She trembled.

Vivirra's haven of cool, pink morganite surrounded her, enveloped her. Thick pink walls against her back, a crystal casing that made her head lower and her legs curl in. It confined her, it enclosed her, it isolated her. And she liked that.

This space was protected and bright, and although the gem was chilling to the touch, it provided a comfort and warmth that came from within. She felt safe here, within this rosy cage. She wanted to stay here, to avoid the darkness she sensed from the outside. Darkness that crept around corners, manifested into shadows that lurked and loomed across caverns, curled into crevices as they waited to strike. She didn't quite know what was out there, but it terrified her.

She stopped, and thought. 4 days, 13 hours, and 22 minutes, give or take. That's how long she had been, for the most part, aware of her surroundings and existence in this chrysalis. That's how long she had been biding her time, curled up in fear and anticipation. While she did not fully comprehend these concepts of time, she knew that she had been waiting longer than she should have. It filled her with an odd kind of guilt that sat uneasily in her gut, leaving a dry aftertaste on her tongue.

Although the world beyond her limited view made her feel terror and dread, she felt an odd sort of feeling. Something that drew her to this strange outside world, an attractive force that seemed nearly magnetic. She felt a need... a need to what?

A need to break free.

Something within her ignited, like a spark that glimmered in the night. A small spark, but a spark nonetheless. That guilt, that anticipation. She had felt this urge before, but not as strong as now. It grew as it slowly began to take hold of her, this force... this need... this desire... She wanted to see and go and move and sense. She wanted to learn and grow and discover and explore and experience.

She wanted to live.

She wanted to live!

Putting her fear aside in a burst of recklessness- or something, she had no clue- Vivirra began to squirm. She pushed against the crystal, using spindly legs to press her long figure against the pink penitentiary. The morganite began to give way with an ominous cracking sound. She struggled, her cramped form desperately trying to escape. The cracks widened, creating a web of crevices in the crystal.

One last final push. One last commitment to this life of hers that was about to begin. She was ready.

Her head reared, and with a loud snap, her thin white muzzle poked through the top. The marten wiggled and wriggled until finally the chrysalis burst open, shattering into delicate pink shards that littered the ground. She tumbled out into the world, rolling across the hard, unforgiving stone. The kit loudly mewled, rolling up into a ball of dusky brown fluff. She didn't want to open her eyes yet, for the darkness felt painfully sharp and threatening. Air filled the young one's lungs, and her heartbeat was quick and brisk. She felt fear and terror and fright, but she also felt fresh and new and full of curiosity.

Whatever happened now, it was hers to make. Fear and passion, caution and discovery. The way her pace was quick and her mind was racing with thoughts. She felt alive now, really and truly.

Vivirra had awakened.


((Sorry the intro's pretty long. @Anyone who would like to meet this fluff muffin!))

Xin had been wandering through the caves for a while now, sticking to the edges, hiding in shadow. Granted, that wasn't hard, considering all of the lights had gone out. It had been a while since then, and he wasn't sure when they would come back. But for the time being, he welcomed it. It made it a lot easier to hide from others.

While walking, he heard the sound of something breaking. A chrysalis, perhaps? He hadn't heard the sound in so long. He hesitated for a moment. A part of him wanted to see it, just to see what the newest newcomer to this place looked like. Slowly, he walked closer. He could see, just barely. When he was close enough to see them, he blinked in surprise. They looked...very, very similar to him. A smaller, feminine version of him. He stared at her for a while, frowning. Who was this creature that looked like him? He had never met someone with such strikingly similar features. Sure, he had met someone who was small and lanky like him, but she had wings. This one didn't.

He didn't say anything, for how could he? So he sat, beady black eyes staring right at the other. To someone who did not know of him being mute, he might be considered a little weird. Staring at someone, immediately upon seeing them, and not speaking? He didn't know very much about etiquette - if there even was such a thing here - but he did at least know what might be a little weird. But there wasn't anything else he could do except for stare, at least until she did something.

