Ruby-Beta hadn't lingered by the wishing stone, returning to Draco soon after to seek after the supposed "nemesis" that it had promised. Its claws itched against the stone, nervous for whatever test this would be, hopeful that it could defeat its adversary but still nervous all the same. It had never seen real combat outside of practice hunts. This would be its first real takedown. A test to see how useful it would be for the Forge.

This better work, it thought to itself as it grit its teeth and stepped through the Aperture. Immediately, it began to search for heartbeats - not familiar ones, not in the usual places where the Forge members would be, but against the walls, by the Spire, anywhere where this nemesis might appear. It needed to act first, get the element of surprise. The wishing stone had told it that this would be an enemy to take down with its stealth and silence instead of brute force or powerful magics, so hopefully, it could do this.

There were sparks of life all over Draco--the Sentinel back at the door, Vargas working alongside Totum somewhere by the Black Spire, and all those other familiar shapes. What Ruby-Beta would notice, however, was the one shape out of place: something long and slinking, but not all that big, coiling slowly through the distant Womb.

At first glance, it was easy to mistake for Nidhogg: but it was smaller, its legs more feline, its movements slow and cautious rather than frenetic.

It would take drawing closer, however, to see if this was truly the "nemesis" the Wishing Stone had promised.

@Ruby-Beta

Ruby-Beta turned itself in the direction of the strange entity it could feel creeping through the Womb. Eyes narrowed as it began to trot over in its direction, letting the magicka go once it had a good feel for its general location. It wasn't sure if this was what it was looking for, but it certainly didn't recognize this creature from that distance. Either way, it wanted to get a look.

Once it began to approach, Ruby-Beta dropped into a crouch and began creeping forward, making sure to stick close to the walls so that it didn't attract too much attention. In its haste to find the stranger, however, it tripped against a rock, scattering it across the ground and taking a full step out of the darkness of the wall. As soon as it did, however, it made to right itself, shooting back so that it was pressed against the stone, still as a statue in case it had alerted its quarry.

The clatter prompted a sudden movement in the dark ahead, and Ruby-Beta would suddenly see its quarry.

The creature was jet black, thickly-furred to the point that it looked almost smoky in the dark. It was long, low to the ground, somehow both serpentine and fox-like both; it looked built for speed. A long and pointed snout twitched up and down as beady eyes tried to pick apart the shadows around Ruby-Beta. One short, slender forepaw, tipped with long, remarkably thick claws, hung in the air as the creature tensed.

At its feet were a number of shattered shards of Oilstone. This creature had been snooping around the Womb, and now this pocket of stone was broken: whether a living chrysalis had been destroyed, or the beast was on the hunt for one and hadn't yet found one, wasn't clear. What was clear was that this thing was out to break down chrysalises and kill what lay within, consuming them.

It hadn't yet spotted Ruby, but its large, vulpine ears rotated as it sniffed the air, clearly on high alert.

@Ruby-Beta

It could see them now, just a little bit. No wonder the stone had sent it after this creature - it guessed that few others would be able to reign it in. Especially not with strength - that creature was made to run and run fast. But if it managed to catch it before it ran, then it would be in the clear. Its sneaking skills would come in handy with this fight.

Taking a long deep breath, Ruby-Beta attempted to focus themselves. To slip into shadow and become one with the stones of Draco. After a moment, it felt like it had done a good enough job and took a step forward.

...Only to step right on a loose pebble that immediately rolled out from under it, throwing out its paw, along with its balance, right out from under it. Ruby-Beta instinctively dropped its concentration and scrabbled at the stone to stay up, yelping out an instinctive, "FUCK" before tumbled over and slamming onto their side in an almost comedic tangle of limbs.

The creature turned, head jerking toward the thumping tumble of violet skin. For the briefest moment that forepaw still hung in the air--and then the shadowy noodle shot into motion, darting with swift and graceful agility across Draco's floor. It wove in and out of the Womb's empty hulls, curving swiftly up the wall--and then began to run for the Aperture, seemingly intent upon escape.

@Ruby-Beta

There was a moment in which their eyes locked, or, at least, Beta assumed they did, as it was still immersed in shadow, and then suddenly it was in motion, just as fast and agile as it had predicted. Shit shit shit this wasn't good! It were fast too, but not quite that fast! And its stealth had totally fucking failed it...again! What the hell was the use of ANY of these skills if it wouldn't do a single thing for it?!

Scrambling to its feet, it took off after the creature. It's priority now was to not lose sight of it, or even better, to cut off its escape. But as soon as it got to its feet to chase after it, it once again found itself slipping. Only seconds after its first blunder and comical fall, it did it again, feet flying out from under it, this time falling forward with an "oof!" slamming heavily onto the ground as its quarry escaped.

By the time Ruby-Beta had picked itself up, the sound of scrabbling claws had faded. Which made it rather odd when, a moment later, a voice spoke up from behind.

The creature was sitting neatly a short, but relatively safe, distance away. Faint shadows shrouded it. Its tail was neatly curled around its paws, and its head was tilted to one side as it watched Ruby-Beta.

When it spoke, its voice was oily, deep, and a little rough. "What are you doing?" it asked, and then--without a gap for a response--"Do you need help?"

It was the faintest bit mocking, but the offer, at least, seemed to be serious.

@Ruby-Beta

Ruby-Beta didn't bother getting up for a moment. What was the point? It's target was escaping! By now it was probably already past the Aperture, heading to Pegasus and freedom, where it could slink on back whenever it wanted to and keep destroying the chrysalis back here. It growled low, claws gripping the stone hard, failure sinking deep into its bones. That's right - it was a completely fucking failure, huh.

But then, a voice. It was so surprising that Beta actually scrambled right to its feet to turn around and face whoever it was. It was automatic, reflexive, and they were surprised to see themselves off the ground so quickly. And then they actually looked at the guy in front of them and to its shock, the creature it'd been hunting was there, standing right in front of it. A sneer in its voice, mocking its failure, but here regardless. It hadn't escaped. I still have a chance!

A plan formulated in its head quickly. It wasn't much, but it was something. It cleared its throat, tail sweeping around behind it. "Oh uhhh...hi. No, I'm okay I just. I noticed you over here and thought I'd come see. I just...I'm clumsy. Big paws you know. Sorry if I frightened you." It lifted one of its large, monstrous paws for the other to see and chuckled a little awkwardly, trying to seem as foolish and harmless as possible.

The stranger continued to study Ruby-Beta, a sort of distant, smug amusement about it. It shuffled backward a slow, unhurried couple paces as Ruby-Beta moved, then settled back into a sit, though there was a constant tension about it that suggested it was ready to run.

"So I see," it rasped, and then tilted its head in that remarkably fox-like gesture again, scrutinizing the oversized limbs and then Ruby-Beta itself.

"Do you know who I am..?" it asked, and there was that thread of black humor in it again.

@Ruby-Beta