"Come and play with me," She whispered to him.

He snarled, his attention towards the voice making him not notice that his feet were still emitting a harsh heat, and the grass under him was smoking and starting to set aflame. Little flames licked at the fur on his legs, and he quickly stomped at it to stifle the fire, only to make it worse because he had yet to stop making his warmth. He yelped as the flames climbed higher, and he just gritted his teeth and made the magic stop.

The fire died with an underwhelming whumf sound, leaving only ashes behind.

He sighed. All of this magic was making him really tired, but he didn't want to sleep. Not after his naps in the tunnel.

With a crack and snap nearby, he turned. "Hello?"

@Basil


"Speech"

Basil watched this other creature, this other gem, try to stifle flames it was creating, with a upset expression on his face. Where they doing it on purpose? How foolish -this was a forest. But he could tell they were honestly trying to keep the flames from burning anything down, so he didn't say anything. He knew from a look that this gem, though bigger than him already, was younger than him, and already that made him not want to introduce himself.

And they weren't female, so that was somewhat of a plus.

Though, if he was honest with himself, he never wanted to say hello to anyone. Every time he did, it was a fiasco, a tragedy waiting for him in a gift basket. He turned to go, but accidentally snapped a branch, and he winced. So much for being stealthy.

"Hello?" The other gem said, looking around. Basil sighed and came into view. Might as well get this over with and just drag his bad luck out into the open, air it out. It was getting dusty after not seeing anyone for a good amount of time.

That didn't mean he had to be polite, mind.

Maybe he could use his magic, just for theatrics. He rather doubted it would work, though. But when he reached for his magic lazily, half-expecting it not to work at all, it rushed to him, impatient and roaring, surprising him and filling him with energy.

Without moving his mouth, his words came from multiple directions, aimed at the new gem, the...coyote? Yeah, the coyote. The words surrounded them both, loud and clear. He smiled proudly as he looked up at the young coyote.

"I am Basil. What are you doing here?"

(( wow nice! xD ))

He startled and laid low to the ground when the voices surrounded him, when the little dog- no, it wasn't a dog, but it was something hard to pinpoint - like a small hyena, he guessed, though his idea of a hyena was vague as it was - came out of the brush. Firenze's fur stood on edge. He stood before someone older than him, a powerful magic user, and he was almost laying down on the grass, he laid so low. The little hyena was smug, to him, asking him what he was doing here. He didn't really like that smile of theirs.

"I, uh-" He cleared his throat. "I'm here searching for someone. A girl. Have you seen her? She's mostly white, I think. I don't know her name." That aisling was haunting him, that flash of purple, that little flicker of laughter. He needed to find her.


"Speech"

( Thank you! c; Basil's normally a wimp, I'm so proud of my jerkface. )

His pride swelled in his chest as he saw the coyote bow for him, in awe and fear of his powerful magic. He tossed his head back and puffed out his chest, and still using his surge of magic, which by now was starting to fade in its intensity. But he was going to drain it till its last drop.

"Her?" He bit off with his magic, the whispers harsh and intimidating, immediately thinking only of the angel, the nameless white angel towering over him. "You don't deserve to see her. Don't bother. She's nothing but heartbreak."

He winced and hugged the ground even more when the voices around his practically yelled at him, and he was terrified. Was this little hyena - the world was coming to him - this, this aardwolf - going to hurt him for following the aisling?

"You don't understand!" Firenze whimpered. "I have to find her, she's in my dreams, and I've never met her before! I don't really get it myself, but I have to find her."

The aardwolf was practically glaring at him now, and he wanted to dig himself a hole. Nobody had ever been this mad at him before! What did he do?

"I don't care if she's nothing but heartbreak, sir, guy, right, uh, Basil, sorry." He relaxed a little bit, remembering the mage's name. Surely an herbal name couldn't be given to a mean guy! "I mean- have you met her? Heard her laugh? It's impossible, I can't bear to just hear an echo of it, you know?"

He had spent the last few hours constantly hearing it, and it was driving him up the wall.

"Speech"

He grimaced. He only heard little snatches of her laughter, before he saw her for the first time, before he insulted that demon cub. IT was....it was musical, carefree, pure, as angelic as everything else about her. Then he had to go and fall under his familiar curse and act like a complete imbecile and he earned only her scorn.

