Hikari backed away,startled.She didn't know what had happened,but clearly she had frightened the boy somehow.She wondered what she could do to make it better,then realized there was nothing.This boy,young as he was,had experienced true trauma in his life,and would need to work through it himself.They could be there to help,but it was his battle to fight.

Hunter was stunned when Kray started to freak out.Acting upon instinct,he ran towards the boy and curled up against him,trying to provide some comfort.In many ways he was a puppy trying to comfort his human.He whined a little."Friend Kray...don't be scared.No one will hurt you here." He said.

Kray continued to babble, his words slurring together. He was begging and it took him a minute or two of crying, curled against Arie's lap, before his sobbing declined. His trembling didn't and he found himself quaking, tears the cloth his head was currently nestled in. "'m sorry 'm s-s-sorry s-sorry," he murmured, finally taking his eyes away from cloth he was nestled in. The bandages on his face had finally slumped off during his struggling, revealing the colored mess that was his left eye. Blood-shot sclera, each vein pronounced and defined. The iris was a strange mix of color, yellows edging along its rim while a sickly orange clung to the edge of a dilated pupil. The pupil itself seemed to shine a rusty color when it reflected the light of the moon. "'m s-sorry..." he sniffed, eyeing where he knew Hikari was standing. He could see her soft sheen past the horse between them. the horse itself had an air that sent a shiver down his spine and he couldn't help but look away again, eyes closing tight as he buried his face in Arie's lap once more, still curled around his bandaged stumps. "S-s-sorry..." He hiccuped, whimpering pitifully. He was such a mess.

Hikari nearly cried as the boy recovered and started apologizing.She knelt in front of him,and noticed his eye.It was something the like of which she had never seen.Was this the reason he had gotten in so much trouble? "Don't apologize,Kray.I understand.You got scared,and that's fine.But I promise I won't hurt you,not ever." She said.

Hunter tilted his head,ears perked.Kray's eye had him interested,but he didn't know how to ask about it withough sounding rude.Instead,he wagged his tail."I'm gonna go eat,'kay? Kray friend,I'll be right back.Just call if you need me!" He said,and bounded off towards the dragon and the carcass."Ooh,it smells good! I haven't had fresh meat in a long time.Si mi nugriup! He said before taking a large bite out of what was left of the carcass.

((si mi nugriup!= I am hungry!))

"See? No one's angry with you. It's alright." Arie said softly as she continued to slowly stroke his hair. She said nothing about what the moon mare felt or how it raised it's head. The moon fay twitched one ear, appearing rather perplexed. The gentle, loving creature had felt the magical intrusion but was not particularly bothered by it. It had no secrets... except maybe it's sorrow watching it's mistress fight battle after battle and the loss of the one who had given her to Arie. That second sorrow was one it and Arie shared eternally. Arie herself had noticed the magic, felt it flicker and felt her star's hunger for it but be unable to reach it without her permission. He had read the ancient mare's aura or soul somehow.... she doubted deliberately judging by his fear. She hid nothing so it did not create fear for herself or the blameless mare whose eternal lunar power may be intimidating but ultimately was guided by a heart far more gentle then Arie's own.

No, instead she worried absently about what he would see if he looked at her.... If the silver star didn't block it her battles and the destruction she fought constantly would be seen. If she let her star block it as it often did he may be see the giant eternal maw of the dead star, open and hungry, restrained only by her it's eternal guard. A watchful warrior who could not afford to be light, harmless, loving, and spontaneous as she generally appeared. The world of the dead where stars and planet's energy went when they faded and died was a spiritual world it was her purpose to protect .... or rather keep from spreading into the land of the living. It was a place of anger, hunger, betrayal, and regret. It was not a place for children to see. Still, her countless battles against the spirits of destruction were nothing for a child either.... often surrounded by the rotting corpses of her comrades, nature spirits, and often random human victims who had been taken by surprise. It was a terrible war without end, especially for the neither living or dead Arie.

((I really feel like I should explain what's happening to Kray but I feel like it would ruin the surprise so if you ARE interested in knowing what's up with this poor babbu then pm me and I'll explain as best I can.))

Kray continued to babble out apologies, only stopping when he felt and heard the unicorn kneel next to him. She didn't touch him. She only promised that she would never hurt him.

Liar.

