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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 17:53:46 GMT -6
Alright, whatever he was doing was.. Seeming to work? He watched as the strange bug-creature continued to hop closer, clicking louder. Oh he hoped this wasn't supposed to be some kind of intimidation warning for him to back off. The leopard tensed slightly with that thought crossing his mind. The worst that could happen was that this thing had some kind of venomous bite. Its head drew forward and.. Touched his hand. Its surface was hard and smooth, confirming in his mind that it was some kind of bug with an exoskeleton. Gently, Xentus rubbed his fingers under its chin(?), petting it while speaking another click. "Ah.. Greetings", he quietly murmured in a cooing voice, "You are such an interesting little one.. No biting, Xentus begs.." The gargoyle watched on, almost jealously. While it didn't want to admit it, seeing the tender hand of the warden made it wish it were the one receiving such affections..
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Post by Jack on Sept 8, 2021 17:57:07 GMT -6
Hmm, this was good, it figured as its wings buzzed happily at the pets. This was different, but it liked it. Nuzzling forward into the hand, the hard exoskeleton sliding against the fur of the big one's hand, it was going to be fine.
[Congratulations, you've tamed the Karzik!]
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 18:11:59 GMT -6
It seemed to like this. Now, he was no expert at reading bug body language, but any creature that leaned into pets had to be enjoying it. That notion calmed the leopard's nerves, letting him relax and more freely rub the strange creature's head. It probably never got to enjoy such a thing before in its life, only surrounded by rocks and mushrooms. Sometimes, it was funny to think that the concept of petting beasts to bond with them was one fairly unique to humanoids like himself. Beasts didn't pet each other. But they seemed to like it anyway. Xentus chuckled at the passing thought, continuing to play with the karzik for a few moments longer. Now feeling that his new found friend wasn't going to harm him, he wanted to take up exploring again. There was still a good deal of mystery about this place, and he wanted to learn its secrets. "Come along, Varus", he beckoned to the gargoyle, "And this one supposes our new friend can tag along too".
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Post by Jack on Sept 8, 2021 18:15:47 GMT -6
A hint of gold could be seen in the area, and a scratching could be heard if you listened hard enough. The strange little drake attempted to pull the gold out of the wall, but it seemed difficult at the moment. Struggling, it didn't even hear them coming up to it.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 18:30:48 GMT -6
Xentus poked around the cavern room, looking for anything of interest. It gave him some faint ancient ruins vibes, but the shifting of earth had definitely changed the area into nothing more than rubble and destroyed stonework. But apparently it made for a good home to beasts of the underground. Perhaps he could stumble upon relics akin to Varus. He figured the gargoyle had come from a place akin to this. The leopard let himself wander in thought as he walked down a rocky corridor. The gargoyle lumbered right behind him, still moping a little about its lack of attention. Maybe if it found something precious like before, the warden would notice it.. And that's when it seemed to pick up on something, its sense of the earth around them pointing it to a fork in the path. It clicked its beak to garner the man's attention, then lead the way to.. A drake trying to take its quarry. The leopard blinked in surprise at the sight, but he was more familiar with gem lizards than rock bugs. He clicked his tongue to garner the thing's attention while he fished around his pockets for a classic favorite - low quality gem-snacks. A few were scattered on the ground, hopefully an easier treat for the thing than whatever it was tussling with in the wall.
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Post by Jack on Sept 8, 2021 18:37:23 GMT -6
A quick sniff and the beat glanced over to see some stones rolling across the floor. It perked up and tried to rush to them... but to no avail. A grinding sound could be heard coming from its throat as it realized one of its forepaws was stuck in the hole it had dug so far. Pleading eyes turned to the man as it tried to pull its paw out of the wall.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 18:52:33 GMT -6
His old gem dragon mining companion loved these little treats. And by 'loved', it meant he'd always taken whatever valuable the dragon had found and pulled a switch-a-roo so it didn't eat something actually precious. Gid never seemed to mind though, tasty rocks were tasty rocks. Xentus's hopes rose when the opalescent drake perked up and looked like it was going for the bait, but.. The harsh sound of gem scraping on rock was enough for him to tell there was something wrong. The mammalian frowned with concern, but waited a moment to see if it would free itself. The drake was still a wild animal.. It could freak out and lash at him if he tried to help. But the bleeding heart within him didn't let him linger long "Easy there..", the leopard cooed, keeping his eyes on the creature while slowly making his way to it, "Xentus will help, okay?" He placed a snack-gem within its reach, then took out his chisel to begin chipping away at the rock it was stuck in without causing too much commotion.
