ORIGIN

There were times in his life when he wondered where, exactly, he'd gone so horribly wrong. Obviously it had been something big, if he was now willingly walking back to the cave where he'd almost died horribly - twice, no less. It had taken him a long, arduous day to even make the trek, but Monoceros loomed up ahead, and Priest stumbled to a halt at its entrance, clouded eye widening at the sight of its great twister, the ever present wind whipping through the air. It was as muddy and depressing as he recalled, but he cared to recall it no further, for that would lead to Baratheon and his own troubles. He wasn't here for himself.

He was here for the danburite.

That child, certainly born by now, deserved to know what had happened to its father, and why. Priest could provide the what for now - and he'd soon know the why, with the will of the Mother on his side. Absolute faith strengthened his trembling, weak limbs, and the numbat pressed on, softly glowing cane sturdy in his grip, small luminescent mushrooms blooming from its surface. His trusty pebble lay in its pouch on his belt, along with a once-full teacup, now completely drained from the journey. Paws so heavily scarred they webbed the fingers together to the knuckle spread and stretched, and the priest of Eridanus took a deep breath.

And walked on.

He walked slowly, patience seemingly everlasting, until he came to a halt near where he remembered Louie's nest being. Then his fear overwhelmed his patience, and he stood in place, gaze slowly roving about, opaline gemstone sparkling in the light. There was only one person he knew in this place aside from the fox. One he'd loved like a sister and still did.

One he wished he'd killed with the others.

"Magdalena? Are you here? I come from Eridanus to bring news." It was true, but not the whole truth, not yet - he did value his own life, as low as that value was, if only as a protector of the forest. He'd need to be careful, and explain as well as he could... but then again, the last time he'd tried to help anyone, they'd infected him with an illness so pernicious it still ailed him, and the dog certainly hadn't held back any punches then.

At least I don't have any boyish good looks to lose.

She was far more active than she had been in the days leading up to the emergence of her children. Technically, only one of them was hers; the sighted one, a gift that she had lacked and an obvious improvement in her lineage, just like Louie had promised. The prodigal child of sickness and plague that she'd been given by her teacher to prove her strength. To redeem herself from all the previous failures she'd endured. This one would be her final attempt, her apogee of everything that she could do, everything she deserved but could not grasp, for she was too weak. It was in her code. It was her unfortunate fate, one she could not escape, but the child could. The child would be redemption... her magnum opus.

But what of the other one? The other, that was Louie. Every thing about the other child screamed Louie. Magdalena never had any love in her heart for anyone; there was indeed warmth for Nemesis, and a desire for her companionship. There was even a maternal tenderness she held for Hestia. But love was an entirely new monster, and she kept it at bay even around those she held closest. Louie had never been an exception. She regarded her teacher as exactly that, a teacher, and she coveted him like she coveted Nemesis and Hestia and Odyssey, but Iliad? Iliad would never know even a shred of that bleak, pale morning glow that she called fondness.

She wondered if she should feel shame for what she lacked in feeling otherwise, but there was nothing. For Iliad, she felt only an impersonal coldness, if even a small obligation, knowing how deeply her child cared for its sibling. And she did her duty to raise it, but she wouldn't love it. She tried to spend as little time with it as she could. Perhaps that was what had made her so active. Now that both of them were old enough that they didn't require her constant presence around their den, Magdalena was busying herself around the rest of the cave room. Searching for food, quietly practicing her magic on her unsuspecting groupmates, cherishing time with her Fire and doting on Hestia. Louie was less a concern to her and more an idle curiosity every now and then, wondering where he was, if he deigned to spend as much time with the children as she neglected them.

That was what she'd been doing when she heard the voice. The borzoi was among the depths of the platforms, the trails that pushed further into Monoceros than most, weaving through forlorn cliffsides that barely met the artificial light of the lamps above. Odyssey and Iliad had come with her, after her child insisted its curiosity and an incomprehensible desire to be around her; after some exasperation, she allowed them to follow and listened to their lively banter. Then his voice came, summoning her from the darkness. Her pale yellow eyes snapped out to the opening of the cave, zoning in on the familiar fungal culture that had tainted her own she'd long ago imparted in him. Her heart burned with some strange, reignited fervor.

