ORIGIN

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The booming voice startled the little half-feline, its legs splaying out as it slammed its belly to the ground. Frantic glances around showed it that it was the Overseer demanding down to it. "S-sorry, Oberseer!" It squeaked out, body trembling.

It brought itself back up as Vargas continued, its ears that were way too big for its skull struggling to turn forward to listen as intently as it could. It waited, too, somewhat- but tried its best to squeak in its own explanation. "Have to be quick to catch or quiet so dey don't hear." It said this with the definiteness of someone who definitely knew what they were talking about. In reality, it'd only been capable of hunting the more easy prey in Canis, which ended up being mice for the most part. It had no chance in going after the rats much bigger than it yet, and it looked to Alpha's with a spark of jealousy.

For the most part, it'd taken more lessons in from Palefur's heritage than Desert Rose's manipulative nature.

It watched as Alpha gave its explanation then practically vanish. Whatever- it gave it no mind, thinking of the spotlight turned onto it. "I like to run," it gave with its chest out proudly. "Make prey tired. But is... Not..." It stumbled for its words, deflating before finding it with an excited squeak. "Is in-eef-ee-scheent!" It'd heard the word before from at least one of its commanders, probably. "But, when really hungry, stalk and wait and pounce and kill!" It emphasized this by slamming its paws down, imagining a juicy mouse's neck below its claws.

Right when its claws hit the ground, four more encased it. A squeal of fear rang out from the drake's body and it tried to wiggle, magic flaring below its feet. It wasn't much of any- a few glass spikes that looked like mere pebbles burst from the ground as it was released.

"Not funny," Gamma grumbled up to its larger sibling, its head turning away as it tried to sit, only to be pricked by the magic it'd brought up moments before.

It hissed. Fine, it'd just stand, then.

(Gamma's trying to say inefficient.)

Garnet - Epsilon

They try their best not to jump at Vargas snapping at it's sibling, but they gaze over with pity. If they simply paid attention... ah well.

The nod in their direction makes them puff up a bit more with pride, and they nod back, accepting the acknowledgement with glee.

A speech given by Vargas, and received by Epsilon with a determined glare, they flip their ears up and down as they listen to both the Overseer and the cave, the echoes and noises causing the large ears to rotate about this way and that.

Shifting to settle on their haunches, the piebald hybrid glances about, and stands to its feet as Vargas moves and speaks of traps, and hunting. Traps isn't a word they know, but the word hunting they've definitely heard with some context.

A massive paw coming their way gets a low hiss, but they allow the patting, given that this is the biggest sibling - and best future ally to have, if it came down to having to choose lives that mattered. But that's for future them.

A sibling or two demonstrating gets laser precise attention, one disappearing and the other demonstrating over another- the other small one with wings, who then generates... something sharp. This gets a chirp of interest from Epsilon, and they take a deep breath before tugging their magic- and making a plan.

So, with a bit of apprehension and focusing on the Overseer, they crouch low, tuck their wings in and stay as still as they can, following their instincts but still unsure of their body. Hopefully, they think, I'm on the right track.

With that in mind, and what their siblings have shared, they attempt to shake the air around themselves while remaining still, trying to generate some sort of nauseating field that would make the world tilt drastically for smaller creatures. The humming starts soft, but builds to a deep hum that tickles sickeningly at the jaw and inner eardrums. A promising start to something much more destructive in the future, but for now used to disorient and disable.

Beta continued holding onto its bleeding paw, desperately trying to hold the blood in. The bleeding was slowing by now, though, and, while it was still pretty dizzy from the blood loss, their life wasn't in danger anymore and they probably wouldn't pass out. "I'll ee ine," it mumbled. "Sorry."

It tentatively pulled its paw from its mouth, licking away the blood on its fur and found that it wasn't bleeding anymore. At least not much. "Was hunting rat. Bone went through paw. Will be fine - but I sit out of activity for now." Was that just an excuse to be lazy? ...probably but a part of Beta actually said "hey you need to, like, not do things right now." So it stepped back and slumped on the ground, many eyes watching Vargas attentively. It would listen, just not do anything.

