ORIGIN

Origin being what it was, all sorts of people hatched here-- lions, tigers, and bears all met similar starts from the shells of their chrysalises. Regular biology need not apply, to the magical gem-powered denizens of Origin cave.

If Jericho would've been aware of that, they'd've been tickled by the irony; as it was, the only thing Jericho was aware of was that xe needed to get out now. Any gratefulness over the fact that xyr hard little beak was much better suited to puncturing the stone walls of their makeshift egg would have to wait until such times as they were exchanging hatching stories with other gembounds, if that ever happened. Right now, Jericho was a gembound on a mission and that mission was to expose the outside world to xyr sheer unadulterated awesomeness.

And, thankfully, nature was on xyr side.

It started with a few well-placed taps, and it ended pretty shortly thereafter, because the taps were very well placed. Jericho's beak had instinctively found a thin, weak spot in the shell of xyr Chrysalis, and it split right apart from that point, leaving a drab little pea-chick blinking in the suddenly very present blue light of Polaris.

What an interesting new world. xe was very ready to meet it-- was it ready to meet xyr?

((If this post is really wonky, I apologize, shouldn't be allowed to post on sleep meds but here we are))

Jericho hadn't been expecting to meet someone right out of the egg, but then xe hadn't really been expecting anything in particular, so xe was as surprised by the presence of the two-headed stranger as xe was by the strange blue light that infused Polaris and the solidity of the ground. The little Pea-chick sat on the ground for a moment, blinking and dazed, and then peered curiously at Orthrus, taking him in.

Two heads, a big snakey tail, and four legs. It was a very clear counting game that Jericho did, xyr whole head flicking to where xe was looking. Then xe looked at xyrself, having finished inspecting the two-headed snake-dog, and did the same limb-count. Xe flared little down-covered wings, damp as they were. Xe wiggled little toes, which were huge compared to the rest of xyr tiny body. Xe bobbed one little head, blinking owlishly. So, two of everything, then, except the head. interesting.

Both heads spoke to xyr. Xe blinked back, opened xyr beak, and cheeped curiously-- but no, that wasn't the words xe'd been trying to make. Xe opened up the damp little beak and tried again. "Hi?" xe offered, this first incarnation of xyr little voice barely more than the cheep they'd emitted before. "Hello!" Here we go-- program Voice was behaving now. .Joyful at this newly discovered mode of expression, Jericho looked between both of Orthus's heads, and asked, "What's a Ra?"

Jericho listened to Orthus with all the rapt unblinking attention of a fascinated child, because that's exactly what xe was. Xe was very interested in what Orthus was saying, of course, but the most fascinating thing was how it was being said. Two muzzles, speaking at once, creating the most lovely harmony of voice as the words were spoke. Jericho wondered if xe would ever be able to do anything similar-- but xe only had one head. What an unfortunate fluke of birth!

Politely curious, Jericho leaned to the side to catch sight of the tail, and blinked. "It hasn't got feathers?" Jericho asked, curious. Xe wasn't too sure of exactly what xe was-- definitely "peacock" and "bird", but that didn't automatically include a knowledge of how birds were different from each other or from the rest of the animal world at large, but xe had a nagging thought that birds were covered in feathers, and that tail most certainly wasn't.

Or if it was, they were the strangest feathers Jericho had ever seen.

Which wouldn't've been terribly surprising, since Jericho, so far, had only seen Orthus, and Orthus was a pretty strange thing. What a great start to living! Jericho flapped xyr wings happily at being asked who xe was, because already xe had developed quite a bit of pride in being whatever happy creature xe had been born to become. "I'm Jericho! And I'm a peacock bird." Jericho opened xyr beak in a wide baby-bird smile, looking over Orthus and his fluffy patches, and deciding it was an apt name. "You /are/ fluffy. Can I call you fluff too?"

Xe figured xe'd ask-- Jericho knew, though the instance had never come up, that xe wouldn't want to be called "Feathery" instead of the name Jericho, but that was mostly because Jericho already liked the sound of xyr own name, quite a lot.