ORIGIN

For the first little while, Ghanyarah had enjoyed the rainfall. It was steady, producing a quiet and melodic thrumming that filled the cave with gentle sound. He liked the water, liked the feeling of it hitting his tough hide, liked the taste and the smell of the air, and the feel of sliding through the muddy substrate below. But eventually, the rain had cooled the atmosphere and Ghanyarah felt himself growing cold. His lowered body temperature made him sluggish and lazy, desperate to find sources of heat. The rainfall made it difficult for him to hunt, too; he had since taken to the channels that wove between the massive trees, using his water magic to spear fish that he could eat. Alas, fish were not a favored meal of his.

Ghanyarah had descended from his tree, slowly making his way through the jungle room. Above, the misty clouds churned and let loose a consistent torrent of light drops. He raised his head, watching the rain fall from seemingly nowhere, but he knew the clouds lingered in the ceiling of the room. Sunset eyes would flicker over the canopy of leaves above, seeking out the clouds between the leaves. Then he would continue on his path, flicking his tongue and tasting the air. The smell of wet earth was ever present, the stench of mud and moist leaf litter. He moved on, his long body winding through the muck. There was no use in him trying to bask on the tree branch as usual, given the rain, even with the lights flickering he wouldn't be able to warm himself. So, the next best option was to start moving around and hope that his working muscles would generate some heat. The komodo dragon had taken to a routine trail through the jungle, one that wound around from his tree to the massive, towering art tree that he had once taken Eve to.

Partway along the route, Ghanyarah had tasted the smell of another creature on the air. It was warm, that of a mammal, but where? He narrowed his eyes and stopped, raising his head again. The reptile scanned the surrounding jungle, and there he took notice of a boulder. In the shadow of a crevice, a small animal hid from the rain. Ghanyarah remained still, wondering if the thing had seen him. He could barely make out any of its details, whether it was another sentient Gembound or a potential meal. At this point, Ghanyarah wasn't about to split hairs on the matter - he was hungry, and this thing had trapped itself in a boulder. He tried to tap into the moisture falling from the ceiling, in the air, on the hair of the little fennec fox-

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And suddenly, he could feel it, the magic burning in the gleaming morganite crest atop his head. The water in Quix's fur would begin to frost over, but it probably wouldn't be enough to immobilize her completely.

The lizard sat and waited, watching as the moisture in the little animal's fur began to crystallize and freeze. He could pick out the glistening of ice forming in amongst the shadows, but had little time to actually freeze the creature solid before it had realized what was going on. Suddenly, the little fox yelped and darted out of the crevice, lunging into the mud and rolling around. It was enough to break Ghanyarah's concentration, snapping off the field of magicka that would have otherwise allowed him to freeze the water. The reptile sneered and reeled back, fearing that he'd been made - fortunately, it seemed the fox was too preoccupied trying to get rid of the ice, and still hadn't noticed him. At that point, Ghanyarah dropped onto the ground, flattening himself. He, too, was slick with mud and seemed to blend seamlessly with the substrate, which apparently worked in his favor.

The fox suddenly spoke out, suggesting that she was no mere lesser Gembound. But Ghanyarah was unfazed; his stomach still churned with hunger, and he needed the warmth of a fresh meal. She asked for Cancer daddy, but he only recognized part of the second word. Daddy - dad? Like Aquarian. But not, because she said Cancer, so that must have been her dad. Whatever. He lay in wait, watching the little creature get up and begin to walk in his direction. Perhaps he still had a chance! Ghanyarah waited, wide eyes pinned on her. His muscles ached for release - suddenly, the komodo dragon lunged forward, hoping that his quick reflexes would reward him with a meal.

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With a lightning lunge, Ghanyarah landed just in front of Quix. His gaping jaws dove forward, hoping to scoop Quix up at her midsection.

Sure enough, Ghanyarah's aim had been true. He lunged at the little critter and scooped her up in his wide jaws, hoisting her up at her midsection. He was two seconds from adjusting his grip on her so that he could crunch her up and eat her when she suddenly squealed and then commented on the gleaming morganite crest atop his head. But that was only the beginning. Ghanyarah had faltered, and that was his biggest mistake - the fennec fox suddenly began chattering away about the rain and the cold and how he must have saved her from it, and then about the stone sprouting from his skull, and then his skin, and starting asking if she could hug him and cuddle him and suddenly there was a thrashing of limbs as she attempted to do what, snuggle him?

Startled, Ghanyarah spit her out and jumped back, standing tall on those muscular legs of his. It was a defensive posture, assumed mostly because Ghanyarah was frankly rather confused. She had put up too much of a fight for him to swallow down so easily, and besides, she seemed to misunderstand the concept of being eaten. Facing the internal struggle between his hunger and a good conscience (which Ghanyarah, for the most part, lacked), the reptile stood back and tried to understand her, at the same time trying to decide if he truly wanted to pursue eating this thing.

As expected, the fennec fox didn't seem to respond to him releasing her other than by jumping around, yipping and barking into the air and making just a general scene. Had Ghanyarah ears, they'd be pressed flat against his head. Thankfully, his hearing wasn't as primed as his sense of sight or smell or taste, so he didn't really need to cover his ears to avoid the sudden assault of noise. She eventually stopped to invite him to play a game, then dropped to the ground, wriggling her hind end. Before he could answer, she darted away and he struggled to keep track of her, watching her as she ran circles around him and giggled manic like some kind of wicked spirit. Trying to eat her was definitely a mistake. He should have just kept going on his walk...

She tagged him - the invite was familiar, that's the game he played with Dragon, wasn't it? - but Ghanyarah wouldn't budge. In fact, he only stood taller, narrowing his eyes and staring down at the little creature. Finally, for the first time, his lips parted and he would speak: "Ghanyarah does not play with his food." He answered skeptically, tilting his head slightly. This little thing wasn't his kin, wasn't his brother or friend or anything. This thing was food. Very hyperactive, very fast food, but food none the less. "You should be running away." The reptile pointed out, still quizzical about her behavior. By all accounts, it didn't make any sense.