ORIGIN - Can this be home?

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It had been a whole day since Pa and Mara had left to find Cure. Remedy hadn't slept. Not well, at least. She'd been glued to Azazel most of the evening, but not long after, she'd found herself a quiet corner where the Bone King normally made roost and the cub curled up under her almost-ready wings and laid still- as if willing sleep to come.

It never did.

Now she wandered the bone cave. She couldn't leave. She wasn't allowed. King Azazel had made that very clear. So had Pa. So, instead, she'd decided to explore her new surroundings. Papa had said this would be their new home. It wasn't pretty like Orion had been, but with only one entrance, she'd figured out why Pa might've chosen it- the safest defense in the cave, she'd bet.

That's what Pa would say anyway, right?

Remedy moved towards said exit, coming to sit in the mouth of the tunnel, staring into the darkness with a shiver. Feathers ruffling, the tiny hybrid tucked against the wall and wrapped that delicate, flat tail against her leg, red tuft twitching nervously.

Any minute now, she told herself, Papa and Mara will be back. They'll have Cure, safe and sound, and we'll be okay again. We'll be okay...

That keening sound picked up in her throat, like a trilling note of song, but so sad and wordless. A sad breezy sound of sorts- but one that filled the area with vibrations- not unlike whalesong underwater.

ooc: mostly for Kerby, but any BB members may join in as well. This is during the search for Cure.

(IGNORE THAT ROLL IDK WHAT HAPPENED)

@Kerberos

i'm gonna pick up the pieces ....... if things go wrong
and build a lego house ............. we can knock it down

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The past few days had been a mess for Kerberos. The past few cycles, even. Not a moment of peace was allowed for the hound from hell, but there seemed to be a comfort in the mechanical, focused way he went about his duties. He had a purpose this way, an understanding with the world.

Kerberos was returning from the meeting with Arkrael. There were plans being laid to take down Vazi, the deer who had once defeated with without so much as a blink. His magic was powerful, and it frightened the hound. Still, there were many gembounds capable of being just as strong, and in the end, they had so many more teeth than Vazi.

The dog slinked through the tunnel of death, back to his home in Canis. As he stepped into the warm light of the bone room, his pink eyes caught sight of a curiously small gembound, black and red, bird and feline. A strange thing, just like him.

"Hello," he greeted the child, settling down in front of his guarded gate, one of his heads surveying the land for Aza'zel. He ought to tell the bird what was up, but he truly did not want to. He did not want to risk the lives of those he was sworn to protect. If it were entirely up to him, he would keep the entirety of Bonebound in the dark about Vazi and go off with the wolf alpha to kill him themselves.

Unfortunately, it wasn't up to him, and instead, he would do what was asked and expected of him. He was, as ever, a good boy.

@Remedy

There was a great beast in the tunnels.

It emerged with three heads and Remedy couldn't help her fearful squawk at its appearance. She scuttled backwards, dizzily trying to sort out which head to look at, which one seemed the most toothy. Pa wasn't here to protect her. Mara was with him. Azazel wasn't here now, either. She was alone, with a three-headed monster, surely about to be devoured whole in one-to-three bites. She shrank back against a boulder near the tunnel entrance, feathers raised in alarm.

Then, with a disinterested turn, the hound simply looked at her, then settled nearby. It spoke, one head did- the middle head, she thought. She chose that one to make eye contact with. It wasn't attacking. He seemed, well, distracted. Remedy stood, eying the beast.

"'lo." She mumbled, testingly. She picked her way a few steps closer, then stopped, cocking her head up and sideways, inspecting him carefully. He wasn't so scary, was he. More like some weird hybrid, like her, but instead of one head, his crystal formed three. She decided, in her childish way, to show the beast that she wasn't in fact scared of him. Puffing up her crest of feathers again, her chest fluffing out and wings arching back in a display of red feathers, she marched closer a few more paces than before. Stopping beside the beast, she puffed up at him, looking less than impressive.

