[Usy/Fo/Serelath/Sili] Power Core Fears

SUMMARY
After her mishap with the Power Core, Fo's distrust in the object grows... as do her fears. After trying and failing to speak sense to both Fo'uh and Serelath, she has to call in the reinforcements: their mother.

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Fo'uh had decided it was easier to just be in her true form. Attempting to intimidate this strange power core that had given her visions. She was almost sure that it was the crystal that actually gave her those visions.. she had never killed anything outside of sharks, let alone someone trying to kill her. she'd remember! "You, are evil.. you are.. They may not see it but I DO!" she growled pacing slightly around it.

Usyraz had been in the process of circling the Aerie while keeping an eye out for any she saw. She hadn't come near the power core, not yet... but when she noticed the restless pacing of her sister, she stopped and blinked a few times. Having come in enough to hear her talking, she blinked a few times, coming halfway across the bridge with a frown. "Fo?..." She'd seen Serelath... and glanced over inquisitively at him, wondering silently how long he had been in that spot, or if he'd just arrived.

The booming voice of Fo'uh was easy to hear with those sensitive dragon ears of his... His fins flared out some... Chin perking to her voice before he swiftly took flight... Gliding to the opposite side of the aerie before touching down beside the crystal, His wings tucking in and his head giving a quick shake "... I doubt screaming at it will make it listen." He murred out to her as he watched her with those icy eyes... Fins flaring once more as his pupils locked on Usy now coming across the bridge ... Exchanging a curious glance between her and Fo as if hoping she knew what was going on

Fo'uh had heard her sister's voice first. Turned to her and blocked her from going any further toward the crystal. She had a bit of frantic worry on her expression. "NO! don't go any closer Usy! It is not safe." She caught sight of Serelath coming down and just as he landed she would rush at him to shove him off the platform and away. [color=#8db2f8]"NO YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND! IT IS NOT SAFE!"[/oclor] She almost seemed like a panicked mother bird trying to shoo away predators from her egg. "Get away from it!" She snarled.

Usyraz lifted up to the air with a thoughtful frown, trying to more easily watch their faces as she spoke to them. At the moment, it was easier for her to move from island to island without the cumbersome weight of her full form, and being that high up provided her a better vantage point in case she saw others she needed to spread the word to. If she could move -around- Fo, but not closer to the core, she did so, trying to get closer to Serelath. "Mother attempted to teach us to bond with the power core; we've been tasked with guarding an ice crystal, but part of our responsibility was to learn to commune with this thing, the way that she, Davros, and Soumia can. We... encountered some trouble." And she hoped that that explained Fo's frantic behavior, though Usy was only stricken by the core's power whenever her sister became so panicked. Her tension rose and she looked pleadingly toward their eldest sibling, trying to flit in closer to her face - but not so close that she had to go cross-eyed to see her. "Fo, please! What can we do to help you?"

Serelath Got a side long look at the crystal... The shine of it reflecting off his eyes... His locked gaze only breaking when he heard big sister scream and rush at him... His paws sliding helplessly under him and his back portion sliding off the edge... His front arms holding him up awkwardly as his back legs kicked at the air "Dont touch me!!!" He practically roared out at her as he gave his wings a powerful slap and hoisted his bottom half back up "Have you lost your mind?" He huffed with a annoyed flick of his tail as he looked up to Usy as she explained "Communicate with it hrrm?" He murred as he looked over it once more "Why?" He bluntly asked back "Are we looking to rocks for guidance now?" He said with a few heavy grunts of laughter

Fo'uh shook her head roughly then continued to stand between her siblings and the power core. "That is how it gets you. It lures you in just by being some big rock. Protect? It nearly killed me. It could have killed you too Usy!" she growled at them. "Stay away from it. It isn't safe! WATCH!" she turned and took in a deep breath. She unleashed a bitter cold fury of ice crystals at the power core. Where they normally would have impacted and exploded they halted.. and slowly dissolved leaving no sign of them. she turned back to them. "It just takes from us... It gives nothing back!"

Usyraz frowned at Serelath, trying to keep her temper under control, though stress wasn't helping. "Don't you remember any of the stories Mother told us? About the power core that kept their 'old' Aerie afloat? It's a living thing... that -can- provide power if we request it and are accepted by it after bonding with it - remember what she told us, Fo?" She drew in a deep breath, trying to be comforting... though it was just as possible she wasn't doing a good job, being too tense for it. "What happened was an accident! Mother wouldn't have asked us to try and bond with it if she felt there was no point to it, there has to be some kind of reason why we tried to do it in the first place..."

