Attikias's house was rather... Bland. But to those less civilized, it may have been the highest of quality in craftsmanship. To Attikias himself? It was okay. The hut had its issues, but at least it worked. The tent over the chrysalis remains and things that needed to be kept dry was stable, his leather-working area was stocked well, and his urns were all over the place. That included the ones that Alpha so unceremoniously destroyed.

He'd replaced them, but he did wonder if that'd happen again, if the kaiju decided to come about once more. He didn't want to pick ceramic out of jerky again. And so, while he kept the fire cooking up his jerky, Attikias had stepped away from the establishment for the time being. His bag, woodworking materials, and spear were all missing from the place.

Nothing bad could happen, right?

@Effluvium

Unfortunately for Attikias, Effluvium was hunting in the area. It had proved unsuccessful so far. But its luck was looking up. Effluvium caught the scent of meat. And it was drawn by it. It dragged its lumbering form in the direction of the scent. It kept its snuffling nose to the air. The meat smelled strange. Charred. Burned. Effluvium pulsated rapidly, afraid. But meat was meat.

Effluvium was not in Cetus. The place of burning. That, along with its newfound size, reassured it. Effluvium came upon it, then. The flame was small. It blinked once. Then, in its infinite wisdom, hissed at the flame. It noted the structures nearby. Upright. Strange. Effluvium had no words for them, and didn't give them more than a passing glance. It was after the scent of food.

The smell of meat seemed to come from the flames. Effluvium crouched before the flame. It hissed. Effluvium raised a arm, and, like an oversized horrifying cat, batted at the campfire. Its movements were nervous and flinching. Its arm aimed for the branch the strips of meat came from. Effluvium's hunger overcame its' fear. Its' arm batted at the branch, and with a snap, the branch gave. Half-cooked jerky fell to the ground, and Effluvium scooped it up after finagling with its' head, along with whatever substrate found its way into its mouth.

With the main draw now gone, Effluvium turned its attention to the pots. It dragged itself around, sniffing at the scattered remains.They smelled of meat too, yet more faintly. Effluvium picked a urn up in its jaws. The smell was stronger. It was fresher, to have drawn Effluvium. Effluvium bit down on it with an audible crack. It tasted mostly of ceramic shards, but there was enough meat in it to keep it interested.

It swallowed all of it. Which would most likely hurt, a few hours down the line. It began to pick off the urns still standing. The ones that drew its attention the most, at least. Either crushing them in its jaws, or stepping on them, and swiping up the contents with a tongue.

"When I speak."

When I think.

@Attikias

Attikias was certainly not around enough to hear the first act of thievery, but breaking the pots was such a unique noise that the elf instantly knew trouble was up. Scrambling to his feet and shoving his equipment into his pack, he rushed home to the song of ceramic being shattered and crunched.

What the hell was big enough to make that racket? Alpha, probably- but as he drew closer, the scent of rot filled his nose. Was it rotting his food? Was it raiding an urn he'd forgotten? What was going on-

One pushed-aside fern later, and Attikias gagged at the stench that hit him. One hand flew up to his mouth as he tried to settle on one face to make.

It settled on pure, unbridled disgust. What WAS that? Why was it MOVING? Why did it look like a hunk of vomit and flesh? And what was it doing to his food! Swallowing down his nerves and emotions, Attikias stood up straighter and approached, his spear-point out towards it as it devoured more and more.

"H-hey!" He stammered out his words as he slowly slid closer, eyes wild as he stared at it. "Don't- stop that, hey!" The weapon was trained on it, but his arms still shook as dread started to settle in, deep within his gut. The tail behind him whipped uneasily. "Get- get away!"

Nice confidence there, bud.

@Effluvium

Effluvium was quickly growing to enjoy the shelled meat. It was meat, but with extra texture. The sound of Attikias' voice reached its ears. Effluvium looked up from the pot it was currently raiding, it turned to the sound, unhurried. Shards of smashed pot stuck to what constituted its face. Its watched Attikias blankly. The expressions passed over the thing's head.

Its' simple brain was focused on Attikias' threat level. Attikias didn't seem larger than Effluvium, nor did he possess fire. so it instantly wasn't worried. Effluvium bit an urn off the ground, smashing it. Back to Attikias. Its' eyes drifted down to the spear in Attikias' hands. Even wielded by shaking hands, it was still a threat. Connecting 2 and 2, Effluvium suddenly went on the defensive.

The purple upright thing was there to steal its food! It snarled, teeth exposed. "Effluvium's food!" It said. "Effluvium found first!" Effluvium wasn't supposed to eat not-foods, but it could scare it off. It bit one last urn, crushing it within its jaws. Then, shaking off the remnant shards, it began to trot towards Attikias. Not a full out charge, at least yet.

"When I speak."

When I think.

@Attikias

strong language

"Oh caves don't look at me-" Attikias blurted as it moved its head, faltering in his stance. It was just staring at him.

"No," he warned gently as it took another urn in its mouth. It shattered, and, "Come on!" came the cry in response. This was just getting tiring! "I gotta find those, don't- they're fragile- come on!" Nope, this thing was now staring harder. Attikias shuffled as he struggled to level his weapon between him and it.

Holy shit! It stood, and Attikias took a stumble back, tail whipping even harder. It spoke! "Hold- YOUR food? I made that!" His voice pitched higher and higher as he went on, pointing the spear out to Effluvium as it shambled closer. "Stay- stay there. I'm not- You can't just steal food that isn't your's!"

