The halfway point of this place was a meeting point of seething heat and bitter cold. Here, alternatingly swept by wind-driven snow and blasted by furnace winds, a chrysalis had grown.

Though covered with the pale dusts of ash and snow, it was nevertheless a beautiful thing beneath: the starshot purple-black of a night sky, a galaxy painted in stone.

It was breaking. Crumbling, thinning, and cracking, with the seeping of fluids that half froze on contact with the air outside, the rest evaporating away in the next sweep of stinging steam. The creature that tried to crawl forth was an odd one; oversized black paws looked more reptilian, yet bore birdlike talons and the pads of a mammalian predator. The heads that thrust upward had gaping jaws, still-tiny fangs gleaming, the many eyes wide and wild as if the creature feared drowning in this chrysalis.

The meekest-looking head blinked wildly around, fear clear in its face, and it drew upon their shared magic to plunge them into protective, hiding shadows. Another head snarled, impatiently snapping away a shard of stone that still stood in their way. A third looked around, watching calmly, even passively, as a fourth bit mindlessly at rock.

A moment later the four-headed child had tumbled into a pile of cold white ash just outside its chrysalis, damp and shivering, a lump that had fallen on its side. Undersized wings, not yet large enough to carry it, twisted and fell to one side; an overly long tail curled up and into the chrysalis like an umbilical cord.

The first head shook itself, and grimaced, joining the rest in looking around. The meekest, still afraid, shrank away from the over-large world around it. They were linked: not alone, yet alone together, new to this entire world. "...Hello?" that little head called out, afraid, and the others glanced to her in silence.

"Sirius" "Adhara" "Mirzim" "Furud"
Thoughts.

Mocha

'Cause I'm having a good time

It was impossible to find Mocha at any given time, seeing as he happily wandered into the furthest reaches of the caves at his whims. It was, however, always possible for Mocha to find others. He sought them out like a heat-seeking missile, aimed to lodge himself in the hearts of everyone he met. Perhaps a heart-seeking missile would be the better descriptor, considering his goals and how he found his prey; friend and food. It was his favourite spell. Or perhaps the one he used to keep his skin moist was his favourite? Oh, but he couldn't forget the one that let him befriend Nori... He just couldn't choose!

Mocha called for his magic, feeling around and listening close for any potential company. There was almost always something around, but a larger heartbeat called him further into the tunnel. It was slow, a steady thrumming, until it wasn't. It sped up suddenly, and he picked up the pace, always curious.

A cracking sound caught the shark-dog's attention as he continued in, not that it was difficult to capture, and he waddled (a little less cartoonishly now that he was more proportionate) over to check out the commotion. It was a familiar sound, given how recently he had hatched. "Hello!" He returned the call, form and vision becoming clearer the closer he got. The steam made it hard to tell just what the heap in front of him was. What kind of creature would it be? Maybe a cat? He hadn't met a cat yet!

His approach eventually made its form clear, and Mocha's eyes widened in awe. They were huge! Well, they would be! Mocha was almost fully grown, and they were already his height! And... "Woah! You are SO cool. Do you have a name yet? Name...s?" He chirped away, tail slowly but steadily becoming a fan with how furiously it was wagging, sweeping away piles of snow and ash. "Mine's Mocha, and this is Nori!" He added, lizard popping its head up from his back as he said its name.

@Wolfhound

Three heads shot to stare at Mocha--and Nori. One kept fighting the chrysalis with its teeth, its blinking stare coming a moment later, as it registered the new voice.

The child, as a whole, struggled to come to its feet and turn to Mocha. This was a clumsy attempt, to say the least: four limbs tangled and pitched it back down into ash and snow, and one of the heads sneezed. The shadows that had wreathed it faded, at this. One head had kept itself clear of the snow when it fell, and a young, male voice spoke from this one. "Mocha... friend?" it hazarded, but rather than hopeful, it sounded wary. This one's gaze was keen.

The one that had initially called out spoke, feminine and this one sounded hopeful and friendly. "We are-... Adhara," she said, and blinked to the others. They'd barely had time to process the world, let alone introducing themselves to those with whom they shared a consciousness.

"Sirius," but this head, the wary one, hesitated. He realized at once that they needed a single name, and for a moment the entire hydra considered. Then, as one, all four heads spoke.

"Wolfhound," they said.

Their tail slid the last few foot or so from the chrysalis, hitting the snow and ash with a wet thump, and then wagged like a dog's, hesitantly, thudding up and down twice on the ground.

The third head simply watched, but now the fourth--the one that had been gnawing on shards of iolite--grinned hopefully. "Food?" it asked, though it wasn't clear if it was a request or a simple question of whether Mocha--or Nori--might be edible.

