Farther, farther, and farther it had ran. The relatively empty tunnel P gave way to bones, many many MANY bones. Like the bones in their food, like in the loud, rude gembound that had been flayed to nothing but red bones.

Bones crunched or scattered in its wake. Oily footprints stained the stone. It’s passage would be almost hilariously easy to track. I need to hide It’s legs ached, it’s lungs ached. Adrenaline was beginning to fade, with exhaustion taking it's place. I need to hide soon.

Six panicked crimson eyes darted around urgently. It’s gaze landed on a pile of bones- a structure, somewhere to hide. It bee-lined towards the macabre hut, flopping down, breathing heavily. Safe. It thought, hopeful, desperate, just exhausted from the pure terror running through it’s system. Finally safe. It had to be safe. It could be safer. They will hear. They will see.

Magic reached out, attempting to do what it had done before- dull the iridescent glint of it’s oil, the luminescent glow of it’s eyes and gills. Let it melt into the shadows- just become another rock, or bone, or corpse.

Wait NONONONONO Maybe it was because of how exhausted it was. Maybe it was because it's mind was still abuzz with the recent events and it was hard to focus. In any case, it's magic didn't do as told.

Instead of swallowing the light, and making it blend into the dark, it did the opposite. It seemed to become shinier, the glow of it's eyes brighter, easily visible even as it curled up and squeezed it's eyes shut in a second attempt to hide. Please don't see Please don't see PLEASE DON'T SEE.

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

Kaiju child basically has a panic attack + somewhat gory imagery

It HAD to be calm it HAD to be quiet it HAD to calm down. They would hear its ragged breaths, see the heaving of its flank. It would be found and caught and torn apart shredded by shadows just like th- punished. It's blood it's guts spilt across the stone floor the metallic stink everywhere didn't know what would happen, but the fear filled in the gaps and each scenario became worse and worse and worse.

But the spell had failed they would see there was no point What if it was found? What would it even do? Run? Fight back? Submit? It had no idea where to even begin, and the panic racing through it's system would only focus on being caught being killed being caught being killed The worst case scenarios possible. It tried desperately to calm down, to think, because it had to. But the more it tried the more out of reach it seemed, like reaching for a leaf floating atop the surface of a pool.

It was still curled up, still with it's eyes squeezed shut, claws clamped awkwardly over gills to cover their bioluminescent glow. Claws dug in deeper, almost hurting, then definitely hurting, but it couldn't bear to move them. It was curled up like a weakling, it was a weakling but it couldn't force itself to uncurl, to peel over it's eyes. To face the it's fears. It's hearing strained, listening for any sound beyond it's panicked breaths.

Somehow, hiding was even more exhausting than running. It definitely couldn't run anymore, though. Not until it regained control over it's breathing it must regain control over it's breathing. It had to. It had to.

It broke into Canis quietly, nostrils flaring and jaws cracked just slightly to vent heat. Breathing helped clear its head and the nausea roiling through its gut long enough to consider the task at hand: "RETRIEVE it."

V-Labradorite-One was it and the orthoclase didn't know enough to track it by guess alone. Magic spiked through the air, eyes peering for that telltale red smudge across its vision, one that wasn't rat or moth. The creature was vocal and constantly broadcasted its state of being, whether it was hungry or looking for another spawn to engage in play with. It left a trail of Oily-black in its wake, but that'd evaporated by now. When it got overwhelmed, it hid wherever looked most viable. The others did, too. They learned that from each other.

Why'd it feel a pang at that?

The Overseer snapped its jaw shut tight and made for the bones at first - all their nooks and crannies would be suitable places, not far from the entrance of the Tunnel - and peered into the dark recesses, only for them to ignite in bright red and overwhelming sensory feedback. It inhaled once and released a bellowing hiss.

Quills rattled up and up, and smoothed down. Its magic was still on the fritz, unfocused and impossible to use. The sting of failure gnawed at the space between its eyes, and it started to snuff around the bones. For now, there wasn't a trace for it to follow. Every scent was overwhelmed by the musk of bones and those that haunted this room.

@V-Labradorite-One

Eventually, it burnt itself out. The exhaustion that overcame them was a blessed cursed. It should return it wasn't even supposed to go in the first place But now all it wanted to do was to be alone, and to think, now that it could.

And the realization of how severely it'd messed up hit it. It hadn't really truly understood the situation- it still didn't, all it remembered was a blur of fear and blood and yelling voices. But it had to be silent, and respectful, and what had it done? Cowered. Hidden and then ran. Coward Coward what a Coward. None of it's siblings had ran. They were all brave. It was not. It was-

A too-loud echoing hiss. It's head jerked in the direction of the sound, just to see a mass of quills and four toxic green eyes.

Overseer Alpha

Nonononoit'dbeenfoundit'dbeenFOUND A spike of fear and panic, barely contained. And only contained by the fact fear had been what had started this whole mess. But that didn't stop it from crouching into a defensive position, all six eyes darting left and right as it decided what to do.

