ORIGIN - all the worms come up to breathe

Life had begun to grow stagnant for the scrub jay. Eat, drink, collect the random shiny, build more and more of his rock-structured nest. The Spire- a name for the glowing rock he'd overheard long ago- loomed in the center of the nameless cave he'd holed up in. Sure, all the caves and tunnels were interesting, but the draw of magic pulsing through his muscles as he soared by the electric blue was too pure to pass up. It was exhilarating, it gave his mind a special taste to it, and set every vein pulsing excitedly in anticipation of the unknown. Of course he had to set up home nearby.

There was just too much to explore. Now, though, clutched in his talons was a mass of bioluminescent mushrooms- his last had run out of their glow, and it was about time to replace the whole lot of them in his hobbled together hut. They'd already been converted to an adhesive paste not too long ago, and while the 'night time' stood steady Tyr had the time to fly about and find the colorless fungi.

It didn't take long to navigate himself back home, the faintest glow from his mortar highlighting the nearly inconspicuous semi-sphere of precariously balanced rock. He really had to make some better sense of his fashion style, but for now it made do against some of the dangers of the outside world. Sure, it really only fit him, but it was more than enough when his research drew him back to the spire for the third time in a day.

Gray wingtips brushed the sides of his abode as he alighted on the warm stone. He was careful with his clutches- while he could balance on one leg, his main concern was squishing the payload in a nervous clutch. Thankfully, the landing was clear, and he was safe to deposit the off-white mushrooms into a crevice among the nest.

That should hold up. Tyr puffed out his feathers about his sternum-situated gem, proud of getting that done today.

Now what? He didn't have anything he wanted to investigate, he had something he was waiting to see the results of, but he didnt think about actually amusing himself in the meantime. No matter; he could always find something to do.

Taking off again, Tyr glided down the short way to the cave floor, landing against a minute ledge only to hop down further along. He'd begun stamping out this area to flatten it, and it'd been going good so far; the only thing was all the lessers that ended up tracking along it, following a path among crystal and ancient vegetation throughout the cave.

He didn't understand them. If he could think, why couldn't they? Some of them had gems; was it their similarity to each other that caused the prey sense in them? He hadn't seen another blue bird with a beak like his- those leaders with the eyes seemed much more like him than the other talking beasts roaming the caves.

No matter. No, his amusement could just be crowd-watching today, his head drawing up before he fluttered higher up on his path. Up here, up on the foothill he'd forded himself on, he could look out over the cave and just watch the lessers amble about their business. Every so often he'd find a glimpse of a greater- or, even better, he'd have a herd of deer wander across the path they'd made for themselves so long ago.

And so Tyr sat and waited, his claw glowing in the darkness highlighting his brilliant blues and pinks as he watched, waiting for anything to happen.

@Kalama

Kalama found herself in Polaris once more. It wasn't the worst place to end up--there was no rain, it wasn't humid, and it didn't have the dust storms of Monoceros. She'd been wandering the caves for some time now. Kalama didn't have many attachments to other gembound, so she often found her wanderings without difficulty. She did miss her da-mentor though. Sometimes. And the other bonebound members were ok, probably.

She didn't exactly...know them. Nor did she ever really make the effort to. She, personally, didn't get why they loved the sticks of dead things so much. They called them bones, but they were basically white sticks. But if her mentor was bonebound, and respected it so would she.

But that wasn't important. What was important, right now, was finding the collector. She didn’t exactly have a plan. She just figured that if she looked around enough, he’d just show up. She didn’t really know anyone else that had encountered the collector, that wouldn't get suspicious when she asked about them. She scratched at the dirt, mulling over her options.

She inspected the ground, examining the rocks that made up the floor of the cave. She needed to practice her spur strikes, she realized suddenly. Perhaps if she were intimidating enough with them, she could make the collector fear her. The thought made Kalama giddy. She found a nice rock, greyish and at perfect height for her spur. Perfect to strike. She raised her flint spur, and struck it against the rock. A small trio of sparks went up. Not her most impressive display. She'd need to work on it, make them perfect. Then she would be feared by the collector, and not the other way around.

Speech. Thought

@Tyr

It took a few minutes to recognize the comb of another Gembound in the cave, but the moment it got close enough to focus on, that's all that Tyr's mind saw. What would cause such a decoration? The other looked... Vaguely bird like, at least this far away- Tyr had to squint at that one- but his interest was piqued by the red against the black and orange they carried.

