The sphynx searched around the area for a while, but seemed to be unable to find the ideal source of water she was looking for. The puddles she did find were either too small, or too dirty to suit her tastes. Sure, if she were less picky this all could've been much easier, but Sakhira would rather not risk drinking something that suspicious looking. It was not only a matter of taste! What if she got sick! And so, the search continued. Throughout all this she made sure not to stray too far from her gemstones, for fear of losing them.

And soon enough, she did stumble upon one. Now, it wasn't what one would consider crystal clear, and it had a hint of murkiness to it, but at least it was cleaner than the other ones she had found. Sakhira took a few moments to look at her reflection. Seeing herself reflected off other surfaces was still something that amazed her no matter how many times she did it. Then she bent down and quickly gulped up some water. It was refreshing, and quenched her thirst. Though since the water wasn't completely clean all the way she took care not to drink too much before returning to her gemstones.

There was one stone left. The one she had found on accident, and had been buried underground. Did she want to know what could be seen in it? What it would hold? How did it end up where it was? Sakhira anxiously shifted her weight from foot to foot. Surely it couldn't be worse than what she had encountered in the Austinite, right? And even if it was, that would only serve as further motivation for her to give it a new life. Which is what all of these stones deserved.

Her magic, though it was partially refreshed from her break, didn't come easily to her. She could feel it come- then fade away. She had another chance to decide if she really wanted to do this, she could back out now, it would be alright- but she wouldn't take it. Sakhira had already set her mind on the task, and there was no backing away now. Aha! It was coming, she could feel the tingling sensation from her stone, though just barely. And the magic came out, seeped into her senses. Brought her into the carletonite.

This time, the sound of a heart was extremely faint, and oddly, there were... three of them? The beats were nearly simultaneous, but not quite, their echo through the stone now thrumming through Sakhira's mind.

The memory, too, of another vibration came with them: the constant, muted gurgle of water, surrounding and washing past this stone.

@Sakhira

Ah, she was lucky. She had seen no visions of this creatures death, rather, she learned how it lived. With three hearts apparently. What in the world had three hearts? Well, how did she know everyone else didn't have three hearts? That was the real question here. And it seemed it lived in water too, as was evident from the sound of water. Strange. And she was back. Sakhira shook her head, looking into all these stones was starting to make her question a lot of things. Though admittedly, she didn't know much about anatomy and all from the start. She wondered how long she had been here. Had it been only a matter of hours, or days?

@Cadenza

Cadenza was surprised to have found the child Sakhira once again, this time in Polaris. Pleasantly so, of course. It was always a pleasure to interact with young ones, and the deer-dragon hoped such interactions would help prepare them for parenthood.

It was, however, quite startling to see the collection of stones before Sakhira. The child was only, well, a child. She couldn't have any intentions of reproducing. Then again, Sakhira did seem quite drawn to shiny things. Perhaps that was it?

"Greetings, Sakhira. It is a pleasure to see you again," Cadenza warmly told the child.

"What are you doing today? Are you collecting gems?" Their tone was genuinely interested.

@Sakhira

"Oh, hello!" She was surprised to see the dragon again after having met them so recently. But that was not a bad thing! "Yes..." Sakhira looked upon all the stones she had in front of her, but the term gems didn't seem to be fitting. Yes, they were indeed gems, but they were also something more. They were lives. "I can see. Into the gems." her face brightened for a second, but then quickly fell as her gaze landed upon the austinite. It was the only gemstone among them all that was embedded into a bone. Dark green and ominous.

"They died." Sakhira looked sadly at the austinite, and there was a pain in her heart as the memories of what she had seen came flooding back. But she didn't want to focus on that! What was important that it could hopefully be given another chance at life. "Can you sense too? Inside of stones?" The sphynx nudged the austinite embedded in bone closer to Cadenza as if offering them a chance to try and see inside of it. It wasn't that she wanted to traumatize them or anything. It was more like sharing a memory. Telling the story of the gembound that had long passed.

@Cadenza

Cadenza was not expecting that answer, nor the words that followed. These were stones from beings that had once lived, then, for certain. And then they had died, and this child had seen such.

"When I touch things, I can peer into the past at times, when the magic works. Is that what you were doing?" They gently inquired as the answered the question.

Truth be told, Cadenza was nervous about touching the stone. Seeing death...

But they did not want the child to be alone in her knowledge. So, ever so carefully, they leaned down and touched their nose to the bone that the austinite was imbedded into.

Their magic must have sensed their reluctance, for nothing happened. They lifted their head, and they considered the bone. It was here because its owner had died. There was no question about it. Yet... Perhaps they were thinking about this wrong.

Was it so horrible to look into the past, to see this being when it had been alive? Remembering could be a way to honor this life.

So, Cadenza gently touched their nose to the bone again, but this time they focused more intently. They wanted to see the being that this bone belonged to, truly.