He kept persistently after that little bastard's trail, even if it seemed to lose him in the labyrinthine Chambers. Eythan narrowed his eyes in the dim light, focusing for the smallest movements as he sniffed. Unfortunately for his --- let's call it his prey, at the moment, since the sentience of this thing was debatable even if it had managed to burn the shit out of his back legs --- prey, the gryphon knew these nooks and crannies like the back of his claws.

So, when he realized that this path was leading towards a dead end, he picked up the pace a bit; if the dark creature was stuck between a rock and a much older, more experienced Gembound, Eythan felt that it may be a little more open to using its words to get out of the situation. Otherwise, he supposed he'd just pin it back down until he was absolutely certain that this was just some dumb Lesser pretending to be Greater or something.

As he rounded the corner to the dead end, he barked out a quick, "hey!" and flattened his ears. Even if he looked like he was about to pounce (wings loosened at his sides, even in this narrow hall, and talons flexing in the dirt,) Eythan called out a bit more pleasantly --- if he even caught sight of the little bastard --- though with a firm tone, "I've been looking for you, kid. It's not very nice to attack your fellow Gembound."

@Azrael

He had run, run away from his prey, from the predator that had chased him off, but as he ran, so the four-limbs-two-wings pursued him. He went this way and that, trying to lose it whatever way he could, but the chase simply wouldn't end. Not until he turned a corner and found himself faced with a dead end. He snarled and turned, intending on finding another path, but his way was blocked now - the four-limbs-two-wings had caught him.

He backed against the wall, still on four limbs, his top arms extended in a threatening display. He bared his teeth and let loose a deep growl towards the predator, and looked ready to lunge at any second. He was ready for another fight, if it came to that.

But it did not attack. Instead, it made noises. Noises like the prey had made. He paused, for a moment forgetting to be angry, and stared at the predator with confusion. Were these not just sounds that prey made? Did they actually mean something that he was supposed to comprehend?

More out of curiosity then any desire to respond (although this was due to his complete lack of understanding of what was even said), he opened his mouth and let loose a garble of sounds. It was similar to what Eythan had just said, but so warped and twisted, that the words were barely distinguishable.

@Eythan

The creature was definitely cowering in the cave-equivalent of a cul de sac, but it was also posturing rather defensively. At least it was smart enough to not immediately fly at him --- maybe there was hope for its brain cells, after all. There was some capability to know when it was outmatched, especially by something bigger and much more efficient at killing (let's not think on that bit, yeah?) Eythan relaxed, but only slightly --- his talons were still clawing at the dirt, spread and half-crouched to spring.

Rather surprisingly, the little bastard mimicked(?) him. Well, it tried. Apparently, up until this moment, the only language it had even thought to speak in was unintelligible screaming and earsplitting roars. It had pipes to bellow with, that was for sure.

Bright eyes narrowed, Eythan pricked his ears and chirped slowly, "words. These are words, okay?" Hopefully it'd figure out where the weird innate Gembound dictionary was that everyone seemed to have, sort of like the cave-equivalent of the LAD, which was theorized to exist but who knows. Off-topic. "If you use words, you won't get attacked. Hunted." Lifting a talon, he gestured for each word: a talking gesture for using words; a slicing gesture for being attacked; a pouncing gesture for hunted.

@Azrael

He eyed the creature with sharp eyes as it began to make more strange sounds. He huffed, a little bad-tempered that he could not understand, but he made an effort to. There was obviously something else going on with the creatures around. Both predator and prey were more intelligent, perhaps, then he had realized.

He puffed out a sound that sounded a like like "word" but there was no semblance of understanding behind it. He was simply copying, parroting. The movements, at least, seemed to have more of an effect on him. He watched the gestures closely. He wasn't sure about the first one, but the last two were familiar. Attack. Hunt.

At first, when the four-limbs-two-wings made a pouncing motion, he bellowed with fear and tried to push himself back against the wall, baring his teeth again, ready for the attack, but a moment later, he realized that it hadn't moved an inch.

He stared at the creature, confused. This didn't make sense, this wasn't right. He should be attacking, fighting him. Hunting him, perhaps. He was just a young creature while the four-limbs-two-wings was far superior. He pushed away the strange sounds for now and crouched, the shadows around him deepening until only the faint glimmer of his chest could be seen through the darkness.

@Eythan

Well, it was trying. The creature imitated "word," and prepared to defend against the gestures he had made to indicate attacking and hunting. It tried --- rather pathetically --- to meld into the shadows surrounding it, but Eythan's eyes didn't miss the slight huddled shape of it against the wall, nor its slightly glimmering chest. Fully aware that it was still eyeing him up, the gryphon continued to gesture for each word spoken --- "I can see you." --- by pointing to himself, his eyes, and then the apparently-primal child.

