It didn't matter how hard the parasite tried to backpedal away from the entrance to Pride's stomach, there was no escaping the muscular contractions that quickly uprooted the little one's peaceful existence. Along with a cushioning wad of half-digested leaves and grasses, it was deposited onto the ground in the middle of a pile of mush, its off-white body clearly visible against the dark greens and yellows of Pride's stomach contents.

Here, at least, it was off the ground- but it still felt the cold against its slime-covered hide. After letting out a small, stunned squelching noise, It popped out its head from the pile and squirmed, looking, half-buried, like a very small, and very disgusting maggot. It looked around, searching and blinking in the brightness, clearly dazed. As Pride came into focus, the expression on its pug-like face became one of betrayal as it squirmed its way out of the muck and towards one of Pride's legs. Soon it was on solid ground, all of its little legs working in desperate tandem as it moved towards Pride.

It made tiny squeaking and squelching noises as it moved- was it pleading? It was obvious that it couldn't physically speak. Without Pride's abilities it was virtually impossible to tell that it was even sentient. But it knew what it wanted and it clearly knew how to get there. It tried, with three sets of little forepaws flailing, to latch onto one of Pride's hooves and begin climbing.

@Pride

Pride stared down, rather blankly. He tilted his head--this way and that; and then he knelt, lowering himself to lay before the tiny, tiny thing. It was indeed a worm--barely visible at all--and... Could it be a parasite..? Some part of him recoiled in horror at the idea of willingly taking a worm into his body--it was antithesis to everything he embodied, all the beauty and perfection.

Yet... there was, too, that memory of himself stepping forth as this thing's savior, as a god in the cold. And, on a far more practical note, he didn't want it to die. But if he ate it--could it kill him, later? Would it grow, and make-... Caves--would it make others, in his gut, or something?

And maybe it wasn't a parasite at all. Perhaps it was only a caterpillar, and didn't know any better.

He grimaced, and spoke, and as he did so he tried to again open a connection to the creature's mind. He didn't move away as it crawled toward him--he'd lowered himself to its level, after all. As he spoke, he sent his thoughts, too--in case it could not comprehend the words--and struggled to maintain the link so that it could respond.

He knew he'd likely be unable to open the link again, not any time soon. His head was pounding.

"Most things," he tried to explain, "will die if swallowed. They will be... digested, consumed. You are very young, small, I think--if you are wrong it will be your life. I cannot keep opening these links, mind-to-mind."

He hesitated; this was a moral conundrum the likes of which he'd never had to face. Did he allow what was essentially an infant to decide life or death, in their ignorance of the world? Or did he decide for them--in his equal ignorance..?

Either way, a great deal was on the line.

@Squick

The little one stopped as Pride lowered himself to the ground. It watched wide-eyed as he came into the focus, and it saw his face for the first time- out of focus and so, so vast. It stood before him, and on this level, it was very clearly shivering. When he had finished settling down, it began to climb up one of his forelegs, towards his face.

It wanted to be eaten. It was cold out here, and frightened- although what of it wasn't sure. all it knew was that the edges of its vision were blurred. It couldn't see to the edges of the world like Pride could. To it- he was a massive being- a god, almost. It felt the link open again- their minds connect- and it was a spark of warmth in the cold. Pride would be able to feel its fear, and the cold. Perhaps he'd also be able to feel its desperation to get back out of the cold, the want for a small, enclosed space, with food and dampness and everything it needed.

...Will they? it asked, a fleeting thrill of doubt. It wasn't afraid of being digested- somehow, it was certain that it would survive. But, I was okay. It was warm and nice in there. There was food. Out here is... There was a pause as it continued scaling Pride's neck and grew distracted. ...Bad. There is no food and it's too big. I can't see the ends of it. I want to go home. It stopped, letting out a tiny sound like a balloon letting out air, then continued.

Please, Mr. Host. It's horrible out here.

@Pride

He wavered; he considered.

He grimaced, deeply.

