ORIGIN

The polite, if rather uncomfortable, rejection wasn't a particularly immense blow to Karambit's sense of hospitality. Frankly, cycles of interaction with its strangest sibling had inoculated it from the sting of its kindness being pushed away. What mattered was that at least it'd tried, and the monster would be content with itself for the effort at making this visitor welcome, even if her stomach surprisingly lacked the space for a lick of invigorating bile. Though a crestfallen whine, akin to a child's disappointed groan, buzzed through grey flesh, it didn't press the issue. Instead a claw was driven into the punctured gallbladder, coated by the noxious substance inside, and raised to mandibles which scraped it clean of the awful swill.

"Yourrr lozzzz." As the living mass of insect-shaped meat ingested the bile, squelches and sucking noises emanated from it. A warm hum resonated throughout and replaced this literal stomach-churning symphony once the snack was fully processed. "Yummmm," it declared. "Good stuff."

Then, clacking teeth, it offered Aerys a quizzical look, head exaggeratedly tilted to the side. The suggestion wasn't outrageous—far from it. Dear, gorgeous Draconua Jr. deserved the finest dress, and while red certainly was the color that most flattered them, other hues would likely perform well in accentuating those glorious Oil-stained bones. No, the problem lay in its own diminished capabilities; once Karambit would've gleefully jumped to gathering the necessary materials to diversify its available color palette, but now the absence of chromatic vision left it adrift when choosing the first place to start. This blindness had become an obstacle it often collided with in these scenarios rather than surmounted.

"Which one? Many colorzzz. You zeee any that go with rrrred?"

"Grrreeeen, blue, purrrple?"

Whereas red was the color of passion, these were calmer. A good contrast if perhaps a little boring to Karambit's violence-oriented mind, purple being the exception, as its hue was delightfully proven to blossom on bruised skin. But maybe it could think of an option honoring this palette that could provide a more subdued thrill of excitement for their dear friend's attire. Aerys' inquiries left it scrabbling for a useful memory to help track down sources to acquire them from. The resulting suggestions ranged from harmless to repulsive.

"Krmmm... Maybe... Vomit! Some vomit's grreeenish. Orrrr leaves. Many leaves, but not verrry interresting. Flowerrrs have all colorrrs. Can grrrow many places. But not shiny... Shiny things are in frrriends! Maybe we can borrrrow them."

Borrowing in Karambit's vernacular meant brutalizing a poor Lesser and acquiring what it needed from its battered corpse. Every time it politely asked one for something, the creatures never possessed the speech capabilities to tell it no, so silence or bleating terror had been taken as compliance with its wishes and desires. For a moment it hovered there, fondly recalling the last couple of unfortunates it'd played with and how eager (frightened) they'd been to part with their beautiful insides. Thankfully, this wasn't the only idea it had to offer its helpful visitor.

"Therrre's also the fire mountain." This referred to the false volcano residing at the back of Leo. "Can crrraaawl below, and find lots of shiny things there! Don't know how many arrre blues and purrrples, but scatterrrred all overrr."

The Underforge teemed with metal worked into a variety of items, a fair selection weapons or armor. While a sword was useless to the wickedly curved claws of a behemoth, the danger contained in its sharp blade was to be much admired. Therefore the monster sometimes ventured down there to swing the most deadly of these creations around, giggling madly whenever clumsiness led to its own injury, further demonstration of how Karambit's concept of fun was hazardous to anyone's health.

Accompanying the wolf had been a foregone conclusion to Karambit. After all, how else would she manage the trek to the Underforge and return to Draconua Jr.'s embellished skeleton before the cave lights dimmed and obscured the way back. If she hadn't asked, it would vocalized the question itself. However, the fact this request came from her first drew forth an overjoyed shriek. Intense buzzing ripped through the monster's meaty exterior, and it vibrated in place, visibly giddy at the prospect of an adventure with friends. Its tail whipped behind it, embedded teeth chattering away.

"Yezzzz!" A flitter of wings zoomed every intimidating ounce of its flesh toward Aerys. Fortunately the rapid advance halted before it could bowl her over, but the greatly reduced distance could be stressful in itself, the spittle flying and foul breath gusting out from clacking mandibles perhaps flooring enough for anyone whose constitution was less than robust. "Can fly us there! Much fasterrrr with me along!"

The warm silhouette its vision perceived lacked those useful appendages, so the idea seemed suitable for expediting the journey. Front legs bent as it lowered itself into a bow, its moist back offered for a seat. Bony spines jutted out from the hump, a convenient structure to grab if someone nearly slipped off during flight. And of course if anyone did—"Don't worrrrry if fall! I can catch you."

None of Karambit's limbs gentle, either clawed or riddled with biting mouths, this reassurance couldn't be more of a failure. Most Gembounds weren't likely to appreciate being mangled during their rescue.

Oh, what fun they were going to have. Not too often was Karambit able to convince strangers into its ideas; most recipients of such suggestions responded with screams and darted away, interested in continuing a game of hide, seek, and slash over switching gears to a newer, more exciting activity. As Aerys clambered into position, flesh barely contained the happiness flooding it. Quakes shook the gray meat composing its lean frame, not the stablest terrain to navigate on the way to a seat. Nevertheless, once it could sense the wolf had settled into that precarious spot nestled between its wings, their departure was immediate. No warning preceded the ascent, the ever present whir of flight amplifying to a deafening roar as it shot to greater heights.

"Wheeeee!" Oblivious to whatever fear might've seized its passenger in that moment, Karambit reveled in the start of their travels, childish squeals soaring over the treetops. It looked forward to sharing a favored playground with a stranger who'd never the chance to visit there.