"Who're you?" She squeaked, losing her gusto as she spoke, relaxing her pose. After a second, she tilted her head up at him and looked more curious than puffy or afraid. "Are you a Bonebound? Do you know 'zazel?" She sputtered on the Bone King's name, the odd sound of it difficult on her toothy beak. "I'm a Bonebound now, I think. Is it very fun, living here?" She looked back at the cave, frowned, then back at that middle head. "I don't find it fun. Then, you must always find ways to have fun, having three opinions and all. Are you very opinionated? Do you each have names? My name's Remedy. My Pa says he named me that 'cause I cured his sadness away. Isn't that neat? My sister's name is Cure, for the same reason. We're twins, but we don't look alike. Are you triplets? Did you get stuck like that, with one body to share? Do you ever fight?" And she could've kept going, if not interrupted.

@Kerberos

i'm gonna pick up the pieces ....... if things go wrong
and build a lego house ............. we can knock it down

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Kerberos was not surprised when the tiny thing of feathers and paws was scared of him. It didn't even register as something to react to anymore. Instead, one of his minds thought about how tired he was. Surely he could just go lay down and take a nice nap, right?

The young gembound squeaked up at him after having crept over and-- in a show of bravery, puffed up and strode even closer. He gave her a curious look and lowered his floppy eared head towards her, giving her a sniff and putting on a playful puppy smile.

She asked who he was and all three heads chimed in at once, speaking a phrase that he was quite good at now, "I am Kerberos." The dog's snakeskin tail began to wag slowly, occassionally thumping on the ground loudly with its massive weight.

The child had many more questions, and he simply listened to them all at once, letting her rattle on. It didn't take her long to assume he was three gembounds, despite being clearly one, and this did not surprise him either. It just disappointed him. No one seemed to get it, but considering that he only knew one other gembound like him, he supposed it was probably a hard thing to understand.

"I fight all sorts of things," he finally interrupted, baring his teeth at her in a way that came out a bit more threatening than he had meant it. "And yes, I am Bonebound, and all of Canis knows Aza'zel." He rose to his paws, a tongue sliding out of his floppy eared face as he woofed playfully, "I know some fun games! Want to try them?"

At this point, the big dog began to speak with all three heads, as if furiously trying to catch up on questions.
"Everyone always asks confusing questions. "You should introduce me to Cure!" "Opinionated?" "I am Kerberos." "Do you think that cave rats are lesser than you or I?" "I can show you both lots of fun games." "Kuna tou Aidou." "Why is it fair that we can eat those who are not smart enough to defend themselves?" "Do you know how to play hide and seek? Tag? Find the bone? Fetch?" "It has always been this way." "Can you howl?"

And just like that, Remedy had distracted the big puppy from his all important duty. Which might have been for the best. He really could use some cheering up.

@Remedy

The beast's name was Kerberos. All three were Kerberos, Remedy guessed by the trio speaking at once. She glanced back at the snake tail behind him and wondered again if he were a hybrid. However, before her questions could continue, for she indeed had been speaking as she looked, the side head silenced her with a grimace. She gasped, stepping back a bit, gawking at his teeth. She snapped her head towards the middle head as it confirmed being Bonebound and that everyone in Canis knew Aza'zel. Then, the third head was offering to play some games, and Remedy grinned up at it, beak parting enough to show off her feline teeth hidden inside.

Then the dog had a turn to speak, all at once. The middle head spoke first, about confusing questions. Then, as if he didn't need to breath, the friendly head spoke of Cure, then the mean head spoke of opinions, then middle Kerbous, mean head spoke of rats, nice head spoke of games, middle head said something that wasn't common tongue, then more talk of cave rats from the mean head, then more games from the Friendly head, then confirmation from the middle head, and finally, could she howl? Remedy had sat, twisting her head to each voice as it spoke, ears pricked forward and an exhasperated look on her face.

She took a deep breath, stood, and with a puffed chest, answered all three heads at once.