This was disgusting, and for the briefest of instants he almost considered just... leaving the thing behind. Letting it die. That thought, however, was shielded. Its fear and desperation--and just a little of the ego at it thinking him a god--swerved him back from that course. And anyway, wasn't this part of what he wished to study... to do? To learn how Gembound and their magic interacted, to learn how sentience--came to be? This tiny thing--this little thing, barely a white squiggle in his vision where it creeped through his fur--this could not be meant to be sentient. Perhaps it was an accident--a misfire of magic. Perhaps a Gembound with parasites had accidentally given one life.

...Did insects have gemstones, as a rule? Pride realized that he didn't know.

The stag grimaced, staring. He spoke once more, sending his thoughts with the last of the link, to make it clear--but it was fading, and fast.

"My name is Pride," he told it simply. It thought of him as Host--perhaps indication enough that it would survive comfortably within his gut. But he was Pride.

A lick, a swallow, before he could second-guess himself, before he could change his mind. It was disgusting, and fear came with it. What if it made him sick?

What if it killed him?

What if it was all an act--but no, it couldn't be; he'd touched its mind, and its fear and awe were quite real. Its innocence, even.

To be certain that he'd swallowed it, he pushed up, stepping to the water--well away from the fish--and gulped a little down. It wasn't icy cold, by any means, but it was not warm either, and he knew it probably wasn't pleasant for the little one--but it ensured it wasn't... stuck somewhere, say in Pride's teeth or the like.

He'd have to rush off to Amras, perhaps, ask his opinion on this. Bar killing a newborn Gembound--no matter how squeamish the creature made him--he had little other option than, indeed, playing Mister Host.

@Squick

The little one squirmed at first as it felt itself licked free of Pride's fur, but as though it had just been scruffed, it quickly relaxed, and allowed itself to be once again swallowed, quickly enclosed once again in the warmth. It heard Pride's words, its eyes round, its little face lighting up. It understood. It had ever considered a name before. It was just... it.

But Pride knew what he was, and the name was the culmination of all of that. The little one wanted to be like their host and have a name of its own. It didn't know, though- where did names even come from? But the link was fading- it didn't have long. And so as the last traces of magic faded it reached out as best it could and had an epiphany. Squick, came the resounding thought. Perhaps it meant something, perhaps it didn't. But either way, the sound- or rather, the word- felt perfect. It felt grossly visceral and echoed Pride's bewilderment as it was deposited onto the ground.

The parasite felt itself falling back into its place, the cold that had crept into its core fading away. It reinstated itself, waddling around for a brief time, and then, with a contented squelch, settling down. It was good to be home.

@Pride

He had-... absolutely no idea if "Squick" was meant to be its name, but it was a single, bright, clear thought as the link hissed shut.

...Regardless of whether that's how the tiny parasite had meant it, it was what Pride would now think of it as, willing or no. The stag stood silent for awhile, quietly contemplating this-... this choice, that he had made, and its potential consequences and why the hell did I agree to this? He felt no sense of the little one's magic, but nor did he feel it writhing around upset.

He found himself already worried that it might be--gone, might be dead. He waited a few moments before tentatively--wincing at the pains the overuse of his magic caused him--trying to call open the link one last time.

Right-... Squick, if that is your name. Respond, let me know you are all right. If you need to--come back out, use your magic as much as you can. I will understand, then, that something is amiss, and I will--ahh, eject you, as just now. Are you well..?"

He was already running through a to-do list in his mind, but that was secondary--a muted hum in the background, though Squick might pick up on some of its details. He might sense, too, Pride's calmly logical approach, despite the undercurrent of worry. The stag was rapidly addressing dangers, considering, rejecting and then settling on solutions, and arranging these solutions according to where they lay in the cave, which he could reach first, and so on. It was but background noise, but it was an indication of the "host's" intensely-logical problem-solving process, of keen intellect and a firm self-control and -discipline.

