ORIGIN

She actually feared, for a while, that she had actually taken all of the gemstones out of Canis since her search after her initial go had been less then fruitful. She would have gone to Orion, then, right next to Canis, but she still remembered that she had been banned from the cave and any extended stay would be more trouble then it was worth. So, then, obviously, Polaris was her next option.

There were lots of nooks and crannies that Wilder could find gemstones in so this was where her search began. A small cave in the corner of Polaris opened up a lost trove of gemstones - ancient, perhaps, from some collector long ago. About seven of them, she could count, so she might as well dive right in and start searching for life forces within them.

The first she pawed closer to her, with a flick of her magic, she could sense a strong life force within. She rolled it to one side of the cave where she would put those that she could possibly give to the Merchant.

The second gemstone that she grabbed at, she pulled it towards her and reached within, prodding at the magic that she hoped was inside. Disappointment, however, at realizing that the life that it held was weak and would be useless to the merchant. She rolled it to a second spot, away from the first for gems that held life but she could not give away.

The third gemstone she rolled forward, she, probably a little too enthusiastically, reached forward eagerly to check for signs of life. However, as her magic invaded the interior of the gemstone, the whole thing shivered in her paw. A second later she realized what she had done and tried to pull back but it was too late. The gemstone cracked right down the middle and tumbled out of her paw, whatever life it held before now destroyed.

She stared at it for a moment, a little horrified, before she forced herself to move, sweeping away the gemstone shards to a corner of the cave. A moment of silence to mourn the creature who had died and who had no chance at all to live another life.

She was about halfway through this collection of gemstones now and, once she had mentally recovered enough from what she had done before, she grabbed the next one and pulled it close. Much more carefully, more gentle then before, she reached in with her magic and listened for the telltale signs of life or magic. A beating sound within told her that there was life in this stone, strong life.

She sighed with relief and placed it with the other strong-life stone that she could give to the merchant. She stopped and thought about it and realized that she almost had enough strong gemstones to satisfy what the Merchant wanted most. If only she could find the strongest stone so that he would be pleased...

The fifth gemstone that she grabbed, however, as soon as she touched it with her magic, she knew that there was nothing within. There was already a crack along its side, showing that whatever life was within it, or if it ever held life, it was hopeless. Even so, it was too late to stop the spell from casting. As soon as she felt within, the magic burst and lashed right back at her. She yelped as pain sliced through her head from the backfired spell and she dropped the stone, which clattered away.

Breathing heavily, she waited for the headache to pass and reached for the last two gemstones, wishing that this could be over soon.

The second to last gemstone that she pulled close, as soon as she felt in it for its life, she knew that it was strong enough. It wasn't quite as powerful as she wanted from the strongest, but still, the Merchant would be happy.

As she moved it towards the first pile, she wondered how the others were getting along. She had left in a flurry before anyone else so she didn't know if the others were helping out to find gemstones as well. She hoped they were - she wasn't sure if she alone could find all the gemstones that they needed.

There was one gemstone left from this treasure trove she had stumbled upon. She reached forward and turned it over in her paw, lightly brushing it with her magic, but pulled the spell back just in time when she spotted the deep crack in its side. Completely lifeless.

She tossed it away into the corner and turned back to the two piles she had. She had a few more stones that she could give to the Merchant and a single one that she could keep for herself. She quickly stepped out of the straps that held her backpack in place and stashed the stones in the pockets where she was keeping the others.

Once she had put the pack back in its place and tightened the straps around her chest and legs, Wilder squeezed out of the cave, trotting deeper into Polaris.

Wilder trotted out of the crack in the wall, putting her nose pretty much to the ground and beginning to search, almost like a dog. Not that her nose was going to do anything useful when looking for gemstones but still. She searched along the floor, feeling in cracks for little slivers of gems and picking up every rock to see if she could find one underneath.

Eventually, this method of searching proved to work. She managed to shoulder a larger stone out of the way and a glittering gemstone beneath caught her eye. Quick as she could, she shot a paw underneath the rock and fished it out before releasing the boulder's weight.

Holding the stone in her paw, she cast her magic within. The life inside was pitifully weak, however, not at all what the Merchant wanted. She shrugged and reached backwards, stashing it into the little bag she still carried on her back.

Wilder came across a patch of plant-life - small, scraggly bushes and mushrooms galore. Probably the only things that could grow in a cave. But there was dirt under them and dirt was quite the prime place for creatures to hide gemstones. At least, that's what she thought.

She began digging into the dirt, avoiding the roots of the plants, and, somehow, this particular search proved fruitful. Out from underneath the earth, she pulled another gemstone. She brushed off as much of the dirt as possible before casting her magic within. A strong stone, powerful magic within. That would suffice for the Merchant, she hoped. She licked away the remainder of the dirt, cringing a bit and spitting when she was done before stashing it in the pocket where she put all the stronger stones.

She did more digging in the rough, dry earth, although for the most part, it seemed that the first gemstone she found would be the only one hidden there. Just near the end of it, however, when she'd dug through almost all of it, she finally pulled out another gemstone.

A quick check showed a fairly weak amount of magic within it so she stashed it into the section of her bag that housed those particular stones, the ones she'd be keeping.