The swamp was like a whole other universe compared to the rest of the caves; surreal beauty was replaced by eerie calm and a fog so thick it was almost choking. And that was in a regular moment; today, thanks to its new arrival, the murky depths of the swamp were even more distant from reality. In a deeper area of the swamp, a gurgling, hissing sound emerged as several bubbles burst on the surface of the mud. Large bubbles, indicating that they had escaped from somewhere deep below.

And then the swamp was quiet...

Nothing stirred...

...Until finally, some time later, a small nose broke the surface. Skin of oily obsidian revealed itself, a beaked mouth opened to gasp its first breath. As its jaws spread wide apart, an eye encased in diamond saw the world around it for the very first time. Its jaws remained that way, opened, and the head slowly turned, taking in the world at its own steady pace.

With a small squelching sound, it began to move through the swamp. The slime it produced lingered on the surface for a moment, vilifying even the mud, before finally sinking down into the murky depths. It was struggling to stay afloat; it was small, young, and afraid. With mud pressing in on it from all angles and nothing to do but swim and seek a shore, it felt lost and alone in this new and scary world.

Tuck moved through the swamp at a fairly quick pace, being able to stay in the trees instead of hopping around in the muck. And, recently, he had convinced Garmer to come with him when he went out of Eridanus, the thought being that how could such a Mighty Hunter know so little about the world. Grudgingly, the kyte had agreed that hunting new quarry could prove to be enjoyable. Their somewhat-friendship was coming along nicely now that they had both accepted that this… mental connection was probably permanent. They both still hated it to a degree, but sometimes Tuck could lie down and go into a state in which his senses were overridden by Garmer’s, and he could experience what it was like to fly with his own pair of wings… almost.

The kyte would not let him ride on his back yet, despite Tuck’s begging. Such a thing was undignified in Garmer’s eyes, which disappointed the marmoset immensely. So, while Tuck leaped from tree to tree, Garmer flew somewhat beside him, disappearing and reappearing through the fog like a wraith, only his bioluminescence showing up through the mist. And suddenly, he stopped, and began hovering in one place. ’There is a Gembound down there,’ he told Tuck. ’Small. Perhaps a Lesser creature.’

“Don’t eat it yet,” Tuck admonished aloud, as he shimmied his way down the tree so he could try and find the tiny creature. “Where is it?”

’Below you, to your right.’

Tuck scrunched his eyebrows in an attempt to find the tiny slug-like creature in the muck. And when he finally did, his eyebrows only drew harder together. “What the hell is that?”

’As I said, probably a Lesser creature, with no coherent thoughts to speak of.’

“Don’t. Eat. It,” Tuck repeated, annoyed. “Hold on and lemme go try and talk to it… whatever it is.” The marmoset scrambled the rest of the way down the tree and landed a bit near the tiny creature. “Hey, you!” he called. “Can you understand me?” Hmm… It seemed to be having trouble staying above the surface of the muck. “D’you need help?” To Garmer, he said, ’Stay up there out of the way. I don’t want you scaring the thing.’

’Fine,’ Garmer replied with no emotion in his voice to indicate how he felt on the matter. He grabbed the bark of the nearest tree with his wing-claws and back talons and settled there, waiting.

Words: 410 @Equinox

As she struggled through the ever-enroaching mud, slowly but surely struggling as she began to feel something beneath her body- beneath her 'foot'. With that glimpse of something new- something called 'hope'- she was spurred on, and continued to desperately make her squishy, wriggling way through the swamp. Yet no land came. She began to sink, struggling against her own body, and mud obscured her vision. The little one closed her mouth, hiding away her eye in order to protect it from the mud. It was then that she heard something. The first voice that she'd heard in her life.

Her breaths, coming short and fast, didn't allow for any kind of reply, only tiny whimpers as she struggled on, a determined soul despite her lack of limbs. But still, she struggled to piece together that strange noise in her mind. What she did know, however, was that someone was out there; someone else.

The creature slowly opened up her mouth agape as though yawning, and craned her head back. That red gem and her eye gazed out, and, through red, fragmented gaze she found another. She stopped in her tracks, the sudden freezing causing her to begin to sink. A small peep escaped her throat and she closed her mouth in a blink.

need help? she struggled to understand. Word by word was translated slowly in her mind, but she began to wriggle her way towards where their shadow fell- where she could be beneath them.

Slowly, she closed her mouth and nodded, then nodded again. She was starting to piece things together. She didn't know where she was going or how she was going to get there.

She needed help.

@Tukluk

Oh… Well, this could end up being a problem… Now that Tuck was on the ground with this thing, he was realizing that it was much bigger than he originally thought. Two feet wasn’t much compared to some, but when you’re only four-and-a-half inches in length, minus your tail, two feet is a helluva lot bigger than you —

Ahh! Tuck jumped a bit when the creature lifted its… head, he supposed it was, and opened its mouth, to reveal a red gleaming orb. In the dim lighting of Cetus, he could not see the eye encased within, only the gleam of the gem. Well, at least that proved that the creature was a Greater Gembound, if nothing else. Still, there was no way he’d be able to help her onto solid ground. Unless…

Garmer, he said. Come down here.

