ORIGIN

Oliver clung to Venari with blind terror and exhilaration struggling for dominance in his mind. On the one hand, he'd never moved so fast, and it was awesome; on the other, he felt like he might fly off, smash into a wall and break every damn bone in his body any second. He clung for dear life, pressed low against her carapace, and when they began zipping through whipping vines and leaves, he pressed his face down, too.

Only when they arrived did he slowly pry himself free, panting and wide-eyed, and tremblingly drop to the ground.

"You're... fast," he told her, admiringly and dizzied both. And then, he followed her--creeping his way in through the entrance of her den, and peering about at what he saw. There were shattered shards of glittering gemstone across the floor--brilliant and clear--and a painting covering much of the rear wall.

Fascinated, he crept in farther, and then pushed up to look around. There wasn't enough greenery, for his tastes, but when was there? "It is pretty," he agreed, with feeling. "If you want me to grow flowers and stuff for you, I can?" He glanced to the insectoid creature, and offered a smile, and then made his way to her feet--her many, many feet--and the diamond shards scattered around them.

Slowly, he sat, and then gently picked one piece up: a larger slice, thin at one end; and he held this delicately, turning it over in his palms. He tried to focus on his magic, but--as it sometimes did--it decided to betray him entirely. Instead of bright and pretty, the gemstone shaded to a near-black, and he blinked and frowned.

Apologetically, he looked up to his new friend. "Um--I'm sorry. It does this, sometimes. I can fix it--it'll just take awhile to do these all, but I can stay for however long it takes? If you're okay with that," he added.

His fur and feathers, at least, were finally smoothing down from their wild ride here.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

Oliver fired her a smile. He was growing more and more fond of Venari, and quickly, too; the way she shrugged those terrifying legs was such a... relatable gesture, despite her alien appearance. And her fumbling, too, with words.

He didn't correct her, though, instead agreeing:

"Yeah, and keeping it--uh, rained--that's hard," he said. He gave her a bright, happy smile at her thanks--she was one of the politest Gembound he'd ever met (if that's what she even was). "You're very welcome! I'm glad to help."

He looked down, focusing again; this time it was hard, but doable, the black slowly reversing and clarity returning to the diamond shard. It went from transparent, to pale, to a soft and golden glow, and once it held a good shine he held it out to her with a somewhat-apologetic smile.

"I think that's as good as this one will get. I'll do the next one. Hopefully I can make some of them real bright. What are you doing with them, exactly?" he asked, glancing to her curiously. "And do you mind if--I ask how long you've lived here? I lived here for a long time and I don't think I ever even heard of you." He gave her another brief, admiring smile, no longer seeing mandibles and too-many-legs but instead a bright, friendly personality; and then he picked up another diamond shard, and looked it over.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

Oliver peered up, watching the shining stone, and blinking. He smiled. It was pretty, in a sparklingly simple way: only rock, perhaps, but the glinting of light over color in the dark space was fascinating to watch. The screech of mandible on diamond had his ear-tufts flatten back, a wince darting across his face and quickly replacing the smile.

He hunched over, picking out another piece as he spoke.

"Well, it looks really nice. It's a nice home! What--um. What do you mean by, 'designed?'" he then asked, glancing up and blinking.

Back to his 'work,' then; a brief moment of focus in an attempt to cast the next shattered fragment into glowing light. It flared up, a soft golden-white like the last, and Oliver--beaming another smile, happy to be able to help his new friend--pushed up to half-stagger forward on awkward hind legs, holding this one up in his bird-claw forefoot. "It's gonna look really nice, I think. Did you do this?" he added, nodding to the painting with curiosity in his tone.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

...Designed? Oliver thought about this as he shuffled back to the diamond chunks, cupping another in birdlike claws.

Had he been designed..?

At Venari's elaboration, though, he flashed her a bright, encouraging smile."Well, it's nice that Gembound're making you gifts like this? It's always nice to have friends," he added, and then glanced down at the diamond piece he held.

A moment's focus, then...

Another diamond shard flared up with a glittering light, reflecting brief and bright like a disco ball. Oliver stood, padding back over to Venari again, offeringup this piece as he spoke.

"Anyway, I don't think I was designed? Dad's a black dog, he said he's, um. Void. He's weird? But nice. And Mom's a crow, she likes shiny things like this, too. They decided to make us, one day. I've got Dad's stone. White--that's my sister? She's got Mom's stone."

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

Luckily, Oliver didn't seem too fixed on any one topic, flowing smoothly into answering Venari's question without dwelling on what had come prior.

"Oh, um. No, I don't--think so?" A squint, thoughtful, and then he turned and shuffled back to the shards, squatting again. He peered up at Venari for a moment, thinking. "I think... those things--those words--are for, like... um. Ally's when you share a goal? So you're cooperating, you don't have to like each other, you know? And uhh. Comrade... I guess is someone you fight alongside? But they probably get along better than allies, at least. I think friend is more... when you like someone, you know? You don't have to share goals, or even... ideals. You can--uhh."

A pause. Black claws, gently cradling the diamond shard; deep focus. And gradually, Oliver fell back into his answer.

"Like... You can appreciate the person. You enjoy their company? You like who they are." He smiled up at her, again. "You might not always agree with what they do but... you maybe bring them gifts, and like being around them, talking to them. You'd wanna protect them from being hurt." He didn't want to ask Venari 'are we friends?' since... well, the concept alone had been foreign to her up until a moment ago. And he didn't want to push her, either. Instead he looked back down to the shard, giving her time to concentrate--and with a quiet thud, a sort of implosion of light, this piece went pitch black, again. It seemed to consume light, instead of offer it, and Oliver sighed, a little sadly. "I think sometimes I accidentally use Dad's magic, instead of Mom's," he lamented wryly, glancing up with an apologetic look to his maybe, possibly, friend.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}