ORIGIN

Eythan was home, as he always was, presiding over the old bone pit as he did now. It was funny how it had taken him cycles and cycles and one beatdown to persuade him to gather his wits and return to where he had been raised. Canis hadn't been his birthplace, but it was cozier than most Gembound would say it was. The gentle plant growth all around the room only furthered the warmth of it. Little green patches gave the otherwise lifeless bones something to nurture. Whoever had grown it, the hybrid appreciated it. It was, most certainly, nicer than the barrenness of before. Of course, gazing upon his home wasn't exactly what he was focused on doing right now.

His current center of focus was rummaging carefully and quietly through a pile of bones, lest they tumble and slop into a mess across the floor. Sharp eyes sifted through each bone that passed his claw, checking for fresh bones that had yet to dry and crack in the stale air. Those held delicate prizes inside: sections of marrow that was rather spongy and crumbly when poked at with his beak. There wasn't a specific word to describe the taste --- rather, none that any Gembound was quite aware of. The closest approximation to the idea of butter was a fatty, salty taste that was rather enjoyable. To a cat-bird such as he, it was a delicacy. And, perhaps, it would be to Aure.

It would be good to switch up taste every once in a while, in case the little wyvern decided he preferred the fun of shattering bones on rocks over the patience hunting demanded.

Furrowing his brow and flicking the tip of his tail, the gryphon continued to sift through the bones, now damn near knee-deep in them. To be fair, there weren't many Gembound living in this cave nowadays, but he still had expected to find a few bones worth his time; he didn't want to bother with rat skeletons because they were so ridiculously small and fragile. Not even a full ribcage was enough to bother with. They simply remained at the tops of the piles, shifted over ever-so-slightly so they weren't in the way.

Again, he continued to pick his way through the bones. Patience yielded its rewards. Sometimes.

One false move, and the bones had all gone clattering all over the floor, spilling around his feet and causing him to stumble. Stupid fuckin' rats, bones haunting and annoying him even in death. Were the damn things bound to their bones, too? Apparently, they were. Flapping his wings to keep himself aloft in the little stampede of skeletons, Eythan made sure to keep his eyes on his feet, scanning the bones that passed him. The uproar of them was rather loud and he hoped he didn't just wake up the neighbors. Or, really, anyone. His eyes caught a flash of light in the rolling bones, and he snapped his wings shut at his side and stuck his talons out, hoping to grab the bone before it disappeared deeper into the pile.

His claws met something, making a suspicious clink!ing noise rather than the hollow thunk! of bone he had met. As the bones settled, he peered down at his claws and thought aloud, "what the fuck...?"

The gryphon steadied himself further in the bone pile, adjusting himself so his weight could be supported on three legs and a pile of bones. Eythan then withdrew his left paw from the tangled skeletons, bringing up a translucent gemstone, save for some green smudges within it. It held a glimmering light unseen in other random rocks and stones. Plus, it stood out so starkly against the rest of the bones. It was all by itself, aside from the bone it was embedded into. If he gripped the vertebra(?) too hard, it began to crumble. So, it was old.

Plans for a meal forgotten, he delicately placed the gem --- and its host --- into the tip of his beak and began to trot easily toward Giggle's den. Eythan really hoped that the little one was asleep right now (as he often was) so that he didn't have to explain the nuances of life and death. If it came to it, yes, but usually... no. Usually Aure was asleep, the newness of the world still wearing him out easily. Eythan wished he could sleep as much as that little hatchub did.

Approaching the den, he slowed his pace and set the vertebra down at his own feet. Stopping, Eythan peered into the den, calling softly and quietly. "Giggle?" The one rat carcass had an easy hole in it now, whereas the other one was rather untouched. Oddly enough, there was a perfect ring of glowing mushrooms and a smaller, more haphazard one within. The latter obviously being Aure's. A smile formed on his face at the idea that his little brother was already better at magic than he ever would be. The smile faded as he glanced nervously back toward the crumbling bone and achroite. "Sorry, can you come out for a moment? Just a sec. Only a minute."

Well, whatever crawled out of the den, a gooey black Giggle was not what he expected. Almost immediately, Eythan had tensed up, not quite recognizing the hyena. Hearing the hoarseness of her voice, however, soothed any idea that an eldritch monster hadn't invaded the den and eaten Giggle and Aure alive and was now going to eat him. Thank goodness for that.

Pacing on his front legs, the gryphon scuffled back toward where he had left the vertebra behind, gently setting it between himself and Giggle. "Sorry to wake you up, really, but I found this fuckin'... stone. In the bones? I was just looking for one that still had marrow in it so I could break it and bring some for Aure to try anyways but ---" he paused, taking in a breath, "I knocked over a bunch of bones on accident and I saw this shiny-ass rock? I think it belonged to a Gembound?" Eythan's ears flickered back in his panicky tones, unsure of what to do or say. "What do I do with it? Do I bury it or try to give it life or something?"

Eythan stared carefully at Giggle first, and then the vertebra, as she spoke. So...
it wasn't a no? Nor was it a yes. "I've noticed but a lot of them... don't have life in them. So many are fuckin' empty." He gently scooted the bone to the side with his claw. Three was a lot, especially since his magic was so ridiculously fickle. Regardless, he nodded appreciately and bent down to take the achroite into his beak.

"Yeah... thank you. Thank you so much. Sleep well." He picked up the stone in his beak and turned to leave. Eythan did not want to be like Carni, wishy-washy and reviving gems for the sake of reviving them and keeping them captive in Canis. He'd teach this one (and others, if he found them) how to hunt, how to survive. It would be their choice whether or not they stayed, but they would be family, no matter what.

Eythan turned, moving back toward the nearest pile of bones and beginning to sift his way through the broken old skeletons. Gnarled and twisted bones lay among those charred black. There were fresher ones, which stood out against the masses, and he looked to those first.