Onyx-Three would have offered to help Alek train the children if needed, but it seemed they were very much interested in other things. "It is good to be different. Many skills." After all, everyone in the Chaos Forge had their own specialties, and different ones too. It would not be very efficient or effective if they all did the same thing. Alek was lucky that within his own family, each of his children found their inclinations to differ. It added to the strength of the unit. But all of this was too much to explain, and it did not seem his friend was unhappy in any way about the topic.

The question about family strikes him as strange, as he wasn't sure whether he was supposed to respond or if Alek had more to say on that. So Onyx-Three stays silent, not indicating his opinions on the topic. He waits for him to finish, information sinking in before he responds. And it also gives him time to consider what he really thought about family.

It was a strange word. Family. It could mean many things and nothing at all. For instance, all of the Chaos Forge could count as family, even if he did not talk to all of them. Some he had never spoken to at all. And if family meant who you were related to, that was just as complicated considering his relatives. But he supposed that was too much thinking for such a question, that did not ask about what family was, but a much simpler inquiry into whether it was important or not. "Yes." they finally state, "It is." And now his thought drifted to his mother who he did not see as often but who he cared about just as much as the Sentinel. It made him sad. There was a visible shift in his expression, his perpetually neutral demeanor breaking for a moment to reveal a tinge of longing, but it vanished as quickly as it came.

Onyx-Three did not know of the distinction between empathy and sympathy nor what those terms meant exactly. And it felt almost strange to ask, somehow, as if he were supposed to know them but had never been taught. But Alek was his friend, and this emotion called embarrassment was pushed aside in the pursuit of some more knowledge. "What is empathy and sympathy?" And had he felt it before? What if he hadn't? It seemed to him that Alek thought this was a very important trait, one that was crucial in the importance of family. "And what is... love?"

But he did understand why some may not consider family important, in a sense. For example, he did consider some things of equal importance. Like his role. It was important that he serve the Chaos Forge, even if that meant he would have to be gone for some periods of time and would not be able to see his family as much. And there was also the fact that one simply couldn't always be around their family. It was important to learn from as many different gembounds as possible as well, even if you had to leave.

He did not understand why anyone would want to turn down their parent's advice soon easily, or so soon. Though he was grown, Onyx-Three would always seek more knowledge from the Sentinel. But considering the earlier point that the children had taken differing interests, it was a different enough situation that this belief could not be directly applied. "They grow quick. Independence is important. Equal to family." After all, one could not rely on others forever, and it wasn't a good thing to do so. Independence meant one could provide for themselves, and also for their family, so the two came in hand in hand in a sense as well. "If they visit. I want to see them."

Onyx-Three nodded, his gaze darting from tree to tree as he stayed on guard. It would not do if he accidently harmed Erasmus, but it would be just as bad of an error if something were to attack him or his friend. This cave had too many trees, too much fog, too many places for monsters to lurk and prey to hide. The limited visibility greatly reduced the range advantage of having a bow, though Onyx-Three had confidence in his close range combat skills as well. "Is Erasmus there?" he called out.

@Alek

Alek had not meant to ask a hard question, when asking about family. He nudged Onyx-Three gently with his snout, to try and reassure. The longing the other displayed reminded Alek of how much he missed his own family beyond just his children and Erasmus.

The questions he had not expected from Onyx-Three was the ones he received next. His eyes blinked in their odd patterns, save for the one gemstone eye. He did not mind answering the questions, though, as teaching Erasmus and having children had gotten him used to answering such things.

"Empathy is the ability to comprehend intellectually what another being feels, at least the way I am using it in this context," He began. "Sympathy is the ability to feel what another being feels, generally with the connotation of caring and kindness. Doru is able to tell what others feel quite easily usually, but they do not tend to have sympathy for others. Bezaliel does not have a strong connection to either sympathy or empathy as described by me. But there are varying definitions."

"Love is..." Alek considers. "It is a powerful emotion where you feel a positive connection to another being. It can be a bond of friendship, family, or... partnership, I suppose? You and I have a bond of friendship, I suppose, my parents and I share a bond of family, and Erasmus is my partner."

