James was admittedly... lonely. Very much so. And very shaken.

Mother's whispers in his mind woke him up most nights, if his dreams of falling didn't. At least he had wings to catch himself now, but he didn't in his dreams.

Often he found himself curled around the precious chrysalis in the corner, translucent enough to see the tiny baby growing within. He was rather delighted to see what looked to be four long legs, though it was still too early to tell.

But right now? He was curled around it with his wings draped over the sideways chrysalis, the child laying on it's side within, sleeping, he hoped. He stroked it gently as he stared into the room, eyeing the dark shadows as he tried to settle down. But no sleep came. Not with the anxieties plaguing his mind. Comet was with... Carja, he believed. She was safe with her, he knew.

But the loneliness killed him inside.

Before, he had warm fur to snuggle against, a body to lay beside, a tongue that gently lapped over his fur, soothing him. Something that didn't last. A hole that he didn't know needed filling until it was, and now that it was empty, he felt it ache within him. It nearly hurt in its severity.

@Tahi-shei

Tahi-shei had not seen James; not since the chaos at the Raid. He'd caught sight of him in other places, of course -- it was impossible to live among the Seven in the same cave and not know of each other's existence -- but they'd never actually spoken. Which was strange, with Tahi-shei having been linked to his consciousness for a period of time. Arguably, such a thing was worlds more intimate. However, one way or another, he'd felt the urge to... check on him. James had children he was looking after, Tahi knew that, and so simply leaving him to stew on the feeling of having his mind altered (Tahi-shei knew how unpleasant it was when you trusted whomever was altering you, not to mention whatever the Mother fungus had been) was unacceptable.

Tahi bonked his antlers gently against the stone frame of James's house in the ruins of Orion. "Ah, hello?" called the stag, mostly out of politeness. He already knew James was home; these places didn't provide all that much cover, especially when you were bright pink and purple. "We've never actually spoken, but my name is Tahi-shei -- yours is James, correct?" Short and to the point. Easy to remember.


@james

James looked up quickly, recognizing the voice. Tahi. He'd been linked with others, including Master Vargas himself, Svartis, and the deer. It was weird to suddenly have experiences not your own, to have your mind filled with safety that didn't seem wrong despite your own mind telling you it definitely was. He remembered Alpha most of all. The kaiju... his hatred no longer burned like it did. Instead, it burned for Mother. For... her.

He couldn't remember much, either having shoved it down subconsciously or locked it up on purpose. They came back in his dreams but slipped away too fast to grab onto, not that he wanted to.

"Tahi?", he said, his voice soft and shy, nothing like the powerful yells he cried when trying to get Comet to leave, eyes rolling and breaths coming in heaves, struggling against Mother's embrace.

The stallion slowly stood and made his way to the front room, then to the door, peering out of it and to Tahi, ears perked.

"Hi," he said softly, "I am James, you're correct. Ah... you were there at the fight. I think I recall you after um... the fungus left our minds. It's all so hazy, I'm afraid."

James turned and walked further instead, turning to beckon Tahi to follow, "Come in, I have some fruit to eat, if you're hungry."

@Tahi-shei

He entered the den and tucked himself away against one of the walls. Tahi-shei had never actually taken one of these little houses up as his own -- he moved too frequently between here and Canis and everywhere else to have a standard home, and he didn't really have any things to keep safe inside of one. He was perfectly comfortable sleeping out in the open, in Orion at least (he didn't ever sleep in Canis; the nearest he'd be was inside Tunnel K, which was awful to be in, but devoid of any real danger). He cleared his throat. "Ah, I do not need anything to eat -- thank you, though. I appreciate the effort."

Tahi-shei pulled his legs in close to him similarly to James and turned his head slightly. "That's alright, that you don't exactly remember me. I'm, ah -- well, we live in the same area, follow the same Gembound, are the same age, have roughly the same shape." He made a gesture that was similar to a shrug but didn't actually have any shoulder in it. "I am a rather observant creature, so I've noticed you in the past. I... felt a need to check on you." He swallowed hard. "Perhaps simply because you strike me as so similar, and yet so different."

