ORIGIN - A Big, Big World

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It was a big, big world. There were lots of plants, lots of bugs, lots of birds, lots of everything! While outwardly he may have seemed impassive, inwardly he was buzzing with questions and curiosity of the world. He didn't form the words to voice his questions, he simply left them in his mind and tried to form his own opinions about things. Mama Arkrael had told him some things but others he wanted to find out on his own, to learn by himself. It wasn't like he had a problem with her there was just something about being in constant contact with another that burned away at his emotions and left him empty... So he had to go out on his own and wander about, stretch his legs and his mind.

So, behind those blank-looking eyes was a mind that was calculating and assessing every little thing around them. The white pup which explored the world had a comfortably lowered tail as it tracked behind a Bush Rabbit. The furry red thing was scratching about at the earth, busy as a beaver while Zariel stared at it from behind. The pup probably could have attacked it if he wanted to... But he didn't. He was observing and learning completely still and quiet while it worked. If the rabbit hopped to a new location then he was right behind it, keeping his golden eyes locked onto its form. Fascinating, this world was.

He stayed like this for hours, simply staring and observing this new creature... Until something scared it and it bolted into a burrow, leaving the pup all alone. The dog blinked but rose out of his crouch. He was slightly annoyed that the rabbit had been scared away but he reasoned with himself that there would be others so he turned and began to meander away in an attempt to find something else new. Perhaps he'd meet another lesser gem or perhaps he'd meet something else entirely.

329
Open
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5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos was straying farther from home than he usually did. Perhaps it was all the pups back home, but he was finding it harder and harder to get a good nap in... Or some quiet.

His minds were restless as he took careful pawsteps through the cavern, walking out of Orion and towards Eridanus, though he knew not why he traveled such a way. Perhaps it was the hope of meeting Arkrael once more, or simply the idea of a hunt in the thick jungles...

Or perhaps, the large mutt simply missed where he had been born. This were a bit complicated as of late, for more reasons than just the pups at home or even his troubled urges towards the first gembound he had ever met. His tail swished as he stepped through the strange, quick path to Eridanus, thinking to himself three entirely different trains of thought all at once.

It did not solve his problems any faster, mind you.

The great big dog was a bit... Distracted, as he walked, lost in thought. He hardly noticed the speck of white fluff just ahead, right in his path. He simply did not notice the youth-- perhaps, he was more exhausted than he realized.

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

Something else entirely was what he found or rather it found him. Zariel didn't have anything particular in sights. No other lesser gems popped out and his mother wasn't calling for him so he was intent on walking forward. That is... Until he heard the steps of something rather heavy coming right his way. The white pup stopped in his tracks and turned to look at what was coming his way. What he saw had his golden eyes widening ever so slightly in surprise and curiosity. There was a creature, a huuuuge, creature heading his way. It was vaguely the same shape as his mother but with a cave rat tail and three heads! Those three heads were like he and his mother's canine in shape, one even had floppy ears like his own. How interesting.

Zariel's head tilted to the side as he stared at the large creature coming right his way. Perhaps a smarter pup would have gotten out of the way or even taken on the defensive... but not Zariel. He felt no sense of urgency, no fear as the three-headed dog came right his way. He only felt the curiosity grow stronger as it neared. It only occurred to him at the last second that he should probably say something to stop himself from being stepped on and hurt. If he was hurt then how would he get home to Mama Arkrael? It would surely complicate things.

He straightened his head up and stared upwards at the canine with his unblinking eyes. "Zariel is standing here." His monotone voice said in an attempt to keep the large three-headed one from landing a paw on his back. He certainly couldn't have waited any longer, if the dog didn't hear him in time then he would surely be stepped on.

302
@Kerberos
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5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos froze, his fore paw raised into the air mid step, showing off his red and gold gem paw-pad off to the tiny pup. His pink eyes looked around, before finally his heads lowered and he saw the baby gembound.

