ORIGIN - awake my soul

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Darkness. All of Boar's memories consisted of darkness. And serenity. A calm, timeless warmth had enveloped her for as long as she could remember. Forever backward and, as far as she could tell, forever forward as well. Then slowly -- or quickly, there was no true sense of time here -- a pressure developed. It began gently, the touch of silk against skin. Moment by moment it grew, almost comforting at first for the sheer difference of it. But soon enough Boar found herself uncomfortable. The concept of being stuck had never occurred to her and yet here she suddenly felt wedged, pinned between immovable objects. She arched, stretched, but the feeling only grew as the pressure grew. As it began to peak a new sense emerged. First it was a simple pinprick of light in a sea of darkness.

Determination flooded her senses. Purpose climbed from the depths of her consciousness and took hold of her in an iron grip. She writhed beneath its thumb, mind swirling with sudden desperation. But as she flexed, the pressure only grew in exponential leaps. It was constricting her beyond levels she could handle. Her heart thudded -- for the first time she could feel it fluttering in her breast. At first it was frightening and unusual, but she could feel a strength drawing from it. Muscles tensing, she suddenly shoved with the intention of finally destroying the force surrounding her.

There was an instant of hesitation, a singular moment where Boar thought the pressure encapsulating her might hold fast. But that moment was broken by a thundering crack. It echoed in her ears as a million further cracks sounded their existence. Light flooded her world (if only she knew that this place was relatively dim) and support fled from beneath her hooves. She was welcomed into the world a sprawling tangle of legs tossed unapologetically into the thick mist of Tunnel K. Shards of chrysalis scattered across the dusty cave floor, their glint marred by debris almost immediately.

Boar slowly righted herself, untwisting her long legs until they splayed somewhat properly underneath her. Slowly she blinked as her eyes struggled to adjust to the light. Light and colors and what was that feeling of air moving against her fur? She shook her head violently, but the action moved unchecked through the rest of her body. Gingerly she angled one long leg so that her hoof was on the floor and tested it. It sure seemed solid enough. Onto the next leg. With her two forehooves on the ground she levied herself up at an angle. Suddenly triumphant, she confidently kicked a back leg into the mixture. But things went wrong and they went wrong with a vengeance. All four legs flailed, a comedic show of tripping over not just the very ground that should keep her steady, but other legs. Boar lurched and stumbled, determined to gain her footing properly. Though the fight was valiant, gravity reclaimed her in the end. With one final stumble she went crashing to the stone floor.

"Fuck." Fitting.

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A massive beast lumbered down the dark, shadowed tunnel. The sound of snakeskin on stone accompanied the aggrandized shape of dulled ivory, pawsteps like heavy beats against the otherwise hushed melody of the deathly still cavern. Three rasping breaths rumbled through the chamber, one groaning a whimper under the drip, drip, dripping wounds that pricked under the harmony.

Kerberos, the hound of hell, had arrived. If anyone was around to notice-- and the canine though, assuredly, that no one would be here; no one ever was-- they would see a towering creature with the stature of a polar bear, two doberman heads framing the sides of a central face. If the middle head was also dog in form, it was hard to tell past the mangled, bleeding fur. A single pink eye stared out from the central head, its mirror torn out. To either side, another set of rosy optics kept a much better handle on the situation. The central head was all but useless in this state.

After being beaten, torn apart, by someone he considered his superior-- a near brother to the Leader of his pack-- the canine was in a state of recovery. That did not mean, however, that he could slack from his job. As guardian of the great door way to Orion, he took his place in Tunnel K with silent reverence. His labored breathing was the only sound to break the quiet around him, apart from a single other noise. A gentle, soft hum, that seemed to vibrate from between his shoulders. He had a kitten buried in his fur, and it seemed to be his only comfort these days.

... And then, abruptly, a tiny bleat of a noise hit the carnivore's ears. He stopped suddenly, eyes searching the darkness. A soft light started under the skin of the beast, the middle head groaning as the wounds began to seemingly fester on his skin. It was the spell he had cast, creating a glowing flame inside of his body. It hurt his fresh wounds, but the other two heads didn't seem at all bothered as he crept forward.

