Elayne made her way through the ruins back to the temple. The building did not stand out much from the rest: there was a littering of crumbled stones and chrysalis outside. They had made it, however, and she turned her gaze back to Mirrikh, teeth flashing in a light smile.

"This is it," she spoke plainly, golden eyes gleaming-- perhaps with challenge, perhaps with curiosity-- but her words were earnest. "I will not ask you to enter if you do not wish to. A fountain of my Essence lives within, and it will seep into you if you venture too close."

She turned her gaze back to the entryway. "Ultraviolet, we have a guest! It is time," she called, her voice emanating with an otherworldly sense of command. As she waited for him to come-- it would not take long-- she took a paw to brush through the debris under foot. It was a thought that had tickled her; a whisper of Chaos, perhaps, that asked her to find a random stone out of the destruction and bring it back under her master's will.

A brilliant blue turquoise stone was uncovered, bubbly in texture. It looked as untainted as a clear pool of water, and her lips pulled back into a vicious grin. Yes, this would do nicely. She looked back to Mirrikh, expression softening from the brief, manic side-thought that had taken hold of her.

"Whenever you're ready," she told them, setting the stone down under her foot and extending her other paw to them.

(note: lost stone rolled for Chishio, reviving for him shortly :3)

@Mirrikh

Mirrikh fluttered in the air near the much larger gembound, following along. At the mention of an Essence of some kind, Mirrikh gave a nod. "Good to know. I'll stay out here, I think," the fairy decided.

They paused, considered how to do this. "My gemstone piece will be small. My own gemstone rests in my ear. Shall I place it on you or would you prefer to grab it in some manner?" they inquired.

Either way, though, a deal was a deal. They felt their gemstone crack slightly, and they barely caught the rather miniscule piece of Pink Topaz. "Let me know what option you decide upon. I have the piece here, for you to give life." They hovered closer to Elayne.

@Elayne

from the shadowed entryway, another cat-- about half the size of elayne-- stalked out. he was rather unassuming looking; the faint skull marking upon his skull was hardly noticeable in the shadow. his purple eyes traced over elayne, and the stranger: a small pixie thing. who was this? why had elayne brought them here?

these questions were answered in part by the words they spoke. whispers of stones, a glimmer of blue pinned under her palm.

manners, she had asked of him with little more than her tone. he could have scoffed at her, but he understood the necessities of appearance, and so he held his head high as he appraised the situation in silence.

"greetings," was the only word that he spoke, as his gaze fell expectantly back upon elayne.

It was indeed a small piece: would the child be so small, or would the stone be hidden deeply by the mass she would provide it with her magic? It was a curious thought, but she did not want to keep them waiting.

A tendril uncurled from her body, reaching out to the fae. "Place it here, and I will give it my magic," she instructed. "Thank you kindly, Mirrikh."

With that, she gave a glance toward Ultraviolet, her lips twitching with a coy smile. "This is my partner, Ultraviolet," she explained to Mirrikh, "Ultraviolet, this is Mirrikh. They have offered their stone to us as return for a lesser's stone I obtained for them." Her golden eyes gleamed.

"He will help me raise the children," she explained, though she got the impression that perhaps Mirrikh had little care for their potential offspring. "It seems only fair you should meet him."

@Mirrikh

Another feline, of sorts, appeared. But Elayne was easily perceived as the one in charge. They dipped their head in acknowledgement of Elayne’s statement, placing the shard of pink topaz on the tendril offered by Elayne.

”I am merely upholding my end of the deal, there is no need for thanks,” the little fae seemed to demur, but to Mirrikh it was merely a statement of truth.

They noted the curious gleam in her eyes. ”One of my siblings, Fafnir, is very large despite having my father, Samael’s, gemstone of blue diamond, and my father is about my size,” they informed.”Fafnir is taller than you, I believe.” It had been a bit since Mirrikh had visited their family.

”Greetings, Ultraviolet,” they added simply.

Perhaps they would do that next. ”Is our deal complete, then, Elayne? I should like to bring this stone back home.” They nodded to the stone from the plant-beast they held.

@Elayne

ultraviolet nodded to mirrikh, though in this moment he felt like little more than an accessory. a feeling that made his hackles bristle, the tendrils around his throat constricting around one another. his dark eyes considered the scene before him, and he made a mental note to himself.

he waited for elayne and her visitor to finish their business, before he turned around and stalked his way back into the shadows without another word.

there had been an attempt to shroud his departure in darkness, but only the natural shade covered him as he walked away. a shame, because he wanted elayne to have to walk blind into the dark after him. ah well.

Elayne gave Mirrikh a smirk that flashed the barest hint of pearl-white teeth. "Mere etiquette," she remarked. With the stone in her tendril now given her magic, she turned toward the entrance of the chapel.

"I do believe so. It has been a pleasure, Mirrihk." More pleasantries, though as unnecessary as they both knew they were, she was having a bit of fun with it.

A little capstone for the conversation, then: "Travel safe," she purred as she raised her paw that held the turquoise, willing a bit more of her magic free into the stone. One of her other tendrils reached forth to scoop it from her palm, and with that...

With that, she turned to walk after Ultraviolet into the sacred place where she would place these stones.

@Mirrikh

Mirrikh gave an appreciative nod at the dismissal, giving their own sharp toothed smirk back at Elayne. ”It has indeed been a pleasure, Elayne,” their voice was part serpentine hiss and part feline purr.

”I shall,” they acknowledged. ”Good luck with your children,” they added, then went to leave, fluttering off into the distance like an odd butterfly.

[exit mirrikh]

@elayne

in the shadow of the Altar, he waited for her to join him. there was a shred of annoyance, irritation prickling behind his ear like a flea infestation. he breathed in the stale air, his gaze settling comfortably upon the smooth oilstone.

he heard her approach and did not bother to look at her.

"and what of the blue stone?" he asked out of the blue, as though they had been holding a conversation that only he was privy to. these things happened, after all, when you had the whispers of chaos murmuring in your ear.

"you insult me," ultraviolet noted, as though someone had to keep a track record of each slight between them. "a random insect you met and a piece of trash," he collected, "you truly believe i would let my own stone sit among them, as though they were equal? as though they would produce anything worthy of His attention, compared to what we could create?"

he spat at her feet. "beg. there is no reason i should hear you out, so beg."

but none of the words actually left his mouth. and her answers, though he heard them, were not real either. in the darkness, he argued with her, their voices raising, until claws unsheathed and oil was spilled at the base of the Altar.

Elayne had, well, some idea of what was going through Ultraviolet's mind. Not in any grand detail, but he had been a bit irritated with her as of late, and his stalking off without another word said a fair bit on its own. She found him by the Altar, staring off with a dazed look in his eyes.

With a tut, she placed the two stones by the base of the Altar so they could begin to grow. Would they grow?

"Uvie," she murmured, trying to rouse him from his vision. "Uvie, dear, come back to me." She raised a paw, gentle and delicate, and placed it upon his shoulder. The tendrils around his mane lashed out at her in self-defense, and she winced at how they bit her skin.

"Uvie, you're having an episode. Listen to my voice. Listen to me, darling. Will you, please?"