The lights had failed all throughout the cave, shrouding each cavern in unyielding darkness. In the Room of Winds, the darkness seemed eternal, but within its heart, a chrysalis as black as shadow, sat, fused to the ground as the zephyrs whirled around it. The neonate inside had grown used to the howling winds' lullabies and the chrysalis's embrace , but soon, the very obsidian walls that had cradled and nurtured him began to suffocate him.

His eyes opened, but still, there was nothing. Then, a vibrant, wonderful energy surged from his chest, and the gemling's body began to softly glow. Scratching and scrapping came from within the obsidian chrylisis, louder and louder, the suddenly..

Crack!

Light poured from the walls like a golden gash in the darkness. Big, floppy paws grabbed at the edges, cracking their black prision away. A jaguar cub pulled himself from the chrysilis, his golden fur gently glowing like a beacon in the black void. The cub looked around, but despite bringing light, he still saw nothing.


"Speech"

@Desire

Boy, was she tired. From the cave of greenery and moss to this cavern of endless wind she had traveled, unknowingly, each inch pulling her energy as she slithered miles, half curious and half utterly lost. She was blessed with the eyesight of a nocturnal hunter, but for how much longer could she go without the safety of the leaves and the comfort of the mosses? Desire was growing, of course, but it was nominal - her time for gargantuan length would come, but she had no inkling that it was fated at all. She intended to live in fear forever.

It was in this great cave of winds a chrysalis did crack. It was not, however, the crack that alerted her. The gusts rattled off her bones and made it night impossible to hear anything else. She could smell, though, and the little snake was flicking out her tongue frequently to hopefully ensure her safety and awareness. The scent that came to her was almost familiar - warm, wet. But it was different, too, and the smell was whisked away immediately. Desire slithered about, hoping for the right direction - and there! A great glow, a shattered gem, slick with the "water" of birth and split by... What was that thing? It was larger than her, and spotted, and sort of...funny looking. Carefully she slid between the gouges in the cave bottom, hoping the ground that rose up could hide her on the other side. Silently, she watched the spotted thing, apprehensive, but undeniably curious.

@Aztec

The light from the child's fur reflected off the ground. He could see that much, but everything else around him was coated in the thick veil of darkness. Where there should have been light, there was none.

The howling wind was a familar sound to him. The cub took his first steps forward, towards the noise. Unbeknownst to him, he was headed straight into the walls of the twister. He felt the rapid wind buffet his coat. He was not used to that. Stunned, the cub's eyes strained with what little light he had. What ever this force was it was invisable.

He continued foward, but the strong winds blew his paws from under him. The cub gasped and tried to grasp the ground, but his claws only scratched hard rock. Panic filled him as he felt his body being lift, and before he knew it, the Twister had him airborn. It spat him back to its center. Instinct took over and his body twisted in the air, and gracefully, he landed on his paws.



"Speech"

@Desire

Anxiety shot through Desire as the spotted thing wandered into the swirling wind and sailed through the air, only to land back where he started, right on his feet. She remembered when she had hatched and could hardly raise her head without falling over. In fact, she had fallen over. Since then, she'd gotten better at balance, but she wondered if all things with legs could do that. The spotted creature had landed alright, but Desire wasn't really sure what to do. She wanted to help it get out... Cautiously, the little white python slithered over, stopping before the whipping winds could touch her - just the rest of the winds slid around her, an uncomfortable and deafening roar.

The prospect of leaping into the circle was tempting, but she had no desire to be thrown around, and what if - what if that was a nasty creature? A spotted, ugly monster that would eat her as soon as she jumped in to help! She feared being eaten and turned around, sliding a foot or so away to watch if the funny-looking fuzzy thing got out.

@Aztec

The cub whipped around in time to see a little white snakelet slither towards him. On oversized paws, he stumbled towards her, only to see her retreat back into the darkness. "Hey!" he mewed after her. The cub stopped short, feeling the whipping winds on his nose. He paced back and forth at the zephyr wall , uncertain if he wanted to endure being thrown around like a leaf again.

But there was only one way out, he had no choice.

