Oliver looked to Venari, wide-eyed--more out of surprise than anything. "It--reached for me?" he asked, both hopeful and confused. Did that mean-... Did that maybe mean it could still--feel, or think?

She didn't have to ask him twice; quickly he cradled it, dropping back onto his haunches and pulling the stone down against his chest. He held it very carefully, the pads of his forelimbs embracing it, and blinked down at its static, swirling purple. "Do you... know what that means?" he asked softly, blinking up at Venari again, then looked down at the stone.

Is she just saying that to make me feel better? For a second, this thought was met with warmth--it'd be surprisingly sweet of her, given how bluntly honest she normally seemed to be.

But... that'd be sad, too, and that spark of grief came close on the heels of that warmth. He didn't want this stone to be dead, lonely, sad.

Again, without really thinking the thought through, he sort of wished that he could help.

Somehow.

@Game Master CJ

"I don't know," Venari answered as Oliver began to cradle the stone, but the longer he held it, the more its magic entwined with his. For a moment, she didn't know what to say or what to do, or if it was even dangerous—but she felt nervous all the same, because it was new to her and she did not know what to do. In her hesitancy, entranced by the pull of magic, she was slow to realize Oliver's veined onyx creeping up around him.

"Oliver!" she gasped, scuttling up to him as a flash of magic blinded her third eye and she squeezed all three closed, recoiling briefly before pushing through the pain to find him.

But that was it. Whether he had been aware of it or not, he had willed his lifeforce into the sugilite and had entered his chrysalis as a result of the magic lost to revive it. Venari slowly peeked at both with her third eye, confirming Oliver was still alive and that he had somehow given life to the sugilite with more of his magic than was considered normal.

She was quiet for a moment, then set about to make sure the bulbs he had brought were planted; when that was done, she decorated the area around the two chrysalises with baubled items, and curled around them defensively. However long Oliver needed to sleep for, she would be here to protect him.

He felt... almost in a trance.

He knew that sort of feverish intensity that came over him sometimes, now. That focus, that almost desperation that drove all other thoughts from his mind. It hit him now: he wanted to help the stone. He'd do anything. He could feel that buzz in his mind, feel all other emotions becoming distant, in a way that was almost disturbing.

Venari's single word half snapped him out of it--his head jerked toward her, eyes widening--but too late; his stone rose higher, and a sense of faint surprise twinned with hopeful relief. He didn't know what was happening; he had no time to be afraid. But maybe-... Maybe I helped the stone?

It was all the time he had thought for before his consciousness blinked away, leaving his curled form encased in black, streaked with green, and impossible purple-pink, and brilliant, blinding gold.

exit Oliver

Oliver discovers Guaranteed Give Life through the power of Wish Magic; all gembounds are capable of Guaranteed Give Life for a single conception. It cannot be used with regular Give Life for additional conceptions. Users will need to enter chrysalis for 3 days after use to restore lost magic (does not count for a chrysalis consequence).