Anubis came sprinting out of Canis, panting, slowing to a halt about halfway down this odd, quiet tunnel and turning, sitting down to rest and wait. He'd just come back from running as fast as his legs could carry him through Canis to where that old bone-reader lived. He remembered her from childhood, and from some cycles ago.

He'd informed her of this - he needed help with something, but he couldn't stay in Canis - he was on Mother's shit-list at the moment and the longer he stayed, the more he - and anyone around him - was in danger. So he asked to talk here instead, where he did not have to fear her infected lessers finding him. Whether she accepted or not, he hadn't known, as he'd said a hasty goodbye and ran right back out, anxiety nipping at his heels. But he thought that she might come. She had been nice to him, a guiding light. And, more importantly, she had magical light as well.

True, it was similar to his. Dim, fungal, but he had nobody else to turn to. He needed help and Bacchus couldn't provide that kind of assistance and he knew nobody else. If she could not help, she could know somebody that could. She was an old being, after all. Surely she knew others.

@Giggle

Giggle came plodding out at a fast lope, looking around her with some distaste. She'd never liked this tunnel, and she hadn't really left Canis enough to ever come to terms with it.

It was lifeless and eerie.

She spotted Anubis and first quickened her pace and then--as she drew closer--slowed; her head craned back to look at the carved monster in the Canis entrance behind her, and she shook her head.

Her attention was back on the jackal a moment later as she stopped before him.

"Are you all right?" was her initial, blunt question. He'd come sprinting in, asking for her help and then sprinted all the way out again. She didn't quite grasp it; if there was urgency, why had he just... stopped, here?

It didn't seem like a trap, at least.

Strange.

@Anubis

By the time Giggle had reached him, Anubis was starting to catch his breath a bit, although he still panted lightly from the hard sprint he had just come from. He blinked and nodded a (second) greeting at the hyena as she approached. "Sorry for the rush. I am fine, I'm just not currently safe in Canis, not while Mother is so present."

He remembered the last time he had dared to stick around for too long in Canis, the descending dragonbats that he had, somehow, managed to escape from. He shivered. "It would have put me - and you - in danger if we had discussed where she could find me. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." His tail thumped once behind him, a faint excitement growing, that had seeded when he'd realized that he actually did know somebody that might be able to help him.

"Do you know of Cassiopeia? It's a distant cave, newly opened, apparently. I'm studying in, currently, but I've come into...a bit of a hitch. And I wanted to ask your help in overcoming it - you create lights, correct?"

@Giggle

Mother? Giggle gave a short, sharp laugh, half-apologetic, and interrupted only to say "We're working on that." Not enough, but... they were.

She waited, rolling a hefty shoulder, listening with interest as he spoke. "Thanks for the caution," she offered, first. "This 'mother's' a bitch. It's not a real mother," she added, "but I guess you know that?" As for lights, she looked rather surprised. She thought back, trying to remember their interactions. She'd told him her magic was fungal, but lights-? Her thick brow furrowed, the bone paint across it crackling slightly. "Lights? Well--I can create glowing fungus. And this," she added, turning.

A flickering wisp appeared to one side and above her, in the space that she'd been eyeing. Its phosphorescent blue-green glow illuminated a dim space, and she watched it for a moment, rather fondly. Then she looked to Anubis. "I haven't heard of the new cave, I think. Been raising a kid, welcoming back old friends," she explained, and seemed... happier than she had been. "I could try and teach you this? If that's what you mean," she added. "Is the cave not lit up?"

She remembered the old times, when the lights throughout origin had gone dim. Twice, she thought. Maybe even three times. Was it possible that the orb-lights in only some of the caves were still non-functional..?

@Anubis

Anubis chuckled. "Not much of a Mother at all. I had an unfortunate run-in with her, and now Canis is not safe for me. Not while she can find me." He didn't elaborate but simply moved on - that was not important right now and that problem would be cleared when Canis was cleansed - hopefully soon, he had noticed the dramatic decline in the amount of white mold covering everything.

He was a little disappointed, but he hadn't really expected much - they had similar magic and probably similar capabilities in light-making. He nodded, as if thoughtful, at the wisp. "Hm, its lovely, but I was thinking on a larger scale." He did not think he would be able to maintain many of these - not enough to light up the prison, at least.

"The cave - Cassiopeia, at least - is lit. But there is one section, a tunnel within the wall that leads to a labyrinth of corridors - is not. It was a prison once, I believe. And there is...something within it. Something large and not afraid of the dark. Going in again without a reliable light would be foolish, which is why I'm here. Do you know anyone that could help with this? I would not want to pull you away from your family and friends for this danger," he added on the end, as an offer of goodwill.

@Giggle

Giggle leaned back on her haunches, grunting in thought. She stared off into the middle distance for a moment. "Why are you wanting to go in there-?" she asked, baffled and distracted both. She avoided dark like the plague--moreso--and the idea of willingly walking into a pitch-black, defunct prison with an unknown, massive entity inside seemed like... the worst possible idea, really.

As for light?

"I knew a wolf, Kera. Lightbringer. I haven't seen her in a long time, though. There's light magic, I know that, but I haven't got it." She huffed again, thinking. "You could try Pride. The Seven in Orion. I'm not sure though. Or anyone with fire. You'd need fuel, I think, but... that'd make light."

old friends and new - echoes of wishes

There was magic here.

