ORIGIN

Fira shrugged off the thought of having her freedom stripped away. That wasn’t how she saw it at all. “What else am I gonna do with my time? I’ve been basically hibernating for months, wondering where the hell everyone went, coming out to hunt, eat, and poop. That’s… boring. At least if I’m taking care of you, I’ll always have a friend nearby.” She looked down at the platypus, saw her friend looking back up at her, and remembered that she was blind. She squeezed her own eyes shut at the thought, and then decided to keep them closed — to at least attempt to understand what it was like not to be able to see for a little while.

She felt Destiny snuggle up against her chest fur and settled down to talk for a while. “A mama?” she asked when Destiny told her about her new ‘little one.’ “How’d you manage that?” She gave a laugh at the thought of a blind platypus and a mute baby something trying to communicate. “Well… I’m sure you make a great mom. Does the baby have a father, or is it just you? Or, for that matter, does the baby have a second mother? Basically I’m asking if you’re with anyone.”

She didn’t really care if Destiny had found love. In fact, that was good. That would mean it wouldn’t fall to just her to take care of the platypus. Not that you had to be lovers to make babies. All it took was life and a gem to take from. She didn’t know where she had learned that. It felt like she’d just known it for a while… Strange.

Words: 278 @Destiny

Destiny listened to Fira's words. Slowly but surely she nodded, although it was unclear on whether she was hesitating or just trying to prevent yet another headache. "if that's the c-case, then... I'll look after you, too! If it'll make your life b-better then you can be there for me and I'll be there for you. I remember when the c-c-caves went all quiet. It was real lonely..."

Destiny gave a proud grin in response. "A momma!" she repeated, seemingly getting excited at the thought. At Fira's apparent surprise, Destiny couldn't help but give a warbling chuckle, her fur prickling with seeming bashfulness. "I just heard a big crack, and then I went towards it, and then I wasn't alone anymore and there was a little baby one there. And I let him come home and stay in my burrow and... and just, now he's my little one."

Destiny seemed visibly proud of herself at that moment, though she seemed slightly awkward as Fira asked if she was with someone. "Well... no. Not really. It's just been me for a while. I've got a lotta good friends but... um... Well, that's not to say I don't wanna be with any of 'em... but... Er, y'know..."

She shrugged, flushing, and let out another little giggle.

It definitely got her thinking though, and wondering... Destiny had begun to realize that Gembounds like herself had had to come from somewhere. White had thought she was a hybrid, asked her who her mom and dad had been. Destiny mellowed out for a while. She seemed hesitant, considering something. She opened her bill to speak, only to falter.

"D-do... do you think you could help me be a better momma?"

@Fira

Fira listened to Destiny’s words as she continued to spout goody-goody stuff. That was just how the platypus was, and Fira had grown used to it. Now it seemed she’d have to get used to it all over again, as she hadn’t seen her friend in some time. So her little one had been one of the randoms — like her. A Gembound who came from seemingly nowhere, whose chrysalis appeared from seemingly nothing. Interesting. She hadn’t met very many Gembounds in her four cycles, but she wondered just how many of them were First Generation and how many of them were made from other Gembounds.

“Help you be a better mom?” Fira repeated, incredulously. “I don’t know anything about raising kids! I mean if I had ‘em I’d try my damndest to give them a good life, but… I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to help you, besides hunting for the baby or protecting it. Stuff like that.” Fira looked around, opening her eyes for the first time in a few minutes, and the light stung them, so she closed them again. What would it be like to have kids? She didn’t know if she was ready for such a thing. She laughed. “I don’t think I’d be a very good mom. I’m not very… nurturing. As you can probably tell.”

Words: 225 @Destiny

Destiny again nodded, her face bright and hopeful as Fira repeated the question that had been posed to her. To her, the appearance of Gembounds throughout the caves was nothing short of a miracle, but it wasn't one she lingered on. It was a fact that was just... there. It was the way she'd begun, but not everyone, so it seemed. Hybrids, as she'd considered before, had 'moms' or 'dads'. Destiny found herself wondering how it worked. When she considered deeply, Destiny found herself thinking that maybe what you needed was a shard of stone, and a source of magic. She didn't know where that thought came from but... it seemed right. She could see that happening.

