ORIGIN - Unseen tracks

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Every breath felt fresh and clean, every step soft with moss under its avian paws. Scraggly grey feathers felt vibrations in the air, and sensitive talons felt vibrations in the earth. They were free, the whole world was open to it; but such a thought didn't come with excitement, only a twinge of nervousness. They found it hard enough to pick their way around as it was, but it'd certainly be a lot easier if the world was smaller.

As if to prove their thoughts as truth, Kielo stumbled on an unseen stone and tumbled down a short slope, squealing in shock as they thudded down on their side. They lay for a while, winded, glow fading from grey down as they regained their breath slowly. They knew nothing more than this, but surely others had found better ways to navigate?

Kielo still didn't know that blindness was something unusual. What did sight provide that one's ears and paws could not? Clearly a lot, and yet they could hardly imagine it.

---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts look like this."

tags: @Azar
notes: here

Azar yawned. When he noticed the lump of... what? Was that fur? Azar shook his head furiously, his fantasy fading away into nothing as he pricked his ears and tried to listen again. He was sure he had heard something, but what he was unsure. Azar let out a childish whimper and turned his head, eyes blazing as he searched for something, anything. 'Hello?' He yelped. 'Is anyone out there?'
The young fox's lip curled into a slight snarl. He needed to be ready for anything, that's what instinct told him.

@Kielo

A voice shattered the silence, drawing them out of a stunned quiet which had lasted several minutes. The voice seemed nearby, and it was a young voice, much like their own. Kielo found themselves stumbling onto all four paws, downy wings beating furiously, although they soon lost balance and lurched forward again.

Not to be put off, the small hybrid regained their footing and carefully trotted forward, head down low and strides wide, with claws dragging on the earth. They sniffed at the air, wet pink nose crinkling, and caught a tinge of canid scent. They had to be close.

Unbeknownst to Kielo, the grey-feathered little pup had wandered right past them, and was stood only feet away, wings twitching. "H-hullo?" called Kielo in a high-pitched crow that was halfway between a peacock's song and a wolf's bark. "I-is there anyone there?"

---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts look like this."

tags: @Azar
notes: here

Azar definitely heard a strangled bark, a sound in which he had never heard before. It made him flinch, hesitate and reconsider searching for the source of the noise. Azar stood there indecisively for a moment before abruptly running towards the noise, listening intently with his nose damp and sniffing.

For a fox cub, a strange noise is frightening but stirring. Azar couldn't help but feel excited as he shuffled desperately through the darkness, claws clutching nothing but earth as he scuttled onwards. 'I heard you,' he said, 'tell me where you are and I can come and say hello.' His paw with fire agate twinkled in the darkness as he stumbled onwards, his own voice slightly muffled.

@Kielo

Kielo's voice faltered. "I don't know where I am," they replied helplessly, swinging their long neck from side to side, ears swiveling as they tried to pinpoint the source of the voice. They sniffed once more, and again found a tinge of the other one's scent. The grey-feathered little pup scuttled forward, occasionally tripping on rocks, their sightless eyes flitting uselessly. a soft white glow fell on the rocks and cast ominous shadows in the small bubble of light around them.

"Here, I'm here! Can you smell me? You can still hear me, right?" Kielo's voice seemed confused, searching as the young one reached out into the dark. It felt almost like the air swallowed their voice, the silence almost deafening despite the low hum of the generator and the distant burbling of the river.

The more Kielo listened, the more they felt like the paths they walked might connect somehow, that the world wasn't quite as much a maze as it had first seemed.

---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts look like this."

tags: @Azar
notes: here

Azar stumbled onwards a bit more, his eyes searching through nothingness. Who was calling out to him? Astaroth? No, it wasn't his voice... So, who? Someone who knew him? No, that wasn't possible. Confused, Azar looked around, lifted his nose and took a thorough sniff of the air.

The soft glow filled Azar's vision, gave him confidence and hope. He hurried towards it eagerly, only to find a creature with beautiful yet sightless eyes. Azar prodded it carefully with a happy little yap.
'Hello, there. My name is Azar,' Azar said eagerly, holding his paw away from the hybrid. 'You're really sparkly and glowing, you know that?' He grinned.

@Kielo

Kielo's large ears pricked and swivelled to follow the sound of claws against stone, until, soon, they were rewarded by the feel of something prodding them in the side. Kielo automatically moved closer to the feeling, turning their head to give them a sniff with a wet pink nose that wrinkled curiously. "Azar?" they asked, ears pricking up. The bedraggled, grey feathered little pup stretched out their nose in an effort to feel exactly where they were, basking in their bodily warmth. "Oh, what a pretty name!" their voice rose into an exclamation like birdsong.

The young one felt their feathers prickle, the pink insides of their ears flushing red at such a compliment, even though they could never see such a thing themselves. "No," they said bashfully, but gratefully nontheless. Then they grinned eagerly, head tilting on their long neck. "Am I pretty?"

They paused for a moment.

"I bet you're pretty. You sound pretty."

---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts look like this."

tags: @Azar
notes: here

'Pretty?' Azar repeated, cocking his head on one side in a confused, sensitive way. 'I suppose so,' he barked, 'you have some very colourful markings, and you have lovely eyes.' He wagged his tail thoroughly, sniffed the little thing in front of him. 'Thank you for your compliment,' Azar continued, 'I've never been called pretty before.'

After a moment's hesitation, Azar licked the strange thing's ear out of pure friendliness and greeting. He felt sorry for it, but knew it was happy and knew its blindness didn't bother it. 'It's fantastic to meet you,' Azar yapped, wagging his tail even more furiously.

@Kielo

Kielo nodded eagerly, bristly grey feathers lifting in excitement, as its stubby tail feathers twitched as though trying to wag. The pup seemed immensely pleased, one paw lifting after another in their excitement. "Oh, thank you!" They chirped, gratefully yet bashfully, even though there was no way in the world they could know if Azar was telling the truth. They wished that they could see what they did, if only to know what it was like. Quickly though, their mind moved on and they realized that they hadn't yet given the other their name.

"I'm Kielo!" the hybrid yapped, ears perked. They felt the warm, soft feeling of Azar's tongue rasping against their ear, and the feathers down their back trembled with excitement. They bared small fangs in a toothy but contented grin, pushing their head into the stranger's soft neck. Tiny, fuzzy wings trembled, reaching out to brush their fur. And, now that they knew exactly where Azar was and how they stood, they were content.

"Aw, how sweet!"

---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts look like this."

tags: @Azar
notes: here

It was safe to say that Azar didn't know much about the world around him, but he immediately liked and trusted this hybrid who said its name was Kielo. Azar lifted his paw, his bushy tail swishing back and forth as he tried to figure out what was going through Kielo's head.
'Kielo, huh? That's a very nice name you've got there,' Azar stated with a delighted wriggle. 'Did you name yourself, like I did?' He could remember naming himself, choosing the name because he thought it suited him just fine. Azar had a nice little ring to it, the fox cub thought. He eyed Kielo again, eyes blazing as he curiously nudged the fuzzy thing. 'You look young,' he acknowledged. 'Just like me!' He flicked his ears.

@Kielo

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