ORIGIN

T H O R N

Quietly placing one foot in front of the other, a lone gembound named Thorn roamed the dryer parts of Cetus. He was trying his hardest not to step into the boggy marshes, so he was forced to weave through thick clusters of vegetation with plants that attempted to claw at his fur with long, spindly branches. Sometimes, they looked like monsters and he'd get nervous and flatten his ears as he passed them.

Not only was he surrounded by a forest of tall, dark trees, a cloaking white fog near ground level made it difficult to see. If someone was able to look closely however they could tell that the little blundering gembound walking around was a young leopard cub. Although his fluffy paws were coated in a thick layer of muck, the rest of his pelt was a nice, clean golden color with hundreds of obsidian spots.

Thorn came across a large tree trunk lying half-submerged into the wetland’s soils. It was a big thing, good for climbing. Being a cat, Thorn couldn’t resist leaping on top of it, claws scratching against stony bark, and as he settled down on top of it he began to explore his new perch. Smiling, he felt like this strange place wasn't so bad after all.

Very rarely did Ghanyarah leave the safety of Cetus; despite all that had happened, it had proven to be the safest room yet. It was easy for him to escape the commotion of the other Gembounds by scampering into the foliage or up a tree. He could avoid the golems by climbing - that was something they couldn't do. Few of the other Gembounds could climb, too. It was where he felt safest. Except recently, Ghanyarah could not be at ease. After having removed the fungi that the monkey had cursed him with, Ghanyarah believed he was safe from their mycelial hold. Only it seemed they had just been biding their time - and after several days of quiet, they had begun to sprout again, breaking through his finally healed wound and cracking the skin apart. Small stalks of white mushrooms would begin to blossom on his cheek, and pain would once again flourish through his skull.

He had to find a way to stop it. Scraping the mushrooms off of his face only helped so much. Their stalks would break and they would crumble away, only to emerge new hours later. It imparted a powerful headache upon the little dragon, who since the emergence of the mushrooms again could only shy away from the touch of others. Maybe if he found the monkey again he could get it to remove this curse. No, there was no way he was going to interact with that wretched imp again - he had to find another way.

Progress was slow, and Ghanyarah had yet to even leave this room. The air was humid and wet, helping his wounds to feel a little better, but would surely exaggerate the growth of the fungi if he stayed here for too long. The dragon had been moving through the undergrowth, searching, trying to think - when footfalls had distracted him. Ghanyarah froze, listening. Then, the creature ascended to a nearby partially submerged stump, just within view of the reptile. Startled, he scurried into the nearby foliage to wait out the beast's presence, gritting his teeth as the pain of the fungi resounded through his skull still.

T H O R N

As the cub quite cheerfully prowled the length of the log and after digging in with his tiny white claws in order to feel more confident in his balancing, he was suddenly startled by noises in the nearby undergrowth. Hairs along the end of his spine and tail went rigid, spiking as he stood frozen to the spot. Frowning, Thorn hunched down so that his belly pressed up against the moist bark. Crunch, crunch, crunch came the sounds, but then they dissipated as quickly as they had arrived.

There were no noises now aside from the subtle noises coming from the swampy environment, but he knew he heard something before. Was there another monster? If there was he didn’t want to investigate it - it could be scary! But then again, all the other monsters had just been spooky-looking plants and other such things…surely there was nothing there?

Suspense from not knowing whether there was somebody there or not became evident with the leopard's racing heart. It seemed like several minutes passed without anything major happening, so cautiously he started walking to the very edge of his tree and attempted to peer out into the vegetation.

Unfortunately, the woods were so dense he couldn't see a thing!

Eyes squeezed closed, Ghanyarah tried to fight the thrumming in his face from the mushrooms. They seemed to crawl even faster from this wound, curling greedily outward. The dragon hesitated, but the sound of the feline approaching had grabbed his attention, prompting him to move again. He raised his head and pointed it in the direction of the feline. The reptile paused, frozen. He could hear the predator slowly walking along the submerged tree, only to linger a couple feet away. Slowly, Ghanyarah turned to peer through the leaves. There he would see the creature, only the creature was hardly as big as he sounded. Compared to Ghanyarah, the leopard was huge; but Ghanyarah was only a foot or so in length, and this beast was but a babe.

The dragon hesitated. He could very easily and very quickly become food for this creature. Instinctively he felt his magic blossom within him, energy all gathering in the pit of his stomach. If there was anything he could do, maybe it was summon magic just like the monkey did and try to scare the creature away.

Post Roll Edit:
What magic he did summon was effective. The spaces, however tiny they were, tightened even further. He could feel the changes in his body, absorbing as much moisture from his last meal as he possibly could. Only this magic wasn't going to help defend him again the beast. Still undecided - and frankly fearful for his life, combined with the blossoming fungi infecting his cheek - Ghanyarah remained frozen and stared at the leopard through the leaves.

T H O R N

Nothing was happening and only quietness hung in the air. Thorn was still peering into the growth, but he couldn’t make out anything besides not even knowing who or what he was searching for. Looking a little perturbed, the leopard looked all around him as if something would come for him at any minute. He did not notice the spell being used, so any stirring of magic went unnoticed.

The only senses he could rely now were his sight, hearing and smell, all which he was inexperienced with, plus the damp and humid environment didn’t help, making it near impossible to pinpoint the monster’s existence. Soon a new thought crossed his naïve mind. Perhaps the reason why he couldn’t find the monster was because it was as afraid of him as he was afraid of it? As Thorn began to ponder this idea, it became true in his head. Maybe if he talked to the monster, it wouldn’t be scared anymore?

Thorn mewed out anxiously. “H-Hello?“ Listening for a reply, he carefully placed his big fluffy paws at the end of the tree, butt in the air, and he tried to reach the ground with the front two. He scratched the tree as he went, scared to let go of that safety. With as much bravery as he could muster, he awkwardly managed to descend by half-climbing, half-jumping from the perch.

Thorn felt vulnerable now that he was gone from the security of the high-ground, but he was determined to follow through with his plan. “Are you scared?” He asked, a little more confident this time but with concern lacing his words. “I won’t hurt you.”

His attempt at defending himself with magic had faltered, leaving Ghanyarah vulnerable, naked even, in the face of this hunter. The lizard watched and waited - waited for what felt like his demise, combined with the pain on his face from the emerging fungi. It drove a nauseating headache into his skull. The leopard called out - he was obviously aware of Ghanyarah's presence. He waited ever longer, even as the feline leaped from the tree and began to approach him. He spoke again, and his words sounded worried. He was looking for him, trying to convince him to come out, trying to trick him. He narrowed his eyes and hissed at the feline, taking a step away.

Was this truly his destiny? To be fearful forever? To be disdainful of all creatures he encountered? Ghanyarah knew it was not an admirable life. He had seen acts of tenderness. He'd heard of friendship and seen other Gembounds talk to each other, smile and laugh at each other. From afar, from his hiding spot in the trees of Cetus. But he'd also experienced the punishment of another Gembound, and seen the danger they could leave in their wake. He wanted that friendship, but fear of the monkey's cursing wrath - what caused the fungi to sprout from his cheek - left him frozen and unwilling to go on.

It was beginning to make his face throb. The pain was mounting, cracking through split and scabbed scales, tall stalks of white mushrooms continued to push through. He didn't know what to do. The hunter lurked there just beyond the foliage. The fungi caused him immense pain, numbing him, blinding him. If a lizard could cry, Ghanyarah would be on the verge of tears. It was all very quickly becoming too much for him. "Sc-scared." He croaked, legs trembling. It was all he thought to do; as much as his instincts protested, he spoke, in the hope that maybe this one's words were true.