ORIGIN

Much time had passed since his hatching in the room of howling winds, and in that time he'd barely witnessed a single soul. His existence had been solitary, working in the dark to create a place of comfort. Every day using his magic to chip away into the solid rock, digging farther and farther in until he had made a sizable sanctuary. The work was hard at times, but with little else to do it was a way to occupy his time. He always looked forward to the rare moments when his work would unveil some new type of rock, from the solid shiny metalloids to the dark material that broke easily and filled the air with dust. He'd learned to try to go around those veins, it wasn't pleasant breathe in.

Today, however, Amras was taking a trip away from the room of winds to the room of strange structures. His artificial cave was substantial in size but lacking in any kind of furnishings, and it was in this room that he could often find greenery that could form a soft bedding for the living section of his tunnels. It was also a prime location to hunt, as many animals tended to avoid the inhospitable environment he resided in. On this particular trip the weariness of his stomach was slightly higher of a concern than the ache of his bones from lying on hard ground.

The sounds permeated the air from all directions as the blue gryphon sat upon one of the odd structures, listening for a hapless creature to wander close enough for him to strike. As he waited, however the world around him exploded with signs of magic. Where there had been only darkness before he could now see with brilliant detail.

The creature roared out a loud screech, from birth knowing light only as a side effect of capturing magic to create a destructive force. There was no pain though, no calamitous change, and the light did not fade away. Suddenly he was no longer resting in a room of unknown shapes and structures but upon a building in a ruined city under a starry sky. Any prey that had been nearby had scampered away from the sound, but hunger was the last thing on his mind now. He had to explore, had to know more.

Holding himself low to the ground the gryphon hopped down the side of the building, having never been in a situation where flight was safe since the day he hatched. This would take some time to get used to! Thus he began to wander until he came upon another being, one he had never encountered before in his hunts. Unlike most creatures though it did not flee upon his arrival, perhaps it hadn't noticed him? If it was sick then it wouldn't be safe to eat, and no healthy creature would wait so patiently for death.

Amras was close enough where he could strike out with magic, but he still hadn’t been noticed. Only one way to tell for sure if this thing was suitable or not. It had been weeks since he had last created a vocalization, but this would be a proper time to use one. Still low to the ground, right paw at the ready to strike, the gryphon breathed in and let out an audible chirp.

His mark was still not moving away, yet something told him this was more than just a case of a sick creature waiting for death. There was something about it that was strange, felt different. Perhaps it was that he could actually see its almost conscious eyes now that magic light permeated the area, but a nagging thought in the back of his mind told him that it had to be something else. The creature vocalized in return, but the effects of said vocalization sent a visible shock through the gryphon's mind. Talon lowered as Amras tried to gain control again of the ruffled feathers on his wings.

When it spoke it had created some kind of strange response in his mind, placed thoughts there that had not been there before. He was almost fully grown now, and this phenomina had fallen almost completely out of his mind, for it had never been needed. A special skill held only by those who were set apart from the common prey, non magical in nature but as powerful as magic in effect: language.

The concept that had been planted by the creature's voice was one of questioning, of probing for information. Could he utilize the skill as well? He knew he intrinsically had the capability but would he get it right? No matter, there no use playing the part of a mute simply out of fear of failure.

After another breath Amras attempted to reply, at first only succeeding in letting out only a series of chirps, skrawws, and soft screeches. Eyes narrowed in frustration. Even if he knew how to his vocal chords were stiff, inflexible, he'd have to go a lot slower if he was to actually succeed in planting concepts in the other creature's mind as it had done with him.

"Food" he finally managed to utter, soft and low pitched, still sounding halfway like a simple caw. "Not hurt."

The wording was so simple, so imprecise, but such was the harsh truth about new skills. When he'd first learned to use the magic of using force he'd only been able to make big thuddy shockwaves. It had taken him dozens of sleep cycles of practice before he'd figured out how to make it sharp enough to chip away at rock so he could really make headway on creating a new home.

It had also indicated a curiosity of his identity. Instinct told him he knew that one too but it was so far back in his mind that he'd have to give it some serious thought first. "Self. Greater one." he continued as clearly as he could at the moment. Progress was being made, the words were mostly understandable, but time was still needed.

His words appeared to have gotten through, at least somewhat. The gryphon's visage shifted to an expression of soft satisfaction as he witnessed definite signs of intelligence and understanding behind the creature's eyes. She had not responded, however, and in fact by the looks of things it was a wonder she had spoken before as she had. Limbs weak, body deteriorating, when was the last time she had eaten?

