.:Tread Carefully:.

A small cave, hidden well yet has so much attention attracted to it. Exactly why would this happen? It was just another dark hole in the earth that was filled with rocks. No one would really need to care about this thing.

But they do it anyway. The cave is extraordinary, filled with the most precious gems and metals. Any robber, scientist, and explorer would turn to it. It was the perfect place for study. Yet it came with a price.

Each and every one of them came out of the cave with serious injuries. Some were found dead. The survivors had reported the crystals moving out and attacking them, but it was just thought to be simple hallucinations. That there was some kind of gas hanging in the air which caused people to be delusional. It was all just to calm the public until people found out what it really was.

If only they knew that it was true. Those people weren't going crazy.

A figure lay dormant in the safety of the crystals. They were invading again. Those people, trying to take away her friends and family. What were they thinking? Trying to take the gems was killing off one of them. And it happened all the time. Everyone around here was just too greedy, not able to just take one piece and move on. When will they leave her people alone?

Citrine opened her eyes, revealing faint red irises. She glanced around, alert, waiting for anyone to dare enter the cave.

The different species heard no one and began to examine her clawed fingers and toes. A beautiful yellowish-orange, gleaming surprisingly bright in the small light streaming through. Made entirely of crystal. Her mouth turned into a slight frown, knowing that she would be trapping and killing today.

Citrine glanced back, noticing a faint light coming from the entrance. She grimaced. It felt too soon for someone to be sticking their nose down the cave already.

She slid along the walls of the cave, hiding and blending in with the clusters of gems. She soon stopped, close enough to see the person. A human...? She has only seen another, but it was briefly before Blood had killed him. This should be interesting.

He coughed,his feet kicked up lots of dust just by sliding down the bulky rocks of the cave floor.
Wait what was that, He put on his hood "Show yourself!" He held a hand on a flashlight another gripping the handle of his sword.
Arashi realized it was just his imagination.
He continued on looking at the sparkling gems around him he was whatsoever unintrigued ignoring them he was here for a reason and one reason only,To find the cause of the mysterious death's.[i]

Citrine narrowed her eyes. It seemed that human had almost found her presence. It would be a good time to attack, but she held back a little bit. She wanted to experiment first.

The crystal-like species waited as the human advanced forward. She followed closely behind. She turned and kicked a cyan crystal, releasing a loud cracking to echo through the cave. She winced. She had probably just destroyed one of her relatives, but it was necessary to see how this human would tolerate being in this cave. She darted behind another collection of gems, a bright yellowish orange just like her.

Citrine smirked. So was this how humans were? It's not like she could call out to him or taunt him; she was a mute after all. And telepathy...well, it may freak him out a bit too much.

She walked behind him, her feet tapping gently against the ground. Once he looked back, she would strike.

Citrine narrowed her eyes when he didn't turn around right away. The whole point of walking behind him, making noise, was for the human to spin around and watch with horror as she sliced her claws right across his face. Yes, that was the plan. But he refused to acknowledge her.

She almost stopped in her tracks when she heard a click. What kind of noise was that?

Citrine immediately moved, but the bullet grazed her shoulder. It was weird though, since the bullet had chipped away at her shoulder like it was glass.

She went into a battle stance. "Well, not entirely my friend..." she replied telepathically, a light smirk on her face.

Citrine mentally laughed, her voice echoing through the assassin's mind. "I did contribute to the act, but I didn't actually kill them. And as for the crystals..."

The crystals of many different colors rose up, taking form. Three male and two female krystaali rose up from the collection of gems. The bright cyan diamonds rose up to form a dragon, one scale missing from when Citrine kicked it.

"...they are my kin."

"Isn't it obvious?" Citrine replied, glancing at her claws. "People continue to take my relatives. To do what? Experiment, decorate, and sell."

She gently ran a claw over a tiny cluster of a deep turquoise stone. "And our species is almost gone. We're all that's left."

She smirked. "Ah, you see now of our species. We are living indeed. But these crystals are still growing. They aren't into their full forms yet."

Citrine glanced back up at the assassin. "I'm not crazy. This is real. We feel, we breathe, we bleed. We're just different from you..." A light blue krystaalis took a step forward, seeming to be communicating with Citrine. She gave a nod before the other stepped back. "It appears we've told you too much. We'll have to kill you."

Citrine moved forward, the others behind her. The giant dragon roared and shook the cave.

But her eyes flickered with interest at his last statement. "Do us...no good? she asked. The dragon gave a low growl. ""What exactly are you trying to say here? We're eliminating you so you won't spread any information. Of course it's going to help us."

"But if it's what we must do for our survival, then we will kill," Citrine replied, scowling. "As for information? If the fact that there is a new species that people haven't discovered yet, then imagine what they would do to us. Experiment on us, then lock us up to continue their 'studies.' The thought just makes us sick."

"Y-You would?" Citrine took a step back, her eyes widened in surprise. She never experienced such kindness from someone, especially from a human.

She struggled back into a stern position. This wasn't time to show any weakness. She gave a small nod. "Fine. But you will follow your promise. If another human enters, we will not hesitate to kill them and kill you.

Citrine glanced down at his hand and back at him. She stepped forward and shoot his hand. "The deal is made. Keep your promise," she said, the others backing into the darkness. Her eyes flashed before she went to join them.