ORIGIN

"Baratheon Speech"

For the past few days he'd felt something swelling within him. Some sort of magic that erupted from that single touch to his gem. That touch which had brought him away from his Bloodlusted savageness and back to the world of thought. No one had ever touched his gem before, no one had ever thought to except for his brother. He was glad because that singular action had awoken within him something he'd never felt before. A deep rooted thing, some sort of magic... He didn't know what kind of magic just that it was different than the other things that he normally used. It was something more wholesome... something more ancient... something more revered.

In the midst of the thick foliage the young dragon sat. His head was bowed, eyes were closed as he concentrated within himself. He focused on that bit of magic within his body... That flow of it that promised something special for himself and for his dear brother. He focused intensely on all the love he felt for his brother, the protectiveness he felt, how much he cared for him. It was all a singular glow within his body, a glow that almost manifested within his gaze... almost, but not quite. He still needed to concentrate, to focus on this magic and hone it to make the glow brighter and to swell it within his entire body.

"Baratheon Speech"


He focused, with all of his might on the glow and on his love. He felt it rising within him, the glow encompassing everything within his body. It was a powerful magic and he knew it as he held that spell within his entire being. What he needed now was Booker. He could not complete the burning spell without his dearest friend present. This was a spell for two and not just two, but the special second of his life. A purr rumbled up in his chest as he rose to his paws, his head rose and he closed his eyes. The purr that rumbled out of his throat changed in sound to a pleasant tenor hum. It was a loud sound and yet musical noise, a sound that would envelop anyone that was near in its comforting vibrations. However, Bara didn't just intend it to be a pleasant noise... He wanted it to summon Booker. Perhaps the strange musical sound would pique the numbat's curiosity or perhaps he would sense the strange magical energy humming in the air. Either way... He could not wait for his brother to show.

Booker had fallen asleep in the shadow of the Monarch, exhausted by the torrent of emotions that had followed the return of his memories, not to mention the exuberance of the cats who'd helped him. They reminded him of Diot, of Khloros, of little Delphine, but the similarity didn't sting quite as bad now - a dull pain, like a bruise, rather than an open wound. Something in him had settled, come to terms with what he couldn't change, quieted the battle inside his head... and all of it, everything, came back to Baratheon. It was the vision of his brother that had broken him away from the painful memories, that had brought him back to the present, kept him safe.

Now, after he'd said goodbye to the odd band of kittens that worshipped the All Mother, Booker had set off to go home. Home. It was a strange thing to think of Eridanus, after everything that had happened here, but it fit - after all, everything that mattered was here, now, with his brother and his son, waiting for him. The numbat trotted through the thick underbrush, huffing as he passed what appeared to be the same rock as he'd passed half an hour ago. Sitting down on his rump, Booker almost gave in to try and tap into the fungal mat that stretched below the ground - when a noise broke through the trees, managing to push past even the low, constant hum that filled the little Gembound's ears.

Baratheon. It had to be; no one else had this kind of effect on him, this pull that grabbed at his chest and clutched tight, willed him forward, kept him moving well past the point of exhaustion. Booker got to his feet, closed his eye, and followed the noise, ears pitched forward, back leg dragging along the ground, digging tiny trenches wherever he wandered. It seemed like hours before it got louder, drowning out the ever-present sounds of the forest, and the numbat slowed, opening his eye and grinning at the sight of white paws just a few feet away.

Booker raced up to the dragon, tapping at a toe in warning before climbing up Baratheon's front leg, a bit slower than he used to, finally reaching his brother's snout with a happy squeak of greeting. "Bara! Knew it had t' be you," he mumbled, nodding in a rare show of his old self-assuredness, a lazy, contented grin spreading across his face. "Watcha doin'? Never heard ya make that noise be-fore."

It reminded him, oddly, of the final vision he'd been graced with, of that band of light connecting he and Baratheon together like a cord, singing out that same lilting hum, calling out to Booker like nothing else. Still, he couldn't just bring it up - after all, it wasn't every day you received visions from a giant mushroom. Right?

"Baratheon Speech"


His head was still lifted as he hummed, eyes still closed. The magic burned throughout his body but it wasn't uncomfortable, it was a pleasant feel. Even though his eyes never opened the dragon could feel when numbat neared, he could feel Booker climb up his legs and all the way to his snout. However, he never lifted the hum or opened his eyes. The swelling sound inside of him helped him with the ancient magic just as the presence of the numbat seemed to boost it as well.