He twitched, casting a quick sideways glance at her. Was she...lying? A jolt of electricity through his spine and eyes told him she wasn't. He screwed his eyes shut again and whimpered, lifting his stumps to his head and chewing his lip, practically shredding it in his teeth, blood dripping onto Arie's skirt. His head hurt his head hurt so much and Arie's fingers in his hair wasn't really helping and- he jolted, eyes slamming open.

Look.

He didn't want to look. But his head was cradled in her lap. So...wasn't he looking at her now? A jolt and burn shot itself through him and it left a cold in the pit of his stomach. Blood and death and the burning, dark maw of something so far beyond his understanding all shot through his mind in a blur. Betrayal and anger and regret and sorrow all mixed in his psyche like a sticky ooze. And when it was over he slumped over onto his side, drool dribbling out of his mouth and his pupils dilated until his irises were consumed by them. He made a gurgling whimpering noise as he lay there, his trembling having ceased. Something in him seemed to crack and the rooted despair in his heart clung so tightly that it was unlikely to ever be dislodged. His eyes finally slipped closed, breathing evening out and normalizing as his mind shut itself down in a vain attempt to protect itself from what it saw.

~~*~*~*~~

Hahnu blinked as the wolf-boy came bounding over. A smile curled on his blood caked lips as he watched the thin creature rip into the carcass. "It tastes good as well," he rumbled, slipping down onto his belly and resting his head upon his wing, watching the young thing with an amused eye. His nose twitched and curled, the mulberry-garlic scent returning to the air. Stronger. There was a tinge of bitterness to it, something that caused an uneasy quiver in him. But he ignored it. It would most likely vanish soon enough anyway. Like it had before.

Arie felt her star flare, the broken star reaching out for the energy vainly in search of the life it's prior guard had snuffed out in her lust for power. Arie, the daughter of that woman, was nothing like her mother and would not let it useless feed on the living. She raised a hand to touch it, feeling the void wrap around her soul and hearing the whispers only she could hear of the angry dead who refused to move on. Her mother's vain and foolish heart had cursed them all, a burden the universe itself had inflicted in punishment. Still, Arie's heart was true and strong, making it easy for her to push back the darkness with her shining light so the ever hungry void was forced back into silence. There... It would calm and lighten now.

"You saw didn't you? It's alright, it is not so bad and it can not touch you as long as I exist. The Void is dark but darkness is always there, vainly trying to enter the light. Do not let it worry you, keep your own light strong and such things can't touch you..." She whispered softly to the youth, though she doubted he would hear her. Instead she merely wiped away the blood gently with a handkerchief from her pocket. She knew what it was to see darkness others couldn't and just how little there was anyone could do to help another while they figured it all out. He would have to fight through it as many too young did. Her eyes stayed on him, gentle and pitying but distant as if what she saw was nothing unusual to her.

Hikari watched helplessly as the boy looked up at Arie and seemed to have some kind of seizure.When he fainted,she reached forward and brushed his hair aside again,out of habit and lack of anything else to do."Poor boy.I wonder what it is that ails him so? What curse could so destroy a youth?"

Hunter nodded his agreement as he gulped down about twice his body weight in meat.He was kind of glad Kray couldn't see him,because he was afraid he might get scared.Hunter was much more wolf at that moment than he usually was.Once he was finally full,he cleaned himself off as best he could.His ears twitched."What's wrong with Kray?" He asked.

Adrian was shifting nervously on his hooves. Those eyes watching Kray and those nearest to him. Equine ears twitching, swiveling this way and that, his withers twitched slightly and an air of nervousness surrounded the centaur for a long few moments as he watched. Quickly, he calmed himself. His heart racing and soon only an air of uncertainty surrounded him. He glanced at Hunter for a moment. Wishing for nothing more than the ability to protect to the two children from the garden or anything else that would do them harm. There was only so much he actually could protect them or the others from and none of that would matter.

He took a slight step back, suddenly wanting to run away. To gallop deep into the garden and just leave the others to their fate, like a coward. He pawed at the ground with a hoof, not even looking at Hahnu. Surely the dragon would think badly of him if he did run off. When Hunter spoke, Adrian jumped slightly, he shook his head and watched the wolfling for a moment. "I don't know." There was a deep frown on Adrian's lips.