"I like games!" She chirped first, to the floppy head. "I want to play all those games! Do you know that we played hide and seek all the time in Orion? Cure was always better than me 'cause I have all this red and Orion was kinda blue, but that's okay. Pa is teaching me how to use my magic to hide!" She paused, looking concerned. "I'm not very good at it though." Her gaze turned to the mean head. "If you like cave rats, that's okay! I've seen Pa talking to them from time to time, but they don't understand him. He says rats aren't good food for growing cubs. Says we need to eat bigger things to grow bigger. I don't like killing, really. Pa says I need to kill prey to eat but I don't need to eat just meat like Cure does, so I could just eat bugs forever- but Pa hates that." She shook her head, then turned to the middle head. "What's Kuna tou Aidou mean? I'm sorry if I ask too many questions. Mara says I'm always too curious for my own good, but at least I'm learning!"

She paused, finally, and sat back to let them answer, waiting with some anticipation, ready to twist her head this way and that to listen to each one, making eye contact each time, as Pa had taught her was polite.

@Kerberos

i'm gonna pick up the pieces ....... if things go wrong
and build a lego house ............. we can knock it down

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos listened very closely to the child, knowing that while adults usually were who you learned vital things from-- even as a pup, he had thought he knew somethings better than others. Age could only factor in so much, and when it came to the experience of a mutated, curious creature so wildly different (and thus, all the more cut from the same cloth) from him, he wanted to understand her.

An excitement filled the dog as Remedy spoke quickly and warmly, easily keeping up with his many voices. There was something about the cub that he found endearing, perhaps a memory of another kitten he once knew, so different from her but yet so much... Well, like how he was when he was little. Full of words and enthusaism. It was refreshing, and his voices swelled up again as she paused, finally.
The dog took a deep breath as she finished her words, woofing eagerly.

"Magic--"
"It means--"
"Killing--"

Each head shared a glance and he chuffed, laughting at himself for just a moment. Wriggling down, he stretched his paws out towards the fluffy bird-cat so she didn't have to crane her neck so much, and then he began, simply, one at a time. It would be so much easier for her, he was sure.

"You should kill to eat, but it is good to not want to hurt others. Even cave rats feel pain. Do you think bugs hurt, too? My mother told me that if I wanted to become stronger, I had to listen, learn, and speak. It's good to wonder these things, to think and talk and listen to others about it. No one ever really listens to me about lesser gembounds... But just because they can't talk doesn't mean they can't feel."

His crimson nosed head drew quiet and looked towards the others, and the middle head started to speak.

"Your pa is much older than you and will know what is best. When you are bigger, you can do what you want because you will know what is right, but you should listen to him for now. As for Kuna tou Aidou, it means... Well... It means, something, but it is a title. It's like a name, but for my role in life. I guard the gateway between life and death, the door to Canis. I protect my family, and that is what it means to be Kuna tou Aidou. It is something I feel in my chest, hard to translate into this tongue."

Two heads down, one to go.

"You know, there's only one way to get good at a thing. You just have to keep trying. I'll teach you lots of new games, and you can beat your sister at those. She can beat you at hide and seek, but maybe you'll be better at tag! And if you want, we can practice magic. Want to see something cool I can do? Hold on, ready-- One!"

His other heads barked eagerly in reply, "Two!" His paw began to glow a deep, rich crimson, "Now!" And, in an instant, his form blurred and shifted, his body changing into not one body-- but two. The pair of them sat up, all six heads staring down at Remedy with bright, sharp teeth.

"This is my magic!"

@Remedy

Kerberos was a good listener, and when she paused, he was an even more eager speaker. All three heads tried to answer her at once, and she found herself cramming her talons against her beak to stifle a laugh. Her smile reached her eyes and a giggle broke through, but after a moment, she regained her composure and stood ready to listen. The pointy head spoke first, its red nose and stuck-up ears drawing her attention. He spoke of responsibilities, though thankfully he never actually used such a word, and thus, she found interest in his wisdom. As he spoke, she began to wander around to his side, and after a moment, back to his front as the middle head began its turn.

Rem sat back down in front of him, and for a moment, she considered the feelings of the animals she'd eaten. Oh, how horrible! And what if bugs felt stuff!?

