He had a lot to say about friends.

Still, Venari listened as thoughtfully as she had before, considering each form of explanation he offered. And he was good at explaining things, it seemed, because she nodded throughout his speech. The definition swelled in her mind and she watched as he preformed his magic again.

At first, that was all Venari wanted from him—his magic. For him to bauble these things for her. But as she absently rubbed her scythes with her legs, she agreed, yes: friends sounded nice. Oliver made them sound like you could hate their guts for something but still enjoy them. Hm, yeah, that seemed useful.

She lowered completely when his magic failed and the chrysalis piece sputtered into darkness. Gently, and careful to consider if he tried to deny her, she reached forward to take the darkened piece from him.

"That's okay," she said quietly, her voice echoing softly, soothingly, unlike its harsh and aggressive sounds before. "I like them like this, too."

She would say not all of the stars shined the same, but... Well, Venari didn't know what stars were.

"Maybe we are friends," she added after a moment, thinking. "This is nice."

@Oliver

Oliver broke into a broad, wide, genuinely delighted grin. His expression was quite lit by joy, not unlike the actually successfully glowing gemstones hanging by the chrysalis; he couldn't remember a time he'd been this happy. Not just because Venari thought maybe they were friends--that was great!--but that she understood it now and was just... just so nice! Oliver liked when others were nice, and when they were happy. It made the world better, somehow. It was... good!

If he'd been capable of tears, he'd probably have cried then and there but as it was he tucked his snout down, smile turning bashful, but still bright, and he tried for another light.

"Thanks. Thank you. I'm--glad the uh, messed-up ones don't upset you. And I'd like to be your friend. That means, um. If you ever need anything from me, you just find me, okay? I can kinda... heal wounds, a little, and grow plants if you ever need."

After a moment Oliver stood, eyes shining bright--happy that he was able to now bring another shining piece to Venari. He offered this one up like a kid with a macaroni picture, all bashful, hopeful smiles, and then sank back on his haunches, glancing over the chrysalis.

"You can just come... visit me, whenever, too? And if you ever wanna see my groves in the other caves. I can show you so... like if you're ever in the bone cave. Canis? I have a buncha plants there if you ever need." The offers were softly, gently given. Oliver didn't think much of his own work, and he doubted that a great wormy pointy thing like Venari would ever need plants, for any reason, but... it was all he really had to offer, and he wanted her to know it was all hers, too, if she wanted it.

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

@Game Master CJ

His smiles were not lost on her, but it did make her feel uncomfortable. Not in a gross way, but just that... well, she wasn't used to this. To any of this. She'd hadn't been around long but there wasn't a part of her that felt like this was necessary; and still, she wanted to try it. It almost made her feel guilty, like she were somehow disobeying her creed.

She worked on getting the dark piece situated on the vine as he spoke, and thanked her—and went on about some other stuff she tucked away in the back of her head. Yeah, yeah, okay. Damn. It was kind of exhausting listening to him prattle on.

Leaning down to take the next piece, she nodded to acknowledge his words. She almost butt in with "Why?" when he mentioned she could come visit him—was that a thing? Did she need to report to him for any reason?—before he kept going and answered her question anyway.

Hm. Eridanus had a lot of plants. She didn't know what she'd get out of seeing plants elsewhere but, whatever. "Sure," she agreed. A thought popped into her mind.

"Do you grow poisonous plants?" she dared to ask, looking at him curiously through dangerous eyes; that kind of stuff would be useful maybe, but she could kill her targets well enough without the use of poisons. Still, it'd be good to know whether or not he did.

@Oliver

Oliver thought about this, squinting. ...Did he? He couldn't think of any, offhand.

"I don't... think so? I don't know of any, at least. Maybe if you find me some? I think I can grow just about anything. Even trees," he added, eager to be helpful.

And then--worried recognition belatedly kicked in. Concern, obvious in his face, clear in his voice, as he went on--"Um... that wouldn't be to--to hurt anybody, would it?" As if he didn't even see her massive diamond mandible; as if he had had already forgotten her deadly, scything jaws.

Another glowing diamond shard, this one faint, was offered up, its paler light mirroring the worried hopefulness in the hybrid's face.

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

@Venari

Hm. She supposed she could find some as an example, if that's what he meant. Her brow raised as concern twisted his face. When he asked her intentions, she almost laughed. Almost. Of course it would be used to hurt others. What else would she want poison for?

"No," she decided to answer, bending down to take the next piece. "Not to hurt them. To kill them." Because, in the end, that was the goal. With total disregard for how he might react to that, she turned to string up the piece he had just given her.

Although, she couldn't guarantee that poison would not also hurt them before they died. In fact, nah, she was almost positive it would probably hurt them first. Oh well. Still, her scythe did the trick well enough, and was personal, too; poison felt so... far from the target. Like a cheap move.

Her upper half shrugged, fiddling with the string lights. "I think poison is a coward's tool, anyway," she decided. Yeah. She was better than poison. Unless, for some odd reason, she needed a target alive but incapacitated, she probably wouldn't use poison.

