Mirrikh was a hunter, not so much a thinker. Their father Samael was the fairy that thought deeply upon things. But Mirrikh themself? They mostly just thought about the next hunt for prey. And even that, they didn't consider the details too much. There was such a thing as planning too much, after all. (There was also such a thing as planning too little, as Mirrikh would soon learn.)
When Mirrikh was in some nearby caves, they had realized that some nearby plants... were not actually plants. They were camouflaged well, these creatures, but they were definitely lessers. Some even had stones. And Mirrikh, with their growing urge to collect interesting prey, wanting to catch one.
This cave was full of overgrowth, that they had just entered. They flitted about from up high, keen gaze searching for the pitcher 'plant' being, one with a stone.
They found one, much to their delight. A large specimen, almost six feet in height... Mirrikh flew above it, waiting for a good moment to shake off the paralysis powder on their wings.
Its stone was green, Peridot, Mirrikh though. It almost blended in, if not for the different shade of green to it, but they had caught its presence regardless.
And then the wind shifted, and it was time. Much to their delight, it fell perfectly on the plant, paralyzing it just right.
Then, they realized their error. Mirrikh had mostly paralyzed this 'plant', yes. But they did not have the easy ability to kill a nearly six foot tall entity, even with it pretty paralyzed.
"Is anyone there?" they called out, projecting their voice quite loudly for such a small gembound.
"I could use some help- I mostly paralyzed some decent sized prey, and usually this is the point where I kill it with my venom, teeth, and claws... But... It's a bit large for me to do so," they got a bit quieter towards the end, but their voice was still quite clear.
"If anyone is there, I would happily reward them for helping me out! I wish to take its stone, you see," they added loudly, hoping they were not talking to nothing.
@Elayne
Elayne had taken to prowling the overgrown city of Cassiopeia, plotting out different locales that may serve a purpose to her later. It was sometimes difficult: there was a lot of foliage that obscured the foundations of the stone city, but she supposed a bit of hellfire could eventually take care of that problem.
Where she was going to get hellfire was another story entirely. She figured that was a problem for a later date.
So when she heard the cry for help, she paused, curious. She stalked through the shadows, a huge, lumbering form that towered seven feet at the shoulder, blossoming mane of pearly white flesh tendrils and a head that made her true height even taller.
It took her a moment to pinpoint the small voice: the little, fluttering fae was quite curious indeed. Blonde and black and reds-- like an oily bumblebee, they were. Without the oil, unfortunately.
She stopped in her tracks, and her eyes glanced over the plant that they were hovering near. It was one of those... False plants, wasn't it? They could turn to rot just like any other lesser. "You need help, yes?" She purred, golden eyes half-lidded as her gaze slipped back toward the fae. Something about them struck her as feline in nature, as though their creator had recognized the potential and slapped it in for good measure. "It should be quite trivial for me," she remarked, "but it's stone could be quite valuable..."
Yes. She had an idea, and what an honest trade it would make. A smile played on her lips. "Perhaps a stone for a stone," she suggested, "Your stone. Ah- not the whole thing." This wasn't a threat, after all. "Just a piece."
After all, she wasn't going to do work for free. In fact, she hated doing work all together. But, if it was something so small and the reward was the stone of a powerful, poisonous creature that could be made into another for her little... project.
"What do you say?"
@Mirrikh
Mirrikh was impressed by the form of the other gembound, a large being indeed, with an air that was vaguely feline. The offer was one that gave Mirrikh pause for a brief moment, but only briefly. Their intent had been to create a litter, regardless.
One more or less wouldn't bother them much, especially when they were planning on letting their father raise the children, anyways. Samael might prefer to be burdened with one less of a litter, anyway, with Fafnir still around.
Perhaps it should bother Mirrikh, but 'should' was not enough of a reason for the fairy. Their mind had flitted quickly through the minor consideration, and they were quick to speak up with a toothy grin.
"You have a deal... If you can, indeed, get me the stone," Mirrikh tacked on, but playfully so. They didn't truly doubt that this large gembound could defeat a somewhat paralyzed plant-being, but they weren't going to hand over their stone right away, either.
Their scaled, feline tail gave a playful swish from where they fluttered their wings in the air. They gave a wave of an arm towards the false plant.
"If you wish, I could tell you what you're getting yourself into with a portion of my stone while you hunt, even. I imagine the mention of my capabilities... Might have been what caught your interest?" While Mirrikh was relatively content to stick to their interest of hunting and training, not philosophical or poetic like Samael, they were far from stupid. It wasn't hard to guess what had prompted such an offer.
@Elayne
They thought themselves a clever little thing. She wasn't necessarily impressed, but it tickled her fancy in its own way. Of course, to survive as such a fragile looking creature, one had to be clever. Poison or not.
