The last time the beast had been seen in the caves, he had been but a calf. A small, lanky thing slowly growing into his body, and into the connection solidly programmed into his mind, and then...he had slept. For a long time.

Too long.

The rainbow moonstone attached to the wall was massive. Glittering under the lights, facets of colors painted across its bright surface, stationed not far from the entrance to Eridanus. It had been there for a while, but now...something inside was coming alive again. A flip of the switch. Consciousness rushed in and returned.

And with that consciousness, came the Hive. He had not fallen asleep before the link had fully matured, merely soon after. They were far from him, most of them were, but he could feel them. And, eager to rejoin those that had become family entwinned in thought, he broke free from his cage.

The shattering sound echoed across the tunnels and the bison barreled his way forward from it, quickly regaining his footing as scatters of iridescent white gemstone scattered around the path he made. He cantered to the cross-way of the tunnel and stopped, swinging his head. He would go to them - to Ursa. He had wanted to go before, but Mother said he was too young.

Well...he was not young anymore.

@Cyneweard

Cyneweard hasn't been doing so well, recently. He was trying- of course he was trying! But he was running out of options, and time. What was he going to tell Horizon and Coliean, when it finally took hold? No- if, IF the infection won. But more and more it seemed like it would win. That it had already won, even.

And caves, he was scared. And tired. and tired of being scared and tired. And he wasn't sure what he could possibly do, anymore, but at the same time he knew he couldn't just do nothing.

It was this restlessness that lead him to wander despite himself. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going- Polaris, maybe? Going there did make him feel better sometimes, however briefly.

The hive's link had been steadily strengthening over the course of a cycle, and while it still wasn't quite solid enough to allow true communication, it was now a nearly omnipresent murmuring in the back of his mind. A murmur that now resonated with the presence of someone nearby.

Aegis might be able to feel Cyneweard's spiking panic through the fledgling link, or he might just see the knight freeze stock-still, gaze locking on to the bison.

@Aegis

He had just been about to stretch out his legs when his attention really caught on the presence of someone nearby - both through the link and the physical feeling of being watched. He turned his head and locked eyes with Cyneweard.

A few things came to him in that moment - first, this was not a Drone. Not like Pallas or the others he had felt distantly many cycles ago. And also, this was not like the Lessers that had led him around as a child, hosts of Mother's will. It was something connected, but distant. He wondered...was that what he had felt like, when he was a child, to the others? There, but held by a string?

This one was infected, but not a Host. Part-way through to the full connection. At least, that was what he understood.

He snorted softly and turned fully to face Cyneweard. "Another," came his gruff voice, rasping from disuse. "I do not know you. But then again...I have been asleep." He was feeling around their link as he talked, what little he could touch with his mind, and did indeed feel the panic, which confused the bison greatly. "Why are you afraid?" he asked as he stepped closer. "There is nothing to fear." It was inconceivable to Aegis's mind that one could be afraid of the Hive. It was all he had known, ever, the Hive was love and family; connection. They were a oneness he craved. There was nothing to be afraid of in that.

@Cyneweard

"No." He wasn't even sure what he was rejecting. All of it, maybe. Their connection- to eachother, to the hive. The fact that this wasn't terrifying. "I'm not. I'm not apart of her family. I don't want to be."

And maybe Aegis would be told- either by Mother herself or a sibling- how not everyone understood Mother's gift as what it was. That when faced with true unconditional love they could only see it as a trap, because they could not trust something so magnanimous to be real. How the ignorant painted their unity as something suffocating rather than comforting. When faced with something so much bigger than themselves they could only fear it, because they could not understand it.

And even without that link, those treacherous shared thoughts Cyneweard couldn't quite block off, it was clear how much this was wearing away at him. How tired he was, how scared. All of it a unnecessary struggle against an inevitable, patient fate.

He kept his eyes locked on Aegis, fear palpable on his face as he backpedaled, trying to keep his distance as the bison tried to close it. The battle axe in his hand buzzed in time with his own anxious heart, but the thought of using it against Aegis, even defensively, sent bile and guilt climbing up his throat. "I'm sorry." He gasped compulsively. And he knew Aegis wouldn't attack him, a 'sibling,' even if part of him wanted a real reason to hate him. And he didn't want to hurt anyone innocent- because Aegis WAS innocent, even if Mother wasn't. And continuing to think these traitorous thoughts made the guilt and nausea swell to the point where he could barely think, barely stand up straight.

"Just leave me alone." He begged.

@Aegis

Aegis looked skeptical. Confusion, gentle and soft, touched Cyneweard's connection. Why was it afraid? They should not be afraid. "But...you are. I feel you. A part of us. If you were not, why have you not cured?" There was disappointment in that. Knowing that some had received this gift and rejected it. Turned aside. What a pity, what a waste.

He did not stop, slowly moving forward, not threatening but not relenting. "There is no point in leaving you alone," he tried to reason, not understanding the dismay of this carrier. He tried to push his own feelings of support, of friendliness, over to Cyneweard. "We are never alone. It is probably new to you. But we will always be here. It is something to get used to." He could turn, maybe, and leave Cyneweard alone, but why? They were already connected. Why would he want to run from this?

He simply needed to understand that this was a good thing. And then everything would be solved. Everything would be fine!

@Cyneweard

"I'm TRYING!" He yelled trembling with anger and fear. "I'm trying but she won't leave me alone!" The tenuous sympathy he felt for Aegis shattered. Like it was HIS fault for simply not curing himself like he wasn't trying and trying and TRYING to find a way out. Like the fact that he was still infected was a sign that he secretly wanted this.

He raised his axe a fraction and instantly his hands spasmed and the axe clattered to the floor. Pain flashes through his head, a reprimand at the mere thought of harming a sibling and- had he actually intended on doing that? It was hard to think, the nauseating guilt so intense he gagged hollowly against it. He just wanted this to stop. This fake comfort. He wanted Aegis to stop trying to convince him this was a good thing. He at the very least wanted space to think. To rest. He was so tired. Scared and tired.

"Sorry." He found himself repeating, "Sorry. I'm sorry. I just want it to stop." He wasn't backing away anymore. He'd let Aegis close the distance, as he was so intent on doing. "I don't want to get used to this. I want to be alone. I want it to stop."

@Aegis

Perhaps this wasn't working. The bison looked confused, and a little hurt, that Cyneweard was reacting so poorly. He continued to move forward, and when the sibling did no longer move away, he got next to him and carefully reached out with his muzzle and gently nudged him with his nose. A sign of comfort. He did not have to be alone.

But he could feel distress. He didn't understand, but he thought maybe he was making it worse. Perhaps they simply did need some time. He eyed the weapon that had been dropped, shocked that they had even thought about hurting him, but it seemed all danger had passed now, at least.

"No, I am sorry," he rumbled, taking a step back. "I don't mean to push. I do not understand this...not wanting to be in Hive. I have only known its love." Wasn't that all it was? Love? Love and kindness and unity? Why would anyone not want that? "I hope you will find its goodness too. But if you truly wish for me to leave...I will leave." He didn't leave yet, lingered a moment longer, in case Cyneweard changed his mind.

@Cyneweard