ORIGIN

Vargas settled himself in place, watching as the two children clicked together like perfect pieces of an IKEA chair.

Excellent.

"Move. Cooperate. Cast magic and maneuver. I will watch you," he added, without voicing the implied addition of "and judge you most harshly."

Alpha moved somewhat stiffly, but Vargas was entirely unaware of its uneasiness. It was hard for creatures such as them--stiff-faced and rough-skinned--to show emotion at all.

Titanite settled itself in, gripping to Orthoclase. Now that it was there, it felt comfortable, at least--not mentally; it didn't like not having earth beneath its root-feet but at least it was physically not in pain or anything.

It looked up, gripping Alpha's shell, and fixed its gaze on Vargas.

Plants wound up, subtle at first, for the Overseer's four limbs, at wrists and ankles--not strong, they were never that strong, but-... enough. Enough for a demonstration, at least.

"Get him," it rasped, simply, one long-taloned finger extending to point at their Overseer.

The slink of vines lightly tugging his wrists and ankles had him glancing down.

The thundering roar of feet had him looking back up.

The instant realization and reaction could be best summarized with the following thought: Wait no-

He'd probably be proud of them for such immediate, powerful cooperation but right now he absolutely did not want to get rammed, or whatever Orthoclase-Alpha was planning, at speeds of "magic wind blowing him forward way too fast." For all his massive size Vargas wasn't a damn tank covered in chitin.

The vines, thankfully, were slender and their bindings not all that tight--the spellcast, he noted (even in his 'oh shit' reaction times) was weaker than it could have been. Perhaps due to having been used, over and over, on Orthoclase-Alpha already. He tugged free with a mighty heave of his limbs, and leapt aside--perhaps just in time.

If he were lucky, he might even get that cartoonish rush of air as his two overachieving spawn rushed just past him.

Titanite almost lost his grip when Orthoclase-Alpha suddenly shot forward like (and this metaphor didn't really work for Titanite, given the setting and all) a steam locomotive. "Like a red mouse toward lost shiny beads?" Maybe, if not quite as poetic.

In any case, it scrambled to cling to its mighty steed, a slow, quiet hiss of surprise escaping it. It saw the green blur of Eridanus flash past. The green light of Vargas' eyes as the Overseer eyed them, and moved to leap aside.

It wasn't sure if Orthoclase-Alpha would manage to intercept the attempted dodge of their target, and so Titanite just hung on, for the most part.

He did spare an instant to try and cast his magic out under Vargas' feet--a slippery mushroom mat might slow him down, if not tumble him completely. But there wasn't a lot of time to plan it, or focus on it, so he wasn't sure how effective it would be.

He also didn't think through the possibility that Orthoclase might have to chase Vargas--assuming it chose to continue pursuit--over the same slippery surface, if he even succeeded his magic.

Comedy was on offer all around, it seemed, because even as Alpha scrambled not to faceplant a tree, Vargas was scrambling on the sudden carpet of soft, wet fungus that had sprouted up underfoot. He ran in place for an instant, wet leaves thrown up in clumps behind him as he staggered, each step nearly dropping him. He managed--barely--not to fall, though it was a damn close thing, and scrambled away a dozen yards or so before turning back, staring at the pair.

"Better than I'd hoped!" he boomed, and then paused, to ensure they weren't actually intending on assaulting him further.

In his day, chasing him and then killing him wouldn't have been... entirely out of the question, though he'd certainly have tested them hard in actually managing such a feat. "I will return to speak with you further, Titanite, and we will discuss... possibilities. Do the pair of you have anything to add? Or to ask," he added; they'd earned that much, at least.

Or, Orthoclase had, in any case.

Titanite clung on for dear life, and if it hadn't been such a perfect, saddle-like fit with Orthoclase's carapace it may well have tumbled off into the leaves.

As it was, even after Alpha managed to scramble to a halt, it simply sat there--as if not realizing it should probably dismount, now, casually sitting on the back of its mighty steed as Vargas spoke. Only belatedly did it glance at the toxic quills before it, and then--carefully--unfold its limbs and slide to the dirt.

Remembering its manners, it answered respectfully, the strange rattling whisper to its words. "I have... no questions... Overseer," it answered, standing beside its sibling.