ORIGIN

The display might have been far from impressive, a tentative feeling out of new limbs, yet Karambit made no indication of viewing it as such. To it the collection of shades forming what surely was the silhouette of wings waving about struck it like the sweetly nauseating stench of rot carried by a breeze on an especially warm day. The mountain of meat on stick legs shuddered, a series of high-pitched chitters were unleashed upon the sight, and a screech followed which proudly declared its opinion on the new friend's progress.

"Yessss!" It didn't comprehend any differences in anatomy that might affect the overall flight experience. All that could be seen were the twin moving shapes assuring it the lesson was going well. "Good starrrrt! Wings arrre new, but you might be a... krrrrmmm... a nat-urrr-all!"

Shivers of excitement worsened as the monster's own wings picked up speed. Claws scraping against the ground lifted off of it until only the very tips remained.

"Now get morrre used to them. Fasssterrrr! Strreetch up like you want to rrreach high placessss."

"Krrrrmm... Not worrrking?" What an odd thing to say.

Confused vibrations coursed through the entirety of Karambit's gargantuan body at the idea its friend was making no further progress in the lesson. From the flawed perspective of an insect whose best flights involved crashing into every tree on the way to its destination, everything she was putting into practice thus far appeared no worse than typical attempts at liftoff. The wild beat of wings arguably should have been even more uncoordinated if the intent was to perfectly mimic her teacher, its current low hover elegant in comparison to the usual lurches it took into the air. And yet, despite the beginnings of a decent ascent, Relic seemed no closer to abandoning the ground than when her wings had first slowly flexed.

"Nooooo," it moaned, tussling with denial at the impossible sight. "Must beeee worrrking. Un-lesssss you'rrrre not rrreeeaching enough."

Wings whirred and, keeping close to the earth still, Karambit zipped its bulk nearer to the hyena. Mandibles clicked as it bent to lower unblinking ruby buttons in the direction of her toes. Maybe its brand new eyes, reliability questionable as they were, could capture miniscule signs of improvement her presumably normal ones couldn't. Positively microscopic signs even, judging by how the grayness beneath her feet barely stirred with indications of disturbed dust or dirt.

Or maybe she was right, as disappointing a possibility as it might be. Incapable of pouting, the monster's grisly spinal column antennae drooped, and then it hummed in saddened thought.

How else could its friend fly if not by reaching up to where she wished to go?

Other more reasonable individuals might've puzzled their way gradually through the problem and realized in time the factors responsible for why this particular approach to flight didn't work. For a simpler mind, though, the answer emerged in a more basic and far less well-vetted form—may whatever deities the caves might house have mercy on the unfortunate test subject.

"Rrrreaching high placesss not worrrking," Karambit reasoned, "so maybeeee give high places to keep."

Then she'd know what being in the air felt like and how to stay aloft. Brilliant! The choice seemed a no-brainer to the monster, not that it had much of one for complicated decisions anyway.

"Yesssss! Let's trrry, frrriend!"

Foregoing in-depth explanation or any requests for permission, it abandoned its previous maintained hover. Flittering wings increased in speed until the great meat creature rose and directly positioned its long shadow above the much smaller Relic. No sounds of protest would deter it now the decision was made; putting faith in the colorless shapes swimming in its vision, swaying claws reached down to haul up the brightest heat signature able to be distinguished from cold, lifeless rock.

Anyone else would have ceased their fumbling amongst the rock at the ear-splitting sound. Panicked echoes ringing through the mist tended to have that effect, both eerie and concerning. Of course, expecting such a reaction from a creature thrilled by bloodcurdling discordance was rather too optimistic. To it, Relic might as well have declared confused but ecstatic support for the ingenious plan it had underway. Encouraged, claws thrust farther down to scrabble around for the bright spot of life eluding its grasp. Her fright-filled scream received a joyous shriek in return.

"Taking you higherrrr, silly!" reiterated Karambit. A sickening mixture of squelching flesh, gurgling saliva, and scraping bone—what must've been its closest approximation to laughter—quaked through gray flesh. "Can't go up, so trrrying reeeeverrse!"

How reassuring.

Continually disadvantaged by heat-sensitive sight lacking in color and visual texture, the scrounging about of spindly legs for Karambit's reluctant pupil persisted in being an utterly fruitless endeavor. Each time the slightest brush of fur and press of weight was felt near its searching claws, the sensation slipped away a second too fast for any significant reaction. Tiny compared to the buzzing behemoth, Relic could have been a ghost for how insubstantial her presence was. Taking into account the unceasing ruckus her attempted abductor emitted, her appeasing yells didn't offer much to pinpoint her position either, muffled beneath a blanket of noise.

What it heard rang paradoxical, de-escalating language running counter to a pitch and frequency the monster associated primarily with excitement and good times ahead. The hovering gray meat mass rumbled, a fool's grotesque reproduction of a thundercloud. Its simple mind baffled, poor souls were subjected to the horrors of a childish whine given far too much volume for most ears to handle. At the very least, if unintentional torment could be endured, there was a brief reprieve from probing limbs.

"But learrrn how?" it cried out. "Can't go up orrrrr down yet! Need firrrssst forrr sssecond."

She didn't make sense, much like how beloved Creo's hesitance around its beautiful artwork had been a constant source of bemusement. Though the reminder dragged forth a whimper, it drove Karambit to what it considered temporary madness and others would likely view as a sliver of sanity. Sheer strain and a sudden spark forced a misshapen brain's chemistry to conform to normal standards. Though the closest thing to a miracle in the present situation, this did not mean that logic and common sense followed.

Voice wobbling from an undercurrent of mimicked dread, the insect bargained, "Won't go too high, prrrromisse. Just enough to learrrn how to stop falling and fly."

Having a temporary realignment with typical Gembound concerns such as not shattering bones on impact with the distant ground should have been a godsend for communication. If the magic behind this fleeting introduction of consideration had possessed greater strength, that might have indeed been the case. But a chance was all it had been, a slim and impossible one, and not the odds Relic had received. Hers were even worse since the fear present in Karambit's signature buzz was only a guideline for the insect and not a rule for it to abide by.

Further engagement with it equivalent to promising a child a sugary treat—in the monster's case, the explosive, liquid-packed burst of a generous helping of eyeballs—even the vestiges of foreign emotions couldn't prevent giddiness flooding its body. Mandibles clacked, and completely oblivious to any alarm caused, it talked about potential injury like it wasn't anything more than a bruise or skinned knee.

"Jussst to wherre I can touch trrrreee tops. Only a couple leg ssssnapsss if fall frrrrom therrre." As if that was a small amount to a quadruped. "Isss okay if you do. I can ssssnap legsss back, and they'll feel jusssst fine."

Of course, "just fine," according to the resident expert here included the burning agony of bone fractures and unfunctional limbs that limply dragged behind you. As for the trees, their trunks rose so high that most tops evaded the sight of those landbound. But never let either those facts become reason to worry—near death experiences only stopped being fun when the first word in the phrase disappeared.