Luckily, 'Wolfhound' did not seem anywhere near capable--or interested--enough to try.

@Mocha

Not a lot could live in the in-between of hot and cold, and certainly plantlife was not the first thing to spring to mind at the edge of winter and the molten fire of the world's heart. That meant that what did thrive here was particularly special, and that was why Casimir trekked so far to find it. He did not enjoy adventures, he did not dream of exploration and finding new, undiscovered things, and he did not consider himself a daring sort in the slightest. But no one could say that he did not have his own, quiet sort of curiosity.

It was careful, and cautious, and guarded. Wandering these more secluded, forgotten tunnels meant he could have a little quiet space away from his all together noisy and troublesome family and all the other, chaotic gembounds that enjoyed shooting magic everywhere and taming wild lessers and climbing things that were not meant to be climbed...

His deep blue eyes searched the steamy tunnel, ignoring the way his fur was frizzing into an absolute puffball quality with the oppressive humidity. Searching along the igneous walls, he discovered the first signs of life: a reedy vine that clung to the cracks left by the cooled, molten rock. Already the plant had sprouted several leaves and small pink flowers, though he knew it couldn't have had much time to set down roots. It looked like the plant was already developing berries, though young as it was... Casimir sniffed at it and considered. The plant would have to rely on lessers to spread the berries, so they would likely be edible... The rest of the plant? What benefit could it provide...

He would have continued to consider this, if not for the sudden sound of voices, just beyond the blinding, white steam that fogged the whole tunnel. He fell very still, flattened ears pricking slightly to pick up the conversation, which was almost too close for comfort. He could probably ignore it, if not for...

The cheery voice that answered that uncertain little 'hello', bubbling and happy. The cheery voice was an adventuring type; Casimir knew that kind of voice down to a T, and it made him want to walk away before the steam dispersed further and he was spotted. The first voice was followed by others, similar, stilted and... Was that a freshly hatched gembound? No, it had to be... three? They were speaking in unison. Siblings, somehow? Even if that was the case--

His mind was working in overtime, of course, which was rather unnecessary. A bit of cold, Ursa wind whisked its way through the tunnel and his bewildered, thoughtful gaze registered the two shapes just a bit further down the tunnel: A little seal-- no, seals didn't have legs like that-- a hybrid like him, then, and... Another four, yes, four heads, that all connected down into the same body.

Casimir stared.

It wasn't that strange. Casimir had met sentient houses and shambling mounds of flesh and things with too many limbs and wings and tendrils. But the creature had given itself three, distinct, names. Did they all have separate minds? It wasn't any of his business, of course, but his-- that quiet, insidious curiosity that inspired him into all sorts of trouble that he didn't have any business being involved with reared its ugly little head.

"There's food here," Casimir raised his voice to get the strangers'-- all five (no, wait, six if you included the lizard) of them-- attention. "These berries are edible." Might be a bit sour, since they weren't quite ripe, but there was a good amount of them. Anyway, no, he did not bother introducing himself. That would have been the polite thing to do if you wanted to be involved in a conversation, but that was exactly what he didn't want. He was just giving out advice, and they could continue on without him.

Mocha

'Cause I'm having a good time

With four heads to address, each in their own turn, Mocha was going a little cross-eyed in his attempt to remain polite and friendly. He made an effort, though, and swept his gaze from the leftmost head to the rightmost one before sweeping his eyes back the other way. This was sure to make him dizzy. "Yes!" He declared without hesitation, directing the comment to the unsure one. "Sirius!"

"Adhara!" He repeated after the head with the soft voice, before similarly repeating "Wolfhound!" in the same endlessly excited tone. Their tail's movement inspired his to wag more violently, which was somehow still possible, and Mocha jumped as the end of his tail hit something solid that wasn't there just a moment ago. "Oh, hello!!! More friends! I'm Mocha." He repeated, nudging Nori to attention again. "And this is Nori! Who is not food!" He also clarified, just incase, with a grin toward the head who seemed to really like their teeth. Maybe they'd like to see his teeth too?! He grinned wider.

"Do you eat berries? I'm not an herbeev- herbib- ... I don't eat plants." He returned his gaze to Wolfhound, trying to remember where he had last heard lesser heartbeats in the tunnel. They hadn't been far, if they shared a diet! Oh, but could he hunt for four? Did they have four stomachs?! That would be so, so, so cool! If only he could see! Oh, but it wouldn't be fair for only one of them to taste even if they only had one stomach! Maybe the new gembound could help? They looked capable!

