind didn't have much understanding on, mainly because they didn't use it. They weren't incapable of learning magic altogether; but not having their own usable natural magic, and their hives forming an area of magic-nullification due to how they were build; magic wasn't really relevant for them to learn. She would have likely been more impressed if she actually knew about magic, since at her current level of knowledge, as far as she knew, what Glutton did could have been one of the most basic spells in existence, or the hardest one to exist, Asildae simply had no idea. Asildae gave a sort of 'kinda' gesture at Glutton's rhetorical question, since it was not entirely that simple; Yes, generally speaking her understanding was that draconequui kinda just came to existence, but out of nowhere? not quite, since nothing came out of nowhere. Asildae kinda just figured that some kind of magic formed them, instead of biological means. The fact that they could apparently reproduce more traditionally was a surprise to her, but at the same time, it made sense in how weird it was, it would be the creatures known to break the natural norms to be able to do that too. While listening to Glutton, Asildae would now and then suddenly charge in a direction, and grab a small animal from a tree or the ground, never far enough to not hear Glutton speaking, but enough that Glutton would need to turn her head if she wished to look at her. It was everything from birds and rodents to lizards and even one snake, who all got the same treatment, as Asildae injected them with her venom, seemingly indifferent to their attempts to scratch and bite her. She also now and then grabbed insects and other invertebrates that happened too close to her. Asildae's movements were quick and snappy, not too different from her smaller, distant relatives she seemed to like to snack on; and with how sudden they were most of the time, it was hard, if not impossible, to predict when and where she was going to move. "A fascinating tale, it is curious to me how little your kind is known outside these specific lands." "Considering what you told me, I can say for certain that some of the creatures where I come from, would likely see your kind as gods." "It makes me also wonder. Since your kin is from sound of it generally such that you embody things that go against the current order, does there exist an opposite equivalent?" she was more pondering out loud than expecting actual answer, but would let Glutton respond if she had an answer. "What comes to my story, there are few details that need to be explained first." "The place where I come from, we have no name for it, nor our species." "Those have many names in many languages, often descriptive of appearance or action, combined with specific cultural believes." "But for us, there is only hive, and other hives are described by location or by the queen." "For you see, we do not have a language, no written word, or spoken tongue." "Hive is one, we are what you would call, a hive-mind, so external communication, is unnecessary." "And when it comes to communicating with other hives, we use pheromones and body language, and sometimes buzzes or whistles." "Such communications are simple, for there are only few reasons to interact: conflicts, upkeep of peace, and reproduction." "That is why I speak your language, and many others. We do not have writing, so what we learn from outside the hive, comes in many languages not our own." "As for where I come from, it is what you would call 'jungle', there is not any great civilizations nearby, only my kind, and tribes of various other creatures." "Not always a pleasant place to live, but food is plenty, and that's really all that matters." "It is far from here, but as stated earlier, I'm not entirely aware of the exact relation to this place." "My hive was build by my mother's mother, somewhere around 400 seasonal cycles ago." "My mother inherited it from her mother, like I was supposed to inherit it from her." "Queens often stay in their mother's hive, as building a new one is lot of work." "Being a queen is not a title for us, it is a physical reality. We are twice the size of our sisters and daughters, and our mind is more capable to allow us to oversee the hive." "A hatching of a new queen is initiated by the hive when the old queen is nearing the end of her life, this is so that the new queen can learn certain skills before taking over, as not everything transfers perfectly through the hive-mind." "It is also because to be even a day without a queen, is extremely dangerous to a hive, as loss of a queen leaves them vulnerable for takeover by another queen." "We hatch fully matured, I had hatched only few cycles before I found myself in that cage." "Daughters are always linked to their mother, but the issue rises when the queen dies, or is otherwise separated like I was, as the hive is left without protection, and lacks the will to resist a takeover." "Normally, the new queen, the daughter of the old queen, will take her sisters into her care, but sometimes, like in my case, there is more than one queen that hatches, and when the old queen dies, the hive splits." "Sometimes, especially when there's more than two, some of the queens leave and build a new hive, but other times, it leads to conflict, until only one queen remains." "As you may have figured out already, my species is mainly female. Now and then a male hatches, sometimes intentionally, sometimes randomly, and they are sent away." "Their lives are short, they hatch, they leave, they try to find a queen in need, either succeed or fail, and are killed." "But don't feel too bad for them, they are mentally lot less developed, they are not smart enough to want anything more." Even during her own explanation, Asildae would catch and eat prey. "At this point, you may ask, why am I more legitimate than my sister." "And the answer is simple, timing, she hatched only days before our mother's death, she lacks the teachings given to me." "I also already had some daughters of my own, and most of my sisters took my side." "She is, by definition, an intruder, if not a parasite; not to mention the use of hired help." "If my sisters and daughters had free will, they would rebel." ------------------------------ "Skilled is bit of a wrong word, but...point is, she didn't go down easy." Solar was still bit bothered by the whole thing, not because he hadn't seen stuff like that, he had, plenty, nor was it because he particularly cared for his colleague, they weren't in bad terms by any means, but she was...a lot to deal with sometimes, so they only interacted as much as their duty required. No, it bothered him because he couldn't help but think about it happening to him, and because he knew that moment had been recorded into her systems too, which meant he would see it. "I'm still running analysis for everything, but I can confirm this as the source for the signal I received." "It seems to have activated after...the separation. so there isn't much data on that, but I have an idea why it was active." "Our communication systems can run on minimal power, for the purpose of transporting emergency signals even after our death, and location purposes." "It was not made with the idea that there would be no body left at all, but the heat from being left on the cursed desert was likely enough to keep it running still." "It cut out due to it being lot colder here, as there was not enough heat to keep it running." "It does also mean that her fate may be one of the first events of whatever is going on, since there wasn't an alarm yet, and based on the data I've analyzed already, it seems she was on a regular mission at the time." Magma didn't need to address Vaz, as he spoke himself after walking closer and looking at the projection for a moment "This confirms what I sensed earlier was what I thought, but I didn't imagine it would be like this." "Stiffness in muscles, faded colors, something missing in the eyes." "That is not me, it is merely souls puppeteering what used to be me." "In other words, dead, brought back to life." he paused for a second "Yet there are no signs of decomposition, no missing parts." he put his hand on the symbol on his armor in pained manner, while looking into the eyes of his projected equivalent,"It is disheartening, to see my work used in such a manner." "Such, selfish act." "Yet I can't blame them, after all, your dragon friend told me what you did to us." he looked at Solar "New kind of darkness has fallen on your world, and I'm afraid you don't have a bright enough light to counter it." "If your empires are the immovable, then they are about to meet something unstoppable." ------- Ruby stayed quiet. "Look around later, still tense." Was Charir's simple response, and for the first time his exact emotion was hard to read, he was clearly tense like he said, his voice too mirroring it, but it was hard to say what else may have been on his mind, if anything. He was also seemingly bit tired, there was still day left, but the whole thing had been so stressful that it took a toll. Charir didn't follow Leviathan, not right away that is, instead, it would be ten or so minutes later when Charir walked outside, sitting down in front of the cave and looking at the environment, the electricity caused by Voltaick's mere presence had finally left Charir's scales entirely, though he wasn't sure when that happened, as he had been preoccupied by his thoughts. "I'm concerned about her." Charir broke the silence, speaking quietly so that his voice wouldn't travel far, but loud enough to be heard "She acts like mother, if mother could control herself." "And do you remember what Elder Werodex called her?" "Mother of Destruction" "What does that mean?" he sounded bit nervous, as if he wasn't sure if he should say it out loud.

