Mar 27 — [Quest] EMERGENT INFLUENCE (READ MORE) Mar 8 — [Event] Spring Regrowth! (READ MORE) Feb 6 — Domain Migration Complete! (READ MORE)
CAVE STATUS
QUESTS/EVENTS
Torrential downpours cause localized flooding and many upset cats. Along with these frequent rain, from gentle drizzles to heavy rainfall, there seems to be a flux of Magicka drawn in particular to water sources. Occasional jet streams of warm air make narrower tunnels harder to navigate. On occasion, the rain intensifies, becoming howling storms with sleet or large hail. However, the temperatures overall are a little warmer, with snow and ice in temperate caves somewhat receding.
Destiny didn't know how much longer it would be. Her head was pounding even as she floated in the water, ever so often raising her beak above the water to take a ragged breath. She'd lost her eyes long ago before the birth of their two children, and even now the spires were still growing. One spike after another they had appeared, and now they rendered her neck stiff and her head heavy.Migraines plagued her almost every day, and that was why she lay, floating in the cold water of the crystal river close to her burrow. She was growing thinner by the day as eating grew harder and herder, and rarely interacted even with their children any more.
Had she even told them what was wrong?
Destiny didn't think so. She'd always tried to pretend she was okay. She'd always tried to brush off the pain as a one time thing. But she knew it wouldn't be much longer. She knew she had to make it special, this last month, or even few days. she didn't know. Determination, as well as fear, suddenly filled her heart. slowly, she began to paddle towards the shore, pulling herself out onto the mud with difficulty as though inebriated.
"Fira? Joy? Emendri!? Are any of you around?" she called out, not knowing whether any of her family was there or if anyone would answer her. She felt every motion shooting with pain as she raised her head, so instead she rested it on the ground. "Sweeties, I-I'm sorry I've only b-been lying here for so long. I need to talk to you."
She called out, ready to spill her entire heart, not knowing if anyone was even there.
The hybrid was resting calmly in her mother's burrow the only place in the whole world she knew, where her life started and where she lived her 4 cycles without every going away, she had a happy life with her family after all but Destiny, one of her mothers was acting weird lately, she had been distant.... but Emendri didn't minded a lot, getting sick once in a while was normal and she didn't wanted to annoy her mother, less when she felt bad, when she was finally falling sleep a sound outside called her attention, making the hybrid rise it's head, she heard her name, her platypus mother was calling her and the whole family, her brother Joy and her leopard mother Fira.
She remained silent for a while then snorted, she didn't really wanted to stand or obey but this time it felt like it was something important, something she needed to do, well she kinda had a good hearing and Destiny did said she needed to talk to all the family.... or so she heard, she stood slowly and in a clumsy way, yawning while getting outside the burrow when she noticed Destiny in the mud, the spotted creature walked closer then sat in front of her "Alright, i heard you, you said we need to talk Right? About what?" She asked without minding her words nor her tone, sounding slightly rude or annoyed, she wasn't really annoyed just.... a little tired.
"Speech looks like this." Thoughts look like this.
Joy was lying down, trying to ignore the fact that it was so silent. The silence had never bothered him much before, but as Destiny spent more and more time away, the silence began to become rather stifling. He thought about talking, or even just making some sort of noise. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he heard Destiny's soft voice. Looking over at Emendri, he noticed as she snorted. She didn't seem to particularly want to go. He, on the other hand, was very curious as to what one of his mothers had to say.
He rose and walked over to her, giving a slight frown at how she looked. The spires seemed to only be growing longer. He was starting to become rather concerned for her. She looked to be in so much pain! She couldn't even lift her head. "I'm here, mom. What is it?" He reached out gently to place a foot ever so lightly on her bill to let her know where he was. He didn't know if a touch like that would hurt her in some way, so he tried to be as light as possible and soon retracted a foot when the touch had been done.
"E-Emendri!" Destiny murmured, emotion sweeping over her small form. Slowly, she moved herself forward towards the voice. Only a couple of inches, though. "Emendri...! It's you...I-it's so nice hearing a voice again E-especially your voice. It feels like forever since I've talked normally with someone..."
She gulped back a lump in her throat as she sensed the vibrations of someone else approaching, and another voice emerged from the silence. "J-Joy! Oh, oh... my! I-It's like we're a proper family today!" There'd probably been other times in which they'd all cuddled up together in the nest, but Destiny's memory was beginning to fail her, in addition to usually passing out the second she arrived onto the soft bed of moss in her burrow.
The relief and joy that Destiny felt upon hearing someone's voice was short-lived, soon to be replaced by sadness, and a sense of prickling dread. But the soft paw that she felt on her sensitive bill was enough to drive the darkness away, to be replaced by a trickle of blood from one of her crystal-filled eye sockets. Destiny wished she'd prepared them for this.
