ORIGIN

The beast stumbled into Polaris just before their legs gave out. Whatever venom that had been injected into their veins from the Bauxite was at last taking its toll - it wasn't full paralysis, but the pain and stiffness in their muscles was evident, not too different from the venom Ishani had accidentally bitten them with on their hatch day.

The Triage stumbled and collapsed a few steps into the cave. Breathing came in heavy pants from the lion and the goat, while the snake simply let herself lay flat on the ground, staring out at the tunnel they had come from. Silence fell between the three - probably the most silence since they had emerged. They weren't arguing or screaming or crying. They were simply being. The adrenaline was wearing off and the realization was coming to all three of them they they could have just died.

Gore was the first to pick itself up, awkwardly raising its head from the stone floor. "I had it handled back there," it growled as it turned its head back to glare at Ishani. "Why did we have to run?"

The snake lifted her head and turned back, tongue flickering out as annoyance took the place of what had once been fear. "No you didn't. We didn't. Another hit or two and we would have been helpless. You were being reckless."

Gore's face morphed into a burning grimace. "But I WANTED to fight! I could have WON!!"

A hiss and another flicker of the tongue. "No, fool. You endangered us. All of us. It isn't all about you! Come to terms with it - we're all stuck on the same body, we can't be selfish!" Gore snorted and turned its head away. The snake didn't know what it was thinking, but she doubted she had made much of an impression on it. A sigh and she settled herself down again, looking away from the other two.

Buckley, meanwhile, turned his head up, trying to see Gore. There was sympathy on his face, an understanding. "Listen, I-" But he didn't get the chance to speak before the goat was interrupting, rudely - "I don't want to hear it, coward! If you had fought WITH ME then our victory would have been ASSURED! But no, you are a pathetic, sniveling wimp! Maybe I should be the lion, and you the goat!"

There was silence and for a moment, Gore glanced down, wondering if it had gone too far. Buckley had turned its head away, looking off into the distance. He took a breath in and sighed. "I...I know, I don't really like fighting, okay? But I get it. I was mad too - that thing tricked us. It was gonna eat us. But...Ishani is right. If we're not all in agreement, we can't just run into things like that. I was mad but I was also scared for us - not just me, for all of us. We're one unit, okay?"

Gore's lip curled, but there was no malice in its eyes, just something distant and unnamable. It didn't look at Buckley. "Whatever."

The lion sighed and rested his head back again. He quickly checked their surroundings, reaching out for any nearby heartbeats before letting himself relax as they waited out the venom.

"Buckley is speaking!" "GORE IS SPEAKING!!!" "Ishani is speaking..."

Eventually, the venom began to wear away and the muscle pain was fading. Once it did, Buckley raised his head, taking a breath. "I think we can keep moving, now." Gore snorted, a sound he rightfully took to be agreement, and the two of them picked the body off of the ground as Ishani curled around.

The first few steps were unsteady. The stiffness wasn't all gone and the wounds had only mostly closed. A dribble of blood ran from the lion's shoulder wound where the Bauxite had stabbed them. Buckley grimaced. He knew they could all feel it, but he wondered if he felt it more because it was on his section of the body. The other two didn't comment on it, but he could feel Gore's burning gaze on it. He could hear the soft, annoyed scoff.

He took a step forward, and Gore followed. They were getting better at walking, but it was like all their progress had been reversed by the inclusion of pain and their argument. Buckley was limping, and Gore did not compensate, so they stumbled, almost falling over onto their side.

"Careful," Ishani hissed as she swung herself in an attempt to help right their body. Buckley sighed. "Sorry. It just hurts." Another step forward. Better this time. Another step. Worse.

Gore was quiet behind him and Buckley wondered if it was annoyed or focusing. He didn't look back to see which one.

"Where are we going, anyways?" He asked, quietly, as they stumbled their way forward. There was no answer from the other two. He felt his stomach drop.

The next step, Buckley stepped on a rock on his bad leg and pain shot through their body. He yelped, Gore snorted, and Ishani hissed, all collectively reacting as the front legs collapsed beneath them and they fell forward. They didn't get up this time.

"Ow," Buckley moaned, pushing them over onto their side again. "What are we gonna do?!" Gore snorted and tried to get its legs beneath them. "Keep going!" It barked. But he couldnt get the body up without Buckley contributing.

Ishani, meanwhile, was looking around, eyes scanning the cave for any signs of life. They needed help. She needed to find them help before their arguing got them properly killed. She raised herself as high as she could and the undersides of her scales began to glow a bright cyan. The other two didn't notice, Buckley too busy despairing and Gore giving him shit for it. She tried to make herself a bit of a beacon - someone, please come and help.

"Buckley is speaking!" "GORE IS SPEAKING!!!" "Ishani is speaking..."