ORIGIN - symphony no. 1

Nestled high above the cave floor was a small chrysalis, perhaps the size of a pea, nestled delicately in a crevice. It was a shimmering shell, crafted of anandalite. If one looked at it from the right angle, it was a shimmering patchwork quilt of colors. Inside, a small creature was nestled, perhaps the smallest Gembound to form in the caves as of yet. Lesser Gembound spiders and insects may perhaps be smaller, but do they really count?

Poking out from the shell was a small beak, split wide apart and gasping for fresh air. Then a little head. Whatever was hiding inside this chrysalis wanted to be out, it seemed. A little foot gripped the edge of the chrysalis and pulled with all it's might... but the small creature slipped and crashed inside of the stone again. It did not give up. Instead, the creature would throw itself at the crystalline wall, crashing through it in a less than epic manner due to it's size. Now, there was a pea-sized puffball lying on a rock. Blinking, it lifted it's head and the first thing it saw was a glorious silver mushroom, whose cap was wide and silver tendrils drifted down from it's edges.

Turning around, the small bird said it's first sentence, "So much green! And pretty flowers!" Trilling, the small critter tried to stand on his feet, but failed plainly. It was obvious what the small hummingbird was attempting to reach, though... the many glorious and beautiful flowers that blossomed in Eridanus amongst the mosses and thick vines. Slipping on the fluids that filled his chrysalis and aided in giving him life, the small bird moved towards the closest flower, only to see a bee buzz by, landing delicately in the flower and siphoning nectar from it. Instantly, gears turned and he trilled once again, flapping his underdeveloped little wings excitedly. "Bee! My name is Beethoven! Bee bee bee bee bee bee bee!"

@Booker

Barnett ambled through the brush, snapping up any insect unlucky enough to cross his path, feeling more relaxed than he had in days. He'd stopped by the snow-covered place for a bit, just to help out, but he'd quickly returned to Eridanus, constantly nagged by worry over Diot. The tamarin was, thankfully, safe and sound, and so the numbat carried on, looking for nothing in particular - perhaps more plants to make tea?

Humming to himself, Barnett was mostly lost to the world, high as a kite from his daily dose of... whatever it was Diot made. He didn't know much about plants, per say; fungus, he was something of an expert - at least in what they did.

Tall and white = seizures and death, frilly and brown = good eating. In fact, he'd started growing a massive cluster of the edible mushrooms along his ruined leg, creating a sort of shelf on the limb.

Most importantly, his teacup was securely strapped around his waist, and the numbat picked petals and leaves as he went, placing them in the murky mixture with glee. If there was one thing he and Booker shared, it was a love of creating - though Barnett's creations tended to have more side effects.

Gleefully, he started planning just what to bring as a party favor to the wedding... and jumped about a foot in the air when a soft buzzing passed by his range of hearing. "Woah!"

Glancing about, fur puffed up like a tiny angry hairball, it took Barnett a moment to realize that he'd just gotten frightened by, quite possibly, the tiniest baby he'd ever seen.

He sat back on his haunches, dazed and grinning, whispering a tiny "So... small..." before regaining control, blinking at the tiny buzzing bird with glee. "'lo, kiddo. What're ya doin' out here, huh?"

@Bee

Buzzing and trilling happily, the small hummingbird was completely unaware of a much bigger critter than it approaching with curiousity. Then it spoke. Well, whispered, but it sounded like very loud speech to him. Flapping his wings a few times, he turned his fluffy little head and blinked at the very big creature. Long and delicate beak clicking, he hopped in the direction of the numbat and tilted his crown. "You're so big!"

He was so very big! Even bigger than this rock! He looked at himself and trilled. "Or am I really small?" Oh, it was such a difficult concept to grasp. Was everything else big? Was he just going to be small forever? He wasn't too concerned about that, right now. Bee heard the question of what he was doing here, and he clicked his beak. "I don't know." Hobbling towards his tiny gemstone chrysalis, he nosed it, the small stone sphere shifting then rolling off a little ways on the small surface. It looked similar to a little raindrop. "I just came outta this!" Flapping his little wing as if it would help, he hopped on top of the stone shell and looked up at the big numbat. Maybe he knew what was going on!

