Phineas came in to the world with a resounding crack and a thud as his small body hit the ground.

For a moment, the newborn Gembound was motionless. Save for the rising and falling of his flank, the kitten could've been dead. But just as quickly as he fell, his brilliant turquoise eyes popped open and his immediate world swam blearily in front of his face. He quickly shut them again as nausea crept up through his belly, but it was too late. By the effects of his birth and disorientation, Phineas leaned over the step he was lying on and vomited.

That was enough to clear his head. He had no memories save for the mysterious knowledge that his name was Phineas. There was something else, as well, not so much a memory, but a feeling. A feeling that he was accompanied by thousands and thousands of beings, but his perception of them was just out of reach, as if they were impossible to detect and yet there all the same. It was a crawling feeling up his spine, like being watched, although the kitten couldn't relate to that. Mostly it was overwhelming, but so faint that he couldn't possibly reach out to them. He was not born with grey sense, and so his friends remained barely perceptible to him, and the feeling would fade in an hour as he adjusted until he could no longer sense them at all.

But he could faintly sense them now in the immediate aftermath of his birth where his senses were most heightened, and found them forebording. Without even thinking about what he was doing, the newborn squeezed his eyes shut and wished away the feeling.

Attempts to cast Fauna Cleanse.

Unbeknownst to him, the tiny howlite spurs on his spine pulsed with a low grey light, but nothing much happened. He felt a slight tingling in his paws, like something crawling over them, but just as quickly it faded, leaving Phineas alone with his quickly fading feeling of being surrounded.

The tanuki had been born into the world for a few days now. She was learning. Each day taught her something new. Taught her more about survival. The first day had even granted her a friend -- something different from her and yet kind. Eeya. She liked Eeya. His voice was high and squeaky, but in a good way. She liked the way it sounded. He was nice too, giving her a present. The fish had been delicious, filling her belly. But staying near the river had not been her only desire, so Azumi would wander off in search of others. Thus far she had met a few other creatures, but they had not been as talkative as the dolphin. They were not nice... and she decided she didn't like them. The tanuki would wander through the cave systems, down the different tunnels. All of this was so strange. So bizarre. The place seemed to be endless. It was both like the area where the river was and not. She liked it but then didn't at the same time. All of it was strange. She'd breathe in, glancing around with her single chocolate eye. Ears would perk, twitching every so often to different sounds. Water falling. Rocks shifting. Then she heard a sound that was different. Something that reminded her of the day she emerged. Azumi would expel a gasp. Was something else coming into this world like she did? Turning her head this way and that Azumi would focus on trying to find the source. All she wanted to do was say hello, and maybe make another friend. Another ally who could help her and maybe she could help it as thanks. Maybe it needed food... like she had. The tanuki would sniff the air, trying to pinpoint the direction she had to go. [After Roll] Ahh that way! With her head held high and excitement coursing through her veins Azumi would begin to move at a faster pace. Eventually her chocolate gaze would fall upon another creature. One that was both similar to her and different. She'd eye the creature for a moment before calling out from behind. "Hey!" "Speech" 'Thought'

In the absence of the feeling that was fading so quickly, Phineas battled fear alone. Whatever sensation he'd experienced left him feeling very unsure of himself and his surroundings, and his entrance into Origin Cave, albeit very uneventful, was enough to overwhelm him completely. The combination of uncertainty and over-stimulation caused him to quake on the spot.

At least until a new Gembound arrived and greeted him. There was a nagging feeling of familiarity when Phineas looked at Azumi, as if he knew the sort of creature she was from an inaccessible memory. Of course, the newborn had no memory, so just like the sensation of a thousand eyes on him, this was an indescribable feeling. He knew, just from looking at the tanuki, that they were alike... and yet very different.

Like all Gembound, Phineas didn't need to be taught the motion of speaking, but his voice came out very shaky, his inflection all wrong, when he tentatively stuttered, "h-h-hi?" in response. His rounded ears settled back against his skull at the alien sound of his own voice, spoken for the very first time, as his wide blue-green eyes sought the tanuki's... and landed on the gem embedded in her eye. As with the knowledge that they were similar, Phineas knew that gems embedded in animals was not unusual at all without every having actually experienced it, but still he stared, transfixed by the shimmery light of the spinel.

His voice came out shaky, a test that he must have been trying for the first time. Azumi would gaze upon the gembound before her, her own thought process similar to his own. To know certain things. To just know them without being taught. To 'discover' things as they came to the subconscious, and both learn and already know of different skills. It was strange and yet, at the same time natural. Such was the existence that Azumi was finding for the gembound. She'd give a small smile, her mind and body holding gentle thoughts as she looked at the one before her. "You new." The female would state matter-of-factly. She'd tip her head, motioning towards herself. "Azumi is me. You...?" She'd frown a bit, hoping for an introduction. "Azumi can help... if want." She might not have been around for all that long, but in her current cycle she was more than willing to help and try and make alliances. It was as she aged that the gembound would grow darker aligned, more manipulative and selfish. For now however there was more simple things wanted. The need to survive. The need to communicate. Companionship. The tanuki would extend a paw out in front of herself, pawing at the air. She was much like a needy child in this state. Even if she wanted to help she wanted attention in return. "Speech" 'Thought'

Azumi pointed out that he was new. Phineas nodded uncertainly. He didn't truly understand the concept of "new" or that he'd been birthed from magick. He didn't even really understand himself. Consciousness was bestowed on him without his permission, for if the lynx could have his way, he would've slept in his crystal cocoon indefinitely.

The Cave must have need of him, though, and so here he was, a magical little entity with a gem-encrusted spinal column. The raccoon dog went on to introduce herself, earning a smile from the young kitten. This was a concept he understood somehow. "Me... Ph-phhhin." Phineas, his mind had told him, and so Phineas he would be. The last syllable was tough to pronounce, though, so he went with the easiest alternative.

She offered to help, but Phineas still didn't know what he might need helping with. Understanding the fading presences all around him was a start, but there was no guarantee Azumi knew anything about that, and he didn't know how to articulate the feeling. "Tingly," he said with a frown, gesturing with his blunt snout at his feet. "Tingly crawlies. What is?"