Yanyue is a creature of whims, though that is not to say that they are irresponsible. They are a sincere being, committed to their decisions once they make them. A creature full of philosophical thought and whimsy all at the same time.

Like most of the time in Cetus, it was foggy- leaving Yanyue a pale grey and in an introspective mood. They had been wandering thoughtful and… not quite drifting, yet… not quite not-drifting, either.

They had been flying, as they oft did to remind themself they could, though it was only for brief burst, for now. They had been meaning to work further on their magic, but they had been occupied with other things.

But a sight caught their attention, and they paused midair, large eyes suddenly wide. As light as their body was, they drifted to the ground in motions much like an odd, fourteen-feet long feather.

Then they realized how rude they were being. They bowed their head in polite acknowledgement as much as embarrassment for having been caught staring like a child.

For all their whimsy, they were grown. Indeed, Freedom around their neck had been adjusted during their growing to accommodate their size.

”Pardon my intrusion, I haven’t- Well, hadn’t, seen other gembounds share life and stone before,” Yanyue’s voice was properly apologetic and sincere. As their head raised, it was clear that there was an awe in their gaze.

”Creating life… The mere possibility is most worthy of amazement,” Yanyue spoke, genuine and now the awe was clear in their voice.

”Why do you pursue the creation of life, if I may ask?” Yanyue inquired, polite yet clearly fascinated. Their interest in the subject, and the potential philosophical implications of such a question, overrode their initial embarassment.

@Sniffles @Dragon

Sniffles grins at Dragon as he catches the stone in his jaws, they know they can trust him to hold on to it.

"I will come with the other soon." Putting all of the stones in a nest to hatch together will be good. With the protection of both Dragon and Sniffles it will be even better.

Sniffles might not have magic, but they are a snake. Most things would think twice if a 80lb snake struck at you. Not to mention gators - those teeth. Dragon is pretty strong too. "I will help as much as I can!" Raising them together will be nice too.

And then someone else approaches. A serpent thing, a little dragon! Their words were hard to understand for Sniffles. They might be able to speak, but they are not the brightest gembound in the pile. They're able to at least understand most of it.

"Our group needs more children" If Sniffles recalls, there hasn't been any new recruits for the Children of Rot in a long while. Doing this will give them something to do and more members! "Why do you want to know?"

@Yanyue

Dragon lifted his head, turning to peer at the newcomer. He was busy with the nest, nudging bits this way and that, his overprotective "dad instincts" already getting the better of him. "Greetings," he rumbled, taking a moment nevertheless to acknowledge the stranger. "I am Dragon. This is the home of the Children of Rot." It... seemed that Sniffles, though speaking simply, was addressing everything else with remarkable... directness? He hesitated; it seemed awkward phrasing but he'd leave it to them, for now. No point in talking over them, or trying to further explain things when they'd already so bluntly stated it.

But he made it clear, through his sidelong body language and periodic glances, that he was open to further conversation if the stranger wanted to address him personally--or if Sniffles had questions.

His snout dipped into the mud, bringing more up from muck to slope the sides of the nest.

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It could have been viewed as callous, to create children for a group’s need. Yet, Yanyue was far from the judgemental sort, and furthermore they were observant enough to see the care in which the quieter parent was treating the newly placed life.

So, perhaps, a better question might be… ”What is the purpose of the Children of Rot?” they wondered with utmost curiosity. ”And are there expectations upon the children you both create?” Simple yet strong curiosity drove this question as well.

As for why they wished to know… Yanyue paused, thoughtful. ”I have never tried to be a parent, but… The concept of new life sprung from magic and stone is most fascinating to me,” they started, the vaguer thoughts that had started this.

”I am a student of the world, I suppose, is the deeper answer. I am grateful for the lessons I can learn in this cave, the experiences I can have. And being a parent, or even creating a child, is not an experience I have had.”

@Sniffles @Dragon

Sniffles looks to Dragon to answer the first questions Yanyue has. It's not that they don't know, its more or less that they don't participate in their customs entirely. Sniffles has never been in danger from a Master before - they have no reason to be afraid. And getting information has never been their strong suit.

It's nothing against Yanyue, but Sniffles has begun to grow suspicious. Even if they'd gladly take part of this gembound's stone to give life to, the way they speak is far too eloquent. Sniffles can understand that essentially Yanyue (probably) wants to experience giving life to a stone (or giving stone - same thing really).

All six eyes Sniffles has stare at Yanyue for some moments.

"What are you asking?"

"Purpose?" Dragon asked, absently, from his tending of the nest. He glanced up, a little quizzically, and gave Yanyue a little more attention than he had previously.

It was unusual to run into one so... formal. He found his eyes narrowing a little, in suspicion. The speech patterns and color made him wonder, and so he tested the waters with a brief flicker of magic-... But no. He sensed no odd spells emanating from them, no attempt to cast... whatever weird effects the Hive used. Not actively, anyway.

With a mental shrug he went back to his business, speaking absently. "Survival. Your presence here is not well-timed, stranger. A parent does not like unknown creatures prowling around a fresh nest. Are you here for something-?" His tone wasn't rude, exactly. It was direct, though; if Yanyue were there to search for someone, he could point them in the right direction, but a wholly unknown Gembound wandering past one of the Children of Rot's nesting grounds, just as they reproduced? It was indeed ill-timed. If anything, Dragon was already wondering if he should dig it all up, and move it somewhere else entirely--for secrecy's sake, if nothing else.

So far as he was concerned, their other questions were nobody's business--and thus far he had no real reason to trust it with an answer. Any other day... perhaps. But then, maybe they would forget that they had asked.

Or maybe "survival" was enough of an answer, altogether.

