ORIGIN

The leopard's nose was soft, as expected, and Drstiny let out a tiny purr. Her eyes lit up as she saw Fira's grin beginning to form, and Destiny opened up her bill wide to offer her own beaming smile. Unaware of the thoughts passing through Fira's mind at that moment, Destiny too, was infinitely pleased just to have someone to talk to. She seemed to just radiate warmth and optimism, though perhaps it was just the rainbows in her eyes.

Noticing the eyebrow that raised her way, Destiny realized she hadn't quite explained her laughter. Perhaps Fira thought she was a little crazy now. Oh no! The little platypus stumbled a little. She didn't wanna tantalize anyone with inside jokes... "Uh, sorry!" She stumbled and lisped. "The lady helped me hatch was b-b-bigger'n both of us." She explained sheepishly, fidgeting her enormous webbed paws together.

"Awwwhh. That sounds real nice!" Destiny smiled as she listened to the warm tale of Fira's hatching, nodding occasionally. She soon broke into a little chuckle herself, and shrugged. "Can't say I know what it means either. Never heard anyone say it before." She racked her brains, but still couldn't. "When I first woke up it was all dark and I tried to get out, but then the entire thing b-began to move! And I was spinning and spinning and I d-dunno where I was gonna go. But then the spinnin' stopped and when I got out, she was there. She stopped ma egg runnin' away!" Destiny gave a little chortle.

@Fira

Fira continued listening to her new friend, her head on her paws so she was closer to the tiny platypus. It was then she realized that she loved gaining information from others. Other people were fascinating, and maybe if she talked to them long enough, they’d send her on some quest or another. That was where she really shined! Tell her want to do, and she’d do it! No questions asked. Well… maybe if someone wanted someone else killed. Then maybe she’d have some qualms about it. And no hurting kids. That was off-limits. Especially since she was still a kid herself.

“So…” she began, when there was a break in the conversation. “Are you all alone now, or what? No offense, but a little thing like you shouldn’t be going anywhere by themselves. I haven’t seen much of the Caves but… they seem like they could be pretty dangerous.” Fira paused. “Maybe you should come with me. I could go around with you wherever, and protect you. I mean, only if you want.” Where had that come from? The leopard didn’t know. But from birth, she’d had the sense that she needed to be doing something important all the time, or she’d go crazy. Maybe this was the Important Thing.

Words: 212 @Destiny

Silence for a few moments, and Destiny, despite all her seemingly mindless optimism, found that it felt nice to be eye to eye with someone for once. Being so small, it wasn't often she met someone her size. Well, not that Fira was her size but... It was nice to feel like they were on the same level for once. For a creature as small as Destiny, such a feeling was hard come by. All too often she ended up with an aching spine from trying to make eye contact.

"Ah... um... well, yeah, I guess so. Well, not right now, 'cause I've you here with me, but... ah, a lot of the time, yes." She answered a little awkwardly, not really liking the thought of being alone again. The little platypus did so like company. She enjoyed the feeling of soft fur on her bill and the way everyone greeted her in their own special ways... it was nice. Honestly, Destiny had never seen the caves as a dangerous place. That was her problem, perhaps; she was too upbeat and perhaps too innocent to look that far between the lines. She overlooked the bad in anyone.

Finally, she looked up at Fira in surprise.

It took a few moments for the leopard's offer to register, but her iridescent eyes lit up at the thought of Fira looking after her. "That... That... That sounds... Crikey! A-amazing!" she stammered and lisped and chattered out her gratitude before she struggled to regain her composure. "B-b-but it's only if you wanna. I'm, ah, I'm... A lil' slow." But even then, she was trembling with childish excitement.

@Fira

Had Fira been the type to burst out laughing when something was hilarious, this is what she would have done at Destiny’s reaction to her suggestion. However, Fira was very much the type to never go beyond a grin when something was funny. Actually, she never got over-emotional about anything. Perhaps it was a cat thing, or perhaps it wasn’t. Already, though, she was realizing that different Gembounds had different reactions to things, and her reaction to a platypus stumbling over her own words in excitement, while funny, did not cause gales of laughter to escape her maw. Instead, the left corner of her mouth lifted into a grin again.

“Probably can’t take you everywhere,” she admitted, thinking it over. “But I’ll definitely hang around with you so you’re not lonely all the time. Maybe you can meet Ra’Ma and Ra’Riot. Wonder what they’ll name you…” She gave a small chuckle. “Something like Ra’Duck, and then they’ll be confused since you’re not a duck.” Fira looked Destiny over. “You’re not a duck, right? You’ve got four legs and fur… But… webbed feet and a bill.” She realized very slowly as she was speaking that she could very well be insulting her new friend. “Sorry,” she added to the end of her last statement. Something told her that with her very straightforward approach to life, she’d be apologizing a lot.

Words: 230 @Destiny

Destiny gave another overenthusiastic purr, patting her large webbed feet on the ground each in turn. An amusing sight, as the small platypus wasn't built for doglike shows of excitement.

"Well, ah, that doesn't matter! I don't care!" Destiny smiled optimistically. "Doesn't matter so long as I get to see ya again. That'll be a nice thing..." Destiny closed her eyes and sighed happily at the the thought of a more permanent friend; everyone she'd met so far seemed to have somewhat... faded out. She hoped she'd see them again and she was optimistic that she would, but... well, she hadn't seen them since. She nodded vigorously at the thought of meeting Fira's parents. "Oh, that sounds lovely!" she purred, wondering who they were and what they were like.

