ORIGIN - oh, father, tell me

The big glowing blue rock had been in Red’s sights for a while now, but she had never made her way to it until today. Now she could see that it was actually a multitude of blue rocks, but they accumulated together and made a big pile, one that was over thirty-two feet tall (not that Red knew the exact measurement)! The coywolf sat down in front of this big monument of rocks, wondering at it. Who or what had created it? How had it ended up here? Red was still young, but she at least knew that rocks didn’t grow like plants did… or did they? Her green eyes took in the many glowing jagged stones, flitting from here to there, at one point craning her neck to look at the tippy-top.

The other thing was that the closer she had come to this spot, the more energy seemed to buzz around in the air, and it now seemed to enter her body. It was almost too much for her to bear, this… thickness in the air. She could almost smell it or taste it. She imagined it might taste tangy if it did have a flavor… But what was it? Why was it here? What was this energy surrounding her?

Note: I am going to request a GM to respond to this thread with... something?? IDK. I just want to see if the Spire will reveal anything interesting if I ask. Anyways, feel free to jump in whether or not the GMs have replied!

VAESSA
the road goes ever on and on

Vaessa was awestruck by all that she could see in Polaris. She didn't yet dare venture further (not that Kielo would let her, anyway) but there was enough to explore in Polaris itself to keep her entertained for now.
What had quickly grabbed her attention was the huge pile of stones on the other end of the hall from where she'd emerged from her Chrysalis; the shards of which were starting to loose its magical glow quite fast.

Kielo was nowhere to be seen for now but Vaessa spotted someone else near the Spire, so for the first time, she gave in to the draw of its power (which she'd been a little too nervous to approach before) and walked closer.
"Hallo!" She called out to the other Gembound, bouncing towards them on her clumsy, stubbly legs. The draw of the Spire became stronger and stronger the closer she got, until the pup felt like she was inhaling and exhaling magick. The Shiba Inu sat down next to the canine and looked up at them with her charcoal eyes. "Magick stones?" She asked, as if the other might provide her with an answer to a very vaguely worded question.

Red had mostly subconsciously noticed the approach of the other Gembound. She twitched a little in surprise at the greeting, but wasn’t exactly frightened by it. On the contrary, the thought of meeting someone new excited her. She turned to look at whoever had said hello and saw… a creature who looked vaguely like her. Only they were smaller and chubbier.

“Hey,” Red replied. “What’s up?” The coywolf wasn’t exactly sure where she’d gotten this term, but it seemed to suit her. She tilted her head to one side at the pup’s question. “Magic stones,” she repeated, and then looked up at the Spire. “Oh, these? Yeah… yeah, I guess they’re Magic. Otherwise they probably wouldn’t be glowing. Do you…?” She turned and looked at the pup again, and then decided not to ask her question. She been about to say, ’Do you know anything about it?’ but this pup looked even younger than her and probably didn’t know much of anything.

Feeling suddenly a little protective, like an older sister or something, Red flashed a grin at the pup and asked, “What’s your name?”

@Vaessa

VAESSA
the road goes ever on and on

Vaessa didn't know what 'What's up?' was supposed to mean but the other Gembound seemed sail right over it anyway, so she just focused on what else they said.
Though the stranger didn't know much about the Spire either, it seemed, it was nice to get to know someone else. Not that she didn't appreciate Kielo's company (she really liked them, they were like a cool sibling) but it was nice to meet more Gembounds. And it was interesting to see how different from her and Kielo this Gembound was, too.

"My name is Vaessa." She said confidently and delivered it with a bright smile, showing the other creature her pearly baby teeth. "What is your name?" The pup glanced from the stranger to the Spire, as if waiting for it to do something. It's energy was still just intangible and somehow, it had Vaessa on edge.
"Are the stones good magick or bad magick?" She asked, though more to herself than to the other Gembound there. "It doesn't feel nice." Vaessa added, a slight frown coming over her usually cheery face. The pressure began to make her uneasy but her curiosity didn't allow her to leave the Spire's grasp or too look away for too long.

“I’m Red,” the coywolf said when Vaessa asked for her name. “Cos, you know, my fur…” She gestured with her muzzle downwards to her body, showing off the flaming red fur.

At Vaessa’s next question, she turned her head back to look at the Spire again, studying the blue crystals with a much different eye now that the pup had asked if they were good or bad. “I dunno,” she admitted, suddenly feeling a little uneasy. “Yeah, I can feel it too. I dunno what it feels like, exactly, but I guess it doesn’t feel nice…” Maybe they should get away from the Spire…

Red stood up and took a couple steps back, just for good measure, but didn’t let her emotions totally overwhelm her. How would she find out anything substantial about this mass of blue crystals if she ran away?

@Vaessa -- Sorry for this crappy post. I just wanted to get something down.

VAESSA
the road goes ever on and on

"Red." Vaessa mumbled to herself. Any easy enough name!
She looked at the Gembound's fur and indeed, the name was fitting. Vaessa wondered (briefly, before the complexity lurking behind the thought) about names and their origin. "A cool name!" The pup cheered, flashing a smile. "I like your fur, too."

When Red took a few steps away from the Spire, Vaessa immediately copied her. She didn't feel good in the Spire's direct presence and if the other Gembound (whether instinctually or consciously) thought it a good idea to put a little distance between them, Vaessa thought it to be a good idea to heed the advice.
"Do you know why it's here?" The Shiba Inu inquired, her gaze flitting from the Spire to Red and back again. The magick-infused stones loomed over her. It didn't feel like they were evil or anything but their sheer power suggested all kinds of possibilities.
"It's probably really old, right?" Vaessa looked away from the Spire and over her shoulder, at the remains of her Chrysalis. She'd been born under the Spire's strength and yet she feared it all the same.
Wait.
She could dream about things that happened in the past - or at least she had, once, when she'd met Kielo. Maybe she could do that again! Vaessa liked that idea but once she realized that she had no idea how to trigger a dream like that, she deflated, pouting at the Spire.

@Red

The Spire was certainly something, some rocks floating freely but bouncing closely to the large body, energy sparking erratically across the entire collection of crystals. Being too close to the Spire invokes a feeling of sickness—headache, nausea, weakness, shortness of breath, etc.—the raw energy too much to bear after a time. It will worsen the longer the gem is in proximity. Direct contact brings this on instantaneously and of worse consequence. The younger the body, the worse it will be, as the body and gem are new to each other yet; the magic is not as strongly bonded.

Slowly, Red was beginning to notice a change for the worse in her body. She was feeling nauseous and headache-y and weak. Was the Spire really bad? Like… was it something to be avoided? The young coywolf wanted to stick it out and stay but the longer she stood in close proximity to the blue crystals, the worse she felt.

“No, I don’t… I don’t know why it’s here,” she murmured, now barely aware of the Shiba Inu next to her. She felt like she was about to pass out or throw up. With a sudden strength of will, she turned fully away from the Spire and said, “Hey, let’s get out of here. I don’t think we should be here anymore.” Then she trotted away, but looked over her shoulder to make sure the other canine was following. She’d never felt so sick in her life — not that she’d had much opportunity…

@Vaessa -- sorry for the wait! I've been taking a break from RPing during the spring break and also doing a bunch of homework.