ORIGIN

The young dragon had gone by Polaris to pick up his little tiny gembound friend. He knew the poor little one was tiny and couldn't travel for so he wanted to help. After scooping the little critter up he'd gone his way with Booker sitting on his head as per normal. The gem was so tiny that even when he was walking around on his head the dragon didn't really feel it. It was funny really, that he decided to let this one travel with him. All of his other friends left at some point while someone he'd managed to keep his tiniest one around. It was actually really nice though he feared that he would eventually hurt the little one. He had yet to tell Booker about his bloodlust, afraid that the little one would leave him or become afraid.

Instead he buried this problem in a happy-go-lucky exterior, running through the tunnels and feeling the breeze go over his fur. He remembered that Booker liked to move quickly so he hoped this would be fun for the small bound. Baratheon ran along and every few feet he would leap and flap his wings before gliding the next couple of feet back to the ground. He was still too young to fly but he had certainly learned that he could glide for short distances. It was so fun to leap and then glide! It created a fun sensation in his belly and whipped up even more of a breeze!

"Weeeeeee!" He said happily after a particularly large leap as she glided back down. "Isn't this fun, Booker?" He asked to the small creature that he hoped was still seated on his head. With his leaps and glides he was traveling quite a great distance and before long had made it to Eridanus. The room was filled with all sorts of plants. Baratheon even remembered something that he hoped Booker would quite enjoy.

The Monarch.

He marched right up to the giant mushroom and looked upwards. To him the great shroom was white with a pink tint but he could only imagine what Booker was seeing. "Look, a giant light friend." He said with a smile on his tiny muzzle. What would he think about this?

---

Booker had been delighted when his enormous, fluffy friend had come back to Polaris, and even more so when he'd taken him with him on his adventures. Nestled in the crest of hair that topped Baratheon's hair, tail wrapped around one of the dragon's horns, the tiny numbat giggled and grinned as they moved along. Every so often he would lean over the side of the dragon's massive head and watch the ground move below, so quickly it almost seemed like magic. After all, Booker was used to moving along at a pace not unlike his fungal friends - that is, very, very slowly.

Suddenly, the ground moved away, and Booker squeaked in alarm, before realizing that the lifting he felt wasn't falling - they were rising, like a spore on the drafts of Polaris. What started out as a giggle turned into a full-blown laugh by the time they landed, the numbat grinning hard enough to bunch the muscles up near his gem-filled eye, and he nodded his head, dropping it down to peer into Baratheon's eye with a gigantic smile. "This is amazing! You're flying, Bara!" His voice was full of wonder, high-pitched and squeaky with excitement. Booker's gaze flickered from Bara's face, to the rushing ground below, to the dragon's wings as they twitched and jolted.

Soon enough, the duo slowed to a halt, and Booker took in his new surroundings with an amazed gasp. "Look, Bara! It's green! It's so pretty!" Clapping his tiny front paws in excitement, Book gazed around in awe, utterly unaware of moving through Eridanus itself... until, of course, something even larger than Baratheon himself filled his vision. Booker gasped... and went completely still.

"It's beautiful," he said in awe, working eye tearing up a bit. "It must be the leader of all the other mush-friends," he murmured into Baratheon's ear, voice solemn. He was grinning, just a bit, dazed and awe-stricken. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you," he squeaked, relinquishing his tail's grip on the dragon's horn while he ran in circles, racing up and down his friend's snout. He came to a stop on the tip of the dragon's snout, leaning against the horn that decorated its top. "I bet if I..." Concentrating, he tried to reach out to the gigantic mushroom, as he had its smaller brethren.

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Closing his eye, Booker reached out - and was almost knocked back by the gigantic rush of light that filled his otherwise blank vision. The Monarch was a pillar of fire in a world of shadow, and the young Gembound let out a whispered "Woah..." from the sight of it. "Bara, it's so pretty! It's brighter than anything I've ever seen!" Joy painted his tone, and the numbat's tail wagged in excitement. "It's almost like seeing with both left and right!"

