ORIGIN

Romeo wasn't sure he liked it here; he'd kept on exploring, humming curiously, lugging the wooden noise-maker he'd found on his back. But even with the heavy noisy thing, Romeo could feel the force of... something... trying to sweep him right off his paws. He reckoned ot was only the weight of the noisy thing keeping him down, and he was rather grateful for picking it up.

The little tanuki wasn't that far from the cave entrance, and he wondered about turning back for a moment, standing there in blissful indecision as the wind dragged at his fur. Then...

Whoosh.

Another blast of wind hit him, stronger than anything he'd felt before. The young one struggled to keep his paws on the ground and ultimately failed; first he fell, only to be caught by the buffet of air and thrown. He tumbled to a halt, the noise-maker clanging and twanging. Romeo struggled to grab onto the ground, eventually managing to stay put. But he didn't move, staying as low down as he could, fearful of moving.

He noticed how far he'd been thrown, pushed almost right the way to the far wall.

Well... At least the wind made its own music.

@Fritz

Meanwhile, a pathetically small, furry fledgling was curled up in a hole he had found to shelter himself from the unruly winds.The boisterous room of Monoceros had been Fritz's home ever since he broke out of his gem. The thing is with creatures that are born in such environments, they don't know any better and therefore come to believe that to be what is natural. Clawing at his tail, habitually, he thought about what Cayenne had said, Sometimes... life comes with pain.
Almost automatically, he shook his furry head, yellow eyes squinted, No, surely not. He wouldn't allow it. Everything should be good and perfect all the time.

As he replayed the scene with him and the wise lemur, he fidgeted with the gem on his neck, contemplating the vow he had made to never use his gem magic. At the time, he had dismissed it as being too complicated to bother with. He didn't really consider how small, weak and essentially unimportant he was at his stage of life, nevermind without the use of his magic. However wanted to try getting there another way - a simpler way.
Shrugging and not thinking much further into he decided he was going to go further into the whole deal when, and if, he found another gembound.

The young marmoset was so preoccupied in the cavity and in his own thoughts that he didn't notice as Romeo flew past his line of sight, dragged mercilessly by the wind. It was only when the creature nearly hit the wall, causing a different sound all together, did he look - and even then it took him a while to react.
...Finally!
Craning his neck to observe the creature who appeared motionless, he was intrigued but essentially unhelpful. It was only until he realised that no movement was going to occur, that Fritz decided to take matters into his own hands, and wriggled from his hiding area. Stubbornly ignoring the gusts, he scaled the ledge and sprang forward to grab onto one of the fang-like stones that protruded from the roof. Then, rather crudely he shouted, "Try harder!" In a slightly high pitched to make himself heard over the wind.

@Romeo

Still seemingly inebriated from his fall, Romeo swayed as he struggled against the wind. It dragged at his fur and his entire body. Pushed him back towards the wall. Wait a minute... Why was he resisting? Surely there would be some shelter. He'd be able to wait it out there, until the winds died down... Romeo could hear the strings on his noise-maker thrumming and he didn't want to chance breaking it. Romeo looked around and searched frantically for a little alcove or... something, where he could hide.

Suddenly, there was a little squeak caught his attention, a voice that rose up above the winds, though not quite loud enough to hear properly. Perhaps that was a good thing; it was unlikely the tanuki would be pleased with the advice given. Still, he found the source eventually, hanging from a stalactite on the cave ceiling. Romeo had never seen a creature the likes of them before and it seemed he might have pondered it, until he was hit by another blast of wind. Romeo was pushed back again, this time managing to keep his footing.

He kept moving with the wind though, moving towards where it had pushed him. And when he was right by the cave wall, the wind had faded to a breeze. A rather determined breeze, but a breeze compared to the storm that had formerly swept him off of his paws.

Now that he was safe Romeo completely disregarded the creature above him, there was only one thing on his mind right now. Carefully, breathlessly, he shrugged the wooden noise-maker off of his back and ran his paws over it, making sure it was okay.

After a few moments, he heaved a sigh of relief and held it as close as he could without breaking it.

