![[Image: l87nhNk.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/l87nhNk.gif)
Cycles. Tema had barely found the time to understand the subject, so caught up in getting to know the others and provide transportation to Sunny. But now Sunny was off on an adventure and Tema wanted to wait close to where she left her so she could be found without much trouble. This left her with time to think, letting new thoughts come and go, influenced by invisible forces around her. Though she knew nothing about other parts of the rather large cave, it seemed the world around her was happy to offer some knowledge.
In fact... she could almost feel the ground below her pulse with a heartbeat much stronger than her own. She was only two cycles old now. While she might have grown some and gathered a slightly larger vocabulary, she was still very small in comparison to the plant that rose high above her in the moment, stopping her short. But that wasn't what called her here.
She felt the pulse under her paws again and looked down, trying to mentally coax out whatever was hiding under the soil.
She jumped back in surprise as young plants begin to grow infront of her, sprouting young leaves and reaching for her paws as if she was the light that fed them. But could she do it again, or was this just very strange timing for a very strange event?
Tema bolted a few paces away, the giant mushroom that had stopped her dead no longer calling her attention. Whatever pulsing she had felt was no longer there, perhaps only her own imagination pushing her to discover this secret ability... Was this her version of Sunny's slime-sense? She would have to show her kin for sure if this was truly her doing!
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind and for us again on the new ground infront of her. She tried mentally calling to whatever abandoned seeds lay there ready for her to give life to, pushing them to take root and reach high for the light at the surface.
And... they did! Sort of. These plants weren't as strong or plentiful as the others, barely breaching the surface... perhaps the seeds were buried deeper down than the others? Or maybe it was because she was still excited from the first attempt? Regardless, it had worked! She had called for the plants and they had come, so it wasn't just some lucky timing. This was hers.
Tema stretched, having tensed up too much while focusing so hard. She'd have to work on keeping calmer; this was not the first time her mental state had affected her physical one. But it was no matter right now! She had conjured up life from dormant seeds and she fully intended on using it to... to what? There was plenty of food around. Were there other parts of their world that didn't have food? Probably. But would they ever travel there? Would they ever need her calling to seeds that might not be reachable? That was something Tema doubted, leaving her to sink to the ground in defeat.
She would still show Sunny. Sunny seemed to know what to do far before Tema ever did, so maybe Sunny would find a use for her calling. Yes, Sunny would help!
Though Tema hadn't consciously made the connection, she did know that each member of their group had strengths and weaknesses. For her, the weakness was smarts. She was happy to just follow Sunny off a cliff if Sunny thought it would be fun because she knew nothing else. She was born right beside the little snail and she wouldn't have had it any other way. On the other hand, she had more strength and speed than Sunny could ever gain as a snail. She could learn to climb trees with her sharp claws and see much further than Sunny could, so they made a pretty good team considering Sunny's smarts and persuasiveness. She still remembered fondly when Sunny had convinced another Gembound to stop their awful screaming.
There were others, too. Carja who could fly, for one. And that amazed Tema. They were all so different from each other and yet... Sunny had brought them all together and united them as friends. That was beautiful. And Tema... wasn't bothered to let Sunny take the spotlight.
I may be bigger, but she's so much brighter. We wouldn't even need the cave lights if she stayed infront of us... so no matter how small I am in comparison, I'll happily stay in her shadow. Tema nodded to herself firmly with a soft smile on her face before getting up to find the snail again.
Trust. Whether it was deserved or not, blind trust led to blind loyalty and Tema could only hope she was following the right path. Her life might be only a spec of sand, but she was willing to let the waves take her under in hopes of becoming a pearl.
[EXIT]