Archive of Our Own ^beta

        Embryn was getting pissed off, they began tuning out whatever insults Ollie is throwing at him. Red Winter, Theo, Cycle 1 incidents, trust, everything goes in one feathered ear and out the other. It’s becoming repetitive. Boring. They’re not creative, repeating insults like a broken record, trying to degrade the confidence of the sculked bird.

        But you can’t degrade what isn’t there.

        Accusations are thrown left and right, blaming their friends, the Red Winter Alliance, for the events of the party that happened the previous day. Embryn knew they did nothing, yet Ollie and Felix failed to listen. Atticus defends the RWA as well, being one of the people who gathered at the mushroom island after the party and talked with the alliance. Atticus’ defence did little to nothing to sway the minds of the two others. Not like he expected them to anyway.

        Embryn tries to walk away, they realize they’re not gaining any ground from arguing with the highland cow. Yet they continue to taunt, Felix behind them and Atticus standing by, observing the magpie and cow’s fight. Ollie’s trying to do…something, make some point that seems to fall on deaf wings. Taunts, insults, repeating over and over. None of the words catch onto the mind of the bird-human hybrid. Absorbed like blood in a catalyst, useless.

        The four of them armored for reasons unknown, they can’t fight one another just yet even if they wished. Embryn unable to take off the armor due to lack of inventory space, but that in itself seems to fall a threat to Ollie, despite the constant reminder of the inability to. Even if they could fight, Embryn would easily win, being the only one in full enchanted netherite as opposed to the other 3 in simple iron. Pathetic. Not even diamond but iron. Pitiful.

        “!¡ᔑℸ ̣ ╎ᒷリᓵᒷ ╎ᓭ ∷⚍リリ╎リ⊣ ℸ ̣ ⍑╎リ, ꖎ╎ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ꖎᒷ ᓵ𝙹∴.” ¹ The spoken language lost to time echoes in the hybrid’s mind. A feeling unfamiliar to Embryn floods through their body, a feeling they have never felt but seems…right. Foreign but familiar all at once. A call to…something unknown to the magpie. A gentle teal glaze begins to form over their eyes, focusing deeper onto the highland cow. Their words once entering an empty mind pierces through as if they were blades, arrows. Straight through the mind, into the core.

        ”I recommend you choose your next words very carefully Ollie…” the magpie hybrid warns. A warning heard by deaf ears. Taunt after taunt, threat after insult, blades cutting deeper and deeper.

        “⍑𝙹∴ ʖ∷ᔑ⍊ᒷ ʖ⚍ℸ ̣  ⍑𝙹∴ ⎓𝙹𝙹ꖎ╎ᓭ⍑, ꖎ╎ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ꖎᒷ ᓵ𝙹∴.” ² That voice rings out again, the poor highland cow is trying their best to cut through the magpie. They are, in a way the pitiful cow isn’t expecting.

        That urge grows stronger, becoming more and more demanding as each moment passes. Each word, each threat and taunt, only fuels the spread. Like sculk to a flame, the veins around the arms and legs of Embryn pulse, the glaze around their eyes intensifies as their pupils shrink, honing in on their prey.

        “⊣∷𝙹∴.” ³ the voice grows stronger, desperation setting in. The magpie tunes out Ollie once again, only for reasons the poor cow wishes the weren’t here for.

        “ℸ ̣ ⍑∷╎⍊ᒷ.” ⁴ Embryn focuses on the vibrations and frequencies around them, going back to the roots of the sculk and feeling, hearing. Locking in on the items in their inventory, they search.

        ”⎓ᒷᒷ↸.” ⁵ Honing in on the desired items, they pull them out into his hotbar, being cautious not to show the others around them. They’re not gonna like this.

        “ᓭ⚍∷⍊╎⍊ᒷ.” ⁶ But that’s not gonna stop them, not anymore. Ollie had their warning, and yet they failed to listen. It’s their fault. The taunts slowly becoming words again as opposed to muffled noises, the magpie laughs a soft, low laugh.

        “ℸ ̣ ╎ᒲᒷ’ᓭ ⚍!¡ ꖎ╎ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ꖎᒷ ᓵ𝙹∴.” ⁷ The magpie’s now pinprick eyes are focused, glowing a deep teal and locked onto their prey. They were warned.

        ”Y’know Ollie, I tried to warn you, and you didn’t listen.” The hybrid’s voice deep, almost echoing off of nothing outside of the Malachite’s team base. Embryn glances up to the treetops, where fellow Sapphire member Dana stood, hidden in the leaves to those who don’t try to look for them. Flashing a quick, sly smile, the bird follows through with their urge.

        Their instinct.

        Their desire for Oliver’s exp.

        Everything happened so quick, the poor little cow trapped in cobwebs, with the ignition of a spark from steel striking flint, the bird tosses a stick of tnt into the cobweb where the highland cow stands defenceless. Even with their armor, it would not protect them.

        Panic erupts from the three malachites, calls out for Ollie, yells for Ollie to run or use their shield. All fall on deaf ears to the cow as their death soon approaches.

        “⊣𝙹𝙹↸ʖ||ᒷ 𝙹ꖎ╎⍊ᒷ∷.” ⁸ The voice echoes as the fuse reaches the striker, igniting the tnt in front of the small group of people. Grass and dirt explode around the cow, catching wood and leaves from nearby dark oak trees. An echoed laugh erupts from the magpie, yet falls on deaf ears as the explosions fill the minds of all that surround the area, including those lurking underground.

