ORIGIN

He was swift in his flight to Orion; it was, essentially, a hop, skip, and jump away from Canis. The hybrid had decided, however, to rest atop the winding tower, undisturbed and unseen by any Gembound that he knew of. His wings were tired, as was his injured leg. The latter was healing surprisingly well, despite the nature of the wound. In a day or two's time, he could possibly put weight on it. The wonder of being Gembound, eh? Eythan took this downtime, however, to survey the cave. It was a winding valley full of convenient nooks and crannies. There were a plethora of crumbling, decaying buildings to seek shelter in, should it become a necessity. In the distance, close to the heart of the room, lie what he presumed to be the Throne --- an immense structure that was most certainly far larger than him. It was surrounded on all sides by decaying walls, a fortunate thing in case something did come toward him.

Studying done and plan formulated, Eythan had taken off down Tunnel J, winding easily through the wreckage and war-born pieces of armor and weaponry. This, at least, was somewhat familiar to him. At the end of the corridor was a blasting heat, which the gryphon couldn't help but relish in. Nothing quite soothed the tired muscles like warmth and a delicate breeze. Well, somewhat delicate. As delicate as a raging tornado could be, at least. Regardless, the hybrid spent a few moments flying with his eyes closed, a pleased sigh ringing silently from his beak, lost to the winds.

When his eyes opened once more, he began to scan the sheer cliffs of the cavern's walls, beginning from the bottom and circling up higher and higher and higher until... there! Oh, how had he missed that? Scorch-marks lined the ledge, careening down and dissipating down the cliff's edge. Well, that sure was fun, wasn't it. Eythan grimaced slightly, choosing to touch down some distance away from the outcropping and the dragon's den. A soft hum came from inside, stealing above the din of the zephyr at Monoceros's heart. The stench of blood and bone filled the air, forcing him to frown further.

Flattening himself against a boulder to the best of his abilities, he tentatively called upon his magic. Surprisingly, it responded eagerly, quickly changing his hide from soft skin to solid stone, similar in patterning to the cavern's. Perfect camouflage. Then, he waited, watching carefully and maintaining his magicka so that he could remain hidden perfectly among rocks and dust.

After a long time, he heard beating wings. They were rather fleshy sounding, for lack of a better word, similar to bats that would sometimes scramble from their hiding places atop the Core's roof. Eyes returning from their bored, dazed state, Eythan watched as the enormous dragon emerged from its den, dropping off of the cliff's edge and descending into some deeper recesses of the cavern. Perfect.

His skin stretched and cracked, leaving a musty odor in the air as he seemingly shed his stony hide into nothing but dust and pebbles. Eythan blinked a few times, shallow breaths. That had... worked extraordinarily well.

Rather confident in himself, the hybrid swiftly entered the den, the metallic reek of blood and bones growing perpetually stronger as he came into its heart. There was, of course, a hoard worthy of a classic dragon in tales of old. Baubled gems gave the whole room an unsettling, pulsating light. Mixed into the pile were a multitude of bones with gems still attached. Dread (ironic) settled into his stomach as he prayed for the dragon to not suddenly manifest and ruin his little stealth excursion. Shiny rocks --- some of which he recognized from Orion's ceiling --- were littered around this pile as well. Broken, mangled bits of metal added a bit of allure, eagerly reflecting the baubled stones. But, closer to the top of the pile were crystals that hummed softly, eagerly. They chimed melodically, forming a rather soothing tune.

Most importantly, there was an enormous crystal that he mournfully figured was the one the Collector wanted him to drag to Orion. Frustratedly, he stuck a talon into his left arm guard, drawing out the twist of green fur from the leather. Sprinkling the little hairs to and fro, Eythan grumbled as he contemplated how exactly he'd move this dang rock. His best bet, honestly, was to roll it off the cliff's edge and catch it. The ceiling was far too low here to properly fly and carry the murmuring crystal. Gritting his beak and teeth against one another, he set to work.

The going got tough and Eythan honestly was exhausted by the time he even saw the light again, peering over the top of the heavy-ass crystal --- which had, thank the Caves stopped singing once it was removed from the others's presence --- into the ceiling of Monoceros. The hybrid sagged against the rock, resting and steeling himself to carry this thing at least to Tunnel J. As long as he made it out of here, he was all set to do whatever he wished until he arrived in Orion.

Gritting his beak, he flattened his ears and gave the thing one last shove, sending it careening toward the earth. Immediately, he dove after it, wings tucked but fully ready to snap out as needed.

His talons extended out, shiny and glinting in the light. As soon as he heard the tell-tale clink! and hum of the singing crystal, Eythan propelled himself downward and gripped the rock. His talons hooked eagerly into nooks and crannies, making new ones where there weren't. Feathers spanning out to their full glory, the gryphon managed to steady himself and slow his fall to a rather gentle glide toward his goal. Thank goodness the crystal was apparently not too dense, not heavier than him. Thanks, dad, for the perfect gliding wings. Their span was great, apparently, for carrying things nearly as heavy as himself.

Watching frantically for the dragon and maneuvering the wicked and wild winds, glided toward the tunnel entrance. As soon as the stony, guardian beast arrived, Eythan quietly celebrated and put on a little burst of speed.