Near the shore of the crystal river sat a blue chrysalis. The snake within thrashed restlessly, desperate to escape the walls that held her prisoner. A crack appeared on the surface of the chrysalis as she struggled. Sensing an opportunity, she threw herself at its general area. As more and more cracks emerged and spread, the wall weakened until a flailing tail punched a hole in it. The snake's struggles stopped abruptly.
Slowly, a burnt-orange head peeked from the hole and held itself there, forked tongue flickering back and forth. The snake's gem, a teardrop-shaped larimar, was visible on the side of her face. After many moments of deliberation, the rest of the snake slithered from the chrysalis, revealing stripes of black, orange, and bright turquoise. She apparently decided the world too exciting for her liking, and retreated back until only two inches, or about a third of her body, was visible, tongue still flicking wildly.
@Blackberry
A movement caught the snake's attention, and she turned her head to see a very spiky goose. It was very spiky. And it looked very scary. So she did what any creature with a sense of self preservation would do - she shrank back into the broken remains of her chrysalis as fast as she could, leaving only the tip of her nose revealed, tongue flickering in and out furiously.
Still, the snake thought wistfully. It would have been nice to meet them if they hadn't been so terrifying. Those feathers looked awfully warm and soft, once you got past the spikes. She would love to be warm. The tiniest tentative movement forward, just enough so she could keep the goose in her line of sight, and she immediately decided it was a bad idea. What if she impaled herself on those spikes or those talons?
@Blackberry
The goose got closer, and the snake barely stopped herself from shivering, from more than just fear. They were...
warm... Before she was aware of what she was doing, she forgot what she was doing and leaned toward the warmth. It was beautiful, comforting, the
best thing ever. But then the moment passed, and the snake remembered the spikes, and her attention snapped back onto how much of a threat the goose was. It was making some strange noises, though the snake had no idea what they meant. The goose moved back, so maybe it meant no harm, but she was still hesitant to approach it. Instead, she flicked out her tongue again, trying to get a better idea of what lay out there.
@Blackberry
The snake flinched as the goose stabbed downwards with its beak, but luckily every time it seemed to miss and hit the chrysalis shell instead. What did the goose want with her? It was honking. It had honked before. Perhaps it wanted her to honk back? Tilting her head, the snake tried her hardest.
"ss-s-sssSSss?" Frustrated at her complete failure to honk, she drooped her head in shame, unintentionally moving farther away from the goose. She could practically feel its warmth drop away, and immediately wanted to go back, but it was too intimidating a task for her.
@Blackberry
The goose backed away, its form disappearing from the snake's field of vision. Oh, it was lonely in this shell, with nothing but the blue of the gemstone to keep the snake company. And the goose was warm, and it hadn't tried to harm her. Surely taking a look wouldn't hurt.
The snake uncoiled herself and slithered out of the shell. Being newly hatched, she wasn't particularly big, reaching only seven inches in length. As the last of her tail flopped out of the shell, she lifted her head to look up at the goose. Spikes seemed to be everywhere - on its head, on its back, on its belly, on its toes. The ones on its toes pointed downward, though, and seemed the most harmless. Hesitantly, she slithered a little closer, tongue flickering in and out of her mouth.
@Blackberry