Maybe it could sneak away? Just like it had done before just keep running why don't you. Taking a deep, rattling breath that it hoped didn't give it away, it drew in it's magic, hoping that it wouldn't backfire so bad this time pleaseworkpleaseworkPlease And, just barely, shadows came to cloak it.

Ever so slightly emboldened by this, it snuck forward. Through the bones, trying it's best not to disturb them, though that was nearly impossible. Any noise it created made it freeze like a statue, gaze flickering towards Alpha to see if it heard or saw it before cautiously taking another step forward. Slowly, it crept it's way towards the center of the room.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Any noise that moved through the bones, it warily dismissed as rats. They were always scavenging, chattering to one another and being assured by their numbers; something fleeing would make a lot of noise. If it was getting close, the Overseer fully expected its spawn to bolt.

It screwed its eyes shut as it shoved another pile of the dead over—reaching, still, for its magic. Made for and adapted to hunting or not, finding such a small, nondescript thing in a timely manner was an impossible feat without casting a glance across Canis as a whole. Alpha counted itself fortunate that the creature had such a distinct shape. Its own pulse reverberated through its eardrums as red blurred into view. Mischiefs flitted to and fro, unbothered by its noisy presence through distance. Bone moths settled and roosted within long-empty eye sockets.

One figure nearby was heading away—creeping at a hesitating, snail's pace.

The orthoclase didn't immediately break into a sprint after it. No, it... paused. Considering with a slight set of the jaw. That strange ping! of feeling swarmed through it again, deceptively subtle but overwhelming. Toxic eyes stared after the figure, watching as it glanced its life-giver's way and kept prowling on fretfully. Alpha shifted its weight to either foot—why didn't it flee?—and let its quills relax at last.

It knew the answer to that.

It was tied down comforted by these familiar rhythms of training and preparing for a war, preparing to pass on to make new designs.

It'd agree with it, however much other Gembound made it question what it was that they were doing.

When it moved again, it was slowly and carefully. Pride's advice on intention flickered through its conscious as it rumbled quietly, "V— Labradorite." (The full designation was cumbersome, but it'd already been applied.) No part of the sound was intended to be reassuring, but it was lower and smoother than the barked orders or harsh growls any of the spawn usually heard from their Overseer. Alpha could attempt to be non-aggressive when it wanted to.

"Come here," it grunted plainly, gazing at the red silhouette of it and paused to think again before stating, "the Lord's left."

The monstrous hybrid stopped again, and it waited in silence, tense and at the ready for a chase.

@V-Labradorite-One

Slow and steady, it wound it's way through the bones. Occasionally, a bone moth would flutter away from a bone it accidentally disturbed, or a rat would hiss and scurry off towards the safety of the group. Despite how on edge it was, it thought it could escape without getting spotted. It thought it could sneak it's way towards safety. But then what? It would have to go back, eventually. It was only really delaying the inevitable. But it couldn't go back NOW. Attempting to sneak off was better than-

That train of thought went barreling off the tracks as it glanced over at Alpha and found it staring right at it. It froze in it's tracks, eyes wide. It tensed up, ready to bolt if It's overseer ran at it, but.. it just stared back at it. Run while you have the chance, you coward. But.. it was almost like it was mesmerized.

When Alpha moved again, it twitched, broken from the trance, and nearly made a run for it right then and there. But Alpha's words- quiet compared to how it was normally, made it relax ever so slightly. The lord was gone. Danger was gone. It was safe Right? But.. It would be punished for running.

Part of it was screaming Run away you're smaller and faster than it. You have a good chance of getting away even now. But the other half was already running towards It's Mom Overseer. It half crashed into, half curled around one of Alpha's legs. A couple confused blinks and it realized the thing blurring its vision wasn't oil dripping into its eyes, but tears. Compose yourself. Respect your Overseer. It thought, but the louder, more convincing side of it's brain was shouting MomMomMomPleaseHelpmeIwasscaredsoscared. and it couldn't really argue with that.

But it still had to apologize to it's Overseer. "Sorry, Overseer Alpha." It said, quieter than it had intended. "I shouldn't have run off. It was... irresponsible of me to do so." It stepped back a bit, it's head lowered, avoiding Alpha's gaze. It sniffled, eyes glistening with tears, half-hidden by it's eye glow. A terrified child, if a somewhat monstrous one.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

The little beast came tumbling, and it wiped out around one of Alpha's own arms. It narrowed its eyes, made to stiffly move that limb. Hooked claws barely moved an inch away; surprisingly, the motion wasn't accompanied by the harsh warning growl it usually directed at the spawn to say don't touch me. No, the Overseer just stayed... quiet and it watched as Labradorite spoke.

Its eyes were wide and glassy, voice broken and barely audible. Sniffling nostrils. Crying. From terror? Had it hurt itself with its own magic like Vivilene had? Backfired in its panic? Alpha looked it over, but saw no such injury.

Putrid lime eyes squinted further, but it said somewhat hollowly, "it was." A note for the future, without any reassurances. How could you expect something with barely any knowledge of love to offer motherly care to its woebegone child? The orthoclase was... not adapted to any of that.

