What was that pirate's bounty that Deep Dark had been guarding anyway?

That old noodle had stood poised over this chrysalis for how long? For what reason? What could possibly lay within, beyond Master Farina's creation? And could it possibly be worth it, despite having not been awake... despite having never awoken?

It rattled, uncertain and uncaring of the answers to these questions. Whatever was inside craved the blood and gold that lurked within these waters, the companionship of the algid seas, and maybe more... it could not know the ache in its heart or how to fill it before it managed to escape its age-old prison.

The chrysalis rattled again, cracked, and then snapped open, unhinging and fracturing in a vaguely similar fashion to a rather explosive chest of treasure, or the jaws of a snake, or perhaps it was more reminiscent of an ancient tale of a woman who once opened a box... Either way, the oilstone casket was open, the misfortune was laid bare for all to see. The creature was lucky; there was not a flaw in its design. Then again, perhaps that was due to the fact that it had been brewing for so long, in which case it was bitter lack of luck that had allowed such a circumstance...

All bets were off as soon as the creature opened its their eyes and "breathed" as an amphibian fish does. Undoubtedly, the Scourge had awakened and slowly rose away from its once-home, once-locker:

SOH'LING, THE ABYSSAL SOVEREIGN... IS HERE.

@Deep Dark

The other creatures, those who Farina... hired, were beginning to wake. Their chrysalises and shards littered the dry platform above the moonpool of Deep Dark's designated corner, and the beast of no name continued to protect its own treasures from their prying gazes.

But when it moved, the valkhound pried its hooked claws off of the oilstone, stirred awake by its motions. Was it finally emerging? The gills over its body flared out as it flared out its wings, huffing water in its general direction. Its treasure expanded, and broke, and showed the true colors inside. They were awake. With a hiss, it arrived closer again, wide eyes staring into Soh'ling's face as the creature propped upon the broken side of their chrysalis.

Perhaps it would be overwhelming, as the valkhound's angler tendril flicked in front of their face and illuminated the two of them. It spent a long moment, simply watching them, giving them a small cat-like chitter as they pressed their beak-snout up against the hollow of the newborn's chin. Its treasure was alive, now. The hoard, shared by this new being.

Farina would want to see them. Kicking back, Deep Dark twisted to look for her, letting out a sharp, shrill cry for attention in her direction.

-Ahh, good!

Farina turned, for once, away from her precious Tsavorite. She'd not eaten a damn thing--easy, when one had her level of practice--in weeks. It was growing, that gemstone: gradually swelling and filling out.

But now, another demanded her attention. A simple tap of her claw, a thrust of her magic, had jolted it from its long hibernation when she'd returned: and now it was ready, if Deep Dark's shrill cry was any indication, to at last emerge. One enormous claw reached out as she clacked her way closer, to brush across the Valkhound's lanterned head. "GOOD," she crooned, as if it were a favored pet.

Acid eyes on their stalks studied the Oilstone chrysalis. Did the Hands even come here, any more, to collect their work-? Or had they abandoned this nest completely? This Oilstone, now--this was one of the last they had made together-... Her eyes again looked to the Tsavorite.

Back to the cracking Oilstone.

No; perhaps this one could... stay, awhile. It had been here for so long, after all. "IT WILL NEED FOOD," she mused, and glanced to Deep Dark. "IT WILL EAT FLESH." Ahh, but her loyal sea dragon had guarded the stone for so long-... It had shown itself attached, even, since her return. "GUARD IT," she decided, in a moment of magnanimous impulse. She would bring its first meal; Deep Dark could get to know it, for the moment. "BE CAREFUL. IT WILL NOT KNOW YOU."

The creature now exposed within appeared--at first glance--to be flawless: the bony, feline-like eel that they had so carefully crafted. It--like Deep Dark--could have ravaged a world from beneath its waves... but for now, that was not to be.

