ORIGIN - My Dawn, Your Dusk [open]

Swaine

Two fangs away from helpless.

AND SO THE STORY BEGINS WITH__

Darkness.-- For the longest time it's always been darkness. While it couldn't be fathomed why darkness as a concept was understood, it has always been recognized; that was, until the crack. It couldn't be placed when it first appeared but, it never stopped growing. As it had, light - like a general signalling a charge, barricaded darkness. And with it came a plethora of sensations all at once, as if lighting a fuse and setting a fire. It was inexplicable truly, but it wasn't about to stop because it's host wasn't yet cognizant; there was work to be done.

The cracks grew more in size with every second that passed, each more noticeably larger than former until tiny spots of something unfathomable appeared beyond the light.-- "What isss that??", the thought echoed from within the darkness as a silhouette soon etched itself into being, "What isss that??". Wriggling it's way closer, the silhouette approached the spots and pushed with whatever was at it's disposal. From a gentle nudge to a violent thrashing, it bashed and bashed until finally making it's way through and collapsing onto a rough yet slightly mushy surface; it felt wet yet cool to the touch.

"...Where...Who...What?--"

The air was chill against the many scales of their figure. As it slithered past the black diamond chrysalis it had emerged from, the silhouette made it's way beyond the towering tree it had been positioned under; the light revealing the silhouette's identity. Simultaneously, the figure analyzed what little they could of their swamp-like surroundings with the mist shrouding a large percentage of their peripheral. At that time, both the being and the world it inhabitant met each for the first time...If only that good moment could've lasted forever.

As if it were a reoccurring theme, a sudden rush of information invaded their mind. Lashing their form back and forth in pain, the freshly emerged form came to it's senses as the migraine subsided. "I...know..I know! Eassstern tiger sssnake.", their voice was high pitched yet raspy as it spoke, "But who? Where?", in a panic it scanned the area; this was all unfamiliar. That being said, they strangely weren't ignorant. Though they'd been mere minutes into existence, survival was not foreign to them; they understood it and their position very clearly.

"Where am I??"

Authors Note: Looking for friendlies!

For once, the most interesting part of his day starts not with him hearing the movement of some small animal—rats, usually, or a bird if he's feeling adventurous with his hunting—but, instead, with a crack!

Swooping low over the marshes of the swamp-cave, it takes him a few moments to re-adjust, beating his wings hard in mid-air to wheel around, slowing his movements as he comes to a stop.

Now what the heck was that?

It sounded like... shattering stone? The sound is familiar to him in a way he can't quite place, like something he's heard in a far-away memory.

Whatever the case, now he's curious. He's just gotta figure out what in the caves that sound was now.

As he angles himself towards the sound, flying with slow, measured wing-beats, another sound comes to him: a voice. Something triumphant, calling out into the foggy air—something about a snake?

Huh. Weird.

At least he has a better fix on the source of the sound, and he knows he's coming closer, now, but seriously, what was that sound from before...?

He comes up on the self-proclaimed snake soon enough, anyway. The dimness of his cave makes his already-bad eyesight nearly nonexistent, but it's not like it's a problem for him, with all this sound about. The high-pitched chirp he gives to hear out his surroundings as he lands is high enough to hardly be audible to the young serpent; his voice, however, is certainly not.

"Hey, uh—don't panic," he tells them, tilting his head as he listens to the shape of the area around him. Nothing too notable, mostly just water, mud, and a few shards of something he recognizes as crystal behind them...

...oh. Oh.

This one's a newborn! Kinda young like he is, except even younger, which is a weird thought. Makes him feel a little older than he usually feels.

...no wonder they're so confused. "You're in a swamp. There's a bunch of water 'n stuff—gets deeper further in—" He gestures in a direction with one wing, "—but 's long as you keep to the edges you should be okay."

And if not, well... he's okay with magic.

His mouth opens briefly in another chirp; curious, he listens to the shape of their scales, something long and winding like a river making up their body. He's heard a couple snakes before, but never actually... talked to one.

He pauses. "...you got a name? I'm Stygian."

Man, that's more words than he's said in a while. His throat is gonna get sore if this keeps up.

@Swaine

Swaine

Two fangs away from helpless.

