You know the drill. Pillar of shining Oilstone growing by the spire. The thing inside it threatens to bust through. One day it does.
Sent tumbling down with a wet smack, and suddenly, Crypt was born. A miracle. There is something very blue somewhere nearby. He should investigate. Maybe its food?
He struggled to his feet, only for his feet to fail him again and again. Some part of him understands that they probably should, but the other three quarters isn't too bothered. It turns out he can crawl just fine, anyways.
Crypt spends the first five minutes of his live open-mouthed coughing at the huge, crackling centre of the Origin caves.
Not papa. Not. Papa. But he wasn't listening. He dragged himself towards the spire, which returns his approach with vicious, buzzing electricity that reaches somewhere past his skin and meat and glowing organs. This is what fatherly love feels like.
Crypt presses his meaty palms to the stone, ready to return his dad's embrace. God. Damn it. I swear to god this wasn't the plan.
A wandering for warmer, more comforting places had brought it here. Not that Polaris was particularly warm, but it was still searching. It craved some kind of hot cradle it could rest itself in, perhaps to burn away, but it had yet to find anything suitable. The energy of the Spire, however, briefly attracted it. Like a child jumping from one activity to another, it stopped and turned away from its aimless quest to approach.
It noticed the darker thing scooting up towards it - probably somebody that knew better. What is it? Why is it glowing? Why does it make it feel sparkly?
But after its pace briefly sped into a trot to catch up with the other valkhound, it stopped. Staring with large, gleaming eyes at the strange behavior of...this one. Head tilted to the side curiously, confused. Was it...hugging the crystal?
It blinked, ears twisting back almost cat-like.
@Crypt
As his arms reached forward, the Spire seemed to suck him in, like one magnet attracting another. He would feel his entire torso briefly pulled to touch the glowing Skystone. Magic crackled around him, and through him, lightly searing the places where he made contact with the stone, and racing through his body like the current of the crystal river, drowning him in its unstoppable rush. His vision would go briefly white, as if he had been electrocuted, but then it would return, blurry at first, and then stable.
To one so new to life, the power was overwhelming. It didn't hurt, not really, but he would feel overcharged in the aftermath. Overcharged but numb, as if his magic was something distant and hard to reach. Spells cast for the next hour or so would feel like gripping something when the hand has no feeling. Not weakened, really, but...odd.
It gripped him, for a few moments, until he got over the initial shock and would find it easier to pull away. There was no fatherly love here, there was simply power.
@Crypt
It was the world's most dangerous stim toy.
The blue light flashed in front, and then through him, permeating through his small body and filling it with fevered energy. His whole body buzzed at a frequency unknowable. He was pretty sure someone was talking to him.
The energy faded some, and Crypt took the chance to withdraw before he actually managed to hurt himself.
Not a friend, either.
@Athebyne (and soft tagging Crypt's relatives if they want to jump in)
Audland had wanted to watch. Wanted to be there when the stones hatched, to see what had become of their unfortunate tryst. He hadn't wanted them to know him; he wanted to reserve the right to be known on his own terms. Already the mark of a terrible father: dismantling connection, making it all about himself. But that's the thing, isn't it? Valkhounds don't have families. So he had no reason to try and connect, or guide, or be there at all.
Even still, Audland wanted to see. And he knew he'd be the only one looking, because their other parent had been too spent to follow where Audland had taken their stones off to.
In a corner hopefully no one would think to check, behind some outcrop of stones, Audland hid from a vantage point where he might be easily seen—if it wasn't for his cloud of darkness encompassing his entire hiding spot. To the unobservant outsider, he would appear as a particularly dark continuation of an existing shadow. Perhaps a little too pitch black given the context of other shadows, but who was keeping score?
From here, he could watch and try to hold his breath while the baby valkhounds hatched. It wouldn't be long before they did, and Audland could see the immortalized travesty of what he had done to them even before their birth.
He'd burnt them. He'd burnt the kids.
WELL, just one. For now. And my, what a looker. It seemed to take on after him in many ways. The one thing different that he could see from here was the head, and the strange glowing... Audland could see beyond its skin. Besides that ethereal glow, it looked and moved in disturbing ways, and its whole body was smoky greys and burnt blacks. Just as Chaos ought to be. Probably.
For whatever reason, the creature had decided to... crawl over toward the Spire. ...Why?
The question was echoed by a stranger Audland had never met before. Shoot! This was supposed to be his child-watching TV alone-! Ah, but at least it wasn't the child's... stone-or-life giver. Just some worm-like thing with enough spiky bits to qualify as a monster. Yeah, this was fine. The Spire's light beamed right through its body. But... no damage. It was fine.
Until Audland's spawn spoke. Something about it—no, that thing wasn't healthy. Oh god. He'd burnt it bad. And something about its voice, its word choice... No. Maybe there was nothing weird about it. Maybe Audland wasn't displeased, or uncomfortable. Maybe he was just being a giant blue baby and he needed to wait and collect more information. Quietly.
OOC: Audland is hiding and can be skipped in the posting order as he will not try to affect what happens here.
It stopped moving, nose crinkling.
@Crypt
The amount of energy buzzing through him did something interesting to his stomach. He leaned back on his tail, watching the bright light of his organs flash brighter than they had moments before. Crypt patted his belly with his stubby baby hands.
He bristled and retracted some at the approach. How dare...
@Athebyne
It's head tilted quizzicly. Did it not understand what smelly meant?
@Crypt
Crypt sniffed.
His tail lashed again, this time cracking against the cold floor twice.
Crypt threw the rock at the Spire, overarm. It crackled and spat in response, the object disappearing in the angry, electric blue.
@Athebyne
Its head tilted a bit as it looked back up at the Spire.
It couldn't help it. It stepped forward next to Crypt and lifted a dainty paw.
Heat rolled in its foot as it pressed forward, a small offering of warmth. Curiosity. Surely the stone wouldn't be hurt or hurt it in return - it was, after all, rock. Rock shouldn't get hurt by a bit of heat, right?