ORIGIN - A brisk exchange

Brothers aren't simply close,

Sebastian hadn't been to see the Creator, but he had definitely heard of him. Had heard of the dye he was making, and he was curious.

And someone had mentioned that there was a creature in the same area who was capable of creating an odd black slime, and he was curious as to whether it would be able to be used. So, why not try?

A young Cave Deer was clutched in his jaws, and his neck ached from carrying it so far. But he felt best having something to trade, so he set it down near the edge of the water front, dropping his jaw for a moment to stretch the tensed muscles, before calling out as loud as he could, "Hello?"

brothers are knit together

Word traveled faster than thought, it seemed. Just as Phlegethon had settled itself, blowhole just barely visible above the constantly shifting surface of Fornax, there seemed to be something coming. The air spoke of its presence before a voice even came. Then, of course, there was the tell-tale, subtle thump! of something being set down.

This stranger had saved the monstrosity the trouble of even explaining what it desired to trade. Why hadn't it thought of this before? Slime was in seemingly endless supply, and these other Gembound seemed very intent on collecting it. Food spurred the production of it, so it was a win-win. Phlegethon had, unintentionally, discovered the basic principles of economics. Incredible.

So, dutifully, it cracked open its jaw slightly and extended its neck out of the water. A single glistening eye studied the offering, and the cat--- well, offering it. "For the slime?" It rumbled, a low bass hum seeming to shake the air itself.
@Sebastian

Brothers aren't simply close,

The panther strained his remaining eye, attempting to see what was in the water. Something big, and black, he could make that out. Huge, even, far bigger than anything he had seen before--except, perhaps, that massive snake that had torn through the Forest.

His eye widened, and he felt the urge to run, as something stuck out of the water, an eye stuck in the wrong place. 'Oh, fuck no.' but he held still, digging his claws into the ground. "Yes, for the slime."

Looking around, he grabbed a relatively large, flat stone that he could carry, pulling it over to the edge of the water. "Could you put it on here?"

@Phlegethon

brothers are knit together

The cat was afraid; perhaps its entrance had been a bit too hasty, too abrupt.

Oh, well. No going back now.

He seemed to be pretty rooted to the spot, anyways, judging from the claws trying feebly to bury themselves in the pebbles. It was a little funny to see, actually. Anyways--- Phlegethon simply nodded and focused on the offered stone. Making a couple gargling sounds, the monstrosity amassed a disgusting glob of thick, black slime in its throat.

Just as it stretched its neck out and made to deposit it on the stone... oh, no.

A gemstone lodged in its throat stuck the flammable gel, and immediately its gullet began to glow white-hot. With a frantic shriek, Phlegethon thrashed in the water and shut its mouth --- hoping to suffocate the explosion occurring in its neck. In a matter of seconds, it had turned fully and dove into the shallows of Fornax, gathering as much water in its mouth as possible and spewing it out of its blowhole in a geyser of slime.
@Sebastian

Brothers aren't simply close,

His ears twitched, listening to the gargling sounds it made--was it okay? Was it... trying to speak? It had spoken before, but maybe this was its second tongue?

Wait, nope.

His eyes widened as it began to thrash and shriek, eyes widening. "Holy-!" it dove back into the water, and he dropped the slab of rock, ears, tail, and paws blooming with heat as he lost control of his magic, sproinging through the air and twisting to land on his feet with a "Holy shit!"

After catching his breath, he asked, "Are... are you okay?"

@Phlegethon

brothers are knit together

Relief only came a few minutes later, when flesh and slime finally stopped sparking and bursting with muted pops! Imagine pop rocks, but with actual incendiary capability. If Phlegethon knew how to sigh and what it meant, it absolutely would have. Instead, it just rumbled (a close approximation by all means) and settled down in the water.

It distantly heard the cat speak, barely lifting its head from the water's surface. "I am fine," it murmured, without even moving a muscle on its face. Unsettling. After a moment, Phlegethon cracked open its jaw, eye seeking out the offered cave deer. Head snaking toward the prey, it rumbled, "take it from my tail. It does not hurt."

Mere moments later, it had snatched up the deer and spun on the spot, flukes hiked halfway up the shore and hanging in the air for easy access. Meanwhile, Phlegethon was setting to breaking up the cave deer's bones and forcing it down its gullet.
@Sebastian

Brothers aren't simply close,

The Puma gawked, shivering as things sparked and popped. That was... that was new. Could he do that? He hoped not, that was a forest-fire waiting to happen, if he could. Although the part of him that was still wowed by any Magic, the cub that played with fire in the plantless parts of Eridanus, really wanted to try.

It spoke, without its face moving, and he shivered. But then its head showed once more (at least, he thought it was its head, but who knew?), showing its eye. It took the offered Cave Deer, and he scooped the rock up again, approaching. Carefully, he scraped some of the slime onto the rock, before backing away. "'ank 'oo," he managed around the stone, before taking his leave.

=Exit Sebastian, unless stopped=

brothers are knit together