Daughter
the voice in my head was no longer my own.

universal veil (mycology) - material which completely covers a young, immature mushroom

In the room of mists, sitting in the swamp, there is a smooth shell of pearl, its alabaster whiteness stark against the browns and greens of Cetus—and, in it, there is a little marble fox. She is curled up within her little chrysalis, surrounded by the mist and the mud and the trees, taller than most else in the swamp, but she is unconscious, unknowing of the world around her, unknowing of anything at all. She is but a little neonate, in the womb of her pearled chrysalis—but not for long.

Even those outside the chrysalis can tell that it is close to hatching. Although the little fox may not be awake just yet, she is still too large for her chrysalis, and as she shifts in her sleep, the gemstone walls bend outwards, little cracks spiderwebbing across their smooth surface, and the noise of this shifting and cracking and threatening to break echoes over the little patch of Cetus where she sleeps.

In the room of mists, sitting in the swamp, there is a smooth shell of pearl threatening to hatch—threatening to, but not yet, as the little fox within has not yet broken her chrysalis. Instead, she sleeps, unknowing of the world outside.

Unknowing of just who might find her.

They were aware of the chrysalis. The eye of a caller swooped over, directing feedback to the idle child in their nest.

He was already on his way when he was alerted to the first crack. An exploratory nature had helped him with pleasing Mother- he could identify burrows and construct clever traps to give them the family's blessing. All in a days work, of course. Each success had given him such pleasure, and this trap may be no different.

Threads of caution rippled through him as he neared the pearly white, shimmering and matching the milky color of the strands in his mouth. A white tip tail flagged behind him as it came into view. Yes, good, the owner had not left.

With a stuttering to his steps, Solis's body was directed to seat itself across from the largest crack, eyes expectant and ears pushed forward.

He would wait for as long as he needed to. This would need the tact of a friendly kind- not like Howl's previous takings. At least there was the memory of Shoko's induction to go off of.

Daughter
the voice in my head was no longer my own.

It only takes a few moments after Solis has settled himself down in front of the little chrysalis for it to break. First, a greater cracking, and the sight of a few chips falling to the ground—then, as the little fox inside presumably shifts in her sleep once more, a single, loud crack!, the sound loud enough that it would no doubt startle any nearby birds, were they not already… infected.

The pearl of her chrysalis crumbles all at once, dumping the fox kit within unceremoniously out into the mud of the swamp, quiet coughing coming from her as she takes her first breath.

Already, her mind spins with curiosity. As she shakes herself in an attempt to get her fur, slicked back with wetness, a little bit less wet, she casts her gaze around, looking for anything interesting. She notes the trees, so tall to such a little one that they seem to stretch upwards infinitely, the mist, curling and shifting around her in response to her movements, (this is met with an attempt to bat at it, instincts telling her to try to catch it to no avail) and—

—a cat, staring at her.

She meets his eyes, making a small little noise of curiosity in her throat, and walks towards him, intent on sniffing him to find out who he is.

The smell of rot stops her. Even though she doesn’t know who he is, what the awful smell is, something about it is telling her that it’s bad. It certainly smells bad; she takes a few steps back, shaking her head gently as if to clear the scent from her nose, and stops with a healthy amount of distance between them, choosing to watch him from afar rather than get any closer to him.

He stood still- perfectly still, as Mother would have wanted- as he attentively watched the emergence of white from white, his eyes languidly blinking in comfort. Yes- a young being, from the smooth pearl of chrysalis.

Perfect for what he had in mind.

He had no innate sense to help, no sense to peer forward, instead looking more like a statue than a living being if it weren't for his rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. The fungus of Mother was held carefully in his mouth as blue eyes tracked this fox's own. She was curious as children should be, perceptive, exploring the world. Exploring him.

When she began towards him, his fur rose minutely from his body, and he dipped his head in greeting. This needed respect, Solis- personality. Something he hadn't had for a long time.

