Anubis heard the beast before he saw him. He was too busy picking through the bones, carefully moving aside the many burned, broken, and chipped bones and rocks, looking for anything interesting underneath. Maybe a gemstone or a mushroom or an interesting beetle he hadn't come across before. But his small-scale studies were interrupted by the flagrant voice, so loud and sudden that he yelped and jumped back, stumbling through the bones and he swiveled around to try and find its source.

Well...it wasn't hard. Said source was currently knocking over bone structures and proclaiming himself for the entire caves to hear. His name...Edric. But that wasn't what caught the pup's attention. He'd said...evolved. If he was hearing correctly, that was. He had no idea what that meant, a fact that sent a trill of excitement through his bones and had him making a beeline for Edric's location, unconcerned with any kind of danger. After all, he had been living a calm and peaceful life here. Why should he be afraid?

He approached the boar, tail wagging with excitement behind him, a smile bright in his eyes. He wasn't sure what he was doing, knocking things over like that, but that wasn't what was important right now. "Excuse me!" he barked loud enough for Edric to hear. "Can I ask you something?" He stopped a few feet away, panting happily and looking up at the monstrosity expectantly, as if completely clueless to how incredibly dangerous his situation had become. Spoiler warning, he absolutely was.

Anubis wasn't surprised by the boar's hostility - one look at the beast and hearing his proclamation from before told enough of his temperment, but Anubis was still a little taken aback by the insults thrown his way. His ears twisted back and his head tilted, a little confused. Why wouldn't he be worth his time? And it wasn't like he was asking too much, it was just one little question...

He only had a moment to look at Edric's tusks, wondering how on earth they would ask him anything, when he was suddenly lunging forward. It all happened fast, the far larger creature slamming violently into Anubis's legs, instantly sending the young jackal crumpling to the ground with a surprised bark. Shock made his body freeze up but a sudden flash of panic had his lips curling up, revealing the obsidian fangs. He remembered how Giggle had killed the rat with a simple shake of her head. Lives were so precious, yet so fragile. And here, Anubis, for the first time, was facing death - his own death, and he'd not even realized it.

Anger surged through his bones. He had just come to ask a question. Did this creature find life so worthless, he'd gore a child for the simple crime of curiosity? Was he so eager to smear blood and oil across the caves? Anubis...would not stand for that. A roaring ferocity reared up in his chest, fighting against fear, and he willed his magic to surge forward and stop the board. A moment later, a heavy puff of spores burst out of Anubis, settling on Edric. He didn't know what they did, but he knew they could be deadly. After all, Giggle had washed away the mind of a rat with such a simple trick.