Was the reason they'd never come to her, simply that they thought she'd someday get better? It was at that moment she realized telling these two gems should have been requisite of becoming a mother in the first place...
Who knows how long they had to prepare now.
The lump in her throat kept on growing bigger. The platypus struggled to stifle a sob; she didn't feel like a full grown gembound, with a mate and family. She felt like her life should be only just beginning.
"I... I'm sorry I've not been around for a while... Everything's been hurting so much. The cold water helps but it gets in the way of me being a good momma... I'm so s-sorry I've not been there..." all the words tumbled out in a rush, the lump in her throat breaking as her body was suddenly overcame by trembles. A tiny trickle of red fluid flowed down her bill even as it rested on the ground. "I should have done more... I... I shouldn't have been so selfish..."
Deep breaths.
"There's something I should have t-t-told you, a long t-time ago."
Destiny sighed. Everything hurt. Her body, as thin as it was, felt so heavy lying on the ground like a pillowcase full of rocks.
"J-Joy... Emendri... I'm... I'm never gonna get better. This g-gem is getting too big..." That wasn't direct enough. She had to prepare them for the worst; there was no hope for the best. "I've known since before you were b-born. This gem... it's going to k-kill me."
She listened silently as her mother talked, then she started to feel bad, Emendri felt guilty somehow, she wasn't sure of why, is true, she decided to let Destiny by herself but...... she shook slightly her head to take the painful feelings away and watched as Joy, her brother, walked close to both of them, touching her mother's bill and talking, Joy could give Destiny all the cuddles and love, Emendri could just follow them around, well, it was better that way, she didn't liked affections a lot anyway.
Mother started to talk again, Emendri didn't liked how her mother's voice sounded, she tried to ignore the blood, but the way she talked didn't seemed right, she was in pain and not only physical pain, a worst kind of pain, her words also where sad and the fact that she wanted to cry made things worse, then the Hybrid felt it, the Platypus would give her and her brother bad news, but she wasn't sure of what kind of news.
Her mother then said everything she needed to say, Emendri tried to remain calm at her mother's way of acting and moving, even if it hurt her she wanted to remain strong and she turned away once in a while, however the last part didn't get in her head, she ignored it completely, she didn't payed attention to it "Don't... Just don't" the spotted critter muttered "I don't blame you for not being here, first of all i understand, i am happy to know you are still here-" then she noticed, it suddenly hit her, Destiny's words echoed in her head..... she just said that... she wouldn't be here anymore, didn't she? She said that she was leaving, right? Emendri found herself speechless, how could she answer to something like that?!? maybe she heard wrong, it had to be a mistake, there had to be something they could do!, but there was nothing.... nothing, she turned to her brother Joy confused and in shock, she couldn't feel, she wasn't even sure of how to feel.
"Speech looks like this." Thoughts look like this.
Joy smiled sadly at his mother as she said it was like they were a proper family together. When she began to bleed from the eyes, he felt as though he had done something wrong. Had he caused that? He certainly hoped not. She looked to be in so much pain...
As she began to speak, he listened. Each word seemed to strike a thorn through his heart. At her last sentence, he sat up. "N-no! How...How do you know it's going to kill you? Maybe it'll stop growing! We can't say for sure...!" Even as he spoke, he knew it would kill her. And perhaps that would be best, as she was in so much pain. Still, he didn't want to believe it, didn't want to believe that one of his moms was going to do. "Maybe there's something we can do about this. But what? I don't know if it's possible to make a gem stop growing, but maybe we could find a way!"
She'd said what she'd needed to say, and a lump formed in her throat, preventing her from saying anything more. Choked sobs trembled throughout her body. Although Emendri's words initially helped, her last words before being cut off stung like a sharp dart. Right through the heart. The platypus listened to her daughter's silence, and it hurt. And she heard her son speaking, trying to reason that she didn't know. But she slowly shook her head, never lifting it from the cold, muddy earth.
Slowly, she opened her bill and began to speak, her breaths whistling through her bill. "It's never stopped growing, since I was a little b-b-baby fresh outta the gem. First it was a little speck. Didn't even know it was there. Then it started stinging. Spikes grew outta the skin. Then it t-t-took my eyes. I used to be able to see... like you do. But I lost my eyes t-to this gem." She sighed. "I saw... many. There was a fortune t-t-teller, someone who could see the shape... And after them, I lost my eyes. It came true. With these headaches, I can feel it growing inside of me. I can feel how close I am..."
The little lady sighed deeply but she tried her best to smile at her son's optimism. "If there's a way, Joy... We'll find it. B-b-but please, prepare yourselves for the worst."
The platypus raised her bill, trying to find Joy's paw again. She enjoyd that warm touch, what seemed like the only connection she had to the world right now. "I... I know this will be easier for me than it'll ever be for you... I'm... I'm not afraid of this any more. I just wish I could stay with you..."