He eyed the chrysalis. "... Have you chosen a name yet?"


@james

James nodded and draped a fur over the chrysalis before laying out another for Tahi to settle down on.

"I believe I've seen you around, though I doubt I recognized you from a distance. I probably thought you were Pride," he said, "Though you're not white."

He shrugged gently and looked down, "We are, sort of. Four legs, a running gait, brown fur and brown eyes- we are similar. Both of us are even of the Seven. But that's only in looks."

He smiled and shuffled his wings before looking at the egg with a soft expression, "Well... I asked my daughter to name it. Her name's Comet, she's a white wolf- much more social than I am, definitely."

James looked up and smiled at Tahi gently, "But thank you for checking up. I appreciate it. Company's always appreciated, though if I'm not here, you can just... leave a black stone here at the door and I'll know you want me."

He got the idea from Pride, but it worked.

@Tahi-shei

His ears pricked up. "Oh, I know Comet! The pair of us did magic practice together a little while ago; her magic is intriguing, I don't know any other Gembound who has it." Not that he really knew all that many Gembound intimately. He glanced absently down at his hooves, as if thinking about something. "She was kind, if a little uncertain of herself. I did not know she had a father, though she is lucky to have had one. Many of us were not so fortunate." He remembered Astraea, the desperation in his own voice, a need for aid and comfort.

Tahi-shei forced a smile. If he'd not had his friends, he might have given wholly in to Mother's embrace.


@james

James made his way over to Tahi the moment his smile became strained, throwing his wing over his back and pressing his forehead to the other's cheek. He was much larger than the deer, but the thought counted.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, "I had none either. I think Pride is the closest thing to one I have, but he's simply... a mentor. A guide."

He gently tugged Tahi to his bed of furs, "Come, Tahi. I'm certain you're tired after all that happened. My bed has plenty of room if you need to rest or cry or... or anything."

He was like a mother hen trying to herd a chick to the nest for bedtime, his feathers fluffed up along his neck and chest comically.

@Tahi-shei

He inclined his head in agreement at the comment about Pride, but let out a slightly awkward laugh at James's offer -- notably though, he did not reject James's touch. "Oh, uh -- no, but thank you. I'd hate to impose, and there is something of a reason I have not claimed one of these homes for myself." He hated to be jammed into a small space, unable to make a quick escape from anything that might wish him ill. Not that it was dangerous to be here with the Seven (and wasn't he the dangerous one?), but an abundance of caution never hurt anyone.

Tahi-shei cleared his throat, then. "So, uh, had you met Master Astraea prior?" It felt unusually formal on his tongue, after their friendliness at their first meeting, but whether Mother had been lying or not (and whether Astraea would have actually healed him or not), he was a little more uncertain of his intentions and having to remind himself that not everyone formed connections as quickly as he did.


@james

"Oh- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he said, immediately fretting, "Um... I've only seen Astraea once, and that was at the meeting a few cycles ago. I wanted to talk to him before the whole golem thing, since I had some questions."

James seemed to shift from foot to foot, embarrassed and nervous about upsetting Tahi, his eyes looking anywhere but at the deer. He just felt... weird, now. And inconsiderate.

Now he didn't even know what to say, really.

@Tahi-shei

Tahi smiled. "Oh, you're alright, James. You didn't know." He inclined his head slightly, but away from him so that he didn't hit James -- instead, his antlers bounced off the wall, likely scuffing the stone and certainly startling Tahi-shei. "Oh! Erm, sorry!" He laughed a little anxiously. Oh, Slime Molds -- he should've thought of that. But James continued, and answered his question.

Tahi stilled, and a small frown set in his face at James's words. "Hm." He glanced away, thinking. "... I, ah, mean no offense," he said somewhat distantly. "I am simply trying to puzzle out why Astraea would heal a near-stranger over a... well, I would call him my friend, to help solve the fungus issue. We both had a useful skillset for the situation..."

He cleared his throat and blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, that is not something I should be troubling you with. That is a conversation I ought to have with Astraea instead."



@james