ORIGIN - [Cetus Group Quest] - The Stolen Collar

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"A cave-draggling krawkravaver," corrected the crow. "It's what he is!"

Eve followed Dragon to the Heart, wings beating constantly in an attempt to keep her in the air - but she still dipped up and down a little. Upon arriving, she began circling the area, landing once or twice a little away from Dragon and Usui to peck at the ground before taking off again.

She didn't go particularly far, but she was back on top of Dragon's head in a matter of minutes. She fluffed herself up and settled down, briefly preening her chest-fluff.

"I don't see anything around here," said the crow. "When did Aquarian last see it?"

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It was an odd but definitely a refreshing, much welcome change to see a more engaged Dragon. Did nerves make him so chatty? Usui couldn’t fathom this duo for the life of him and so walked silently, pale green eyes scanning their route meticulously. Nothing but flora and fauna though – not a single sight of the red cape and gem-studded gold collard Dragon mentioned. Furthermore, the never-ceasing rain made everything muddy and the fog did not really help their cause. Usui furrowed his brows as he looked upwards at the tall ledge. He couldn’t see anything on its surface but Eve could and she apparently saw nothing.

"A scent. Eve, is there any leaf, or pebble, which might have the scent of the cape?” The youth called against the beating rain that was splattering on his face.

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Dragon couldn't be much help, here. He sat under the ledge, staring up, and all he could do was add his suggestions--he couldn't reach the ledge, couldn't even see up there.

"Brings some rocks down? Or are there footprints? Is there anything, can you smell? Can birds smell?"

He leaned up as high as he could but he was an alligator, not a giraffe, and he couldn't really extend any closer with his neck. He started shifting on his feet as he waited, antsy and impatient with worry, even hopping up and down a little. As he did so, he explained somewhat the relationship between himself, Aquarian, and the collar.

"Usui when you met me a big stupid cat, it was like you but black, he had attacked me and we fought and he tried to eat me and he was a jerk. So I didn't tell you all the stuff I was doing. The pile wasn't for me, it was for Aquarian. For Dad. He said that I can only learn all the secrets of the cave if I live for a really long time, and that he'll protect me and anyone with me if we keep feeding him, so I thought that'd be the best way to do it. But now with the collar gone I'm not sure he'll do it anymore--not 'till it's back." He glanced back toward the lion, trying to see if Usui understood everything that he was saying. If he understood why the collar was so important.

"Maybe if we all bring his collar back he'll protect you two, too." His voice was weakly hopeful, nothing more, but it was all he could hope to offer in return for their help.

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"I don't know what a scent is," she said.

She nudged at Dragon's head a little again, before she hopped off and started poking around at the ground again. She stopped abruptly as the gator's words sank in. "Aquarian is your pa? Who's your ma?"

Eve obviously didn't mean for Dragon to potentionally have a crisis about his parents, but whatever if he did break down. If she were honest, there were more important things at hand than who decided to bring a wingless water-dragon into existence.

Like finding a shiny crown with a stupid piece of fabric tied to it.

She flew over towards the rocks, pecking at them briefly before she grabbed a few in her talons and flew back to the alligator and lion, dropping the rocks and settling back onto Dragon's head with an inward sigh.

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Usui could tell that Dragon wanted to climb up the ledge but was desperately unable to do so. The lion eyed the ledge and saw that there were several footholds he could cling on to worm his way up but it was a rather precarious, tricky business and the tawny feline didn’t see it fit to injure himself when a more capable gembound, notably Eve, could fly and inspect the ledge without any of them risking anything. Dragon called out to Eve to find some rocks to which Usui nodded in agreement. As they waited for Eve to return to the ground, the unusually chatty gembound started speaking. A black cat like him? The only other whom he knew was Cancer but surely it wasn’t that fellow. He continued to listen thoughtfully to the alligator’s strange words. "Didn’t know that Aquarian was capable of this," he spoke neutrally. It had sounded more like a trade of sorts than a father-son relationship to Usui, but he chose not to comment on this. "Well then let’s get your collar.” He didn’t care much about Aquarian at this point in time, for he seemed like a rather distant figure to himself. The lion was more preoccupied with making Dragon happy again.

Eve quipped up then, her question a rather sensitive one. Usui cast a glance at Dragon, wondering how he’d react. Then, the crow came back with several pieces of rocks which she dropped in front of them, before returning to her choice seat at that blind spot on the alligator’s head. The cub moved onto the rocks and attempted to read their past. Immediately, his gem glowed a ghastly black shade and he mentally felt a clatter, then a sweeping action over the rock before everything fell back into silence. He straightened up and looked at both Dragon an Eve. "The cape you seek is not here. Someone or the wind swept it away from the rocks, away from the ledge.” He paused, letting Dragon choose his next course of action.

