While the ruined cities were generally quiet and empty, one particular home high in the cliffs was guarded by several golems; they were kept in the vicinity by lingering magic that teased them and kept them interested. However, these golems were dressed in frilly pink aprons and matching bows.

"BECKY," shrieked Nemean's voice as she flitted between the giant boulder-feet of one of these golems, turning and slapping the stone with her tiny paw. "IT'S ME, STOP STOMPING!" From behind Becky, another golem rolled and reshaped itself to try and overtake the other, reaching for Nemean with fingers made of pebbles.

"NANCY!" she hollered, slipping past the both of them and hovering above them in the air. She pressed down her fur and growled, shaking a finger at them. "You two are just too much—" her eyes pulled away from the two clamoring idiots to spy another of her servants approaching her room.

"NO! CHADSWORTHINGTON STEVENSON THE THIRD, DON'T YOU DARE—" she was rushing to meet him, zapping him with bits of her own magic to grab his attention, but he was fixed on something else with an intent she could not interrupt. Tugging on his apron, she tried again to stop him, but he was collapsing himself to fit through the doorway, ruining his apron with dirt and grime.

"Look, now we have to wash that," she grumbled zipping around in front of him to see what had locked his attention so fiercely.

It was... the stone. The stone. The lamb's stone. Nemean stared at it glowing there atop her pile of treasures, her tiny paws holding back the curiosity of Chadsworthington Stevenson III. She was awestruck. All this time, and it just now wants to do stuff?

Chadsworthington continued his pursuit so Nemean left him, skipping through the air to grab the stone and fly upward through the roofless ceiling of her home, up toward the glittering almost-night of Orion's crystals.

"Why..." she began, turning it and inspecting the burst of magic, and then it died in her little fucking hands. Her eyes went wide and she nearly dropped it, her breath caught in her lungs. Oh. This was uh, probably very bad, definitely—

An earthquake shook the caves. It sounded like a roar. It sounded like... The heat that blasted down on her from the vents confirmed her fears and she tossed the gem back and forth between her paws like a hot potato. Oh, she didn't want this anymore. Yeah, in fact, she never had this. Haha. Oh fuck.

She danced back down to her room and shoved the stone deep into her hoard of things.

Too possessive to completely toss it, she opted for hiding it away from herself and others instead. But in her home, still. It was her prize! Just... she didn't have it. Dawa who? Heh.

The fear that he might know she had it, that he might blame her, that he might come looking... She side-eyed her hoard and wrung her paws together, nervous and anxious. Chadsworthington had lost interest and was shuffling back out into the labyrinth of roads that kept her home hidden and secret, but Nemean didn't even notice. She paced in her room and continued to glance at her things. Well. He couldn't escape Leo, right? Haha. Nah. Definitely not. Yeah! She was totally fine.

But also... she gulped, and tired to push the thoughts from her head, fluffing up her frilly curtains and moseying about her glittering room, looking for all manners of distractions that were not the dead once-magic stones of the partner to one of the most frightening masters she'd ever had the pleasure of tricking and trapping him away. Yikes. Nah, it was fine. Heh. She patted the glowing eyeballs of Imp that hung above her door and forced a smile. Yeah, see? All good.