ORIGIN

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Nassir shook his head, supplementing it with a brief, "it might just be weather?" The sound hadn't been accompanied by the sound of rainfall, and it was simply wishful thinking that Nemean wasn't still mucking about. Their situation was already shitty enough with her bringing in all of these bugs.

The panther turned away despite his confused "why - ?" and pinned his ears back at the sound of sizzling and surprisingly noisy, graphic squealing from the wallcrawlers. He waited until the noise - and the heat - died down before letting go of his grasp on the energetic shield and looking at the fairly large splodge of ash and glassy, reforming stone, "we can just gather up gems. Get somewhere high so we can - move them to the forum."

As a cheetah strolled up, he chanced a hasty greeting before they spoke, "Zothra -" The note started, at first, with a slight bit of disdain and worry, but then faltered as a recognition of the unfamiliar fluttered in. Then, came the voice, and Nassir was certainly convinced this was a total stranger masquerading as Zothra. Regardless, though, he knew Pride's name, so there must be some sort of relationship there.

Nassir left it to Pride to do the explaining, plodding forwards and taking this moment's respite to focus on spying the - well, the largest gemstone he could see immediately. The complexities of Orion's ruined walls made it difficult to search below, so he looked higher into the crystalline ceiling. A particularly large-seeming quartz cluster jutted from the stone, and Nassir wrenched his telepathic grip around it. His face crinkled with near-physical strain, head tilting and pulling back like he really were trying to drag the gemstone from the wall.

With a resounding crack, it came loose, and he hurled it haphazardly into the center of the somewhat nearby Forum. Score.

@Pride

For the most part, the Green Wallcrawlers simply ate whatever gemstones they came across. But the one that Nassir flung was large enough to draw their attention.

Much of the swarm--but not all, nothing more than perhaps fifty yards away from the point at which the bouncing gemstone came to rest--turned, their shimmering emerald bodies glinting as they wriggled off in its direction.

Pride turned to follow the fling of the gemstone, eyes narrowing in concentration. He could see many of the bugs going for it, but not all; perhaps if he led them that way-?

He turned, brow furrowing--and then his eyes widened.

"Ahh, Reign! Good to see you--and just in time. We had... another cheetah. She looked much like you, similar gemstone too but on her chest, but she was utterly useless. Irresponsible. Hence the... confusion," he added, glancing to Nassir. "She is, at least in part, responsible for this mess. Nemean wanted us to do something. She is angry that we did not, and I suppose this is her revenge," he added, sourly.

He snorted, grimacing, at the scent of blood still rising from his chest. It wasn't a deep wound, but the dripping red was still bothersome, worrying to him.

"They eat gemstone, it seems? Or are attracted to it, in any case. I'm going to try to make a smaller... breadcrumb trail, as it were, to the middle there, where Nassir--this is Nassir, by the way--threw that one."

Pushing all thoughts of failed former members and dripping blood from his mind, the white stag tried his best to concentrate on magicka.

His diamonds sparkled, and a series of quiet crumbling cracks announced his success. Small pieces of gemstone rose up from the rock, glinting, providing a tasty and easily-consumed method of leading more Wallcrawlers toward Nassir's larger goal.

@Reign

Reign
He who is to be a good ruler
must have first been ruled
[Image: N008Q9U.gif]

Panting, Reign gave the panther a side-ways look, "Beg pardon?" shaking himself off with a pant. Such a short sprint had been exhausting, and the (rather embarrassing) tumble had not helped.

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" When things settled, he'd have to ask Pride just how long. Clearly a while, if they'd had enough time for this 'Zothra' to come and go, and for this new Gemstone to settle in. And, from how weak he felt, a good time longer than he would think from that.

"Ah, you will have to tell me that story then." his voice dripped with obvious disdain--how dare this cheetah cause his... family? Were they his family? He'd need to think on that later--trouble?

"Is your chest alright?" he shook himself, observing the dripping blood with furrowed 'brow', abruptly becoming aware of just how hungry he was. He'd have to take care of that later...

He flashed his teeth at a nearby group of mites, launching a small ball of electrically charged bile at the mites.

"Alas, I have no such magic. What can I do to be of assistance?"

