The wraith sniffed disinterestedly at a plant. She hadn’t eaten in some time, and her stomach growled, but she seemed detached from her hunger. She at least obeyed her thirst, but the thought of eating anything made her sick. She stood up from her sleeping spot beside the Divine, the Tree she had emerged beneath, and went to the nearest water to drink. The water here was dank — not exactly clean, but it didn’t seem to bother her. She would still prefer not having to put anything in her mouth, but her thirst was a different beast from her hunger. She could not ignore it as easily.

She lapped at the muddy water for a while before lying down again in her sleeping spot, a place she’d hardly left since hatching. This was her whole world, this spot here in Cetus overshadowed by the Divine. It was all she knew. She gazed around and wondered suddenly if there was a way for her to keep more water in her system so she would not have to drink as much…

And her body seemed to respond naturally, almost before she’d finished the thought. Suddenly, she felt as if she could go perhaps a whole day or two without drinking again! However, at the same time, her body felt suddenly tighter, a feeling she did not necessarily enjoy. Still, if it meant not having to drink, not having to release her tongue from her mouth, it was worth it. She smiled and gazed up at the Tree, something she did often. Now if only she could do something about this incessant hunger…

The wraith turned at the noise of hoof-steps, curious to see what other Gembounds had hooves like her. Her dark eyes widened at the sight of another Wraith. A mirror. A ghost. She wasn’t really sure what this other wraith was. An illusion? Possibly. If it was an illusion, though, it was a very real-looking one. And it even spoke. ’Hello,’ the mirror said. And the little wraith continued to sit and stare at her for a some time, without making any effort to reply. She did not yet understand words, or what one was supposed to do in social situations.

And then by some flicker of understanding, she concentrated on her mouth, attempting to form the shape and sound that she had just heard. Unfortunately, being only a Gemling, what came out of her mouth was a long, whispered, “Hellllllllll…” The O had been lost in translation, and she’d ended up saying something really creepy without realizing it. Then, she smiled up at her mirror, hoping she’d done everything right.

The wraith’s mirror continued making mouth-sounds, and the young Gemling continued to misunderstand — rather, to not understand at all. She blinked her dark eyes up at the larger wraith. “Close…” she whispered, her voice like a cold winter breeze. “Name… Vianne… yours…” The Gemling tilted her head up at her mirror in curiosity and confusion. These sounds must mean something, but their meaning was lost on her. One could say she was, perhaps, a little slow. Of course, she hadn’t had much interaction with others yet.

The little wraith stood on slightly trembling legs, and stepped lightly towards her mirror — a creature who looked so similar to her, but bigger. She still wondered if she was seeing an illusion, which caused her to come closer and closer until finally, her black velvety nose was nudging curiously at the bigger female. Small, gentle nudges, feather touches, almost nonexistent. Just to see if she could break the illusion… or to prove that the other creature was really there…

Which seemed to be the case. The little wraith’s nose bumped against real fur — a real body — and the warmth of it drew her away. She took a step back, wishing she could draw the cold around her like a curtain. Any warmth felt burning to her, so sensitive was she to it. Her dark eyes looked almost accusingly up at her mirror, as if to say, ’Why would you burn me? Why would you let the heat touch me? Can you not see I am a creature of the cold?’

Now, her mirror was just watching her. Saying nothing. No more mouth-sounds. As if she knew she had disturbed the wraith. The Gemling stood and stared at her mirror, unsure of what to do now that the older Gembound was not interacting with her. She lost interest then, and turned away from the older creature, looking once more upon the Tree whose roots made up her home. So far, she did not quite understand what the point of interaction was. And the strange mouth-sounds eluded her. It was just one more thing in a list of normal actions that the wraith found… abnormal. What was the point of eating and drinking? The point of speaking to others when they could not understand each other? Maybe it was best to stay deep within Cetus, maybe she should hide when others came near, bringing their heat and their strange language with them…

The wraith’s mirror wasn’t leaving. The wraith had no opinion on this. She didn’t really know what she was supposed to do with other Gembounds. Was there was a point to this interaction? Had her mirror been trying to say anything genuinely important? She turned her head to glance at the older creature, tilting her head curiously, as if to say, ’Yes? Did you need something?’ The thought of touching the other caused a shudder to run up the wraith’s spine. No. No more touching of others, unless she found one as cold as she was. Another creature of the cold, the mist, the rain. She did not yet know what snow was, but she would learn one day, and then she would know that she was also a creature of ice.

She wondered then if those strange mouth-sounds had any true meaning. “Close… yours…” she whispered, repeating the only words she could remember of their short-lived and one-sided conversation. She stepped towards her mirror again, but did not touch her. She nudged the air near her, pointing with her nose, then cocked her head from one side to the other. Who are you?