emerge into monochrome - Printable Version

The world was quiet, and cold, and empty--empty of everything except one little being, nestled into his chrysalis.

Of course, the world was not truly these things--it was wide, and filled with life--but for the little neonate that had been sleeping in stasis for just around a cycle, its chrysalis was its entire world, the only world that it had ever known, and so, to it, the world was and would always be cold and quiet and empty. That was just how it was.

Nothing lasts forever. The transparent little chrysalis that had been growing in Pisces was due to hatch, even if the gembound inside was still sleeping, still not awake and fully aware of its world yet. Its chrysalis had chosen to form on one of the slick stone walls of Pisces, and it was not meant to hold much weight--not as much weight as the gembound within had grown to.

There was a quiet crackling, crumbling sound, and that at last was enough to make the Gembound within stir. He blinked slowly, sleepily, waking slowly from a half-dream, half-hibernation state that had encompassed his entire life so far.

The crackling sound continued, a few shards of the gemstone that comprised his chrysalis cracking and falling from the base, and that was enough to make the Gembound fully awaken, looking around at the world before him.

He saw the world in a mosiac; multi-faceted, like a mirror had been shattered apart and put together again. This did not throw him off as it would most Gembound--how could it, when it was and would be the only kind of vision he would ever know--but to a little cat like him who had never seen anything, anything at all before, he could only help but look around at the walls of his chrysalis and try to take in what little he could see through it.

Little did he know that he would soon see much more than that.

As the little one shifted around within his now rapidly crumbling chrysalis, unaware that he was positioned on a wall and the decay of the gemstone surrounding him meant that he would soon fall, the chrysalis crumbled further, a loud crack echoing through Pisces--muffled slightly by the sound of the waterfall, but still audible for a distance--as it broke.

The gembound within jumped, flinching at the sudden noise, and his movement was enough for the chrysalis to finally break.

It fell from the wall it had been affixed to for so long, tumbling down the short way to the stone floor and shattering completely, unceremoniously dumping the gembound into the cold, open world.

He made an indignant, surprised noise, flailing for a few moments before realizing that he was alive and out and almost untouched. Slowly, unsteadily, he rose to his paws, glancing around at the world and taking in as much as he could.

The first thing he noticed was not the grand waterfall, crashing down from the ceiling, from a place very few, if any knew. It was not the moisture in the air, how humid it was in this place--although he certainly felt it--no, it was not any of that.

It was how completely and utterly cold it was in this place. The humidity only increased that feeling, the fluid from what was his chrysalis still clinging to his kitten fur in spots, making him shiver. It was absolutely freezing, here, and he took a few steps back blindly and curled up among the shards of his chrysalis, attempting to drag one of the shards he saw towards his chest, as if that of all things could warm him up.

He had to fumble for it for a bit, slightly off the mark as his gemstone--the quartz wrapped around his eyes, the quartz he was not yet aware of, simply believing that everybody saw like this as a simple, childish assumption--distorted his vision and caused a slight disconnect between the movement of his body and his actual perception of the world.

In the end, though, he got it, curling a paw around the shard and dragging it close, huddling in a small ball and shivering as he curled around the little shard of black quartz.

He was still so cold.

@Asimona

She was away from mother and the nest, from the siblings and the snow. Wyvern found it dull to never leave that snowy corner of Pisces, but she had least had the decency to not leave the cave. Mother had always said that the world was cruel and dangerous and she wanted them to stay here. But Wyvern didn't want to stay here. She didn't mind the cold, of course, her thick, fluffy feathers insulated her fine, as did the thick scales on her underside, but that didn't mean she wanted to go nowhere else.

These stolen moments of alone time, taking longer on hunts, or sneaking away as often as she could, was Wyvern's only taste of freedom.

The cracking sound jolted her out of her thoughts and she looked down. Far below was a smudge of black, something she didn't recognize. She had noticed the quartz growing on the wall for the last cycle, but it had been nothing more then another crystal, right? Wrong.

She angled herself down and landed gracefully before the baby, sweeping her wings up an swinging her legs forward to set herself on the ground, leaning forward so that the claws on her wings could hold her upright. She hobbled forward and stretched her neck, sniffing the little cat. It was all wet and it was shivering. Wyvern remembered how cold she had been when she had first hatched. "Cold," she offered before suddenly opening her wings and wrapping them around the cat, trying to push the kitten towards her.

The little kitten’s attention was caught by a sudden shadow over him, a distant figure of some winged being. He raised his head slowly, looking up at the birdlike creature that had caught his attention, huddling closer to the little shard of chrysalis he had grabbed even as he watched the other Gembound circle closer.

He did not move as she came gliding down from above, landing gracefully before him. He was cold, too cold, and all he wanted to do was stay in his little curled-up position until he could somehow drive the cold away. She leaned forward, sniffing him, and he looked up at her, blinking slowly. What was she? Who was she?

He did not know what speech was, yet, so he only waited and watched as she continued examining him. She was so big, so much larger than him. He was practically a little speck beneath her, and yet, he was too young to feel any sort of fear of her. He did not know what danger was, yet; he did not feel the urge to run before her. All he did was look up at her and watch her.

Then she opened her wings and swept him up into her wings. Sudden warmth washed over him, stark against the cold he’d been feeling just moments before. He allowed himself to get pulled closer to her, relaxing as she shut out the cold and replaced it with heat. It was warmer, in her arms, closer to her, and he found himself purring softly in her embrace.

Warm.

