ORIGIN

"Here we are!" Yellow declared, then immediately shivered and hugged Khloros' neck closer. It was so cold here! The wind really wasn't helping, either. They had fur, but they simply weren't made for this climate. At least Khloros was here to share warmth with. "Do you have any magic that could warm us up? It's freezing in this room!" Literally. Freezing. There was a layer of snow even by the tunnel entrance, and the tunnel itself had been covered with ice that didn't seem like it was going to melt anytime soon.

Caves, they wanted to be able to withstand the room's conditions, though! If only they had thicker fur, or magic to keep themselves warm like their big brother had. The last thing they remembered of Eridanus was being carried away from too-warm orange flames... but if the flames were here instead, they wouldn't be too warm, right? That must have been the mistake someone made. Eridanus was already warm enough; it hadn't needed more.

Also, this place needed more plants. The few they'd seen so far didn't seem very happy at all. Their stems were short, and they were frozen. How could they climb and leap from tree to tree if there were no trees? But maybe the lack of trees was intentional, so that Gembound who couldn't climb to the canopy - Gembound like Khloros - could still see the play of colors across the room's ceiling. That was rather considerate, they thought, then shivered again.

@Khloros

Khloros came to a halt, pausing to peer up and around him at this new place. The snow was halfway to his hocks, his knees; the cold bit at him. Dark eyes narrowed a little against the wind, and his mane and tail--the mane still with its tied golden ribbon--shifted and half-tangled in it.

The aurora shimmered overhead, and he regarded this with nostrils flaring. It was cold, yes; but heat steamed from his breath, his coat. He hoped it would provide at least some warmth to Yellow. But the sifaka's question left him silent for a beat before his answer.

"No," he said, at last, quietly. "My magic was taken from me. -I'm sorry," he added. Tail swished, and he inhaled the cold, icy bite of the air.

"You could wait in the tunnel, if you like? I don't think I want to stay long, anyway; it is cold." He looked around again. "Though I admit this place has a sort of--magic to it? So lonely, quiet--peaceful. Empty, though it's cold."

He looked back, peering at Yellow sidelong. "Do you want to stay behind? And--where did you find these... Gifts?" There were other things he wanted to ask--to ask about Yellow; where Yellow was from, what their life had been like so far--but first, he'd have to make sure they didn't want to hide out in the warmth.

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@Yellow

Yellow blinked, their eyes widening slightly with confusion. "Taken from you?" they repeated. "How? And who has it now?" Magic wasn't a thing, was it? How could you take something that wasn't a thing? But... they glanced down to their gifts. What could those be if not magical? Was it possible that you could place your magic inside a thing, and Khloros had given his away like these gifts? They thought of the number of gifts they'd seen in the area when they had come here. Whoever made these gifts must have been powerful, to put their magic inside so many and not lose it!

Khloros' offer for Yellow to go back somewhere warmer sounded tempting - but no, they decided. They were going to stay with their new friend. It was warmer with someone else, anyway, and Khloros had said they wouldn't be staying here long! "I'll stay with wherever you want to be!" the sifaka declared. "I like being with friends. It's much better than being just one Gembound!"

"And I found my gifts tucked by some plants! They looked kind of sad," Yellow added, their voice softening. "I don't think they like the cold very much. But on my way out, I saw more: some were next to patches of plants, like mine were, and some were tucked under or behind rocks, maybe so they didn't get snowed on as much."

@Khloros

One ear flicked at the question. This was something he was reluctant to go into--not because it was a secret, by any means, but because he had no desire to simply talk about himself for long minutes at the expense of learning about his new companion.

"It is... a lot to tell. I will tell you that the Masters of these caves are but fearful slaves to another force. That they will betray, torment, and kill us to keep their power. And that we are nothing but refuse to them, cast-off byproducts of other things," he added, faint bitterness in his tone. He started forward, long legs taking him in steps that thrust snow forward and to the side, each pace rocking his neck slightly up and down as he kept careful balance. Steam continued to rise from neck and flanks.

"One of them killed me, and I was returned to life by another being: a gentle creature, white and kind, that urged me to tell others of my beliefs. Those are: that we are trapped in these caves, bound to our gemstones, and forever stuck in a cycle of rebirth to suit the Masters' needs. I would free us, if I could; and they did not like that. But I do not wish to talk only of me," Khloros went on. "I want to ask of you, little one; I am curious. Where do you come from? You spoke of Eridanus; is that where you hatched, the jungle with its ponds? Tell me of yourself," he requested, amiable in his tone.

