ORIGIN

The idea of solitary exploration was met with hesitation. Since his first breath of humid cave air he had been with another. Since the two of them had opened their eyes and found each other in the darkness, Leon had not been without Rohan - so wandering by himself was a completely novel, almost heinous idea. But they could cover more ground this way, they could explore things and learn, they could get to know their surroundings. Leon had no need for fear, anyways. His lifespan had not permitted him to know it. He was naive and ignorant, and perhaps it was best this way, at least for now.

He followed the subtle blue glow of glistening crystals. The gems emerged from split stone as markers of the tunnel, waving the direction he was destined to walk. On all fours he lumbered, albeit awkwardly, across the dusty rock floors. Untouched, for how long? The cave walls shuddered as they were suddenly met with shadows and the echoes of alien footsteps. It felt as if the cave itself was reeling at the sensation of new life within its breast. He would stop and peer around, still taking everything in. It was so new. Even if the cave walls appeared the same for miles upon miles, it was new to him. He was but a child seeing his world for the first time.

The grand room opened up, revealing glittering, glowing mushrooms that sprouted from the roof, sparkling stars against his fashioned night sky. Leon would pause and lean back on his hind legs, folding his front paws against his chest as he looked up. A cool breeze trailed through the air, from where he didn't know. The geography of the room was relatively consistent, although he could see a dip in the distance as if somebody sliced a path through the ground - then he spotted it, the spire. A deeply ascending pillar of glowing, radiating gemstones. Their light permeated his very being, even from where he stood. He had to see them. The bear fell back to his paws and slowly approached it, wide eyes drinking in all he could.

There was something about it. Even the air surrounding the spire was different. It was thick, charged. It both electrified and nullified him. He wasn't sure what to feel about it, even as he approached and saw himself reflected in the facets of the gems - a curious little face, suddenly entranced by his own image.

A chrysalis was not unlike a stone. Its surface gleamed like a gem, and the mineral-rich rock of the cave wall held it firmly, held it close. Around this particular chrysalis, the rock seemed to have eroded. That or the object itself had somehow surfaced on its own. Wiggled free from the planet, somehow, and ready to break open. If the chrysalis had any control over its own hatching, it would not choose to do so now - as it sat closer to the ceiling of the cave than anything else, a brick in the spire. A loose pebble ready to crumble away, leading to a rude awakening to the creature inside.

The cavern walls seemed to breathe, seemed to throb with anticipation for this strange birth. Polaris was dead quiet, save for the shuffling of clawed feet as one of the newborn Gembounds wandered beneath the spire. It was the only sound within the dark. That, and the occasional grainy sound of dirt falling or dust settling, was all that could be heard - by the single occupant. At least, until the chrysalis actually came loose. Whether it was because of the creature below being present, or its apparent interest in the dully glowing gems within the spire, there was a reaction. A trembling across the spire's surface which disturbed the egg-like thing.

And just like that, the chrysalis popped out of its rooted spot. It came crumbling to the cave floor below, nearly landing in a scattered mess across the bear below. Out of its heart came a long-limbed thing; a fleshy creature whose skin caught the glow of the stones. The body of the critter landed amost directly upon the wanderer's head - and, instinctively, it unraveled from its crunched up ball as soon as it connected, making a reaching motion as if to grasp for its mother. But it was too quick, and the baby Gembound simply rolled off of the stranger's back and hit the cave floor.

Dust and stone falling from the ceiling was the sound of creatures making their way across the floor, snaking through rocks and stepping upon surfaces previously untouched. He was deaf to the sound, knowing it only as the sound of his own movements, ignorant to the debris as it eroded from the cavernous roof. Instead it was the reflection that captured his interest. Wide, orange eyes sought explanation. They held wonder for the beast that stared back at him through the glistening crystals, and he held up a paw, wistful to touch the face that watched him in awe.

A fragment of stone collided with his head and he flinched at the feeling, recoiling from the spire before he could touch it. His ears flattened against his head and he tilted his head to stare up, seeing only darkness - then, suddenly, a flash of colour as it descended upon him like a bat from the shadow. "Agh!" Leon cried, dropping to the floor and instinctively covering his face with his paws. A cloud of heavy dust and small rocks fell upon him, battering his skin, then suddenly a larger piece of debris - this one made him emit a sharper cry and, knowing not what else to do, he buried his face deeper in his paws as if doing so would protect him from the unexpected barrage.