She then tipped her head to one side as Fira contemplated what they'd call her, and then what she actually was. Destiny had never really considered her own appearance odd before, and it was a curious feeling that came over her. Not offended, though perhaps a little... sad. strange. Something was weird about her and she only just saw it in herself. "Uh, ah... ah've never really c-considered what I am," she said with some contemplation, quickly giving her head a little shake and summoning a bright smile back onto her face. "But, uh..." She looked down at one paw and wiggled her toes. A name came to her tongue. "I think I'm a p-p-platypus. Yeah! That sounds right." She seemed pleased with that. Then the cat apologized, and Destiny immediately felt bad. Carefully she waddled around to Fira's side and snuggled up into the warm fur of her belly, comfortingly. "What for?" she asked softly.

@Fira

Fira’s new friend had to be the most optimistic Gembound in all of Origin Cave. Not that she’d met very many people. In fact, Destiny was the only one she knew outside of her parents. Well, her mom and Ra’Riot. Ra’Riot wasn’t exactly… fatherly. Ra’Ma, at least, treated her the way a mother should treat a child. At least, to Fira’s little knowledge about parenting. Again, it’s not as though she knew very much about this stuff. She realized she was rambling in her head and brought her focus back to the… platypus. What an odd word. She scrunched her eyebrows at the term and then filed it away so she wouldn’t forget.

The little creature came around to her side and snuggled in, without any hesitation. Fira, being who she was, had half a mind to nudge Destiny away, but she ignored the urge. What was the point in being friends with someone if you couldn’t even let them embrace you when they wanted to? Sure, she was pretty solitary most of the time — which was probably the reason she didn’t know anyone yet — but she still had to interact with others. Especially her friend. So, with an internal huff, she settled down and allowed the platypus to snuggle her.


Why was she sorry? “Dunno,” she said, in her usual almost-bored tone. “Just thought maybe asking you what you were was offensive. Guess I was wrong. Which is good.”

Words: 241 @Destiny

Sat there snuggled into Fira's side, Sestiny didn't have to do much to lie down. Just by standing up she was very nearly lying down, but she folded her flippers as daintily and comfortably as she could beneath her so that she looked like a fat little marshmallow... with a bill. Completely oblivious to Fira's mild discomfort, she made tiny purring noises and felt contented in the warmth.

Ah, alright. Destiny relaxed somewhat. If Fira wasn't sorry, then there was nothing to feel guilty about! "There's nothin' bad about that!" she said happily. "Guess I've just not thought much 'bout it myself before. I'm not even sure! For all I know, maybe I am a duck." She gave a high pitched little laugh. "...I dunno what a duck is." She tipped her head and shrugged, though not without a curious sparkle in her eye. That being said though, she did still wonder if she was really... that odd. She couldn't look at herself through another's mind and eyes, of course she couldn't. "Ah, I look pretty weird then?" she chuckled self-deprecatingly.

@Fira

Come to think of it, the second Destiny admitted she didn’t know what a duck was, Fira was pretty sure she didn’t know either. But some instinct in the back of her mind told her it was something like a chicken. And she knew what a chicken was because of Ra’Ma and Ra’Riot. They were both half-chicken, half-snake. And a duck was… in her head, all she could think of was a chicken but… that was good enough, right? “It’s something like a chicken,” she said out loud. “But you probably don’t know what that is, either. Uhhh…” She tried to think of how to explain. “Well, chickens have… sorta similar mouths as you. You know, they have… beaks. Or whatever.”

Fira stopped and tried to examine Destiny’s feet, but the platypus had tucked them under herself. The leopard tried to remember what they looked like… They were big and webbed, right? “I don’t know about your feet, though. They don’t look like a chicken’s feet. Chicken’s feet aren’t webbed. Maybe that’s how you look like a duck. But… I’ve never actually seen a duck… So I don’t know.”

At this point, she had to grin again. Who knew she’d be having this weird conversation with a platypus about what ducks were.

Words: 214 @Destiny

Destiny nodded, listening intently. Indeed, she didn't know quite what a chicken was. Or at least she couldn't think of it off the top of her head, but she felt like the word was on the tip of her bill. What an odd feeling. "Uhm, yeah... that's right. I feeel like I know it but I can't think of it. Kinda like with the duck thing." She chuckled awkwardly. Fira then commented on her bill, and Destiny shifted slightly so she could pat the end of it with the tip of a flipper, as though to make sure it was there. "Oh, this? Huh, interesting! D-d-don't think I've ever seen someone with another one 'o these."

With another little pat to her bill, the platypus tucked her foot back under where it was warm. Not practical by any means or even all that comfortable, but warm and with the added bonus of looking like a pillow with a bill. She plopped her face down onto the ground in front of her and grinned widely. Listening intently, she gave a small nod. "Maybe 'tis! Do they swim? 'Cause I use these big things for swimmin'! I like to swim. It's faster'n walkin' on land and it feels nice on my fur."

@Fira

Swimming… An interesting thought. Fira looked out at the river in front of them, then closed her green eyes and listened to the water rushing by. “I’ve never tried to swim before,” she said, after a time. She got up and moved closer to the water, experimentally dipping a paw into it. She wanted to yank it out immediately, but she made herself calm down, forcing away the instinct that was creeping up on her. Cats hate water, but she was determined to be a cat who liked it. The more things you like, the less likely you are to be disappointed, right?

After about thirty seconds of holding her paw in the current, she allowed herself to pull it out. Then she turned to Destiny with a grin. “Dare me to jump in?” She glanced at the water again, and the fast-flowing current. “On second thought, that’s probably a stupid idea. I’ll wait ’til I’m bigger.” She shook the water from her paw and sat down on a dry-ish spot of earth close to the riverbank. “Funny that a little thing like you can probably swim better than me. Just goes to show that being bigger isn’t always better.”

Words: 202 @Destiny