ORIGIN

Overseer Garnet-Delta made a habit of going on trips. Lately its attention had been on learning Pegasus and other caves closer to Chaos Forge's nest... But, it had reason to visit old haunts, to trace pathways and keep its own mind fresh. It had practiced going through Orion; something it hadn't done in just over a cycle, reminding itself of its passageways and escape routes.

Once it was satisfied that it still remembered Orion-- finding only a single stone structure had been changed since it last came through-- it made its way home. It stopped to catch a rat in Canis, and it wasn't until the heat of Hydra blasted through its fur that it realized...

... It had gone to the old Warren, not... This wasn't where it had meant to be going. It had gone on autopilot, and now its toes landed softly in the dusty tunnel, peering up at the rigged walls that it had practiced flying in for cycles of its youth.

Its tail twitched. This was strange. It should turn back, and head back to Draco. But it hesitated, just for a moment. Was anyone still here? Had anyone taken up residence in the Warren? Nose twitching, the aliencat checked for scents on the air, and paced down the tunnel with a strange sense of... What was that? Nostalgia? For what? There was nothing to miss about this dusty old hole.

Overseer Garnet-Delta was distracted from the strange feelings as its magic alerted it to the presence of another living creature. Not a lesser.

Someone was here. Quadruped. Canine? An ear twitched, and red eyes turned to lock upon the mottled, spotted dog. For a split moment, the patterning reminded it of Garnet-Epsilon. Then, it noticed all of the differences. Fluffy from head to toe, definitely some sort of canine, dark brown eyes. She had a stone, which she spat on to the floor, and Overseer Garnet-Delta tilted its head as she began to bark at her in a threatening, defensive manner.

"I'm Overseer Garnet-Delta," it answered simply. "I was born in this tunnel." As though that gave it a stone-given right to stand in the place they had abandoned. While it spoke, it could taste acid on its own tongue. Magical venom formed in its teeth, as crimson eyes stared flatly at the challenger.

"What do you want, dog?" It inquired in return, perfectly neutral as it assessed the situation. It knew this tunnel intimately, and with magic behind its own teeth, it felt not even an ounce of fear from the loud mouth. Though, the thought flickered in the back of its mind that this could be a distraction. It did not slip into ease, but remained standing, poised at the ready.

Overseer Garnet-Delta's ears eased back to flatten against its skull as the dog began to laugh. At it? Maybe. It slowly blinked, feeling as though somehow it had already met this creature before in another lifetime. Why was it that it only met complete morons? It was as if the caves had a message for it: These creatures are not worth your time.

It was patient, however, letting the dog laugh herself silly. The sound was grating, but it slowly determined that there were no others in the sparse tunnel, and finally sat back on its haunches.

"I assure you, you have more in common with the dirt than with me," it commented dryly, though the stranger's comment that it returning here was idiotic was not misplaced. It didn't belong here anymore, and there was nothing left for it here. It had gotten distracted, and it accepted its fate of putting up with the dog as punishment.

She went on, and the feline snorted, tucking her wings neatly behind her. "Weird deer cult?" It inquired in spite of itself. It knew plenty of the caves, but it didn't know what she was referring to with this. Any chance to learn more about a group that had formed would be valuable, even from someone as moronic seeming as this gembound.

"Hm. I'll tell you what. You tell me about this cult, I'll tell you what's on the other side of the tunnel. Regardless, you don't want to go that way. It would only mean your death." The words were simple. Matter of fact. It was actually showing the dog some shred of respect, if only for the information it held.

Garnet-Delta's ear flicked dismissively as the canine laughed it off, saying she wouldn't go down the tunnel anyway. Well, it mattered little to the Overseer; after all, if she did, it was her funeral. If she didn't, good for her.

Luckily for her, she had the sense to at least tell it about the cult. The feline creature listened intently, tail curling neatly around its paws as it stared dead ahead at Mosaic. It memorized the description: like lesser deer, but large and wearing pelts and antlers. Strange, but were they a potential threat? Its eyes narrowed.

"Where did you see them?" It prompted, "I would prefer to avoid them." Which was only a half-lie. It would need to investigate, certainly, but it would not want to have a direct confrontation with them if it could help it.

And then, because the Overseer was being generous, it twitched its tail toward the other side of the tunnel. "Beyond this tunnel is the Hydra. A massive desert where life-threatening trials of survival are held. If the tunnel-sized sandworms and eyehook vultures do not kill you, the heat and lack of water would." It was a fair exchange of information, that way. "I would stay away." It had already said that, but it figured that this strange dog might be the type to take the danger as a challenge, and it simply wanted to make its personal stance clear.

The dog kept her side of the bargain. She explained, in detail, where this cult was. From the description, she must have meant Polaris. It had been unaware of any major group existing in Polaris, but it supposed it might have missed them on its numerous flights through the crystalline cave. It could investigate, certainly.

But more over, it was surprised by Mosaic's appropriate reaction. What a nice surprise it was. The feline tilted its head at Mosaic, smile curling its whiskers. Someone with wits about them, and not too foolhardy to bravely run into danger?

As for the bones... Hm. "Those are ancient," it remarked, "from back when my Master was only an Overseer." Not that Mosaic seemed to recognize what either title meant, as far as the feline could tell. And not to mention that Master Vargas had only been made a Master in its lifetime. Still, it sounded good. "Those were the bones of rebels, from what I've been told." Which wasn't much. Delta hadn't cared much for the long-dead's stories, after all.

"There's nothing particularly dangerous in Canis-- the bone room-- otherwise. Except maybe the dragon bats." Thinking on it further, there was the Bonebound, but they had proven to be fair weather friends and allies, and Garnet-Delta couldn't picture them doing anything particularly harmful. Canis was a place of the dead, not a place of death, and the distinction was obvious to Garnet-Delta, anyway.