"W-well... neither do I," Destiny admitted. She knew that when she'd first found the little one, she'd considered finding someone else to look after him, because she knew she wouldn't be able to see, and so, she'd be unable to look out for him, or hunt for him, or... much else. She tried her best, obviously, but... uh... "...That's all I'd ask," Destiny said with a simile. "You don't gotta be nurturing or anything. I think I just need some eyes." she continued bashfully.

"O-of course, that's not to say you're n-n-not nurturing! I, uh, I... I think ya'd make a real good momma if... if ya wanted t-t-to be of course!" Destiny struggled to correct herself hastily, with an awkward warbling laugh.

@Fira

The more Fira listened to Destiny, the more an odd sort of butterfly-like feeling fluttered around in her stomach. The platypus was talking about kids and being a mother like… like it was something she really wanted. Fira didn’t know much about love, and since sexual reproduction did not result in babies here, she’d never tied those two things together — love and sex. To her, they were totally separate. And you didn’t need to be romantically in love with a Gembound to make babies. She gave a small smile when Destiny attempted to compliment her on being nurturing, shaking her head a little.

“No, I really would be terrible. I haven’t got the patience for kids. Well… maybe I do. I don’t know. But listen.” The leopard paused, trying to figure out how to word this. “Is… is having your own kids something you want? Because I just said I’d do whatever you wanted, right? And you’re like the only friend I have, and about the only Gembound I know very well. Look, if… if you ever want your own kids, made from your own self and your own Magic, then… I could help you.” This was getting more awkward the longer she spoke, so she stopped and swallowed and shut up after that. As an afterthought, she added, “I’m serious. I mean it.”

Words: 225 @Destiny

Snuggled up against Fira's chest, all of Fira's motions- a tiny smile, a little nod- went right over Destiny's head, as she couldn't see anymore. Obliviously she lay there- a little blob of fat, velvet fur with a large bill and opalescent spines. And so, she remained mostly silent- other than a contented little purr from time to time.

"Well, you have the patience for me..." Destiny opened her bill in a smile, before it turned into a laugh. Her self-depreciating sense of humor was shining through again. It seemed as though the happy little lady had pulled herself back from her breakdown earlier, and with flying colours she was back to her old self. Well, mostly she was, of course. In response to Fira's question, she mellowed once more, becoming serious. She lowered her head, to think. "I... I... wouldn't want them to end up... like me..." Destiny murmured, hesitantly. There was a long, drawn-out silence as she struggled to bring together the words. "F-Fira... they've... They told me something. My eyes... they won't be the only thing... that my gem takes away from me..."

Destiny fell silent, letting her ominous premonition hang heavy on the air. "B-but... But if I could... I-if I could... I'd... um... I'd love to... I've... I've always wanted to just... Y'know... be surrounded... by family. I've never... really thought about lil' babies before... I just..." Destiny cut herself off, feeling as though she'd said too much.

Even Destiny had never truly had the chance to talk about her inner emotions. It was strange, hard even. heaving a sigh, she rested her bill on the ground between her webbed paws.

@Fira

Fira’s relative calm went south the second Destiny mentioned her gem taking away other things besides her sight. Her blood ran cold, and a chill went up and down her spine, making her fur stand on end. “What do you mean your eyes aren’t the only thing your gem will take away from you?” Her voice was quiet, and though her words had formed a question, there was no curiosity in her tone. Fira was old enough and smart enough to know exactly what the platypus meant. She just didn’t want to believe it. But she did anyways. She believed it. And she grit her teeth at the thought.

“Destiny… How long do you have? Do you know?” She couldn’t take this! It was her job to help people! How was she supposed to help someone who was… going to die? She set her jaw and opened her eyes to look down at her friend. “Never mind. I don’t… Don’t tell me. If you want a family, we’re gonna make one, damn it. You’re gonna have the best family in the whole Cave system! Do you hear me?” Fira was absolutely determined now. She had a new quest — a new goal. And it was to make her only friend’s time left on Origin the best possible time she could have.

“How many kids do you want?” the leopard asked, pushing aside her friend’s death for the moment. She’d vent about that later. Maybe go hunting and tear some poor deer to shreds. For now, she was completely focused on her friend. Destiny was all that mattered.

Words: 266 @Destiny -- bring on the feels train again!

