Aza'zel, master of the mind? It was less likely than Aure thought --- apparently, anyways. He watched attentively as Mother tried to do... something? Perhaps the mind-touching magic? Her eyes closed, wincing at some unseen pain. She waved it off, dismissing the demonstration with a few short words that the wyvern could only nod sagely to. "Magic doesn't like to listen," he chirped, bright eyes already turning to scan the innards of Canis down below. There was no sign of life he could particularly see in that instant. Aure contemplated, for a moment, if magic was young and new. It seemed to be constantly generated, pooling at the heart of Polaris and dispersing outwards. Was it ever around long enough to be anything less than chaotic? Magic could be sentient, at times, according to Black and his description of the storm-cat and dark-cat. At least, that was how the hybrid had taken it.

"I'll be back," Aure noted, wings spread already and carrying him off the side of the cliff. A minuscule fall of about a foot or so was all that was needed to garner the necessary lift for flight. Gliding on broad primaries, the wyvern's eyes and ears perked forward. His face tilted downward, carmine eyes scanning the ground a little more closely. Still, nothing on the ground. There was a section of Canis, though, that was essentially guaranteed to host some amount of cave rats and other miscellaneous prey. Mother had shown it to him very early-on: a collection of rocks that she left bloody carcasses (often of the rodent kind) by. The vermin would come out and feast on their possible kin's flesh and then skitter back into the recesses of the rat-rocks. As of right now, there were picked-clean bones and fur lying about them. The smell of blood in the air signified that it was fairly recent and the stench of rat was overwhelming.

Perfect.

With a tilt of his tail feathers and his wings, the hybrid quickly dipped closer to the rocks. His talons caught on the highest stalagmite, toes curling about it tightly as he balanced himself. Wings flapping a few times, silently as possible, Aure focused in on his magic. Here's to hoping it didn't go as awfully as last time and wind up with some seizure-induced nightmares from below. Yeah, that wasn't fun. He wasn't going to mention dangerous things to Mother, lest she never let him out again. Anyways... A bolt of magic later, and he could feel the winds bend at the tip of his wings. With one single, powerful beat, a rather small tornado formed. He was relieved to find that it at least followed his instructions, this time, churning this way and that according to where he wanted it to go. As soon as the dust devil approached the rat-rocks, there was an uproar. Blunt claws skittered across packed dirt. Squeaks rang through the air. Aure followed the source of each one with his ears, directing the winds towards the closest sounds.

A dark, furry mass suddenly flew into the twisting vortex. Immediately, the wyvern rose into the air. Dispelling the raging tornado with a flick of his ears, Aure snatched the shrieking rat in his beak. The teeth on his bottom jaw immediately sought the thing's neck, drawing blood. Making it quick, the strong-jawed hybrid crunched as hard as he could, snapping its spine and removing any life left in the vermin. Swinging back up to the cliff where Mother may still wait, Aure dropped the rat into his blunt claws. It was easier to carry.

Arriving, he deposited the meal atop the cliff first, then landed. Ever so sweet and selfless, he nudged the rat towards his Mother and stepped back. Chest puffed out in pride, Aure cooed, "you eat first, Mother!"

@Giggle

Aure rushed off, and a quizzical Giggle found, through brief consultation of the fungus, that he was hunting. And quite well, too, sending spirals of rushing wind to drive the rats from their hiding places. She was pleased: this was his father's magic, and it seemed he had a strong grasp of it.

He'd be proud, she thought, for the third time in as many minutes.

She had been asked to stay put, but she fidgeted in place. The hyena wasn't a good "old mother" type. She was still a doer, not a crone of a grandmother but a huntress and a seer in her own right, and waiting and allowing others to do for her had never sat right with her.

She glanced idly about at the rocks, and at last she stood, determining to go and trot off to hunt on her own, briefly. She could be back with her own offering, and--oh.

He was back, already.

She blinked, and eyed the rat he was offering her, and nodded.

"Thank you--you're very kind--but I can do for myself, too, you know. I'm not that old," she added in a joking tone--and then continued, eyeing Aure more thoughtfully. "You've good control over your magic, and over flight. That's good! Been practicing, I take it?" Strong jaws snatched up the rat, crunching it down.