I posted here 2016 the last time, I guess it's good to update what has changed in the last 9 years. Okay so, Alcohol and Smoking/vaping are the only ones that are still true somewhat, but it's not quite that simple. Alcohol: I don't have anything against alcohol by itself, rather, what I despise is the Finnish alcohol culture. Everyone drinks, anywhere you go, there's alcohol in some form. Pride? people bring alcohol, big Family assembly? there's a bar. Any event? alcohol. The only place you don't find someone getting drunk, is children's events where it is specifically banned. Seriously, my 18 years old coworker (18 is the age-limit), genuinely asked me how I manage to spend my time in weekends if I don't drink. My man, you've been legally allowed to drink for less than a year, and drinking is the only hobby you have? Smoking/Vaping: Again, nothing against the thing specifically, I just don't like to be forced to inhale the smoke and smell. For the rest that teenage me mentioned, it turns out I just dislike annoying people Those two things are probably the only popular things that I actively hate, for everything else, like sports, TV shows, and such, it's more just not caring for it. At least ones that aren't related to politics

"There hasn't been anything dangerous yet, so while of course stay alert, I don't see why there specifically would be any different." Jenna assured "If I were to guess, if there is something that could be active danger, it is likely near to whatever keeps the portals open." "Since it would make sense for them to protect it."

"Change of heart? unlikely" Jenna voiced "Those with real influence....are the ones pulling the strings." "So no way any of them would be...unaware." "More likely, even if still wishful thinking, is that someone....feels that the current direction will affect them, negatively." "Maybe a supremacist who feels that using those white scaled things...is below proud, true dragons." "Or someone greedy seeing it as threat to their profit." "It wouldn't necessarily be a good change...but a change nonetheless."

