- THE LEVIATHAN -

A Master he might have been, but Vargas was unaware that he'd lost Callista's attention. Usually, "she turns people inside-out" was a good attention-getter, but in this case... well, if he'd known she'd not registered his words, he'd have at least hoped she didn't piss Aethril off somehow. Alas.

He stared for a long moment at Callista's mention of her age. He tried very hard not to snort, or laugh. And at length he managed a faint, slow nod. "That, to me, is young. I was not asking if you were a... baby, no."

His tone was even, as polite as he could manage. He eyed his empty tankard, setting it aside. For a brief instant he wondered if he should lie about where he lived (and worked) to maintain some facade of not being... himself. And quickly gave up on that. He wasn't invested so far in an idle conversation that he'd start outright lying. But he didn't have to volunteer his position, either.

"Draco. Do you know it?" A pause, and a grunt. "Your stone. -Moonstone? If you liked the 'stars' in Orion, you might go see the real ones. Unless you have gone? Via Pegasus," he added.

It was a place he'd only recently heard was opened, though to him--of Oilstone--it was barred. Callista had no such restrictions, so far as he could tell.

@Callista

I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see the light in the shade of the morning sun

Well shit, 12 cycles was young? How old was he, then 50 or something? More? Callista wasn't really clued into the full age of the caves and some of its denizens, she assumed that eventually gembound would just kinda go away after a while. Get weary of living and go to sleep or just kinda disappear. The only gembound she'd interacted with for any length of time had been around her age, or younger.

Not important, though, because Vargas had just said something interesting. Draco. Of course she knew it, she listened to gossip and rumors as if they were a sustenance. And Draco she had seen in passing, an oddly shaped tunnel guarded by more then just one creature.

She blinked, her eyes lingering without purpose on some of the spines coming off Vargas's chest. "I know it. Haven't been in, since its guarded. Haven't seen the real stars either, but I plan to go. I've heard of it." She hadn't taken a sip of her mead in a while, suddenly interested in the conversation again. Her gaze moved closer up to Vargas's head, although there were too many eyes to make any significant eye contact. "Draco scares me a little. I got close once and it felt weird. You live there?" And not only that, but the rumors that passed on the opposite sides of the cave spoke of a dark womb where monsters emerged, dripping with saliva and black ichor, their veins brimming with violence. Another reason to maybe stay away.

That my life would depend on the evening moon
That the night would never comе

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas gave a small nod of... well, it looked like acknowledgement. Deep inside, under that stupid rigid toothy face--it was approval. Being wary of Draco was a trait not many Gembound possessed; it showed some sense. Chaos was almost antithetical to their nature. Almost. At least, as he understood it. The number of hapless children that might wander straight into Draconua's jaws-... It didn't bear thinking about, really.

"Wise. It is guarded, though visitors who mean no harm to the operations there are allowed. This place was created as a Nest, long ago. A place to design and hatch armies of Chaos. Draco still serves that function, albeit... limited," he added, gesturing.

He was still trying to be mild, and conversational, but half of him was wishing the alcohol had had some sort of effect. He'd need a keg of the stuff to even make a dent, at his size, but it was still a little disappointing; he'd rather be having a tipsy, fun conversation, and not whatever this was.

For a brief instant, part of him wished for a pink swirly straw.

"You have good instincts. Not all recognize its nature." There; a compliment, and now he found himself curious about Callista. It was the sort of curiosity that didn't need him to ask any questions, though. He wondered what interest she held in this, and what she might ask. How she might react to what he'd already told her. He studied her, not in a rude way but instead thoughtful, and he wondered: what was this one made of?

(She looked like a cat, and cats were usually clever.)

@Callista

I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see the light in the shade of the morning sun

To be honest, Callista didn't really know what to make of the information Vargas dropped on her. She blinked, a little surprised, and then chuckled lightly. "Oh, haha! That's pretty crazy." Well, uh, that wasn't really something she'd expected. That there was a dark and weird cave in the corner of the caves that was breeding chaos soldiers...yep she actually had no idea about that.

Granted, she'd seen a lot of strange creatures around the caves. And a lot of the ruins and such was still a mystery to her. But...a nest? An army? Chaos? Crazy.