@Booker

Barnett muffled a tiny squeak at the teeny tiny hummingbird's general adorable-ness, eye wide, grin only widening at the babe's enthusiasm, dropping Booker's accent for once - after all, it wasn't as if the little bird had ever known the scribe. "Well, I'll tell you a secret: there's a bunch of stuff even bigger than me out there," he whispered, ears twitching.

At the hatchling's next query, the numbat huffed out a chuckle, lowering himself down to rest on the cool earth, his nose level with the tippy-top of the bird's head. "You might be a little bit, but that's alright. Everyone underestimates us little guys," he assured, winking. "It's great for catchin' people off guard."

Snuffling, Barnett's pupil followed the hummingbird's hops, nearly squealing at just how adorable it was, just barely silencing himself, simply blinking slowly. Gently, the numbat reached out a paw - which was... bigger than the entirety of the bird sweet Mother - and tapped at the broken egg.

"You just hatched, little fella. Welcome to the world. Picked a great place to be born in, too! Eridanus is full of flowers n' places to fly." That was what birds needed, right? Barnett smiled at the babe, curiously eyeing it, wondering just how something so tiny could still be "awake" - in other words, a Greater Gembound.

"What's your name, huh? Mine's Barnett, but you can call me Barn. Everyone else does," he lied, not looking forward to having to explain the name difference to Diot.

@Bee

As the numbat spoke of things even bigger than him, Bee was absolutely astonished. "What's the biggest thing you've seen? Is it pretty silver thing???" Looking at the Monarch, he tossed his head towards it as if to gesture towards it. Beethoven had no idea what a mushroom was. When he looked back at the big-but-not-so-big creature, and he chirped, inspecting the thing's... legs? It had four legs! And they were covered in stuff that looked like the pretty silver thing!

Bee was easily motivated that he was a little birb with a big punch and he squeaked very loudly, flapping his little wings. "Yeah! I'll get 'em!" Lifting a foot, he waved it in the air eagerly. He lost his balance and flopped onto his back. "Oooooops." The puffball rolled over and onto his feet again, before he continued his quest of hopping towards his empty shell.

A big foot gently tapped the egg. The foot was bigger than him! Someday he'd grow to be a big birdy! Just you watch! But he gazed in wonder as the numbat explained. Hatched? That was new! "Erid-, Erida-, Eridanus!" he tested the new word, which was quite long and difficult for the baby to pronounce. Trilling happily as he did it right, he looked around at the many flowers. "There's lots of flowers! I think they're really really pretty. I can't get to them, thoooough." Frowning, the bird looked at his undeveloped wings and at the nearest flower. They were too small to fly, yet.

The Numbat had lowered his big 'ol head, nose flat on the ground. Slowly, the bird hopped closer and closer and clambered onto the critter's nose. Fluffing his feathers as the cool wetness settled in, and he gazed into the creature's one eye. "Barnett! Barn! I'm Beethoven! Bee! I think I'm Bee!"

@Booker

Barnett blinked, humming. What is the biggest thing we've seen? Booker sent forth nothing, but the bright cylinder of flame that lay nestled in the center of their shared mindspace flared, giving off thick smoke - the scent of burning moss.

The numbat snuffled, glancing away from the babe, and grinned, lying once again. "I'd say the Mother's the biggest thing I've seen, mhm. She's something else," he murmured, eye narrowing, thinking of commitment and lack of training, a family of cats with only one family member.

The tiny Gembound didn't manage to muffle a short bark of laughter as Bee flopped backwards, resembling a bit of lost dandelion fluff. He's so small! Books, can we keep him? Keep 'im? Seri'sly? 'e's not a puppy. So? He's perfect as is! Fine, fine, as long as you... actually, just. We'll share tha fatherin', a'ight? As long as I get to keep him.

A frustrated groan echoed from Booker's corner, and Barnett snickered, pupil flickering as he focused back on the outside world. "Yup, Eridanus. It's where I live, and my son, and my friends."