She then turned, casting her mind out along the fungus. Even as she ate, her magic and her dark eyes searched the crevices where Aure had been hunting down below, and she concentrated. After a moment she felt a flicker of life, and sent a surge of horror into it--the idea that the darkness was filled with terrors that would destroy life.

It wasn't at all a far stretch from her previous experience.

After a moment a rat came scampering into the open, looking around with eyes so full of fear that the hyena felt pity for it.

"There's yours, Aure--make quick work of it?" she asked, voice a little softer, still licking blood from her jaws.

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ROLL THE BONES

@Aure

Aure blinked down at the lifeless rat, then back up to his Mother. The joking tone did not go unmissed but he felt the need to justify himself regardless. "Well, I know! You're really good at a ton of stuff, but I brought presents for Father and nothing for you so I thought—" Enough of that. He shrugged lightly with his wings, acting humble and bashful despite inwardly preening at the praise. His mane of feathers betrayed emotions, though, revealing the bit of pride that was definitely flowing through him. "Yeah, I've been practicing! Sometimes it didn't go very well, but I was as careful as I could be when doing it," Aure assured with a bob of his head. Well, "as I could be" was a bit of a stretch, wasn't it? He momentarily flashed back to the tornado he had conjured up in a tiny little den and nearly killed Wilder with. Oof.

"I can grow big mushrooms now!" He began to focus on his magic, hoping to demonstrate. Of course, the notion of food interrupted him and completely derailed his train of thought; not that he was particularly upset about that. Aure simply nodded before running and diving off the cliff with a swell of wings. Had Mother used the mind-touching magic and told the rat to come out? It seemed frantic, shaking in its metaphorical boots where it stood. The poor thing didn't even flinch or squeal when he landed atop it with all his weight. Its dark eyes simply lolled back into its skull as it was stunned into submission. Taking pity and mercy upon the rat, Aure bore down on its throat. Letting the life out of it, he rose back into the air, second rat in his claws.

Back to Mother once more, the hybrid plonked down contentedly — not splooting, as he may have in younger days — and began to carve out a hunk of flesh to munch on. Before taking his first bite, he tilted his head and chirped curiously, "was that the mind-touching magic?"

@Giggle

Giggle wolfed down her rat in a couple of bites as she watched Aure go. When he returned a few wingbeats later, she was already settling back on her haunches, and she watched him eat, instead.

His question gave her pause. It wasn't--not exactly. But it was a horrible thing, a horrible magic, and she knew it. She hesitated for a moment, though gave no outward sign of her thoughts, simply watching him. The pause, though, was there, and perhaps noticeable.

"...It is in the same vein," she began slowly, wondering how to explain this. "There was a time I was trapped within the Void. Its horrors-... If I project my memories onto another being, it is an attack, of sorts. They tend to have trouble adapting," she explained. It was almost apologetic; she knew it was a terrible thing, but it was brief, and it wasn't like the rat would remember it later.

It was, after all, dead.

"I try to show prey some respect. After all, their bones join ours; we're all nothing but bones, in the end. But it's a useful tool--for hunting, and also for fighting. There's mushrooms, too, I use to shock the minds of others. I was attacked, once, at my bone pit--by a big, flying thing with claws and teeth--it nearly took my eyes out," she added, perhaps explaining the old scars that criss-crossed her face. "But mind and mushroom combined, and for a time--for long enough--he didn't know what was real, and what wasn't. If you like, I can show you my garden, and tell you which mushroom does what? --Have I done that already?"

Haunch shifted; hind foot came up to scratch behind one rounded ear as she peered at Aure.
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@Aure

Mother sat in silence for far longer than safe, rendering Aure silent as well. He picked at his rat, hooking the tip of his beak into the matted fur and ripping away at it. Once a decent hunk of meat was in his mouth, he chewed messily a few times before tilting his head back and swallowing. Even though he was rather ravenous, his radar dishes for ears remained attentive and listening. That mind-touching magic had been horrifying, dark. Aure decided then and there that, perhaps, he should not touch that pool of magic. It seemed to originate from the Void, and he did not want to interact with it in any way other than to destroy it. Aure had no clue how to do just that; ergo, he would not touch the void-mind-horror brand of magic.

