ORIGIN

It's time.... the thought seemed to whisper through the small head. But it was dark... so very dark. Almost suffocating... He had moved before. Twisted his body in the confines of the darkness. But that darkness was too small now. Too close and pressing in ever so tightly around the small creature. He needed to breath.

Breath? What....? another thought sparked through his mind. How do I...

He grew restless. Twisting and straining against his lightness oppressor, he felt something give at his back. As if the darkness grew a little larger with the movement. The feeling made him pause for a second. Something in the back of his mind told him that the darkness had never done that before. Never gave way to his pushing. He had to try again.

Another twist, another push. He had to keep going. There was a need deep within the small creature that had to know what lay beyond the darkness. With each push, the darkness gave way, until the first slivers of light came through. Too much! Too bright! came the frantic thoughts. He never should have pushed, never should have broken free. It was too much. But it was also too late.

His darkness gave way, dumping him on to a cold and wet floor, the comparatively bright lights making the small otter squeeze his eyes tightly shut and curl his serpentine body around himself. His small hands went to his head, brushing tiny claws across smooth, yet jagged gems that encased the left side of his face. The stone was familiar and he comforted himself with stroking it.

Slowly he opened his eyes once more. He lay in a shallow pool of water, and as he rolled to his back, gazed for the first time upon his world. The rocks above seemed so very very far away, but then, he was so very small. Relaxed by the feeling of the water at his back and sides, the tiny otter closed his eyes once more, a single word falling from his lips. "Veles....."

The cold waters did little to send chills up the spine of the tiny otter, though it's down fur didn't provide too much insulation against the chill of the stone below. He wasn't sure how long he laid like that, he had no concept of time yet. It was all a blur. "Veles..." he repeated again, though he did not know why, his words barely more than a whisper.

The echos of an unknown sound forced the babe to flutter his dark eyes open. Unsure of what he gazed upon, his tiny face contorted in a questioning look. It was so much larger than he, though not quite as large as the stones. That much he knew. Rolling over to his stomach, the little creature slowly made his way to shaky feet, trying to stretch himself as far up as he could to truly look at this... this thing. "Veles? It was a question this time, for he knew not what else to call it. It too held a stone, though on it's foot. Was it a foot if it were made from stone? It was not long before small legs gave way and he tumbled back into the cool water, though he strove to keep an eye on the stone footed creature before him.

With a tiny "oof" Veles hit the floor, suddenly feeling the cool, leathery nose of the much bigger creature under his soft belly. Sprawled out across the muzzle of the creature, he instinctively licked away the water that his body was leaving on her snout, his small licks barely more than a tickle. "Isi...." he said softly, allowing his body to relax. A tiredness swept over the little otter, the process of birth having wiped him entirely out.

As the larger creature lay down, Veles pulled himself up to snuggle up in the crook of Isi's neck, his tiny paws smoothing her fur down before he settled in a tiny ball. It was not long before his breathing evened out and he was lost to the depth of sleep.