earth bones

He tensed as the light returned to the runes covering the golem and their pieces began fitting together again, immediately gripping onto his arms. Although he could feel nervousness coursing his veins, a shiver running down his spine reminded him just how excited he was to be able to even have an interaction like this. 

“Well, that did the trick,” he said, opening his one hand to reveal the bullet. Though his eyes are certainly trained on the golem’s core that still rested in his other hand. The warmth was returning to it and.. the feeling was unlike anything he’s ever experienced. It looked somewhat like a heart, though it didn’t beat like one would expect a human one to. Yet.. life emanated from it–as though it itself were alive. His thumb brushed over the glowing core in his hand as his eyes soon traveled to the rest of the golem now that they were mostly put together again. 

“Fascinating..” he muttered under his breath, almost near forgetting about the grip the golem had on his arms or the danger he had just been in. “You are a being unlike any other I’ve seen.. and considering the extraordinary creatures that live in this world, that’s I believe that’s saying something.”

Their grip softens, hands sliding down the mans arms partly. They watch him watch them, gaze moving to settle wherever his does. Looking to the core again, their eyes widen a touch as the man brushes his thumb over it. A shiver makes its way through them from their head down to their toes, eyes wide in something almost like surprise. Though there was lingering pain, now that the core was gradually restoring itself back to its natural form, there was something else mixed in with the feeling they got.

He braces himself as the golem falls against him while he’s trying to work. He’s lucky he keeps up with his workouts because even just this part of them is heavy as hell. He was lucky he already had his hands where they needed to be as well, as now he couldn’t quite see where he was working. This was fine though.. there are plenty of times he needs to work with his hands without being able to see. His fingers were nimble and deft, so this would be no problem. 

He made a small noise as the golem attempted to bite on his neck, though didn’t quite succeed. Had they any more power, he didn’t doubt the golem would have ripped his throat out. He swallowed, the feel of it tight against their teeth. Despite, he tries to keep himself from getting distracted from the task at hand.

His lips purse at the pained cry. “A little more.. bear it for a moment longer..” Just wiggle it this way and then down a bit.. “Ah,” he says. With a sharp little pull, he managed to dislodge the object and grip it in his hand–distinctly bullet-like in shape. That explains the hostilities.. what despicable human would shoot at a remarkable being such as them?

As the bullet pops out they let out something of a sharp gasp, the light built up in their core freely spreading throughout their body. The parts of them lying about here and there quiver before gathering up to reform the golem's frame, instinctively grasping the man's arms and lingering a moment before pulling themselves away.

Their entire demeanor seems to have softened somewhat, though there's still tension in their gaze. Their runes, hair, and eyes are now a uniform brightness, a clear sky blue. They don't let go of Damian, though the grip is not violent. The core in Damian's hand glows brightly--certainly brighter than the rest of them. Its warmth floods back throughout it and though it does not beat like a flesh and blood heart, there's a distinct feeling of something alive about it.

Rem is quiet, looking down at the core. Certainly, it's still damaged, but with the bullet removed the strange almost squishy material of the core can now close up and become whole again with time. They return their attention to Damian, eyes scanning his face for any change in expression.

“Fine, don’t trust then. In your state, you can hardly give it anyways can you..?” He winces as a hand moves to his side as a pain shoots through him. His breathing is a bit ragged as he moves toward the golem. His eyes trail to the core chamber revealed from the chest panels falling away, leaving what appeared to be a glowing heart..

“That’s it huh.. what you were fighting so hard to protect.” Once he’s close enough, he kneels in front of the golem with a wince before letting out a shaky breath. Once there, he pushes away any of the pain he feels to focus on the inner workings of the golem’s open chest chamber and the core within.

“Ah.. there is something lodged here.. Don’t suddenly come to life and do anything drastic. I’ll try to get it out.” He reaches in cautiously, one hand first to gingerly hold the core in place to examine it. He makes sure his touch is gentle, as he didn’t want to damage anything if he could help it. The core.. their heart.. was warm to the touch, but it was waning. This object was killing it slowly.. He reached in with his other hand, carefully trying to get a grip on the object and ease it out. He grits his teeth, as it’s giving more trouble than he thought. “..It’s stuck.. hold on.”

Rem doesn't move--no, cannot move--as Damian approaches and reaches for their core. Another hiss, though it's faint. The scattered parts of them shift slightly in place as if they're struggling to come back together, but all that results is the golem falling forward against the human. Were it not for the context, the two of them could almost look intimate with how Rem leans, their face wincing painfully into the crook of Damian's neck.

Every touch to their core sends a small jolt, a shock-wave of dim light pulsing through their body. In a last-ditch effort to fight or at least go through the motions of struggling, they open their mouth and press their blue crystalline teeth against the man's skin... though it's not even enough to break it due to the golem's utter lack of strength.

“I am, though how I loath it,” he breathed, finding it slightly harder to do so with the grip on his collar. His lips pursed as the golem seemed to judge him there and then, though he didn’t give up hope quite yet. Soon after, the flames receded and he was slowly lowered until his feet touched the ground. He let out a small, relieved sigh as the strain on his collar was mostly gone now. 

