Desert nodded gently. Perhaps it was an odd question, but it'd aid him in future responses, after all.

It amused him that the being before him was Pride, led by an Envy, and now there was a Greed. What a theme, hm? It sounded like she fit in the trials, then. As Pride went on, Desert tilted his head forward to show his interest in the words. He was one who made alliances, after all- and yet he was so paranoid of them breaking that he often broke them himself. His brother was his bond- now, the Sentinels held it. He'd considered them allies, but in truth the children were just pawns to control.

Perhaps he could change that. No- no, that's the thinking he wanted to discourage. The children were children for now, and they needed direction. "Alliances can be fickle when you hold every chance to eliminate them as an enemy. However, times have changed." He glanced up to the spots on Orion's roof. "I believe I need to change along with them. There was a sizable few groups in the last trial that managed to stay together for their own benefit, and I hadn't seen any negative results then. It was rather unusual. Typically, our links with each other were rather volatile when I ran them."

At the mention of Raheerah, he considered the soot surrounding them. He was back, though- how many times would he have to be defeated? His gaze dropped back down to Pride.

Masters were, well, Masters, however. They controlled the caves, controlled their lives through delegation and power when Desert lived. He had full reason to be concerned about what they could do to him after hearing stories and threats from the Overseers that served them. But, then again, the only Overseer left was Vargas, right?

"Individuals, yes- individuals I learned to heed. I'm impressed you managed to drive away Raheerah, even." If Pride was being truthful. It was surprising that the'd work against each other, but he hadn't heard much of anything truthful about them. He'd built up his own fantasies on them and forced them onto impressions of imaginations as to who they were. His ears flicked back at the mention of up and meeting one, his eyes squinting off to the side.

He waited for Pride's next words, though, and they interrupted his thoughts. A soft huff of a laugh escaped his nose at the thought of himself as a fool. 'I'm not sure myself, sometimes.' He rolled his shoulders as he thought back to the tunnel he'd made his home. "The Sentinels- or, Sentinels of Sands- or the Sands? The name is being workshopped, so just the Sentinels- I've been taking those willing in to prepare them for coming trials. Though-" He paused, tapping a claw to his chin in thought. "I guess I am preparing them for the.. Best? Worst? When it comes to the Masters, so you've got it there."

He shuddered ever so lightly. He brought them in to impress his previous rulers, but now? Now he was concerned. Was this truthfully the best thing for the caves? "I've been allotted command by my Overseer to raise children," he continued anyways with a chuckle from deep within his chest. "It's funny. When we came out, we were all adults and ready to go. These kids are growing slower than I expected."

Well- the Vargas kids were growing at an alarming rate. But his muscles tensed at his next thought. "As for Tenzin, it... I couldn't just go up to a Master. I'm just a Champion. Even if he's generous, who knows what he'd do if someone like us bothered him at the wrong time." His skin tingled at the thought. Imagine him, standing in front of a Master! Addressing one personally! He had to force down a smile- as much as he wanted to, he truthfully was terrified of what could be done to him.

@Pride

As Desert spoke, something about his words itched at the back of Pride's mind. Some of the things he said just-... didn't match up. It wasn't that he sounded as though he were being dishonest; he didn't--it was more that there was a-... Dissonance, Pride thought. He continued to listen, continued to study the creature before him. There is a dissonance between his words--his beliefs, his actions, his daily life, his goals--and the world around us. Certain phrases rippled the warning flag again and again--'times have changed.' 'When I ran them.' 'Prepare them for coming trials.' 'Allotted command' to--to raise children? Now this thrilled alarm bells through Pride's mind, widening his eyes just a touch, sending his subconscious into an angry chant about injustice. And suddenly, something Desert had said before clicked back into place: 'Are you aware of the Trials that occurred this era? They woke me to take part.' When he said he grew up under the Masters, he did not mean in another cave a few cycles ago-... He was awoken from another era, Pride realized, a little belatedly. He blinked a few times as Desert stopped speaking.

"First, I cannot take credit for driving off Raheerah--in either incident. I was not present, myself, but I am assured that it was true. Second-..." and here he paused, peering intently at Desert for a beat, "May I ask how old you actually are?" Vague possibilities swam languidly through his mind--nothing urgent, but logic was already picking at this puzzle, and more importantly, prodding at its implications. If culture has changed so drastically since then, surely there is a reason? And who would this Overseer be? Why does he require children..? Does Desert need permission to create them, even? He did not want to think about what it might all mean for the rest of them.

