Ruby-Beta fulfilled its duty - guarding the tunnel, staying close to the Master while he tested the human, not daring to watch what he was doing and instead watching carefully and guarding his task. Of course, this gave it the wonderfully perfect opportunity to rest, laying down on its stomach and just watching. No need for any serious training, no need to hunt or to push itself. All it had to do was watch and protect.

But still, it had been yearning to have a talk with Master Vargas for some time now - about why it had been away and the training it had done in its absence. To report on all the creatures it'd met (and to apologize for attacking a dragon when they were trying to make peace) and maybe even show off how good it had become? How useful it could be to Vargas and the Sentinels.

It was sitting where it usually guarded, looking pretty antsy - at least as antsy as it could look with a face like that. "Master Vargas?" It called out, if he was nearby. Otherwise, it'd get his attention when he returned.

@Vargas

He was studying the chrysalises when Ruby-Beta called him: examining their size, their sheen, looking and feeling for the distant heartbeats within. They were growing well; he was pleased, and eager to see what would result.

At the call he turned, pacing a few steps toward it, peering down the tunnel. "Here," he barked, and waited.

Ruby-Beta, if he'd recognized the voice; meaning that perhaps it intended now to report on its absence and the like. Vargas was not particularly worried about the explanation; perhaps if there hadn't been so much going on he'd have focused more on it. That wasn't to say he'd excuse misbehavior or irresponsibility but it did mean he wasn't as focused on it as he might otherwise have been. The looming menace of Lord Dhracia (threats and promises, teasing and death) lurked at the edge of his awareness.

He would listen to what Beta had to say and decide without real emotion--as he always did; Vargas was certainly a practical sort. Or maybe it was coming to him for something entirely unrelated--he would see.

@Ruby-Beta

In the panic that had consumed it since it had awoken some time ago, Ruby-Beta hadn't stopped to consider that Master Vargas had other things to worry about. All it could think about was the distant threat that had been hanging over it for cycles - succeed and live, fail and be remade. It very much would like to continue living, and it also very much would like to impress Master Vargas, for the sake of impressing him, and it would very much like to not fall behind its peers.

It stood up tall, at attention when it heard its voice, and immediately bounded over, sitting tall before his master. "Reporting," it rumbled. "Apologies for my absence. I sat down for a rest after a hunt and hibernated without meaning to. I will be more diligent in the future - it will not happen again."

It's tail curled up behind it, almost cat-like in its expressions, and it shifted briefly. "I have been doing as you asked - perhaps late - but I have been doing it regardless. I have hunted many creatures, Lessers and Greaters, and I have come across many interesting creatures since awakening. Some weak, some very strong and of interesting designs. I have gotten quite good at staying hidden, being in the shadows, as well as some magic. There's a number of useful skills that I've taught myself, to be used at your disposal." It blinked slowly, considering going off on exactly what it had learned, but it realized that Vargas might not want the full report at the moment.

So instead, it asked - " Permission to give you my full report?"

@Vargas

It had 'fallen into hibernation after hunting?' Vargas stared at it, half-incredulous, half-amused. Of all his creations, Ruby-Beta had certainly been the laziest and this was right on the mark for its behavior, but falling into hibernation accidentally? Was it such a lazy creature that it just went in and out of its chrysalis out of sheer slothfulness..?

"It had best not happen again," was all he answered, mildly, but there was a deadly edge to the words. He had no way of politely explaining to Lord Dhracia that his first spawn just went to sleep for cycles whenever they felt like it. She wouldn't accept that. Hell, neither would he, on his own; they had work to do, and that sort of thing was unacceptable. If mildly hilarious. But like a father whose child had tried to eat a bee, he had to pretend anger more than he felt, if only to dissuade such hilarious, but dangerous, idiocy later on.

'There's a number of useful skills that I've taught myself, to be used at your disposal.' Vargas was about to ask, when it offered to explain, and he grunted and dropped heavily to his haunches, looming and waiting.

"Your skills will be used by yourself, at your disposal, and at your discretion, depending on your assignments. Do report, yes," he added. An asinine and completely arbitrary correction? Absolutely; but at the same time there was, as with everything Vargas said, a point to it. Ruby-Beta would be expected (that correction said) to use its own judgement and intelligence; it wasn't going to be pointed like a bow and absolved of all decision-making responsibility.

...Of course, for that it'd need an assignment; and for that Vargas had to know just what the hell it was capable of actually doing. Hence this whole, 'report' thing.

to note, vargas had waited for ruby-beta to approach, if that got missed--definitely a power move and deliberate so LMK if I need to address it, or if ruby would have come to him

Beta felt a shiver down its back at Master Vargas's veiled thread, some of its quills rattling a bit nervously. But it only offered a nod and a sharp, "It will not." And it certainly would make sure that it did better now. It would ensure that it improved - that it got stronger and better and be no longer as lazy as it had been before. Change itself to stay alive.