Not long after, the golem seems to wince in pain and before he can question what was happening he was hoisted up again by the collar with a small grunt noise. However, immediately then he was hoisted through the air and flung across the cave, colliding forcefully with a cave wall and tumbling unceremoniously to the ground. Pain shot through him from near everywhere, and somewhere along the way his glasses had fallen off. His shaking fingers padded the ground for them, luckily finding them nearby and replacing them on his face. Unfortunately, there was a new crack through one of the lenses..

He managed to regain his eyesight (for the most part) just in time to see their arm extended palm out towards him as though they’re going to blast him with.. presumably fire. As he tenses though, the light all along the golem flickers out and they fall to their knees. He looked on confused for a moment as he regained his composure. “What..?” he murmured, watching on as the golem struggled to keep their body together. 

Shaking hands pushed him back to his feet, and though he wobbled slightly he managed to stay upright. “You.. have to trust me. You might be damaged.. I can help you. If I can figure out what’s wrong.. I might be able to fix it.”

The flickering started again and the golem's entire frame trembled every time until the point that they could no longer keep their arms up. Their arms slumped, hands and fingers simply falling apart as they hit the ground. Rem spoke, but in a language that would be unknowable even to someone as well-learned as the man before them. Their words were short, almost trembling and breathless. After a pause, they spoke again, in a modern tongue.

"I have not lived... this long... by 'trusting'..." They hissed, though their body seemed to have cooled to the point where there was not even steam leaving their surface in wisps. Finally, their chest panels could no longer remain in place, tumbling down onto their lap with the clatter and clack of stone against stone.

Throughout their body, their glow dimmed save for their core chamber in which the heart-shaped core was simply nestled down into the bottom of the groove, no longer able to float in place. A piece of something could be seen lodged in the core. It would seem the core had tried to heal partially around it, making it difficult to remove.

The golem continued to surprise him as flames seemed to ignite from the runes on their body. The more he learned the more impressive this golem became to him. Despite the danger emanating in its approach, Damian didn’t feel afraid. No.. he was more akin to excited. He had to learn more..

He made a small grunt as suddenly the golem gripped his collar tightly and lifted him off of the ground with ease. He hadn’t been expecting something so direct so it took him somewhat by surprise. His hands instinctively tried to grab for the golem’s wrists to ease the pressure on his neck, but he quickly withdrew them with a shout as the flames burned at them. It was incredibly hot being this close to all those flames, and the dancing embers singed his clothes and burned what skin they could reach which incited grunts and hisses of pain from the scientist.

Beyond some basic equipment he brought along for cave exploring and doing research, he of course had his pokemon on him along with the pokemon snacks he typically carries everywhere. As the golem patted him down, they did manage uncover the taser he kept hidden on his person and he tensed a bit. It was a just in case sort of item, as he wouldn’t know if he’d end up in a situation where his body training just wasn’t enough. Particularly since he wasn’t entirely sure if Plasma was seeking him out or not… In this case though, it wouldn’t have helped in the slightest.

“Ngh– I said I didn’t intend to harm you, and I meant it- I understand if you’re distrustful, humans are despicable creatures that seem to do nothing but deceive and hurt those around them.” He paused to wince as flames flickered quite close to his face. “I promise I am not like that. I would have to be an absolute idiot to have that sort of intent right now..”

Rem looked over the device found on the human. It did not have the appearance of any sort of blade or firearm. They dropped it to the ground for the time being, taking little interest in anything else found on the man.

"You speak as if you are not one yourself," they said simply, their eyes opened wide yet their stare only became more intense. "Pitiful."

Though they seemed unimpressed, the flames lessened considerably. They lowered Damian until his feet made contact with the ground again, eyes narrowed as they glanced him over in a calculating fashion. He did not have a gun, and they could not find anything else of note in terms of weaponry. This man would prove to stand no chance against them. Hardly a threat.

They consider perhaps releasing him and leaving, but as soon as the thought crossed their mind they felt another sharp pang. They wince, crystalline teeth gritting in pain and in reflexive panic they heave the man up again only to chuck him across the dark cave.

"Hhhah..." Their hand clutched at their chest again, steam pouring from their parted lips as their eyes widened. They were still badly injured... anything could be considered valid as a threat as long as they were this damaged. Any threat must be eliminated, they have to survive. It's all they can do. Reaching their hand palm-out towards the human, the glowing indentation in their hand begin to spit little flames that coiled around their arm like some serpent. A single blast should be enough to eliminate him. The glow and the flames build up, more and more... before the golem's entire being flickers and goes dark. The flames abruptly extinguished, they collapsed to their knees before the light began to flicker back to life.

starter for Damian @roimuses

Cold.

Wet.

Dark.

It was so dark within the cave, a human-shaped pile of stones laying back and embedded partly into the damp soil beneath, sunken in due to the weight of the being. Rem lay there, not even using their power to hold themselves firmly together and instead laying segmented to reserve energy. Their runes and the strange blue substance beneath their stone layer glowed ever so dimly, softly pulsing now and then as the only hint of life.