ORIGIN

Compared to cold, damp caves such as Pisces and Cetus, this place Karambit presently buzzed through shone, quite literally thanks to its thermal vision, like a blazing beacon in sprawling darkness. Where others might have stumbled about and choked on the thick fog enshrouding the island's grand expanse, it flew along unhindered, guided by an ethereal and pleasantly fuzzy image of paradise. If only color were still a part of the titanic flesh insect's reality; surely the vibrant danger painted upon the hides of so many of Lacerta's denizens would have been much appreciated. At least another of its senses could be stimulated instead: hearing, quite keen if the noise succeeded in penetrating the eternal vibration and clatter its body made. And these ones did, beautifully so.

Never before had it heard such a glorious cacophony in its life. In fact, the screeches which caused delightful chills to surge through squelching grey meat assured it of the presence of kindred spirits. Of course none could compare to the regretfully silent masterpiece whose bones remained a bittersweet garden back in Leo, but perhaps these splendid noisemakers could become good friends as well. They all might join together in the most ear-bleeding performance the world would ever witness. Just the thought of that caused its flight to grow ever more erratic.

Used to behemoths of its size, the jungle trees withstood an assault from the blundering beast zigzagging through them that would have burst apart their weaker relatives. Sickle claws and toothy tentacles slashed and gnawed away at any vines crossing their path. All the while, Karambit announced itself with the usual exuberant shrieks, unbothered by whatever attention it might attract.

"Frrrriends! Krrrmmm... Where arrre youuu? Such pretty muzzzic you make!"

Was it any surprise its quarries didn't respond to such exuberant calls? Naturally not.

Unfortunately the ruckus also helped to drown out the very sounds Karambit was pursuing—if they hadn't already ceased, their feuding sources having detected the danger they were in and fleeing farther into the jungle. Oblivious to how its very nature interfered in its search, the gargantuan monster, against all common sense, took the lack of answer as a sign its screeches required greater volume. Flesh wetly sucked in air, and more nonsense about friendship and the beauty of music flew out from mandibles alongside long strands of drool.

"I find you, frrrriends! And I help you make prreeetty muzzic! Lizzzeeen!"

Karambit tossed its head about, antennae clattering against each other, and unleashed shrieks of varying pitch from the numerous mouths it possessed. A positively drenching performance as saliva sprayed against the leafy surroundings, no doubt stinking of whatever its last rotten meal had been. Hopefully no music critics were present; the damage to their ears as well as the revolting stench would've unceremoniously ended their careers.

"Hear!" it cried out. "Prreeetty, rrright?"

No, it did not know what a rhetorical question was.

Astonishing as it might be, the usual screeching and vibrations Karambit made had, in fact, met competition in terms of sheer volume and annoyance. Beyond all expectations, the “friends” it pursued had, through the power of territorial spite, created a ruckus so high-pitched in outrage that it matched and cancelled out the sound of nearing disaster. Ignorant to the hell soon to be at hand, they snorted, scored the ground with indignant stomps, and loosed screams harsh enough that one could believe their throats bled from agonizing strain and overuse. How insignificant this posturing would be once faced by death itself, wings whirring and claws ready to drag them into a cutting embrace.

The larger of the two feuding devilbeaks, a surly-looking specimen whose horns were gouged from many a fierce headbutting match, expressed his displeasure through a glass-shattering wail, then huffed and deliberately turned his back on his challenger. This did not mean he intended on walking away from this argument though. Instead, spinning back around, his mighty club tail swung for a tree trunk in a demonstration of brutality.

It exploded.

Wood splinters scattered in every direction. The tree’s base absolutely demolished, the remainder crashed down, flattening the dense jungle undergrowth. Meanwhile, the devilbeak merely stood there, unfazed by the destruction he’d caused. Any stray slivers of wood which tried to sink needlepoints into him bounced off his pebbled hide and fell underfoot.

He strutted forward, chest puffed out, clear satisfaction readable in his confident steps. The attempt to re-engage was unnecessary though. The other devilbeak had already turned tail and was kicking up dirt as he fled into the brush.

