With Terra in position, or at least moving quickly into position through the rock, I relax a little and wait. It does take the small group of three a minute to work up the courage to enter into the boss room, keeping eyes around themselves. It was unnecessary considering I had ordered the crawler to not attack them but I don’t deny it’s a reasonable response. So I just quietly keep my eye on them as they move through the area, keeping tight as they moved. It does come to mind that they probably can’t see the crawler. With that in mind I give it a small poke and it quietly moves to be more visible from its resting spot on the ceiling. As it moves I see the group tense up but as it just quietly crawls to a different resting spot they slowly release the tension. With quiet movement the three eventually reach the carved door, and push it open. It’s a bit of work on the group as the door is not light, and honestly good, means that others can’t rush through the room.
As the door is finally open enough for them to enter the quickly duck in, though they don’t close them. They glance around at everything that could have possibly changed, but I didn’t do much to this room since I made it. Just at this time Terra just pushes through the floor next to the pillar containing my “core” though closest to my actual core. It makes sense since it was a spot hidden from the group but also close enough to the false and real core to act as an effective defender. The group looks around quietly, making note of everything though they look a bit disappointed at the lack of changes. They do stop as they notice Terra standing there, tensing in a bit of worry before slowly loosing that tension. They don’t seem really open to talking in this space, hell if I had to call it anything specific it would be reverence.
“It hasn’t grown much” Finally Ava breaks the silence as she speaks to her group. That gets me a bit confused considering I didn’t really notice a change in my actual self. Glancing at it I can see some strain against where I inlaid it with the coffin lid, interesting. That’s something to consider for later, since I can’t really do anything with them in the room, not for a lack of being able but for a lack of not wanting them to see yet.
“To be fair, it’s already pretty big for a new core.”
“True Venos,” The mage stares at the “core” for a second and I start to grow nervous. This reflects onto Terra who begins to tense up a bit himself, though there is still effort in keeping it from being overly aggressive. It doesn’t help that I swear I can just barely see her eyes dart over to where my core actually sits, but that might be a trick of the light. The three take some notes and space themselves throughout the room, keeping close to help each other but far enough apart for safety. Eventually tough they gather around Terra and begin inspecting him closely, and it took my own influence to keep things calm. Of all of them Ava is the most curious of my friend, taking in the sight of him more and more closely. She seems to be the only one of the group to take notice of the rough gem that has formed in Terra’s chest. She raises her brow curiously as she does and mulls it over, before quickly scribbling in the notebook she brought.
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“Hey Orkus, can you sketch this out, I would but I can’t really draw as good as you”
He sighs, “I swear Ava, you need to learn how to at this point” he does infact take a minute to begin sketching Terra. I am not surprised considering he looks like the kind of person who had to work long and hard to make sure they could identify things.
“So what about this monster has you so interested Ava?” The dragonkin asks as he looks at the elemental, preparing to tap him. Terra for his part flinches away from the probing touch staring down the Dragon man with barely contained anger. Thankfully for his part he doesn’t seem inclined to test Terra’s nerves further then this, so he backs off before things go wrong. Meanwhile I look over the shoulder of the ranger as he sketches out Terra’s form, taking personal note of every detail they notice. It’s fascinating seeing a more artistic rendition of the realistic version of my first creation. The fact of the matter is that Terra looks similar to how I would imagine an elemental does but there are some details that are different. I know it is by his choice that he does that, but I find it interesting how he has chosen to slowly look more human as time goes. Though still fairly amorphous around the edges and the number of legs seems variable, he has settled on a torso, head, and pair of arms.
Considering how the group isn’t really surprised by the shape I take it that this isn’t the most uncommon look for an elemental. What the group, and Ava in particular seem interested in is the gem he is growing in his chest and how that is affecting him. I really should look into that myself but it isn’t that high on my list of things I need to do, there is just so much left to do. Thankfully these lot seem to be finishing up, as Orkus finishes his sketch and Venos moves towards the door to check everything. I nod to myself as they leave and as Terra seems to finally loosen his…...what is the muscle equivilint on him?
Doesn’t matter the group is heading out and I have work to do and I should get to it.
Or I would.
If Ava didn’t stay behind for a bit, and walk right up to where my core lay.
