(Little warning for eye injury though it's not described graphically)

Under the starry ceiling of Orion lay a crystal made of zircon. It cracked, and Li pushed her way out of the chrysalis, tumbling out onto the rocky ground.

Only something went very, very wrong.

Outside of her vision was a piece of the chrysalis jutting out. It scraped against her face, catching the side of it. Immediately, pain exploded behind her eyes.

All Li could think about was the pain.

She didn’t know what had happened, unaware of the piece that had stuck out. All she knew was that she was trying to break out of the chrysalis that had formed in her hibernation, and then she felt a stinging pain from her left eye.

She’d managed to stumble away from the chrysalis, but all she can feel is the pain radiating from her eye. She tries to open it, tries to just - to just look - but she can’t even see the blood she can feel dripping down until it splatters against the ground and her paws.

She brings one up to the side of her face only to flinch it away at the pain. She whimpers, a low moan of pain leaving her lips. She’s felt pain like this before, after training with Imperia, but it’s been cycle upon cycle since then. She’s not sure how long, if she’s been hibernating for only a few cycles or much, much longer, but she can’t look around to find that out.

She can’t even tell which room she’s in - she can’t remember where she ended up hibernating, though if that’s due to how long it’s been or the pain she’s in, she can’t tell. Maybe both. It’s hard to think outside of the pain as it radiates from her skull.

She curled up, though it hurt to cover her eyes with her paws. Her body shook with the pain, long tail tucked close to her body as she waited - hopefully not in vain - for the pain to pass. She wished, distantly, that she knew any magic to heal, but any magic she had would do nothing to help. She’s left to just wait it out, or maybe someone would come across her. She could only hope they’d help and not hurt her further.

Speech.
Thoughts.

Its rest had been peaceful, if not short. Its hands were clinging to a crag in the ceiling of the cave, claws grappled into the stone. The sound of somethings distress had awoken it, the whines of pain echoing around the cavern until it reached the creatures ears. Could it be, a free meal? Perhaps if Vekzhar waited, it would perish and he could claim its prize without the struggle- But maybe the injury hadn't been so severe. He couldn't smell blood, really, and most things do bleed when they're injured. Its decision was swift, dropping from the rock into a smooth glide, twisting right itself midway to the floor.





It let out sharp, quick clicks as it lowered itself to the stone, poor eyesight failing in the darkness of the room. Even his brightly lit lures could not aid him in seeing farther than a foot in front of him. Its attempt at echolocating came back inconclusive- Maybe the creature was behind a mound of rock, guarding it from his view. He had reached the ground now, landing precariously on a heavily broken-down tower of rubble. "Is anyone there?" It rumbled, still trying to find the source of the whimpering.

@Aaliyah

The tavern had been a great success. Going there and eating was a lot easier than foraging for hours with very little in return-- but it had one significant downside. Aurelle had to take the fattest nap known to any Gembound after she got home from a meal.

It was during one such nap that she woke up to the dim sound of a shatter and a low thump of something-- or someone --hitting the ground. She'd been nestled in her home, one of the buildings that was still being gradually cleared out by her and her roommate and made into a liveable area. The elf rubbed her eyes slowly with a low groan in her throat, her ears almost standing upright as she heard a dim whine-moan, and someone calling out.

It seemed like someone needed help, and Aurelle had always considered her the helpful sort.

So, up she got, pulling her shawl on over her shoulders, and she trotted out of her home. A little cast and she was much more aware of her surroundings. The row of buildings was as it should be, but after a little while she could sense a pair of anomalies: two bacteria-covered lumps, one smaller and one larger. The smaller one seemed to have some sort of wound or opening that bacterium was flooding into.

"Oh, goodness gracious," Aurelle muttered as she came bounce-hobbling onto the scene. She could smell the fluids of a chrysalis mixed with blood as she approached Aaliyah. She was, incidentally, quite loud and potentially loud enough for Vekzhar to find its way over.

Now, as much as Aurelle wanted to simply dive in and help, she did understand that many did not like being fussed over too much. "Do you need help?" She asked Aaliyah instead, her tone gentle and polite. "I think I might be able to numb the pain and staunch the bleeding for you."

She extended her hand near the hybrid, offering.

@Aaliyah @Vekzhar (for visibility!)

Faintly, Li heard the thump of something hitting the ground, though she was currently in no state to pay it any mind. All she could do was whimper and wait for the pain to pass.

A moment later, she heard a voice, and then after some time, another. The second was much closer and startled her enough that her eyes wrenched open as she looked up.

Instinctively at what she saw, she widened her eyes, only to hiss in pain a second later, closing them. But she soon found she didn't like not being able to see the other, so slowly she opened them again. She looked up at the - the - the creature, one unlike anything she had ever seen before. She towered over her, especially with Li crouched. Though even if she were standing, the other would still be taller. She'd never seen a gembound like this one, and for a moment curled into herself a little tighter.

But then the words spoken registered, and her ears perked up just the slightest. She could help? She opened her mouth, hoping her vocal cords would cooperate. "P-please." Her voice was hoarse after cycles and cycles of disuse, so she tried to put emphasis into it to ensure the word was loud enough. She hoped it worked well enough to be heard and understood. If she weren't in so much pain, perhaps she'd nod too, but she didn't want to move her head too much.

Speech.
Thoughts.

@Vekzhar @Aurelle