@Fritz

Fritz vaulted from stone fang to stone fang, slightly behind the pensive tanuki, the height he was at protecting him from the hectic drafts and allowing him blissful swiftness. When he had finally reached where his newfound companion had stopped, the marmoset ungracefully leapt down beside him, abruptly grabbing onto Romeo so he could steady himself. His sharp claws may have sunk a little too deep, depending on how thick Romeo's fur was.

Once he regained 'composure' he let go of him and huddled quite close, either from loneliness or to get as far away from the wind's grasp as possible. He squeaked loudly, “D-do you ...have hearin' problems?...If I hadn’t g-got you to move, then who knows wha' could have hap-”

Suddenly, his focus switched curtly to Romeo’s gem which resided across his chest. He sat down and tilted his head, grabbing his own tail and fidgeting with it again, “Ya' gem is... w-weird. A-are you one of those weird g-gembounds I’ve heard aba'?”

His naturally squinting eyes made him look way more judging than he actually was. He was already forming an impression of him – it was a good one. But the marmoset found it difficult to harbour bad feelings for another creature anyway, it just made things too complicated. While he waited for a response, he continued to fidget with his tail, sometimes looking at the thing Romeo had brought with him and finding out a way he could possibly grab it and study it from his position.

@Romeo

Romeo was so absorbed in making sure his noisemaker was okay that he didn't pay attention to the marmoset swooping from spire to spire above him right until they'd dropped down next to him and grabbed onto him. Needless to say, that was a rather rude wakeup call, and Romeo flinched, hugging the big noise-maker as tightly as he could so that he knew it was safe. He eyed the hands of the other one warily, a silent plead to remove those claws which, whilst they hadn't gotten through his fur, could still be felt against his skin.

Soon his prayers were answered although the other one did still huddle up to him. Romeo looked at them oddly, confused by the motion. "...Mhhm. Not that I know of... I just couldn't hear you over the howling," he replied, honestly feeling a tad insulted. What an odd voice this one had... Romeo'd never heard one like that before.

Subconsciously the raccoon dog stroked the back of the wooden object he held so close. "O-oh? Weird gembounds? What makes them different from normal gembounds? Romeo looked down at his gem once again, his heart pounding clearly visible to the clear quartz. Subconsciously, Romeo raised his claws and tapped the slightly rough crystal, feeling the vibrations reverberate right through to his heart.

He looked right back at the Marmoset and was silent for a while, trying to figure out what thoughts perhaps should be going through his head, but weren't. He met the creature's fidgety gaze and followed it to the wooden object he carried briefly. "Uh... This is my noise-maker," he began, turning it so that the stranger could see it, but still holding it in a very protective way. "It makes... noise." Not much there to elaborate on, really. But he demonstrated by gently running his claws across the strings.

@Fritz

Fritz drew away from Romeo and leaned against the wall non-chalantly, scratching his claws against the wall like he was sharpening them. He then settled down again and wrapped his wiry tail around his small body, tufts of fur littering the floor from when he had been messing with it. He looked deeply into Romeo's eyes, almost as if he was trying to see into his soul as he spoke in his high pitched tone,

"S-someone told me tha' t-there are gembounds around here tha' I should keep a look out fa'. The' said I'd know when I saw them. Tha' I s-should be careful a-around them."

The companion mentioned had obviously meant to reference creatures with ill-intentions, but Fritz quickly pinned the term to almost any other gembound who seemed a little different.

After Romeo contented a part of his curiousity, the marmoset tilted his head in response to the sound that came from the device, his ears automatically twitching. Fritz grinned widely, "E-even if ya' were a weird gembound, I'd l-let you off because that's one c-cool noise-maker. Wha' are ya' planning to do with somethin' like that?" His tone may have sounded a lot more shifty than intended, but his expression displayed something more of an awe.

@Romeo

The little monkey was behaving... oddly. Romeo was of the patient type though, so he didn't think much of it. That, and he knew enough about the world now to realize that everyone expressed their voice differently, himself included. And this one just so happened to be one of the more unique expressions. Every voice was unique, and the way each voice worked with each Gembound was fascinating.