As soon as he realized it was another pup-- though this one, surprisingly as white as he with no signs of anything else in his system-- he blinked and sniffed at it with his three multicolored noses. "Hello," he woofed immediately, his middle head gently giving a lick to the dog's forehead... or, really, his whole head.

The guardian of the gate could probably fit the whole pup in one of his mouths if he tried, though it would be a real mouthful. "... You're like a little me," he suggested, halfway to himself. He gave the pup a friendly tail wag and promptly laid down to show he wasn't going to hurt the fellow canine in case none of his other posturing worked.

"I am Kerberos," he gave his own name before falling silent to gauge the pup's reaction. His paw began to glow slightly as he tried to warm up the air and make the whole situation cozy-- in his experience, little ones enjoyed the swell of heat his magic and his big furry body gave off.

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

@Zariel

The small pup stared up at the huge paw, eyes examining the red and yellow gem above him. Why, that paw could step on him and smush him into the ground with little effort. He thought about this and yet he did not move. He found it more interesting that there was a stone in the bottom of the dog's foot. Like his own fang-stone and his mom's chest-stone. Everyone had stones, he'd heard, but with how few other gems he'd seen it was neat to take a look at this three-headed dog's stone.

Zariel didn't move an inch, even when he was being sniffed at by all of the heads. He simply continued to stare at each head in turn until finally he was licked. It felt nice to be licked and spoken to in such a kind voice. His tiny tail gave a couple of twitches, his own version of wagging, while the corners of his mouth turned upwards but only very briefly before his expression turned back into that blank-impassive stare.

Like a little him? Zariel's stare was broken when the dog mentioned he was a little version of the three-headed dog. Yes, he had the same shape but was he an exact copy? The puppy looked at himself, his white fur and tiny tail. Well, there were similarities but they certainly were't exactly alike. Still he could see where the great dog was coming from so he didn't correct him. Why was it that they had the same fur color and were both canines? The pup's head tilted to the side. His mother had never told him about any father but it would seem correct in this instance. His instincts told him that parents held similar traits as who they bore like Arkrael was the same shape as he and this one had the same color as he. It fit like a bee in a foxglove.

The air began to warm up as the dog laid down in front of him. A non-threatening posture if he ever saw one. Was he inviting Zariel over? Arkrael did that when she wanted to give warmth... Perhaps he was too, the air felt nice and this dog probably did too. "Zariel." He answered as if Kerberos couldn't figure out his name from when he'd spoken earlier.

The dog's head tilted this way and that as he examined the white dog and then finally straightened up as he made up his mind. Surely this must have been some absent father that now found him if they were so alike. The puppy walked over to Kerberos' side and laid down against it. "Is Kerberos Zariel's father?"

445
@Kerberos
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5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Kerberos knew what a father was. He had had a mother for cycles now, and his pack leader was a father now and Aza'zel's friend was a dad too-- he knew what it was but the idea of Being A Father absolutely baffled the dog. All three heads stared at the dog as he snuggled into the thick fur of his massive body, trying to come up with an answer.

How did one... Become a father? He wanted to ask Zariel, but he knew that the pup was much younger than him and that meant that he was supposed to be the one with the answers, like... Like... Like Giggle! He thought of his mother in that moment, considering-- but Giggle was only his mother because Bones was his brother and she was his proper mother...

So if he had become a father, how had it happened? Could he simply decide to be a father? He wasn't sure he was ready for that-- he had a full time job as it was, and even that was becoming too much. He was watching over four-ish other cubs at almost all hours on top of that job already, and they weren't his.

... But if Zariel thought that he was his father, then he had to be. That much, he could come to a conclusion on. So the dog finally spoke, in a calm, careful tone, "Do you want to be my son?" The words felt foreign on his tongue, as though they belonged to an entirely different three headed hell hound. He raised a paw gently and put it around the cub, the warmth shedding off of his gem in a perfectly controlled temperature that would never get quite too hot.

