And I can't stand the sight of blood

Labradorite had no idea what to think about it's new home. It was a welcome change from the dry, hot, oppressing heat of the tunnel, but... Something about this place just unnerved it. The strange, almost *breathing* black spire in it's center. The way this place was in ruins. Bones, shattered chrysalises and gemstones, the occasional ancient arrowhead.

Vargas's speech still echo'd in its ears. Chaos forge That's what they were now. The sentinels were no more- or at least, much fewer. What they were doing was important. Very important. The exact ways it was important had blended in with the rest of The Leviathan's words, but the meaning remained- They must protect. Create More. Monsters. Monsters who could go against entire armies. And the rest of them were to protect and scout train and be trained.

And it would, too. It had to. But-

Shadows ripping apart a gembound until all that remained was an empty hide and a glistening gemstone. Fear, fear, so much fear. The crackling of power, of pure chaotic entropy. "YOU ARE ALL WORMS!"

That was chaos. That was what they were to create. What they were to protect and train. What the fate of the nest relied on. Was it good? Vargas had told them so. It must be, if the fate of everything it had even know relied upon such a thing... but..

Tangled emotions released themselves in a burst of chaotic magicka.

Nothing happened.

Some internal change had happened, but nothing noticeable. And nothing that helped relieve the tightening ache in it's gut. It's tail lashed, claws digging into the ground in frustration and anger and-

It didn't really know. There was just so much. So much to work through and attempt to understand.

It let out a frustrated sigh, still mostly within it's own thoughts.

V-Zoisite-One returned from their trip out to Pegasus, the darkness of Draco for once not quite so imposing. Their underbelly was littered with perfectly preserved flowers in all sorts of shapes and colors, but one wouldn't notice immediately unless they were as short as the nearing two-feet tall insectoid kaiju. They stopped for a brief moment on one of the outcroppings of rocks, raising their head so their golden eyes could sweep the dark cavern for signs of life, signs of the rest of their family...

Oh, there was Labradorite, a pinprick of red eyes and shimmering blue stone. It was hard to pick them out-- like looking at stars, if only they knew what that was like-- but unmistakable in the same vein. Golden eyes shining like beacons in the otherwise voidlight, Zoisite's breathing naturally falling into rhythm with the room's own slow, rhythmic pulse.

They went to conjure a glowing golden light to lead the way, and immediately set down the path toward Labradorite, using the light from the orb floating just ahead of them to guide their otherwise ground-staring eyes. "Hi," Zoisite clacked as they approached, falling still as soon as the orb of light passed Labradorite and cast the stark silhouette back to them.

Talons gripping the earth, they threw their head back, meeting red-glowing eyes with bright, brilliant yellow ones. Their orb of light alit their underbelly of crimson fur, showing the strange assortment of flowers buried there. "Labradorite," a gentle greeting, one that reminded them that the name was tediously long over their clacking pincers. It wasn't its fault, though.

The room's rhythmic 'breathing' was somehow both comforting and infuriating. It found itself falling into this rhythmic, it's tail lashing with each sickening crunch and grind of living stone. Another growl, it's claws scoring the earth.

Another burst of magic sought to release these emotions.

And it refused. Nothing happened. Why couldn't it do magic? It had done it before, it could do it, but why not now? Was it because of the emotions? Its... frustration? Claws once again swiped across the earth, the seemingly one thing it could it.

What am I doing? Throwing a tantrum? It couldn't be so childish. It had to calm down. It took a deep breath, turning away from the marks it'd left in the dirt. It would calm down. It could calm down.
A golden orb of light drifted over, casting everything in a warm glow. They returned Zoisite's greeting with one of their own- a "Hello." and a small, curt nod that Zoisite would likely just see as a bobbing of their shadow's head. It hoped they hadn't seem the childish tantrum it had been doing. But it had no way of knowing how much they'd really seen at all.

It lowered it's head to better meet Zoisite's gaze. "Zoisite." It echoed the other's name. Some of the others had chosen their own name- whether they had earned one or not- but to it's knowledge Zoisite hadn't. It liked the sound of the other's name, though it was sure any name it'd pick in the future would be just as nice. Zoisite had an aptitude for small, pretty things, like flowers and lights.

