ORIGIN - The Magical and Mystical

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Wilder was curled in her little cave, rolling a round orb of raw chalcedony beneath her paw. It'd been a full cycle since it'd happened - she'd come back to her little cave, pulled three of her many gemstones close, and breathed life and magic into them. Two of them had grown since then, one to about half of her size, the other to almost double. But the third...it barely grew at all, only about as big as her paw, but it had rounded in shape.

She was worried - had the creature inside not fully developed? Or perhaps it was too small? Far too small to exist properly, to keep itself safe? Both concepts made her fear for its safety. It hadn't even hatched yet and she was already taking the part of mother.

It was natural, after all. A piece of her life lay within the three gemstones before her. And it was time for them all to emerge. She continued to wait through the day, not eating or drinking from all of her anxiety and excitement, rolling the chalcedony under her paw, stopping to stretch and flop down on her back, and ending with curling up, her eyes staring widely at the gemstones, waiting for the moment.

It had grown some, at least. In the last cycle it had gone from a little sharp, growing and stretching to a small round globe of chalcedony, rough around the edges, but spherical in shape. The creature inside...well, even if the gem was as transparent as glass, all there would be was darkness. Darkness surrounding a tiny sliver of gem, barely the size of a cat's claw.

It was time, however. There was no more room to grow. It had pushed against the gemstone for long enough, condensing, flattening, thickening, and it needed to escape, to find freedom at last.

It couldn't force against the gemstone - what would it do, after all, to try and push when it could not even feel the sides of its cage? It's time would come. The world would open when it was ready.

And, it seemed, it was correct in this assumption. There was a loud noise and then a strange rushing, a sense of expanding and loosening. A crack had split the gemstone and, immediately, there was a gush of black smoke-like gas streaming from the sliver in the gem. A moment later, the crack deepened as the gemstone completely fell apart. In its place was a cloud of gas, black as night. It seemed to shift in the light for a moment before, a second later, lights began to move across its body, small twinkling lights and swirling patterns of blue and purple as its consciousness awoke.

From a point on the outside of the gas, a golden color began to grow stronger until it was glowing - two eye-like lights staring out blankly at the rock wall.

Immediately, senses burst to live in the creature's mind. Vision flickered into existence, the dusty smell of cave registered in its brain, as well as the warm but bright smell of another creature nearby. Silence seemed to suddenly bear down - not the empty silence of its sleep, but a comfortable, natural silence. And then the soft scraping of rock as a creature moved.

It stared out at the wall for a moment before the orbs shifted. There was a faint flickering in the gas behind the eye-like lights, but it was consumed by darkness in a moment. There was someone close. Someone who soon came into its gaze. A small creature, black, bright eyes staring with shock. The lights stared for a moment, taking in her body. Small - four limbs, tail, ears, a short muzzle...

Without even realizing it, the gas began to shift, condensing and forming until it was comfortably in the same shape as the cat sitting before it. It continued to stare, curiously, unsure of how to proceed or what to do now.

@Bauble @Kestrel

A trickster from its very nature, a stone as black as darkness could seem like coal. The difference was there was the beating heartbeat that pulse with each stage. The creature had no name much less that it knew it was such a beast. It was as connected to the darkness and tough, uniform organic markings that show the jet’s own origins. It could have been darker if it was not for the white contrast from the beast’s own features that made its appearance known. His little home did well to accommodate for his needs as it had double in size from when it was first given life. It was a perfect and comfortable existence.

It felt like it should have continued to be so, but a familiar force had been formulating a new plan. Change. It had been the one that help aid him in his development but now the stone that had sheltered him refuse to grow. The creature was getting bigger and the space was becoming cramped. The beast had tried to create comfort with the use of his positioning, but it forced him to remain in the pose he had chosen beforehand. In the meantime, the shell of the stone had been weakening little by little. Now, this day felt so much different. The creature’s faith had been well as he had learned to expect that old patterns would aid him in his time of need. However, the beast could no longer bare to wait another day in such a cramp space. He would need to become the force that had been with him up until this point. So, he changed. The jet horns on his head that felt as natural to him as breathing started to poke and struggle to break through the shell. The leathery appendages that were growing on his back started to stretch and push against the rock. In the meantime, the rest of the white-furred gembound started to move at first a little until it became a rocking, violent motion.