"... If you want to be my son," his floppy eared head decided abruptly, "you have to do three things. You must speak, listen, and learn." His other heads caught on quickly and added on, "It is what my mother told me, and it has made me a big, strong, good dog." His tail thumped softly against the cavern floor.

"Do you think you can do that?"

How hard could it be to be a father, anyway? Aza'zel was a silly bird, and he had helped him be Ash and Liora's dad plenty of times already. Perhaps he was supposed to be a father-- but the thought still made him feel a bit awkward.

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

@Zariel

Did he want to be the three-headed dog's son? Was "want" a part of being someone's child? He was Arkrael's son because he'd felt the bond upon first hatching. Something just spoke to him when he'd laid eyes upon her at that first moment. What about now? The large dog resembled him and he even felt comforted like he did when Mama Arkrael let him snuggle into her fur. But again... "Want". Did he want to be Arkrael's son? Yes, he did want to and he was. Did he want to be Kerberos' son? Again... Yes. He did want to be the son of the three-headed canine... and so he was.

He didn't speak yet though, he allowed Kerberos to continue with his words. The pup's nose snuffled at the warm gem, he put both his own tiny paws against it as he tried to absorb all the warmth he could. Still, while he put his minuscule paws against Kerberos' great ones, he listened very carefully. Speak? Listen? Learn? Learn, he loved to learn. He did it all the time when he listened to Mama Arkrael and when he stalked the critters around Eridanus. Listening went right along with learning and he loved to do that as well, he loved listening far more than the last thing.... speaking. He supposed he could do that too but when it was needed. Talking was such a great chore but he would attempt it more because... because Father wanted it.

He wondered who Papa Kerberos' mother was. Was she a great dog too? Or was she a wolf like Mama Arkrael. "Mama Arkrael is teaching Zariel things too." He began. His golden eyes, usually blank of expression now held a tiny glimmer of curiosity and intelligence. "Zariel would like to learn more things too. Zariel wants to be a big, strong, good dog like Papa Kerberos... Zariel will speak, listen, and learn. He wants to be Kerberos' son." There. He'd addressed all points and now he fell silent as he looked up at the white three-headed canine with eyes unblinking but certainly not daft.

351
@Kerberos
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6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

Zariel answered him with something the hell hound had not expected. He was expecting a confused answer, or perhaps just a simple excited yelp of a yes-- but not that Mama Arkrael had been teaching the pup things. Kerberos did not know if Moms and Dads had to be... a thing, but briefly he had seen Cancer and Amaria together and they... They were a thing.

Now Kerberos respected Arkrael a whole lot, but to claim to be the father of the great Alpha Arkrael's child... He hesitated for a moment, listening to the pup's next words. At the very least Arkrael thought he was a good dog, last he checked, and maybe she wouldn't be bothered by being Zariel's father. This whole situation was quite complicated, but he would do his best for his new found son.

"Good," he spoke softly when the pup bravely decided he would do his best to be a Good Dog. That was the first step on a path to greatness, and Kerberos was already feeling quite proud of the fluffy white son of his. His middle nose gently touched the top of Zariel's head once again, though he didn't accompany a lick this time.

He supposed that if he was a good father, he would show Zariel where he often was, in case anything bad happened. "Zariel," he woofed shortly to get the pup's attention, raising his heads to point down the tunnel they way they came. "The caves are very big and you might get lost, but you can always use your nose to find your way back."

"If you go the rest of the way through this tunnel, you will find ruins of the time before. In the room of ruins and starlight, there's a big door. I guard that door, and behind that, is where my side of the family lives. There are lots of bones in there and if you ever need help, you can come and ask."

He took a deep breath through his middle mouth and grinned down at the pup as his last head spoke. "If you find your way to a room that is bright and blue, with a big pointy glowing rock-- that is the heart of the caves. You can find this tunnel in that room, and it will lead you back to Arkrael--" he nodded towards the shadowy, overgrown with plants end of the tunnel. "--Or come to the Door and Papa Kerberos."

