[Quest] The Flametouched Moth - Canis

Wilder heard no response from Squick and thought that, perhaps, the little worm was sleeping. But then a strange and really horrible feeling washed over her. She felt warm and tingly and her stomach began to shiver with pain. She herself began to shake from the feeling and her heart began to race as confusion set in. Was this some kind of trance? But there was nothing to cause it, no magic was used, and her head didn't hurt.

But then a moment later her stomach contracted and she retched, a stream of vomit flowing from her open jaws. Along the stream was the little worm that was Squick and Wilder wondered if it was Squick that had done that. Once her stomach had settled back to normal, she reached forward with her paw and carefully plucked Squick out of the mess. Once the worm was safely out of the way, she stared at the puddle and used her magic to pick it up, throwing it behind her, where nobody was standing, so that it would not be in the way. Still holding the worm with one paw, she hopped over to the topaz, where she set Squick on the ground, turning up to the Collecter with a big smile, as if nothing at all had just happened. "This is my friend, Squick! I think it wants to help too!"

She leaned down and touched the topaz with her small nose and, for a second, the heart on her cheek glowed and her eyes seemed to reflect the color. A shiver went down her spine and she stepped away, feeling very strange and a little light headed. Letting Squick do whatever it wanted to do, she turned and caught sight of a large white wolf that hadn't been there before. She let out a little purr and raced towards the newcomer. "Hi! I'm Wilder! Who are you? Thanks for coming to help!" She would have said some other things but then she realized that Aure had arrived as well. She was completely unaware of any kind of tension going on between all of the gathered ones and Eythan so she bounced up to her friend. "Hi Aure! I'm happy to see you here too!!"

As the last of the Gembound present granted their essence to the topaz, it began to softly glow. It was then eclipsed in a flash of light, and in sudden jerks of motion, it began to grow. Outward it expanded--first a foot wide, then three, then six, until it took up the entire clearing near the Collector. The Collector, in response, stepped warily back, arms unfolding from across his cloaked chest, eyes fixed on the glimmering gem.

For a moment, it fell still. The light faded. And then, slowly, the sounds of loud cracking were distinctly heard. A split appeared down the rock's breadth, and first one shard fell away, and then another.

The creature that pushed forth was miraculous in its piecemeal appearance--and each of the Gembound that had granted it some portion of their life were visible in its form. Its head was distinctly canine--a long, white wolf's muzzle and black nose--though the curled probiscus that twisted out to taste the air was distinctly insectoid, and long whiskers that could belong only to a cat. Long horns like the Collector's twisted out from its skull. A black Lammergeier beard emerged, and a spider's--or Squick's?--six eyes popped open, all mirroring Aure's color. the wrinkles on the face and the pendulous ears were undoubtedly Black's, and the fur--a wolf's thick pelt--was as jet as that of Wilder, Thothaga, or Black, with an underside mirroring Glory's soft gold-brown. The crowning topaz atop its head was in the same shape and position as Glory's, too, shining proud and fiery. Two furled antennae slowly breached into the air, waving, testing.

Long, strong feline legs pulled forth--one pair, and then a second--their long Collector-type claws retracted, as Wilder's could, into the catlike paws. These legs were banded blue, distinctly like Thothaga's, and as the creature pulled further forth it was clear that it shared her total limb count, as well. Yet the wings that pulled forth--long and feathered--could have been Aure's or Glory's, either. The final hind legs were distinctly mothlike, and the tail--curled low and twitching anxiously--was none other than Wilder's.

The overall body was not gracile, nor particularly light--it was chunky, like Squick, with overlapping curls of flesh, and beneath that black fur--for those who could see the brief parts in its tufts--was a translucent apricot color not unlike Squick's skin.

It appeared to be fully-grown, and eight or so feet high--tall enough to turn and peer first directly into the Collector's crimson eyes.