With a sharp clacking, she turned and scuttled slowly away, looking for something it could eat. These creatures could be ravenous, if not sated after hatching.

@Soh-ling

Any of the normie Gembounds probably would have startled at this welcome committee; hissing? Wide eyes staring Directly at you? A tendril bearing illumination, some strange chittering noise, and a touch against the Sovereign's chin, with the finishing touch of a shriek? Not exactly what I would call jubilee, or anything resembling domestic comfort, but Soh'ling was fine with it. Soh'ling was built for it.

They did not register every booming word from the massive crab (their maker and Master!) but that was alright. Everything was intact. It was all coming together...

"GUARD IT!"

"BE CAREFUL. IT WILL NOT KNOW YOU."

Soh'ling's first thoughts were quite a jumble, but in the presence of words that knot began to untangle... "I won't?" ...and slip away unfiltered. Farina was likely too far to hear these first words, but that wasn't so bad. There would be many more to come. Soh'ling would look to their guard, the first guard they had ever been given. Their flesh, faintly glowing* like a dim torch in a dark cave, tried on a plethora of colors and combinations in the span of two or three seconds. This must mean: confusion. Blinking and slowly cocking their head to one side, Soh'ling's gaze would remain trained on Deep Dark... and slowly they would settle on a warm honey orange base with streaked color points of green. It was a rather fruity choice. "Guess I won't." This was punctuated by a feline chirp, something along the lines of mrrp!

Now here would be a great opening for a particular question -- you know, the kind that begins in "Who" and ends in "are you?" So Soh'ling... but Soh'ling... um, psst, Soh'ling, that is- was your cue... It must have slipped their mind. They were too busy attempting to initiate a staring contest. This probably could've been expected -- what was anyone supposed to do with a guard anyway? Be guarded by it? But that's not something you do.

What is something you do?

Soh'ling's eyes would dart to the side. What was that, in the distance, moving-? Many things moved down here. Something Soh'ling could do (and would now attempt to do) was investigate it. So off the cat-eel would go, zipping through the water like a bullet.


OOC:
*CJ approved

@Deep Dark

The dragon blinked back to Soh'ling, sparks twitching over its fish-scales as Farina approached. Ah- her claw met its head, and it chirruped happily, curling back its ripped-fin scalp to her touch. A small gesture, but one that brought a brief swish to the beast's tail and a sigh like a comforted dog.

Food. Flesh. Guarding. It rose its head like an uncoiling snake, acknowledgment rippling through it with a slow bob of its head. It would be careful. It would watch and guard this new treasure, this jewel in the city's crown. And it would wait for them to be fed, turning back to watch the rainbow of colors bathing over Soh'ling.

It started as soon as Soh'ling did, all coiled muscle ready to burst alongside them. It had not been told to keep them from moving, but it would follow so it could fulfill its job, the crackling lights of its bioluminescence lighting in tandem with Soh'ling's own. They were moving, and so it would move to.

With a soft whistle, Deep Dark reached forward to nudge Soh'ling's shoulder in an act a little too hard than it meant, before backing off and angling itself in a different direction. "Here..." it sighed out. This way, it wanted to tell them, this way to where they would be safe. Where they could stabilize and soothe the Chaos in them, feed their mind while Farina gathered food for their body.

(DD is lookin to lead Soh'ling to where they can stabilize? Navy said to ask him when she does it but I figure she'd do it right away so Eh)

Just outside the (smashed open) doors, one of the great black glyph-stones hanging upside-down from the watery ceiling pulsed its dim light. There were many of these obelisks around the Black City: many of them markers, their green or pink or violet glows Oil-like and lurid in the dim, murky waters. This one, though, was slicked like Oil itself, the throb of corruptive energy flowing through it, a minor source of power for those who needed to visit it.

Farina turned, plodding back to the Oilstone chrysalis--only to find it empty. Puzzled, a large fish clenched in one claw, she stared at it for a moment: eyes swivelled on their stalks, and she turned and looked toward the shattered doors.

