ORIGIN

Czernobog watched with glee while his singer snatched up the offering, dancing in place with a series of pleased snorts and grunts. The piglet stilled when the alligator's gaze turned to him, only to hop again at the hint of pride in the reptile's eyes, trotting in a tiny circle with a triumphant squeal. At his boat's offer, the boar skidded to a stop, turning with a rapid nod of its head, trotting after Dragon eagerly.

"Chuuuurn?" Supposing one could discern what, exactly, the little monster was trying to say, it might be asking where they were going. Then again, it might just as well be asking about the meaning of life, or perhaps pondering over why Dragon was covered in scales, or why Cetus was constantly covered in fog. It was rather hard to tell, considering the boar appeared to be unable to say much of anything. Still, he followed along happily, tail wagging away, tiny tusks clicking together with every step.

Dragon slither-hauled his way through the marsh, heavy body shoving reeds down and to either side. This had the effect of clearing a path for the boar piglet, though it also meant the tiny one would have to slog through Dragon's footprints, which filled with dark and muddy water as he crawled ahead.

He went on for some time, the crags fading behind them into the mist and the trees looming closer.

At length he slowed his hauling-crawling pace, panting a little through open jaws, eyes bright as he peered left and right.

"Here it is," he growled abruptly, turning to his right. He flattened the reeds more deliberately, now.

Ahead lay a tunnel, of sorts: a dug-out ramp downwards that led into an otherwise inescapable pit. The pit was flat-bottomed and well-worn, edging on the sides into alcoves nestled beneath tree roots, so that stringy tendrils hung down to hide the myriad blinking eyes that peered back at them. Long, crooked fangs flashed in the dim light of the orbs as a dozen or more rats hissed a warning at the intruders.

"Cave rats," Dragon explained quietly. "They're very big, so be careful, but if you get hungry you can hunt here. And there's more than it seems."

Dragon had brought the piglet here for fun: he expected that Czernobog would simply leap into the pit headlong and start wreaking havoc. If not, at least now Bog had a good place to hunt. And if he did jump in headfirst, at least now there was a ramp to get out, and a bigger Gembound to protect him from real danger.

Unlike the time Dragon had fallen in and gotten stuck.

The piglet hopped and danced after his singer, coat gathering mud and murky water as they traveled, ending up looking quite a bit like a drowned cat. By the time they reached their destination, Czernobog was panting, tiny tongue hanging out to the side, tusks clicking together with every shallow breath. When Dragon turned, the boar followed, letting out a soft "Churn?" The alligator seemed to know where he was going, and so the piglet trotted on, speeding up its pace when the tunnel came into view.

Cave rats. Dozens of eyes flashed in the light, and a wave of hisses echoed from the tunnel, making the drenched ball of fluff bellow back, clacking its tusks together, the sound harsh and grating, sending a few of them flinching back. "Czeeeeernobog," he challenged, ears pinned back at the responding sounds, the rats standing their ground. With a snort and a shake of his fur, the boar ran into the tunnel, hooves beating a staccato into the dirt, headed straight down the middle of the rat pack.

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A few of the rodents let out startled squeaks and scampered away, but the majority stood their ground, hissing as the boar ran into them head-on. Czernobog squealed, bucking his back legs, catching a fat rat in the stomach, getting a bite to the hocks in response. The boar dug an agate tusk into the rat that had cushioned his fall, snorting happily at the spray of blood that accompanied the wound, whipping his head free of the teeth that punctured into one of his wiry black ears. The fight was a free-for-all, and it seemed no matter how wounded the boar became, his enjoyment only increased, eyes bright in the darkness, hooves and teeth gathering bloodstains.

The first rat, now complete with an open stomach wound, hissed, chattering its teeth, barrelling into the piglet's side with sharp teeth. The boar bellowed, wrenching its body free from the rodent's mouth, turning to slam its upper tusks into the rat's neck. It slowed, twitching, scratching at Czernobog's hide with thick claws, but the boar simply reared back, slamming its hooves into the rat's side over and over, until it went still. Then he turned his attention back to the other rat, the one that had punctured his back legs, and continued his assault, glee clear in every line of his body.