Ears twitching, the numbat hummed sympathetically at the bird's obvious dismay at his tiny wings. "Don't worry, little bit. In a coupla cycles, you'll be flying higher and faster than anything in this forest," he promised, solemn and grinning.

The grin grew exponentially when the tiny bitty baby climbed onto his nose, and Barnett didn't bother holding back a soft, adoring coo, eye wide and suspiciously watery. "Yeah, that's right, little bit. I'm Barn. And you're Bee. It's a good name," he whispered, whiskers twitching at the strange feel of little talons gripping his snout.

"Bee," he pondered, committing the name to his admittedly limited memory. "You're gonna achieve greatness, I can tell," Barnett murmured, blinking slowly and lazily. "I wonder what you're element is...? Ah, 's a little early for that. Are ya hungry, little bit?"

Granted, Barnett had no idea what teeny tiny itsy bitsy baby birds ate, but he intended to find out.

@Bee

"Mother? The pretty silver thing?" He peeped curiously, flicking his little beak in the general direction of the sweeping silver mushroom. It was really big and something! Barn... Barnett looked up at the pretty silver thing and instantly, the itty bitty birb was reassured. "Is that my Mother?" He peeped this with genuine curiousity, and a little bit of adoration and wonder in his eyes. Gee, this guy was really smart! He could tell him everything, right?

Bee hopped back onto his feet and he tilted his little head. "Son and friends?" What were those? He had no concept of those two things whatsoever. Or really, anything. He just knew the basics of 'mom, dad, home, food, and name' and that was it.

Jumping excitedly, he flapped his little wings and trilled. "Yeah! I'm gonna be super fast! Fast! So fast you can't even see me! I'll be even faster than a bee!" For a moment, Beethoven was literally buzzing happily and he clicked his beak, stepping onto the numbat's nose and he looked right at his face and gave a small 'oooooo!' as he saw the simmering gem on Barnett's face. Carefully, he hopped up close to it, travelling up the bridge of the numbat's nose then clambering onto the stone. "What's this, Barn? It's reaaaaaaally shiny!" He gripped the peak of the point that he stood on as hard as he could with his delicate little toes, and he tilted his head.

"Ellament?" That was new, too! But he didn't mind that right now. He'd find out later, right? Bee's little tummy growled and he looked down at it. He sure was hungry! The hummingbird gazed around and remembered the bee. His name was Bee! Surely he ate that flower, too! Pointing his beak at the closest flower, he peeped. "Flowers! I'm pretty sure I eat stuff in flowers!" Flapping his tiny little wings as he attempted to float gracefully down onto the stone. Except he wasn't graceful, but he tumbled onto the rock. He was too eager to try to get something to eat. Hopping over to the closest flower, he looked straight up, neck craning to try and peek inside the flower... which was an inch above poor little pea-sized Beethoven.

He jumped and jumped, but just couldn't reach it. Plopping down on his little birdy butt, he frowned. "I can't reach it..."

@Booker

Barnett chuckled - softly, of course - at the hummingbird's enthusiasm for, well, everything. "Yup, the pretty silver mushroom. That's the Mother." The numbat found himself just a little bit distracted by how dependently, how confidently Bee was already looking at him, ears flicking forward and smile softening to a contented curve.

"Well, kiddo, some folks think that the Mother is the everyone's mother. I'm one of 'em." Or you are, at least. C'mon Barn, ya can't really dismiss all the things She's done for us? Oh, yeah! Like how she saved us from the killer fox, or the backstabbing dog, or the giant dragon?

An aggravated sigh issued from Booker's corner before the scribe fell silent, and Barnett's smile tweaked up into a smirk. Focusing back on his tiny charge, the numbat snuffled, trying to think of how to explain concepts so integral as family to a baby. "Well, my son's name is Diot. I found him when he was just a newborn... like I found you," he offered, not wanting to simply claim an intelligent being as his son.

"That makes us family, too, if you wanna be. My friends aren't related to me like that, though. They're... well, friends are people who are nice to you," he started, digging through murky memories and burning, aching pain.

"People who don't always agree with you, but when you disagree, you stay friends. They respect you, and you respect them. You help each other out, and you stick with them, through good times and bad."

