White-gold chrysalis shards spill from beneath a crystal outcropping. Gemstone is bathed in soft blue light; something comforting, ordinarily.
But in the shadow of this outcropping, where the light doesn't reach and a lone Gembound could be easily missed, a youthful snake (hardly the size of a forearm at this length) lays half-curled, hiding from the world.
Sie's been hiding for a while. The shade is comforting, sie thinks. Nothing can see hir in the shade. Nothing can hurt hir in the shade.
...nobody can help hir, in the shade.
And maybe sie would move from this little, out-of-the-way spot in one of the few shadows in Polaris, move to somewhere more visible or nicer, except… sie can't.
And sie has not been awake for very long—only a few days, only a few patterns of darkness and light, it's been a lot but not that much—but… sie knows that isn't right.
And sie doesn't know why. The very thought of it—any attempt to move or pay attention to hir lower body—is met with a rising tide of fear. Sie can't move. Why can't sie move? Why is sie stuck here?
Sie has taken what little reassurance sie could get. For hir, that's turning to rest hir head against the stone floor in a poor mimicry of what a snake like hir could do if they could move—although sie doesn't know that, only her lonely, terrified little reality—and trying hir best to hide away.
It's worked, so far. The few others sie's seen pass through Polaris from this angle haven't even spared a glimpse towards hir. That's good, sie thinks. That means sie's okay for another day.
But… recently, sie's been met with the slowly creeping realization that sie can't hide away like this forever. Sie would, if sie could—of all the things this little Gembound is, patience comes in spades—but sie's hungry. And thirsty, and… it's not a very good feeling.
And as filled as sie is with this terror at an unknown world, a world with things and creatures that move while sie can't, the aching, growing feeling of hunger in hir stomach might just weigh heavier than that.
As timid as a mouse, sie raises hir head, and calls—
it took a while to get to polaris, and probably she had to ask for directions but hush she won't admit that, when she got there, she yelped at the buzzing of magic beneath her tiny, sensitive paws. she hopped around, trying to keep her feet off the ground for as long as possible.
she waddled around for a bit, looking at the pretty rocks, looking at the spire, looking at everything she could, and she immediately perked up at the sound of the chrysalis shattering. she looked around, unsure of where the noise came from.
she padded towards the direction she thinks it mustve come from, gasping slightly as she heard someone speak.
"Hello? is anyone there?"
she piped up, voice like a poorly played flute. "hey! hey where are you!!" she called out, speedwalking towards the noise, looking around. she poked her nose into every corner, until she eventually caught a glimmer of what.. couldve been someones gem? "hey!! i can't find you, you down there??" she asked. "are you okay?"
@Luminescence
A voice! An answering voice! Someone's nearby, someone heard hir calls!
Sie—sie doesn't know how to feel about that.
On... on one hand, she's very hungry, and a little dizzy because of it, and she thinks she needs to eat soon. That's important.
On the other hand: oh the other Gembound is very big and she is coming closer—
With the quietest 'eep!' of fear, Luminescence pulls hir head back into the shade, concealing hir form into that little nook once more. Heart pounding—waiting for something to happen. Something bad.
But as the other pulls closer and starts to sniff around, hir heartrate begins to level out. After all... sie can't move much, and sie especially can't move away, but... the other Gembound doesn't look nearly as scary, up close. Sure, she's taller than her, but... not that much. And she sounds... she sounds very nice, and the sound of another voice to a snake who hasn't heard a single voice since sie hatched is like honey to hir ears.
A soft, timid voice floats out of hir little cranny in response.
She swallows, slowly raising her head to meet eyes with the other Gembound. Unconsciously, magic flares, reaching out where body cannot—a link attempts to form, a child's grasping attempt for reassurance.
The question reminds hir—reminds her that although this Gembound isn't going to hurt hir... things are still wrong. A deeply unsettling feeling rests in her chest, fear making hir breaths come quick and shallow.
