ORIGIN - Peck-peck

Elderberry was awakened by a distinct feeling of unease prickling through his feathers. During his peaceful slumber, something had changed. The hybrid's moose ears pricked upright and forest green eyes cracked open before his head raised, elegantly arching on a long neck above awkwardly folded legs. A flurry of shed downy feathers floated away before his eyes.

At first, Elderberry was unsure what had awoken him, but that didn't stop the feathers along his spine ruffling with discomfort. His gangly legs twitched, and then unfurled, raising him awkwardly into a standing position where he stretched stiffly, and shook his sleep-ridden head.

His ears swivelled, beak turning. He clacked his beak softly in confusion, and the unease had not left. The youngster had the distinct feeling that he was being watched.

Ears twitched; they'd caught something, a quiet sound... a soft tinkling noise like crystals falling. And it was coming from the entrance to Polaris.

Fearing that his family's home might be under threat, Elderberry cautiously followed the sound.

"When I speak."

When I think.

Elderberry soon found the tunnel around him brightening as Polaris neared. His ears guided him towards the sound and he kept following it, until... the sound began to fade. it was as though Elderberry had walked right past it! Elderberry's ears swivelled... and indeed, the sound's direction had changed. He looked around. It had to be coming from somewhere around here, right?

The hybrid looked around. His ears strained for a better clue.

Finally, Elderberry looked up... and there it was! Was it?

Elderberry stared in wonder at a glistening cluster of crystals which had sprouted on the tunnel's ceiling. In his short life, Elderberry had never seen anything like it. The moosegoose reared up onto his hind limbs, stretching out his neck and straining to reach it, but the cluster hung tantalizingly out of his reach. At almost-adult age, Elderberry wasn't a small gembound by any means. But there was no way he'd be able to reach the crystals without help.

A small honk of frustration grew in his chest as he realized that fact, and even as he descended back onto all four hooves, hid gaze lingered on the gems. He found them hard to look away.

The air around them crackled with magic.

Were they a threat to the family? Elderberry couldn't be sure. But he thought it best to get rid of them.

Think, think. I'm the only one of my sisters not to have wings. Perhaps I should summon Mother?

It seemed like a good course of action.

Elderberry sucked in his breath until his chest trembled with pent-up sound. As he remembered Mother to do, he opened his beak and let out a throaty bellow, somewhere between a bleat and a trumpet. His voice wasn't fully grown, but it was almost comical in its youthful state.

As he waited for someone to arrive, Elderberry rose up again and placed his hooves on the mossy tunnel wall, craning back his head to examine his target.

"When I speak."

When I think.

However long that Elderberry peered into the darkness, no-one responded his call. His ears twitched and strained waiting for someone to approach before he finally stopped waiting and turned back towards the crystals. If they were dangerous somehow, Elderberry would have to start working towards bringing them down now; perhaps someone else would join him later.

Elderberry scraped away at some of the glowing moss upon the wall, exposing the hard stone beneath, and ending glowing blooms cascading onto the rocky floor. After some time of destroying the sweet-smelling plant life, the hybrid lifted his hooves from the wall for a moment and balanced precariously on his hind legs before bringing his full weight down on the exposed stone. There was a ringing, echoing sound. Elderberry glanced up at the crystals, hoping to see them shudder and perhaps fall.

"When I speak."

When I think.

Elderberry heard the tinkling sound intensify for a moment, as though the crystals had clinked together for a moment- and then a small rain of dust fell down upon him. Elderberry stood aside and watched as a crystal broke free and fell harmlessly to the ground in front of him. There were still a few crystals remaining, but this appeared to be one of the larger ones, and Elderberry hoped that this strategy he'd found would be enough to dislodge most- if not all- of them.

The hybrid's hopes rose, and he reared up once again, even though his hind legs were beginning to ache slightly, and tried again. Although he looked up and saw the remaining crystals tremble minutely, Elderberry was not rewarded for his efforts, and he let out a soft grunt, seemingly in disappointment. He pawed at the ground again briefly, preparing for another go.

"When I speak."

When I think.

This time, the hybrid didn't hold back. He rose up and with an aggressive honk, attacked the exposed surface viciously in an array of flailing hooves, with each collision echoing down the tunnel and into Polaris. Each contact brought a new tremor through the remaining crystal clusters. Soon, the hybrid was panting and dropped hopefully to the ground, beak parted with the strain.

This time, his efforts were rewarded- the hybrid watched as another crystal tinkled down onto the stony ground beside the first. Only a couple remained now, and Elderberry let out a tired, but resolute snort. Again he pawed at the ground. The hybrid turned away, putting some distance between himself and his chosen patch of rock. Then he charged, using the momentum that carried him forward to throw all of his weight at the wall.

"When I speak."

When I think.

The hybrid collided with the wall and crumpled into a heap at its base, sides heaving. As before, the hybrid saw the crystals tremble, but didn't fall. He allowed himself a few minutes to catch his breath before shakily rising to his hooves, feeling that retrieving the last few would be a fruitless task.

But if the crystals were harmful, at least Elderberry had brought down these two. He hoped that they'd at least slow the advance somehow. He would return with Blackberry, Baneberry or Huckleberry to destroy the rest. Elderberry peered at the crystals, tapping each one with a hoof. The contact brought a warm feeling flooding up his limb, but nothing more. They didn't seem... too dangerous, but Elderberry didn't think leaving them near the nest would be a good idea.

He dropped his head towards them and pecked cautiously. That warm feeling flooded through his bill- but nothing more. Cautiously, Elderberry picked up the smaller crystal in the tip of his beak- and it didn't seem poisonous. He adjusted it, and then dropped it. Elderberry turned over the crystal with his hoof before picking it up- and then the larger crystal, too. He felt a curious tingling feeling in his bill, but nothing more.

Breaking into a trot, Elderberry moved swiftly away from the nest, wanting to cover as much distance, but drop the crystals as soon as possible.

-exit Elderberry-

"When I speak."

When I think.