Smoke began to rise, heat emitting from the darkening skin that permeated the air with a burning stench. His large, Africa-shaped ears opened and closed against his neck, creating airflow that stirred up the smoke and fueled the warmth. Atsila lumbered along, his legs reaching out in a fluid motion that silently carried over the ground. It was a grace that only such a land mammal like himself could create. With no thought about it, his trunk swung from side to side, the end of it coiled neatly so it would not drag the ground. Behind him was the exit of the tunnel that reached from Eridanus to the core, before him was a new world with exciting exploration ahead. As it was, he'd grown quite well already. His tusks were now poking out from either side of his face, a bit taller, a bit heavier, and plenty of spunk to keep him perky. Big chocolate eyes darted around, taking in the surroundings of the glowing cavern. Water, crystals, and space. It was everything and more, but still not quite what he had hoped to find... he hoped there was such a place to find. One of comfort and naturalism. For now, he would not dwell too long or too often. He had faces to meet and friends to make. A friendly rumble bellowed from his vocal chords, aiming to catch the attention of whoever - or whatever - may be nearby. Hopefully, anything that he encountered would be friendly and not a murderous disaster begging to occur. ---- "Speech." Thoughts. OOC: He is two cycles old; posted on the last day of his first cycle. Tag: @

Destiny loved this room. The lights were warm, friendly and pretty, the waters deep and not too chilly, and there was plenty to eat. Destiny had spent a lot of time around here, swimming, eating, practicing and... well, not much else really. A lot of the time she'd pass the time by gazing aimlessly up at the many lights which fascinated her.

Other than that... not much went on. Other Gembounds often overlooked her as they stopped to drink, and then moved on, or simply ambled by at the water's edge.

It was a lonely thought, and so Destiny decided, Today would be different! She'd pulled herself out of the crystal river and now she waddled forth on some imagined grand adventure. Her opalescent eyes gleamed in all the bright lights of the cave, every deep colour earning a flash in the limelight as she looked around for company. She took a deep breath, and peered further than her eyes could see using her magic. It was faint, but it was there- she heard a distant heartbeat, and waddled eagerly towards the source of the sound. As she approached, it grew deeper... and deeper... and deeper.

Little Destiny had never heard such a loud heartbeat and it wouldn't be long before she found out why. As she clambered onto a tiny rock, she saw there, probably the largest Gembound she'd ever seen! Her own little heart quivered with awe.

"Hallo!" she called, waving her flipper. "Hallo! C-c-can ya see me? Hear me?"

@Atsila

The large mammal gave a quiet sigh. He eye-balled the water, considering a nice bath. The whole idea dissolved rather quickly as a tiny voice cracked the silence, guiding his gaze downward toward the source. His focus on the spell he was performing ended, making the smoke evaporate. To his delight, a friendly looking little creature was looking up at him, greeting him with her odd foot. She looked like a creature thrown together with recycled parts of many others. To him, it was quite adorable. His large ears fanned outward, framing his young face. He reached his trunk out to sniff Destiny, then dared a touch of her fur, which was odd to touch, but very soft. Finally, he seemed ready to actually speak to the little thing he'd nearly walked over. "I see and hear you! What's your name? I'm Atsila!" He sniffed at her more, rumbling happily and excitedly. ---- "Speech." Thoughts. OOC: Tag: @Destiny

The creature reached out with it's weird... nose? Was that its nose? Not that she had the right to call anything weird. a soft, purring giggle escaped her bill at the thought of that. Well, it sniffed her, so by this point she was pretty sure it was a nose. Then it gave her back a little pat, a surprisingly gentle one given the creature's enormous size compared to her. Destiny opened her bill to display a broad grin. Her eyes shone with all the colours of the cave and an iridescence akin to the opal on the back of her head.

Then finally with a rumble, the other one spoke to her. Destiny danced on her short and chubby legs. "Mine's Dest'ny!" she replied excitedly. There was a warmth around this big one that she liked, its breaths were warm as they fell on her fur and there was just a general air of heat around it. Though perhaps she shouldn't be surprised; she'd just watched the last few tendrils of smoke drift away from its hide. But that warmth was pleasant, she was more used to chilly waters.

"It's g-g-great to meetcha Atsila!" she warbled excitedly, nodding. "I've never seen anyone as big as you before!" she added excitedly.