A sniffle.
she tilts her head. she can almost feel what was almost a pull at her subconscious, but it faltered and nothing came from it. she would ask what it was if she had any idea of what it COULD be, she isn't familiar with much magic yet other than her own.
she hesitantly moves to get closer, stepping down a bit further but not intruding into her hidey hole.
her expression softens, a half-frown on her face. 'do you know why?" she asked gently, voice only maybe 1 level quieter, but she wasn't really built for quiet.
she looks around. theres no water or food around here, and if she can't move, then even if there was it wouldn't do much good.
"do you need help?" she asked, crouching to try and get down to her level, tiny pup face being almost immediately buried in her down feathers, making her look.. quite funny. she looked kinda awkward in this position, as if her body wasn't made to be this low to the floor.
"My names Astoria, but you can call me tori if you want. do you have a name?"
@Luminescence
A choked noise of fear. Sie raises hir head up ever-so-slowly to meet the other Gembound, seeking warmth. The question elicits another shivering bolt of fear down hir spine; sie doesn't know anything at all, other than that sie's hungry and thirsty and a little cold, and oh, so lonely.
Sie shakes hir head.
The other's coming closer, now, but it doesn't evoke fear from the serpent, anymore. Sie knows sie won't be hurt by the other, by now. Instead, sie raises hir head as high as it will go—giving another shake of the head and a tremble when sie inevitably hits hir limit. A dead end. Paralyzed beyond the small range of hir neck. Why, why, why... sie doesn't know why. And it's terrifying.
Why can't sie move like she can?
Why can't sie move at all?
The only thing keeping hir from total despair, for now, is the presence of the other. A grounding, warm presence—sie can sense it from here, even if sie can't feel it on hir scales quite yet. Head having risen as far up as it will go, sie gives a soft flick of the tongue, smelling for the other. Gentle; panic slowly fading into something calmer...
A beat, the snake thinking over Astoria's own mention of a nickname. Tori...
Something soft—something hopeful—begins to show in hir eyes. Sie's not alone, anymore. Tori's here.
Another unconscious flare of magic accompanies that thought; something warm, but still grasping, searching to solidify that bond. Sparking from that little bud of friendship and trying its best to make it a new bloom.
she looked around. she knows theres lots of food in pegasus! maybe lumi would wanna come with her?
"my dad and i live in another cave called pegasus..? it has lots of food and water, i can take you! its also super pretty!" she offered, voice loud again with all the inflection of excitement, but her face only quirked to show it slightly. she hoped she got it across? "your name is super pretty, too! pretty name, pretty places!"
Tori would be able to feel that pull again, and this time it didn't go away, only formed into something more.. complete. her thoughts were obviously mostly centered on lumi at the moment, but feelings bloomed from every corner of her mind. anxiety, but mostly a steady flow of happy and careful excitement. "i wonder what kind of flowers lumi would like..." she thought, unaware at the moment lumi might be able to hear her.
she faltered for a moment, as the link gave her an oblivious insight into lumi's feelings too, her heart aching in shared uncertainty, but she still looked at lumi with big, hopeful eyes, the slightest quirk of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
@Luminescence
Something in the back of her mind clicks.
Sie doesn't understand it, not yet—it's a subconscious feeling, one sie barely perceives. But it's a feeling that speaks to friendship. It speaks to the end of loneliness; it speaks not to the end of hir fear, (because sie is small, and young, and fear is a thing that will pervade hir soul for a long, long while) but to the end of hir isolation.
It speaks, however softly, to hope.
And that, in the end, is what causes hir to relax; what causes hir heartbeat to begin to slow. The unconscious beat of another's thoughts and emotions, as close as a caress, is what brings hir comfort.
It sounds better than the cave sie's in right now. The cave hir mind has associated with fear; the crystals that surround hir, ceaseless, unspeaking, uncaring sentinels over hir terror. The only cave sie's ever known, but a cave where sie has felt so afraid that sie would rather not be there at all.
And Tori said something about food. Food is nice. Sie'd like food. Sie'd like something to eat. Sie hasn't had something to eat since sie hatched.