Sounded to Serelath his sister really did have reason to believe this rock was a killer, or she had just lost her mind... His head quickly lifting and pinning back as Fo boldly spat her crystals at the shining rock... His fins flaring out as his eyes looked up to Usy.. Head cocking to the side some "The entire island was cursed yes? This same crystal came from that island?" -Now- he gave it a hesitant look... Looking over the length of the shining crystal before nodding swiftly "I agree with Fo... Too dangerous." He bluntly stated

Fo'uh shook her head at Usy, there was a sudden sad tone. "I know you saw that memory Usyraz. I know you saw it.. That wasn't me. I WOULD HAVE REMEMBERED!" she snarled with tears in her eyes. "That thing.. that thing put it in there.. it put that in my head. There is no way I would have killed someone. It knew i would figure out it was evil. It knew." Her voice became dangerously low. Serelath agreeing with her seemed to calm her some. "We have to keep the others from it.." She glared at the shiny rock and started to pace around it. "It was found in a place with no life around it. You heard what mother said.. it needs our power.. why would it give anything back? Its been starved for how long now?"

Usyraz sighed in frustration, her hands dragging over her face. Turns out she had faith in what was suggested to them - that her mother, the Da'ar, and Da'ariv wouldn't have allowed such things if it was a truly malicious creation. "It's dangerous if done alone or improperly, yes. And they wouldn't have brought this thing here if the power core -itself- was cursed. Do you REALLY believe Mother and her friends are that daft, Serelath?" She drew in a deep breath to steady herself, trying to speak calmly. "It's my fault, Fo - I couldn't pull you away from it, and Mother counted on us to be able to keep each other tethered. I failed you..." She was at least -trying- to calm their sister's hysteria. "We would have been warned if it dealt in illusions, Fo... it must have been a repressed memory. What happened there... you did what you needed to at the time. Please, -please- listen."

Serelath Paced over to Fo some, his head swiftly ducking and lifting back up under her chin to give her a quick comforting nudge... His eyes still looking over the crystal beside him with that mix of curiousness and wariness... Could mother have just been wrong? The crystal had sheltered them right? But whos to say it wasent just using them? His instinct told him not to trust it and thats all he was going off of for now... His eyes perking back up to Usy at her question "Maybe the ones stranded on the island have some blind trust in it? It did keep them alive after all?" he pointed back before giving his tail a few stubborn waves "What do they suggest it even has to offer? Does the benefit really outweigh the risk?" Exchanging a glance between Fo then Usy "Do you remember the last time she was like this?" He asked in regards to Fo's mood "It pushed something wicked into her head!"

Fo'uh accepted her brother's comforting nudge and then looked ashamed at the thought of considering her mother daft.. she huffed a few times tears in her eyes as her sister told her it was her own actual memory. "You.. you believe i could do something like that?" She shook her head as if her best friend and sister had struck her. "I.. Go away Usyraz.. Go. It is not safe." She said glaring at her. "I will protect you all from this thing if i have to.. its dangerous.. you agree and so does mother. Who's to say it has no intent to drain this world like it drained that island?" She turned away from her sister. "I don't know how.. But i will figure out a way to destroy this thing." she paced around it, her eyes locking onto the power core again. The shine from the glow glinting off the tears in her eyes and that had fallen down her scaled cheeks. Her brother understood.. he knew as well as she did this thing was evil. They would both figure it out.

Usyraz stared at them both in disbelief. She didn't speak right away... and just as she was about to, Fo's words hit her like a ton of bricks, causing her to nearly drop right out of the sky. "...Go... away...?" Her brow furrowed... and her chin dipped. "...There's no talking to you. Either of you." Her own hurt was practically tangible in her tone, and as she turned away to leave, she muttered one final thing. "... But maybe there's someone who -can- get through to you, if you won't listen to me." And with that, she went off in search of their mother... and probably to prepare water and herbs after that.

Serelath Reared his head back and looked between the crystal and Fo once more... Usy's words falling on stubborn ears for the most part so far it seemed as he gave the crystal a quick snarl. Why would a cursed island hold something beneficial to them at all? His eyes regarding Usy for a quick moment as she took off before he stood on the opposite side of the crystal from his sister... Looking over it "Maybe fire would help?" He asked with a huff

Fo'uh hesitated for a moment, the word fire enough to make her cower.. she looked around the small island then over to the lava one. "Maybe? Or would could push it off .. no.. In mother's stories, the island fell and so did the crystal.. I do not even see a crack in it, Do you?" she asked. "Maybe fire and Ice at the same time?" She offered.

