ORIGIN - honor for all; all for honor

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The mouse-snatching went off without a hitch, and now that it lay dead on the cracked earth, V could take a closer look at it. Indeed, a whole lot of quills stuck out of it! It looked quite a bit like the big Warrior-like creatures with big black noses. Except, y'know, not. The rattlesnake had gotten a face full of them when hunting and definitely learned that they were very pointy. Perhaps not enough to poke through her scales, but definitely through her soft mouth or eyes! That wouldn't be fun.

"Thank you," she puffed softly as Mirage's beak grazed her cheek. Her instincts told her to flinch, the shadow of a larger creature coming at her, but V knew it was a sign of affection. Mira wouldn't kill her and take this rat; actually, she was even inviting her to meet Quentin! Already, they were friends. Friends that could eat and survive together. Eyehooks, big as they were, still flocked together. Maybe they were onto something.

V fell quiet, though nodded as she slithered after the little owl. Hot on her heels and gemstone throbbing with magicka and a sense for gemstones, the snake tasted the air. But, nothing. Her rattle shook, and she called in annoyance, "I think I might've spooked 'em deeper. Sorry! You and your friend can have that one. I'm not very hungry."

@Mirage

Aww, heck... She couldn't sense anything, and V seemed to think that the remaining prey had scattered down deeper into the cracks. With a huff of annoyance, she puffed out her chest and trotted further down the shadow of the cliff. "It's okay," she reassured perhaps herself more than her scaly companion. This was her first time hunting and she didn't want to come back empty taloned! "They can't all be gone... Quen's hurt, so I want to bring him enough to help him get stronger," she explained with a squint of her big eyes.

Maybe she just needed to try a different angle. Her spotted feathers changed as she stalked down toward some of the larger cracks, focusing her attention toward listening and relying on her physical senses more than her magical ones. Maybe, after all, the prey-critters could use their magicka to hide from magic looking for them! She could believe that...

Her downy feathers blended right in to the shadowy browns of the Crucible's far wall, and she crept into one of the cracks that was large enough for her to fit in. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, but unbeknownst to her, she herself had almost disappeared with her clever, instinctual camouflage.

@Vee

V's eyes lit up, eager, "is Quen really that big? I'll have to go look for more, then!"

And the little snake set to doing just that, slithering here and there, tasting the air as she nosed along the wall ahead of Mirage. Her little heat pits flared at a certain spot, and she flicked her tongue out into the hole. Warmth, comfort, milk-scent. Another nest full of babies. If she had lips, she would have curled them up distastefully. There wasn't going to be any more of that. At least the big ones had lived, right?

So, she passed that hole by, personally, but hissed softly to the owl behind her, "hey - there's some little baby ones in here! They don't have a lot of spiky-bits but they scream." Again, if she'd lips, V would have frowned.

Instead, her rattle raised up in alarm. Where was Mirage?

Worry flooded through the small noodle, and she slithered forwards. "Mirage? Mira? Friend?" Was she scared off by her hunting too? Did she not like hunting mice? Had she... left little V behind, too? "Where are you?" The snake almost felt like she could still taste the little owl's scent on the stale breeze, in the stifling heat. But - where?

@Mirage

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