ORIGIN

Since meeting the tiny Fruit-bringer, Mandrake lumbered with far less urgency through these bony lands. There was no more food here, and its voracious appetite no less intrusive, but it knew that there was food here. After following Wilder for a time and finding no more bananas arrived, it gradually lost interest and began to search for food elsewhere, once again returning to foraging for long-dead twigs and bristly shrubs.

Its strength, for now, though, was once again restored. Its bones showed less prominently through shaggy fur, its snorting breaths were less frantic.

And today, as it wandered, it happened upon a curious and wonderful scent; a scent that awakened a desperate wanting, and hunger in the back of its mind. It knew not of the rainforests of Eridanus or of trees or plants, but it sought out the scent with renewed vigour, until it finally came upon a bizarre and solitary garden, a veritable paradise the likes of which it had never seen. Where small trees had been brought from afar and sown and grown, where flowers had taken root in the usually barren earth.

It didn't hesitate, never once did it consider that this tiny oasis might be owned. It saw salvation in the tiny trees and grasses, and an opportunity in its fertile soils.

With a sudden spurt of eagerness, it lumbered forward, pulling leaves free, and chomping them down. It was a banquet of wondrous flavours and colours like it had never seen before. As it chewed, its ears flattened against its head and it wore an expression of pure contentment.

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

Oliver wasn't far off--this was his garden, or at least he'd made it. He was tending to it now, though on the outskirts--doing his best to expand it, some. As far as he knew, it was the only true oasis in Canis, the only real source of life. He'd spent long and tedious days hauling dirt from Eridanus, carrying seeds in a basket, purifying the pools of water around which he'd built it all, creating enough light for the plants to grow, and urging their growth directly, through magic.

He was proud of the end result, and though he'd be upset by someone deliberately stomping in and destroying it all, he certainly wasn't possessive of it as a place. He'd created it as a gift, of sorts--a source of life outside Eridanus, or Cetus--and he was just glad to see it grow.

Oliver was even gladder, then, when he crept carefully into the oasis to see what was making the stomping, chomping sounds, and saw a big, rail-thin beast stuffing its face with leaves. Sure, he was a little worried at how much it was eating--he didn't want any of the plants totally destroyed, after all--but it had clearly been starving, and Oliver's gift was obviously doing it good.

He smiled.

His voice came soft, and tentative, as he crept in; he held out one claw-taloned hand, concentrating for a moment.

"Hello. I'm Oliver. Are you hungry?--I mean, I can-... see you're hungry, but--"

A sparkling banana popped into being in his palm, and he carefully unpeeled this with teeth and claws, before creeping closer. He held it up, carefully--unsure of whether this stranger might attack. But his good nature easily won out over his fear, and the black bird-dog crouched cautiously, his half-peeled banana held up toward Mandrake.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

The strange creature's ears twitched, strange eyes flickering as it whipped around, pausing mid-chew for a long moment, before quickly swallowing what remained. The dog-creature's name went in one ear and out the other, but the kind and gentle tone of the creature was not lost on Mandrake.

The creature paused, looked at the black dog-creature, and continued to eat for a few mouthfuls more.

With a warm exhalation of breath, it finally turned towards him, pointed ears pricking, all three eyes looking intently and curiously down at the hybrid. And then... Mandrake's eyes lit up, the fur along its spine prickling. It let out a low rumble at the sight of the banana, as even without Wilder to bear it, in Mandrake's mind the fruit had become quickly associated with comfort and hope.

With a rumble of pleasure, it approached, delicately plucking the banana from the hybrid's grasp and consuming it; skin and all.

Then it studied Oliver curiously, as though expecting him to conjure more.

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

Oliver waited, tufted ears pricking up, but he was surprised when the other didn't answer him. Is it... a Lesser? Maybe a baby--it's huge, though...

Careful, he looked down again, focusing on creating another banana. He spoke, as he did so. "I'm Oliver," he repeated carefully--and lifted one taloned forefoot up, holding it against his chest, peering up at Mandrake now. He then gestured to Mandrake, tilting his head questioningly--then repeated, touching his chest, then pointing. "I'm--Oliver, you're--?"

He then held out the banana. "This is a banana," he went on to explain--somehow, that seemed very important right about now. And then, a little worried that the bigger Gembound might grow aggressive once his magicka ran out--"I don't know how many of these I can make. How many bananas. But you can eat some more leaves, and stuff--I grew all this. Just don't kill any plants totally--please."

He had no idea how much of all of this the stranger understood, but it bore saying nonetheless.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

Mandrake looked at the dog-creature closely, blinking. It watched as he called forth another banana to replace the one Mandrake had just consumed, its attention clearly focused more on the food than the speaker. "Mandrake," it said eventually, as though finally figuring out what Oliver was asking. In actuality, its attention span was limited, and currently occupied by the sight of bananas. The fruit had become somewhat of a comfort food to the large beast, if not an elusive treasure.

It leaned forward and ate the other banana that Oliver offered, chewing slowly.

