Ah...she had been mistaken on something. For some, changing forms and purposes did not change who one was on the inside. She was a prime example - her original purpose was irrelevant now. Yet she was still Overseer Tectus and she still claimed her pride and her life. But Virosa...ah, a workaholic through and through. Its work was its identity, its pride, and its life. If Order had been something different, then even then, perhaps, Virosa would not exist.

"I see. Well, then...I am glad for you that that things have aligned for you to exist. It is good to appreciate your own life. But if I may ask..." she paused as her work disturbed a nest of small mice living beneath the roots of the tree. A couple of dark-colored rodents covered in fuzzy white mold darted out of their hole and Tectus quickly reached to snatch them. Unfortunately, she was not dexterous and the tiny beasts slipped through her claws.

Annoying, but not the worst. She turned her attention back to Virosa. "We hope, one day, this work will be complete. Order will be purged from these caves and their infection will never be seen again. What would you do, if that should come to pass?"

Tectus snorted. "Yes. We hope." She was well aware that Order had been unpredictably tenacious. Efforts had come and gone to wipe it out, and yet here it still was, holding on with all its foul might. And, she supposed, Virosa might not want it exterminated. It had, after all, been created to fight it.

How sad it was that many of them had been created with a purpose. Once that purpose was complete, what were they?

She turned to scrape at the tree again, continuing. "Well, I hope not. We can always find more for you to do if we succeed in driving Order out. And that's a pretty big if." Another mouse darted out from the tree and this time Tectus dove for it. Her massive claws slammed right into a patch of fungus, which spat out a cloud of spores right in her face while the mouse escaped. She jerked back, trying not to inhale any of it, snarling with frustration. "Shit!"

Tectus scratched at the scales around her nose with the end of a claw, trying to get the bits of spores that had gotten in out, but it was too late. She felt it. It had taken a hold of her. It was an odd sensation, like feeling the vague outline of something else intruding into the corners of her mind, but not quite there. A want to return to Hive, to become part of them. Disdain for their activities, and for the one standing next to her.

"Yes," she grumble, angrily. "Don't...do anything. You will corrupt me. I will seek out Master Astraea as soon as possible and have him remove it." He was probably lingering somewhere in Orion. She sighed. "What a pain." She snarled and swiped a claw suddenly, scourging a wound into the tree in front of her, not caring anymore about the health of the bark. But none of the strand ripped out with the bark, remaining rooted into the trunk. "I wish we could get this damn job done with already so we wouldn't have to keep worrying about it. Crawling all over it." She glanced to Virosa. "Wish we had more like you. Vigilant. Focused. And immune to this foul infection."

If Tectus could smirk, she would, but that ironically-amused glint came to her eye regardless. She was taking this infection thing pretty well, all things considered. "Agreed, but corruption is far more tenacious then this. Master Astraea is nearby and will remove it easily." She eyed the sudden growth along its ribs and felt a pang of regret. Was it angry with her, or frustrated? She sighed. She wished there was a way to explain it so that it didn't sound like disgust or dislike of its natural element, but she had been instructed by multiple parties not to get infected or corrupted. Neither would be good for her.

"I'm sorry, Virosa. I didn't mean to offend you. It's simply a logical thing - Corruption can't be removed as easily as this dumb infection can. Take it as a compliment - your power far exceeds our enemies." But...she didn't want to make this any work. With a firm nod of her head, she gathered herself up and an edge of authority entered her voice again. "Sorry that we have to end it early, I enjoyed our conversation. You've given me good things to think about - you've done good work here. Please continue in my absence." Turning, she began to head out of the cave, hoping that she hadn't left it on a sour note. She would rather be allies with Vargas's creations.

On her way out, she found another mouth, covered in fungus, and in a surge of anger, crushed it under her claws. What a pain.

*exit