ORIGIN

Winds howled like wolves over the top of the gorge where a large chrysalis rested. A layer of dust-like sand had made its home across the top of it and in each imperfection. The nook that the chrysalis had began to develop had hollowed out in the time it has taken to reach this point. It allowed for a peaceful place in the middle of a wind storm. Not even the occasional breeze touched the dip in the wall. It was safe, comfortable even. The sizable gembound inside sensed that it was time to leave this comfort. A mess of hooves and fur had been stuck in this comfortable confinement for as long as it could stand.

A muscle tensed in his hind leg, trying to draw it forward just enough to get enough space to slam his hoof into the wall of his home. Out The thought rang clear in his mind. He did it again, out. A crack similar to a spider web began to form. One more time, this time with more frustration, OUT. The stone cracked open in the space his hoof had made impact. A liquid poured out onto the dust ground and air hissed, flowing into the hollow spaces of the chrysalis. His nostrils flared as they took in the scent of dry air. His eyes were still shut, but the don't mistake this for hesitation. The calf kicked his back leg twice more before he was able to slide out into the word.

For a moment, he remained partially curled on the hard ground. His sides heaved as his lungs sucked in the air. To others it may seem dry, but to him it was better than anything he had experienced. Which, lets be honest, wasn't much. He let out an excited cry, lifting his head slowly. He was in the world. A place so full of potential. Yodox opened his eyes for the first time and found beauty in what he saw. It was a dry and barren place, a few scraggly plants were in sight. Beautiful It was all his.

He slowly rose. First, by pushing his front hooves against the ground. The action lifted his chest and belly, allowing him to gather his back legs under him. Push. In one, ungraceful, action the calf stood for the first time. He swayed unsteadily, his legs spread wide. At this moment, Yodox was quite a sight to see. He was all legs, his fur back was covered in a reddish dust, but it was almost hard to notice with the color of his fur.

His head hung low as he slowly began to take steps forward. Hunger was a pressing thought in his mind. The scraggly shrub like plants seemed to be his only option.

Unlike the crystal that had rested in shelther, a gem, black as night, smooth as silk, and spotted with tiny white lights, was assaulted by the winds. Resting snugly in a crevice in the ground, the winds blew over it relentlessly, turning the surface once jagged and imperfect a smooth, tumbled shape. The creature inside, however, was oblivious to the howling torrent. They rested as peaceful as a baby could be.

But the time of its awakening was rapidly approaching. It took only a moment for its body to begin its functioning and for its eyes to flutter open. Woozy, half-awake, and barely alive, the bird had no idea where they were and what they were doing. Were they...trapped?

The thought of it, that this shell was holding them captive, it brought a searing fire through their mind and they couldn't contain themselves. They wouldn't stand for this, being caught in a cage. They wouldn't. They were going to get out!

Furious, the little bird struck out with its talons which, although very tiny, were as sharp as a baby's could be. Within a few kicks, the gem was starting to crack and, eventually, her talon bust right through. But it was only a tiny hole that began to drain the fluids within.

As his face broke the surface, he sucked in a deep breath and felt his mind awaken completely. The cage around him felt more compressing then ever, closing him off from the world. He grew angry at this, his first few moments of life surrounded by the frustration of being trapped. He would not be contained!

With a fluttering of feathers, he shoved himself against the wall of the chrysalis with all his limbs and all his strengths and the shell was no match for his attack. It shattered, the pieces exploding away as the tiny bird, an ugly, scraggly little thing, tumbled onto the ground.

The wind around him was wild, pushing his feathers up and drying him out quickly, the black fluid running off him like water. He struggled to stand, but he had to admit, this was much better then being trapped in a cage. The wind in this room was so wild, so free. He was invigorated just being here.

His blood rushed and he felt energy surging through his body. He couldn't just sit here.

Finding the strength in his adrenaline, the chick jumped to his feet and took off. Where he was running, he didn't know. But within a minute, he caught sight of the little buffalo and the strange bird and he knew he couldn't just pass them by.

Rushing in with gusto, the chick jumped between and let out a large screech. Well, as large a screech as a baby bird could muster.

@Yodox @Amras

The calf had slowly ambled to the shrub on unsteady legs. He bent his large head and gave this plant a taste. It crunched in his mouth and tasted rather... salty. His damp nose wrinkled with distaste, but he powered through and chewed the plant into a pulp before swallowing it. Not good. He thought plainly, But not... bad. He was just about to lower his head to take another bite when his rather disproportionate ears caught the sound of something approaching.

