Max was looking, really, he was.

But he didn't have a very long attention span, so he hadn't gone far. The gem on his collar had begun to hum, a little, when he grew nearer to the Spire, so he'd stopped there to take a look around.

And 'take a look around' had turned into 'pace around the Spire'. Some parts of the Spire made the collar hum, more, so he stuck around those areas, and he really did mean to go further, but he was kind of getting hungry, so he started to chase around the various bugs, finally managing to snap up a bumblebug and then there was a sharp pain and he yipped, stumbling back as it buzzed out of his mouth.

"Ow! That is very mean you know, I have a very important job to be doing!"

The yip was audible some way off--pained, to be sure, but Black couldn't tell quite how urgent it was.

He lurched into a swift trot, head up, ears pricked; and when he came in sight of other dog, he slowed. It was arguing, it seemed, with a bee. Black wasn't sure if the bee could talk, but he had certainly seen stranger things, and so he greeted them both. Thick tail offered a single wag, and he padded a little closer.

"Was there injury? Greetings, to both of you."

Up close, he could swear that something about Max smelled just a little bit off--or was it the faint, but clinging, odor of old bones that he caught? Canis, then?

The black dog glanced around. He wasn't a fan of Polaris--not anymore. He still checked on it, frequently, but-... The memories of the dying children would forever haunt him.

Deli

the yelp startled Deli from where they were, crushing a green feather beneath a rock. They blinked and looked up with surprise, a grin spreading across their face. Oh ho ho, was it someone else trying to eat the Spire? Or doing something else really fucking stupid? They loved watching that stuff!

With a short giggle, they staggered to their feet and made way towards the blue crystal, heightening their senses to find the source of the yelp. They could smell - two of them nearby. Canines, both of them. And they could hear a gruff voice, still too distant to make out, but they could hear it.

They came into sight only a moment later and stepped up their pace, more agile now and dexterous on their two legs now then they'd been a cycle ago. They slid up next to the two a moment later, not keeping as distant as he had with the kids - they weren't doing anything stupid, just kind of there. Talking maybe? "What happened?" they barked. "I heard a yelp! Who's being stupid?"

---

Qisziux has followed the tunnel he’d first hatched in, arriving in a strange cave that seemed to fill him with energy just by being there. He’d just been in the cave for a few minutes before something peaked his interest.
Three gembound- big gembound, much bigger than him. They all looked sort of the same- Maybe this cave only made gembound that looked like that? He went closer, but still stayed a small distance away, just in case they ended up being aggressive.

“Hello!” He called, perhaps a bit too loud. “What are you doing?” He craned his neck upwards, trying to get a better look at the three gembound.

Suddenly he noticed Max’s necklace, and grinned excitedly, wiggling in place slightly, "Oh! I have something like that too!" He gestured at the vine and pyrite necklace, the metallic gem sitting on the back of his neck. The shard of pyrite has a faint glow, accentuated by its shininess. "It’s a lot prettier than yours, though." He said this matter-of-factly, seemingly not aware that he was being rude.


"Spoken Words."
Thoughts

tags: @Max
notes: Finally got around to posting here

coding by wulf for template purposes

Oka was browsing the floor, munching on soft mosses they found. They had been using one of their tentacles to gather bunches of plants they found, flowers with soft blossoms, an assortment of colors. They didn't exactly have a use for them yet, but Oka liked the way they looked. This cave had pretty flowers. Oka paused in their grazing, bringing a small flower up to their face, it's petals porcelain white, with a tangle of roots and shoots beneath. They patted it onto their shell, giving the flower a stern look. As stern as one could look with such tiny eyes. "Stay." They ordered. It leaned to the side, and gave in to gravity. Oka grumbled, bending down to pick it up.

A yelp sounded. Oka hid into their shell, lightning fast. Flowers quickly forgotten. What was that? Who was that? Was someone in danger? They stuck an eye out. No danger around here. They were safe, it seemed. But what if someone else needed help? Oka would help. Oka could help! They withdrew once again from their shell.

Oka picked up a few of the dropped flowers, sadly noting some were damaged. They didn't have time to pick them all up if they wanted to help, though. Oka satisfied themselves with a couple, and made off for the source of the mysterious noise. As they approached the area where they had heard the yelp from, they heard low sounds. Low sounds became mumbles became speech.They peeked one eye out from behind a tree. There were four other gembound here, three dogs, and a lizard. Oka couldn't help but notice all the assembled gembound had legs. They wished they had legs. But at least no one seemed to be in danger. But maybe someone was hurt! They poked another eye out.

"Hello? Is someone hurt?" They said. Oka slid out from behind the tree.

