Somewhere between Orion and Monoceros, a chrysalis jutted out of a rock on the side. It was red, surrounded by a clear material, but all of this was unknown by the Gembound inside, who had not yet awoken. She would learn the location, but not the color. There was no need for color when she was blind from birth.

A gemstone visor stretched across her eyes, sunken into her head. She stirred. Her first impression was of warmth, and something close by, pressing into her. It was rough and comforting, but it was too close for her. She stretched, pressing against the closerough. A crack, close to her head. She pushed again. Another crack, repeated faintly. She could feel cold to her right, and started pushing that way. A part of the closerough fell away, and so did she.

She landed on something cold and smooth, and instinctively started feeling around with her tail. She felt a rough surface similar to the closerough from earlier but grainier. She pushed downwards onto the coldsmooth, trying to get up.

She used too much strength, she knew it. She launched herself into the air before landing back down on the coldsmooth and sliding, catapulting almost to the Orion end of the tunnel before stopping and falling flat on her face. She spat out some dust loosened from hitting a wall.

She pressed against the coldsmooth again, trying to regulate her strength, even though her mind screamed that it wanted to get up, to move around.

She felt herself rising, her body getting up from the coldsmooth. She swept her tail around, feeling for the roughcold to her sides, before turning away from the source of cold she could feel in front of her and walking forwards.

Hunger impacted her a few minutes after walking forwards, and she swept her tail around the tunnel impulsively. She was searching for something, something that would make that feeling in her belly go away.

A couple minutes passed by while her tail swept over the coldsmooth. She felt something under her tail and pounced before she could process what it was. A flash of pain in her paw alerted her to the fact that it wasn't food. She whimpered. The thing was a piece of coldrough, like the things to the sides of her, but it hurt if her paw touched it.

She continued on, limping a bit, before her tail registered the presence of something. It was fluffy, like her, and chittered softly. She turned her head towards the source and pounced again, paws extended towards the fluffsound.

It squeaked loudly and hurt her ears, but she kept her paws on it as it struggled. Her head lowered down to where she assumed the sound came from. Now that her head was closer to it, she could smell something musky. It made her hungrier, and her head shot forward, her teeth biting down on the fluffsound. Something warm and wet filled her mouth, followed by something that tasted richer and better.

Her hunger gone, she continued traversing the tunnel, shifting her tail to the nearby coldrough that didn't hurt.

She kept walking for what seemed like ages, her tail endlessly feeling nothing but the coldrough. She could hear nothing but odd repeating drops, some repetitions being quieter and softer than others. Her paw found empty air, and she tumbled downwards over some smooth things.

She shook herself and tried to get up, making sure not to step on the downward smooth. She shakily got to her feet, the only thing to actuate her to do so being her curiousity about the downsmooth. She felt her tail over them, feeling a sharp edge but smooth top and side. It was an interesting thing, the sharpedge. It wasn't sharp enough to cut, and it was a very interesting texture. Not as good as the coldrough, however. She traversed up the sharpedge, making sure not to slip this time, and continued on her way. She knew she was getting somewhere- she could feel fastcold near the end of the tunnel, slipping by her like.. like something. She followed the coldrough into the fastcold area.

--exit Ciani--