Tahi-shei had not, in fact, talked himself out of this on the way over. Being near Pride had given him some level of strength, but he had to be honest -- seeing him in his armor had psyched the young buck out just a little bit. He'd tried to cast Inky Cap on the way in so that he would also have some protection if this went south, but his spell had failed and he'd decided that it was a sign from fickle Lady Luck that this meeting was meant to go well. Emboldened, he caught his reflection in a pool of water and raised his chin. He could handle this. "Collector?" he called, only just above a normal conversational volume.

He glanced to Pride and waited. If this went south, Tahi-shei had no way to defend himself, and he wasn't sure if he'd be willing to abandon the stag in this. However, he knew how the Seven were -- Pride would do anything he could to keep Tahi-shei behind him for that very reason. Hopefully.

Tahi really didn't want to be the one to make that decision.


@pride

Appearances were important. And Pride had worn his armor, a set of glittering diamond that protected back, belly, flanks, neck and throat, for just that reason: appearances. He didn't expect combat, as he'd assured the younger deer, but he did want to make an impression, a carefully-calculated one.

Thus, as he strode in, he was stately: pale, almost luminescent, and gracefully confident with each step. The diamond armor shone, clean and translucent, across his body. His silvery rack of antlers reached up broad and branching.

He did not speak, however, simply settling back to walk alongside and slightly behind Tahi-Shei. He would address the Collector when he came but, until then, he simply waited.

Oh, now this was interesting.

The Collector watched the two--one decked out for battle, larger than the other, and he knew this one, had met it once. The first, the smaller one, Tahi-shei Deimos as it had introduced itself; a foolish name for a foolish creature, in his mind. Yet now it was back--and he wondered why. He hadn't followed it; its task hadn't been interesting enough to the Collector, a mere gesture and little more. He didn't expect it to outright kill anyone, no; the prize had been the fascination for him.

Little did the deer-spawn know.

So perhaps the white stag was here for a deal of its own-? Red eyes roamed Pride eagerly. He could sense its power from here: a tad greater than most of these creatures, and stronger than the last time they'd, admittedly briefly, met. Maybe useful to him, depending on its... willingness.

Algol stepped out, then, with all the flourish of a salesman who'd spotted a millionaire stepping into his shop: the sweep of a cloak, a bow, all theatrics and charm. "Ahhh, Tahi-shei Deimos--what a pleasure to see you again. And Pride, I believe it was-? How wonderful to have such an esteemed visitor to my humble home." There was a grin in his words, and he straightened, towering over both of them. "Please--to what do I owe this honor? I am flattered at the visit..."

@Tahi-shei

When he saw the Collector, his heart rate spiked. An internal panic began to claw at his throat, and Tahi was distinctly aware that his body was threatening to descend into a full-on anxiety attack. But by a miracle of Lady Luck, he was totally unreadable. Tahi-shei kept his composure despite the storm going on inside and the awful feeling that his stone was about to shatter, and started with the first point he'd internally rehearsed on the way over. "We're here to discuss business." He let a beat pass, mostly for the drama of it. "What happens if I've changed my mind?" He wasn't just going to come in here making demands. This was a diplomatic meeting, after all. He just wanted to know how much power the Collector had over him without pissing him off. More specifically, Tahi-shei wanted to know if he had any options. The deer let Pride decide if he had something to add.

Distantly, Tahi-shei realized that he'd forgotten to greet him. Whatever, right? His voice probably would have cracked if he'd tried. At least this way, it was to-the-point. Slime Molds only knew how long that would last -- Tahi definitely asked more questions when he was nervous.

@pride

Pride glanced with some surprise at Tahi-shei--the younger deer's voice was strong and empty, a blatant contrast to his prior meekness. For a moment, he worried that he was being used--what if Tahi-shei didn't need his help at all, but was somehow pulling one over on the Collector himself-?

His brow furrowed as he studied him for a moment, and then looked to the Collector. Nothing had changed, since last he'd seen him--he was the same cloaked, horned, red-eyed figure Pride had met before.

