Black listened, ears pricked up, not wincing as the cat's rough tongue peeled flakes of dead skin and crumbs of debris from his wounds--things Makyna hadn't missed, but which had, rather, gathered later on. Her words made him realize, for the first time, that other gembounds were not like him--that he was not like others. He listened with wrinkled face and pricked-up ears, concentrating. When at last she fell silent, following her musings, he shook his head and readjusted his paws on the rock, and spoke.

"No. I am not of one purpose. I am purpose. I was awoken, and I will pursue my prey, and the truths I was awoken to find. I believe I may be different," he continued, struggling to explain the concept that even he was only just now forming in his mind.

"I was awoken by another, whom I never saw again. He awaited me, in the place of darkness, and he named me, Void. I was sent to aid with closing a rupture in the tunnels--and to fight and pursue the thing-that-fled. Nemean. I have seen the darkness that created the carvings. I have seen the shadows that howled on the throne of Orion. I am created to protect. I am born to pursue. I am purpose."

This, for the normally taciturn hound, was quite the speech, and he seemed to briefly confuse himself--he blinked, ears flicking back, before looking again to Fallah. "Others are content to live, grow. Survive. They seek no purpose, or create their own. This is not me. You--your purpose. Fisher's. Is merely, to be. To survive. You have that right. It is not why you were created, I think; you merely, are."

His thoughts were somewhat jumbled, and in his growing frustration at being unable to explain, he turned to metaphor. His voice remained quiet and solemn, his words measured.

"Water falls from a roof. The paws of a god unseen dig a trench. Water falls in; or it does not. That which flows in the trench is the guide for the rest, though it did not decide so. That which flows away, or follows the guide, has chosen its own path. It exists as surely as the false river; yet the false is the true, and the Dog is the guide."

Apparently satisfied that he had thoroughly explained himself, he then cocked his head and peered at the lynx, choosing to quickly follow up with a question.

"You are without purpose, then? What would you wish for yourself? What purpose? If not purpose, what?"

________________

@Fallah

Her friend opened up and explained things unknown to Fallah. She would listened intently, pondering each word and each words meaning in and out of context. He clarified that he was purpose, not of purpose. Fallah nodded once, slowly, her head trying to comprehend what he was telling her. He said he believed he may be different and Fallah agreed, though, more generally "I believe many are different in many ways."

Black went on to explain that he was awaken by someone else. Fallah's ears pricked. He was named Void? Fallah stopped cleaning her friend to listen. He spoke of his experiences in the caves and Fallah questioned at the end, "But was I not with you there for many of those happenings? Were there not others? " She understood how he could be born to protect, but not how he was Void and Black? Had she been wrong this whole time?

Black- or maybe Void- went on to say that the others simply had to live; that they merely were. Fallah disagreed with this, but held that thought for later. The dog then explained in a metaphor about water. Ah, that was something Fallah could connect with. She listened intently, thinking hard about the words. Her friend then followed up with a question and her ears perked again as her eyes refocused on blue grey eyes that reminded Fallah of ice, "I think maybe we all have a purpose, but maybe we do not know it yet. As for the water in the trench, running water is made of many little waters, so maybe you are just one piece of the water. Sometimes water falls unpredictably and carves its own path. Sometimes water freezes, and other times ice melts and becomes water. Perhaps some of us are tumbling in the trench without knowing. As for me, I am not purpose, but I do believe I have a purpose. I believe that, though there is chance, whether one drop of water falls here or there, that the overall outcome is the same, that water is still water. We are all the children of the cave. Though you may know your purpose, this does not mean others do not have one, though it also does not mean everyone has one either."

Fallah tried to explain her story, but as she pulled water from the air, it fell flat a small distance away from the two gembounds, "Even the water, though sometimes under the control of another, sometimes may choose it's own path." Fallah watched as the water rolled down some rocks a bit before seeping slowly into the ground, "I think the same is for all elements, and perhaps us as beings as well." The lynx made her way in front of her friend again, trying to explain her thoughts, "Perhaps you are special, and have a trench dug for you, but whether some have a trench to follow, or many carve a new trench by nature, I believe all the water will end up in the same stream." Fallah nodded, hoping she was making sense, "As for me, I fall in the middle of purpose and, perhaps, no purpose. Perhaps that is where my name came from, though I do not recall being named by an entity, simply the idea was there. If an entity named you, but we call you Black, then which name is the true one? Which name calls to your being? Black, or Void? Can one's name have to do with their purpose, and what if one's purpose is to help others with their purpose?"

She was asking too many question, her mind was spinning too hard. Fallah scrunched her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them again, "Maybe I am to help you. Find this buzzing. Hunt it like prey. Then what? What if one's purpose is fulfilled? If my purpose is to help, then my purpose will never end, but what of yours?" The lynx asked her questions in honesty. She had patched the hole with the help of Black. They had investigated Cetus together. What if she was geared to help Black- Void- this whole time, "I will help you. I will be by your side- and Fisher's. For now, this is my purpose. Perhaps, since you awakened me again, I depend on you, and you depend on me. Would you deny me of my purpose, even if it's temporary?" It made sense to the cat. The ones that awakened her deserved her loyalty, deserved her life. If meeting them was chance, hatching again to see them was surely not. She did not know how the dog would react or if he would simply dismiss her purpose because she did not have such a calling as he. Her eyes stared intently, her breath baited as she waited for a response.


@black

Black sighed softly through his nose as his metaphor was--perhaps understandably--entirely misinterpreted. Or had it been? Perhaps Fallah understood it, somewhat, but was elaborating on it, translating it into ideas he might not agree with, but could at least comprehend.

