ORIGIN

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They all gave their names to each other - Fisher, Attikias, Azizos...all good names - interesting ones. "It's good to meet all of you. Thank you for sharing your evening with me." Her eyes watched the dancing fire for a moment, still awed by Attikias's apparent mastery over containing it. "That's still quite amazing, especially that you thought to do that. I wouldn't have had the nerve." She chuckled a little bit and curved her neck down to bite at an itch on her chest.

The goose looked up and shrugged at Azizos's suggestion. He was right, though - something so mundane didn't really seem to fit her. Not that she was considering herself more then something, only that, well, a name felt special. It was the reason she hadn't given herself one yet. She needed to find it, not force one onto herself. But Fisher's suggestion had her pause. A...star? What was a star? The word struck something in her for a moment and she remembered the glittering gems on the ceiling of Orion and it occured to her that those were like stars.

She tossed it over in her head for a moment before giving a small nod. "That's a nice name. You can call me Star, if you wish." It still didn't seem right, but it was better then nothing.

The temporarily named Star gently took one of the fruits that Attikias was offering everyone. Even holding it in her bill was enough for her to smell the unusual sweetness. She set it on the ground and took to nibbling at the skin, drinking down the juices once it broke. It was delicious - she hadn't tasted a fruit like this before - not since awakening, nor did it spur some distant memory. "Thank you," she said between bites.

Her gaze moved to Fisher. He was talking about a daughter - a child of his. That made her feel warm in her chest for some reason, talking about family. She set that off with her own protective and nurturing instincts, though those she already knew she had. She was just like that. "What's she like - Astoreth, I mean."

@Azizos

Azizos was already acquainted with the idea of a fire, contentedly sighing into its warmth where he loafed. His tail slapped once or twice on the forest floor as the elf explained and talked away, keeping to himself and staring into the warm glow. With Attikias's knuckles running down his spine, the kirin's flank twitched, a low rumble escaping him. A soft smile tugged at his features as he looked upwards, "I saw a wolf wearing a cloak, once." That had been at the Olympics, right? He swore that he had, perhaps, been on the panel of judges for the magicka competition - something he still quietly wished he had judged instead. Physical combat wasn't his strong suit by any means.

The lion-stag sniffed gently as Attikias started offering food to the rest, intrigued by the faintly - something scent wafting from the urn full of fruit. Their leathery red skins seemed intact, but the explosion of juice down the elf's face said otherwise for their structural integrity. Azizos presumed that they were just overly ripe, and stuck his snout into the urn. Bracing it on one leg, the kirin finagled a singular fruit out for himself and set to carving off the skin with one of his slightly sharper teeth. It came off with surprising ease, and the insides practically melted in stringy lumps. It was a peculiar feeling, and he had a strange feeling like maybe he wouldn't be having so great a time in five minutes.

Regardless, he kept eating away, pausing only to lift his head and offer, "what about Astra? Like the word astral, the stars - a little more special than just one common word, yes?" His gaze turned to Fisher, ears pricking upwards, "is she as charismatic as you?" The word choice might've implied sarcastic compliments, but he was genuine as could be.

@Attikias

Everyone was getting along- good! Attikias's grin only forced itself wider as he bit into more of the fruit, using a free hand to poke at the fire with a metal spear. Speaking of children, though- maybe it was just him, but he'd never even imagined how that'd turn out. If a being with wings had a kid, would that kid have wings? Would one of his have hands?

Well, that's usually how kids worked, after all. He feel quiet for a second, looking to his digits curled around the mostly eaten fruit, idly wiping at his lips with the other as they spoke on names. Star wasn't bad! Attikias gave a soft 'mm!' of agreement to it, swallowing that last bit of fruit before tossing the core off to the side. "Hey, I'm glad to have you guys. You're free to stay as long as you want." As for fire- he rubbed his warm hands up his arms, still feeling the chill on them there. "I'll be honest, I've burnt myself enough times even trying to get the idea to work."

There were a few other failed ideas, but he gave that the mental side-eye before moving on. A wolf, in a cloak? "Don't wolves have like-" he gestured with his hands for a moment, curling his fingers up in a monkey-like grip. "Paws, right? How'd they even get that on there?"

The others were set to talking though, and he sat back for a second, thinking back on his intial reaction to 'Star'. He- well, he recognized the word, but it didn't seem to give him the answer of whatever it was in his mind. "I like Star, personally- as a... For now, name?" He guessed with that last one, unsure how much it'd stuck on the goose. "It's like... Hm." He grasped for metaphorical straws. "Kind of like unknowable. Distant, but pure?"

