The cave's deer's bulging eyes glazed over as the drops of life was squeezed out mercilessly. Blood trickled from its open mouth, which now ceased its choked gasps. Septiezal did not let go until he could no longer detect a pulse. He loosened his coils and the deer's broken body fell the ground as if its body a sack of water.

It surprised him how much he had crushed it. Even though it had been a few cycles since he reemerged, Septiezal still wasn't used to his new, muscular strength. He literally pulverized that last rat he caught, it made quite a mess. Hopefully Aquarian wouldn't mind. He did eat everything Dragon caught. Septiezal shook the thought from his head and dug his talons into the deer's fur, pulling it close to his chest. He made his way towards The Heart, craning his upper body like an arching branch to keep from dragging his kill across the muddy ground.
"speak"

@Nox

Nox had spent what felt like ages searching, searching- for somewhere. She didn't want a place to call home, and she knew that she might very well end up forgetting and losing it- but the place needed to be perfect. In the time that she had searched, the stones nestled in her gizzard had become leaden weights that dragged down the elegant curve of her neck- there was a noticeable bulge mid-curve, now. She didn't know why- and she certainly didn't know why finding the perfect pond was so important- but whether or not she wanted to, the time had come to let them go.

The three stones clinked softly as she made her slow, padding way through a chest-deep patch of mud, before she hauled herself out onto dry land. She nosed until she found a place where the edge of the marsh curved- creating a small, but relatively secluded lagoon of mud. And then, with a rumbling, gurgling sound, she brought up the gems along with a mouthful of pitch-black slime- one dark, and glistening blue; one small, and pitch black; the final, slightly smaller than the others, mottled green and yellow.

Although Nox didn't seem to notice, all three had grown larger since she'd swallowed them. With her gizzard now clear and the discomfort removed, she shuddered, skin rippling into tendrils. she nosed at the three different gems, slowly oozing slime, seeming confused by something. One of the gems had had something different about it- the pretty blue one, felt wrong. When she'd picked it up, it had been singing. Had she killed it? Nox had no idea what she'd done, but she rumbled with concern. For a time she nosed- before finally, as though hoping the muddy water would help, she nudged all three gems into the marsh, where they were lost beneath it's surface.

Then the strange creature backed away, raising her head up to its full height and sniffling. Her skin took on a scaled texture for a moment, one of quizzical curiosity. Her jaws drooled a string of black goop, as she caught scent of blood. She hadn't eaten for a while; the gems were becoming too much of an obstacle. And now, she was starving, her slime growing thick and viscous.

With a gurgle brewing in her chest, she stalked towards the scent, until the scent of blood was soon joined by another that was equally familiar- and welcome. She rumbled a greeting as she padded out of the mist, sniffing and snorting at the deliciously gore-scented air, strings of slime pooling beneath her.

@Septiezal

Septiezal paused as he picked up on a familiar scent. It was faint due to the wetness of the marsh, but he could tell it was fresh. Nox! His heart lept with joy. He had not seen his dear friend in a while. It was good to know she was still around.

It had been cycles since Nox saved his life that fateful day. She had stayed by his side the entire time he recovered in a chrysalis. Septiezal had never known a loyalty like that, not even to a stranger. It touched him in a way, warmed his heart, to know that she stayed there, not because she wanted something from him, but because she was kind. Septiezal did not know how to repay her, he did not even know if he ever could.

Through the thick veil of mist, her large, black shape took form. To gembounds voyaging across the dark swamp for the first time, it would have been a monstrous sight, a dark creature oozing of tar so black, that its form melted together like a dripping shadow, but to Septiezal, it was a sight for sore eyes. He allowed his body and kill to slink to the ground as his flicked his tongue. He felt her rumble a greeting. "Nox," He called out warmly, giving her a snakey smile. "Where did you disappeared too, hmm?" His tone was good natured, though it masked concern. He had not seen in her a while. To his relief, she did not smell injured, but Septiezal could not help but worry with his vicious attackers still running lose.

Suddenly, something glinting in the mud caught the serpent's eyes. It almost looked like a gembound's stone...
"speak"

@Nox

Nox rumbled, skin moving and writhing, as she heard the other Gembound's voice. She lowered her head towards him and peeked out past her sharp beak, staring at Septiezal without blinking, before slightly tilting her head. She set her paws apart and her head slowly moved down to the eye level of the snake. She sniffed at the snake's kill for a moment longer before withdrawing, obviously understanding that it wasn't hers.

After a moment longer her shifting skin settled down. She listened with a scaly texture creeping over her. muffled drips could be heard as slime pooled beneath her. She struggled for a name for the serpent for a few moments, but with a face and a form to put to it, she wasnn't left floundering for long. "Ssssseptiezal," she gurgled, her voice hard to make out- and yet, it was somehow easy to tell that she was pleased. Perhaps it was her eagerness to speak so soon, despite the struggle to get her throat around the words and turn guttural noises into speech.

His question brought another ripple of consideration over her gelatinous skin. A lot had happened, she was sure; but it took a long moment for her to regurgitate the memories. When had she and Septiezal last met? It had surely been cycles. She burbled with pleasure nontheless. However long it had been, she had ventured far. "Wandered. Then returned... then met a dragon." There was the soft hiss and snorting sound of a steamy breath escaping her nostrils. "...alssssso found a child. Protected him."

Her skin rippled as she thought of Hikari- and although it was hard to tell, one might have detected a hint of pride in her low, slow voice.

@Septiezal

With puzzled interest, Septiezal let go of his kill and plucked the stone from the mud. His head swayed towards it in a serpentine fashion as he investigated his glimmering find with a forked tongue. Suddenly, he lurched back with a gasp. The stone had an aura, a magical one.

It's alive!

He clasped his talons around it and held it close to body. Septiezal turned back to Nox, his eyes glistenly brightly for the first time in a long, smiling as he approached her. "Speaking of children, Nox, look at what I found!" He held out his clasped talons to her and open them, revealing the lost stone of a gembound.

He pulled it back close to him, protective of the potential life in claws and glanced at the cave deer he had squeezed to death earlier. Nox had taken an interest in it earlier, and Septiezal felt inclined to give it to her, it was the least he could do to thank her for all that she's done. "Oh, you can have this, dear friend." He told her, pushing it towards her with his tail. "You look like you need it more than Aquarian, sorry if it's a bit.. tender." He added sheepishly. "I have yet to know my own strength."


"speak"

@Nox

Septiezal finds a Pupil (+2) Orange Sphalerite stone, which was once an arctic fox.

As the serpent excitedly invited Nox to see what he'd found, the draconian being loomed closer, skin softly squirming as she let out a low rumble of curiosity. She parted her jaws, and looked- and indeed, it was a gem. Nox tipped her head slightly, inspecting it- and it reminded her of the three she'd left in the bog.

"It'sss a gem?"

Her rumble deepened to a low gurgle- perhaps one of congratulations. But as the attention was turned back towards food, Nox quickly lost interest. Her skin smoothed, ripples of goosebumps sweeping over her as Septiezal offered her the food she had caught, which she gratefully accepted, a burble of gratitude reverberating deep within her chest. She didn't care about the state of it- barely able to contain herself as it was pushed towards her.

She stretched her jaws wide and lifted the cave deer from the ground, throwing back her head as she began to swallow it whole. It took a few tries but soon the head had disappeared, then the forelegs, until finally only the hind hooves were sticking out of her mouth. After that, the cave deer became nothing more than bulge in the great draconian's throat.

@Septiezal