ORIGIN

Attikias knew, roughly to avoid the Palace in Cepheus. Just for now, he imagined- he still needed to get... Used, to Aethril. With her around, he felt on edge, but he also felt... Lesser. Primitive.

He didn't like that feeling.

He hadn't chosen Cepheus for the Palace, though. (Well, it was in part- but that was before he met Aethril.) No, he liked its easy hills, its nice trees and fields, and its general quiet vibes. It was nothing like the crowded Eridanus. Here, his family could expand into homes, real homes, not just rickety lean-to's that he always had to fix every so often. They needed something permanent.

And that's what he was looking for. Melody (he figured that'd be a good name for the sparrow) had fallen asleep on the way here, leaning between him and his gem, nestled into the warm furs there. She was happy, but he wanted to see if he could connect with her again. Quietly, a gentle hand came up and he rubbed at her breast, stirring the poor bird awake with a chirp.

"Can you fly up for me? I want to try something," he asked gently, watching as she blearily looked towards him. A small musical tug came to the back of his mind, and his mental vision swam as she flexed her wings, taking to the air.

All of a sudden, it felt like he'd left the ground while staying on it at the same time, and now his actual vision swam with motion sickness. Melody's worried circling didn't help, as he could see himself curling over and supporting himself on a tree, covering his mouth as his gut rolled. Nope, that was- she was swooping in, and he vomited on the roots of the tree, clearing his throat and shutting his eyes. "Mel-" he coughed, stumbling away from his spot.

Melody, ever so helpful, landed back in her place, chirping worriedly. Sick? No, he wasn't sick, and he shook his head, backing away. "Let's... go on foot," he wheezed, walking away from the mess he made.

Attikias breathed out, feeling his throat sting slightly. "Right-" he cleared his throat, walking over an old trail. "I wanna try and find a place for us to stay, but I don't think flying'll be good right now." It was fine with Carja, but not while he was standing on the ground. He'd need to get used to it, of course, but for now...

Eugh. He'd try later. For now, he kept an eye out for a large enough plains to build their homes, clear of trees already for Carja to take off and land, or for them to do some other things that needed the space. There was a nice grove, maybe, but- he huffed, staring up. It was dim enough for his spots to glow, and there weren't any cave lights close by, and he shuddered. Maybe he could keep this one in mind while he looked.

"What do you think, Mel?" He couldn't turn to see her, and he couldn't interpret that little chime yet, but she seemed content. Was she always happy? Maybe she liked the trees. "We'll stay here if we can't find anything else," he assured her, idly petting her as they continued on.

As they wandered, not much came to fruition- there were a few smaller groves here and there, but nothing bigger than the one they were at before.

"Maybe I'm just being picky," he spoke to the sparrow, who'd climbed down from his shoulder to his outstretched hands. He cradled her as he walked, focused, really, on the surrounding woods and talking idly. "I just want room in case-- well, you know." He looked down to her, and she'd cocked her head, a wavering little noise in the back of his head playing out.

He sighed. She didn't know- they'd just met not long ago, after all. "Might have some more moving in eventually- we need to be ready for them." One hand cupped up and he scratched her back gently, looking back up as he tried to determine where to go.

Should he got off the path..? Was he not close enough to Cepheus? He didn't know this cave well enough, yet, for that.

No, he decided- he'd stay on the path, just for a little bit. He was inching closer to the Palace- it wasn't in sight, yet, but he knew it was roughly in the center. And- ahh, here!

A nice, big field, nice and flat and lit from the cave-light hovering above. This would work. Placing Melody back on his shoulder, Attikias walked out into the field, clasping his hands together excitedly. "What about this?" Less trees for her to perch on, but they could make their own, he imagined- and, when he and Carja were done building the actual, proper building, maybe they could decorate the inside with actual things. Things that felt nice.

Oh, he was looking forward to it. Finally, they'd have a proper house, with room for everything- he'd need to get a place to put all his things, too, and they could have an actual roof that didn't leak when it rained. He'd made his way towards the trees, a little, where an existing path laid and wove through the center of the plains- did the deer come out here and graze?

He knew Carja wanted to keep some, so maybe..? And, they could find a place to keep the meat cold so it doesn't spoil... This may prove very useful, too. They could keep a herd here, and he looked out over the larger side of the field, probably large enough to hold whatever lessers they desired.