Flying? Well, he wouldn't exactly call it flying be he appreciated the compliment. Imagine what Booker would say when his wings actually grew enough to fly! Like, really fly! Baratheon couldn't wait himself! He'd be able to go anywhere in no time flat! For now he'd just have to be content with gliding short distances, which actually was fun in its own right.

When they arrived and the little gembound was thrilled with the sights, Baratheon couldn't help but be thrilled at his excitement and gave a joy-filled childish laugh. He'd been here before but that was only with Dragon and Usui during that... unfortunate event. it had been a shame but he had moved on from that situation and hopefully he'd learned enough to not repeat past mistakes or to sense the change before it was all the way upon him.

All of that didn't matter now. All that mattered was bringing his friend to the mushroom and seeing him happy. Why? Well... He sort of saw himself as a big brother of sorts or perhaps a protector. The way Flafe had said she was his big sister he was now that to this young and tiny bound. There were lots of large scary things in the cave --him being one of them-- but he'd fight for them both!

Again when the little gembound saw the giant mushroom his joy was contagious and Baratheon's tail began to wag furiously. He just knew Booker would like this! He was always so excited about mushrooms that a giant one must have been the icing on the cake. He kneaded his paws on the ground and giggled excitedly when the tiny numbat went to the end of his snout.

Baratheon walked forward so and stood up on his hind legs, he braced his forepaws against the base of the giant shroom so that he wouldn't fall. He leaned forward and touched his snout against the surface of the thing, sniffing. He had no powers like Booker so he couldn't exactly know what he meant when he was talking about how they looked. He knew the mushrooms were friends and "alive" in some way, but he didn't know how. What exactly did Booker mean?

"What exactly do you see when you look at the light friends?" The dragon took his snout from the tree but remained standing on his hind legs with his forelegs propped up on the side, tufted tail swayed gently behind him. The dragon could only see with his outward eyes, not the intuitive magic that Booker used. "Are they really like... like fire or bright lights?" Curiosity laced his tone as his focused his gaze on the gembound seated on his snout.

---

Booker swayed on the dragon's snout as the pair moved closer, giggling when his friend started to sniff at the stalk of the gigantic mushroom towering over them both. "I can't believe there's one this big!" Tentatively, the numbat touched a paw to The Monarch's surface, chirping happily when he was met with an answering pulse of... magic? Awareness? He sometimes got the same from the small fungi he examined, but nothing this powerful. Steadying himself, the numbat took in a breath - and let it out as he launched himself off of Baratheon's snout and onto The Monarch. He climbed up a bit, relishing in the shade of its gigantic silver cap, and grinned down at his companion, tail twitching in excitement.

The question made him pause, and he tilted his head this way and that, trying to think of a way to describe what, exactly, he saw when reaching out to his tiny glowing friends. "It's like... hm! It's more like bright lights than fire," he said uncertainly, releasing one of his back paws from its grip on the mushroom's surface to scratch at his left eye socket. "Most of the time, if I close my eye, there's... nothing. Like a big empty space, but really dark! But if I reach out to the mush-rooms, everything lights up! They're helpful - when I open my eye, everything's all blurry - even you! But if I close it, everything's glowy and sharp!" He nodded confidently at this, whiskers twitching. "That's why Book-er needs his light friends! They help me see!"

Explanation given, Booker scurried up the stalk and bit more, sniffing at the surface and examining the gills lining the underside of The Monarch's gilded cap. He sneezed as a soft poke made the mushroom release a cloud of spores, losing his balance and tumbling down the stalk, thankfully rolling to a stop when he reached Baratheon's snout. Book shook his head dizzily, ears flicking as he readjusted himself from the fall, scooting back towards his friend's horns and resting against one. "I wonder if it's bad for you, like the tiny white ones? Or maybe it's good for you?" Though I've yet to find one that's actually good for you, the numbat thought with a sullen frown. After all, if others realized how helpful the mushrooms were, maybe they would stop stomping all over them!

