"Speech" @Macawi

The Room of Lights.

So aptly named, the cub thought as he sat, his neck craned upwards as he gazed longingly up at the lanterns hanging from the cavern ceiling. He'd spent what felt like ages leaping, stretching, batting at thin air with his paws outstretched, but they never seemed to have gotten any closer. He wondered if he'd ever be able to reach them. Perhaps if he trained and trained until he could jump high enough! Or maybe he'd find a way to just reach up and be big enough that he'd simply reach out and pluck one with his jaws.

He smiled, determination suddenly creasing his little brow. With a dramatic flourish he dropped down onto his chest, gaze fixed on the lantern. The fuzz along his spine bristled in anticipation. He wiggled his butt and lashed his white-tipped tail at the air. Then he leaped!

Up and up and up he soared.

Or at least that's how he imagined it'd go.

In reality, the lantern came no closer and Todd came down hard and sudden. He spun out of control, realizing it was going to end badly moments before he hit the ground back-first. Heavily he landed, winded, whimpering quietly, too stunned to even cry out. His sides trembled with shock, ears drooping. His small claws drove into the mossy ground and as he looked up the lanterns gleamed.

And suddenly they looked like mocking eyes.

When was the last time Macawi had been to Polaris? Hmm… She couldn’t really say. What she remembered was helping Baratheon with his memories here. That was the important thing. Come to think of it, whoever he’d been looking for, his daughter, they’d never found her. And that had been, what, a cycle ago? Mm. That was concerning. She shrugged it off, though. She’d met him again in Eridanus and he hadn’t seemed worried about it then, so… maybe it didn’t matter in the end. Though, if she had a daughter who went missing… No, she probably wouldn’t be too worried, actually. And this is why she never wanted kids. She’d be the worst mother. Or, maybe, the best, in an odd sort of way.

Rambling again! Her mind did that a lot. Every once in a while, Tangakwunu would chirrup a thought or two into her head to add to her rambling mind. He was good for that, and for keeping her company. She didn’t mind that he was simpler in thought than she was. He was a Lesser Gembound, after all, but that didn’t make him any less important. Oh! What was this? A little… jumping fox? It was a fox, right? She couldn’t be sure. It could almost be a little Coyote, but she thought that about all canids. They were either littler Coyotes or bigger Coyotes.

She cleared her throat a few feet from the young creature. “Hello, little one! Macawi is wondering what is with the jumping? Is This One trying to reach something? Or just jumping for fun?” Tangak let out a small, shy peep, and fluttered off to find somewhere to watch from afar.

"Speech"

"Speech" @Macawi

He was so busy staring dejectedly up at the pretty lanterns high above him it seemed, that Todd failed to notice the approach of another. His ears pricked, as he heard the sound of someone begin to speak. His eyes flickered from the lantern and he turned, tipping his head curiously to one side at the approaching stranger. The way they spoke was curious. Weird, unique. It was funny, and he liked it, because it felt almost like the stranger was trying to play a guessing game. What, he wondered, is a Macawi?

"Oh, hullo!" he yelped in greeting, raising and waving his sparkling paw so that it caught the light. Todd was curious about the strange things on the other's head. The way they swung, they didn't seem to be a part of the stranger, but either way it was fascinating. He found himself wanting to play with the dangly objects; he'd never seen anyone wearing a headdress before. "What is Macawi? Is that what you are?"

His paw lowered to the ground and connected with a small clink.

Acting on his earlier urges, the pup strode forward, wide eyes round with wonder and stretched out a small paw as he reached for a glowing feather. He began to quake with excitement, because it was even prettier than the lanterns!

"Uh, oh? I was trying to get to the big lighty thing aaall the way up there. But it wouldn't come down."

Macawi noticed the little fox’s paw catch the light, and she turned her head to the side to flash her gem at him in a wink. A small rainbow flashed on the ground when her opal caught the light. She smiled as she realized he was staring at her headdress with some interest. Well, either that, or he was just staring at her face. Either way, it was fine. She was used to Gembounds staring at her. She was crazy, after all, and some people just didn’t know how to take that. She’d quickly learned to just accept that she was different, and let others think what they would.

What is Macawi? The Coyote laughed at such a question. It was the first time anyone had been confused about her speech patterns, and that came as a surprise. Not that someone was confused, just that it had taken so long for this to happen. She remembered speaking to Dragon — Baratheon — some time ago, and hearing him slip up and refer to himself in third-person. It had amused her. And now here was this Little One asking her what a Macawi was… Ah, Origin Cave was full of funny moments, no?

“Macawi is Coyote’s name. What is your name?” Her voice remained light and airy to show that she was friendly, and she sat down in front of the fox as he approached her. When he reached a paw up to touch one of her Baubled feathers, she chuckled in amusement and lowered her head so that he could reach it easier. She shook her head from side to side a little bit so that the beads and tassels and feathers jangled above his head, almost like a mobile one puts over a baby’s crib. Of course, no one in this universe knows what a mobile or a crib is.