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Post by Jack on Sept 8, 2021 19:04:18 GMT -6
The drake wriggled when the person was close, but... deep within it knew he was helping, and attempted to calm down a little. Deep breathing, closing its eyes, the drake listened to the tool against the rock until it found it was able to yank its paw out of the grasp of the wall. Shaking off, it turned to the stones and trotted over, apparently it didn't have much permanence into what it remembered as it gobbled down the small stones the person had left for it.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 19:17:31 GMT -6
Xentus worked quickly, eyes darting between the shiny drake and the hole it was stuck in. The little creature was surprisingly calm. Not squirming, or nipping, much to his relief. Oftentimes, wild animals were feisty when they thought themselves cornered and trapped. But this one was seemingly well behaved. With a few good, well-aimed taps on the rock, the man managed to loosen some bits here and there, until finally it seemed the little drake was free! "There you go, little one", the man chimed, relieved and happy to have saved the living gem beast. He chuckled as it immediately went for the scattered gems, leaving him without thanks. Ah, well there was his good deed for the day. He sat against the wall and watched it for a moment. Varus slinked to his warden and immediately peered into the unoccupied hole, sensing his quarry near. With that dumb drake distracted, the gold in here was all his! If.. He could reach it.
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Post by Jack on Sept 8, 2021 19:24:46 GMT -6
The drake was pleased with this and then trucked over to the mammalian and laid down next to him, licking its slightly injured paw without much care in the world. Hey, he'd saved it, it might as well stay loyal to those who would help, right?
[Congratulations, you've tamed the drake!]
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 19:32:37 GMT -6
The gargoyle scrapped about and reached for the precious it sensed within the rock. Xentus cast a curious glance to the creature beside him, hoping that it knew what it was doing.. He did just save a fellow ground-dweller from that very hole. He didn't want his companion to suffer the same fate of getting stuck there.. "Ah.. Varus?", the mammalian piped up curiously, "What's there?" He didn't expect a response, or even recognition. He just needed to voice his curiosity and confusion.. The gargoyle paused for a moment as its fingers caught ahold of the nugget, hollow eyes looking back at the warden. It clicked its beak in delight and began pulling out its treasure. A dirty lump of gold. The stone being was quick to keep its find away from the view of the drake as it came over to lay next to the warden, oblivious to what just transpired.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 19:40:03 GMT -6
"Oh, hello there", the mammalian cooed as the gem beast began tending to its paw. Gingerly, he began stroking down the drake's back, fingers drumming against its spiky, ridged body. Varus glared jealously.. It still wasn't sure why it wanted so desperately to be the object of the warden's affections.. But now it had a ticket. The gargoyle clacked its beak, garnering the man's attention for a moment. A 'hm?' sounded from the man's throat.. Then an 'ah!'. Good sounds, the gargoyle had concluded. "Is that what the drake was going for, Varus?", the man asked curiously, "It is an excellent find, certainly. May Xentus see? Give." This was it, this would give him the notice it craved. It dropped the nugget in the man's palm, watching as it cleaned it off and marveled at the glistening metal lump in the light. "Wonderful, Varus", the warden praised. And a clawed hand loomed over its head, tenderly stroking between its horns.
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Post by Jack on Sept 8, 2021 19:42:32 GMT -6
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 19:52:25 GMT -6
Ah, validation. That was what this was. The affection, validation, and attention all felt good. The gargoyle clacked his beak in triumph, leaning into the rubbing hand. It was growing to really enjoy the warden's mannerisms. The reserved facade which stone being had for the longest time was starting to crumble in favor of accepting these affections. It has to admit, this was nice. And oddly, it felt itself craving more. Xentus hummed happily, giving one final pat before sorting though his pack for a spot to put his new find.. Part of the man wondered if he should just.. Put the entire gem drake in there too. But it would probably start munching on all of his finds thus far. The idea was still amusing though. He'd come to find some way to leave this place with his newfound friends eventually. But that would need to wait until he was finished exploring.
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Post by Xentus on Sept 8, 2021 19:57:45 GMT -6
He had the feeling there was still plenty waiting in this place, tucked away behind walls, cave-ins, and maybe holes like this one they sat beside. Varus was already taking interest in it again, his hollow eyes peering into the inky abyss. "Think there's more where this came from, Varus?", the leopard asked, leaning over to take a look as well. He.. Couldn't see anything. Even pointing his flashlight within wasn't enough to reveal anything aside from rock. But it would seem the gargoyle deemed this hole worthy of further excavation. The stony being started scraping away at the edges of the hole with its claws, digging into the earth with a focused intent. Xentus took the hint and scooted away to give Varus room to work, scooping up the deceptively heavy gem drake with him. The living gem had no qualms about this, having started to fall asleep. If an earthquake wouldn't wake it, neither would a mammalian shifting about.
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