He needed a closer look. Fluttering out his wings, Tyr shook out his feathers before taking off, holding his talons close to his body as he soared closer. Yeah, this was a bird- but what was it doing? Looking around-

Tyr missed a beat of flapping and nearly stumbled out of the stream he was in at the rise of sparks flashing in his vision. What was it doing? Magic? He needed to get a closer look.

Drifting down, the scrub jay alighted easily by the bird (definitely a bird, not one he knew), dark eyes roaming over whatever they were doing in pure curiosity. Almost no sense of reservation had taken over him- he wasn't quiet at all in his landing, and could nearly be seen as a bit rude as he trotted closer with his head cocked this way and that.

One quick look over told him what he needed- Fluffy, first of all, struck him the most, with a red face and a glint under its legs. Was that where the sparks came from? Clearing his throat and clicking his beak, Tyr straightened his back and glanced towards the rock. Must be training magic, then. His mind mulled over the possibilities. He hadn't met many electric users (sparks must mean electricity, right?)- Tyr was more aligned towards... Well, he didn't know what he was aligned to. He had to remember to find that out someday.

Ah, but he needed to introduce himself. "Mind if I watch?" He chirped out on a high note, flaring a wing out and rubbing the wrist against his pink sternum.

@Kalama

Kalama paused in her abuse of the grey stone, jumping as small blue blur landed near her. At first, she puffed up, tail twitching and clucking in distress as she readied to fight the newcomer. And then she saw them. She watched, confused as the small bird approached her, at least small in comparison to Kalama's bulk, its eyes glued onto her legs. And then, they asked to watch her warrior training. This was clearly a bird of culture. Kalama wasn't exactly expecting the bird to ask that, especially after readying to fight but she was never one to turn down praise or an audience. Especially when it was a bird, Kalama never met other birds. It made her feel Very Important. So Kalama enthusiastically obliged. She puffed out her chest, flicking her tail feathers.

"Of course!" She all but shouted, trying her hardest to come across as not desperate for the attention. "I am Kalama, defender of the Bonebound, and apprentice to a master fighter, winged blue berry. And this is my war training." In an display hammed up to the nth degree, Kalama rose her spurred foot, and struck it against the stone once more. Her spur strike was one of the best she'd ever done, if she did say so herself. She felt proud as she watched a spray of sparks shot out as her spur struck the rock once more.

But her pride quickly melted away, as, with a flash of light, a clump of dried grass within the firing range of her sparks went alight in seconds. And then another. The smell of burning filled Kalama's nostrils, and she clamped her bill down before a screech of panic could escape her. This was new. She flapped her wings at the flame, desperate to save face and put the flame out before it spread.

Speech. Thought

Tyr could only jump in his feathers at the sheer volume of the sudden response, fluttering his wings and losing his composure. Well- they were excited! Bonebound, though-- Wait, blue berry? Well, he was blue, he supposed. His feathers flattened slowly across his form from the small shock, eyes focusing on the rock being attacked rather than his mind overworking itself.

"War training..?" He echoed, dark eyes wide with interest, hoping a smidgen closer before the strike drove him back again. Sparks shattered down to the floor below- so, that was magic! His breath stolen from him and excitement ruffling down to his very quills, Tyr leaned forward to watch the scene.

Wait. Wait- that was fire? Panic rose in the form of bile in the back of his throat, wings pinning themselves to his sides. Fire magic, not electric?

He didn't have time to contemplate, Kalama bursting into action before him. Prey sense overtook him- he should run from the sudden heat, but this was all too interesting to watch. Plus, he might as well not disappoint this stranger. His senses returned to him as he darted forward, attempting to use his own wings to help fan out the flame- yet, with his size, all he could do was ignite it more, a yelp rising from his beak. Thinking quickly, his small talon darted out from below him to strike at the fire and tamp it out- the yelp only expanded to a cry as the fire pierced into a minor burning pain, a lesson being learned in motion as he stumbled away.

But, the kick did work, at least. Gulping, Tyr returned to the fray to try and tamp it down more, shutting his eyes to the now dulling pain travelling up his scaled leg. It... It was working. Breathless, Tyr peeped as he freaked out, feathers flaring back up across his back. "What was that?"

@Kalama