ORIGIN

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"Oh."

The pup would listen, every word they spoke made sense. His other leg moves and bends. Maybe his gem decided to be in the way. But.. he couldn't hide his doubts. Why did it have to form that way? Why couldn't it have been like others? Alas the questions kept building up in his mind.

Heartbeat she called it.

The loud thumping had a name.

So he could hear blood pumping? That's.. odd.. Cardan didn't like that. But maybe she was right, could this be a way for food? If he can hear them, what's to stop him from finding them?

"I hear them."

The pup would whisper. He couldn't understand how to get it to call him on time. But this time? The loud thumping noises weren't as loud. They were barely there. Beating along with the noises from the forest.

"I.. I could try. But I dunno, last time I couldn't get them. They're fast."

Cardan carefully picked his information. They knew of a location for free food. A safe haven. But he didn't want to rely on others so often. (It did sound nice to not be afraid for a moment)

"Speaking"

@Diem Dark

Diem considered, for a moment, frowning a little. "They are fast," she admitted, after a moment. A clawed finger rose to tap thoughtfully at her lower jaw. "Well, there's mice that burrow--those should be easy enough to dig up, once you find them with your magic!"

She offered a bright, encouraging smile--and then had a second thought. "You'll be able to learn more magic over time, too. There's uhh... magic that can make you move faster and stuff, and it shouldn't be too hard for you to learn!" Cardan's magic was, if she remembered right, to do with the body. Enhancing the body? Something like that.

She hesitated, realizing then that this might mean he'd not eaten. Maybe he'd never eaten. "Are you hungry now?" she asked, a little worriedly. Maybe she could find something for them both to eat.

@Cardan

"Maybe I can try.."

Cardan didn't want to, but he was curious how to use the power for the better. But with the thumping heartbeats.. He couldn't hear them within the trees, down below in the trunks of the trees. Yet he didn't have any idea what to approach first. What sounded better to him.

"Oh! So eventually I could be fast enough to catch them?"

It sounded nice to be able to freely catch what he needed. To not have to feel so useless when the mice and birds go out of his range. How lovely it sounded to be able to flee from scary things too. A gift he would slowly think of it as.

"I.. ate a while ago but.. uhm not recent."

It was the truth, he had found stuff on the very verge of his luck. But that was it. Most of the stuff was far too fast. Too good at evading him for him to kill anything.

"I can.. uhm at least hear them again. There's something over there."

The loudest heartbeat was his own, then hers beside him. But further out in the vast trees he heard a chatter of beats out there. Uncertainty of what it was, but the soft hum was vaguely noticeable.

A look of his muzzle to the tree line. Curiosity bubbled and he wanted to see how it worked. But failure after failure he felt like maybe hunting wasn't his forte.

"Speaking"

@Diem Dark

Diem considered, and then nodded slightly. "Yeah, I think so! You'll get faster as you grow, too. I think you're gonna get pretty big? About--this high?" she guessed, pushing up and holding a hand at her waist height. "Your leg might be a little problem, but I think not as much as you might worry. And magic will help!" Her tone was encouraging.

Then she turned, glancing back in the direction Cardan had indicated. "Okay, hmm. How about this? I can try to show you a magic spell that'll help you catch food." She kept the smile on her face, though it was now a little strained. She didn't like killing things, and the magic she was considering was... underhanded, really. To use it to catch prey would be to betray a creature's trust. But... the kid seemed a decent sort, and she didn't want him to go hungry, either.

Anyway, there was no guarantee he could learn it. Then again... it would be right, wouldn't it--morally right--to warn him, first? "It's... a little mean, maybe, but it means you don't have to be fast, for now. You can use the magic you're using already to find mice, for example. And then use this magic to calm them down. They'll... see you as a friend, for a moment. So they won't run away. I can show you how it works?" she offered, still hesitating just a little.

@Cardan

Bright eyes turned to the creature before him. Who had guessed how tall he might become. However that was nothing in the aide of how big the dino he saw earlier was. She was massive.. but she was so kind to him.