Come to think of it, Mocha spun back around to face the newcomer. They looked like a big cat (how lucky was that?! He was just saying-) but... lightning-struck. Mocha didn't know how else to explain their fur's current style. Like some cross between carpet algae and... what? An Angora rabbit? They looked so soft, and all Mocha had to do was reach a slow, careful paw out- Nope! What was that word, again? Boundaries? He'd be patient. "You look very warm!" He declared with a decisive nod, setting a very squishy paw firmly on the ground. The cold gusts from Ursa and the hot air from Leo left Mocha unsure if he wanted to get closer to or further from the lion-hybrid, and so he teetered in place, waiting.

@Wolfhound

Oh, this was... a lot for a baby to handle. The four heads looked between both strangers, and the lizard, flinching as they continuously bumped into each other with newborn clumsiness. The large, shaggy pale thing spoke of food, and said 'berries' and 'edible' and it took Wolfhound some internal processing to try and parse meaning from this. Food, their minds echoed, and 'edible' sounded like... stuff to eat, right? But what were 'berries?' This word was then repeated by Mocha, who asked if Wolfhound ate berries (I don't know?! was the shared thought in response to this). And now there was another word: plants.

The head that'd been gnawing on rock scrunched up its face a little, blinking and licking its lips disgustedly. "Plants," it said, but with a dour tone, as if to say 'disgusting.' The other heads appeared less picky, and the child half-stumbled, half-toppled over to the indicated bush. As Mocha busied himself greeting Casimir, Wolfhound made its first attempt to eat.

Four heads chomped inexpertly at bush and berry, getting facefuls of leaf; again the heads collided, teamwork a thing of the future that would come with experience. At the moment, despite looking like some sort of alien reptile, they behaved more like a litter of bumbling puppies. All four managed to get a few mouthfuls of berry, and then one--the first one to have spoken, Sirius--turned and let the other three eat in favor of studying Mocha and Casimir.

He eyed Mocha's grinning teeth, seemed to make a note of those, and then looked at Casimir's fur. Warm? That one looked... 'warm?'

This head felt some sort of sudden prompt toward politeness. Casimir had shown them food, but... what was the right response to that? 'Thank you' didn't immediately come to the newborn's mind, so Sirius settled on a solemn "It's good. Berries," with a nod toward the white hybrid.

The fourth head spat some leaves out. "Warm," it blurted, seeming to put Mocha's spoken word together with the concept of food. "Want to eat warm." Instinct said warm meat would be good but Wolfhound had no idea how to articulate such a thing.

The second head, bright-eyed, popped up with a berry-smeared jaw. If it was sour, she didn't seem to mind, instead offering a friendly, interested look toward the two strangers as she licked the juice from her own face. "Are you friend?" she asked Casimir, hopeful.

@Casimir

As a reward for sticking his nose into something he had no business with, his nose was abruptly smacked with the flat fin end of Mocha's tail. He recoiled from the wildly wagging tail with a crinkle across his muzzle, leading to him making quite the scouring expression at the shark-dog's friendly greeting.

"Hi," he replied curtly.

Mocha reached a paw forward before remembering his manners and hesitating, a gesture which struck Cas right in his heart. He grimaced further, closing his eyes and summoning his limited patience with a deep, heavy sigh. At least the newly hatched Hydra bumbled their way forward and began munching down on the berries.

"You're welcome," Casimir answered Wolfhound, rather than making any remarks on the silly comment about how he looked. The one that spoke... Sirius, was it? That one had a more low-key energy that Casimir could appreciate.

Not that there was much time to appreciate the newborn's mannerisms when one of the other heads suggested that they wanted to eat "warm", something that was just associated with him. It clearly was not a threat, but he couldn't help but roll his eyes regardless. "Yeah, you can try." He raised a forepaw and tangled his toes in the fuzz poofing out of his chest. "It's not as fun once its in your mouth." This was probably not something that you should say to a kid, but, well.

... Casimir didn't have a lot of experience with kids.

"I'm just passing through," he answered Adhara flatly. He might have suggested eating lessers to the many-mouthed being, but his blue eyes flicked toward Mocha and the lesser that he seemed to consider a friend. Yes, Mocha had declared that he wasn't a herbivore, but... Well, Casimir didn't really know how to explain to a fresh gembound the whole circle of life thing, the differences between critters you could eat and critters you shouldn't eat, all that.