If it grows? Cannot harm it, innocent. Will need to acquire method of ejection and secondary life support. Amras may know. Study origins, when possible, may give clue to overall natural sciences and lend aid in creature's survival prospects. Seek similar creatures--anecdotal, perhaps specimens--here in Fornax perhaps... The background hum, as it were, went on for a moment before Pride had a rudimentary plan in place: he would look for worms here, and if he found none, head to Eridanus to look for Amras. He'd then go to Envy and ask if they had any magic capable of sensing the being inside him, and warn Envy of his passenger, should something befall he himself. He'd find out if any of the Seven knew of these parasites, too...

Pride's mind was a very busy place.

@Squick

The newly named Squick had been fully prepared to settle down to sleep- it yawned, it stretched and it allowed itself to settle down in the now-empty stomach- only startling slightly as a cold swell of water washed around it. It let out a small squeaking sound, raising its head above the water, but otherwise didn't protest- moving as best it could out of the way before stooping to suck up a little bit of the water itself.It would soon warm through, and it was confident the flood wouldn't last for long. And then, soon, there would be more food- and then more water.

In here, nothing was so scary! Not floods, not monsters, not even the cold. No matter what came, it knew it was safe.

Squick would be set here, presumably for its entire life. It was pleased- oh, it was so happy that it had found such a wonderful home! The parasite wasn't expecting company so soon, and when Pride's presence came back into its head again, he was greeted with excitement. Yes! I'm here! Thank you, Mr. Pride! I like it much better in here! The little one thought back, with a small squelch and twitch of its mandibles. I'm well!

It listened for a while with intense curiosity to the murmuring background thoughts rattling around in Pride's mind. It was a lot to take in, but it got the impression that something was very strange. That Pride had perhaps never hosted anything like it before. It also learned the name of the cold outdoors- Fornax. The inside of Pride's stomach was very different. It wondered if this place had a name...

@pride

Pride turned and made his way to the water's edge. He was, at least, now satisfied that Squick was still alive, and he was relatively certain in a grimly-amused sort of way that no one, ever, had had such a polite and well-spoken gut parasite before.

...Fitting, really, for a stag so hell-bent on perfection that even his worms would be gentlemanly.

He spent some time moving up and down the water's edges, not so close to the fish to induce vomiting from their odor again but close enough, at least, to visually inspect them. He looked over the water, the rocks, even the foliage where he'd found Squick. He did this quite closely, nudging through the grass and leaves, but he saw nothing--no worms, no insects of any kind. In fact, the place was so damp that he was certain that it must periodically submerge--how had such a tiny being survived? Or had it been--wholly unhatched? Had a tiny stone, somewhere, held it until now..?

Pride lifted his head, thinking. It bore so much more consideration--on the nature of being, of sentience, of selfhood. Of magic and of consciousness.

It was a lot to think about.

@Squick

Now, it seemed, that when Pride faded away, he did so for good. Squick waited for a while, hopefully, to see if he'd return, round head held upright and mandibles twitching. But alas, Pride didn't return, and the tiny creature soon found that its exhaustion was returning. It had been a long day for one so small and young.

Soon it was struggling to keep its eyes open, its eyelids drooping ever lower and smoothing its forehead wrinkles. Even though there were still rapidly-shrinking puddles around it, and still stood belly deep in water- it was content. Its velvety hide shed water and ooze like it was from a duck's back. Soon it was rolling over onto its side and curling up with little paws hugging its abdomen, eyes closing.

Not even a beat later, it had fallen asleep, where it dreamt of hosts and home, and the strange new world in which it had found itself.

-Exit Squick-

@Pride

Nothing here. Only--...

His hoof crunched softly, and he lifted it, glancing down. There were but stones, there--though one tiny pebble was surprisingly... violet. Was it broken? He couldn't really tell, even inspecting it. It could have been part of a chrysalis, but it was too tiny to be certain. Surely the right size, given that, though.

The stag turned, shaking himself out a little and moving into a brisk and graceful trot. He'd have the entirety of the bitter-cold tunnel M to traverse, now, and more from there; but M alone was a nasty hike.

Best get started early, then.

He'd come to try and bond with a lesser, and ended up playing host to a Greater. He wasn't quite sure how this would work out, yet, but having chosen the pursuits of compassion and knowledge, he might just find out.

exit Pride