Bug, at first emerging happily into the beautiful expanse and likewise gazing around at the glittering quartz, was taken very much by surprise when Sphinx found a chrysalis.

At least, at first she assumed it must be one.

When the owl-beak began to hammer frantically at the surface, Bug scurried over, staring with wide eyes--and then blinked. And burst out laughing.

She reached out, trying to stop Sakhira from potentially hurting herself. "No, no--that's not--that's not a child, Sakhira! Look. See, I'm in there too? It's--a reflection, okay? Shiny things, like some stones, water... you can see reflections. You'll understand once you see a few of 'em," she assured her.

It didn't escape her that the kid looked a little tired, though, and she sat back, thinking. "Want to see if we can find some place to rest? You look sort of tired; we can always look for water, maybe. I could show you your reflection to show you what I mean, and we can look for food? And then once you've rested... we can explore a little? Or--what do you want to do?" It was just a suggestion, but really, Bug didn't mind either way.

"Uh-huh, reflection, yeah," she confirmed, stepping back now that it was clear Sakhira was done smashing her face against a rock. (Bug glanced at the crystal one more time, though, just to be sure--and yup, just reflections. Phew.)

"We can try to find some water, then, c'mon. I can make food, yeah, but it takes magic and it's not a lot of food. And when you're alone you'll have to find your own, so..." Teach a Gembound to fish, and all that. "But different Gembounds eat different things! Like bugs and fruit or meat or grass." Yuck. "Any of that sound good to you?"

She paused, then. "Stay here just a second. Gonna see if I can't find some water for us." For reflections, yeah, but also to drink.

Bug waited just a moment for Sakhira to hopefully acknowledge this--then took off, black wings flapping her off into the air like some demented Halloween decoration. She swept off into the dark, and after a moment's searching lit beside a puddle--a little dingy, stale-looking. Probably meltwater. But it was (after a dip of pink tongue-tip) drinkable, so she flapped her way back to Sakhira and landed again. "This way!" she offered, turning to lead her on.

Bug listened with a twinned sense of sympathy and mounting amusement as Sakhira found that the water was not up to her standards. "...Disappointing, huh?" she repeated, stifling a laugh. "You gotta drink, though. We all have to drink." It didn't occur to her that somewhere out there might be a weird Valkhound design or something that was allergic to water. OBVIOUSLY, EVERYONE had to drink, in her mind.

"Maybe if I give you a reflection?" she offered, pacing up alongside the hybrid and glancing down, and then around. "Orion is pretty dim."

She squinted for a moment, and tried to summon up a wisp--something that'd shine onto the water, not too bright (the wisps never were)--but enough to maybe spark a strong reflection.

Anything to keep the kid entertained. And less disappointed.

It flared up, sputtering and flickering a little but--it was light. It shimmered teal blue, providing some light for a reflection, and Bug glanced at Sakhira again, grinning. "How 'bout now?" she asked.

Oh, and... "Were we gonna get food after this? I forgot already. Was that the plan?" Easily distracted, this one, apparently.

"Your paw did go through!" she agreed amiably. "It's like... light, not real fire," she added contemplatively. "Don't do that to other ones, though. Some burn. Some lights."

To the rest, she thought about it, tail flicking, then brightened. "YEAH! Meat food! That was it. Thanks, kid, we can--oh. You sure you don't want to drink something before we go..?" she added, squinting and glancing at the water.

Maybe this... species... didn't drink water. One mental shrug later, Bug was looking around for somewhere to stash her gemstone gift--and she was out of sight for a moment among some rocks, carefully tipping it from her back and settling it somewhere hidden. No use trying to stalk and prowl with a big gemstone balancing on her back!

"Okay. Let's try--over there," she suggested, padding off toward some shadowed ruins. "There's little Lesser Gembounds that wander around in there. Rats and mice and things. We can kill those, and eat them," she went on cheerfully. Maybe another, more mature and parental Gembound might have sadly explained how 'killing' worked, but it didn't occur to Bug, who viewed the whole thing as "sort of sad" but quite necessary, and nothing to really dwell on.

"SO!"

And now it was time for Bug to explain how to hunt.

"You have to be really quiet, and stealthy! That means don't be seen. And you gotta--oh! Also don't be heard! ...and you have to see or hear them. Or smell them, first. And then bite them a lot until they die. Then you can eat them." She hoped that was simple enough, but--oh.

She turned, sending her wisp back to wait behind them. "...Wisp'd be bad to bring," she explained, and then began to prowl forward, hushed.

She glanced to Sakhira--to see if the child would follow suit.

"Oh, jeez, no, not like us," she answered back, her voice a quiet hush. And she went on to explain, though all the while her black form twisted sinuously in and out of the ruins with feline grace, her paw-steps whisper-soft and her wings folded against her back. "Just ones that don't speak. You'll learn to recognize them but they're all mice, and rats and deer, and bats and things. And birds. And fish. -Just eat the ones that don't talk," she settled on.

Her nose switched, now and then, between raising into the air to sniff, or checking along the ground. Her eyes, wide, scoured the shadows for any signs of prey. And her ears swivelled, this way and that, listening for any sign of sound. It was probably a good example for Sakhira to follow, though Bug didn't find anything to actually hunt just yet.

"Keep your eyes out. I mean, watch, for anything moving. And listen and smell." Advice added to example, she prowled on further, creeping into the shadow of the city ruins just ahead. "If you smell or hear anything, say so, and we'll hunt it!"