Hunger was something that every creature would face, and only some would find an answer for. It was hunger that plagued the little monkey now, setting his stomach in knots and making his head ache in an unseemly way; Teyouma was alone and wandering today, not nesting atop Leon's back, and felt the absence of his friend quite clearly. It was hard work to travel through the tunnels in search of something edible - and Teyouma tried to munch on everything while he tried to determine what was palatable, and what was not. After a short tumble-run through Tunnel N, the monkey emerged from one end of the short tunnel and was faced with... Rocks. But different rocks from the usual rocks (possibly edible rocks?).

They were different because... Well, Teyouma couldn't really tell you why they were different. He'd seen smooth walls and various caves before, and this was like both of those things. Tall, smooth stone faces with gaps like cave doors, reaching up towards a high ceiling; and as his eyes trailed upwards, they caught upon the pale light of the gems crusting the top of the room. They shone brilliantly in places, and for a moment Teyouma's hunger was forgotten. He wondered if it would be possible to climb that high - to maybe reach those pretty star-stones, and grab one for himself. As soon as the thought entered his mind, it was gone again. His belly yowled and popped with irritation - and the monkey continued his awkward running through the room.

When next he stopped, Teyouma was looking at a great big building. He didn't know it was a building - or that the building here was called the Tower - but it was very tall, and very big, and very interesting to him. For a moment the creature thought he might be able to scale the wall, somehow. But upon reaching up to touch the tower and work his fingers in to the grooves between the old bricks, those bricks came loose, and Teyouma was plopped back on his bottom without delay. With a little squawk he rolled to his feet, and began to investigate the base of the tower - wandering along its curving edge until finding the dark doorway. While the monkey was curious and somewhat naive to the dangers of the cave (having not encountered anything aside from rocks that didn't want to hang out with him, and a few Gembounds which were as new as his fragile self), he felt a new sort of feeling upon seeing the dark inside the Tower.

Caution was not one of Teyouma's strong suits; yet, he was resistant to investigating the Tower's first floor, at least until he knew what was in there, in the deep dark. Reacting to this need, the pale monkey's flesh began to react. A strange sensation sparked (kind of popped really) from the gem in his chest, illuminating the blood vessels throughout his body with gradual increase, until his translucent flesh was glowing faintly.

Teyouma was oblivious to the lurking shadow. This predator who, even as a child, seemed intent on hunting him down. Had the two creatures met at another time and in another life, then surely Teyouma would have become the creature's lunch by now; however, that had yet to transpire. Perhaps they were both too young to know the difference between predator and prey. Perhaps, and this was much more likely, Teyouma was just distracted. His hunger plagued him, and now his magic was taking all of his concentration. With his eyes closed, Teyouma could not see the oncoming stranger. He could not detect anything aside from what his magic would tell him - and that, limited as it was, only made him aware of eyes. Of something watching. He wasn't sure about where the feeling came from. It could've been from inside the Tower, but it was just as likely to have come from anywhere else -

And there was very little time to figure that out.

The monkey snapped out of his concentration as soon as he heard the bellowed word, "Boo!". And, while he wasn't scared, he was startled, and the magic brewing in his veins petered out as soon as his concentration was broken. Teyouma gave a little shriek of irritation - mostly caused by his hunger and frustration - and focused his dark eyes upon the shadow. He was groggy from using his magic, disoriented. This added to the pain in his head only made the monkey's mood worse. He saw the shadow and the face attached, with its gleaming teeth set in a grin, and was not afraid. Instead, the creature was angry. It would be his first taste, but not his last, of a very unfortunate emotion.

The monkey shrieked and rolled backwards, but did not fall backwards. His hands braced him against the ground as he tumbled back and put distance between the two of them - Teyouma now standing in the doorway of the Tower, having forgotten about his apprehensions, and the dark canine standing adjacent, next to some crystals. "Who you?" He demanded in all his frivolity; "What doing? Why you say that?" With each syllable Teyouma's voice went more shrill, until he was practically screeching. Was this the reaction the wolf had wanted? Probably not.