Sucking in air into his lungs, the cub dug his claws into the ground and charged. Again the strong winds lifted his body. His claws scrambled for purchase, but it was to late. Once again, the Twister had whisked him away and he let out a shriek of panic as it flung him around effortlessly. Mercifully, it spat him back out on the other side. As if by some uncanny force, he landed on his feet once again, eyes wide with shock and fur comically bristled, but alive and uninjured.



"Speech"

@Desire

His call did not heed her; it went with the wind as she receded into the shadows.

In silence she watched him pace, leaning forward as he took a second attempt at the tornado. Muscles grew tight around her heart, she held her breath, the fuzzy thing spun and cried out and made it. And on his feet! He looked even stranger, she thought, now puffed up like some flower she'd seen in Eridanus. For a few moments the snake waited in the darkness. He could be dangerous, but he was also quite small. He could be strangled, she thought, or bitten, but then, he could probably bite her too. But he was alone, and very odd, and she didn't think it was fair to leave him there just because he looked like a funny flower. Slowly she slid back towards his glowing form, stopping at the edge of the faint light. "Do you speak?" was the first thing she asked; "Who are you?" was the second. She was still without concept of proper greeting or diplomacy, and was more inclined to know where this thing stood amongst the few other creatures she had encountered.

@Aztec

The cub shook his fur flat and peered once more at his surroundings. Everything was still dark, except for him. He wondered why that was. He looked back at the obsidian chrysalis trapped behind the wall of wind. If it wasn't for his light bouncing off the glossy, black crystal, it would have faded into the darkness.

His ears picked up the faint sound of slithering. The cub turned and noticed the white snakelet he saw before. Had she come to greet him? He cocked his head her long, legless body then looked at his paws. Am I supposed to look like that? He wondered. Had I come out all wrong?

Before he could say anything to the snake, however, she asked if he could speak.

"Um.. yeah, I think so." He replied. He could understand her, so she must understand him. He had a feeling that's how it worked.

Then, she asked for his name.

"Aztec." He said without hesitation. That's who he was. He was sure of it as the light chasing away darkness. It had a ring that echoed back centuries.

Now it was his turn to play the question game.

"Do you have a name?"



"Speech"

@Desire

She saw the little cub tilt his head when he finally saw her. That hadn't been the first time she'd been give a look by a stranger, and she wondered why. She hadn't yet met anyone that seemed like her, but she also thought that maybe all creatures looked different and she never would.

And he spoke.

Well, good.

"Aztec," she repeated, feeling the syllables in her lungs and throat and mouth. She would remember, like she remembered Envy and Khloros. Something told her it was important, like something told her to eat mice or that her name was Desire. "My name is Desire," she rasped.

The python stayed put, still wary of the odd creature. "Do you know what you are?" she asked. "I'm a snake. You don't look like any other creatures I've met before." She paused. "I've never met another snake, though. Lots of mice." No shadows, or snakes, or Envy things, or... whatever this was. He had lots of funny spots and his fur was clumped and wet, even as the winds whipped around the cave. She thought maybe there weren't any more like him because he was weird. But then, what of Khloros, or Envy, or herself? The concept had her stumped, for sure.

@Aztec

Aztec sat down and wrapped his tail around him as he listen to the other gemling. She claimed she was snake, whatever that meant, then asked if he knew what he was. The truth was, Aztec did not have a clue. He found himself looking at his paws, flexing the muscles that unsheathed his claws, examining them. Desire lacked these. She also didn't have fur, or spots, still, she was the only thing he had to compare.

He looked back up at Desire. "I'm not sure." He confessed. Then his eyes lit up as a smirk crossed his face. "Perhaps I'm a snake too, just different looking."

"Speech"

@Desire

She watched as little thorns came out between his toes. Maybe they weren't thorns. Teeth? How strange. Khloros had flat teeth, though, but Envy's were sharp, and so were Desire's. She hadn't ever seen herself, really, but she saw the punctures her fangs left in cave mice and she knew enough. It must be weird to have teeth between your toes. She looked at her body, like one big tail. It must be weird to have toes.

"You think so? Huh." Well...maybe. But wouldn't they eat the same things then? "What do you eat, then, Aztec? Mice? Or plants? Or bugs?" Khloros ate grass, and Envy didn't eat at all. Would he even know? She hadn't known. Hm.

@Aztec