ORIGIN

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It seemed he wasn't really... needed. They wouldn't be stuck here long, by looks: they'd been told by Order drones themselves to stay, but were already departing. The long-term food and water he'd begun to prepare would be useless to them-...

Oh. His gaze found the cowering puppy, and he slid closer, pity stirring him deeply. "Hey. Hey, you're okay," he murmured. "I'm Oliver, I'll protect you, all right?" He folded a wing-arm around her gently. "What's your name?" he asked.

He could look after this one child, at least. He could make sure she was kept safe--that she had food and water and shelter, and that she recovered, after all of this.

exit Oliver

For a second, Asteri stood still, indecisive. The black cat had spoken of hunting down the last of the hive, and itching in his gut Asteri felt the urge to burn it all down. That's what he did best: the burning. And every drone destroyed, incinerated would mean one less to threaten the caves.

He didn't trust the advice the mother had given them. He doubted the hive was there for chaos alone. The hive was an opportunist, a vulture: it took everything it could, wherever it could get it. And any creature that was willing to kill its own just like that, like it was easy made his gut twist.

But at the same time... there were children here. He needed to protect them, too. Keep them safe.

He made up his mind when he saw the dark owl-dog talk to the little coyote, guiding the pup to safety with soft words. There would be other Gembound to take care of the children. If he didn't go to stamp out the hive where it tried to grow... where would they be?

Asteri's magic lights, and his blood runs cold. Far past their little scrapped-together sanctuary, stretching out through the whole cave, sickly, he sees it: order.

It is white and crystalline and silent, silent as a dead bird, silent as a rock face. There is no life there. There is nothing recognizable, nothing good. His heart spins in his chest, over and over and over again, and he knows what he has to do.

To Raoshar, if he was still there: "Go home. Go somewhere safe. If you don't have anyone—look, the big black dog with the feathers? He's nice. He'll help you. Just, please... take care of yourself."

His heart aches. He should be there for the children. He remembers when he was a kid and dad was taking care of him, those warm, lazy hours spent at home. He wants that for everyone. Everyone deserves peace, and love, and safety.

But he can't be everywhere at once, and he has to make a tough choice.

Mind made up, he goes sprinting off in the direction he saw the cat go.

;;exit Asteri
@Raoshar

Raoshar was nudged further back, encouraged to retreat, but it didn't protect him from seeing what happened. The lifeless body was all that he could see. He reached for his magic, he tried, but there was nothing to connect to... and then, as if to make certain that Raoshar understood that this was Final, the insect exploded into dust.

He stared, unmoving, until Asteri's voice came to him again. His head jerked up, golden pupils thin as the side of a coin. It took him a moment to process the feline's words, but he eventually gave a shaky nod. "I... Tenzin will know what to do." He didn't think of whether Asteri would know who Tenzin was, speaking more to let his thoughts out when they ran circles around in his head.

(Ironically, he wouldn't even go to ask Tenzin for advice.)

There was a beat. "Thank you," he added. "Don't worry about me." Raoshar would be alright, but the thought that roared above all else was that he needed to get stronger. He needed to be able to act, to change things. His magic failed him here, but that wasn't who he was.

He needed to figure out what to do. He couldn't stay here, that much was obvious.

@Asteri for visiblity! Raoshar exit <3

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Oliver

Astéri

Raoshar