When all was finally still again, Leon slowly uncovered his face and turned his head. Haphazard piles of jagged earth lay at his paws, as well as a small, almost translucent thing. He stared at it for moments more before swooping his face in closer, sniffing loudly at the creature, the pain of the fallen debris on his face and back completely forgotten.

Maybe the creature had been concious within the chrysalis, but it wasn't now. Having collided with the floor - and, well, a bear - the thing that emerged was now a bundled heap of long limbs. And then, as Leon drew up close, the warmth emanating from his body seemed to awaken the lump.

Long arms reached up, out, flailing and stretching, nearly smacking the nearby face. Big dark eyes slid open, blinked, and then narrowed with a pained scrutiny towards the blurry light of the stones surrounding them both. The creature couldn't make out what they were. For the first few minutes, all the little thing could see was the dark. But it.. Felt nice. New, comforting... Although the creature didn't have a word for it (or words at all for that matter). It turned its softball-sized head slowly, its eyes widening and blinking, working away the blur but not the confusion.

With a soft murmur, the creature reached up at the big face in front of him, and promptly stuck its long fingers in Leon's nose. Boop.

His large nostrils flared, taking in the scent of the small creature in front of him. It didn't smell much like anything, except dust and dirt. But perhaps that was all Leon knew, dust and dirt. He cocked his head, staring down his thick muzzle at the tiny primate. He watched it slowly open its eyes, revealing slick black orbs set deep into its translucent skull, and blink. The dim glow of the blue crystals reflected against his eyes and skin, confusing the bear. He couldn't get a good grasp on what colour it was supposed to be, or what it was supposed to really look like. Leon tilted his head again, to the left, then back to the right and snuffled closer to the monkey, daring to even nudge it's head as he sniffed.

Then it began to move, turning its own head as well. The bear withdrew; still close enough to snuffle around, but not quite within the range of physical touch. That was, until it raised its arm and plunged its fingers into his nose. The sensation was both startling and uncomfortable. Leon squeaked (as much of a squeak as a bear could make, at least) and shook his head, forcefully exhaling through his nose and sending a spray of mucus towards the monkey. He leaned back on his hind legs, using his paws to rub his nose.

Once the gross icky feeling went away, he stared down at the impish creature with narrowed eyes, then mustered, "Don't do that!" The bear gave his nose one last rub before situating his paws back on the ground. Alright, lesson learned - don't shove your nose in places it probably doesn't belong. The first lesson of many surely to come.

The newborn did not know what to expect when it reached in to the depths of the nose, feeling the squish of mucus and the slightly more taut, fleshy cartilage. It was a brief excursion in to the unknown (although, everything was unknown to them at this point); and when the bear reacted, the critter recoiled. Snot sprayed across the babe as the bear recoiled, shouting his discomfort. For a moment the primate rocked back on its rear end, its tucked legs becoming a comfort.

"Don't do that!" The creature mimicked, with as much volume as the bear but the wrong inflection. It sounded more like a question than the demand which had ricocheted across the cave walls. Big black eyes stared up at the bear, wide and interested, lacking any fear that a spider monkey may have otherwise had for a predator. There was no concept of predation within this thing's mind, being only a few minutes old.

It screeched back at him the same words Leon had scrounged together. Analyzing the creature, Leon decided that it wouldn't cause the same pain as when it had first fallen on his head, reasoning that now it was on the ground and it probably had no reason to repeat its first few actions. It was possible that a second thing could fall on his head though. He tilted his head back and looked up to the roof, but even with the glowing of the spire, all he could see was darkness. Well, if another of those things was gonna fall on his head, he wouldn't be able to see it. Fair enough. It was a risk he'd be willing to take.

Leon looked back down at the monkey and scooted closer, tilting his head. "What's your name?" He asked obnoxiously, unsure if whether or not the monkey thing would know its name. Leon kind of did. He could remember having a name, at least that's what they decided it was called. He was a Leon. His friend was a Rohan. So this thing had to be a something too. It had to have a name. "I'm Leon." The bear added, raising his paw and pointing to his chest with one of his long, curved black claws.

