ORIGIN

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The owl made her way out from Tunnel I and into Orion. She lifted her head upwards to look at the glistening ceiling, beak grinding together quietly before she twisted her head back behind her to look into the tunnels behind her.

Fluffing herself up, she decided her much-brighter companion would arrive soon as she began making her way further into the room, walking slowly. It took some effort to tear her gaze away from the ceiling to look at the crumpled buildings scattered around.

There was a pause before the owl finally sat herself down and looked up once more, quietly watching the ceiling.

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Tunnel I had given Adeyemi more questions than answers, and he left muttering to himself, trying to reason out what the symbols on the walls had meant. The sudden brightening of the room caused him to stumble, and his gaze darted up to the ceiling. "Oh my." The entirety of the cave's ceiling was covered in glowing crystals, and the walls themselves were threaded through with the same material. Even the floor had clumps of gemstones growing haphazardly about, and Adeyemi hopped from the ground to one of the growths to the ground, continuing the pattern for a while with a rare child-like glee.

The turaco stumbled to a stop when he caught sight of his companion, glad to have caught up with her, and he waddled over to where she sat, staring up at the ceiling. "Beautiful, yes?" From the glances darted between her and the crystals, it was rather hard to tell which he meant.

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Any and all attempts at flattery seemed to go right over the owl's head as she simply nodded in agreement - afterall, she still hadn't found her name yet, how would she notice a flirt, no matter how obvious it was? It reminded her - how had Adeyemi found his name seconds after emerging from the stone prison?

Then again, he had several days stuck in one place to come up with one. But hadn't she, too?

Her head swiveled towards Adeyemi with a soft sigh, soft-spoken as ever she asked, "How did you learn your name?"

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Adeyemi grinned - as much as a bird could, what with the beak - at her nod. Success. He didn't seem to understand in the slightest that she'd had no idea of the attempt at flirting, and indeed, his crest had raised a bit at the presumed outcome. So caught up in the moment was the turaco that he almost flinched back when his companion suddenly swiveled to meet his gaze, and he rustled his wings a bit, flustered. "W-what? Oh! My name!"

It wasn't an easy question to answer, and he tapped the floor with sharp talons, the sound echoing slightly in the vast room. "I was... awake. For many days, inside of the... place." He didn't know what it was truly called, but it had felt like - "A prison. Yes. That is the word. I was in the prison for many days." He turned his gaze to the ceiling, the glittering gemstones sending him back into his memories. "I could not hear or see anything. And yet, something came to me. A thought."

He turned back to the owl, tilting his head to one side. "Two things, actually. Strength and crown. I do not know what they mean... but when I was freed, they brought forth a third something. Adeyemi. It must mean something related to the other two things, yes?" The question seemed more metaphorical than literal, and he huffed, turning his head away to glare at the ruins of Orion. "But I do not truly know. I only know that I am Adeyemi."

Fixing a bent feather, nerves leaking through his bravado, Adeyemi sat next to his friend - one of the few beings he'd ever term thusly, he knew. "I am sure you will find your name. Perhaps it will come from something we have seen, yes? The forest, or the tunnel, or even this place." He chuffed out a short chirp, almost like a laugh. "It is certainly more fitting than something like rock or tree," he offered.

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The owl seemed to think for a moment. "There were words," she said. "Only two. Purpose and hungry. I do not believe a name lies in either."

She watched Adeyemi for a moment. "A crown," she seemed to be asking, though it wasn't very clear. She stared over the top of the bird's head with a slow head tilt before she nodded slightly.

"A crown," she repeated.

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The turaco, staring into the other bird's eyes, seemed to take a moment to realise she'd spoken, and shuffled in place. "No, I would think not," he agreed, eyes narrowing in thought. It was obviously bothering his companion that she had yet to find her name, but before he could try and come up with anything, she was staring at him again, tilting her head and gazing at his crest. He focused on fluffing it up a bit more, preening smugly. "Indeed. Although I... do not know exactly what a crown is. But I know it is important," he added, quickly covering over what he saw as holes in his knowledge.

"Perhaps if we continue to travel... together, we shall find your name, yes?" The question was a bit over-eager, and Adeyemi didn't have much luck hiding his true plea to keep the only other Gembound he'd yet to meet close. "After all, we are safer together. Stronger."

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"The crown is the back of one's head," said the owl. She wasn't sure how she knew this, but she found herself saying it anyway. She turned her head back to look at Orion. "Perhaps."

She climbed back up onto her talons, looking down. "Would you like to look around?"

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"Hm," Adeyemi chirped, a wing going up to touch at the back of his own head contemplatively. "Yes... something... hm." He shook off the idea, focusing on the owl. "Perhaps I will find it when you find your name, yes?" At her suggestion, he nodded, getting up with a bit of a stumble thanks to his still semi-charred feet. "Indeed! We should explore!"

He peered around the room, wandering this way and that, in and out of ruined rooms, rifling through fallen bits of wall and debris. A few awkward flaps of his wings, and the turaco was hopping along the still-standing walls, gaze flickering from the floor to the sprawling room that was Orion. His gaze caught on something - oh my. The Throne of Orion, decrepit as it was, called to Adeyemi, and he chirruped, staring up at where it sat. No matter how much he longed to make his way over, he didn't want to lose his companion within the ruins.

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"Very strange," admitted the owl as she stared up at the throne. After a moment of silence, she carefully leaned to Adeyemi, whispering "What is it for?"

The bird looked around for any further clues on what the giant chair's purpose was, but there wasn't anything around, really. Some black cat-hairs, strange prints in the ground. Eventually, the owl shrugged and looked at Adeyemi to see if he had any ideas.

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Adeyemi chirped at his friend, gaze shifting from her to the throne and back. "I do not... know. But it looks familiar." The turaco hopped, jumped and clumsily glided closer to the structure, taking no notice of the prints in the dust, nor of the black cat hairs placed about. When the bird reached the throne, he stood, staring up at it with uncharacteristic awe. "Power. It is for power," Adeyemi crowed, eyes alight. He shook his wings once, twice, before hopping up onto the throne itself, strutting about the seat and arms of the stone structure happily.

"Yes, yes! We of the wings and beaks are meant for things like this, to look out over the world from high above." He scanned Orion, spread out before the throne, and chirruped, peering down at the owl. "Come, come! You can see everything in this place from up here!"