@Vivirra

The newborn lay on the ground, her elongated body curled into a tight ball of fluff and anxiety. The darkness terrified her, and part of her wished she had never broken free of her chrysalis. Her long tail was tightly coiled around her, practically bush-like with its bristling fur.

A noise. A scurry. A movement in the shadows. Invisible in the darkness, it lurked closer. She remained frozen in place as whatever creature or monster drew nearer and nearer. But then she caught a glimpse of what she did not expect. A pair of black, beady eyes. The beast simply paused, staring at the young marten from a distance. Something about this being made her uncomfortable, but he seemed almost familiar. Those eyes... those beady eyes. It looked like her.

It occurred to her that this creature was one of her own. If she squinted her pine green eyes just enough, she could make out his figure... a long, furry body with small legs. This was one of her own. This was her kin. So it had to be nice... right? Vivirra pushed herself into a sitting position, head tilted inquisitively at this fellow marten, or at least, what she thought was a marten.

Her ghostly white face rose to meet him. Her deep green gaze stared into his, as she curled her tail around her paws. She spoke, her voice holding a hint of wariness, but it came soft and sweet. With childish curiosity, she asked, "Hello... who are you?"

Xin continued to stare at the other. His bushy tail was wrapped around his paws while he sat, trying to figure out who this creature who looked so much like him was. She seemed confused herself, perhaps not expecting to find someone so like her. She looked curious, and he realized just how much he was dreading this. Surely, this one could speak. Or were all like him unable to speak? Was he not the only one? Was there someone else like him who couldn't speak?

All hopes of such came crashing down as he heard her voice, soft and kind, although perhaps a little wary. His eyes narrowed. He continued to stare, for he had nothing he could do. He could not speak. Of course, she wouldn't know that, therefore making this entire thing awkward. Which was why he always ignored others, so this kind of thing wouldn't happen! But he had come over. And now it was happening.

He had to do something to make sure she knew he had at least heard her. What if she thought he was deaf? That would be even worse. So he flicked his ears and shifted his paws a little, still staring at her. After some time, his gaze drifted to the pink gem on her foreleg. He had never seen his own gem, and figured it was likely in his throat, preventing him from speaking. He had only ever met one other who had their gem in the same place, although even she had been able to make at least some sort of sound. He couldn't make anything, and was doomed to live his life in complete silence, not able to utter anything. And he was very tired of it. But hey, he couldn't do anything about it. It's not like he had a way to speak to someone in their mind, or something. That would just be crazy!

@Vivirra

Vivirra waited for a response from the familiar creature. It didn't appear to be hostile, so she found herself becoming quite curious as to who this mysterious being could be. The darkness didn't help, obscuring her vision and making her rather skittish, to be honest. All she could do was continue to stare up at him in her childlike, fascinated way. He didn't seem to be giving an answer anytime soon.

Now that she thought of it, he didn't seem to be giving any answer at all. His beady gaze narrowed, his stare remained fixed on her. It was somewhat uncomfortable, but it mostly confused her. Did she say something wrong? Thankfully, the young gembound got what appeared to be some kind of a response. Her companion's ears flicked, his paws shifting against the stone. Her head tilted to the other side, perplexed. "I'm not sure I understand," she murmured.

She noticed for a moment that his stare had averted from her. She followed his gaze down to her foreleg, where a small, circular pink gem was embedded into her flesh. Morganite, although she did not know its name. This was the crystal that had consisted of her small cocoon. And yet, she had never noticed that it was part of her, a piece of her that would always be there. She glanced over her shoulder at the shattered stone, gleaming in the shadows, reflecting nonexistent light.

Again she returned her deep green eyes to him, questions budding in her mind like the saplings of spring. Being birthed from stone, bound to the earth through a remnant of what was once your protection... was this what defined her race and class in this world? If this creature was really like her, where was his gem?

She gently rose from her seated position and began to circle the marten. Of course, she could barely see anything around her, but she tried her best to examine him thoroughly without tripping over her own paws. She eventually returned back around, giving him an inquisitive look. "Where's your gem? Do you have one?"

