video — un: starburst | backdated mid to late december.

[valeas]

( The video opens with Emilia sitting in the snow, clad in a velvet cloak to shield her from the day's chill. She isn't much of a presence lately, her recent stint back home having left her in the foulest mood. Those that know her probably sensed the proceed with caution vibes she emanated the days following the beacon disaster.

But today is a new day, and some things need doing. It starts with contacting Red for a personal heads up, and now:

Standing behind her is her husband betrothed in his trademark suit, not looking the slightest bit bothered or affected by the weather.

And behind Wrath is — well. The reason for this transmission. A creature the size of a medium horse plays in the snow, one of its three heads gnawing on a bone. Needless to say, the threat posed by one of the more vicious wolves has since been eliminated. )

This is ...

( At Emilia's careful pause, Wrath fondly supplies: )

A puppy.

( It is not a puppy by mortal standards. The doglike creature's fur is white as the snow that continues to fall, its eyes a glacier blue holding pupils that dilate and contract strangely. Its fangs are twice the size of dinner knives, and appear to be just as sharp when another one of its heads bares them before perching on Emilia's shoulder. )

He is from our world. We thought it prudent ( Emilia shoots Wrath a look then ) to alert the group of his presence.

( Wrath raises an eyebrow at the look his wife sends before releasing a sigh — this is not the underworld and some mortals are easily frightened, which could complicate matters unnecessarily. ) He does not attack without my command.

( Comforting as always, Wrath. )

Let either of us know if you wish to meet him, so that he may become familiar with you. His name is a work in progress. ( Emilia ignores Wrath's snort to add: ) And a summoning ward will ensure he has a place to retreat to as needed.

( The puppy mainly just wants to play right now tbh. It really is a puppy by hell standards. They grow to the size of elephants, so. )

Comments

video; un: xunxian

[topoiran]

[ Oh.

Oh! Well. There is one face that is absolutely delighted at the sight. ]

He is beautiful!

[ Hi, puppy from the local 'knows animal languages' animal lover.

But also. ]

Has he met Ouhrsson yet?

[ The bear.

Because that can get complicated if it's unsupervised, and Ouhrsson doesn't exactly folow the network. ]

un : dappled peals of the parted seas (voice)

[beitangmoran]

Are you planning to make the introduction, Xunxian?

[valeas]

( Emilia suspects that this reaction will be pleasing to Wrath, but in retrospect, it is not terribly surprising. She hasn't forgotten the clever way Su Xunxian communicated with those birds in Taravast, discovering they were in the wrong bodies. )

...No, actually.

I'll have to keep an eye out for him. He has a way of catching up to us, doesn't he?

( The visual of a possessed bear riding a dragon is not one she'll forget anytime soon. )

un: absterge

[downswing]

( Oh no. )

A... puppy.

[valeas]

( Ah... )

Puppy-adjacent.

( Sort of? )

[inferus]

It is not fully grown.

So yes, a puppy.

video | un: yiling laozu | 1/?

[weifinder]

( He smiles when his pendant shows Emilia on its display, half ready to listen, more ready to talk as he starts with: )

Emilia, lovely to see you! Wrath, same for you! Not that you haven't been around, but you know how it is, ghosts haunting the nights, horrors in the woods, tentacled beasts in the ice lake, and a puppy—

2/?

[weifinder]

( he cuts off, visibly starting to pale. his lips part, his tongue curls back, and he chokes on that word, stuttering as he repeats, as the words she said sink in: )

P-puppy—

3/?

[weifinder]

Pupaaaaaayyyyahhhhahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—

4/?

[weifinder]

( he fumbles his pendant, then outright tosses it, his cry turning into shouted words as the pendant hits the floor and rolls, catching the sight of his feet as he books it out the door. )

Lan Zhan! Lan Zhaaaaan!

5/5

[weifinder]

Save meeeeeee!

( and he is off, in blind panic run, to find his husband and bodily throw himself at him, which helps nothing, and definitely did not register any of the supposed measures of safety assurance in the existence of such a deeply terrifying beast.

... sadly, it means his pendant stays there, recording... whatever sounds of his shouts that carry back, and the presently empty space before it, pointing awkwardly toward the open doorway. )

[valeas]

( Goddess above.

This is more along the lines of what Emilia expected. Understandably so. She herself reacted with fear the first time she saw one of these pups, not daring to breathe lest she incite an attack. But this goes far beyond fear, doesn't it?

Note to self: keep this beastie far, far away from the Yiling Patriarch. )

Wei Wuxian? Oh, merda —

( Hello????? )

video | un: slothbaby

[cosplayqueen]

[Kamala is usually wary of showing her face on here largely because she has a Desi mom. Muneeba Khan still isn't convinced a stranger won't reach through the screen to steal her baby to this day. Puppy beats out a million lectures from her mother on safety online. The teen's big brown eyes are the size of saucers. She proceeds to scream loudly in delight at the sight of this. (Sorry to anyone around her. She's very loud!)] A BABY!!!! YESSS!!!

