ORIGIN

"Well, that's no trouble," Richter assured with an awkward, twitchy nod. If anything, compared to magic, this should be easy. His Lesser companion might still be a little rattled by witnessing a carnivore's choice of meal, but he was confident their strengthened bond would allow him to better penetrate the troubled fog hovering over the rabbit's mind. He softly touched a mental probe against Harvey's consciousness.

It was astonishing how much of his familiar's internal workings unfurled beneath that prod. Though simplistic as suspected, most thoughts focused on stomach rumblings, there also welled up a current of fear invoked by prey's basic recognition of a nearby predator. He drew a soothing finger over that instinctual worry, pulsing forth feelings of serenity and offered an image that might ease it for a while. Though outwardly Harvey showed no obvious signs of comprehension, he seemed to accept the suggestion given.

The walleye rabbit's eye stalks ceased their slight tremble and retracted. The beady black eyes on their ends were suctioned away from view, and flesh tinged bioluminescent blue bulged out of sockets instead. A characteristic unique to his species, it separated from other varieties of cave rabbit. It also further confirmed how unusual this member of the pair was.

"That should do it. A mite easier than turning all of Harv's furry weight around," declared Richter. "Now you, ah, enjoy your meal. And, um, thank you for the nice chat. I'll just keep poking around here a bit. Bound to be some odd bits and bobs hiding out of sight to find."

"Oh, there's bound to be something," Richter murmured. Already he had resumed poking around the heaps of junk littering the tunnel floor. Sharp edges a bit too common of a hazard to encounter while satisfying his curiosity, careful nudges of his feet brushed aside the metal debris and fabric scraps. Maybe if he searched long enough, some intact artifact could be discovered, providing a smidgen of insight into the past residents of the caves. "Good's well... uh, it's a bit relative though. Depends on what you think is best which isn't always what I might think is best. Kind of funny how that works out when you ponder over it."

Probably Nikolai lucked out by heading off around that time to enjoy his meal, else he might've been subjected to a rambling lecture on the fascinating difference between individual Gembounds' perspectives. Deepening thought welled up around the kangaroo as an unceasing wall of sound, and perception narrowed down to acknowledge only his task and the rabbit cradled in arms. Fortunately Harvey was a soul possessing unwavering patience and a bottomless pit for a stomach, so he didn't seem to mind the endless rain of contemplative comments. If his partner forgot hunger, the familiar needed only to kick about in order to snap him out of this intense focus. Truly they were proving to be a well-matched pair.