I swear Ruby must be cursed, this is the third RP where it gets to the point of going bit more to her emotional/mental situation, and the other player starts having real life stuff But more seriously, don't let yourself stress over it Better a late post than one written stressed or annoyed.

"Many have tried." Jenna said doubtfully "All have failed." "And with those...things, whatever exactly...they are." "Fighting isn't a real option...they feel no pain, they don't get tired...and those eyes, those things have no souls." She touched the shoulder missing a piece "I'm trained, a skilled fighter." "They were sloppy, feral, yet I still almost lost." "At this point, the only means for anything...to change. Is if someone from inside, someone powerful...turns on them."

Arguably mold never smelled right, in fact, now that she thought about it, Jenna figured that she would be even more suspicious if she found mold that did smell good; she wasn't sure why though. "I imagine break rooms and offices can get uncomfortable if the AC doesn't work." "Until of course temperature here breaks the laws of physics like the constant darkness seems to." she was referring to how the darkness seemed to be constantly the same, allowing them to see even in places where realistically speaking, it should be too dark to see anything. She looked around to see what Oliver meant, and would change course towards the potential residential area. "A neighborhood would also be a good source for potential transport, I'm still thinking that couple of bicycles would be good to get, lot faster than walking, without the worry about fuel."

@Blitz Boom Asildae was aware of the whole kindness thing going on with ponies, and as far as she thought of it, good for them, it was a privilege to be able to be peaceful; not a privilege granted to her, in her highly competitive home. What came to eating ponies, morally speaking, she had no issue with it, it was just generally not worth it; bigger and more intelligent creatures were simply too much hassle, especially when there wasn't a hive to store them in. "It is possible that I have been a target of transaction, but considering how long I was in there, those involved must have perished or otherwise been hindered permanently." She responded in pondering manner "After all, you don't leave merchandise unguarded in some cave for several seasonal cycles." it wasn't out of the question, their kind didn't hoard currency, so it could be that she was the payment for the outsiders, though if that was the case, a simple cage was still a weird choice for someone who can spit acid, and scream, or in her case, sing for help quite loudly. Though then again, her sister could have just failed to mention those facts, it was unlikely she felt much of a responsibility towards the outsiders after all, and just wanted to get rid of Asildae. "And there is no rush yet, for I am still weak." "It is not so visible, but I am still malnourished, and need to recover before I can head towards home." she grabbed a bee that was flying past mid-flight and ate it too "I also need to figure out where exactly we are; I know of this land, and that it is far away, but I am not aware of the optimal route back home." she was also curious to see if her sister had scouts in these lands, as they would no doubt notify her if they spotted Asildae, which would actually be optimal. "But enough of me for now, as I am admittedly curious about this sister of yours." "For I do not know much of your kind, or your place in these lands." It was lucky that the creature that had found her was a reasonable one, and while Asildae acknowledged that realistically Glutton could end her at any point, she was not afraid, partly because she lacked fear in the usual way, she had the instincts for self-preservation of course, and with that came a variation of the fear-response, but she lacked the capability to feel dread, lacked the anxiety response to perceived threats. She didn't necessarily wish Glutton's help in the retaking of her hive, after all, she had critiqued her sister's actions for a reason, but at the same time, she wasn't going to stop her, it wasn't like she had hired her specifically for the purpose like her sister had done. There was also the aspect of reality, while she would have some backup assuming some of her daughters and loyalists were still alive in the hive, taking on her sister in her current state was a risky thing, and there was a real change she'd lose without outside help. She didn't know how long it had been, and thus didn't know how many daughters her sister now had. ------- As a conclusion to the conversation, Vaz shared one more insight "While my worst mistake is something I've done, the things I regret the most, are the things I didn't do." It didn't take long for Solar to arrive, as he landed from high speed with experience, his metal hoofs leaving a distinct print on his landing spot, he looked at the pile of sand for a second before speaking "I don't need to even scan that to recognize sand from the Solar desert." "Good job, I wouldn't have been able to see this from above." he then started scanning the pile, or as it looked from outside, staring at it with unfocused eyes, before seemingly surprised by something. Vaz seemed to be doing something of his own, as he stepped away from the pile, closed his eyes and pointed his hand towards it with open palm, slight green glow radiating through his eyelids. Solar gestured Magma to stay back, before blasting the pile of sand with his magic, causing sand to blow away. He did this few times before a golden wing, not too different from Solar's metal wing, stuck out from the pile. He then grabbed on the wing and pulled, now and then blasting bit of sand away again, eventually digging out bunch of metal parts, all connected together with wires and cables and such. There were two wings, two back legs, parts of a torso and neck, and flank-pieces, all