Ares Blodyn meet me halfway to your heart

Only later, when Ares would reflect on the matter, would he find it hard to discern between the time before && the time after he gained his consciousness.

The tiny creature, still swimming in the sticky liquid of his Chrysalis, began stirring. A voiceless entity called to him from outside the darkness, something telling the Shiba Inu that his time had come && he ought to break free from his shell now.
Young muscles twitched, trying to follow the orders Ares' brain gave them, but without practice, it wasn't more than random kicking && punching in the hopes of getting lucky.

Attempt Roll: Break the Chrysalis

With one swift kick of Ares' hind legs, the Chrysalis broke && gave Ares free. The pup was poured out of the shell gently, swimming on the sticky, colorless liquid until he came to a halt on the ground beside his former home.
Now free, the beige && golden pelted dog looked around. His dark eyes blinked excitedly, trying to blink away the excess liquid from his shell.

There was so much to see!

There were bright lights above, twinkling && threatening to blind Ares, but the sight was too beautiful for him to care much about it at all. Still, the pain behind his ebony eyes forced him to avert his eyes, sweeping the surrounding structures.
Much too occupied with what his eyes were taking in, Ares had already forgotten about his legs && what he might be able to use them for.
For now, he was contend to just lie on the ground && feast his eyes on the many colors of the 'outside world'.

"Listen to me."

Destiny had been relaxing in a shallow pool next to the crystal river when she was jolted awake by a distant crack. Well, perhaps relaxing was a bit of an exaggeration; she dozed in... slightly less pain than she was usually in. But the sound awakened her, confusing her for a split second before she realized. It was a telltale crack that Destiny recognized somewhat from when she was only very small... Oh! She raised her head from where she'd been letting her pained eyes cool.

There was someone out there!

Destiny remembered her own struggles with hatching and a little twinge of worry entered her chest. What if they needed help? What if they were stuck? What if they got lost?

Without so much as a second thought as to whether she would get lost, Destiny pulled herself lethargically from her pool and began to waddle towards where she assumed the sound came from. Her little flower crown bobbed with erratic movements. Focusing deeply she began to listen out and with a twinge of pain she heard them out there, somewhere.

Their heart beat strong, and Destiny made a beeline towards where she could feel them.

"Hello, hello! Are you ok-kay?" she called out, as she sensed that she was getting closer. Forced to slow down, she breathed heavy, and winced in sheer pain.

@Ares

Ares Blodyn meet me halfway to your heart

As the world around Ares grew in brightness, color && intensity, the Shiba Inu pup was overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. He had liked the warm darkness of his Chrysalis - but this! It was so much better!
If he'd known what awaited him outside his shell, he would have made efforts to break out of it sooner.

There was movement at his side, which made the small Gembound turn his head to see what was approaching. Who was approaching.
The fact that it was a who && not a what approaching became clear to Ares once the other creature spoke.

He cocked his head curiously && tried to scramble to his feet.

Attempt Roll: Stand up

Ares wasn't surprised when he was able to get on his legs && stand on them easily, but someone else, who knew of the clumsiness of newborns might be. Either way, it was unknown to Ares, so he stood - just like a Bumblebee didn't know that technically, it shouldn't be able to fly; but it didn't know that, so it fly anyway.

With the first smile of his life, Ares swaggered to the other Gembound, childish random happiness making him giggle. He flopped down in front of the creature, watching them curiously. He stretched to smell the other, but the scents he caught were still a mystery to him && he couldn't make anything of them.

The Gembound piqued his interest, because they were so different from him.
A look down at his own body revealed that he had golden, beige fur, while the other had dark brown fur. That was, at least, the biggest difference Ares could spot with his limited self-awareness.

"Listen to me."

@Destiny

Destiny knew she was nearby, but only knew how close she was to the other gembound when she heard them give a tiny giggle. Destiny turned her head towards where they were, and her bill bumped into a tiny muzzle that had stretched out to sniff her. Warmth flooded through her; the platypus had never met anyone this little before!

"H... Hello there!"

she repeated, softer this time as she let herself rest on the ground. "Are you all on your own? D-d-do you need someone to look after you?" the platypus stammered, thinking deeply. A little too deeply, apparently; what could she do!? she was a platypus, blind and dying. Maybe she could make it her mission to find the little one a better mommy, it seemed like they might need it...

The blind little creature tried to feel around, struggling not to harm the other with the crystal spikes protruding from her skull. How big were they, what did they look like? What did they sound like? So many questions she wanted to ask.

"I'm here now... I'm here..."

she murmured, struggling to be comforting despite knowing she'd probably be frightening to the little newborn.

@Ares

Ares Blodyn meet me halfway to your heart

Ares observed the Gembound in front of him with boundless curiousness, his dark eyes roaming the other's form. Her hide was different than his own, not only in color, it seemed.
Her feet were also different- observing his paws led Ares to lift them && find the pink stone under his right front paw. His mouth widened, but no words came out as he sat on his hindlegs to observe the gem replacing his pawpad.

But the wonder of the glinting stone was soon forgotten when Ares remembered that there was someone much more interesting in front of him! The Gembound spoke, but neither could the Shiba Inu make sense of the words, nor could be reply in the same way.

