Alex woke from the plains of golden fungi. The sky was darkened with only hues of shadow and dim clouds, yet the plains of grasses looked as though they are drenched in sunlight. He looked around and held himself up from the ground, slowly. He had deja vu. Everything looked familiar, the wind funnels, the landscape. This was his birthplace. His eyes started glowing and bleeding that blue element again, but, this time profusely. Like a river of sorrow streaming down his body.        

A large rock which had seemed to appear without his knowledge stood before him. He looked upward at the monument and saw a pattern etched into it. Curious, he reached for it, an upside-down triangular shape chiseled within another one, a circle. It glowed a bluish tint and held it for a time, but soon spat out those dark, tentacle-like tendrils from an abyssal black tar, now transitioning to a purplish indigo and seething out of the cracks of the carving. It grappled his arm and pulled him unwillingly into its void. 

Before his face was completely covered, Alex closed his eyes, his hand in the air. Right when he thought he was completely engulfed in the mess and powerless, he awoke. He awoke with his hand grasping... Seff's neck... He held him firmly against the wall. As his eyes widened, he stepped back, retreating his grip. Startled, he cowered at his actions. He stared blankly at his newfound friend, regret in his voice. “Seff…” he spoke. That’s all he could speak. His eye started dripping that liquid again, this time as if he was crying. He stared at Seff’s neck riddled with marks. Holding his own head, hearing that same spiking sound over again. His pupils shrink and without much time passing, he rushes out the door, hitting the frame and trampling. Seff yelled, "Wait!" but it was too late. Alex had already got up and kept running. He was already so far out with how fast he could sprint. Luckily, his blood caressed each grass blade creating a trail.      

Alex kept running for quite some time. He ran until his legs stopped him in his tracks, halting slowly as he fell on his knees. He looked up at the sky, angry. Then, he felt a familiar feeling. One of dread. This familiarity was back at the cabin. It was far stronger, however. A shadowy figure was seen watching him grovel. It was laughing in the distance. There was another near it... One much farther away but visible. A cluster of dancing purple petals drifted above Alex's head as this other shadow attacked the one closest to him. Once it was spotted, it glanced at him. The feminine figure disappeared along with the other one that had razor-sharp teeth and heralding blackened eyes with white moons for pupils. In the feminine shadow's wake, a single dark purple rose with blackened thorns was left behind. Alex, picking it up, realizes they are no longer there. They have vanished. He kept a part of this memory, her hair. It was deep dark fuchsia. Fluffy and silky but straight and quite long. Their eyes, glowing brightly, a very mauve and faint lavender grey. His heart floated but he was unfamiliar to the feeling this brought him.       

Akhmin walks into the house and brings in some dry wood, stacking it to the side. "Okay, kin. Time to rise. Seff you--" Akhmin sees Seff's injury and steadily looms his eyes around the room. Looking at Seff again, he questions him. "Seff. Why is your neck... Did Alex do this?", Seff hesitates but nods, putting his hands up to prevent any immediate assumption. He starts explaining the escape as well. Akhmin, puzzled, sits down at the table. What he heard didn't make much sense. "Alex woke up, slamming you against a wall... and then... left...?" Seff shakes his head slightly and replies. "He looked... in pain. Maybe he had a bad dream?" Akhmin thinks for a moment... "Well... we need to scout for him. I'm sure he didn't mean any harm, but we need to settle that before we are positive of his intentions." He further insinuates from this event, "Chiro weren't known to be violent... they also wouldn't fight to prevent damage to themselves which, honestly... I disagree with that mentality... but to hurt a friend... that is unruly..."       

A good way away from the house, Alexander starts feeling an odd resonance in the air as the morning darkness starts subtly distorting into arrays of sunshine. Twilight colors engulf the sky as clouds are softer and flakey. It's almost entirely clear out. No rain. His eyes dilate as this feeling gets louder and his body starts to feel sick in the churning gut kind of way. He looks at the flower he acquired. He remembers that shadowy humanoid from before. Details of which he could only fathom now. Grey horns with glowing divets halfway between the point and base. Thorns were wrangling the other shadow which seemed to have pure, pearl-white skin. They were cloaked, however so it was hard to see their face. What did either of them want from him...      