He shrugged. Enough with guessing. Ashtoreth was on everyone's minds, and Attikias turned his head gently to Fisher, sneaking overhead to grab a piece of meat before it went into the hungry beast's jaws.

@Fisher (oh my god i finally posted for this, i'm so sorry for lettin it die)

we never found the straight way back

"Aaah, Ash..." The wiggly noodle splayed out by the fire, toes twitching. "She's a regular ol' spitfire, just like her dads. She was born mute, dunno why, but the kid never let her lack of tongue stop her from ranting your ear off." Fisher grinned, and wriggled up to Attikias's leg to reach out and snatch one of the fermented fruits. Definitely smelled like Foo'ball. He chomped at it, and licked his lips at the strong liquid inside before going on. "She uses her other dad's magic-- wind, and shit-- to speak for her. She's an incredible back-talker. Fierce and proud, and... damn independent, too. I was traveling with her for a while, but then she vanished on me. Guess she got bored of her old man and went back to Canis; last time I saw her was with the rest of the Bonebound and the rest of her family and... shit."

It sucked. Fisher didn't want to tell his rebellious teenager (she was definitely an adult, by now, Fisher) how to live her life. "It sucks, havin' kids. You miss'em growing up, and then when you do finally get time to hang out with you, they wanna go off and have their own lives." The noodle lowered his nose into his snout.

"She's my one and only baby girl, y'know?" He whinged, getting a little hiccup of a sob in his chest, "and now she's all growned up! What am I supposed to do now? Go and... an' have another kid?"

... Holy fuck that was a brilliant idea. "Shit, any of you ever wanted to have kids? Hell, I'll show you how, it's real easy... Y'just," the mustelid reached his hind leg up to scratch at his gem. "Gotta get a bit of your stone, and then somebody's gotta put magic in it..." He craned his head toward the others. "If one'a you doesn't mind putting forth a piece of your stone, I can magic it up. If any of you want to give it a go. It's pretty easy. But-- y'know, if you don't, I get it. No pressure or nothin'."

@nameless

The consideration of her name had the goose a little flattered by the attention. It really had her considering the names they were putting in front of her - Star, Astra...they made her think of white light. Unknowable, unreachable...pure, as Attikias was saying. Perhaps...perhaps she should take the name on. It would be nice, not to be nameless anymore.

She continued to eat the fruit, slowly, enjoying the flavors, as well as the company she was sitting in. She wasn't often with others, taking to wandering alone, but this sort of soft companionship, despite them being essentially strangers, the casual talk and the comfort was oddly familiar and warming. Or maybe it was the fruit, which has a strangely hot effect on her chest. Not a bad one, but it wasn't like any fruit she'd had before. For a moment, she wondered if it was poisonous, but there weren't any other symptoms. So she relaxed and just enjoyed the moment.

She listened warmly to Fisher's monologue about his daughter, a small smile on her face. "She sounds wonderful. You must love her a lot - I'm sure I would too if I had a daughter so spirited." Despite his complaining that kids were annoying, she couldn't agree. The thought of nurturing life, to raise young and watch them grow before her eyes, no matter how much struggle she went through, was a wonderful thought. For a second, she drifted off, thinking about what it would be like to have a family of her own when Fisher's proposition brought her back to the present.

She paused and stared at him. Make children...now? She self consciously raised a wing, touching at the gem on the back of her head. Should she? Was that something she was ready for? Wandering alone with nowhere to call home? It caught her off guard for a second - her gem stayed put as she glanced at the others, to see if they were braver then her.

@Azizos

"Telekinesis, probably," the lion-stag murmured from where he was suddenly just enraptured by the fire. Only when Fisher started telling them all about his daughter did Azizos come back to reality (from where?) and settle his chin comfortably on Attikias's thigh. The soothing, doting-father rumble that noodle had was enough to send him out of touch with existing again.

"... am I supposed to do now? Go and... an' have another kid?"

"Mrrp?" Azizos activated from where he'd been huddled against a midnight leg, twisted halfway so his forelegs stretched out in front of him and hind legs sprawled to the side. Apparently, that was the most comfortable position to be in. In a blink of the eye, the mustelid was practically rubbing his paws together, scratching at his cracked gem. Way to be... bold.