Macawi listened as the Little One told her about the light he had been trying to reach. Ah! No wonder he wanted to touch her Baubled feather. He wanted a light! “Macawi sees!” she said, smiling at him. “Perhaps This One would like his own Light! Coyote can make one for him, if he wants?”

"Speech"

"Speech" @Macawi

Macawi lowered her head, and Todd was able to touch and closely see one of the baubled feathers. It was soft in his paw, softer than anything he'd felt before, and excitement flooded him. He wanted it, a lot. Its glow reflected in his wide eyes and he patted it around with his soft right paw until she shook her head, and everything bounced around. Todd stared in longing fascination at all the glowing things for a few seconds, before raising his paw to bat at a bead, which intrigued him also.

"Uhm, this is Todd!" the youngster droned excitedly, trying to mimic Macawi's speach patterns, because he found them interesting and funny. Rising onto all four paws, he did a little dance and chased his tail in a circle, but he knew from experience it wasn't hard to catch. This time it was just a little gesture of excitement and as he was facing forward again he made a leap for a dangling feather only to find it slip from his grasp and him to land sprawled on his back, fluffing out in every direction.

Macawi spoke again, and Todd listened a little dejectedly at first, only for that dejection to reverse into happiness. "M-m-make one? F-for me? Todd? Would you?" he asked, his eyes round. He was fascinated by the very idea, and suddenly he'd forgotten completely about the glowing feathers and was staring at Macawi expectantly. "How do make one?" he asked.

"Can Todd, me, make one too?"

Macawi chuckled some more at this adorable little fox. Maybe she wouldn’t be such a horrible mother as she had once thought. I mean, as long as all the babies were this cute… and she didn’t have to watch them all day… or feed them… Yeah, she’d definitely be a horrible mother. But… that’s why she was never having kids! She’d just… temporarily ‘adopt’ the ones that were already born, like Todd. That was fine, right? Right. Oh no, daydreaming again! She focused again on her little charge, and found that he was asking if she would really make a light for him, and if he could make one too.

“Hmm…” she hummed, tail moving slowly from side to side like a cat’s as she thought of how best to answer him. “That depends on what Todd’s magic can do. Does This One know about his Magic yet? Macawi’s Magic lets her control Light. But not everyone can do that. Other Gembounds have different Magic. Do you know what your Magic can do?”

The coyote slipped the strap of her satchel off, letting her Baubled headdress fall to the floor, as well. “And as for making a Light, if Todd would like one, he first must have his fortune told. It is simple! All you must do is reach a paw into this bag — without looking — and take out the object that feels right. Then Macawi will tell you about yourself based on what you pull out. Can Todd do this thing for Macawi? Then she will give the thing you pull out its own Light, and you may keep it.”

Macawi hoped the little fox was getting all this. She knew she talked a lot and sometimes younger Gembounds didn’t really understand everything she said. But he seemed eager to listen and learn, so maybe he’d understand her… She’d see in a moment.

"Speech"

"Speech" @Macawi

Silence for a while, and the little fox wondered what was going through Macawi's mind. He watched her face, and lifted each of his paws in turn in a little dance as he cocked his head far, far to one side.

"Magic? I can do magic! I know what it is now!" The cub beamed, seemingly ecstatic to finally be able to tell someone about his magic. Pride filled his breast as he thought about it, because he felt like he was the most powerful thing in the world because of his magic. "My- Todd's magic makes things jump!" He seemed slightly out of it at the idea he couldn't be making any pretty lights, but making things jump was fun. The cub looked around for an unsuspecting stone, and soon found a small pebble.

He bounced over to it and dropped to his chest, staring at the object right by his nose intently.

There was a long pause but eventually, his eagerness seemed to pay off, and the stone twitched before skipping away from him, as did several smaller ones to clear a small area before him.

Macawi began to speak, this time telling him about making lights again. Todd looked up at her from the stone, before hopping to his feet and bounding over to the satchel with his paw clinking on the stone beneath him. "What does fortune told do?" Todd asked brightly, only to find his question had already been answered somewhat. She'll tell me about myself. That seems dumb, I already know about myself. He looked down at the satchel before quickly looking away before he could see inside. The cub wanted a light, so he raised his soft paw and dipped it into the bag. "I can do that! Easy peasy!"

He felt around for a while, touching everything he could. There were a lot of things in there, but Todd, of course, chose the thing which to him, felt nicest; softest on his paw. He struggled to grasp it and pull it out of the satchel with his small claws, before showing whatever it was to Macawi, only now taking the chance to look down at his prize.

