the first part of this post is written as if in canis!
It shambled through the fortresses, carelessly shoving through gaps that were entirely too small for it and pushing many a structure down. The clattering was certainly enough to echo throughout Canis, but Alpha wasn't particularly in the right mindset to care. Hooked talons reached into the peak of a taller tower. They coiled around the hunk of ruby zoisite it'd stashed away weeks prior, and withdrew.

The orthoclase... stared down at the stone, acidic gaze nearly boring a hole straight through it. With its first spawn, there had not been much space to consider and contemplate - any existing hangups had been forcibly moved to the side, and not resurfaced before every last bit of its fighting adrenaline faded. This one had taken a journey to return to, even at a quicker pace than usual. Flanks heaving, it'd had time to start thinking and spiralling down a dangerous path: this is what I want. To produce and have them succeed; to receive approval from my Masters and climb the ranks.

Or... was it to experience something as mundane as day-to-day Gembound life? To have a name and a self to protect and call its own? Would it even know what that name or self was? Everything was too deeply subconscious to know without deliberately forcing it all out.

Alpha gnashed its teeth, turning the stone over and over in its outstretched hand. No, this was the moment it'd been preparing for for months. One part of it was already complete, a seed sown in the entrance to Cetus. This was the next one. It bit down on the rock, and hurried towards the Warren.

---

The Sentinel's insignia - Spire and its worshippers - loomed on the rock face, painted in sanguine. Alpha barely glanced at it as it approached the wall. A few shards of the first batch's chrysalises remained, interspersed through the sands and glittering. All of the glass spikes had been beaten by the wind and dulled into uselessness. They could be rebuilt, in time.

Not important now, though.

It deposited the zoisite in the hollow divot of its own chrysalis. The spacing had been adequate before; there was nothing wrong with sticking to what worked. Extending a clawed hand, the orthoclase cast life into the stone. Light glimmered from its own, and near-tangibly shimmered through the air before entering. Already touching substrate, mottled red-and-green flooded its vision, rugged and filled with inclusions.

Alpha gazed at it - another nail in the coffin - and swept off towards Eridanus for the last piece of this strange puzzle.

temp exit

It returned, holding a dark elf in its mouth like he were some sort of dog toy or, perhaps, a stick found on the ground.

---

For the second time in as many cycles, Alpha crashed into the encampment, eyes scanning around; the spear and the man attached to it were absent once again. It, of course, went for the tactic that'd worked before, choosing a smaller, plainer-looking vase and smashing it on a rock. The impact made a pleasing crash.

Just the same as before, the elf'd rushed in from the undergrowth, points-blazing.

---

Somehow, that led to Attikias being - again - carried via jaw rather than riding. The trip would apparently be faster this way, but no small amount of uncomfortable. Presently, Alpha's bottom jaw was blanketed by a leather hide, but nothing could be done about the top teeth. There'd been a few requests to adjust or don't breathe so hard, and some time spent walking on foot.

The orthoclase deposited him on the ground in front of the already-planted zoisite, and grunted simply, "put your stone here." Hooked claws drummed against the bottom of an old ruby chrysalis, indicating. It stepped back. "Then, I'll hunt your deer." Fair trade - food for spawn. The swamp-beast had taken it, and surely this one would.

They already had a good rapport to work with.

@Attikias

Here Attikias was, being dragged tooth and nail (literally) to a tunnel that he'd rather starkly remembered as another place centered on family. Except, this time, he wasn't helping his own family, this time. Surely, Vivilene liked this monster, but... This put a weird line in their family tree. He was pretty sure he'd be smelling meat breath for days, too.

Was this worth it? Probably- it wasn't like the kid would be unsafe or anything. If it took after the monster, then it'd be more than capable of defending itself, too. He didn't want to think about how the two of them were going to mix, though. That was a slippery slope- the others were, well, normal animals. Ortho (Alpha?) was really anything but. And, it still reminded him of the Overseer he met so long ago.

Family lines are weird, Attikias had decided halfway through being carried like a lost alligator child.

They'd reached their destination soon enough and the man rolled to the ground, simultaneously grateful for the ride and dreading a possible visit back into that maw. A little shiver ran through him- no, he could probably walk, the monster probably had things to do, right? This was its home, after all. One trip was enough for a lifetime.

It was a wonder that he hadn't seen the chrysalis debris last time he was this way. But- well, he wasn't in this area for long, more focused on the weapons anyways, and he hadn't wanted to explore too far into the heat. A brief glance shot to Alpha before he'd approached towards the indicated spot. Right, how did he do this last time? The memory was fuzzy, and that drove a minor mental wince to flicker in his mind.