@Oliver

Okay, that-... was unexpected. Oliver, who'd learned to take nutrients from soil and plants, blinked in cold shock. Oh, he thought, numbly. "To kill... like. For--food?" he near-squeaked, half-hopefully. At least she didn't... want the poison, anymore?

Oliver wasn't entirely sure how to continue, from this point, but he felt awkward just leaving the conversation on... murder? Potential murder-? "I didn't see you as the, um. Killing type. You seem really nice," he offered, instead, a hesitant venture.

He watched Venari in half-hopeful near-horror, to the point that the next shard he'd taken into his claws was almost forgotten--until, pop, it sprang into near-blinding brightness. Oliver blinked down at it, surprised, and then smiled. "Oh! This one's good," he offered, stepping closer and offering this one up. "It's bright."

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

@Game Master CJ

She turned to view him again, chuckling at his suggestion. "I wouldn't eat something that was poisoned—and you shouldn't, either," she warned, with as gentle a voice as a mother talking to a child. But his next words had her tilting her head again.

"Oh?" echoed her voice, nearly at the same time as the magic burst to life within the chrysalis piece. "Oh!" she said again, more cheerfully, gentle taking the shining star from him. This one should be the center piece!

As she turned to work on the stone and rearrange the vine, she thought about what he had said.

"What does killing have to do with being nice, or not being nice?" she asked finally, shifting the vine over the painting so that the brightest piece was in the middle. In one fluid motion, she continued around her den, crawling along the wall so that she could reach the shelf that housed her prize.

She grasped it carefully between her feet and bent down to show him: the moonstone flaked with blue that had once belonged to Atinneas.

"I killed this one, but I am nice," she defended. "I disrupted the bloodflow to her brain so that she would be unconscious when I sliced her stone free from her chest." That was a nice thing to do that Venari didn't have to do, or need to do, but she did. She admired the moonstone for a moment longer before placing it back on the shelf.

She felt... called out. Like her job was somehow bad. But it was her job, her task—!

Hmph. She frowned and shrugged again. That was a stupid thing to be upset about, she thought.

@Oliver

Oliver had set himself to many strange and daunting tasks over his lifetime. Explaining to a cold killer why murder was 'bad' had not yet been among them.

He squinted, buckling down to this new duty.

"Okay, I won't eat poisoned things. I guess it would make me sick? -Thank you," he started, going with... manners, to begin with. "And I don't think you're mean. I think you're nice. But uhh... nice people can still do mean things, sometimes, I guess? See-... Would you want someone to kill you? Or--me?" he added, hoping he wasn't overstepping the whole 'friendship' thing. What if she suddenly decided, in retrospect, that she wouldn't mind-?

"Like... if it's something you wouldn't want to happen? That you'd... feel angry, or upset about. Then it probably makes the other person feel that way if it happens to them. I hope that makes sense?" he added, indeed in a hopeful tone. If she asked why she should care about others' feelings, well, he didn't have too much of an answer for that, though certainly he would try.

He offered up another glowing diamond, instead, along with a hopeful smile. "Nice things are nice. Things that make people happy. Like... magic lights, and pretty art. It's good to have those around, you know?"

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

@Game Master CJ

She nodded very slowly as she listened; she wanted him to feel heard, but honestly, it all sounded like gibberish. It didn't matter who died or why, did it? Just that, sometimes they had to die. That's all. Was killing considered mean? That's what he seemed to be saying. If someone killed her, she wouldn't complain; she felt fulfilled so far in her task and did not seem to understand regret. She did not feel it.

But when he added on the last bit, asking if she'd be upset if someone killed him, she snorted.

"I'd kill 'em back," she declared easily.

She shrugged when he asked if it made sense. It didn't. "I don't think that applies to me," she sighed. "We have very different understandings of death, apparently." She reached down to take the next piece.

"Yeah, I know." She twisted around again to place the new diamond shard on the vine. "Like this, this is nice." She had already said that, but she wanted Oliver to know she understood what nice things meant. Venari still didn't think murdering was a mean thing to do, especially if it was her job. There were mean ways to do it, though. Certainly.

@Oliver

"Maybe," Oliver admitted, his tone one of agreement. He knew he wasn't the smartest creature in the caves, certainly--at least, he didn't think so. "So what... do you know about death? That I don't, I mean?" It was curiously-said, for a curious being; not manipulation, not argument.

He just kinda wanted to know. If there was a perspective he was missing, he wanted to hear it; that's what life was all about, after all. Or something like that.

He eyed over the glittering cascade of diamonds now hanging to illuminate the chrysalis, and turned, shuffling toward the entrance of the den. Tentative, he placed his forepaws down in the dirt, and focused. Flowers began to sprout up--only babies, now, but tiny pale buds were visible across their heads, and there were a lot more than he was used to making. "These should still get light, and... water, from outside? If you want them here, at least?" he offered, turning and blinking back at Venari.

As far as interior decorating went, Oliver was something of a two-trick pony--lights, and flowers; but he hoped it would please his new friend nonetheless.

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

@Game Master CJ