Seeing Anubis at the entrance to the sector was a surprise, yes. Nevertheless, it was the pleasant kind of surprise. It occurred to Bacchus, of course, that Anubis had followed him deliberately. But since Anubis had not followed him into the shadowy depths of the maze where his garden lay, Bacchus did not mind.

He would not even mind sharing the garden, at this point where he had seen it for the first time on his own as he wished, though perhaps he could make some kind of deal, to share that research material.

It was not like Bacchus would not follow Anubis, himself. He was no hypocrite to judge his obsession for stalking him when he would do the same.

Like a feline marking a possession, or in this case an obsession, Bacchus did not even think before tactilely rubbing his side against Anubis's own side. (He probably got tracking spores on Anubis by accident, actually.) "Thank you, Anubis," the rumbling purr to his voice was greater than prior.

Then he backed off, because usually he remembered that most cared about personal space. He was not rude, merely enthusiastic to show his appreciation. Or, at least he hoped he was not rude, though he did not linger on that long, still lost in eager thoughts.

"The garden is perfect, it will be so very useful..." his gaze became distant, thinking of the possibilities. "I will need to test the properties fully, first, yet..."

His tail thwapped against the ground, his energy and excitement palpable. "I think... I should create some children, perhaps. My garden is well-hidden, a maze within a maze, and it is deep within the dark. It is only thanks to you that I was able to find and claim it for my own. I hope my own gift proves helpful for your experiments, as I intended," Bacchus's eyes were alight with a manic energy.

"I will need to conduct some tests of my own... Regarding the plants, yet also... the mind, I think. Minds are intriguing, especially growing ones," he stated, purple gaze bright with glee.

@Anubis

He had followed Bacchus from Orion, carefully monitering the direction he had been wandering. It was from quite a distance away - an hour, perhaps, trailing behind, so there was no chance he would detect his stalker. It wasn't that Anubis was curious about Bacchus himself, but of the wish he had granted. The sudden change in his demeanor and obsession was...strange. And things he did not know he found himself curiously trailing.

He followed to the edge of the prison, where he waited before the shadowy depths. It would not be smart to venture into those utterly dark depths when he could not see and had no knowledge of his quarry's sight. So he waited, patiently, almost statue-like in his place. With a tinge of loneliness, without an Aati to keep him company. Yet still, he watched, until the golden pelt came stepping out from the dark.

When he made to rub against Anubis, he seemed to lean back, almost vaguely disgusted at the proximity, but tentatively allowed it, still quickly shaking off his pelt once the leopard had retreated. Cycles upon cycles alone, he realized, make make one averse to such contact, but if he wanted to play and dance around with this leopard, there would be need to keep him happy.

"Bacchus," he greeted. "What did you find? A garden?" He frowned. How would that fulfill the wish he had set? Perhaps there was more to it then a simple garden. But...Bacchus seemed pleased. That, at least, gave him some relief.

He sniffed and raised his muzzle slightly up. "Children? Yes, I created one for a similar experiment. It was...educational, yet they are hard to hold onto. You will have to be careful. They can be...exhausting. And incredibly disruptive." He held no ill-will for Fiver, of course, he had been useful to his obsessive research, but the amount of attention he had to divert to keep him complacent and nearby had taken much away from his studies. It was not an experience he particularly wished to repeat.

But...the prisons before them, a maze within a maze, Bacchus said?

He stepped around the leopard, peering into the dark. "And this place you have found...what is it? It smells of death." Indeed, the stale, dank air held wisps of ancient decay, not unfamiliar to one who spent his time watching the cycle of life and death tumble and turn before his eyes. Without really waiting for an answer, he stepped past the leopard, as if drawn within the dark.

@Bacchus

"Indeed, a garden," he tilted his head, pondering how he would explain this to the jackal. "As you can grow fungus, I can grow plants. Imagine... Discovering new fungus, unlike any you had never seen before, with properties uniquely suited for your experiments," he offered. His own passions, plants and sadism, had become linked intrinsically now.

"I created one once, yet it left me when I fell into chrysalis," he stated, a distaste in his voice as he spoke of the child, Omadios. It was meant to be an aspect of himself, and it was clear that he had failed in that. But these children he had no intention of giving the chance to leave.

"Why should I allow them the chance to leave my hold, or disrupt me?" he suggested, a pleased croon to his rumbling voice. "There is no way to navigate in that pure darkness, unless I lead the way. If I place the chrysalises deep within there, near the garden but not too close as to consume it... Indeed, there will be no need to worry. There is only one source of light, and it is small. They will cling to it, as the plants do."

"And I will play their light as well. I will bring them food, from time to time, perhaps. Tell them the world is dangerous, and far more awful than what they face within. They would not know otherwise, hatching within..." he purred.

"A psychological experiment," Bacchus felt victorious.

"It does smell of death, does it not? It feels... uniquely suited, to my purposes." He glanced over at Anubis truly as the jackal was drawn towards the darkness. "Do you like it?" the leopard wondered, observing the jackal.

@Anubis

Anubis listened to Bacchus's plans as he led the way back into the prison, his mind cut in two places. One part, listening, interested enough in what the leopard was saying, other half fascinated in the prison complex. As he stepped, magic reached out to touch the history of the stone where he walked, whispers for what bloody, tormented history's echoes were trapped within these walls.

He looked back at Bacchus and found he could see nothing but a silhouette against the dim lighting outside. That was fine, Anubis was not afraid of the dark. He had spent many cycles trapped deep in Canis, starving, dark, alone. He had died there, and come back. He would not do the same here.