Sometime during the previous display, the area had been engulfed in shadow. After the presumed winner screeched a victory cry after the coward that’d sprinted from his midst, the reason why became apparent in the sudden change of ambience. Silence reigned except for a persistent buzz—this could be strongest heard behind the remaining devilbeak whose instinctual apprehension led him to seek it out. A slavering creature triple his size greeted him as he ended his wary pivot, cloaked in a stench promising the execution of all it ever met.

"Therrre you arrrre." The monster’s equivalent of a croon was akin to the squeal of metal on metal. "Noooow I can help frrrriends."

The devilbeak stared into his doom for a long, sickening second.

Karambit waited as perfectly as a meat insect could, every bit the overgrown, fidgeting child waiting to be given permission to play.

And he followed his opponent’s example, bolting for safer ground.

"Krrrrm? Wait! Wherrrree you going?"

Absolute confusion swelled in Karambit's cry, and it poured every ounce of willpower into directing this after its newfound devilbeak pal. To no avail as it did not possess the training or knowhow to control this devastating ability. Its spindly legs buckled, the mind magic sending its own shrieks back to itself. Simplistic internal monologue overwhelmed, tentacles flailed about, further wreaking havoc on the surroundings.

What a shame. Their friends would get a decent head start on escape while it struggled to shape its pulverized brain into a functional mass of grey matter again. But no one said lasting friendships were easy to maintain. A painful setback would not easily dissuade it from such an endeavor. In fact, it encouraged the effort, promising sweet success for the hard work done.

The devilbeaks weaving a path through the unfelled jungle trees which had yet to meet the flying disaster intent on pursuing them lacked any depth of thought to realize exactly how great their current luck was. While they wheezed and pumped their legs to the limit, fighting past growing soreness and fatigue to remain outside the gargantuan span of the monster’s shadow spilling over the land, never once did either consider glancing over their shoulder to relieve their panic or scream taunts at the shuddering meat mass collapsed to its knees somewhere in the distance. Prey instinct powered the chain reaction of firing off neurons; their bodies obeyed it, unable to cease until adrenaline cleared away and the danger was successfully lost.

As always, though, good fortune had an expiration date determined entirely by the same chance that led to its existence. There was no guarantee it would hold out for a second longer, much less the many minutes more required to ensure complete escape from the buzzing harbinger of death behind them.

Theirs turned out not to be a shared advantage, one Lesser's timer reaching zero while the other's ticked on for however many moments extra.

He'd once been in the lead for winner of the territorial dispute that had been so awfully crashed into. Now, having been too unobservant and prideful to be first to rush for safety, the devilbeak veteran of many conflicts found himself struggling to follow the fleet footsteps of his young challenger. His rival advanced two paces for every single he managed. Labored breaths reverberated in his head, just as much a reminder of flagging strength as the heart pounding against his rib cage.

He had to survive. After cycles of defending his place in the devilbeak hierarchy through vicious scraps, falling and failing to pass on his grit and determination to the next generation couldn't be an option.

Those driving factors, however, meant nothing to the screech that threatened to shred apart hearing usually accustomed to discordant sounds. The sickle claws bypassing the spined club at the end of his tail to penetrate thick hide also didn't care, unsympathetic to reasons for living when they existed to rend and destroy. Oblivious to the pain blooming in its thorax as it slammed directly into the tail club its front legs had avoided, Karambit squealed at the purchase it had obtained on one of its fleeing friends.

It giggled, an absolute nightmare returned to menace and maim once again. "I'vvve got yoouuu!"

The sudden tremendous weight applied to his back end had the devilbeak screaming bloody murder for the very treetops to hear. It turned out to be more than the result of simple distress as the forward momentum transferred from Karambit to him caused feet to stumble and his skull to smack against the earth. He tried shaking off the monster latched onto his tail but failed due to the impossibility of moving it underneath the anchor several thousand pounds of buzzing meat served as. Instead the desperate twists spurred writhing in kind against the appendage, greater force exerted than before; a snap rang out, and the devilbeak jerked his head from the ground, agony laced in his grating cries.

Ever clueless, eternally chipper during the course of the hunt, Karambit joined the chorus. Or rather overwhelmed it, the screeches emitted from mandibles and additional mouths a formidable assault of sound.

"Verrry good!" it praised and blasted apart its vocal friend’s hearing again. "We zzzound zzo prrreetty together. A grrrreat pairrrr! Will be evvven betterrr with frrriend two. Then a grrrreat thrrrreeee-oooo!"

