ORIGIN

Leaving her home... well, that was hard.

Really hard.

She didn't do it anymore, hadn't in... ages. But Nettleberry (no, it was Nettle now, wasn't it?) had retreated to her Chrysalis, and she intended on being long gone before she came out ~~if she ever did~~ when she did. Agony was gone, and Shimmer was dead. Mother was gone, Huckle was gone, Papa was dead, and everyone else was dead or gone or or or

She was leaving, though, and not certain if she was coming back. A cave had opened, some time ago, a new one, a dangerous one that, she'd heard, might have treasures, and she was hoping to go to it, prove that she was better, bring them back to those she had wronged, return those Gemstones that would never bring them back but would, hopefully, find somewhere permanent to rest.

But she feared leaving Nettle alone. She struggled, though she didn't show it. Couldn't see much, and struggled some with moving around. Still hurt from losing Shimmer, from Go-Agony abandoning them, though with her clearer mind she couldn't blame them.

And though she isolated herself, that didn't mean she was deaf. She still heard, still knew of things. Knew of the Collector, all the way in Canis, and that had been a terrifying journey but she hoped that it would be well worth it. If she could get something from him (~~it?~~) that might help Nettle, then it would be worth the danger.

So she slunk into Canis, ears twitching this way and that, sniffing the air as she called out "Hello, Collector?" in that raspy, underused voice of hers.

"Jayberry... We meet at last. Truly, you are an artist."

The figure that swept out--tall, black-cloaked--seemingly from nowhere dipped into a low bow, coming upright after a moment with a flourish. Pinprick crimson eyes fixed on her from beneath the hood, and his voice--smooth, rich and elegant--came from within. "What can I do for you?"

@Jayberry

They knew her, she was quick to discover, and that didn't bode well.

'You are an artist' it (he?) said, and a sour taste filled her mouth, but she wanted to stay on their good side, so she flashed them a grin, flicking her canines forward to flash her alexandrite fang, the one that (she fought a shudder) so many had seen just before they died, and that she always tried to keep tucked away no matter how much trouble it caused her.

"Thank you," she returned his bow, a humanoid paw tucked to her chest as she lowered the front of her torso until her nose was almost touching the dirt that smelled so strongly of bone and long-gone death and rot, fighting the urge to sneeze.

The question was, how to word this? Words had never, exactly, been her strong suit. She was muscle and fight, her family's bulk. But now she was alone, and she had to be bulk and tongue both. "I... I'm going into Hydra, soon. And I know I might die. My daughter is weak, is sickly, and though that doesn't a Bloodberry make, she is still of my magic. If you'd allow it, I'd like to do something for you in return for something to, if not protect her, help her."

"Hydra?" came the smooth voice, surprise evident. The towering figure drew up, as if taken aback. "Well, my dear, I needn't say that a child's best protector--if your creation can be considered a 'child' any longer, of course--is their own mother." There seemed to be a trace of sympathy in the words, or perhaps sadness.

"But..." He leaned back against the nearest bone fortress, arms crossing, furred hands emerging to thoughtfully tap taloned fingers on the opposite cloak-covered arm.

"...But if you are set on it, I may be able to help you. There is little more you can do for me, however. Your skills are limited, if I'm not mistaken, to violence-? Though--ahh." His head tilted, those scarlet eyes fixing on the wolf-creature, as if he'd thought of something. "There is a small piece of violence I require. Are you willing, Jayberry..? One final act of ferocity, to ensure a better life for your child..? I will not ask you to kill--I want a limb from a certain someone, a very specific limb. And don't worry; it will be no one that you recognize. That will be the price I ask."

He paused, and the head tilted to and fro, those great and curling horns shifting in the air. "In return, I will give you a choice for your child... I can grant them a way to see everything more clearly. Or a golden collar, enchanted to protect its wearer. I have, too, a cloak that would allow them to hide themselves--to disguise as any creature they have met, both in form, and in voice...?"

He paused, and then clasped his hands together.

"Do any of those three appeal to you, Jayberry..? Do we have a deal?"

