There was a strong wind imbued with sea salt.... and then, nothing at all. No, that wasn't entirely true. The prick of talons held Hades' shoulder even as it changed, and in a million lifetimes, he would recognize the desperate grip of Little Ember.

For a long, long time, there were no sounds, no smells, no sights. At some moments there was barely memory, sentience, and then -- a light, with it, his senses trickling back. The smell of salt came back to him, and Hades was reminded of a long, longgggggggggggg dark hallway, but the others were right. He couldn't feel the way back, couldn't feel the writhing mass of their energies and crackling power. He would not return home in this way....

If he even could.

He was alarmed to feel each fleck of his resplendence stolen away from him; the helm, his powers, the sizzle in his veins he'd always imagined to be akin to the pumping of blood through a mortals'. Only the four pinpricks along his shoulder remained, and the mission scorched into the front of his mind.... reconnaissance just got a whole lot fucking harder. But he wouldn't have changed his mind even if he could; if the rest knew Persephone was at the other end of this portal, somewhere, he would find her. He didn't care how far she was out of reach, how hard he had to search, how long it took him.

His queen would have her place at his side once more.

The light --one that hadn't hurt his sensitive eyes, he thought suspiciously-- at the other end of the tunnel dimmed, puttered out, but Hades could feel it now. Something had changed, shifted. He tried to reach out a hand, but realized he was pinned, held in place at every inch. How rude! Even Kronos' stomach had more room than this.
What it did remind him of, however, was dirt. Packed, untouched dirt.
It was as if the moment of realization broke some spell, and suddenly, Hades was aware of two things; Ember was gripping his shoulder so tightly it was drawing blood and therefore clearly also stuck in place, and AIR WAS NOW VERY IMPORTANT.
Hades wiggled, and thrashed, and dug with what were most certainly not hands anymore, but his desperation rewarded him quickly. The king of the dead burst through the earth with a gasp, shoving first his forelegs out first and then shoving his shoulders against the gap, allowing a more than very disgruntled screech owl to flutter messily from the chaos before pulling himself out of the hole.

Hades, God of the dead and king of the underworld, dragged himself unceremoniously from the pit and fell to his stomach with heaving gasps, tail lashing, ears pinning- wait, what?

His eyes opened to a dark night with a crescent of a moon grinning in the sky, a million unfamiliar stars glittering in welcome.... and two paws as dark as Tartarus. The color lightened into ravens feather blue, and Hades craned his neck to keep looking at himself. It was a familiar form; one he often took when playing with Cerberus or stalking the woods of the mortal realm. His pelt was a faded mess of blues and silver and black, but he was appalled to see that he was mid fucking shed. The blue bits of his lower half were chunky, and pale, and when he pawed at one, it fell out easily to reveal the grey-green of his thinner summer coat beneath. As angry as he was about the mess and hassle he usually didn't have to put up with, it told him the seasons were still trucking along as they should, and that soon Persephone's absence would cause the world to falter. Mankind was a foul mess. Hades didn't really care about the mortals or the power they offered his kind; only of reuniting families, primarily his own. Not going back... well, he hadn't admitted it to his brothers, but that wouldn't be the worst thing to ever happen, would it?

The God lifted himself and shook out the heavy coat, grumbling, and cast a glance around. First thing he noticed?

The snow was fucking purple, and alarm bells rang in his head, growing ever louder when he realized even his companion was circling overhead instead of finding somewhere to land. The ginger owl swooped low when he saw that Hades had found his bearings, chattering unhappily and offering a hushed "Something isn't right!" before wheeling off in the other direction; it appeared that in the distance the snow regained its regular shade, and the stygian lupine turned to follow, stepping quickly and lightly from the murk.

For a moment, he told himself it couldn't be that bad, but then a spell of dizziness hit the amber eyed god, and he hurried his steps further. By the time he reached the edge of it, an icy lake visible on the near horizon, nausea had gripped the god as well. His brows furrowed, curses from several other languages falling from his lips as he left the violet foothills.

I know how you are, Mikrós, but do not stray far from my side here.

An unhappy sound akin to a growl came from the low-flying owl, but there came no disagreement. Until they found out what it was like here, and who occupied these lands, it was better at Hades' side for the bird. As much as he'd like to send the beast far and wide to ease their search, it was not safe.

They reached the side of the lake and Hades dipped his head down, sniffing warily at the surface. It didn't.... smell bad. Ember swooped down to land on his back, chattering nervously, as the lupine took a drink.

Hopefully he didn't die.

Rune Discovery : 「 Failure 」

---

Ignorant to this world and the stress of its fragile magic, you are all too focused on the sudden change you’ve just experienced. Your reality has altered from what you were once familiar with, the only thing your mind is able to focus on is where you are, what you are, how you got here, and all the logic questions anyone in your position would have.

Had you been here soon, had you known of the runes and their importance — then maybe, just maybe, you would have seen a subtle flicker of blue within the world of winter snow and evergreens. But you see nothing beyond the obvious landmarks and natural beauties.

Was there truly one nearby? Would you have seen it quickly and easily if you had spent only a moment more analyzing the nitty-gritty details of your new world? It seems we will never know.

With effort, it had torn itself away from the tainted river, the ceaseless thrum of its curiosity the only thing keeping it from pitching itself into the searing stream. It had found two, surely it would find more. It just had to follow the pull.

Maybe it would find the source, and finally learn the reason why.

The wind was cutting and the air frigid as it loped across the vast, snowy expanse. The pull was getting stronger; a different one than the river, one that stole the breath from its lungs and left it lightheaded and giddy with anticipation. There was a creature of some sort in the middle distance, maybe two, their dark and vibrant colors in stark contrast to the flat blanket of snow.

There was also... something else. Its head snapped in its direction immediately, catching only the faintest flicker of blue light in the distance. It vanished almost sooner than it could be seen. Almost.

It stood, and watched, staring intently in the direction it had disappeared.

Hades did not immediately die. That was a good sign. His breaths were still coming fast from his sprint from the nearby amaranthine expanse, and he opted to stay there at the lake to gather his bearings for a while. It couldn't hurt, right? He could feel Ember ruffle his feathers, twitching as he undoubtedly twisted his head to and fro to eyeball this strange new world; Hades followed suit, casting his gaze around.

Three separate mountain ranges to the south and west, a pine forest cluttering one pass and another smudge of what he thought to be more trees covering eastward. Was he on an island, or was there further land beyond those peaks? Northward -

A fucking tiger.

Bloody hell.

It was dark, and large, and ashamedly nerve-wracking for a god who had just moments ago been stripped of all the power he'd wielded for millennia.

Still, he turned to face the creature, head high and back straight like the proper gentleman he was, and watched the creature in the distance. He couldn't tell what it was staring at, but apparently, not himself or Ember. That was a good start. He flagged his tail and gave it a little wave by way of greeting, head cocking to the side. Perhaps they would have information on this land to offer, or perhaps he'd have to start running.

Either way, he was ready.

Persephone was so much better at the socializing thing.