ORIGIN

The cat hadn't spoken much on the way from Canis towards the core of the cave. He'd never been much of a conversational type save for with a select few, and even then, it had been when his soul was still nubile and curious, and eager to love. He dwelt on his thoughts, rolling over the feeling of how strange it was to speak with other Gembounds, and empty it was now, and how everything had changed. He was most comfortable there, at times even forgetting that the pup was with him; his paws moved autonomously, body on autopilot while his mind ventured elsewhere.

Gradually he felt a charge begin to grow in the air. It was like a dull, magic static that gnawed on his skin and fed energy to his veins. As they reached the end of the tunnel, the cave mouth opened up into an expansive room littered with cliffs and crystals, where a glistening river cut from one side to another. Ahead of them sat the spire, a finger of vivid blue crystal that emanated power and magical magnetism. Bartos flicked his tail, setting his sights on the gleaming tower. If he expected to find any Gembounds that could potentially help the pup, it would be there. He hoped.

"This way. That's the Spire." He instructed, gesturing with his nose towards the fluorescent cyan crystal.

Bartos twisted an ear to the side as the pup expressed his discomfort with the place. His brow furrowed slightly, finding it odd - but then again, the crystal in Polaris did give off waves of energy that affected Gembounds in different ways. Some it rejuvenated, and others it drained; it often left the stone in his chest tingling with static energy, and his bones feeling fresh, but it also had a tendency to dizzy him if he spent too long in the core. It brought the golems for life, that was for sure. Reminded of them, Bartos flicked his tail and cast his gaze outward, searching for signs of the stones.

The child again implored him to hurry. But Bartos couldn't see anyone, much as he'd hoped to find other Gembounds to drop the pup off with. Somebody who was better equipped to help him and his twisted paw. "I don't even know if anybody is here." Bartos murmured, disheartened. It was too bad that he was so awful at naming, otherwise he'd just give the wolf pup a name himself.

The closer they got to the Spire, the more powerful its pull was. Bartos quickened slightly, eager to reach the towering blue crystal. Someone else had to be there. Out of habit, he sought the similar pull of other gemstones and easily picked through the buzz of magic in the air. But anything he felt was distant, or belonging to the bodiless gemstones scattered on the ground near the golem dam. Bartos finally came to a halt a little ways away from the very foot of the Spire, turning to look back at the pup. "Perhaps I was wrong... There may not be anyone here at the moment." He sighed, facing him now and reclining to his haunches, curling his long, fluffy tail over his paws. "Doesn't your name exist somewhere in the back of your mind? It must," Bartos speculated, looking him over.

...this place?

The darkness that had enveloped the cave recently had elated her. She had left Bartos for some time to explore the richness of free travel that had opened up. But as she had been following him now, her normal spark for curiosity was driving further toward frustration.

Why were they coming to the rock that crackled? It bit at darkness. Even now, as shadows threatened to swallow it whole, the Spire was a strong pillar of light against blindness. No, shadows didn't threaten the Spire. The Spire threatened shadows.

She held back, listening as Bartos uncertainly stated that nobody else was here. He was with a young canine, and the feline was sat just at the base of the Spire. She rose into a physical form some ways behind them, a wraith cloaked in the darkness that drenched the cave, a shadow behind the black wolf.

The wolf mentioned this place gave him the creeps. That it was too perfect. Unnatural.

"This place is death."

Her voice was distant though she was only a few paces behind him.

"It isn't perfection." She would have been hard to spot within the shadows. She didn't open any eyes for them. "It should make you feel uncomfortable. I wish Bartos would not sit so close to it."

For the Gembounds, it was a wonder. For Senka, she avoided it if she could. She wouldn't even open any eyes. It was both to avoid looking at it and because of her own superstition: if she couldn't see it, it couldn't see her.

"What is this adventure, though, hm? You don't have a name, young wolf?"

A grating, ethereal voice lifted from the shadows.

Bartos turned immediately to the source, but he had to scour the darkness for the deep shadow that betrayed the true body of the creature that followed them. She was everywhere, always, but even her omniscience never seemed to wander far from him. The cat lowered into a crouch and listened as her supercilious words condemned the glowing blue spire for its vivid light and strong magical presence, vocalizing her desire for Bartos not to be so close to it. But he lingered still, as if in quiet defiance. Senka was important to him. But he knew he was equally as important to her, and he was done being tugged back and forth by creatures vying for power. He would remind her that they were on equal ground now.

Astaroth explained that he still didn't have a name. Bartos said nothing to accompany the explanation. He simply wasn't that great at naming anything, but maybe Senka could dig something up out of her memories, something from a past life, or something that she'd seen. She always was frightfully efficient when one had nowhere else to turn.

Listening to the explanation, a hoo-hoo sort of chuckle escaped her as the wolf said Bartos was no good at naming things. Why bring him to the Spire though? What sort of creatures did they expect to find here? Bubbly fruiters that liked things such as the Spire? Senka threw her nose upward. "Well, you're lucky Bartos found you in the first place then." Her voice was sharp. "I can tell when he's up to something, lucky him." She threw him a grin that cracked wide across her face, though their bond was shared both ways.

"If you like darkness, as someone who lives primarily in darkness, I suppose I can come up with something quite fitting. Hmm, lets see, if you'll excuse me," she said, her voice trailing off as shadowy tendrils reached from the darkness around the wolf to snake upward over his body. They wrapped around him, hugging him tightly though had no actual physical grip he could feel. Most were on the core of his body, legs, and one around the width of his head; and as they tightened, loosened, and moved around, Senka nodded and hummed. Finally, they all retreated except for the one on his head, which wriggled around to lay along the length of his muzzle and drape over the back of his head before vanishing.

"I see," she said.

Really, it was all for show. She couldn't see the future. She wanted to look cool. But she could feel the inner core of something, even if it hadn't awakened. She could especially feel chaos.

"Astaroth," Senka announced finally. "It is a demon's name." Again, her grin cracked open from ear to ear, teeth jagged, crooked, and yellowed. "You hunger," she curled her tail. "May fate find you."

As quickly as she had come, Senka plunged down into the shadows, kicking up a cloud of dark miasma where her figure had been. It dissipated, but the creature was gone.

— exit senka —