There was a shatter as a head burst through the stone. Bits and pieces of what remain had scattered on the ground. The first sensation that came to mind was the feeling of freedom. The airiness around him felt like it had swirl around him in endless waves and the creature could not help but stretch his body, especially his wings, even more to become a part of it. Along with this revelation, other sensations came to mind. He could smell what felt to be a rather stale scent surrounding him. He had no idea this was the dusty smell of the cave. What he did take note of was the more vibrant scents around him. Each had their own unique take but somehow, it almost felt familiar and foreign at the same time. There was a feeling of overwhelm that he could not understand. It did not help that what little he could capture was fragmented images.

He needed to adjust to the new lighting. He started to blink and close his eyes shut every so often until he could finally see what was before him. The beast could see two strange sights. There was a rather small black cat that was curl around them. The cat appeared to be staring in shock at a smaller, vibrant pattern cat. It was full of what could only be described as being decorated with shiny things and its body had a continuous swirling blue and purple patterns. Despite how similar they look, the shimmering cat had something foreign and unearthly about it. There were a couple of things that registered for the beast upon seeing this.

The first was an unfamiliar emotion that he lacked in his home. It seemed to be amplified by the preexisting overwhelm from the sensory overload from earlier. Whatever this emotion was, it made him shrink back into his shell, but he was far too big for it. For a while, glowing, golden eyes simply stared at the one who he learned to call his mother and sibling. As the little one learned to accept their presence, he could feel a sense of exploration. Viewing these two made him curious to know if he looked similar to them. He could see that he had a similar texture to the small black cat. The difference was his fur was white whereas Wilder’s was black. He took a look at his forepaws and started to move them about a lot more than he had in a while. He noticed that their movements were flexible and move about with such ease. Just as he was about to use them to help explore the rest of him, there was a white shadow moving closer to his side. An alerted hiss emitted from him. The strange noise seemed to surprise him more and with flatten ears, he found himself springing forth towards the two beings. All he wanted to do was hide and feel safe even though the “threat” was merely his wings. With Regalia, in particular, if he launched himself far enough, he could very well find himself moving through or possibly being in them but not feeling a single thing.

@Kestrel

As soon as she felt something shift in the chalcedony, Wilder flinched and moved her paw back, scooting backwards to give it space. So something had been growing in it after all. That was amazing! It must be a very very small creature, then. Maybe a bug. Or a mouse!

But no, it was neither and as the cracks began to appear, black smoke began to rise from the gemstone. Alarmed, Wilder wondered if, somehow, the creature was on fire and prepared a spell to try and put it out when it emerged. But it seemed that wasn't necessary as the rest of the shell fell away to reveal...more smoke. Just gas, black as night and, as she watched with awe, two glowing eyes appeared and turned to face her. Her jaw was open with disbelief at the sight of the creature, but she was quickly distracted by the sound of another gem breaking. The jet was hatching.

Her eyes snapped over to the strange creature that was crawling its way from the gem and scrambled back as it launched itself towards them. It didn't seem to be aggressive, just more scared then anything. "H-hey! Calm down! It's okay! You're safe here with me!"

She stood there for a moment, trying to control herself, the excitement beginning to boil in her stomach. "I'm Wilder - your parent! I gave you life!" She smiled proudly glancing between the two of them. "Do you want me to name you? I know some people like to name themselves or have names already but I thought I should ask!" She was rambling a bit, but she was so flustered and confused. How was she supposed to act in this situation?

The sound of hatching diverted the gas creature's attention briefly. It moved its eyes over to see what had happened, which looked extremely strange as the rest of the body stayed as it was, the head facing Wilder but the eyes moving to the side, just beneath the ear-shape. There was nothing there, however, but broken gemstone. How curious. Had that gemstone been there before? Or...hadn't it been whole?

It moved its eyes back and found, to its mild surprise, that there was a creature there, just on the other side of her. It hadn't even felt it pass right through its body. The glowing eyes were now fixed on the creature. Their expression, the way they were crouched...what was it? The lights across their body flickered curiously. They wanted to ask them what was wrong. Why were they scared? What was there to fear with it and the other cat here?

But it was incomprehensible. It only looked like shifting colors and faint blinking. Nobody responded to its inquiry so it seemed another approach was necessary. There was a rippling in the gas as magic collected in the tiny shard within its heart. A soft sound, a whisper, echoed through the tiny cave. Neither masculine nor feminine, strange and multi-faceted, as if many people were speaking at once. "What is wrong? You are afraid."

And to Wilder it turned its attention. It waited a moment, thinking, perhaps, before answering her question. "I am Regalia."