Serelath Slowly paced up to it before giving the crystal a rather firm headbut... It was indeed not going to be pushed that easy either it seemed... His head quickly reared back as his legs took a few wary paces back from it "Do you know any fire breathers?" He asked with curious eyes over to his big sister

Sililuuth shifted as she walked, her bipedal, humanoid body moving to its hands and feet and giving way to a mass of amethyst scales and light-hued fins, exasperated... and tired. Always tired, lately. But as she came by in time to see her son trying to headbutt the power core, her eyes narrowed into slits and she gave a low growl of warning before she spoke up. "Which one of you would like to explain why I've been asked to come -talk- to you?"

Fo'uh shook her head at the thought. "Not personally." she said curtly not wanting to let her fear whelm up. She had watched him attempt to push and then moved closer to attempt maybe putting her clawed foot on it to push it herself or attempt to scratch it. Her mother's entrance couldn't have been more well timed.. she instantly withdrew her claws from touching the crystal and moved to block her mother from coming any closer to the power core. "We're protecting all of us. This thing is evil mother. It should not be here." She said with a staggering confidence. Perhaps the first time she ever talked back to her mother in such a way. "You said yourself, it is dangerous."

Serelath that recognizable growl was certainly enough to make him jump some... His head snapping over to Sili as he gave her a wary look... His eyes drifting over to Fo as she so boldy cut their mother off... Serelath already taking a few paces back from the two... Fearing his mother's wraith like usual while his eyes went a bit wide as the eldest sibling so boldly spoke back to Sili... "It... Does seem dangerous..." He added on

Sililuuth sighed in exasperation; her head moved to hang downward for a moment, as if facepalming. Yes, it was true - normally she would have lost her shit at such a curt response... but she was still aware that -something- had happened to Fo, even if she had no idea what she had experienced. "I really should have bonded alongside the two of you to prevent whatever happened..." That exhausted tone gave way to something more stern, glancing between them without humor. "It is -not- evil; it just -is.- Many of us communed with the power core, for even longer than I have. It's ONLY dangerous when you attempt to bond with it improperly. Fo, you relinquished your energy unknowingly; THAT was what made it dangerous, and it's part of why I should have done more than observe. I should have gone in with you the first time." She let out a frustrated snort, her head shaking. "While it's true that its hunger is greater than usual, as it had been around nothingness for so long, there are ways to -prevent- that hazard, and it was my mistake to throw you and your sister to it without better preparation." It was then that she finally -really- looked to Serelath, frowning. "And you, son... have quite a bit to catch up on, though there's a time and place, and it's not now or here."

Fo'uh hesitated a moment. She never liked disappointing her mother but she was to sure of this. "Things... that it put in my head. I never would have done. It was trying to turn Usy and I against each other. It just takes and takes, mother.. what reason does 'it' have to give us anything in return? How do you know that the island you were upon wasn't so drained because of this thing? what do we really know about it?" She shook her head and stayed between her mother and the power core. "It is not safe. How do you know it did not kill the black dragon?" She added.. as if that wasn't bad enough to bring up such pain for her mother.

Serelath paced up closer to the two when his mother spoke to him.. Listening into Fo mainly, his eyes bouncing back and fourth between the two "Why would anything beneficial some from a place like that?" He added along to his sisters point... Though he would have probably strayed off of the whole black dragon path... "Why would we tamper along with something so unpredictable anyways?"

Sililuuth maintained her calm, even while she listened to her. Her head shook once more. "It does not manipulate. It takes and, if you bond, request of it, and it accepts you, it can also give." A pained glimmer flashed in her stare at the mention of the black dragon. "Amoras' destruction originated at the opposite side of the island, where the drow and orcs dwelled. As for Yantaria, she asked it for some of its power. Yantaria - and that power core - sacrificed themselves to provide enough power for the Aerie to escape." The more she spoke, the harder her voice became; the fins along her back quivered with agitation. "Evil does not make that kind of sacrifice. There was no guarantee that we could ever find it." Her stare snapped toward Serelath then. "It isn't as predictable as you would think. When done properly, bonding with the power core is the same every time - you just have to be sure not to -unknowingly- provide it with energy. It will feed off of it until you stop it. That's why you commune with it in
pairs, or trios. So that if one of you falters, the other can shock you back from it."