Well. It wouldn't be the first time his urns got fucked over, but this was a bit more terrifying this time. His heart hammered in his chest as he took another step back, and another, keeping the weapon trained on the beast. Effluvium? Was that its name?

Whatever it was, it was awful to even look at. And it was coming closer.

@Effluvium

Effluvium's eye squinted. He made that? It paused, and looked at the carnage beneath it. It pawed at the dirt, and the bits of Attik's home it'd been so kind to destroy. It considered the idea for a few seconds. Then, it decided. You couldn't make meat. Meat just appeared. Effluvium clearly had the superior intellect here. "NO!" It roared in response. "Meat come from food! Can't make!"

Effluvium took another few steps forward. But Attikias' words had it confused once more. "Steal...?" It said. It paused again. Effluvium wasn't familiar with the word. It was prepared to ponder this for a few seconds more, but a stray eye noticed the spear once again. The sharp head pointed at it. Effluvium growled, its random limbs curling and twisting. Forelimbs curling into the dirt. Effluvium didn't like spiky things. It especially didn't like spiky thing pointing at it. Effluvium gauged its options.

It could ignore the shorter thing. Continue eating the shelled meat. It didn't seem very threatening. Or it could chase it off. The spear had it wary. It briefly considered both, but came to a decision quickly. Effluvium decided it wasn't waiting for the spiky thing to bite it. In its mind, it was only a matter of time until this became a repeat of the situation with the owl.

Effluvium wouldn't have mass taken from it again. The thought spurred it into action. With only a huff as warning, Effluvium launched forward, jaws extended. Effluvium's face, unfurled, hit the tip of the spearhead. Loose in its teeth. It'd nearly overshot it. Effluvium bit fast again, in an attempt to secure it. It growled, a menagerie of eyes pinned onto the spear.

"When I speak."

When I think.

Round: 1/?
Attempt: Grab spear!
Defense: N/A
Injuries: N/A

@Attikias

strong language

Even through his panicked breathing, Attikias could see it thinking. It was looking to its damage and moving (oh caves was that an arm?), and did seem sentient. The elf swallowed nervously and struggled to stand his ground.

He flinched at its roar. This- this being was acting like a child. It had intellect, it clearly thought it knew where meat came from, and it was advancing. Gritting his teeth, he watched as it hesitated. "Steal. Like, it's- that was mine. But you're trying to take it." He pleaded with the monster, dipping forward (and invariably bringing the spear closer) and staring at it.

Why'd it have to be so huge? What made it? Was it some sort of unformed Gembound, brought out from the chrysalis too early? Why did it have so many eyes? Whatever it was, it had begun to lurch and-

Attikias let out a startled shout. It grabbed his spear! It was moving his spear! Why couldn't it leave him alone! And what was wrong with its FACE? His veins pulsed acutely in his ears, and he grimaced, struggling to rip the weapon from the meat mass's mouth as it got a better grip.

"Stay the fuck back!" He cried as he played the world's worst game of tug of war.

Round: 1/?
Attempt: Wrench out his spear from Effluvium's mouth
Defense: N/A
Injuries: N/A

@Effluvium

Effluvium briefly considered the concept of stealing. And decided it didn't like the concept. Effluvium just found things and ate them. The only thing you owned was your meat. But Effluvium didn't say any of that. Its teeth were on the spear. Before it could even finish ruminating on the thought, the spear was out of its jaws again. All that was left was a lingering sensation that it'd been there, and a strange emptiness where a tooth'd been.

Effluvium was briefly stunned at the strength of the other. It staggered back on its' four main limbs. Its eyes flicked behind it, a sudden change in emotion. It briefly considered snatching what urns it could and leaving. But Effluvium had a lot at stake. A bunch of random jerky it'd found. It snarled, focused on Attikias again, and charged forward in a headbutt.

"When I speak."

When I think.

Round: 2/?
Attempt: headbutt!
Defense: N/A
Injuries: A few teeth knocked loose

Attikias's spear was free, and it looked like he even damaged the thing. Did it even have skin? He struggled to catch his breath as it stumbled, calculating again, before surging towards him once more.

The elf yelped and held the spear horizontally, struggling to put a barrier up between him and the monster. He was hoping for a bite, some kind of shearing damage, but the brute force took him by surprise. He was sent back, slamming into the ground as the beast's head collided with him through his spear. The metal pressed against his chest, and his breath wheezed out of him, him now struggling on the ground.

How was he going to get rid of it now?

Round: 2/?
Attempt: N/A
Defense: Try to brace for impact
Injuries: N/A

@Effluvium

Effluvium's frontal charge had landed. Its head pulsed dully from the impact of the spear. But Effluvium didn't notice. Not right away, at least. And it didn't waste any time in pressing the assault. Attikias was down, the dangerous spiky thing horizontal.

It charged after Attikias, aiming for the spear. The sooner the weird purple stand-upper was disarmed, the spiky thing broken, sooner it could go back to ignoring him and foraging in the weird flat place. It bit down again. It found the angle hard, but it managed to get its teeth on the spear once again. An even weaker grip than the first time.

"When I speak."

When I think.

Round: 3/?
Attempt: bite spear(again)
Defense: N/A
Injuries: A few teeth knocked loose

((four rounds until effluvium starts feeling those pottery shards!))

@Attikias