Zoisite had not seen from a distance that Labradorite was tearing at the earth with vicious claws, rending its anger in deep score marks in the darkness. Even as they approached, their gaze was fixated on the ground; it would've been difficult to know what it was doing even as they drew closer.

However, as their eyes met, red on gold, the insectoid kaiju studied the inky sibling with intense focus. Trying to discern through the posturing, the curt words, deeper meaning. Through the glow of their six eyes, such an intense stare could have been interpreted as blank, but their family knew of their curious nature. It would not be such a stretch to assume that Zoisite was puzzling out the mood that hung in the air.

"I brought you something," they said, direct and to the point. Their head tilted back downward, pincers clicking quietly as they raised a forelimb and ran their talons through fur and quills. Claws carefully curled around the stem of a delicate flower among those buried in their underbelly, and they slowly pulled it free. Their head raised all the way back to watch Labradorite with that same scrutinizing expression.

They held out the freshly picked flower to their clutchmate. It was small, barely larger than Zoisite's own talons, with a blossom of brilliant blue petals that were only a few shades off of Labradorite's gemstone.

V-Zoisite-One said nothing further, instead opting to watch for the Labradorite's reaction like a gargoyle frozen in stone.

@v-labradorite-one has been given an unpreserved:
VIBRANT BLUE FLOWER

It calmed itself the best it could, but a thrum of frustration hummed in the back of it's mind. It's gills flared briefly as it took a deep breath. It didn't have to feel calm, it just had to look calm.

Their family wasn't known for being very expressive- having a face covered in chitinous plates tended to do that- so It had learned to pick up on the little things. And the way Zoisite was staring at it practically broadcasted it's curiosity. "I was.. Practicing." It explained. It looked over at the claw marks in the ground. Yeah. Practicing...

It gently took the flower in one of it's claws, trying it's best to not stain the delicate blue petals with it's oil. "Thank you." it replied, still staring down at the flower. If the flower was small compared to Zoisite, compared to Labradorite it was especially tiny. It knew the flower was tiny. It knew it was delicate. It knew it'd be wilted and dying within a few days. Stop thinking like that. It is a gift.

Zoisite followed-- though it was difficult to tell where either was looking-- its gaze to the floor, where they spotted the oil-slick clawmarks in the earth. Practicing what? A couple of quills rattled in response, golden eyes blinking slowly.

They decided against remarking on that (though maybe Labradorite wanted them to ask? They couldn't tell.) and instead turned their head back to watch it stare at the flower. The thank you seemed genuine, but they had trouble disconcerting what Labradorite really felt about the gift. Was it just being polite? "You're welcome," they clicked. A thank you was more than they expected from some of the others, but Labradorite... Maybe it understood, on some level. That brought it comfort.

"I tried to give it some of my magic," they said, not knowing that they had been wholly unsuccessful with this flower. "So I hope it'll stay alive, for a little longer..." The fuchsia Sentinel stepped forward, twisting their head further to get a good angle on their clutchmate.

The Zoisite wanted to explain the feelings lurking under the surface, impossible to express with hardened carapice and clunky, stunted emotional growth. They tried to find the words regardless, and slowly presented them to the other. "... It reminded me of you. The blue. Obviously... You're not a little flower, but of all the flowers I found... This one... Felt like you."

"I was practicing.. magic." It elaborated, feeling Zoisite's golden gaze burning into it. Does it count as practicing when you didn't actually do anything? Spiteful frustration made it tug at it's magicka, trying to do something. Anything, really, just to prove that it could.

A burning pain centered in it's chest. Well. That's certainly something. It thought, trying to keep it's expression neutral in spite of the painful backfire. The pain would pass soon enough, and it knew Zoisite to be the kind to worry in the meantime.

It let out a thoughtful sort of noise, examining the flower. Maybe it'd last longer then it first thought. It was a nice thought. Ignoring the fact it was ultimately pointless, ultimately a waste of time.

"It is.. a nice flower." Labradorite couldn't actually see it's own gemstone, but it knew it was blue. A nice color. Calm. It thought, referring more to the flower delicately held in it's claws than the gemstone nestled in it's collarbone. You're anything but gentle. It thought, thinking of the clawmarks it had just dug into the floor, You aren't supposed to be. Maybe Zoisite thought so, if it saw Labradorite in this flower. "I like the color."