Dragon did many things, but he rarely laughed. Right now, he was laughing.

Oh, to be sure, he was keeping an eye on his little protege, too, ready to drop down and snap up a rat or two if things went south. But mostly, the bloodthirsty joy the little pig was revelling in pleased the beast. His enthusiasm, the way Bog lost himself in his rampage, his mad battle against the vicious cave rats, made the alligator bellow laughter like nothing ever had.

Otherwise, he did not interfere. He didn't warn the boar to be careful, or to slow down; no, if he was going to learn caution, this would be a good time to learn it through his own mistakes. And if he succeeded? If he wound up the victor? That was good, too.

"You're enjoying yourself, then? Good. I wouldn't come here alone until you are larger--but for now... have fun."

The alligator tilted his head, seeming almost to smile--though of course he could not--and he began to softly chuckle again as he watched the little boar wreaking havoc, as if he had been born for it.

A very good son.

His singer's laughter urging the piglet on, Czernobog fought on, managing to pin the rat who had bitten into his back beneath tiny front hooves, squealing in the rodent's face when it hissed in panic. The boar received a bite on the snout for the display, but it didn't do much, especially not when the rat had a new hole in its neck, thanks to a jab with sharp tusks. Satisfied once the prey fell still, the fluffy beast gripped it by the head, carrying it over to Dragon with a happy snort, dropping the body at the alligator's feet before trotting off once again, sniffing at the other dead rat curiously. Food? It didn't look like a spider, but once the boar tore it open, it tasted just as sweet, and soon he was chewing away noisily, teeth clacking on the rat's ribcage in his haste.

Enjoying yourself? The question seemed to have taken this long for the pig to comprehend, but once he did, its head raised from its prize, nodding with a grunt. "Chuuuuurn." Then, it seemed to concentrate, huffing and snorting, before working its jaw a bit, trying to sound out the word. "Siiiiiinger?" A happy wave of his tail, and a clack of teeth - the title appeared to be his name for Dragon, though whether the alligator would understand that was up in the air.

The alligator watched, oddly proud, as his comrade-in-slaughter finished off another rat. The others seemed warier, now, he noticed--a good thing. The last thing he wanted was for the piglet to wander off alone when the cave rats still saw him as dinner, rather than the one who dines.

When the piglet brought him a rat, he chuckled again, eyes half-closing in the closest approximation to a smile as he could create. He tilted his head downward and to the side, pleased, so that he could scrape the rat up off the ground; then he tossed it up and back, swallowing it down with a couple quick, crunching chomps.

And then, Czernobog was talking to him. Singer? He tilted his head, again, peering at the piglet.

"Singer?" he asked, curious. He had a tone both of curiosity, and patient indulgence, as if he were a father ready to answer a child's potentially nonsensical questions.

Does he think that the rats sing? Is he asking me to sing? I can't sing. ...Can I?

Dragon thought, for a moment, and then gave a hesitant and questioning rumble, the same sort of murmur he'd made on the smaller gembound's chrysalis. He hardly remembered it--he was merely wondering if this was what Czernobog meant by "singing." He hummed for a moment, and then peered at the boar questioningly.

The piglet watched happily as his singer downed the rat, finishing off its own meal with the tearing of meat from bone, leaving the carcass half-stripped, bone gleaming in the streams of light from the tunnel's entrance. Then the beast turned back to Dragon, hoping for his message to be understood... but apparently he hadn't explained well enough.

Czernobog huffed, apparently frustrated by the alligator's confusion. "Siiiiiinger!" A quick tap of hooves, and the boar made his way over to the reptile, staring up at him with a snort. Silly boat. Dragon didn't seem to be getting the memo - but then, that wonderful sound filled the tunnel once more, soft rumble music to the piglet's ears. The tiny boar hopped in place, back hooves clicking together.