It was an old magic, an echo called to this place now, one year after its last flicker through the caves.

Or it was a new magic, a gift in and of itself, in memory of what had come before.

Or it was something else. Something born of connections and magic numbers, time past and time yet to come.

A flicker, as two who had met before, met again. A promise. A whisper of possibility, but only a fraction of what it could have been. Still... it could be something. They had only a flash of time. No chance to discuss. No long minutes of soft debate, or calculation. Only this moment, a whim, the instinct to guide the spark of magic toward a gift. Would they choose something the other truly would like, adore, fall in love with, respect, feel forever grateful for? Or would their gift be a mistake, a misstep, well-intentioned but easily forgotten?

There was no time for second-guessing. Each of them felt it: the offer, for that split second, of making something come true for their companion.

__________

Each Gembound has only an instant to decide upon a Wish for their thread partner. While the players are free to discuss OOCly, the Gembounds themselves are the ones making this Wish: it should not use out-of-character information but should instead reflect the intent and beliefs of the Wish-makers.

Please GM tag a second time to have a Game Master confirm that all Wishes are viable.

@Anubis

He saw the question coming and if a jackal could sheepishly grin, that's what he would be doing. "Well...curiosity. Knowledge. I'm interested in our caves' history. And such a grim place having once existed here...well, I'd personally want to know about it. And what if this entity becomes a threat? Better to nip it in the bud, or close it in if we must. Better the devil you know."

The magic suddenly sweeping through again was unexpected. It was the same one that had connected him, briefly, to Bacchus. Annoyance, again, was his first instinct. Why did it always have to be for someone else? Did he not deserve to make wishes for himself? Was this some kind of game or trick to try and divine the relationships between people, or mess them up?

Ah, well, perhaps Giggle would wish something good for him. And he knew this time, what it was about - he could turn this to his advantage.

I wish for her to be able to make lights in the dark, so she never need to fear it. It was a purely selfish wish, yet he had thought he'd twist it, to perhaps make it ever-so selfless. In his mind, it was a win-win. She could help him and also have a new ability at her disposal.

@Giggle

Ironically, she wished much the same.

It took her a moment to get there, of course; at first she reeled, confused by the magic that suddenly flitted past her. But she seized on it.

"I wish for him to have his light. And his history, then," she thought. -Did that count as two wishes? It was one, really, in her mind: for him to find what he sought, by whatever means necessary.


Then--it was gone. "...What was that?" she breathed, eyes wide. She realized, too, that she'd come back to her feet in the meantime, tense and staring.

That had been... powerful.

old friends and new - echoes of wishes

A flicker of power shifted as their intent molded it.

Almost at once, new power was granted to each of them: similar in intent, yet wildly different in execution.

Each received a pendant. Anubis's was a square, flick-top lighter on a chain: small, but durable, already scuffed and worn by age but still sturdy. With it came the knowledge of a new magic: the ability to create a flame that would burn eternal. He would intrinsically understand, now, this item. He had but to take the pendant off, and flick off the cap, touching it to any flammable item. When the spell Everburn was cast, the lighter would briefly ignite to set it aflame, creating a torch-like burn that would persist until the jackal cast the magic again to remove it, or until his death.

With this knowledge came another. A book had existed in the Prison. It had rotted away centuries ago, taken by mold and dust, but this Wish had restored it. He had but to retrieve it--and if he could not read, find someone who could--if he truly held any interest whatsoever in the Prison's history. It lay behind the stone counter just within the Prison, and the knowledge whispered the odd phrase: Reception Desk.

Giggle, too, received a pendant. Hers was delicate glass, corked and hung on cord. Within danced glowing lights, tiny, like fireflies. With this came a new magic, as well: the ability to bauble items to give off a glow. Uncorking the pendant before Baubling an item will release a single 'firefly' which will flit to that object, remaining within it and imbuing it to glow as a strong light source. As there are only seven 'firefies,' the user must recall one before creating any more, which will return that light to a normal dim Baubled glow.

☆☆☆☆★★ Eternal Flame Lighter A scuffed, battered steel lighter on a thin chain with a depiction of the god Anubis engraved on its side. The cap has a feather engraved on one side, and a human heart on the other. ELEMENT: MAGIC LEVEL: 40 DURABILITY: 50 SPECIAL: Enchanted with Everburn. Use of the spell while touching this item, cap off, to a flammable source will both ignite the source and cast Everburn, causing its flame to last until the bearer perishes. MATERIAL: Stainless Steeel ATTACK: N/A ADDED: Its lighter fluid never runs out. WEIGHT: 1 EQUIP: Necklace, carry Currently owned by: Anubis

☆☆☆☆★★ Vial of Fireflies A small, corked vial on a fiber cord. Inside, seven bright lights flicker and dance about like fireflies. ELEMENT: MAGIC LEVEL: 40 DURABILITY: 15 SPECIAL: Enchanted. Successfully casting Bauble with the vial uncorked releases a single 'firefly,' which flits into the baubled item. The light of this Baubled item will shine far more brightly than usual, serving as a true light source. Only seven Firefly Baubles may exist at one time; the user may recall one from any distance to create a new one, at the cost of dimming that firefly's light to a normal Bauble glow. MATERIAL: Glass, Cork, Cord ATTACK: N/A ADDED: N/A WEIGHT: 1 EQUIP: Necklace, carry Currently owned by: Giggle

@Anubis