The chrysalis had been growing steadily - gathering energy within itself for cycles now. The black opal, sitting between the soft bedding of the shared nest had begun to crack that morning. A small nick in the top of the crystal - barely noticeable at first.

It is only some hours later that the crack fully scales down the crystal, a wet slap hitting the warm nest surrounding it. Vizard opens her eyes to a new world, and a soft one.

She sniffles, whining like a pup. Vizard shakes out her wet fur, eyes gleaming in the new place.

@Lichen @Aurelle

Lichen didn't bother to turn her head. When your roommate was also blind, you didn't usually have to worry about eye contact or looking at noises. Instead, she just made a grunt of acknowledgement towards the movement in the nestroom and waited.

When nothing followed, she called out. "Are you--" Her words were silenced as she heard the wet slap. That made her shift from where she was lazily plucking wads of lichen from the walls (in a very minimal attempt to clean up the place). Then there was whimpering.

"Are you having a cry?" Lichen called softly, poking her head into the nestroom. "Is it a 'leave me alone' cry or a 'I want a hug' cry?" She asked the room, unaware of Aurelle's whereabouts and that she was, in fact, asking an infant. Stone eyes stared unseeing at the sopping pup, waiting for an answer.

@Vizard @Aurelle

Aurelle had, sure enough, been in the nestroom, changing out the soft bedding that her and Lichen slept on. They got a little gross after a time, after all-- so she'd pack them into her bag and give them a wash in Pieces, warm them up to dry, and set them back into their nest. Lichen in particular seemed to enjoy rolling into a bed that had been magically pre-heated, after all.

The elf was also a little more aware than the dragon. She'd been periodically checking the chrysalis Lichen had set to grow, and a few hours prior she'd noticed a little divot in the top. She'd assumed either she or Lichen had bumped into it, or maybe something had fallen on the roof, and chipped it. When the chrysalis cracked and whoever was inside whined, her ears pointed upright and she turned her head towards it.

"No, no, ahh-- that wasn't me," she told Lichen. It'd been some time since she met someone that had just come out of their chrysalis, but she personally remembered being very cold. She lifted up a blanket into her hands, and a little spark of magic had it warming up pleasantly. "It's, ahh, the person you tried to help."

Gently approaching Vizard, she put the warm blanket around her shoulders. "There you go," she soothed. "Are you alright? Do you, ahh, remember anything?"

@Vizard

The fresh hatchling does not startle when the strangers appear. They talk amongst themselves - they both seem kind. The pup blinks at the two of them slowly, unaware of the blindness.

Help? Person?

Her soft tail curls around her feet.

Is that me?

The blanket is warm and comfortable around her cold body. She snuggles further into it, soaking up the nice warm feelings. Her nose wiggles, confusion lacing her features at the question. Remember?

"I'm okay." She says softly.

More okay now, with the blanket and company. She tries to remember. Really does! The only thing she knows is the warmth of the strange crystal, and the warmth of the nice blanket.

"Did I" The words stall, she has to think really hard about what to use next. "For-get?"

The pronunciation isn't quite right, but good enough.

@Lichen

Lichen had established it wasn't Aurelle whimpering in the room, but rather the stone. Or what came out of the stone. The stone had survived! She'd done it! The first time she'd tried to help anyone that wasn't Aurelle and it was paying off.

Lately, this whole 'being involved in the lives of others' has really been paying off and in a sense of accomplishment and joy, as opposed to literally earning wealth from it. An emotional wealth, perhaps.

Her feelers unfurled, seeking and searching, but when the feelers prompted Lichen's gemstone for magic nothing happened. Odd. She tried again a little more urgently; she wanted to find what had emerged, she wanted to know where it was; to come close without stepping on them.

Her gemstone crackled, then a painful shock pierced through her skull; an awful feeling like an icepick through the brain. Outwardly, she pulled a face like sucking a lemon, then groaned. Reaching one big clawed hand to clutch her head. It hurt.

Blinking away the water in her eyes, she shook her head. "Oh-- Yes. Were you hurt?" Lichen asks through gritted teeth, lowering herself to the floor, so she might cradle her head in both sets of claws.

