ORIGIN - Birth of a River

A deep breath.

He was crowded in.

It didn't bother him, any. After all, it was all he knew. But something told him to move, and so he did.

The chrysalis gave out easily, dumping him to the ground. The pup blinked his eyes open, floppy ears twitching.

The pup, all roundness, got to his feet. There was a funny smell, and he looked down to see the ground was burnt beneath his feet.

No bother.

He yawned, and looked around, trying to find what was going on.

It was above him, on the tip of a stalactite. A perfectly round, perfectly beautiful piece of blue. Glistening in the light of the lights and shivering softly as the creature inside began to stir. It could have been a drop of water, for all any passerby could see, but it was a gem and it was ready to hatch.

Another shiver and a small crack appeared on the surface as the chick inside took a breath. Another breath, another crack. And when its eyes fluttered open, the bottom shattered and the bird was sent plummeting to the ground.

It didn't react to the sudden feeling of falling, just stared around with wide eyes as the world passed them by. As the first thoughts began to roll through their head, they realized that they liked this feeling. The feeling of falling, of wind whipping across their body, the chill on their feathers blocked by the cover of thick fluid from the gem. They were like a drop of water, a very big drop of water, gently falling through the wind. Ah, it was lovely.

But it was over a lot sooner then they wanted it to be. All of a sudden, their descent came to a stop and they slammed into something warm and kind of soft. It was gone in an instant as they bounced off painfully, the place where they had collided suddenly hurting. They didn't know that pain could exist. And not pain this bad.

With a small chirp, they fell onto the hard, rocky ground and rolled away from the pup from the momentum before coming to a stop. They sat there, wide-eyed, their breathing fast and fearful. What had just happened?

@Styx

The pup's ears perked, looking up at a small cracking sound. He could see something small and round, a rather pretty shade of blue. The pup sniffed, tilting his head. What was that?

And then it broke open, and something was falling. It was white-ish in color, fast enough to be nothing more than a blur.

The pup had not yet learned gravity, or what it felt like to be struck. He did not yet know that something falling could strike him, or that something could hurt.

So he did not move, did not attempt to dodge out of the way. He simply grunted when he was struck, knees buckling under him. The pup caught himself, and turned to see the white thing laying on the ground.

He plodded over to it, lowering his head and nudging it with his nose. "Hello, are you alright?" he rumbled, with a voice surprisingly deep for a pup.

@Cry

The little bird watched as the dog got closer, not really sure how to react to them being there. As they nudged them, they suddenly found themselves moving. They leaped to their feet, as if the fall hadn't even happened. They shook themselves out, the wetness on their feathers still weighing them down a bit, but they didn't mind. They quite liked the feeling.

They took a deep breath and stared at the dog a moment. Who were they again? Where had they come from? They didn't realize that they in fact had been the one they landed on so they were a bit perplexed. "Uh, yes, I'm fine. I just, uh..." They looked up. Where had they come from?

They had fallen? Truly? They couldn't even see the ceiling! And they were fine! Oh, the drama! "Oh, I fell all this way? It's amazing I survived, isn't it? I must be a truly spectacular bird!" They sighed and looked away dramatically. "If only I knew where I was..."

@Styx

The dog twitched his ears as the mass of downy feathers leaped up, revealing an odd-looking creature. He tilted his head, looking the bird over.

Styx sat back on his haunches, observing the bird. It quickly proved to be very vain, and he huffed a breath. Vanity was nothing more than a weakness, making one concerned only with themselves.

"You did." he said bluntly. "I broke your fall."

Looking around, the word for the area they were in came to mind. "This is Polaris. I am Styx. And you are?"

@Cry

Speech. Thought.

The mockingbird looked up and down the pup. Had they landed on them? Is that why they hadn't immediately crashed onto solid rock? It was a good thing, then, that he had been there. "Then I must thank you. I would probably be dead if you weren't there." How interesting! They wondered if any other hatchings had gone like theirs had. Falling from the ceiling and averting death so closely! It was thrilling to think about.

"Polaris, eh?" They ignored the introduction and the request for their name, considering that they hadn't even yet thought about what they were called. They turned and hopped over to a puddle not far from where they were standing. They were interested to know what they looked like. As they leaned over the puddle, they found themselves mildly disappointed by their appearance. Scraggly, with small tufts of soft, dull gray feathers here and there, and completely disproportionate. Perhaps they would look better when they were older.

However, something caught their eye. A small glimmering blue on the side of their face. Leaning closer, their turned their head to observe the small teardrop shape on their cheek. Without looking up at Styx, they called back, "Hey, what's this thing on my cheek? Its round and blue."

@Styx

The pup snorted a breath, saying, "I wouldn't go that far, but you're welcome." he licked his lips, tilting his head as he looked at the bird. Something about it made his stomach rumble, but he knew that this wasn't something to eat.

"Polaris, yes." he confirmed, before trailing them over to the puddle. He stepped over to the opposite side so he could look as well, so that their reflections were nose to beak. He took in his own reflection - they were so different! "On your cheek? I'm not sure, but I have one, too, see? On my forehead, although it's a bit different."

@Cry

Speech. Thought.

They continued to look at themselves in the reflection of the pool, observing the small round gem just below their eye. They blinked, admiring the tiny thing and a small trilling sound came from their beak. "It looks like I'm crying!" But this they did not say with any kind of disappointment or regret - in fact, it was something that quite excited him! It was beautiful, a beautiful crystal for a beautiful bird. "That's my name. My eye is always crying so I'll be called Crying Eye!"

They stood taller up and looked at Styx, leaning forward to look at the little gem on the dog's forehead. It was unremarkable, compared to theirs at least. Kind of pretty, since it was nice and orange but, really, their was better. "Hm, it's okay."

@Styx

Styx tilted his head from side to side, taking in their differences, his ears flopping from side to side. The other, the yet-unnamed bird, didn't even have ears! At least, ones that he could see. Surely they must have ears, though, considering they were carrying on a conversation.

"It does," he agreed, eyes flicking up to take in the bird's gemstone. And it really did. "That's a long name, may I call you Cry?" Crying Eye sounded rather like mouthful.

He raised his head to meet the bird's gaze, flicking his ears, unbothered, by their remark on his gem. The bird seemed rather vain, but it had yet to harm him, or them for that matter, so he didn't give it another though.

"Do you know your Magic?" he asked, remembering what he had done before. His paw-pad began to sizzle, and he ground it into the ground, before pulling it back, revealing a charred paw-print.

@Cry

Speech. Thought.