"Love is hard to describe. My bond to Erasmus has always been hard for me to describe, but it is love now, if a different kind of love than that I have for my family. I would say I love you as a friend, but I also think..." He trails off, cutting himself off.

"Love is a fluid, transformative force. I am not sure either of my children understand familial love," He changes the subject.

"I am not sure my children place family on a level of importance at all, beyond the appreciation for a caretaker in their time of early weakness. That said, I would still be happy to introduce them to you if they come by. I am not sure if they will visit, though," His tone is wistful.

He tries to tell if Erasmus is here, but Erasmus has always been subtle. That said, Erasmus is prone to trailing near him, as of late, since the children have left, so even if Erasmus is not here, they will be soon. "Erasmus? This gembound is safe, he is Onyx-Three. Onyx-Three is my friend."

Unlike the other two present, Erasmus's sometimes too keen vision allowed them to see more easily through the fog. But they were aware that the others likely could not see them, even if they could see and hear the others. "Am Erasmus," They inform Onyx-Three, Alek's friend, as they step closer through the fog, their voice the warning that they are approaching.

They study Onyx-Three with curiosity. His bipedal shape is more like theirs, and yet not. They tilt their head, distinctly birdlike for their humanoid build, and some of their hair shifts away from hiding their vivid green viper-esque eyes. "Onyx-Three has pretty eyes," Erasmus tells the other, the compliment their way of extending welcome.

Erasmus looks nervous, as they often are in the presence of the unknown, but they have a commitment to seeing Alek happy, and it is clear that Onyx-Three makes Alek happy. So, even if Erasmus is anxious, they already like Onyx-Three.

Still, they dart to Alek, settling close to the larger, reassuring presence. Erasmus is not small, but they feel smaller in a safe way next to Alek. Protected.

@V-Onyx-Three

He accepts the gesture, and though he is unused to it, finds it oddly reassuring. Onyx-Three is very aware of how it may be dangerous, should Alek choose to bite him- but easily dissuades this worry. Alek was a friend.

As his friend spoke, Onyx-Three couldn't help but realize how much he had changed. He was now much more eloquent in his speech than before. And meanwhile he himself... hadn't changed that much he supposed. Or maybe he had, and just didn't notice. It was hard to measure such things, much harder to measure in comparison to other more concrete actions such as strength and speed.

He was beginning to realize more and more how little he really understood about feelings, considering the two concepts of empathy and sympathy sounded almost like the same thing, with only a minor difference between them. And even further, he was unsure of whether he had either one. Understanding how someone feels? If he could read them maybe. That was tough. Feeling what someone else feels? That was even harder when he didn't even know how he felt sometimes. "I do not know if I have sympathy or empathy. It is difficult." decides Onyx-Three, "Feelings are difficult. But you are good at feelings."

A strong positive connection. That was interesting. He felt positive connections to a lot of things, namely, Sentinel, his mom, and his bow. Then there was his brother as well, but their relationship was a bit murky. "Love is important." It felt good too, to be loved. It felt like being young again. Alek loved him as a friend, but what? Onyx-Three was very confused by this turn of statements. Had he done something wrong? But mistakes always made room for progress, that was the positive side of things. "How can I improve? I want to be... better friend."

What Onyx-Three gathered from Alek's statements on family was that he cared an awful lot for his children even if they did not care as much. But the part he was still sad about was that it did not seem like there would be much bonding potential between them. He could not imagine choosing not to spend time with the Sentinel, especially because that's how he progressed his skills. He would not put in as much effort if the other gembound didn't return it, he thought. The same went for respect, or anything by those standards. It must be hard to be friends with someone who did not want to be friends with you as much. Did the same apply to family? But no, he did not know nearly as much about the complexities of all this as Alek, so he would not linger on it for too long.