@Aurelle

As per, Aurelle was a little more aware than Lichen was. Her ears twitched contemplatively for a beat-- and her head swivelled briefly towards Lichen as she groaned, then back down to Vizard. "Ahh... I think she's new," the elf said slowly. "A child."

Maybe it was for the best. Who knew how whoever had that stone before had died? If the child didn't remember, maybe she'd be happier for it. "That's alright, ahh, don't worry about it," she assured Vizard. "You're here now, aren't you?"

She tapped a finger against her chin, thinking. It'd been... well, some time since she was a child. It'd been even longer since Lichen was a child, too, so there wasn't any help there, no doubt. Usually, though, when Aurelle woke up, she was hungry and thirsty. "How about, ahh, you settle in the nest and I'll get you something to eat? Would you like, ahh, something fruity or something meaty?"

In the meantime, Aurelle went for one of their bowls, hovering her hand over it. Her magic drew water from the air and filled the bowl steadily with clean, cool water, which was then offered towards Vizard.

@Vizard

Vizard blinks up at Aurelle. New seems right. She can't remember anything from before, if there ever had been. The fact doesn't seem bad. After all Vizard had awoken to two very nice Gembound, in a cozy den covered in warm.

I like it here.

Her nose wiggles at the prospect of food. That sounds nice! "Um." What would she prefer? "I think fruity."

The water is pushed toward her, and Vizard's tail wiggles happily. "Thank you!"

She gulps down the water quickly, the parched little thing. Her eyes then move over to Lichen - blinking slowly at the hunched dragon. "Are you okay?" The little thing hadn't heard the previous comment - too focused on the idea of a meal. Now though, little ears point down as she eyes Lichen.

@Lichen

A child. She hadn't considered that a possibility, but here she was now. Dazed by this sudden realisation, it took her a beat to realise that said child was talking to her. "Oh! Yes! Magic just sometimes doesn't work like you want it too." Lichen tutted as if she'd stained her favourite apron, opposed to having her eyeballs backfire.

She'd brought a child into the caves. It seemed the implications of that were finally hitting as she listened to the small voice in the room with her.

Well, it was too late for regrets. What did she like as a child? It'd been a while since either of them had been one or seen one; one that wasn't a living host of fungi, at least.

She shook her head out and tried again, this time her feelers were drawn towards Vizard, perhaps even gently brushing her skin and wool, should she not flinch away. "Ah, there you are."

"Do you know if you have a name? Names are very... fun." Lichen grimaced at herself; very 'how do you do, fellow kids' sounding.

@Aurelle

"Ahh, we can't see very well," Aurelle supplemented Lichen's comment, explaining-- though she wondered, dimly, if the child had been Lichen's, could they also see? She wasn't certain, thinking about it, if Lichen had ever been able to see at all. "Magic helps us get around when there's new people or things around."

She brushed by Lichen, hand grazing along the dragon's flank before she went to access their food storage, which was kept under a blanket. They're essentially cavemen. Nobody's invented a cupboard or fridge yet, to their knowledge. She took out a fruit, feeling it beneath her palm before returning to Vizard with it.

She worked on breaking it open. "Ahh, my name is Aurelle, and this is Lichen," she said, popping the green, scaled fruit into two halves. She offered it out towards Vizard's nose, sitting down in front of the child. "And, ahh, this is a cherimoya! They're my favourite."

@Vizard

Magic. Vizard does not move when Lichen's feelers touch her, they feel strange. Do the feelers help with not seeing good, too? Just like magic? Vizard blinks at the two of them. So is she the only one that can see good?

"Magic sounds very helpful."

Should Vizard learn how to do the magic thing? Maybe she can be helpful, too. When she learns of their names, Vizard memorizes them. Aurelle, Lichen, Aurelle, Lichen.

"My name is..." She sits for a few moments, thinking. "Vizard!

A good name, she thinks. As the cherimoya half is placed in front of her, Vizard sniffs it. It looks interesting. A white innard with large seeds, but it smells sweet. Vizard takes a bite out of the soft flesh, the taste is incredible. A mix of sweet and tangy coats her tongue.

"That's really good!" Vizard can see why it would be Aurelle's favorite. "My favorite now too!"

Vizard thinks back to the magic. "Do I learn magic too?"