It seemed that the kitten had absolutely no fear for the larger creature, something that Wyvern very much appreciated but didn't actually notice. Abeni was much smaller then her and also not scared of her so she immediately assumed that she was not scary in the slightest. And, really, she didn't exactly look like the most threatening creature, but size could be off putting.

She huddled the cat in close to her feathers, moving him so that he was in the fluffiest part of her mane - right where her shoulder met her neck, so he could snuggle right up and warm himself. "This cave is cold," she stated. "New ones are not safe. I'll keep you warm."

She had, thankfully, not inherited the aura of icy coldness of her mother so it was perfectly warm in the crook of her neck. For a moment, Wyvern really wasn't sure what to do. Let the cat sleep? That's what she had done for most of her childhood. When her feathers hadn't grown in she had spent most of the time curled up against Asimona, hoping for some kind of warmth. Maybe that's what the cat wanted from her.

She was fine with that. She settled herself down and let the cat curl up against her, perfectly content to just lay there and lounge.

She pulled him closer, right into the crook of her neck, and the little kitten huddled close into her mane and purred louder.

He felt safe and warm and comfortable against the other Gembound's body, content to simply curl into a little black ball and rest, sleep like he had before in his chrysalis, but a... sensation in his gut stopped him from doing so.

He was hungry.

It was cold and wet out there and he just wanted to stay here in the warmth of the creature's body... but he was so hungry. The kitten's stay in the chrysalis, where he was sustained by the gemstone and didn't need to do anything but sleep, had long since run out, and now his body has begun to tell him that he needs to eat.

He snuggled further into the Gembound's mane, wanting nothing more than to just ignore what his body was telling him, but after a few moments, he spoke for the first time.

"...hungry," he said, voice quiet, wondering if she would provide food for him, too, like she provided him warmth.

For a little bit they stayed there and Wyvern was perfectly happy. She had grown to know the value of patience, of peace, quiet, and rest. She'd spent most of her life doing it, after all. And she would be happy to be to this kitten what Asimona was to her. As long as Asimona was okay with it.

A small sound, though, made her move a bit. For a second she tried to hear what it was to say but then realized that the kitten was trying to say "hungry". She contemplated this new dilemma for a moment. One one hand, she could ignore the kitten's demands in favor of keeping it warm. Or she could let the kitten be cold while she went and found some food. She didn't really like making decisions like this. Her brow furled and a frown crept into her expression. "Hungry, yes...but also cold. Hmmm..."

But then she remembered a spell, something Asimona had done for her and her siblings. With a tap of the claw she could create sparkling fruits that made them feel healthy and full. Maybe she could make one too!

She looked at the ground and imagined the fruit popping into existence, letting flow a stream of magicka to the place where she wanted it to appear. With a barely audible pop, a small yellow banana snapped into existance. It was a good size for the kitten, if it could even eat fruit, but Wyvern had no idea that it might not be able to.

She reached forward so the banana was beneath her warmth now as well and recurled around the kitten. "Food. You peel thick skin, eat mushy fruit beneath."

The larger Gembound spoke, conflict in her voice as she mulled the question over. The little kitten merely continued to snuggle into her body--her warmth--and looked up at her, listening quietly without complaint.

He watched her as she began to look at the ground in front of them intently, and he turned his head to look over at that spot, too, interested. He was curious, as typical for a child like him. What is she doing? What is she looking there for?

Abruptly, there was a tiny, tiny pop, and then a... fruit popped into existence in front of him, slightly curved, and he uncurled ever so slightly as the other Gembound reached forward to bring the food towards him, keeping the little kitten in her warmth.

He was less cold, now that he had been within her embrace for a time, and so he dared to uncurl some more and reached forward for the fruit, shifting that little shard of gemstone he'd been keeping with him under his belly rather than keeping it in his paws. Food was more important right now, anyways.

Moving, reaching for things, felt strange, he noticed. It was like he was just off when he did so--like whenever he tried to move his paw, his paw would end up in a place a bit to the right.

But here, with the fruit, it was okay, because the fruit was a decent size and it didn't matter if his paw ended up a bit to the right, so he didn't think about it too much, instead focused on the food and how hungry he still was. The little kitten reached around the fruit and pulled it towards him, before looking down at it.

'Peel thick skin', the Gembound had said, and the kitten was more than happy to oblige, letting his claw come out and slicing it open, revealing mushy fruit inside. He lowered his head, taking a tentative bite of the fruit, his first food in his life--and it was good. He was hungry, and just that little bite made it more evident than ever, and so he leaned forward a bit and took another bite, and another, pulling the fruit closer to him as he ate.

Unbeknownst to the little kitten--so far, at least--he began to shimmer a little from the banana's effects as he ate, subtle sparkles glancing off his kitten fur.

Such were the effects of a fabulous banana.

Speech. Thought

Wyvern watched the kitten eat the banana rather fondly. He was very small and very young and she wanted to keep him. "Friend," she chirped happily. Or maybe son. Brother? Who knows. She didn't really care. Friend was the simplest term.

Once the cat was done with the mushy insides of the banana, Wyvern quickly nipped it and picked it up in her beak, tossing away the remainder. "Can't eat skin." She knew from experience - the first time Asimona had given her a banana, she'd tried to gobble the whole thing up immediately. The skin had made her stomach feel funny.

Using one of her claws, Wyvern bent it and began stroking down the cat's fur, combing through the sparkles and the knots that came from the wetness of the chrysalis. "I take you home. Home is cold too but has warm nests." Mother was there too but Wyvern was sure that Asimona would be okay with the little kitten coming with her.