ORIGIN

Were Azizos not tangled up in his brother's antlers, he might've nodded, "yes - it's not far. Do you know the way? Out of here by the carvings, through the blue room, and into the misty tunnel." The smell of musky decay and age-old dust could lead the rest of the way, even as Tunnel K was a straight shot through. It would be difficult to get lost along the path he'd offered, unless Attikias fell through the stairs (rather than up and down.) Amusedly, the lion-stag thought that wasn't a possibility to worry about.

Pale eyes looked on warmly as the man had his first, if not tentative, experience with the offered fruit. Despite having blunt claws, he seemed to carve through the thick skin easily and get to the slick-smooth fruits inside. "I'm glad you like it. I can show you others, if you'd like - eugh," Azizos grunted as he pushed his hooves against the ground, struggling away from his brother's antlers and wicked ways, "I am not getting comfortable, you vile being! I'll vanquish you and your dark serpents!" With all the dramatic flair in the world, the kirin stared upwards at their interlocked antlers and gave a calculated twist. As his head came free and his neck found sweet relief, Azizos stood over Arsu with a loud "hurrah!"

Blinking, returning to paying attention to Attikias, the lion-stag flopped down at his brother's side. He leaned shoulder-to-shoulder, and that was his last bit of silliness for the moment. "Mercurius might like that, I think. He has bluer eyes than us, a large mane, and spiraling horns like his eyes." There weren't many like him in the caves, if at all. The old man wouldn't ever have a problem with doppelgangers, unlike someone.

Attikias, it seemed, had to do most of his growing up and learning alone. His answer for what he valued wasn't immediate, and he spoke of the simpler things in life, natural fears and aspirations. Azizos couldn't fault him for that; he shared the same outlooks on 'big giant things' and learning. It was a matter of not allowing that intimidation to settle in, to take on the world for what it was and what it will be.

Arsu essentially said all that he himself would have, so Azizos merely took the backseat, purring, "I value this time spent together, too. Bonds formed last through the ages." In that moment, the lion-stag wished he had something to offer - and not another fruit. No, something material, formed by his own magic like Arsu's gentle influence of good health or his nurtured flowers.

Ah!

"A moment, please," and the kirin was off, a ways into the undergrowth and shielding his eyes with low-hanging leaves as he worked at his magic.

Hm. Nothing.

Azizos focused a bit harder on the hunk of black stone he'd uncovered off to the side. He did so with a wary sort of restraint, nosing the stone onto its other side and pacing away some distance. If it exploded, at least, he could avoid having it on himself. The lion-stag couldn't imagine that the heat of a thousand suns would feel nice on his skin. His daily dose of light was enough to keep him warm.

This time, the stone did spark and wind up being a glob of... well, plasma. White-hot and capable of burning holes into retinas. Barely keeping track of where it was on the floor, Azizos hid his gaze in the cover of thick leaves.

Waiting a few moments - and conjuring up a sizzling noise as the rock-plasma likely burnt a hole through the ground - Azizos chanced peering out from behind his makeshift shades. Narrowing his eyes until they were nearly closed, he mentally mimed a hand grabbing it, shaping it, pressing it against the smooth stone much like a glassblower might. Given that it was white and definition-less and just debatable that it could be held, there wasn't much precision.

His hold on it was shaky, by the time he finished tumbling it around and finessed it to the icy-coldness of the Eyes. Emerging from the underbrush a few feet from Attikias and Arsu, the lion-stag guided the plasma-glob into the waters. Everything surrounding it bubbled and boiled, sizzling for a few seconds before falling eerily quiet. Dredging it out, Azizos inspected it and offered it up to Attikias.

It was ugly and misshapen, pock-marked black like a piece of basalt. The shape of it resembled an idol or effigy of some greater deity, rather than the intended target. There was also the matter of it being a good one and a half feet tall and solid rock; unwieldy to be carried, in layman's terms.

An attempted gift, nonetheless.

Were they in our universe, Azizos would've been greatly concerned that this Overseer had asked for the man's number. He was still concerned, but in a different sort of way. Numbers? In what land were numbers required, instead of a name? Perhaps, the Overseer was part of a newer group in the Caves. (The cruel irony of how wrong he was stood out like a thorn.) The lion-stag glanced over this, if only to add gently towards the yearning for parents - "there's always opportunity. I believe we all help to raise one another."

After all, growth could really be found when you were with another, yes? Even now, as Azizos worked to make a messy sculpture of Attikias that really ought be smaller or in manageable pieces, they were progressing - changing. In the words of Arsu, the blades were at work.

Oversized ears flickering up and around his antlers, the morning star watched as Attikias stood and inspected the statuette with pure awe. "I tried to make it in your likeness -" Azizos admitted quietly, fluting, "but my shortcoming may be in that I was not able to look at it once. Thank you, regardless." Truly, the blackened thing was little more than a twist of stone with some vague shape to it. It looked like a cursed effigy, or a statue one finds in cursed woods belonging to the Unseelie. The intent was there well enough, judging from the man's reaction.

But, of course, it was fundamentally still a boulder, which was fundamentally an impossible weight. Azizos's mind immediately flitted to a sleigh - if his magicka failed him - and Arsu seemed to have similar ideas. "Perhaps - we could weave a sort of ramp or fashion a board from... hm, logs? Or, I could attempt to carry it with my magicka," the lion-stag offered, rattling off, "but my grip would be shaky, at best." His mouth pulled taut into a line, jaw working at his teeth.

Pale eyes glanced over at the statue as it glowed with Arsu's own contribution, an approving nod and bump of the shoulder offered, "it wouldn't be our gift to him without that perfect last touch." The addition of baubling made it a little less than ugly-as-sin and less worthy of an entry in the SCP Database.

At least Attikias knew how to make light of a situation from dark serpents and cursed objects. Azizos gave a little bell reminiscent of chiming bells or the resounding strum of a harp. The gesturing and framing between the man's face and the effigy's was amusing, to say the least — and the kirin was pleased to know that it was genuinely liked, and said as much: "I'm grateful!" With a pompous (but clearly joking) toss of his head and stomp of his hoof, he added, "I am the greatest artist in all of the land. My crafts are never too unlike their subjects!"

Even if it was entirely too large for someone to reasonably shove it around without magic.

But, again, Attikas knew how to make light of a situation; he had already considered that he could just roll the statuette around towards wherever it was that he lived. It'd provide ample time for Azizos to gather and refocus his magicka, and he could carry it the rest of the way. Pale eyes meandered to his brother's, clearly intrigued by the thought of going to a stranger's place so soon after meeting him.

It was clear that the lion-stag held few reservations and was even less wary about outsiders. Attikias gave a particular vibe that he just couldn't help but to place trust in. "I think ahead about everything, dear brother of mine," the kirin flaunted, tail slashing limply through the air once. "But, of course —- I didn't think about how heavy this statue would be. Stone isn't quite as light or wieldy as wood." That much was obvious, and Azizos admitted it with a light laugh and embarrassed bow of his head.

He cantered lightly, confidently towards the elf, ears flickering forwards. "I can - make mist in your home" Azizos was a temporary fog machine, it seemed.