VAESSA
the road goes ever on and on

Her gem? That made sense! Vaessa could see that her Chrysalis and her front-right claws were made of the same material - and she suspected that it was the source of her dream, too. "It's pretty! All red and orange and glowing." She said with a childishly innocent sense of wonder, the way only children are able to fully appreciate beauty for it's own worth, not in comparison to anything else.

The memories of what she'd seen were already fading from Vaessa, so she summed it up as best as she could. "You were talking to someone. A friend. I think they cried?" It was a question as much as a statement. Nevermind that Kielo couldn't know what had happened in her dream. They weren't there, she knew that, she'd just imagined them.
"You comforted them." Vaessa added a moment later. She didn't even catch the full extent of what little part of the conversation she'd heard but that was how she felt about what the conversation had entailed anyway. It was the soft inflection in Kielo's voice, their sincerity and how the other Gembound there had wept. It was a sad crying, not a bad sad anyway. Was there even a good sad?

Kielo just nodded a little guiltily, even though those colours were sadly beyond the reaches of his imagination. His ears lowered slightly to either side of their head, but he smiled anyway, even if it was with a touch of sadness. "It sounds lovely," they said honestly.

Kielo's ears pricked as she began to vaguely describe the 'dream' she'd had, although there weren't many details to be gleaned from it. But the description stirred up some memories nontheless. He remembered being with Winter, how afraid and broken she'd felt as he healed her. A worried look crossed their ace for a moment, but they perked up soon after. "Was it Winter? Did you see us?" he asked hopefully. If it was magic, perhaps she'd seen into the past? But if it wasn't, maybe it was just a dream. Kielo hadn't spoken to anyone else in the way he'd spoken to Winter.

"...Why were they crying?" The thought made his heart tighten, and he found himself longing for the snake to come back soon. Even though it hadn't been very long, he missed her. "Winter's a snake. A white snake. She's so wonderful... I should introduce you to her one day."





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"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Vaessa
notes: here

vaessa kindness is not weakness

Vaessa didn't even notice that she'd made a description on qualities that Kielo couldn't really grasp. She was still too confused by that dream she'd had. It was a weird dream to have, she guessed, having had more dreams than awake time in her Chrysalis - so maybe she was kind of an expert on that, in her own way.

"I only saw shadows." Vaessa confessed, clinging to the fading memories of what little she'd actually seen and heard.
A white snake? She had no idea what a snake looked like, and even then, she probably wouldn't have recognized the shape.

"You said you aren't afraid." The puppy remembered. "Of your friend, of Winter, maybe. Not sure." She mused. Maybe that snake had been in her dream too. It'd make sense for her not to see anything then, right? She didn't know what a snake looked like - so if she just didn't see anything in her dream, then that wouldn't be a problem.
But why would she dream about someone she didn't know?

Vaessa shed her confusing thoughts and brightened at the idea of meeting someone else. "Yes! More friends!" She giggled, smiling brightly at the blind Kielo. She'd love to make more friends, get to know more Gembounds, maybe even some who are more like her?
"I want to meet all of Kielo's friends." Vaessa added, trying to imagine all the different kinds of Gembounds that Kielo might know (with her very limited knowledge of the variety of life).

"Kielo probably has a lot of friends?" The pup theorized out-loud. Kielo seemed nice - not that she was a good judge on character yet but she thought they were nice and that was all that counted to her - so they must have a lot of people who liked them, right?

We are not always what we seem,

and hardly ever what we dream.

@Kielo

Kielo gave a nod that was slight and understanding. Although he was certainly curious, the hybrid knew that pressing matters might only make the young one worry. Maybe it hadn't really happened. maybe it was just a dream as the little puppy thought it was. After all, Kielo had very little grasp on magic, and virtually no knowledge of what was plausible.

Her next words did stir up a memory though; and it was of something that had already happened. The hybrid couldn't help but grin wistfully at the memory, though it brought back the feeling of sorrow and pain that had been so raw at the time. They'd moved past it, of course, but the pang that came with Winter's absence, no matter how short, was still raw. "I had that conversation with Winter before," he explained softly, and with a hint of sadness. "She thought that I should be afraid of her, because she's a snake. I don't know why anyone would be afraid of Winter, though. She's so nice..."

Kielo let the nostalgia of their last meeting wash over him, and tremors ran through the feathers along his back. His heart was light and heavy, all at once. He remembered their fond parting. They'd be together again soon. Kielo smiled at nothing in particular. "I bet Winter will love you!" he beamed, with an excited flutter of his wings.

As she posed her question, Kielo tilted his head, taking a moment to think. "I suppose I do," he said, thinking back to all the other Gembounds he'd met. There were many that he'd never met again but others that stuck around awhile, who he hoped to meet again one day. Like Azar, and Aeroth. "But... none of them are like Winter."



_________________________________________________________

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Vaessa
notes: here

vaessa kindness is not weakness

Vaessa listened to Kielo's every word, wanting to hear and learn everything about Winter and all of Kielo's other friends that she could. Winter did sound like a nice Gembound (of course everyone who Kielo was friends with would be nice) and Vaessa really did want to meet her, as soon as she could.
When Kielo started shaking, Vaessa tumbled towards them and pressed herself close to their side. She that Kielo wasn't sad because of her, though that seemed to be the case. Or at least, her dream had made them sad.

When they assured her that Winter would like her, that definitely helped to make Vaessa smile again. The idea of Kielo being sad had made her sad, too.
She blushed at the compliment and hid her face in her friend's side.

"Then I really want to meet Winter!" She barked excitedly. "How long have Kielo and Winter been friends?" She asked next, sitting down where she was half-cuddled into Kielo's side, getting ready to listen. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth that her friend's body provided. It wasn't the same as being in the Chrysalis, of course, but it came closer. And it felt better anyway.
She could hear Kielo's breathing and their heartbeat from where her hear was pressed to their side, the sounds intriguing her and calming her at the same time.

We are not always what we seem,

and hardly ever what we dream.

@Kielo

With a wide sweep of their tail, Kielo curled up, and allowed the pup to cuddle into their side, a little patch of warmth like a hot water bottle. Kielo's eyes lit up as the pup continued to ask about Winter. As they thought about how best to answer, they felt the little pup snuggle up, almost as though preparing for a storytime. Kielo grinned, flushing with embarrassment beneath their fur and feathers, but proud nontheless.

"Well, when Winter and I first met, she was getting out of her chrysalis, just like you are now. But she got stuck. She was hurt, and I tried to help her..." Kielo's ears lowered, a note of sadness coming into their fluting voice. "When she was free, I comforted her with my friend, Azar. That was 4 cycles ago, I think... well. it's been long enough for us both to change a lot." They paused, considering how best to tackle the next part of their tale. the smile faded from their face, ears lowered slightly. "The next time we met, she was really, really hurt. I helped to heal her, and comforted her to make her feel better." there was a pause. "Then, we were together pretty much all the time, after that. I tried to find her food, too. And we told each other how much we loved each other. I've never had another friend like Winter. I'm so proud to know her..."

A smile once again came to their pale features.

"Winter's hunting now. She'll be back soon, I hope."



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"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

tags: @Vaessa
notes: do you wanna start thinking of how we're gonna close up their thread? I'd be happy to plot with SilverWinter and perhaps have them all meet up again in Leaving Behind before they set off on their honeymoon road trip.