Khavur hadn't thought to pack. Hadn't even really though to stop or go back for anything. Excitement did that -- fired up nerves and revved engines, made each smoking breath feel hot enough to set the air ablaze. Khavur felt ready as it- as he was. As she was. As they were. Hm... Ready to figure out things like that. Things like "Who are you?" and "What are you for?" It wanted to seek out the place of bones, Canis, to find the Seer. For now, Khavur wished to be alone... that's why it hadn't gone back for its most treasured person. They were never truly apart, however. Always tethered together they were, once by a word, and now by... an enhancement of that word.

The glittering stars of Orion caught Khavur's eyes instantly. With a big breath, the beast took it all in. The ceiling was nice and high, while the ground below was riddled with crumbling structures from Vargas knows how long ago, and all around, no matter the dimension, were sparkling lights of stone, as through one giant star had shattered and burst, nestling its many parts in every direction. Spreading throughout the walls like a beautiful disease.

Khavur's gaze got stuck fast on a tower. The tower that wasn't crumbling, the one beside the tunnel it had just come through. It also had stars embedded in its flesh, and as a bonus, an entrance to the inside. Khavur didn't think it would fit in there... hm. Was there anyone around who...? None in sight. Well.

It pondered, puzzled up at the top of the tower for a moment. Circled it like a Vargas. Gazed and glowered at it with its small- and large-horned heads respectively. At last, it came to a defeated halt; it sighed and placed its bum on the ground. It thought, not just to itself, but to another... its brother, Maximus. It pulled on that link they shared -- the string in the labyrinth for when Khavur was feeling lost. "Maximus. Can you hear me?" It lead with that first, since it had never tried this from such a distance before. "It is Khavur. Holder of butterflies." He adored the title. It was one of a kind, perfect for him. 'I have come to Orion, a place of marvelous stars and beauty... and I am already stumped over this tower. I cannot get inside, but I wish to know more about it.' Maximus might have been able to fit inside were they here... but they weren't, and Khavur couldn't. Empathy was a strength of theirs, however. "What would you do?" Funny to think that without it being some idle thought. No, that was a direct message.

Something stirred... Khavur could feel it. Uncanny. Awakening-- oh no, it had disturbed them-? They didn't seem bothered, however. Once Khavur felt the awareness win over the sleepiness, a question formed: ""Mm... Orion? I haven't been there, can you fly around the tower and describe it?" The words were slurred together -- yes, dear Maximus had been resting, probably in their little nest. Khavur smiled at the visceral experience of thought and emotion in his head. "Of course."

With a few powerful flaps of his wings, Khavur lifted himself off the ground. Height took a while if he was relying entirely on his own strength for attaining it. Once suitably in the air, however, things got easier. The beast flew, up and up and up, looking, perhaps, a little graceful in the air. In the same way a duck was graceful in water. "It is tall, rather quiet... quartzes dig into its walls. There is an inside, as evidenced by the entrance... but I know not what is there. I will look for holes, cracks. There are many ruins in this room. They are a part of the appearance. I think... you would like it here."

With that transmission sent, Khavur would attempt to use one set of eyes to observe the tower for anything else of interest on the outside, while the rest of its body would be dedicated to flight control. Good opportunities for flight training might be found here...

...and clearly Khavur needed that flight training. It felt tiredness oncoming rather quickly. Cycles stuck in a rock did that to you. "Hm. Perch at the top? Is there an opening there that you could peek into?" That was a good solution to the question of the tower and the issue of the flying.

Perched atop the tower, Khavur struggled a little with maintaining balance. It didn't want to stay here long, lest the tower crumble under the weight like the rest of its architectural kin. Khavur had seen some scraps of weapons, tools, metal materials. It was curious, the whole thing. The mystery of the past. Master Vargas, Khavur suspected, knew more about it than anyone in the entirety of the caves. For a moment, Khavur shook the mysteries from its head and let its mind wander, focusing on balance and breathing. Meditation for dragons. It was nice up here.

It didn't take long for its mind to drift to Master Vargas again, however. Its lessons... Maximus would never be punished to get to Khavur, or vice versa. Oh-- Maximus. "I have reached the top..." Khavur's thoughts felt distant. The whole world felt distant from up here. "...it is nice...." Khavur could no longer concentrate on anything but thoughts. Reflections.

