ORIGIN - a brush with the devil can clear your mind

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The smell of lush greenery washed over Boar in a thick, heady wave. She paused along a well-worn path through the dense vegetation, suddenly almost overwhelmed by the sheer choices around her. Moss clung to nearby rocks, great ferns spouted in the distance, vines twisted just a few feet above her head as they made their connections from rock to rock. For a moment she allowed herself to take in the deliciousness of it all. Her face still ached in dull pulses and a limp hobbled her steps, yet there was still a certain air of pride in her posture. She'd found food, on her own, and hadn't busted herself up any more to get it. Not that she wouldn't knock a head or two if they tried to stop her filling her belly. Her eyes narrowed and she cast a dangerous glance around. Good.

In all honesty there was nothing to say the plants here were any more edible than the crystals decorating Orion. But something in the calf's mind told her that this was true sustenance and she would be damned before she looked the fool again. Hell, there as every indication she'd commit to eating rocks the rest of her life out of sheer stubbornness. Finally she approached a particularly succulent-looking plant and, without a moment's more hesitation and not more than a little gratitude that it wasn't made of stone, stuffed her face.

It wasn't long before she'd worked her way through an impressive amount of foliage, weaving a path of edible destruction. If she'd been paying less attention, Boar would have walked right into the chrysalis she'd unintentionally been meandering towards. All the better, because if she'd found herself trying to take a bit out of another crystal, she might have lost her mind. The calf paused before the huge garnet structure and peered into it curiously. There was something comfortingly familiar about it, if only in the simple fact that she'd grown in a similar cocoon. Gingerly, but with all the tact of a bull in a china shop, she raised a hoof and tap, tap, tapped at the gem.

@Atsila

Silence. There was always silence all around. Inside, however, was another tale. A heart pulsed, blood traveling smoothing through healthy veins. A mind was busy with thoughts, picking names and imagining something other than darkness. The boneless appendage of the creature within touched the inside of the shell for the billionth time since consciousness bloomed within his brain. This time would be different, however, because just as his trunk pressed and felt the texture, a rapping of a hoof against his chrysalis snapped his eyes open.

It's time.

The babe inside attempted to stretch, only to find that the space he once had was no more. Instinct swirled and panic rose at such a realization, the struggle beginning. He kicked a fore leg out, then the opposing rear leg. He shook his head and struck out a few more time until suddenly, something gave, and every ounce of the contents of the chrysalis spilled out all at once. The body hit the ground with a slosh and thud. He was not still at all, as his tail swished about freely and eyes opened once more. Everything was a haze at first, blurry, but slowly focusing. A few blinks helped the process and soon, he found himself face to face with bright shades of green.

Atsila blew out his nose, placental goo exiting all at once. He looked around, head a teeny bit wobbly for a few seconds. His gaze landed upon a creature of the fluffy and brownish variety, which seemed to really stand out among all the green around them. Immediately he climbed up to his feet, then stepped on his own trunk, which caused him to fall again. With a ridiculous giggle, he rolled a little, then tried again. Once successfully on his feet, he threw his trunk up and walked toward the soul who found him and touched her shoulder. The texture of her fur was beyond any feeling her felt in the egg. And... and....

He paused, then looked downward, realizing that he could feel the texture of the soft moss, dirt, and varies stages of plants were beneath his feet. He slowly picked a foot up, setting it down in a differently place, ears perking as he reveled in how it felt to crush the ground under it. He looked up from his feet back to the other and smiled, chocolate eyes shining, as did his slim-covered skin.

@Boar

"Shit!" As the calf skittered instinctively backwards, the solitary word hissed through her teeth. Boar hadn't meant to break the damn thing! Goo and chunks of chrysalis flew through the air, splattering around her feet and flecking her hooves. Gross. What was far more interesting, though, was this new creature scrambling to his feet. She only drew upon the assumption that he was young because she'd literally witnessed his hatching; had the wildebeest met him in any other circumstance his size surely would have meant he was older than her. But then, as she watched in near-frozen horror, he stepped towards her and touched her shoulder with a slime-coated trunk. Her mouth fell open, but she was transfixed, unable to move or speak for a long moment. Boar could only watch as he carefully picked up his massive feet and mashed at the ground contentedly. The elephant locked eyes with her again, smiled, and finally the spell was broken.

"Gross," she scoffed, shrugging her shoulder sharply in an effort to remove his touch. She pinned him with a sharp gaze, eyes roving over him to take in the details of his strange form. "What are ya, anyway?" Considering the first encounters she'd had after hatching were a horrifically injured three-headed dog and a very small and very naked mute cat, Boar was being exceedingly judgmental.

@Atsila

Instantly, he felt all his happiness at new life slip away as the other creature sounded unhappy, stabbing at him with a glare. He stepped back, feeling as if he'd shrank into a tiny thing. He wasn't sure how exactly to respond. He glanced around for an answer, but saw nothing that seemed to help. While swirling his mind over it, he shook himself, trying to relieve his skin of some of the goo.

"Atsila," he said finally. It was his name, so maybe that was what he was as well? He was hopeful. Eyes still watched her, the urge to pet her soft coat again was very present, but he refrained. She looked scary mean, and he didn't want to make her even madder than she already seemed to be.

