The Lost Gifts - Mother

When the Gembounds arrived to deliver Mother's gift, it wasn't she herself who emerged from the tunnels. Aside from being too risky, it was borderline impossible; her sheer girth was simply too much. But the several Cleaners who emerged were chittering excitedly, their eyes bright.

There was no need to speak through a Gray, this time; not with one of her very own children present. "I thank you, child, and please, pass this thanks on to the others, for delivering his gift." Was that a thrill of--excitement, along the link..?

The Cleaners pulled the present open where it was, careful and almost surgical touches of mandibles and forelimbs pulling wrapping from box, and box wide open. Within was an enormous drape--indeed fit for a queen--of cloth and fur, all pristine white. It looked like a cape or a cloak for royalty, and as the cleaners bundled it away down the tunnels, her voice came again to Vindicator. "How wonderful... and I think there was something left for you. I will also have gifts sent up, in thanks for your journey here--and theirs. A moment."

A new cleaner emerged, and then another behind it. The first carried three wrapped gifts, all in white with gold and red ribbons. The second carried a pile of something soft wrapped in a spidersilk-like shroud. The gifts were correctedly handed to each Gembound--tagged with a label but also with magic, as the lost gift had been. The second pile--wrapped in Mother's silk--was carefully opened, and gifts gven to each of them. "Tell them... they are welcome to stay. Or even to join us... if they wish."

Doru's gift from Naskital was a big pair of red mittens lined with white faux fur; very fuzzy, and warm in cold weather, fitted to his hands. From Mother, he received a long hooded cloak, the hood large enough to slide over antlers. This was made of white silk, too, lined with fur, in a spiderwebbed sort of pattern but thick enough to still provide warmth. The throat clasp was a string of diamond-like gemstone--not Clearstone, but strongly resembling it in cubic, fractal shape.

From Naskital, in his wrapped gift, Pride would receive a warm red cloak lined with white faux fur--not unlike Doru's, but more cheaply made, shorter and thicker, so that it clasped with a white rope around his throat and hung loosely across his back and downward. From Mother, his gift was a long set of silver spiderweb strings--again strong, but flexible--hung with those same diamond-like stones. It was intended to hang about his antlers, where the baubles would dangle, catching the light in brilliant flashes.

Naskital's gift to Vindicator was a full-body dress in forest green, with a lowish-cut white faux-fur collar; when worn it would give the drone something of a holiday tree-like appearance, particularly with the gold ornamentation atop its head. From Mother, something else, and something beautiful: a massive collar and hood of translucent, spidersilk-like cloth, ringed in real white fur, with hanging fractal pieces of true Clearstone dangling all around. It was likely meant to hang over the golden rings, emphasizing their beauty.

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This is one of six Lost Gifts threads in the Holiday 2023 event! Characters who posted in the original Mother's lost gift thread may post here to react and receive their gifts!

@Doru @Pride @Vindicator

The Vindicator arrived with the others, gently floating just an inch or two above the ground, arm-silks gently waving in time with each other. It felt a growing excitement, bearing a gift for Mother, of course, but also coming to her with friends. It was akin to a child bringing over friends to show them their favorite movie.

It stopped before the tunnels, knowing she would rather receive the gift out here, and watched the Cleaners emerge. As Mothers words rang through its mind, it relayed them, in its own manner of speaking. "Mother thanks thee for delivering thine gift. There art other gifts, addressed to thee gathered, and She bears gifts of her own. Thou art safe," it added, to reassure that these 'gifts' would not be the fungus they so dreaded.

It waited, watching the Cleaners opening the gift to mother, and receiving its own gift graciously, spindly fingers opening and wrapping around the fragile paper and gently tearing it to reveal the gifts beneath. It marvelled at the dress and admired the gleaming jewels, lifting the clearstone gems up closer to the ring to observe. It expressed its grattitude through the hivemind, gently placing the collar and hood of crystals upon its crown.

"Mother offers thee to stay, if thine wisheth. Or if thee wills it, to join. It is of thy choice - she giveth these gifts in good will." It watched each of them carefully, wondering if either would make that monumental choice. It did wish that they would. It had grown fond of Doru and Pride...ah, he seemed halfway to true perfrction already.

@Doru @Pride

Doru was more mammal than reptile when it came it heat regulation even if not so much in looks. That being the case, the cold of Ursa was unpleasant. So, Doru was glad to have arrived. He dipped his head in greetings to the cleaners. Though they did not quite seem like greaters, neither did they seem quite like lessers either. Somewhere in a between state.

He paused, startled, at the idea of receiving gifts of his own. Purple viper eyes studied the packages with a sense of curiosity. Then, carefully, using sharp gold claws, Doru opened the packages. The red mittens were first, and he studied those with an odd expression.