Bright lights? He closed his eyes and focused on the mushroom trying to imagine it as a bright light. Of course, that wouldn't work for him and he could only conjour his own imagination to think about it but that was different. "When I close my eyes everything is dark... and pinkish but I don't see anything behind my eyes unless I dream." Ah, dreams they were always nice or they used to be. Now his dreams were starting to lean towards the creepy side with that Bloodlusted side of him trying to get him to "embrace what he was". The dragon shook his head, clearing it of those thoughts.

Baratheon was glad that the mushrooms were able to give his half-blind friend sight. He wished he could help, but he couldn't. There was no possible way that he could give the little gembound sight. Not any way that he knew of... Maybe he could ask Dad? Dragon had told him if the great dragon was given tribute then he could answer questions. After Booker was safely on his snout and Baratheon was on all fours he stared at the Monarch's base. Head tilting to the side as he listened to Booker's final words and thought about this strange giant thing. Hmm... Some mushrooms were good? Was this one? Only one way to find out.

Baratheon marched right up to the shroom, stuck his nose out to sniff it again then gave it a lick with his light blue tongue. It didn't particularly taste good but it wasn't as terrible as grass either. Nothing that he'd want to eat without being extremely hungry. Hmm... some mushrooms were bad? Well, this one seemed to be just fine.

But Booker didn't know that.

All at once an idea came to his mind and he had to fight to keep a grin off of his face. The little dragon let out a moan almost as if he was in pain and staggered backwards. "Ooooohhhhhhh...." He groaned out, he poked his tongue out of the side of his mouth and staggered about. "My stomach! My head!" I don't feel so good. "Oooooohhhhhh...." He staggered again and seemed to sink to the ground. He felt his magic bubble up as within his theatrics a copy of Baratheon pulled away from him and fell onto the ground, giving the impression of death before it dissapated. "Oh, my soul!" With that Baratheon staggered forward and fell onto the ground, tongue still hanging out of his mouth and eyes closed. He had to fight to keep giggles at bay though. What a perfect little prank!

---

Booker wobbled as Baratheon walked even closer to the massive mushroom... and proceeded to lick it. Immediately, dread filled the tiny numbat - sure, he'd done a preliminary test of The Monarch's spores, but he'd yet to actually taste the thing, and he knew from experience just how badly some of his fungal friends reacted to being eaten. Squeaking in alarm, he barely had time to shout a quick "B-Bara, don't!" before his closest companion was letting out a painful moan, staggering backwards and knocking Booker from his perch, sending the tiny creature tumbling down to land between the dragon's wings. The movement knocked his gem, making it hard to focus, and the numbat clung to any fur he could reach, chattering and squeaking in alarm. "Bara? W-what's happening?"

It would've been nigh impossible for his friend to hear him from so far away from his ears, but he seemed to answer anyway, mentioning both his stomach and, more worryingly, his head. All of a sudden, Booker's perch moved again - this time, dropping to the ground at an alarming rate, and he clung to his friend's mane desperately, trying to climb back up his neck in vain. Even worse, out of the corner of his good eye, Booker could see a faded, semi-transparent version of Baratheon appear, writhing before vanishing entirely. This seemed to be the last straw for the numbat, his breath coming in shorter and shorter gasps, eyesight shrinking to a pinpoint, tiny body shaking with fear. "B-Bara...?"

Voice thin and wavering, he slowly loosened his grip on the dragon's fur, adrenaline racing through his veins. He needed to get to his friend now. Racing up Baratheon's neck at a pace he'd never held before, Booker rounded the dragon's horns, skidding to a stop on his snout. He ducked his head over one side of the great beast's face, panting, trying to see his maw. The one time Book had seen a reaction similar to this - though without the very, very creepy mirror image that seemed to wither and die - had been a cave rat, who'd foamed at the mouth quite a bit. Puzzlingly, Baratheon's mouth looked fine - though his tongue was lolling out of it, looking far too lax for anything living. Breath stuttering, Booker scrambled further up the dragon's snout, trying pry one of his friend's - no, what was the term he'd heard? His brother's eyelids open, so that he could get a glimpse of his irises. "Bara, you gotta wake up!" The numbat's voice toed the line of being clogged by tears, and his fur fluffed up even more as he got no response. "Bara!"

