ORIGIN

Returning to his last den to pick up the last of his few belongings (and end the ones he had left there) was boring but necessary work. The small rubble-strewn den that had once served as his home for many cycles was littered with bones, oil, decomposing bodies, fresher bodies, and mushrooms of all kinds. There were even a couple of smaller gembounds in the later stages of dying - one had been withered to the point where it could barely breathe, the other another test of the decaying fungus, in its final stages.

He sorted through the decaying bodies, many of which had died in his absence. He frowned, disappointed that he had missed such interesting results. He was more interested in the withered one - could it be so exhausted that its heart simply stopped beating?

In the meantime, he made to clean out the den, the stench being just a little too overbearing for him to handle. Tossing out bodies and bones, carefully pawing out the oil as best he could and then wiping his paw off on stone, generally being a busybody for the time being, always keeping a paranoid eye out. He was looking forward to staying in the prisons full time - there was never a need to look over his shoulder, just in case.

He was just stepping out of his den again to clear out the last of the bones when he saw the creature. Strange amalgamation, odd shape and form, very obviously not a Lesser, and most definitely a Greater. And even though he had started a task with intent to return to the prisons as soon as possible...he couldn't help but feel a sudden rush at this opportunity, to test one thing he had been curious about for quite a while now.

The gold-dipped jackal stepped out from the shadows, right in view of Ketur and put on his most winning expression, eyes lighting, tail wagging, as pheromones began to gently pulse from his fur. "Excuse me," he called, merrily. "Could I get your help with something?"

Anubis quickly turned and beckoned Ketur away with a "Here, over here." and led the way into the small abandoned building that he had just spent some time cleaning out. He ducked immediately into the entrance and made way to the back, turning to stand over the bodies of the two mice in the back, half-dead as they were, one half rotted with necrosis, the other weak, feeble, and barely breathing.

Anubis didn't say anything else but allowed Ketur to approach, quickly breathed in deeply, held his breath, and quietly released those spores that would drag one into sleep and dreams. Perhaps not immediately, but drowsiness at the very least.

Once he saw the beast breathe in the spores, he stepped past them for the outside, letting them fall unconscious while he took a breath of clean air. He waited a few moments for the spores to settle before turning back in, standing over the sleeping body. For a moment, he simply stood there and reveled in it. What he held over this creature, defenseless, prone before him and at his mercy. He felt...powerful and it was an intoxicating, delicious sensation. If he wanted, he could kill it right now. He could give it spores to make it subservient to him, perhaps. He could turn it into his, hollow out its mind until it was nothing but an empty shell that he would fill with his will. But...not. That was an experiment for another day, with stronger magic and more control.

This was a more simple line of tests. His first true practice on a Greater being. It was exhilirating and exciting and his tail wagged furiously behind him as he leaned over it, spreading more spores and watching that subtle layer of mold begin to spread across its skin.

Once a sufficient amount of the mold had covered it, he switched to a darker, more aggressive fungus. This was the crux of this particular experiment. He had observed the effects on Lesser Gembound, but now he wanted to do it on a Greater, thinking being. Observe its effects, see how tenacious they were. And, most importantly, how long they would be able to hold out until death at last took them.

However, with all the spells he'd been casting, and with his rush of excitement, at first it didn't take. The first bit of growth he managed to get on the thing died almost immediately. He leaned back, frustration climbing into his features.

He continued to sit beside Ketur, forcing his magic to try and work. But the particular species of fungus he relied on to rot the flesh, slowly and painfully consume them until they were nothing but bones, was just out of reach. It was a complicated lifeform to cultivate, of course, but he would not give up.

At last, with a low growl and sinking his claws just lightly into the tough hide of the beast, he at least achieved a connection and from where he touched flesh, black began to spread just under the surface of the skin. Branching out like roots or veins, relatively subtle for now, but it would grow. He would ensure it did.

He stepped back, panting lightly from the strain, but satisfied with his work. He made to put himself between the creature and the one entrance into the den, circling a few times before plopping down, head up and staring at the body. He would wait, however long it took, for the necrosis to spread...and for the creature to awaken.