ORIGIN

There was an eerie silence hanging in the mists of tunnel K. It is often said that nothing should be here. No life, no gems - even the residents of Canis are hesitant to leave their home in fear of having to pass through this seemingly cursed section of the caves. Yet, as if by some sick diabolical joke, there sat a tiny scarlet chrysalis, as delicate as blood itself, between some rocks. It did not shine in the darkness, and could be easily be mistaken as another grey rock.

It did not crack like most do. It simply broke away and from the shattered crimson remains, a small head emerged. It blinked blearily, and a second head followed it. Twins? Not quite, for only one body slithered out that both heads were attached to, and at the point where the necks connected, there was a gem nestled there, sanguine and shiny - or at least it would be if it weren't for the darkness.

Within each of their minds there came a singular word. Both were aware of it. Mordecai. Heinrich. The head on the right, Heinrich, was the first to speak. The head's voice was broken and weak, "Hhh... Henry," the head on the left, Mordecai, shook his head.

"Heinrich," he said. His voice was stronger, bolder. Stern. "Your name is Heinrich." Heinrich, or rather Henry as the head was so intent on being named, hissed happily with his wheedling voice.

"Morty!"
"Mordecai," corrected the left head.
"Morty!" insisted Henry.

Mordecai tilted his head. He was confused as to why Heinrich could not grasp the idea of what his name was, but he was not prepared to ask in fear of being called 'Morty' again. Instead he looked up and down the tunnels - where now? He felt the need to leave these tunnels as soon as possible. There was something wrong here - perhaps the thing that contributed to him sharing a body with his twin brother.

Henry, on the other hand, thought absolutely nothing of it. He knew brothers were born with a special connection; but it did not cross his mind that they were supposed to be this close.He wanted to stay and tell his brother everything he was experiencing (even though Mordecai was going through the exact same thing) and tell him about everything he had learned (even though Mordecai had learned the exact same thing).

The left head knew, from simply looking at his brother, that he was going to be living a long and miserable life.

Giggle was moving slowly, and quietly; but the thing behind her was buzzing like a bee, and she didn't know how to make it stop.

The hyena had been looking for Kerberos, but she took her time in walking to the far end of the tunnel. Dovefeather had briefly fallen silent (and Giggle was sure that this wouldn't last long) as the hyena wandered quietly from point to point, ignoring the unearthly chill of the tunnel and pressing her blunt, broad snout to various points on the curved and cold rock wall. She was feeling her way, for the moment: unseeing, instead lost in the world of fungus. She was testing her senses--trying to do things the way she normally did, seeking out the myriad mycelial growth that plagued every corner of every cave and tunnel naturally. She'd seek them out, test them, and then project herself through them--getting to know the cave, to unearth its secrets, to listen to the arcane whispers that the ancient growth had to share.

She had passed through this tunnel a handful of times in the past in her travels to and from her home, Canis. And though she hadn't left Canis often, she'd done it enough that she'd noticed the barren, forlorn feeling of the cave tunnel, the troubling sense of loneliness. Of emptiness.

"What do you feel, here? I wonder if it's the same thing I do; what does your All-Mother tell you about the history of this tunnel?"

She asked this curiously, turning to peer back at the buzzing rex cat. She wondered if the cat would see what she had seen in the fungus, in this tunnel's purpose, in--...

The sound of twin voices from somewhere up ahead made the hyena turn back, pricking up rounded ears.

"I don't know who that is," she added abruptly, quiet--and began to stalk forward toward the sound.

________________

Roll the bones.

The left head had opened his maw to speak, though the scent of something unusual came close. Mordecai was immediately alarmed - but Heinrich not so much. The right head lifted his gaze with wide eyes, grinning if he probably could. Mordecai had already started trying to move away, only one half of the fifteen inch body twitching slightly. Heinrich-- Henry! We have to move away from here!

But Henry did not help his brother move. Instead he stayed grounded as the kitten ran up and began vomiting words on the two brothers.He listened, and hissed happily, "Henry! I'm Henry!" the right head nudged at Dove's paw contentedly, forked tongue sticking out for a moment. "Very hairy! Hairy baby!"

Mordecai however, scowled at the touch. He still tried to get away from the kitten, his own brother, but something made him stop. A voice, a question - it made Henry stop too, and they both simultaneously moved their heads to peer behind the cat at Kerberos.

He was tall. He was fluffy. He had three heads. While Henry still assumed that multiple heads were a normal thing, Mordecai knew that Kerberos was what he and his twin brother were. At the same time, one questioning and one exclaiming, they spoke at the same time, "Brother!"

Giggle slowly paced closer to the snake, a flood of thoughts running through her mind.

Is this place the spawn of misfits? Is it the birthplace of guardians?

"...Henry, nice to meet you." She stared for a moment longer, taking in the long-dark-slithery-thing's double heads, the body that had scales and a pointed tip like Kerberos's tail. How strange. Was it meant to have two heads?

She pushed the thought aside long enough to look up and greet Kerberos.

"Hello, Kerberos. Dovefeather and I were coming to visit you. We didn't know you had company--or is this a newborn?" she added, noticing with some surprise the shattered crimson shards of stone.

She looked between the three-headed dog and his two-headed brother. Kerberos was known for being a bit silly, but was he--right? She couldn't challenge his guess, not exactly, or he might start to doubt himself. She couldn't ask why he thought that, or he'd probably just get confused. She tried to be as tactful as she could.

"And this is--your brother, hmm...?"

The hyena glanced back at the still-buzzing cat, then--she wondered what she'd have said about the tunnel, and made a mental note to ask her about it later, but for now, the strange mutant birth of Tunnel K took precedence.

________________

Roll the bones.

Henry had seemingly forgotten what everyone was talking about. He watched Dovefeather with huge, round eyes and the head began to mimic her movements, his neck shaking as if it were filled to the brim with bees.

His brother looked alarmed, to say the least. "I do not think Heinrich is supposed to be... here," the head said quietly, as if afraid that his literal head mate would hear. While Henry seemed content to grin like a doofus and vibrate while staring at Dove, Mordecai seemed to take more of an interest into his maybe-brother as he carefully moved to touch noses with the closest dog head.

"Kerberos," the left head nodded somewhat. "I am Mordecai." He'd wanted to slither up onto the Cerberus' head, but his body was somewhat unresponsive.

In fact his tail was vibrating. At length, he nudged the other head who only flashed him a quizzical look, before returning to vibrating with Dovefeather.