He raised all three heads now towards the ceiling and closed his eyes, holding Zariel close with his oversize, bearish paws. "If you want to learn, you should explore. The world is dangerous, but if you listen and speak, you'll find your way and you will learn. It's good to know where is safe to run to, in case something bad happens."

"And if you cannot run," he said finally, glancing back down at the pup. "Then you can call for your kin," he explained, "and we will come."

"Has Arkrael shown you how to howl?"

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

@Zariel

Good. Was Papa Kerberos proud of his dedication already? He liked that. It made him feel like a really good boy. His tiny tail twitched a couple of times and then a few times more when the canine touched the top of his head. Right then the puppy felt something burning in his belly... It was a strong feeling that was between happiness and a feeling of confidence. What was this? It made him want to hold his head up high and lift his tail triumphantly. He liked it and wanted to feel it more. Perhaps with being a Good Dog he would be able to.

He turned his head up to Papa Kerberos, eyes unblinking as he came to attention at the sound of his name. A flood of information washed over him, it was a lot to take in but for his father he would listen and he would learn. He listened about using his nose and using the tunnels. He wanted to see his father's family so the pup made a mental note to drop by there in his explorations to see the family and the bones. Though he didn't know what bones were...

His head turned towards the direction that his father indicated with the tilt of his head. The heart of the caves... He should like to see that too and again noted it down in his memory banks that he would visit it in his explorations. He didn't know what a door was either but again he would find out with exploring. If his father guarded it then it was something worth seeing, he was sure. Exploring could be dangerous but danger did not scare him. He knew of fear but he had yet to feel it in his young life. He would go out and learn and always return back to Eridanus with Mama Arkrael and go visit his Papa Kerberos at the Door.

Finally he heard about calling for his family, for his kin. Did he mean yelling or screaming? That wasn't really his style. "Has Arkrael shown you how to howl?" For a moment the puppy didn't respond, he simply sat and stared up at his three-headed father. Outwardly it might seem as if he'd gone completely impassive and blank but inwardly he was simply processing all of the information. Finally after nearly a minute had passed and Kerberos' words had properly been stored Zariel blinked his golden eyes and said, "Mama Arkrael has not shown Zariel how to howl." He tilted his head at a slight degree to the left, a tiny bit of confusion glimmering in his gaze at the word "howl". Perhaps he would get to learn even more today. The notion excited him so his tail twitched once.

461
@Kerberos
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7/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

δεξιά . κέντρο . αριστερά

One time Kerberos had tried to teach a horse to howl. It did not work. However, he knew in his heart of hearts that Zariel could howl. definitively, Kerberos could howl and Arkrael had summoned many gembounds with a single call through the caves before. If Zariel was truly the son of both he and the Alpha, then surely he would be able to howl.

He had the right muzzle for it anyway.

So Kerberos waited for the pup's answer and when he finally got it, he nodded and started to explain. It was all very exciting, showing his new son how to do things that were absolutes on the path to being a Good Dog. Stuff that Giggle had never showed him-- but maybe mothers were not meant to teach stuff like howling, maybe that was a father thing. "First, you take a deep breath." As he explained, his opposite head-- the one with an orange nose and floppy ears, acted.

And so, the orange-tipped muzzle inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. "Then, feeling the breath in your chest, you start your howl--" Kerberos, as he spoke with one head, started a bay with the other, "--And raise your muzzle as you call out towards the ceiling."

"AWWwwwwwWWOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo!"
"Then the sound echoes along the top of the cave, reaching down tunnels to everyone's ears." He had to speak a bit louder while his other head howled, but once he was done the wolf song died in his throat and his middle head gave Zar's ear a playful lick.

"Give it a try. You might have to practice a bit, but once you get it down you can start to make words so that others can know why you're howling."

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

@Zariel

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