ORIGIN - bloody knuckles

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An irregular stone has been growing in the center of a section of the river cutting through Polaris, looming over the crystal waters and haunting it with it's wide shadow. The chrysalis was by no means small and it's large enough to make it difficult for the water to pass by. Inside, a bear cub is beginning to stir inside his opaque stone. The lack of space was becoming more apparent to the child and was starting to wake him up. Even in his sleep, this frustrated the child until he did actually wake up. Icy eyes glared into the darkness, light being unable to penatrate the blackness of the obsidian stone.

With a childish, guttural roar, he stretched and forced his limbs and back into the stone, pressing and pressing until suddenly it shattered all around him into tiny slivers of obsidian. They fell into the water and showered down on the cub while the river water surged through with the cork having been mostly removed. The water calmed after the rush and the cub stirred, having been momentarily disorientated by the... all over tingle he felt when his chrysalis shattered. Confused, and slightly still out of it, he lifted his head and looked around through narrowed eyes from the sudden light. Where was he?

"Speech!"

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@ghanyarah

Polaris was quickly becoming one of his more favorable places to visit. The buzzing, static magic in the air often filled his veins with energy and lifted his spirits. Half of it was simply remembering the delightful experience of the holiday party a few days back and hoping that he would find other Gembounds to share in their company. He wanted to stop them and tell them about the tiny bat that he had found, and show them how amazing she was - she was just so tiny, how was it possible that she could even be alive? She was tiny, and she was his, and that was great. But he also just wanted more Gembounds to talk to. Not that the bat wasn't enough - she certainly was - but Ghanyarah had gotten... slightly addicted to companionship.

The river, though, was a source of mixed feelings. Memories lived there too, a sloped and sinister face with pale eyes and a sudden sickness that had rendered him immobile. Near death, even. He had emerged again stronger, better suited for the water, and maybe for that he could thank her. But that was the only reason why he would. Every other time, glancing at the river gave him flashes of paralysis and panic. He remembered breaking free from his chrysalis a second time - older now, the act of freeing himself again was burned vividly into his mind - and the bear, Leon, pulling him free. Seeing Leon and Makyna and feeling himself sizzle with jealousy. It had not been a good day.

He couldn't resent the river forever, and he had wanted to show Lituus more of the cave. It rippled quietly ahead of him as he slid his way towards it, at first oblivious to the obsidian chrysalis further up. He stopped by its edge and lowered his body, flicking his tongue to taste the air, searching for that faint but familiar, bitter and sickly scent. She wasn't here. Ghanyarah was comforted by that fact - until a loud crack split the silence, startling him into extending his limbs and snapping his eyes towards the source. Shards of black drifted through the river, carried by the force of the current, and he could see a large, white, fuzzy creature sitting among the water. A newly emerged Gembound. How coincidental.

The tip of his tail vibrated with sudden verve for his new discovery. Ghanyarah edged carefully into the water, snapping at a chunk of obsidian that drifted below the surface. With a swift splash, he reeled his head back, obsidian in his jaws, and backpedaled out of the water. Then he galloped along the edge of the river to where the polar bear sat in the middle of it, lowering onto his stomach with the obsidian shard between his front feet. "Is this yours?" He asked, picking up the shard again in his teeth and waving it. Of course it was the polar bear's. He just wanted the boy's attention.

@Lituus @Odin

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Carried in on the back of the mighty, nine-foot-long reptile did she come. A diminutive juvenile bat hangs upside-down on the webbed spines erected along Ghanyarah's back. Her presence was.. odd. The ball of fuzz and membranous wings was like a dead flap of skin, hanging down, shifting as he did. At least that is how it seemed from afar. Closer up, a small head could be seen. With a snub, rounded nose and two impossibly large ears seated atop her head, she cranes her neck to get a look around- upside down- at absolutely everything passing them by.

The air of this room was familiar. Was this not where she had first awoken? Nearby, it was. Closer to the entrance of Tunnel I. She welcomes this feeling of invigoration with a fluttering of her wings, spread wide at her sides in attempt to lift the ball of her chest with a sizeable downstroke.... but it was not meant to be. Her wings repeatedly smack against Ghanyarah's spines and get her absolutely nowhere. Since emerging she had not quite gotten a hold of the concept of flying. Though the urge to take to the cavern air was palpable, twas simply not possible. Not yet. It frustrated her to no end, but still she would practice, practice, practice.