The Collector, at first silent, stared back. Slowly he stepped forward, raising one hand palm-forward, claws splayed, toward the newly-formed beast's skull. He moved as if to place that palm atop its head, a soft red light gleaming from his fingertips--and then the Moth-descendant blinked all six eyes and shook its head, pulling back. A voice--a squelching squeak, like a cross between a moth and a Squick-like grub--pierced the air. It sounded distinctly like, "No."

The Collector retracted his hand sharply, and the Moth-creature stepped around him, facing everyone present.

It paused to look down at those blue-banded legs, and slowly extended the Collector-like claws from its paws, peering at them before tucking them back away. It then blinked down--at Wilder, at Squick; at Thothaga, and Black, at Kera and Wilder, passing its gaze briefly over Pride, lingering for a moment on Glory, too.

The squeaking squelching came again, barely recognizable as words.

"You... did... this?"

The Great Moth's Topaz has now been revived!

Glory watched with wide eyes as the gemstone grew rapidly, faster then he had ever seen something grow before. He knew that it took a full cycle for gemstones to grow enough for the gembound inside to hatch...but it seemed this was a special case. And as the shards fell away, Glory knew that this...yes, this was something truly special. But...very, very strange.

He'd never seen anything quite like that, but as he looked it over, he recognized small bits of himself scattered across its body. The underside had a golden brown color that only he could show off. It's wings where his, or, perhaps, the other bird-thing. But there was no doubt that the shape of the gem atop its head was modeled after his and that, arguably, was the most important peace. Immense pride and pleasure washed through him and he held his head high, a joyful gleam in his eyes.

The words were hard to understand, probably because of the work of the tiny worm that the cat had spit out (gross) but he didn't care. This was the new Guardian. "We did do this! All of us! We all gave you a piece of our lives so you could live once again."

And, for the first time in his life, Glory bowed before this Guardian. A deep low dip of respect, his wings sweeping to the side. "I am Glory the Blacksmith and you carry the shape of my gem atop your head!"

He stood up straight again, unsure if he had ever been this happy and if he would ever be this happy again. "Do you have a name, O Guardian?"

As soon as the topaz began to grow, she realized that Squick was in the way and quickly bounced forward to lick it up. She didn't swallow, just held the worm in her mouth and, when they were a safe distance away, set it back on the ground. She guessed it would want to watch this. She glanced back at where Squick had been trying to go and realized with a jolt that Pride was standing there. She hadn't noticed him before, had he always been there?

Excited, she reached out towards Squick with her magic and touched it gently. "Squick! Pride's here! He's here, do you want to go to him? I'll take you!" She wanted to run up to Pride, purr, and brush herself against him to tell him the good new, but the topaz had caught her attention and she watched it grow with fascination and excitement.

The creature that came forth was so strange but so beautiful and so so big!! Wilder made a high-pitched noise and bounced forward, stepping around its legs while purring loudly. She had helped make this thing! She'd helped bring it back to life! "Wow! We did it! Hello! I'm Wilder! You are...so big! And so cool!!" She could barely contain her excitement as she zipped around underneath the creature's body.

Pride tilted his head, simply observing. He wasn't sure what was going on--what this creature was, why these Gembound were bringing it back to life. He hadn't had a chance to get involved, himself; he really didn't know what it was or how it worked.

But he did notice the Collector. The way it'd moved forward, only to be brushed aside by the newborn... adult? ...Thing. He watched it, this Collector, watched it turn and watch the moth-hybrid as it spoke to them. He wondered at this Collector's motives.

And--... Wait, was that Squick?

"Squick? Is that you?" he asked, bemusedly. The tiny parasite was but a white speck on the rock, but it was moving.

He reached out with his mind, repeating his question, opening a link so that the tiny one could talk back; and at the same time he approached, lowering his head down to peer at Squick--as if to be polite. He kept an eye, too, on those nearby, to ensure no one would accidentally step on or eat the little one. Not that he'd mind the latter, Pride thought drily, though he kept that thought to himself.