"The three birds, they call themselves the Kingsss of Orion." Septiezal began, flicking his tongue."And they seek a tri-colored stone for reasonsss they've failed to explain." Suspicion dripped from his voice like cave slime.

Rustling from behind him broke his attention away from Astraea. A golden-gray wolf pup came bounding out of thicket. The others must be catching up. Septiezal watched her as she approach, turning back to the fungal stag when she stopped to stare at the Monarch.

"They've aslo given us wings." Septiezal tried to call on the spell, but it faltered, and only small, golden wisps glinted of the serpents back like fleeting sparks. He sigh and shook his head in annoyance, then cleared he cleared throat. "Those were supposed to be wings, this magick... it's ssstrange to me."

"Listen"
Thoughts...

tags:
notes:

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

Dezba's jaws clamped down on one of the flies that had been bothering her and promptly swallowed it. She smacked her lips a few times, acknowledging the strange taste. She would not be dining on flies anytime soon. Voices in the distant grabbed her attention and she listened. They was coming from the Monarch and it sounded like the others. She turned her paws towards the giant mushroom looming overhead and accelerated in a spriint. Frustration swelled in her chest. How dare the others make it before me! She wondered if the alligator even beat her on his fat, little legs. She knew she would never be able to live that down.

Dezba burst from the foliage, no doubt causing a ruckus. Thankfully the conversation seemed to have just started, and she began to relax. Dezba sat down and allowed her tongue loll from her panting. A familiar scent wafted through the air, but it was their shrill voice from a tree that confirmed who it was.

It's that weasel!

She narrowed her eyes at them. Then a mischievous thought crossed her mind. She looked at the weasel's perch and grinned. Her gem began to glow, and the branch holding the weasel began to shake, as if someone had grabbed it. Unfortunately, it wasn't as violent as Dezba would itself had been nothing but a nuisance to her.

It was nice to return the favor.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Envy // OOC:

GM Request when you are ready for me! 8)

The stag listened in silence as the serpent explained, with a poor display of what was supposed to be the use of new magic; wings, he said. Astraea grunted—he knew the Kings and the treats they must have beckoned the Gembounds with. Eventually, the others in the forest found him as well, and all explained to him something similar. At this point, he felt he knew what they wanted.

There were not many stones that fit that description, anyway.

At least, there was only one worth searching for in this system.

"Yes, I know the location of this stone." His voice was firm as he glanced between the gathered Gembounds, ear twitching to the rustling of the weasel's branch. "And yes, I do have it."

He felt the fungi along his back thicken and grow out of primal defensive instinct. The red of his eyes simmered like embers, his ruby shimmering; there was a good reason he had this stone. He felt himself take a step back from the Gembounds.

"It is important," said Astraea. "He is important." The stag narrowed his eyes. "He sleeps."

Dragon huffed. He turned, and dragged his squat body to face the others; Astraea he was sure would not want him close, given his body language now. He seemed tense, afraid.

This one holds power. This one has already proven his worth. Its safety must be ensured, for our survival.

Dragon opened his toothy boat-faced maw, and summoned forth the smoldering coal heat in his belly. Flames guttered within his gullet, and spewed forth, briefly creating a wall between Astraea and the other Gembound. It wasn't an attack; it wasn't even much as far as any defense went, but it was a display. To make a point. To get their attention.

"THIS ONE IS OUR ALLY," he bellowed, biting back the burning agony that scorched his leathery, burn-scarred maw. "He has proven himself. The others we cannot yet trust. If any of you choose to fight him, you fight me as well! Let him speak. He fears," Dragon added, eyeing the stag sidelong with one dark and glittering eye.

@Kera @Envy @Septiezal@Dezba

Envy was about to speak, but squealed indignantly and clung tigtly to the branch as it shook lightly, as though in a wind. As it subsided, the weasel angrily peered down at the assembled crowd and quickly found the culprit. They glared, visibly peeved, at the black wolf, but the expression quickly changed to a savage grin. the childish weasel puffed themselves up, sucking in their breath, and glanced the big gator's way as they recalled the fire it had spat.

They closed their eyes and delved into their gem, looking for the threads that would lead them to finding power they'd not yet found. The fur along their back stood up on end with the effort. And although they felt a soft burning feeling in their gut, it was quickly replaced by nausea. Envy clamped their paws over their mouth and retched quietly, fighting to keep it out of the others' hearing range. Their scathing gaze lingered on the wolf, but they hastily looked away, trying to act as though they didn't care.

Being strong was so much work.

Envy finally turned their attention back towards the stag, rising up on their hind paws again to seem tall and proud. "Well, we need it!" Envy coerced, tilting their head. They didn't seem to understand the gravity in the stag's voice; they just wanted more power. "It's important to us, too!"

The alligator then let out a display of their own power, and Envy couldn't help but coil up in jealous annoyance. They narrowed their eyes and looked away, grumpily folding their paws across their chest.

---

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Dragon @Dezba
notes: here

Hera

Not far away from the group of Gembounds sat a small crysalis, barely any larger than the head of a housecat. The crysalis was beginning to rock, as though the creature inside was fighting to get out.

A small hole was broken into the crysalis, and that was enough to make the entire thing crumble. A small, monstrous looking creature sat inside. A bird hatchling, stupidly small, with no feathers, instead covered in off-white down. Her eyes seemed to be perpetually squinted, and the only sign of any beauty was an eerie yellow-green stone on the tip of her beak.

"Hello?" She was so confused. Where was she? What had happened?

The Golden Eagle Gemling heard a commotion, and began to awkwardly make her way over to it. She could see some Gembounds facing off, and she wobbled forward, intending to see what was going on.


"I'm speaking..."
'I'm thinking...'