Crab-arms shrugged, and she dropped the fish and went back to her Tsavorite. If they came back, they'd come back; she could depend on Deep Dark, at least, to return. The other... well, she'd see, wouldn't she?

@Soh-ling

The guard briskly followed Soh'ling, to no one's surprise. Unbeknownst to the Sovereign, the target they were headed for was just a bout of seaweed wriggling about on the ocean floor. Yet again, to no one's surprise, although Soh'ling found themself a little disappointed. What had they been expecting?

The disappointment quickly evaporated with a nudge from their guard (Soh'ling had no way of telling whether it was 'too hard' or not, since they had no comparable experience). It sent a yellow ripple down their spine -- finally, someone's surprise! Savor the taste of it, for the moment would soon pass. Soh'ling's expression turned to one of a feline intrigue (wide, inquisitive eyes, now gleaming yellow like the headlights of a bus), and with it their flesh turned a strange purple-and-red combination. That's a lot of curiosity... and this is a form of cat... I might start worrying about the returning of this one, Master Farina.

The followed became the follower as fast as a fly can turn a corner. As they went, Soh'ling took notice of the color theme all around and decided to copy it onto their own body. Was it really even a decision? When they came to the Oil obelisk, Soh'ling slowed to a stop before the font and simply... gazed. Something about it felt magnetic, tempting Soh'ling closer with the whispered words of a siren, but they resisted and turned to their guard instead. "What's this?" The instinct to please and to discover could, for now, outweigh the various hungers of mind, body, and soul. Savor the moment, because now I warn you, it does not last.

@Deep Dark

Deep Dark twisted behind to see if Soh'ling would follow, milky eyes bright in the dark. Yes, this way. Turning over like a twisted rag, the dragon swirled around the Oil-slick obelisk, presenting it to their new ward. What was this? "Power," they sighed out. "A place... to soothe Chaos." One set of claws hovered over the surface, though did not touch. "It will... fill the belly... of your mind..."

She hesitated for a moment, staring into the surface before shaking her head. "Its grasp... it desires. It fills... destructive desires..." Her fin wavered in the water as she turned her head back to Soh'ling, top claws grasped together. "What do... you think..?"

She hadn't been able to ask anyone else this question in so long, and now that she had her own little ward, then... Well, she wanted to make sure they were as comfortable as they could be. Glancing back to the doors, the dragon let out a clip of a noise through snapping teeth, pointing with their muzzle back the way they came. "This... all, of this... is home. Do not destroy home," she murmured. "There will... be enemies. To destroy, for our... protection. For our food."

With a gentle push of their tail, the valkhound drifted closer to Soh'ling, never settling to stay still in the water. "Are... you hungry..?"

@Soh-ling

The guard twisted around the Oiled obelisk, making the whole thing look like the composition of an old and beautiful painting. An angel of death was she, heralding two prizes, now introduced. Soh'ling twitched and tingled, feeling caressed by the sensations of power and awe, the temptation of that obelisk, the temptation of hunger. "It's beautiful..." they decided, feeling a greater and greater desire to touch it and feast.

The Sovereign's eyes were guided to behold Home. Home, to be protected. Enemies, to be destroyed. They came for the food, the obelisk, the Home. The Sovereign looked back to their guard. Would enemies come for them, too?

"I am," Soh'ling responded, feeling an enchantment in the impulse. To feed, to protect, to watch Home, to care for it. And its residents. "What feeds, the..." Soh'ling reached out to their guard with a paw, hoping to find flesh, blood. "...the body?" This was difficult to parse in Soh'ling's mind. Many hungers, many forms, but they all felt similar, intertwined, and consuming. Hunger eats. It was becoming all Soh'ling could feel. They sought out the eyes of their guard, flashing red, flashing green, as if to say: Help me.

@Deep Dark