Dragon eyed Wilder briefly, then chuckled good-naturedly. "It happens to the best of us," he replied. Except him, really, but no need to be a jerk.

So Zyros didn't know about magic--but she knew the word "Gembound," and the name of the tunnel where she'd hatched? At first suspicion flickered at the back of his mind, again, but Dragon realized that she must have met someone who told her a little, but not enough.

"Yes! Magic is very important. Someone taught you what you are, but not what magic is? It is our strength, our defense, our extra senses in the world! We each have an element." Dragon tilted back his head, turning. The fires in his belly guttered up, and he felt the coal-hot stoking and the rush of breath that fled down his throat to feed it.

There was but a sputter, a candleflame that died before he could expel it, and he mentally--wryly--ate his words. Equally wryly, he turned to both the smaller Gembound and repeated--"...It happens to the best of us." More instructionally, he went on. "It fails, at times, and though practice helps, it's never a guarantee."

@Wilder

As Zyros inquired to Dragon again, this time about magic, Wilder found it far easier to tune out. She knew a lot about magic - she didn't need to listen to what Dragon was saying. And, even thought she wanted to watch Dragon's display, it just so happened that she knew many of the same spells herself. So it was much easier to create that tendril of through and push it forward.

Finally, she was able to look into the joey's mind, careful not to touch anything and freak them out, glancing around at the few, limited memories in their head. She wasn't there for long - after all, there wasn't much to see memory-wise and all she could sense was a genuine thirst for knowledge and sweet ignorance. Nothing underneath, no meeting with the enemy, nothing. She pulled out and let the magic fall away.

"She's being honest. She only just hatched, I believe. She just wants to know things, I didn't see or feel anything else." She smiled wide, happy that her new friend wasn't the spy that Dragon suspected she was.

@Zyros

Zyros was excited to hear that she had magic as well. She watched as Dragon made a small flame that went away quickly. Nonetheless, it was still cool to the young joey, and she praised the alligator for his effort. "That was really cool Dragon!" She wondered what kind of magic did she have? She didn't know, but in time she would out. Her attention then turned to her friend, Wilder. The joey was confused, about Wilder mentioning about being honest. Did this have to do with her asking secrets? The joey thought for a moment, then it started to kinda make sense. She was asking Dragon secrets of the cave, so he must have gotten suspicious. The joey was completely unaware that Dragon led the Children of Rot, which was the reason of his suspicion. Zyros quickly apologized to Dragon. "I didn't mean to make you suspicious Dragon. Sorry if I did. I just wanted to know of the secrets of the cave." The Children of Rot would be the perfect place for an inquisitive child like herself. Though, she started to feel bad for making Dragon suspicious, that was not her intent. She was just a child after all.

@Dragon

The alligator watched Wilder closely, and gave a single boat-headed nod at her words.

"GOOD," he boomed, followed closely by "Thank you. Well done; would that we had more with your abilities. What I wouldn't give to pick Astraea's brain--though I fear that might be dangerous! If he sensed it-..."

The alligator trailed off, turning his attention to Zyros. "I am always suspicious. But you keep speaking of 'secrets.' Whose secrets? Kept by whom? If it is information you want, ask! And I will tell you what I know. You are in Cetus, I can tell you that much. I live here--as do others that I call my family. We are those that stand on the shoulders of the dead, and we survive, and not through flapping our jaws!" The alligator snorted his amusement.

"What 'secrets' do you seek, then?" he asked Zyros, seeming to grin as he waited.

@Wilder

Wilder beamed at Dragon, happy that she'd worked this out and was able to help with something as well! "You're welcome! I can try and teach you the spell sometime if you want! Or I can pick Astraea's brain for you! I don't know who that is but I'll help out!" She turned to Zyros, back to her animated self and purred. "Good luck! I'll see you soon!"

She bounced to her feet and glanced back at Dragon. "I'll come back real soon! I'm trying to work out what's going on - there's some people that might know! If I learn anything, I'll tell you!" And so she bounded away into the murk and swamp, leaving Dragon and Zyros to continue their conversation in peace.

*exit

@Zyros

Zyros listened as Dragon spoke of always being suspicious. Though the little one did not understand why he was always suspicious, she respected that was just how he was. Zyros perked when Dragon asked her what secrets she wanted to know. Then Zyros paused for a second as she perked up even more. The joey remembered Dragon saying that he had a family here, and they survived together. Zyros then spoke happily to the alligator, excitement coursing through her veins. "There is a cave, I think it's called Orion, it has a lot of structures in there. Was there anything before us gembounds?" Then Zyros decided to ask a important question. "Also, Dragon. You said you have a family you survive with. Can I be a part of your family?" Zyros hoped she wouldn't make Dragon suspicious again, as that was not her intention. She simply wanted a place to belong.

@Dragon

Dragon nodded to Wilder, though he was slightly taken aback; had she not said she wished to speak with him further? Ahh, well; the cat was flighty at the best of times, and if she wanted him, she would find him later.