        As smoke and dust subsides, a stoney crater can be found where the highland cow stood. Upon closer inspection, the poor cow lays almost lifeless, but still living to the bird’s dismay. Burn marks plastered around Ollie’s figure, covered in soot and clothes covered in holes created from the blast.

        “ᔑ∴∴, リ𝙹 ᒷ ̇/!¡. ᔑ ᓭ⍑ᔑᒲᒷ.” ⁹ the disappointed voice mutters out, their actions unyielding of the desired outcome. The sculk would not feed today, not off of the poor little cow. The ringing in Felix’s ears subsides, and realization sets in.

        ”Back the fuck up Embryn.” Felix warns, trying to threaten the sculked magpie much like their friend did before. A lesson not yet learned by the cow’s friend, as they tempt their own fate.

        ”You can’t do anything if you tried, but as you wish.” The echoed voice of the hybrid rings out as they back away from the cow and their crater. The magpie walks away, leaving the three to their own devices. “They were warned.” Embryn calls out once before disappearing into the birch forest, leaving Atticus behind to be threatened by Felix as well.

        However, the magpie had other plans, they grabbed their invisibility potions from their belt and cleared out inventory space to put away their armor. They toss the potion into the air, letting the bottle smash on their head and the liquid oozing down their limbs. The effects are immediate and the magpie is invisible to the naked eye, with their teammates being the exception.

        The sculked hybrid walks back to the crater, picking up voices further than the average human ear can notice. A new voice catches their interest, begging to know what happened to the highland cow and trying to get them on their hooves. They couldn’t get a good look on the other person as they knew their particles emitting from the potion would give them away, so they stood at a distance.

        The now 3 people, Atticus being replaced by this other person, carry Ollie up the crater and away from the blast zone. Glimpses of conversation could be picked up, yet Embryn decides to tune them out. Their exp. They’re taking away their exp. Their food. The sculked bird picks up the unknown person, possibly a motherly figure from their tone of voice and choice of words, warn the other two that they fear Atticus and Embryn didn’t leave. They’re smart, that must not run in this family.

        “ꖎᒷᔑ⍊ᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷᒲ, ||𝙹⚍∷ ᒷ ̇/!¡ ╎ᓭ ᔑ ꖎ𝙹ᓭℸ ̣  ᓵᔑ⚍ᓭᒷ. ||𝙹⚍’ꖎꖎ ⊣ᒷℸ ̣  ╎ℸ ̣  リᒷ ̇/ℸ ̣  ℸ ̣ ╎ᒲᒷ.” ¹⁰ Next time…yes, there will be a next time. They won’t fail again. The hybrid leaves the others to tend to the poor little highland cow.

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        After Embryn makes it back to their cave, they collapse onto their bed, drained from the events that they caused. Kairos isn’t in his potion room they set up for him, probably out gathering wither skulls. Embryn doesn’t mind, they appreciate the alone time. They haven’t exactly had a lot of that lately, and they’re exhausted from talking to so many people in such a short amount of time. They feel the tension in their veins and body release as they sink into the soft mattress beneath them. Alone, finally.

        The explosion flashes through their mind again. They jump at the thought as if it just happened right in front of them. They seemed to have forgotten about it until the memory resurfaced. Their mind begins to race about what had happened. About what they did to Ollie. They recall the taunting, the threats, the arguing, then the explosion. Embryn jolts, sitting up from their bed, feeling sick to their stomach.

        They almost killed Ollie. They almost killed someone. They never wanted to try and hurt them, but they felt…helpless to the thought. The overwhelming sense of desire for the highland cow to fall and for their soul to shatter. The lust for the exp they would have dropped if they did. They wanted Ollie dead. They tried to actually kill them. The yearn for their demise was overwhelming, and they were powerless to stop it. What was that? That feeling, so sudden and new…yet so familiar. A foreign urge, an instinct to kill, to feed, to grow. Is this what they read about?

        The Sculk Instinct. The instinct many other living organisms have: Survive. But sculk is a parasite, only seeking to drain others of their usefulness in order for them to thrive. Sap the life force, the exp out of their victims, and spread the sculk’s spores around like they’re flower seeds in a meadow. The instinct to grow. To thrive. To feed. To survive.

        That’s what happened, that’s the feeling Embryn felt. The instinct buried within the magpie’s mind, an instinct never surfaced until now. An instinct planted in the mind of the bird after their fall. And that seed has sprouted, leaving the little hybrid helpless to its call. They can’t control it. They’ll hurt more people when it surfaces once more.

        Embryn curls up into a ball, letting their eyes close and tears stream. They recall why they’re like this, why the sculk runs over their limbs and exp floods their veins. They remember their fall, what took them away from the skies they love. A past now forgotten, a life unable to return to. A simple bird no more, now a monstrosity like the Warden, feared by many.

        The sculked bird lays back down in their bed, keeping their legs curled up into their chest. The glowing Brynzene symbol lighting up the tear streaks left behind as they fall. They wish they weren’t like this. They’ll hurt more people if this instinct comes back, they don’t want to hurt anyone…

        Havok…Chronicle…Kairos…Theo…they’re all in danger. They can’t hurt them…no no not Havok anyone but Havok…they can’t, they won’t…but that’s not for Embryn to decide. Their thoughts spiral as the endless possibilities run through his mind. Slowly, the previously predatory bird turns prey as they fall helpless and pitiful. The magpie’s hyperventilating subsides as they cry themself into a dreamless slumber.