It had been a long time since Fira had left her hole in Eridanus. Since many of the Cave’s creatures had seemingly disappeared some time ago, she’d dug a den out, crawled in, and slept most of the days away, waiting for a time in which she was needed again. She often thought about her friend Destiny, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time now. She only left her den when she hunted or had to do her business. Or when she was climbing trees or running to keep up her muscle mass. Keeping her shape was very important to her.

Slowly, the residents of Origin Cave had come back from wherever they had disappeared to, and she had crawled lethargically from her den, stretched her legs, and padded off down the tunnels to Polaris. Why? She wasn’t sure. Something in her bones told her that that’s where she needed to be right then. And she knew from experience to trust her instincts. So here she sat, at the bank of the Crystal River, remembering with a fond amusement the day she’d almost drowned. If not for Destiny, her bones would be at the bottom of the river right now, and for that she’d be forever grateful.

Words: 208 @Destiny

Destiny was lazing on the banks of the crystal river, only a few metres away from the burrow she'd dug in the riverbank, yet somehow feeling like her safe little hole was an entire world away. As the vulture had promised, she felt better. Still sick, mind you, but better at the very least. Maybe it was the addition of a little light to her life that had made it so, as well. The headaches were still there, but at this very moment, they were bearable at least.

That little light in her life was the reason she was lying out here. Occasionally she'd listen for the little pup's heartbeat to make sure he was still close by, and otherwise she simply waited for the little one to return as she assumed any good momma would.

Her eyes, bulging slightly out of her eye sockets, still lay blind as promised. As a result, she'd failed to notice the creature that had stalked to the riverbank so close by. Had she known that they were there, the platypus might have been beside herself. But instead, she simply dozed peacefully by the river, occasional purrs escaping her gentle bill.

@Fira

Fira sat quietly for quite some time, eyes closed as she listened to the sounds of the river, the tip of her tail twitching every now and then. Beneath the babbling river noises came the soft sound of… snoring? Purring? Weird breathing? She couldn’t tell. Her ears twitched this way and that, and automatically, she reached out towards the source of the breathing with her Magic. She hadn’t used it in quite some time, but it bubbled up from her core with more ease than she expected. She kept her eyes closed so that the glow of her green eyes would not give her away in case it was someone… untrustworthy.

Her heartbeat-sensing spell did not tell her who was there, but now she could pinpoint the direction, and she slowly turned her body towards it, with the intent of following it. It was a Gembound, not a Lesser creature. She could tell that from the strength of the heartbeat. She padded along the bank of the river until she came across a burrow — one she’d passed just minutes before and never even noticed. And lying beside it, asleep… was Destiny. How had she missed the little platypus before? She must not have been paying much attention.

She thought about waking her old friend up, but decided against it. Instead, she lay down nearby and closed her eyes, letting her friend continue sleeping. She smiled a bit, happy to have found the one who’d helped teach her how to swim.

Words: 251 @Destiny

As much as she might have looked it, Destiny wasn't quite asleep, and within a few more minutes, she'd decided that it was about time she checked up on her little one once more. The platypus raised her head, heavy with crystalline spires, her eyes bulging and lifeless.

Then she focused. Light rippled over each spike of her gem. for a moment- there was silence. And then, Destiny heard a deep, heavy thudding close by. There was someone here who she hadn't noticed! Who was it? What were they doing here? Momentary fear prickled through her fur but she tried not to let it show; she told herself it wouldn't be anything bad but her new blindness had put her on edge recently. "Oh, hallo there!" she called out into the unknown, taking a few moments to push herself up from where she lay. Not much of a change from lying to standing in all honesty, but it showed that she was alert. "Are ya new here? Are ya lost? You sound b-b-big... what are you?"

She swung her head around for a few moments until the light gently trickled from her gemstone and the heartbeat faded away. But she remembered where it had been, and began a slow and gentle waddle towards it, her movements betraying a little bit of pain that she struggled to hide.

@Fira

Soon enough, her friend rose to her big webbed feet and and greeted her… but greeted her as a stranger… Then it hit the leopard how different Destiny looked. Her gem, which hadn’t been all that obvious when they’d first met, was now coming out in multiple spikes from the back of her head. And her eyes looked a little… off… They seemed bigger somehow than they had before. Or maybe Fira was just misremembering? After all, she hadn’t seen her friend in quite some time. “Destiny,” she said softly. “It’s Fira. We met each other here before. You helped me learn how to swim in the river. Remember?”

She continued to lay down, since she was fully grown now, and much larger than the platypus. She figured remaining low would help her friend recognize her, unaware of Destiny’s new blindness. Still, even if she hadn’t picked up on it quite yet, the leopard could tell that there was something off about her. Not just her gem and her bulging eyes. It was the way the creature had swung her head ‘round, as if she couldn’t see her… But for now, the pieces didn’t quite fall into place in Fira’s head. She ignored the strangeness, focusing on just being with Destiny, talking to her. It had been a long time since she’d spoken to another Gembound.

Words: 226 @Destiny

Destiny kept moving for a few more seconds in the direction she'd felt the heartbeat. Before long, her bill bumped into something soft and furry... Destiny then heard what the other was saying. Her eyes already bulging, they couldn't widen any more than they were already!

"F-f... Fira! I-I... Of course I remember you! Y-you sound so g-grown up-p..." Destiny struggled to keep her wits about her, but she hadn't met Fira in so long... Destiny wished she could see how her friend had grown, see how she'd changed. But she couldn't. Destiny trembled slightly, her bill clattering gently against itself. Her eyes stung in her skull, threatening to bring with the pain more dribbles of blood. "I-it's been so long..." she whispered, and it was clear the small creature was trying desperately hard to keep herself strong.