Compliments meant nothing when subjected to pains once believed impossible for a sturdy, long-lived beast. Scrabbles in the dirt struggled to yank him free from an unyielding hold, but their only reward was a sharp pop, a soul-quaking wail immediately following the unintended dislocation. His suffering, once despair settled in, lowered to brief siren-pitched whimpers.

There was a squelch as claws withdrew from the devilbeak’s flesh. HIs attacker whirred wings, and the burden that had dragged him down lifted as it hovered off of him. Thoroughly disabled, his tail with its attached club was limp and useless. Hind legs quivered as the lack of a proper counterbalance hampered his ability to stand.

The monster rose above him, a warble of concern taking in its friend’s difficulties. "You can’t walk? Krrrmmm…" It fell silent except for its unceasing vibrations, ponderous for a few fleeting, merciful seconds. The emergence of an ill-conceived idea returned the usual chaotic noise, cheerfully announcing, "I’vvvvee a plan. Can help you, frrriend!"

Further explanation never came, so enthused was it to begin administering aid. Positioned directly over a shivering back that repeatedly failed to rise off the ground, all three sets of legs lashed out for the tough sides of the devilbeak.

For what it was worth, the tug of the hooks once they’d just barely buried themselves beneath the skin managed to pierce through the tormented haze shrouding his mind. Sensing the immediate threat, the drive for survival reawoke as a flickering flame in darkness; weak, little more than a puff would extinguish it, but he decided to use its strength-bolstering hope to the fullest. Every drop poured into those trembling legs incapable of straightening and boosted the will behind them. He thrusted himself up, a battle cry bursting from a cracked beak, and curved his spine.

If Karambit wanted to pull him up, its wish would be granted. It’d learn such fulfillment came with a damaging price, though, courtesy of the whole forest of quills draped over his muscular back.

In a better world against a more normal opponent, the devilbeak’s strategy would have paid off well. Any sensible being would have instantly released their hold upon jabbing quills igniting unbearable pain through every inch of exposed flesh they came into contact with. Underestimating the unhinged nature the winged menace hanging onto him displayed, though, he hadn’t accounted for the fact that Karambit simply did not think as ordinary Gembounds did. Yes, it knew suffering as well as any other creature; the difference lay in the peculiar euphoria induced by the sensation which gave such agony an unbelievably sweet tinge.

As the toxin’s effect exploded through the needled meat of its thorax and abdomen, an undulating scream tore out of parted mandibles. To the unknowing, it might have seemed as if the retaliatory attack had been wholly successful in deterring a persistent enemy. The better informed would have recognized the outburst for what it was: pain and pleasure mingling together. Hooked claws refused to withdraw from the hide of the devilbeak. Instead the opposite result occurred. They buried in farther, and the monster threw more effort behind lifting him off the ground, head flung back to revel in the glee flooding its brain. Where a threat should have been detected, it saw an affectionate gesture. This, of course, invited an ever gracious return of the sentiment shared.

"Awwww," it squealed. "Too kind! No need to thank zzzoooo much for help."

The insides of the monster, although surmised to be possibly insectile due to its form, remained quite the mystery due to the unusual parentage it possessed. This matter continued to be unclarified as grey flesh along Karambit's underside began churning like it had been poured into an invisible blender. Already high on the damage the quills poking it had accomplished, the ramping intensity brought on by bone spears ripping through to the outside was regarded as nothing more than heightening joy at all the fun being had. Rendered part pincushion, it squeezed limbs tighter around its squirming friend.

Wings quieted their whirring. A massive weight crashed down. The devilbeak cried out while spines drove through his back. Unable to handle it, what progress he'd made was lost. Knees collapsed and he fell, even worse off than before.

"Niccee, rrrrright? Can ssstab tooo! Zzzzooo alike, you and I!"

If Karambit expected enthusiastic agreement and a declaration of kinship in response to its joyful observations, as went all interactions with dear friends, disappointment would be likelier than not. Thorough impalement didn’t often succeed in making individuals chattier. Quite the opposite, the torture silencing tongues usually more than stimulating them. At best, whimpers might come as the victim struggled to hold onto consciousness. Unfortunately this devilbeak, hardy as he was, proved to be no outlier. Every ounce of energy was redirected from other voluntary actions to prevent black dots overwhelming vision. Any observer could predict the eventual outcome from a mile away: this battle was a losing one. His exhaustive efforts only prolonged the inevitable, eternal sleep to come.

