ORIGIN

The Overseer had been eager to get to this conversation, and it showed in the way its ears pricked to their full, lengthy height and the raise of its chin. It stood tall as Garnet-Epsilon approached, looking strange and foreign to it: its fur was marred with a strange new patterning, and tendrils trailed off of their tail.

Cain's eyes bore into its littermate, appraising and judging them as they came close, their words filled with 'wishing', as though they hadn't been clearly instructed by Master Vargas to have this conversation with the Overseer.

It was not hard to imagine a cruel gleam in Cain's sharp, brilliant crimson eyes that shone like the gem they both shared. Still, there the two stood like disparaging twins, with somehow both more qualities that made them alike and even more that separated them like the miles of stone and earth that separated the farthest caves from one another. It was impossible, shy of magic, to know exactly the thoughts that crept through Cain's thoughts and pulsed through its heart.

That was the bittersweet, ironic, and cruel fact of the matter. The Overseer held power over Epsilon, and to act ignorant of it would be foolish indeed. It could break into Epsilon's mind and take all the information it wanted, with enough time and determination. (Cain, itself, was ignorant that its thoughts had projected to Epsilon at the meeting... But, that was another matter entirely.) It surely was obvious to their shared Master that Cain's position gave their relationship a particularly uneven footing. The power imbalance was one that, whether the lesser Garnet acknowledged, existed as a unshakable truth.

"Garnet-Epsilon," Overseer Cain replied simply. The word tasted bitter on its tongue. "I hope you were paying attention at the meeting."

It blinked, a slow, calm-- merciful, even-- gesture, a raised a paw to point at the ground before it. "Sit," it insisted. "Explain." This was a test, whether Garnet-Epsilon was aware of it or not, and it was fully expecting to receive the wrong answer.

And perhaps, deep down, a part of it wanted even more to be proven wrong.

Overseer Cain watched Garnet-Epsilon sit before it, stood with wings held relaxed at its side. Epsilon would look and find that almost nothing marred the perfect form of the unchanged feline, who had been born and never mutated, always pushed to the edge of what it was capable of with magic and too cautious to let itself face any danger that would cause substantial injury.

There was one thing, however. A massive scarring through its left wing, where something had clearly torn through the skin of the glider-limb. The huge puncture and tear marks were nondescript enough, though their pale, ghostly marks stood out as the only mark of imperfection through its otherwise unchanged form.

Garnet-Epsilon would go on to explain itself, and its better sibling would listen with ears tilted forward and attentive. The mutated hybrid insisted that while it had failed to meet the objective that it had been given-- by Master Vargas, presumably-- it had collected "information". The Overseer was curious to hear what that was, but did not interrupt as Garnet-Epsilon cleverly pushed the conversation away from its failures. Instead, the Garnet spoke of another Master, and of a Sunken City beyond a beach.

Water? The Overseer thought with distaste, flexing its webbed toes and digging its claws down on the stone as it listened.

So Epsilon had earned a reward from another Master, along with some trinkets? Did it expect a congratulations? Perhaps Master Vargas would be proud, and encouraging, but the Overseer found it hard to muster the enthusiasm so quickly. It felt like a distraction.

"Yes," Cain's teeth clicked with the answer to Epsilon's resigned, weary question. "Tell me, Garnet-Epsilon," Cain stepped forward, peering closer to the new pelt upon its body and the items it wore. "You, yourself, said that you would need punishment." Its eyes narrowed, and it settled back on its haunches, sitting tall with chin held high as it stared down its hatchmate. Its magic reached to prod the mind before it, if only as a precaution.

"Explain what you have done that warrants punishment," it requests calmly, withholding accusation from its tone. Either Epsilon has exaggerated, or it is trying to hide where it has gone completely wrong. "And tell me, what punishment would you give yourself, were you in my position."

