ORIGIN

Her cocoon was cradled in ice and snow. Held tight in an icy embrace against one of the many walls that formed the glacial tunnel M. All around everything was white, pure, a brilliance to it all until one saw the one spot along the icy walls where she lay, still yet to wake. A crystal unlike those around displayed it's deep purple hues to the world with glee, happy to be the one thing of difference in a frozen waste land such as this. In that crystal's depths beat the pulse of life, a life that suddenly today her protective layer decided should come out and meet the rest of the world. With a crack here, a crack there, bit by bit the amethyst chipped away. It left shards of her birthing all over the tunnel floor, sprucing the place up with a bit more color before eventually the largest crack the gem made within itself shattered it near completely and from the wall tumbled out a ball of orange and white fur. Dark stripes broke up the creatures form, elegantly displayed even around her slightly chubby face where her fur was the most puffy in a near perfect circle along her jaws. Bi-colored eyes opened for the first time, blinking several times as vision both came to her and adjusted to the low light supplied to the cave by some hanging lights.

One brilliant gold eye and one deep purple, the coloring clearly changed due to the position of the gem which appeared on her part as a bit of a design along her left eye as accenting dots. Slowly, with trembling limbs the little feline was able to get to her feet and glance about the tunnel. She was alone at the moment, but perhaps that might change sooner rather than later as she took her first careful steps away from her chrysalis. The snow and ice were cold to the exposed pads of her delicate paws and a shiver ran up her legs that forced her pelt to puff out, making her seem twice the size she really was as that pink nose dived into a snow drift and sucked in a nose full of snow that both froze her face and made her sneeze and fall backward on the ice. The little tigress let out a pitiful cry of surprise, shaking her face free of the snow before she jumped right back up and began to dig into the snow, throughly amused by it's coldness and soft touch. By the time she was done, she had effectively dug out a little ice cave all her own across from her now broken chrysalis and then went to work rolling in the access snow until it became packed down and slick. All too quickly she made a game out of sliding down a short incline and running back to the top to do it again, little claws and paws to big for her body just yet leaving imprints everywhere to say she'd been here. There was no worry for her at all in these joyous moments. After all, she was alone with nothing to entertain her but the snow, but it was hard to save if the snow was the brilliance in this darkness or this cubs innocence of the world.

@Niru

i really disliked the cold. and i wasn't so sure as to why i was traveling this far toward the tunnel m, when i needed to be back with the twins. i was on a regular patrol i'd created. i needed to make sure no one that i didn't know of was entering orion. so when the ear splitting crack of a chrysalis echoed through the tunnel, i had to investigate. i looked back toward the area of the twins, scoped out with my eyes then went back to see which new baby has arrived. and to my surprise it was a...a tiger. a small tiger cub, who was rather gorgeous. i smiled softly, approaching gingerly and lowered myself to the snowy ground while she played before me.
"hello little one,"
i spoke softly, calmly, not wanting to startle or give her an initial fright with her life just now beginning. i wondered instantly what element she had - her gem was purple. amethyst? so maybe, arcane? or something of the sort, like makyna! but who knows, i supposed the color of ones gem did not depict the element they were born with. my gem was a transparent green, and i controlled the atmosphere.

i waited for her to notice me, to say something or do something. to either speak or react with a strange feral-ness that i seemed to have had adopted when i first emerged. when i'd first met wynry. tufted tassel swayed behind me slowly, swishing about the snow and ice as i watched her play. i chuckled, laughing softly with her, wanting to play along but i wouldn't be impolite. besides, i had to get back to the twins soon.

@Raava

She kept playing on her own, sliding down the incline and running back to the top until her sunset orange pelt was tipped in frost. This didn’t seem to deter the little creature at all, stopping every so often to shake it off in all directions before continuing on her play schedule. The last time she reached the top of the icy slope, a form off in the distance reflected the lighting of the tunnel, bouncing off the ice to illuminate the form even better as they came closer. Bi-colored eyes watched for a long moment as they came forward, but suddenly darted into the hole she’d made in the snow drift, hiding away for a moment or two. The initial scare however quickly faded, revealed only when her little head poked out from out the entrance, little ears perking forward to catch the sound of the other as he lay down on the snowy floor. He smiled to her and spoke, which in turn banished any fear she could have possibly had and leapt from the confines of her snowy hole and jumped on her slide again.

