Destiny loved this room. The lights were warm, friendly and pretty, the waters deep and not too chilly, and there was plenty to eat. Destiny had spent a lot of time around here, swimming, eating, practicing and... well, not much else really. A lot of the time she'd pass the time by gazing aimlessly up at the many lights which fascinated her.
Other than that... not much went on. Other Gembounds often overlooked her as they stopped to drink, and then moved on, or simply ambled by at the water's edge.
It was a lonely thought, and so Destiny decided, Today would be different! She'd pulled herself out of the crystal river and now she waddled forth on some imagined grand adventure. Her opalescent eyes gleamed in all the bright lights of the cave, every deep colour earning a flash in the limelight as she looked around for company. She took a deep breath, and peered further than her eyes could see using her magic. It was faint, but it was there- she heard a distant heartbeat, and waddled eagerly towards the source of the sound. As she approached, it grew deeper... and deeper... and deeper.
Little Destiny had never heard such a loud heartbeat and it wouldn't be long before she found out why. As she clambered onto a tiny rock, she saw there, probably the largest Gembound she'd ever seen! Her own little heart quivered with awe.
"Hallo!" she called, waving her flipper.
"Hallo! C-c-can ya see me? Hear me?"
@Atsila
The creature reached out with it's weird... nose? Was that its nose? Not that she had the right to call anything weird. a soft, purring giggle escaped her bill at the thought of that. Well, it sniffed her, so by this point she was pretty sure it was a nose. Then it gave her back a little pat, a surprisingly gentle one given the creature's enormous size compared to her. Destiny opened her bill to display a broad grin. Her eyes shone with all the colours of the cave and an iridescence akin to the opal on the back of her head.
Then finally with a rumble, the other one spoke to her. Destiny danced on her short and chubby legs.
"Mine's Dest'ny!" she replied excitedly. There was a warmth around this big one that she liked, its breaths were warm as they fell on her fur and there was just a general air of heat around it. Though perhaps she shouldn't be surprised; she'd just watched the last few tendrils of smoke drift away from its hide. But that warmth was pleasant, she was more used to chilly waters.
"It's g-g-great to meetcha Atsila!" she warbled excitedly, nodding.
"I've never seen anyone as big as you before!" she added excitedly.
@Atsila
Although his big breaths warmed her, the breezes cast by his big, flapping ears seemed to cool her down somewhat, although perhaps that was just her imagination. Her bill still parted in a big smile she gazed admiringly at the creature standing over her. It spoke again, and then moved so that they were very nearly face to face, or perhaps trunk-to-bill. She met his eyes with her iridescent ones, seeming almost to glow with joy.
Finally, she responded to his words with a tiny laugh, taking it as a compliment.
"A lotta Gembounds seem ta think so!" she chirruped happily, shuffling her flippers. She found that very nice, about how the largest critter could be so nice to the smallest. At his question, the little platypus thought deeply for a few short moments.
"Well, I can swim pretty well! I love to swim," was her first thought. She loved the water and swimming, she felt so much more nimble when she wasn't forced to waddle about on her incredibly short legs. Anything cool, huh? That was a bit more difficult.
"Uhhh... Well... My friend said my gem looks pretty!" the little one said, straining to gesture to the growing bump on the back of her head.
"A-and, and... oh! I can make my fur look different!"
Destiny closed her eyes for a few moments and concentrated. Although nothing happened, she was none the wiser.
"D-d-did it work?"
@Atsila
Destiny felt her heart lift as the long-nosed creature commented on her gem, happiness swelling and bubbling thtoughout her body.
"o-oh! You really think so? she squeaked, suddenly bashful. She felt their trunk moving, shuffling against her fur, poking at the tiny protruding points, maybe feeling the growing ridges beneath her skin. Blinking excitedly, she pushed her head into the odd, sensitive appendage.
Destiny opened an eye as the large creature spoke, her sparkling gaze focused and hopeful for a moment. When it became clear that nothing had happened, Destiny flushed, stammering and giggling.
"Ah, aha! I-I'll try it again. R-really?" the little creature seemed dumbfounded that an animal so big and strong could fail at something.
But without much hesitation, she finished stammering and sucked in her breath. She concentrated hard once more, holding her breath until she felt a little lightheaded.
"N-now?" she asked hopefully.
@Atsila
Destiny let out the breath she'd held in a big rush, creating a soft whistling sound as it escaped her bill. She looked up at the larger creature with big wide eyes full of warmth and surprise.
"Y-you think so? P-p-pretty?!" Destiny's words lisped out all in a tumble. The little platypus felt her heart swell, her stomach fluttering and her skin prickling hot.
"...I think you look real nice too. You're real big and tall and strong!" she complimented him excitedly, and there was nothing but truth and adoration in her tone.
"S-swimming! Oh, I'll show you! It's just moving through the water! You move your legs around to push yourself away from the bottom and move around! I love to swim! I can teach you if ya wanna but uh, it can be a little scary and maybe somewhere shallower?" Destiny recalled the time she'd tried to teach her friend Fira to swim. it had gone rather badly, but at least they'd both survived.
The little one was subdued for a few moments, but soon perked up and returned to her chatty self.
"I'll show you! Let's go!" She flopped off the small rock she'd been perched on and waddled frantically towards the crystal river, her tiny legs blurring. About a meter away she turned back, panting, to make sure that the elephant could keep up.
@Atsila