ORIGIN

A heavy hand would do nothing for V-Ruby-One; Vargas could tell as much. Respect was something it would need to work on--that he would need to work on--but right now the frustration at its chaos was truly something with which he could sympathize. He would guide it, and attempt to aid it toward control; in the meantime, rather than beat it down and demand a respect it could not truly feel, he turned and stared at it and led by example.

"A bold decision. Good!" he praised, at first. Let it taste that bit of approval, and see if it suited it; or if it would find it bitter on its tongue. "And no, there will not be anything else. Thank you for asking," he added, with loud, sharp emphasis. It was half a reprimand, but also made the point that the sarcasm was pointless; it had no effect on the Leviathan. He'd faced down much worse than to be bothered by a near-child's petulance, and he showed it, in his words and by then merely turning away. Nothing to stoke the fire, but nothing to feed it, either.

Let it choke.

Vargas turned, gesturing with the jerk of one arm for V-Onyx-Three to follow him. He strode away from the small gathering. Once he was a good distance away, out of the range of casual conversation, he turned back toward Onyx-Three and stopped.

"A creature visited here--a water-dragon, I believed. It called itself 'Alek.' Do you know of it-?" he asked bluntly, to begin with. There was no revisiting the conversation they'd just had, the misstep, or the punishment--to Vargas, it seemed, this was now already dealt with.

Vargas lowered himself to his haunches, looking off as if gathering his thoughts. When he looked back to V-Onyx-Three it was with a calm, thoughtful expression. In fact, if anything, he seemed and sounded vaguely concerned.

"I will describe our discussion, and then I have a question or two for you. And allow me to start by saying that when dealing with others in the cave, you should be referring to me as Master Vargas," he added, glancing sourly to Onyx-Three. "He apparently did not know that. Now... His demeanor was-... I will not say concerning but there were decisions he was willing to make on your behalf, and I did not wish to allow that before consulting you. I do not know him well enough."

He took a breath, then tried as best he could to condense the conversation he had held with the aquatic dragon. "First, he will not join the Forge, but he may be somewhere here in Draco. He informed me that he would not be willing to fight his old family should it ever come to that. I doubt that it would, but they are not friendly to us and I cannot risk betrayal from within, nor having to sit about and number on my fingers which of the Forge I can count on, or not, for any given battle. It is not that his form would not be useful to us," he added, "but a Forge member's loyalty must be to the Forge first and foremost, and he already has other loyalties that come first. This is not a mark against him," Vargas added. "It is simply not... suited to us. What else-..." He trailed off, then grimaced, struggling to remember every detail. "Let me think. He spoke far more than he listened," and there was mild aggravation in this still.

"Ah, yes. He told me that he was in love with you. -I hope this does not come as a shock," he added, glancing to Onyx-Three. There was no judgment in the words; it had occurred to him that he might not be the best person to profess someone else's love to Onyx-Three, if Alek hadn't already said as much. But he had to be clear, here. "He did say that he doubted you felt the same. This is what brought me part of my concern with his next request."

He took a breath: clearly, given his faint fidgeting here, this was the part to truly concern him.

"He wished to create a child to join the Forge and serve as your guardian and assistant, in his stead. I pointed out that it would put you in a difficult position! One where you might need to choose between his child and the Forge, or your own responsibilities or the like. I had to insist that he wait until you awaken, and discuss it with you, before doing so. He then asked if he could leave that child here secretly, and not tell you, though he and I both agreed that it would be a lie--I do not lie to any of you--and in any case, I am fairly certain he did not consider that his own child would share obvious features with him. Now, I would like to ask you first, directly, before you speak to this dragon. Given Alek's..." Vargas paused, searching for the right word. "Bond to you, I need to know if it is a case of mutual affection. Or if it is not, if this dragon is troubling you. If his attentions are unwelcome, or too aggressive, I will deal with it on your behalf. You have but to ask. If his company is welcome, I will not interfere, of course."

A wild change of topic from the fight with Ruby-One, but it had to be addressed.

"That is my question, then: are Alek's attentions unwelcomed, or acceptable? Do you need him asked to calm them, or leave off altogether, or should I--what do the modern creatures say... 'butt out?'" he asked.

At some point while speaking, he had attempted, too, to activate that magic the Wish had given him. It wasn't a matter of dishonesty or distrust; but in trying to be a better leader, he simply wished to keep tabs on how his own behavior affected the Forge members' opinions of him.

Vargas had not realized the extent, nor intensity, of V-Onyx-Three's emotions. Somehow he had assumed that a shape like The Sentinel's would not lend itself to such things. More than that, Onyx-Three had always been controlled. Mature for their age. Reasonable. He had not known of these roiling tides just beneath the surface. Though perhaps they are only this intense now because of the current situation. Situations, he corrected himself. Still, he discovered a newfound respect for them in that moment; the fact that they could parse all of this... from confusion to shock, to blinding emotions he could not even describe, to gratitude and guilt... At least, these were how Vargas could best interpret them in the ongoing tides that seemed to wash through him.