@Nassir

Ah - his name was Reign. This wasn't just some impostor - Nassir's gaze flickered down, finally fixating on the fact that, indeed, the gemstone wasn't on the chest. It was strange, though, how they both had seemed perfectly identical at a brief glance. He didn't have much time to think about it, really - he was more focused on dislodging another cluster of quartz and placing it at the end of their little breadcrumb trail.

Navy's been at this post for hours trying to figure out what else he'd do - but the panther was honestly just too unfamiliar with Reign to engage in any full conversation with him or dish out orders. He didn't want to butt in, really. Nassir's focus was elsewhere, anyways - as stated before.

Another hunk of stone went sailing through the air, joining the first with a great clattering.

@Pride

The mites continued to swarm--not only to the gemstone, but around the whole of Orion.

The three Gembound could, perhaps, make a large dent in their population--but who was to know what size dent, really? Where were the Wallcrawlers coming from, and how many were there? They seemed to just keep pouring from the walls, from every dark crevice, thousands upon thousands of them...

They could continue to wipe them out, certainly, or they could leave... they could hope the Wallcrawlers left, back where they came from--or that they did not swarm into the other caves, too.

Pride winced as he looked around, though he offered a grateful nod to Reign.

"I am glad you are both here, in fact--and well, of course--but this may be... difficult."

He racked his mind, trying to think of just what the hell he could do about this, and regretting never having properly learned fire magic. But there was something; it wasn't amazing, and it wouldn't kill them all, but it might be a decent start. "I feel vaguely bad for the creatures," he went on, silver eyes flashing to follow the course of Nassir's thrown stone. "They did not ask for this, and they hardly seem aggressive. Mindless, harmless, but for Nemean's foolish interference."

The stag sighed through his nose, and stepped a little away from the other two, focusing on his spellwork.

Nothing came of it, and he grunted. "I could create water, fill this area with mist--as much as I can--and then set it to boiling, as steam. That would kill a large number, but certainly not all... nor would it be pleasant. And my magic is not responding properly."

It was said with mild irritation, rather than alarm, clear that it was a standard everyday magic failure rather than anything so ominous as Nemean's further interference.

@Reign

Reign
He who is to be a good ruler
must have first been ruled
[Image: N008Q9U.gif]

The cheetah's ears twitched, taking in the mites that were going this way and that, some chasing the stone that the panther--Nassir, they'd said his name was--was throwing, others moving towards them. "T'is our gems or them, Pride, and we shall be doing them a kindness by releasing them from Nemean's control."

He inclined his head at Pride, and hummed "That sounds like a good idea.", his crown gleaming for a moment as a shield formed to allow Pride his work.

@Nassir

Nassir's flank twitched at hearing the pixie's name, but he merely closed his eyes and leveled out with a breath. He opened them again, and nodded slightly in Reign's direction. "It's us or them - but... it doesn't hurt to try and... make this as quick as possible." Put them out of their misery as quickly as possible, anyways. "At least those clusters might - draw them out of hiding. Into your mist."

When nothing came of Pride's initial attempt, the dark beast dipped his head lightly and strode forth. "Take your time - we'll protect you," he called, and judging from the shimmer of energy before Reign, the cheetah had the same idea. Magicka sparked, and Nassir put up his own shield, protecting Pride from any wallcrawlers (and his own magic, perhaps) from another side.

@Pride

The stag focused, grimly, willing his magicka to damn well work this time. Flanking him to either side, the two cats and their shimmering shields provided powerful, but perhaps not wholly necessary, protection; the insects seemed mindlessly wandering, rather than fierce, and aside from a few that he had had to shake free of his forelimbs, thus far they'd seemed to mostly disregard him.

It did free him up, though, to focus on his spell--though, once again, he regretted never having taught himself fire.

Mist began to billow up, then: a shroud of--well, cloud--forming and condensing, wet and heavy in the air. The stag, grimacing, pushed it forward, ahead of himself, and grew it, swelled it as large as he could.

"Right," he began, and braced himself. His head was beginning to ache, a little, with all this magic use. Or maybe from being woken up at some unholy hour, he thought. "Just a little longer--presuming my magic holds," he added wryly.

@Reign

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Nassir

Game Master Dark

Pride

Reign

Nassir

Game Master Dark

Pride

Reign

Nassir

Pride