They looked handshaped, but also, not. Curious, he carefully pulled one onto his hand. They had openings for fingers, clearly meant for hands like his with sharp claws. They were warm, and Doru appreciated them, pulling the other on.

It was the other gift that truly made Doru surprised, though. He hurriedly pulled it on, awed by the stunning beauty of it.

"Vindicator- Could you thank Mother for the gift? I appreciate it greatly," He sincerely informed his... Friend? Yes, if any being Doru had met was a friend, it was Vindicator.

"I would not mind staying for a bit, but I have my own family. You have met one of my family now, actually, Vindicator," Doru spoke, nodding to Pride. "Alek, my dad, is the son of Cadenza and Sprig, and Cadenza is the child of Dread and Pride here."

"I would not be opposed to meeting more of your family, though, if they wish to meet me. We are- Friends, are we not, Vindicator?" It couldn't hurt to clarify. A one-sided relationship was not relationship at all.

@Pride and @Vindicator

Pride glanced to Vindicator--the spokesperson, it would seem, for Order at the moment. He inclined his head politely, though his faint standoffish aloofness (be it proper form or caution) remained. "She is quite welcome. Naskital--these are from Naskital?--seems to deliver these yearly. It would have been rude not to see one of his gifts to its recipient," he explained. In other words, this journey had--at least in part, and at least for Pride--been for Naskital's sake. (Unless he was wrong about the gift-giver--but no, this did look like his sort of work.)

Oh, and... gifts, in turn, from mother. Likely? Or a trap? He pawed them carefully closer, pulling wrapping away with delicate tugs of teeth and hoof. "Thank you for passing on the message. And--tell her thank you, as well." It seemed Order was going to quite some lengths to make friends, these days.

I wonder if this entire order versus chaos madness--a war in our world--sees we unaligned as potential allies or enemies? -If so, chaos is doing very little to engender respect or alliances, he mused. Perhaps they didn't feel they needed it.

He was about to use his magic to check if the gifts truly were safe, but the brief conversation between Vindicator and Doru left him thinking. Tentative, he reached his mind for his relative's, and found a link snapping powerfully into place. Shared blood, or simply coincidence? He pushed the thought away, and murmured his thoughts straight into Doru's mind.

This is Pride, Doru. Do not fear, but I wish to warn you--quietly--to be cautious around those of Order. They have had wars with us before, and though they have promised that their ways have changed, they have taken others over without permission in the past. The fungus--it is through their fungus. And once you are with them for long enough, you cannot come back from it. The Mother... she can control you. I will stay with you here unless you wish me to go. He left the link open, for a few moments, in case Doru wished to respond.

He would have added to that warning--that the Hive would take one's magic and replace it with its own--had he but known of it. He didn't, and so he couldn't. His knowledge of Order, in truth, was limited--but cautious. Even his warning didn't bear any real ominous fear, but simply wariness, passed on just in case.

To Vindicator, he nodded, drawing out the strings of glittering gemstones. "This is beautiful," he remarked simply, admiration clear in his tone. (Even if he wasn't quite sure what it was for.)

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Vindicator @Doru

It did not have the need to pass on the thanks to Mother - she heard it already, through both the Vindicator and the Cleaners that had arrived. Still, it offered the gratitude and the joy that the gifts had brought (even if it was unaware of Pride's hesitance towards all of this).

It looked towards Pride again (although its body did not move) and remembered that Doru had mentioned a Pride before when they had first spoken. It hadn't realized at first, or perhaps hadn't connected the dots. "Ah! It is a gathering of family, then. This one - Naskital, as Pride says - he bringeth family together. For this, he has the Vindicator's thanks." This was a time for giving and family - was it Naskital who blessed the caves with this time of year? Or did he simply arrive when the time came? It wondered if it would ever meet him, so it could ask him itself.

It felt warmth again - the same warmth it had felt in the presence of Alcina - and it turned to Doru. Fully turned this time. If it had blood underneath the hardened skin, it would be blushing something fierce. "Friends? Thee honors it. It is glad to call thee friend."

Unaware, of course, of the warning cast to Doru through the mind, it leaned forward towards Doru at his tentative acceptance. "It would like this also. If thou wisheth..." and it reached forward with its arm, fingers extending and a layer of white fuzz quickly spreading across the stone-like skin. "This is the Key to us. The Vindicator will introduce thee through the mind. A gift offered - but not required." It was not thrust into Doru's face, but offered out, to both him and Pride, if they cared to accept it.

@Doru

What Pride told Doru through methods that Doru was interested in though unfamiliar with, was mostly what he already knew. Still, he appreciated the gentleness of the warning, and tried to send back a feeling of appreciation and understanding to Pride in return.