He had found that giving long tales of his horrific incident with Astraea tended to put rather a damper on casual conversation, as much as he continued to pass on the words of the being that had sent him back to life.

As he spoke, too, he was travelling: moving carefully through Ursa's vast, white, cold expanse, the aurora shimmering overhead. He kept his eyes out for things like Yellow had shown him: he looked, too, for clumps of frozen plants, as Yellow had described.

Eventually he found something: a small patch of shining white paper, half-hidden beneath an outcrop of cold plants, just as Yellow had told him. He paced over, nosing at it. He didn't speak of it, instead listening for anything Yellow had to tell him about themselves; and meanwhile, his teeth picked delicately over the silver ribbon that held the box tied shut.

Moments passed, and then the box was open: and within was a large pair of goggles. These were strange: of violet-tinted metal and green-hued glass, the sides covered in needless gears and sigils, and the thing was clearly unfit for a horse. Khloros peered at it, puzzling at its very existence. "What is this thing?" he asked, half to Yellow, half musing aloud.

horse stock by venomxbaby on deviantart

@Yellow

Betray, torment, kill. These words were relatively unfamiliar to Yellow. They knew the word kill - it was what carnivores did to prey so they could eat. Yellow didn't mind that much; they ate plants themselves but never thought too much about food anyways, apart from an occasional this flower tastes good. But Greater Gembounds - those who could speak, like Yellow and Khloros and Sebby - weren't for eating…? And there was something uneasy-feeling about the way Khloros had said the first two words, as if they were something… bad.

So, as they did with anything and everything of that nature, Yellow promptly forgot it. The smile on their face wavered for only the barest second before it returned at full force, and they didn't give any further thought to the issue.

Khloros was moving on to talking about something else now, and they liked that much better.

This white creature sounded like a good potential friend, Yellow thought. They'd never met something totally white before, and that was bound to be an interesting experience. But what was Khloros talking about? Trapped? They didn't feel trapped. The caves were rather big. And they liked the idea of being reborn, but Khloros talked about it as if it was something terrible-

Moving on!

"Yeah, Eridanus was where I hatched!" Yellow confirmed. "Then big brother Sebby found me! He's a big black panther, but smaller than you, I think. He told me that he was a fire elemental and that I was a pressure elemental, and he was the one who gave me the idea of adventuring through the caves!" They had meant to ride on Sebastian for that, but since Yellow didn't know where the panther was, they were sticking with Khloros now. And when they found Sebby again, they could adopt Khloros as another brother! "When I was still little, there was a fire in Eridanus. Maybe a fire in Ursa would be good, but Eridanus is warm enough already. So Sebby carried me away from it to cool down a little, and my other brother Rift - he looks just like Sebby, but he's green and covered with plants! - said something that made me sleepy, and when I woke up I decided to go on that adventure Sebby had suggested! I don't know where he is, though. Maybe he fell asleep too, or maybe he got a head start adventuring!"

By the time they finished, Khloros had found a gift and unwrapped it. Yellow jumped down from Khloros' back, clutching their music box in one hand with the kaleidoscope still tied to them. They peered at the gift, turning it with their little hands. There were gears on it, but when Yellow turned them they didn't play a chiming melody like their music box did. Next they tried peering through it like they had with their kaleidoscope, but it didn't show them any pretty geometric patterns. Instead it just made everything look… green. "I'm not sure," they admitted, twisting the strap around their wrist thoughtfully. "I could tie it to your mane, like I did with the ribbon! Ooh, this one's silver - do you want this, too?"

@Khloros

"'Sebby.' Fire... That does sound familiar, the black cat. I think he was the one who had won the magic contests," Khloros mused, aloud. The last he'd seen the olympics, Astraea had been practically stalking him and he'd made a quiet retreat, having hatched there at the Spire mid-obstacle-course.

Awkward, but he knew of the winners, at least. Sebastian had taken part, he thought. Sadly Khloros knew nothing of his fate. "It was kind of them to take care of you. I have met Rift. Though I've seen neither in some time." That meant little, though; Khloros rarely left Cetus, these days. "We often sleep, I think, for long periods. Not--me, but others. I will let you know if I hear of them; or maybe we'll find out where they are in our travels. You--may put the ribbon in my mane, if you think it's..." He hesitated. "Pretty?" He didn't know what to call it. "If you'd like to," he corrected himself, quizzically. "So tell me: have you found anything else interesting in your adventures-?" Khloros asked, turning. It was cold, here; now that he had this, err. This... This thing, with the--things (goggles), he could probably leave again. Now he'd seen Ursa--and while he did find it beautiful, and peaceful, and while he did already plan to come back and visit it, he didn't want to keep Yellow in the cold.