It took him a moment, staring, to tamp all that down, as the magic faded.

He struggled to focus on what Onyx-Three had said, rather than felt, so that he could appropriately respond. But even so he was sinking to his haunches, as though he'd been battered by some brutal winds and could no longer stand beneath them.

"I will respect your wishes regardless of what they are, of course. I will speak to him." He considered. "No doubt it will be difficult for him to hold back, to not interfere with your hunt alongside Ruby-One. I will stress that this is your wish, as well as the fact that this punishment involves only the two of you, with no outside aid. Perhaps it is best," he added, thoughtful, "that I simply inform him you have a task to perform for the Forge and will speak to him after the fact, so he does not... worry, overmuch." Vargas didn't care about Alek's feelings; rather, he cared that Alek might try to interfere. "I am glad that I asked you. Your reasoning is... mature, and--well, reasonable. Your focus on advancement in your chosen path in life is admirable. As for that family; I would not call them our outright enemies. If they were I would have killed them by now."

Vargas shook his head.

"There were those who awoke before I did. Before the Trials resumed, and the Forge was formed. They established their own way of life. When Master Astraea informed them that it was time to begin contributing once more, those spoke up vocally and there was a new threat of rebellion. Astraea backed down, for now. But there has been conflict, now and then, between us." The white stag's ill-fated attempt at placating Vargas still lingered, a sour taste in his mouth. "They are a group to be wary of, not to fully trust, but we may ally with them or come into conflict with them depending upon the situation." A pause, thoughtful. "I did not know that they had dragons." Vargas wondered, briefly, if those dragons that had been present at the forum meeting--the one where Astraea had argued, where Vargas had been elevated to Master--had joined with Pride's family in the end. The dragons had been the other group vocally opposed, to the point of making threats. If they had joined, that could be a serious threat to the Forge in the future. He made a mental note to feel that out later on.

He shook this thought away and looked back to Onyx-Three. "Perhaps I misunderstood what this dragon meant when he said 'love.' It is not exactly my specialty," he admitted dryly, trying for some little scrap of humor. "But for now, I will tell him that you need time. Tell me if you have any further questions before you depart. And--Onyx-Three. Try not do die during your hunt," he added, but again it was almost warm, a genuine and amused remark rather than a mockery.

Oh, now that was a question. Vargas sat back a little at the weight of it. "No," he answered bluntly, but then continued. "I was not made for it. I will give you my opinion on it. From the outside, as it were."

He paused, gathering his thoughts, studying this poor emotion-wracked being, descendant of dogs. What had they been-? Little social creatures, no doubt; pack predators driven by instinct and chemical surges. And this one, here, in modern times, was still burdened with all of that.

He sighed.

"I believe in survival. You know this. All that matters in the end is who is alive; who can impose their will on what remains. If you are dead, nothing matters any longer. You may sacrifice yourself for something you believe in but that is with the hope that that thing lives on. The death of one weak creature leaves the stronger to survive. -I am getting to a point here," he added. "Let us take the cave deer. They feel fear. A chemical rush in their brains, driving them from danger. This keeps them alive. One with too little fear will die to a predator while the others flee, most likely. Anger provokes them to keep what is theirs, so they do not lose their resources to a competitor, and die of starvation or the like. 'Love' is yet another of these, one that bonds social creatures, ensuring they care for their young and keep their social networks intact long enough to raise the next generation, and beyond. That is all it is," he went on, "a chemical flicker in a brain. That isn't to say it may not be enjoyable or desirable. Hunger is a chemical flicker but we enjoy eating. It is important, though, not to allow it to overwhelm your good judgment. That beast-brain does not know what is best for you. It drives only for survival by instinct, because those without that 'love' chemical failed and died."

He studied Onyx-Three for a beat. "When I say I value survival: I will not judge a creature whose entire evolutionary path was dictated by success, even when that success required the guidance of mindless emotion driven by chemical impulse. But I will warn you not to let it take you over. No emotion lasts forever. Not fear, not love, not anger. Do not let it destroy what might last longer."

One might have thought he was (blessedly) finished, but after a moment he went on yet again. "There is, however, something beyond that that I have come to believe in. To care for something in a... selfless way. Unattached. But valuing its essence, believing that it is worthy of existence simply for its own sake. That is a more... pure and wholesome thing, I think. But I am not the best to speak of such things. Perhaps the Blacksmith; he strikes me as a philosophical sort. Unfortunately, you ask for advice from a monster made to kill."

And unfortunately, you bear the burden of both: a knot of animal and monster and chemical 'love' and yet somehow, you have managed to stay sane. A minor miracle, Vargas thought.