Quills prickled as it stared down into those weeping red eyes. Words weren't coming easy, and it grumbled before it managed to speak again, "we're going back to the Warren." Alpha swung its head with that plain statement. It shuffled on the spot, half-facing the tunnel and taking a few steps toward it, "the others are still there." Its lime-green gaze watched the oil-beast warily, as if it'd turn and bolt as soon as it looked away.

Alpha... didn't have much else to say to the Labradorite, it seemed. That, or it was antsy to return the asset to Vargas as soon as possible.

@V-Labradorite-One

It stared up at The Overseer, expecting, however foolish it was, to be comforted. It nearly flinched as Alpha pulled it's claw back, expecting a warning growl at least for overstepping it's boundaries. But.. Nothing.. Nothing was almost worse than growling at it. Half of it wanted to shuffle closer, but No. It's not It's job to comfort you. It's job is to train you. So it just stood, staring in Alpha's direction, but never lifting it's gaze higher than it's chest.

It sniffled, trying to compose itself. Trying very desperately to compose itself. But the repeating thoughts that You're making a fool of itself. You shouldn't be crying at all. Stop it. Stop crying. Stop it now. But that was almost making it worse. The sense of being just barely in control was worse than being completely taken in a whirlwind of emotion and panic, because at least then everything was a blur. Now it was overly aware of every hitched breath, every sniffle and every tear that rolled down it's face.

It was. It's head lowered further, as if the weight of it's mistake was pulling it downwards. Again, it found itself expecting comfort. Expecting some kind of reassurance. That everything would be alright, or that it'd acted out of fear as anyone would. But that isn't the truth. You messed up. That is the truth.

It gave a curt, mute nod. The, quickly realizing that silence may be considered rude, added a quietly murmured "Okay." It still desperately wanted to be alone, perhaps now more than ever. You have to follow It. Go home. You shouldn't have ran. You don't deserve to be alone, you've already proven to be irresponsible. Alpha's gaze burning into it only proved this fact. It slowly trudged back towards tunnel P, hunched over as if still trying to hide.

@Orthoclase-Alpha

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

graphic themes

"Okay."

It was not. It was still sniffling, shaking, top half hunched over and glowing-red eyes dull with gooey-black tears. One should've expected a derisive stare, maybe a harsh growl, from the Overseer—but, there was still no real reaction. Just silence and its continued standing in place. Even when Labradorite hobbled towards it to follow, it didn't move. Its burning gaze was just transfixed on the child, watching its every stuttering motion. Alpha knew the little thing had lost its composure.

That was—

That was weakness.

Orthoclase-Alpha tightened its posture and crossed in front of the slime-beast. Its voice, when it came, was low, almost conspiratorial, "wait. Calm yourself down, first." If it came back with a mess in tow, how would that reflect on either of their success? That execution couldn't be the worst thing these spawn would ever witness or experience in the caves.

Nevermind that it'd been only nearly-grown when it witnessed the Master Astraea turning scores of Lessers inside-out to purge an infection; when its then-Overseer threatened to dismantle it for clumsiness; barely-grown when spiders tore through its lungs and nearly killed it; when the whispers of the Altar choked the Hole and filled it with the very same sense of wrongwrongwrong that still crawled underneath its skin.

Nevermind all of that.

Alpha would wait as long as it took for the Labradorite to get itself fully back in order. If there was nothing else, it led the little monster back to the Warren.

exit Alpha? feel free to stop an exit if you want More :vibratingeyes:
@V-Labradorite-One

Bones skittered away from it's feet, the spawn making no attempt to stay hidden or quiet as it had been doing. It was exhausted, despite the panic still rushing through it's system. It had practically sprinted from Tunnel P to here after all. This was apparent in it's hunched posture, in it's dragging feet and even it's expression. It was tired, despite the thoughts running a mile-a-minute through it's head.

When the Overseer stepped in front of it, it instinctively stumbled back- fearing a growled order or glare, but the order to "Calm Down" was just as bad, if not worse. Just Be Calm. You've been calm before. Why can't you do it Now. Come on just- But why couldn't it calm down? It wanted to- needed to- but It wasn't. Part of it's brain was still out of control. Part of it was still thinking of the The BLOOD and the YELLING and the gembound being TORN apart until little remained. Part of it was still shudder and sniffling and crying. None of the other sentinels- even it's siblings- had reacted like this. It shouldn't be. It should just stop. But it felt impossible in a way it definitely wasn't and shouldn't be. Just. Be. Calm. It Could. It Should. But it Couldn't.

"I'm calm-" Who was it fooling? It could still feel tears in the corner of it's eyes "I'm trying to be calm." But trying wasn't enough. It had to be calm. "Sorry." Sorry that it couldn't do something as simple as calming itself down. Sorry that it had ran away and caused this who mess.

@Orthoclase-Alpha
Sorry for taking so long to reply! I'd like to continue this if you're fine with it!