The vulture tilted his head sharply this way and that, in the way that birds do. Mostly, though, it was in one direction, so that his one good eye could get a clear view of this Spire.

He was flight-capable, now, though it took him a moment to get off the ground, and that flight--and his wingbeats--were slow and heavy. It'd take some effort to get up there, to get to the giant, glowing stone. He could feel the hum of power here, though he wasn't certain what it meant. Magicka, or so he'd been told--but what, precisely, was the Spire? Time to begin a test or two. Perhaps it could aid in mending magics. Could it, even, mend damage on its own? What did pure, unrestrained, raw magicka do to injuries?

The vulture took a breath, and began the lumbering, lurching run forward. Wings spread, and pumped, and after a moment he'd managed to get airborne. His broad wings tilted as he rose, beat twice and then stilled, so that he glided rather than worked his way a little higher in a coasting circle. Then he beat those wings again, his dark brown silhouette rising higher and higher around the Spire's peak. Only at its very top did he bank, then slow, tilting his body and wings back and pressing his feet forward for a landing at its tip.

The instant his long, black talons clicked onto the crystal stone, he knew he'd made a mistake. The jolt that ran through his body was agonizing--electrifying--and his body went stiff before tumbling from the top. For the first time, Doctor was afraid--if vaguely, and past the sudden haze of pain--afraid of heights.

Oh, no-- and then further pain, as his body plummeted into a lower level of crystal, and then farther beyond that, and again. He managed to get his wings spread, only to crash off the side, and after a moment of frantic fluttering he righted himself. He hit the ground a moment later in a clumsy, barely-controlled glide, tumbling over the stone for a moment.

Then he lay there panting, his single dark eye wide with shock.

That... had hurt. His legs, folded weakly beneath him, felt burnt. His body trembled, and he felt as though the Spire itself had attacked him. Doctor cast a wary glance over his shoulder, at this thought, as if half-worried that the whole damn thing had uprooted itself and might be coming after him.

It had not. So he lay there, for a moment, recovering his wits.

The vulture lay quiet for a moment, beak parted and eye unfocused. Eventually, he became aware of a great many white legs nearby, sturdy and elegant. They were also long, extending up past his field of vision, and he blinked and shifted to peer unsteadily up.

He wasn't sure if these were guardians of the Spire, and he'd missed anything they'd said; his head was still humming, his thoughts not quite... here, yet. He struggled unsteadily to his feet, and fought to form coherent thoughts and words. If they were guardians, summoned by his touching the stone, he'd have to placate them immediately--to assure he'd meant no harm. Or perhaps, looking at them, they were simply family, and happened to live here.

"Ahh... hello," he began uncertainly, looking between them, tilting his head to peer at each with his single, dark eye. He ruffled down his feathers, and for a moment tried to gather his magicka for a strengthening burst--but it sputtered out in useless sparks of invisible energy, and did nothing. "I am Doctor. I was... investigating the Spire, but I mean no harm." There, that should just about cover it.

He hoped.

Doctor peered between the two creatures, momentarily awed at their beauty. Both were shining white, even pristine. Both bore glinting horns, and large, shining eyes; both stood on pale and delicate hooves.

He found himself so busy staring that he forgot to say anything more.

The vulture glanced briefly back at the Spire. Finding that it still hadn't pulled up from the ground and started sneaking toward him, he looked to back to the two white beings.

"Ha--no, I think I won't, not again. Unless--" he said toward Ayr, firing a thoughtful glance back at the blue crystal. Rather than finish his thought, though, he blinked back toward Azizos. "Ahh, I've only just begun. I know little about it; I've heard that it's powerful. Anyone can sense that; but what can it do? I was wondering if it can perhaps mend wounds, or something along those lines. As it stands, however, it seems more inclined to cause them." As he spoke of mending wounds, he focused for a moment upon his magicka. He intended--as an almost absent-minded adjunct to his words--to provide Azizos with a flush of "healing," as if to emphasize his meaning.

The vulture turned, carefully settling himself on his feet and ruffling out his feathers. When he was certain that nothing was broken, that no pinfeathers were sticking out of his head or some such, he turned to eye the Spire thoughtfully.

"Something inside? Well, what do you think we can do to test this hypothesis? What would we find, if it were true, but not if it were false--communication of some sort? Simple reaction wouldn't be enough-..." He said this last bit half-absently, almost talking to himself.

He hopped a little closer to it, then, reaching out tentatively with his magicka. "I will see what happens if I... try to heal it, as I would a sick living thing. Hopefully it doesn't attack!" he added, with nervous humor.