It had slipped from its chrysalis in silence, save for the chattered plans it had for substrate. Like most Valkhounds, true ones, that is, Virosa cared little for explanations, words and specifics. It knew innately what must be done, practiced it for cycles before.
It'd begun work cultivating its own little patch of rot closer to home, a project restricted by the space it must share with others unlike it. Virosa didn't mind the crowd. Some places needed a diversity of growth to survive, yes, natural order is a close companion to entropy. It should be welcomed.
When it managed to spread through every corner and crevice of the caves, it would promise to maintain an uncorrupted patch here and there. It was not a despot.
In Eridanus it would be absent of such considerations. Free, unrestricted cultivation, weeds to remove, crops to plant in their place. But preparations were in order - the long journey had left it dangerously parched. It sprinted to the twin pools at the sight of water, slamming its head as it swallowed water in noisy, drowning gulps. Oil gurgled upwards to the water's surface in bubbles, threatening to pollute it further.
Tectus was exhausted. Not for any reasons of "working herself ragged", in fact it was the opposite. The exhaustion that came with inactivity. An excess of rest and boredom that had been born from the quieting of the caves for a while.
She, too, had felt the pull of hibernation, but she had resisted, terrified that she would find herself sleeping for another few hundred years or more again. No, she intended to remain awake. Awake and active, until her job was completed.
Her forces, though...she didn't know where many of them even were. Frustrating...but not an end of the line. Eridanus was so close, so close to being cleansed. It was time she finished up the last on her own. Might as well.
Heading back into Eridanus, she found the infected places and began to rip fungus out as she went - if she saw white, it was swiftly met with long claws tearing deep into the ground, ripping off the barks of trees, tearing off leaves and flowers and grasses that had been taken, tossing all into a pile - she would deal with it all in one go. But not long into her destructive mission, she noticed the black splatter of Oil upon the ground, a trail leading further into the forest. A valkhound here?
She paused her task and followed, ears listening and detecting the sound of splashing. Perhaps at the Eyes. Indeed, as she pushed through the forest and emerged before the twin pools, she laid eyes upon something so jet-black it may have been a shadow. Her gaze flicked to the pool, where corruption was already spreading, and wondered if Artio would take offense.
Overseer Tectus was a large, pink blur in its peripheral vision, as its focus did not break away from the water it drank from. With several loud gulps, it thought itself satisfied, pulling its head from the Eye finally. It left a deep, dark stain in the pool.
Virosa shook itself of the excess, smattering oil and muck on the flora surrounding, then finally looked to The Overseer. It chirred in friendly greeting. "The Master of these woods is not mine." it chittered playfully. "Yes, Master Vargas is my creator. "
Aware that this was a figure of some authority, it thought to justify itself more concretely. Punishment would disrupt it. "...Common goals. Excess will be tolerated, until the disease is removed. I am thorough, that is all." It's jaw snapped erratically as it spoke, biting out its syllables as if overexcited.
"Overseer, yes? You've been mentioned."
@Tectus
She glanced down at the eyes as they filled with black oil, and she couldn't help but snort. Perhaps if Farina still lingered in the pools, she'd snap this poor valkhound in half for corrupting her home without question. Thankfully, she doubted the master would ever return to her prison, and might even spit in them alongside the oil now filling their depths.
She shrugged, trying to be more casual.
Virosa began to make its way to the remaining patches of Order it'd spotted. Food would come later, as the infested fruits wouldn't do it much good. They'd taste awful, too.
It blinked, side-eyeing the Overseer as she attempted to correct it's thinking. It held it's tongue, even if the words chafed. Defiling. As if it was tainting the world just by existing. Do weeds defile a garden, or do they simply grow? Its irritation rippled down its skin, dislodging a few dead leaves.
"She will thank me when I'm done." Virosa dragged its feet where it walked, smearing the white fungus underneath. Slowly, black tendrils began to twist through the growth. It would wither completely in time, though the health of the foliage underneath was yet to be seen.
"And I will return to the Forge when it is done. In my absence, it will adapt. Recover. I'm sure she will understand. It is my purpose."
@Tectus
She was really trying her best to speak her sense into the valkhound, but she couldn't tell what it was thinking. Ugh...she knew that she worked for Rrevalk and all, but some of these corrupted beasts were even harder to work with then the gembound. Ah, she missed the days when they had respect, when they knew their place...things were much simpler.
She walked alongside Virosa (hoping that her presence was at least welcome enough for this task) occasionally pausing to scourge her claws over the infested trees, ripping away the infection where she saw it and tossing it into the places that Virosa corrupted so that they, too, would wither.
Virosa purred in thought. "Burning... Refreshes the soil for new growth. Would've been ideal." It agreed, snuffling the ground below it and pecking at the decay it'd left, as if preening it. It considered diversifying briefly, but its own fungus would not be ideal for an area expecting civilian traffic. Save it for later.
"But it would destroy all life still living. Extinction, maybe. Would give Order better soil, more room to infest, should they return. Its nature is fragile, where Order is not. We are stronger than both, but... Unappreciated."
"I wouldn't drown. Just spread." It planted a palm on a rock, withering away the white that smothered it. "Control. Foster. Places for me, places for them. Cycles. Balance."
@Tectus
Yes, she had thought so as well - even if the forest burned, it would regrow stronger. And they had been willing to help it along! But alas, they had to make do. Their patches of burned forest had already regrown, yet still there was more forest left infected.
"Trading old growth for seeds is difficult." It pointed out, as it continued to sow its own. Virosa was addressing a particularly thick patch of the infection now, sinking their claws delicately into the cloud-like fluff. It almost enveloped its hand.
"We have better ways. Slower, but gentler. Important for healthy development." It coaxed the corruption from its palm, tracing lines through the fungus, showing it the best way forward in the only language it knew. "Nothing worse than a harvest too early."
It reflected briefly on The Gravedigger, and its fate in the world above. Would Virosa follow it there?
"If Gembound remembered... If they understood, then I would not exist, and there would be no work. No struggle. No life."
@Tectus
Trading old growth for seeds is difficult. Tectus almost laughed at that, not because it was foolish but because it felt like a metaphor for her own existence. How difficult it had been to adapt to a new way of life. How difficult the caves must have found the change from the old ways to the new...
She did chuckle a bit at its assumption, though.
She turned back to the tree, continuing to slice the mold away, extracting cords of mycelia carefully from within the tree.