It was a feather, which probably explained why he'd liked the feel of it. Fairly plain at a glance, Todd wasn't initially that impressed as he tilted his head to examine it curiously. It was a very, very pale blue, almost white, and fading to black at the tip. The bottom part, which he'd grabbed, was pleasantly downy. The top part of the feather, however, was firm yet silky. Todd wasn't knowledgeable of why, but someone wiser would have been able to see at a glance that this was a flight feather, around 5 inches long, but massive to the small cub.

Macawi watched with an amused air as Todd hopped over to a pebble on the ground, dropped down to be closer to it, and then sat there and watched it for a few long moments. Some might have been skeptical at this point, but the coyote had faith in… well, everyone. So she just sat still and waited, and after another moment, a big rush of energy came out of the fox’s body and cleared all the pebbles around him in a circle. Had she hands, she would have clapped for him, but as it was, she just set her tail a-wag and said, “Congratulations, little one!”

The fox cub came bouncing back over to her happily, and she couldn’t help but notice that his attitude reminded her of herself. She grinned at that realization. If only everyone were as happy as this little fox, the Cave would be a better place. She waited as he reached a paw into her satchel, and pulled out a beautiful, pale blue feather. Types of feathers were not her area of expertise, so she had no idea it was a flight feather, but she knew the element associated with flying, and that was what mattered.

“Ahh,” she said, thinking for a moment. “Feathers represent the element of Air, and the freedom that goes along with it. This feather is a very pale color, and pale colors represent purity. The black tip might represent a challenge in your life, or as a warning against going down darker paths. You are young, so maybe you won’t understand everything I’ve told you. But try to remember it, so that when you’re older, you can think back on it. All you need to know is that this feather is a reminder for you to be your best self. You are young and pure still, but your mind may be shaped by bad Gembounds if you aren’t careful. Remember to be kind to others, and to yourself, and you should be all right.”

Macawi took a breath after this small speech, and let her words sink in. “Now… would the little one like his own light?”

"Speech"

"Speech" @Macawi

Seeing the other's tail wagging and hearing her words, Todd felt pride swell in his chest and he couldn't help but wiggle his body as though mimicking what her tail did, even if he wasn't quite used to the motion. "Eeee! I did it!" he squeaked excitedly as though in disbelief, but perhaps he was just catching his breath. He hadn't used magic very much, and every time he managed the little fox felt thrilled, accomplished, and... well, magic.

A smile came over Macawi's face and Todd beamed right back, closing his eyes and dancing on his forepaws, tremors running over his small form. His paw was starting to ache from holding out the feather, and his bejeweled paw felt like it might slip, so he carefully placed his feather on the ground in front of Macawi and sat back to listen intently, and excitedly, to her words. He looked every bit as eager as any puppy hearing a story, the only difference being he was hearing about himself.

Air... Air was something to do with magic, wasn't it? Did that mean he could make air? Freedom, he knew what that meant. He could do anything he wanted! And Todd liked that idea. Purity. Purity was good. It meant good things. Nice things. Happy things, that made you laugh and smile. Todd smiled a little, at that. But then it got darker. Challenges, and warnings. Todd's brow creased and looked steely for the little cub. He wanted to take on any challenge, he was sure he could. But, what made a path dark? All the caves in Origin cave were lit by glowing lanterns. It was only sometimes the lights went out. He didn't have any conflict in his head about morality, didn't understand the age-old war between the light and the dark. "How do I stay on the right path?" Todd asked timidly. "There are so many in the cave. And what if the lanterns go out?"

He kept on listening. Be nice to others and himself. He thought he did that already; especially the nice to himself part. He wasn't... overly concerned about being nice to others. Truthfully, he couldn't really tell the difference, unless it was them being mean to him. Sometimes that stuck out. But he didn't try to be mean himself. That counted, right? Todd didn't think it'd be any fun being mean. He liked to play with others when they were playing too, but he preferred it when he won.

She spoke again, and Todd realized he'd gotten slightly lost in his own thoughts. But what she said immediately took his attention, and his entire body tensed. "...Yes!" he squeaked, for once speechless with excitement as he stared at the feather at his feet.

Macawi realized she may have overwhelmed the small fox pup, but she had confidence that with age would come wisdom. Not all in the Caves were touched by the Spirits — which was a kind way of saying ‘insane’ — so most of them had to learn wisdom the old-fashioned way. The coyote could never be sure why she had been… blessed/cursed with this sort of knowledge, but she never minded it. It had been with her since her birth, and as she had aged, the whispers in her mind had begun to make more and more sense.

She shook her head, and lowered her snout to touch it to the feather. She closed her eyes and focused on her Magic, but nothing happened. She still wasn’t sure what caused her Magic to come when it did, or to stay put inside her gem… All she knew was that this little boy really wanted a glowing feather, and she had just disappointed him, to be sure. She lifted her snout back up with a, “Hmm… Little One, will you let Macawi try again? Sometimes her Magic doesn’t like to work right away. If you let Coyote try again, she might be able to Light the feather for you.”

"Speech"