Fo'uh seeing her mother's pain and hearing the black dragons name along with the explanation of their sacrifice she backed down some. She took a step back and lowered her head in shame for reminding her mother of such trying times. She slowly looked at the power core, the past few days of believing it was what caused her those visions... and now.. she was starting to think that maybe it was a memory.. a horrible one. Her eyes would flit to her brother, though he agreed with her.. and even if he still did.. she felt ashamed for causing him to doubt their mother. The more she spoke the more sense started to make its way back to Fo. "Its.. It kept you safe." she said finally. Her eyes locked onto the power core once again as if she were trying to silently apologize to the rock.

Serelath Maybe some ignorance could be cleared up as he listened in to his mother now... Stubborn ears opening up for once... His eyes slowly drifting over and catching his older sister's look... His expression rather blank but his eyes agreed with her's for the most part.. Maybe a still bit wary of the unknown aura the crystal seemed to hold about it "If you are confident enough that you encourage us to bond with it, then I don't doubt you." He said with a slow nod to his mother... Since when did she knowingly put them in a dangerous situation? His memory had no answer for that

Sililuuth nodded slowly. She still looked as unamused as she sounded, but maybe it was just to get her point across. "Yes... We do not worship the core, nor should there truly be reason to fear it. We revere it, and used to hold ceremonies to 'recharge' it so that it may continue to thrive." Some of her tension shook and fell off of her body as she let forth a shudder that seemed to forcibly throw it out of her form. Her attention moved from daughter to son contemplatively... her head slowly nodded. "I will try to better educate you on this sometime soon... but there is not need to fear it. It will stay within the Aerie, and I'll do a better job of aiding with the bonding process... but -only- when either of you feels prepared. I'd rather not have either of you work with Usy through it unless she learns to get her empathy under control; that seemed to make things worse, and it leaves her unable to pull you out of it." A worried frown took formation as she glanced toward her daughter. "And one day, I'd like to know what it is that you saw that caused you such hysteria... but I will not pry it from your mind."

Fo'uh frowns some and slowly sinks to laying down and nods at her mother's words. The metaphorical rug pulled out from under her. If it hadn't been the power core that had done it... when her mother spoke of seeing what she had seen she closed her eyes and tilted her head down. She suddenly felt the need to just curl up into a ball.. She would have to apologize to Usy for.. everything. Her poor sister. Her brother's words seemed to bring all of her sense back to her.. she would have a lot to think about. "I am sorry, mother. I do not know what came over me." She said in a quiet voice.

Serelath The way she explained the crystal still seemed risky to him... He didn't like letting such strangers just idly crawl into his mind... He would be more than patient to wait until his sisters were more than ready as well... This was clearly not something the three of them would just want to dive head first into... But the end goal of added power sure did sound nice "I eagerly await your teachings." He chimed up to her before swiftly pacing up to her... Bringing his forehead down to nuzzle and nudge against her neck "You must be exhausted... We did not mean to be a bother." He murred up to her

Sililuuth softened up as she looked toward both of them. Her signs of exasperation had been shed in place for just plain fatigue. Maybe she was just still tired from trying to handle too much at once previously. "There is no need for either of you to apologize for a lack of understanding." She paused to think about it, gently offering, "While living within the Nexus, there was a woman with mysteries of her own. With her mate's help, we worked to search her mind for the cause of her bizarre behavior - and it was something hidden within the depths of her memories. Should you feel the need, Fo, I will try to help you find answers - but please do not be afraid to speak to Davros or Soumia either, especially, as they've been trusted friends of this family for many years." Returning the gesture of affection to her son, she looked toward him with a small flicker of fondness. "I've not seen you in some time, Serelath - I'd like for you to work on honing your skills as well, whatever you may be able to practice or even master. There's a lot for us to discuss when there's time." She glanced between them. "Do either of you need anything?"

Fo'uh gave a soft nod at her mother's offer to talk and figure out what it was all about.. and then a slow shake of her head at the offer of needing anything. "No mother. I know you are busy." She said quietly. "I am sure Serelath and I can manage?" She looked up at her little brother as if to see if he would agree or if he would ask for something.

Serelath In a way he was jealous of what she got to experience on that island... Most of it was less than pleasant things of course... But she also learned a good bit about the world too stranded there! His thoughts for now interrupted by his mothers words, offering a rumbling purr up to her "We will be able to speak soon I'm sure." His head drifted back towards Fo before swiftly nodding "Yes! We are done pestering you for now mother." He said with a playful little smirk "Go nap!" He urged her

Sililuuth began to turn away, only pausing to pass them both a sidelong glance... and with that, she nodded. "Well... should you require anything, you know who you can seek out. I will see you both soon." And with that, she turned and carefully made her way back to the cave where she'd been resting... and probably trying to regain her strength.