As for Tenzin-... Pride shook himself a little, blinking, as if coming out of a brief reverie. "The wrong time?" Pride said, surprised--and laughed. It was a good-natured laugh, melodic; "No, caves no. Tenzin is-... Gentle, I would say. Very kind. I have spoken to him--one of us was sick, you see," the stag went on. He turned, nudging thin air, calling on his magicka with a sort of polite request (demands never worked, for him, not with light magic) to show the scene in Pisces.

Light glittered in thin air, illuminating the drifting motes of ash and dust, forming a small version of the scene: the shimmering lagoon, the small lizard and the white stag standing before it, and the ice-clad form of the phoenix peering at them from the water. Pride's image held the peace of the Tenzin's face, and as the image slowly shifted--Pride stepping forward, Amazon looking up--even its movements appeared kind. "When she was near death, we asked Tenzin's aid. He was able to draw some of her illness into me. It was not at all pleasant, but it aided her greatly and we were both grateful for it. And I believe she herself took part in these 'trials' you mentioned, and came out the better for it--she seems healthy, now. You know--now that I mention it, I never told him that she's now well--he must think she's dead," Pride added, his brow knitting worriedly. "Would you not wish to accompany me to him?"

Pride looked to Desert, allowing the images to dissipate, leaving them in the dim light of Orion once more.

@Desert Rose Thirty-Five

Desert was rather unaware of Pride's thoughts, as he had no way of accessing them like Pride unknowingly could with his. If the magic worked, at the very least. But, he shook his head. Credit given where credit was due- all of the new Gembounds had ingenuity, he'd give them that.

He was set to respond before Pride asked something. Age- and he paused in response. "I've been awake for eight cycles, but..." He did some quick mental gymnastics. "Back when I was alive, Orion wasn't in ruins like it is now. It's a shame I never got to see it for myself." He glanced down to count on sharp claws, tutting to himself under his breath as he figured out the numbers. "I'm the thirty-fifth desert rose, so I'd say I'm fairly old, but I don't think there were many of my gem. My brother's the five hundredth-fourty-sixth in labradorites."

There were certainly many more questions his existence created, but he'd wait for them. The deer's laugh, though, calmed his nerves that had begun to grow nostalgic. Light played by them and Desert's claw raised up by his side as he inspected it.

So, that was Tenzin. And he recognized the little lizard as Pride explained what had appeared before the two of them, his eyes drifting this way and that over the presentation. "It's good that she's well, now. She was rather... Small, for the trials." He hesitated, though, drawing his paw back. "He should know of her good fate." The images let new ideas bleed in, ones that contradicted his previous inhibitions. "If, perhaps, I happened to meet him with you, I wouldn't oppose."

He wanted to talk, but he couldn't just say that. This dancing around his words was his own way of keeping him from contemplating his little internal rebellions, just as Hemlocke told him he was.

Pride gave a friendly little laugh, at this, and pushed to his feet.

"No time like the present; may as well happen to head that way now. I admit, though, that your answers raise more questions. Who was counting the gemstones--and why? I take it that culture was different, back then."

Pride took a few paces toward Tunnel I, after brief hesitation. Normally he'd want to go through Eridanus, browse on the way there, fill his stomach--but with a guest, a companion, that would be terribly rude. A straight shot, then, through Polaris.

Mischief scrambled out of the shadows and, with a great leap, launched herself for his armor. She missed, hit it, fell off--and he turned, peering, pausing. After kneeling for a moment to let the white hare scramble aboard, he glanced apologetically to Desert. "Mischief. She is not sapient, but we share a bond," he explained. "And yes, as you say, it is good that Amazon survived. She was... hm. Small, meek, gentle; but she proved herself quite capable of ferocity in the end. In Greed's end, at least. Greed--she was a much larger lizard, you see, and she held Amazon in her jaws, and Amazon fought back. Much of Greed's face was torn apart from the inside before my magic even struck her. I was surprised, but pleased, though I think the violence will torment her." Pride paused in his words, though his stately, sedate walking pace did not slow. "Some are bothered by violence, I suppose." Pride had sometimes wondered why he--a being apparently pure and delicate in appearance--had no issues with bloodshed, no nightmares of it, despite certainly bearing morality. He'd come to the conclusion that some simply couldn't stomach it, but he still wasn't sure that was quite right.

