Mouse? Plants? ...The hive held a brief, intense consultation.

After a long, blank-staring moment, Legion finally spoke.

"...We do not know," they buzzed, thoughtfully. And then, "--What is a mouse? We--clean." They knew that much, at least. They were there--it must have been part of their basest instincts--to clean up what others left behind. They did not know the word for "scavenger," but the idea of keeping everything neat and tidy was there. "Bones picked white. Fruit seeds left. Clean," they did their best to explain.

@Wilder

Wilder understood...kind of. It was similar to what Squick did, eat what was left of a meal. Although she seriously doubted that they'd be eating whatever she had swallowed. She hadn't any experience with scavengers, but there was no harm in trying to catch Legion some food. And if they didn't particularly like eating meat then she'd just get an early dinner.

"Wait here." She turned and bounded a little ways away from Legion before going still and silent, her ears perked for any sort of sound nearby. After a few moments she heard a faint scuffling and spotted a mouse among a small bundle of dry desert shrubs. She crouched and began to slowly, carefully inch forward until she was in jumping range. She leaped and caught the mouse, swiftly ending its life with a nip to the neck and picked it up, carrying it back to Legion.

She set the mouse down and gestured towards it. "You can try eating this! This is what I eat. It's a mouse."

@Legion

The Wilder-shaped swarm waited patiently as the cat wandered off. While it fidged there, its body constantly shifting and reforming (as if for practice, or simply out of boredom) it attempted again to alter its shade.

This time, it managed--so that when Wilder returned, it was proudly sitting upright cloaked in midnight black. It now looked almost precisely like Wilder herself.

For a moment, the cat made up of bugs simply eyed the mouse. Then it rose, padding on its paws delicately--as Wilder walked, but with a strange, unfamiliar jerkiness to it. They hadn't quite figured out how to do that smoothly, yet.

The black cat bent down, as if to sniff at the mouse--and then opened its jaws, leaning further. Instead of biting it, however, the swarm's "face" seemed to simply break free in a cloud, its smoky substance engulfing the mouse and shrouding it from view. As the hive fed, there were tiny clicking noises, and Legion did little else.

After a moment it drew back, the cat face reforming and peering to Wilder. Nothing was left of the mouse but fresh bones.

"...Thank you," they buzzed. "This--sustenance--will keep us well for--some time."

For a moment further it simply sat there, black cat watching black cat, before tilting its head to one side. It was wondering how, exactly, Wilder worked. If she was not a hive, a swarm, then--what was she? It looked to the mouse bones, and then to her, again. "Are you--like the 'mouse?' Flesh. Bone?" the hive asked, curiousity evident in its buzzing tone. It sounded polite enough; it probably did not intend to eat her.

@Wilder

Wilder wasn't really sure what she was expecting when Legion reached forward to eat the mouse. She had just assumed that it would eat like she did since it was, well, her. It looked just like her! But when it opened its jaws and just...dissolved into the mouse, she stiffened.

That was absolutely horrifying to watch. And it didn't get much better when it stepped away, leaving nothing but perfectly clean bones behind.

When is thanked her she responded with only a squeak as she tried to register what she had just seen. It seemed everything this creature did seemed to get stranger and stranger. Squick was strange but Legion had to be the strangest by a long shot.

She took a few deep breaths. It was just another creature she hadn't met yet. It looked like her and that didn't bother her (although the eating food thing like that kind of did) she just wasn't used to them yet. It took her a few seconds to regain her composure.

When she did she forced a smile on her face. "Y-yes, I have flesh and bone. But please don't eat me."

@Legion

Legion's form flickered, a wave of shimmering transparency flowing rapidly through it. When it spoke, there was an obvious note of surprise--even shock, or horror--to its buzzing, and abruptly softer, voice.

"We will not--eat you. You are alive," it explained. Its head then looked to the mouse bones, and it went on to say, "That was--dead, already. We clean."

It apparently did not realize that the mouse had been alive, up until recently. Perhaps it wouldn't understand the idea of a predator.

"Where are we?" Legion then asked. Its "cat" head turned to and fro, the swarm's multifaceted thousands of eyes taking in the cave. "Are we alone, here?"

What was this world that they inhabited? What was it like--and who else might be within? The swarm, as a whole, buzzed with excitement. Who knew what they might find?!

@Wilder

Legion's logic reassured Wilder and she breathed out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She laughed it off, a small giggle to clear the air and she felt significantly better. That had been quite horrifying, but at least she knew that she wasn't in danger of being eaten.

She shook her head. "No, we are not alone. There are many other creatures in the caves - gembounds. But if you mean here...I think so. I don't know anyone that lives in this cave. But there's probably someone. I have lots of friends!" she added on the end, puffing up her fur with pride.

She heard the buzzing grow more excited and her own tail twitched. "I could take you to meet someone, if you like."

@Legion

The cat-shaped swarm seemed to metamorphose some, flaring at Wilder's offering--becoming vague and blurred, slightly larger. It was somehow akin to a ruffling of feathers, or a fluffing of fur; it could be guessed that Legion was pleased at the offer.

The swarm could not have said exactly why it was pleased. The idea of socializing--of friends--excited it, made it joyous. It was a very social being, after all.

Legion settled back into Wilder's shape as it replied. ""Yes! Please. There are more caves? I would like you to--take me to... meet someone. I would like," it repeated, half-parroting Wilder's words, but mostly getting the meaning right.

The cat-swarm then rose up onto all fours, again, shifting forward a little in a brief and dusty haze, as if eager to go.

@Wilder

Wilder smiled and perked up. "Great! I know just who you should meet! He's a good friend and he's really nice!" She bounced and turned away before realizing that Aure would most likely be in Canis. She wasn't sure if Legion wanted to walk that far so she had a sudden idea. She looked back at her new friend. "Give me just a moment."

She settled herself down and closed her eyes, letting her magic envelop her in a small, loose sleep. Her dreams expanded beyond her, reaching towards the familiar walls of Canis, poking and prodding until they found Aure and quickly touched his dreams.

He would see whatever he was dreaming of shift until it was that of where Wilder was staying, although Legion was nowhere to be seen. In the dream, she bounced up suddenly and turned towards Aure, a bright smile on her face. "Aure! I have a friend that I want to show you! Can you meet us? We're in Monoceros and I'll take them to Canis. We could meet halfway or you could wait for us there!" The dream started to fade as Wilder's meager concentration slipped on its hold and everything went dark.

Wilder blinked and opened her eyes, bouncing right back into a standing position. She looked back at Legion and waved her tail. "Follow me, we're gonna go meet my friend!"

She marched away, leading the way to the entrance to Orion.

*exit

@Legion

Legion wasn't sure what had happened to Wilder--the swarm watched, abuzz with curiosity, as she lay herself down and spoke, seemingly, to the air.

The creature looked around, with both its false Wilder-head and its many, many eyes, but could see nothing. Was there another swarm?--but no, Wilder was speaking of moving to a different cave. How exciting! And a new friend, to boot!

The swarm took quick stock of its status. It wasn't hungry, any longer; it could do with water at some point (this cave's air was quite dry; were they all like this?) but for now, it wasn't urgent. Temperature was warm, but not intolerable. Good! Then it was go-time; there was no reason not to travel.

"We will follow," came the hummed response, and the excitement was audible in each word.

Blurring and shifting, the second Wilder pushed up again to follow the first, trailing a few straggling brown specks here and there behind it.

exit Legion