But in the end she couldn't. Her eyes began to leak. Sticky fluid seeped into the velvet fur of her cheeks. "I... I missed you. s-so m-much has happ-p-pened. I... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't... see you..." Destiny crumbled down into weeping, for only the second time in her life. When her voice failed again, Destiny scrambled forward, wanting to press herself into Fira's fur despite the sharpness of her gem. She didn't care anymore. she just wanted to feel that warmth she remembered from so many cycles ago.

"I m-m-missed you... S-so much..."

@Fira

Fira grinned in amusement when Destiny bumped into her, assuming it was from clumsy webbed feet instead of blindness. But when her friend started speaking, she could instantly tell something was very wrong. The platypus was stuttering, but in ways she hadn’t before. She sounded so achingly sad, and Fira backed up a little to look at her, sniffing for signs of illness or hormones that would indicate a certain strong emotion, like fear. All she got was more melancholy. She nudged the creature gently. “Destiny, what’s wrong? What happened?” she asked gently, allowing her friend to cuddle up to her and wincing slightly when the spikes in her head poked her. And then she smelled the blood.

She yanked back and searched her friend again, noting the fluid coming from her eyes. It smelled salty but also like iron. She was… crying bloody tears… what? “Destiny, what… what happened to your eyes? And why is your gem so huge? Shit, you’re crying tears of blood? What is going on?” And then she heard her friend say something that chilled her to the bone. “You… you’re… blind?” She was quiet for a long time, trying to process this horrible information.

“How did this happen? … I should have stayed with you when the Caves went quiet for so long. I should’ve protected you… I’m sorry.” Fira — strong, capable, badass Fira — wanted to tear her own eyes from her skull for letting this happen to her friend. Her only real friend. One of the only Gembounds she’d ever met. “I’m so sorry, Destiny…”

Words: 261 @Destiny

Destiny felt Fira's nose nuzzling against her, and the little one finally stopped trying to press herself ever closer to the big cat's side. She was even bigger than Destiny remembered, but of course that wasn't a bad thing. It meant there was more warmth to cuddle up to, right? Finally settled and hugged up close, Destiny heard the leopard's question and let out a heavy sigh. She was beginning to regain her composure, and the breaths she took were deep and slow. "My gem, it... grew. You c-c-can see all these spikes, and they went into my eyes. An', now I can't see."

Destiny was suddenly aware that Fira might not be taking this news well as the leopard jerked away from her, leaving her cold and feeling more alone.

Destiny knew as well though, that it wasn't anything the leopard would ever be able to help. Fira's next words confirmed this suspicion, and Destiny knew that she had to be calm again. Fira was back. She had Ares, her little one, and she'd had medicine to make her feel better. She was better. The world was good right now.

She needed to tell Fira what she knew was true.

"It's not your fault... My gem d-d-did this. Not even I c-could stop it... Even a healer told me she'd never be able to bring back my sight..." Destiny heaved another sigh, lowering her heavy head. "B-besides, I'm feeling better. I'm gonna be fine! For now, at least..." at her own words, Destiny felt a prickle of dread. She didn't want Fira to worry for her. She couldn't change the past... and of course, she couldn't change destiny.

"I'm okay now... I was just... so happy to see you... Destiny assured.

Without another word, the little platypus waddled forward and reached towards her, seeking the warm comfort that she'd always brought.

@Fira

Fira listened as a lump slowly grew in her throat. Destiny confirmed her worst fears — that there was nothing anyone could do for the platypus. She would be blind for the rest of her life. Even a healer hadn’t been able to save the platypus’ vision. The leopard let out a sigh and snuggled up against her friend as she tried to think of what to do now. She’d been gone for months, had come back to the world, and this had been the first thing she’d discovered. She took a few deep breaths, reminding herself that even had she been here, she wouldn’t have been able to help Destiny.

She settled down, adjusting her body a bit so that Destiny’s spikes wouldn’t harm her. Then she said, “I won’t leave you again. I promise.” She flinched as she suddenly realized that her friend’s eyes were probably going to explode out of her skull one day from the gem, but didn’t say this out loud. “I… I’ll do whatever you want me to, okay? I’ll hunt for you, I’ll talk to you all the time… I’ll protect you. It’s the least I can do.” Some part of her was somewhat disgusted at all this gushy emotional stuff, as this really wasn’t her personality at all, but it’s not like she had anything else to do. And she was loyal to her friends. She couldn’t leave Destiny now. Not after everything the poor girl had been through.

“Is… is there anything you need or want? Anything at all?”

Words: 257 @Destiny -- omg the feels help me

Destiny listened to Fira's words before gently shaking her head- the remains of a wilted flower crown rustles gently among her spines. "N-no... I... I'm slow and b-blind and... I wouldn't wanna t-take your freedom away from you..." Destiny replied after a long pause, though she did seem longing. She didn't want Fira to go, but she didn't want her to be trapped, either. Especially not by Destiny's needs. "I'm j-just happy you're here now. I m-missed you..."

Destiny had never heard Fira like this before... Destiny lowered her head slightly. She didn't want to admit it, but it felt nice. "Th-thank yooouuu..." she crooned honestly, swinging her head again as though to look up at Fira, before again the realization hit, and she simply let herself flop onto her belly happily sprawled beneath Fira's chest. Destiny had never felt like this before... it was so strange, but nice...

The tears of earlier had seemingly passed, and was replaced by a new kind of calm.

In response to Fira's question, Destiny thought and was about to respond that she was okay, when an excited thought struck her. "Oh, oh! I want you to m-meet someone. Sometime, maybe not now. He's away now. He's a little one and I'm his momma!" Destiny said, pride leaking into her voice. "He can't t-t-talk and I can't see, it's so funny. B-b-but we work it out all the same. He's away playing now, I think. It's hard to f-follow sometimes..."

@Fira