They didn't know where they were going. The newly dubbed Buckley was stubbornly trying to get them on track and go a specific way but Gore was not having it, disagreeing at every turn, grinding its hooves into the ground, and purposefully causing the whole body to fall. Eventually, Ishani had threatened it with another bite - shut the hell up and cooperate. That got it silent for a while.

Not that they were any better at walking then they were at talking to each other. They found out quickly they couldn't read each other's minds so taking even just a few steps was a huge effort. Gore could barely see the ground over, as it called it, "BUCKLEY'S FAT SHOULDERS!" The lion cub had looked a little hurt at that. But without a constant visual, it had to learn to judge its own steps based on the gait of the body. It took a while to get used to.

Eventually, Ishani, curled around the side of the body to watch their steps, started taking up mumbling a quiet, "One, two, three four. One, two, three, four," until they were mostly in tune and the body they were now calling, collectively, the Triage, was walking. It was not graceful - every few steps there was a stumble and its natural gait was awkward, to say the least. Each step overly-purposeful and it was most definitely taking a mental toll on them. They didn't even know where they were going - just wandering aimlessly as they practiced their walk.

"Buckley is speaking!" "GORE IS SPEAKING!!!" "Ishani is speaking..."

@Bauxite-T-One

In Bauxite-T-One's brief time on this plane, he had attempted to eat many rats. Rats are fast, however, and much smarter than him at this stage of life, and he had caught a grand total of None. This was sub-optimal. Maybe he needed something bigger. stupider.

Greater, perchance.

His sides flared as his ears picked up mumbling - something he could talk to. Something he could lure in. Murder is fine because he is a baby, and he doesn't know any better, right Tectus? And hey, at least this wasn't a littermate.

The Buaxite did not have an opinion on the Triage's physical appearance, aside from potentially edible. Considering how odd his own structure was, it'd a be a stone thrown in a glass house.

He stood in the distance, his mask catching in dim light in a particularly shadowy part of Orion. He stared directly at the chimera with his both faces, false and true. He chittered awfully, fore-limbs flexing, as he mimicked Ishani's quiet chant.

"One, two, three, four."

This was intended to be a welcoming greeting. This intention failed to come through.

@Triage

Too focused on their task of walking, they didn't immediately notice the thing, all heads trained on the ground. Perhaps, considering that there were three of them, it would have been smart to have at least one of them looking at where they were going. Alas, they were resigned to blindly walking towards something that they otherwise probably would have run from. (Correction: one of them would have run from.)

So when the chittering happened, closer then they were expecting, all three heads snapped up at once. Buckley tried to walk backwards out of surprise, but Gore had planted its hooves on the ground and they ended up just sitting back a little awkwardly. Ishani gave a hiss as she narrowly avoided getting sat on, instead curling over their shoulder to look at the new thing.

"WHAT IS IT I CAN'T SEE!" the goat bleated. "Oh, sorry." Buckley lowered his head a bit so Gore could see properly. On sight, the goat, in a very un-goat-like way, curled its lip and snarled at the...thing not far from them. "Ugh, its HIDEOUS!! We should kill it!" Buckley gasped and jerked his head up, concern etching lines into his young face. "N-no, we shouldn't! Sorry!" he called to the centaur-thing. "We aren't going to hurt you!" "YES WE ARE!" the goat screeched, slightly muffled as it tried to peer around Buckley's shoulder, who was doing his best to shove it back.

Meanwhile, Ishani glared at it suspiciously. She leaned her head closer to Buckley's ear, and hissed quietly. "It mocks me. I think it is dangerous." She called on that magic she had sensed within them, all three of them, and reached out. The heartbeat of them - all three heartbeats - plus the creature in front of them. Distantly, there were others - one massive, the others at least a little smaller. This wasn't a trap or ambush...but still, she was wary of the thing. It was creepy and strange, and it mocked her.

"Buckley is speaking!" "GORE IS SPEAKING!!!" "Ishani is speaking..."

@Bauxite-T-One

Bauxite's bottom eyes blinked individually, before it tilted its head to the side. Was this one creature, or three? He couldn't make it out from here. Maybe it was like him - one Gembound with many voices.

They were arguing.

Maybe the Triage wasn't smaller. That was worrying. Maybe it could, actually, kill the Bauxite if they chose. He didn't want that - the thought made his muscles tense and his joints stiffen. Its original goal began to change shape.

He tried again, mimicking Buckley this time. "We aren't going to hurt you!"

Wait, maybe they wouldn't like that again. His true voice was a quiet rasp - like a ghost baby. Or a baby ghost.

"Come closer." The ghost baby said.

@Triage

Buckley, at least, seemed to perk up a little at that! Oh, that was a relief that they weren't going to hurt them. Maybe it was a friend! Maybe they could talk to them and maybe get Gore to calm down for once. He certainly wasn't doing much of a great job at it, and Ishani wasn't helping. Maybe they could get some few tips or tricks. They looked odd, but so did the Triage. It was okay, right?

