Of all places in the caves, besides their cold-bitten base of operations, Halcyon was proudest to claim here as the closest to home. Gemini, an area filled to the brim with reflections, seemed as if it'd been created desiring perfection in a world so overrun by the opposite. Naturally, it fell short of that which Order promised, and so introducing the fungus had been a welcome effort to correct that fact and offer a helping hand to push it into grander splendor. Mother endorsing this attempt had made their and Ananke's project the first in that determined press against Chaos's influence, a fantastic stamp of approval on their design so early in their existence. It had confirmed to them the important role they played in reshaping the surrounding landscape into one more hospitable for their brethren.

A shame the Gembounds didn't understand what they destroyed, having soaked in the disarray and confusion saturating their environment. Each time the Drone revisited this, what they considered the crown jewel in their faction's acquisitions, more damage was discovered to repair. Additional scorch marks marred crystal, so attention often turned to washing them away over the long-term goals of beautification and cultivation. Even now, a wince seized Halcyon's shoulders as they brushed a hand over a cool surface, noting gouge marks where no doubt someone had shredded away fungus, heedless to how they'd worsened the state of these natural mirrors, already riddled with cracks that distorted their images.

Claws trembled over the space, and a sigh gusted out from jaws. Awareness afforded by the Hive's network informed them of the lengths undergone to push away their kind's presence. Accomplishments were being wiped from existence, and soon enough efforts would likely redouble on purging this area. Fire would be unleashed and rage throughout, suffocating any life they had established and forcing Order onto its back foot again. Hopefully others understood the harm of allowing this to continue and wouldn't be complacent in the face of the impending threat. They, at least, would rather suffer flame's choking grip again than allow the destruction of their work.

Slinking along the shadows of Gemini came The Void, the shadow of his figure like a dark stain against the stark white that had overtaken the room. He did not remember this, he remembered a Mirror, many mirrors, and the state of the cave confused him. It had once been a place of beauty. It still was, of course, the mirrors still reflected beneath and the crystal walls were like captured starlight beneath the lamps above, but...the fungus was not tasteful. Not to this one's eyes.

Yet there was another among the white, white itself, with gold and red decorum. And the Veil peered its eyes from the darkness to look upon this one, who touched the ground tenderly, as if sad, who walked along the white as if it were home. He was struck, himself, with sadness. Longing. He looked into The Void and saw something like...failure.

Carefully stepping from the darkness he so enjoyed, Veil approached, each step measured and carefully placed, so that he did not destroy the white or brush against it - he had yet to observe or Know of it.

"What does it see?" was his first question, quietly offered through the silence. "The Void sees it...what does it do upon the crystal floor? Why is it sad?" Head tilted, just to the wide, and the eyes of its right shoulder blinked, focused on the white one, curious. Calm.

@Halcyon

The weight of two failures, one approaching should preventative action not be taken and the other drifting out of the past due to the acrid stench of smoke clinging to Gemini's natural formations, was a burden a bit much for a slender creature's shoulders. Furthermore the power of repair refusing to well up in their throat ripped open old mental wounds that'd never fully healed. Knees quivered as phantom flames gathered around them, snatching away breath and resolve in equal amounts, and Halcyon found themselves unable to maintain their bipedal stance any longer. They sank to the cavern floor, an arm braced against the latest crystal surface their distress had been drawn to and their head pressed against an uneven coating of pale fungus. Claws clenched around the staff held in another hand, a crafted lifeline to reality, yet it offered no comfort in the midst of old, unburied memory.

Awareness shrank by this, their weakest state of being, left the Drone vulnerable to the arrival of the shadowy figure slinking amongst the mirrors. Had it not spoken and verified its existence as a separate individual, it would've been mistaken for a strange spectral torment conjured by a feverish, guilt-ridden mind. The sound of its voice dripped past the crackle of imaginary fire, cold and startling. Bleary eyes refocused into clarity and snapped onto the source. They were wary, the presence of any Gembound viewed as a potential enemy first where once the default opinion had been that of calm neutrality. Heavy scrutiny fell upon their response before daring to deliver any words.

"Sad?" Halcyon shook their head, a bitter chuckle allowed to slip free at the observation. "No, I am merely... disappointed. At ignorance. At the senseless destruction wrought as a a result of it thriving."

Saliva thickened the slightest and was applied to a claw with a careful lick. It then traced along a flaw in the crystal they continued to touch, the produced substance gradually pressed so that it could seep in and make the mirrored surface a mite more complete than before.

"Good intentions are tearing this cave apart. What you see is me doing what I can to hold it together."

@Veil

He did not quite understand what this one said. Head tilted, faint confusion in its features as its eyes roamed down to the place that Halcyon caressed. Many words were spoken to it about this cave in the shord words the drone offered, and it considered these. Ignorance - perhaps of this white, destruction as a result of ignorance. It did not understand the need to destroy. Why destroy when one could learn and love? Perhaps in self defense but what harm did white mushrooms and mold do, when they could so easily be avoided?

"The Void is ignorant in this." It murmured. "It wishes to be not so. Good intentions should lead to good outcomes, yet here it has caused destruction? The Void asks the one of the light, why is this the way?" Its eyes were locked on the newly filled in spot, where it greatly wished to reach out its hand and touch, if only to know what it is this one felt. And it did so, stepping forward - perhaps too close to Halcyon and into his personal bubble, but at least the air about this thing was, for the time being, nonthreatening - and reached spindly fingers to the crystal that had been scarred.

But the void welcomed no visions to it, only the physical touch of broken crystal and the strange texture of that which had filled it in. It pulled back, but not very far. "The one of the light heals, but it is not the same. What is it that fills in the stone?"

@Halcyon

Once burned, twice as likely to expect violence headed their way. Being Hive didn't afford Halcyon much of a personal bubble; so many minds sensitive to the slightest tremor of turmoil along the links joining them together meant full privacy was an unheard concept to those never born Gembound. This creature leaning into their breathing space was not a Drone but some undetermined other. Therefore it did not receive such leniency for its intrusion. Wood subtly creaked, the grip tightening on their clutched staff, and tension coiled around a stiffened spine. Though this self-proclaimed "Void" wasn't bursting with visible ill intention, unblinking eyes followed its motions, daring it to try anything more sudden than creeping fingers toward their handiwork.

Barely reassured by its curiosity, a protective hand fell over the crystal's surface after it'd withdrawn by a mere centimeter at best. White webbed bloomed from the touch and spread over the mended spot until the very edges of this new layer of fungus wove into preexisting spots on the reflection which had survived past scouring attempts. "I cannot return that which uncomprehending claws remove, so I replace it. Order may not be stone, but it can harden and shine just as well."

"Paradoxical, isn't it? Good begetting evil," Halcyon clarified. They remained latching onto the crystal, body welded to it like a guardian fiercely protecting their injured ward. "Those responsible for this believe what grows here to be tools of their enemies. They've grown so long in the shadow of the true threat, anything foreign is perceived as a danger and not a benefit. Convincing otherwise is an uphill battle I am not entirely sure can be won."

Regrettable as it might be, if good personal relations failed to win hearts, a reset might be the solution called for. Cull those old enough to have already been tainted by Chaos's pervasive presence and prepared to turn others against them. Build new bridges with those too young to have been subjected to poisonous ideals first.

@Veil