ORIGIN

Quix was excited to bring this little birby home! Since discovering this newly hatched gembound, she had never taken her gaze off him fully for fear that he would wander elsewhere, helpless and all alone. The fennec fox loved birbs and he was a perfect specimen to her – young and teachable, and a new friend! The girl wagged her tail excitedly and gave happy yips and barks on the way to Pisces. She kept her pace slow, very much unlike her scurrying self, just so that she could protect the birbs first steps. She did not want him tripping over and injuring himself. Slowly, the green, luscious expanse changed into one of frigid temperatures, where ice covered the place. The girl knew which entrance she wanted to head towards. It would be Pisces, where salt water clung to the crevices along the entrance and dripped down.

Overall, this tunnel was not unbearably cold to the fox, for she was a fennec after all, built with thick, lush fur all around despite her size to withstand cold and harsh desert nights. She was aware of the occasional gusts though, and did her best to huddle with the baby peanut birb so that she could shield him from the worst spurts of it. Her tiny paws click-clacked onto the ground, once again, protected by thick, sandy tufts of fur. A couple of meters into the tunnel, Quix turned to gaze at the birb, hoping he was okay. “Be careful birby. Ice.” Yes, she would teach him about ice! Immediately, the girl swiped a claw over the ground and broke off a small pawful. She then held it up for the bird to see. “I C E,” she repeated slowly again, and then dropped it onto the floor. It was cold, and perhaps her peanut birby would discover that. She would pause to allow him to explore what ice was, and to show her any signs of freezing over. If he was indeed cold, he could wrap himself in her fur. It would, after all, be a quick journey, and then they’d be in the comfort of Pisces.

They walked for a bit, and gradually, the farther they went, the colder it got. It was a strange sensation. The forested, green cave of Eridanus had been warm and pleasant – a fine place to hatch. This cold was unusual to the chick, and he didn’t much like it. He made no protest though, trusting that this was the right way to go since the Fox was going that way.

They came to a wall – the edge of the cave. There was a big, big hole in that wall – the tunnel entrance. From it glided chilly breaths of air, which felt and smelled so distinctly different. The baby bird paused for a moment to tilt his head at the new environment before him, and inhale the new air. He blinked and shivered slightly, but then proceeded to catch up with the Fox. When he entered the tunnel with her, he began to also notice that the ground was different. There were no soft plants or dirt. It was hard. And cold. He clucked quietly, huddling closer to the other gembound while eyeing the ground with an almost accusatory stare (or maybe it was just the same, mildly angry and surprised expression that he always had). It was very different ground. He did not like it much. A few more steps in, having only two feet to place on the ground, the cassowary slipped a little…More than a little… He spilled and spun across the floor with an excited screech. What in the world?! It was… slippery. If there ever was a time to begin showing emotion, now was quite perfect. Struggling on the ground, he let out a series of angry peeps, flailing for a moment before regaining his footing and pulling himself back to a stand, indignant, but otherwise unharmed.

The Fox stopped walking for a moment, speaking. The hatchling swiftly turned his attention to her. He recognized his given title, and was pleased. Another syllable stuck out though. Ice. A clean and solitary word. He liked the sound of it. Cocking his head he would watch as she scratched at the ground. It came away, in glistening, foggy shards. The baby bird blinked with surprise and interest. Ice. Oh, so this all was ice. Maybe he didn’t like it so much after all. She dropped it back to the ground, and immediately his head darted down, beak open and eagerly snapping to test it. It was hard and cold like the floor it came from, but when he got it in his mouth, it melted. What a strange thing!

Chattering softly, the hematite gembound would straighten himself and take a second to glance over the area again. Having already glared at the ground, the bird would turn his gaze upward, following the tunnel wall a far, far way towards the ceiling. All around, he could hear the soft pings of moisture, dripping. It echoed prettily – ominously. This was a strange place. It was a little bit frightening to be in. He walked forward, taking extra care this time with where he placed his feet. He instinctively moved closer to the Fox, both for warmth and comfort. Out of the corner of his eye, he continued to watch the dripping walls, listening to the persisting, soft plips. It was a captivating sound. A sound he felt inclined to try and make on his own. Something to take with him, assuming they would not be staying in this place long. As he walked, he tilted his head a little bit and opened his beak, reaching for the sound. It wasn't quite like making "peeps." It was something different, something odd but natural at the same time. He felt it inside of himself - the ability to do what he so intended to. He didn't understand how it worked, it just seemed to work sometimes. Not as well as he'd wanted to, but kind of. The sound did not emanate from his beak (although he already was inclined to open it, just because it was how he made sound otherwise), but rather came from the atmosphere around him in his immediate proximity. It was a warped echo of a thick "plip," somewhat falling apart with the ghost of a second "plip" intersecting it. But he could feel the sound in his skin and it reverberated down the tunnel, and he liked that. Still, he also thought he could do better.

The girl watched the birby tenderly as it tested out the ice with its beak, then tested it on its tongue. She huddled closer to him, wrapping him with her tail where she could, though it hardly proved effective for a fluffy fennec tail was in reality, still rather straggly and small. “Peanut birb’s first ice!” she exclaimed with a bright smile at the bird. She was so proud of him for adventuring this far! Bringing in new members for Maji Walezi certainly made her feel extremely excited, wouldn’t Cancer be pleased!

The air got colder and the girl shivered, suddenly wishing that she were back in the comfort of Cancer’s pouch. The fennec was suited for hot climates, not cold ones. With a “Brrr” and a shiver, she moved forward, hoping to get out quicker, when she heard a curious “Plip!” quite like the water dripping in the cave. Immediately, she turned to face the birb who was the source of the sound. “How’d you do that!” She exclaimed encouragingly to him. He was so cute and smart! “Smart birby!” she yipped and grinned at him, definitely excited by his antics.

”Quix Karkata!” A snappy voice suddenly rang out. The girl whirled around and saw Cancer in front of her. “Um, yes? Hehe.” The girl flashed her toothy smile at the large leopard without a hint of remorse for her adventures. He asked her to come over, and the girl glanced towards the peanut birb, just as Cancer looked at him. “Birby new member of Maji Walezi!” She scampered over to Cancer and tugged at his paw. “Can we keep him? He’s so sad and lonely and cold…” She turned back to look at the peanut birb and yipped at him to come over to both herself and Cancer.