[Hungry? No. || Thirsty? Yes. || Tired? No. || Dirty? No. || Mood: Upset.]

Aura floated into Eridanus slowly, honing in on one of the small streams that flowed through the room. He was thirsty and took some time to drink the water greedily. He wasn’t feeling particularly happy today, and it was because he felt like he was wandering the caves without a purpose. Other Gembounds often seem to annoy him, so he tended to avoid them, but this left the Mantawhale feeling rather… empty. So much of his time seemed to be spent eating or sleeping, to the point where he felt like this was all he was ever doing. Was there a higher purpose in life than simply surviving?

These were, perhaps, very advanced questions for a one-cycle-year-old to be asking himself, but you didn’t need to be very old to feel emotions. In truth, Aura was kind of bored with his life, and he’d only been alive for a few days. How was such a thing even possible? And if he had such a hard time enjoying the company of others, what in the Cave was he going to do with his time? He supposed he could just explore his home. After all, it seemed very extensive. Maybe in his exploration, he would find whatever it was he seemed to be looking for… his purpose for living… whatever it might be.

Words: 224

It felt like forever since Farrah had seen anyone. As she wandered, she peered into the river at her side. Something caught her eye. Was it a fish? This shadow loomed just under the water, or was it even a shadow? Could it be another gembound? Another friend?

How long had it been since there had been another friend gem? It had been a while, that was for sure! Farrah grew excited, her heart beating faster than before. Even the thought of having another friend warmed her, bringing a smile to her short snout.

Farrah's tail set to wagging rapidly. Could there really be a friend in that water? Was she that lucky today? She barked sharply at the thing. Could it hear her under water? Maybe she should try again. She barked again, following the thing as it drifted. How long would it take for the thing to notice her? She barked again.

And again.

And again.

@Aura

A strange noise interrupted Aura’s thoughts, and he turned slowly to observe the Gembound that had entered the room. It didn’t seem to be looking at him, and was too busy making harsh noises to notice him. Instinctively, like breathing, he cut off his internal gas chambers from his blowholes, stopping the release of helium, which allowed him to float upwards until he was far above the little dog. What in the Cave was it doing? What purpose was there in making those awful sounds? This was why he tended to avoid others. Still, his curiosity was piqued, and once he was a safe distance above the creature, he floated towards her, looming ever nearer.

He was silent. He did not feel the need to communicate with this Gembound, for she had not even seen him yet. Or perhaps she had and was ignoring him. Either way, he would remain silent for now, watching her down below, doing whatever it was that others did. Truly, he would perhaps never understand the creatures with whom he shared this world. They were alien to him, just as he was probably alien to them. He observed them the same way a person might observe an ant farm, vaguely curious about the inner workings of the ants, but far too caught up in his own life to care for more than a few minutes at a time…

Words: 233 @Farrah

After investigating the thing, it turned out that it was not, in fact, a friend. It seemed to be nothing, in fact. It was drifting as it sunk, deeper and deeper into the water. Maybe it was wood? A rock? Or maybe it was a friend that was not yet friendly. Farrah wasn't quite sure, but she was a little sad that it wasn't a friend.

She turned to leave the thing when another figure loomed over her. She jumped back, startled, and almost lost her footing. The small streams weren't really a threat except that Farrah wasn't totally sure if she could swim or not. She struggled to regain her balance, her eyes flashing wide. When she had steadied, she turned her attention to the loomy thing.

It was big- well, bigger than her. She was sure some things were bigger than this, but she didn't want to think about that. Something so big was sure to be an eyesore. If your friends were too big, they would crush you to dead. This friend was not quite that big, though.

Its magic still felt fresh. Was it a new gembound? A new friend? Brand-new, fresh-outta-the-crystal new friend? Farrah's tail set to wagging again as she barked chipperly, "Hullo new friend! Do you speak yet? Do you have a name? Mine is-" she spun in a circle, dragging out the hissing 's' sound until she came to face the creature again, "-FARRAH!"

@aura

The little Gembound finally noticed him when she turned around. She jumped backwards, landing in the water which she had been barking at previously. Aura didn’t react. Then she seemed to become very excited by him, and started barking frantically at him, ending with a little spin and another loud bark. Aura blinked very, very slowly. He had absolutely no idea what she had just said, but now that she was trying to communicate with him, he supposed he couldn’t just ignore her. He lowered himself a little bit so that he wasn’t floating over her anymore, and then he stared at her for a while.

Eventually, he let out a sort of mournful-sounding, long and drawn out moaning noise — typical whale-song. It was the only way he knew how to communicate, which, unfortunately, would probably become more and more of a hindrance the older he got. Whether or not the dog understood him was as of yet unknown. But it was the best he could do. He ended the call in a higher pitch than it had started, so that it ended up sounding kind of like he was asking a question. He wasn’t, actually. In fact, his noise hadn’t really meant anything, other than that he was showing the dog that he was paying attention to her. This was going to be an interesting ‘conversation.’

Words: 229 @Farrah

The large friend lowered so that it wasn't so far up from Farrah. In response, Farrah's tail was set wagging in small circles. After she introduced herself, the other went about making loud sounds. Was it talking? Singing? Ooh, this was exciting!

After it finished, Farrah figured it was her turn. She tipped her head back and howled. At first she wasn't really sure she could do it, but her voice came out smooth, rising and falling through several notes before she ended the little song.

The song wasn't sad or happy sounding really. It was just several howled notes. She tried to convey friendship, but she wasn't sure the other would understand. To make her point clear, she rolled over on her back and wiggled a little. See? Friendship!

@aura