ORIGIN

A chrysalis of jaden pearl bloomed around her fragile frame, the thrum of her gossamer heartbeat reverberating within, inaudible to outside ears. It was a placid existence, not that she could perceive it as such. Consciously, she could perceive little, and even those small details would be forgotten. The seemingly perpetual silence was disturbed by a faint stirring within the pearl, the quickening of the tiny being's heartbeat as she began to emerge from her hibernate state.

Deafening thunder erupted within the caverns, a slab falling away with a sickening crash. And if instincts were not enough to guide the tigress to consciousness, the startling of her treasured silence was. She writhed within her opalescent prison, jagged impurities freeing more and more of the material, and the last supports that embedded the stone into rock severed — sending the youth's curled form spiraling towards the cavern floor, encompassed in the last of the glittering material. And in a beautiful display of flying crystalline, it shattered, revealing the striped body within, glistening with moistness.

Exposed to new air, a chill bore down upon her fur, and Seppia curled in further inwards in attempt to shield her body from the cold. While the beating of her heart accelerated with more vigor, the rise and fall of her chest was the only indication of life that the newborn displayed. As slumber took its hold, she reveled in silence, blocking out everything else until another crash of crystal shook her eardrums. Body slowly unfurling, Seppia struggled into a sitting position, the widening of her seaglass gaze betraying her dazed state.

________________

The sensation of flight was still a thing the crow had to get used to. The air gliding through her feathers was admittedly not an unwelcomed thing, but gliding itself was difficult and stressful to do. She was unsure how the other birds were capable of it without dropping like a stone. The crow had to move her wings constantly or she'd feel like she'd fall. And falling hurt.

As she flew into Canis, she was quick to land on the first ledge she caught sight of. Beginning to settle down to preen her feathers, she caught sight of a... corpse? A strange-looking beast it was to the crow, orange with black stripes and just lying there. She had half the mind to tear it open for food, when it moved.

Surely, that thing would die soon if it were left alone. The crow only briefly thought about what to do, but the best answer she'd get seemed to be conjured images of a hyena running after and grooming small creatures. She sighed.

And so the bird flew down in front of the cub, some inches away, and peered up at it, quiet for a few moments before she squawked loudly. Her voice was horribly high-pitched - the bird couldn't have been much older than the creature she was talking to.

Hey. Hey! Thing alright? Hungry?

________________

When I speak
When I think

The strange girl had spent most of her time within the safety of Monoceros. Granted that room wasn't the safest to begin with, what with the swirling tornado threatening to pick her up and take her away any second, but at least she had companions who seemed to care about her. She clung to Louie, who had adopted her into their ranks. She knew nothing else but his kindness and the Merrymen, and while the rest of the groups' voices were harsh, she was constantly reminded of her caring mentor by scent and his soft words.

It was getting to be time that Magdalena explore the other rooms of the cave. A part of her feared leaving the safety and comfort of the room she knew, but another part of hee craved independency. She wanted to know what lie beyond, and meet other Gembounds, and hear and smell and feel things she'd never experienced before. The blind child was awkward in composition, gangly legs walking a thin figure, almost emaciated, through the tunnels. She would occasionally stumble, or brush against the wall; but her magic helped her see better. She couldn't see the bacteria, but she could feel it all around. She could feel it respiring and moving. It gathered on the walls in thick layers and sparsely drifting through the air. If she focused, she could develop something of a visual in her mind's eye, but it was draining after a while.

Magdalena used her magic this time to get a feel for the room she had entered. It was vast, to the point where standing near one wall she couldn't feel the opposite wall. However, what sue had detected was two localized clusters of bacteria - other Gembounds. The blind dog slowly and carefully stepped towards them, head swayif as she tried to isolate their locations. Magdalena's delicate paws would stumble through piles of bones, announcing her presence to the bird and the newly emerged tiger. Unseeing eyes stared beyond the pair, but she felt their bacteria, and stepped towards them. The girl didn't know what to say - so she merely smiled, producing a rather unnerving expression.

Seppia

Eve

Magdalena