Given a short lease on individuality (though, only perceived- for why would he need it in the long run?), he placed the white strands before him before stepping forward. "Hello." His voice was soft from severe under-use. "Do not be afraid."

His head lowered, nudging the shards of Mother to her. At this stage, even sniffing at them would infect her, although it wasn't as effective as eating. "Would you like to join me? I was just about to have my meal." A pointed claw tapped at the white before him. "I have been told it does not have a pleasant smell. The taste is divine, however."

The more he talked, the more uncomfortable he was. This- this wasn't the way to do things. Let him speak his mind through his mind, while he had control of it. Having to think words, even, felt like such a chore. But, if it brought a sister into the fold, it would be very much worth it.

If he had emotion, perhaps it would be dark, even malicious, but with the serenity over him he held an absolute nothing as he watched for the fox's next move.

Daughter
the voice in my head was no longer my own.

The cat’s voice is soft—soothing. Quiet and level in a way that calms the nerves.

It makes her a little less leery of the awful stench that hangs in the air between them. After all, he seems nice enough… he even said hello.

There’s something white in his mouth, she notices. She hadn’t noticed before, from when he was sitting like a statue—some part of her wonders why she isn’t as still as him—but now she wonders what it is. It’s white, like her fur, and all stringy, too, its strands draped loosely across the stone from where he had nudged them at her.

He speaks of them being his meal, and she gives them a longer, more intensive look as he does so, trying to discern what part of it is even edible. It doesn’t really look like food to her. In fact, she thinks it looks more like—well, she doesn’t know what it looks like. It’s white like her and her gemstone, sure, but other than that it bears no resemblance to anything she’s ever seen!

She looks back up at him as he taps the stone around it for emphasis, a questioning look in her eyes, before turning her attention back to the fungus.

She wonders if the disgusting smell came from this "food". It had to smell really, really awful if she could even smell it from a few feet away.

He says it tastes good, though, which… well. She’s never eaten anything before, and maybe this is just what everybody eats. Maybe he’s just trying to give her food, no matter how weird it smells.

And he seems nice.

She lowers her head to the fungus and gives it a tentative sniff, wondering if it’ll smell more like food if she gets closer to it.

Solis's eyes never left the fox. He was watching, waiting, hungry not for food, but for this sibling. She was apprehensive, and coming closer- he couldn't suppress the nod as his eyes narrowed at her.

Good. Eat. His mind pleaded to her gently, as if mimicking Mother's own soothing words, his paw pulling back under himself.

Let her make her own decision.

Daughter
the voice in my head was no longer my own.

The fox gets close, breathes in the scent, and—suddenly, very suddenly indeed—it seems to be like food after all. It seems to be… good. It’s good; she knows this like she knows she is white and she knows she is a fox—it suddenly seems that this is the most delicious food in the world.

She breathes, again, letting the smell, its calling seep into her lungs. She takes a deep, deep breath, as deep as she possibly can, and, oh, she knows the cat was right.

It is divine.

It is food, and perfect, and although she had felt no inclination to eat before, only a sense that she shouldn’t reject a gift without learning about it first, now—now, she is starving.

Her little, vulnerable mind accepts these sensations as nothing but truth; not even out of development, barely out of the chrysalis, she is open and malleable and ready, oh so ready, to accept whatever is calling out to her like this.

She leans forward and snaps the pieces of fungus up with all the intensity of a dying gembound in Hydra finally finding water.

Solis sighed with such pleasure, a purr rising from his chest and running through his body as he watched the kit partake in Mother. She was family, now- and her thoughts rang through his, and his weaved through hers as the connection formed between them. Both eyes could see each other’s clearly now, and Solis’s was filled with the joy Mother gave him, the joy that he had done good for his family.

”Welcome, sister!” His purrs came through his thoughts as his body quivered with them in reality. ”Welcome home.”

Mother was giving her time, and while the feline was gentle with his enthusiasm, he couldn’t withhold a few steps forward to bump his forehead against her’s in the warmth and love running between them all.