It wasn't until Booker spoke did the hum die off and the dragon finally opened his eyes. The pink of his gaze was a shade lighter and there was a glow which seemed to filter out. Baratheon smiled as he looked at the numbat which was seated on his muzzle. "That's because I've never tapped into magic like this before..." His voice rumbled out, elated, happy, and joyful. He lowered his head down to the ground and very, very gentle deposited the numbat onto the ground. He didn't lift his head back up though, he instead kept his head eye level with Booker. He didn't know what sort of magic this was. He knew it was good but he didn't know exactly what it would do so it was best to put the numbat on the ground lest something strange happen.

"For the past few days," He began. "A feeling has been building in me... a bond, a love, different than any other. I know you have had to feel it too..." It was a hunch but that building bond within him was the start of this glow which filtered into a new spell. "Today it has reached its peak and I wish to share it with you." And so it began. "We have a bond... I think of you as my brother but I feel that our link goes even beyond that to something else... You are the caution to my recklessness, you are the wisdom to my brawn, you are the one to help temper my Bloodlust..." With each word he spoke it seemed that the glow in his eyes would glow brighter and brighter. "I am the dragon and you, Booker... I have chosen you to be my Rider." He didn't know where the words came from but they seemed to come from the glow, telling him what to say and also telling him what to do.

His eyes closed, shielding off the bright glow as he leaned his muzzle forward and gently as if he was brushing a delicate daisy touched the front of his muzzle right to Booker's forehead. He could feel the glow inside of himself filter even stronger through his body but he could also feel it being transferred through that light touch to Booker. His whole life essence felt as if it was being pulled and stretched and shared. The warmth that had been building in his body changed to a burning fire which felt as if it was changing his very soul.

It lasted only for a few short seconds but those seconds would probably feel like hours to the ones who's spirits were being shaped and reformed to become one and merge with one another.

Then, all at once... It was over. The burning within him stopped suddenly with a feeling like sharp tug. Afterwards he fell to the ground and fell into a light sleep, exhausted by the great flow of magic he'd tapped into as well as the reforming of his very own essence.

Booker huffed as he was put back on the ground, trying to suss out what his brother meant. Magic? Maybe... But no - could the dragon really feel the same bond that had attached itself to the numbat, pulling him forever towards his best friend? It seemed he had, from his next words, and Booker found himself grinning, eye wide in awe. "I thought it was jus' me," he admitted sheepishly, scooting closer to rest his chin on Baratheon's nose.

The more his brother talked, the cloudier Booker's intact eye became, and he sniffed, reaching up to wipe away the pending tears with a tiny laugh. "It's the same for you, y'know. You... you're my bravery, the strength to my weakness. You're my anchor, Baratheon." The numbat stared as the dragon's eyes seemed to glow, bright with the same pull Booker felt within himself, and he nuzzled his forehead into the short fur of the dragon's snout, overwhelmed. "I... yeah. I'm yours, Bara," he finally murmured, turning up his head to smile softly, eye bright with love.

Booker almost flinched when the dragon's muzzle moved to touch against his forehead, brushing across the jagged spikes of opal that reached out of his eye, but the numbat held fast, eye slipping closed. The pull was growing stronger, now, reaching out to Baratheon like a hand, fingers gripping at anything it could, climbing up, up, up to join the dragon's half of the bond. The closer it got, the more Booker felt like he was on fire, burning up from the inside, blood boiling - it sent the smell of smoke through his nostrils again, but the scent didn't seem oppressive, now. This was soothing, filling him up to the brim with cauterizing light, closing up wounds within, rewriting him from head to toe.

And then, with a final, sharp flare, the fire went out, put out by a pulse of - everything. All the joy, the fear, the rage, the love that had brought them here and now, like a chain latching together. The bond pulsed once with warm light, twice, before Booker collapsed forward onto Baratheon's snout, mumbling and dazed. There was something in his head, now, a line of comfort, of peace, soothing away the creeping fog, keeping him from slipping back into the past. Booker reached out to the lifeline, gripping it tightly, snuggling into Baratheon's fur, and tried to pour all of his love, his trust, his loyalty, his utter dependance on his brother into it. All of the things he'd never be able to say enough, filtered through the bond as pure emotion.

This is what if feels like, Booker thought, humming to himself, that same soft melody Baratheon had used to call him. True family. Sleep well, brother.

