The one time..., ...we leave the kennels...

[Cairo]

It had been a long, long time since Cairo had really gone anywhere around the labs. And now here she was, standing outside the gate to the graveyard. A cold gust of wind swirled around the elf and her Gallor, whipping tendrils of Cairo's long brown hair around. She shivered a little, shoving her hands into her coat pockets.

You woke me up to bring me here? Golden asked incredulously, blinking around at their dark surroundings.

Cairo laughed a little, nervously. Well...yeah, she thought back, shooting her companion an apologetic look. Deciding to try and win her cooperation over, she added slyly, You're the only one I would trust to protect me from whatever we might encounter...

Golden merely snorted in reply, clearly seeing right through Cairo's attempt. She didn't verbally respond, instead merely ruffling her feathers and tucking her wings tightly against her back. Let's get started then. I'm not going to hang out here all night.

Nodding briefly, Cairo stepped forward and, gripping the cold iron bars with two hands, pulled the gate open.

Golden-18.2, 10.2

[Cairo]

If either of them had been expecting anything to happen when the gates were opened, they were disappointed. The graveyard looked just as still, calm, and creepy as it had before. Swallowing slightly nervously, and scolding herself for harboring any anxiety at all, Cairo slowly stepped inside. Her boots crunched in the dead leaves, making her feel extremely inconspicuous. Not that there's anything here to alert, anyway... she thought to reassure herself. Still, she had no idea if that was true or not. Golden's lack of response did nothing to calm her nerves. She heard her Gallor's claws clicking on the cobblestones behind her and let out a slow breath, trying to relax. Golden was big and powerful. She'd been trained a few attacks. Not to mention, she'd been trained, at least partially, as a mount, so they could escape on Gallor-back, if necessary. Nah, there's nothing to run from...

Golden-18.3, 10.3

[Cairo]

So what exactly are we doing here? Golden inquired after a few moments of silence. Her amber eyes scanned the shadowy landscape cautiously, looking slightly on-edge.

Cairo gave a little shrug, glancing around as well. I'm...not totally sure, actually. I figure that if we wander around long enough, we'll find something... Although, this was one of those things that had seemed like a better idea before. Now that she was actually standing here, it was considerably creepier than she'd anticipated. Shivering a little, again, the elf adjusted her scarf around her neck and wished she'd thought to bring gloves. Oh well. It was too late to head back, now. Besides, they wouldn't be here too long...

After a brief pause, Golden clicked her claws on the stones. Let's not wait for it to find us, and do the finding ourselves. Without waiting for a response, she headed off, nearly disappearing into a shadow.

Gah! Wait up, Golden. Worried about being left alone in such a disconcerting place, Cairo hurried after her friend. Whatever she was going to have to face, she didn't want to face it alone.

Golden-18.4, 10.4

[Cairo]

Actually, to be completely honest, she didn't think that she could face anything that she would meet here on her own. That was the main reason she'd brought Golden along. Although she enjoyed the company of her cynical Gallor, she knew that Golden wasn't partial to being awakened in the middle of the night for a spontaneous excursion to a graveyard. Unlike herself, her Gallor did not seem to share her enjoyment for such impromptu actions. It was things like that that Cairo lived for.

Hey, Golden... Do you smell anything? Hear anything?

The Gallor paused and lowered her beak to the ground, sniffing around. She brushed up against a few dead leaves, and the rustling made Cairo jump a little. She immediately scolded herself for being so paranoid. There was nothing out here... She didn't think.

After a few moments, Golden raised her head, ears pricked. Nothing out of the ordinary, she reported presently, and Cairo exhaled slowly. This was going to be a long night.

Golden-19.0, 11.0

[Cairo]

Well, let's keep going then... Cairo said finally, with another little sigh. While she didn't actually really know what they were looking for specifically, she'd heard that this was a good place to find goodies of some kind. And, as it was Vai Min Mur night, this was the only night that these goodies would be here. She couldn't just give up. Especially now, because she'd actually gotten Golden out here. Just keep your ears tuned in, mkay?

Sure. Well that wasn't exactly commitment, but it was better than nothing. So, Cairo started off again, keeping her footsteps as soft as possible. If anything was here, she didn't want to scare it away before she could at least get a look at it. Her curiosity would never allow her to leave without knowing what was here, at the very least. A twig snapped behind her. Whirling around, heart skipping a beat or three, Cairo came face to face with...Golden. After a pause, she let out her breath, giggling a little with embarrassment.

Sorry. I'm...really uptight right now.

Golden, despite herself, couldn't help looking, and sounding, rather amused. No kidding.

Golden-19.1, 11.1

[Ashe]

They were with you just a second ago, weren't they? Or was that just shadows playing tricks on you? Where did your pet go? You turn around, twisting in the darkness to spot them, but only dead leaves, withered grass, twisted trees and tombstones are to be found... And then, you can hear their pain-filled shriek! You race toward their cry in the darkness, leaping over gnarled roots as you fly toward them! Only to find them bleeding on the ground, as a dark... THING slips away into the darkness...

(Your pet is down to 1/2 their stamina immediately and must be healed before it can be played with again.)