Finn Knight of Flowers

The pink chrysalis looked almost delicate as it lay rooted into the cave floor and propped up against the base of the spire. The spire's glow had illuminated the chrysalis blue, faintly turning the pink gemstone lilac colours. It was built like tinted glass; beautiful and sparkling, but also slightly transparent: revealing the creature which festered inside.

The creature, unlike the chrysalis they resided in, was bulky and fat. They pressed against the very walls of the stone, muscular shoulders against the top and legs at the bottom, constantly shoving and pushing against the pink stone.

For a long time now, their eyes had been closed - the opening of their eyes had been a recent event for them; they spent their time watching gembounds pass by, occasionally some would speak to others, or they would hunt, but the creature felt no desire to interfere.

But now, pain shot through their stiff spine as it was forced against the walls of the chrysalis, bending uncomfortably. Ears would have twitched, if there was even room for them to do so; but the gembound within knew that this was a natural process. They knew what had to be done and the nameless creature was alright with that.

There was no actual thought process before it. It was pure instinct as they bent their head down between their front legs and began pushing upwards. Hairline cracks appeared on the surface of the pink chrysalis, still lilac as the spire illuminated Polaris.

The gembound's shoulders pushed upwards, hard, and with the sound of a glass bottle splintering and finally smashing against the ground, coarse black fur touched cold air for the first time. The dog's emergence was quickly over. The bulky creature scrambled out away from sick-scented fluids and carefully stepped onto the ground below.

Finn stood, balanced and level-headed. Even as a pup, his strength was apparent: the defined muscles already showed themselves, but he was puppy-sized. Flopping ears lightly flickered as the gembound's legs shifted and he shook himself dry of the fluids that covered his fur.

And then, he raised a broad head to sniff the air, and sat back on his haunches.

"A sworn Guard to the High Council."

Ares Blodyn meet me halfway to your heart

Ares had been sitting among his small field of flowers, watching them grow ( although the process in itself was too slow to actually be "watched" ) when cracks echoed through the room.
Turning his head around, the Shiba Inu pup looked for the source of the noises. They were familiar.

To his sadness, the wilting flowers of his flowercrown fell from his head when he jerked it around too fast, leaving the wilted remains of his crown to fall among his new, growing creations.
He shook his head, despite the lingering sadness, to get rid of the rest of the flowers && then went back to looking who or what had made those noises.

Ares spotted a pup-shaped someone beside the remains of a pink Chrysalis he'd only been mildly aware of before. It looked a lot like his own Chrysalis! The pup looked kind of like him too!

Excited, Ares immediately bounded towards them. A possible friend!

&& While there were differences to them ( the color of their pelts, the shape of their ears, their gems, their scent ) there was also something familiar about the stranger that Ares had only seen in one other individual before.

He stopped before he barreled right into the other, sitting down in front of them while watching them with curious, young eyes.

Growing strong.

@Finn

Finn Knight of Flowers

Finn's ears gently lifted and then dropped. He caught a scent - something that stuck out. Although everything was new to him, he could tell this scent didn't quite belong. Everything prior had been musty, with the rocks and dust around, but there was something new. It was fresh, sweet.

As the pup angled his broad head towards where the smell was coming from, something was lumbering quickly towards him. It was different to him; black where there was gold, soft fluff for a coat instead of a rough carpet of hair.

He barely managed to turn as the pup stopped just next to him, and he dipped his head instinctively in polite acknowledgement. "Hello," he croaked - the word rising up in his throat. He barely knew what it meant - it had been the thing he heard some gembounds say to each other when they first saw each other.

Finn turned to look back out Polaris for a moment, puffing his chest out for a moment. It was quiet for now; he heard nothing from any other distant gembound that might be lurking nor the golden canine.

He sat back on his haunches like the other had done, watching with bronze eyes.

"A sworn Guard to the High Council."

@Ares

Ares Blodyn meet me halfway to your heart

When the other one actually acknowledged him, Ares grinned from ear to ear. He barked a greeting in return, the only way he knew how to before cocking his head && thinking about how to properly welcome the other.

There was only one thing he could really think of, which was using his magic to express his happiness.
Thus, digging his paws into the ground, Ares focused on the feeling of the cold earth against his gem && the dormant seeds that might be lurking just beneath the surface.

Attempt: Spell - Emerge

Much to Ares disappointment ( && partially embarrassment ) he was unable to awaken any seeds nearby. Maybe he hadn't tried hard enough! He should have envisioned the kind of flowers && seeds he wanted to awaken!

But dang, he'd already botched it.

Growing strong.

@Finn

Finn Knight of Flowers

He didn't quite expect the other dog's next actions - he began digging into the ground between them, perhaps in search of something. Slowly, Finn lifted himself up and watched carefully, ears lifted in alert.

And then, he stopped. Did he need help?

A small but powerful paw scraped forward, followed by another, as the pitbull began digging into the ground, pausing for a moment to stick his snout into the hole that was created. There was something familiar. A scent.

Among the earthy smells of soil and... whatever else lived under the ground, Finn had no idea yet, there was a similar scent. It was faint, but he could identify it. He carefully picked it out between his teeth, pulling out a small brown seed. He gazed at the hole, then at Ares, and offered it out towards him.

They shared a scent - even if it was faint. Clearly, this was the thing he was looking for, though he couldn't imagine why the other dog would want such a thing like this.