There was a secondary matter, that it would make sure that Epsilon did not neglect. "Also... You claim to have gotten information." Whether Epsilon spoke willingly, the Overseer fully intended to read what thoughts and memories came to mind as its questions provoked thought. It would compare and contrast what it found, and leave no stone unturned-- for their Master's ultimate use. Epsilon could not omit anything especially important by accident, this way. "What information have you obtained about the Seven? How beneficial do you believe it to be, should they become allies or enemies? Would you recommend we take action to secure them further?" These were basic, to Overseer Cain, thoughts that concerned its idle mind at all waking hours. Thoughts that it found frustrating that others seemed to neglect in favor of their own comfort and pleasure. The sort of concerns it held that made it Overseer, when its hatchmates fell into decrepity and uselessness.

Master Vargas believed in not wasting life before it was given chance and chance again, so if Cain could salvage one of its fellow hatchmates, it would... Try.

Though it could not shake the fact that Epsilon had proven it wrong, and somehow, it was a boring answer it had been met with. It wanted to find something deeper, but... Was there anything, ever, deeper with the others? Alpha was broken. Beta was lazy. Gamma was absent. Epsilon was failing to prove itself different, though it tried to posture and play the part, tried to claim the honor after barely scrapping by. And Cain found its Master's morals weighing it down. It was a crying shame. The Overseer understood it, yes, it was practical in some ways. There were reasons. Rational ones at that. So Cain was content, if not somewhat unenthused, by the task before it.

The Overseer listened to Garnet-Epsilon with half an ear, its attention split between prying their mind for any missed details (both for lies, omissions, and the simple, easily forgotten or dismissed as unimportant) with its tail twitching idly at its toes. It found nothing in particular worthy of note to comment on, but it did absorb the names and places that Epsilon had seen.

"Master Vargas does not believe in corporal punishment, despite what the meeting entailed. Injuring our own is only an extreme measure, one to deter further violence. I would not hurt you for failing. It seems more like you need to be given a different task and objectives." No more spying, Epsilon. At least until they had proved themself more capable.

If it considered the comment about the stone, it did not show it. The agate was filed away as a curiosity; but until investigated, it was of little use to the Forge. If it had already hatched, then what? And further, there was no guarantee that it would be of any use at all.

"Very well," it instead said after a brief pause. "Then your punishment will be a cycle of cleaning Draco. Your duties will be to remove debris, dig holes and clear away defecations. You may still leave to Pegasus to hunt, but travel no further."

That was it then. Job done.

Cain rose to its feet. "If you have any questions," it said with all the patience it had learned from Master Vargas. "Then you may ask them. Otherwise, I have other things to attend." Like a well earned nap or a good hunt. Even staring at a fly buzzing through the air would provide more enrichment than this particular conversation. Still, the Overseer had a job to do, and its distaste for its hatchmate would not prevent it from at least attempting to do well at it.

Epsilon's response leaves a bitter taste in Cain's mouth. It was an appropriate response. One that let Cain get on with things. And yet...

But what had it expected? A fight? For a bold faced lie? No. It had expected exactly what it received: mediocrity. Every single creature that came from its own clutch failed it. Failed to be something, anything, more.

Cain expected that Epsilon would learn nothing from this conversation, and furthermore would learn little from its punishment. Maybe Master Vargas had expected Cain to impart some great wisdom, to try just a bit harder with its sibling... But every ounce of effort poured into any of them, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon-- was a waste of its energy.

The new crop had potential, at times. There was diamonds in the rough to be found, just not in those who had nearly two whole years to prove themselves and squandered every opportunity. So what did it need to impart on Garnet-Epsilon? While they were down in the dirt, feeling as useless as they had proven to be?

Ugh.

"Take care of yourself, Garnet-Epsilon," Cain instructed. Between the lines: Do not become a burden. "Your punishment will come and go in a blink of an eye, and at the other end of it, I expect you ready to take on a new role. Use your time wisely."

There. That felt like something Master Vargas would say-- or want it to say-- and those words let it wash out the foul taste on its tongue. Spreading its wings, it kicked off of the earth and took flight, leaving its fellow Garnet behind.