@Mocha

Mocha

'Cause I'm having a good time

Mocha was an easy to please creature, even despite Casamir's grumping. Joy was an easy thing for him, whereas anger was not, and so the following events left the not-so-little-anymore little guy in a giggle fit. "You can't eat us, silly!" He beamed, glad that at least one head shared his taste in meals so that he could show them how to hunt. There was little else he could teach, but he held close the memory of his hatching, and he wanted Wolfhound to enjoy the same luxury. It was safe, here. Mocha enjoyed hanging around Leo often enough, so they would always have a friend if they needed one. But he was getting off track, again, and needed some way to explain the idea of food and friend.

Where was their stone? He wandered around either side of them, getting a good look and marvelling quite obviously at their anatomy. Seriously, four heads! Who wouldn't think that was cool?! Once he found it, he made a note and returned to Casimir, whose stone was a little more in plain view, although encompassed by a cloud of fur. "Look carefully." He began, a gentle instruction to the colliding heads. He had been just as clumsy, tumbling out of his chrysalis into muddy water. "See this?" He gestured vaguely to Casimirs's horn, careful to keep a polite distance and instead choosing to point, sitting back on hind legs to better angle his paw. "And this?" He turned to show off his own, currently encircled by Nori's sleeping form. He couldn't see it himself without a reflection, but he could feel it nestled between his shoulder blades when he walked. "And yours, on your tail?" He waited, giving them time to find it.

All he wanted to do was pour compliments onto the gembound, to talk about their beautiful colours and how interesting their heads were and how cool it was that they would fly one day. He wanted to compliment Casimir on his sense of humour, which had contributed to his early fit of giggles. But, even Mocha knew that this was important, and he had a whole lifetime of compliments to give. "Those are our stones! They're magic!" He announced with a little twirl of his paw, trying for the dramatic flair that Nemean had. With less dexterity in his paws than hers, it fell a little flat. "That's why we can think and talk and well, everything! But lessers like Nori?" He twisted again, this time not waking his little friend. "Like Nori." He emphasized with a small squint. "Have smaller, weaker stones, or no stones! So they are food, not friend. Not Nori, though. Some of us have Familiars with magic bonds that help us with things!" Maybe this conversation would have been easier if he hadn't made a friend out of food Sorry Nori of course you aren't food no it's okay go back to your nap- but now that he had a familiar, he felt the need to explain, in case they got an idea. Maybe he should show them, so that hungry bellies(?) a hungry belly (?) didn't think instead of their mind...s? He wanted to know! But it could wait.

He poked around a nearby crevice in the tunnel wall, formed by the colliding winds, to try and find one of the heartbeats he had heard earlier. It was little in terms of food for their size, but with the berries, it would hopefully satisfy them for now. A red mouse, enjoying the somewhat stable environment at the center of the tunnel. He killed it quickly, as he always tried to, and offered it to one of the heads who had yet to offer their name, the one who liked their teeth. "This is warm food! Meat." He declared, leaving it for them before facing Casimir again. Maybe he was just grumpy because he was hungry? Mocha was always happier when he was full. "Do you want some, too? I can find another!" He offered. "It's no fun adventuring on an empty stomach!" It was the least he could do, seeing as Casimir offered the young ones an insight on plants that he could not. They all tasted like dirt to him. Maybe he could leave this encounter feeling a little better than when he got here? Mocha hoped so.

@Wolfhound

While Sirius went back to eating, more delicately than his siblings, the toothy head instead took Casimir at his word. It seemed to assume the 'you can try' was an invitation, and also disregarded the whole 'it's not as fun' warning, leaning forward and struggling to reach Casimir. Its neck was fully outstretched, jaws open and struggling, though the rest of the body didn't move; the majority vote seemed to be on eating berries, so the child's singular head helplessly snapped from several meters away. Adhara gave Casimir a bit of a sad look. "Passing through" meant "not a long-term new best friend," and after a moment, she reluctantly went back to eating.

Mocha's lesson drew more attention. Each of the other three heads in turn lifted to point his way, as though to show they were all listening. (The fourth kept straining fruitlessly to reach Casimir's fur.) "So we eat... those who do not speak?" Another glanced to him, one who hadn't yet introduced itself. Her voice was solemn as she added on, "Or who are... familiars?"

The fourth, frustrated head--still trying for Casimir, like a gape-beaked baby bird hoping food would somehow teleport into its mouth--leaned back and said, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

...Up until a mouse was presented. At that point, this head dove in, tearing gleefully at the little meal; when the others tried to lean in (to sniff or taste), this head snapped and growled at them, possessive, scarfing the mouse down doubly fast.

It seemed to have not yet learned that food ended up in the same stomach, regardless of which head had eaten it. Sirius rolled all four eyes, leaning back, while Adhara found the phrase they'd been missing prior: "Um. Thank you."

@Casimir