ORIGIN - Life As Usual

Warrior's long, easy trot carried him along the rock of the Crucible's narrow path, now quite familiar to him. He swept past the diamond chrysalis, pausing to nose it over, to check on it; it had been growing steadily, and seemed healthy enough. He still wasn't sure how that had come to be, or if it would hatch and immediately try to kill him, but time would tell. He was determined not to worry himself about it too much in advance.

The light overhead was bright, the cries of the Eyehooks high above the canyon walls echoing down through the ravine, but down here it was at least shaded, here and there, by the sheer depth of the place. He was making his way to the broader river further on, intending to drink his fill and then graze the lusher plants along the edges; already the sparkling play of light across the water danced through the canyon, dazzling his eyes.

He'd found it slightly easier to stay cool, at least, with a paler coat. He had worried, at first, that he would be more easy to pick out--and he probably was; but the sweat of Hydra combined with clinging red dust provided at least a little camouflage. Still, he slowed as he approached the tunnel mouth, leaning out with nostrils flared to take scent, ears rotating to listen for danger.

Ahead, the water scented the air with its fresh and tempting perfume--but he held back, for now, checking closely for danger.

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It was madness to return to the Hydra without a Trial, to face the dangers without promise of reward. Perhaps that was what was so inciting about it-- the rest of the caves had felt strange by comparison. Gatto had been jumping at shadows, skirting around strangers, and found that no one or no where understood the cockatrice better than the harsh, hot sands and blinding, oppressive light.

The flight across the sands was... Tricky, like it normally was. They had new plumage lacing their extremities now, and even though their wings were still mostly leather than bled off heat well, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. They were getting hot fast in their search for the steed that had saved their life, and only the promise of shade from the Crucible kept them pushing forward.

It was better than damn snow, that was for sure. Feathered legs touched down on the stone ridge of the ravine, talons gripping their perch as he gulped down sweltering air. Their magic, at least, summoned a breeze to ruffle his feathers and burn off some of the heat.

Now, it was time to find Warrior. Spreading their wings again, they swept through the gorge, keeping their eyes peeled for--...

... There was a dirty white horse, there. Hadn't the horse living in Hydra been brown? Maybe he had mutated too-- but then again, Gatto didn't know many horses, and it seemed a touch presumative.

"Hey! Do you know-- or are you-- Warrior?" The bird squawked, sweeping over head (and probably, for a moment, giving the poor steed a heart attack that an eyehook was flying by) at a safe enough distance.

Warrior's magic warned him that something was coming, but he did indeed fear, for a moment, that it was an Eyehook sweeping in. He pressed against the rock, going quite still and silent, blinking when it--addressed him.

...Oh.

Warrior stepped out into the open, peering up.

"Oh, ahh--yes. I'm Warrior-" Memory then clicked--he'd seen this one, albeit... a little different, during the Trials. "You--were you the one who was buried?" he asked, head tilting a little; "You're one of the ones from the--the Bone Cave, yes?" He paused, briefly, thinking.

"It's good to see you all right. Are you staying here? In Hydra?" His question was polite, but genuinely interested; it seemed (to him, and his limited grasp of things) that staying in Hydra was a far safer, and thus wiser, option. And his expression of gladness at seeing Agate alive and well was honest, too. Little twists of politics and social niceties were beyond him--he was plainly honest, even naive in that regard.

Warrior paused, wondering briefly if he should ask if Agate had seen Oleander, but-... He wasn't sure he should think about her, anymore. Not after how she'd behaved; she did not care for him. Grim, he pushed the thought away to turn, looking over his own coat. "I woke up white, after all of that," he explained, still a little bewildered by that.

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@Agate Two-Three-Six

The area, for now, remained quiet; the two were--for the moment--safe.

The cockatrice fluttered down into a landing beside the magnificent white stallion, ruffling their plumage and letting the wind carry heat out of their body through the blood vessels in their feathers. This was Warrior, then? Turned white by the Master's magic? What a strange thing-- would the white make the Hydra more deadly for them, or would they blend in, looking like unappetizing bare, stripped bones from high above?

"Yes!" They squawked all the same, "My name is Gatto, though originally I was known by my designation, Agate Two-Three-Six. I have been a Champion of the Trials in Hydra for centuries!" Well, most of that time was spent sleeping, apparently, but the steed did not need to know those particular details.

"The Masters use this place for their games and blood-sports," they went on, more urgently than before. "No one has ever stood up to them before. No one has tried to live in the Hydra before," as far as they knew, "to take this place of games and make it into a living, to defy through endless survival--..." Oh dear, they were starting to run their mouth off a bit too much. Get to the point, Gatto! "Listen, you saved me. I won't forget that."