Aure nodded solemnly, plucking at his meal's bones and essentially shaving them clean. Later on, he'd leave it by the rat-rocks to continue the feeding routine that had been going. "I always try kill my prey as quickly as possible," he chirped through a mouthful of food. His method of hunting was straightforward and effective: dive at prey, land on it, stun it, kill it. It was a matter of spotting food and being quiet enough to attack. The wyvern did not have the broad, rounded wings of an owl, but he could do his best with his father's wings.

"You showed me the glowing mushrooms and the ones that smell like food but taste gross. And some of the vision-making ones," the hybrid rattled off, furrowing his brow, "and the black ink mushrooms that we can grow on ourselves." Peering down, Aure found that he had essentially picked his rat clean of meat. Wow. He didn't know he had been that hungry. The bones barely clung together by their joints and some scant few bits of sinew, making for rather easy transport for later.

@Giggle

Giggle was at a bit of a loss as to what to do next. It seemed she'd already taught him much of what she knew--which was good! She padded over to Aure, thinking, and trying to groom his head with her tongue--like any good hyena-mother.

"Well, you're welcome to borrow spores, or samples, if you want to learn to use any of it." She sat back down on her haunches beside the child, the odors of feathers and rat's blood strong in her nostrils--and the smells, together, brought with them a drifting memory of Aza'zel, and a place long ago in brightly-lit bones. She paused, distant for a beat. "So, what did you learn while you were out--and I don't mean magic. Have you found anything about the caves, or those in it, that you like or dislike? Did you learn anything about how it all works?" The memory of bones lingered, and she acknowledged that she ought to offer Aure a reading. Now that he was back, it was time, perhaps, to look forward.

"Now that you're back, do you have any questions for the bones? We could ask them, together. What are your plans for the future--got any?"

Aside from confronting Eythan, she thought, but did not say aloud.

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@Aure

"Of course," he chirped with a sway of his tail. There were already a few spores on him, but they were so Mother could keep an eye on him. Well, maybe a couple fewer, now that she had licked his head. Aure was content to make the grooming process easier, stretching his neck up. If only he knew what rang through Giggle's head in that moment --- gentle, nostalgic feelings creeping upon old bones, nesting where their marrow once was. Perhaps, memories were kept in the bones after death. Flesh and spirit melted away, dispersing back into the caves's unknown source. The stone lay in wait, holding whatever shape it once walked in. Aure did not think this, but perhaps, Aza'zel truly could not protect him from beyond the grave.

Who knew where the grave led. No Gembound had come back --- them enough --- to say anything of it.

Anyways, away from theoretical musings that weren't his, the wyvern mulled over what he had found out about the Caves. Aside from the fact that there seemed to be another one above Pisces, Aure had really only learned things from the black dog. "Well, Black told me about the Ancients: the dragon, the lamb, the fairy. There was a big battle in Polaris over the Spire, since the dragon wanted it, and a bunch of Gembound got together to fight him. A big blue bird came and chased the dragon into the ceiling, I think." He hesitated for a moment, beak slightly ajar. "He also told me about the Void and..." Aure's ears flickered back, "the cats made of shadow and a great storm." He didn't particularly want to call them by name. "The throne in Orion used to be red, too." That seemed somewhat unrelated, but it was information nonetheless --- most of the other things was what Giggle already knew.

His wings adjusted slightly, tucking closer to himself. "It started 'snowing' in Pisces after the weird thing fell out of the roof, and I didn't like it very much. It was cold and wet." Ugh. "But I think I met some Vita-children! They were definitely a lot older and bigger than me, but their names were Bremen and Kesil. Bremen had a beard and a face like mine, but weird flappy wings. Kesil's just," he gestured vaguely with one wing, "long. They talk with their feet and scream. I don't think they can hear me. I invited them both to Canis." Aside from all of that, he didn't really meet anyone and make lasting friendships nor did he learn the inner workings of the caves. The generator didn't really count; that was common knowledge.

Aure wondered what the bones had to say; perhaps not about his future encounter with Eythan, but about his other big plan, if the former went well. Bright eyes met dark ones, glistening in the light as he raised his head to eye-level with his mother. "I want to bring the Bonebound together again, but I don't want to call myself the Bone King," he chirped.