similar to Solar's. The flanks even had the same sun symbol as Solar on them too. There were also the backside of a head, including eyes and a horn. All of this was similar to Solar's metal parts, not exact copies, there were enough differences to clearly be different, but it was also clear that the origin was no doubt the same as Solar's. Among everything, there were couple of what one could assume to be replacements for internal organs too. There were some stains and discoloring on the parts implying that it used to be attached to something living at some point, but for some reason there was nothing biological attached now, not even a stray hair stuck somewhere . Solar, for the first time, seemed genuinely disturbed "That is...or was, I guess, 215, I recognize those parts." "She was an earth pony, one of our hunters, efficient and dangerous, good at taking down large groups." "I'm not sure if I want to know how she ended up like this, but this is the source of the signal. Explains why the power ran out." but alas, that was exactly what he needed to do, as he connected himself to the head of the mess of parts, the connection sending enough power in to get information out. It didn't take long after disconnecting, before Solar suddenly turned towards Vaz, seeming more tense, though instead of saying anything, he projected an image. It seemed to be a point of view of someone laying on the ground of a sunny desert, looking up towards someone. That someone? an awfully familiar looking kobold; there was no armor, the color of the scales was bit faded, the skull on his head was missing a piece and had its horns broken, but there was no mistaking it, it was Vaz. Though, there was also something else off about the Vaz in the projection, he looked stiff, and something about how he looked, something in his eyes, there was something raw, something feral. Vaz, having already stopped whatever it was he had been doing a moment ago, looked at the projection, before muttering something in somber manner. ------- While she didn't say anything, Ruby was rather easy to read for once, as she seemed to be fighting an urge to lash out and argue; it was clear that the implications Leviathan was offering were annoying her, if not straight up enraging Ruby, but she kept her emotions in control, it would not help to lash out, and she didn't really have any solid arguments, though that really only made her want to deny it more. Soon enough she seemed to calm down entirely. Until Leviathan broke it somehow, the following silence was long and heavy, Charir didn't know what to say, so he decided it was better to stay quiet and still, and Ruby, as she lowered her head and turned to look at the entrance once more, she fell into cold silence, one wouldn't be blamed for assuming she just dismissed the whole thing and pushed it aside, her tail too laid still, returning her to her usual state of total stillness. This lasted for many minutes, but, if/when Leviathan hadn't said or done something before, Ruby would speak again, breaking the silence, her voice cold and distant, but at the same time, genuine "I lost everything in that ravine." "And I do not mean treasure nor glory, those were taken by mother." "I lost my dignity, my pride. My will to survive." "Yet, I did survive, like a sick joke from fate, I lived." "I kept him alive, trapped him and tortured him." "After four days he couldn't take any more, his body failed." "I wasn't happy." "After I had healed enough, I gathered some more treasure, won fights, I was on the rise again." "I wasn't happy." "That is why I left, something died in that ravine, the way of life I had known, it left me empty, I wasn't happy." "Life in Equestria hasn't been much better. I pretended to be a inferior species, groveling in front of inferiors, pretending to myself to be the superior." "What a pathetic joke." "All the treasure I've gathered, all the slain enemies, it doesn't make me feel anything, just a momentary fulfillment of endless hunger." "You are likely right, I have forgotten what fear feels like, so I cannot deny if I feel it." "But I won't just sit and wait for solutions, I will meet Elder Dask, ask her for guidance too." "If that leads to nowhere, I may need to ask you for a favor, one which, knowing you, you will dislike as much as I will." "But for now, I wish to rest." she then closed her eyes. Charir, needing a bit of air to think, headed towards the entrance, sitting down and looking outside through the privacy-barrier, in all their differences, the two siblings had some things in common it seemed. ---------- "That tends to happen in places like this." Sheska commented on Onache's remark "When you are bombarded with attacks again and again, you grow certain numbness to it." Trox added "You stay alert" "But don't let it hinder your business.". With everything here concluded, the siblings would ultimately head to their to be home, sitting down to go through the bounties they had taken, and forming a plan to get started with everything, and to wait for Chega to visit, as she would stop by and drop the help she insisted to give, before heading out of town herself.

"I may have been disillusioned...But I don't exactly feel free." Jenna pointed out "Hiding, fearing for my life, fearing capture....that is not freedom." "I want to live...to relax, to have fun." "I want to be able to fly, to exist...and not worry about being hunted down." "And I want others...to have that freedom too." "I want a world without Talon and The Order."

"A place with a door and optimally with minimal amount of mold." Jenna agreed, looking around, they were currently in an area with mostly offices and other corporate spaces, which wasn't out of the question, but she hoped to find residential area, as those were more optimal. If nothing else, there were the suburbs. "I'm not actually too familiar with this side of the city, but certainly there's a residential ares somewhere here."

