Amidst rock and old bones, the smell of old death and humidity, something stirred.
The creature rested within its gemstone womb, kicking gently at the exterior in its sleep. In this state of half existence, did it dream? In the absence of outside input, what would there be to dream of? Had it ever known anything outside this sacred rest as it built itself out of almost nothing? Whatever it thought, whether it thought at all, was irrelevant now. These moments would be lost to the fog of memory and she'd never know them for a long, long time.
Alone they rested, kicking kicking kicking, mindlessly shifting as the chrysalis became increasingly unstable, until it simply couldn't hold their form. With a CRACK that echoed through the chamber, the speckled stone was cleaved in half. For the gembound inside it, who'd been existing quietly for a while now, this noise was quite distressing. They snapped awake, wrenched into awareness by the sound. They didn't dare move.
A couple of minutes passed of still silence. For the child however, the ambience around them was louder than they'd ever heard. Part of them wished to return to their sleep, but however much they willed it with eyes scrunched shut, the warmth and quiet never returned. Tentatively, the creature opened their eyes again, shifting slowly to stand on their feet. They'd do nothing else though, little mind filled to the brim already. Living was something the pup needed some getting used to.
If the child thought the cave was loud before, by god had that assumption been shattered when the coyena walked in. At least the newborn would learn to appreciate the lack of noise beforehand, it may have not been the chrysalis but it was certainly more easier to deal with.
[In all fairness, Bayo wasn't being outrageously loud, but he overwhelmed the pup all the same.]
She froze once more, with real fear this time, as his voice echoed in the chamber even before they could see him. And when she did see him, he saw them too. His demeanour shifted almost immediately after, and the pup grew more confused. Why he was so excited seeing them, the newborn had not the context nor knowledge to understand.
He bounded towards them and a fresh shot of fear ripped through their little body, freeze response very much in action. There was little to keep the child from toppling over like a startled goat. Addressing them directly this time, they barely comprehended the words that left the other hyena's mouth. Through their social ineptitude though, emerged a suggestion.
I should introduce myself.
"Hi..." Barely a whisper, voice husky with lack of use and words slow. They drew out the noise longer than it need to be. Even in their agoraphobia they could recognise that Bayo didn't present himself as a threat, and in naivety the girl assumed that to be the whole truth. While they weren't pleased with the new company they wouldn't run away screaming. Not yet, at least.
@Bayo
With the stranger addressing her in a quieter tone now, the infant seemed to settle a little. It would be a hard time living if they stood frozen forever after all. Dark eyes blinked once, twice, as the other beast went on talking, now finding it a bit easier to absorb information as they calmed. They weren’t quite comfortable yet, that’d take a couple more minutes, but they were easing slowly.
The other lowered his head to her level, and the pup shrunk back reflexively. He asked for a name, and the cogs in her little head started turning again. She was familiar with the concept, less so the word. This one was called Bayo, that they knew. But what was their name?
Bayo knocked off the… thing he had been wearing on his head so the pup could see his features easier. They were alike? Something in their gut agreed as they observed his lopsided proportions and dark mask. But the child had doubts, the only thing they’d seen of themselves was their paws, and they were stripey. Still, there was a kind of familiarity in his appearance and mannerisms. Maybe the child needed to see how diverse the crowd got to really feel at home.
“Dunno.” They settled on their answer. They got the feeling they’d find it eventually, as inevitable as their birth.
“A-like?” She repeated, both question and doubt in her tone.
@Bayo
And thus the creature was christened “Pup.” Temporarily of course, it was a name they didn’t quite feel like was theirs, not truly. For the time being though, it’d do.
Bayo sat down and elaborated on his words. He was right about their similarities. Though the girl couldn’t see their limbs they felt them, a subtle but undeniable presence even as they stood still. Four limbs, a tail and ears. The pup flicked one of their own ears at the last one in the list.
The coyena compared them to something, someone, and he spoke with fondness that made the child… curious? Happy? Affectionate towards this idea of the person as well? We’ll settle on generally positive. They would like to meet this Giggle.
That would wait of course, because food sounded great. They finally noticed the gnawing at their stomach at the suggestion. Invigorated with the idea of sating their new hunger, they began to look more like a hyena pup and less like a frightened lamb, standing eagerly on all four limbs. “Yah.” They responded, ready to follow.
Bayo popped his hat and shawl back on, and began to set off in search of some grub. It seemed rabbits were on the menu today, not that the pup really understood what that meant. They sounded tasty. Could a name sound tasty? They hoped theirs wouldn’t.
They trotted after him, teetering here and there but otherwise stable, tail moving in a slow wag. They’d spent a bit more time to cook in their little gemstone hideaway, and new concepts came easier to them than others born earlier. The drawback of this was a stressful introduction to the world, but the gembound seemed to be coping just fine now.
They walked around on the prowl, but alas, no success. Bayo described their quarry, and the pup focused. If they were quick, she needed to be quicker. As she examined the bones around her, her magic began to creep outwards, attempting to aid the pup in her quest.
They heard sounds echo in their ears, a rhythmic beating of an organ deep within flesh. It was faint at first, but they stopped and closed their eyes in focus, letting the strange music guide them. They could hear their companion’s heart easy, steady and healthy, but a cluster of faint, faster ones drew their attention.
“There.” They said with certainty, turning to an inconspicuous bone pile to their right.
@Bayo