All at once she could feel that pull towards him. Wordlessly to the children behind her, Magdalena pushed along the edge of the trails until she crested the ledge, and she could feel him there, down below. She rose like a solemn gargoyle on the rocky lip, and her nose pointed down at him, those straw eyes fixed like cold and distant stars. "Booker." There it was, that voice of hers, only this time it wasn't a metered whisper riding on the hinge of a breath. For him, she would raise her voice. For him, she would command all attention with that frailly rigid intone like glass, and she would point it to him.

Her expression stagnated, and then her lips slowly twisted. Her fine crafted visage screamed opposition from the hardness and commanding of her voice; for as stoic as those eyes of hers gleamed, they were soft, and a smile wormed its way to her lips. She allowed Odyssey to shoulder past her, their hesitant glance from behind lasting merely half a second before permission came in the form of no response at all. She would receive him slowly, tenderly, as she always would, and it would hurt every time.

Nemesis saw the numbat come in. She was always on watch, always making sure nothing got in tunnel J that she didn't see. At least, when she was home. As it was, she didn't consider the tiny, limping creature a threat, considering she could squash the tiny 'gem under a single foot. She recognized him, oh boy, she did, but no huge dragon or Louie came in after him so for now, she kept her distance.

Her daughter was sick and had retreated to her chrysalis for now, which meant that Nemesis was moody as ever. She was looking for an excuse to tear some heads off, burn things to the ground-- but that was also the reason she kept clear of Magdalena and the Louie children. She didn't want to hurt them if her flames got too hot and her frustration aggrandized to the point of being uncontrollable.

She simply watched as the exchanged happened, yards away. So long as they didn't whisper, Auntie Nem would hear... And if the princess needed someone to squash a bug, she was ready to burn its wings off and make it suffer. Hestia would be okay. She would. The silly, fretting rhinoceros had yet to tell her beloved-- afraid of some shred of weakness she had never had before. Magdalena had her own child to worry about, after all.

The princess always came first.

"Magdalena Speech" "Nemesis Speech"

They had hungered for attention from their Mother for a long time. Training bored them, and made them fear their Mother for their own failures; training was not the proper environment for Odyssey to beg for that maternal affection. But outside of training, Odyssey felt they had a fair chance at it. Magdalena had come by only for a visit, and Odyssey leaped at the chance to trail their Mother as she did whatever it was she did when she wasn't paying attention to them, even if Odyssey had been busy playing with Iliad at the time while Othello was somewhere else. Odyssey didn't mind much if Othello wandered off every now and then - they stuck around for the most part, but Odyssey equally liked to indulge in the presence of their brother, and more so of their Mother's, drinking in all that they could without the distraction of their pet.

Odyssey was busy sniggering about something they had seen earlier in the day and bumping Iliad's shoulder as they went, swaying their long tail behind them, clicking their teeth playfully at Iliad's own nose when the voice came. It caused them to freeze hesitantly behind their Mother, listening to the voice bounce around the noisy twister room, before craning their neck to try and see where it had come from. There was some small creature near the mouth... but they couldn't make out any details until Magdalena had led them to the edge, and Odyssey could see now that it was... it looked like a rodent.

But it knew their Mother. A swell of jealousy burned in their heart, and possessiveness, and turmoil; this thing, who could be a friend or an enemy, could steal away the precious presence their fleeting Mother had given them. All Odyssey had wanted was to spend the day with her and Iliad, like - well, they didn't know exactly what it was, but there was a notion in the back of their mind that they aggrandized in secrecy. Like they all loved one another. Like Mother loved them and Iliad the same, like their father loved them, like they were happy. Odyssey knew distantly that it was untrue, but they neglected this truth as long as they could.

Odyssey gave Iliad's shoulder another nudge before pushing up next to Magdalena, turning peridot eyes curiously, pleadingly, to their Mother. She did nothing, she said nothing - but Odyssey knew this to be permission, not refusal. Their tail lashed and Odyssey threw a glance over their shoulder at Iliad, come check this thing out with me! before charging down the platform towards the intruder.