"Baratheon Speech"


Even while sleeping he could feel the link between them. It was a comforting, loving, reassuring thing that persisted throughout darkness of his sleep. He could feel it all and subconsciously he poured everything back to his brother. All of the love he felt, how much he would do for the numbat, the level of his loyalty, his devotion, everything. All that he couldn't say with his mouth he could certainly do with thoughts.

He wasn't sure when he finally crossed the line from sleep to consciousness, he just sort of did. His mind responded first, Love ya, Brother... He spoke it but it wasn't with his mouth, it was with his mind. The hum started up in his throat again, that happy note of joy. His eyes opened next as his gaze slowly focused on his tiny brother. Of his Rider... A new strange thing but one that brought a strange excitement.

The dragon grinned, exposing his fangs in a happy smile. It was a new feeling to have emotions flood over from another outside source, he would never truly be alone again. A laugh rumbled up from his throat and he moved his muzzle forward to nudge Booker back onto his usual spot. We are one... He lifted his head up and rose to his paws, body healed from the strange magic usage.

He had an idea... One spawned from the same strange thing which had guided his words before. Can you... see through my eyes? He knew Booker's eyesight was questionable even with the monocle but what about through their link? Could he look through Baratheon's own eyes while his body stayed secure on his snout?

Love ya, brother. The voice was Baratheon's, it had to be, but it didn't reach Booker through his ears - no, this went straight to his mind, bypassing the whine of hearing loss entirely, soothing the numbat. Love you, too, he replied, mind-voice, for once, as loud as his brother's. His eye blinked open slowly, gaze meeting Baratheon's, and Booker smiled, huffing. It seemed wrong to break the calm with words, and so he sat, head resting on the dragon's snout, bathing in the calm, the pure, unerring love, that radiated from the bond.

He let out a surprised giggle as the dragon grinned, teeth on display, and Booker grinned back, chattering his tiny fangs. The tiny Gembound sat back on his haunches with a huff when his brother nudged him, grateful for the chance to tuck his lame leg under his body, hiding the wound away. We are one. Booker closed his eye once more, reaching for the bond, feeling it meld them together like glue, like a tangible wire, and nodded, humming along to the tune. Looks like. 's nice. Probly make talkin' to each other easier, he joked, laughing within their shared mindspace.

Booker's eye blinked open when Baratheon stood, peering up at him curiously, jumping when his voice returned, mouth still shut. I could try, he offered, closing his eye and concentrating. Within the calm pink void where the bond lay, Booker trotted up to it, a pulsing band of light, and placed a paw onto it tentatively. It bowed under the pressure, and the numbat took a breath, two, before slowly grabbing onto it with both front paws, following it through the shared space of he and his dragon's souls. It was only a short time before the void seemed to lighten a bit, accompanied by dots of dark red, staining the otherwise pristine area. Booker's own side had been filled with hints of dark smoke, and the numbat assumed that this had to be Baratheon's side of the bond.

Slowly, focusing, Booker opened his eye - and found himself peering out of the dragon's eyes, staring down at his own body. It was strange, enough to jerk him out of Baratheon's mind and back into his own, eye flinging open with a gasp. The numbat grinned up at his brother, whiskers twitching wildly. That is so cool! He directed the wave of curiosity and excitement to his closest friend, wanting to make sure the other knew that he had no fear, no negative emotions to poison the bond between them. I wonder if you can look through my eye? Maybe you could see the mush-rooms, too!

"Baratheon Speech"


The dragon chuckled at his brother's joke. Yes, it would be ten times easier to speak this way. They didn't even have to think about what they wanted to say, it would just come. The full meaning and everything. No misunderstands, no wrongs, no nothing... It was the perfect link.

He could feel when the numbat began to cross over to his side of the link. It was like someone taking a seat inside of his his body, a passenger. It was a new feeling but it wasn't unwelcome, especially when he realized that he could show his brother what it felt like to be in a dragon's body. Just like that though, Booker had left his mind and returned to his own. Baratheon blinked, trying to get used to the sensation of being alone within his own head again. Such a strange and magnificent link this was.

Just wait... I'll have to take you flying like that so you can see what it's really like. If Booker liked flying while just sitting on his snout then he should see it through the dragon's own sharp eyes. At the prompting of Booker he closed his own eyes and focused on the link that held him. It wasn't just an intangible thing... It was as if it could be touched. He extended his nose forward to try and cross through it to the numbat's side. Unlike his own there wasn't light, well there was some but it was mostly smokey and dark and foreboding. What was this? He felt an urge within him, to help his friend as was his duty. He spread his spiritual wings wide and flapped them to release a powerful gust to blow away the "bad demons" so to speak. Then, he proceeded to take his place behind Booker's eyes as his brother had done to him.