"I believe he's about covered it. He expressed doubts, and I offered to speak to you in his stead, though he chose to come along, in the end."

It was politely-enough said, and not forced, either; Pride was too busy being confused at the change in the other deer to think, or say, much else.

...Now this was a surprise.

The Collector's horned head tilted, slightly, and palms held out beseechingly toward both deer. "Changed your mind..? Extraordinary power, merely for delivering the body of one already dead?" There was puzzlement in the tone, and the Collector shrugged. "If that is what you wish..."

He turned, palms slipping away, to lean against a nearby pile of bones, watching the deer with interest. "Though, of course, to cancel the contract... there would be a price. It has already been signed, after all--the magic sealed away--and a price must still be paid."

@Tahi-shei

Something buzzed under his skin, turning to sudden panic. "I can't kill someone, Collector," he said, his facade cracking a little bit to reveal the jittery terror underneath. "I made a mistake agreeing to do it. It's not like Gembound die of natural causes -- I'd either have to kill someone myself or watch someone else kill them. That's-- that's not what the Seven would do, so it's not what I would do." He stammered over the last part of that, feeling suddenly self-conscious. He hadn't actually asked Pride if he could be a member of the Seven yet.

But he couldn't deny he was curious. "I-- What's this price?" he asked, pointedly not agreeing yet. "And for that matter, why do you need a body in the first place?! Why does it need to be a Greater, and-- and why a body and not a stone?" And then, despite the burning questions buzzing at the back of his skull -- who was this prince? were there more like him? how did he die? what power did he have? -- he held his tongue, resisting the compulsion to ask more questions. Tahi took a deep breath and carefully put some of the broken pieces of his facade back in place, regaining his composure.

The Collector was charismatic. The words he'd said had Tahi leaning into them -- wondering just how much he valued a life, how much he was willing to sacrifice. That's why Pride was here. He looked back to Pride, eyes reflecting how grateful he was. Tahi-shei's self-destructive desire to constantly impress Pride at all costs was actually paying off this time -- it was more powerful than his desire to listen to the gentle charisma of the Collector.


@pride

Pride listened in silence. He did not interrupt, nor speak: for now, both of the two seemed to have their sides handled. But he was vigilant, paying attention to both their surroundings and every word the Collector said.

He reached out with his magicka too, silently subtle, trying to listen in on the Collector's mind.

Perhaps if he could glean some semblance of intent from him, he could work this to his advantage--but he gave no sign of this attempt, and he kept his mind carefully blank in case of backfire.

"Of course you die of natural causes, child. How long have you been alive-? All of you, any of you; five years, if that? You age, you die," Algol lied smoothly, a wave of his hands dismissing all of this. What an arrogant presumption--or had someone told it this? "Gembound go into Hydra and die all the time; perhaps you could have offered a reward for a body returned to you, hm? Or established contacts, and offered rewards, with the stipulations of 'no murder.'" A soft sigh, a shake of his head, and the Collector looked down, examining his claws.

"Children these days; no sense of resourcefulness. Ahh, well. Let me answer this last question first, so you needn't think me some sort of savage," the Collector went on, sudden sadness in his voice, as if he couldn't bear to be thought of this way. "The Crown feeds on both flesh and magic, as does most fungal magic. It is the very essence of such power, and needs a great deal of both. Simple stones would not do, nor would Lesser bodies--the magic is not accessible enough, and not powerful enough, respectively. I am an enchanter, Tahi-shei Deimos. I know my field." There was faint and sobered reproach in this. A professional, simply doing his job, one questioned and accused and taking the high road: only doing his job, only doing what he was asked to, hardly about to scam and lie and cheat in any way at all.

"As for price, well."

Eyes flicked to Pride. The stag would find nothing but a blank void--no thoughts, no emotions, for his taking. There was a... a block there, somehow: an empty nothing. Perhaps the master enchanter, if his claim were true, had some trinket to protect against such things.

He winked at the white stag, one crimson pinprick eye briefly flashing out, and then looked back to Tahi-shei.

