ORIGIN - I Can See The Light!

The sound of the hum had changed. Like shutting off a refrigerator and only hearing the sound of sudden, shockingquiet; she almost felt bereft of something. A piece of her world was forever changed and she wasn’t quite sure yet if this was good or bad. So far, the world consisted of a tight space that had been comforting at first but was quickly growing too small for comfort. Once, somersaults had been possible and now it required the skill and concentration of a contortionist to bring her tail up to her mouth so she could gently mouth the hard stone, as she was want to do.

Uneasy, the cub rolled in her stone cradle, her weight shifting the now fragile gemstone’s weight until it rolled from it’s somewhat precarious position on a ledge a few feet up and clattered onto the hard stone ground. Frightened by the weightless feeling and then subsequently dazed by the drop on her head, the neonate mewled in panic and sent all four tiny flailing paws outward until another crack could be heard as the shell split near her face. Blinking barely developed eyes at the strange brightness of the outside world. Njeri retreated further down, attempting to hide. There wasn’t much room to do so, and her wiggling only caused the broken piece of shell to detach entirely, unceremoniously dropping the cub onto the cold stone floor of the tunnel.

Njeri squinted, unsure of what exactly had just happened to her. One moment she was happily barely-existing in her gem, and now everything she had come to count on was unequivocally different. Sound was different – something kept scratching every time she moved and each time she hissed at the world in general, a soft puff of breath came out. Though motor control was a skill still beyond her baby-leg capability, she squirmed closer to her stone for comfort as the world began, very slowly, to come into focus.

Artume walked.

She had grown in her many cycles spent in her Chrysalis. No longer was she a sickly, wobbly fawn.

No, now she was a Stag worthy of such a name. She stood tall and proud, pelt a gleaming black. Her head held her, her antlers gleamed, arching in graceful swirls and whorls, worthy of Astraea himself.

And her hoof no longer troubled her. It had grown strong, no longer brittle and threatening beneath her. In all, she had become a creature who was wholly unrecognizeable of her previous self.

No longer did she lurch on too-long legs, struggling to maintain her feet. Instead she strode, head high and gaze calm, muscles flexing beneath her hide.

Rounded ears twitched at a familiar crack, and she altered her path to approach the sound. It didn't take her long to come across a lion cub, curled up next to a Chrysalis. "Hello, little one," she breathed, leaning down to allow her breath to brush against its back soothingly. Carefully, she folded her legs under it so as not to seem so intimidating.

@Njeri

SHENGXIAO
PUT ON A SMILE, DO IT IN STYLE

The strange hybrid beast was travelling alone for now, and, honestly, that suited him fine. He felt like he would have been less okay with it a cycle ago, but he had felt a strange change come over him as time went on. Not like he was different, but that a facet of him was switching. It was natural, he was fine with it, it was just strange. He didn't really know where he was now, but that was okay. Everywhere was an adventure!

The crack jerked him out of his wandering thoughts and he jumped nearly a mile with surprise. He rushed forward towards the noise and the cave opened to reveal a tiny cub mewling on the floor with a stag standing in front of it. Shengxiao widened his eyes with surprise. Wow, he had never seen a hatching before! And the only other kid he knew was Scorch, but they were as old as him! Now that he wasn't a little kid anymore, the sight of a newhatched made him so excited, so warm and hopeful, that he couldn't help but let out a little squeal of happiness. "A baby!!"

A cycle ago, he would have rushed forward without a second thought but this time he took a second to decide his approach. He walked forward slowly, his head level and a smile stretched across his rodent-like face. He could barely contain his excitement, though, his muscles almost shivering with happiness and his eyes sparkling like stars. Finally he reached the cub and, not really knowing what to do, sat down in front of it, his tail swishing across the ground. "You're so cute and small!" Of course, there were a lot of things that were smaller then him, considering his size. Despite being young himself, he was nearly the size of the black stag next to him. Unsure of his place, he looked towards the older deer and wiggled a bit in place. "What do we do now?"

@Njeri @Artume

Slowly the cub started to calm herself, finally stilling her ineffectual attempt to push herself rump-first back into the brittle shell of the broken chrysalis. Awkwardly she propped herself on her front legs, adopting an ungainly sitting position, blinking her baby-blue eyes at the world. Ahead she could see a slightly lighter oval that was slowly growing brighter and sharper until a black shadow passed across it. Apprehensive but already curious, she strained to focus on what was there.

Suddenly the shadow was much closer and she flinched, her mottled ears flattening as she ducked down at the instinctive reaction to perceived danger. Her tiny lips lifted in a silent growl of appeasement or threat she wasn’t sure. No harm came to her of course, for Njeri could probably not have hoped for a kinder spirit to find her first. The warm breath across her back was welcome; the cub hadn’t realized how much cooler the outside world was when your own body head wasn’t immediately reflected back to you. The words the other issued were nonsense to her, mostly, but the tone was instinctively understood. She turned to the stag as it curled closer, leaning toward the shadow and plonking her freckled nose against whatever piece of anatomy was closest.