Aw, yeah. He held his hands on his hips as he nodded, smiling. It was all coming together.

Well, he should set up the area for Carja first, after all. A few others would help, too, but the area around the place should be ready- and he'd have to find some trees, too, probably, to help keep it stable... And what of a smooth floor, that didn't track dirt? He'd have to figure that one out, too, but for now he'd just focus on the support.

"How big d'you think we should make this?" At this point, he was really talking to himself, idly gathering up some stocks from the ground. It had to be big enough to fit them- and he could sort of imagine where the Ursa logs would go, looking about the area. Slowly, he walked around the area he picked out, and eventually dug the sticks into the ground to make a vaguely rectangular shape.

It was somewhat shaping up, where he picked out where a back room would be, along the back length of the house- that was where his family would sleep- but what about the larger of them? He supposed he could leave one side open for a door, maybe, and they could squeeze in-- or they could make their den somewhat nearby, or something.

He shrugged. He'd worry about that later. For now, the lights were dimming somewhat, and Attikias huffed as he set up camp on the other side of the path, ready to sleep when he was done with all this.

Just a few more things to do, he imagined.

Ready for rest didn't mean he wasn't going to any time soon, as he returned to looking about the place. There was some water nearby- would that mean clay? He was getting used to Melody's flight, and he could see through her well enough, watching the ground he walked on as he looked for a stream.

That one was good enough. Small, but perhaps he could divert it with some help- and it'd be useful, in any case, especially for the shallow clay pits at its shores.

There we go. He approached and knelt down, running his fingers through it and feeling its grainyness. It wasn't the best, but it'd do- hopefully, there was enough to make the walls of a home. It'd be sturdy if Carja cooked it, but they'd need to be careful to not let the wood itself burn.

Hm. Maybe he could fashion some sort of covering- later though, as he whistled for Melody to land back on his fingers.

Maybe it was just the taking off and landing that was the roughest part, since that needed the most flapping. Ghost sensations tugged at his arms when Melody came to his hand, and he pet her idly as she cooed. "Need to find some trees nearby in case we need those, too," he told her, scratching at her cheek. She loved it, and he huffed, smiling.

He had his hatchet, and he had a plan- mark each tree he needed with a few notches, or even knock them down if they were small enough. It could take up the rest of the day, feasibly, and that was fine- he just needed to know what he was looking for, really.

But as he wandered, it was all... Sparse. Too soft, maybe- he didn't know what good wood was, really, but he imagined this wasn't it. He'd have to go farther out than the grove.

That was fine. He didn't particularly want to knock down the trees around the already existing field- it was a good size, and didn't need to be bigger.

It was a long walk. The forest here was too think to cut away, and he needed something thicker- so, maybe he'd find it eventually? There- it was starting to thicken, and Attikias trekked into it, Melody on his shoulder.

"This should be good." Taking out his hatchet, Attikias notched a few trees, picking them here and there for what he could take. He wouldn't take the biggest and healthiest- those needed to carry on, and he'd use what he could to keep the forest running well.

It was arduous work. Once he was out of it, Attikias was sweating, and it was dark, his spots glowing a bright purple in the dim voidlight. Even Melody's gem was a splotched sort of red. Huh.

"Let's go on home, for now," he told her as he looked down, his tail flicking behind him before he retreated to his camp, aiming to sleep for a good bit before getting back to the grind.

Attikias- having barely gotten comfortable- jumped with a start. Who goes there?! His legs kicked out and he sat up, his face hitting the roof of the tent. "GAH," were his eloquent words. It took some awkward turning, but he shoved himself from the tent into the dim Voidlight, squinting.

What the hell..? "I was asleep!" he complained, still on his knees from crawling out of the tent. "Why'd you wake me up? I'm not bothering anyone."

He softened, just slightly. "Right?" The longer he looked at Pollen, the more he realized she was just a kid- or a very childish adult, anyways. "Do you... need something?"

He covered his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawned. The more he looked at her, the less of an angle he could find- was it just simple curiosity? "You know, some people might find it rude to be woken up right when they try to go to sleep..." Did Attikias find it rude? He wasn't sure, but he did want to just crawl back into his tent and sleep extra long, now.