Comet had been happy that James had agreed to come along with her to Pisces. With the stone of the pangolin in her mouth, she made her way towards the waterfall. This was the place where she had met the icy phoenix last, and where he probably lived. She could only hope that he would be able to help. The wolf felt like she owed it to the pangolin to at least try and give him a life again.

She had already told James what she had seen, and her plan of what she wanted to do. Comet did not know what he thought about it however. "Renny, do you think this is a good idea?" she wanted to know. What he thought mattered, and she didn't quite feel ready to call up the phoenix yet.

@James

James shrugged gently, "Maybe? I don't know Tenzin that well, but Pride seems to like him well enough. Jampa's pretty nice too, and she was partially raised by him."

The phoenix seemed thankful when he was revived by the various Gembound who healed him.

"We'll just have to find out," he said, looking down at the stone Comet had brought, having already heard about her friend's demise.

He bumped her with his nose and offered a wing for a hug, "I'm sorry. I know that your friend won't come back, but perhaps Tenzin can at least give life to them again."

He was a bit confused as to why their stone would be laying at the base of the Spire, cold and lifeless. They wondered what the Hell happened to them.

@Comet

Comet nodded, it felt good to know that James didn't think badly of him. Oh yeah! Jampa! She was pretty sure she had seen the hybrid during the festivities in Polaris. It was hard to miss the child of Pride and Tenzin. Feeling a bit reassured, she looked back down at the stone. She wouldn't want to have the stone revived, if it even worked, only for whoever came out to not be happy.

Comet leaned into his wing, feeling comforted by its warmth and his words. "Yeah, I hope so." Truthfully, she had never met the pangolin before. But there was just something about witnessing someone's death that connects them to you in some way. And that was what she felt about the pangolin. She didn't even know his name! Comet didn't tell James about what she had seen happen to him, only telling him the part about finding the stone. That had been too horrible for her to repeat.

"Guess it's time to find out." she sniffled, giving the horse a sad yet hopeful smile. Comet turned towards the large pool of water, and called out, "Tenzin? Could I please talk to you?"

tenzin

npc

The familiar ring of his name woke him, and he ascended to the surface of the lagoon slowly, carefully—he had become much more practiced at emerging without flooding Pisces. As he broke the surface, a small ringed wave rippled out from him, but it scarcely jumped the lip of the lagoon. He steadied himself with his talons gripping the rocky walls beneath the water, wings propped at the edges. His eyes passed over both of them, and he offered each their own nod of hello.

"Of course," he replied kindly.

@James @Comet

James blinked as the master so easily came, and offered a smile, "Hello... I'm James, I came for Comet when she and some others helped you return. I'm Pride's student, as well, and my daughter has a question."

He bowed his head briefly before nudging Comet forward, peering at Tenzin's feathers before peering back at his own. Four peacock-like feathers raised and he fluffed himself up, a bit glad for the similarity.

@Comet

Comet watched in awe as the icy phoenix arose from the lagoon. This wasn't her first time meeting him, but she never failed to be amazed at how majestic and powerful he looked. There was also the fact that this meeting felt much more personal. It was her question that he had arose for, and she and James were the only two gembounds here to see him.

Mouth still agape in amazement, Comet was glad that James spoke first. "Oh, um, yes." it was her turn now, and she walked a bit closer at the horse's nudging. Fidgeting her paws, she smiled at Tenzin, "I just wanted to ask, would it be possible for you to help me revive my friend's stone?" Was he a friend? Perhaps. They had never talked, nor actually interacted, but she wanted to do this for him. "I tried to see if there was any life in it, but it's empty. I don't think any normal gembound would be able to help bring the stone to life again." Comet placed the star sapphire on the ground in front of her, its sparkles holding beauty but no life. She gave Tenzin a nervous smile. Tenzin was someone she admired, and just being in his presence made it hard for her to talk.

tenzin

npc

He shifted, weight slowly pressing forward as he leaned toward the stone. The icy fog that seemed to enshroud him came with him, so that a surprising cold emanated through his guests. "I will look at it," he answered softly. "It is good to see you. And I thank you for your help, back then," and the crinkle in his eyes as he glanced to Comet seemed almost to be a smile.

But that content expression quickly faded as his attention was drawn back down to the lifeless stone. He sat back, after a moment, retracting the freezing aura with him. "It is... lifeless. I am sorry. There is nothing I can do to bring back what once was--but then, that is often the way. Even what remains..." A gentle shake of his head. Reviving a trickle of life into a new being was not the same as returning the one who had been lost. Although...

Glowing eyes cut back to the pair, thoughtful, apologetic. "I could grant it new life... if you wish. It would be the same--only with a new shape. But if that is not what you want, I understand. I am sorry," he added, again, sinking down just a little lower in the water.

@Comet @James

James smiled too, thinking back to the pile of gembound he'd found that day. Comet had been among the group who'd helped Tenzin, who'd offered up their magic to try and help. He couldn't be prouder.

He stepped forward to peer at the stone, lips drawn into a frown, "... I've known gems that have had their lives taken from them... can only you put life back into them?"

He thought to the stones that Aristotle had so cruelly given up and their fates. Or, well, lack of fates. They were simply stones now. It was sad to know that it could be permanent.

She shivered a bit, both from the cold and from Tenzin's gratitude, and responded with a smile. She followed the phoenix's gaze back to the stone. The confirmation that it was lifeless hurt, even though she had cast a spell before to see if it held any life, and that had failed. Comet had been holding a little bit of hope in her that maybe it did have life, just too little for her to feel it. But now it was confirmed by someone else that there really wasn't any life left.

Same... except with a new shape? That wasn't exactly what she wanted, but when she really thought about it, it still seemed to work. Her siblings acted similarly to Aristotle, despite many of them looking pretty different. The appearance had no effect on how they acted, and they wouldn't remember anything about before, so why should that matter?

"Could you revive it? Please?" There might not be a pangolin from the stone, but it was going to be a new life nonetheless. And it was the personality that counted. Then she looked to James, eager to hear an answer to that question. Comet didn't think about what the horse might be thinking about when he said that however.

tenzin

npc

He looked to James, thinking about the Gembound's question. "...No," he said, at last; "There are others. Not so many... in this cave." His fluting voice halted, as though he didn't want to, or perhaps couldn't, say more.

Glowing eyes shifted to Comet.

Did she understand..? She was still speaking in terms of revival and, carefully Tenzin inquired further. He wanted to be sure she grasped what this was. How tragic it would be for her to expect what could not be! "Not... revive. But new life. It is not... only a matter of words. I want to be sure that you understand," he trilled, words gentle. "There will be nothing of the old one left within it... I can only create something new." "It would be the same," he had said--because even a revival was a new being, a new creature entirely.

It would be a new beginning; and he wished to be sure that this is what she wanted.

"A new life, completely. If this is what you wish, then I will grant it for you," Tenzin explained.

@James