As Shyrus gathered the magic to open a gateway out of there she wasn't holding a particular location in mind. The fear of her deadly adversary had her panicking, ever so slightly, causing her to forget some of the most important lessons she had ever learned. Most of the places she opened gateways to she had marked, small tags made with her magic to help her locate them and make the gateways easier to open. Where she was headed now, though, was not one of those places. It was somewhere different, somewhere that could very possibly be entirely new to her. She was through the portal and out the other side, eyes widening as she crashed into a tree that towered above her even in her true form. The sound of her impact echoed through the forest around her, but there were no sounds of wildlife fleeing. The woods were eerily silent, not that Shyrus noticed as she began cursing and rubbing her sore head with clawed hands.

"Fucking tree should watch where it's fucking going. I'll fight the damn thing." She glared at it, at the crack in the trunk that her head had made. She was used to being able to see above the tops of trees, but here? Her head snaked up, following the trunk up and up until she looked into the canopy above her. She had a vague idea of where she might be, but nothing concrete. Reaching out a hand, she placed the tip of a claw against the wood. Ice began spreading from it, encasing the tree trunk. There was something she was missing, she was sure of it. She drummed her claws over the ice, causing it to shatter and breaking the wood beneath. This, coupled with the damage done by her hard head, caused the trunk to split across the middle. The tree toppled, then, falling ever so slowly. Looking around, she realized there was plenty of space between each of the trees for her to move, even in this form. It might be a little tight, but with her wings folded… The tree collided with the next, stopping it from falling any further as it propped itself up, branches high above tangling with those of it's neighbors. There would be no room to fly, but she could climb.

Shyrus snaked up the next nearest tree, her act of petty and pointless vandalism left behind her. Her claws dug into the bark easily and she climbed without issue, but it was a bit of a way up. She looked around her as she climbed but saw nothing, no animals or other signs of life. It was a little creepy, how quiet the forest was. It was… Unnatural. She had originally planned on making her way up and over the canopy, perhaps fly her way out of this place. But, in that case, she could just as easily open a portal and get out of there with far less effort. The only thing keeping her here was, what exactly? Had she been alone? ""Fuck! The elf!"

Shyrus leaped from where she clung to the tree, her plan had been to use her wings to glide down to the forest floor beneath and find her precious Keebler pet. Before she could snap her wings open and glide, though, they were colliding with the trees around her and caused her to crash into the next tree. She scrabbled against it, claws seeking purchase, dropping further and further down the tree before she was able to halt her progress. Her way down after that was a little more cautious, hopping from tree to tree, claws sinking in and sending torrents of bark and wood chips showering towards the forest below. As she finally reached the floor, her head swung back around to look around for where she had appeared. The fallen tree was right where she had left it, making a good landmark in the eerily silent forest that stretched out around her. 

First, he was falling, then spinning, and blacking out. Then he felt his body hit something rough and hard.
Caleb saw the dots blot out his vision, seeing a flash of icy white with a mix of dull grey and brown. He felt his chest rise and fall one last time before he fell into a slumber.

He heard the sound of something scratching. Wood? Rubble, perhaps?
His ribs ached as he sat up, hand holding his forehead as it throbbed. What did he hit when he was portaled?
Right. Portaled. By her.
He knit his eyebrows in annoyance, forcing himself to stand. He grunted, realizing his ribs might be in worse shape than he had hoped. Still, not quite broken.
He vaguely remembered the phrase ‘Fuck the elf!’ somewhere. Well, that was uncalled for. He wasn’t interested in that at all.
He dusted off his pants and had a look around. Trees. Massive, thick trees reached up into the sky. He saw mists floating below the tops of the trees. Clouds? His back was against a similar tree, its lower branches being thick as a cobble street.
The roots came up and around, coiling themselves into the dirt in weird and unruly patterns. One however, seemed to be lying on the ground. Nearby to that, was the familiar dragon who had gotten him caught up in this mess.

He started to stalk over, hands clinched into fists. “You!” He called, anger seeping into his tone. “Do you care to explain yourself? To explain my crushed astrology tower? My passing out? Your inexplicable behavior!” He stopped, standing a few yards from her. He wasn’t yelling- at least, not yet, but the urge to scream sat in his throat, itching to be released. He knew better though, and had spent years learning how to shut down his anger before it got out of hand.
He was losing it, though. He felt the need to yell and curse rise in his throat. It sat neatly on the line, teetering over the edge.