The hybrid descended quickly, meeting the ground in a cloud of dust as they approached the numbat with the excitement of a puppy. "Who are you? And what do you wanna speak with Mother for, huh? It better be for a good reason, trespasser!" Odyssey laughed obnoxiously and swept upon the numbat like a vicious raincloud, shoving their nose into his chest, beneath his arms, at the stony protrusion from his face, until his rancid smell hit Odyssey all at once - and the child gagged, swiping their paw over their nose. Odyssey huffed and grabbed the numbat by his torso, swinging their head around towards Mother and Iliad. "Get a load of this thing, Iliad! It reeks! Haha!" Odyssey called out, voice muffled by the numbat's body.

Significant time had passed since incident with his father, he hadn't been able to speak to him since. Iliad wasn't one to talk at the best of times, at the worst of times he was trapped in a silent stupor. Only Odyssey had the ability to pull him back, to connect him once again with the earth that he walked as being trapped forever in a sightless, noiseless world got to him sometimes. But there was always cheer in Iliad's heart, whether it was briefly smudged with bad feelings, it never erased his true character.

At one such time, he was playing with his brother, ignorant to the scorn he drew from Magdalena. Louie had spoken about how the woman had no interest for him, but he had ignored it. Iliad understood that they were not related by any means, only through association. But he was a good kid and thus had drawn some good feelings from her correct? Odyssey spent large amounts of his time trying to draw attention and praise, but he couldn't entirely understand why. Magdalena's brief appearance soon led into a game of follow the leader and slowly, the warped beast traveled along quietly beside his brother. Odyssey quietly laughed about what they'd done earlier and Iliad could only nod his head and smile in response.

Coming into view was the edge of the platforms, a voice met their ears. It was raspy, something that he hadn't heard before and his curiosity piqued. Whoever had decided to visit them was a stranger, one who hadn't been near the mole fox before. Gingerly, he cast out his magic, but once again he was trapped in darkness and all he could see was the string. Magdalena greeted him, and then Odyssey pushed past to get a better look at whoever their guest was. Already, he was growing, from birth he was larger than his father but his size was beginning to get out of control. Elongated enough, he didn't want to grow longer but still he did, his thick tail making up most of it, its dexterity not on the same level as Odyssey, so he was forced to remain behind.

Whatever it was, it caused Odyssey to act as he always did and he found himself sighing inwardly, "Brother... " It was the only sign of discomfort he could give his dearly adored sibling. But the smell was easily detectable by the mole hybrid, and he wrinkled his own nose. Maybe it had just fallen over in rotting mushrooms or something. Sitting back on his haunches, he easily gained a foot and a bit in height and towered over the Borzoi. Iliad had no idea, he was only doing what was comfortable for his poor twisted hind legs.

When I speak.

When I think.

The woman herself soon appeared, cold eyes glittering like gemstones, and Priest huffed, keeping his protest of the name to himself. "Magdalena," he intoned in turn, bowing his head out of respect - even if she wouldn't be able to appreciate the gesture. Heavy footsteps caught his ear, and the numbat turned his head to blink at the rhino, still feet away, with all her terrible glory on display. He had no hard feelings towards her, no; she had just been doing her job, as it were. Magdalena was another story.

But this wasn't about him.

Turning back, he opened his mouth to speak - and just as quickly clamped it shut as two beasts appeared, trailing Magdalena. Only one of them stepped forward, closer and closer, but Priest was rooted to the spot. Peridot horns. A fox's pelt... and Magdalena's frame. Bitterness sullied his palette, turned his stomach. A twitch at the corner of his eye was the only giveaway to his discomfort, and for once he was grateful for Magdalena's blindness, if it meant she couldn't see his weakness. She wouldn't get the upper hand again. Not today.

The child spoke quickly, a strange, crooked sort of cheeriness in his tone, and immediately the hair rose on the back of Priest's neck. He hoped, prayed, that the danburite hadn't been poisoned so; but then, he wondered sickly if he himself would have turned out this way, if Baratheon had never appeared. Perhaps it was better like this. The train of thought was cut off by by the pup's enthusiasm, and the numbat didn't hold back a snicker at its reaction to the myriad of spores coating his fur.

