What had started as a single piece of fire opal embedded into the cave walls had grown into a chrysalis of great proportion. It had sat dormant for longer than a chrysalis should, certainly. Which made what happened next all the more surprising.

In a mere blink of the eyes, the chrysalis had exploded outward, shards raining down like confetti. The creature, now free, shook off any remaining pieces of gem and stood on shaky legs.

It was from further down the tunnel that the steady 'tak tak tak tak' of something solid touching on stone and frost emerged from. The rhythm stopped at the sounds of chrysalis shards falling against the floor. Then, picked up into a much faster rhythm, an almost frantic tapping as the source of those noises came into view.

A gembound, one not so suited for the frigid temperatures of Tunnel H, the tips of her nose and ears a rosy red from the chill. Yet, she seemed undeterred as she half-slipped, half-trotted closer to the newly emerged gembound.

When she spoke, it was half cut off through chattering teeth. "Woah," She breathed, her eyes widening. Hog hadn't seen another emergence since her own; and while she hadn't seen it with her eyes, she'd certainly heard it. "You're all white!" She cheered, the cold doing little to dampen her excitable spirit, "and you're huge! Biggest, biggun, I've ever seen!"

A simple fact, this white gembound was the biggest thing she'd seen in these caves, maybe the biggest thing ever, certainly much larger than herself -- a fact that made her stomach sink, though she couldn't piece together why. Not that the little voice in the back of her mind seemed to want to help her out this time.

@Honk

The creature blinked, one, twice, following turning their head this way and that to follow the other gembound. It examined them with no small amount of awe and curiosity. They couldn't piece together all her words yet, but they still left a warm, fuzzy feeling in their chest.

Their name was Honk, they were very suddenly sure of that. And this must be..a new friend, perhaps? But their friend was shivering! Which wasn't very kind of the air, making their friend cold. Honk reached down to ever so gently to grab their friend, bringing them close to their chest. Honk was very warm, with thick fur, so they could help their friend not be so cold.

@hog

Hog lets out a little squeal, she hadn't expected to be lifted; in fact she'd never been lifted before. She wriggles and worms until she's held against such a delightfully warm fur, then stops immediately; pressing herself bodily into the warmth with a wag of her little tail.

"Woah! You're so warm." Hog croons, nosing her face into Honk's fur. It seems even if this new friend didn't have their voice yet, Hog was more than happy to talk enough for the both of them. "Maybe it's because you're so big! Oh! I wish I was as big as this, then I'd be all warm too."

Then, she lifts her head just a little, as if suddenly remembering something. "Oh! Oh! My name is Hog! Because I am a hog!" She announces oh-so-proudly. "Do you know your name yet? Oh! Oh! Are you hungry? I think I was hungry when I first came out of my shiny-nest. We can find you something to eat!"

@Honk