With Ares' mystery item returned to him, the canine sad back down, now with fresh, rich dirt covering his forelegs. His ears flicked, and he looked around once more.

"A sworn Guard to the High Council."

@Ares

Ares Blodyn meet me halfway to your heart

The least Ares had expected to happen was the other canine helping him - or doing what the other thought was the best way to help. Either way, Ares was touched && his smile grew even brighter.

What a friendly individual!

Ares took the seed that was offered to him, sitting on his haunches to hold it between his front paws. He would keep the other's gift, but he wanted to make them a gift too.

He decided to take a different approach now.

Attempt: Spell - Host

Although not as flourishing as his first Host spell, it worked fine enough. Ares was able to make a Pink Water Lilie grow on his right front leg. It had a long stem ( untrue to the flower's original way of growing ) , where Ares bit it off with his tiny teeth to lay it in front of the other dog.
He had wanted to make many flowers for them, but one would have to suffice.

The color matched the dog's gem as well, which was at least something Ares was proud of. Getting shades right was rather tricky.

Growing strong.

@Finn

Finn Knight of Flowers

Finn watched what he could probably percieve as his new friend take the thing he had been looking for - which, judging by his reaction, was actually the thing he wanted - and concentrate. Ears flickered as a pink lilly grew on his leg and the dog leaned in.

He wanted to smell it; it smelled faintly like his new friend, fresh and sweet. His tail began to thump hollowly against the floor, but a faint 'oh' left his throat as Ares plucked the pretty flower from his fur and lay it there.

He watched - at first, confused, but soon his massive head lowered and he delicately took the lilly and placed it on Ares' head, with the stem stuck behind his ear. The dog nodded; perhaps more to himself, and began watching the room once more.

He wasn't quite sure why; he appreciated the company of this other dog-creature fine and well, but instinct told him to stay alert. A pink tongue left his mouth and he licked his muzzle briefly, stomach growling briefly.

"A sworn Guard to the High Council."

@Ares

Ares Blodyn meet me halfway to your heart

When the other dog took the flower, Ares watched curiously what he would do with it. Much to his surprise, the flower landed back on his own head. Didn't the other want his present?

Ares decided not to let the disappointment consume him. He would just have to find something else the other one liked!
( Thanks to the still active Host spell which turned Ares' skin into the perfect source of nutrients for plants, the flower which the other canine Gembound had placed upon his head grew onto his skin, the stem melding into Ares' fur behind the soft curve of his ear )

He saw them looking around && heard their stomach growl. Oh, they were hungry! Well, Ares could probably help with that. The Shiba Inu pup looked around, trying to spot something for them to hunt.

Attempt: Other - Spot A Cave Rabbit

Ares' dark-eyed gaze fell upon a brown cave rabbit behind them, feeding on Ares newly created flowers. How dare it! The shiba Inu pup tapped his new friend's shoulder with his paw to alert him silently to the prey nearby, before he crouched down to get ready for a jump.

Growing strong.

@Finn

Finn Knight of Flowers

The dog's alert gaze quickly turned to Ares as he was touched; then his massive head swivelled around to lock eyes on the rabbit near by where his new friend had ran from. It was nibbling at similar things he had just summoned out of his leg, and the golden dog shifted by him.

Finn was not a silent, nor a stealthy creature. His tail and ears flicked and in a fluid motion the bulky pup was barrelling towards the garden. The rabbit picked up quickly on his thundering pawsteps, which single-handedly, or single-paw..dedly, sounded as though they could be a part of a one-dog stampede.

The rabbit turned and bolted, but the heavy-set pup was making a beeline for the rabbit who was zipping from here to there, looking for a burrow to hide in. Finn himself was only careful to make sure that he did not trample on the pretty flowers; instead keeping purely to the cave floor to hunt down the rodent.

Massive jaws opened and clamped around the rabbit's back. It let out a horrified shriek as pin-needle fangs sank into it's skin - quickly silenced with a sickening crack of it's spine breaking under Finn's maw and falling limp. His ears flickered, his heart dropped. It was unpleasant, and the taste of blood wasn't a welcomed sensation.

Instinct told him to eat.

He turned his head and went lumbering back to Ares, dropping the limp corpse between the two as he sat down. At the very least, they could share the rabbit together.

"A sworn Guard to the High Council."

@Ares

Ares Blodyn meet me halfway to your heart

Before Ares had a chance to make his prepared jump, his friend was already bolting towards the rabbit. The brown-pelted creature tried to run away, but the canine Gembound eventually got him.
Ares was very pleased that his new friend had visibly avoided trampling his flowerfield, which made him want to thank the other.

When his friend returned, he laid the rabbit between them, seemingly offering Ares his share of the prey.
The Shiba Inu pup felt really good, a low, fluttery feeling in his gut at the thought of how considerate the other was.
He was so gentle, despite his bulky stature && so nice, even though he barely even knew Ares! The golden-pelted dog decided that he would definitely keep his friend's present ( the dormant seed ), to have a reminder of their first meeting. Hopefully, many more would follow.

For now, though, Ares so no use dwelling on what was to come. So he smiled up his new friend and leaned over to nuzzle his snout against that of his friend, before delving down to take a bite off the rabbit with a thumping tail.

Growing strong.

@Finn