Max must have yipped louder than he thought.

He looked over at the sound of a voice, his pain seemingly forgotten even as his nose swelled at bit, offering Black a wag of his tail, stumbling a bit but catching himself, yipping "No it just bit me from inside of me and was very rude." he said matter-of-factly. "Hello I am Max!"

The bee had already fled, much to Max's disappointment, but then there was another dog, and his face lit up, jumping to bounce back and forth, wagging his tail, stumbling, "Hello you are very colorful and tall it is nice to meet you!" his tongue lolled out, dripping that odd-smelling saliva, "That bee was being very stupid I tried to eat it and it bit me it was very mean!"

The fact that it was trying to save itself from being eaten was, apparently, lost on Max.

A lizard came then, too, and again "Hello you look very squishy! I like yours but mine was given to me but a pokey-smelly-man who gives very good scratches so I like mine better." he nodded as though that made a lot of sense.

No, Max, no it does not.

"You are even squishier!" he gasped, bouncing up to sniff Oka, "So squishy do you bounce?"

@Black

Any time Max moved in the direction of the two southwestern tunnels, the crystal dangling around his neck--an oily, ominous black--seemed to vibrate and emanate soft, indistinct whispers. This grew stronger, noticeable even to others around him, the farther he went in that direction.

From somewhere not far off, a quiet sigh of air drifted along the rock. A stray wind, perhaps, one of many throughout the caves. Or perhaps it was the Collector, observing--as he so often did--from a hidden vantage point.

'Be sure you do not forget your task,' he had said.

Now the dog had eaten a bee.

Black stared quizzically at the golden dog for a long moment. He seemed to be well enough, but his claim that the bee had been "rude" was somewhat baffling. After a long and dignified moment of consideration, he spoke.

"Perhaps it had no wish to be eaten," he suggested, in a reasonable tone.

The rest of them may as well have not existed, for Black, for the moment that Deli appeared, he froze. He stared at the creature for a very long moment.

A couple cycles back, here in this very cave, during Raheerah's descent (and Black's mind, here, roiled with fire and death), a creature very like it--but canine, he thought--had briefly made an appearance. He'd seen it, heard it cry out--but he'd fled the flames; and he'd seen no sign of it thereafter. It was canine--and the same color. Had Raheerah's fire sent it to its stone? Mutated it, perhaps?

"You are alive," he observed, surprised, his voice soft with wonder.

@Deli

Deli

Deli's grin widened when the dog went jumping around manically, following him with their eyes. They amplified the senses they had, a bit of dizziness setting in, but they shrugged it off quickly. This dog was very peculiar and that collar around its neck, that a new arrival had pointed out, was very very strange. This was not some ordinary meetup, it seemed.

There were lots of things to notice, like the small's one's loud voice, obviously, and the more gentle sound of the creature behind, which they turned to look at, eyes like saucers and their plastic grin etched across their face. "Ah! Oh no, not hurt. Just a bee." But there was not "just a bee" here. They could smell it as clear as day - this dog was not normal.

It was the drool, probably. The odor was mixed in with faint moisture that Deli could see dripping from his chin. They looked down at the dog and raised a paw, absently patting his head with a chuckle. "What's up with you? What are you doing anyways? And who's the pokey-smelly man?"

The other's dog's question had their head snapping to the side, more out of a reaction to the sound then anything. "Huh? Yeah I am, why wouldn't I..." They blinked, expression freezing as they took a good look at the other dog for the first time. The dragon. The lamb and the little bird. All the paintings they'd done since the incident. "Ohhhh it's you! That dog from that thing. Yeah I'm good I'm good, it wasn't the fire that made me like this." But they did not elaborate, a warning flashing in their eyes not to pry. It hadn't exactly been their proudest moment, after all.

---

@Qisziux

Qisziux huffed indignantly at Max’s comment, “I am NOT squishy!” He argued, “And OBVIOUSLY mine is better! I made it myself!” He seemed very proud of himself. The necklace, although objectively prettier, was obviously much poorer quality. It was only held together by a messy knot, spiderweb ‘glue,’ and good luck.

Qiziux turned to Oka, who was the closest to his eye level but still a bit bigger than him. “Your eyes are weird.” He commented, watching the eye stalks move around. “What’s your name?” He asked, pausing quickly as he came up with his own on the spot. “My name is Qiziux.” He ignored the other two dogs for the time being, who were having a conversation he didn’t really understand and therefore didn’t really have much interest in. He also ignored Max, mostly because he was angry at being called ‘squishy.’



"Spoken Words."
Thoughts

tags: @Oka
notes: Qiszi is such a small, rude child

coding by wulf for template purposes