This time, it was his conscious decision to do this. And- "A deer's not easy to carry back," he spoke with caution as he looked to Alpha's more than capable teeth. This was for a trade, even if he didn't fully agree with it, not out of anything else. "I'll just, uh..." He trailed as he reached to his tattooed gem upon his shoulder, an idle finger tracing a divot within from the last time he had kids.

What would Vivilene do with Alpha as a step-parent?

He inhaled softly in a sigh as he popped a sliver off of the top of his gem, increasing that divot just a little bit more. "Just promise that the kid'll be safe." He just needed to hear that they'd be okay. That'd alleviate all his worries about this, surely, right? Alpha had grown up fine, so it knew how to survive, and it knew how to take care of kids if Vivilene liked it.

Getting over the worn spires weren't much an issue with his sandals on, and he knelt (albeit shakily) to place it right inside the cradle, next to Alpha's paw. Hand? Claws.

He didn't like thinking about that, either.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

"I'd carry it," the orthoclase grunted, matter-of-factly - with a tone of I didn't expect you to do it yourself, what with your long, toothpick arms. It'd planned to follow him back to Eridanus and snare some jungle deer. They had a good amount of meat on their bones and provided a challenge. Something different, like the Striders from before.

Attikias took off a piece of his stone, and did as instructed. Before it reached out to give life, Alpha clenched its jaw, quills pricking. Safe. (It often did not feel safe.) A sharp huff escaped it. "If it is successful, it will be. I am to train it," it stated, then extended a claw before he could have any second thoughts and take the stone back. Magicka jolted from one stone to the other, a slicing pain tearing through its orthoclase and crawling outwards along the lines of its scar. Teeth audibly clacked and ground together, and it stiffly shuffled away from the swelling chrysalis.

The third, the last, and the most potent. Its limbs felt vaguely putty-like, but it refused to quiver and shake. Claws curled into the sand, quills puffing out. Unexpected, that's all.

That being said, the monstrosity's voice was strained when it came next, "if it comes out with your hands and my armor, it will be fine." Pay no mind to the toxic-looking, glowing spot seeming to grow in the middle of its mane and drip on the floor. "I might have you teach it to wield weapons."

@Attikias

Attikias waved a hand, dismissing the idea of payment through food. With that smell Alpha had, he wasn't confident that anything would be edible after being in its mouth.

He looked between Alpha and his future child as the beast didn't do anything to dispel his fears. Of course, survival... He huffed himself out through his nose as he shuffled back.

The noise it made snapped him to attention, like an alert going off in his mind, and he stared at the puffing monster. Was it bleeding before? He quickly diverted his gaze to the growing chrysalis, folding his arms over his knees.

Those last few times, he was lucky with the results. No awkward monstrosities had come from him, not like what could possibly come from whatever elves were. Maybe the kid would come out like Alpha? Just a larger, brown version of him that glowed. He could hope, at least.

He was silent for a long moment. Visitation hours didn't seem like they were negotiable unless it was for a practical purpose, but he could still, perhaps, nudge the beast into that direction. "If they need training, just bring them my way," he finally settled on as he spoke through his teeth. Maybe it wouldn't want to fight, either, but knowing how he came out as a kid...

Ah, boy, he just made another monster, huh? His lips drew askew on his face as he tapped at his chin, watching the chrysalis. Giving life like this, lending his family like it wasn't something to love and cherish, it weighed on him and not for the first time in this whole affair. Still, this was a reach for an alliance, and it'd be more inclined to protect Vivilene, especially when she had a sibling with it.

He finally looked at Alpha after a bit of introspection. He rose to his feet carefully and navigated out of the pebbly remains of glass, tail flicking to keep his balance, before turning to face Alpha fully. "What now?" He sounded smaller than he intended as he drummed his fingers on his hips. "Should I visit? Or- Maybe we could arrange something?" His shoulders rolled in a shrug despite the concerned expression he held.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Didn't even want the food. Alpha snorted softly, and bit down another wince as its chest was aggravated again. Magic worked idly as it listened, at least, but ultimately failed.

Attikias curled up slightly and spoke like he was settling for something - for what? It narrowed its eyes, stifled a groan, and clenched its jaw. Staring at the man, Alpha tried (and failed) to decipher the posture, the awkward drumming of fingers and tail flicking. Attachment? The thought gnawed at it. Attikias, father to Vivilene - the fruit-giver. Someone to protect her and guide her. He was a family man, and the orthoclase was entirely unfamiliar with the prospect.

It... didn't spook it as much as most new concepts did; for reasons it couldn't discern by itself.