"And where do you think we should go next?"

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@Yellow

Yellow clapped their little hands together with delight. Sebby won! That made perfect sense. Sebby was so big and powerful and kind, he could and deserved to win just about anything he wanted. "How about we go back to the room of mirrors?" they suggested, climbing on Khloros' back. "There were more tunnels leading out of it, besides the one going to Polaris... why don't we find out where they lead? Or you could pick an interesting place you've been to before, and show me!"

Carefully, they tied the goggles' straps around a large handful of Khloros' mane, then secured it with the silver ribbon. "How does that feel?" they asked, partially supporting the goggles with their hands but slowly letting it drop and hang on its own. They wanted to make sure it wouldn't hurt Khloros with its weight. "Does it pull on your mane? If it does, I'll put them around your neck instead!" Either way, they thought, the goggles added a great splash of color to Khloros' blackness.

@Khloros and exit Yellow?

Khloros flicked his ears, trying to figure out if the tug at his mane was painful, or not. It was certainly uncomfortable, right at that border where it might be pain.

He didn't know what they were, anyway. Goggles, that is. To him, they were just weird straps and glassy bits of bright colors and strange patterns. "They are... a little uncomfortable," he admitted. "But I don't think I want it around my neck. Maybe my head? Back above my ears?" he suggested. "If it's not too much trouble."

"I'll have one more look around, before we go," he decided. "And then we can head back through the mirror place--if you want? You could list all the rooms you've been to, and I can try to find one you haven't seen," he offered. He couldn't quite remember which Yellow had listed off, and it had been a rather rapid-fire explanation, regardless. Eridanus, at least, he knew they'd seen.

Khloros paced around for a few moments, head low and sniffing, steam pluming from his nostrils--and he found another box, its wrapping a little wet from snow. It was tucked aside and half-buried by a snowdrift, and with interest--hoping it was something new--he pulled at it with his teeth, again.

This one was green and red, and its ribbon was white; he picked this up in his teeth and swivelled his head to offer it to Yellow. "You can keep this ribbon, if you like-?" he offered, and then went for the box itself.

Within was a strange disc of black metal, studded by bright pinpricks of white. He wasn't sure what it was meant to represent; the dots seemed scattered quite haphazardly, markings around the outer edges of the disc adding nothing to his comprehension. Puzzled, he flipped it over; but the back was blank and smooth. "I do not know what this is, either," he said. "I can carry this one in my teeth." He picked it up, and immediately winced. "'S col'," he informed Yellow, past the disc; and then he turned, heading back toward Gemini.

He'd come here again, perhaps, when he had time to explore it at his leisure. But for now, Yellow was cold--and there was adventure to be had.

Amiably, Khloros plodded through the snow, toward this "adventure" he'd agreed to give the sifaka. He had nothing better to do, after all.

horse stock by venomxbaby on deviantart

exit Khloros
@Yellow (for visibility or another post if you like; if you want a follow-up anywhere let me know!!)

At Khloros' request, Yellow promptly untied the goggles again and climbed up Khloros' neck to slip them over his ears. They do look better there, the lemur thought, tilting their head at the contraption. It seemed like they were closer to where they were meant to be, now. And they stayed there without too much effort, without tugging on Khloros' mane like they had before. Satisfied, they scampered back down to rest on the horse's shoulders.

"Let's see... I haven't really been to many places! I hatched in Eridanus, of course, and I passed through Polaris to go to the room where I met you! I think that's it. Oh! But big brother Sebby told me once about a room called Orion! He said that it's really pretty and that I would like it lots! Could you take me there, if it's not too far away?" Yellow had no idea what or where Orion was, but they did know it was pretty. Sebby had said so, and maybe Sebby would be there too, admiring whatever about it was pretty?

They took the white ribbon from Khloros and examined it. Yellow, unlike Khloros, had no mane, but maybe... they could tie it around a wrist? It took quite a bit of finessing, and the bow was rather messy, but they managed it in the end. "Thank you!" they beamed, leaning forward and holding out their arm to show Khloros. "It looks so nice!"

exit Yellow for real now and @Khloros for visibility