A pause, as Eythan tried to push his singular brain cell to figure out what his next step should be in this very one-sided conversation. Actually... an introduction would be pretty smart, wouldn't it? He lifted his paw to brush at his chest, enunciating slowly, "Eythan. My name's Eythan." Then, slowly, he directed that taloned claw towards the odd creature, bright eyes widening. "What's your name?"

@Azrael

It still spoke to him and he knew that the shadows were not deep enough, not dark enough. The beast was growing frusterated. He wanted to go. He did not like this, held down by the four-limbs-two-wings. He wasn't listening anymore, the sounds washing over him as if they held no meaning in the first place.

Again, the area began to grow dimmer and dimmer until the only thing that could be seen where Azrael once stood was a shadow. No glimmer from his chest nor his eyes, barely a silhouette. He crouched, eyeing the very little space around Eythan for his escape route. And if it turned to a fight, so be it. He wasn't going to stay here a moment longer.

@Eythan

Oh, so it thought it could pull a fast one on him by not even trying to understand the universal Gembound tongue that everyone seemed to know straight out of the chrysalis? Eythan narrowed his eyes, turning slightly so that he was blocking the pathway a bit more. "I'm not letting you go," he spoke harshly, but without a growl, "until I'm sure you aren't going to be attacking Greaters and killing them." With a soft, barely audible groan, he gestured again, to "attack," but directed toward himself and a stray pebble, and shook his head firmly.

A pause, and he reached for the pebble. Maybe... he thought as he pointed a claw the pebble and then at the odd creature. Miming a sort of walking motion with his free talons, he showed the pebble marching after it toward another, much smaller pebble. "I can show you what you can hunt," Eythan called softly, moving his free talon --- himself --- side so that the larger pebble could pounce on the smaller pebble. Keen eyes looked expectantly toward the child, wondering if it would even bother to comprehend that.

@Azrael

He had been on the verge of busting past. Of just launching himself forward and shoving the four-limbs-two-wings aside and running as fast as he could. But as he gazed out from the shadows, he became more and more puzzled on what he was trying to show him. Lots of gestures, pointing at pebbles, and making noises. He paused and listened, hearing the word "hunt" again. But the many waving claws and motions and gestures were pounding around his head and...he just could not understand what the four-limbs-two-wings was getting at.

He snorted and shook his head, although it wasn't visible, and curiously crept a little closer, one of the eyes on his palms extended to see the rocks better, wondering if there was something special about them, mostly missing the point of the gesture.

@Eythan

Eythan heard a snorting noise, and the minute shuffling of the void-black creature approaching. It was, of course, a curious motion, not at all hurried like it was planning to escape or attack him. He sighed, releasing the tension that had involuntarily clutched his muscles at the sound, and nodded slowly, encouragingly.

He held out the pebble again, to where he assumed the huddled figure of the odd creature was, and gestured toward it with his free paw. Once he felt he had adequately pointed at it enough, he gestured back towards the stone. "Pretend that this is you," he murmured, then pushed it at his own free talon, "you, attacking me. Not good. Bad." He shook his head firmly at it, miming to "attack" once again. Bright eyes shifted over to the smaller pebble, and he grasped at it with his free talon. Eythan held it up, enunciating, "rat. Pretend that this is a rat. Rat is food." For "food," he lifted the pebble as if he were going to eat it.

Setting the rat-pebble down, he mimed "to hunt" once more, showing the Azrael-pebble to be pouncing on the rat-pebble. Tossing the rat-pebble some way, he showed the pebble following his talons again, and thus Azrael following him. "I can show you the rats. You hunt the rats. They're food. Good."

Eythan gave the creature a look as if to say you picking up what I'm putting down, kiddo? and simultaneously ask is the wheel moving but the hamster dead?

@Azrael

After a moment of more gestures, the beast completely gave up trying to understand what the thing was trying to do with the pebbles. It didn't make any sense to him, with the pointing and the eating motion. Why would anyone want to eat rocks? So, instead, he listened. Tried to pick out sounds he knew and attacked meaning to the ones he did. Attack and bad. He managed to connect this, at least - attacking the four-limbs-two-wings was bad. He'd already figured that one out. Rat sounded familiar, although he had never heard the word before. He connected it to the large rodent creatures that he sometimes hunted. Food was one he got right away - it's what got him into this mess in the first place.

Rat is Food. Not the four-limbs. Maybe not even the prey he hunted before. Perhaps there was some reason he could not and could only eat rats. Were they poison? He froze, remembering the crow he had eaten right after hatch, but then relaxed. It it had been poison, he would have died. Maybe the four-limbs and the prey were just friends.

He narrowed his eyes, dim within the hidden shade. Rat is Food. Good. Finally, something managed to get into his skull. He crept further out of the shadow, but not too close to the four-limbs. He snorted again and tossed his head, staring expectantly at the four-limbs. He rumbled another sound that was yet another guttural, warped, but passable imitation, this time of the word "show".

@Eythan