gore

The pristine sands of Leo were tainted today. A trail of red along the shore, tinting the surf where they made contact. Effluvium was at the forefront. Dragging itself along, as well as a package in its teeth. A lesser deer, dragged along in the trail of red. None could say whether the trail was of Effluvium's own making, or the deer's own. Few lessers stuck around to try for the carcass, save for the flies that buzzed about Effluvium's raw back.

Even so, Effluvium searched for them. Its' eyes searched the brush, and it pawed at shells it found along the sand, checking for any remnant of meat. No matter how old. And swallowing most shards of shell indiscriminately. It paused to crunch at the carcass, when something wormed its way into Effluvium's consciousness. An odd sensation. Like a muscle it hadn't been aware of. One not stretched in years. Confused, and interested as it ate, Effluvium stretched the muscle.

And something responded. A zap of magic. Not far off. Effluvium's head rose, dropping the deer carcass. It swallowed the hunk of meat in its jaws, before it ventured inland, a couple of feet from its carcass. Within the shade of a palm, tucked beneath shore plants and a rock was a gleaming stone. Effluvium's face drew close, curious. Mostly of what it tasted like.
"When I speak."

When I think.

@Effluvium finds a Pupil level deep red ruby, in the shape of a five-inch jagged crescent.

It doesn't taste like anything interesting.

Effluvium tossed the rock about in its mouth. It was red, sure enough. But it didn't taste how red things were supposed to. Nor did it smell how red things were supposed to. It spat it out, and then began to twist it within its tentacles. Perhaps the meat was somewhere within. It did not see meat, no matter how much it looked. Then, finally, it turned to its last resort. Speech.

"Food?" It said. Almost--no, literally expecting an answer from the stone. None came, of course. The waves crashed against the shore, and the palm shook. But no words came from any source. Nothing happened. Effluvium dropped the stone, then. Tried batting it with a foot. It was waiting for something, anything, to happen.

The magic had led Effluvium here, there must've been food. And then, there was that strange sensation once again. The unflexed muscle. It had led Effluvium to this small, strange thing the first time. The power could do the same, again. Effluvium eagerly obliged the power, and bit on the crescent.

A spark of something, originating in its chest, flowed through it. The spark found its way through the mismatched beast. Exiting Effluvium's jaw with a strange, draining sensation, and into the crescent. Effluvium gave a high pitched 'hrk' of surprise. It backed up quickly, screeching at the rock that'd done something...weird. And unlikable.

"When I speak."

When I think.

The ruby chrysalis begins to form as Effluvium backs away, the stone growing in size like a cat's claw unsheathing—it curls almost completely around until the points of its crescent nearly touch, the cracking and shearing and crashing of crystal ringing through the tropic trees.

This stone once belonged to a giant but very thin alien, similar to that of a crane fly except it was 12 feet tall. Its long legs kept its thin body far from the ground, and its large translucent wings allowed it flight. Its body was charcoal (373448) and brown (846353) in color. It had three pairs of magenta (951251) eyes with dark red (483129) slits as pupils, with two pairs located on its head and one located on its neck/chest, so that it had view of things below it as it flew. It was primarily carnivorous, but could sustain itself on other sources of food if needed.

@Effluvium

Effluvium snarled at the growling ruby chrysalis. And then, briefly, considered eating it. But it was tall. Very tall. And that intimidated it. Instead, Effluvium snorted and turned to its carcass. And, immediately screamed in anger. A lesser rat, massive and sandy haired, had been scavenging on it as Effluvium's back was turned. As it had been focused on the strange, red ruby.

Its great green eyes blinked as Effluvium and it made eye contact. Effluvium blinked first. The rat took off, a clump of flesh in its jaws. Effluvium bounded after it, screaming and raging. The rat was far too fast for Effluvium, but Effluvium was far too angry and far too stupid. Effluvium lashed out with magic, trying to strike the rat down.

Instead, it found itself feeling even more drained. It slowed in its assault, before stopping outright. It found itself growing exhausted. It was a strange feeling, for a creature that rarely slowed. Effluvium panted, and then screamed at the rat. It turned to go back to its deer, surprised to find a stone glowing behind it. A bright fire opal. And this one grew, too.

Confusion turned to rage, as it realized this one had made Effluvium tired too. Effluvium screamed at it. It launched itself at the growing stone. Its teeth met rock, and although its persistance held for a good while, Effluvium ended up giving up. It passed it, hisssing, and watching with narrowed eyes. Effluvium went to what remained of its meal, picked it up, and trotted away from the beach with the strange growing crystal pillars.

"When I speak."

When I think.

((Reviving Fractures wildberry nightmare fire opal! ))

Effluvium's haphazard trail took it away from the beach, and into the forestry of Leo. It was not a sleek, silent movement. It was loud. Twigs and brush snapped beneath it as it bulldozed its way through the undergrowth. Effluvium did not care to silence its movements. It was doubtful it even could, with all the bulk it carried. Satisfied, Effluvium stopped before a pool of water. It raised its head. Deep breaths, as it took in the scent of everything nearby.

No lesser or greater scent reached its nostrils. Nothing to steal its meal. Effluvium huffed. Shook itself out, muscles relaxing. It lowered its head, drinking from the pool in great draughts. A shift of its head as it drunk, and something glinted in the depths. Effluvium blinked once. Still. Its brain immediately went 'fish'. It dunked its head into the water, teeth clamping down on it. Hard. Stone. Effluvium screeched with rage. Effluvium lashed out with its magicka, intent on destroying the stone.

Its magicka spluttered, and instead of bringing destruction, instead it felt itself drained once again. Angry at both its' untrustworthy power, and the stone, Effluvium screamed. It tossed the stone away. Then, raging, it trampled the surrounding plant-life, searching for the stone to destroy it once and for all. It couldn't find it. And that made it angrier. But Effluvium had used its last burst of energy to destroy this place. It panted. With a hellish bellow, an enraged and exhausted Effluvium left its' food to rot. Left the pool, and left the stones. Left the cave. Not to end up in Leo once again, for a good while.

"When I speak."

When I think.

((reviving snail's green jasper! https://discordapp.com/channels/379720430526922763/673727723822252044/717521593512755211 )

;exit efflu