The cockatrice bowed their head, long feathered tail swishing behind them. "I would like to learn your ways! I have fought and struggled in the Hydra time and time again, but you are on a whole new level. To learn how to thrive here from you would be simply wonderful." They turn their beak away, clacking jaws and grinding mandibles as they shuffle their feet. "That is... I already owe you a life debt, so it is your call. If you would rather I leave you alone, I certainly understand." But they had seen it, the way that beings were stronger together than separate, if they could just let go of their biases and distrust and actually believe in one another.

... They needed somewhere to start, to learn to be an individual, not a toy for the Master's amusement. Warrior seemed like a great first step. And if anyone knew how to overcome the Hydra, it was the horse that had been living here all along.

Belately, they noted the stark whiteness and the comment from Warrior, and squawked, "Oh!" They turned their burning gaze upon Warrior's dark, gentle stare. "That white coat of yours is your "reward", for beating the Master's challenge. They rewarded us all in kind, incentive to fight against one another. But the true reward lies not with them, I think." They held their tongue before they gave another long rant about the cruelties and injustices of the Masters and how they desperately wanted to revolt against the status quo.

It was very difficult waiting for Warrior to process everything they had said, and actually give the stallion a moment to respond. They had always been a chatterbox. It simply wasn't in their nature to sit still and not squawk their beak off.

@Warrior

Warrior blinked a few times, taken by surprise in this wash of words. They flowed over him, through him, bewildering and far too many, but he did his best to struggle to keep up. Much of it was beyond him, speaking of a world he'd never heard of and therefore didn't understand, and when Gatto had finished, he paused to try and make sense of it before responding.

"Ahh--may I ask what Masters are?" he asked, tentatively. It seemed an important question to put context to the rest--the "blood sports" and rewards and all that.

Warrior looked around. "And this place--this is Hydra? My home, this cave?" A thoughtful pause as he looked to Gatto, and did his best to actually answer, rather than only tossing questions back.

He drew himself up, standing and facing Gatto with his full, respectful attention, thinking. "I can tell you who I am, how I live here--how I survive, if that's what you mean? But I don't think it's anything particularly special. Ahh--from what we know--those of us who live here, I mean; there is this cave, and then beyond it, a cave full of bones. We thought it was a place where those who left--Hydra?--got trapped, and died. It was only when you all came in that we realized others must live there."

On impulse, he stepped forward, arched neck leaning out and soft muzzle offered for a brief touch, if Gatto would allow it, to their own face. It was a brief gesture, almost affectionate, more friendly, and with it he said "You don't owe me anything. I was glad to be able to find you, to be there when I was. It was..." and here he paused, drawing back again and looking out along the river, "...strange, seeing so many strangers pour in and act so--well, strangely," he finished, with a quiet laugh.

"I don't know how long a century is but you might know the place better than I do. I'm only a few cycles old. But I survive by keeping an eye out, you know? Being aware of my surroundings. I have magic, if I need to defend myself--when I hatched I was attacked by one of the vultures, here. It's not... safe, exactly. But it's home, and I know it."

Warrior stepped out into the open, looking this way and that as he quietly made his way to the water's edge; there he drank deeply, looking peaceful, tail lightly swishing once or twice behind him. He then looked back to Gatto. "In any case, it's good to meet you properly. I can teach you the magic I use, maybe-? Or at least tell you about it? And show you... I don't know, how I live, day-to-day? If that would help," he added. It was a friendly, if slightly uncertain, offer; and despite the heat of Hydra, Warrior seemed quite at home, and at peace.

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@Agate Two-Three-Six

"The Masters are the ones who orchestrate the Trials. They created me, and others, to play their games. They set the rules, pitting us against one another." Gatto spilled forth word after word, though-- to be technical, it was the Overseers that set the stage and ran the trials, it was at the command of their Masters. No need to confuse Warrior further. (It would not help that Gatto was running on a lot of assumptions, given the number of holes in their memory.) There were lots of little details that would only raise more irrelevant questions, and they weren't the best one to be asking for answers, ludicrous as it was.

They spread their wing to gesture toward the blinding light above, "this is the Hydra! All of this, all the way to the tunnel where we were returned to chrysalis. There's several separate cave chambers beyond, much more than the cave full of bones. Grand forests, cities, lakes..." They couldn't help but let out a little laugh. "If anything, the Hydra is where we are trapped and die. The other caves are much safer... I believe those bones are from a time long ago." They didn't know the details, though. They didn't quite want to know.