The kaiju nodded mutely as he stood. "If you want. Don't touch them," it warned. These chrysalises hadn't been deliberately hidden, but it still intended to stand guard and keep an eye on them. "If they hatch, find me or the Master Vargas - large, purple, six eyes." Another one at attention wouldn't hurt, right?

@Attikias

He could visit, then. But how often? Ach, this tunnel was far from Eridanus- he might as well set up a more permanent camp near here if he wanted to be there when the kid hatched. Maybe that old one was still around?

That was a line of thought for later as he held his hands up, palms facing to Alpha in a defensive motion. "I don't think I could hurt them if I tried at this point." Unless, it meant touch them emotionally. The more Attik stood there, the more he realized just who he'd started to make and who he made them with, eyes drifting down to the growing selenite.

"I won't." It took him a moment to finish that sentence in response to putting his little hands on them. He was quiet after that, thinking, but-

"Wait. Vargas, like Over- He's a Master now?" His mouth ran before his mind. Energy paved over the anxiety as his tail lashed, velvet fur raising in excitement. "That's- shit, that's great! I figured you were related, but I didn't know you worked with each other."

That gave him some relief that family values would still be, at least minorly, upheld.

He straightened again and tapped at the back of his jaw this time. "Actually- I should've seen that sooner. Hm." Asking for numbers and referring to a name as a designation all seemed to fall into line together. Also, his name? That was something Attikias didn't recall- but, it's been a year, so who could blame him? Vargas- he repeated the word in his head, stamping it down to remember it properly this time.

"Where would I find him?" That seemed to be a good start. It'd been too long since he'd seen the now Master of the caves. What specialties even came of that? Delegation? There was Astraea, and he was powerful, did what he wanted and needed...

Now that he realized it, he didn't know where to find Astraea, either.

Oops.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Its head turned directly towards the moving hands, eyes tracking the placating gesture. Pupils contracted (not that obvious to Attikias) as it zeroed in. If he had a sharp and strong enough object, perhaps, or elemental magic - no... no, he'd not demonstrated anything before. The elf was specialized in using weaponry. Former was the largest problem, then. Alpha leveled a warning stare, then passed over it.

Eagerness. That wasn't something it expected. Quills pricked, head coming up, it nodded. "Astraea sent shadows out of the hole when Vargas emerged." Perhaps they hadn't gone that far out... ? It shook itself, and corrected, "He is my Master - and life-giver - and I belong to him." So, not quite the positive relationship Attikias was thinking of.

"Actually - I should've seen that sooner. Hm." Huff. At least he hadn't completely mistaken it for its Master, but smaller, and darker. Swamp-beasts.

"He hunts in other caves, but he comes through regularly." Gathering reports, and whatnot.

@Attikias

Inertia carried between the two of them as Alpha fed off of Attikias's excitement, it seemed- that, or it was surely surprised at Attik's own enthusiasm. Either way, he found himself standing up taller, interested, purely, in the conversation and putting aside the odd circumstances that surrounded it.

He drew back on memory- he didn't recall any shadows, or at least he'd forgotten if he'd seen any. Did that hunter that came for the lion count? No, that was too soon after meeting Astraea- but it could work? He was a bit out of loop anymore. "There was, uh..." His eyes closed tight for a moment in thought. "How long ago was he made Master?" He sure hoped he hadn't missed something as important as a high-end promotion.

But, he did miss a lot, anymore.

He huffed, not out of malice, as he judged the orthoclase far above him. If he hunted regularly, then of course he'd see the kids- would he even recognize Attikias in the kid he'd helped make? Maybe. Or, he could wait around to meet again- which seemed to be the better option, if he didn't have his own life to take care of. "Ah- okay," he spoke to give some acknowledgement to the fact that Vargas'd come around.

Attikias turned back to the chrysalises, now, hands on his hips. "That's all, though, right? I mean, nothin' else to do but go home and wait?" One hand gestured to the structures with a half-shrug.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Alpha blinked as the elf's enthusiasm continued, quills pricking. Its head turned just slightly, sort of like a cat whose interest has been completely piqued, but was trying to seem indifferent about it. A rumbling theremin noise made its way out of its mouth at the question. Time wasn't something it ever bothered to keep track of, so it gave a clearly guessed-at answer, "about a cycle ago." It hadn't been, like, two cycles ago.

The orthoclase shrugged noncommittally, pacing before the two chrysalises - and Attikias - for a moment. "I don't think so," it grunted. Eyeing the man somewhat warily, it rocked onto its haunches. After a pause, Alpha shifted down onto its elbows. Eye-level for once with the fellow, and offering... apparently nothing else.

Peak conversational and baby-making partner. There goes all the serious levity of this thread.

exit?
@Attikias