Destiny had spent quite a while frolicking and feeding just off the shore, nabbing tiny fish and worms from the silt with her bill. She'd spent a long time like that until after what seemed like forever, she felt truly satisfied. She'd eaten before, of course, but today she'd put some effort into making it fun. That wasn't to say that she played with her food of course, but she swam around just that little bit slower and felt the currents tugging at her fur. she savoured every little worm she ate and just felt proud and genuinely happy to be alive.

She couldn't say the same for all those little fishes and worms though. Little twinges of guilt hung in her heart with every little thing she ate, but she assured herself they went painlessly, and for a good cause. They didn't seem to have much thought to em, either. The poor dears probably didn't mind. At least they'd be warm in her belly. Warm and cozy...

Destiny felt a little bad again, and she shook her head. maybe she should stop thinking about this...

So the little platypus looked up and gazed at all the sparkling lights above and around her. Since finishing her meal, she'd been just lying calmly on the riverbank, waiting for it to digest. But it was, she admitted to herself, a little lonely lying here on her own.


@Bartos -- I wasn't sure where to set this thread so I just decided to put it here for now. If Bartos can't make it here I'll change this to an open thread and make another! <3

(Its all good!)

After accompanying Perseus and Baroque back to the waterfall room and hanging around for a moment, meeting the duck that floated in the water, Bartos resumed his original quest. He had been making his way to Polaris when he was interrupted by the hatchling and the young hybrid. Polaris was one of the rooms he had barely seen; accompanying Leon had allowed him to get a glimpse of the magically charged room, but they didn't linger for long, walking around near the tunnel entrance before returning to Pisces. Besides, riding around on the bear's back stripped him of the opportunity to do some exploring of his own. Ever since he'd seen Polaris he was drawn to it, but his ability to explore was deeply hindered by recent events. Maybe now he could poke around.

The first thing that took his attention was the great, glistening blue spire. But it was too far for him to travel to immediately. He was stuck instead near the river, deciding that maybe he'd rest here before venturing towards the spire. It was there that Bartos had spotted another Gembound, though it looked unlike anything he had ever seen before. The cat paused and squinted, trying to pick out her details. She had a bill... but fur... and a weird tail. What was she?

Curious, the cat limped his way towards her. A tentative "Hello?" left his lips, reminding him of the juvenile curiosity with which he had examined strange things when he was still a kitten. That wonder still existed in his heart, slowly unearthing as the memory of Hasira's attack ebbed further and further away.

@Destiny

The little one looked up curiously as suddenly, there was a voice. As if on queue! That seemed to happen a lot. Then again, there seemed to be a lot of others to frequent Polaris. She was glad she'd made her home here. Not only was it beautiful, but she made a lot of friends here!

As she followed the sound of the voice with a big sweep of her head, the little platypus found them! A big, furry creature with... something odd, on his face. It was quite unique, and Destiny found it very charming! "Well hello there!" she warbled excitedly her bill opening into a broad grin. "I d-don't think we've met b-b-before, right?" She launched into a little waddle and approached the stranger so she could see them better, her eyes dancing in the lights of Polaris with the iridescence of the opal that was her stone, speckling the back of her head in a series of tiny nubs. Around them, the fur was disturbed and a little stained with a rusty substance, although she didn't seem to have noticed.

They really were big! Though, not quite as big as some she'd met. Not that that was surprising; in all her time in the caves, she'd not once met someone her size. It was... funny? Destiny didn't want to take it as a bad thing. Curiosity shone in her eyes.

"Who're you? My name's D-D-Dest'ny. I live here!"

@Bartos