’You wish me to help the disgusting creature out of the muck?’ asked a very abhorred kyte.

Yes, now get your ass down here and do it. You can see what I see through our mental link, so you noticed just as I did the gem in its throat. That proves you can’t eat it.

’I tried to eat you, if you’ll recall. And you have a gem, too.’

Tuck sent the kyte a very annoyed and impatient mental glare, and then felt the reptile slowly crawling down the tree he’d been resting on. The kyte gracefully — for he was somehow still graceful even when wading through swampy much — made his way closer to Tuck and the weird slug creature. Knowing what he needed to do, he leaned his long neck out towards the slug, even as he mentally sent Tuck a hundred different reasons as to why this was probably a horrible idea.

Tuck ignored Garmer’s thoughts and said aloud to the slug-thing, “It’s okay, he’s a friend. If you need help, you can hold onto him, and he’ll pull you onto solid ground.”

Garmer snorted in irritation, but continued to hold his neck out for the creature all the same.

Words: 345 @Equinox

The little one saw the other creature coming towards her even as she struggled to keep afloat, and she didn't seem to be afraid. Hell, it was unclear if she even possessed the ability to feel fear, although it was much more likely to just be childish innocence. The little slug bobbed her head in affirmation to the furrier friend. Then she turned her attention to the scaly creature with her maw opened wide before stretching out her neck- almost literally, as the creature's flesh almost seemed elastic- in order to grasp their scales with a rubbery beak.

Everything went dark as her maw closed. She didn't know if she'd grabbed the right thing, or anything at all. But it felt like she'd find it easy to slip and fall. The little one tried to begin easing herself out of the mud's hold, her vestigal claws soon coming into view as they twitched and wriggled, trying in vain to help. The little slug slipped easily out of the mud, as her slime formed a protective and slippery layer between herself and it.

A small squeak emerged from her as she felt herself sliding back. She struggled to wriggle forward and find a better grip, desparation showing in her movements.

@Tukluk

Tuck watched in… essentially, horror, as the weird slug creature’s neck stretched out to an alarming length so that it could reach Garmer. It then chomped down in Garmer’s face, and Tuck fell over into the muck laughing.

Garmer, on the other hand, growled in irritation, but he knew he was kinda locked into this now, so the least he could do was actually pull this poor thing from the swampy water. He could feel the creature slipping off of his face, her grip loosening, so he quickly yanked himself — and hopefully her — backwards, thinking that with enough force, she’d come flying out of the marsh and onto the (relatively) dryer land…

Words: 112 @Equinox -- IDK if you wanted to continue this, or just do a short exit post after this? Whatever you want.

OOC: Sounds like a good plan! You're welcome to exit after this post!

The creature she'd latched onto pulled back, and the little slug finally popped out of the marsh with a soft squelching sound. For a few moments more she hung on as her sides rippled, making sure that this was, in fact, solid ground. Finally though, she let go of Garmer, opening her jaws and examining the ground with the eye in the back of her throat. Finally, the little one looked up, and her gaze fixed on her rescuers. With face splitting into what might have been an open-mouthed grin, the little one began to squirm her way forward, claws twitching excitedly as she looked to give Tukluk and Garmer a big and slimy hug.


@Tukluk

Garmer immediately backed the fuck up when the creepy slimy thing started oozing towards them with a weird smile on her face. ’I’ve already let you touch me once, slug,’ he said, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. ’Touching me again is completely unnecessary.’ He glanced at Tuck, and then locked his gaze on the slimy thing again. ’Do not let it touch you. I don’t trust the disgusting slime oozing from its body.’

No need to tell me twice! Tuck replied, also backing away from Equinox. “Hey, uh, you’re welcome for rescuing you, but, uh… We gotta go now!” With an awkward grin, he turned and leapt away, a full fifteen feet in the opposite direction of the slug. Garmer, let’s go!

Garmer spread his wings out, looking impressive with his seven-foot wingspan, and took off without another glance at the slug creature. ’Agreed.’ He turned towards the exit of Cetus and flew away, Tuck following in the trees, hopping from trunk to trunk, branch to branch, until they had both left poor Equinox far behind…

[Exit Tuck]

Words: 182 @Equinox

Like a tiny, sweet-hearted blight, Nox at first tried to chase down her savior as they moved away from her. But on their tiny legs alone, they were faster than she could go with none, so she was left squirming and groping for thin air with tiny claws.

And then, as quickly as they'd appeared, they were gone. Nox was alone again. She looked around herself, letting out plaintive gurgles as she looked towards the sky. She was alone, that was true, but at least she was free. Free to explore this... foggy, dark world, full of towering trees and creeping shadows. The little one took a moment to pause and look around, before with a wriggle of her claws she began her journey into the Origin Cave.

-Exit Nox-