Never punish one for the other... and why? Does he now recognize the cost--? No, this seemed an older rule... From where does it stem...?

And Maximus, I was not meant to love them. Our link, now forged in magic, was not a part of Master Vargas' design... I am flawed, my design is flawed, his faults made crystalline through my creation -- so then, was this, too, a mistake? He does not discourage it -- in fact, he does the opposite. So has he granted strengths unknown, or had he no control over this spark of mine...? Remember the moment, he told me...

Khavur remembered it, emblazoned in its mind forever. Through languor and agony, something about the threat of its sibling's life-- even now, the thought of it caused a simmering in Khavur's blood. This is as much a weakness as it is a strength. It is out of our control. Out of everyone's. So love and chaos weren't linked. What, then, was...

Do not give up so easily. Why had I given up? Khavur replayed the fight in its mind. If only it had remembered flight-- Suddenly, the Sentinel was in its mind, repeating everything it had learned from others, through combat. I will fight many others. Those who can reach into my mind, those who are both weak and mighty, those who could use the environment against me... I will approach again and again, every problem, redo and redo, in different ways until something WORKS. It would grow, adapt, to any situation, by exposing itself to as many as possible. Trial by error. Once again, its blood simmered... for another reason.

Purpose?

A goal in its head was invigorating. The concept of creation and destruction all at once resulted in a visceral reaction from Khavur... something physical, akin to hunger. Was this what it had been made for?

Wait. Wake up. Where are you?

The top of the tower. Looking out without seeing anything. It felt like no time at all... it felt like it had just landed...

It should probably get off.

The Reaver would fly down now, trying very hard not to make a private fool of itself in landing. It would look back up at the tower. "Apologies, Maximus... I lost my train of thought. The top of the tower is a good lookout place. There were metal scraps... I did not see an opening." Khavur wondered... had to ask- "Did you feel my emotions up there? I do not know their names. Something like hunger, or hunting..." A second more to feel regret. To fear, not only for itself but for its sibling as well. "I am sorry."

It was an anxiety, once lonesome and unwatched in Khavur's mind. Its sibling was so... non-violent. So kind, sweet. Khavur didn't feel like it mirrored that. Not perfectly, not all the time. Would Maximus... hate it for that? Fear it? Khavur wished it could articulate exactly what this anxiety was. If only it could do that, they could sort it out, but...

For now, Khavur would try to shut off its brain. Do something else. "What do you do that calms you down, Maximus?"

(Navy said via Discord what Khavur would find :3)

One ignored transmission after another -- what was happening behind the receiver? Once the beast crossed back from the realm of theory to the realm of life, the mental conversation continued. "... There are no apologies needed, sibling." A comforting sensation accompanied the words, a loving hand stroke upon Khavur's cheek. "You are conflicted. Troubled. Why is that?" It was a lot of things. Khavur was generally a troubled thing. "I have been exposed to much information as of late. I feel the desire to go over it all... it takes time. Energy. Sometimes, opens old wounds." Hopefully that would be understandable. The wounds reopening now were those inflicted by Master Vargas. Reopened to be analyzed with surgical precision -- what was their cause? How to go about avoiding them?

"I've rarely needed to calm down." Made sense for Maximus. "Rarely does anything rile me up. But if I do find the need to do so... I walk. Or I sleep. Perhaps the former could help you?" Both were good ideas. Khavur was more favorable to walking, at the moment, however... it hadn't been here long enough to feel the need to stop looking around. "Thank you. I will try walking."

It would cast another glance at the tower. Perhaps it should get someone smaller to investigate. It would have to find someone smaller first. Letting the mystery pass, Khavur turned away to walk on.

