While all the students were gathering in the gym, Rio was currently hiking through the jungle, shaking as she followed some source of energy as quick as she could, loosing it's signature with each second. She stumbled over a root, yelping to herself as she turned to look at the thick, offending flora growing from the ground, before turning back foreword and freezing.
The caves.
She gulped, staring at the gaping mouth of the entrance, seemingly more dark and foreboding... especially with the thin, black, vein like lines spreading from the opening edges. Steeling what little nerve the headmistress had left, Rio breathed in deeply before trudging on. Aurrea was down in the caves. So that's where Rio would go. Her bare feet clicked with their dull claws against the dark stone, sliding down into the depths with uncertainty.
It seemed like hours for Rio, slowly progressing further and further into the darkness, unable to summon a flame for light, even though her power wasn't even being drained. Which was strange. Little the the headmistress's knowledge, the earth spirits within the caves had all but fled from something within. In fact, some still were fleeing, passing the headmistress swiftly, not bothering to stop her in their ignorance to her being powerless. It was eerily quiet, and the bond Rio was following was dimming.
Then, she heard it. Something hissing, reptilian... most certainly dragon-y enough that it reawakened some of her suppressed instinct. The tiniest of hisses escaped her lips, as she rushed deeper into the cave to follow the sound, the bond pulsing a little bit stronger now. She must be getting closer to Aurrea! Panting, Rio descended until she lost all sense of direction and couldn't tell which way led up, but she didn't care because she was regaining strength! The hissing was clearer now, yet this foreign tongue that she could decipher was still muffled, but it was calling to her. The bond pulsed desperately.
Rio was in a headlong sprint, suddenly remembering how to run on all fours, increasing her speed. She twisted, turned, dived, and drifted around corners until she was dizzy and spilled out into the largest chamber she had ever discovered. She barely glanced, only making out the series of tunnels that connected to this cavern like a subway station, with a stalagmite and stalactite in the very center of the room forming a thick pillar with the center cut out as if it were an altar. She vaguely remembered that... she might have been here before... to hide... something?
It was quiet again. The hissing stopped, she couldn't feel the bond. Her inner dragon left quickly, as she neared the point of crying in hopelessness as she realized where she was. She just then noticed... the tar like substance coating the walls. Something sounded like millions of slugs, coming from behind, above, below, the entire cavern! She clawed at her head, she couldn't decipher what was what between the slugs and the hissing and began whimpering desperately.
Suddenly, her heart surged with energy, glowing a brilliant red orange and filling the cavern. Was she screaming? She didn't know. The bond between her and Aurrea and Sky suddenly pulsed, firing up with energy, screaming at Rio to... run? And then, it was gone.
The bond had been shut off.