The cockatrice was still as the larger horse reached down to softly touch them, insisting that nothing was owed, and they couldn't help the way their feathers fluffed up with surprise. Sputtering, they looked up at Warrior's kind eyes, and they had to force themself to click their beak shut. No, they promised they would drop it if Warrior insisted, but... Maybe someday they'd find a sneaky way to return the favor. Maybe save his life.

They went on to listen to Warrior offer his limited knowledge and his way of life... Only a few cycles old? No wonder they were so naive; but... A few? Were they still a baby? It had been so long since Gatto had been a child, ah... They really couldn't remember anything before the Trials. They considered telling Warrior that they had meant hundreds, even thousands, of cycles, but...

Gatto watched him as he stepped away, half in his memories and half still standing in the moment, as the horse drank deeply from the stream. Never had they stood as calm as Warrior did, at ease with the silence, and it was hard not to feel envious of his tranquil perspective. They perked up again as Warrior spoke once more, offering what little he could to them.

"I would like that!" The bird squawked, strutting up to Warriors side, flicking tail across the dusty earth. "Whatever you would like to show me. It would be an honor to spend a day living as you do." It would be the first time they would be allowed the space to breathe and... live a normal life. Even though from their perspective, it felt far from normal. Regardless, some time away from the Trials and their Masters would be a breath of fresh air.

@Warrior

As he drank, he marvelled over Gatto's words. Grand forests? Lakes, cities? Wonder sparked in him, his imagination flaring out to try and encompass these subjects, but he hadn't the experience for it. Eyes shining he turned back, head canted to one side, water dripping from his muzzle.

"What do they look like, if you don't mind?" he asked softly; "The--cities, and forests? And--lakes?" The word brought to mind the Dead Marsh, but somehow, Warrior didn't think that was... quite right. A river, but--bigger, maybe? He wasn't sure, but the idea of "cities" and "forests" flashed images of towering structures--stone or plant--standing thousands, shoulder-to-shoulder. The ideas fascinated him.

"And these caves lay beyond the bones..? Maybe I'll visit them, then, some day," he said, thoughtfully. But his at-ease stance here, the familiar way he tracked back across the rock, made it clear that this was home, to Warrior; anywhere else would only be sight-seeing.

He took a few steps back toward the ravine, his arched neck craning upward so that he was staring toward its plateaus, for a moment lost in thought. "All right, ahh--where can I start? Safety, I guess. There's a few others who live near me, in a den, but I haven't seen them in awhile--they went to see the other caves, I think. There's little places in the rock you can hide in," he began, words coming slowly as he mulled over what to say. Surely Gatto knew more than he-? He wasn't sure where to start, really. "So, we live in there--there's shade, and places to hide, and the rivers--the water--it's close. We can't live out on the sands--there's no water, no food, no shelter or cover and... well, I guess you know about the Sand-worms. They will come up and eat you," he went on, glancing at Gatto. "Like the ice worm, but-... well, with sand," he added a little awkwardly. "And the swamp's too dangerous. The water's bad, half the time, and there's nowhere to hide if the Eyehooks come. And you can sink, and die. So we live here."

The white horse turned, again, nodding up toward the ravine. "There's... rules to follow, like don't look at the blue spiders, and check hiding-spots for scorpions before you go inside?" Things Warrior had learned the hard way, but he didn't realize he was lucky to have survived. "And I have magic I use--at least, I think it's magic. It lets me see... blood, in things. It's weaker for the scorpions, and the spiders, and the worms, but it's there. So it lets me see if there's an Eyehook coming or a spider in a crevice, before it can see me. That helps, I think--to stay safe, I mean."

Liquid brown eyes blinked at Gatto. "I guess you--know a lot of this? You said you were put in here before, right--by Masters?" He'd have thought it cruel, or unfair, if he even halfway understood it, but Gatto's explanation had left him none the wiser. "What makes the Masters, ah--masters? Why do they pit you against each other and why... do they want you to play games? What do you mean they 'created' you?" he went on. For in Warrior's mind, Gatto's words had meant the following: some 'master' creatures had trained Gembound and sent them to Hydra to play a game. That seemed... unwise, to him, but surely it was better than the cave of bones-?

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@Agate Two-Three-Six

Gatto settled, tucking their wings neatly at their side as they listened to Warrior. First, he had a question, and Gatto was eager to expand on what they knew... How to describe the rest of the caves? "Picture the walls here, but carved and cut down to make chambers where many, many can live. Many of the walls have crumpled--" Not quite as strong as the massive canyons formed by vicious floods, but everything in Hydra had to be tough to survive. "Lots of stones and crystals like the one on your forehead and on my shoulder, all growing wildly throughout the land. Almost no sand, if you can picture it. Mostly rock, and dirt... In one cave, there is a blue crystal spire that grows at least thrice your size." Agate's head tilted. "Of all of the caves, I suspect you could the place that is like the marshes here, but filled with a dense fog, and massive trees that grow out of sight, with a lot more green... Needles, and leaves. The water there is... dubious, but only because of the mud. The ground is more firm, maybe from the roots of the big trees."