He tried something different, something that didn’t cause him to be so upset when he spoke.
“Would you tell me why you portaled so quickly? It was rather reckless.”
‘rather reckless’ was quite the understatement. He tried not to think about his trashed home, and how much it would be to repair it. Money was no concern of his, it came easier than it went- but Prothisies would give him an earful, and the old man had gotten annoying and naggy in recent years.

- - -

Prothisies let a pigeon fly out of the upstairs… ah… sunroof? Sunroof. Prothisies let the pigeon fly up the newly installed, completely intentional sunroof.
That was the final one. Soon his favors would be all called in and with time he would get this done before Master Caleb would arrive back home. Money could have it done. Money could have it done nicely too, but efficiency called for more people, especially those eager to assist.
He took the wand from his hip and began to wave it slowly, drifting it around, letting his wrist roll and do the work.
The shattered pieces from the roof spun and danced across the floor, arcing and piling themselves in the corner for easy pickup. Prothisies knew much about magic- knew every spell in the book and even had a few of his own. He would need help to rebuild, put pickup was easy. And Caleb had called his spells ‘useless’ Ha! What an amateur!

Shyrus could hear the sound of someone screeching nearby, an annoying little voice that seemed to be getting high pitched with worry. She swiveled her head around on her long, sinuous neck until she could see the source of the noise. Her eyes widened with pleasant surprise when she saw that it was her little elven friend Keebler, who was working himself up into a fit about something. He was approaching her, which was correct of him to do, making her wait for him would have been an awful idea. It might have ended with her leaving without him. As he drew closer she lowered her head, long neck stretching out so that she ended up right in front of him. He looked like he had managed to calm himself down by that point, and asked her very calmly about her reasons for opening the gateway and saving him. How dare he question her? He owed her his life! She could open her jaws right now, and wouldn't even need to open them wide in order to snatch him up and swallow him hole. She resisted the urge, however, feeling proud of herself for doing so especially considering the hunger building inside her. When had she last eaten? It had definitely been a while now. She could eat Keebler now and there wouldn't be anyone to stop her. But she didn't. Instead she breathed out through her nostrils, blasting the little elf with a wave of icy wind that picked up the loose folds of his clothes and sent them flapping.

"There was danger, tiny. I saved you and you should be offering to make me dinner. Now shut up while I get us out of here and find us somewhere to eat… Fruit snacks would be great right now…" her long, forked tongue flicked out. She turned in place, then, an awkward shuffled that ended with her tail whipping around through the air. If the elf had been average height it would have taken his head off. Luckily, he was one of the little people. That worked out quite nicely for him, keeping him alive and out of Shyrus' belly for a little longer at least. Muttering to herself she raised a clawed hand and summoned the magic to tear through the fabric of the world and open a portal back to Adeluna. She dragged her claw down through the air when the magic was ready, expecting the portal to open before her… Except, it didn't. She paused, waited a heartbeat, and then gathered the magic to try again. It was a familiar spell, one she used many times each day as she was often too lazy to walk or fly everywhere, but perhaps she had made a small mistake. It was bound to happen to everyone eventually. It did mean she was going to have to kill the elf, though. Gathering the magic again she tried to open a portal to somewhere else, somewhere even more familiar to her than Adeluna. Somewhere like the city of little ice elves near her home. This time she focused the magic through the wand in her mouth, that sliver of Ancient bone, not wanting to take any chances. She could feel something giving way this time, something that was resisting her magic and stopping her from opening the gateway. Whatever it was, it felt sticky somehow. She hissed and turned back around to glare down at the tiny elf. If she found out he was doing something to prevent her from using her magic… That made no sense, though. He would be stuck here with her and had to know that he was the only immediate food source. She drummed her claws over the earth and clucked her tongue. She could always just fly out of here, but recalling what she had seen up in the tree, the forest stretching out in all directions without an end in sight. Well, that would mean a lot of effort. Perhaps she could find out whatever it was that was stopping her gateway magic nearby, and stop whatever it was.

She glared down at the elf as she transformed back into a semi-human form, spitting out the wand and purse as she became human-ish again. She kept a covering of small, soft scales, remembering how annoying the elf had been when he had complained previously about seeing bare flesh. What a prude. She still towered over the little guy, even as a human. She grinned to herself as she fetched the items from the ground and then let out a heavy sigh. Which way to walk in, which way to go. Breathing in deeply, she thought she could smell the faint smell of blood from far off. If there was blood, there was food. Without saying anything to Keebler she took off in that direction.

