Giggle hesitated, for a beat, confused as she watched the entire skeleton get picked up--as if something still held it together, as if ligament and skin lay hidden unseen.

She turned at the sound of Zevruu's voice, and gave a little snort. "None of us do," she answered, dourly, but she didn't sound all that worried. It was only a rat skeleton, after all; now, if the bones of a dragon or the like had suddenly risen up, well, then she would be worried.

She did wish there were rather fewer cats here, though. Cats never boded well.

For now, though, she squinted, feeling a flicker of magicka rise within her--and tried to focus on what the future held. How do we handle this? she thought, asking her magicka--and, What do we do?

________________

ROLL THE BONES

Oliver flinched as Azrael picked up the rat... skeleton, and then peered at it more closely. His brow was knitted, a little, with concentration more than anything; but a glance around, and a look toward the newly-arrived cat Gembound, told him very little.

He felt a little out of place, a third (or fifth or whatever it was) wheel; he felt he had very little to offer. Anxious and insecure, he settled for crouching a few feet away, and speaking only hesitantly.

"I wouldn't--hurt it? I mean, maybe it can still feel pain-?" he suggested, uncertainly. He called on his own magic, a flare and a burst and he outstretched one birdlike front foot--and then there was a sparkling banana there, glinting and glowing and promising sweet and juicy treasure. "...Do you think it can eat?" he asked.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Wilder

Wilder was surprised when the entire rat skeleton was swept away as the large beast picked the thing up. She, like him, had thought that the bone would pull away easily. There wasn't anything visibly holding the joints in place, after all. But, then again, it was probably just the magic holding together.

She stepped forward towards the rat and reached forward, placing a paw against its bones. She set magic to the point of contact to try and divine what had happened in the past, in case something special had happened. Something specific to cause it to be reanimated.

Azrael jerked away the bone...but the rest of the rat followed as he picked it up. He huffed with surprise as he held the whole rat, suspended by its back leg. How peculiar. Did rats usually do that? Well, it took some effort to pull the leg away, even when he'd finished eating, but this was an old skeleton - dusty and all meat rotted away. There literally wasn't anything holding the bones together. Only magic, apparently.

He was a little more surprised when the rat suddenly turned around, sinking its pin-prick teeth into his hand. It didn't really hurt that much, and it barely penetrated the thick skin on his hands, but it shocked him enough that magicka burst into his claws without really thinking. His palm heated up, hot enough to, at the very least, char the bone as he dropped the skeleton.

Giggle saw glimpses, as she had done in the past, though they were faint and fleeting. She saw the skeleton fleeing, limping, vanishing under a boulder. She saw it again, a glinting citrine gemstone between its forepaws--and it collapsed in a heap, the Gembound gathered around it rocking back in surprise, as if something unexpected had happened to them. And she saw it destroyed, crushed and burned, and again, saw the others flinching and blinking.

Wilder received only the briefest glimpse through her touch before Azrael's charring burned the bones. Just a rat; a cave rat, scurrying over an open stretch of cave. It was dark, and damp, and its tiny paws pattered in the wet. It bounded-...

This was cut off by Azrael's dropping of the skeleton, and the burning that blackened parts of its bones. It turned, scrambling frantically as if truly burned, trying to scramble away. It left the sparkling banana untouched in its apparent fear.

@Zevruu

Zevruu's ears lay flat on the back of his head as he watched the rat. He noticed that the others around him, aside from the large creature, tried to cast magic to figure out more about this strange bone rat. But he didn't know what magic he could do that would help. And he was a little hesitant to use magic anyways. He would probably end up casting the spell he hates the most. The one he's told himself countless times, especially after casting it on the Spire, that he would never use it again.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden smell of smoke and the rat darting away. He turned in the direction of it, eyes widened in surprise. Where was it going? Should he follow it? Would the others? They all seemed so much braver than him. And here he was, having originally been too scared to even approach the rat, instead watching from a distance until curiosity won over.

He decided to take a few steps forward, craning his head a little to try and follow the rat's movements without having to get too close.

"Speech" l 'Thoughts' | @Giggle

Giggle shook herself, rapidly, blinking. She turned to peer after the rat, and spoked in a clipped tone, her roughly-hoarse voice carrying. "Something unexpected will happen to us, I think--if we give it a gift, or destroy it. But if it runs away, nothing. I don't know if the something is good, or bad," she added, warily, brows knitted down.

She turned to pace after the rat, at a cautious pace--not giving chase, nor acting with any violence. She'd see where it went, and--having given the others her visions of the future--see what they chose to do.

________________

ROLL THE BONES

Oliver hesitated only briefly. "Something unexpected"--was that good, or bad? He didn't know, but he did feel bad for the skeleton. A gift?

He snatched up the banana in one clawed talon, and quickly raced after it--offering it out after the rat, murmuring to it. Over his shoulder, he called back.

"Please don't destroy it," he pleaded. It might have been nothing but a skeleton, but somehow, he felt bad. The bones skittered away, regardless, so the bird-dog hybrid was looking rather foolish: racing over the stone, a banana thrust out before him, as if begging the fleeing skeleton to take it.

{Table code credit to Madison, altered a bit!}

@Wilder

She wasn't really sure what had just happened, but the beast suddenly dropped the skeleton, parts of its bones burned, and it turned and tried scampering away. She quickly flicked a strain of her magic forward to latch onto the bones and pull it back to them before it escaped. She glanced towards Giggle - obviously, they shouldn't let it get too far. She tried to hold it there in front of them, unsure if she should do something else.

She looked around at the gathered Gembounds. "Okay, then. What should we do? Give it something? Or should we just destroy it?" She cast a sympathetic glance towards Oliver. She felt the same - it just didn't seem right to destroy it for no reason. She knew it wasn't alive, but still.

He watched the rat skitter away, hand still tingling with heat, eyeing the charred bones. He snorted at the hyena's prediction and narrowed his eyes curiously. Now this was a little more straightforward. The others had plenty of time to put their heads to work but they'd done almost nothing. The dog was pleading for them not to destroy it, but he shrugged it off. It wasn't like it was alive. It was a skeleton of a lesser, too old and dusty to even eat properly. If he brought it to Mother, she might get sick.

As the cat attempted to pull it back with her own magic, the beast stepped forward with a grunt. "Stand back," he warned before he stopped and sucked in a deep breath, the glow on his chest growing brighter until it was almost blinding. Intense heat gathered in his chest as fire came streaming up his throat. His jaws opened in a roar and a burst of fire streamed out of his mouth. He cringed at the intense burning sensation, but he endured. The blaze wasn't big, but it was enough to reach the rat and hopefully char the bones the rest of the way.