"That's the spirit." Jenna smiled "Though, this reminds me, we should probably start looking for a place to rest again." she looked at the time from her wristwatch "It's getting late again, and we are nearing the edge of the city, we need to plan out our next move."

"That is intentional." Jenna explained "All the fiction..about our kind." "It is to make you think we are mere...fiction." "And it worked." "But I never realized before...just how little Talon taught us about...us." "Likely another tool of their control....can't know what they didn't give us...if we don't know to want it."

@Blitz Boom "Practically yes." Asildae commented with a shrug, she had in fact been knocked out, or, more accurately, she passed out. Though she didn't say more before the quick hunt. She was bit curious about the whole sister thing, since based on her limited knowledge, these creatures kinda just appeared, but she assumed that was just a matter of incorrect information, since the material she had had access to was written by her own kind, and they weren't perfect. Asildae looked at the fuzzy orb, certain amusement in her expression, watching it as it bounced off and based on the sounds, hunted something for itself. When Glutton finished speaking, the queen mused "I have read that these lands have strange lifeforms, but I always assumed it was exaggerated. Turns out it was downplayed." granted, it wasn't really useful information as a whole, since in normal circumstances, their kind didn't have contact with Equestria. "Though I can appreciate a fellow swarm species." "Can't say much for delectableness, as I have never tasted my own kin." Asildae said, while meeting Glutton's eye contact, her tone and smile indicated that she caught on Glutton's intent "I imagine us to be quite bitter." she then once again brought that magpie in front of her mouth, and it started to...shrink? it crumpled like a bag being emptied from its contents, before she tossed the now empty skin on the ground "And we are venomous indeed, our venom breaks down biological matter." as a demonstration, she spit out tiny bit of clear liquid, which landed on some plants and started immediately breaking them down into goo. "It also has some anti-magical properties." she then 'drank' the squirrel, and discarded the skin. "Who knows what would happen if you were to eat me." She scooped up the demonstration goo and ate it too "Humor aside, from how you said it bit earlier, I assume you are expecting to make a judgement on if freeing me was a mistake." "First, let it be known, I rather you eat me than put me back into that cage...or in a cage, since you ate the old one." "Though obviously I wish we can see eye to eye." she of course had no idea about Glutton's motivations, morals or anything like that, but since she hadn't eaten the bug queen yet, Asildae assumed there was some sort of principle behind the creature's actions. "As stated, I was transported here without my knowledge, I passed out and woke up in that cage." "I have, directly speaking, no ambitions towards these lands or any creatures that live here, I pose no threat, or competition to anything here, except prey of course." "My only goal is to get back where I came from, and take back my hive." "I know who is behind my current situation, that would be my sister, a competing, illegitimate queen." "I know the chain of events which led to this, a conflict, battle for the figurative throne. Conflict I was destined to win, until said sister hired help from outside." "A disgraceful act, but enough to turn the conflict." she picked up a centipede from the ground and looked at it "What I do not know, is why I'm here." she ate the centipede "Normally in a conflict like this, the competing queen is killed, to avoid future trouble." "I wouldn't put it below her to lock me up to starve me, that sometimes happens, but that doesn't usually include transporting somebody across the world." "Naturally, when I get my hive back, and have managed to rebuild my swarm. I will return the favor for the help you have provided, to best of my ability." ----------- "I know what it is like to be faced with new reality." Vaz stated "I too once had simple dreams." "Complete the work my family started so long ago, and give my brothers and sisters the life they deserve" "Yet, here I am, the last survivor, doomed to wander as things grow old and die around me." "The first step is acceptance." "I am not telling you to forget, to stop trying." "But if you only focus on trying to undo what cannot be undone, understand what cannot truly be understood, time will run away, your family will grow old, you will grow old. And the only thing left is regret." "You are a scientist, you want answers, I can understand that, I am like that too." "But in matters of family, it is aright to say I don't know." "I isolated myself for over hundred cycles, scared of what my brothers and sisters would think if they learned of what happened, if they knew I didn't know how to fix it." "I do not know your parents, nor can I see through the eyes of ponies, but true family doesn't punish you for ignorance, for not knowing, especially so if you are working to learn." "And unlike in my own situation, your fate was not a fault of your own purposeful act." "I simply do not see anything but concern and want to help coming from your family, for you are a victim of a freak accident." "Were I a parent, I would rather have alive, changed daughter, than a dead one." "But it does come down to you in the end, is it better to leave your family to wonder, to potentially grow old without knowing what happened to one of their own, or, should they get closure, even if they may look at you different?" "That, only you can answer." "Truth also has the habit of coming out regardless, so ask yourself, is it better to tell yourself, or for them to learn through another means." It would take a while