He turned back to Zyros.

"Orion. Ahh, that--sparkling cave. I do not know--I would assume yes. We did not build the things that stand within. There are magics, you know--magics that allow you to see what came before. Some can touch a thing, and see or hear into its past. Those with Wilder's magic--or the magic of stones, or sometimes, fungus." Dragon paused, thinking, then added--"They were certainly larger than we were." The Throne had been build, he thought, for something very large indeed.

"One does not BECOME part of a family, just like that!" he bellowed, answering the little one's second question. And indeed, his suspicion rose, a little--flickering within him--but it lay mostly lower in his mind.

"Come," he told her, after a moment. "I have something to tell you."

Dragon turned, waddling to the pile of dead things some yards behind him. Up close, the stench would be horrific--putrescent, the rotten, rank stink of bad eggs and rotting corpses, full of bugs. Dragon didn't seem to mind. "I spoke to you of the living rising on the shoulders of the dead. Let us say you have a hundred cave deer," he went on. "They are different colors, some are faster than others, some are stronger, or larger, or smaller."

The alligator turned his head to watch the joey. "The world is not kind. Perhaps there is a draught, and little food. The weak cannot compete, or last long without food, and they die. Then, predators: the slow are easily caught. The fast can flee, and the small can hide, and they survive. The deer that are left--to continue the next generation of Gems--they are swift, or strong, or small. And so all cave deer, from then on, are stronger--as a whole--for those weak and slow who have died. This is what I mean when I say that the living are shaped by those who die! This is what I mean when I call us the Children of Rot. Those who stay together, too--those who aid one another in getting that food, or in fighting off those predators! They survive. This is what we do, Zyros: we survive. We live, we hide, we keep our mouths shut and we DO NOT SHARE our secrets, bar with those we trust. Do you understand?"

He shuffled, staring down the joey. "You are young, and you are not wise. You speak too freely, and you have no idea of the dangers that rage within these caves. I am hesitant to bring you in among us, where your mouth and your words might put our people in danger. Tell me--what does 'family' mean to you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing just a little.

@Zyros

As Dragon spoke of how the living are shaped by those who die, the young joey finally got it. Zyros's ears then perked at Dragon explaining of his group, the Children of Rot, and what they stood for. The group sounded really awesome! Zyros nodded her head to show that she understood. "I understand what you're saying Dragon." It may have been a hard lesson to learn, but Zyros was a tough joey and she toke the lesson like a champion. The alligator then spoke of Zyros's flaws and how it might put the group in danger. Then he asked a very important question. What did family mean to her? "Family means other gembound who you are loyal to till death. You would do anything for family, you protect family." The kangaroo may be young but she knew an awful lot at her age. Though, she still had a child like mentality. "I promise not to put the group in danger Dragon. I can learn to watch what I say!" She would also learn how to be a good member of the group, if given the chance.

@Dragon

Dragon considered. This was a decent answer, though her age made it unclear how long the youngster was likely to follow such a path dutifully. "A good enough answer. We look after one another: we guard and protect one another. We put our survival as a whole above all else!" He fell silent for a moment, thoughtful.

"I will tell you what," he said, at last. "I will allow you to join us--for now. You will be under my protection. But! This comes with two rules, and a trial, of sorts."

He had a task he wanted done, and he himself--with his lame leg--found it hard to accomplish. "The rules are these. First, you do not tell anyone else in the caves--unless they are in Cetus, and you think they are a Child--who you belong with. Not until you are an adult. Second, you do not share any knowledge with anyone--again, not until you are an adult. Until you are wise enough, old enough, to gain the knowledge that we hold--and then experienced enough to USE that knowledge wisely--you are a weakness to us. But. I will allow you to join us so long as you do this: go throughout this cave, and find others of the Children. Two, or three of us, at least. Tell them that I have sent you, to check on how they are doing! Whether they have gathered new knowledge, whether they require anything from me. If at the end of one cycle, you have managed this, then you may stay among us."

He stared at the little one, for a moment, before rumbling--"Do you accept?"

@Zyros

When Dragon gave the young joey an offer, which of course came with stipulations, she gave a happy hop. Zyros did not mind the rules that Dragon gave, and she happily accepted. "Yeah, I do accept!" To show that she understood what Dragon had said, she repeated it back to him. "Don't tell who I belong with till I'm an adult. Don't share any knowledge till I'm an adult. Also, go throughout the cave and find two or three of the group. Ask how they're doing, if they have gathered any knowledge, and if they require anything from you. Tell them you sent me" Zyros was excited to be a part of the Children of Rot, and she sure had excitement to show it. Though she took into careful consideration the rules Dragon laid out, and she promised to follow them. "I promise I won't let you down Dragon!" Zyros then respectfully waited to see if Dragon, her new family, had anything else to say.

@Dragon