@Bauble

There was something notable about what had just happened. The area around him, even his hard and tough gem that he hatched out of, had a solid, grounded feeling to him. Albeit, it was rather uncomfortable to land so roughly from his leap. The vibrant, patterned cat, however, did not seem phase whatsoever from him passing through them. In fact, he could not feel a thing, but he had a feeling he was not losing it. Perhaps, the older black cat was the same even though she did not appear to behave in the same matter as the latter.

Speaking of the older creature, she was quick to turn her awestruck gaze onto him. The little one was still recovering from his previous scare, so he was not too sure how he felt about the attention being on him all of the sudden. If he had any desires to hide from such displays, he became fixated on her in a similar fashion as words pour from her mouth. It took a moment for the male to register them. He was a bit surprised that he could understand the basic meaning behind them. Could it have been that some of these words he had heard spoken before when he was still an unhatched gem? Or could have been some other mysterious forces he had yet to understand? Either way, based on her tone and general excited behavior as she stood, the winged one could feel himself relaxing. She did not sound like a threat at all. In fact, she sounded gentle and eager even though he still could not fully understand the reasons behind it. But what she said next cause him to emit a surprise squeak.

A parent? The one that gave him life? He could almost feel himself want to shake his head at that thought. No, it was not just him but that colorful, formless cat over there too. Wilder, as she called herself, was speaking to both of them when she said that. It was true that he could not fully understand the gravity of their situation. She was their parent or as he learned in time, their mother. She was the reason he could even interact with the outside world today. Still, there was some hidden instinct that made him feel connected. Even more so with the creature that he would come to call his sibling over there. Although, there was another factor that made this event special. The older cat did not just have a relation to them but a name as she referred to it. She explained to them about what names were and how some choose to have their name chosen whereas others name themselves. Wait there were others? More than just them?

Before he could ponder on such information, he noticed the gas-like cat was doing something odd. Was it curious about something? He could not blame them if that was the case. This was a lot of take in for their short time being alive. It appeared, however, that their rippling motion was to aid them to create a soft sound to echo across the cave. He felt almost like he could be engulfed in it as what sounded like multiple voices were speaking to them at once unlike how Wilder had sounded. He had no idea how to feel about this, but now it seemed that the cat wanted to know what was wrong. It identified his earlier emotion as being afraid. There was, at first, silence as the creature pondering this. How was he supposed to describe his feeling? After some time, he slowly but surely formulated his sentence “I…um…am or no I was not calm, but I feel safe now.” He attempted to crack some sort of reassuring gaze in the form of some toothy smile. Somehow, he disliked the fact that he caused such concern for the latter.

Seeing as how the other had turn their gaze, he did as well to answer their parent’s question. With a seemingly confident answer, the formless cat had name themselves, Regalia. The beast took a moment to repeat the name, at first, quietly similar to Regalia’s whisper before stating "Regalia! I like it.” There was one beating question in his mind and that was how in the world did they come with that. It was like they knew that they were destined for such a name since before they were given life, but yet, it sounded so fitting. There was definitely curiosity and wonder from his gaze. With a boost of inspiration, the white-furred male tried to come up with his own. What about calm? Or even safe or life? Those three words had some sort of meaning to him earlier. No, it did not carry the same power as Regalia or Wilder did. What about afraid? That was what Regalia had told him earlier that he was. Again, however, that did not fit at all. He disliked what the implications could mean. As what felt like time slipping away, he could feel himself become crestfallen and he felt his head starting to lower alongside drooping shoulders. Why was this so hard for him? Regalia did it with ease. Yet, he could not help, but remember what Wilder had told him earlier. Still in a somewhat slump position, the little one was able to look towards her with bright and hopeful eagerness. He wanted her to name him.

@Wilder

Wilder's confusion seemed to melt a little when the gas cloud spoke. It actually spoke! It was capable of complex thought and speech, even if it was most likely magical in nature. She hadn't actually seen any mouth moving, so the only explanation was that it was using a spell to project its voice. Probably the same one that Wilder used to cast her voice far away.

She smiled wide, face aglow with pride. It really is my child! That was so exciting! This was all so exciting, despite how unexpected these circumstances had been. She turned to the white creature, the bigger one, and its silence told her enough. He didn't respond to her question so either he didn't know what to say, or wanted her to name him! Well, she certainly hoped it was the latter because she was accepting the task with gusto! "Ooooo, okay, Regalia! That's a beautiful name! It suits you!" She beamed at the gas cloud before her face melted into one of thought.

"Hmm, what should I name you? Uh....maybe Snowy. Or Cloudy! Or Fluffy! Because you have a lot of fur! Hmm, you kind of remind me of light, though, so maybe Shiny or Ray or Bright or..." She broke off as the perfect name came to her head. "Bauble! That's it! I'm gonna name you Bauble!" Yeah, that was a great name! Perfect!