more, enough for Magma to speak if she had more to say, but eventually they would stumble upon something unusual for a forest...a large pile of sand, fine, golden desert sand, radiating heat like still in a desert, positioned like it had just suddenly fallen from the sky. Vaz would take small amount of the sand into his hand and look at it "I think we found what we were looking for." ------------------ "Afraid? me?" "I've been face to face with death, what is there to fear?" Ruby said dismissively, but in a surprise to even himself, Charir actually challenged her in this a bit "I-I did smell fear from you." he spoke quietly and carefully, clearly afraid of potential lashing out from his sister, and she did turn to look at him, looking like she was going to lash out somewhat, but instead Ruby took a deep breath and asked "Do you smell it now?" Charir, very carefully got closer to Ruby and smelled her. "Faint yes, like prey after death." Ruby fell silent for a moment before speaking "Who am I to argue with my body?" Ruby's gaze became unfocused, looking into nothing as she spoke "But I am not afraid of him, never was, he is dead, and he was a weakling, I could barely stand when he crumbled in my claws." "His face does not fill me with dread, but rather hatred and disgust." "To be afraid of someone like that? Pathetic." "He didn't deserve my fear." she was once again growling when she spoke of him, but it wasn't at either Leviathan or Charir, rather just general emotion, and she once again kept a pause before continuing, as she calmed herself down enough to stop growling. "The truth is, while I barely remember what happened; be it because of my mind blocking it out, or because no memories formed due to my physical condition overpowering my senses." "It never did leave my mind entirely." "That is why I left, why I was wary of returning here." "I could still thrive here, proved as much on the way here, but I don't wish to, what I used call home is now repulsive to me." "Is that fear?" Her vision focused again and she looked towards Leviathan "And if it is fear that drives me to feel like this, then what is it that can be done to stop it?" "For it hinders my ability to focus, my ability to think, and thus it hinders my ability to act, to keep myself, and you two, safe." the question was genuine, and that was apparent from both her expression and tone. Ruby was as bad at properly understanding emotions, as she was showing them, so when she couldn't just deny them, she tried to look at them logically, like a problem that had a solution; But since she didn't really understand them, having suppressed them for most of her life, she turned to the one individual she knew she could trust, who also was very open with her own emotions, Leviathan. ------------------------- "You don't need to worry about myself and Trox getting pulled into a cult. You could say that we already have been...disillusioned." "For the kobold protecting the dragons, from what I understood, he's more a father figure to them, rather than a religiously sworn protector" "In Chega's opinion, he'd make a great partner for me, but I can't comment, due to me not having met him." "She said they will head to the eastern coast, go through cities and other settlements in northern Equestria, moving towards the western coast, before looping back here to check on us, then exiting Equestria towards the west." "They don't have set schedule, but they do tend to stay at one place for couple of days at least, depending on in how many places there are for them to visit." "But if you wish to keep up with their movements, they try to keep it somewhat consistent, doing things in same order each year" Usually Sheska wouldn't be so open about things like this, but Chega had specifically said she can share the information with whoever may want to know - While Trox didn't necessarily like the mindset of thinking other species as 'only as food or labor.' as Onache put it, but he couldn't really judge her as much when it was towards ponies, after all, he if anyone knew that ponies very easily adopted similar mindset, and there was also obvious bias in his mind that he acknowledged but probably would never be entirely gone, he, they, would likely never see ponies as equals either, but for very different reasons than her; While to Onache, it was because she saw them as prey, to the kobolds, it was because they were a threat, the predator. While he didn't show it, Trox felt slightly conflicted about the interaction between Onache and Happy, he didn't place any judgement on it, none of his business, and if both were happy, so be it, but being aware of the full picture, and because Onache was a ruler, there was certain instinctual iffiness to it; nothing he paid attention to, but something that did exist. "We have nothing more to do here, Sheska is in the guard's room that tried to help us." When the trio would appear on the door and basic greetings happened, Sheska excused herself "It seems it is time for me to depart." "I Hope you both quick recovery, and remember to rest, both of you." "May we meet again in better circumstances" They would then start heading towards the exit.

"Yes, but like something like...wearing clothes. Cooking is necessity...for acting human." Jenna stated "Which really only makes me...more curious why it hasn't...stuck." "I will of course..now that I realized it...probably start cooking my own...food too sometimes." "But dragon kind as a whole...doesn't do it." she then changed to a voice indicating that the next part was her being purposely nitpicky "Also it's not the meat that's...dangerous, it's the potential...parasites and pathogens in it." she then lowered her head to Oliver's eye level with a smile "I've studied your kind more...than you probably have, silly." before looking to the side in almost sad manner "Which makes me realize...just how little I know about my own."