He glanced sidelong at Desert, wondering which type he was. From what little he'd heard of the Rose's history, he doubted Desert could have afforded to shirk violence--but perhaps he had; regardless, it was hard to judge on appearances alone. Perhaps Desert was a stone-cold killer, or perhaps he was a bleeding heart who wouldn't lift a talon. Pride did not particularly care which it was, past a vague curiosity--instead, he simply hoped that Desert Rose was as trustworthy as he'd thus far seemed.

@Desert Rose Thirty-Five

Desert, in tandem with Pride's actions, followed him to his feet while barely coming up to the deer's chest when he rose his head. It was easy to forget how small he was with all the posh he carried about him. "Ah- I'm not surprised it does," he spoke as he made to follow. "We weren't typically allowed names, unless we were of a higher stature like an Overseer, or proved ourselves in other ways." His fur fluffed up for a second as he nestled into it, stretching out his limbs.

His wings shot out and he fluttered back when the rabbit barreled into Pride, and- he smiled, a soft laugh coming through his nose. "She lives up to her name," was all he said about her, clearly amused.

He paused. Reseda- Greed being a lizard rung bells in his head. Though, gentle Amazon- "Ah- she did not seem the type, certainly, but there must have been a fighting spirit in her to survive her life before the Trial." He followed along, claws clicking on the floor with each step. He felt rather out of place being so orange among the blue-scaled environment.

Even as he ever so peacefully walked, his expression darkened. "Yes; but violence is necessary, sometimes." He'd had to resort to it countless times himself- and had experienced the rare mercy at the hands of another only for them to be destroyed simply because they could not turn to it. "It seems the caves call for more peaceful talks now, however; such as this one."

He walked quietly for a few moments, his head facing forward as he spoke on a thought that refused to leave. "Greed was a... Low to the ground type of lizard, right? Prone to telekinesis?" He knew exactly who he was thinking about- and if so, being named after a vice rather fit her.

@Pride

Pride snorted softly, and nodded.

"Large, grey-green, low and heavy, but she was dangerously fast in short bursts. You knew her-?" he added, glancing curiously to Desert Rose. He hoped, briefly, that they hadn't been friends or allies; the way he spoke of her didn't seem all that intimate, or even familiar, but that could very well be feigned. "She was present at my hatching. She was trying to gather a number of us, as children, to brainwash us to be her puppets. But she was beneath many of us even then--a wretched creature, scrabbling for greatness she would never have. She did not understand that power comes from influence, and influence is not gained by brutality alone, by greedy viciousness. I do not even think she knew why she wanted power, or a Kingdom of her own," Pride added.

"But she found me young, and tried to teach me what she knew with the intent of my serving her, bringing others to her side, perhaps fighting for her. Ironic, that I was her death, in the end," he mused; he'd never thought of this before. Granted, it had been all three of them--Amazon, himself, and Envy--but he knew full well whose spell had hurtled forward, burst her gemstone. (Pride was, equally ironically, unaware that it was Greed's own spell that had done a great deal of damage to her gemstone; had his magic failed, her own might have finished her off.)

He shook his head as he walked, long limbs taking him in slow strides toward the tunnel mouth. "She certainly did teach me one important lesson--no, several, really." Pride glanced at Desert Rose. "And it comes back around to violence. Reseda taught me that there is no rule but what we make; that the strong must defend the weak, or only brutes will rule us. And Reseda taught me," Pride added, looking back ahead with uncharacteristic dark humor and a touch of profanity--"not to be a complete asshole."