As soon as the words had left her mouth, Destiny felt all confidence leaving her. She curled up again, shaking her head. Her eyes stung, threatening to once again leak. She opened her bill, in an effort to answer Fira's question, but the words failed her. It seemed in any case, that she knew. She simply didn't want to believe it. And truthfully, neither did Destiny. She gulped down all her fear, all the sadness and pain, and tried to find a bright side.

Her eyes began to dampen, once more spilling crimson fluid all over her cheeks, and the pains began again. A shiver passed over her small form, and she curled up tighter into a ball. Her head felt constricted, she felt the spikes that were forming inside her skull from the migrains she brought. She didn't have any teeth, so she pressed her bill shut, shivers wracking her as she simply waited for it to go away. How long did she have? The platypus didn't know. Slowly, as the pains began to dull, she raised her head. "F-few cycles maybe? Maybe less. I'm n-not sure..."

Listening out, Destiny's bill fell open. Once more, words failed her for a while. And then... "Y-you mean that?" she whispered, a lump rising in her throat. "We're... We're both gonna be mommas, then?" She hardly dared to believe it, but still a fear tugged at her heart. The fear of her gem.

How many did she want?

Destiny thought about it, pushing fear from her mind. maybe this was all just a fantasy. She wanted this, and wanted everything to be okay. "F-Fira?" she murmured. "That means you're... You're the first p-p-piece of my family... I love you." Again, all the nerves swam in her belly and in her heart, causing her eyes to bubble up again. It had taken this long to admit it to herself, and to Fira. Maybe this would be enough, maybe she wouldn't have to pass on her stone... or wouldn't want to...

@Fira

Fira winced and sucked air between her teeth at Destiny’s words. Maybe less than a few cycles? By the Cave! Her nostrils flared as she smelled the bloody tears run down her friend’s face again. She hesitated for a moment, then leaned down and gently lapped them up in an attempt to clean Destiny’s velvety fur. And to try and comfort her. Also, she was trying to comfort herself, probably more so than Destiny. It hit her hard when she suddenly realized that Death was a thing that lasted forever. Forever. And once you were dead, there was no coming back. Some Gembounds believed in reincarnation. Fira had no idea if she believed that or not, but even if a Gembound could be reincarnated, they wouldn’t be reborn the same as they had been before. So even then, they would still be… gone.

The leopard had sort of disappeared into her mind once she had begun thinking about death. So it felt like a slap to the face when she heard the words I love you come out of Destiny’s mouth. Her head jerked down and she stared at her best friend’s face — the gem slowly piercing her brain, the bulging sightless eyes… “You… what?” Such an answer was about as graceful as a giraffe with broken legs attempting to walk, but it was the best she could do. She had never expected those words to ever be aimed at her. She was so… not a lovey-dovey person. Like, at all. Ever. Except for now, of course, but how do you not be emotional when your best friend is gonna die and there’s nothing you can do about it?

She stared in shocked silence, forgetting for a moment that Destiny couldn’t see the expression on her face, and waited — for what she didn’t know. An explanation? A retraction of her statement?

Words: 312 @Destiny

Destiny listened after her words, hopefully, expectantly, but in turn was met with only silence. And then, she was responded with a question, as though Fira hadn't heard. Oh! That was okay. maybe she'd been looking at someone else or thinking too hard. Maybe? "Uh... I love you?" she repeated, quieter this time, and suddenly the weight of her own words hit her. Maybe Fira didn't want that sort of thing. It didn't matter if they were gonna be mommas together, maybe it wouldn't be in that way.

Destiny sucked in her breath. "Um, never m-m-mind, d-d-doesn't matter..." she tried to reassure, despite the crushing feeling that had closed on her chest and stomach. This... this was... strange. Why did she feel like this. Destiny had never felt like this before, and she didn't like it. Her discomfort was plain to see in the way she lay, curled and shivering.

It was very soon after they'd met up again. Maybe it was too soon, or... or... maybe it was too big a thing for right now. Maybe Destiny had taken it too lightly. She didn't know. Or maybe Fira didn't... Destiny thought about all her flaws.

It couldn't be that, could it? Maybe Destiny was just being selfish, her friend had the right to not love her. The platypus opened her bill as though to speak, only to close it again.

"...It's okay..."

@Fira