A hum of sorts conveyed understanding to its explanation of its troubling. That was good. It would head towards the ruined buildings. Obstacles would keep it focused, distracted by something specific. The desire to reflect refused to leave it. That would be more fine if it could control where its mind went. Maybe Maximus could help...? If they were willing. "Are you tired, Maximus? Return to sleep if you are. I do not mind. If you are not... I could still use some assistance. I wish to review a fight from memory -- my fight with Master Vargas. But my mind keeps escaping me." An answer to this was swiftly retrieved: "Mm, a little." Understandably. Khavur felt a little guilty-- "But I'm already up, and there's no hope for me to go back to sleep until night falls. It is no trouble at all to talk, if you're worried about inconveniencing me. I will help where I can. I only wish I could be there with you."

Khavur smiled. To itself, and to Maximus, although its sibling was no physically here. It hadn't gone off without Maximus for no reason. In fact, there were a few reasons behind the choice. "We will travel together soon, Maximus. I will find Canis, scout ahead. Then, I hope to return to Draco for you. There is someone I believe we must meet in Canis. A red dog, who knows of the future, and... of mangoes." If Khavur was using its words well, the urgency and intensity of mangoes should have been made clear. It was a big part of the journey -- the destination. "I hope to meet Gembound beings during this reconnaissance mission, and then to meet even more when I return to Canis... You will join me for this, yes?" Khavur didn't mean to sound assuming. It wasn't really assuming if they had discussed this before, was it? It just wanted affirmation.

"I am very excited!" Khavur could imagine the lamb's little tail wagging vigorously at this. "Vargas told me to learn, and learn I shall. From gembound, from experiences... a week isn't enough time, but once the next spawn is raised, perhaps there can be more time then." A week, indeed, was not enough time. The spawn... Khavur had nearly forgotten. Not even with two brains could it retain every detail. "Of course I will join you." There swelled a feeling of relief. "And even better, we can talk in person about the fight with Vargas. Perhaps company can help your emotions flow." "Ingenious," Khavur responded instantly. If it had its own lamb tail, it might have shaken it. Khavur's tail was more of a weapon though.

"You possess a similar build to his, in some aspects. You will be a good model." It was necessary that Khavur review that fight. It would never leave its memory, never let it rest until it surveyed every step. It had tried so many risky maneuvers, and even at the end, when Master Vargas made the mistake of threatening Maximus' life, he had managed to escape the full consequence of Khavur's love and fury. Khavur wanted to know how it all worked... so that it could make sure that never happened again.

Create, discover the weak, and then destroy. The refining fire was an art form of deities. Khavur intended to master it.

It would have to wait until Maximus was here. That made it feel itchy somehow... but it was not bad. Not unbearable. The delayed gratification would be sweet and delightful, the fruit one must wait to harvest. Time ripened in a vast orchard. For now, the most the best could do was walk through...

"I am not that similar," Maximus replied. Khavur did not detect offense. "Honestly, I am more like the Sentinel. Or I suppose, it is like me. I am upright, with soft fur, round eyes. I'm rather adorable, actually. I don't think that was intended, but alas, that is what I am." Khavur giggled. "You are adorable." At this, Khavur felt Maximus' flustering, heard their little bleat. It only made the Reaver laugh more. Transmissions would pause.

The sparkle of light was something to catch the watchful eye. A brief and ethereal glimmer, which at first glance had come from a pile of charred rubble just outside one of the huts.

Closer inspection would show just the edge of a diamond peeking from the pile.

Withdraw that... and with it would come a chain; fine-wrought silver, tarnished by time. It was thin, small; it was jewelry, nothing intended to ensnare and restrain. But drawn from the coal and ash, it would pull in turn a series of silver-clad diamonds.

It was, perhaps, a bracelet--or an armband; or a necklace for something small. Held up to the light its design would be clearer: a silver chain, formed in a loop with a sturdy clasp at one end, with perhaps half a dozen silver-fitted diamonds hanging evenly-spaced along its length.

It was dirty--blackened, perhaps abandoned when Raheerah's wrath had torn over Orion, or perhaps before; whatever the case, it had been buried by burnt rubble. But once cleaned, it would surely be something beautiful, if... not particularly useful.

@Khavur

Piles of rubber and debris... grey, brown, monotony, streaked with gleaming starlight. A whole city turned into a liminal space -- Khavur began to imagine the things living here. They had to be small, smaller than it, smaller than Maximus, smaller than Master Vargas. Small enough to-- what was that?

