ORIGIN

Pride listened, still tensely uncomfortable. His ears flicked as the message went straight into his mind; for a moment he wasn't sure who was speaking, and then he shook himself as he realized.

"All wise words, though I don't wish to keep it within indefinitely. I want it out--the idea of harboring a worm is-... gruesome to me. But I do not want to kill it. Yet, I've no idea what I can possibly do to keep it living, externally. It cannot speak. At least the idea of having a potential emergency method is there, though, so the urgency is past--at least, the worst of it." Pride shifted in place, uneasily. The stag was clearly at a rather unpleasant impasse with his passenger and, moreso, his own morality, and there was a faint sense of desperation now to his words.

After a pause he tried to send his mind back to the child within, again, to contact him and question his well-being. He found it difficult, perhaps due to his exhaustion, and his stress; the message, like Amras's, was tenuous at best.

"I will try to speak with it, briefly--find out what it eats, at least," Pride told Amras, with a rather tense wince.

Are you all right, still, in there? If so, I would like to eventually find a way where you can be self-sufficient. But I have never seen another like you. Do you know what it is that you eat..? That thought, alone, was... unpleasant; but he tried to shield that discomfort from Squick. It wasn't the little one's fault that he was a parasite, and all-... icky.

@Squick

The little creature was deaf to much of what was going on between Amras and Pride, which was perhaps a good thing. It waited impatiently as the glow from its magic subsided, blinking brightly, and gradually shrinking down until the glorious moment that Pride answered it, eliciting a surprised squelch of pleasure.

Yes, Mr. Pride! I am here and warm! But it is very empty in here, and I don’t think my magic is working so well! Pride would most likely sense its hunger. It hurt this time...

Moreso, there was a twinge of fear as Pride spoke of self-sufficiency. Are you gonna put me out there again? it asked almost immediately. But then, Pride spoke of eating- and as though completely forgotten, the brief flush of fear turned to eagerness at the thought of breakfast. I will eat anything tasty! There was a lot to eat in here before I went back out in the cold! But now that I’m awake there’s nothing for me to eat. There was a moment of sulking mental silence before curiosity got the better of it again. Is there another Host out there?


@Amras

Had Amras shared his thoughts, Pride might have been more than a little surprised. He knew little of familiars--he had met only one, and the way it had become such seemed to have been due more to the creature's own choices and magic than to the Greaters involved. He'd spent so much time with lessers, experimenting with magic, yet found nothing.

He sent a little reassurance Squick's way, as the link slid shut--I don't plan to. I will get you food. and then turned his mind to Amras.

"It says that it will eat anything 'tasty,' and that there was plenty to eat prior. Strange--it seems so spritely, so eager to please. And judging by the links I haven't found any deceit in its thoughts. A lesser, you say? Perhaps..? Though it would have little control over its life, then, and the lesser might well be eaten, and--well. That would, I think, be that."

He exhaled, and nodded a little to Amras, absently stamping a foot in his stress--like any deer might. "I do thank you for your time. If--err--you think of anything, or want to... ahh, learn from this at all, in some way. Do let me know."

There--he'd offered himself (and, by extention, the newborn) to Amras for scientific study. It was with the implicit agreement, given Amras' good nature, that neither of them would come to harm--but still, it was unsavory, somehow. But... for knowledge, it wouldn't be bad to learn.

@Squick @Amras

Squick basked in the brief reassurance that Pride sent its way, and relaxed slightly. Food was coming, and soon, it thought. It was just a matter of waiting for it to come down from the above. Thank you, Mr. Pride! it offered, but alas, the little creature was already on its own again.

It was, however, a little disappointed that Pride hadn't answered its question on the other host out there. The little one could still feel, and hear, the booming voice of Pride reverberating through his body- he was talking to someone. But to who?

The little creature's disappointment didn't last long, though. It was more preoccupied with the thought that food was coming soon, and it moved excitedly around its home before sitting still, looking for the best place to wait. Not long, not long. Soon, food was the only thing on its mind as it waited expectantly, mandibles twitching and eyes bright.

@Amras

Pride backed up, very quickly and very worriedly. He could not, like almost all the Gembound of the caves, sense magic or the amount of it being cast--but he did not like Amras' use of the word "experiment" or the sudden glowing of light. Just as he was about to open his mouth to protest, however, a banana appeared, and he immediately relaxed.

"I can eat that, though I don't kow how it will tell us anything; I will be glowing as well," he pointed out. Well, sparkling, but still.

He knelt and nibbled some of it down, after splitting the thick peel, and then looked to Amras. "I don't recall the shimmer showing through walls, and such, so I don't see why it would show through my flesh, but it's an easy meal at least." His voice was amused, and kind.

He tried to reach out along that mental link, but nothing came, and so he just... waited.

@Squick

Squick waited patiently for a time, squelching quietly to itself. After a while, though, its patience was rewarded; a sweet-smelling banana-mush descending like a gift from the heavens. The maggot like creature was finally able to satisfy its urges, feeding excitedly on the sweet-testing mush. Squick didn't know exactly what it was per se; but it was certainly much better than anything it had eaten before.

It ate until its body was once again plump and round, its wrinkles just a tiny bit less obvious, and then relaxed, sinking into itself and flattening into a small, fleshy puddle with a small and contented sound like a deflating balloon.

It was only then that it noticed its own sparkling illuminating the walls of its home. Wow! The little one propped itself up on its hindmost set of limbs and examined each tiny paw in turn; twisting it this way and that, blinking in amazement. What was this?

It had to tell Pride!

The little parasite perked up, dropping onto ten legs again on the floor of Pride's stomach. It set its legs apart and cast its magic, veins of light spreading once again throughout the walls of Pride's stomach as he passed it on to him.

@Pride @Amras