The Forgotten Prompt 1

The young haedian had described their situation and how they had been kicked out of the Caretakers due to issues beyond their control and now they were a member of The Forgotten. The Forgotten were a group of discarded haedians that banded together for survival, many of them were merely unfortunate or slightly quirky haedians that had been purged from their original clans to preserve resources. The group lived in the remote reaches of The Beneath and were forced to scavenge, beg, borrow, and steal for their daily needs. Hearing all of this the trio of surface dwellers were shocked and appalled by their treatment. When their new friend noticed their reaction they requested any form of assistance the surface dwellers could spare. 

At first they were uncertain on what they could offer beyond the meager supplies they had brought with them but then Anue got a devilish idea. “What if we help them the next time they try to raid one of the other clans’ settlements?” Anue mused aloud as the trio tried to think of what to do. “What??” Candy Queen exclaimed alarmed, “You want to help them steal? How the heck would we even do that?” The rainbow vayron gestured to her two companions. “We’re not exactly the stealthiest bunch, besides they haven’t seen surface dwellers in generations. We’d stand out like a sore thumb.” Anue frowned at her logic and rubbed his temples muttering, “..yeahhhh you’re right. But then… what can we do?” As they continued to sit thinking Erimia was suddenly struck with an idea. “Oh! Ohhh That's exactly what we need to do!” The massive tyrian exclaimed excitedly. Candy and Anue looked at the sunset tyrian incredulously as she bounced without explaining. 

“We-,” the tyrian gestured to the trio exaggeratedly. “can go and distract the other clan while the forgotten sneak in and take what they need!” The angora tyrian rose up, towering over the runners and proudly placed two of her talons to her chest. “I don’t know about you two but I for one am great at capturing people's attention.” Anue chuckled at the prideful tyrian and looked back to the skeptical Candy Queen. “That could work, what do you think?” Candy Queen frowned and tilted her head as she grappled with the morality of their predicament. Eventually she groaned and relented, “… I normally wouldn’t condone stealing but the forgotten really don’t have any other option… Ughhh alright let’s do it.” She nodded decisively before standing up and turning back to the path that led back to the young haedian’s ‘home’. The trio had walked a short distance away to have their private discussion as it felt awkward to debate such things right in front of their new friend. Honestly the place the young haedian was staying in could hardly be called a home, it was more like a haphazard moss nest surrounded by knick-knacks and trinkets they had picked up from somewhere. The area they were now in was a massive open space dotted with such nests where other members of The Forgotten curiously watched the trio from afar.

After explaining their idea to their haedian friend the haedian readily agreed, they excitedly hurried off to gather their companions and urged the surface dwellers to head down the western path. The trio of Erimia, Candy Queen, and Anue excitedly jogged along the well worn path of the cave. They quickly left The Forgotten's outskirts and made their way toward the next territory. Up ahead was the main dwelling of the Caretakers clan, an ironic name for a clan that cast out the sweet haedian the trio had befriended. As the trio progressed through the cave they noticed the glowing crystals on the wall slowly shifted colors. In the outskirts where the forgotten had been the crystals were all a pale blue but it appeared that the Caretakers had more burgundy crystals across their caverns. The light emitted from the crystals was almost warm and felt oddly inviting. It made the trio feel slightly uncomfortable, comparing the distinct difference between the areas of The Beneath. It only solidified their feelings that the treatment of The Forgotten was unfair and added a little extra decisiveness to their steps.

Before they knew it the trio stepped out into a massive cavern, they were quite high up from the cave floor and were only a few feet from the roof. Across the ceiling large crystals shone brightly, illuminating the entire grotto. The trio were surprised to see carved dwellings, actual buildings, and what almost looked like a small village nested in the cave floor. The trio could see various haedians going about their daily lives down below. As they watched the Caretakers, the haedians of The Forgotten caught up to them. Their young haedian friend was standing beside an older more grizzled looking haedian who appeared to be leading them. The older haedian nodded their head, “We’ll make our move once you have their attention. Take your time and don’t force it. Keep their attention as much as possible until I give you the signal.” The surface dwellers all nodded in acknowledgment before Erimia stooped down to allow the runners to climb onto her back. Once she was sure that her friends were secure she spread her massive wings and started to gracefully glide down to the village below. 

The Caretaker haedians noticed the massive shadow descending upon them and shocked, anxious murmurs could be heard as the trio landed. The trio landed in what appeared to be their central square, sending a couple haedians running to avoid the massive tyrian. Erimia let the runners down off her back then stood up fully. Displaying her full size and magnificently colorful coat in a somewhat smug manner as the two rainbow runners casually approached a haedian who was standing nearby open-mouthed in shock. “Hello!” Candy Queen cheerfully greeted the haedian who only continued to stand in shocked silence. An awkward moment passed before a ripple of excitement swept across the Caretaker haedians. “Surface dwellers!” could be heard being whispered in awe as they amazed haedians curiously approached the newcomers. Candy Queen flipped her bicolored mane in a flashy manner while flamboyantly greeting them, Anue did his best impression of a suave greeting, and Erimia did her best impression of what the runners could only assume was her idea of royalty. 

Once the shock of their arrival wore off the trio were swarmed by the excited and curious Caretakers. The haedians crowded around the trio, clamoring to see the bizarre looking creatures, bombarding them with questions about not only themselves but also what the surface was like. The trio could barely keep up with the onslaught but they genuinely enjoyed the attention and answering the Caretakers many questions. Erimia managed to catch a glimpse of a couple haedians darting around the various buildings while carrying large sacks. She smiled to herself as she assumed they were The Forgotten making their rounds. “Oh of all the times for the leader to be away!” The tyrian heard one of the members of the crowd exclaim, in response the tyrian smiled. “Don’t worry, we plan on hanging around for a while. We’d be happy to wait until they return.” The haedians clamored excitedly at the tyrians declaration while the two runners glanced up at her nervously. That wasn’t the original plan but it seemed the tyrian was genuinely enjoying the attention so much that she didn’t want to leave. As the two runners slowly got more uncomfortable they noticed a bright light flashing above them. They glanced up and saw the leader of the group of Forgotten haedians signaling them with a shiny mirror.
Candy Queen and Anue sighed with relief that their friends had escaped without being noticed but now thanks to Erimias big mouth they were stuck. The chuckled to themselves and gave in to the hoard, continuing to mingle with the Caretakers late into the evening. After what felt like hours the leader of the Caretakers returned from their expedition and with the attention of the gathered haedians finally dragged away from the trio the Caretakers started to realize something was amiss…