He walked on for a moment, thinking. He liked Desert's company. He had a quiet, thoughtful air, keenly intelligent but without seeming in any way aggressive. He was almost like Mercurius, in that sense, even down to the latent nervousness that seemed to keep him tight and apart, though Mercurius' held the quietude of old trauma and this one, more a fear that it might repeat, might be ongoing. He almost, in Pride's mind, seemed afraid of being struck--though in a wary, ready way, rather than a cowering one. "But I agree with you," Pride went on, slipping back to the topic of violence. "Many don't seem to think so, but I do agree that at times, violence is necessary. It's unfortunate, but there are those who would harm or kill if not stopped, those who cannot be simply redeemed. Those who do not wish to be. There was, when I was younger, a goose," Pride went on, distantly lost in the memory; "who would also go around, and find young children, newly-hatched. Some she killed. Others, she beat, harmed, tormented. Some she recruited. And of the dead, she raised their stones, or created new monstrosities with her allies. Eventually they had a small army. I do not know why she did what she did, aside from being a sadist with no personal rules, but they tried to slaughter a peaceful group living in Eridanus. Plant-tenders," Pride added. "Those of the Seven who were called arrived mid-battle, and they were driven off, a couple of them killed, but they'd thrown a good number of innocents into their chrysalises--sometimes after great torment."

He paused, expression darkening, a little. "The goose--Blackberry--well, the leader of the plant-tenders, the green cat Rift, he fears violence. He abhors it. And so when Blackberry was captured, he disregarded the Seven's say in things, claimed she belonged to them, now, and was not to be harmed, nor were her allies in violence. He did not understand her nature. He kept her captive, awaiting trial, and then she... disappeared. I still do not know what happened, but his weakness might have kept her horror lurking to be unleashed another time," he added, quietly. "I am not a vengeful or cruel creature, at least I hope I am not; but we had tried to kill her once before, and I was sure that we had succeeded. Blasts of magic to her, a spike of gemstone to the heart. Rift can preach about kindness, but I think it is a shame that she was not killed then and there. There are some who do not want others to live. I do not see why we should suffer them to act on it."

@Desert Rose Thirty-Five

Hmph; sounded like he was right, and he tried to disguise a sidelong flash of a smirk with a glance away. She found her death, then. "Power is intoxicating, I can admit, but she never struck me as one who knew how to keep it." He shook his head ever so slightly. Now his own pride was showing. "I have to thank you, then, for finding her end- she'd attempted to off my brother in the Trial and managed to walk away from an attack of my own with nothing but a broken leg." She was resilient, he'd give her that.

Though, as Pride went on, Desert grew quiet for a moment. Was he not drawing strangers into his fold himself, only to send them off to their deaths? Sure, he believed it was for a cause, but did the others see it that way? His children? What was the validity of all this to a system of caves that was perfectly fine as it was?

A good-natured chuckle came at the rare cuss. "Well, I'm glad she imparted you with that." Unbeknownst to himself, he was beginning to like Pride as a potential confidant- he was comforting to talk to, he'd admit, and gave him the impression of a rock weathered by time despite being of the new era. There was wisdom in his words and gait, and one wouldn't learn that without their fair share of troubles.

He was polite as Pride lost himself in more of his words, pictures in his mind flourishing with every phrase, trying to fill in the gaps of what he'd missed. Senseless violence seemed to fill the heads of these beings today; while there were many peaceful ones such as Pride, the stories of Reseda and this Blackberry set a stone in his heart. They weren't as naive as he gave them credit for, he'd give them that.

They may have been reason in what she was doing, but to all others and Desert himself she sounded like a fool. Powerful ones to the both of them, but fools nonetheless for seeking power through strength.

Would an institution like the Sentinels be vulnerable to their corruption? His ears flicked back with uncertainty, though he pressed on as normal beside Pride. He wanted to word this without placing himself at her level, being a being who'd murdered for selfish reasons himself, but he held an air of restraint. "It seems many of the more savage cruelties of the caves tend to survive for much too long." He huffed, drawing his head back before curling up his tail slightly. He usually found a pierce through the heart would kill someone, but the new magic now-a-days was a rather new beast for Desert to tackle. "If you had tried vengeance once before, what positive could possibly await in her trial? I doubt she would've been given leave without the death you tried to bring her, not having terrorized so many."

His wings fanned out in their position as though he were flexing a cape, stretching out the muscles there as he mulled on the next few questions. The violence she caused was senseless- it couldn't compare to what Desert had done as acts of mercy against enemies. If it weren't for him, they would have simply died at the teeth of their Overseer.

