Natron had never been into the Rift proper before - not the castle where the General-Kings did business, but the part of the Rift that belonged solely to the youma. It had been his conversation with Aloysius, now Chalcanthite, that had sent him down into the depths. He rarely considered personal youma, but the idea had suddenly become very attractive. It would certainly be interesting to have a nonhuman partner, of sorts.

The General was surprised by how calming it was, even if he could feel youma eyes on him all the time. He had to admit, it was weirdly peaceful. There were no demands on his time or attention except the ones he placed on himself - mostly curiosity-related ones, since he found himself wandering off the “path” and over to strange rock formations and clusters of youma and shining strange crystals. The geology of the Rift was absolutely fascinating.

The further in he got, the more he noticed the sensation of eyes on him - and while he often looked and saw plenty of ferals around, none of them seemed to be actively paying attention to him, and they certainly weren’t intelligent enough to think to look away. He kept walking, and occasionally glanced over his shoulder. Every time, he saw a shape vanish into the darkness behind him.

Finally he stopped.

“Come out. I don’t know who or what you are, but come out and look me in the face.” He said, frowning.

“How very interesting. I was wondering when you’d notice.” He spun around, looking for the source of the voice, and his eyes fell on a strange wolflike creature, all black and with a body covered in strange spikes. It - he, that had been a distinctly male voice - seemed to fade into the shadows around him. “So few of you seem to wander down here.”

“You speak?” He wasn’t used to that; most of the youma he’d encountered were feral, unintelligent. He knew ones capable of speech existed, it was just a surprise to find one that was and still looked like an animal.

“I do. You sound surprised, General.” The wolf approached him, walking around and surveying similar to the way it might hunt prey. “Many of us are perfectly intelligent, as smart as you or perhaps even smarter.”

“Fascinating,” Natron admitted. The wolf sat back on his haunches again.

“You will do,” he declared, simply.

“I - what?” The officer frowned.

“As an officer for me to bond to. You will do. You came here seeking a youma of your own, no? You found one.” He declared it as if it were simple, irrevocable truth, and Natron supposed that might be true.

“What can you do?” He asked. Instead of answering, the wolf simply vanished, melting into the darkness around them.

“I can seek what you cannot, General.” He said, and then he reappeared from another patch of shadow a few feet away. “I move in the darkness and shadows. I also bite.” He pulled his face into a wolfish approximation of a grin. “You may call me Airitech. Or Airi, I suppose, if that doesn’t form well for you.” Natron grinned.

“General Natron. I think we’ll be excellent partners.”