The gas watched the two curiously. They were strange. They did not drift or move in the way that it did. They seemed as solid as the rocks around them, as tangible as the stones beneath their feet. What an odd concept, to be made of rock. There wasn't really any other conclusion to it, as rocks were the only thing Regalia had yet seen that had physical mass. They could be gas, too, but that wasn't possible - it was different from them, far too different from them to be like it. So, naturally, they must be rocks.

The black rock was called Wilder and apparently was its parent. The word sparked meaning in Regalia's depths but there was disconnect between that meaning and from what Regalia understood. Wilder was not its parent because she was different. She was rock and Regalia was air. Rock could not create air, she thought.

This was certainly a dilemma.

As for the newly named Bauble, it was, apparently, its sibling. Also impossible. Rock and air were polar opposites, not equals, nor could they be siblings. This was all absolutely blowing Regalia's baby mind and it completely escape its understanding that it could, perhaps, be wrong about all of this. Because the world had only just begun. The others could not know more then it because there was nothing to know before. Nothing existed. Nothing had happened. Only darkness and timeless chaos.

Its glowing eyes shifted to Bauble, gazing over it carefully. "Bauble," it whispered. "You are...safe? Why do you feel...safe?"

@Bauble

He watched his mother ponder over her choices. The words spoken so far had caught his attention, but it was not until she stated that he reminded her of light that the following choices had a definite meaning, and it appear that this light had multiple meanings too. Finally, Wilder had announced his true name. Just from how she sounded, there was an overwhelming sensation that was swelling inside him. It translated into a leap of joy and an excited cheer as he learned to pronounce his name. It took a couple of times, but when he was able to, he nearly shouted “Bauble!” It felt even better saying it than hearing it knowing that it was his own. He looked up beaming with pride and happiness at his mother.

His views at his mother’s naming skills seem confirmed when his sibling address him as such for the first time. They wanted to know, however, about his feeling of safety. It took a moment to ponder with a quiet “hmm” every so often. Eventually he stated, “Well, I feel…a connection! Yes, that is it! A connection so strong that I feel safe.” As he became a bit more confident with his words, there was a foreign surge of energy pouring forth. He continued “Like, I do not believe you wish to make me unsafe. I also do not believe that our parent wishes to make us unsafe either. So, a connection that makes us all want to be safe and happy together!” He had no idea if he had explained that well, but like a final tempo, the climax of his speech harmonized to burst forth in the form of creation.

The sudden wave that seem to explode from his being left him drained and confused. Was all of this excitement tiring him out? How come now when before he felt fine? His answer seemed to be surrounding him as the cave become illuminated in a substance once less abundant before. These waves seem to dart about creating areas that seem brighter than others, but when he spotted the culprit, it became clear.

A small being made from the pure essence of light was darting about. It made no sounds, but its elaborate dances as it explored its new environment made Bauble feel like it could be just like them. Was it another sibling? His mind seemed to reject the notation, but he was not sure entirely why. Regalia was different from them and yet, they were just as much his sibling. The creature seemed to have no ill-will. In fact, it was just expanding his previous narrow views about the little cave they called home. After a moment of watching it with awe, he did his best to approach the being and said “Hello there! I’m Bauble. That over there is Regalia and over there is our parent! Do you have a name? Our parent can give you one if you like.” It said nothing once again, but it seemed to slow down its speed enough for everyone to get a good look at it.

@Wilder

Wilder's grin got wider as Bauble leaped into the air, apparently so pleased with her choice of names that he couldn't help but release his joy to the world. She bounced forward, her own excitement at last spilling over and sending her purring and dancing through the caves. "Yay, Bauble! Regalia! I'm so happy you're here!" There was the third, but maybe it just needed another day. That was fine. She would welcome it and love it all the same.

She stopped her childish bouncing when Bauble took a moment to express its feelings, explaining to Regalia's whispering how it felt safe among family. Pride filled the little cat's trembling form that they were already coming up with such complex thoughts and caring for each other unconditionally. It warmed her from head to toe and she started forward to press her nose against Bauble's head.

But in that moment, a wisp began to dance around the cave, a large one, a bright one, flickering like fire. She had Wilder's magic, alright. And she was about to comment on it when movement caught the corner of her eye. Regalia was twinkling angrily, lights blaring, edges blurring and Wilder's ears pulled back, the mirth gone from her face. What's going on?

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