It had been exactly two days since she was born! And things had been, well, not exciting. In fact, everything had been mildly concerning and confusing.

First, she'd been in a big humming place until the rat gembound she'd mistaken for a father had shooed her away to find her own way. As it turns out, that rat was not a parental figure, but instead, it was the big humming thing that was her parent. But that was okay! She liked the humming parent; she hummed sweet songs to her the whole time she was in her chrysalis!

It was a bother to be chased away from her, though. No matter, because she'd find her own way in the world! And all the stones were a bit boring to look at anyway, and it was full of other stone-cases like hers, but something about them was... sad. She didn't like that.

So, it was onwards and upwards. Until she'd found the tunnel, she'd been dipping in and out of pools for a while now, trying to find the Goldilocks pool that was the perfect temperature. Not too hot, not too cold. And she'd finally found it! But this place looked awful. The nice pool was covered in gross green plants that stuck in her fur when she tried to have a dip; there were rough stone pieces and dust everywhere! And all these sharp things that were on the sides and in the water, all rusty and icky too! They were sharp and tangled in her fur and it was all utterly miserable!

She stamped her hooves on the sides of the pool now, her frustration mounting. Her neck ached, and the water helped. Even just for a little bit, and she knew if she cleared the sides, she could sit with her head resting on the sides, with her neck and body submerged in the water. Which sounded absolutely divine. But as it stood, it was useless in this state!

So, she made a mental list: clear the icky green stuff, clear the rubble. Those were the biggest tasks. At least they would make the outside of the pool less of a dangerous, hazardous mess so she could do other tasks.

Clementine deemed the green slippery stuff the most deserving of her attention. It also had the added benefit of looking quite tasty. The only trouble was she couldn't see how good of a job she was doing, nor where all the patches were until she was practically slipping on them.

Unable to eat the algae due to the configuration of her face, she instead used her tusks to scrape it off the stones that weren't loose. Which was completely and utterly gross and left awful green stains on the tips of her tusks. Ew! When she tried to push it off, it got stuck to her hooves too and then tangled in her long fur, also staining that green in places.

Yet at least when it was on her hooves, she could settle on her side and bring them towards her face. Licking and nibbling off the algae, since her own legs could just about slot between her tusks. Just as she'd suspected earlier, it did taste good! It was quite yummy and refreshing because it was so slippery and soggy!

So when her neck hurt and she was tired, she took breaks. Finding a good spot of overgrown ivy to slump down in and nibble the algae. Taking naps when the ache was too much, or simply lying there when she couldn't sleep. Food wasn't hard to get; at least that was good. It was also tasty, so that was even gooder. Thankfully, the lights here didn't seem to work well; it meant at least in the dim she could find restful sleep when the pain wasn't too much. That would be her routine for a while; rest, clear more algae, eat it, then rest again.

She wasn't doing a great job clearing it, leaving amounts of it as she moved on, which would no doubt regrow. But she was also a child and working in the dark, so to her, that was good enough for now.

Day two. Clementine rose from her little bed of ivy and foliage with an ache across all her limbs. It's with a sigh that she got to her trotters, trying to clean out the algae and only getting enough for breakfast, lunch and dinner for herself wasn't the most fulfilling day she'd ever had. There was still so much of it everywhere, and in the waters too.

She tilted her head towards the room's lights; something would have to be done about how dim it was here. However, she was a few days old; she didn't know much about flickering or dim lights, nor how to fix them. For now, she'd simply have to keep working with the disadvantage of being in the dark.

Today she set her sights on the rubble, old pieces of things that she didn't understand. At least she could move it with the rubble. She scanned her surroundings and settled that a good place to pile it up was the opposite corner of her sleeping spot; that way, if something was interesting, she could find it with the aid of the lights from Tunnel S and dig it back out.

It was a lot easier to move things that weren't slimy. On that much she agreed. Rocks were easy to pick up in her mouth, or ones too big, she could shove with her tusks. Some of the much, much larger pieces were far beyond her skills. Perhaps she could find help for those.

Yet, by the time her neck ache was no longer ignorable, she had a decent-sized pile of rubble in the corner. Which felt much more satisfying; she could see the progress, as opposed to eating it. But it was time for lunch. With a hum, she began hooking some of the plants growing in the bath water onto her tusks. Her tune was flat, mimicking the hum of the machine she was born from; she didn't know any other songs.

The magic sparked and came to life without much forethought; the plates along her back began to tinkle along with her flat tune. Each time she moved, it sounded like someone was brushing against crystalline wind chimes. It didn't particularly fit with her humming, but it was pleasant to listen to.

So, she idled away the afternoon, fishing out duckweed and other water plants. Only to slop them onto the floor and shovel them into her mouth with her hooves. It wasn't a very good way of eating; the dust and muck from her hooves tainted the flavour of the plants, and sometimes she almost chipped a tooth on a rock that got wrapped up with the greens. Yet, for now, there was no better way.

No matter, life was simply like that, and she didn't think on it any longer than that. If she spent too long wondering why she struggled so much, she'd only make herself upset, and there was far too much to do. With all the aches in her limbs from the last day's work, she settled into her makeshift bed early. It all ached too much to sleep, but she could rest and let her mind wander.

Days were beginning to blur together. Day four? Day five? She wasn't sure which number it was. Admittedly, she slept until the lights outside in Tunnel S were already dimmed one day; the forever finicky lights of the baths proper made it increasingly challenging to guess when days were ending and beginning. It was all a permanent blur of darkness and slightly less oppressive darkness.

It was all starting to feel much more exhausting than she had first anticipated. And almost disparagingly lonely.

Cleaning was also grating on her. There was only so much algae, lichen, ivy, and other pest plants one could eat in an effort to clean, and, quite frankly, it was all beginning to get boring to eat. The same activities, the same food, the same darkness, the same scenery. Everything was always the same. At first, it had been comforting from the overwhelming sights of Cassiopeia, but now? Now, it was exhausting.

Perhaps she just needed a change in routine or just something to do that wasn't this.

But what could that be? What could she possibly do that wasn't this? With a sigh, Clementine covers up her little nest of ivy and soft lichens, then turns to the exit to the baths.

Maybe just a little walk would do.

(temporary exit until feeding the maw is complete)