Hahnu had turned to watch the boy, the magic flare that began to permeate from him catching his attention. His eyes went cold, a grave look on his old face. He turned his head when Hunter spoke, eyeing the pup almost sadly. The old dragon sighed through his nose. The scent the boy had carried before and now, even as it was fading away, left a terrible taste in his mouth. "A curse...seems like a good word," he muttered, eyes landing on the unconscious child near the two women. He moved his gaze to Arie, fuchsia eyes glowing lightly. "Do you see it?" he asked, voice low and rumbling. "Do you see why this...child smells so sour?" The word child seemed to fall from his teeth almost heavily, as if even referring to Kray as such didn't sit right with him. In truth it didn't. It was difficult for him to call him one. The scent and that magical surge....they were far too telling to the old and hardened wyrm.

Arie continued her quiet assurances to the boy, not really answering anyone for a moment. She simply watched the boy, her eyes holding that distant look. She was not watching the physical body at her feet but the streams of energy the void had earlier been reaching for. Death was hungry and a willing meal was before it, there was little wonder why the void had found him so enticing. She only looked up again as the dragon spoke, tilting her head to the side. It's true her kind were rare, most not roaming any further then thier own star bodies they guarded, but she had been traveling so very long it was not impossible for something like an old dragon would know things. Did he know what she was too? At the very least he sensed she was not so light and easy going as she seemed. Ah well, dragons could be like that.

"I am not sure 'see' is the right word... but it does seem a choice has been made doesn't it? And not one for the better..." She said quietly. She'd seen this happen before to other magic souls who had used their own magic against themselves, choosing to shatter under tragedy rather then live with it. The cultures she'd met all had different names for them, some generic and some not, but it happened everywhere it seemed. It was possible to put enough pieces together to get awareness and self back but rare. It had already been starting before but she had hoped she was wrong as she had hoped vainly many times before. She said nothing else, nothing to explain it to the younger ones around them. The dragon would understand her meaning, of that she was certain. An irreversible, foolish choice had been made and only time would tell if his soul was too stubborn to truly stay dead.

Hunter tilted his head,one ear flopping over."A curse? Well,can't someone break it?" He looked around at the extraordinary collection of beings before him."I mean,you guys are powerful,right? A unicorn and a centaur and a cat woman from another world,and a dragon...and I'm not much but I'm a good helper...can't we help Kray?" He asked,young and innocent as he was.

Hikari looked between everyone as they spoke,as if watching a tennis match.Her face was thoughtful,the pale star scar on her forehead that marked her as a unicorn shining slightly."I do not know the nature of this magic.Keep in mind that the mighty dragon said it was like a curse,but not necessarily an actual curse.It is...difficult...to understand such a potent magic.I only wish we knew what happened to this boy to bring him to this point."

Hahnu snorted, muttering something about an 'only option' under his breath as he eyed Arie. He seemed about to say something, but stopped as the young pup next to him spoke. He turned his head, eyes softening. "The...only help I can offer him...none of you would approve," he said, voice low and sad. He did not elaborate. He felt there was no need to. He heaved himself up, eyeing the unconscious boy. "He's...not all gone. Won't be for a while from that...smell," he whispered, more to himself than anything. The boy was still human for now. He stank of death and a torn soul but he was still himself. But that wound deep in him would fester and take him. How long that would take...he couldn't say. But the end results would be disastrous. "Stormchaser...are you positive there is no escape from this cage? The boy...it would be best to have him removed before long. If he stays long enough he may shatter...and even your precious Ishtar may not even be able to recover what remains of this place..." He lifted his eyes to the moon, giving it a long glare. Where was this 'goddess'? Sitting back while she keeps something here against his will, binding him to a garden she no longer cared for. "Then again...I suppose this Coward God cares not for anything that happens here...perhaps she was a trickster in disguise. Perhaps she was never a God at all!" His voice had risen to a marvelous and booming crescendo, anger filling his words with venom.

Adrian was shifting on his hooves, almost nervously. Those eyes on Hunter for a moment as he shook his head. He wasn't so powerful, he had no magic. Rather none that could help or be used here. When Hahnu spoke, the centaur pranced backwards a couple of steps, frowning deeply as the dragon began to challenge Ishtar. Would the insults goad her into interfering? He didn't think so. There seemed to be no response from the goddess, the moon's light had seemed to dim for a moment though. "There is no escape unless the garden or Ishtar allow it." He pawed at the ground. "I know where all the exits are, but that doesn't mean you can actually leave through them. If the garden wants to play with you, then you are doomed." Those equine ears twitched and he looked around almost nervously for a moment, a hand reaching up to touch the band around his neck. "But truly I am forbidden from showing the exits to anyone."