Whiskers twitching, Barnett shrugged, eye wandering to avoid looking directly at Bee, not wanting to unload all of his personal baggage on a child. "Friends are like... family that you aren't responsible for," he finally settled on, humming to himself as he focused back on the hummingbird.

"Family, you're always responsible for, even if they mess up, or if you do. And you always love them." Booker huffed in his sleep, curling up tighter, fog pinning him to the floor of their mind. Whatever had clouded those remaining glimmers of love, Barnett had no intention of finding out.

Choking back a tiny giggle at the little bird's continued dreams of speedy flight, Barnett simply grinned. "Yup, I reckon you'll be the fastest thing alive." A moment later, he grimaced - it seemed relaxing to this degree let Booker's accent slip through.

Still, the baby soon distracted him, hopping up his snout to stare at the harsh spikes of black opal that pierced his eye socket and erupted from where his left eye should be, climbing up onto one of the spires and sending small sparks of color skittering through the black gemstone from where the hummingbird landed.

"That's my gem, bud. It's the source of my connection to mushrooms," he murmured softly, smiling and practically melting into a happy puddle of numbat at the newborn's gentle curiosity. "You have one too," Barnett added, blinking slowly, feeling more at ease than he had even at the top of his latest high.

"Everyone like us, that moves and breathes, has a gem, and an element. Mine is a connection to mushrooms, and my son, Diot, has a connection to plants." At the growl of the bird's miniature stomach, the numbat chuckled, watching with a half-lidded eye as Bee left his opal perch, half gliding and half fumbling towards the closest flower.

Barnett watched for a moment as the baby tried his best to reach the plant, taking the time to gently pick up Bee's chrysalis and store it between the shelves of the mushroom that covered the massive scar on his leg, before getting up slowly, stretching and shaking out his wiry coat, sending a plume of spores into the air.

One toothy yawn later, the numbat padded closer to his charge, blinking down at him for a moment before leaning down to scoop the bird up onto his nose once more, placing Bee at beak-level with the flower. "There ya go, little bit. Take your time. Don't want ya going hungry."

@Bee

The bird nodded along as the Numbat explained everything to him, and he peeped quietly. Turning his head so he could see what appeared to ve his stone, he chirped. "I have a pretty thing too!" He then scampered away towards the flower which he could not reach.

Suddenly, he felt very tall, and he realized Barnett had lifted him up so he could reach it. Clicking his beak and trilling happily, Bee looked at the nose that he stood on. "Thank you... Daddy! Barnett was his daddy, right? Eagerly, he hopped into the flower and began to sip out the nectar. It was sugarly sweet, and was easy to get. When he was done, the small puff was covered in yellow pollen.

"Mmmmmm, yummy!"

@Booker

Barnett lazily blinked, ready to shrug off the thanks when - Thank you... Daddy! The numbat went still, eye widening on the hummingbird as he drank, and Booker perked up as well, perhaps preparing for the inevitable freak out.

Did he... did he call me daddy? Well I'll be, you can hear! Oh thank you for the sarcasm Books just tell me. No need to be rude, Barn. Yes, ah believe that's what 'e called ya. 's cute.

A smile slowly grew on the tiny Gembound's face, stretching into a grin, eye wide and just a bit suspiciously watery as he contained a very high-pitched squeal. I call him he's mine you can't have him! Well jeeze, it's not like we share a body or anythin'- Doesn't matter, my son! Booker let out a soft, echoing laugh from his corner, but it was gentle, nearing kind.

Barnett, for his part, was absolutely oblivious, enthralled and beaming at the tiny little life perched on his nose. The tiny little life who was... absolutely covered in pollen.

A choked snicker escaped the numbat's throat, and slowly, a long tongue - longer than really should've been possible to fit inside such a tiny animal - rose to groom at the newborn bird's feathers, freeing his son of the layer of pollen.

Another moment of grooming, before the tongue retracted, slurping back into Barnett's throat. "There we go. Good as new, son," the numbat murmured, trying out the term with another bright twitch of a grin.

@Bee