The bear, as usual, was here for a singular purpose. One, or rather two, goals to be achieved during her time in this cave. This time Centaurs was not host to a busy, crowded mess of alien creatures and plants, but rather... Nothing. Almost nothing, at least. It was a barren place now, barely better than when it had been Dreamless. At least it wouldn't be hard to find what she was looking for.

She was here to hunt. Not for meat, no; Tema had barely been eating enough to keep her current stature, let alone satisfy the endless growling of her stomach. She was here to hunt for oil, a side quest of sorts as she searched for more stones. Strong stones, she hoped. Stones worth reviving. Anything less would mean she had to trade, and other gembound were quickly becoming harder and harder to be around. Today was a good day for her, though, and she would perhaps even enjoy company if they did not mind handing over their spoils. Maybe they could take the stones she would not need, just to save her from trying to barter with them in the future.

With no other idea where to start in such a large cave, Tema found herself reaching for magic. New magic, neutral magic. A spell that did not want to make her claw her own eyes out in shame.

Just to note: Tema is here for stones, not a chance at the special enchanted items!

The Pupil-level gemstone lying in the dusty, parched earth some hundred feet away was small. Easy to miss, without magic. Not that it wasn't a brilliant color: its rich blue recalled the 'sky' above rather than the packed, split sand below. But the coating of said sand left it dull and barely visible.

The kyanite was a rough chunk, with no hint as to what had once borne it.

@Tema

There was a child in Centaurus. Two cycles old, not fresh, but nevertheless undeniably a child. Rhapsody had heard much of Centaurus, especially taking note regards to its special stones. Their father was very interested in magical stones, and Rhapsody had even taken to not eating the magic of special stones due to this.

While the child did not find a stone, they did find a gembound regardless, and that was sort of like finding a stone. Especially once they noticed the gembound had herself found a stone. "Hi!" the child chirped in their musical voice.

"I'm Rhapsody! Can... Can I help you find stones? I can detect magical stones! Though... I can't tell how strongly magical they are, just that they are. But I can be helpful, promise!" the fox-child eagerly informed the larger gembound.

@Tema

Company she had, almost as if the caves dropped the child in her lap. A child. Practice, perhaps, for what would soon be her own litter.

"I'm Tema." She began, a much slower pace of speaking than the other's ramblings. She did not need to explain why she was here. She had been caught red-handed shuffling the dusty stone into her pouch, and the child seemed eager to assist. Less work for her, if they could gather stones and then asses them all at once. "What a helpful creature you are!" She praised, her best attempt at a motherly tone evident but falling flat. Maybe she would do better with her own, with children she cared about. She would have to learn; to care again, that is.

"Just bring what you find over, and toss them in here, yes?" She lifted her bag, a leaf-woven satchel that hung around her neck and sat over her right shoulder. She had to lean back on her hind legs to shuffle things into it with her front paws, but that would not prove to be a problem for the child. "I can check how strong they are all together, once we get a few." Her best attempt at a smile followed before her attention was once more focused on a spell. This time, hopefully finding something living, so that she might satisfy her hunger.

@Rhapsody

Rhapsody did not seem to mind the slower pace the other gembound took as she spoke. Even the praise, which might have fallen flat if they were older, merely caused them to grin happily.

"If there's any you don't want, is it okay if I bring them to my father? He likes magical stones too," the child asked, voice hopeful but clearly understanding if the answer was no.

In any case, it would be good magic practice for the child. They reached out with their sense for living gems, and they searched for the stones that were not moving, and therefore hopefully not alive presently, even if they held magic.

It felt successful. "I think I found one!" they proclaimed cheerily.

While it was quite sparse, there was life within this cave.

A few distant pings lit Rhapsody's mind's eye. The nearest, though it was out of sight a hundred yards or so away, was a small lizard-like creature lounging near the hole of a burrow. It was basking, eyes half-shut, content.

From its back jutted a small shard of grey Ceylonite.

ooc note: it was clarified that gem sense finds living gembound creatures

@Rhapsody

Their question brought the bear pause. It was nearly tangible in the way they stopped, focusing back on the child rather than the task.

"There is no harm in that." She decided after a moment. She wondered if their father was also seeking stones to revive, given the child in front of her. Did she know any relation? Not likely, given that most of her previous connections were now long gone, a thought she did not dwell upon.

"Already? You're a good hunter!" She proclaimed with a genuine smile, trying to follow their gaze. "Let's take a look, shall we?" She offered, plodding over to Rhapsody and waiting for direction. She wanted to see what kind of stones the child could find, and what kind of hunter they might be, if their teeth were any indication.

@Rhapsody