Though, he got himself back on track mind-wise as he turned his eyes to Pride. "I hate to ask this, but what is a 'goose'? And are there any surviving allies of hers- or, really, any belligerents that're of note?" He wanted to keep his family safe, and if there was this Blackberry about- even if he could handle it, it didn't sit well in his mind.

@Pride

"No need to thank me. As grim as it may sound, it was my pleasure. It was a long time coming," Pride answered, dark and almost apologetic humor in his tone. "As for a trial; it would have, at least, served the purpose of allowing her surviving victims closure. It is different to hear 'she is dead' than to see her sentenced, to be a part of her judgement, to decide for yourself her fate. But apparently it never came to fruition. Did she anger Rift, and he killed her? Did she escape, or kill herself? I do not know. I only know that she is gone. To describe her to you, a goose is a bird--perhaps your size, heavier. She was light browns and creams, with a long, black neck, and originally, a blunted black bill, dark legs, and a white patch on each cheek, looping beneath the throat."

Pride paused, thinking, as he walked on. "At some point, she grew different. Taloned feet, rather than simply webbed. Spines along her neck, and a hooked beak, instead of blunt. As for her cohorts, there were a few of them--mostly moose-... Ahh, that is like a massive deer--moose and goose hybrids. Reseda killed the moose, Blackberry's mate, Blueberry. But a few of their initial children remain. Huckleberry is-... wretched, pathetic, a broken simpering thing willing to turn to violence to save himself. But the Kingdom of Eridanus took him in. Perhaps they can change him; I do not know," he admitted. He was thinking of Mercurius, of the white lion's patience where Pride held, for the hybrid, only disgust and anger. "There was a black wolf, too, by the name of Jayberry--they were all -berries, do not ask me why. I know how idiotic it sounds. But Jayberry was a savage, a sadist. I watched her disembowel another deer while crooning to it about how alone it was, laughing at how the others--how we--had been too slow to save her." Pride's voice did not change, but his eyes, staring ahead, were like chips of ice. "She changed, from what I know; larger, more muscled, more heavily-built. I tried to hunt her, to find her, but I have seen neither hide nor hair. I believe I returned her to her chrysalis at least once, but past that, I think she still lives. If you find her, if you kill her, do let me know, hm? And give her no quarter. She will give you none," Pride added, with a glance of warning Desert's way.

He was unaware of the smaller creature's thoughts, his comparisons of ages past and the modern day, of the caves he had known and Gembound now. "I hope this answers your questions? We are here," Pride said, offering a more friendly glance Desert Rose's way.

exiting to Pisces; @Desert Rose Thirty-Five

Desert snorted out a single chuckle. "It was closure for the both of us, then." Granted, the door to her in Desert's case was barely cracked, while Pride knew her's to be wide open in his case."I can see the purpose trial, then," he hummed out. "I, for one, would have very much enjoyed to see the ends of several of the enemies I've made, Reseda included, but, ah- I shouldn't wish that kind of stuff." His eyes watched where he walked in the tunnel.

His instincts told him to run from the water. His gem wasn't safe in its presence, and his mind screamed at him for even walking this way again. It's where a considerable chunk of his memory ended, and a seeping dread crawled up with every footstep. With the cold underfoot, his scales flared and he shut his eyes to try and focus on the conversation and not the coming location he'd find himself in.

Plus, his feet were sliding all over the damn ice. He tried to keep himself together to the best of his ability, but he left some rather deep divots of his hooked claws in the ice here and there.

It was considerable, at least, that Pride had considered to describe a moose as well. Wolf, he knew- from Hemlocke's explanation of Kera. "It's a shame they had children. I don't think they sound very... Fit, for the task that brings someone." Not when you're going around murdering people, no. Especially when you take their gem and then have to explain just who murdered its last holder.

His hind leg slipped from him, and his wing-claws gripped onto his shoulders tighter. "I'll keep an eye out for them. Although- I don't go out much anymore, not without a purpose, like our meeting." He wouldn't go out of his way to hunt an age-old worry, one that didn't seem to endanger the caves too recently. "I'm not sure if I'll ever meet them, but it would be good to know when they finally meet their ends."

He hesitated before passing into Pisces. Time to happen upon a Master. He tried not to scowl at it all, but he certainly wasn't smiling at being back here.

;exit desert ( @Pride for visibility )