ORIGIN - Gluttony vs Wrath

Equinox's spirits had been lifted since the ever-impending silence that had consumed the caves had finally begun to crack. The creature had met someone she knew from long ago, and the interaction had gone well, much better than the being would have thought. She'd decided to stick around here for now. After all, this place was so full of life that she might as well fill her belly. Not only that, but part of her wanted to stay and watch over her little friend. They got along fine, that was true, but they were so small now.

At twelve feet long, Equinox had more than quadrupled in length and along with that, now possessed four thin legs and a series of curious pustules along her sides and the backs of her forelegs.

Equinox was using said legs right now; her claws hooked into the bark of a tree, the draconian creature was reaching into the branches with her long, swan-like neck stretched as far as it would go. A puddle of pitch-black ooze had gathered beneath her and showed the paths she'd tread throughout the woods. They also coated the trunks of every tree she'd eaten from. She was looking for the sweet fruits that were ripe throughout Eridanus, which had quickly become her favourites. Whenever she found one, she'd swallow it whole with a gelatinous ripple of her neck. On tiptoes, she reached higher and higher looking for the fruits, however found her beak groping at one just out of her reach.

With every snap she could see it- it was right there! So close!

She scraped it briefly and a sticky, drooling tongue slid out and licked it, to no avail.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Imperia
notes: here

Imperia They'll call our crimes a work of art

Imperia had left Aaliyah alone, let her do whatever she needed to do. They didn't know what she needed to do. She had killed someone, just as they had told her to do. Was she not proud? Did she not enjoy the feeling of knowing someone had died because of you? Their eyes narrowed. What if she decided to go against her? They weren't sure they could handle that. They had grown used to having Aaliyah around. By this point, they've been with her longer than they've been without her. Would they be able to manage without her? With a quick shake of their head, they decided there was no way they'd let Aaliyah leave them.

Looking up, they realized they had walked all the way to Eridanus. A small smile appeared on their face. It had been so long since the last time they had been here. 8 cycles, in fact. This was the place where they had decided they wanted to destroy. They walked along, imagining the feeling they had gotten from burning the leaves here. So much had changed then. Maybe it would be better if Aaliyah did separate from them. Then, they could go back to doing whatever they wanted! With a sigh, they continued walking.

After some time, they came across a trail of black ooze. Frowning, they began to follow it, unsure if they were even going the right way. After some time, the trail led to a large black...creature. Whatever it was, the caracal had no idea. They watched it try to grasp some fruit, only to fail. They had a look of clear disgust on their face. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't exactly a pretty sight. They sat down and stared up at them, unsure of what to do. After a moment of debate inside their head, they decided to speak. "Hey! You there. Ugly slime creature. Just what do you think you're doing? You're spreading this...this stuff around! What the fuck even is it?"

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

@Equinox

Nox was really engrossed in this fruit. it was so close! she could even see that she'd left her slime on it now! Pitch-black goop coated its surface and it bobbed as her tongue touched it. Just a little more...and then all of a sudden, a voice jolted her back to her senses. A harsh, unfamiliar voice. Equinox's head slowly turned towards them, her jaws opening up so that she could look down upon them.

True, she knew that she was grotesque, but to have someone saying it to her face was absolutely not a good sign. Surely it was only common sense to be polite to something you feared. That is, if they were afraid. she couldn't tell by their voice, something that made her skin begin to crawl. Her flesh quivered with goosebumps, a ripple beginning at the top of her head and spreading all the way down to the tip of her tail.

"I cannot help thisss," she hissed, in her feminine yet heavily accented rumble. The creature removed her claws from the branch of the tree so that she could sink back on all fours, a ripple spreading throughout her like she was made of jelly on impact. she opened her jaws and stared at the offending creature questioningly. "I'm jussst doing what I need to do. To live. what are you doing here."

She stretched out her neck towards them so that they could be eye to eye.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Imperia
notes: here

Imperia They'll call our crimes a work of art

Imperia stared at the creature as it spoke. The look of disgust on their face only increased as the creature dropped onto all fours and seemed to ripple on impact. They flicked an ear at the creature's question. "Exploring, I suppose you could say. And wondering what the hell this black stuff is. It's gross, and it's everywhere! I understand you doing what...you need to survive, but need you spread this stuff around?"

They stared at it for a while, eyes narrowed. "And don't think I'm afraid of you. Because I'm not. I've fought many others, and won." They didn't mention the fact that they had lost some, too. "I've killed. I've made my...daughter kill." The word was hard to say, as it always was. They never saw Aaliyah as their daughter. She was just something they had to train. Perhaps not the best thing to think of her as, but what did it matter? As long as she was fully trained and could fight and kill, it didn't matter what they thought of her. Whether she seemed like a daughter or not, she was still someone they had trained. She was their partner in crime, not a daughter. And that's all she would be.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

@Equinox

This stranger struck a nerve- guilt sending a shudder throughout the draconian's flesh and causing her head to dart back on its long neck, shocked by the rudeness of this odd stranger. Fear was birthed in Equinox's trembling chest, and she didn't know quite how to respond. "...I can't control thissss," Equinox told them helplessly, but was unable to stop the guilt slowly beginning to fester and grow in her breast. "There'sss nothing I can do..." Equinox nervously shifted her paws, backing away from the odd stranger by a few steps, until one of her wings caught on a tree and prevented her from going back any further.

They were threatening her now- Equinox was sure they were. They spoke of how they'd killed before, and the dragon didn't know why that was relevant- all she was doing was minding her own business, eating fruit, and... leaking...

"I'm... I don't want to caussse you any trouble. Pleassse." Equinox was almost begging at this point. she didn't want to hurt anyone. and she didn't want to be killed. But perhaps that would be better for the caves.... no! Equinox shook her head, violently shaking slime in all directions. "You don't need to hurt anyone, No-one needs to hurt anyone. e-especially not over thisss... messss..." That was all it was. A mess.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Imperia
notes: sorry it took so long D: