Getaway

Cloy lept at the chance to get away from the broken obelisk. Not because of the kin, no they had been quite kind. It was just...her dreams of the other spires hadn't filled her with such...fire. She wanted to hurt someone and that was a peculiar feeling indeed. She'd made some friends and that was more than she could have asked for. The last thing she wanted to do was to sink her teeth into them. And so, when it was clear that supplies would be needed - more than had been anticipated - she quickly and politely dismissed herself before running off at a pace that would be difficult for a non-Kiokote to match

Of course, there were others who had volunteered to help. The nearest scraggly bushes were already being foraged, but she didn't mind galloping off through the snow to find a more distant target. However, after running for a while, she got the sudden thought that she might hit an abrupt wall of The Ache. This made her slow her pace contemplatively. She was trapped between that and the vengeful obelisk. What a place to be

[Roll for bush find: succeeded]

She'd picked up a thoughtful stroll, going nowhere fast now. It was really more about trying to get her thoughts together than helping out. Which maybe was a little wrong, she chided herself. If she wasn't going to provide aid, then what was she doing out here? She could happen upon danger she wouldn't have found if she lingered by the camp.

Heaving a great sigh, she made to turn around and return, already wincing at the obelisk's awful, all-consuming aura. Before she got far, she was stopped by a little bush hidden in the crook of a rock. Even from far off, she could see its vicious spines, black and glinting in the light. Among them, though, was what she was looking for. Glistening berries sat locked behind the wall of thorns. Although not eager to stick her nose into the dangerous foliage, she was slightly relieved that she wouldn't be doing a walk of shame back to the others as if she were a troublesome foal. Gingerly, she approached the shrub and began to ponder the best plan of attack

[Roll for berry quantity: 19 of possible 20]

Thinking was hard with the interference from the broken tower in the distance... Despite screwing up her eyes, Cloy struggled to think though the fog. Running around was much nicer - her head was clearer that way. But she needed to focus... Before she could really fully weigh the result of it, she found herself raising a hoof into the air. With great aggression, she struck at the bush, the obelisks hostility bubbling up inside her chest and encouraging her to do so. It could have ended quite poorly, but she got lucky. She cleanly stamped the curtain of thorns into the stony ground, flattening them and revealing their treasure to the open air

She had to choke down the buzzing to stop herself from turning her prize into pulp. It took more effort than she expected to move her hoof away from striking position. She quickly tilted it so that she could check for damage, whispering a quiet thanks to no one in particular that her frog hadn't been stabbed, and returned it to the ground. Now to...figure out if she could carry all these berries in her mouth without squishing them

[Roll to return: succeeded]

The berries put up little fight as she collected them. Though now she couldn't help but wonder if she had an unusually large mouth... She told herself it probably didn't matter, dismissing the thought as she made to leave the trampled bush behind. She picked up her gallop again, heading back to the encampment. Though she tried her best, the pillar's aura was difficult to charge towards and her pace suffered from the troubling, violent thoughts pricking at her mind

And then she heard something. She didn't stop, but she did slow her pace enough to whirl her head around. Her black eyes scanned the bare snowscape, but saw nothing other than rocks. But she could have sworn she heard a footstep... Part of her caught aflame, thinking that whatever it was would simply suffer her wrath if it dared to peek its head out. The other half of her was admittedly spooked. It was quiet out here and she'd gotten quite far off. There was nothing saying a predator wouldn't leap out and she would just...disappear. Just a lost member on an expedition

She found herself inspired to pick up speed and, when the purple point of the obelisk crested the horizon, she was almost relieved. Almost. There was still that sickening, hostile feeling that kept her from really feeling safe. But there were kin here, she told herself. If there was really a predator out there, they could fight it off together. Hopefully. Trying to shove the thought of battles from her mind, she picked across the stony ground until she reached the meager pile of supplies everyone had begun to collect. She waited until she didn't think anyone was looking before spitting out nineteen red berries atop the others' contributions. It was a good haul, she sighed to herself, but nineteen berries wouldn't feed much of anyone...