Water was nearby. Sounds of liquid movement had rushed into her ears since before they entered Polaris; so sensitive her hearing was. Insect wings flittered across the water- bugs going about their business- and it caused a pang of hunger in her belly. Unfortunately, hunting would be impossible so long as she could not get off the ground. Alert, amber eyes move in the direction of the buzzing sound, a sound that those with less sensitive hearing would not be able to discern. At least not from that distance. But her ears pick up something else. A muted heartbeat. Larger than hers and Ghanyarah's combined. A pointed nose turns upstream, and the sudden sound of shattered stone causes her and Ghanyarah to stir in surprise. Useless wings flap again, fur raising with anticipation. A small moment passes, and they see that at least danger was not afoot.

"What is it?"

Her soft, childlike but feminine voice calls out with no small amount of curiosity. Ghanyarah had shifted, entering the water to take hold of a piece of something- from one of many somethings- that had been floating on by. The little bat's pulse increases, and she looks around further. Tis only when Ghanyarah brings them both closer to the fuzzy, snowball of a culprit did she come to understand. Or so she thinks. Following the reptile's inquiry, she remains silent. Silent, staring, waiting. With eyes wide open.

spread your wings

earth element - lituus - vesper bat
tags @Ghanyara @Odin

The child yawned as he looked around, eyes squinted and lost. It wasn't long before he saw a giant thing lumbering around, but he ignored them for now. Maybe they hadn't seen him, maybe they had. He chose to ignire it and maybe it'd go away. However, he soon realized that was not the case.

When it approached, he looked at it curiously and silently as he picked up a shard of his stone sand began waving it around in his lips. Annoyed, the child tried to stand but quickly fell back into the water from weak limbs. Huffing, he looked up to hear the other had spoken, questioning his ownership of the shard. Another voice, smaller and feminine, spoke yet the child couldn't see the owner until further inspection in the one, giant other. Much smaller than the first, but he couldn't really care less. Eyes settling back on the first, larger other, he sighed. "What's it to you?"

"Speech!"

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@ghanyarah

Ghanyarah cocked his head slightly, consistently forgetting that he wouldn't be able to look at Lituus without twisting fully as long as she was perched high up on his back, but the sound of her voice drew him to seek her out regardless. "We'll see." He said, and shifted his sights back to the polar bear. It hadn't taken long for them to be noticed, but as the bear tried to stand, Ghanyarah watched it fall back over into the water, as though unable to fight against its currents. The reptile wanted to snicker - it was a little cute, really - but remained stony faced and watchful.

The bear didn't seem to make a second attempt and instead rebuffed the question with one of his own. Ghanyarah's tongue flicked with intrigue. For a freshly hatched Gembound, he sure seemed like a spitfire. Ghanyarah absent mindedly reached out to the water that rushed around him, seeking to slow its pull and allow him a better chance to stand. The current was powerful, and he could barely grasp the flow of the river ahead of him; he didn't know if it would help at all, but Ghanyarah was trying his hardest to slow it, or at least divert it around the polar bear's body. "It's mine now." He challenged, pink eyes focusing back on the bear.

And if he wanted it back, he'd have to come and get it.

@Lituus

What's it to you, he said. What's it to you! That was kind of rude, isn't it? The bat twists her head as she tries to inspect what she could of the fluffy white beast, which became easier as Ghanyarah moved closer. Seeing the creature fumble onto its backside sent a few mirthful squeaks into the air. She was laughing at him. With him? No, definitely at him. It was kind of silly, but there was no ill-intent behind the squeaking chuckle. In fact, she clamps the hooks of her thumbs across her snout in attempt to silence her own noises. ".. sorry!" she murmurs into the furry, light colored fuzz of her collar. "You look so funny." What was Ghanyarah trying to do anyway? She could see the water moving around them, but paid much no mind to her. Instead she continued her silent observation of the newborn gembound. The reptile's obstinate claim over the obsidian shard almost force another sound from her muzzle. But she withholds it. Did she look that ridiculous to Ghanyarah when he had seen her emerge? Chances were she looked no better than the polar bear did just now a few days ago. Had it been days since she came to? Who nows. What was the passage of time in Origin Cave, anyway.

