ORIGIN

He was sure she was around here somewhere. Xireidi sniffed at the ground as he wandered around rocks trying to find where the Gratia, or rather Gratia who was a species he now knew was called a cavy, had gone off to. After getting through the icy cold tunnels they had emerged in a great watery area. As was his custom he'd insisted on staying around a little while to get to know the area before moving on to one of the other tunnels that split off from this great cavern.

The red wolf was well out of pup stage at this point, as visible by markings starting to show themselves in his fur. Though he would still have a good bit of time before he reached his full size the juvenile was already rather large, having never given up on his training to become strong enough to stand up to the upcoming creature even after taking watch over an herbivore. The self-assigned task had made hunting a bit more difficult as he didn't really want to freak her out too much by eating with her around, and he still wasn't sure if she knew he couldn't live on berries alone, but that stealth had necessarily become another part of his training.

For now though he searched the area, being in the middle of a game of 'hide and seek', which was as much a way of helping Gratia learn to find good hiding spots and train his ability to track as it was to relax and have fun in this new part of the cave system.

His search was interrupted, however, as a truly bizarre scent reached his nose. He'd come upon a trail that had been tread by something he'd never encountered before. His heart froze as a deep part of his consciousness suggested the single explanation: monster.

Usually he treated the thoughts of magic with some suspicion, but its caution was useful at times. Gratia would be okay for now wherever she was hiding; he had to find out what this new factor at play was.

Not knowing what he would be dealing with the young red wolf tracked low to the ground rather than his usual method of finding high ground. He was probably being paranoid, but if he was to encounter something this bizarre smelling he wanted to have the first sight advantage.

It didn't take long for Xireidi to catch up to the source of the trail, and when he did he was glad he had taken the clandestine route he had. His heart started beating fast and his breaths shallowed as before him crawled some eldritch-looking entity of pitch black. There was no glowing orange, but who was to say the monster always showed those colors.

This was his chance though, he didn't think the creature could see him yet. It was bigger than him but from his angle he could probably get a good sneak attack in and at least wound it before it had a chance to do any serious damage.

But on the other hand he had no way of knowing for sure this was even related to the monster even if it matched a good portion of the feeling engraved in his head. He had scouted this area before. There were enough places he could go to potentially lose such a large black entity should the battle go poorly. He had to start out with revealing his presence; after all if he had gone with his gut in the misty tunnel he might have attacked a newborn, which he would have regretted for who knew how long.

With an internal sigh the wolf braced himself and walked close enough to be spotted, ready to fight of flee should either need arise. "What is your purpose here?" he called out to the beast, attempting to sound brave but unable to help small traces of fear leak out into his tone.

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away

Xireidi nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard his name called. Gratia! Of all the times for her to come out of hiding this had to have been one of the worst. The monster had turned, revealing a bit of red in the sea of black. Not orange, but again he had no way of knowing how much danger they were in, especially since now he had no option but to fight if it posed a danger. It slinked down before them, apparently not going immediately on the attack. There was still a chance though; he wished he had some way of knowing how much danger they were in.

Of course there was a way! He was the bearer of the magic of truth, right? As long as the entity wasn't actively attacking them perhaps he'd have time to invoke the magic in his gem to get a better picture of what to expect. It was a risky move, he'd be vulnerable in the moment that he was casting, but it might help him know how to approach this situation. He looked over at Gratia with a worried smile and the locked his eyes on the monster.

The magic in his gem exploded into full awakening, putting his consciousness in a fugue state as it always did. Once again his body locked up completely, leaving him unable to move a single muscle.

Finally! It had been so long since whatever idiotic personality his physical brain had created had let him out. Had he ability to vocalize, the new entity would have yelled out at the frustration of being once again trapped in a body that wouldn't respond. At this point he almost believed the fool, perhaps he was just a manifestation of the wolf's magic and therefore had no sway; with all memories locked away in a brain he deeply felt didn't work there was no way of telling. Like it or not, at this point he was stuck here and the best he could hope for was a symbiotic relationship with what his mind had become.

Even so, his waking self had called him out for a reason; to investigate the entity before them who so closely matched the memory imprint of a terror composed of bright orange and black. What was he supposed to do though? He couldn't very well cast hindsight on that thing, right? It possessed life. As far as he knew the spell would only function on inanimate objects, which meant if he wanted answers he would have to somehow kill the thing first.

Look here, Xireidi, he chided his mostly comatose other self, That thing may be the monster, but it obviously isn't at its full power yet. Look at how it squirms and slinks away. Hear how it tries to gurgle words to invoke empathy. It's weak and helpless and it knows it. If you want to be some great hero of the caves then now is probably your only chance to kill the thing. If not for the caves do it to save your precious Lunchmeat from whatever terror and torture it will eventually inflict.

Just as the dark creature asked his question Xireidi came back into consciousness, a deep chill running down his spine as he felt like he had just escaped a terrifying situation he couldn't explain. He'd already been on edge around the entity before them, and with this sensation on top of it he couldn't help but visibly shake as he stood there.

"G-good job finding me, little one." he spoke in a likely completely failed attempt to put Gratia at ease. In all honestly she looked to have already been the calmest one in this entire situation.

Now for the main issue at hand. As much as the personification of his magic wanted him to kill this creature he wasn't sure that was even possible, especially not in the state he was in. He couldn't even be sure that would help anything, this might not even be the monster itself but just a messenger of who was to come. No, even if his magic would likely hate him for it he would have to try a different method.

"I'm... I'm Xireidi, a guardian of these caves." not a lie exactly, that what he was training to do anyways. His voice still sounded shaky as anything but slowly as the experience that had been magic became just a memory he was building his confidence back up. "I hadn't met you before and wanted to make sure there was no trouble here."

Perhaps not the best cover-up, but it would have to do.

"The words I speak"
The thoughts I hold
And the self I keep hidden away