"Singeeeeer!" Another grunt, and then the tiny ball of fluff was trying to imitate the sound, something like a low, crackling growl escaping his throat. Satisfied that the message had been received, the piglet turned back to the rats still left nearby, leaning down to touch his snout to the floor, baring pink-tinted teeth in challenge.

One of the rats hissed back, staying in place, but the others fled. The boar seemed to think for a moment, eyeing the rat, before huffing, turning and picking up the last of his own kill by the ribcage, gripping it in strong jaws. Then, with a flick of his head, the creature tossed the rat's dead relative towards it, sending the rat away with a frightened squeak, bones cracking against the stone floor.

Dragon gave a soft and appreciative huff at Bog. So the boar liked his... "singing," eh? He gave another deep, breathy chortle, watching indulgently as the piglet flung dead rats around. A vague pride struck him, something that could really only be explained with the phrase "that's my boy."

He looked around, thinking.

I've shown him where to hunt, and where he can safely rest and get warm. I suppose all that's left is to show him where else he can find me.

Dragon turned and started hauling himself toward where they'd come from: from the shores of the Heart of Cetus, the place with burnt-down grass and flattened reeds, the place with smelly fetid water. Dragon's plan was to merely lead the boar there and then rest, so that Czernobog could choose whether to follow him around, or to go do his own thing with the knowledge of where he could find the alligator afterward.

They weren't all that far, in any case; he glanced back to check that the piglet was following, then paused to speak.

"Stay with me if you wish, or go and wander, hunt, whatever. You can find me at the light, the warmth--or here. Maybe hunting."

To demonstrate, he slid down into the water and then popped up, bobbing, until he was wholly still and only his nostrils and eyes protruded from the surface. Then, and with slow and sinuous strokes of his broad tail, he made his way to the gross flattened area, down the channel of water.

He hoped this would demonstrate to Bog not only where to find him, but how he might be hiding, so that the piglet would know what to look for in case Dragon was asleep at the surface.

The tiny piglet, after watching the bones roll about happily, turned back to Dragon, tilting his head and appearing to at least attempt to listen. The return of the "singing" was met with a pleased grunt and another imitation of the sound, and Czernobog kept up the sound as he followed the alligator with the soft tip tap of hooves on rock, then earth. He slowed when his leader spoke, only managing to grasp a few of the words. Stay or go. Hunt. Find me. Huffing, the beast continued on, peering out at the water when Dragon slunk into it, following along the shore, glancing back and forth between the outline of the reptile's head and the burnt ground ahead.

The piglet got to the flattened shore first, sitting down with a snort, watching as the alligator floated in the murky river, tapping a tiny leg into the liquid curiously. It stumbled back with a squeal, glaring at the offensive water, shaking it off with a huff. "Siiiiinger," he called, apparently trying to answer the question. "Czeeeeernobog?" The series of words might, possibly, translate to Stay with you, but that was anyone's guess.

A huff, and the boar trotted closer to the water, steeling himself before wading in, getting up to his chest before stopping with a bellow. "Siiiiiinger."

Dragon paused and turned his head to eye the piglet. Then he began to swim slowly backward, moving until he'd pulled up (very boat-like indeed) to allow Czernobog to get on, if he liked.

"Yes?" he rumbled. He wasn't sure what Bog wanted, or perhaps was asking, and he hoped the piglet was able to clarify--or at least show him.

For now, he just waited, floating in the black, peering at Bog as he waited. Was Czernobog unwilling to swim? It did get rather cold, though Dragon didn't personally mind. When he floated alone in the marsh or its channels of dark water, he felt as if he left this world and joined another, gone, drifting away. It was a peaceful, blissful feeling, and he wasn't aware that it was likely related to the near-hibernatory state it put him in. One heartbeat every thirty to sixty seconds was not all that much, after all.

Whatever the case, he was here, now, and he was waiting on Czernobog. If the piglet wanted him to turn back, he would; he hardly had anything better to do. If he was simply not wanting to get wet, well, then Dragon would be his boat once more, and 'drive' him to his sleeping spot to show it to him.