Perhaps if he were a human the dragon could have won an award for acting. So still the dragon lay, barely letting himself take breaths for ruining his ruse. His eyelids didn't even flicker as he felt the tiny gembound scurrying along his body. This was the fastest the numbat had ever gone. How did Bara know? For starters whenever Booker moved it was never noticeable by the dragon but now he could certainly feel the light patters of the little one's paws alone his mane as he raced along.

It took all his will not to move as he felt the little paw pulling at his eyelid. When it was finally lifted he still didn't even move. It was strange having his eyelid moved by a foreign source but he weathered the feeling. However, with his eye open as it was he could now see the tiny gembound in front of him. He knew his display would have frightened the little one some but he didn't expect this. Tears stained the young one's face and his voice was choking up in anguish... Bara could feel his heart go out to Booker. The poor guy... It touched him that he was loved so by his little companion. He could keep up this charade no longer.

Slowly his tongue came back to rest in his mouth and his eyelids opened on their own, a smile curved at his muzzle as he looked down at his friend. "Oh, there there, Booker, I'm fine!" He carefully reached one paw up to give the numbat a reassuring pat. "I was only kidding. The mushroom is fine." He gave a slight nervous chuckle before carefully rising up to a sitting position.

"I'm sorry I played a prank on you. I didn't think it would scare you so badly." Really, why hadn't he thought that? If Flafe had played a prank on him like that he would have been beside himself with sadness and shock. Why shouldn't it be the same for Booker? Wasn't Baratheon one of the first creatures he saw? So didn't that he mean he thought of Baratheon as a... a... "Booker... You know you're my brother, right?" It surprised Bara but he really cared for the tiny numbat and had taken it upon himself to keep him safe... just like a big brother would.

---

Having thoroughly worked himself into a panicked mess, Booker didn't notice his friend's tongue retracting, nor did he even realise that the dragon's eyes had opened on their own for a long, heart-clenching moment. At the small hint of a smile and the first words out of his friend, the numbat jumped at least half his body height in surprise, the shock drying his tears and making him cling harder to his friend's tufted mane. "Bara! You're alright!" Too young to be angry or hurt by the trick, Book was simply relieved and ecstatic, grinning down at his friend's eye and clapping his tiny front paws when it moved to watch him.

The enormous paw, gentle as it was, to his back made him stumble a bit, giggling half-hysterically. He steadied himself against his friend's nose horn, blinking as the ground rushed out from below them and they rose up. No twitching, drooling, or shaking, he noted, focused on his friend's legs. The rats he'd watched try the different mushrooms around the caves had had all of these symptoms, but it appeared Baratheon was, indeed, telling the truth, and not just being brave. Nervously cleaning his whiskers, Booker's head tilted to one side as he listened to his friend, the tiny creature moving up and down with the movements of the dragon's jaw.

"Prank? Whatsa prank?" The question was innocently curious, but, confronted with the more pressing apology, was quickly forgotten, as Booker patted Baratheon's snout reassuringly. "It's okay!" His voice was absolutely not still thick and squeaky with tears, for he was a Book-er, and Book-er's didn't cry. "But you shouldn't try the mush-rooms 'till I do, Bara," he chided, wiping away the last remnants of his panicked tears with a minutely shaking paw. "If it's bad, then you'll know. And you won't get hurt!" I will.

The dragon's next words made Booker's head shoot up, ears perked up and alert, and it took him a moment to scramble over closer to one of his friend's eyes, leaning down over his snout to peer at him. "R-really? Ya mean it?" Blushing under his thin coat of wiry fluff, the numbat grinned, chirping with slightly watery eyes - though the tears were more of relief and adoration than fear, now. "We're b-brothers?" He stumbled over the words a bit, but he knew what they meant. After all, Baratheon had been the first Gembound to interact with him, Magdalena the second, and he'd clung to them both - and had yet to let go.