spelled my name in finger bones

The cavern called to him with a gentle glow emanating from the yawning maw of stone, so he pulled his sister along for the adventure. The dark wraith slunk through the mouth of the cave with ears pulled back warily, two toned eyes scanning the walls and drinking it all in. Climbing up the slick walls of the cave were clusters of blue crystals, like the ones he'd collected from beneath the mushrooms with that man- Tempo. He still wasn't sure what exactly to think of that conversation, and he certainly wasn't looking to reminisce right now. When his gaze rose overhead, the stalactites were covered in them. Luminescent fangs of a great stone beast unable to close its jaws, lingering above them like an empty threat. He wove around a stalagmite in his path, only to have one of those glowing crystals catch in the thick fur of his right shoulder. As one of those fang-like tips caught the tender flesh beneath his coat, he cried out instinctively. It felt so much louder than it sounded, even echoing endlessly through the cavern. In the brief moments where the translucent gem cut into his skin, a shrill scream exploded within the confines of his own skull.

Shrinking away from the offending stalagmite, he sucked in a deep breath and tried to steady his racing heart. Wide eyes sought out the familiar features of his beloved sister, her own body giving off a faint light for him to latch onto. "Sorry, I..." his voice trailed off before he could finish the sentence. What was he apologizing for? The volume of his cry? It had seemed deafening, but her expression wasn't quite what he would expect in response to such a scream. The amaranth marked godling found himself fixating on the gem that had cut him, watching the sanguine blood decorating its crown turn slowly violet, sapphire, cerulean, until it matched the hues of the cluster itself, slowly flickering with light until it too, glowed softly. Was the ringing in his ears from the sound of his own voice bouncing endlessly off the walls and back into his ears?

"Pontifex" || "Hallux" || "others"