An excited squeal distracted her however, and she flinched at the load sound turning quickly toward the noise. Apprehension made her gaze focus moreso than it had been able to before and she was able to make out the distinct shade of a creature. Their edges seemed to be different, some parts bristly, some smooth, but to the cub who lacked the world knowledge to appreciate Shengxiao’s uniqueness fully, it was just another stranger. Njeri could tell that it hesitated before approaching, but like with the stag didn’t feel any ill will toward herself and slowly relaxed.

An inquisitive, mewl escaped her maw and she scrambled rather ungracefully from the stag toward the new creature, her legs akimbo in the strange rolling gait of the newly born.

@Shengxiao @Artume

The stag heaved a sigh again, seeing that her breath seemed to relax the cub. She did not care how long she had to lay here, so long as the little one was able to walk and talk and eat before she could leave. It pressed against her shoulder, and she leaned down, beginning to lick its fur into some semblance of order.

Before she could get every far, however, a voice suddenly called out from behind her. She raised her lead, looking to see an odd looking... hybrid? approaching her. When the cub rushed at him, she rose to her feet, turning to face the both of them.

To the hybrid, she said, "We need to make sure it's named, watered, safe, and fed."

@Shengxiao

SHENGXIAO
PUT ON A SMILE, DO IT IN STYLE

Shengxiao could barely hold himself still when the little cub came toddling over to him. He'd never been so close to something so new, so precious, so young. Scorch had technically been older then him. He had to remind himself that he had been this young only a cycle ago, but it still felt surreal.

He leaned down and touched the cub's head gently with his nose, his growing beard tickling their forehead. "Hi!" His voice was jovial and welcoming. They'd be friends - he just knew it!

As for the stag, when she started speaking again, he looked up from the cub and stood tall and important. "Yes! I'll get some food! We need to make sure its safe and healthy!" He reached forward with his simian hand and gave the cub a little pat on the head before he turned and raced away.

It wasn't even a minute before the strange beast came rushing back to the scene, mouth full of shrubs and weeds that he had picked from crevices in the wall. He set them down in front of the cub and nosed them forward. "Here you go, some yummy greens!"

@Njeri @Artume

The feeling of being cleaned had almost been enough to keep the cub stationary; it was comforting to feel like she was taken care of. However, the spirit of adventure that would likely lead her into trouble in the days to come was already a driving force and she followed it’s beck and call… albeit, clumsily.

The cub quickly reached Shengxiao’s feet and was immediately rewarded with a soft touch on her forehead. In reaction, Njeri gazed upward, her head wobbling with the strain as she did so. She could make out a narrow face and a conglomeration of textures and patterns, but fine details still escaped her. Something pointy definitely stuck out from his forehead though. She felt his foot? Paw? Hand? Pat her on the head and one tiny paw stretched out toward him as though to return to gesture, except, he was no longer there. Blinking in confusion and then anger, she screwed up her freckled face and plopped her rump onto the ground and mewled her toddler heart ache.

Her head turned back toward the initial blob, which had begun to refine itself into a creature perched upon tall thin stilts with similar pointy things coming from it’s face too. Deciding she was most likely to find solace in the one that had already begun to mother her, she made her way over and settled at Artume’s hoof, one fluffy cheek pressed confidently against her leg.

In short order, Shengxiao returned, only this time he’d grown some sort of fluffy, ground-smelling whiskers that detached from his mouth. Curious, she wobbled back to her feet again and mimicked his nosing of the herbs, sneezing at the tickly feeling against her nose. She pawed at them next, liking the way they moved when she pushed on them. Sinking her front half down and wiggling her rump, she pounced. It was ineffectual, sure, but it was a start. Delighted, she flopped onto the greens and continued to bat at them.

@Artume @Shengxiao

Artume couldn't help but to smile at the... hybrid. He was kind, obviously, although she had never seen anything like him before. But she did not judge based on appearance, of course. Merely on actions. You could tell everything you need to know about a Gembound from how they treated others, and their actions. And so far, this one proved himself rather trustworthy.

Her heart ached for the cub as it began to cry, and she went to approach it. But it seemed that it was already approaching her, leaning against her. She lowered her head to nuzzle the little beast with a gentle sigh.

She rather liked this one, they would definitely be worth watching.

Before long, the hybrid approached, with a fair amount of greens. The stag frowned, shaking her head as the cub pounced on it. "I believe she's a carnivore - do you see her teeth?"

Her ears twitched, and she turned. In a single bound, she landed on top of a caverat, which crunched beneath her hooves. Lowering her head, she grabbed it by the nape of its neck, returning to the cub. "Can you tear this apart? I don't want them to choke."

@Shengxiao