It noted what Vargas had to say about its word choice. Okay, then it had gotten it wrong. This was...a little embarrassing and it was already getting a sinking feeling in its stomach at how this was turning out. It hadn't even begun its full report, yet Vargas already had two scathing comments for it. Dammit, it really was as big a failure as it thought it was. If it kept this up, it would surely be remade. And it wouldn't appreciate that.

Still, there was always its report and it planned to go quite into detail, to have Master Vargas know exactly how it had progressed - the ups and downs and the potential for allies and enemies. "You gave me the assignment to practice hunting - I did as you asked and went out to find both Lessers and Greaters to practice my skills on. I successfully hunted a greater while it was fishing - it was easy, since he was blind, but he knew you. He was a crocodilian, with fur and bat wings and no eyes and he called himself Imp. He...insulted you a lot. And Nemean. But I taught him a lesson." It nodded to itself, apparently not remembering or choosing to forget that it had ended in more of a draw then anything, with Imp flying out of its reach. "From there I practiced some forms of magic - I can now detect the presence of gembounds, darken the area around me, make my voice whisper in the distance, and create traps that will hold a gembound down should they walk through it. I have grown much better in hunting, however. I have become very good at stealth and sneaking in the shadows, and I've also picked up some knowledge of disguising myself - I figured that it might be obvious that I am related to you, with my color and my head shape, so I've been practicing finding ways to change that if I need to. I've also come up with a way to poison my fur and quills, as well as some basic fighting techniques, should I need them."

It took a second to take a few breaths and clear its throat before continuing. "Once I woke up from my hibernation, I got to work immediately, training all of these things as well as continuing your mission of practicing hunting. I ran into many strange creatures around the caves, including a very large mantis that I thought was a mutated lesser, but was actually intelligent, and I also ran into Alpha and Delta, as well as the Bloodstone. I...may have wandered into Monoceros without any knowledge of our feud with the dragons and I ran into one of them. And...I may have tried to hunt her. She was big and white and she breathed ice and unfortunately overwhelmed me quickly. I had to run. Later, through, I ran into another dragon - it was very small, only about this big." It lifted a paw and attempted to maneuver its claws in such a way to show off the height of the teacup dragon. "She called herself Lass - I think she's with the dragons too. I believe she thinks of me as a friend." It did not comment on if it thought the same way back - it doubted that Vargas would be interested in this.

"My most interesting finds, though, were two gembounds extremely gifted with magic. One was a cat, funnily enough, called Wilder. She was very small and black and seemed to be a little foolish, but she could do some amazing things with magic - moving things with her mind, holding me down without even looking at me, creating copies of herself, and I believe she could see into the future as well. I defeated her by chasing her down until she got too tired to cast anymore spells. The other was a large creature that stood on two legs and called himself Azrael. He had four arms with eyes in each palm and giant wings. We hunted each other and it was a very close match - he could create darkness - a lot of it - and he breathed fire as well. I only managed to defeat him by luring him into the gravity trap I mentioned earlier, and striking the back of his neck."

It paused again, thinking about if there was anything else of note to report, but when it came up with nothing, it nodded. "And that is about it, Master Vargas."

@Vargas

Vargas listened, for the most part in attentive silence, though now and then his interest was piqued enough for him to interrupt the report with a comment or a question. The mention of Imp (easily-enough recognizable by description and... behavior) being "taught a lesson" perked Vargas right up, and he looked curiously at Ruby-Beta. "-Did you kill it? The blind one, I know it." Twice Champion; Vargas viewed the thing with mild hilarity (it had been a sacrifice to stay on Nemean's good side, more than anything) but he wasn't sure if he'd be disappointed or pleased that it was dead. If it was, at least.

He made mental notes of the magic mentioned--the detection, the darkness, the whispers, the traps. They sounded useful, and he nodded slightly as the list finished. The mentions of disguise and toxins earned further, slight nods, and another interjection. "The poison is a good thought. It is always wise to have another backup that does not rely on fickle magic." There was faint disdain in his voice, though it wasn't directed at Ruby-Beta; Vargas had simply always relied on his own physical abilities, finding magicka far too chancy to rest the value of his life upon.