@Vargas

He was relatively pleased, at least--with a last glance and a grunt at it--that Alpha would not die. Good. He liked that one's design; it had promise. He was a little disappointed that it did not at least add words to the others' conversation, but perhaps with the blood loss it could not think so very well. At least it would be here to learn.

Vargas then turned his attention to Delta, and nodded with approval.

"GOOD! A good distraction is good, yes. Though if they are unaware, it may put them on edge. And yes--finding your prey before it finds you is important." And then Alpha, hiding, vanishing in shadows. That one was a brute, but it was showing surprising aptitude, having already partially adapted Vargas' own style of hunting, and that, apparently, without much training. "Very good, Alpha. You share my method of hunting--and my magic; it is a proven tactic." It had already learned to hide its glowing bits with shadows, as Vargas had, and he grinned, wondering what Nemean would think of this one following in her--in their--footsteps. It was strange how the magic trickled down.

His pleasure was short-lived, however, when Selenite-Gamma again opened its mouth. Vargas's grin twisted into a grimace of distaste. The fucking thing couldn't even talk right--the others couldn't, really, either, and he supposed that was down to age. But their lack of words were excusable; something about this one's bumbling speech impediment irked the Overseer's already-considerable impatience. And it was doing little but stuttering or whatever. That one will be the first to die, Vargas thought dourly. How disappointing. Some might find bumbling weakness endearing, adorable; Vargas found it disgusting. At least it had some form of magic. Is that stone-magic? Where did that come from? He tried to remember what form of energy Palefur carried, and realized he'd never asked. Had he-? Ahh, well, now was not the time. "Yes, hiding is good. Work on that magic," was all he said to this one.

Garnet-Epsilon displayed some measure of creativity with its own buzzing, and Vargas at first was inclined to disregard such magic as weak. He then chided himself, remembering, and spoke. "Yes, Garnet; magic is useful for these things. As a distraction, too. I have seen the most mercilness, fierce hunter use exactly that to entice and to obliterate." Indirectly, of course, but still; any such magic was a powerful tool when wielded with cunning.

"So between all of you, you know how to hide yourselves, and how to distract your prey. And that is important! And now you all know both of those things. But do you know how to find your prey-?"

"It is important that you find them before they find you. Being hidden will help with that! There are magics to help you sense what is there. The beat of hearts, the pulse of magic. And if you are the hunter, then you are not the prey. If you find them first, you live, and they die."

From behind them, then--from behind a boulder not far off--came a quiet, pleading cry. It was wavering strangely, but otherwise an excellent mimicry of the voice of Palefur, the cat, whom he knew that many of them would know. "Help--me!" it wailed, suddenly, with a hitching breath. "He tried to... teach me... but the rat got me..." There was pain in it, and fear, and Vargas waited to see what they would do.

@Garnet-Delta @Orthoclase-Alpha

Still very much on edge, and not feeling particularly comforted by the way Alpha had pounced on Gamma, Delta's large, rabbit-like ears laid back as the crying came from over behind a rock. It recognized the voice... Palefur, the cat.

Half of what it was.

It didn't know how it would help Palefur, but the mention of a rat made its pelt itch, and it rose to standing, raising its tail and sniffing at the air. Vargas had mentioned heartbeats, and though Garnet-Delta had never done anything like it before, its want to impress the Overseer drove it to try. Its ears strained, and the gemstone that gave it life, began to resonate with magic.

There were a lot of heartbeats. Perhaps that helped, in the grand scheme of things, but as it listened to Overseer Vargas' and its hatchmates' hearts, it realized it did not sense a heartbeat of a rat beyond the rock, nor that of a cat.

Something didn't add up, and with a wrinkle of its nose, it lowered into a stalk and circled around Vargas to get a better angle on the rock without getting too close, ears craning for other sounds. It looked like it did not care that its life-giver was crying out and perhaps there was some truth to that... It eyed its fellow gemlings, and waited to see if the others had realized what it had.