Residual energy from his attempted sensing spell remained within him, coursing through his veins. And with the addition of this creature, this shadow who had popped to life so suddenly, Teyouma's fur seemed to prickle with this energy. It wasn't as strong now as it had been during the spell casting; more like static, but a strange kind of static that made his translucent hair stand up and shine with very thin rainbow tones. The majority of these colors appeared along the nape of his neck, but also sort of... Gleamed, in a way, across his skin. In a few more moments it would be gone completely, unless he had the wherewithal to make a mental grab for it. But Teyouma was not so intelligent; he didn't think to harness the energy as it dissipated despite the possible enemy before him (who had, so far, not been very nice to him).

And then the magic was gone, the glow of his skin vanishing to the dark. The canine tried its best to calm the monkey, using a lower tone and being far less aggressive than before. No more jumping out, no more attempts to frighten, but Teyouma was not going to let it go so easily. He chattered his teeth and took a slinking step backwards, so that for a moment only the curve of his pale brow was all that could be seen, and the dark pits of his eyes. The glow of the surrounding crystals diminished with this motion since he was further inside the Tower, making his already ghoulish appearance all the more spooky.

"You not nice to Tey'ma. You go! You go and see Tey'ma no more!" The monkey hollered, his voice funneled out of the tower's entrance by the surrounding walls so that it blasted the mean little dog (who was neither little, nor really a dog, but definitely mean to some degree). "You go sneak-sneak someone else!"

The wolf advanced upon him, relentless for his attention, and Teyouma could do nothing. He was frustrated and hungry, but that didn't amount to much. Yes, he could keep backing up in to the dark of the Tower, but by doing that he would be cornered - and even with the canine's apology meeting his ears, the monkey's instincts were going to win out. They told him to escape towards the dark wolf, not away. Away meant he was hidden, but vulnerable in the dark. Cornered. So Teyouma tried to feign interest - the first time he'd ever use subversive behavior, but likely not the last - and tried to appear more at ease. He breathed through his clenched teeth, hissing softly, and gave a small nod (which only made the shadows shift across his half-hidden face, at least until he stepped out from them).

"Teyouma is me." He explained, and then ducked down towards the cave floor in order to skitter out of the dark and under the wolf's gaze. Like some kind of spider, really, doing his best to be quick and nimble, although his long tail stood up atop his bottom and lightly thwacked Majora's face as he passed. Teyouma sought the light of the surrounding crystals, and when he found a luminous cluster, he stopped and pirouetted to get a better look at the wolf. "Who is you?" This was a question he had asked before, but had been ignored. This time, Teyouma was louder in asking it - more direct - and stared at the dark silhouette that was the wolf, hoping he'd get an answer.

Whether Teyouma was aware of the dark wolf's swatting of his tail or not, he gave no indication. And once he was settled beside the glowing gemstones, he seemed to be interested in an answer to his question, and nothing more. When the wolf proclaimed himself to be something called a Majora, Teyouma gave a tiny nod - as if understanding - but ended up tilting his head with confusion. Mah-jo-rah did not sound nice in Teyouma's ears. It didn't flow as well as his own name.

But this was forgotten (or at least, temporarily ignored), when Majora asked a question. At first Teyouma just coughed a little huff, his brow creasing in a frown. What had he been doing? How long at the Majora been there watching him? He didn't ask. "Teyouma need..." He started, and then abruptly could not come to a conclusion; the concern upon his face became less intense, and rather than appearing annoyed by Majora, he was thoughtful of his own situation. The monkey propped an elbow on his knee and pondered, scritching at his chin with one finger. "Tey'ma have bad feeling." He wanted to be clearer, needed to be, but wasn't quite there yet.

To help the explanation along, he rubbed his belly with his other hand, and then gave an emphatic shrug with palms raised. "So Tey'ma.. Fix feeling. But rocks and pretties don't fix." He was truly dimwitted if he thought that eating rocks and gems would fix his hunger. What else was there though? Teyouma wasn't about to chase down one of the gemless rats of the caves, or try to catch one of the tiny pond fish. The thought of hunting had not entered his mind; he was a forager. And so far, he thought that meant a forager of rocks.