He made a note of the large mantis, though nothing more than that--he had no immediate use for such a thing--but the Monoceros mention had him flinching. "And are the dragons angered?" he asked, and the irritation was gravel in his tone, obvious now. "You should have reported directly back here in case you were required." He'd taken care to leave them alone, bar Desert Rose's brief scouting foray. How far back had their progress been set..? Six toxic eyes narrowed, though, at the mention of the tiny dragon, and sudden interest sparked in Vargas. "The child; the small dragon. You would be capable of capturing it, then?" he asked. He assumed this was the reason behind Ruby-Beta's mentioning of it--in particular the mention that it thought of Ruby (and not the other way around) as a 'friend.' Vargas mused. It could be a way in; if the dragons were problematic, a hostage might be useful. For now, though, they would need the dragons' aid with opening the way past the Golem, and Vargas valued that necessity--for the caves' greater good, and productivity--far over the usefulness of dragon blood in his work. In any case, he already had something close enough, for now--though time would tell if Bloodstone, or the as-yet unhatched creation, were actually any good.

The mention of the other two were only mildly interesting--Vargas had already had reports of Azrael, for one, and master magic-users were a dime a dozen in these caves. It never interested him as much as physical combatants. "Do you have any use in mind for either of them? Plans?" he asked, nonetheless, interested in what Ruby-Beta itself might have thought. It was a test as much as a question; it was gathering information on usefulness, but what did it see coming of that knowledge? Did it have any idea of tactics, of strategy, in long-term planning; or was it for now (an also perfectly acceptable response) simply reporting what it had learned?

"As for what you have been practicing--with magic, poisons and the like--have you yet had any successful hunts--not against Lessers? Kills?" he went on. It was a patient and considering question. It was good that Ruby was reporting now; it was good that it had focused on its training, and had a list of things to report. But thus far from a practical standpoint, it had hunted a blind creature, and run from a dragon. Vargas boiled it down to that, and wondered if it had actually proven itself a fearsome predator at any point, or if it were still in the very beginnings of its training.

@Ruby-Beta

Beta had mixed feelings about Vargas's reactions to its reports. It was pleased that he seemed to approve of some of its antics - the training and the hunting - but its angering of the dragon, and not reporting in right away...yeah, those were mistakes. It shook its head at his first question. "No. It may be blind, but its crafty. It flew away before I could finish it off." It failed to mention how it had more or less let it fly away, taking the time to sit and chat with it instead of, you know. Hunting it properly.

Quills rose with faint pride at Vargas's small compliment towards its thinking. "Thank you. I can continue to work on more alternative skills, if you think they would be useful." It hesitated. "I think they would be," it added in as an afterthought, not sure just yet if it could interject its own opinions.

However, it deflated a little bit at Vargas's irritation. Damn, it knew that that was going to be a sensitive hit. What an idiot it had been. "Uh...I don't know. She was certainly furious but I didn't run into any of the others. I understand, I should have come back here immediately. It was rash of me to try to squeeze in so much training without knowing the state of things." Its head lowered in shame but then lifted back up a moment later. To be honest, it had crossed Beta's mind, to use Lass as a way into the dragons, but the thought had been...oddly disturbing to it. She might have considered it her friend, but it didn't quite see that the way back, mainly because it didn't know what it meant to have a friend. But still, the thought of hurting her was almost upsetting to Ruby-Beta. She was small, young, and innocent, and didn't deserve to be treated poorly. But it quickly reminded itself that things like that weren't important. What was important was carrying out whatever missions it was giving. Helping the sentinels. Being useful to Master Vargas. "I believe I could," it forced itself to say. "Quite easily too." Why did it say that? Why did it have to add that? A war started in its stomach - the side of Beta that wanted only to impress and be useful and the side that just wanted to enjoy its time. It didn't want to hurt Lass. It didn't want to capture her for anything. But it had to admit that it would be easy to capture her, and she would make a valuable tool.

It was more then happy to move on from Lass, to talk about the two that it, personally, had put the most interest in. "Ah, yes. I thought about it. From what I gauged of the cat, she would be extremely easy to manipulate. She has some very useful skills that we could take advantage of, and I believe she's a part of the Bonebound as well. If we ever needed to...she could offer a way in. As for the other, his design was impressive. I'm not sure if it would be possible to reign him in like we could with the cat, as he's incredibly prideful and independent, but it could make a useful ally, or perhaps a subject in future spawns. It can fly, run fast, and has four arms to grab things, and six eyes to see from. It's only an idea for now...maybe to be pulled out when we need, but...yeah. That's about it." It hoped that its analysis would be impressive enough...

The last question, however, caught it a little off guard. It hesitated for a moment before it shook its head. "Ah...no. No, I haven't killed anyone for training." It paused again, something on the tip of its tongue, wondering if it should dare to say it, but then it had to - it couldn't help itself. "If I may, Master Vargas...I think that killing for training seems a little wasteful, you know? What if I killed someone we could have made use of? I'm not against ending a life, don't get me wrong, but...I'd prefer to keep that to the ones that need to die, rather then strangers we know nothing about." Its quills were quivering a little nervously and it clamped its mouth shut suddenly. It...might have said a little bit too much there.