Did he want her love? No. He couldn't want anything less. But that didn't stop him from thinking of her as something beautiful, both in his curse and out of it. He respected her courage for standing up for the monster she loved, and her strength to reflect his horrible demeanor back at him. He knew, from what little he'd seen of the angel, that it wasn't in her nature.

The deer was something to be protected, he knew. She was pure. And he had to do his best to discourage this young fool from chasing her.

And he was rather annoyed with how the coyote forgot his name so easily.

There was that.

"She's protected by a dark-coated demon. There's no hope. The demon rips others apart, and laughs when they have blood all over them." He shivered, remembering the image of the child laughing and smiling at him with guts in their teeth. "They shock and can only hurt. I've met the demon." He glared at the coyote. "Stay clear of it."

Firenze's eyes widened, and he listened to the snarling aardwolf, who showed their teeth without speaking, their voice coming from all sides. A demon! A demon guarded the way to her?

But on the edge of his hearing, he heard her laugh, teasing him, taunting him, and hardened his resolution. His brow furrowed, and his ears came forward, his mouth set. If there was no way around the demon, he would force his way through to meet her. He couldn't go forward constantly haunted by this ghost. He would try, and he would either succeed or fail.

At the very least, he reasoned, she existed. She wasn't just a crazy figment of his imagination, always there with no resolution he could reach for. Even if there was a bloodthirsty demon guarding her, it was better than nothing.

He licked his lips and rose from the ground a little, gathering his courage. "Then I just have to fight the demon and save her. I can't- I can't live without at least meeting her. Just once. I don't even know what she looks like," He shakily laughed, still somewhat intimidated by the mage. "But that doesn't mean I won't try."

"Speech"

He bit his tongue. If this young coyote (he never asked for his name, what a botched introduction) wanted to throw his life away, that was their prerogative. He understood the pull of the angel, the desire to keep her safe and be near her. He understood the curse he fell under every time. But understanding it didn't prevent anything, and it didn't make him less bitter about it.

He moved towards the coyote who had by now raised their head in foolish courage, the courage of youth. The bravery of a young pup who didn't have enough life experience to recognize when the path fell away to a cliff. Basil put one paw on the coyote's shoulder and spoke, his voice hissing and threatening as it possible could be, letting the already faded magic go.

"If you won't follow my advice, at least listen to this, foolish child. Believe me when I say that the demon will trick you. They might be nice, they might appear like a youth, but their true nature will show up eventually. If you try to get close to her, that's what you have to contend with."

He stepped back, huffing, turning to leave. "Keep on your guard, at least. Don't follow my mistakes."

He frowned, and stayed silent till Basil turned away and started to walk off, getting up off the ground. A black-coated demon that seemed nice at first? He would be sure to keep on his guard, like they warned.

He wanted to prove that such concerns were unnecessary, so he took a deep breath and prepared a spell. But this time, instead of coercing the heat to his paws and his fur, he urged it inward. He scrunched his eyes tight. Please work, he thought, please work!

Suddenly, his magic flushed from the crystal over his heart straight to his insides, burning him, hurting him, of for the love of the caves did it burn, but when he stood and opened his eyes that felt like they were on fire, he was proud of the effect it cast. Everything but him seemed darker, and his insides cast a powerful haunting orange light on everything around him, including Basil as he retreated. The light danced and flickered like a powerful forest fire, and when he spoke, his voice crackled like logs crumbling to ash, his mouth set aflame.

"Don't worry. I can take care of myself." He said.

Oh wow did this hurt, though.

"Speech"

He was starting to walk away, happy with his wise advice, when he noticed this odd flickering light that came from nowhere that made everything in comparison seem darker. It washed over him, like a fire broke out right behind him, and he whipped around in terror. Did the coyote actually set the forest on fire without meaning to?

But no, the reality was worse. The fire was insideof the coyote, like Gehanna itself was erupting from his mouth, its eyes, setting this incredibly disturbing glow from the inside of his skin. Fear, raw fear, washing away his stomach and his mind. It was grinning at him, like the demon cub. Another demon in disguise-! They were all demons!

He bolted as quickly as he could, barely hearing the confident words of the youth. He heard nothing in his mad escape except his own ragged breathing. The outside was dangerous! Everyone was a monster, everything was out to get him in one way or another!

[Exit Basil]