For a moment he was not sure what he was looking at. As they got closer, the details got clearer. This other creature was blue, birdlike... but not a bird.. His mind, although perplexed, offered the helpful thought. A short snort escaped him, clearly this world was not all his. A slightly disappointing thought, but what is a place to own with no one else in it? He turned fully to face this new creature.

"Whooo are you?" The first word came out more like a bellowing moo than an actual word. His voice was low and raspy, for his vocal cords were still tight from disuse. "What is this place?" His voice hinted to a layer of intelligence that had already started to develop. One needed brains to dream big and achieve those dreams. What were his dreams? The calf wasn't sure but he felt that it was something big.

There was only a brief moment of silence between the small calf and the large gryphon. It was promptly disrupted by the sudden appearance of what Yodox could only discern as a ball of fluff. The only indicator that this ball was actually a bird was when it let out the worst sound the buffalo had ever heard. It was a short list.

The sudden sound, however, hurt his new ears. This pain that rang in his ear drums made him raise up on his back legs and bringing down his front hooves with a hard thud. The impact made the ground shudder just enough to disturb the sand ground and slide a few pebbles. Perhaps it was enough to silence the screeching creature, perhaps it did a little more. The act had startled Yodox, but when he did it he felt a satisfying power run from the stones between his shoulders down to his hooves.

However, he had little time to marvel for the appearance of another creature halted his thoughts. The voice that came from them seemed to be the voices of many all at once. Yodox's nostrils flared. When his mismatched eyes settled on the creature he felt confusion instead of anger anymore. They were small and cat like, but their face... was a skull? Did he kill the thing that had that skull? Interesting.

"What are you?" He inquired towards the cat like thing. "And what are you?" Yodox turned back to the blue bird creature. "And why are you yelling?" Turn his head to finally rest his gaze on the little fluffy bird.

@Amras
@Drake
@Mongo

The screech the white fluff-bird had let out had been nothing more then instinctual reaction to seeing such large, impressive creatures, even if one was as young as he. He turned and eyed the skull faced one with large, round black eyes. Too young to understand exactly what a skull was, the bird took this to simply be part of its face. A strange face at that. But he had seen very few faces since his time of awakening so it was no surprise to him that he would see a face that was so odd.

He snapped his head up towards the other young one as it spoke to him and he opened his mouth to respond. All that came out was a soft chirping noise as he struggled to find his voice. After some strange, shifting noises as he tested his vocal chords, he came upon a noise that sounded a bit like speech. "Haaaaaaa." Finding that spot where he found he could put words together, he adjusted his wings comfortably and looked the bovine in the eyes. "I wanted to make sure you knew I was here." He turned towards the other creature and frowned as best a bird could frown. Did it think that he needed protection? He had made it through the storm at birth! Of course he was safe. "I'm not scared, you know." It was a challenge - of course he wasn't scared, but if they wanted to try and scare him they would pay the consequences.

@Mongo

Yodox looked to the blue creature. They seemed to possess a wisdom, it was in their voice. Amras. The name almost seemed ancient. The calf decided that this creature would more than likely deserve some sort of respect. They had decided to reassure the ragtag group. However, the large calf had felt no need for comfort. This was the world he was meant to belong to, thus belonging to him as well. The winds seemed to sing songs instead of roar. Their toiling cries left him feeling at ease for even the wind could feel the emotions he did.

"I like the sound of the wind." He stated plainly before turning once again to look at the small bird.

"You had me fooled." Yodox offered a snort of amusement. The fluffy thing did not even seem to flinch when he calf reared up. He knew this little creature did not feel fear. And neither did Yodox. He did not know what fear was and he hoped never to know. It seemed like something to be avoided. Unavoidable his mind seemed to whisper. He gave his head a quick shake, riding his young brain of such a thought.


"A fossa? Do all of them look like you?" He flicked his tail, a sign of curiosity. Yodox could tell the hard surface on the soft body was not there of natural causes. Or maybe it was. He was not sure. If a creature can look like Amras, it was more than likely one could look like Mongo. He did not fret, he was soon to find out.

"I am a..." Yodox hesitated. What was he? Buffalo. Cape. his mind chimmed in. Instinct told him what he was. But that did not answer to who he was. There was time for that. "..cape buffalo"

@Amras
Sorry for typos. I typed this on my phone whoop.