Akhmin rounded up a couple of his hunter friends and some others that volunteered. Seff is coming as well, dressed in their recon-wear. A flowing shirt, baggy and cropped pants with a satchel for foraging. They tell Achiin to watch the house as they and their bug friend stand on the porch watching them leave. Achiin pouts a bit but is much more glad to be spending time with his little metal buddy. 

The team searching through taller grasses, only found a bunch of wasps. A striped, sabertoothed, creature was hissing at them from below with babies hidden in a nesting ground under the hive. Akhmin, Elkhra and Takhra were all directionally calling Alex's name. Takhra had a spear while Akhmin didn't. They weren't sure of the dangers they'd face and simply told the other two to be cautious of their surroundings.      

Alex could hear the yelling but didn't care. He didn't even look up to see anyone coming. Elkhra ran up the hill and saw him just laying on his back. His eyes were closed, his brows, furled upward in sadness. He opened them just for a bit to look at Elkhra and closed them again. Elk poked his shoulder which felt cold to the touch. He thought he'd be warm but he's far from it. He'd think he was dead if it weren't for the response he was given. This is unusual. He then had a theory but reclused the idea deep within his mind for the time being.

Elkhra helped up Alex as he was limp and, quite possibly, purposefully trying not to be taken without resistance. Akhmin showed up, but Alex just stared at him as well, simply in dread. Akhmin hoisted Alex up over his shoulder and the groups all banded together to take him back to the village while the sun was still looming over them. They had to walk quite some time. It was about a mile or two from home on foot. This took possibly 2-3 real-time hours on Earth. As it stood, the time on Aphrodite was maybe 2-3 more hours longer.       

Walking back to the house, Akhmin walks up the steps, wishing good tidings to those that remained for the search. Elkhra decides that they want to stay and help. Takhra nods, "Ok, you can stay. We've got stew brewing if you wanna come back home at any time just be safe here ok?" Elk hugs his father, feeling like he realized what he needed all along. He just didn't have the proper way to extend it other than what he knew, hunting. After changing back into his clothes, Seff opens his door to find Alex leaning on Akhmin's shoulder, propped up by his arm. Elkhra waves to Seff but he blushes and runs away, leaving the door open. Akhmin takes Alex to Seff's room while he stays in the kitchen, hiding, and lays him down on the pillow. "Will he be okay? I've noticed something weird about his--" Akhmin looks at him and shakes his head slowly.        

Akhmin and Elkhra sit at the table as Alex is laying in the bedroom, a fresh cylanta tea brewed for him to sip. Elkhra squints his eyes at the slightly open door that leads to Alex. "So... why cylanta tea?" Akhmin sips the same tea and laps the tasty, minty broth left on his lips. Seff slowly peeks around the corner, watching Elk, but retreats when he spots him lurking. Achiin comes out of Akhmin's room with the scorpion-like robot skittering beside him and Elk immediately jumps out of his seat, backing against the wall. "Wh-what is that?! Wait is that a LIVING Chiro?!!" Akhmin hushes him softly but nods. "This is what we're trying to find out. Achiin is just keeping it company." Akhmin looks at his tea and relays why he gave him the herbal liquid rather than a salve. To Elkhra, the salve would've normally rejuvenated the body. "I am using the tea because... the salve didn't work." Elk is confused. "It further proves to me that Alex is..." As the two converse about him, Alex lays looking at the ceiling... why did they help him? Why do they care at all after what he did? As he constantly self depricates his actions, Elkhra, further interested in the conversation with Akhmin, queries, "Why... how... did he get here?" Akhmin looks down. "We don't know. We simply found him injured and promised to heal him. However, despite being organic..." He takes out the titanium shard from before and points over to the scorpion robot that Achiin has now put on the table as it stares back at Elk. "We think that what he was 'carrying' has something to do with The Creations of Taellis... The Chiro"