Garnet - Epsilon

The hesitance in Overseer Vargas's praise makes then frown, well, makes their eyebrows crinkle in concern, but the subsequent comments of having seen their tactic before and seen its effectiveness in action leaves them content, and they dispel their magic, sitting up and offering another bow in thanks towards the Big Important Purple. At least I'm on the right track, They think, and they relax, looking around as Vargas lectures them, and the warbling cry from behind the boulder nearly makes them leap out of their fur -

But wait.

Something didn't sit right.

They at first tilt their head back, attempting to look around the boulder, and open their wings as they consider flying... but there isn't any weird smell. No blood. No smell of Rat, or More Cat... and Palefur isn't here to learn. Well, wasn't here in general.

With that realization, they glance over at Vargas, at their siblings and then notice the slight humming from Delta, was it? - They know magic, but what are they doing...

Palefur is the Parent of this Sibling, so why aren't they moving? Unless they know something they don't, and watching the other small one with wings settle down and look around as well, they come to a decision.

It's fake. The noise, or at least This Palefur.

Epsilon opens their beak to speak, tongue arching to make a noise but all they manage to fore out is a hiss, and a deep... well, as deep as it can get from a creature this size, growl. "Shhrack," they screech, and they can feel pain pierce their tongue as they bite it. Stupid beak.

With that embarrassment under their belt, they flap their wings and cause as much noise as they can, flagging at their siblings and shaking their head. Is this... a trap? Is that what this is called?

The Selenite squinted down to the floor, but its fluffy spine flared with pride on hiding. Yes- it could hide!

But, in truth, it didn't really understand magic. Ah, well. Did it understand this enough? At first, it seemed not to, dropping low in a cat-like crouch when the call came out. Was she drawing them forward to attack them? But- it gave pause. Vargas had mentioned beating hearts, and his own magic came to mind- the kind he actually knew (well- knew to an extent).

Still stalking forward on quiet claws, its ears shoved forward and eyes wide, it dredged into its stone for sensing magic. Pained and excited hearts beat faster, and it wanted to check Palefur's, see if her's was pounding about as hard as its was.

There was no heartbeat at all. Had she died? Or-

Traps. Freezing in place, Gamma hissed softly in the direction that the voice of its mother came from. Something wasn't right, and it backed up, tail lashing with ears pinned back. Epsilon's movements catch the thin pupils of Gamma's eyes as it whipped around, hiss turned back to its sibling. 'Stay quiet!' It spat in its mind.

Alpha clucked down at its momentary prey - the closest approximation of laughter to come from it - before straightening to accept praise with a nod and wait for further instruction (followed by acknowledgement of the other Initiates, of course.)

The Overseer spoke of hunting, finding first and living. Caught first, and you die. That was a clear enough message. Orthoclase-Alpha's eyes narrowed at some cry, head swinging this way and that to sniff at the air or hear it better. For all its advantages as a hunter, the child's hearing was its least refined sense. It could tell, at least, that the faint sound belonged to a common parent of three of its hatchmates, Palefur - oh, its hatchmates.

Acidic eyes laid on the smaller children - all well-equipped with ears and sensing magic, like the Overseer had suggested they could use. Garnet-Delta was stalking around, peering at a very particular rock. The other two had picked up on this, and were presently staring in the same direction.

Waiting a few more moments to confirm that they weren't going to actually do anything, Alpha dropped into a crouch and tried to muster shadows across itself again. In theory, this would do wonders to hide its hulking form from any potential traps. But, Tunnel P was a bright cave and it couldn't seem to find a shadow dark or large enough to blend into. Alpha was going to be a little more proactive than its siblings, and that was what mattered, right? It stopped before the boulder, sniffing and trying to circle around it with just its head.

Ruby-Beta listened attentively to the little lecture, eyes sometimes glancing over at its siblings, although it wasn't easy to tell, considering they were all pupil-less and glowing green. It didn't exactly like most of them. They were small. And annoying. Alpha was probably the most annoying, since it wasn't small and always wanted to fight, but Beta didn't make these opinions known. What was the point, after all, everyone would just get kinda mad. It's not that it hated them or didn't care for them at all. They hatched together, they were a family, however mismatched they were, and should therefore survive together.