The inconveniently overgrown lizard hissed at him, praising herself and saying that it was only her who had saved his life from an invisible threat. He fought back the urge to laugh at her. Though a talented mage who could obviously best this child of a runt, it would prove a task.
But it doesn’t mean he would not be able to do it.
She lowered her head as she spoke to him, her eyes as level with his as they could be while she remained in a dragon form. She exhaled an icy wind that cut Caleb to the bone. No matter, he would arm himself with fire in no time.
She told him how he should be indebted to her. Caleb didn’t pay munch mind. Her tongue flickered, narrowly missing him. He leaned to the side to avoid being pushed down by the reptile’s tongue. Immediately afterward he ducked, her tail swinging just above him, brushing his hair.
She seemed to test the air, lifting a single claw and bringing it down. This wasn’t what she had meant to achieve apparently, because she looked frustrated and attempted to do it again.
He watched as her face became taunt with confusion. Was she trying to open a portal?

He shivered, the cold still settling in. He placed his hand over his arm and pulsed heat to melt away the bitter frost. He felt better as the gentle heat melted away the ice. He was used to both normally, but the dragon’s ice was more intense than he could conjure up himself.

The dragon had made a few worried shifts before turning into a humanoid shape, standing just taller than Caleb himself. She seemed to test the air a moment once more, before bolting off into the woods.
Great, now what where they getting into?
He followed in pursuit. Despite being superior to this draconic idiot in almost every way, she proved to be much more nimble. Caleb himself wasn’t as agile, tripping and jumping clumsily over roots and rocks and the like.

“Wait, where are we going?” He called annoyed. “Where are we right now?”
The dragon girl was leaping ahead of him, losing him in great strides. He wasn’t sure if she could even hear her, what over the rustling and the footsteps and the clicking and the-
The clicking?
He spun around and saw something move behind one of the trees. It was there, if only but for a moment. He thought maybe to investigate, but decided against it. He was already losing the girl, he best not wait around and poke his head into business that was not his own.

He could have sworn he heard a hiss or a scuttle, but it could also have been his feet crunching on the leaves. He darted after the Dragon, already unsure which direction she had run off in by this point. Alas, he kept going.

Somewhere, deep within the forest, within a temple covered in webs, deep down into the deep dark…
An eerie note is played on a single woodwind instrument, quickly joined by a second and a third. The melody floats through the darkness. There are no lights down here, there is no need for them. More woodwind instruments join, along with a lone string instrument. Drums begin to beat, gently so as to not overpower the notes from the rest. Finally a lone female voice calls out, singing, joining with the rest of the music and combining together to form one single voice, echoing through the vaults hidden beneath the temple.

As the music calls into the void, there is a click. A faint hiss. A breath comes out, washing over those gathered, reeking of death and corruption. For those waiting this is the smell of comfort, of lives spent well, bringing them to this one single moment. They were waiting for this. Hoping for this. Their prayers had been answered. Outside there were others, but they hadn't been chosen for this great honor. If they were lucky, if they lived their lives in service, then some of them might get to reach this point, might be blessed. The music increases in tempo. The click comes again, the hissing grows louder and there, once more, the breath came out of the dark. Someone cries out in ecstasy but the sound is swallowed by the music. Finally, eight orbs become visible. Though they are black they seem to shine with some inner light. They hand there, out in the void. For some, the few who had seen the hall in the rare occasion where light was provided so the seals could be renewed, they knew that they were impossibly far away. The walls ended the space and yet, there they were. The clicks begin to come faster, the orbs grow larger. Cries from within the crowd become more frequent as the anticipation for what is to come builds. As the orbs come closer, other features become visible. Mandibles, dripping and clacking together. All gathered are dedicated. There will be no screaming. They all chose this, chose to feed their god as it made it's way back into the world.

The old man tore open the portal, sensing the resistance but he was a crafty one and he found his way through. The way had seemed… He couldn't put his finger on it. Had it been sticky? How could a magical portal, torn through the fabric of space possibly be considered sticky, though? He shrugged and continued his argument with his companion. "I don't care whether or not you preferred the black robes! The robes are white now and that is that! She is white, we worship her and so our robes are white!" there came a huffing sound as his companion trotted through. "Oh and don't you start about the snowflake. She is all about ice. Ice, snowflake. Get over it!" another huffing in response to this came from the dog, clothed in a pure white hoody with a silver snowflake stitched upon the back. "And anyway. I think you look fabulous."