"Oh... Hmm... Well, ah... I've never seen anyone like that," Romeo quickly said as he thought over all the others he'd met in his short time so far. He hadn't just, known upon seeing someone that there was something 'off'. Then again, he'd never considered the possibility before. Eventually, he shrugged. "I don't think I'm one of those ones. I mean really, with a voice like this it seems pointless to worry, yes?" Contrary to his intent, Romeo might have only been proving Fritz' point.

Romeo's chest swelled at the Marmoset's awe in response to his noise-maker, as though it were a direct compliment to him alone. "Well, I can use it to make new sounds in all these new patterns. See?" To elaborate, Romeo plucked the strings in a different order, creating a sweet little tune. "Cool, right?"

@Fritz

"Y-ya right, it does sound cool! M-my name is Fritz by the way... an' i've decided im goin' to stick around with ya'. Ya' s-seem harmless." The marmoset lay down on his back close to Romeo and made himself comfortable - as much as one could be comfortable on the rocky ground. He stared into Romeo's eyes, rather vacantly.

" Play a song f-for me an' i'll continue to grace ya' with ma' company... oh! an' also, t-there's a certain area in this place w-where it echos a lot, if we go that, then ya' noise maker c-could be heard everywhere. When ya' done we could head over there... u-unless ya' don't think it's worth it?"

Fritz glanced back at where they had travelled in order to get here, the wind still vicious as ever and howling in the characteristic manner of the room. Something bad could easily happen, especially against two small creatures such as Romeo and he. He didn't ponder on that too much though, it was too negative. He hated negative things. Abruptly, he got distracted by the way the gem on his throat glistened, and he scratched in a manner as if he didn't want it there. His eyes looked like a green alpenglow where it reflected.
@Romeo

Romeo looked pleased with that, as though the attention to his noise-maker was a compliment to him. The stranger introduced themselves as Fritz. An oddly fitting name. "Romeo," the raccoon dog introduced himself proudly, with a bow of his head. "And uh, sure!" It couldn't be all that bad having a little tagalong. Right? Romeo seemed amused. "Uh, thanks?"

Looking sideways at them, Romeo gave a hum of consideration in the back of his throat. "Play for... You?" He asked curiously. It wasn't that he didn't want to, it was just... Well, Romeo hadn't considered playing before an audience. It was an interesting thought, to be sure. Mainly, Romeo tugged at the strings to appease his own ears alone. But now he thought about it... The fur along his spine rose with a sudden thrill of excitement.

"...Of course!" he gave a haughty laugh. "Any excuse to make some noise!"

But he'd gotten distracted; Romeo looked back at Fritz. The idea of a place where the noise he made could be heard from anywhere... sounded mighty tempting. "Uhm, well... You think the place would be quieter?" He twitched an ear towards the twister in the centre of the room. The howling sounds the wind made would surely get in the way of a song. "Plus, if it's like you say, maybe the song I play will be even better! Worth the wait, no?" he coerced.

@Fritz

Fritz grinned and he nodded eagerly. He hoped that Romeo's intrument could possibly block out the horrible static noise in his head. "I k-know a secret way, to the place, where tha' wind will leave us alone... It's full o' spiders t-though. Try not to step on them, they h-have feelins' too... A-also it's kinda' small." The marmoset squeaked. As he intently observed Romeo, he concluded the young raccoon dog would probably be able to fit.

But if he couldn't...

Moments after this thought, he shrunk a little bit into himself, uncharacteristically. He remembered when Cayenne and he parted ways because she had to do something more important. What could have been so important? It was then when he firmly decided he wasnt going to let Romeo out of his sight.

Additionally, from what Cayenne said, it was easy to get dragged into the petty conflicts of this area. He wasn't going to let that happen. There was still hope. But what was the cause of this conflicts?

"...Tha' place i-is where ive been a lot, a-actually. I've been ratha' alone... 'dunno w-why. I always like company. It just feels r-right..." He began to trail off.

After glancing at the ground wordlessly, the marmoset swiftly scurried off along the wall and around a slight bend, where there appeared to be a small opening into the rocks, disappearing for a second then moments later reappearing, glancing back at Romeo. "Trust ya' i-instincts, yea?"

He didn't stay for long, hastily vanishing again and only lasting as briefly as a grey flash.

@Romeo