Jenna put her hand on Oliver's shoulder "Don't let it get to you." "If we fall in despair, we will certainly fail." "It is true that there is negatives, but try to look at the positives." "We haven't seen any indication that our way home has gone anywhere, we haven't spotted anything that would be active threat to us..." until you counted the mold, not active threat per say, but certainly not healthy to breath in either "...and we have each other."

@Blitz Boom Draconequui, that explained the oddness of this creature, Asildae had heard of them, or more specifically, read about them, but she had never actually seen one, so she didn't know how to spot one. As for mortality, Asildae wasn't much bothered by her own, nor did she have much care for the potentially eaten dog, in fact, she wasn't beyond eating one herself. "Well, you do have almost two centuries before that, until of course I get killed somehow." "Frankly I'm baffled I'm still alive now." she said it rather casually, with her confusion towards the fact apparent in her voice. Glutton's answer to Asildae's question didn't really help, until after the queen though about it for a moment; Draconequui were often seen in a specific place, and the name Deltrot sounded very...equine. "Wait, we are in the pony lands?!" the disbelief was very clear in her tone, as she also shook her head in disbelief "So not only was I spared for some reason, I was also dragged on the other side of the world?" When outside the cave, Asildae stretched her limbs and buzzed her wings for few seconds, also letting out what would best be described as pleased whistle, before taking flight and floating just above the ground; if Glutton spoke to her at this point, she would listen, but regardless of if she was still speaking or not, after few moments, Asildae's antenna's would wiggle a bit, and she would suddenly launch upwards at impressive speed, flying towards a nearby tree, and soon returning with two unfortunate creatures, a squirrel and a magpie, one in each hand. The two were still alive, trying to get free, but Asildae's three fingers held on surprisingly tight, and she didn't seem bothered by the scratches and bites the two creatures desperately threw at her. As she was coming back, she would put her mouth against both of her pray for a second or two each, and while it wasn't visible what exactly she did, it was clear she did something, as quickly after this, their struggle ceased. She would then land, holding the two, and if her sudden launch had interrupted Glutton, she would apologize for the interruption in a tone that was way too regal for someone holding a dead squirrel and a dead bird in her hands. If Glutton hadn't been speaking, she would still apologize, just for her sudden departure instead. ----- "Ah, science gone wrong, a story as old as time." "I agree with Solar's suggestion, such routes are unlikely to help directly, but they may inspire ideas that do." "Though you should also prepare to accept that you situation may be permanent." "To be blunt, It sounds to me, that the merge with the shard saved your life, in which case, removing it could mean your death." "But alas, I have not encountered something like yourself in my memory, so I merely speculate." "There is however a recent case with distant similarities." "A hybrid creature, pony and dragon, curious existence by itself, stumbled upon a crystal like object, which in a life and death situation called to her." "She later woke up alive and healthy, with said object embedded in her chest." "She however wishes not to get rid of it, for it gives her power, even with side-effects of voices claiming to be gods." "It also undoubtedly, keeps her alive, and removing it, would be like ripping out one's heart." "If you wish to meet her, I cannot help you, for she wanders like I, but with her choice of occupation, she no doubt exists in the records of pony law enforcement." "As for crisis of self, it is perfectly natural, I too have gone through it." "I suggest difference in perspective" "It is not being a pony from outside, that makes you you, rather, it is what is inside, that makes a pony." "Ask yourself, is Solar a pony? Or is Sheez, who is more metal than flesh, a kobold?" "If one creates a dragon shaped machine, that thinks it's a dragon, is it?" "Am I, somebody far beyond natural life-span, truly a kobold?" "Or am I just preserved corpse, who thinks he is one?" "A soul trapped so long, that its memory is failing?" "If your answer to any of these are yes, why would you be different?" "If it is your appearance that makes you a pony, then wouldn't a changeling pretending to be a pony, be one too?" "There is also the question, does it matter?" "Is being considered a certain species, truly so important? Is it truly something that your happiness depends on, or do you just think it is?" "I have found during my travels, that hybrids, and those who don't fit in with specific species or groups for other reasons, are the happiest when they stop trying to." "They take pride in what they are, not what they should be." As he talked, and they walked, Vaz kept looking around for anything out of normal, it was very obvious, as he always turned his head; it was likely that the skull on his head limited his field of view somewhat. ---------------- "Yes, I have been tasked as your guide, so I will be around most of the time." "Though with Werodex wanting to speak to me, it is likely you won't see me again until tomorrow." Voltaick responded, though before he turned away, surprisingly enough, Charir spoke up "I have a question." he sounded nervous, as to be expected "You spoke about Elder Dask, what is she like?" Charir was curious about the elder Death bringer, he also wanted to be