Xin flicked an ear again. There wasn't really anything to understand, other than that he was mute. But that was precisely the problem - he couldn't tell her he was mute! So he sat and watched as she looked at her own foreleg and saw the gem. He waited for her to make the connected, and watched as she rose and began to circle him.

He bristled slightly, but knew she was most likely looking for his gem. Of course, she wouldn't find it. Others had looked all around him, and they never found it. He had never found it. It was inside his throat, of course no one would find it! At her words, he flicked an ear. Perhaps he could somehow show he was mute? He'd have to do something, tell her where his gem is.

So he lifted a paw and pointed toward his throat, hoping that would get the message across. It was in his throat, which led him to not be able to speak. Something that had annoyed him to no end. He wanted to speak, everyone else has a voice, but he doesn't. He'll never know what it sounds like. He grunted in his annoyance and set his paw down, still staring at the other.

---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Vivirra
notes: here

The young gembound watched as her company gave another ear flick. She saw that his fur was beginning to bristle. He seemed frustrated and agitated, although she didn't quite know why. The little kit decided to sit back down as to not make him more upset. New friends should be nice to each other, right?

But what Vivirra wasn't expecting was a response. He had pointed to his neck. His neck? She didn't see any gem nestled into the orange patch of fur by his throat. His throat. Could it be in his throat? Could gems even be inside one's body? She observed with her curious, distant look as the marten stared back, lowering his paw with an irritated grunt.

It clicked. "Oh... you're mute?" Why didn't he say so? Probably because he couldn't speak. No wonder he had been so silent.

Before she could say anything more, a sudden breeze caught her off guard, sending a chill down her spine. It was then that she remembered how truly vulnerable she was. Darkness lurked all around her, and she shivered in the biting cold of the caverns. The newborn's tail curled tightly around her, and she drew slightly closer to the other marten out of instinct. "Cold..."

@Xin

Finally. She finally got it. Xin nodded. Now that she finally knew, what else was there to do? Would she grow bored of him, since he couldn't talk? He wasn't given much time to dwell on the thought, as soon he felt a sudden chill in the air as a breeze flew by. He didn't think much of it until the other marten drew closer to him. He stiffened, but didn't move out of the way.

Faintly, he remembered having warmed up the area with a spell of his. It had been when he met the...slime creature, which seemed like ages ago. He closed his eyes and called upon the magic that lay within his throat, where his stone rested. Soon, he could feel the area warm up significantly. That ought to get rid of the cold. He glanced down at the young marten, and realized he was smiling, if only a little.

---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Vivirra
notes: here

Vivirra was glad the marten didn't back away from her, and even though he seemed to tense up, she took his hesitation as permission granted. She drew a little bit nearer to him, close enough to feel a bit of the fur on his legs. Besides, even though she couldn't see him well, this creature was oddly soft, not to mention he was definitely larger than she.

Suddenly, she felt the air around her begin to warm up. Her large ears flicked curiously as this phenomenon progressed until it was relatively toasty in the area surrounding her. She looked up. It was coming from him. Her pine green eyes widened with wonder, and she could not suppress a small gasp. "Wow! That's cool!" she mewed, with the curiosity of a child. "Can everybody do that?"

She paused, taking notice of something through the darkness. A smile. It was faint, but it was there. It spread to the little kit's face as she returned the warm smile. A small, soft giggle slipped from her maw as she looked up at her companion with her innocent gaze. "You should smile more. It looks nice on you."

@Xin

Xin flicked his bushy tail. He had never met someone with the ability to do what he could, but he figured he wasn't the only one. He shook his head no, as he was fairly certain not everyone could do it. He wished he could elaborate, but alas, he was unable to.

When she noted his smile, he quickly looked away, his smile gone. He glanced back at her and saw that she was also smiling. He sighed, and his smile returned, although it was still very small. He hardly ever smiled. There was just something about the other that made him smile. Perhaps it was her personality - she was so curious and bubbly. She was the opposite of him.

He once was curious, sure. Rather playful as well. He hasn't played in so long. He wondered if the little marten wanted to play. He had no way to tell. And perhaps it would be best not to play? It was still rather dark. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about that. So he just kept his small smile and looked at her.


---

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Vivirra
notes: