ORIGIN - Epidemic: Heat

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Crack smiled with triumph. It heard the stirrings of the other three as the words penetrated into the Inner World. They could still hear, but it was easier to ignore deep in their mind. However, this conversation was too interesting and serious for them to ignore. Crack knew that they would be listening in and it's suspicions were confirmed when they surged to the surface.

Crack, what are you doing?!You're going to get a disease? On purpose?! What kind of idiot are you! I don't wanna be sick!

Crack growled deeply at them, but not willing to say anything back in front of the horse. It knew that others thought them insane, that having so many consciousness in one body wasn't normal. So it would just ignore them and continue onward. It was its day, after all, it could not take its power away. It was the strongest of them all.

Sure enough, they began to knock themselves against its consciousness, trying to pull it back down. It was a desperate last effort to stop it, but Crack did not care. It stepped forward and raised itself up.

It reached into its store of magic and thrust it forward. As it passed through its consciousness, it changed and shifted until the deep spread of disease spread through its body. It did not synthesize anything, however, but opened up something like a locket within, ready to receive the horse's plague. "Please, pass the plague to me. I will carry it safe within my gem and spread it. Chaos will follow in my wake."

CRACK STOP!! Crack smiled. "It's too late," it whispered before shoving her into the Inner World, into its own area of darkness and turmoil. Let her be miserable there.

"Caliante." "Salvation." "Rusty." "Crack."

@Khloros @Artume

The fawn leaned up to accept Khloros' greeting, instinctively recognizing it for what it was. She inhaled, accepting the magicka without realizing, before blowing back at him kindly, returning the greeting. She was surprised to realize that, for once, she felt strong, as though he had poured liquid strength into her.

However, she had to think on the plague-horse's words, trying to figure them out. None left to perpetuate it? But, weren't Gemlings formed on there own? There were some who did, indeed, have parents, but they tended to be hybrids, she'd come to learn. Non-hybrids, like her, she thought, didn't have parents. But, she supposed, she was still young, and didn't know everything.

The filly turned to face the bat as it called out, before standing on knobby-kneed legs, stretching her head out to sniff at it from afar. It was a funny looking thing, with fuzzy fur and odd looking wings that she could somewhat see through. It offered to carry his plague, and she tilted her head, watching the conversation carry out. The bat seemed to be... talking to itself?, smirking in a chilling way.

Finally making a decision, Artume looked at Khloros. "I do not agree with you, Khloros, but I will not stop you. Just promise me you'll stay safe? Other Gembounds may not agree with me."

@Khloros
@Umbra

Khloros had turned to the bat, stepping forward to offer up his plague. It did not really occur to him, bar the faintest sense of passing doubt, that the bat might be taking it in order to create a cure. Instead, he took the winged black creature at its word, stepping forward.

At Artume's words, however, he shifted his gaze back to her, watching.

Thinking.

A kind thing. Kind-hearted; perhaps too much for her own good. By her standards, I am doing harm--and yet she hopes that I remain safe. Which would only harm others. For a moment he thought of speaking this aloud: of offering her the wisdom of facing this moral conflict, and understanding it.

But... he chose not to, after a moment. She was young.

Let her remain innocent, for what time she had left. "Thank you," was all that he said, softly.

He then turned his attention back to the black bat. He leaned forward, focusing his magicka, exhaling his plague in a damp cloud of swarming sickness.

There.

It was potent. The plague surged and roiled within, and Khloros lifted his head once more to regard the bat with his detached, almost placid glowing gaze.

"Take it. Pass it on. Do not harm the newly-hatched--it is cruel, and they would not live long enough to carry it far." Other than that, he cared little what the bat did with it: it had to be spread, and if it was Crack's task, too, to do it, then he would share it, and then move on.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

@Umbra

Crack stepped forward eagerly as the disease passed through the air. It took a deep breath and felt its magic open up and accept the plague. It feel into its stomach where it squirmed for a moment before going dormant within the gem. There was a flash of green through the star on the gem, just for a moment, before it went back to normal.

Crack regarded Khloros for a moment and sent its senses down to the disease now within its body. After a moment of inspection, its eyes raked along the horse's putrid coat. "Disease, now mine to spread. No, I shall do what I like with it." Don't harm the newly hatched? Crack did not care about that. Khloros wanted everyone dead so why let the newborns live?

In a sudden flash of movement, the little bat whipped around and lunged towards Artume, baring its sharp little fangs. The stone on its stomach flashed green again as magic flooded into his mouth. The plague mixed with its saliva as it aimed to inject it into the black stag's shoulder.

"Caliante." "Salvation." "Rusty." "Crack."

@Artume

ARTUME

Artume looked up at Khloros, glad he didn't find fault in her not agreeing with him. She wished he would not harm others, but gathered that he would not stop, and so she could do little more than wish him well.

