ORIGIN

Indeed, Doru had grown since their first meeting. The Vindicator itself had not - it had hatched as it would always be, perfect and permanent, but Doru had grown. A child they had met and now a fully grown gembound stood before them, not as tiny as they had once been, almost as tall now as the massive angelic figure of Order.

"Yes," it hummed in response. "Thou hast changed and grown much, in thine time adrift. But thou fears disappointment? Hm..." It wanted to reach and open a brief connection, to share what he feared would cause such a disappointment, but that was when something seemed to drift by. Something it had not experienced before, but had felt through visions and feelings. Memories from Juggernaut that Mother ruminated much upon. It caught its attention swiftly and the fabric-like appendages upon its arms fluttered with brief alarm and interest.

And it understood. A wish. For Doru. What was the first thing it would wish for? It was brief, and Vindicator knew, somehow, that it would only have this second to wish something. The first thing that popped into its mind was both of its own desires and that of the hive. It wished for Doru to feel the love and connection of the Hive, to understand their blessed desire of Order, without him feeling caged or forced. It was complicated, as were the thoughts and feelings of the Vindicator, carefully curated in the second that it had.

When the second was over, the Vindicator shifted ever so slightly. "...Did thou feel strange magics as well?"

The warmth filled the hollow shell of Vindicator's body briefly and it felt confirmation of its wish. It had only to extend the hand and Doru would be welcomed without the autonomy loss he so feared.

And so it did, eagerly extending that olive branch forward and between them a connection was forged. Mental, magical, a union of thoughts and feelings and experiences. It could feel Mother watching, her careful guidance, a sudden flash of wait. And it did its best to hold back that which Mother kept most secret. The iterations, the visage of Dontacael. The clearstone spire, that holy chamber of the heart of Order in this nest. It did its best to tuck those away and let, instead, the love of the Hive flow through instead. So that Doru could feel that connection between them, at the very least. Connection. Love. Family. Unity.

Its spindly fingers opened and then threaded together in front of it, in an odd display of being almost bashful, if ever this incredibly unnatural and marble-like creature could express any kind of emotion. "Thou doest apologize, if thee doest not wisheth to have what the Vindicator wished upon thee. Say thy word, and it shall breaketh this bond."

Vindicator was ready at any moment to end the spell, if Doru wished - it had no desire to tread upon his consent and his wishes, nor invade his privacy, but thankfully the message got through and it relaxed. It relaxed into the bond and connection and it felt Doru's fear. It did not understand - what could one do to not deserve this? Mother welcomed all, yes, all were one under Mother's embrace and this was an extension of that. It was an extension of Vindicator that it offered freely, for it was bliss that it wished to share with its friend and Doru would feel this. He did not need to deserve it - it was freely offered.

It was surprised at how intense Doru's emotions were. Vindicator's own mind was different - more pointed, perfect, like fractals that shifted, methodical and intent. There was a change to the pattern at the moment, brought on by this unexpected magic and connection between the two, but the link between them would most certainly have shown how very different the two of them were. The drone was fascinated and its own side quieted, so that it could simply listen for a while, and learn.

But then, amethyst - offered forward. Just a piece, a little prize. It dropped into the fractals and moved them to something new and unexpected.

Vindicator did not move on the outside - it did not need to move to shift its attention down to what Doru offered it. But on the inside it experienced a new emotion - it felt deeply moved by this gesture. Carefully, oh so very carefully, it unthreaded its fingers and reached out to take the amethyst. "Doru, this gift is..." It held it gently and felt its own magic react, reflexively reaching out, and it allowed it so, to flow from chest down the arm and into the amethyst. A colorless glow appeared in its heart before fading out. Stone given life. To grow, to change, and to hatch.

It was quiet for a moment, struggling to understand what it was feeling, how it was supposed to react. "Thou has not been presumptuous. The Vindicator apologizes. It hast not expected such a gift of the heart. Nor did it realize...that thou cared for it in such a way. It shall...I shall cherish it." It lifted the amethyst and placed it within the hollow of its chest, intending on casting a spell to keep it safe there, but so much that it felt like a fish out of water, that its magic did not respond correctly and it found the glue-like substance appearing on its fingers instead. It simply lowered that arm and closed the fingers in. It would break that off later.

For a moment it thought to reach out to Mother, to pull her attention here if she wasn't listening already. It knew she would want it to go to the Hive. But a tiny crack in the fractals of its mind said This is my gift and it found itself wanting this to be theirs - not Mother's, not the Hive's, this was Vindicator and Doru's creation. "What doest wisheth of the stone - to hatch within thy Hive, to be part of the One? Or doest Doru wisheth a different path? I shalt do whatever is your will, in this."