"Oh, if you must," she replied, smirking just enough to show teeth. It was, in the same way, a playful tone. They were sizing each other up; not so much physically but mentally. The kind of game that Elayne liked to play, indeed.
As for the hunting... Well, she rarely enjoyed raising a paw. Though she was certainly capable of it, there were more enjoyable methods she preferred. "You may like to step back," she suggested fondly. The magic could be quite... Corrupting.
She prowled forward, eyeing up the paralyzed lesser, and then from the earth below the plant, a couple of inky black tendrils burst from the ground, thrashing into the pitcher plant. They wrapped around the helpless lesser, restricting and choking it.
@Mirrikh
The playful drawl of words was a delightful response to Mirrikh. They were followed by a suggestion to stand back, and while Mirrikh was hardly standing (being in the air as they were), they understood the need to keep words the same for traditional dramatics. And so they obliged, flying a distance away while still being in hearing range.
”To start with, as you can see, my wings produce a powder that can, on contact, paralyze prey beyond my size. Perhaps it’s meant more of a defensive mechanism, but… I hardly need to use it that way,” Mirrikh grinned with serrated teeth.
They paused a moment to watch the other’s magic. Usually, they cared little about magic, but this one was more interesting. It felt different, uniquely dangerous even. It was likely why they had needed to fly back.
”I also have venom, as I mentioned. Have you seen a Golden Charger before? A lesser snake, it can cause flesh to calcify like stone… Even chrysalis is not enough to heal such damage,” Mirrikh added, quite proud of their origin.
”A golden charger is what my own stone is from, and I share the venom… Though, unfortunately, I can only cause small patches at a time, using my teeth or my retractable claws. The limitations of size, I suppose.” They gave a playfully forlorn sigh, but they knew their power was nothing to scoff at.
@Elayne
Elayne cocked her head toward the faerie, listening intently as her tendrils did their work. A defensive mechanism, made to use as a method of hunt. Yes, they were boasting, but she lent them an ear regardless.
They asked for her familiarity with a lesser. A snake. They explained that their form had come, in part, from the stone of one. She had never quite considered taking the life of a lesser and turning their stone to her own use. It seemed, perhaps, that this was what the strange winged creature wanted with this false plant's stone.
Curious indeed.
She stepped forward, drawing closer to the tendrils that choked the already helpless lesser before them. Her gaze turned away from the fae for a moment, as she raised a paw to place over the peridot stone. Her claws sank into the leafy flesh, and gripping the stone tightly, she twisted and tore it loose, wrenching it free from the lesser's body.
She studied the way it glistened in the faint, flickering light of Cassiopeia for but a moment, before she offered it out to the fae. Should they take it, the deal would be sealed. Certainly they would not go back on their word.
"How fascinating," she remarked. "Oh, my manners." She nearly forgot. How silly of her-- how silly of them both. Her lips drew back to show her own sharp teeth in a wild grin. "My name is Elayne, and you are?"
@Mirrikh
Mirrikh did not hesitate, for all that this meant the deal was set in stone with the taking of the gemstone. They eagerly accepted the Peridot, holding it close. If this worked, this would be one very interesting child, indeed.
They preened at the remark, knowing fascinating was one way to describe their uniquely dangerous attributes.
Oh, and manners. Mirrikh had hardly meant to forget, but their meeting had not been particularly standard. They grinned further, all those little yet dangerous serrated teeth on full display.
"You may call me Mirrikh, Elayne. It has been a true pleasure to meet you."
"Now, it is my understanding that one should give stone and life close to where one wishes to place the chrysalis in question?" they inquired, having paid attention enough to know that.
"If, it is indeed a child you want with my stone," Mirrikh added. For all they knew, Elayne might just be a collector of stone fragments.
@Elayne
Mirrikh, hm? Her eyes gleamed as she considered them.
Elayne might have made the mistake of underestimating one of their stature before, but now she knew full well that she should not. There might have been some doubts about the truth of their words, if not for how effortless her kill had been. At the very least, there was proof behind one of their statements, and she had little reason to doubt the other.
"Indeed," she agreed, though her pride prevented her from insisting that the pleasure was hers. It had been entirely theirs, but by the end of this, it would be an equal exchange.
She was not about to play coy. It seemed better to be direct. "My gifts require a heavy price to pay," she replied thoughtfully, "so a child born of my essence would need a special place to grow. Luckily," her gaze darted over her shoulder, toward a distant overgrown temple. "There is such a place nearby."
She looked back at Mirrikh. "Come with me," she asked of them, for once not a demand as she might have done to another.
@Mirrikh ; Elayne exit :3