ORIGIN - The Roaring Waterfall and the Humming Bird

Charoite

Notice the small things. The rewards are inversely proportional.

Deciding to explore some of the caves to see what's around, Charoite's first stop is Pisces, drawn much by the strange noise he can hear coming from the roar of the waterfall. While he's never heard anything like it, and the sound was quite loud, he bravely flutters on down the tunnels and into the waterfall cave to investigate, the humming of his little wings masked by the roar of the waterfall as he enters.

Charoite is a bit overwhelmed once he's there and sees the waterfall and the lagoon, even his wildest imagination couldn't have conjured up an image of so much water, and how powerful said water could be. He knows better than to stray too close to the rushing water, nor does he fancy going for a swim in the lagoon, but the shallower pools catch his eye and he flutters over to The Ponds. He was thirsty, and also was happy for the opportunity to more thoroughly clean his feathers, as despite his attempts to preen himself earlier, he still felt some residual crud in his feathers from when he was developing inside his chrysalis. So he lands in one of the shallower pools and splashes around in the water a bit, rinsing his feathers clean, and also taking a moment to dip his beak into the water for a drink.

@Aaliyah

Li had run far, far away from the fire in Eridanus as soon as she was able. She was still haunted by the images of both fires - the one she had caused cycles ago and the one that she just escaped from. She tried to close her eyes to block them out, but it only made it worse. All she could see was the fire enclosing around her, could only feel the intense heat. The familiar heat.

She quickly shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts, though it did little to help. She forced herself to focus on where she ended up. Pisces. Not exactly surprising her paws took her to somewhere with water. Somewhere where she could hopefully forget about the fires.

Unfortunately, it only made her think of Imperia. Especially as the big waterfall came into view. This was where she had officially separated from them, and saved the life of Kallista. Only to fight her cycles later. Right after she caused the huge fire in Eridanus.

She shook her head once more and moved on, away from the waterfall. Away from the memories. She ended up near the ponds, where the splashing of water caught her attention. She frowned, watching the area and seeing little spots of color here and there. It appeared to be a tiny little bird, probably having just recently hatched. She was tempted to flee the area then and there, but surely a tiny bird couldn't harm her.

She watches the bird for a moment, not saying anything, before going to a nearby pool and looking down into it at her reflection. Her gaze wandered over it, taking in the orange gem on the side of her face, her long ears, the markings so similar to Imperia's. And the scar along her chest, almost as old as she, with the fur having - thankfully - grown back. Still, she could see it. And she hated it. Hated the sight, hated the thought of it. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

Speech. Thought. @Charoite