"Who is there?" He asked aloud, his glowing light reaching the freshly born calf. His hulking form seemed to relax once he had found the source of the fuck, and his snaking tail wagged softly behind him. "Hello little one. I am Ckkkrrberos." He reached down a soft, orange colored nose-- the head with the floppy ears and friendliest face-- "Are you alright?"

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

Purring. It was all he could do. All he could do in the face of things a hundred times larger than he, burrowing claws into the meat of his host's face, digging out an eye, creating deep trenches in flesh and rivers of blood. The hideous monster that had attacked was a grotesque bag of flesh, seemingly held together by ruby-red magic alone.

The hatred in the hairless cat's gut had grown into a thick, viscous thing, simmering, waiting for its chance. He would get justice - against the bear, against the lion, against the jaguar.

It was only a matter of time.

Kerberos was hurt, grievously, still bloody and feverish, and his tiny leech purred all the louder, terrified of losing his one and only friend, the only connection he had to this life. But there was a noise ahead, and he almost flew out of his skin, head moving to peer around a fluffy shoulder, wide eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. But it was only a baby, and he relaxed somewhat, purr kicking up a notch, now attempting to comfort two instead of one.

@Boar

Her face collided harshly with the stone floor. Tendrils of mist retreated in spiraling fear from the sudden movement only to pause and slink back towards her small frame. She struggled again, but in her frustration and rage her hooves abandoned all sense of reason and refused to support her. Emotion welled immediately at the back of her throat and despite her best attempts to suppress it, the feeling began to overwhelm her. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and her limbs trembled. This only enraged her all the more, this show of weakness. Had she been asked, she no doubt couldn't have explained why it made her so angry, but the reaction was visceral and unyielding. It made her stomach twist.

All at once a new sensation reached her. Soft light, gentle enough that her focusing eyes weren't forced to squint, played across her back and heralded a sudden voice. No, a trio of voices. Her dished ears snapped back to soak up the sounds as her mind stumbled over the words. Regardless, the meaning was clear and her head flicked around so that she could peer disdainfully over her shoulder.

"Fu-huk off," she croaked, fighting to keep her voice steady. Only now, as her eyes finally adjusted to the glow his body put off, could Boar fully take in his massive form. Acrid fear pulsed through her heart, but she refused to let it show. Instead her brow furrowed and her tail flicked with irritation. "I don' need yer hu-help." And with a sudden surge of determination she gathered all four spindly legs beneath her and leaped to her feet.

...For a solid five seconds. Almost in slow motion each knee buckled one by one until gravity snapped down like a guillotine and she again met the ground with a solid thump. This time she didn't move, didn't speak. Her face twisted up and she stared daggers into the floor at Kerberos' feet, hoping for all the world she might just meld into the swirling mist and disappear.

@Kerberos @Götterdämmerung

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The canine drew to a stop in front of the child, sniffing softly at her as she struggled to stand and swore more at him. There was an ancient patience to the beast, who had once been a puppy full of violence and teeth. He knew the frustrations of childhood, the wild confusion as one tried to find a place in the world.

And, as though to fix everything, he simply reached his floppy eared head forward and licked at the calf. "It's okay. Take your time," came his reply, tail slapping against the cavern wall occasionally. Her harsh, biting words seemed to slip right off of his brilliant white fur, his bloodied central face just nuzzling into the crimson nosed left head while the right did most of the coddling.

"I know you can do it without my help," he continued to speak softly as he pulled at his magic, trying to tug up some reminiscence of warmth. "Give it another go... Slowly. You'll be alright."

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

@Götterdämmerung @Boar

The little goblin perched on Kerberos' shoulder tilted his head to one side, bat-like ears twitching, eyes wide and cold. What is... fuck? He tapped at one of the pup's snouts with a paw, trying to mime confusion, pointing to his ears and then to the babe on the floor, mimicking a mouth moving as he opened and closed his hand. Information collecting set in motion, he hopped to the floor smoothly, landing barely a whisper, moving to sit up against the babe, seemingly unaware of the possible danger, purring hard enough to vibrate.

Gently, he leaned down to groom at the wildebeest's furrowed brow, purring all the while, looking more like a strange alien than a cat. Then, job seemingly done, he scooted back, staring owlishly, expectantly - perhaps encouragingly. If one could find a creepy feline encouraging, anyway.