Remedy wondered how sick she'd get if she switched to just eating plants. The idea wasn't much of an improvement to the guilty pit in her stomach at the thought of eating scared little critters.

The third head spoke, now of effort and practice, skills and magic. Oh, he was gonna cast! Remedy stepped back eagerly, tail flagging in the air and wings arching above her in her excitement.

Suddenly, three heads became six. Remedy gawked at the pair, stunned and bewildered, then with a wide toothy grin, she launched herself upright onto her hind paws.

"WOW THAT WAS AMAZING! There's SIX HEADS now! Oh my gosh you are so cool how did you do that!? Can I do that!? WOAH!" She trotted in circles around the pair, a figure eight, then returned to sit between and in front of them. "What element are you? Er, which one of you is the original?" She stared between the two, the six, and blinked. She honestly couldn't tell. She wanted to, though...

...and without really meaning to, the cub's horns and eyes lit up in a brilliant red and the world around her fizzled into darkness. Many red, glowing trails, and only one subtle glow between the two dogs. Oh, that one! She blinked away the magic, pointed with a grin, opened her mouth to point him out- then realized what she'd done.

"WOAH I JUST DID THE THING PA TAUGHT US!" That must've been it! Red sense! Like Pa could do, without even trying! Wow! "You're the real one and I'm MAGICKAL!" She spun in a circle and landed dizzily on her butt, grinning like a fool. Best. Day. Ever.

@Kerberos

i'm gonna pick up the pieces ....... if things go wrong
and build a lego house ............. we can knock it down

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It took the bird-cat no time at all to figure out which was the right one, much to his absolute bafflement. "How did you know?!" He barked, his magic fizzling out to nothing in an instant as she started to spin around excitedly. Apparently she had figured it out with magic, though he had never seen anyone else do it before.

"Not even Giggle could tell," he woofed, tail wagging gently. "Wait! I got another one," his middle head exclaimed, hopping up to his feet. This one was a bit trickier, but when it worked it was so cool. He hoped she would think so too.

His paw began to glow a warmer, more orangy red as his veins began to fill to the brim with what looked like flames. His whole body began to glow and flicker as though he was a jack o' lantern, his extremities turning into glowing ends of light.

"Do you have more magic?" He asked, lowering his nose down to her level. "Maybe you can try doing the hide and seek magic?" Suggestions spitting from his jaws, he finally shut his mouth and waited for her reaction to all of this, his magic fizzing out and the light dying from inside of his fur as quickly as it had came.

@Remedy

Kerberos praised her earnestly and Remedy soaked it in. She might well have been the first to tell the real Kerb from the fake! What an accomplishment! Prideful, Remedy felt her chest feathers fluff up, making her look as big as she felt. Then, he had another one! Remedy stepped back in excited anticipation.

Little by little, Kerberos began to glow! Oh, WOW! Remedy gawked, then grinned, so pretty and innocent.

"You're so pretty now! Wow!" As the light faded and he suggested a game, Remedy skipped over to him and placed her talons on his foreleg, standing upright against him. "Yeah, yeah, let's play Hide and Seek with Magicks! I'll be the bestest seeker ever!" She thrilled, ignoring the fact that she could only ever cast that one spell. "You should hide first, okay? I'll try and find you!"

With that, she twisted around, found the wall and placed her face against it comically, wings covering her head entirely a moment later.

"I'll count to ten, okay? One..!"

@Kerberos

i'm gonna pick up the pieces ....... if things go wrong
and build a lego house ............. we can knock it down

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Remedy loved his magic, and he felt a simmering sense of pride wash over his body once more. It was so great to have someone be so excited over his talents, though even more so to have someone call him pretty. Very few gembounds called him pretty-- though, there had been a few cubs and pups who had said very nice things to him in the past... Back when he was a lil' cutie himself.

As soon as the winged feline started to counting, he shook himself out of his thoughts and hopped to his paws, scrambling off into a pile of bones. He buried himself promptly in the biggest pile he could find, though his big orange tail didn't manage to make it under the bones and... With or without magic, it was pretty hard to miss the massive mutt.

@Remedy

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