It finally found itself with a chance to slip off to Eridanus, and it quietly worried that the timing would mess up everything. The directions it had received weren't as clear in it's mind as when it'd first received them, and it wasn't even guaranteed that whoever it was looking for would still be where The Wishing Stone had promised.

And it didn't help how densely wooded Eridanus was, the veritable maze of foliage that further obscured where exactly it was meant to go. It felt like it was going in circles at times, and it wonder why it had decided to take directions from a ROCK. It was considering the possibility that this was just a wild goose chase when it finally spotted a familiar sight from the 'directions' it had been given.

In time, it had gotten to the cave behind the ledge it had been looking for all along. It didn't enter right away, instead it carefully reached out with it's magic, checking to see if who it was looking for was even inside in the first place.

The seething red within the cave, beyond the ledge, was enormous. Thick-bodied, incredibly long, it was also in motion: curving out of the den's mouth in sinuous movements, it stepped almost carefully around a delicate patch of flowers just outside.



The figure hadn't seen V-Labradorite-One yet: instead it curved back, seeming to stretch a little, peering up into the canopy of Eridanus's trees. Orb-light gleamed over a carapace and a multitude of legs--and two enormous mandibles, one of which was gleaming diamond.

@V-Labradorite-One

The heartbeat of the life it detected thrummed in it's ears, the faint impression of something truly massive. This already brought some tinge of apprehension- they would be a worthy ally in battle, but if things went sour during this meeting...

The second thing that occurred to it, however, was how much this reminded it of The Zoisite. Superficially, the insectoid shape resembled the Zoisite's own, but the way it curled carefully around a flower patch and stared up into the canopy above. It quietly wondered if all insectoid beings had such an affinity towards plant-life.

Cautiously it would call out. "Hello?"

Venari's head snapped down toward the voice, mandibles spreading wide for a moment. The diamond half of her shearing jaws flashed in the orb-light, and then she lowered down, carapace gleaming as she scuttled closer.

There, she inspected V-Labradorite-One as she spoke. "Hello? Were you looking for me? -Do you have a contract?" she added, in a guarded tone--it wasn't clear if this would be a good thing, or a bad one. She didn't sound particularly friendly, though, which begged the question: why had the Wishing Stone sent Labradorite to her-?

@V-Labradorite-One

It flinched hard as Venari leaned in, hyper aware of how easily those mandibles could shear through its bones. First it shrunk back instinctively, but then it straightened back up, forcing itself to not look like a coward.

The gembound it faced seemed professionally guarded in an almost familiar way didn't seem rather friendly and a twinge of doubt made it wonder if this was really a good idea or not. This then settled firmly into 'this is a horrible idea' as it tried to speak.

"I don't have a contract." It began, and that voice which sounded so hesitant and so nervous was like bile on it's tongue. "I was looking for you because I want to speak with you. We could- we could be potential allies."

At V-Labradorite-One's flinch, Venari pulled back away a little bit. Her mouthparts seemed, just a little, to twist into the semblance of a frown. The news that it had no contract brought no reaction, but "ally" had her tilt her massive head, her legs twitching for a beat as she thought back. Someone, once, had explained to her the differences between allies and friends, and though a lot of his talking had been lost on her (there'd been a lot of it), she thought maybe she remembered that part.

She tried to recall, then peered at Labradorite.

"Ally is when you cooperate, and share a goal, yes?" Her mandibles clicked quietly. "Do we share a goal?" It was a straightforward question, and it seemed to perhaps be more honest than challenging, though with her carapace-type face it was difficult to be sure. It was what she was wondering, though; and she wondered, too--was it trying to get her to fulfill a contract without payment-?

Hmm.

She'd have to wait and see.

@V-Labradorite-One