[She claps a hand over her mouth. Kamala read somewhere sudden noises can scare dogs. Whoops!] Oh no, am I scaring him? I'm so sorry! Ammi won't let me have a dog. May I pet yours? I promise I'll be so nice to him and respect his boundaries! Please, please, please, Emilia and that guy with Emilia whose name I swear I'll learn? I swear that's not shade! I am just so excited! My brain is just going puppypuppypuppy right now. I'm sure you're great!

[valeas]

( Kamala's screams most certainly draw attention, all three of the puppy's heads turning toward the device. They each wear their own distinct expressions, all varying degrees of inquisitiveness. One dog head tilts its head, the other perks up its ears in alertness.

The last remains with his head perched on Emilia's shoulder, considering the screen with an otherworldly, eerie sort of stillness. )

Do not worry. They are not so easily frightened.

( If indeed they frighten at all. )

Let us start with an introduction first, yes? And work our way up from there.

this is beautiful lmao

[inferus]

( ................

.................

small mortals are so strange. he does appreciate the... appreciation for his hellhound, but truly, young mortals are... there are no particular descriptors that he can think to fill that in with at the moment. )

Wrath.

( that is his name. )

video | @taken for granite

[rumorate]

[Allison's eyes go up as she takes in the back of the video. Sure, she's watching it on a screen, so she's sure there's something to be said in terms of scale, but ...]

That's a very large puppy.

[valeas]

They eventually grow to the size of elephants, if you can believe it.

( Allison probably can — her own world is filled with improbable things. Her own family among them. )

video | un: mansbane

[bravelyrunsaway]

Will you look at... three heads? All connect to the same stomach, same lungs? Poor thing, I hope there's more than one heart in its bellows of a chest. How's that lovely creature do with smaller canines?

( he'd be disturbed, except he's.

... not remotely disturbed. he looks more curious, interested but not excited. )

Welcome back to feeling social, love, you and mister tall, dark, and wrathsome himself.

[inferus]

( For all his centuries of existence, that is an entirely new set of descriptors, which few would dare to use in his own world. This world continues to bring new... experiences. )

Its organs are more than large enough to accommodate even as it grows. ( It is a beast of Hell so it can defy the requirements for living beings required in the mortal realms. )

These puppies have limited experience with smaller canines. ( They have some association with werewolves, but werewolves in Hell are not tied to his own House so they would be territorial to any they ran across there. It's different here where no one is tied to any particular House. ) It may be best to arrange a meeting so there's no surprise.

[valeas]

He is the smallest canine in his realm, so I don't actually know.

( they are all entering uncharted territory here in that respect, though trust the master of deflection to zero in on the one thing emilia was hoping no one would comment on. )

What have you gotten up to in my absence, I wonder?

un: ut malum pluvia | audio

[somebadnews]

[ This isn't the first time Five has seen a three-headed dog with Wrath. It's been a while, and oddly enough, he can't be sure that it's the same one. (He was not exactly in his right mind when he saw it the first time.)

It occurs to him suddenly that he can't remember what happened to that one. More concerning is that he can't tell if it just ate Diego's wolf. ]

...Did it come through the beacon?

[inferus]

It came from a ward I was given at the end of our time in Serthica.

( Wrath and Emilia were both... occupied after she had gone through the beacon and returned, and so he did not have the chance to see the full extent of what the ward could do- only sensed the powerful magic held within it. He does not know what to make of the fact it can summon one of his beasts directly from Hell.

However, he can appreciate having one of his hellhounds near regardless. )

un: eclipse | audio

[soloritur]

[ It's been a while since he checked in, but Marcos has reason to worry about a giant three-headed dog chewing on a suspicious bone. Tamed as it... is. ]

Thanks for the warning. [ They really do need to talk more about home, because there's a pretty famous hellhound in mythology that he really didn't expect to find out is real. ] He uh... doesn't have a name?

[valeas]

( Hi, Marcos. This is clearly the best way for them to touch base again, yes?

The doglike creature pounces nearby and a bunch of snow comes up. It... melts immediately on her cloak, because Emilia is Emilia. )

No, they don't usually have names.

( Wrath has more than one puppy, yes. ) I would like him to, though. Any suggestions?

un: headless ragdoll (video)

[matermali]

[ She's ignoring Wrath, but certainly looking at the 'puppy'. Of course, she is reminded of Cerberus. How many hell hounds now? ]

A stunning creature. How much more is he to grow?

👀

[valeas]

They can grow to be large as elephants, if you are familiar with them.

( The sort of addendum she would not have thought to make before she realized there are... a lot of worlds out there. )

text; un: sticks and stones

[perceptive]

Thank you so much for the introduction. ( what a fantastic looking beast. at least, he won't have a heart attack seeing this "puppy" out in the wild. )

How did he get here from your world? Through the beacons?

[valeas]

He was ( ... ) a gift.

And he came with a summoning ward. Are you familiar?