Growing excited, they spread their wings and squawked eagerly. "And that is to say nothing of the real forest. There is a place that is so green. The short grasses we get in spurts here grow everywhere, brighter and softer. Bigger plants around them, ferns and-- and trees, too, with trunks thicker than me, with heavy branches and broad leaves that provide plenty of shade. It is warm, but never oppressively hot." The cockatrice tilted their head, eyeing their companion. "You should see it some day. There is even a cavern that is cool, with water that crashes constantly into a big pool. It doesn't flood-- it is all contained, but constantly splashing up a cool mist. Soft greenery grows on the stone there, without roots."

Gatto could honestly go on about the rest of the caves forever. But enough of the rest of the caves; they loved Hydra. It was something they both had in common, hm? "Yes, I've flown away from ice and sand worms alike. And I've never liked the swamp... The air sometimes plays tricks on you. I'd rather take my chances out in the dunes with the worms, really." They had almost drowned plenty of times... Even now, thinking of Mayngo nearly sinking deep into the muck was enough to make them shiver. "You can see blood inside of things?" Curious caught the cock by the tail, dark eyes blinking. "All I can do is make air move around." Or make itself hot, but that was hardly a trick in the Hydra's blinding light.

... Okay, it was fair to say that they knew a lot about the Hydra, but they didn't live here. They just survived. Trying to explain the difference was, well, tricky. "The Masters..." It was hard to explain, really, when you didn't know the full story. "We were born, me and the others with designations; named after stone and number-- Agate Two-Three-Six-- and expected to complete these Trials. As far as I know, we had no other purpose except to fight to the death to complete the Trials, or otherwise survive. We were rewarded when we succeeded, or our stones turned to dust if we failed." Agate clicked their mandibles together. "It seems these days, we can decide if we want to participate or not... But when I was created, we had no choice. They wanted to forge Champions who could conquer their challenges, and they didn't care who died. Truthfully, I didn't care who died either, if it meant I lived." My, how times had changed.

"But then I met those who live outside of the Trials, at the Trial before last. We were given the opportunity to join them, the opportunity to leave the Trials behind. To leave Hydra behind." They had never wanted to leave though, did they? "For the first time, I wanted to change things... But I didn't know how. The Masked Merchant can send us to our chrysalis with just a touch of magic, you remember." Maybe this was putting too much pressure on poor Warrior, who clearly had no clue what he was getting into.

"The Overseers-- those who "oversee" the Master's plans... Do you remember the big, purple spiky fellow with the green eyes? That's one of them-- they hunted down those who didn't play by the rules. No one's ever gone against them and won. But," Gatto laughed, crooning as they threw back their head. "No one's ever lived in the Hydra, either!"

@Warrior

Warrior listened intently.

The cockatrice's description of the various caves was fascinating, immediately so. The place with rushing water and soft greenery, in particular, captured his imagination so strongly that he nearly missed the next few things that Gatto said. "It all sounds beautiful," he marvelled, honest awe in his eyes.

But-... Gatto's speech took, then, a darker turn. Masters who somehow created creatures, and gave them no names, and sent them out to die. The horse's sense of consternation swiftly grew, brow knotting. "That's horrible," he said, and he had to shake his head a little. Who would do that? And--"Why? Why--did they do those things?"

It sounded... awful. But Gatto'd explained, hadn't they-? It was games. These Masters and Overseers and Merchants sent Gembound out to die, formed Champions, just for fun-?

"No one's--ever lived here, before? I know a few others-... Wait, does that mean you want to fight them? The--uh, Merchant and them, I mean?" he asked. He was already considering what that meant; he'd never really fought, before, bar brief skirmishes to save his life.

But... if those creatures were sending others to their deaths, then perhaps it was the right path?

He shook the thoughts away, a little--they were somewhat beyond him--and addressed something that he'd skipped. "I have... magic. I think Hydra's magic. Sand, and stone? Here-" and he turned, focusing.

There was a soft rumble, and then a shard of rock--narrow, but fairly pointed, though only a few feet tall--shoved forth from the rock beneath, coming to rest an instant later at a sand-scattering angle. "Ahh--like that," he explained, taking a breath and looking to Gatto.

From what he'd seen in the Trials, magic wasn't all that rare--unless it was limited to Champions..? He realized, abruptly, that he didn't know all that much about it. "I guess, uh--is magic normal?" Warrior blurted, unsure.

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@Agate Two-Three-Six