She looked at Vargas again, wondering, lots of questions rolling in her head. She didn't notice his apparent disinterest in continuing this conversation - she was quite eager. Because something about that was ironically twisted. An army of chaos didn't sound very possible. There needed to be a balance, right? Chaos wouldn't listen to orders, organization was its antithesis. So how was an army possible?

"So...how does that even work?" She started, swinging her feet a little bit as she considered it. She seemed to skip right over the compliment. "I mean...chaos army sounds like...uh what's it called when two words are opposites. Like jumbo shrimp. It doesn't make sense." She wasn't sure where she got the jumbo shrimp thing. Maybe she'd seen one of the stalls selling them before?

"Like...armies. As in soldiers following a commander and fighting and stuff. Would chaos armies even listen to orders? I mean chaos and order are opposites...sounds counterproductive to me."

That my life would depend on the evening moon
That the night would never comе

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Her initial comment left him disappointed. But that was quickly forgotten in the wake of what she said next.

It wasn't often that Vargas laughed. It wasn't that laughter was heretical for a Valkhound or a Master; on the contrary, Valkhounds were known for their mad and murderous cackling, and Astraea, for example, could exhibit a very sinister chuckle. It's just that not a lot of things hit him in the day-to-day the way something like this did.

Callista was essentially asking if it was hard to order Chaos. And the moment he fully understood the question, the laughter erupted from him with that natural spontaneity: "PffFFFFTHAHAHA." He reeled back, a bellowing bass guffaw escaping him, and actually had to lift one clawed forelimb to hold his chest and belly. It took him a moment to stop, shoulders rocking, and he coughed as he managed to subdue himself. His other forelimb lifted, waving as if in apology as he regained some control.

"Ahh, Callista. You have no idea." There was a darkly amused purr to the words. When he looked at her again, it was with glinting eyes, almost malice or mischief, but not directed at her.

Vargas took a breath, planting his limbs on the smooth wood and thinking for a moment. "For war... on other worlds? They're just turned loose. Havoc, chaos, is the point." He gestured vaguely from where he leaned, and shook his head. "For training? For organizing those who train the armies, who arrange food security, who patrol for hints of insurrection, who keep others from going rogue and, say, destroying a growing chrysalis?" He eyed his mug, desperately wishing it were full. Of something stronger. "Yes. It's counterproductive. No. They don't listen." He sighed, and looked to her, and then amended his statement for the sake of fairness. "Well. Some of them do. But there's enough that I could not ever say 'managing this is an easy task,' or even 'a simple one.'"

He studied Callista a moment longer, a little dour at the thought now that the moment of hilarity had faded. "Tell me--do you have a job? Something that you... do? For fun, for others? Do you have self-appointed tasks--or perhaps you work for a Master?" He eyed the firewood stacked by the hearth. "Aside from gathering firewood or what have you, that is."

Some of them had decreed themselves artisans, or dedicated themselves to exploring and mastering magic, things like that. But the vast majority of Gembounds that he'd met seemed to live a rather aimless life. He wondered, in an idle sort of way, if she were any different.

@Callista

I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see the light in the shade of the morning sun

Not gonna lie, the sudden booming laughter that came from Vargas surprised her quite a bit. Thankfully, she'd put her mead down already so it hadn't spilled, but it probably would have had she been holding it at the time as she flinched violently, jumping a few inches off her seat, and all the fur on her body suddenly puffed in shock. She regained herself quickly, though, smoothing her pelt down and trying to look casual, like it hadn't happened at all.

She had no idea she'd just hit it right on the head, but that didn't really surprise her all that much. It was counterproductive. If chaos was the point, then what did he think he was doing trying to control them? She did note the word insurrection, though. Rebellion? Hmmm....

Also, other worlds. Pretty crazy concept to Callista, but she'd visited Noctua once. Maybe if she hadn't, it'd be a more impossible idea. But she had looked up at the sky, the stars, the planet far far away, and realized how small they all were. But to think that those stars were being thrown a bunch of crazed Chaos things to wreak havoc seemed a little sad to her. People probably died. Why? What was the point?

"Then...why do it at all? If it sucks and they don't listen? Why do you even train them? Just throw them out there. Fuck it. If they wanna wreak havoc, then let them wreak havoc?" Also, would they even recognized friend and foe? Would they even know they weren't supposed to attack their companions? Or did they care little for that either?

