ORIGIN

Not seeing any harm in the gesture—and admittedly more than a little fascinated by the golem intent on handing him it—Richter accepted the offered drink with a jerky nod and a awkwardly drawled, "Wuh-well, uh, thanks." The straw was squinted at and pinched between claws before he took a tentative sip. Almost instantly eyes flew open as the sucking motion launched the liquid contained within the cup through the winding structure.

His mouth relaxed its grip on the straw once the drink hit taste buds, and lips withdrew, a tiny gasp falling from them. "I'll be," he couldn't help but comment, heavy admiration glimmering in a stormy grey gaze as he regarded the tool. That surely was a dramatically faster way to quench one's thirst compared to using a tongue. If only the reason behind the strange choice of shape could be understood. Maybe the many bends helped to increase the speed?

"Oh, I don't need anything wicked," he began to protest, completely misunderstanding what Nemean meant by the word. "Just a good, ordinary fell—uh?"

The sight of the beckoned over fox-imp pulling a rather oddball rabbit out of a stylish black hat immediately silenced whatever further chatter could have come from the kangaroo. Once the act didn't cease, progressing into increasingly alarming creatures being pulled out of the headwear's depths—the Ivory Deer in particular making him worry over exactly what had been in that drink—he just stared, looking for all purposes like a quartz from Orion's ceiling had broken loose and bashed his brains in. Left with a veritable zoo to choose from, building consternation drew his unoccupied paw up to rub soothing circles at ears. He glanced at each Lesser, debating over whose qualities most attracted his attention but also simultaneously questioning what would happen to the rest unclaimed.

"You've quite the forest in there, don't ya?" To pass the time, he asked this of the berated fox-imp, equal parts joking and genuinely curious. "I don't suppose you can put whoever's left back where you plucked them?"

Or maybe they'd find their own way back, he considered upon witnessing the Spitting Bug taking advantage of his distraction to skitter off, valiantly dodging a sea of shuffling Gembound feet. A couple of them definitely seemed spooked by all the commotion they'd been brought into. Not the Ivory Deer or Walleye Rabbit though; the first had laid down amongst the chaos, head tossed back into a haughty pose. Meanwhile the other snuffled the ground, engrossed in satisfying his stomach over solving the matter of his sudden relocation.

Perhaps it was the unruffled demeanor of the fluffy-tailed abductee that settled his decision. It could've also been the general kinship he felt toward another hopping being or the charming wiggle of the eye stalks protruding from sockets. Whatever the ultimate reason was, Richter found himself leaning over and scooping the Walleye Rabbit into the cradle of his free arm. He touched an affectionate nose against the furry bundle's back as a brief introduction to the Lesser.

"I guess you'll be a decent enough buddy. How about I figure out a name for you on the way down?"

Other than the link to him snapping into place, the Walleye Rabbit gave no indication he had any idea of the partnership established. Mistaking the twisty straw for a confusingly smooth-textured stick, he tried nibbling at the object until Richter shifted his drink out of biting distance. The gluttonous tendencies on display evoked a short bark of laughter.

"Looks like I'm not the only one hankering for a meal. I'll get you something later," Richter promised the other half of his duo. Taking great care to not spill either his drink or new familiar, he descended the stands to the arena floor and the unmistakable starting line drawn there.