ORIGIN

He had been staring at the earth at the base of a fern, wondering if he could sense life beneath the soil when he heard the telltale crash and crack of a breaking chrysalis.

Someone new had fallen into the world.

A wide grin broke over the gemling's face as he stood, though the abruptness of the action caused him to sway a bit on those overlong, overthin legs of his. Catching whatever semblance of balance he could, Morthos swiveled his comically oversized ears toward the sound of breaking crystal and plodded hurriedly in that direction. Though the lights were out, Morthos could see well enough by the spattering of glowing crystals and mosses throughout the Maw of Mosses. Every once in awhile he could be found in a bit of a jam where the mosses were too far spaced to give enough light to see by, but Morthos had slowly discovered that his ears were just as good as his eyes when it came to navigation.

So as he hurried toward the newborn gemling, the pale deer swiveled his satellite-like ears about, attempting to pinpoint the approximate location of the babe. He liked to think he was a wonderful welcoming party.

~*~*~

It was a joy when the sound of water and slurping reached his ears, tugging at the fawn like a rope right to the tiny creature, submerged slightly in a shallow pool. Inching closer, Morthos refrained from touching the fuzzy baby and instead opted for a quiet "Hello, welcome to the world."

Although the youth was only a single cycle older than the freshly emerged gembound, he felt an immediate protectiveness over the tiny fuzzy creature. As she toddled toward him, a mewl escaping her lips, Morthos was reminded of Hael and the soft sounds she made. Cocking his head to the side, the fawn noticed that while Hael was fluffier and definitely more coordinated than the blessedly adorable kit before him, the pair shared the same general body shape. A common ancestor, perhaps?

He would have more time to ponder on that, though, when the hatchling wasn't crawling toward him as if he could provide all that she may need. Brows creasing in a mixture of adoration and concern, Morthos worked to lower himself as gently as he could to the moss-laden earth without skinning his knees...

~*~*~

It was a rough go as far as coordination was concerned, but Morthos made it to the stone earth with the skin upon his knees intact. Lowering his head so that he could offer some contact to the kit, the gemling smiled at her, those oblivion eyes gentle and welcoming.

"I fell from a chrysalis, too, and it took me awhile to find my voice - do you think you could find yours?"