@Atsila

Little did Destiny know that her reaction to him touching her would bring him an unspeakable joy. Boar, his first encounter, was less than friendly about it. You'd think it would of deterred him from the act, but he couldn't help it. It was a necessary action, for him. Her happy voice made him smile big, ears flapping gently. Her comment on his size made him really look down, then looked upward. When his eyes returned to her, he smiled again. "I ain't seen nothin' as small as you!" he exclaimed to her. He dropped down to his knees, long trunk all but in his way as he really did his best to see her face-to-face. In took a deep breath, chocolate eyes studying her unusual features. "What do you like to do, Destiny? Can you do cool things?" He spoke of magic, of course, but that didn't necessarily mean the little female would have an inkling of what he meant by "cool." ---- "Speech." Thoughts. OOC: Tag: @Destiny

Although his big breaths warmed her, the breezes cast by his big, flapping ears seemed to cool her down somewhat, although perhaps that was just her imagination. Her bill still parted in a big smile she gazed admiringly at the creature standing over her. It spoke again, and then moved so that they were very nearly face to face, or perhaps trunk-to-bill. She met his eyes with her iridescent ones, seeming almost to glow with joy.

Finally, she responded to his words with a tiny laugh, taking it as a compliment. "A lotta Gembounds seem ta think so!" she chirruped happily, shuffling her flippers. She found that very nice, about how the largest critter could be so nice to the smallest. At his question, the little platypus thought deeply for a few short moments. "Well, I can swim pretty well! I love to swim," was her first thought. She loved the water and swimming, she felt so much more nimble when she wasn't forced to waddle about on her incredibly short legs. Anything cool, huh? That was a bit more difficult.

"Uhhh... Well... My friend said my gem looks pretty!" the little one said, straining to gesture to the growing bump on the back of her head. "A-and, and... oh! I can make my fur look different!"

Destiny closed her eyes for a few moments and concentrated. Although nothing happened, she was none the wiser.

"D-d-did it work?"

@Atsila

Atsila held a look of awe at her as she mentioned swimming. He had never swam before. Didn't really know what it was, but for some reason, he felt like it had to do with the water. He looked back down to her in time to see her motion to the gem, which lead to a really big smile. "Ooh! That is a very lovely gem!" he chimed to her. He shuffled around a little so he could gently touch it, feeling it's texture, pleased by it. Destiny seemed to be very adamant about something, so he gave her a little space and stood up again, watching her closely as she stated she could look... well, different. He waited, observing the little swimmer patiently. When nothing happened and she inquired about it, he blinked, then giggled a little. "Nope, but sometimes my smoke doesn't work, either. Try again?" ---- "Speech." Thoughts. OOC: imsorryitsucks Tag: @Destiny

Destiny felt her heart lift as the long-nosed creature commented on her gem, happiness swelling and bubbling thtoughout her body. "o-oh! You really think so? she squeaked, suddenly bashful. She felt their trunk moving, shuffling against her fur, poking at the tiny protruding points, maybe feeling the growing ridges beneath her skin. Blinking excitedly, she pushed her head into the odd, sensitive appendage.

Destiny opened an eye as the large creature spoke, her sparkling gaze focused and hopeful for a moment. When it became clear that nothing had happened, Destiny flushed, stammering and giggling. "Ah, aha! I-I'll try it again. R-really?" the little creature seemed dumbfounded that an animal so big and strong could fail at something.

But without much hesitation, she finished stammering and sucked in her breath. She concentrated hard once more, holding her breath until she felt a little lightheaded.

"N-now?" she asked hopefully.

@Atsila

Atsila smiled at her, really big, then watched her once more. She seemed a bit... off, as she held onto her breath a little too long. Still, she eventually sucked in some new air and asked if she'd succeeded. A hint of panic entered his mind, but subsided to some degree as he found himself with an idea. "Woow, you're really pretty!" He said excitedly. He did think she was pretty, but she hadn't changed at all and wasn't sure who was being a liar, here... if it was either of them. The big boy came down to his knees again, then flopped all the way down so he could lay and watch her, without being so looming over someone so much smaller. "What's swimming, Destiny? And how do ya do it?" He really wanted to give it a go himself. Maybe it didn't require any magic. If it did, though, he'd have to figure out how to muster it up. ---- "Speech." Thoughts. OOC: Tag: @Destiny

Destiny let out the breath she'd held in a big rush, creating a soft whistling sound as it escaped her bill. She looked up at the larger creature with big wide eyes full of warmth and surprise. "Y-you think so? P-p-pretty?!" Destiny's words lisped out all in a tumble. The little platypus felt her heart swell, her stomach fluttering and her skin prickling hot. "...I think you look real nice too. You're real big and tall and strong!" she complimented him excitedly, and there was nothing but truth and adoration in her tone.

"S-swimming! Oh, I'll show you! It's just moving through the water! You move your legs around to push yourself away from the bottom and move around! I love to swim! I can teach you if ya wanna but uh, it can be a little scary and maybe somewhere shallower?" Destiny recalled the time she'd tried to teach her friend Fira to swim. it had gone rather badly, but at least they'd both survived.

The little one was subdued for a few moments, but soon perked up and returned to her chatty self. "I'll show you! Let's go!" She flopped off the small rock she'd been perched on and waddled frantically towards the crystal river, her tiny legs blurring. About a meter away she turned back, panting, to make sure that the elephant could keep up.

@Atsila