@Vargas

Forgot about this thread--a MONTH! gonna immediately wrap it up b/c my headspace is now in august!!

He mostly just listened, offering a grunt or a faint nod now and again in acknowledgment, tucking this information away for future use. He had no plans for any of it, not yet; but he made mental notes of what might be useful and for what purpose, should any of it become required.

The baby dragon, as bait, or as leverage. The cat as spy, information, an open doorway. The four-armed creature as reproduction, or as guard. He was about to speak when Ruby-Beta went on. 'If I may, Master Vargas...'

Vargas listened, sitting down, staring at Ruby Beta from his hulking position; no expression gave away his disappointment, his faint disgust. When it had finished speaking he was silent for ten entire seconds, wondering why the creature thought this way, and how best to explain why it was so wrong.

"Listen to me very closely, Ruby-Beta," he began at last, speaking quietly, deeply, his words slow. "There is a way the caves once were, and this is the way they must return to. That is our task; to return the caves to that state. It is why I have been made a Master."

A long stretch of silence...

"Each creature served a purpose. Some were spies, or watchers, Overseers like myself. But most were... monsters. Beasts. Things to test, train, and if they proved worthy, allowed to survive. To spawn, these spawn sent against our enemies. But the weak? The unworthy..?" Vargas turned his head only slightly, gesturing with the faintest movement of it toward te exit to Canis. "You need only look to Canis to see what became of the failures. No; any of these 'Gembound' who die to a half-trained, mid-sized predator have no business surviving. We do not, and will not, need them but it is more than that; if we simply did not need them I would be content to let them be. Let me make this clear: if this cave is left full of the weak, the whining soft things of this new era, then this cave will be considered a failure and we will be wiped out. We must create the strong, and if that means culling the weak to get there, all the better."

Vargas paused again, studying Ruby-Beta closely.

"If you find that you hold mercy for them, that is not a weakness. But to allow it to stay your hand when you must act; that is weakness. Leave those you think may have potential; and I am not instructing you to wander out and kill. Not by any means. But be careful how you think of them," Vargas finished, quietly. "Are we clear?"

The Master pushed up, then, obviously preparing to leave: "I will think over what you have said. In the meantime, you will report to Orthoclase-Alpha for further training."

@Ruby-Beta

Yeah I'm so sorry about that, I totally understand.

Ohhhh, no, it'd messed up. It had really messed up. The ten seconds in which Vargas was quiet was the longest ten seconds of Ruby-Beta's life. Its heart was hammering in its chest. It really had to open its big fat mouth, it really had to think beyond what it had already been told, try to come up with its own, gentler opinions. But there was no room for that, was there? Dammit, why did it have to think that way?

It couldn't help it, though. Because if only the strong were allowed to survive, then creatures like Lass didn't belong. Because it could have crushed her easily, with one flick of its paw. She could have been dead if it wanted her dead. But that wasn't right. It couldn't be right. They were all alive, didn't that mean something? But then, that inner voice rode over those thoughts.

No, it means nothing. The only important thing is survival - strength, cunning, fighting for life. Training the strong. Culling the weak. That's why Palefur is dead - she was not strong enough for life. I won't be the same. I'm strong. That's right. Beta was going to live. Beta was going to be strong. It had no desire to kill those that had done nothing wrong, though it didn't quite understand why it was necessary to "cull the weak" and who would deem them a failure, but if that's what it had to do to survive...then it would do it. Without question.

It nodded, throat dry. "We're clear, Master Vargas. Thank you, I think I understand better now. I will think again about what I've said." And that was all it had to say in response. Better to keep its mouth shut in case some other stupid shit came spilling out.

It nodded silently and waited for Master Vargas to leave, in a show of respect and submission, ready to get back to guarding the tunnel - fulfilling its duty.

*exit, unless stopped

@Vargas

'I understand,' and if that was not a lie... Not deliberate, no. But it was a polite mouthpiece that spouted the words it knew Vargas ought to hear, and he at least respected its respect toward him; but... It did not understand. It could not; that was not its world, and it had known only softness, despite what it might think. Indolence.

It had not had to watch for murder, from all sides. To hear of torments and tortures far beyond this era's understanding.

If it were unlucky, it would come to understand--and it would cry for Vargas' brand of 'cruelty.' It would come to see how death could be a mercy, a kindness; how there were far, far worse things in this place than that.

exit Vargas