The man himself is old, extremely old. His pure white beard is long enough to reach his knees, to stop it getting in the way or caught on things he keeps in tucked into the belt of his own pure white robe. He had considered silver robes for himself, with a white snowflake. It would be fitting to set himself apart, he was the high priest after all. In the end though he had decided against it. It was better to save on the cost of the silver robes, put the funds towards something better, like recruitment efforts. An outsider might comment he might want to put the money towards food, he was incredibly thin and frail, but he dedicated his life to one thing and one thing only. The great one herself. The portal snapped shut behind him, leaving him and his companion alone in the forest. "Well then," he said, hobbling forwards with the aid of the walking stick, "let's see if we can catch up with her.". His companion sniffed at the air, then began trotting off, slowly in respect for the high priest's infirmity, in the direction of the scent he had caught.

High up in the trees, suspended in the webs that were hidden by the canopy, it hung and watched these two newcomers. They were as nothing compared with the other two, the ones who had run off not long before. These latest intruders would make for a satisfying snack for it, but to the one that even now it could feel returning to the world? They wouldn't do anything. They were too small, too weak. Soon, there would be nothing left of them, anyway. It hissed and clicked, moving swiftly along the webs, tracking their progress.

Shyrus raced through the forest, not caring about the surroundings that were whipping by her. She had no need to worry about anything, the scales covering her might have been soft and flexible but they were still strong enough to protect her from the random branches and rocks that might attack her in her headlong rush. Her stomach rumbled and she put on a burst of supernatural speed. Her mouth was watering from the smell of the blood that was drawing closer. She could almost picture the heaping pile of flesh that must be ahead. Sure, she would have had a lot more satisfaction if she had been the one who killed whatever it was but she couldn't afford to be fussy. Unless she chose to tell Keebler to run, and hunt him down instead. Her pace slowed for a fraction of a second as she played with this thought. It was definitely an idea. She shook the thought away and burst through into a clearing, and what she saw made a toothy grin spread across her face. Perfect.

While she used the term clearing, there were actually trees gathered around. They just weren't as packed together as the surrounding forest. The trees were bare of any leaves, the bark a smooth, perfect white. The branches grew periodically, as if manufactured, though how one would manipulate the growth of trees to make them look like this was beyond her. What had made her smile, though, was what was speared on all the branches. Bodies, stripped of their skin, skewered on all of the branches as if being left out for something. She looked from branch to branch, licking her lips. Some of the figures were humanoid, she could make out the shapes of what could have been humans or elves from the size, others were much smaller, either children or gnomes, and then there were the less impressive groupings of animals. The most satisfying thing, though, was how fresh all these corpses were. Blood still dripped from them, running down the bark of the trees, leaving red streaks that reached down to the bottom, pooling and turning the forest floor to a soupy mud.

Shyrus crouched, gathering herself, muscles bunching, and propelled herself up onto the nearest branch with a mighty leap. As she landed on the branch she expected there to be some give to it, but the thing was sturdy, solid. It took the force of her landing and didn't budge in the slightest. She shrugged and shuffled forwards to the closest corpse, reaching out claw tipped fingers ready to grasp at it and tear chunks ready to feast. The corpse's eyes shot open, wide and glaring, staring up at her. Shyrus stared back, hands frozen in place inches from tearing the throat out of the should-have-been-dead-body.

"H-he-ee-eelp m-m-eeeee!" the… Thing, screamed. Shyrus rolled her eyes and shrugged, finishing the motion and tearing the throat out of the pathetic creature. She was lifting the gore dripping mess to her lips to take a bite from when all around her eyes began springing open. Cries began rising from all those who weren't too riddled with shock to not move or make a noise. Again, Shyrus shrugged, stuffing the meat into her mouth and chewing noisily as she blinked. As her eyes reopened her vision changed. Auras began to spring up around everything she viewed. There was a steady pulse of magic coming up through the trees, spreading out through the branches and being fed into the bodies. She supposed that magic was what was keeping these things alive. It was a nice touch, really, to keep them alive and in so much pain after skinning them. Maybe she would be able to take one of these trees home with her when she left. It would certainly make a nice addition to her chamber of terror. She reached down and tore more handfuls of flesh from the now dead body, stuffing them into her mouth and humming to herself, ignoring the sound of screaming and pleading.