'cause i'm the big bad wolf

now let the games begin

Dezba's ears pricked forwards at Astraea's words, but her emerald eyes narrowed. It seemed the stag wanted the stone all for himself. She rose to her feet as she watched the protective fungi grow from his hide. Expecting a fight, are you? Then, the alligator turned to face she and others and belched out a mighty wall of fire from his maw. Dezba jumped back as the heat stung her face and fur. The fat lizard made his allegiance clear. She bristled, flashing her fangs in response.

Traitor.

For once, she agreed with the weasel. She regained her composure, though her black hackles were still raised. She crepted forward, bramblings sprawling from her pawsteps, and cut her eyes to Dragon. "Is he now?" She asked the alligator. There was a tinge of mockery in her voice."He seems to reluctant to be one."

Dezba turned back to the stag. "Well Astraea, are you going to play nice?" There was a menacing glare in eyes. "Because I'd hate to keep my King waiting."

"Listen to me."
Thoughts...

TAG: @Dragon // OOC:

Rift had been watching the occurrence for a while. He had heard the gembounds yelling and calling for a stag throughout Eridanus. It had disturbed a pleasant rest he had been having. But that was no matter, he was interested now and defensive. Too many gembounds had come to Eridanus seeking destruction and he could sense the familiar fire magic coming from a couple of them. He narrowed his eyes as he crept closer, lowering himself into the shadow of the bush, his green eyes glowing, as he watched the proceedings.

He had never seen the stag before, but there was something about it that made him shiver with awe. This creature was powerful and eternal. What could they possibly want with such a creature?

But then he noticed Kera in the group and his doubts melted away. Kera was a good one, she was honest and kind. The others were rude, demanding a stone of some sort, some barely noticing the defensive display and the fear within the stag. With a low hiss, he stepped out of the shadows.

"Whatever this stone is," he growled at the dark wolf, "It must be powerful, it must be important. This stag is great and powerful and he fears. What if you shouldn't have it?" He turned to the stag and dipped his head, lowering himself to the ground, wanting to grow some plants as almost an offering, but his magic was shivering tensely. His respect was too great.

"What is the stone they seek? What about it is so terrifying?"


___________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: here
notes: here

Outwardly, the stag kept a plain expression; but inwardly, he was grinning. The fact that the alligator had chosen to defend his honor gave him a great sense of pride. This was a a good child. It had fought Raheerah and it was good to Aquarian. Astraea watched Dragon's display with a feeling of accomplishment; but it was not feat that he felt, it was just a sense of duty. With that, his ear pulled toward the direction of new magic birthing into the cave and he turned his head toward it; his ears swiveled lightly to pinpoint its location, but the black wolf drew him away from this happenstance hatching.

"Your 'King'?" he echoed, turning back toward her, noting the brambles that grew from her pawsteps. "We serve the same fate, child. Do not be fooled by what fowl roosts in Orion." His words were neutral. Snapping his eyes toward the feline that approached, he decided to answer both the weasel and the newcomer at once.

"You do not need it. You already benefit from it." He gestured with his head vaguely to nothing. "It is an architect's stone. Nothing about it is terrifying. He has done his job. He sleeps. He has earned it." Astraea snorted as if this was a satisfying answer, that they should not need any further explanation.

But he was not done.

"Show them," he demanded, stomping his back left hoof firmly onto the ground of Eridanus. His ruby gleamed intensely at the command.

A trembling started deep within the cave floor, followed by a groaning yawn from the Fern Trench. It struggled and it creaked, it broke at its inner core as it pulled itself apart, widening further to reveal massive rib bones along its entire length; at its bottom was a spinal chord, crumbling dirt falling into center and burying it at random places. Even if one followed the massive snaking skeleton along the trench, it disappeared into the ground and beyond the wall, its true length unknown.

"Each time he is awakened, he is smaller," Astraea said after some time. "But he is perhaps the largest of us. The trench formed around him; it is where he last lay to rest." His body turned and moved through the underbrush toward the eaglet, his tail flicking. "I will lead you to the stone, since you desire it so." He could not hide the grin that traced his lips. It was not that he wanted to hand them the architect's stone, but now he wanted to see what they would do when they saw it.

He did not have to go far to reach the newly hatched Gembound; it must have been coming toward them. The stag stopped and looked down to it, judging its health and magic. "Welcome," he said simply. A good hatch. Then he moved around it and kept going, heading toward the Eyes. It was not his place to raise them personally, they did a good job figuring it out on their own.

Dragon listened to the black wolf and a low, long, guttering hiss escaped him. Closely-following this came bellowed words, roaring and firm.

"HE HAS PROVEN THIS BEFORE, CHILD, EVEN IF YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER! HE HAS AIDED IN ALL OUR SURVIVALS! THERE IS NO PLAYING NICE, AS THERE IS NO GAME!"

He then turned, listening to the stag--and when Astraea moved, he followed, hauling his squat form along, his damaged right hind leg dragging and the deep scars over his back glinting in the dim light. He spared the newborn hatchling a glance, and briefly dipped his head to offer it a ride along, if it wished, on his snout. The others, he mostly ignored, though he took note of them. When Eridanus itself began to break apart, he froze in awe, slowly hissing once more.

The entire cave here was a being? Has this growth grown over his corpse? Is he the reason for this cave's life..? Why would he rebirth, smaller?

He looked to Astraea, wishing to understand. His words, this time, came less angrily bellowing, and more thoughtful--though, of course, still loud. "It has created the cave itself? But why do the birds wish his stone?" And then, eyeing Astraea with deep and crafty thought--"What fate, then, do we serve?"

@Envy @Dezba @Hera @Rift @Septiezal @Kera