@Jayberry

The figure was... surprisingly startled, Jayberry's ears twitching back as she nodded, "Hydra, yes." and any other time she would have snapped at the sympathy, it would have set fury deep in her chest, and her daughter was no creation, she was her pup and--when had she stopped thinking of her pup as a moosegoose, had she ever? She, Jayberry, was a moosegoose, yes. Or... was she? Papa was gone, and Mama had disowned her, so was she a moose? A Moosewolf? Or... just a wolf? No, she wasn't just a wolf anymore. She'd seen her reflection.

The horns.

Those eyes.

Those stained teeth, the snakelike fangs.

She was no wolf.

She was a monster, doomed to wander as one, to be treated as one, and what more did she deserve?

But then--hope--the creature leaning, the 'but' hanging in the air, and she raised her head, unblinking eyes locked on him. But, yes, her skills were limited to violence, though she hated to admit it, though it set bile to rising in her throat, that itch in her gem that made her want to pull and pull and pull til it tore free and clattered to the ground like so many of those Gemstones

And he didn't want her to kill, but to maim, to injure. And she hated to, just the phantom thought of blood clenching her throat, twisting her stomach, but for Nettle?

For Nettle, it'd be all worth it.

"To see...?" she moved to step forward, almost enchanted, but to protect them, would that be even better? She didn't know, her pup needed to see but she feared for her safety.

"A way to see... I want her to see. I'll do anything." she nodded, looking up at The Collector, fearing what he would ask.

"Goood," the Collector crooned, nodding his head solemnly. "There is a white bird. A waterfowl, of some kind--white, pristine. Bring me one of its wings, and I will give you what you ask. I will give you an item to take to your... Daughter, is it?" Head tilted, his tone polite, curious.

"Something that will grant her powers of magical sight." From within the depths of his cloak, the Collector--reaching in--drew a parchment forth with a flourish. Lines of dark writing covered its surface, and he held it forth, crouching to lay it on the ground. "This lays out our deal. Sign here," he added smoothly, tapping one long talon at the large, blank portion of one half of the page's bottom--a part just large enough for Jayberry to press one forepaw.

@Jayberry

A white waterfowl, pristine. Her exact opposite, pure to tainted. How ironic. The Collector must be getting a laugh out of this although, she wondered, why it had chosen that bird had been chosen in particular.

"Yes, my daughter, Nettle." she nodded, mind already going back to the Chrysalis, carefully tucked away where she'd gone to sleep and just... never woken back up.

'Something that will grant her powers of magical sight.' and she would have slaughtered the entirety of the Caves for it. A parchment was laid out, and she was told to 'sign', and she didn't know what that meant but she could guess, so she reached out and, as carefully as she could, pressed her paw to the blank portion, before stepping back and looking up at the Collector.

As the wolf's paw touched parchment, there was a flash of light, and the smell of smoke: and a burnt, long-thumbed, razor-clawed pawprint was left seared upon its surface.

With a sweep of his arm, never taking unblinking eyes off Jayberry, the Collector stood and rolled this up, tucking it back away. "The contract is sealed," he declared, and he sounded pleased. "I wish you luck, though I doubt the bird will be a problem for you. Oh, and a word of advice..."

The Collector's tall figure leaned forward, his voice lowering conspiratorially. "I doubt it will harm you at all. It's hardly a fighter. But if I were you, I'd get in, and out... act quickly, you know..? Otherwise, it might hurt you after all, and more badly than you might think."

One crimson eye winked, and the Collector disappeared.

@Jayberry

The wolf flinched back at a flash of light, the scent of smoke, half expecting a burning pain that never came, though she still brought her hand up to look it over,finding unharmed paw pads.

The Collector, clearly, had magics she'd never encountered before.

Her ears perked, and she looked up at the Collector. Any advice was welcome, though she wasn't certain if his advice was something she would want. "I... understand?" though really she didn't, and then he was gone, and she gave a confused whine, stepping forward after him, sniffing and finding the air still holding that strange scent.

Her fur stood on end, and she shivered as she turned, fleeing back towards home--she had a bird to find but, first, she wanted to check on her daughter.

Jayberry

Game Master Dark

Jayberry

Game Master Dark

Jayberry

Game Master Dark

Jayberry

Game Master Dark

Jayberry