The kirin blinked, swallowed down a bunch of mysterious, fermented fruit-flavored bile, and stood shakily.

"There's sum, some pillars, 'm -" He toddled forwards two whole steps, dropped a sizable sliver off of the back face of his moonstone, and promptly blacked out in Attikias's lap. Azizos was snoring softly and made himself comfortable in a matter of minutes.

Azizos gives stone and then exits via liver failure lol (not really but---)
@Attikias

His face grew hot with a purple blush. There was the kicker- his whole body felt warm, and the fruit had begun to take effect. A soft huff of laughter was given to the drifting kirin. "Probably." When Azizos settled, Attikias's hand rested gently along the smaller being's neck, running his knuckles along the smooth mane it held.

His other hand rested on his lap as Fisher spoke- he, too, found himself rather lulled by the mustelid's drone, head tilting. "She does seem wonderful. Are... You ever able to visit?" Canis wasn't far, but there was the argument that she may not want to be visited. "She has a bit of you in her, I'm guessing."

The more Fisher spoke, though, the more Attikias imagined it- what if he had someone living with him? Someone he cared for and loved? Azizos and Arsu, he loved them like family, but they had their own lives to get to. If he had kids, would they share that desire to stay?

Fisher seemed to read his mind. "I.. Guess?" He pulled his arms closer and watched the other signal to his cracked gem. "Wouldn't it hurt to give up a part of your-"

Nevermind, Azizos seemed to do it without complaint. Gingerly, he took the moonstone in his hands and turned it over. "How do you put your magic in it? Just focus?" He fell quiet, testing it for himself, feeling a drain pull from him into it.

"... Nevermind, I guess." It felt... Weird, in his hand, and he gave a soft chuckle. "What do I do with it? Actually, lemme..." He gingerly let Azizos's head down and rested the gem beside him for the time being, leaning over for a bag of gems he'd gathered up. "Um- also, speaking of gems, I guess, what about other ones? Like- like.. Mmm..." He reached in, rummaging through rocks and dull sparklies. Magic continued to loop around him as he searched for one that probably came from someone. "No, not this one..." He set aside a piece of flint, shuffling around still.

He closed his eyes, focusing. Give him something to show as an example, give him something. It was like he was struggling to morph detection of others into detection of rocks, but- awkward?

He couldn't make sense of it, either.

One, one he found, and pulled it up, staring down at it before setting it aside. "What about.. Like that? Wait- or. There's others, I'm sure." He dove in with both hands, pulling out the rocks and formations that were certainly not gembound gems before going into more of them. "It's.. Uhhh... I mean, everyone's got gems, 'n' the lessers drop their's n shit, so..." His shoulders rolled in a shrug.

Alright, alright, alright, he could do this. Breathing in heavily, he nearly imagined the magic curling around his arms, behind closed eyes and into the bag of... Honestly, the bag of death, that he carried.

The little one was looking lonely there, anyways.

Nope. Nothing. He huffed out heavily as his eyes fluttered open, face contorted into one of frustration. "Well, I have this one..." He offered it closer to Fisher, blinking softly.

His single braincell fired off. "Or- or, um. Right, my own," he stumbled through his words, setting the one detected rock by the moonstone as he powered through his own magic to deposit a sliver of selenite into his hand. "Here. This one too?" He offered it, now, between both Fisher and the goose- Star- expectant for instructions on what to do next. "Or... Or I could do more like that one. We can all have kids and be a family and be together or-"

Oh, caves, he was platonically yearning.

@Fisher

Attikias finds a fledgling level rough chunk of soft pink (fbc1b6) morganite.

This stone once belonged to a tall (9ft at head) bird-like alien with a black-pink (black (000 or 333) and pink (ce3c8a)) iridescent coat mixed of feathers and scales with gold (gold (b6af31)) accents. It had tall, bird-like legs with clawed feet. On its back were four large wings, the inner feathers laced with fins so that it could swim as well as fly. It had a medium-length feathered tail. On its slim face were four eyes perched around a thin, golden-yellow beak. The morganite rested on its cheek like a beauty mark. Rising from the back of its head is a golden growth, almost like a halo.

Its slit-pupiled eyes were a gradient of purple (9a2b60) and red (cb1948).

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Nameless

Azizos

Attikias

Fisher

Nameless

Azizos

Attikias

Attikias

Attikias

Game Master CJ