ooc - set before the competition, if thats alright

It had been a long time since Xerxes visited Polaris, and he wasnt exactly sure if he had been since joining the guardians. He wandered here with ease, finding little to do this day. Cure was gone, probably running around with Remedy again or just avoiding him for one reason or another. If that was the case, Remedy was probably the one getting into her head. They did seem to have some kind of connection besides just being sisters, that is.

He was angry at them, more so Remedy since it was all her fault. Had she never returned, there wouldn't be so much distance between he and Cure. But Remedy never seemed to like Xerxes for some reason and vice versa, but at least Xerxes could justify why he had a problem. She got all of Cures time and he hadn't seen her for what, a full cycle now? Seemed like it.

If he didn't care about Cure so much and didn't already fear losing her, he'd confront Remedy and let whatever happened happen. But he was afraid of losing his only friend, especially when it was between himself and Remedy. He didn't want to make Cure choose... but he was getting to the point where it was the only option.

Sighing, Xerxes stared down at his reflection in the water of the crystal river. Why did Cure want to spend more time with Remedy than him? Did she not like him anymore? Had Remedy finally gotten into her head?

@tukluk

It actually hadn’t been all that long ago that Tuck had been to Polaris, though he hadn’t seen Nassir since then. He couldn’t help but return to the place, as it had a way of making him feel really good, and his Magic coursed in his veins here much more obviously than it did anywhere else in Origin. He still wondered what that giant blue spike was in the center of the room, but he hadn’t yet had a chance to go over there to look at it in detail. Besides, he saw someone nearby, at the river, and decided that he would go over and say hi. His fear of other Gembounds had somewhat subsided the older and better at Magic he became.

He ran-hopped over to the lion, whose back was to him, and let out a cheerful, “Hello!”

Words: 142 @Xerxes

There was suddenly a tiny voice behind him that caught him off guard. He wasn't used to others sneaking up on him like that, but he wasn't fearful. Turning his massive head around to look at the tiny monkey, he sniffed him from afar and blinked, focusing on the smaller gembound and briefly taking his mind off of Cure.

"Oh, hello there, I'm Xerxes," he lightly smiled at the monkey, wondering what brought them to Polaris today.

@tukluk

“I’m Tuck,” the marmoset replied, sitting down on his rump while deciding to get comfortable. He’d met so many Gembounds at this point that he couldn’t remember if he’d met a Cat like this before, with a big fluffy mane around its head. Tuck had a bit of a mane, too, but nothing so fancy as the one the lion was sporting. “Do you live here?” Tuck asked, trying to make friendly conversation. The Cat didn’t look particularly happy, and maybe it was because of Tuck. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to be disturbed. Welp. It was too late now, wasn’t it? Now all there was for it was to strike up some conversation! “I live in Eridanus! Do you know where that is?”

Words: 123 @Xerxes

The monkey was friendly, and that was nice. Certainly he could take down something so tiny if he needed to, but he was thankful to not have to. "No, I don't live here." he paused, looking down at the little monkey when he mentioned living in Eridanus. "I live in Eridanus also, with The Guardians." He hadn't seen many of the other Guardians lately and wondered if they were even still a thing.

@tukluk

Tuck stared at Xerxes, trying to remember if he’d ever heard of anyone called The Guardians before. It sounded vaguely familiar… maybe… but he couldn’t be certain. He’d talked to so many creatures in his short life that he couldn’t remember if anyone had ever mentioned a group in Eridanus or not. “Who are The Guardians?” he asked, genuinely curious. “And what do they guard? Where in Eridanus do you all live? I haven’t seen any kind of group there, and I’ve been living there for a whole cycle!” Tuck was certainly full of questions today, it seemed. Some of his childlike curiosity was coming to him now, in the wake of this new information.

EDITING AN ENDING:

As with many other conversations he'd been having with Gembounds throughout the Cave, this lion seemed to go quiet with no explanation whatsoever. Honestly the fact that these weird silences from others kept happening was really starting to creep Tuck out. Was there something wrong with him, or was everyone else just weird? He couldn't tell but he was starting to hate how frequently he had to awkwardly leave another Gembound standing there in silence as if someone had flipped the on/off button...

With a sigh of confusion and annoyance, the marmoset slinked away sulkily, wondering if this was going to become a pattern... He sincerely hoped not, or he might just stop talking to others altogether.

Words: 115+ @Xerxes