"That is correct" Zeno confirmed at the child's understanding of its own gem. There seemed to be more but he wasn't about to ask and disturb its train of thought.

As the tiny bat spoke once again Zeno's brows raised in interest. A name already? Not only a name but a rather good one. Not directly copying the subject of conversation but taking it, adapting it, making it the child's own.

"Of course that is allowable!" he exclaimed softly, a small sense of pride in 'Pippy' for displaying such thought. In this short time this small bat had gone from hiding away to showing confidence and trust in someone who had initially scared him. There was still plenty of room to grow but this would be the first of many steps Pippy would take into mastering the art of living.

In what might have been a silly maneuver Zeno bowed his head once more with a grand gesture. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Pippy." he spoke formally. "Will you be staying in for the evening or going out to find food?"

Perhaps a bit random but he had experienced hunger shortly after emerging without realizing it for a while. When fear is the dominant emotion the need for food tends to take a back seat.

Zeno's gaze drifted out toward the fog and back to Pippy. "It is difficult to see out there." he asserted, nodding his head a little. Indeed that would probably be a thing of fear for this youth. The pauses in his words were palpable as Zeno considered the various courses of action he could take with this.

"From my scouting earlier it should be safe though. I would have never been able to find you had there been anything in the area to draw more attention."

Of course he knew that just vocal encouragement probably wouldn't be enough to cut it. With the wall of white pressing in there was no reason for Pippy to think that they'd be able to see out there.

"You won't have to go alone this first time though. I'm sure there is water somewhere around here and if we search together we are bound to find it twice as fast. Besides, this actually reminds me a bit of a story from my youth."

As he was about to start crawling toward the exit again a thought crossed Zeno's mind. Pippy had been having trouble even staying up on its wings before. Could the youth even make it far enough to find water, and even if so would they be able to make it back as well? With this reconsideration the larger bat placed a wing down near Pippy like a ramp, offering a ride on his own back should the youth decide to take it.

Once Pippy had successfully gotten on Zeno retracted his wing and let himself stand up tall, stretching limbs like he hadn't been able to do in a few minutes. He probably wouldn't be able to fly with a passenger like this, or at least not in a way that would guarantee the small bat's safety. With as much water as was in this room, however, surely they wouldn't have to go far.

"I'll go slowly so we won’t have to worry about any holes. Be sure to keep a look out for water while I tell my story." he assured the youth. His relatively great form sprung into motion, with Zeno taking deliberate strides toward the exit once more. Closer and closer until...

The air around them became brighter as they emerged from the shade of the root. Even if the cave's glow was reaching its dimmer period there was still plenty of light to see by. The mossy ground stretched out before them, littered by leaves and smaller roots and becoming more visible by the step. Likewise the shelter behind them was being swallowed up by the fog as they moved farther away.

"A long long time ago, on the day of my first memories in this world, I bore witness to a beauty far beyond my dreams could ever have prepared me for."

The vivid memories burst to life as Zeno spoke, hundreds upon hundreds of tiny sparks shooting up from the ground and lining the fog above with stars as far as the eye could see. The land ahead of them transformed into a translucent view of the ruins of Orion, or at least an idealized version of them that had cemented itself in Zeno's memories. Ghostly rainbow bees fluttered about, lazily bumping into each other in a silly manner and going about their business. The walk continued, with building after building passing by and fazing into a haze as even more buildings sprouted up ahead.

"This was the room of stars, one that exists to this day and one that I will always hold a fondness for. On that day I witnessed all the beauty and terror of this world. I will spare you the details but just suffice to know that the good outweighs the bad by far."

One by one the buildings dimmed and the lights flickered out, leaving an artificial shell of darkness above them in the fog. "Such wonder was not to last though. For as long as I was able to enjoy the light I had to wander through one hundred times that length in pure darkness. It was scary and confusing, but in that time I taught myself to fly and learned how the stars burned."

A ceiling appeared in the darkness and drew closer, revealing dozens of unlit crystals that passed above by as they traveled.

"I learned with a simple click" he continued, emitting a soft click from his wing and adjusting his ears, "I could vaguely tell where I was going and no longer had to fear the unknown wall or pit."

A few steps passed without a word, the crystals still passing by overhead. "One day though, as though the hopes and wishes of the gembound had been heard and answered, the light returned. It has been like that for cycles upon cycles now, and through luck it appears that the youth such as yourself will never have to know darkness like we traversed."

One by one the crystals above began to light up, shrinking in size as the ceiling began to appear further and further away. The ruins of Orion appeared again, closer now to how they actually looked. With tale told the entire scene began to softly fade away, the fogs of Cetus taking over view again and the land below returning to nothing more than dirt and moss.

A small chuckle emerged from Zeno's throat as the last of the spell finished. "That was the best I've ever been able to tell that!" he exclaimed in somewhat uncharacteristic excitement.

"It was my pleasure. Others may know more about how or why it came back, but that would be a story for another time and from another gembound." hew responded to the thanks. To be honest having another to tell his story to was quite a lovely change of pace. The life he lead was a peaceful one, but it was nice every once in a while to have company other than one's own thoughts.

For the moment he decided not to elaborate on the click, especially as the youth appeared to be focused on the task given them. As a fellow bat there was a decent chance they would find it on their own one day. With ears proportionally larger than his they might even be able to master it to a level he never would reach. The art of listening to the life and travels of a single note as it calls back from afar was a relaxing one, but significantly less accurate than actual sight for him.

Head turned slightly to the right and ears with it at Pippy's command. It took him a moment and a few more steps in that direction before the sounds of water could be clearly heard. "Good job!" he exclaimed as pace increased ever-so-slightly.

It took a few moments but the sounds of water grew crisper and crisper by the second, leading them to a tiny stream cutting through the land. An offshoot from a larger stream nearby no doubt and probably a bit too small for the larger gembound to consider, but for them it was perfect.

Without a word Zeno lowered his head toward the ground again, letting his wings fall to the sides to provide a ramp.

Once Pippy had made their way down the Zeno sat himself back up and looked around at the immediate area. Still no signs of any other gembound that could cause them problems. After that one day and a couple of scares throughout his lifetime he really hadn't had too much issue with larger creatures posing a threat, but the young one definitely didn't need anything to justify a timid world view.

In the back of his mind as he listened to the sounds of the stream and rustling of the trees Zeno debated between possible courses of action from this point. From here it would be fairly simple to lead Pippy back to their tree and be on his way, but was that really the best option? What was he doing that required him to leave so soon?

Then again, if he were to stay close by would Pippy ever really be able to grow? Having a guardian could empower the youth to go out and explore and try new things with the knowledge that there was always a way out, but it could also provide a safety net that would make everything else look so much more intimidating by comparison. Most likely what they needed was a friend, not a guardian, right?

No amount of thinking would allow Zeno to see the future, with its infinite forks and uncertainties. For now all he could do was act to the best of his knowledge and ability, even if that turned out to be a mistake later on.

"As long as it took to get here, we actually aren't too far from your home. You should be able to get here any time you need if you watch the path." he remarked with a grin at the half-drenched bat. "For now though, how about I lead you back and then let you get some rest?"