"I do not like my time being wasted. We had a deal, and that is binding. And while it has no time limit, I am, of course, free--as per the agreement that you signed, and opened your own magic to--enact certain penalties at any time. They would be unpleasant, and I do so hate to use them," he added, in a lamenting tone. "I would be willing to accept a contract from this deer in your stead--any sort of contract; or I will be glad to take one of your sets of antlers. They may grow back, or they may not, the way I take them. That is my price. It is non-negotiable."

He smiled, the glint of teeth briefly visible beneath the hood; clawed hands steepled together. "Tell me, Tahi-shei Deimos; which will it be?"

@Tahi-shei

"No time limit?" Tahi said distantly. His mind was already racing. Paths spread out in front of him -- some more pleasant than the others, but all of them possibilities. Which one had Lady Luck decided he would take? He assessed them in order.

The first of three obvious paths -- he continue his contract. To do so would be to admit to Pride and himself and the Collector that he was more concerned with magic than life, but the Collector's words struck a chord within him -- would outsourcing relieve him of the blame? Certainly not. Letting someone venture into a dangerous cave on his behalf to take the body of another was just as awful as doing it himself. Failing to protect someone was as good as killing them yourself. And where would his friends get the bodies? Contacts? All that would do was make him feel as though he could shirk the blame. He could not bring himself to damn himself and another! But still... the allure of the crown was great. What power could it give him? What could he get out of it? Needing a corpse couldn't have been a good thing, but... the Collector had said to him that most fungal magic needed to drain life. Was it his destiny to take life rather than give it? It was a dark option, one that would set him down a dark path. He wasn't sure if he was willing to take it.

However, with the contract, he could bide his time. He could claim he intended to carry it out, and come back later with a better plan... but he doubted the Collector would be receptive to such a thing. Besides that, who knew if this creature could read his thoughts? Pride had such a power; to assume that a sufficiently powerful almost-animal could do the same was no great leap at all.

The second obvious option -- let Pride take the fall. Tahi-shei was sure that the older deer would do it, if asked -- if only out of a sense of duty. Hell, he might even volunteer. The Seven were do-gooders, protecting those that needed protecting. But therein lied the problem -- what if the Collector asked Pride to do something equally awful? Or, worse, wanted to kill him? Any contract was a lot of power to put in the Collector's hands, and Pride would have no way of knowing what he was agreeing to. Tahi-shei would have no way of knowing what he was offering Pride for. Tahi-shei could take this route, but it would be a childish one. It would be him deciding that it was better to let bigger, stronger Gembound take the fall for his actions -- it would be him deciding that he was a child who needed protecting, rather than an almost-adult who ought to face the consequences of his actions. It was an option, certainly -- but not one that flattered him.

The third obvious option -- give up his... antlers? The option baffled him. Were they supposed to be something he was particularly attached to? They'd not even finished growing. The may or may not grow back struck him as odd -- growing them back was an option in the first place? Did that mean that they dropped naturally? But more importantly, why did the Collector care? Perhaps Pride was attached to his in some way, and that's why he figured Tahi-shei was? Tahi was a magic user; his only use for his antlers was self-defense, and getting up close and personal didn't much appeal to him in the first place. Tahi-shei figured he'd look kind of lopsided without them, but the simple fact of the matter was, he'd get used to it. Which begged the question -- what did the Collector have planned for the antlers. It couldn't be anything good -- it might give him power over the young stag, or maybe it was just an intimidation technique...?

As for the less obvious options -- the first was that he could try to kill the Collector. It would go horrifically, of course -- he already knew that. Even with Pride at his flank. Not to mention being willing to kill the Collector would invalidate his whole moral dilemma; it was wrong to kill people, full stop. So that option was totally off the table.

Then came the fifth option... and it was one Tahi-shei found appealing, but it would take a bit of... finagling, he decided. It could backfire. It could seriously get him hurt, actually... but maybe it was worth it? First, though, he turned to Pride. Tahi-shei wanted a second opinion. "If the roles were reversed -- if it were you making this choice? What would you do?"

@pride