@Ghanyarah. @Odin

A piece of his stone still dangled from the lips of the reptile and his friend laughed and apologized, but he hardly cared. It was trash now, and if the lizard wanted to go rooting around in other peoples trash, so be it. He couldn't care less how they spent their time. However, he did notice that the water began to slow around him. While he was oh-so-enjoying sitting in it, it was time to get up. This lizard was big, but so was he! Or at least, he felt like he would be one day! Time to start acting like it.

It took him a minute or two, but as the cub lifted himself onto his four paws, he slowly began to rise onto two feet. He was shaky, his new body unsure of this idea, wasn't ready for this. He didn't last long in that position and soon had to return back to four paws before the giant lizard and his little birdmouse hood ornament. "It's trash, but by all means... take it." He rolled his eyes at the duo yet remained in place, assuming the water wouldn't rush again and he was safe to stand here.

"Speech!"

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@ghanyarah @lituus

Above his head, he heard the bat's squeaking laughter and tried to keep a straight face. Ghanyarah couldn't help but crack jokes, though it was rare that anybody ever responded. Or laughed. So hearing her laugh was a bit of an ego boost, and he was beginning to wonder what else he could do to amuse Lituus. In the river, the polar bear cub managed to stand shakily on his hind paws, which already made him nearly loom over Ghanyarah - who was pretty big in his own way, but still squat, sitting low to the ground. He flicked his tongue, monitoring closely before the bear lowered to his paws and shrugged off Ghanyarah's claim over the stone.

"Hah! Sucker." He said lamely, as if the bear didn't realize what he was missing out on. Another one to add to his pile. But he wasn't satisfied, not yet. He wanted to make Lituus laugh again, so he reached out to the currents swirling around the polar bear, hoping to knock him off his paws. "Good luck getting out of that river." Ghanyarah said, picking up the shard in his teeth and beginning to turn away while the water quickened around the polar bear, grabbing hungrily at his paws and trying to sweep him away. Not that Ghanyarah was actively trying to endanger him - he just wanted to make Lituus laugh again.

@Lituus

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A lack of understanding of the nature of Ghanyarah's abilities continue to make her fail to see the intentions of the water's movements. Ahh, ignorance. The water was certainly proving itself to be a minor threat at least, and she felt an inkling of chivalry rising within her core. Laughter wouldn't bubble forth from her just yet. Not until the bear was safe.

"Hey! Maybe we can help him? You know.. in return for the addition to your collection?" her wings spread open, flapping to get both their attention. Having napped within the dragon's cluster of gemstone shards a few times- and likely made it her nest with Yarah's permission- she had come to the realization that he'd had a penchant for them. So it made sense that any such generosity- even if he thought they were trash in the first place- should be rewarded, yes?

"Maybe he can.. grab onto your tail and you can pull him out?" her voice is loud enough to be heard over the waves, but her slightness still made any attempted projection of her voice volumes quieter than it probably should have been.

But how would a bear grab onto a reptile's tail? By biting down on it? That didn't sound pleasant. It didn't cross her mind either. Her size measured the limitations of her physical usefulness in such situations. Hopeful eyes gaze into the back of Ghanyarah's skull, wings still spread- shifting- as she awaits their response. He would figure something out, wouldn't he?

OOC: #UpstandingLizardDad

spread your wings

earth element - lituus - vesper bat
tags @Odin @Ghanyarah

Before he knew it, the water was rushing around his paws and picking up speed. He looked down at the river and nearly gasped, feeling the water getting up under his feet and challenging his strength. His legs were still weak, not strong enough to support the cub in rushing waters. It wasn't long before the water did pull the bear cub under and threaten his life, for a lack of a better term. His head would be forced under the water multiple times before he'd find a break and get some air, coughing it out of his lungs every chance he got.

Unaware it was the work of the giant lizard, he hardly felt any ill-will to the gembound anymore. Hell, he wasn't even on his mind at this moment. He tried to free himself from the confines of the rushing river, yet he hardly had the ability to. He'd swear his life to whoever saved him at this point.

"Speech!"

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@ghanyarah @lituus

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