ORIGIN

Arsu stepped delicately over a patch of ferns, his eyes fastened to the ground. Had there been a predator, he'd hardly have noticed--and that didn't matter right now. His attention was purely on the earth of Eridanus. The blackened patches of the old fires were mostly gone, but the swathes of cobweb white still lay thick here and there. That, too, didn't matter.

What mattered was the rising chill, the talk of family and gifts and the muted excitement he'd seen in others about the potential return of someone called Naskital. But how could he enjoy that-? His twin-... Azizos, with that lifelong bond that only twins shared...

...he was missing. And he had been, for quite some time. Pride hadn't seemed to want to think about it overmuch. Or maybe he'd been trying to seem reassuring, with his promises that Gembound often slept in their chrysalises for many cycles, but... he'd been troubled. Arsu could see that. and it only stirred the unease in his own heart. So now he was picking his way through Mercurius's well-tended gardens, silent, eyes on the ground, to find a piece of Moonstone.

And then-...

Let me find it first. Let me find it, and then I can plan what to do next.

Eyes fell upon dirt-smeared shards of white stone. There were a few chunks of rough diamond still remaining--filthy with soil and growth, not that it mattered. And beside them... There. Yes.

Cloven hooves pulled at the dirt. Bit by bit, he scraped away the residue of years that covered the more shimmering, translucent and almost milky white beneath. Not diamond, this; but moonstone.

A kick, another kick--and he had a small piece free. Then, and only then, did he pause to think about his plan.

They say she's a bounty hunter. That she can find Gembounds by their stones. Will this be enough-? And what will she ask for, in return?

Arsu was afraid. There was no other way to put it, and he didn't have the self-control to even try to pretend that he didn't. He'd heard that her mandibles could shear a bull in half. He'd heard that she moved faster than a bird in flight. He'd heard all sorts of things--but he had no idea which ones were true.

Still, as he turned and made his way to the place she was said to take her contracts, he found his hide flicking, shivering, with fear.

Am I afraid of what she might do to me-? Or what she might ask? Or am I afraid of what she might find? Or not find...?

The latter was perhaps the most fearsome prospect, and one that Arsu stopped to contemplate as he at last found himself before the mouth of Venari's den. If she found that Azizos had somehow... If she found that Azizos wasn't with them, anymore, at least he would have some closure. Surely she'd find him sleeping, somewhere, and then Arsu would feel rather foolish. But the idea that his brother might be trapped somewhere--that nobody in the family had looked for him, found him--that he might be returning to his chrysalis again and again and again, afraid and helpless and alone...

He steeled himself, shook his head, and pushed forward.

At last he set the shard of Moonstone down, cleared his throat, and tentatively called out toward the cave mouth, with its strange blossoms and internal glow. "Excuse me, is the bounty hunter named Venari here? I need-... I'm looking for someone," Arsu called out, hoarsely.

Fear took him at her appearance, and he tried not to show it--not from politeness (was it possible to offend such a creature?) but from a sense of pride. Still, he took an involuntary step back, his heart jumping in his chest.

She was huge. Huge, and terrifying, all hard shell and very pointy bits. He took a shaky breath and bowed his head.

"My brother. He's missing," Arsu hastened to clarify. "I just want to find him. To make sure that he's okay. Or-... if not, I want to know. Please don't hurt him," he added softly, and to his surprise, he found emotions hitching his chest, trembling in his hiccuped voice. He'd been hiding, from himself, the idea that something truly bad might have happened--but it felt like it was crashing down on him now.

Arsu flattened his ears and went still for a moment, taking a breath to calm himself. Then he looked back to Venari. "I didn't bring payment yet, because I'm not sure what you would want. Tell me, and I'll get it for you. Anything," he added desperately. Anything at all. Please. I just have to know-...

He gathered himself a second time. "We lived in Orion and here--in Eridanus, mostly. But we haven't seen him in-... In many cycles." Not for the last two-thirds of my life. Has it really been so long..? he thought, sorrowfully, and his head dipped down, eyes closing against his grief.

Arsu's eyes drifted down to the moonstone. And stayed there. Whatever reason had locked Venari's gaze to it, his was simple grief. He couldn't think--he could barely imagine-...

"His gemstone," he choked out, and then shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. "It's a piece of his chrysalis, from when he was born. -Hatched. I--I don't know what it's called, but father called it 'moonstone' sometimes." Maybe that was the real name of the stone, or maybe it was just a descriptor. He didn't know. "I thought-... maybe it could help you find him. Arsu-... I'm Arsu. He is-" Was? -No-"Azizos."

This he said very quietly. He almost didn't dare to hope. And his gaze lifted, found Venari again--pleading. Begging. "Please-... Can you find my brother?"

His heart wrenched, though he couldn't have quite said why. Surely there were more shards that he could get-... but in this moment, that piece was all he held of his brother, and it took strength to force his head into a nod. He swallowed hard. Really, it was a tiny payment. A trinket, nothing--she could have asked for so much more, and he'd have given it to her, though he couldn't imagine the possibilities past his blinding worry.

Glow-? Her question jolted him from his own mired thoughts, and he blinked up at the stones to which Venari gestured. Oh.

"Yes," he answered, surprise in his voice--how lucky it was that he could fulfill such a request. Assuming his magic cooperated in this moment.

Arsu stepped forward, leaning in, if she allowed, to do just that. Into it he poured that grief, a farewell to this single piece of his brother he carried with him, though the thoughts behind it--a hollow reassurance, to himself, that surely Azizos was okay somewhere--distracted him.

The result was not so strong as one or two of the pieces in her collection--but perhaps the dim gleam was better-suited to the pale glitter of the moonstone.

Arsu stepped back, gaze straying to the opened eye, then Venari's face as a whole. "Is that-... will that do?" he asked, his voice a soft croak.