Little claws weren’t enough to keep her from slipping on her back and sliding clear down to the larger lion and bumping into him. With a bit of a wiggle she rolled back over and shook herself off. ”Hallo!” She yelped with a big smile, slender tail extending up over her back in curling motion. Though she had mispronounced the word, it was clear she understood the implication of a greeting and that it was a decorum that must be observed when dealing with someone else for the first time.

@Niru

i chuckled at her childish antics. she was gorgeous, cute, funny, and so young. she came out playing, and that's what i liked. she mewed back a greeting, and i couldn't help but keep the smile that it brought to my face.
"do you know your name, tigress?"
temperate tones asked gingerly, before my attention was then redirected behind me for a moment to scan as much as i could of orion to make sure no one was approaching the twins as they grew. after a few moments of observing, i was content that no one was there besides myself and the growing cubs, so i looked back to the little tiger who's coloration kept my eyes peeled. it was as if the chrysalis sculpted perfection, spitting it out just for me to find in the form of a tiger cub.

"my name is niru."
i gave her the example of how to say such a formation, as well as gave her my own appellation so that she could address me properly. even if she couldn't pronounce it correctly as she couldn't 'hello', that was quite alright. to each their own, and if she wanted hello to become hallo, then that's what it would be. i remained laid upon the snowy ground, wanting to flood her new mind with information but knew i probably shouldn't, in case she would just shut down and ignore me. which is not what i was aiming for, no. i wanted to mentor her, teach her, show her, and help her - until she no longer wanted or needed me.

@raava

The cub allowed her forelimbs to stretch out before her in a type of play bow, but lost her footing and rolled onto her side. A bit of a wiggle allowed the young gembound back on her feet and to quickly she was loping around Niru as he lay on the ground, stopping for a moment only to bite playfully at his tail. When he spoke again she stopped, one paw swiping a the tuft end of his tail. Suddenly she stopped her shenanigans with Niru’s tail and came back around so she could face him, a thoughtful look coloring her elegant features. ”Raaa…” She began, but fell silently, as though determining something for herself. Mismatched eyes turned back upon the older feline when he gave an example of what he meant, and a smile spread across her lips that was far more toothy than required. ”Niru!” She repeated with absolute glee, coming up so her little paws were resting on his larger ones and brought one of them up to lightly touch his nose. It was clear she understood the implication of what he meant, even if she couldn’t quite form the sentence for it just yet.

Then she backed away with a twirl, shaking off what remained of the frost that lingered on her striped pelt. ”My name is Raaa…hem.” She felt silent again, that same looking coming across her form as she thought about it again. ”Oh I know!” The young tigress popped back up on her feet with a flicker of the tail before the debut of her self dubbing. ”Raava!” For such a young thing, she was certainly articulate, and understood to a strange degree the things Niru wanted to pass on to her that many gembounds at this stage did not. Whether this marked intelligence or luck was hard to discern, but it did not dampen the cub’s spirits as she continued to hop around Niru as though he was her personal jungle gym.

@Niru

The little ball of light hopped around playfully, even using me as her gentle subject. I would not take offense nor stop it, it was rather amusing to say the least. I chuckled more as the sweet child began to discover her name.
"wow raava! That was quick thinking. What a beautiful name you have."
It was true, the name rolled off my tongue like honey, slow and sweet. Tufted tassel still shifted about lightly, jaded lenses observed her own. They were peculiar, to say the least. Amethyst and golden, like the earth's arcane energy and the sun's softest rays combined. What a lovely union.
"your gem is lovely, dear raava. Would you like to see it?"
With that, I stood. Juvenile stature still not quite into the adolescence stage, but I would get there eventually. I looked around for a piece of ice I could use as a makeshift mirror, and found a few thick spikes not far from us. I sauntered over, festering with a swift nod of the head that she stay put, while I would attempt and free her a piece. I grasped it with paw, claw, tooth and mouth, hoping to pry the thin piece of ice from its source. With a strong snap, it did break, and I brought it back over to the tiger cub. I placed it gently in front of her, careful not to shatter it.
"look into it, you will see you. You'll see your reflection, as well as your gem! Your gem is very important little raava, be sure to take special care of it."
I then motioned with my pae toward the slab of ice, so that she may observe herself.