AND SO THE STORY BEGINS WITH__

Swaine Posting Document

Existence - or what few short minutes of it Swaine's experienced, has been a whirlwind of emotions; another concept they're aware of yet fail to comprehend. From their emergence from the black diamond crystal, only traveled a few steps worth of distance yet they'd learned so much. The basic functionalities of their being, the surprising depth of their conscious, and - in a twist, their overall lack of understanding in a great deal of places.

Much akin to a blank slate, Swaine felt as if this very vicinity held a wealth of information that could serve as education to the young tiger snake. And though there hadn't been much in regards to scenery, the land they slithered upon was perceived as sacred ground; the first ground they'd ever tread. With that in mind, there were a few things they needed to learn immediately:

1. Learn of whereabouts.
2. Find a shelter.
3. Find something to eat.

If they could accomplish at least this, the rest could be worked out with time.-- But time never does wait for anyone, does it? As if it were a warning, their tongue picked up on a steadily approaching flavor foreign to any registered prior; this was alive, but more importantly, this was frightening. Looking around for any signs of life, Swaine was all but too late to discover a bat within speaking distance.

"Gah!", flattening their form out out of shock, their body goes into a form of cruise control as they lock onto to the bat having just told them not to panic. Taking a second to process their words, Swaine soon after reverted to their previous stature; sensing no danger from their new guest...How they knew it was a bat was beyond them. They just assume this knowledge came with the migraine they'd experienced prior.

The bat next introduced Swaine to their whereabouts, going as far as to tell them the safest way to navigate them. How nice, consider that one thing checked off the list. Following this, they'd asked them a particular question that stood atop the mountain they'd already amassed; they'd asked if they had a name, this confused the snake.

"N-Name? What isss that? What isss a name?", despite easing their hostilities, they couldn't help but still feel nervous speaking to them; as if the conversation in itself were some sort of challenge. "I-I don't know anything. Well, I don't know many thingsss. I know some things though!", they looked back to the crystal "I just came from there. Haven't been here for long, I don't know how long though". They're voice was shaky as it spoke, full of hesitance out of fear of the unknown.

"W-what is that n-noissse you jussst made? A-And where did you come from? How big isss this "ssswamp"?

With so many questions, one would instantly feel bombarded - unfortunately for Swaine, they've no idea what bombarding even means let alone how to do it. They could only hope this gembound possessed an extremely high tolerance.

"Agggh!", wincing in pain, another wave of thoughts (albeit specific) entered their mind. After it had subsided, Swaine gazed at bat with a relatively blank expression. "...Swaine. My name is Swaine. C-Can you help me? I..don't know what that means exactly but, I feel I need help."

@Stygian

Authors Note: Been a long time since I've written and I'm a first time snek; sorry if it isn't the best reply T_T.

Okay, uh. Stygian blinks a couple times at the onslaught of questions from the young snake, thoroughly overwhelmed. They are… distinctly not equipped to deal with things like 'existential crises' and 'oh, caves, was I like this when I hatched?'

But… they're just a kid. They're just a kid like he is, and even though in the moment Stygian is really wishing there was, like, an adult or something around… there isn't. So he'll just have to do.

Although they're not starting out with the easy questions. "Uh, noise? What noise?"

A beat passes, as he goes over all of the noises he'd made in the last few moments or so. His eyes narrow as his brain works, trying to figure out what in the caves they're asking…

Wait. Do they mean…? "Uh, this?" A click of the tongue and the corresponding sound he uses to see comes through, high-pitched and returning the sound of the coiling figure curled on the swamp floor.

"Do you not…" Stygian pauses. As a relatively independent figure, he doesn't interact with other Gembound… much. Or at all. His only interaction with other beings usually stems from him knocking Lessers out of the sky with lightning bolts for sport.

Which means he's utterly clueless as to how other beings, er… see. "Is that… not how you see? Y'know, make that sound, hear the shape of things around you…?"

Hm. Well, now he's even more confused.

And a little concerned, at the amount of pain the snake is showing before him. A note of worry enters his voice as he wing-walks around the form of the snake, another high-pitched tone coming out of his mouth as he checks the snake for any injury. "I… honestly, I dunno what's wrong. But… I'll try my best?"

That, at least, he knows he'll do. It's not like he can just leave them out there to fend for themselves, y'know?

@Swaine

OOC: no worries, I enjoy your writing! you're doing great, don't worry about it
and i apologize for the delay in replies! i'll try to make the next one a little faster :P