Labyrinthine Coliseum

Shadin's eyes flicked to the ground at her question, lips pressing together in a hard line unbefitting of his handsome face. He thought for several long moments. "I will not say too much, only that I did admire him very much." He shook his head, he was unwilling to spill his past out to her like he assumed the other two had. No, he needed to hold the memories close to his chest lest they get in his way. "Let us speak of something else, you need to sleep, come and lie on my leg, I will keep watch."
 
Arwen got the message that he didn't want to talk about it, so she decided to keep her mouth shut. Which didn't work, since a few seconds later, she found herself yawning.
"Finally, I'm tired," she muttered, "about time sleep called out to me." She chuckled, sitting on the ground. Just as she was about to place her head on Shadin's leg, she saw that the wet ground slowly turned to sand, and that their temporary settlement vanished. The green hedges turned to beige rocks, and felt that it was beginning to become really, really hot.
She laughed. "I guess you're used to this kind of climate, huh? It's the desert for this hour, I'm sure you're feeling more at home."
 
((Since he never replied I decided to just come find you two))
Cernos almost slipped in the sand when he rounded the corner sprinting back to his comrades. The beast they were fighting had managed to know him away from the hunt a nearby siren had noticed him. Chasing him down while the elf kept his ear covered firmly covered running at full speed. He had managed to break ahead long enough to fire an arrow at it's chest and the siren slunk away with a shriek of despair.

He'd gotten lost for a bit but it was the feeling of magic in the air nearby that made the hair on the back of his rise and he made his way as quickly as he could towards the location where the leftover energy felt strongest. He paused when he stopped in front of a wall and a deep frown set in his features.
"Shadin! Arwen! Can you two hear me are you two safe?!" He shouted at the wall hoping it was them on the other side. "I have gotten separated from our friend by a siren but I will try to make my way back to you both at the very least."
 
Shadin chuckled at Arwen, looking on with a deep sadness despite his smile as the maze became desert. "Yes, it reminds this one of home." He patted her shoulder and was about to go on with Cernos' voice reached his ears. "Yes, we're here my friend!" He waved and smiled when he rounded the cornered, though he was concerned about that bit about sirens. "We too had an encounter with satyrs, this one believes they are called." He pointed down the corridor to the male's fallen body. "This one is glad you are safe." He rolled his shoulders and sighed, getting to his feet. "We need to either keep moving or find shelter from the sun, you two will not be able to handle the weather."
 
Finally, some use for her more suitable outfit, but she suddenly regretted thinking that as she felt a bead of sweat on her neck. She knew Shadin was at ease now, even just for a bit, and when she saw Cernos, she was relieved. She thought that they'd be really separated after the labyrinth changed to a desert.
"I think the monsters change, too," she said, "to match the arena. So that means we're going to fight scorpions..." She threw her power at a scorpion nearby, watching it turn into sand.
 
Cernos frowned as he noticed the heat, having completed his sprint back. He reached underneath his hood to wipe the sweat away. He hated the abrupt change in weather and time of day. He paused next to Shadin and Arwen and stripped his mantle off yet again. He peeled his gloves off and his finger found the laces the held his sleeves to his leather vest, undoing them quickly. Once the sleeves had been rolled down his thinly muscled arms he placed them in a pouch on his waist. His hands found their way back into his gloves and Cernos set to work on his hair, tying the thick gold locks up with a leather strap. His clock he tuck into the side of his belt letting it fall to about the middle of his calf.

Testing to see if he could still move, Cernos bounced from foot to foot before turning to look at the two mages.
"Shall we get moving, I'm not fond of the idea of scorpions."
 
Shadin's wandered over Cernos' form as the other male stripped, smiling coyly as he did. "This one is feeling warm for more than the weather." He tossed the blonde a wink and stretched his arms, nodding to both of them. "We will also face golden wolves, sand rays, sand serpents...the possibilities are endless." He laughed despite the danger and nodded at the suggestion to get moving. "Shadin thinks this way is the best choice." He gestured towards the area where they'd taken shelter the night before. "There is a way through the other side." With a smile and a flex of his bare feet, the desert man started forward.
 
'Sand rays? What are those?' Arwen wondered, following Shadin back to their temporary shelter. It was already covered with sand, and even though they were in the shade, the sand she stepped on was so hot she could feel the heat through her boots.
"Is there a chance it would rain in a desert?" She asked, genuinely curious. Then she frowned. "And I also know that if it's too hot, people might start hallucinating... Is that so?"
Even though she knew it was a small thing, she wished they had shades to protect their eyes from the light and dust. My God, everything was just so... Bright.
 
"They sound terrible, all of that sounds horrible in fact." He stated as he took up the back of the line. Cernos had always dreamed of visiting the world, trapped in his boring forest but now that he was experiencing it in this horrid labyrinth he regretted even considering leaving. Deserts seemed horrible and he never wanted to visit one, he couldn't even fathom that Shadin grew up in one. Blowing some loose strands from his face he peered above Arwen to look at Shadin's back. "Are we almost through? The last thing we need is sand badgers or something." The last bit of his statement was added in sarcasm but who knew maybe sand badgers were a thing.
 
"Sand rays are much like the rays found in the seas, from what this one read in his lessons. But much larger, and more aggressive and with more teeth..." he rolled his shoulders and snorted at Arwen's next questions. "Shadin can not speak for this horrid arena but a single light rain once a year is a miracle in my home. Mirages are what you speak of, and the heat does not do that so much as lack of water." He ducked out of the covered area and stretched in the bright sun they emerged into. "Through indeed Cernos." He glanced around the open area, noting the twisting paths that opened before them. "This one does not know which way to go."
 