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"A scent's like... you sniff, you breathe in and you smell things."

He stared at her, and then she asked about his "ma." Dragon peered quizzically at Eve. He thought for only a moment before blurting the obvious reply (having no idea, naturally, how biological pairings and births went--being Gembound.)

"...A rock, 'course? I mean, weren't you born from a rock-egg?"

When she brought the stones down from the ledge and settled back on his head, he took his own good whiff, then peered at Usui to see if he wished to do the same. He didn't seem to mind his bird-hat--in fact, he seemed rather used to it--and so Usui now had an alligator staring intently at him with a crow nestled atop its head.

"I smell something. I mean, I don't know what, but something?" He could pick up an odor, but he couldn't identify it, nor even really compare it to something else. But maybe once they were on the hunt, he could use his nose to tell which way was right, and which was wrong. Maybe?

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Ghanyarah had heard all the commotion before he managed to find the source of it. It all started with Aquarian, the massive beast emerging from the marsh and wailing about some lost treasure. Dragon told him that the beast, their father, was a glorious and powerful and fearsome creature. But when Ghanyarah heard the monster wailing about his lost treasure, it was really hard to believe. Still, it might have been Ghanyarah's only chance to catch a glimpse of the beast, so he clambered up a few tall tree branches and beheld the sight of the sea reptile mournfully crying. After that, it seemed the whole jungle room was unsettled by the events. He knew that Dragon would have something to say about it, so off he went in search of his alligator kin.

Before long he found the reptile, but he wasn't alone. Eve was there, and... A big, sandy coloured feline. Ghanyarah hesitated, but as he listened he found that the three of them must have been working together to find whatever it was that Aquarian lost. With a huff, the komodo dragon emerged from the bushes towards the trio. "Hey!" He called out, sunset eyes fixed on Dragon. "What's going on? I heard a bunch of noise," The dragon sneered and pointed his nose towards the Heart, referring to Aquarian's temper tantrum. If there was a problem among his friends, then Ghanyarah would try his best to help. He was obligated to after all. Thats what family did, right?

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"I don't get it," croaked Eve, unmoving from Dragon's head. She thought briefly on Dragon's logic. It'd no doubt be a strange creature- a walking-talking scrap of rock with legs. Maybe wings?

She paused, "Wouldn't that make us all half-rock? I mean-- you don't look like a rock. You look like a dragon. I don't look like a rock. Krawkravaver there doesn't look like a rock."

Thankfully, she was interrupted by the arrival of Ghanyarah (who also did not look like a rock). She chirped a greeting before sealing silent once more on top of Dragon's head.

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Usui lapsed into silence, tilting his head to observe Dragon picking up a scent, then Eve’s questions and comments which made him smile a bit. "You’re right Eve, we aren’t rocks.” Then, a komodo dragon arrived on scene and spoke directly to Dragon. They seemed quite the trio – a komodo dragon, an alligator and a crow – they’d fit into a marsh or swamp while he, the lion with his tawny pelt, belonged to drier areas. Usui decided to pick up the pace, for the longer they delayed, perhaps the harder it would be to find the lost item. He padded in too for a sniff, attempting to pick up the weird scent they spoke of. Immediately, a damp, musky smell with a slight odour of different things tossed together crossed his mind. A raccoon? He couldn’t be too sure though. "It reeks of thief,” he muttered and shook his head, then lifted his head to look to the right. There were several bushes there. "I’d search the leafy areas. Things get hidden there,” he mused.

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Dragon blinked as Usui took scent and the familiar voice of Ghanyarah drifted toward him.

"Didn't you hatch, Eve? I--oh, Ghanyarah! Brother!" The alligator took a few dragging steps toward the komodo dragon, complete with crow-hat. He took a deep breath, eyes now bright, and explained, in his own way, what had happened. "Dad said he'd protect me and anyone I have that feeds him but then someone stole the collar I brought him and he's really upset so we're gonna go find it, do you want to come?"

As he spoke he followed along with what Usui said, turning to plod off toward the reeds.

"Usui says we should check leafy places and maybe that'd be over by the Divine but that tree is evil--... Do you think trees can steal things?" he asked the others, sounding both worried and doubtful. He was all-too-familiar with the giant tree's violently-reactive tendencies, and really didn't have any desire to get into a fight with it if it had somehow stood up, walked to the Heart, stolen the collar and planted itself back where it normally lived.

...Maybe he could burn it down, if it turned out that it had.

Dragon began churning off through the muck toward the Divine, oblivious to the fact that Usui may have not meant within Cetus at all--hopefully, if the alligator had misunderstood, the lion would correct his course.

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