And unknown to hir, the warmth of Luminescence's grateful hope drifts across their new bond like petals on a soft breeze.
Something gently startled enters her expression at the other's words. Hir...? Beautiful? Sie—sie's very new to the world, she doesn't quite know what's beautiful and what's not. What to associate with a word like 'beautiful'.
But despite her newness to the world, sie does know some things. Sie knows that the crystals around hir, however imposing, do have a certain beauty to them. Sie knows that sie could stare for hours at their light; that anything else that gives off light like that would, indeed, be beautiful.
Tori's not something that glows like the crystals do; at least, not literally. But Luminescence looks at her, looks at the Gembound who came to look for her when she called out and the Gembound that sie's only known for a few minutes, yet feels so safe around, and decides she has a light of her own. It's something that shines in her eyes, soft and worried, something that makes her look…
...well, it makes her look beautiful, too.
Sie likes the word 'beautiful'. And it gives hir a bit of pause, to think about that word and realize, really realize that Tori is saying that word towards hir.
Another set of words, one that's quieter; one sie assumes sie only barely caught, as it feels a little different to the other words Tori's said.
A curious tilt of the head.
she paused for a second, if only to wonder, "how'd she do that? can she read my mind? yo lumi if you can hear this tell me you can hear it because thats so cool". lumi would probably also be able to hear that too, if she didnt just assume tori was still talking.
she carried on though, "oh yeah! alot of flowers, they come in all sorts of colors too, like red n green and blue and pink, some even kinda look like you and me!! its nuts!! theyre all super pretty but dad says you can only eat some of them, which i just think is unfair." she huffed, but happily wiggling as she (if lumi didn't mind and didn't move previously) finally got lumi around her neck, her wings fluffing up to keep her from rolling off, tiny as they were. "we can go whenever youre ready!!"
@Luminescence
Pride! Joy! Foreign feelings, in a way Luminescence could never describe, but feelings that buoy hir nonetheless, removing all fear even as Tori's teeth prick up in a snarly grin. Feelings that make her feel so happy, so excited; even though sie can't move, is that a problem, really? Sie's sure sie'll figure out some way around it. Sie's sure sie'll figure out some way to move like Tori does, with a gentle padding of paws and—
Oh! Tori's head is working its way under hir underbelly now, and with a flash of surprise sie realizes exactly what sie's trying to do. Sie tries to help the best sie can, reaching out and stretching forward with hir head, although it's a little difficult what with the fact that she can't really feel the muzzle under her belly past a certain point.
Another question comes to her.
As far as Lumi's concerned, sie hasn't used magic at all; sie doesn't even know what magic is, being so new to the world. It must be Tori's doing, right?
The expression on hir face wrinkles slightly at the thought of eating flowers. Sie doesn't know a lot of things, but sie doesn't think the thought of 'flowers' are something that taste any good... but Tori knows well, right? Maybe flowers will look tastier than they sound.
Sie doesn't linger on that for too long; mostly because sie's too busy snuggling around her neck, twisting hir head side to side in an attempt to wiggle hirself into the most comfortable position possible. Oh, this is... this is wonderful.
Sie thinks,
And sie thinks,
She was so afraid, but now... sie thinks things are going to be alright.
when she managed it, she managed a shaky grin. "woo! we're gettin places!"
she wooped, giggling with giddy excitement. "you can totally read my mind! i think i can read yours too, we can like, hear eachothers thoughts and stuff! maybe we were destined to be best friends, that sounds way cool!!! you're super cool." she said all in one breath, gasping for air as she finished, only to dive right into it again.
"i think you'll like my dad, he's like, super sweet, but also a total pushover!! huge dork. he's a healer or something, makes stuff to help people when theyre hurt, i wanna do that too, but like, different. its cool. pegasus is full of plants and animals, which is what he uses, but theyre also good food, like, you haven't tasted goof food till you've had wind runner, let me tell ya!" she babbled as she stepped out of the hole, padding at a happy pace towards the tunnel she'd come out of. "we're gonna have so much fun!"
she would just keep talking.
@Luminescence