Then Erasmus emerges from the fog, definitely not what Onyx-Three expected. For one, they have a similar build in terms of bipedal ability, yet that's where the similarities end. He bows his head in response to the compliment, though it makes him squirm a little inside. Embarrassment, if he knew how to name the feeling. He gets another burst of this upon seeing Erasmus dart to Alek. Having an intimidating presence is important, but he didn't want to make them nervous. "I will not shoot." He tries to maintain a soft tone, but it's very hard when everything wants to come out in a growl, "I am safe." Onyx-Three returns the arrow to the quiver. And then, he decides, maybe he should try a compliment as well. "You are good at stealth." It comes out clunky, but there's nothing he could do about it now. "Alek is a good friend to me. So you are a good friend to me."

@Alek

"I do not know if it is feelings that are difficult," Alek stated, contemplatively. "Rather, I think the difficulty lies in communication of feelings. For some, finding words for their emotions is a difficult task, so they do not know how to tell others, and there is a difficulty as well in interpreting feelings from others. But feelings are simply the emotions we feel, and they come without effort. One does not chose to feel. One simply does." It was a bit wordy for an explanation, but Alek knew Onyx-Three was far from unfeeling.

"I do not know if I am particularly good at understanding feelings, really, though I thank you for saying such. I do think I am good at using and understanding words, however, if I was good at feelings, I do not think I would have been avoiding seeing my parents for cycles, for example," his musical voice holds a sort of wry wistfulness.

"Love is important, yes," Alek agreed with a toothy grin, not worried about scaring Onyx-Three who was as sharply made as him, if in a different way.

But he blinked his five functioning eyes, startled, by the question that followed. He had not intended his words to be interpreted like that at all, he had really not thought when he had spoken them. "You are a wonderful friend, Onyx-Three. I do not think I could ask for a better one," he genuinely tells his friend. If Alek sometimes wishes they could be more than friends, that's Alek's problem, not Onyx-Three's.

Then Erasmus emerges, complimenting Onyx-Three's eyes. Alek finds it delightful and amusing that he and they both happened to comment on the same thing about Onyx-Three the first time meeting Onyx-Three

He blinks, and he glances towards Erasmus who has darted to his side. It is normal for Erasmus to be there, so Alek is unsure if Erasmus is afraid. He gauges how Erasmus seems to be feeling.

And he realizes that it is Erasmus's usual fear that plagues them, not a fear of Onyx-Three. "Erasmus is not afraid of you," he tries to explain, but does not want to overshare more than Erasmus is comfortable.

@Erasmus

Erasmus has fear, yes, but it is not fear borne of intimidation. Their head ducks shyly at the compliment regarding their stealth. "Yes, friend," Erasmus agrees, raspy voice warm. "Made Alek laugh. Erasmus glad to hear Alek's laughter, glad to meet Onyx-Three," they inform Onyx-Three.

They are confused at the way that Onyx-Three is wording things, but they speak easily enough, even if they stay by Alek's side. It is not until Alek speaks, stating what Erasmus does not realize wasn't obvious. They consider what words they could use to explain.

"Onyx-Three... good. Alek loves, like Alek loves family. Erasmus has... hurt, killed. Did not meant to, but did. Does not want to hurt Onyx-Three. ...Does not want to hurt anyone. But has. Afraid to hurt Onyx-Three, not afraid of Onyx-Three hurting Erasmus," Erasmus explained in their raspy, broken way.

@V-Onyx-Three

Onyx-Three did not think it was important to find words for one's feelings when feelings were not thing to be shared anyway. If they remained inside of you, you could simply feel without naming and do with it what you will. It was only if they ever decided to tell anyone about it that it might become an issue, but that has yet to happen. They did not see the point in doing so anyway. Though, of course, they did see the importance in connecting with other gembounds, but weren't those things better achieved through actions than the exchange of words? But everyone was different. To some, the sharing of emotions was important. Such as Alek and his family. Onyx-Three felt bad that he couldn't see his kids very much. He supposed if his kids weren't nearby, he would feel very sad too. "There is a difference between actions and speech regarding feelings. It is possible to act without knowing the feeling."