A predator aware enough to recognize a life on the brink of fading away and possessing the quality of mercy might’ve released its prey to bleed out the remainder of his lifespan. Practical, it would’ve realized any further effort to subdue him was wasted when it could be conserved for future targets whose stamina hadn’t yet drained to a weak trickle. Sensibilities warped and common sense absent, no such reprieve could be expected from this monstrous hunter. Withdrawing when oodles of fun could still be had would’ve been a baffling idea for it to pursue. Not once did it connect the increasing limpness of its golden-voiced companion with death threatening to settle into flesh. If anything, the lack of resistance was taken as invitation to inflict greater damage, the awful scenario continuing to be seen as a delightful little wrestling game.

Relishing the physical contact of its own meat against quills and the sink of bone into tender flesh, Karambit loosed a series of affectionate chirrups. The close proximity activated fond childhood memories of nuzzling into a mucus-slicked back, heedless to a parent's roaring protests. Projected spines joined the buzzing horror so well to the now perforated megafauna that shifting about for comfort became mildly complicated. Skinny limbs tightened their squeeze around his bulk and it heaved. Vegetation flattened beneath the combined weight of the pair as they rolled about.

"Eeeeeeeee!"

Internal injuries couldn't withstand the rigorous activity. They worsened, tearing and hastening a terrible fate. The breath dwindled within the devilbeak's chest. It gusted out as a soft moan, body deflating under pressure, attracting a curious gurgle from his captor.

"Uhhh. Frrrriend?"

Vitality was a rapidly shrinking resource. Not enough remained for the devilbeak to supply shrieking protestation for his fate. The grim reaper’s shadow pressed inward, gradually blinding eyes already dangerously close to sealing their lids shut, and another wheeze wriggled its way out from bruised lungs. Unbelievable, buzzing concern existed merely as a faint and distant murmur, the result of all senses fading away as seconds lengthened between heartbeats whose strength was a tattered memory. Such silence couldn’t be abided by a monster reliant on the opposite.

"Krrrrmmm?" Antennae clattered to fill the void of conversation. The vertebrae composing these macabre feelers continued clashing against each other while Karambit tossed its head this way and that to ascertain its newest dear friend’s affliction. "Izzz it no morrre fun? Why no zzzpeaking with prrrreeetty voice?"

Perhaps, it fretted, there was a problem. Although the furthest thing from a medical expert, even an ignoramus of its fantastic caliber had to acknowledge complications arose once bones snapped out of their rigid structure and precious organs ruptured. Many a companion it’d witnessed fall limp upon collecting a few too many play injuries; they tended to, regretfully, stay prone and unresponsive afterwards.

But of course, wasn’t that to be expected? Most individuals were delicate compared to an insectoid behemoth capable of shrugging off stab wounds and affectionate nibbles, especially when the latter better resembled torn off pounds of stinking flesh. The secret behind this resilience was an inability to register pain as anything but love slicing deeply into the soul. Although quite a frequent disappointment, hardly could a more fragile creature be faulted for not withstanding the tremendous intensity the emotion harbored.

Yet another weak gust exited a barely trembling beak. It offered up a demented possibility only a scrambled brain would deem valid: the devilbeak couldn’t breathe well anymore. Therefore a hole should be created to improve airflow. An ingenious solution if it’d been the actual issue or if Karambit actually understood and possessed the finesse for a precise surgical procedure. Alas, anyone acquainted with the monster knew full and well the unlikelihood of this.

"Hold zzztill," Karambit unnecessarily advised. "Give time, and I’ll help you! Then we can make prrretty zzzounds again!"

Its claws served better as butcher’s cleavers than scalpels. That much was clear from the ruthless ease with which they sawed through all manner of tissue. Muscles didn’t stand a chance against brute strength, and blood spurted forth the instant unprotected arteries were bashed apart. The force rocked the devilbeak’s head backwards, followed by the sound of grinding bone and a snap.