"I am Priest," he explained, patient and solemn. "One of the guardians of Eridanus. I come to bring news of Louie." He almost got the rest out before sharp teeth clamped around his torso - hard enough to lift, soft enough not to break skin - and he squeaked, cane flailing, using the support to tap at Odyssey's nose with a furious scowl. "Unhand me, child! Finis originea pende. I am not your enemy, and I would sooner leave and let you all find out for yourselves what has happened than stand for any further abuse in this wretched place." Fire lit his words, a flare of anger rare to see in the beaten and mutilated creature.

He wriggled in place, used his cane to pry open the hybrid's jaws, and plopped back down to the ground, grunting when his bad leg twisted beneath him. Priest smoothed out his fur, grumbling under his breath all the while, before finally settling back in place, long tail lashing from side to side, smacking the cane against the ground with enough force to make the sound resonate throughout the gathered group of Gembounds. "Let us try this again, shall we?"

The numbat took a deep, shuddering breath, rubbing at his good eye to block out the tension of a coming flashback. It would do him no good to now, especially not to go into a fugue, not surrounded by these things, who killed and tortured for fun. Louie. He was doing this for Louie.

And the child behind the other, danburite spikes protruding from its eye sockets.

"I am Priest. I come from Eridanus. I was patrolling the cave when I heard a noise. I followed it into one of the tunnels - the one with the carvings. There, I found Louie. He had been... harmed. Grievously. I attempted to help him, but he was already building a chrysalis around himself. It is protected now. I came to tell you, because he is both your family and mine." Possessiveness colored his final words, a kind of statement born from absolute certainty. "You are welcome to accompany me back to where he is healing, but I had to let his child - children know what had happened to their father."

A sigh, and he tapped at the stone floor again, and as if summoned, mushrooms bloomed from the sides of his cane, glowing brilliant blue. "I do not know who harmed him. He did not say." He didn't relay what the fox had said. Magdalena wouldn't believe him anyway; of that he was completely, absolutely certain.

It was with some astute perception that she knew her Fire was nearby; she could always know, always feel that ever present culture that she had come to sense without the need to reach out. It called to her, and Magdalena dared to twitch even an ear, a small break in the solemn and cold wall she had presented in the arrival of the numbat. She knew Nemesis was there, and she would let the rhino know with just that small gesture, just enough. Then it had fallen away. She fell away, throwing that wall back up, for she couldn't let anything go in front of him. Or anyone. She distinguished him by the anger that he gave her, but he was no better than anybody else. He was nothing special.

Odyssey had charged ahead and Magdalena was left unmoving, staring still over that ledge while her child advanced on the numbat. It was a sick amusement she felt, like she was chipping away at him, hearing the voice of her child as he handled the numbat between his teeth like a careless toddler. But it just went to show how little she really cared for him. There was no respect there for him, like he had made the mistake of showing her, not that she'd ever known either. Meanwhile, she felt the presence of Iliad linger behind her, as though too tentative to push past the mother and play with the numbat like he was but a toy. She stored that in the back of her mind for later examination, and his voice had summoned her, snapping her attention to him like a magnet.

He spoke a name she was unfamiliar with, but she didn't care. Priest, Booker, they were the same regardless of what false identity he had imposed on himself. Another afterthought for later. Her interest only flickered as he mentioned news of Louie, and then Odyssey, the clumsy, careless child, scooped him up and she heard Priest lash out in aggravation. Anger bubbled, a combination of retaliation for his transgression against her magnum opus, and fury for his trespassing: finis originae pende, but they were not his words to speak. The smile had faltered, a bitterness darkening her brow and she so itched to cut into him with a quiet command to speak what he had come here to speak. Instead she was silent, patient, like she'd been taught to be.

