ORIGIN

If Vargas superimposed the circling shadow, it was not deliberate; but he did circle Esther upon his approach, moving from their feet up to their head to peer down at them.

His voice, though, would crack through any false assumption as to a ghostly or hallucinatory nature, at least for the Leviathan himself: a booming, yet quieted, rumble. "Are you injured?"

A foolish question, he noted to himself, as six eyes traveled over the healing wounds. Those eyes narrowed, and he found his rigid face struggling to contort into a grimace, however faint. "How were you injured?" he corrected himself at once.

No "are you all right;" they'd tell him that themselves. But he wanted some form of report, at least to rule out the possibility of an attack in the nest itself.

Not that he wasn't concerned for Esther's well-being, but... Vargas had never been particularly good at the "warm and caring empathy" thing.

Concern slid away to disapproval. He considered his words, if only for a moment, before speaking; those words came slowly, because he was still considering them as he spoke.

"I am... disappointed to hear that. Generally, the punishment for harming a Forge member outside of a designated fight is to mirror the damage, from one to the other." He paused, eyeing Esther up and down, somewhat irritated. "So--was the damage relatively equal..?"

Esther already seemed... harmed. And they were one of the few who'd returned to the Forge of their own accord. He hated to punish them in a way that'd drive them off--he wouldn't have hesitated if he knew them to be problematic. But he knew that V-Ruby-One was problematic. The thing was made of a hot temper, despite his attempts to... well, temper that temper. He'd hoped that the Onyx would've been enough of a stabilizing force, their teamwork enough of a learning experience as the corrupted Ruby matured.

It hadn't been enough, it seemed. Vargas sighed and looked away. "I must take some responsibility for failing to curb its lack of self-control. I imagine Master Tenzin would have a look at your wounds, in Pisces, if you wish it." Failing that, the cold waters might provide some soothing for their burns, but he didn't mention that; it implied Tenzin might not be present, which would be undoubtedly disappointing for someone seeking healing there.

He glanced back down to Esther. Truth be told, Vargas wanted to know who had really been at fault, there--neither? Both? Ruby? The idea that Esther had escalated felt quite unlikely to him. Though he didn't use it often, Vargas tried to send out a tendril of magic to connect to the maned wolf's mind. "Tell me honestly, without trying to take on more responsibility than you owe--did one or both of you lose control? Whose fault was this?" He could feel his link slithering into place, and unless Esther became aware or otherwise stopped it, he hoped to get a sense of the honest answer--whatever Esther's words might be.

Of course, the other emotions he might get might be enlightening, too.

Vargas did not try to hide his sigh. It was heavy and it was irritated, and the shake of his head likewise so. But neither seemed directed at Esther, exactly. Just... the situation in general.

Chaos was what it was. That was the difficulty of trying to run a Nest of the stuff with any efficiency. Yes, you could simply churn out a hundred thousand war Hounds, and toss them to the powers that be with zero training. But there was still the problem of testing designs; one did not exactly get reports back from the surface as to which monsters had survived a little longer. And from there--the procurement and storage of food, prey, creatures to hunt in their testing... It meant that a hundred or more beasts infused with what was essentially magical madness made for a very difficult-to-control problem.

Ironic, that Oil was precisely what made this Nest very much a not well-oiled machine.

"I will speak to V-Ruby-One before I make any decisions on the matter," he answered indifferently. Then--a problem occurred to him, and he paused. "Where did this happen?" There was a sudden intensity to his tone. He tried to remember when Ruby-One had last been at the Black Spire-... Draconua, so far as he knew, was asleep and was the only one he could trouble to create a Chaos source. He'd assumed that this had happened in Draco, but it couldn't have; he'd have sensed such a battle. Had they been hunting? In Pegasus, most likely-? If this had happened away from-...

...Could it die?

Andromeda. Very well; he'd need to head there and try to find someone who could place a corruption source. And if he couldn't-... well, that could be catastrophic.

But there was no rush now, at least. His gaze shifted back down to Esther, six eyes unblinking.

Vargas had become... milder, since taking up a position as Master. The knowledge had surprised him, the first time he'd realized it. Masters brooked no disrespect; they were brutal and ultimately powerful. A mere Overseer, as Vargas had once been, was nothing but their enforcer. Yet... his enforcing had been sort of "beat it up or kill it" in style, and that--that wasn't really an option here. All that to say: once upon a time he might've slapped Esther into a chrysalis himself. Right now, he was calculating, instead.

What was the best possible outcome, here--and how did he arrive there?

The problem was, he didn't know. He was still relatively new to this, still fumbling in the dark, and after a beat he growled. It might've seemed angry. It was just a little frustrated, a huff, in truth. "Tell me; what do you think of this situation? Were you in my stead: what would you do?" He studied Esther, then.

Everything was a test, of course. He'd been clear about that often enough, but this was blatant. He wasn't hiding that this was a test--nor did he have any shame about confronting someone burnt and battered and demanding this of them.

Maybe it said something of Esther, that Vargas thought that they could take it.

But he did wish to hear what they would say.

Vargas watched, eerily silent as he waited and listened. It was as if he were a frozen predator, preparing to pounce on passing prey. But the thing was... it wasn't intentional. He honestly was just giving Esther his full attention, paying close attention not only to their words, but to their body language, their tone. And he hadn't forgotten that they were injured.

They managed a response. They had clearly considered their words, and the situation, despite the injuries. That was--good. That was a tick in their favor. And they were relatively fair, in their assessment. In fact, that was the usual Forge punishment for such a thing: an eye for an eye, fairly literally.

"Noted," he responded in a rumble. He didn't praise, or condemn. His thoughts, however, were warmer. He was disappointed that Esther had gone so low as to fight and lose control, certainly; but here and now? They were attentive, respectful, and reasonable, despite what must have been serious pain. The ex-Overseer in him took note of these things, and what they meant. The Master in him turned that over in his mind, and saw potential.

But it was not potential that could be fully realized so long as Esther was getting into scraps with others.

After a moment's thought, Vargas elaborated, some. "In the future, do not lose control. Act as though you are setting an example for others in the Forge. In some sense, you are. In the meantime, I will seek out Ruby-One and ask its opinion, as well. It has always had trouble in controlling its urges." Corruption's fault, undoubtedly, yet not entirely. The rest of them managed, aside from perhaps Draconua, who Vargas didn't exactly consider of the Forge anyway.

Disciplining Draconua was well beyond him. He could fight, and if he cheesed it he could inflict enough damage that she'd back down a little. He could use the powers of a Master if he had to, but that would never garner her respect.

At least Ruby-One is no Draconua. I will always have that bit of relief to fall back on, he decided. He looked at Esther, again. "Either seek out aid or rest here. Do you need anything?" he asked. A strange question, perhaps, from the Leviathan and Master, but he asked it nonetheless. If there was something they needed for recovery, and could not go and obtain themselves while injured, he would look into it. Perhaps.