Mysterious Slivers

Lycoris was on a quest!

Well — Lycoris was always on a quest. This one, however, was a little different. She shuffled around the brush, then sniffed the air. Her beloved pendant was safe on her neck, but she wasn’t transformed. As much as she loved it, her humanoid form was still a little hard to control, and for this, she needed the practised precision of a hunter. She stopped to listen — no sound. Just as well. The prey she was hunting made no sound at all.

Lycoris readied herself, then tried to study her surroundings. She was told there’d be some glow (maybe), some gems (also maybe) and treasure (definitely). And she was all for the treasure. That was the only thing she had been looking forward to, actually. She was so ready to get her claws on a shiny thing!

Readying herself, Lycoris pulled her hind legs back, readied her wings and sprung forward through the brush. Lycoris was upon her enemy of the day in a blur of flapping black wings, overpowering it easily. She flew through the foliage and the branches, the momentum carrying her far more than she had anticipated. She could’ve tried to stop herself in time, but she couldn’t risk dropping her catch — thus, she was forced to land down on her shoulder. The pain was sharp and unwelcome. Even though she knew it was coming, it still caught her by surprise, unpleasant and foreign. Lycoris wasn’t often under great duress; she shielded herself from pain and went out of her way to remain unscathed. This was new - the hunt was new. She didn’t usually hunt for things. She cajoled others for them.

With a small grunt, she tried to keep quiet. She was small, and she was a little weak and she knew it. She had to be careful — she couldn’t be noticed by other predators who were quite unlike her, or she’d be in trouble. So, Lycoris employed the number one rule of a hunt like this: don’t look at your prey. Keep moving.

Her claws clutched onto her catch and she flapped her wings, keeping as high as possible. The last thing she needed was to run into a pesky Vulpel looking for trouble. She wasn’t looking for trouble, thank you very much!

After some time, she made a stop in a small cave. It wasn’t hers, but she’d seen it while flying around, and it had never once been occupied. Lycoris landed, and then her claws finally relaxed and she dropped her catch onto the firm soil of the cave.

They were gems.

She couldn’t describe them as anything else. They were hard like gems, and shining an iridescent light, and she’d seen other species farm them. That was why she wanted them, specifically, even though she didn’t know what they did. She was certain they did something at least. But the last time she’d had her eye on something shiny and beautiful, she acquired her humanoid form. Who know what could happen with these?

“Oh hello, lovely!” Lycoris said, rubbing small paws like she’d seen other Vesperus do when they were satisfied. “Let me find out what you are!”

She had work to do.