It had only been a few minutes since the arena changed, and she already felt really tired.
"Let's just... Go straight?" she said. "I mean, we aren't going to go anywhere if we just stand here..." The heat was really bothering her, and she could care less about the direction they'd take. She then decided to keep her mouth shut, since the guys might not be in a really good mood in this heat. Well, maybe Shadin was comfortable because he lived in the desert, after all.
 
"Straight is better than nothing I suppose." Cernos broke from the back as soon as they emerged from their previous camp and darted ahead eager to find some relief from the heat. He was never going to get used to this. He also hated sweating and that's all he seemed to be doing here.
"What's your favorite color Arwen? Shadin?" He asked eager to distract himself from the weather even if he had to resort to petty questions.
 
Shadin lead the way, eyes roaming over the tall, bedrock maze walls, letting his fingers trail along one while he thought on Cernos' question. "This one is fond of gold and..." A sort of melancholy stole his features for a moment, but the other's view of the back of his head protected them. "Maroon. The color of this one's master's eyes."
 
That was totally unexpected, Arwen thought as Cernos asked about their favorite colors. Anything to distract them from the heat would be great.
"I like grey," she replied, "the color of the sky when it rains. How about you, Cernos? What's your favorite color?"
 
"Well buddy I think it's time for us to part ways..."

"I know we have had some good times together but I think it's best if we do this."

"No... This has to be done please don't make me change my mind."

The half jackal's long ears twitched as he heard a screech behind him. "Do you mind we are trying to have a moment here." he spoke politely towards the griffin he had trapped under some rubble. "Rude..." The jackal rose to his feet hissing in pain he wished he had some more medicine for the scrapes on his body but that's what he got for only wearing a wrap around his neck torso and mid section. Left him vulnerable and what not. He picked up his arm by the hand and gave it a light shake as if it was connected to someone. He was glad that he had found that salve that closed his wound but he had to use all of it or he would have been in huge trouble. Thank you magic salve. The jackal turned on his pads and faced the griffin as it thrashed around to become free. "As for you... I hope you feel sorry cause you chased me into that guillotine trap that took my arm off." He held up his stump and pointed at it with a metal clawed hand. The griffin rushed at him to snapping with its huge beak. He jumped backwards in fright as some of the rocks shifted. "Fyn you need to take this as your cue and run with your tail tucked." Which is exactly what he did.

Fyn was a jackal-people. An ancient nomad race that was only good with two things music and horses. They were like satyrs but instead of being a goat he was a short haired canine. The jackal had black scruff hair that was uneven in a lot of spots. He was well tanned from his time in the deserts and jungles and had pitch black eyes. He had stumbled into this stupid labyrinth and wasn't sure how long he had been in here. All he knew is that he needed to find a safe place. When he felt he was in a safer area he checked the corked bottle he had tied around his waist. He flipped it upside down and wiggled it then beat the end of it some but nothing came out. He took his metal gauntlet off and tried to prod a finger inside and managed to get some leftovers on it but only enough for half a scrape. He sighed and pulled the clawed glove back on and tied it again. "Well better keep going before something else finds me."
 
The heat was doing crazy things to Arwen. She was beginning to see waters that weren't even there, and she was sweating so much that her whole shirt was drenched in her sweat. Disgusting.
Though she decided not to think of that when she heard a screech, which seemed to be pretty close.
"No, please, not now," she gasped, "not at this time of the day. I want to get to the damn center and just rest!" When she realized that there were no monsters coming their way at that moment, she realized that there was someone else on the other side of the wall. "Hold on while I check the other side," she told her companions, rushing to the other side and trying to remember how to get back to them.
She saw a griffin, and it was obvious that someone just dealt with it. There was a lot of blood, and there was some... skin... Near it. And that skin was definitely not griffin.
"HELLO?" she called. "ANYONE OUT THERE?" If they were going to have to go to the center together, they needed all the members in one place. She sincerely hoped the person heard her, and that monsters wouldn't come just yet.
 
((hope you don't mind but i wish to join))
Kaito was walking slowly along the pathway. The walls surrounding him were making things quite uncomfortable and each and every corner were fraying his nerves. He had made it through the coliseum with minimal encounters so far, mainly small fry. He knew that it meant things were about to get hairy. Challenges were usually more difficult than this so they must have been planning something. His footsteps were drowned out by the sand around him as the walls cleared away and he was greeted by a small segment of desert. The beating rays of the sun came down upon him faster than he expected and things seemed to be getting taller. As things continued to grow he realized that he had stepped into quicksand. Kaito's eyes widened as the sand slowly pulled him down into the depths. "Shit. And here i thought i would be killed by some monster, i guess the environment is something to be careful of as well. Tch, i really don't want to waste a golem on something as menial as this but it can't be helped."

Kaito remembered that you sank faster when you struggled so he tried to be slow with his movements. His hands clasped together as he concentrated in a search for rocks in the area. Once he found a few sizable ones he pulled them together and watched as the arcane threads weaved through it. A moment later a crude golem had formed and scooped him out of the deadly sand. As he was safely pulled out of the sand a blur of fur and muscle whizzed by his face and the golem shattered sending him flying a distance away. Once he was finished sailing through the sky and skidding along the ground he looked to see a hulking dog like monster. Something that would have resembled anubis the egyptian god of war. It sent a shiver down his spine as its gaze turned to him. "Well shit." Kaito quickly looked around and found another corridor just a few feet away from him, he quickly got to his feet and began to head towards the escape as fast as he could. "shit shit shit!"
 
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