Some distance from the lagoon, a small sphere of vibrant green rested in a small hollow, overlooked by the outside world. Until this very moment it had been growing, developing; and now, it was about to change. A tiny creak emerged from said orb, its toned surface trembling, and then cracking, as something moved within.

Creak...

The tiniest noise emerged as the youngling struggled. And then...

Crack!

A final zigzag crack spread over its surface like a sudden bolt of lightning. The chrysalis then crumbled as a spiderweb spread out over its surface, and a tiny, helpless being tumbled out as it simply shattered. Flippers splayed in all directions, it fell onto its back, balanced on small green spires, and the bottom of its shell. Even though it was freed from its prison, it seemed it was yet to escape itself.

Tiny flippers flailed in all directions and the little one couldn't even look around with its blunt head and beady eyes. It could only struggle for a future.

Macawi had returned to Pisces once more, and it seemed she’d come just in time to witness the birth of a new Gembound. She was happy that such things were still happening, even after so long. She could barely remember what it was like to be a Gemling, and seeing babies always made her smile. Still, she knew she’d be a terrible mother if such a thing ever happened to her. She was too much of a wandering spirit to truly be around for her children. It was a sad thing to know, but at least she understood it so that she would not make the mistake of having children.

Macawi slowly approached the newborn, concerned for it. It seemed unable to move very well. Gently, she attempted to nudge the creature, to show it that it was not alone. Tangankwenu, up on her head, peeped at the Gemling encouragingly, but Macawi stayed silent. She had learned some time ago that sometimes it was better to be silent. She didn’t want to scare the creature… On second thought, if that were the case, maybe she shouldn’t have touched it? Oh well, it was too late now. So why remain silent? “Come on, little one,” she said. “You can do it.”

"Speech"

Words: 210 @Tempest

The tiny turtle flailed and turned, when it felt something nudging, gently rocking at it. Its tiny back flippers kicked, and the little one wobbled slightly, teetering on the edge of a spire before falling, finally able to roll onto its front. It was top heavy, on its front it was almost as hard to move. Its small, snub-nosed head slowly looked around to try and find the thing which had helped it onto its front, and found a creature looming over it. The little one didn't seem scared, but also didn't seem to understand. Its gaze moving around, it used its large flippers to haul itself in a short motion forward.

It opened its beaky mouth for a moment as though it was about to speak its first words, but then its bleary eyes caught sight of a distant glimmer. Water! The gemling instinctively felt a rush of excitement. It needed to get there! It wanted to go to the water!

It thrust its enormous flippers forward and tried to haul itself one precious step forward. It moved little more than a centimetre but it was enough to set in motion the very first sprint of its life. It was going towards the water, and it would make it!

What was to the baby, a courageous life-and-death sprint, was to an outsider a tiny turtle flapping its way towards the water. Though seemed like it might take an entire cycle just to get halfway...

@Macawi

Macawi smiled down at the creature when it finally managed to flip onto its belly and looked up at her. “Hello,” she said, but it looked away from her almost immediately. Macawi didn’t mind. It was a baby, after all, and didn’t know any words — let alone manners. Besides, Macawi was crazy and didn’t follow social rules, anyways, so who was she to judge. Ooh, what was this? The little turtle seemed to be moving around now. Macawi watched without speaking or interfering. She very slowly followed behind the creature in case it came to any trouble, but other than that, she just let it do its thing.

It looked like it was headed straight for the water, and the coyote — who had a soft spot for little ones — became a bit concerned by this. She didn’t want to stop the turtle because it seemed so determined, dragging and kicking its way forward as fast as it could. But she had never seen a sea turtle before and had no idea that they were natural swimmers. Quietly, she decided she would just watch what it did, and if it seemed to need help in the water, she’d jump in and help it. For now, though, she just let it be.

"Speech"

Words: 210 @Tempest

The little turtle kept on flapping and hauling its way towards the water, although it wasn't long, only a matter of minutes, before the large malachite structures on its back began to take their toll. It began to slow. The water seemed no closer, but it kept hauling, heaving, sprinting. Whilst there was no guarantee the little thing would ever make it to the lagoon, it seemed the little one's efforts had at least gotten it somewhere.

It dragged itself towards a ledge, only a couple of inches high, which dropped off into a tiny pond. Not very deep or wide, but enough. and the tiny turtle didn't seem to see it.

It was determined, it kept flapping and flopping its way forward. And only moments later...

plop!

The little one dropped off the edge and into the water. It flailed around briefly, confused by the sudden freedom of motion, before it regained composure and popped its head above the water for a breath. it was heavy, several tubes poking above the water, and its limbs moved frantically to try and keep itself afloat. The tiny pond was enough for it to swim around a little bit, but the more it circled the less satisfied it seemed. Finally it seemed to notice Macawi, at that moment, and looked directly at her. it opened its mouth, and closed it again.

"Going towards the big noise! I'll get there now!" it barked in a tiny, harsh and nasally voice. It wanted to be at the waterfall pool. It wanted more water.

@Macawi