She eyed Vargas curiously at his question. Should she tell him about the Collector's jobs? Hm....no, maybe if she came to trust him more, but he was still relatively a stranger. "No, not really. Heh, why? Are you offering me a job?"

That my life would depend on the evening moon
That the night would never comе

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas shook his head, a little. "There are the armies, sent out to battle. Those could be sent out with no training, though it reduces their chances." At both success, and survival, but he figured that much was obvious. "The infrastructure is the base of it all." He looked to Callista, as if indicating the various things he'd just mentioned. "Even simply to feed them until they are collected, that takes hunting, organization; then there are those who would steal that food, and so guards are required..." He gestured again, again quite a vague little 'hand' wave, if the killing and grasping forelimb with far too many thumbs could ever reasonably be called a 'hand.' This particular gesture seemed to mean, 'etcetera.'

He didn't think he was giving away too much information. None of this was hidden, or secret. It's just that the Gembounds, in particular, grew up ignorant of all of it.

Vargas didn't know how all the other nests might work. Maybe there were some out there where the Valkhounds were collected instantly upon their emergence, but even then, throwing them right into battle... surely that would be less effective than giving them at least the basics of training? Those that were mindless beasts, programmed with killing instinct, might do better. But he'd seen how clumsy and inexperienced the newest of them had been, even when framed in the most fearsome of forms. Regardless, they had to serve as a sort of warehouse between pickups, here. And that Valkhound storage did require feeding.

He eyed Callista, appraising her now, more sharply. "A job? It was not my intention. Merely curious. Not that I would turn down a... cat?" he added, though the 'cat' part was made into a question. She wouldn't have been the first bipedal feline he'd met, but he'd found the general feline form to be exceptional. If not always their minds, of course. "That would also depend on what you are capable of, your interests, and if you are willing to subvert your autonomy to authority." Bluntly stated, as ever--but honest.

@Callista

I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see the light in the shade of the morning sun

Absentmindly, she unsheathed a claw and began to follow the ridges and lines of her mug with the blunt curve as she listened and considered. He was making sense, if they were tossed out there to fight without training, they probably would just die quickly. "Hm. Makes sense." It would be a waste.

Still....it felt weird to just throw beasts out there for seemingly no reason. Vargas had yet to mention a cause or a purpose of these armies. What they were fighting for, what they were doing besides wreaking havoc. She didn't like the thought that she was in a cave system that was there solely for the purpose of birthing destruction. "So...what's the war for, anyways? Like, uh, what's being fought for? Something worth it, I hope?" She had a feeling it wasn't.

She gave Vargas a wry smile. True, she had brought it up, but even just his "offer" turned her hard away from desire. "Hm, I think I'm good. I value my freedom a little too much. And I'm not a soldier." Far from it, she was just a mildly misbehaved mage casually meandering her way through life. While that wasn't what she wanted for the long-term, it was more favorable to her then...whatever Vargas would offer her.

That my life would depend on the evening moon
That the night would never comе

@Vargas

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas just nodded, because that was an answer he'd expected. It was a sane and reasonable answer: "no." The ones who actually volunteered themselves for the Forge... well. There was nobody healthy in the Chaos Forge and that said enough. Even Vargas recognized as much.

Their door guard spoke in riddles, and half of them flew off the handle if the wind blew at them wrong.

His mind continued to linger on V-Ruby-One for a moment before flickering back to Callista. "Hmm? Fought over? Oh, just... worlds." He gestured absently. "Just entire worlds."

Then he studied her intently, lost in thought.

@Callista

hey weird vargas hours enjoy

I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see the light in the shade of the morning sun

Ah, yeah, that was the kind of answer she was expecting. Not...not that exactly, but she figured it wasn't something noble or grand. A sweeping, almost dismissive answer of "yeah we're fighting to conquer worlds" was about the kind of answer she thought she'd get. Such an oddly casual way of saying that these caves were training soldiers to be let loose and destroy entire worlds.

She frowned as one of her claws started playing with a tuft of fur on her leg. "Yeah, but...why? Are they good worlds with stuff on them? Is there a reason?" She was taking the whole "there's an entire cosmic war out there that she hadn't known about until this moment" pretty well, all things considered. She was curious to know more as well - what existed beyond the walls of their caves.

She realized Vargas was staring at her, and blinked, head tilting a bit. "Something on your mind?"

That my life would depend on the evening moon
That the night would never comе

@Vargas