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Yanyue realized, quite belatedly, that they had actually been extraordinarily rude just now. And considering their question they had been about to ask… Well, they had been the rudest they had ever been.

They bowed their head, entirely apologetic.

”You have my deepest apologies for my rudeness! My name is Yanyue. You may introduce yourselves if you wish- Or not, as I realize that I have imposed quite a bit on you, already. And I ask for nothing more than what you are willing to give, of course.”

”Yes, I was merely wondering your… Perhaps purpose is not quite the right word for it, for life is its own wonder, with no need for justification,” Yanyue thoughtfully continued. ”Reasoning might be a better word for it…”

They were tempted to ramble more on this topic, but one was not the type for this talk, which was perfectly fine, and then the other was a bit wary, having pointed out their rudeness. They had been asked a question, and they did themselves no favors if they avoided speaking of it.

”I wish I had tea,” the words left them quite unintentionally, and they ducked their head a bit in embarrassment, then owned the words, in order to explain their thought process if nothing else. ”Tea, I find, makes most conversations easier. And, besides that, is simply quite nice,” they sighed softly.

Yanyue should visit the Blacksmith sometimes soon- presumably they had last seen the Blacksmith to get their enchanted gift from the being adjusted.

They focused, looking at Sniffles, since they had directly asked the question. ”I think- I would like to be a parent. I… don’t know if any of those I know have any desire to be parents, and I know you do, and well… Survival is a worthy reasoning, though living beyond survival is… important too.”

”In any case, I… would like to be a parent. If… If I give a piece of my stone, would you be interested in giving life to it?” they inquire shyly, still looking at Sniffles with their large blue eyes. ”You are under no obligation to accept, of course.”

”I will, of course, listen to the boundaries you set, if you are willing. If you are not willing… I will go on my way, I suppose,” they add, a hint of sadness at the thought visible to those that tried to see, slipping out by accident as they try to be stoic about it all. They had never been one to hide their emotions, though, really.

@Sniffles

Children of Rot's purpose was indeed survival. It was probably the best answer Dragon could give to the stranger without telling the whole story of his group. Sniffles hadn't thought of it. Sniffles allows the dragon hybrid to ramble, mostly tuning them out until they heard the word 'tea'. What is a tea? Is it a food?

The creature offers their stone, and now they have Sniffles' attention. Giving Dragon their own stone took no conversating, Sniffles simply knew Dragon would treat it well. Taking someone else's, though - Sniffles is not confident. A final youngling for the litter would be good, there would be many siblings! Still, though - taking a stranger's stone might be a bad idea.

"Will you take the child? Or leave it?" Sniffles might be selfish, but they'd rather not hand a new life over to a complete stranger. Sniffles also might be outgoing and trusting of everyone, but with young ones it's a different story.

Admittedly Sniffles also really wants this stone. Everyone is allowed to wander in the caves anyway, so it wouldn't be a huge problem if the dragon hybrid did take the stone... Sniffles could probably visit. Or the other way around. As long as they don't cause trouble.

@Dragon

Dragon glanced over, bemused. The stranger's demeanor had changed, and was less... suspicious, now. Apologetic, even. He grunted and shook his head, his tone humorous. "I did introduce myself--I am Dragon," he repeated, his perpetual grin behind the words. "That is my name--not what I am, but who." He assumed Yanyue had mistaken his name for his species. "I am not one for tea; I apologize but we don't have that here." Maybe they should.

Maybe Aquarian drank tea.

Dragon had no idea, honestly.

He went back to nest-building, while listening in, and only briefly glanced up to speak further.

"Parenting is a responsibility," he warned mildly; "a time investment. Be ready to raise a child--unless you are leaving the stone?" he added, glancing Sniffles' way. He wasn't sure who Yanyue was offering it to, but he'd not refuse a new Child of Rot, of course. That was up to Sniffles to accept--or not.

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@Yanyue

Yanyue felt they had been incredibly rude before, and they felt bad they had missed an introduction without realizing it. Though, to be fair, they had not realized Dragon could be a name, so it had slipped through their mind without registering properly. But that did not make it less rude, even if Dragon seemed to mind their presence less.

”Oh! No need to apologize for a lack of tea- It’s quite hard to get prepare without more elaborate… not-feet? Oh, yes, hands! Hands make tea a lot easier… And if you don’t like tea, I wouldn’t want to subject anyone to a disliked experience, in any case…”

They paused their train of thought. ”Is your name Dragon because you are a dragon? I believe I am some sort of… dragon-type being. You don’t like entirely like me, but you have scales and seem at least semi-aquatic… Though I don’t know if those are dragon traits or simply me traits,” Yanyue paused, contemplating this thought for a moment.

As for the remaining questions of them both… ”While I am a creature of whims, in some ways, I am not unwilling to commit to whims and take responsibility for where I end up following the wind.”

”That is to say, I would be willing and would like to be involved in parenting as much as you are willing to let me.” They paused, though, realizing this might be a bit elaborate an answer for the more serpentine being.

They did not want to confuse anyone, let alone someone they wished to co-parent with. ”The child would stay with you,” they told Sniffles, voice sincere and kind. ”I would not take a child from their parent, even if I wish to also parent that child. I… Simply hope you won’t mind my presence around here as they grow-“ They considered a thought…

”I would be happy to help as wish with tending to other children as best I could if you wished as well. While not the child of magic and stone, by growing up with my child, they would siblings. That would be enough for me to consider them family- if they so wished to count me amongst their family, that is.” They seemed to quite mean all of it sincerely.

”…If, that is, you accept my offer of my stone for a child of yours. I do not wish to presume or impose.”

@Sniffles