Perhaps it was none of his business, but this was the first greater gembound he had encountered. Beyond that an emotion he was unfamiliar with began to rise within his mind. Seeing her there reminded him of his earliest days of life, battered and hurting just after hatching, spending days trying to recover and thankful to the infinite darkness for bringing him salvation when a small scurrying creature crossed his path. In this suffering entity he saw a portion of himself, and thus even now could almost feel a portion of the pain they were going through. Empathy.

"This one... sees pain." He spoke again, his words becoming clearer and clearer by the syllable as tight vocal chords loosened and strange sounds became more natural. "Does the creature... no... Do you need help?"

A thought of desire to end pain, translated from thought to sound to thought again in a foreign mind. To give of his time to satisfy the emotion of empathy. It felt strange, but natural at the same time. He would not starve any time soon, and the other could likely provide information and fresh insight in return. Would it accept his offer though?

An idle chitter escaped Amras' throat as he waited patiently for the strange cat's reply, a single ear twitching as he began to note just how labored her breathing had been. Finally after what seemed to be an unusual delay he received the confirmation that not only had he been understood but that his help was needed, and desperately by the sound of things.

She was thin, and probably starving, but finding food would take a bit of time. Possibly more important than that though she was losing life fluid. Under ideal circumstances the body would heal (though as Amras remembered first hand it wouldn't be pleasant), so the greatest priority would be to give the body what it needed to restore what was lost. She needed to get to a place with water. That said she didn't appear to be any condition to be moved. He would have to find a way to bring water back to her.

"Don’t worry. I will return." He assured her, a single syllable at a time. Hopefully the cat would survive long enough for him to find a solution.

The dire nature of the situation was just enough to remind Amras of his winged nature; he would have to move quickly if he was to find not only a water source but an item with which to transport it. The gryphon tuned around, flicking his lion-like tail as he quickly calculated the straight shot distance behind him and its suitability for taking off. He'd never tried flying with the aid of sight but there was a first time for everything and surely his large wings weren't just for gliding, right. After a deep breath he took off running, unfurling his wings and taking to the air with astoundingly little effort.

His heart raced, a small bit of panic threatening the back of his mind as this immediately reminded him of his terrifying hatching experience, but fear quickly gave way to excitement as the world below him opened up and the beauty of this room of stars made itself fully seen. Ruined buildings were absolutely everywhere, with plant life taking over in places and a single tall tower watching it all. It would take little time to find a stream glistening under the soft lights, but the real issue would be transporting it.

Wings folded downwards as he descended toward the nearest stream with a mostly intact building near it. Surely there would be something inside the ruins, right?

Amras landed on his back paws and balanced there, his wings folded back rather than to his sides. He had a bit more of a height advantage standing this way, and if he was going to carry something he'd need full use of his talons. After confirming he had his wings adjusted to be both comfortable and functional for standing the gryphon walked forward and through the building's doorway.

Inside was a complete mess, old furniture toppled over, plant life growing between cracks in the walls and the floor, and dusty leather items scattered about. The leather pouches would probably work, especially if he took time to try to use the leather cords to attach them around his waist or something, but after looking like they'd be trampled upon by herbivores who knew how well they'd be able to transport water?

His attention shifted over toward a rubble filled corner where most of the pouches and such were strewn about, and a single corner of a small wooden box caught his eye. Not wanting to possibly destroy anything dislodging the pile in one fell swoop Amras trotted over and began to dig through, eventually succeeding in unearthing a solid wooden box filled with odd tools. Hammers and punches would be completely useless in the situation, but the box itself could work. The gryphon unceremoniously dumped the contents of the tool box into the rubble pile, rushed outside, and filled the container with fresh clean water from the stream.

Taking to the air with both talons occupied holding the lid closed on the box was difficult, but somehow he managed to pull it off. A worry tugged at Amras that the ten minutes or so he had been gone might have been too much for the dying cat, but he would have to just hope they were still alright.

Dust kicked up as the gryphon landed again right in front of the stranger, standing stably on his back two paws as he bent down and set the water box in front of her, opening the lid so she could drink.

"Is this good?" he asked, his vocal chords very nearly loosened to normal levels now.

As the dying gembound drank Amras folded his wings once more, changing his center of balance toward the front so he could be more at eye level with her. She was definitely in worse condition than when he'd left, and he was no expert but she had seemed upset at his arrival. Had she been so far gone that she'd started wishing for death to take her quickly? The idea of being in such a state dug deep into the gryphon's newly discovered sense of empathy.

"There is more water nearby if you need, and a number of places to hunt once you are able to." he offered, seeing her finish off the water he brought with fervor. His silvery eyes were fixated on her and his ears were perked, taking in every detail. Whether this was done out of curiosity or the sudden acute awareness of her sharp claws and large fangs through... well even the gryphon was uncertain.

Of course she was likely not a threat. The fact that the cat was in such a condition though was concerning. "What happened to you? Is there a danger here that I have not yet encountered?"