Instead, he crawled forward to nuzzle the creature's strange nose, much unlike his own, with his, pressing the side of his face against hers in a way of looking for her warmth.
There were spikes on her head, but Ares' knew to avoid them in his shows of innocent affection.

Once he'd crawled forward far enough, he curled into himself, lying beside the other Gembound. He liked her warmth, so he liked her, even if he couldn't understand what she was trying to say.

Ares was quite comfortable just lying there && enjoying the other creature's warmth.

"Listen to me."

@Destiny

The little one was silent, but Destiny could hear them moving around a little bit, so it seemed like they were okay. Relaxing slightly as she lay spread out on her belly, she felt the little one poking at her sensitive bill, and let out a small warbling purr of surprised happiness. She felt a soft, fluffy little face against her cheek, and then still more fuzz and warmth- that must have been the rest of his body- curling up against her.

It was at that moment Destiny knew that she couldn't find someone else to look after this perfect little thing- whatever it was. It could be a huge tarantula for all she cared, but it was hers now. She'd take care of it, and love it, and give it everything it needed to be prepared for the caves...

Wild daydreams and scenarios flew through her mind. The platypus felt tremors of warmth running through her, numbing the pain for this brief, perfect moment. She didn't know who it was, what it was, only that they were here and they were warm and that she'd be there for this little one. She thought deeply, but didn't want to break the blissful silence.

After a long pause, the platypus finally came up with something to say. An instinctual, perhaps-delirious phrase that came right from her heart.

"You c-can call me momma.... it's easier to say'n Dest'ny..." she murmured, quiet as she could. She hoped the little one would respond but didn't expect him to; she didn't even know if he could.

@Ares

Ares Blodyn meet me halfway to your heart

To someone else, the unseeing eyes of the Platypus might be haunting, but Ares could not care less for any deformities or strange coincidences ( the sadness of the future that would come to strike the other gembound still blessedly unknown to him ) of his new companion.

Although he did not understand the noises she made, the language she spoke, he liked to hear her talk. He would come to learn her language, but whether he learned to speak it was another matter. Ares himself was unaware that the society of the cave might expect him to talk && that living without speaking a verbal language, especially with a blind companion, would proof troublesome.

Still, there was one language that he shared with all gembounds - the language of actions.

Ares curled against Destiny's side in an attempt to get closer to the warmth she provided. A happy sigh escaped him as he looked upwards, lying on his back. There were lights above that seemed to call to him.
He stretched his paws upwards, swiping them at the lights far out of reach. Childish giggles burst from his lips while he watched the mysterious light reflect in the gem replacing his pawpad.

"Listen to me."

@Destiny

In a way, Destiny was blissfully unaware herself of her own striking disfiguration. Whilst she saw herself as funny-looking anyway she'd not been able to see herself since the fateful moment when black opal spikes had pierced her gaze. She'd never seen her bulging eyes or trancelike stare into nothingness. Maybe if she had awareness of her haunting demeanor, she'd be more reluctant to introduce herself to a young one such as this.

But as it was, Destiny felt encapsulated in a little bubble of happiness. The little one didn't speak back to her but she felt assured they couldn't be scared. The platypus would be easy to run away from if they so wanted to but instead, she felt their warmth hugged right up against her and although she felt them moving, they weren't shaking or struggling.

As she listened, the platypus heard a small giggle emerging from the ball of fur next to her flippers. "What?" she asked softly, in a fascinated manner like an easily-excited mother. "Is there something funny? Is there something good?" she cooed, a little purr hanging in her throat. She felt like it was less that they didn't want to speak and more that they couldn't. That was okay. She could teach them.


@Ares

Ares Blodyn meet me halfway to your heart

Ares thought that, despite not knowing for sure, the other gembound was happy as well. Maybe not excited in the same way that he was, but the Shiba Inu had the feeling like his companion enjoyed his presence as well.
Natural empathy, naivety or arrogance, but Ares thought he could feel the other's happiness.

That made it a good day to emerge, he decided. If he was able to bring someone else some joy, then he'd chosen the right day ( despite emerging not being a conscious decision on his part ).

Despite the language barrier lingering between them, a coincidence, a random stray thought ( 'I should show her this!' ) leading him to press both his front paws gently against the Platypus' side. He barked excitedly, wiggling his right paw to indicate that it was different ( which the other gembound was bound to notice, but again, Ares was blissfully unaware ).

The fact that the horn-like spikes in Destiny's neck were quite similar to the stone in his pawpad was lost on the pup, at least for now. The fact that they had different shapes && colors leading him to believe that they had to be vastly different things.

"Listen to me."

@Destiny

Accurate to the little one's perceptions, Destiny was indeed happy- she felt happier than she had for what felt like entire cycles. Just as she'd begun considering what the little creature actually was- she felt something against her. A few moments of consideration remembered them as paws- although one was soft and warm, the other hard and slippery.

Destiny felt the harder paw, which must have been their gem, wiggling up against her, and she couldn't help but open her bill in a smile. "Is that your gem?" she asked happily. "Is it? Is it pretty?" the platypus paused, a little twinge coming into her heart. She did wish she could see them... maybe that'd be the hard part of being a mom.

She wondered if the little puppy would be able to make any noise that wasn't little giggles to help her understand. That'd be nice, but she didn't care much. She was just happy that she wasn't alone for the time being, and had a little speck of warmth against her side.

@Ares