The fall must have caused something in the newborn, since they only seemed to stare off in to space - or up at the bear - with the same stagnant expression. It listened to the bear's rumbling voice, and opened its mouth as if to mimic it again. Except, this time they did not make any sound. They just stared at the bear's lips, motioning with a gaping fish-mouth while it watched Leon talk. As if it were figuring out how to do it, despite having already accomplished a sentence.

And when the bear introduced themselves, the monkey's attention drifted from Leon's mouth to his big paw, with its big claws. The little creature rolled forwards, reaching for the claws with outstretched arms. When the creature managed to grasp the claws with its four-fingered hands, it used Leon's paw as an anchor point and lifted itself up properly - bracing its weight upon a long tail that had previously gone unnoticed. For a moment they stared at the paw, studying it.

"Tay-oo-mah!" The critter spoke, squealing and squawking, throwing together sounds which made sense to it (and probably it alone). Its grip on Leon's claws tightened briefly, but then Teyouma let go, and began to scurry around the bear. He fell to all-fours and hobbled around, half running and half hopping, with his shining eyes big and hungry. "Tay-ooom-ahhh! Teyouma!" It shrieked, only to pause and listen to the cave walls echo the name back at him.

Throughout the array of movements he made, at one point, the monkey grabbed his claw and hoisted itself up with it. Leon paused, watching as it held itself up with its tail. Such strange things to be done with tails! Leon lamented his lack of a tail - even Rohan had a cool tail, but all Leon had was a little fuzzy stump. He glanced over his shoulder and waggled his hind end in an attempt to move his tail, but the child still lacked the coordination to do so. Suddenly, the monkey spoke, emitting a noise that was far different from his own or Rohan's voices. The monkey was higher pitched and smaller, and startling.

Leon jolted slightly, looking back at the tiny creature. Tayoomah? That must be its name. He leaned back on his hind legs again, sitting upright as he watched the monkey zoom around him, squeaking and shrieking its name. "Tay- Tey- Teyouma!" The bear sampled its name and laughed again, that ever resonating laugh that echoed through the room, mingling with the sound of the monkey's name. "You're new, like me! I should take you back to Rohan. Maybe he found somebody too." Leon added thoughtfully. It was still difficult to string together complex sentences, but he was getting the hang of it. It wasn't so hard as long as he practiced.

The bear leaned forward, on all fours again as he turned and lumbered after the monkey. "Don't go too far! I want you to come back with me!" He was worried that if the monkey moved too fast he wouldn't be able to catch it. Leon was still getting used to his legs after all, and running was a... complicated concept.

Leon was talking again, and that made Teyouma stop and turn his attention away from the echoing cave. He backtracked to where Leon was standing, and while listening to him talk about things he didn't fully comprehend yet, Teyouma stood up on his hind legs (with the aid of his tail, again,) and imitated the bear's posture. He tried to puff up his little chest, keep his shoulders spread, and tucked his arms against his body in the same way as Leon. But, once he managed to reach the perfect pose, he lost his balance - and went rolling forward in to a ball, colliding softly with the bear's midsection. Rolling was fun! It made him feel weird, kinda. Dizzy and woozy and silly! And with a squeaky giggle, Teyouma unraveled from his ball shape.

"Neeewww. Nuuuu?" The monkey's teeth set in a grimace, almost, with teeth exposed while he experimented with his voice. "Nyyyyyuuu. Noo. Niiieeeuu." And then, like an energetic nutcracker, he began to chatter his teeth - more amused by the fact that there were things there than the sounds he was able to make. "Tuh-tuh-tuh, Tuh-oo-ma." He chattered, and then promptly lost interest. With a huff - and a brief wiggle of his tongue outside of his mouth - Teyouma thrust himself to wards Leon, and scrambled up one of his legs.

By grabbing at fur with his hands and feet, and moving quickly, Teyouma worked his way up the bear's side the way he might have climbed a tree; his tail lifted on occasion for balance, until Tey found himself holding on to the fur of the bear's upper back. His tail wrapped partly around the bear, but wasn't nearly long enough to rope itself all the way. "Leon... and Teyouma?" He muttered next, followed by an enthusiastic yawn.