He opened his eyes outside of the link and saw... himself! His fur! His eyes! He didn't know his coat was so blindingly white and not pink! And he was so large! Everything was large! So big and huge! He wanted to retreat back to himself where he was bigger than a large majority of things... but he didn't. He wanted to see what Booker saw. Show me the mushrooms, as you see them.

As Booker's eye slipped closed once more, he receded back into his own headspace, practically swimming with fog and dark smoke, streaks of red staining the light. The bond was truly the only clear part of the "room," shining through the darkness like a pillar of light, reaching out into the ether to connect to his brother. That bond grew heavier, now, as if something was clinging onto it, and before the numbat had time to worry, Baratheon - or, at least, the projected soul of the dragon, had traveled from his end of the bond to Booker's. Then, with a great beat of his pink and white wings, his brother seemed to blow the smoke and the mist away, making it crowd up to the corners of the space, flinching away from Booker's bonded.

Stunned, it took the tiny Gembound a moment to respond, finally sending across an awed, slightly amused reply. If you can do that, I have no doubt you can show me how it looks to really fly. Letting out a short, amazed bark of a laugh, Booker took in the sensation of not being alone in his own head. It felt like... well, like a pulse, almost, warm and comforting, but strange. Still, he opened his eyes, letting Baratheon peer up at his own body, whiskers twitching. Show me the mushrooms, as you see them.

Booker grinned, chattering, closing his eye once more to "speak." O-kay. First, I gotta focus, like this! The room, now mostly cleared of the fog and instead revealed to be a dark black, like his gem, littered with flashes of blue, green, and, of course, pink, seemed to fade. In its place was a void, calm and full of absolute silence - save for the voices of the brothers. Then, I reach out!

post roll:
And just like that, the void flared to life, bright orbs of light spanning... well, everything. Wherever Booker's head moved in the waking world, inside his mind, the map of the lights changed. Beneath the ground of Eridanus, the earth was alive with intertwining streams of pulsating white light: the fungal mat, which spanned the entirety of Origin itself. Then, sprouting up above, different colored lights - some red, some green, some gold, and some a dim black.

Booker pointed to each one in turn, trying to explain just what this unseen world meant. The white, that's... well. It's like our hearts! It connects all of the dif'rent mush-rooms together, and keeps 'em alive. A tiny claw pointed to the lights up above in turn, excitement easily felt through the bond. Then there's the mush-rooms up above! The red ones aren't good to eat, but the green ones are. The gold ones are special, like my glow-y ones! An' the black ones... ah... The numbat winced, not able to hide the flash of memory: himself, paralyzed and wheezing, struck by a fit after trying to discern what, exactly, the black lights did. The black ones aren't good, he finally replied, trying to push away the flashback.

"Baratheon Speech"

Baratheon could feel the tiny numbat pull upon his magic and he found it similar yet different to how he pulled his own magic. With the new link though he could actually "see" the space of magic where he pulled from. It was dark with different bits of colors, a stark contrast to his own magic space. Opposites attracted and made the best combinations he supposed.

When the spell was completed he could see exactly what Booker was always talking about. The light friends were literally light, not fungi as he saw them but more alive. He looked at each light as the numbat described them. The gold lights, the white ones, red ones... All so different. He was awed and dumbfounded. It made his belief that the All Mother was just a simple mushroom feel insubstantial. Well, he still believed it to be a mushroom but he thought of it more as alive rather than just an inanimate object. It certainly put everything in perspective.

This is amazing. He could feel the fog trying to creep back into Booker's mind so he filtered over his strength and assurance to his brother. Trying to keep him firmly rooted in the present. Thank-you for showing me. With that he slid back out of Booker's mind and back into his own. It took a moment to get used to the look of everything again. His eyes blinked before focusing on the small Rider on his snout.

Now that Booker had shown him the fungal world, he wanted to show Booker what flight really was about. Hold on... He stretched his wings upwards and let out a rumble from his throat. Ah, he couldn't remember the last time he had flown. Now would be a good time to do so. There were a few trees around but not enough to hamper his take off. The dragon crouched and then leaped, thrusting his wings downwards powerfully. Then, it was a simple matter of flapping until he took off into the air. He let out a joy-filled roar before he took off into the sky and was airborne.