The answer did come, after he delivered a superfluous repetition of his first few lines. And news followed, news of Louie, news of how the fox had been injured and was left for dead in one of the tunnels, news of how his life was threatened, how he was on the brink, how she was suddenly faced with the potential of losing him, and it all sunk in. Magdalena's smile had faded now, receiving these words like she was taking the blows herself. She was ripped from that fleeting panic by the possession in his voice, stating that Louie was equally his family, but he was wrong. Anger had come back to her, and it was slowly weaving its way across her expression, her stare hardened like chips of ice. "He is not your family." Magdalena said evenly, interrupting his final few lines with restrained poison. He is mine. Mine, mine, mine. You have done nothing to deserve him.

Fury had deafened her to what he said last, consuming her where his offer held just above the surface. She would have destroyed him, and she could feel it, too; that anger so quick to rise inside, the magic clawing at her skin like it never had before. She had always done well to smother it, but now it came bubbling up without control, threatening to take a hold of him and crush. She knew she could. She had done it before.

But Odyssey's voice broke the hard silence open, begging to go see Louie, their dying father. Magdalena severed the swell of her magic and forced her attention to Odyssey, realizing that the numbat must have offered to take them there. Everything in her screamed to lunge from the platform and obliterate him, even if it broke her legs, even if it collapsed her own lungs, destroy him, but rationality admonished that hot desire and she spoke again. "Lead us." Magdalena's voice had dropped deadly quiet. She made to descend the platforms, expecting Iliad to follow, even for Nemesis to guard them if she so desired, welcoming the whole of the Merrymen to bite at the heels of the numbat. And as she arrived next to Odyssey, she stepped past Priest without shedding even a glance down at him. "But you will not speak to him in my presence."

She wouldn't offer him that luxury. Whatever sin Louie had forged with this creature, she would be no part of it. She would let him know that Louie was hers, as was deserved.

The numbat was obviously displeased by Odyssey's invasion of personal space - that wasn't hard to tell. But when he began to struggle, tapping his nose with that weird stick of his, Odyssey scowled and wrinkled their nose, shaking their head slightly. Almost too viciously at first, only to remember that the creature was fragile, and as destructive as Odyssey craved to be, they would restrain themselves from taking a life. (Which stood against Mother's teachings, who advised that they take whoever's life they felt necessary, if they could, because it meant that they were strong and their opponent was weak). Although... but the numbat was already beginning to pry their jaws apart, and the agitation of a stick jarring against their gums was finally enough to let Odyssey ease their grip and spit the numbat out, huffing loudly as they stepped back and shook their head, distracting themselves from that mild pain.

Meanwhile, they could feel that slight scorn emanating from Iliad, their brother who had scolded them from under his breath, and Odyssey extended a mental scowl towards them. Come on, have a little fun! But their peridot gaze had lifted, and they saw that Iliad had relented from joining them. There was a small frown, but it didn't last.

Booker, that's who their mother referred to them as. He began to speak, despite introducing himself as Priest, which only served to confuse Odyssey further. But loyalty clung to Mother, and so they would follow ritual and refer to the numbat as Booker. And they listened, standing behind the numbat as he spoke of Louie, and how... a terrible thing had happened to their father. Their mind wandered, struggling to understand. Nothing bad had ever happened to them before. Sure, Louie disappeared sometimes, but that was just because Louie's role wasn't as important as Mother's, but... still, there was a lack of understanding of the situation until Booker mentioned that he was healing, and that the children should know, so it must have been serious.

Mother didn't seem to care, cutting in something or other about family, but Odyssey didn't care either - about Mother's comment, that is. All they cared about was seeing Louie. "Mother! Can we go see him? Please!" Odyssey broke the silence, brows quirked in silent pleading. Normally Odyssey wouldn't speak out, but this was... well, it was different. It was Louie. And wasn't Louie important?

Thankfully, Magdalena allowed the thought. Odyssey swished their tail in satisfaction of her answer, though they found it difficult to drum up the same sinister enthusiasm that usually riddled them. They peered down at Booker, and then up to the approaching Magdalena and Iliad, running to join their brother again. They could only extend worry through the link between their minds, searching for an expression on their blinded, eyeless face, searching for reassurance.