At the title, his head lowered slightly, gaze averting towards the cairn, "I don't deserve that, yet."

@Giggle

"Vita?" was Giggle's first and quizzical question. If Aza'zel had ever used his chosen surname around her (and that was a big 'if'), it had been rarely, and long-lost to time's tendency to wear away at memories. This, she thought, must be some new thing she'd never heard of.

"I've not heard these names," she said, after consideration, shifting her position to sit a little differently. "At least-... I don't think so. I knew a lot of Gembound, a long time ago, but I don't remember many of them, and I never knew their names."

As for Aure being Bone King, she nodded a little. "Your reasoning sounds wise," she agreed. The cub's choices were his own. All she could do was encourage the thought behind them; in this case it sounded well-considered.

She mulled over all that Black had told him--she'd met the dog a couple of times, and didn't think of him as a threat to her child, at least. She hadn't heard some of these things, but knew of others. "The cats are sisters. Don't trust cats," she added almost absently.

Aure hadn't answered as to questioning the bones, so--content, and without any urge to push him toward it, or to do anything, really--she waited.

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@Aure

"Vita," he repeated, a little bit confused. No, that wasn't right. 'Vita' wasn't a name he was familiar with, either. Still yet, the word had slipped off his tongue so quickly, Aure thought nothing of it. "I... I don't actually know what that means. It just came out." Well, he may as well admit it. The wyvern furrowed his brow, trying to decide if he had heard of other direct kin to Aza'zel. Well, maybe Giggle would know: "I think they may have been my siblings? Or maybe one of their children." He knew little of Carni, and subsequently did not assume that Kesil and Bremen could be his twins.

At least Mother approved of his choices in not being the Bone King --- for now. Aure smiled, nudging at her mouth and starting down the path towards the bone pit; he had not forgotten her bone-reading offering. "I don't want to be near them, ever," he noted, ears flickering back for a moment. One brought insufferable darkness. He was not sure what the other even offered, yet he did not want to ever chance upon her. However, wasn't Eythan a cat? At least part one? Aure sure didn't trust the gryphon as far as he could throw him.

"I want to know if the bones think it's a good idea to bring the Bonebound back together and make them new again. What does the future hold if we do that?" Ah, 'we.' Aure did not have any preconceived notions that he would lead alone. Perhaps that was good.

@Giggle

Giggle peered at Aure--the "Vita" was already forgotten, as was the idea of completely unknown potential relatives (if they're relatives, it's good he invited them; we'll meet them soon enough), in favor of her listening to Aure's question. It was, as were many things in the young hybrid's life, precocious. In fact, she noted, it's just like something Aza'zel would have asked. She pushed up, and felt almost at once the questioning, friendly nudge of Omen at the corner of her mind--sensing her warm thoughts, questioning them. She sent back friendly assurance--all was well, nothing exciting going on--and then padded off toward the bone pit.

As she went, she spoke to her son.

"That's a smart question, if you ask me. It's good to--it's good for you to think of these things." She switched phrasing midsentence--she'd been going to say "it's good to know you..." but that sounded selfish. It wasn't a big deal, and her thoughts swept along, like a river, toward the dry bed of bones.

For a moment she eyed the pile. She looked to Aza'zel's bone--and whose was more important than his, for the Bonebound?--but she felt she'd queried it too much already, and they weren't seeking his guidance in particular, no. They had his. They sought blessings, knowledge, from the collective dead who had watched the goings-on in the caves for generations.

Still-... Didn't Aza'zel speak to them all, now? And if they were to ask of the Bonebound, should it not be through their long-dead King? Her first impulse was to look for a ribcage, or a few connected bones--representative of a group--but that implied a group. Eythan was asking if it was even a good idea to reform.

She took a breath. Guide me--guide us truly, Bone King.

The battered hyena swept down into the pit, breasting through the bones to pick up the small keel in her jaws. Teeth clamped delicately around it and she backed up again, rounded ears flatted back; paws took her at a swift trot up along her path and to the overhanging ledge. She set the bone down. "Up here, if you want," she told Aure. "You can watch, with me, and maybe learn from it. I don't know. Are you ready?"

Dark eyes regarded him steadily--warm, but solemn--and she waited.

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ROLL THE BONES

@Aure