Onyx-Three thinks Alek knows much more about love than they do. Or at least, is better at pinning down the elusive yet powerful feeling and expressing it. They know they do feel love, though perhaps it is a different love, or maybe the same kind yet they do not know how to word it. But yes, they were not emotionless. Just... reserved. Out of not knowing the right way to go about things. Talking about feelings and the such really wasn't a valuable thing when you were in combat. But perhaps it was valuable when it came to personal relations. The smile caught them off guard, but they know to interpret it as friendly.

"Thank you. I hope to continue doing so." Onyx-Three's tail lightly thumped against the ground. When they notice, they force themselves to stop, embarrassed.

They noted the way Erasmus speaks, finding it different in a similar way to how they themselves spoke different. "Alek loves?" Onyx-Three glanced at Alek, now increasingly unsure of how they themselves felt. Family was a complicated term as well. All of this meant a lot of things, none of which they were sure of comprehending or understanding correctly. Well, they understood love now that Alek had explained some of it. But there was no guaranteeing that the kind of emotions Onyx-Three felt towards the dragon were the same. Especially when they couldn't figure it out themselves. "I am grateful. I hope to earn it."

Onyx-Three knows not to underestimate Erasmus, especially if they did kill a dragon. That was not something they could ever claim they did. They had yet to kill anyone, even an Order drone. "Do not be afraid. I am not afraid of you." This was not overconfidence, nor a challenge. Their tone was soft, indicating that they trusted Erasmus not to hurt them. In fact, he had a different idea. If this gembound really did kill a dragon, that said a lot of their skill. "If you wish to spar come to Draco."

@Alek

"Indeed," Alek agreed with a fond nod. There was a difference between acting on feelings and talking about feelings. One was done every day and moment of living, the other was significantly more challenging for some, and not always necessary. Onyx-Three was clever to be aware of that.

He couldn't help a grin as he noticed Onyx-Three's tail lightly thumping the ground, though he tried to conceal it when he realized the other was embarrassed.

Alek said nothing to disagree or agree with Erasmus's statements, but one could assume he agreed, having earlier mentioned loving Onyx-Three as a friend at least.

Onyx-Three spoke softly to Erasmus, and it made Alek's heart ache in a good way. "If you're alright with it Erasmus, we're going to go to Orion, to speak with my parents. To tell them," he brought it up with some hesitation, not wanting to ruin things.

"Probably should start traveling now, if we wish to get there in a timely manner," he added, not unkindly.

@Erasmus

Alek did not clarify his feelings, and so Erasmus let it be, despite the questioning tone of Onyx-Three. They regarded Onyx-Three, head tilted, some disheveled hair slipping away from one eye to reveal a green viper gaze that was mostly hidden.

"Sparring..." Erasmus shook their head. "Onyx-Three... no fight, at all. And...Erasmus... has venom," they mentioned, for all their venom wasn't dangerous in the typically viewed ways of venom. It still wasn't something they unduly wished to inflict on another.

Alek mentioned visiting his family, for the first time, to tell them. And Erasmus knew they were being given implied permission to stay behind. "Erasmus goes too," they firmly told Alek, staring intently at the other so their seriousness would not be doubted.

Erasmus was ready, though they hated the idea of leaving the raspite chrysalis... They glanced back in its direction unerringly, but they were certain. They needed to face consequences.

[Exit]

@V-Onyx-Three

They hoped they hadn't made too much of a fool out of themselves, and wouldn't either at the coming meeting. It wasn't the shortest walk, so they had to get going. Onyx-Three thought the mention of venom was interesting, and it interested rather than deterred them. But if Erasmus did not want to, they wouldn't. Spars must be agreed on by both parties.

"Yes. I will come." Onyx-Three repeated, almost as if he felt the need to reaffirm the fact that he was coming along, and reminding himself of what he had agreed to. This was their opportunity to help Alek, and of course they wanted to aid their friend in something as difficult as this.

He would follow them out of Cetus and towards their next destination. Orion.

"Exit V-Onyx-Three"