ORIGIN - There Were Stars in His Eyes

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The Screech Owl carefully got to his talons, aided by Paige's nudging nose. He chirred quietly, ruffling his downy feathers and tilting his head this way and that, trying to force out any kinks that had formed while he was tumbling. Nothing seemed to hurt or be terribly injured, although he ached a fair amount, but he thought that was to be expected. "I'm fine, thanks to you."

However, her question threw him from a loop. His eyes? Could he see? What was 'see'? "'See'? What do you mean? What is 'see'?"

@Paige

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

"Well, uh..." How was she supposed to explain this? Even if Galactic could in fact see and just didn't know what it was called, she found it hard to describe seeing to someone who didn't know what it was. Thinking hard, she flicked her tongue out and licked her nose. "If you can see, then what I just did - what I touched my nose with, my tongue. It's very different from the rest of me, and you can tell because it's a different color." To demonstrate, she stuck her tongue out again.

"These are my eyes." she pointed at her own eye. "One of them is encased by a blue thing, that's my gem. But if you can't see, then you won't know what I'm talking about, because knowing what I just did requires you to see."

@Galactic

Galactic tilted his head, listening intently to what Paige was saying. But, really, none of what they were saying made any sense. While the words made sense to him (instinctively, he knew that a nose was on top of his beak, allowing him to breathe, and that his tongue sat inside his beak) he had no idea what they looked like. Only what they felt like. He couldn't really feel his nose, and his tongue was a weight in his beak. And colors? He had no idea what those were.

With a quiet chuckle, the owl shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Is it odd that I cannot see?"

@Paige

He can't see.

What was it like, to live without sight? Would Galactic never see the crystals of Orion's ceiling, Polaris' bright colors, and all the other sights of this cave system? Did he feel as though something was missing from his perception of the world, or did it just feel... normal? And was it odd that he couldn't see? She had something over one of her eyes. Did more Gembounds have sight-related stuff?

"Well... as far as I know, most of the Gembounds I've met can see. And the prey I eat can see me coming if I'm not careful, so I'd say not being able to see is pretty unusual." Unsure of what to say next, Paige reached to drape her tail over the owl in a sort-of hug.

@Galactic

With a low chirrr, Galactic listened as Paige explained. She said that most Gembounds could see, and thus, he was an anomaly. And even their prey (he knew what that was instinctively - it was animals they ate for food, to survive) could see.

Then, something very soft was wrapped around him. The owlet leaned into the fuzzy-thing with another, soft chirr. "You don't need to worry," he hummed, able to sense the oddness in her voice. "I've never known otherwise, so how can I miss my sight?"

@Paige

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, this owlet was so cute. "I'll try not to worry too much," she agreed, "But what if you end up tripping on something you can't see, or bumping into something? You need to be careful, okay?" She didn't want the little owl to get stuck on or fall off of another ledge, or to trip and fall, or to walk into the wall of one of Orion's many buildings.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Paige asked. "I can help you hunt and stay safe, if you'd like." She didn't know how Gembounds who couldn't see hunted, but she hoped it was possible. Even with one eye handicapped, she found it hard to imagine hunting without vision.

@Galactic

To his relief, the other said that she would not worry over him too much. And that gave him some relief. He did not want to worry others, simply because they could do something he could not. However, he had to admit, that he did worry for himself. What if he was alone, and he got stuck somewhere? But, he knew, he could not always rely on the kindness of others. "I'll be as careful as I can."

However, he found that he could not refute Paige's kind offer. "I would really appreciate it. However, I would appreciate if you would teach me - I cannot leech off of your generosity forever."

@Paige

Paige had to admit that she had no idea how to teach this owl how to hunt. For one, he had wings. She did not. He had talons. She had her paws and teeth. Well, she'd start with what she did know. "Can you smell?" she asked. Without sight, hearing and smell were what she would use to find prey. Not very effective against fish, but it worked fine on mice and such.

Another thought struck her. Was there magic that could simply summon food? She had one such spell, but she wasn't sure if owls could eat bananas. "There might also be magic that could help you. I know a spell that can summon a yellow fruit. I enjoy eating it, but I'm not sure you'll be able to digest anything other than meat. There is another that lets me drink through the air. Magic can do all sorts of things."

@Galactic

"Smell?" he echoed, tilting his head this way and that. Smell... that had to do with your nose, yes? He took a deep breath, but there was nothing noticable. "No, I cannot."

However, something did draw his attention. Something nearby was thudding a rapid beat. He twisted his head this way and that way, until he located the source of the sound. "No, but I can hear. There is something that way." he stuck out his feet, pointing a talon in the direction of the sound.

"Magic? That can help me" he wondered. The thought of a 'yellow fruit' turned his stomach, and he frowned - well, as well as an owl could. "I don't think I can eat that, but maybe there will be magic that lets me? I will have to learn all sorts of Magic, won't I?"

@Paige

Well... At least they had one sense to work with? And if Galactic could hear well enough, did he really need to smell? "Okay. So when you approach prey, you need to remember that they can hear, see, and smell - unless they're fish, but that's a whole other story. So you need to be quiet so they don't notice you, and approach from behind them or from behind something solid so they can't see you. Once you're close enough, you can leave that behind and just grab them. Or at least, that's what I do." Had that been clear enough? Was she being confusing? "If you have any questions, just ask me, okay?"

She took a deep breath, then continued. "Once you can fly, you can ambush prey from above." At least, that's what she assumed owls did. "Orion has lots of crumbling stone structures... you'll need to be careful not to crash into anything or fall, okay?"

@Galactic

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