"You have thought about this a lot." A cold, emotionless observation. No judgement, but a spark of dark interest. "I would like to observe this, if you would allow me. I am fascinated to know...how life will be stunted, grown in the dark. How their eyes develop when they can see so little. Will they cower or fight? Try to run, or be complacent? Will they turn to violence against one another, or against you? Or will they believe what honeyed words you offer?"

He turned back to look at the prison again. "Yes. I like it. I would like to pick apart its very walls."

@Bacchus

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

violence

The lights above Anubis abruptly flickered on. And off again, defunct orbs, eerily flashing the stone walls brightly visible, then plunging them into darkness again. And on--as two huge shapes lurched past, dragging a third, and screaming drowned him, piercing.

"NO! PLEASE, I don't want to die! I served! I SERVED!" Its words were cut off with violence, a lash hard enough to spray blood across the walls. The cries became a pained, half-conscious moan. The two hulking creatures left and right did not answer, but shifted their grips and dragged this one further in. They were hard to make out in the murky half-light, doubly so as the lights now shuddered off again. But there were spines, massive limbs, and one wore a coat of thick, dark fur.

Bacchus was gone.

The fenced area at the start of the corridor--metal grating, shining black--held another creature, alien, spined. It watched the procession from behind the fence with glowing eyes, then turned forward again, ignoring them. A gatekeeper, then. Or a watcher of some sort. But down the hall, there were shuffles as creatures retreated from the myriad doorways. Each one the procession of three passed by, creatures fled them, though they had only a few feet in which to move: trapped within their cells, yet terrified nonetheless.

Somewhere distant, a horrible, bloodcurdling scream broke halfway through, choked into silence.

The lights winked out.

Bacchus was there.

@Anubis

Initially, the thought of Anubis observing was instinctually unappealing to Bacchus. It was his, he thought with no small amount of possessive feelings. And yet, the jackal had asked politely, he considered, with a genuine interest in this. Perhaps he could even see things that Bacchus would not.

The way Anubis described potential scenarios had Bacchus staring with great interest at Anubis. It was not an intentional attempt to convince him, he did not think. And he still was not entirely convinced.

"Perhaps... I could be persuaded, to allow to you observe," his voice rumbled with delight and darkness both. "However... You would be expected to contribute some, if you wished to observe, I think. Some... offspring, that is. One with your stone, one with your intriguing magic, perhaps? Or even both with your magic, if you feel so inclined to make such an effort. It is... negotiable," he offered, pleasantly enough for what they were discussing.

"I will need to find some other suitable stones, as well," he added. "So it would not be immediate. But it will be soon."

@Anubis

At first, Anubis stopped because he was genuinely surprised by Bacchus's offer. His stone...and life? And then he was rendered shock-still by the images passing through him, the screams pressing into his ears, echoes of a time when this prison was alive with death and pain. He came out of the vision the same as he had before, but with more insight, more interest. He had figured this place, with its stagnant air and gloomy halls, was once a place of torment and misery.

That did not deter him one bit.

He turned back, small fungal shelves beginning to roll up the sides of the wall, casting both of them in dim, green, bioluminescent light. He stared at Bacchus, eyes flashing in the dark.

"I am offering a partnership. You carry out your...experiment. I observe in my way, contribute as needed. What knowledge I glean will be shared - knowledge of life, of death, and of this very prison whose foul heart I will tear open." His eyes widened a fraction. "I have already Seen - those imprisoned here screamed for their lives. They bled and died. For what purpose, I do not yet know. I will share this with you, when I do."

He stopped for a moment, a beat of silence falling between them. "And you will give me my space, to research, and access to observe your...children. And, perhaps, a sample from your garden, here and there, for my own testing. I am most interested in what you have discovered. I will...give you life or stone or both, if you need. But I will not raise them - that will be your responsibility." He blinked. "I think this seems a fair partnership."

@Bacchus

A partnership... Bacchus much liked that term, for a relationship between him and Anubis. Yet he did not speak, only listened to the end.

That this was a prison to begin with was noted with fascination, the magic that Anubis had used noted with even greater fascination.

He allowed the silence to stretch briefly, sensing that Anubis was not done. The jackal had not yet spoken of Bacchus's terms, after all. And then when he had, Bacchus was pleased. An agreement.

"That seems fair, and so we have a deal and a partnership," he agreed, pleased with this conclusion. "With your light, you may choose what room you see fit, though... I recommend removing the light path to and from there when you are done. You would not want to be disturbed by someone else, less interested in our research. I am quite interested in what you discover."

"...One life and one stone, I think, will be best," he decided. "Not now, not yet. Hmm..." he fell into thought.

"Feel free to explore, Anubis. I think I shall go hunt," Bacchus informed the jackal. It would give him some time to clear his head, he thought, perhaps even play some. Maybe he would even find a stone from his prey if he was lucky.

[Exit Bacchus?]

@Anubis

Anubis nodded, the deal struck, the partnership made. To darker depths they would travel together, at last a true research partner after so many cycles studying alone. Although he would have to find a suitable place to set up his own space - he still worked best when it was one on one between researcher and subject.

"Without substrate to feed, they will die quickly," was his only further response. He watched, for a moment, with wide, gleaming eyes as Bacchus turned to leave. For a moment, he itched to reach out and brush against the retreating leopard's tail, to implant a different kind of spore to travel up and into the brain, to ensure that this partnership would be fruitful...but ah, there was no need to waste his magic. Unless Bacchus exhibited any concerning behaviors, this was a favorable deal as it was. He would keep an eye, however.

He turned himself around in the opposite direction and stalked further into the darkness, quickly swallowed by the depths.

*exit