Nemesis was silent, as she hovered, as she watched, distant and cold like executioner waiting for the signal to step forward and bring down her ax like a guillotine on the tiny, insignificant creature. There was no command for it, no ask nor sign of condemnation. There was a flash of rage through her princess' face, a sickly fury that seeped into her words and for a moment, Nemesis wanted to draw close, to press her nose to the borzoi's shoulder. To comfort her as she had so often comforted her fire.

But in that moment, it felt like there was a wall between her and her Princess. There was a hurricane inside of the borzoi, a tempest that swelled just beneath her ribbed, frail body. Magdalena was a dangerous, powerful creature, one who though Nemesis would fall on to spikes so that she could rise time and time again, could handle herself. The Princess was capable of so much, and to rush to her side like a mother to a child would be belittling. Magdalena was above such caring weakness. Nemesis had known this from the start, and only in times when it was truly dire did the rhino allow herself to give such free roaming tenderness to the borzoi.

As Magdalena commanded the rodent to lead, the trinoceros stirred. Her head swept low as she took slow, plodding steps towards the group. Nemesis came up to their flank, still keeping her distance, but the message was clear. She was a bodyguard-- and not just to Magdalena, but to Odyssey and even Illiad. They were Merrymen, and one of them truly her Princess' child. They would be safe under her careful protection, this she would make sure of.

"Magdalena Speech" "Nemesis Speech"

Situated behind his mother figure, he made no move to try and disturb the procession of creatures. All he did was open his ears and try to formulate a picture of Booker, if Odyssey was able to shake him around and play with him, surely he must be smaller than his own mouth and his lips pursed. What was such a small meal sized creature looking for with them. But he spoke of Louie and he found his tail sway across the ground uncomfortably. The scuffle between his brother and the small beast ended with angry words, before he regained himself and explained the situation.

Just as Magdalena, what caught his attention was the possessiveness, the need to include the line that he was family. At the time of their passing, he hadn't been formed enough to hear the words spoken between the two. In the void, he was just another unfamiliar voice that he had to commit to memory as he had nothing via sight to go on. That smell helped, but if it washed off his speech would be the only thing. Priest. He'd have to remember that. But again his mother had addressed him as Booker. It was confusing, he was confused, he was interested in how his father had ended up at death's doorstep but his care factor was low. Louie had never been the father figure he had wanted, it was one he was stuck with, and he supposed it did him no harm to see him in his most helpless form.

Another thing that he thought was curious, was the mention of Louie having a child, before correcting himself. Obviously he knew one of them had been created, but the other had been a surprise upon arriving. Iliad wished to know more, he wanted to question the stranger, pry his mind for all the information he seemed to carry on his shoulders. A guardian, a friend of Louie. Envious at these titles and this plethora of knowledge, his tail once again swept across the ground. Lowering his body back down, Magdalena agreed to Odyssey wishing to go, and he just let out a rumbling noise in the back of his throat in agreement.

In order to not let Odyssey know of his intentions, he began to pick away at the string that connected their minds. Weaken it for only moments, as he tried to forge a stronger connection with Booker to send across a private message for his ears only. It was struck up, bright orange in appearance next to the pink glow of the everlasting bond with his brother. So weak and fragile, already it was fraying before it had even had a chance to serve its purpose.

"Who are you Priest? What do you know about Louie? What do you know about one of us?" Three questions asked in rapid succession, before there was an inaudible snap as the string fell apart, leaving his mind with only the one. Maybe his brother would hear it, the answer and the question should he so choose to listen. It didn't matter so much, but there was no keeping private thoughts around the mage when he was standing so close, their minds so melded. Magdalena commanded that he mustn't speak around his father, it was an odd request. They moved off and he began the cumbersome task of dragging himself along the ground. Pushing with his hind legs as he tried to keep his chest from rubbing along the dirt.

Odyssey's presence grew stronger before ending up beside him. Worry was evident, it caused unease in Iliad but he just nodded. "Brother we will be fine. We will see Louie. It will be OK." Silence once more, the rhythmic clicking of paws and hooves on the ground the only sound as they followed after Priest outside of Monoceros. Into a place they hadn't yet been, and he found his twitching as he tried to press closer to his sibling.

When I speak.

When I think.