Still, Doru was not prepared for Vindicator's offer. It was tempting in a way, but also not. "I think I would prefer to know their minds from the outside, rather than the inside," He gently declined. "So if you want to let them know I am here, you can do that, if that is within your capabilties?"

"A key to knowledge is not the way I wish to learn of others. When we met before, I mentioned that I enjoy looking at mysteries and hints and finding the shape of others that way, and that is still the case," He added.

A thoughtful pause struck them, though, considering all the mentions of family. "...I have an offer for Order, in return, though. If it is possible for those of Order to give life and give stone, to reproduce in the way other gembounds do, I have a stone which I was going to revive when I am ready," He paused before he elaborated.

"Family is important, yes? I was wondering if perhaps someone with Order would like to give life and give stone with me for the siblings, when I am ready. Your family does not have to decide now, but I offer this for consideration. A way to join families. I could find another stone, too, so that not only is there is a child with magic of your Order and my stone, a child with magic of my own and the stone of Order, and then the found stone revived by me with my magic, but also a found stone revived by Order magic," Doru explained his thought.

"Large family is important to you all, yes?" He absentmindedly inquired, thinking of logistics.

"I do not think I could raise them here in Ursa if the weather continues to be this cold, but a nearby cave, perhaps?" He shakes his head. "Ah, but your family has not even accepted yet. I get ahead of myself, forgive me."

Doru might not be good at connection and love, but it was something that gembounds of Order believed in. So therefore, a member of Order was a good choice for co-parenting.

@Pride & @Vindicator

Was this what they had gone to-? Not forcing, but enticing, tricking..? Pride studied Vindicator for a moment. "No, thank you." He was fairly certain it would already be aware, through the Hive, of his opinions on it--via Jinyi, if nothing else. They'd had a long conversation in Orion, and he'd made it clear then that his stance would remain aloof, but neutral, as it did for so many things.

Doru's offer to 'join families' had him glance over sharply. It isn't your place, he thought, but it was an arrogant thought. It wasn't his family to control, even if he were the progenitor of most, the eldest, and so forth. Still-... The offer to join the two families wasn't any single gembound's to give. "I would not speak for the entire family," he murmured, loud enough for both to hear, his tone mild. "There are some who would not approve. Who do not approve of Order, given its... past, here." Again, mildly said, but he was alarmed that Doru was so... trusting? No, willing. He wasn't sure how to better explain that this was just another mindless force that wanted to use them as pawns. At least, that's how he saw it. He still remembered the horrors of those who had broken free-... an accident, Jinyi had claimed.

Pride still had his doubts.

"Of course, your own path is yours to choose, but may I suggest you discuss this with your parents first?"

Cadenza's bloodline, he was noting, had a habit of reproducing very early on. It made them prolific, and meant they were unlikely ever to die out--but it also was leading to rather questionable decisions. Well. So far, they have worked out well enough, yes? One can hope that their luck holds. And beyond mere 'hope,' he could simply hold to the whole 'talk to your parents first' thing. That, at least, seemed reasonable to him.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

@Vindicator

The Vindicator swept back when its offer was declined, not offended - in fact, it did not expect either to take it, but it thought it might be polite either way. It lowered its arm, fingers folding back in until it looked like a sharp point once again, the fuzz upon its stone-like skin, with its magic cut off, quickly greying and falling away. It flicked its mind through the link, sensing a few nearby, but if they would come, it did not know. Still, it opened the offer - Doru and Pride were here for those that wanted to meet. "The Vindicator hast invited others, if they wisheth to come."

His offer was...very unexpected. It wondered if Mother was listening too, if she was interested in this exchange. It knew she listened through its metaphorical ears so it simply stood, for now, as nothing more then a messenger and speaker, but it could not help but contain a rush of excitement. It felt as if...as if it had been the one to make this possible through the friendship it had forged with Doru. It wondered if Mother would do it the honors, if she accepted. It truly hoped that she did.

But still, it was not its offer to take. It was a middle-man in this situation. So it simply let Mother hear the request and offer to them, "It hath passed thy message." It paused and then added - "But it urges thee to consider Pride's words - family is important, and such great decisions should be spoken through first. It doest not wish for thee to anger thine family if they do not share thine wish."

The Cleaners lingered for a moment as the Gembounds (and her Drone) conversed. It was good, in some way, to see them here interacting without bloodshed or violence or threats. It boded well for a shared future, holiday feeling aside.

Another pulse of thought was passed to Vindicator.

"We will withdraw." She meant the Cleaners, of course. "You are all welcome to remain. If your... friends need anything, you may call on us. Please tell them this." And this time, 'us' meant Mother and the Hive.

She had no hot chocolate or tea to offer them, but given her prediliction for fungal-flavored 'treats,' perhaps that was for the best.

Mother will remain in the 'background of this thread but will not interact further unless spoken to.

@Vindicator @Pride @Doru