The goose had found the gemstones some time ago - returning to the place she'd emerged, in search of some kinds of answers - what she was supposed to do, why this had all happened...and perhaps the entrance to Hydra would give her something. But she'd been concerned with something else at her return to this place - a number of gemstones, most of them quite large, lined up at the tunnel's mouth.
She paused, confused.
So she sat down to wait, watching curiously, for the creatures within to emerge.
As she broke the gemstone away and tumbled out, she blinked, trying to remember what was happening, looking back at the entrance to the desert-cave. At first she pulled a blank, but then she remembered what she'd been doing there and she looked around. Nobody else was up, maybe others had already left, but she was alone.
Wait...no, she wasn't there was a bird sitting a little ways away, staring straight at her with curiosity. She didn't recognize the bird and got to her feet, stumbling over. "Hey, uh, I don't remember you running the Trials with us? Are you just waiting for someone?"
She watched with amazement as a zebra emerged from the shards of one of the stones, silent as she trotted over. She looked...like a normal zebra, besides the color which, she noted, was pale and tinted red, like her. Had they all gone through the same ordeal as her? She wondered, then, if she could get some information from her about what they'd been doing. Maybe there were answers here.
She shook her head lightly with a small laugh.
She looked down at herself - she knew, that her own reward was for the merchant's help with revival but she couldn't help but be disappointed that nothing else was different about her. "A lot of us get mutations and stuff, but my reward is different. Still, maybe I could help?"
She deflated a bit, disappointed.
She sighed and folded back her wings, the gem bouncing back to settle on her chest again.
Still, she sympathized with the goose. If she had Gatto's stone, she would love it more then life itself. She would do anything to bring them back to life. The idea came to her head, softly at first, but then all at once. "Have you ever thought about reviving it? There's life inside, right? Maybe that will bring you some answers."
The suggestion didn't phase her - of course she'd thought about it. Almost every day she had. But there were so many reasons not to even try it. She'd once felt uncomfortable with the idea, almost like this was too precious to her to even be revived, that the creature inside would never be the same once it was given new life, but now that that discomfort was gone, and she yearned only to see who it was, she feared she'd fail and the chance would be lost forever.
And something, deep in her, told her she wasn't worthy enough for it. She'd lost the right to revive it long ago. And she had a uncomfortable feeling why.
This was such a nice thing she was doing, right? When Gatto woke up, they'd be so proud of her for being so kind. Being generous was an attractive quality and, after all, it wasn't like Oleander was lying - why would she ever need her give life again? Gatto actually dying and needing this chance to revive didn't even cross her mind. There was just no way they'd ever die and leave her behind.
She stared with shock at Oleander. It was incredible that she was offering this to her - it was not something she was ready for and, for just a moment, she felt of that glimmer of hope that shone so brightly so much of the time. But then all of her insecurities came back, pressing down and choking her, forcing her to tentatively shake her head.
Indecisiveness plagued her mind.
She reached down to gingerly touch the goose's head before walking away, glancing back once before exiting the tunnel.
*exit