No wonder so much viscera littered the beaches of Leo during this monster’s more creative days. Dismantling a creature was such a talent for Karambit that its productivity was unmatched in matters of murder. If it’d desired to continue this mockery of a surgical operation, no doubt every single limb this saurian possessed would have been chopped off before the corpse had scarcely cooled. To add further insult to grievous injury, the artistic mind behind the carnage might have followed this up by giving the surrounding jungle a gruesome makeover, stringing up every ragged piece of flesh to dangle as ornaments from the broad foliage.

Consider it a mercy then that the reaction the literal hack job received was not one of joyous celebration or bloodlusted inspiration. A baffled clack of mandibles evaluated the great gash where a whole neck had once been. Past the initial gush, the blood now burbled up from the massive wound like a fountain. Yes, the devilbeak had much better access to air than before, but what good was that when its entire windpipe was obliterated?

Safe to say the Lesser’s spirit had long vacated the premises. Naturally Karambit missed the blatant moving away notice. Simplistic as ever, it continued to ask after an absent resident, utterly ignorant to the folly it engaged in.

"Feeeeel betterrr?" Receiving no response, it prodded for one. "Trrrry making noisezzzz. Give it a go!"

The slow gurgle of coagulating blood was the only answer to the encouragement. Karambit angled its head toward the sound, so lacking in articulation, limited intelligence struggling to make sense of the scene. Nothing left to carry air through to the lungs meant no ability to speak. No air also meant the eventual failure of the heart. One and one were added together—silly to assume two would be calculated.

A long trill announced the monster coming to a revelation. "Ooooh," it warbled. "Stay heeeeere. I'll find otherrr frrrriennd. They can help!"

The other devilbeak had been no fool. Following the instincts any Lesser would when pursued by such a relentless predator, he had taken full advantage of its distraction by slower prey to flee even farther, widening the gap between him and certain demise. Much work would be required to recover his trail, and perhaps a smidgen of magic and luck as well. Likely his tracks stretched for miles, disappearing into the densest of jungle underbrush. Fortunately, dim wits made such concerns practically invisible. In that moment, determination was all Karambit deemed necessary, a feeling that sent it charging blindly into the trees.

Since its friend didn't have the necessary equipment to speak, a replacement would have to be located and secured. Surely his equally musical friend could share his for a while. Maybe, if he was particularly generous, he'd allow the entire windpipe to be borrowed. It would take some convincing, but that was no trouble. Creatures always folded in the face of Karambit's overwhelming charisma.

Many meters away, unaware of the destructive force whose attention had latched onto him once again, the still living devilbeak in question was making a decision that would in hindsight be rather unwise. After running for what felt to his legs like ages, soreness and exhaustion had finally taken enough of a toll that rest seemed no longer an option but a necessity. Even though the smell of rotting meat continued to burn in nostrils and an image of a hovering mass of mouths and tentacles was engraved in his mind's eye, faltering knees sent him stumbling forward to a standstill. Uneven breaths drew air into a painfully tightened chest as, lightheaded, he swayed in place.

Time's passage, as always, eased this struggle. Surrounded by familiar jungle noises instead of demented buzzing and sturdy tree trunks bursting into a million splinters, recent terrifying experiences attained a faded quality compared to the previous vividness that'd driven him fleeing to safety. Tension melted away in steps, each second bringing with it more hope than the previous.

Maybe one meal was enough for the monster. Surely it would leave this land once it had its fill of his older rival. That outcome seemed reasonable to the devilbeak. In a world where little mattered more than eating, drinking, and mating, a beast with satiated needs did not waste energy on endeavors yielding it no further benefit.

A shame he hadn't accounted for the fact his pursuer did not possess an intelligence and purpose of similar simplicity. Though some behaviors might align with this idea, Karambit was notably a good half-step above its beloved parent when it came to mentality. Where the notorious meat mound Effluvium valued only what its stomach craved, its offspring was versed in the sweet and painful plucks of one's heartstrings. Right now a concerned chord resonated within its flesh and spurred it onward to deadly action. Good luck to whoever attempted to block its path.

The devilbeak heard the unmistakable whine of approaching doom long before it could be seen crashing its bulk through the trees. Limbs were stuck in the midst of recovery from their previous arduous run, and he strained to force them back into motion.

Too late, of course. Far too late. By the time anyone sensed death's approach, it was already breathing down their neck.

"Hey, frrrieend!"

The rest of this interaction doesn't require much guesswork to predict. But prepare to bear witness to the gory details anyway.