OPEN once a fool

[KNOX.]

At the obsidian stepping stones, an unfamiliar canine scrabbled from one to the next, complaining of hot feet and smelling like the ocean the whole way. Only a few stones behind was a familiar maned lioness though, looking almost bored as it had to slow its usual approach to stay behind the dog and make sure he didn’t fall off into the water. Or if he did, she would notice and be able to haul his ass back up onto land before his lungs breathed in too much water. He wouldn’t be much help dead, not for the reason she was even bringing him here in the first place.

The only thing Knox hoped for was this to be worth the trouble of leaving the island and the matters she had to tend to. Sure, she had a few things from her trip as well, mostly just colored ribbons she intended on using for her flock--the Departeds' flock--but that didn't mean she enjoyed leaving when there was still so much to do. Her only justification was that this punk would help their progress. 

It honestly hadn’t taken a lot of convincing once she actually found him, it was the finding him that was time-consuming and bothersome. Crossing these stones was proving to be even more of just that, the wolfdog nearly slipping every other step and obviously clinging on for dear life multiple times throughout. If his elemental abilities weren’t so important to her, she would’ve skipped right past him and forgotten ever trying to get someone else’s help from outside the island again.

Eventually, painstakingly, they made it to the Big Island and Knox quickly swung past the wolfdog, whose bright blue eyes just stared after her as he tried desperately to catch his breath and spit up water. ”If you did not whine so much, you would not have swallowed so much water.”

That just put a goofy grin on Tommy’s face even through the struggle, his eyes wide with excitement, not fear. ”That…was….sick. You can just….do that….without running….out….of breath?”

Knox looked back at him, just slightly more deadpan, but didn’t give him any sort of actual response. He seemed to just enjoy hearing his own voice at times, never bothering to actually press for a conversation. She had let him wear himself out while keeping to her own thoughts most of the way to the stones. He was quite the yappy youngster. ”Rest here a moment.”

The maned lioness turned back toward the destroyed lands, feeling…optimistic? Possibly optimistic, she wouldn’t give any credit until she saw this pay off. With that, she walked away to fetch Meteor, or Vale if she really had to. With what she knew of the young dog so far, he would listen, at least to her, and not make it a terrible decision for her to leave him where he was. 

[thomas r.]

Tommy did not have to be told twice to rest for a moment, plopping his ass down and letting his tongue loll out as he panted through the pain. But man, that had been more entertaining than their entire walk since meeting Knox. His heart was pounding, any second he could’ve lost his grip and fallen straight into the ocean. He honestly was a terrible swimmer, which made it all the more dangerous. Those rocks had been hot, but the water cooling them just made it rather slippery despite the relief.

It was brilliant. He almost wanted another go without the looming figure that was the lioness being just stones behind. The idea of a safety net took just a little bit of the fun out if it. But that would have to wait because he was asked to rest here. One thing more important than the thrill was that his reward for being here and doing whatever he was told would be a bunch of weed. Apparently the lioness didn’t care much for it, but still had some stashed away for a rainy day.

So, he waited there like a good dog, breath slowly returning to normal as he surveyed what he could from his spot. Huh, no wonder they needed some help from a guy with his ability. Well, Ghost would definitely understand his absence when he mentioned that. Honestly, it was going to be a fun trip without the overbearing (but lovable, of course, Tommy was his biggest fan after all) canine. He couldn't wait to tell him all about it, starting with those stepping stones.

[METEOR]

METEOR

Thankfully for Knox (and the stranger), Meteor was available. Perhaps Vale was off fucking around in the rainforest with Kane. Meteor hoped Vale was fucking around doing something useful with the prisoner. There was only so much chaotic evil that lawful evil could justify in an ally.

Regardless, Meteor listened to Knox’s explanation of what she’d brought, what she needed him for, and the pharaoh was… delighted. Knox recruited an earth elemental by offering weed! By Requiem and Vayu, that was cheap! That brought their total of earth elemental labor to two individuals… which might be enough to prevent the cannibal cult from hurling into, well, a spiral of cannibalism ending with only one cannibal remaining. Meteor did not intend to allow that to happen; even if he was the last cannibal remaining, the hell would he do if he didn’t have cannibals to lead?! He’d be so fucking bored.

Therefore, in quite a good mood, the lion walked along the black sands to meet the canine at the stepping stones.

