Aran found himself exploring Eridanus once again. Maybe it's because he liked the vegetation. Or that he didn't want to linger in the open. Especially after that monster of a green creature did nothing to help anyone. At least Aran could say he tried. He tried to help another gembound and even if he failed at it, he still was useful in some way.

He found himself walking. Moving through the greenery. It always was calming. He was still angry though.

[rolling]

The barasingha kept walking. Moving. Wandering. It felt weird to walk after being stuck in the chrysalis before, when the swarm of batcat jrs got to him. He could still feel his skin being torn, the blood that came with it. Just thinking about that made him shiver. That definitely was the last time he helped anyone in a dangerous situation like that. Like they said, take care of one's self. Even if he did think the green creature an idiot for watching it all go down, he knew that it was right to stay where it was instead of trying to help.

It would have made them all look stupid.

If he ran into that large green creature surely the two would clash, even if Aran knew the thing was right for not moving. He was stupid for helping them, but at least one of them got away okay, right? He wouldn't do that again - nor would he actively seek out those monsters of small beings. He would go back to the kings later. Maybe. Or try to get the blood from the green thing. It could be considered a savage, right? Maybe asking someone to help him with that would be good.

That wasn't a thought for now, though.

Not before long, he found some things sitting within a bush. scrolls, alike the one he had currently. And then some kind of sweet substance within a bag. Both scrolls depicted images of creation, though Aran couldn't create those things on his own. Moving to put them on his antlers, he would keep those items with him, much like his other ones. Which he kept hidden in a safe place no one would find them.

And then he continued on with his walking. Moving - Aran was naturally an explorer. Even if he walked most of Eridanus already, there was never nothing to find in the place. Different plants, fruits and all, and sometimes, even cool things like he'd just found before. Perhaps a gembound lost them, having got his own scroll from someone before, but he wasn't going to look for the owner.

Aran continued.

He casted a spell to see what was there, but as soon as he did that, the glow fading from his gem from casting it stopped. And his head got absolutely swamped with pain. What on earth was that?! Aran had never felt such a sensation in all his 9 cycles of living. It burned, raged, and completely took over any thoughts he had before.

He ended up finding a nice place to take a nap, for now.

Timeskip

Aran opened his eyes to the green of Eridanus. Nothing had changed. It was still the plant covered place it was when he slept. His brain no longer felt like it was going to explode and for that he was grateful, though he hoped none of his spells would fail like that again. if it did, he would just have to continue on without resting. After all, learning how to use one's spells meant there would be some trouble, yeah.

He stood back up, and kept moving.

Aran would sense, hidden down half-buried in loam and moss, a small stone, a light and dull gray-green.

It was a soft, soapy Steatite, easily-scratched, almost more organic than rock in its appearance and nature. It held Fledgling-level magic.

@Aran

Thankfully the spell worked, causing him to not get another headache. Aran was grateful for that, he didn't think he could take another headache like that. It burned his brain, his eyes, the very fiber of his being.

As his legs moved through the place, retinas spotted a stone, dull in color but a stone nonetheless. Of course he picked it up and put it in the bag he carried. Maybe he would start collecting those. That could be cool. A distant wonder of what he could find now was stuck in his mind, so he tried again.

Aran picked up the dull-black stone, and it struck the light with a mesmerizing, petroleum-like iridescence. It seemed like it was... Oily.*

The chunk of raw moissanite was scarcely larger than the deer's nose, but it hosted Pupil-level magic within.

^{* This is not actually an Oily stone!}

@Aran