@Boar

Her judgmental stare didn't break as the calf shrank back, obviously hurt by her words, and cast about for an answer. There wasn't a flicker of guilt in her; it was just downright rude to go groping strangers. As if Boar knew anything at all about manners. Finally he answered, but instead of being satisfied, she only frowned at him.

"Atsila? I never heard of a 'Atsila.'" Granted she hadn't been alive long, but she already knew a lot of things -- deer, horses, car-nee-vores -- and she was suddenly suspicious that if "Atslias" existed she would've definitely heard of them by now. It never occurred to the calf that it was simply his name. "Ya better not be lyin' ta me. Er else." As if to punctuate the threat she took a daring step forward, angling her forehead towards the elephant in a mock-headbutt.

@Atsila

Atsila watched her with increasing suspicion, especially as she took a step toward him. He blew air out of his nose and shook his head, taking a step back as she moved forward. He failed to realize that touching her had put her off. He blinked at her, inhaling deeply. "What... is lyin'?" he repeated the word as she said it, confused by what she meant.

The elephant glanced around a bit more, something catching his eye and causing a quiet gasp. He trotted toward what he saw and plucked it from a brush, before trotting back to Boar. He stood as far as he could while remaining close enough to stretch his trunk out, offing a rather beautiful, bright yellow flower to her. He didn't know what she would do with it; eat it maybe? He just wanted to show her something pretty he saw, hoping it may ease the obvious tension between them.

"I am Atsila," he clarified slowly, trying to wrap his brain around the words that slowly came to mind.

@Boar

"Lyin'," she repeated, as if simply saying the word once more would make its meaning more clear. But after a moment when it was obvious that wasn't going to work, she screwed up her face as her mind grappled for a definition. "Y'know, like, not tellin' things how they are. Like if I tried ta tell ya I was purple or som-- 'ey, you listenin' to me?" She'd been comforted by the fact hat Atsila had kept a cushion of space between them when she'd stepped forward -- it was a sign of submission ingrained in her mind, and thus something that soothed her. But in her fight to define a simple word, Boar hadn't noticed the elephant's divided attention. She felt frustration rising within her again, and she opened her mouth to insult him, only to be clammed up by a flower pushed towards her. Boar frowned, studying the offering with a hesitant glare. Gestures of camaraderie such as this weren't in her wheelhouse. After a long moment with her eyes narrowed, she reached forward gingerly and took the bud between her teeth.

"Not bad," she admitted as she swallowed. His aim of dissolving the tension had generally succeeded, as Boar had essentially already forgotten why she was angry with the calf in the first place. He reintroduced himself and she tossed her head in an over-exaggerated nod. "Oh it's yer name. Why didn' ya jus' say so? Mine's Boar."

@Atsila

Not telling things how they are - got it! The rest went beyond him when he, of course, ran to the flower. Pride and joy enveloped him as she ate the flower, seeming to enjoy it. When she commented on it, he smiled big. Finally, he did something right. Perhaps he needed to find more of these flowers to offer her!

Soon, the calf was introducing herself, which brightened up his brown eyes even more. Boar! He nodded to her name and, somehow, smiled even wider. He pranced in place a little. He stumbled slightly, legs not quite steady enough not built properly for such dancing. "I really like your name." He surprised himself a bit, the whole sentence coming out with and ease he didn't expect.

The beauty of gem power.

With his excessive energy, his orange gem began to shiny a little brighter. Suddenly, he began to feel really hot, ear instinctively beginning to fan at his body. Soon, smoke began to pour off his body, which is when he realized his magicka was having a mind of it's own. He stared wide-eyed at the smoke, baffled at the feeling of his skin being charred.

"Weird!"

----

"Speech."
Thoughts.

OOC:
@Boar

She wasn't wholly used to compliments, at least not on anything other than her brutish physical capabilities, and the elephant's words startled her somewhat. Boar found she could do little more than stare at him, brows knit slightly and eyes glittering with suspicion. She was about to ask just what he meant by that, but Atsila's renegade magic interrupted her. The stench hit her before she noticed the tendrils of smoke.

"Gross," she hissed, face twisting at the acrid smell as she flinched backwards. This wasn't like any sort of magic she was used to, having only really been introduced to Kerberos' gentle warmth. A sour feeling boiled at the pit of her stomach as the smoke condensed into more solid, rolling waves; a feeling that, with enough substance, could manifest in pure terror. "Wha' is that?" She backed up further, shaking her head violently in an attempt to rid her nose of the smell and dislodge the sudden tickle at the back of her throat.

@Atsila

Atsila touched his own skin, then looked at Boar to see she was definitely not as fascinated by the trick. "Oh... well, magic I think," he said. He shook himself hard, ash dropping off of his back and smoke fading away. Afterward, he stepped toward a fern and stuffed half of it into his mouth, munching away while looking back toward the wildebeest.

"What else do you know?" She knew what liar was. She seemed pretty smart, so it seemed only logical to ask her the broad question. Maybe she could teach him more things! He stuffed another fern into his mouth, brown eyes gleaming at her.

----

"Speech."
Thoughts.

OOC:
@Boar

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