She could feel the overwhelming force of tears renewing themselves and, for the moment, all of her energy was focused on staving them off. She could not allow herself to appear weak. Her teeth ground, jaws flexing with focus. A large, wet tongue flopped against the side of her neck but rather than lash out again, she let out a choked giggle. Warmth radiated from the cerberus and it was at that moment that she finally noticed the very small and very naked cat nestling up to her. Comfort and encouragement seemed to fill some void. Patiently she allowed him to groom her forehead, rough tongue passing through her fur in gentle swipes. Then, when he was done and the pair looked to her, she gave a solemn nod.

Boar stuck her tongue through her teeth, her face screwed up into the very picture of focus. One, two she angled her front legs out before her. They wobbled, but she glanced to Kerberos. Slowly. She tested her balance for a moment before leaning sharply forward and yanking her back legs beneath her. Uncertainty gripped her for a moment as her legs trembled violently. Slowly, gently, she brought them under control and stood solidly. A delighted bleat escaped her throat as she glanced from small cat to giant dog-monster.

"Lookit!" she crowed. All thoughts of slowly fled from her mind as she threw herself in ungraceful leaps. "Lookit, lookit!" A rock caught her hoof and she stumbled violently, but through some miracle managed to catch her footing again. She trotted confidently in a wide, lopsided circle before prancing up to Kerberos' floppy-eared head. "Yer Kcrrrr-kr...by. Kerby, right?" Close enough. She craned her head around to peer at the small goblin. "Who's 'at?" Without waiting for an answer she trotted up to him and pressed her flat snout to the top of his head, trying in some way to replicate his grooming. "I'm Boar!"

@Kerberos @Götterdämmerung

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Kerberos beamed as the child rose once more, finally getting the hang of it. As the child bleated and pranced around, his tail wagged harder, slapping more and more often against the wall. It might start bleeding, if he wasn't careful, but he was still a bit numb from the horrible pain in his face bits. "Good! You've done it. I knew you could." He gave his companion, the goblin child, a warm stare, unsure exactly what he wanted but doing his best to show he was actively listening to the silent flesh baby.

Boar tried to mimic the goblin's grooming, asking loudly who they were. Since the sphynx couldn't speak for himself, the dog grumbled out an answer for the child.

μικρό γυμνό παιδί
"He is mikró ggghó paidí." The dog paused, frowning in two heads as he glanced towards his middle, bleeding face. What a dilemma. He couldn't quite speak right. Crimson nose repeated, carefully, "Mikró gymnó paidí." The translation was not one that Kerberos knew, the words were more picked from his subconcious. It was a thing that happened to him more often than not, where he spoke another language without quite understanding what it meant in the other. He could understand the connotations-- and this phrase roughly meant that the kitten he loved dearly was a naked baby.

It was true enough. He grinned, two sets of sharp white teeth, and another set of bloodier teeth. He opened his jaws to give the calf a proper greeting, lowering his noses towards the child and the cat. "Welcome to the world, little Boar."

i'm ready to start
the conquest of spaces

@Götterdämmerung @Boar

The goblin-cat watched with wide eyes, a hint of pride seeping into his stare, as the child began to walk, purring harder at her happy words. His head craned to watch her as she trotted about, as if afraid to let her out of sight lest she vanish like another child he'd known long ago. Thankfully, she seemed perfectly content to trot about in their vicinity, and his purr hitched with amusement when she plopped her chin down on his head, her stature - even so young - dwarfing his own. Boar. It was a good, solid name, and he nodded solemnly, moving her chin as he did.

He pushed into the "grooming," once, rumbling happily, before he moved back just enough to tap at her snout with one of his strange, dexterous fingers. Both paws came up to "speak" in their own way - one showing two clawed nubbins, making them trot, the other hand swishing like a tail. It appeared that this was his own repetition of her namesake.

At Kerberos' mention of his name, he nodded again, a tiny smile nudging at his black lips, moving his paws to press together. One landed at his own chest, the other on Boar's snout once again. It might've had some deeper meaning, but it was most likely just a strange motion of affection, or familiarity.

Job seemingly done, both paws stepped back down to the ground, and the tiny cat curled his tail around them, purring his approval.

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