"I dunno, I might be smaller."

Cardan had his doubts, his leg felt like a problem now. As much as he wanted to fix it, being hurt was scary. So he'd just figure it out and deal with it.

"Oh? There's more magic that might help?"

Cardan deep down was a good soul. He wasn't keen on killing things either. But he had to eat. To keep his energy up, he couldn't not eat. Little or a lot, he would need to. Hearing them helped. More than he wanted to admit.

Something about hearing the crunch on his jaws felt uncomfortable to him. These were little creatures like him, right? If there was anything that could help him, he'd be happy to see.

"Oh that's strange."

There was interest in his purple eyes. But there was doubt too. Even if he didn't want to ask it. The brown pup wasn't sure how he felt doing that. A gentle flicker of his ears.

"I haven't.. heard of that yet."

"Speaking"

@Diem Dark

"Yeah. Listen, how about you take me to the nearest... let's say, little heartbeats? Ones underground? Use your magic again, and you should be able to hear them. -If you don't want to hear them--if it bothers you?--just don't use the magic," she added. She realized the pup had seemed bothered by it--maybe he didn't know?

"But if you can show me to one, I'll show you how to calm them down, and... well, how to kill them fast, so they don't suffer." Then she paused, squinting. "Make sure you recognize it as food first. You don't wanna accidentally kill a sentient rabbit or something. I mean--a small Gembound. Like-... a lot of the Lessers look the same, so you'll get to recognize them. But if you're not sure, make sure it can't talk, first, okay?" There-... lesson imparted, or so she hoped. She wasn't sure if all of this might be overwhelming, or if she was maybe, hopefully, being actually helpful for Cardan.

@Cardan

He nodded, towards the creature. Cardan seemed to agree to try it again. Unfortunately, when he summoned his powers. The heartbeats roared against his ears, like war drums beating..

Heartbeats pounding with anxiety, some calmer. His tail dipped between his legs. Eyes parted from one tree to another. The rustling above, he could hear the panic of those who soared.

Thump. Thump-thump. THUMP.

His head throbbed, fidgety. Each had a different tempo. His ears rang. No longer could he hear the others' voices. Every heartbeat, including his own, screeched his mind. Beating his ears. If they could, they'd begin to bleed.

Cardan pulled back, fear crossed his face. If any wolf ever looked pale, he certainly did.

"Speaking"

@Diem Dark

Diem waited expectantly, an encouraging expression on her face. She had no way of knowing how powerful the magic Cardan had cast had become. No way of knowing he was overwhelmed by it.

She could see his tail drop, see his eyes jerk this way and that, and she tilted her head a little. And she could see the expression on his face: lost? afraid? "...You okay?" she asked, keeping her voice gentle and light.

@Cardan

Cardan didn't even understand the extent of his power. How deafening the heartbeats could be. Until this very moment. Eyes parted to the treeline then down to the ground. There was a limp backwards, the excruciating pounding didn't stop.

ba-bump, ba-bump. Ba-bump.

From what should have been nothing but silent. It roared. He could sense some things in the ground. The beat quickened.

BadumBADUM…Badum!

Cardan crouched, his pupils dilated. It was obvious he was trying to focus. But there was TOO much for him to focus on one or a small group of heartbeats.

Due to the loud beating of war drums in his ears, he was unable to hear Diem speak. Instead he backed down, taking a step backwards. Uncertainty.. how he wished this wasn't what he was stuck with.

"Speaking"

@Diem Dark

She wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that the spell was overwhelming. A backfire, maybe? She hesitated, and tried to draw on her own magic--the thought being to try and quiet everything down for Cardan. But nothing really happened, and she grimaced.

"If you give it a moment it should go away. But you'll get used to it. Most Gembounds who've got that use it to find prey and the like. I'm not sure why it's hitting so hard, but maybe it's still just new to you?"

She tried to stay positive, but it was hard not to feel awful for the uncertain-looking wolf pup.

@Cardan

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