At the sound of Palefur's voice, they instinctively sat up with alarm, head swiveling over to the place her voice came from. It prepared itself to get to its feet despite the injury, to help its stone-giver, but reasoning came a moment later. This was coming right off of the Overseer's lecture and a question about stalking prey. And he wasn't flying into action. She was one of them, important, and he was just standing there. This is a test. Ah, so unecessary.

It slumped back to the ground and watched the others with amusement. Some of them, it seemed, had figured it out. With magic or the same logic that it had employed, it couldn't tell, but it was pleased to see that Alpha had fallen for it.

@Vargas
@Vargas

Vargas observed. He was surprised--if pleased--that not a single one actually rushed in blindly. He could not, of course, sense their magic use, but he could watch them act. Garnet-Delta didn't rush in; it was wary, slinking around at distance, and Vargas felt approval. And then--What the fuck is Garnet-Epsilon doing--what is 'shhrack?!' He was puzzled, staring, and then Selenite surprised him by also hanging back. Well, that one's finally showing some sense, then, though none of them are actually communicating. Hmm. Alpha was likely his best prospect, then--it acted, but with extreme caution, shrouding itself in darkness. "Good, Orthoclase," he praised it; "An aggressive response, but with caution, is a way to turn the situation against the enemy." A quick glance showed him that the wounded Alpha was still resting, and Vargas let that go.

He sat up, and back. "Now, I want you to treat EVERYTHING like this! Use caution, all of you. If you are hunting, or if you hear a sound, treat it like a trap, because there are rebels, and criminals, who would hunt you and see you dead in turn. Anyone who isn't us, anyone weaker than us, anyone who isn't a Master, you can kill." It wasn't an encouragement, judging by his tone, but permission.

That was the way of the caves, after all.

The Overseer thought, for a moment. He wanted one other lesson for them, and then he wanted them to try something practical before they all split apart. For a moment he tried to camouflage himself--for his skin to shift hue, to simply fade against the rock, to show them another way to hide. But something... went wrong, as magic often did for him, and he found himself quietly cursing Nemean (for whatever reason) as instead his hide flared bright chartreuse. It was as though his acidic glow had coursed over his entire body.

He paused, trying to quickly think of an explanation, to cover this idiocy. "-Being brightly-visible will always get you killed," he decided, trying to play it off as deliberate. If he hadn't been glowing green, a green flush would've been visible across him, anyway. How fucking embarrassing. "ALWAYS be aware of the noise you're making, even if you aren't hunting, for you may be being hunted. Be aware of bright light you pass through, when you fail to stick to the shadows. Be aware of places where someone could ambush you, up ahead. And now, I want you to practice a hunt to end this lesson." He looked over them, briefly.

Of the non-wounded, Orthoclase was probably the largest, and showed the best aptitude for hunting. He could set this one as prey for their game, but he rather wanted to see it in action--hunting. Ahh-... No. He could think of something better--something to gauge their tactical ability, too.

"I want you all to go into the bones of Canis, now, among the fortresses, and hide. When you hear my signal, it is time for a hunt. You will try to find and subdue one another. If your sibling gets you by the throat, you are out and you must come to me. If anyone is forced into submission, or if they are attacked in a way where they'd be reasonably dead, or if I order it, they are out. The last child standing wins," he added, with no care as to tossing children into violent competition. "Ruby-Beta, you may sit this one out if you are too wounded. The rest of you, go. Happy hunting," he added, with a grin.

Vargas turned, lanky legs lifting, pacing into the Fortresses--intending to find a high vantage point--but then he paused, glancing back. "Do any of you have any questions?" he asked. Best to ask now--before they began, though he made a mental note to ask again once it was over.

@Orthoclase-Alpha @Garnet-Delta @Garnet-Epsilon @Selenite-Gamma @Ruby-Beta

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Wolfsbane

Garnet-Epsilon

Scion

Vargas

Cain

Garnet-Epsilon

Wolfsbane

Orthoclase-Alpha

Scion

Vargas