Her questions, however, were clear enough.

"I have no need to deny you," he rumbled rather majestically--accidentally also implying, perhaps, that he didn't particularly care and, if he'd had reason to deny her, he would have. Still, he didn't seem unfriendly or even aloof, simply matter-of-fact.

"And no. You were not present for my wakening. I came to you, and to Fisher, farther in the tunnel. I am nameless; I have no name. I am darkness, and void. I am the Black Dog, and thus I am simply Black, as it is easier to call. I am purpose. I do not know your purpose, Fallah. And unless all in the caves perish, my purpose cannot end. And if they do, it will still not end, for I will wait for more to rise."

Fallah's previous words seemed to have hinted at some concern that Black would push her away; but he seemed not only unconcerned, but oblivious. Apparently the lynx did not conflict with Black's idea of "purpose," and so he had no problems with her presence--or perhaps his purpose, being to guard the lynx, as well, meant that it was better if she stayed close.

"Aquarian instructed me not to pursue the buzzing; that Nemean is deadly. But I will wait; and I will watch. If you wish to aid me, then simply aid in keeping Fisher safe. It is, perhaps, too much a task for one," he added, a hint of rare humor in his tone.

________________

@Fallah

Something had been eavesdropping on the conversation between the lynx and the dog, something curious, and something devious. These 'Gembounds' were interesting things, she had to admit; certainly different than the creatures she was so used to seeing. They had to them a greater conviction than the others, but maybe that was because they were naive, they didn't know any better. That was probably it. What a tragedy it was, too; some of them could achieve great things, but others were destined only to waste away, weak, pathetic and unknown, that she could tell. It didn't matter which of them could succeed, though. They were all trapped here in this awful cave anyways.

She felt offended when the one of them had said it wasn't worth following the buzzing. That one in particular she knew was consumed by the sound, by the task, she wondered how well he would hold to his resolve. With mischief in her heart, she released the stalactite she'd been clinging to and buzzed near the ceiling, a swathe of darkness hiding her from sight - only the sound of her wings, the incessant, loud, echoing buzz would betray her presence. It carried throughout the room, rising slowly from the nothingness into audible reverberation and edging towards the entrance of a nearby tunnel, beckoning him.

Black said he would have no reason to deny her and Fallah nodded, that was right. She wondered, if he were to deny her, what she would have done. She decided not to dwell on the thought- it made her throat feel kind of sharp and she wasn't sure why. Magic? Never mind.

Her friend explained his thoughts clearly, and Fallah agreed out loud, "Of course. Perhaps purpose can not end. Perhaps it never starts and never ends, perhaps it is just... there, unreachable, in the deep... dark... void." Fallah broke eye contact, "But, friend. You speak of coming to Fisher and I, but maybe we were waiting for you all along..." She didn't elaborate, but it was implied that maybe it was their purpose to be their when Black was. Fallah didn't know for sure, but then again, she didn't really know much about a solid purpose.

Black finished by asking her to watch Fisher and Fallah moved to protest, then stopped. Was that... a joke. Fallah's eyes widened, bouncing slightly as they searched her friend's face, her maw just slightly ajar. Slowly, a smile spread on her maw, "It may be a task too big for one, so..." Fallah took a breath in, drawing closer to the large black dog. She was unsure of what she was doing, really, or what she was feeling, but her voice lowered for only Black, "-never leave that task to just me. I have no desire to find out what would happen if I was alone in such a task." Fallah drew back, looking at Black for a moment. Then she heard it. The buzz. Was she imagining it? Her ears perked and she whispered quietly, "Black-" before she cut herself off to listen. He would go after it, right? His purpose? What of his stone?

@black

He listened intently to Fallah, head slightly tilted.

"You consider that your task--yours and Fisher's--is linked to my own? I do not--" but before he could continue, he heard it.

Massive head swiveled sharply to face the buzzing, and he was lurching to his feet and lumbering in a few bounds of heavy gallop before he remembered Aquarian's words. He faltered, stopping himself, staring intently toward the tunnel with one paw dangling midair.

It is there. I am to pursue. Yet I am not. Perhaps the thing-that-fled is not the thing-that-buzzed. I wish to pursue. I must not.

The dog took a few hesitant paces forward, huffing an exhale, then growling a soft whine. For a moment, frustration threatened to consume him--he wanted, with all his being, to capture the thing. To seize it in his teeth and shake it until it were dead. Yet Aquarian had told him otherwise, and if the water-beast, the Guardian, could be trusted, then his purpose veered from this.

Suddenly it hit him that this was opportunity, and not frustration.

He glanced briefly at Fallah, then turned and took a few more slow, deliberate paces forward. Rather than giving snarling chase, he only stalked head low. He was not trying to remain hidden, or to hunt; rather he was moving in plain sight, snuffling along the ground, sniffing at the air.

He knew the scent of his prey: metallic and sweet. If this Nemean was it, perhaps he would scent the smell; if she were not, then there might be nothing. Either way, he would not pursue--as Aquarian had suggested. No, instructed. He would only sniff the air, and see.

________________

@Fallah

She knew that she had attracted their attention. Both of them. One of them hesitated, checking with the other - but it was the other she wanted to entice. From her hiding spot in the shadows among the entrance to Tunnel H, she watched him glance in her direction, take a few steps, then resolve to take a few more. If pleasure was a tangible thing, she would slather herself in it. She retreated to a dark alcove among the ceiling near the entrance of the tunnel, vibrating her wings quietly - just enough to lure him further in.

A sweet, metallic scent fills the air.