He glanced back at Gore and met glaring red eyes and a snarl. "Come ON! Let's go kill it! It's weird!" Buckley frowned. "Um, lets walk up to it, okay? But not to kill it." Ishani hissed. "Do NOT walk up to it. It is lying. I do not trust it!" Furious words were exchanged in hushed tones for about 15 more seconds before Gore gave an impatient shout of "Come ON," and bucked its legs. Buckley had to agree on this one and the chimera was lumbering forward, awkward and stumbling but at least making headway forward. Ishani tried to pull them back, but she could do little against their combined wills.

"Hi, I'm Buckley," said the lion head first, and then the goat head leaned forward, shoving its face over the top of Buckley's head. "You are WEIRD AND UGLY. What ARE you?!" Ishani said nothing, simply glared from the side as she watched her stupid body-mates potentially get them killed.


"Buckley is speaking!" "GORE IS SPEAKING!!!" "Ishani is speaking..."

@Bauxite-T-One

The strange Gembound continued to argue about their next course of action, and that fear that'd bloomed in the Bauxite dimmed a little. Whatever it was, it was not efficient.

They approached, finally, and the answer to the question of the Triage's odd, chaotic demeanor was answered. They were three, all attached to the one. How awful would it be, for Bauxite to be tied permanently to its whimpering siblings! He experienced a rare moment of empathy for the other Gemling.

"Designation: T-Bauxite-One." It's voice deepened, recalling its mother as it spoke. "Shepherd, also." Easier alternative.

"I'm not ugly." a low hiss echoed from the back of its throat.

@Triage

At this point, Gore was pressing Buckley's head down with how much it stretched forward. The lion cub gave a small growl of protest, but it went ignored and he didn't make much of a show of fighting back against the currently dominant sibling. "Desi-what now? That is a DUMB NAME! It's so LONG! But no name is better then mine - GORE!!" Its head shook out a bit as it glared at...Bauxite One T? Or the other way around? Or Shephard? What kinda gembound had two different names for the same entity!

A hilarious sentiment coming from any of them.

Buckley finally pushed his head back up, rolling back a shoulder in a "nudging the idiot sibling out of the way" kind of action, and Gore hissed. "Um, I'm sorry about them. They are a little...uh." "Feisty?" The quiet voice of the snake head hissed out from the side and Buckley nodded in agreement. She did not offer her name, nor any other words, just continued to watch the other with suspicion, eyes flicking to each part of its body, trying to work out what in the caves they were even looking at.

"I don't think you are ugly. You have wonderful...fur? Or scales. I love the color." "UGLY FACE. HIDEOUS TEETH! We should kick you into the ground!" One of the back hooves pawed at the ground, as if they were about to charge, but Buckley planted his feet firmly on the ground. This body was not going anywhere right now. His eyes gleamed with apology.


"Buckley is speaking!" "GORE IS SPEAKING!!!" "Ishani is speaking..."

@Bauxite-T-One

The Buaxite - Shepherd, had decided on a favourite of the heads. Buckley was small, knew his place (UNDERNEATH it) and did not kick and yell or hiss. In his view, the perfect meal - the kind that followed you to the slaughter.

"How is it, that you are all... Together?" It ignored Gore's bleating.

He was considering something - an offer. Perhaps Buckley would appreciate it.

@Triage

Noting that Buckley was, for some reason, trusting this thing, Ishani gave up trying to whisper to him. Instead, she curled back and curled up on to the Triage's back, slinking up to where Gore was still bleating obscenities. Careful to keep her head obscured by the rest of the body's bulk, she got right near an ear and hissed quietly, "Shut up for one second. Buckley is being a fool. That thing is dangerous." Gore quieted for a moment, quirking its head just so, and then sneered. "So we kill it," it muttered back. Ishani sighed. "Not yet. Just be wary." Another sneer, and it focused back on the thing, straining its neck to look over Buckley's head and glaring at it, just like Ishani was doing, hoof pawing at the ground again, as if in warning.

Buckley, meanwhile, was oblivious, and continued chatting, as if nothing was wrong. "Oh, I don't know! We hatched like this! It's a little weird and we're working it out, but its okay. We're family." He looked back at the other two, noting their glares, but surely that's just how they were. This thing hadn't exhibited any bad behaviors - it was fine.

He turned back, eyes still bright. "Hey, you look like you're kinda new too, do you have family? We hatched all as one, but that's not how it always works, right?"


"Buckley is speaking!" "GORE IS SPEAKING!!!" "Ishani is speaking..."

@Bauxite-T-One

The bauxite's eyes flicked to the the other heads as the began to mutter something, just quiet enough so he wouldn't hear it. Bad news. He needed to hear everything - it was his right.

They didn't matter right now.

"Family." He repeated, reflecting. He did not like family. Family hissed and squawked, as if they had anything of use to contribute. And you couldn't even eat them. Family was dead weight pulling at their heels.

"I am the spawn of Overseer Tectus. I too, have... family." His four eyes blinked individually, one after the other. "I can't get rid of them."

"But. I could help... remove yours." He swallowed back the saliva he produced at the thought. Just a little bite...

@Triage