As it did so, it rumbled, looking around at the leaves, the plants, longingly. It seemed, at length, to understand the hybrid creature's plea, and its ears fattened back against its head, a breath emerging as a quiet huff. It didn't quite know why, but it was relieved-- although, admittedly, slightly disappointed.

"It is all I can find," the huge creature said. It had already tried to gnaw the rocks and bones, and it had cropped short any sparse, barren vegetation that it could find. "...and I am very hungry."

In truth, Mandrake did not understand why it couldn't just carry on eating until all was gone.

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

Oliver eyed the big creature.

He sure hoped that Rift wouldn't grow angry, but it certainly seemed to him that the creature would be better off in Eridanus--or maybe in the swamps of Cetus? He could absolutely picture Mandrake lumbering through the wet and the mist, browsing as he went.

"There's--other places. With more food. I can show you the way?" Oliver offered, hesitating. He turned, and focused for a moment on one of the nearby bushes--a thick thing, if a little cropped down by the stranger's munching. The leaves rustled, the green brightening, the twigs extending and reaching higher. More foliage sprouted and spread, and a scattering of blue-violet berries appeared and grew until they glistened.

"Here," he offered kindly. He glanced over Mandrake once more--it was, he saw, a strange creature. He'd never seen colors like that--or a build similar to it. Even its face was strange, with its broad, flat nose and small eyes. It certainly was unique.

"It's nice to meet you, Mandrake."

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

Mandrake looked at Oliver long and hard, as though trying to work out whether he was telling the truth. "Other... places...?" it repeated. And then... "Show me." It took a step towards the hybrid, before turning its gaze towards the plants he was tending, its ears flicking forward ans eyes widening in amazement. It huffed, a grunt of excitement emerging.

It had never known where food like the bananas and the delicious leaves came from, and every chance encounter seemed only to cement the belief that the smaller creatures of the caves were the ones providing its food.

The berries, glistening bright in its vision, were a whole new thing to be excited about, as well. Barely waiting until they had finished growing, the great beast's head leaned in close, snaffling them up with a grunt. As soon as they had appeared, they were gone, along with the branches bearing them, the strange creature's lips dripping purple and red with sweet juices.

It grunted an acknowledgement to his words, but engrossed as it was in feeding, wearing an expression of pure bliss, that was all.

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

Oliver waited patiently.

He wasn't sure how fast this thing could walk--but it gave off an overall impression of slowness. That, wandering in the open, could be a little dangerous. Or at least, that's what Oliver imagined; his recent experiences with battle and bloodshed had left him fearing it at every turn.

He wanted Mandrake well-rested and ready, so he didn't rush him. The last thing he wanted was for it to decide to lay down with a grunt, out in the open, somewhere between Canis and Eridanus, though in fairness that was probably the safest stretch of the cave. Worst would be if it decided that Eridanus didn't suit it, and plopped down partway to distant Cetus.

"Take your time," he said in a near-murmur. "It's a long way, and there's no food between here and there--and if we have to rest we'll need to find a safe spot. Don't just sit down in the open," he advised.

Nervous tension was already thrumming through him, anxiety threatening at the corners of his mind.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

Mandrake listened, seemingly at ease around the dog. It glanced up, briefly, before, with a grunt, returning to eat. It chomped through twigs and leafage, swallowing anything brightly coloured in a single gulp- and once being greeted by a sharp, bitter, polleny taste, which was enough to convince the large creature that it was full. With slow, heavy motions, it moved towards the hybrid.

It blew fragrant air at him, blinking patiently, waiting, quiet. Ears twitching. It wasn't quite sure what it was waiting for, but if Oliver moved, then it would follow.

---

"When I speak."

When I think.

Mandrake was waiting for him to lead.

Oliver gave a little nod. He then turned, and started off toward tunnel K.

"Right, it's-... " (a brief glance around to orient himself) "this way." Carefully, Oliver began to pick his way through the bones, out of the garden and toward the cave's exit. He knew Canis well enough that navigating the way out would not be a problem.

"So... have you met others, before? Do you know about how to treat people, and... and magic, and stuff?" he asked, as they went. Most Gembound might not count "be kind to others" as a very important first life lesson, but Oliver was different. "Like--we don't hurt each other, okay--doing that's bad? Some need to eat meat, so if you gotta do that too eat the little things that don't talk. Even though that's sad, too," he added.

Sadly.

"But if Gembound are mean to each other that's bad. And magic-... Like what I just used to grow the plants?" he went on, glancing over his shoulder. "If nobody's told you about that, magic's pretty powerful, and we all have it. Sometimes it does stupid things but if you use it a lot and get used to it--um, practice--it's not so bad. Some Gembound have light and some have fire and some have other things." Still slowly, carefully explaining things, he came at last to Tunnel K--or, at least, it was visible in the distance.

"...The tunnel's gross. It's cold, and misty, and a little scary, but it's safe. You can trust me," he added, with another earnest glance back at Mandrake.