prepared in case they met her. "Surprisingly nice." Voltaick stated "I wasn't being sarcastic when I said she would be delighted to meet you." "She is weirdly enough one of the most patient Elders, and one of the least terrifying when on bad mood." "But she is still a death bringer, both in behavior and habits, she is very direct, and decorates her cave with her fallen enemies." "She and Elder Werodex also seem to be more friendly with each other than with the other Elders, though I'm not foolish enough to pry any further, Werodex is the most terrifying when you get on her wrong side." "Not that the elders generally have any problems with each other, it is just that in general, the relationships tends to be lot more...formal." Charir just nodded as acknowledgement, and with Ruby not saying anything either, if Leviathan didn't add something, Voltaick would at this point turn around and wish the group good rest, walking out and taking flight towards the library. Ruby had sat down while Voltaick spoke, and when Leviathan came closer and spoke to her, she didn't turn to look at her, but rather kept her face towards the entrance, though she wasn't entirely still, with small movement in her tail, which was only notable because usually Ruby was motionless like a rock when not actively moving. "Hurt? no" "The removal of the necklace has left me with a slight weird feeling, like something is missing, but other than that, no 'hurt'" she stayed quiet for a bit before continuing "But, it is pointless to claim that I am fine, I am aware that my body betrays me." She finally turned towards Leviathan, Charir had also sat down, looking at Ruby from small distance, he too was concerned, but had no means to act on it other than observe, both due to his lack of experience, and because he didn't want to be close in case Ruby lashed out, he may have grown to trust her, but she was still one of his kind, she still wasn't like Leviathan. "There is something wrong with me, I first assumed after the deer temple that it was to do with my magic, the transformation." She was as matter of fact as always, yet her body language signaled discomfort "Yet, while I still find myself unable to will myself to take the pony form, I no longer believe that." "When I asked what Werodex did to me, it wasn't about the amulet, it was what she called 'Suppressing'." "She practically paralyzed me, though, it did also take away the discomfort the necklace caused." "That wasn't the issue either." "The issue is, that while it lasted only seconds, it made me as uncomfortable as the entire time in that temple did." "I managed to collect myself lot faster this time, but it is not gone still." she once again turned to look at the entrance, and after another small silence, she added "That is not all." "I have intrusive memories, or rather, a memory." "It started after the temple, in my dreams during the two times we rested on the way here." "It is not entirely new, my dreams are rarely pleasant, if I dream at all." "But now, it intrudes awake too, I cannot get it out of my head." she turned her head to seemingly towards nothing specific, though directionally, it was pointed towards the death bringer territory "The ravine." her tail slammed against the cave ground restlessly and she tensed up "And the sickening grin of the dragon who habited it." her voice broke into a growl "No, not a dragon. A worthless worm." she again looked towards Leviathan "He is dead, rotten, and forgotten..." she calmed down enough to stop growling "...yet..." She didn't continue, instead she laid down and took a deep breath, falling silent, her eyes once again towards the entrance. ---- "Chega's happiness is our happiness." Sheska summarized "And yes, it is very unusual." "Like said, we are quite isolated species, even if a group or a community is living on the surface, we tend to keep to ourselves." "So even close friendships between kobolds and non-kobolds are relatively rare, not to mention full relationship." "Though when it does happen, it is most often a dragon; there seems to be some natural draw." "There has been cases where kobolds have formed a religion-like relationship around a dragon, and Chega has mentioned meeting a kobold who is acting as sort of a guardian and ambassador for a family of dragons." "But while unusual, it is not shunned, the only thing is, that most communities don't want outsiders living in the community, so any relationships have to work around that." "And as a healer, if a kobold was to bring their non-kobold friend or partner to my care, I would take care of them." "After all, as long as they are not someone who is or has caused direct harm to our kin, not treating them well, would be an act of harm towards the kobold, who's partner or friend they are." Trox nodded at Onache's assumption. "We were told about her, got the same understanding about her." "And no need to worry, looking for traps is second nature to us." he doubted there was any active traps left, since the buildings weren't trapped, but what was a possibility, was unexploded bombs in the ground; but they would remove lot of that anyway, both to get any possibly toxic ground out, and because they will be building partly underground. "And yes, you remember right, we don't really drink." Alcohol did have other uses too, but Trox felt it would have been disrespectful to accept a gift and then use it like that. "As for help generally, we'll have to see when you visit, as we don't really even know ourself yet what we need." "Or what is available." "The same offer goes to other direction too, while we are now even, and I know you said you don't like to owe a favor, our yet to exist doors are open, in case you need someone from outside the pony norm."