She watched as Khloros stepped forward, lowering his head to the little black creature. He exhaled, much like he had done to her, only something about this felt... different. There wasn't any visible difference, that she could see, at least, but something felt odd. The horse told the bat not to harm the young, but...

The bat disagreed, saying he would do as he wished. And then, before she could react, it was lunging forward, singing its teeth into her shoulder. She squealed in shock and pain, and reared up, attempting to shake him off.

"I'm speaking..."
'I'm thinking...'

@Khloros

That bat's words brought--surprise. Its actions, black rage. With sudden, violent ferocity, the horse lunged forward, aiming to snatch Umbra by the wing, between his teeth, and hurl it bodily against the ground, and hold it there.

Khloros would kill him--or purge him by force, perhaps break his wing and leave him to hobble about the caves in agony. How DARE it. His fury came not at the bat's "disobedience" or defiance or any such nonsense: it was that it was harming a hatchling, and a hatchling, no less, that was clearly under Khloros' protection!

Khloros stumbled as his teeth snapped shut on thin air, and with a shrill and furious whinny, he reared up and kicked out impotently at nothing.

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

@Umbra

Crack smiled at the stag's cry and the feeling of its teeth pushing into its skin, the blood welling and the disease mixing into the black creature's blood. A good test, to make sure it worked. It did, it worked well. Crack wasn't stupid enough to think that Khloros would just let it go after attacking a hatchling right in front of it. He also didn't think that he would allow them to remain plagued. Why had Crack done it, then? Perhaps there was no reason. Or perhaps it simply liked the chaos.

It didn't hang around. As soon as the plague was set, it released the stag and immediately flapped its wings to bring it into the air, where it turned and gave Khloros a sharp-toothed grin. "I'm spreading the plague! No one will be safe from me!"

It then turned and fluttered away, cackling loudly until its voice disappeared among the howling wind.

*exit

"Caliante." "Salvation." "Rusty." "Crack."

@Artume

Artume squealed loudly, rearing up on her hind legs in an attempt at dislodging the bat. She flailed her forelegs, trying to loosen its grip, although she was careful not to hit it. Even when being attacked, she would not harm another.

In a movement far faster than she would have expected Khloros to be capable of, the Plague horse lunged forward, teeth clicking shut short of the bat's wings. The horse whinnied, rearing up and seeming to mimic her, kicking his forelegs.

To Artume's relief, the bat suddenly released her, fluttering away and calling over its shoulder before fleeing. The black stag dropped down onto all four of her hooves and stood, trembling, staring after it with wide eyes. "W-why? Why did it...?" she stuttered, not able to understand why someone would do such a thing.

@Khloros

Khloros was furious, but he began to calm quickly with the departure of the bat. Two thoughts ran through his mind, one after the other: first, that perhaps the bat was a better plaguebearer than he, for did Death spare the young? No; the cycles must end. But on the other hand, he was angry. He wanted revenge. In a petty, enraged way, he would not let the bat get away with this.

"Some are simply mad," he explained gently, turning to check over Artume. "That one will spread death not to end pain, but to gain pleasure from it. Are you all right?"

He didn't waste time, but summoned up his magicka immediately, focusing it on the bacteria infesting the fawn. There was a flickering plague he could sense even from here--his own magic, his own illness, and so something easily cleansed by his hand. He concentrated, and felt it falling away from Artume.

Two quiet steps back, hooves clicking on the ground; he raised his head back up, again, glancing around for the bat. But it was nowhere to be seen.

"You will not grow ill--not this time, not from my illness," he reassured Artume. "I have made sure of this."

Now-... How to enact revenge?

________________

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD

@Artume

The stag looked after where the bat had disappeared, eyes wide. She couldn't understand, it didn't make sense to her how someone could do such a thing. She was all about helping, and making Gembounds feel better. Not attacking and hurting them. Sure, the bat may be doing the same as Khloros, but how he went about it made all the difference. Khloros was kind enough, and didn't directly hurt others. The bat, however, was cruel and rude, and didn't care that it'd caused her pain.

Hearing the plaguebringer's voice, Artume turned to look at him. He explained that some Gembounds were simply insane, doing things without reason. And she worried, not wanting to let the bat get away with this. "I'm alright, its teeth were not very large. But we need to stop it before it can get very far."

The fawn tilted her head, feeling Magic brush across her. She didn't know it, as she hadn't been able to sense the illness before, but Khloros was squishing the illness taking root in her. Her own Magic reacted, but not in a good way, and she flinched as roots grew from her hooves into the ground, having to side step to break them. She offered Khloros a grateful smile, saying "Thank you," for healing her.

She looked back after where the bat had gone, and said, "We need to stop it, what should we do?"

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