@raava

The young cub batted at a rock half encased in ice, sending it skittering across the floor and bouncing off the walls with the might of her swing. Without a thought Raava loped after her new found toy and hit it again with her oversized paw and sent it back toward Niru as he spoke. Like before, she half ran, half hopped back to the older lion and smiled as wide as she could, bi-colored eyes shinning with a happiness that threatened to infect all those around her. ”Thanks. I like it too!” She mewed, her attention returning to the rock as she hit it against her paws. When Niru spoke next, the rock rolled across the tunnel but Raava did not go to seek it out. Instead, the cub looked up to the older gembound with the same smile as she had before when he spoke of her gem. ”Gem…Oh, um, the shiny rock I have. Like that!” She exclaimed, jabbing her paw at Niru’s chest where his own was clearly displayed. ”Oh yes! Yes I want to see!” She chirped, jumping up and down in a circle until he got up and wandered over to some ice stuck to the wall of the tunnel.

With strength that made the cub watch with peeled eyes and a look of awe, Niru pried free a piece of ice and came back to her with it clamped securely in his jaws. ”Wow, you’re strong!” She complimented, whole heartedly believing in that moment that he must be the absolute strongest around! Then Niru commented on looking into the ice, which the tigress promptly did to see her own reflection. Right under her left eye she could see the fine dots of a deeply purple hued stone which matched the color of that very eye. ”Oh I will!” Raava replied with enthusiasm. ”It helps me cast magic right?” It was strange that she already knew the existence of magic, clearly, this cub was indeed clever for having just been born only hours ago.
@Niru

her intelligence sent me aback, and as i blinked in disbelief i nodded slowly.
"yes, yes it does. i wonder what kind of magic you have. mine's called pressure."
i went on to explain, hoping to show her a bit of it.
"let me show you, yes?"
i gave a grin as i braced my body, summoning the magic and pulling the energy from my gemstone located square in my chest cavity. not long after, winds began to whoosh through the tunnel. they whipped at tawny strands, yet i was sure to make them not entirely too powerful. i smiled as the winds rushed, whirring in my ear before they died out slowly.
"i control the air and atmosphere. i only know a few spells, but the spells i do know can come in handy in very few instances."
i continued to explain, sitting to relax a bit after the exertion - which wasn't as tiring as it used to be.

"now, why don't you try? try to focus, summon the magic and pull energy from your gem. if you concentrate, you just might perform something."
the smile fell into a grin, as i waited patiently for her to show whatever magic she was born with. i tried to base if off the color of her gem, but in reality i just didn't know. so i'd wait, and see if she could do something. if she wasn't successful, well that would be just fine.

@raava

Raava settled at the larger cat’s feet, bright eyes looking up to him as he spoke out loud in wonder as to what sort of magic she might have. Despite the tigress’ intelligent nature already displayed, she too was in the dark as to the subject of her magic. She could not know until she tried to use it, but before she tried Niru was kind enough to give her demonstration of his own. Her little form leaned in close, observing the male as he began to focus, and within moments a wind came through the tunnel that upset the sunset hued fur that colored Raava’s form. Eye closed to tight to enjoy the wind upon her face, laughing with a girlish enthusiasm as she leapt to her feet. ”That was cool!” She exclaimed, not bothering to hide a single inch of her excitement. Niru then began to explain that he could control the very air around them which had Raava gazing all throughout the tunnel and then suddenly jumping up to bat at nothing. ”Can you feel it when I do that?” She asked, curious as to how far his power might extend.

Then it became the cub’s turn to try her own magic, and with all seriousness and gravity that magic required, Raava sat up straight and nodded her head once in understanding. Closing her eyes she listened to Niru speak, allowing his words to guide what it was she focused on. In her reverie she could feel the movement of what could only be described as water. Like the ripples in a pond, they grew more and more until eventually Raava could feel her entire body become slowly damp. Opening her eyes, little water droplets were seeping off her fur and she stood up, shaking herself and looking to Niru. "I'm very thirsty now."

i watched her as she summoned her magic, embraced it, attempted to make something of it. and soon, i noticed little droplets of water dripping from her sun kissed and alabaster strands, and my head tilted to the side in curiosity. what on earth was that? she mentioned being thirsty, and i wondered if maybe her magic was internal. i smiled at her nonetheless, and stood now, getting far too nervous having been too far from the twins for too long.
"come, raava, i know where you can get a sip of drink."
i then began to walk through the tunnel, back toward orion's entrance, gesturing with my head for the little cub to follow me.

even if she didn't, i'd point her in the direction of pisces, where she'd be safe. then i'd point her in the direction of eridanus. i wouldn't exactly want her on her own, without my protection, but she needed to learn how to survive - or she never would. what if on some days i needed to leave her for a moment? that is to say we stay together. i wouldn't want to worry the entire time that something was happening to her. i shook my head free of the thoughts, looking back to see if she was in fact following me.

@raava