“You must be Tommy, hm?” The lion half-smirked in a friendly way. “I’m Meteor Prometheus. I’m the pharaoh of this land.”

With his tail, the lion gestured to the toppled forest behind him. An irritated exhale, then a shrug. “A few weeks ago, our volcano erupted. Lave and earthquakes tore through the island. Fortunately, the rainforests alongside our rivers have survived, but we need dedicated earth elementals to help rebuild.”

“I’m aware your payment is in… coconut crab meat and weed, right?” Meteor grinned wider. “That is acceptable to me. I’m sure you’ll earn your keep.”

[DEAD EYE]

Look who crawled out of his cave. Dead Eye followed behind Meteor after noticing Knox had requested their presence with the intent of keeping a watchful eye. Thankfully, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. It just appeared to be Knox's little friend. The maned wolf slipped out of the shadows and made himself known next to Meteor, staring at Thomas with a curious glint in his eye. They had earth elementals, something the canine was satisfied with as long as they did not move around the cave system he was very much used to. Meteor seemed pleased by that.

The canine chose not to comment on their payment. The island was already brimming with enough coconut crabs, so bringing more of their foul meat wasn't as satisfactory to him. Weed, on the other hand, seemed interesting enough. To Dead eye, their labor was enough payment already. 

Rather than focusing on the thing's Meteor were in charge of, he shifted the conversation. "Do you prefer Thomas or Tommy? Maybe Tom?" he inquired. Meteor had already defaulted to Tommy, but the older member knew better to make assumptions. It had cost him before. Hell, in his past, he used the wrong names for individuals to provoke them.

[thomas r.]

The wolfdog absolutely beamed at the sight of Meteor. If he thought the lioness with a mane was cool, this guy was much cooler. With his breath returning, there was another burst of excitement that had him up bouncing on his paws. "Aye, that's me, sir! It's a pleasure to meet you! Say, how many creatures drown from falling off those stones behind us?" Knox wasn't much of a talker, at least from his experience, but maybe Meteor would have more to say about it. 

Right, the reason he was there in the first place. Tommy's eyes darted toward the wrecked lands, widening again, nodding along as it was explained what even happened in the first place. "You've an active volcano here!? Wow, awesome. I mean, not so awesome that it ruined your land and all that. But hey, that is why I'm here to help out! Well, really I'm here for the weed, but I like helping out and stuff, too! I also never had crab before, that should be interesting. What even is coconut crab?" 

He very quickly switched attention to Dead Eye, another canine! And man, he looked wicked at that. These island folks were getting cooler by the second, they couldn't be all that bad honestly. "Ohhhh, definitely not Tom. No way." Beside that, he really wasn't sure what he preferred. He only introduced himself as Tommy because that's what Ghost called him all the time. But Thomas sounded much more mature now that he thought about it. "Oh, oh, I think I like Thomas more actually!"

[METEOR]

METEOR

Meteor spared a glance at Dead Eye. Huh, the lion never would’ve considered asking the wolfdog that question. Maybe the old templar had a few uses beyond the fight pits’ entertainment.

The pharaoh’s golden eyes slid back to Tommy—Thomas. Funny how the prisoner was a fox of few words, but the canine was a bundle of questions. That thought amused him, so the grin on Meteor’s face? Genuine. Two earth elementals with completely opposing personalities and motivations, eh? Hilarious. “Then Thomas it is.”

“The stepping stones are a new addition. If anyone’s drowned already, then I’m unaware.” Meteor shrugged.

“Hmm, a coconut crab is a normal crab. However, it’s bigger than a fox and always hungry. They’re named coconut crabs because their pinchers open up coconuts.” An eyebrow quirked up. “So, clearly, they want to eat us as much as we want to eat them, but, fortunately, they are not sentient, and do not provide organized resistence to our hunting attempts. Hell, they don’t even learn how to avoid our basic traps. Hilarious, hm?”

Meteor tilted his head. Blinked. And that grin of his remained. “That the end of your questions? We’ll show you to the cave system and I’ll introduce you to Xanti. Xe’ll handle the day to day oversight of your elemental help on our island.” Perhaps an odd decision to put the Doctor on babysitting the earth elemental duty, but Vale had xyr hands full with the prisoner and inquisitor duties. Any of the templars could do it, but, eh, they were a terrifying bunch and the wolfdog seemed skittish. Xanti would know how to keep the vibe chill.