A gleam of starlight burst from some corner of this world. Khavur moved past it, then back up, then bobbed its head around a little to see if they light would follow, or disappear and reappear. The ultimate conclusion: something was there! The Reaver lumbered over to inspect. One grasping claw hooked the something and tugged it out of its resting place. Seemed that Khavur was disturbing sleepers today.

This sleeper was small... diamonds on a chain, but having slumbered so long, the diamonds felt more akin to their cousins of coal. Still, somehow, a gleam had made its way through dust and ruin. Khavur held it to a stream of quartz light and, indeed, noticed more of its design. A haggard beauty. "I have found something special among the ruins of this room, Maximus. I will take it back to show you." A sense of admiration was carried through the transmission. Khavur would wrap the old chain gently around a claw of its and continue onward. "Something special?" Khavur hummed a 'yes'.

"It seems that something disastrous happened here. I imagine Master Vargas would have known what. The tower... perhaps a watch tower, if it had any purpose. There was a city here. Many buildings since reduced to flowing dust. And this special thing... a sign of life that once was. A small Gembound may have adorned itself with it. Little stars trapped in a chain. An event has blackened and tarnished them." Why Khavur was waxing somewhat poetic, it may never understand. It was raw emotion, instant reaction to the carnage of this domain.

Beyond here was darkness. Khavur still was not sure how it would travel through. Perhaps by flight, if it practiced enough to do that. Beyond the darkness was somewhere full of bones. It was strange... this whole section of the caves that the Sentinel had wandered seemed to have been torn apart by a force, perhaps many forces. Did the smaller Gembound understand that they were walking through viscera? They traveled along the spines and ribs of the past. Did they ever wonder about that? Or did it not make sense to? Little ones did not seem to have contact with the mind and heart of this massive skeleton -- those that were still alive, always had been, and perhaps always would be. Khavur and its siblings were the ones closest to the answers.

"It sounds... beautiful. Stars trapped in chains... I have something too, something we could share. It plays music, Khavur, a box of music. Only when I'm alone do I play it, for fear of Vargas taking it away... but I could take it with me on our journey, so we could listen to it as we fall asleep." The Reaver's interest piqued. What did that sound like? How did one put music... in a box? "That would- will be wonderful." How cathartic it was, to be able to spin dreams and hypotheticals into the silk of reality. To have confidence in that.

"Perhaps I could ask him of what happened there, but I'm not sure if that would alert him to our new bond. I'm uncertain if he would approve." Maximus seemed more concerned than afraid. "I can ask when I return... although perhaps the mystery is not worth it. Not as valuable to me as a present spent traveling with my sibling." Her best friend. Wait- her? His? Um.

She continued to wander. She felt the need to go faster with this reconnaissance mission. The overwhelming desire to shorten the time between them, since she couldn't help the distance. Her stride became more... jaunty, perhaps, might describe it. The Reaver looked at the chained stars around her claw. It would be an eye for an eye. Vengeance? No... a gift. Very different, although they both stemmed from the same desire: to give back. To return.

"Mm... maybe a resident might know. The point of our journey is to learn, right? So we may as well ask around." At this, Khavur nodded, mostly to itself, and hummed its affirmation again. It- her- agh. The beast kept walking, in haste, moving away from the ruins as if she had been a bad house guest there... although whose house it was was anyone's guess.

It went back to the tower. She could continue from this point, go back the way she came... reach Draco again, take Maximus. But without even knowing what Canis was like? How to move through the darkness? Despite their bond, they were two distinct individuals. Part of Khavur's heart craved the freedom, the other part burned at the separation. Maximus would always be with it, of this it was certain, and yet... wouldn't things be easier... didn't it want a challenge...?

"I may sleep for a time. You should return to rest as well, if it suits you." Confusion brought on a malaise the beast could not see or move past. Perhaps she was playing guest to ghosts, and their dislike of her was a laborious thing to bear... What had Master Vargas done here? That was the only connection it could think of.

Later on, perhaps when most should be asleep... it would try to fly. Although, perhaps others being awake would be a good thing, in case it crashed... Ah, it was all so conflicting! She just wanted to close her eyes.

So she did.

- exit -