Oh, it was just so fabulous that the caves getting cloaked in darkness is no more, previously it was like the whole world had just become vantablack with not a trace of light to see! Well, there was a teensy bit of light from Orion's ceiling from their 'stars' although perhaps when Orion was like that, it wasn't that much different from Cetus when it did have lights on. Still, that's all the more reason why having this much light is just so exciting Pippy here. She can see what's in front of her and what's ahead! With that for Pippy, it has made her more relaxed to venture out of her den as the unknown does seem to be quite the fear she possesses and this light makes things feel not unknown at all especially since most of Orion besides its 'stars' is mostly rocks.

And so she has taken a stroll out of her den to perhaps search for some water. She does a strong sense of cautiousness currently so much at first the occasional rasping of stones that her hearing catches startled her and jumped for cover to hide although she soon realises that it may be a false alarm. The quiet and the feeling of safety eventually coaxing Pippy out of hiding. There's a rinse and repeat with that when another sudden sound or shadow catches her hearing or peripherals again, but Pippy soon manages to stop that routine and continue with her forage for water.

There was once again another thing causing Pippy to postpone her search, but this time it wasn't something that made her feel scared for her life; actually, she was curious. Instead of water she found something of interest, it was something more significant than her in size but it isn't moving or anything so what it is must be similar to non-gem rocks, or trees, so it didn't provoke fear in Pippy despite the size. The shape of it was semi-circle although from how jagged the edges are made it look like it was initially wholly round and another Gembound split it open. It was reasonably green which made it look like it would belong in Cetus although from where the edges of it are jagged around it was a bright yellow which had something shaped just like her Gem in the yellow which Pippy realised were a 'pip' a 'fruit seed' like Zeno said.

This thing was so strange.

One thing though was the scent the yellow part of it gave off; it was so alluring, it smelled so sweet to her which made her get up close to it and sniff it even more. The smell it has is just incredible so much that despite that the bright colours should put Pippy off, she nibbled on the fruit just a little to test it, avoiding the seeds in it. The taste was just as good as the scent, and so Pippy had a little more of it. It's amazing! She also felt less thirsty too which is good too! Her joy at how delicious this fruit is made the Magick in her Gem start to flow through Pippy something which she never realised at all.

With the type of bat she is fruit like this probably would've made her feel sick but thanks to the new Spell she unintentionally cast that won't be the case as she continued to nibble at this here fruit. Once again something fascinating made this tiny bat drop her guard a little right now.

@Envy

Light hurt their eyes.

Although they'd been born into it, they barely remembered a time when the world was bathed in light. Everything looked so different, they barely recognized their home. They barely recognized anything. and though they'd sulked at first, with suddenly no use for part of the magic they'd spent so long trying to hone... screeching and reprimanding the light that hurt their eyes, they had to admit that it made things a whole lot easier.

Although Envy didn't know it and certainly didn't feel it, they were growing with each passing cycle, both physically and emotionally. For the first time in perhaps over a cycle, Envy had come slinking back to their den, driven not by any sense of nostalgia(although their eyes did flicker warily for a familiar flash of fur), but by the want of the possessions they had laid claim to in their youth... not that their light would matter now. They padded alongside the stream that they called their own, knowing that they'd find their home eventually.

Envy's attention was caught, though, by a strange thread of scent; they'd never tasted sweetness before, but had smelt something similar as they ventured deep into the jungle of Eridanus. And yet, this was still somehow different. Whatever it was, what was it doing in Orion?

The question was far more interesting than the search for some dull pebbles, even if said pebbles were theirs. Perhaps the sweet thing would be theirs, too, by the end. Though, they considered, that the sweet thing would probably end up rotting sad and alone and disgusting, and then they wouldn't want it in their den. still, that didn't stop them admiring it now.

The weasel changed course, taking on a steady lope that carried them deeper into Orion.

Something else had gotten there first; Envy was almost offended, but for once they found themselves slowing to a halt. They tilted their head to one side and looked at the creature, approaching and sniffing, perhaps a little intrusively. Whatever it was eating the sweet thing, it was tiny! "Hey, pipsqueak," Envy started, to draw their attention, still sniffing. They sat back on their hind paws, towering over the poor little thing, even though their hide was pulled thin over their bones with cycles of fasting. "Shouldn't you be... you know... with a parent or something?"

They folded their paws against their chest. Envy had never met anything smaller than they were, and that almost made up for the fact that they got to taste the wondrous-smelling fruit. Almost. For once, the grudge they held against this little one was minimal, so long as the little bat grovelled accordingly.

Their gaze strayed to the fruit, almost the same size as the young weasel, but towering over the bat.

They sniffed.

Sweet.

"The hell is that, anyway?"

---

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

tags: @Pippy
notes: here

Pippy had a few more nibbles of the fruit, still avoiding the seeds on it till he decided to stop. Wiping off some of the juice that has clung to his fur with his wing then proceeding to pat on the ground with that said limb to get the juice off that too, the stickiness of the liquid felt weird and a little icky for Pippy. Not wanting to repeat having to get that sticky juice off again Pippy decided against having more of this and just sniff the sweet scent it has.

Soon though Pippy saw a shadow falling across his whole form, looming over him and the fruit, which was getting bigger each second and it wasn't still in movements either with a shape it had. It showed that whatever this shadow belonged to it was indeed something like a Gembound which just put ice in Pippy's veins fear just welling up as he trembled not daring to look what's behind him at first the sweet scent not helping Pippy relax anymore; m-maybe it's just his imagination again? R-Right? N-Nothing to be afraid of!

When something spoke from right behind him though Pippy instantly let out a gasp and bounded forward with a start. Someone's here! Pippy trembled a bit more until he reluctantly spun his whole body around to see who it is; how big are they? Who are they?

Looking towards them while definitely bigger than Pippy he was surprised that this Gembound wasn't as big as he expected them to be; he was almost concerned for them really, with how thin they are they look to be nearly as delicate as Pippy is. He backed away a bit more when they towered over Pippy more by sitting. Still, the question asked to Pippy made him cock his head in such confusion he hadn't the slightest idea what a 'parent' or something is. What's with all the odd terminology recently?

"O-Oh hi. Uhhhh, w-what's a 'parent'? I-I've never of a 'parent'." His talking was perhaps a little fast there, Pippy wasn't too sure whether he could genuinely trust this Gembound right now they are not too big, but they are still bigger than Pippy which is somewhat discomforting for him.

Pippy may have gotten to taste this sweet fruit just by luck of sorts as if that Spell never happened Pippy would've felt ill soon afterwards. Speaking of they seemed more curious about the fruit really which was a little relieving to Pippy as he still doesn't know if this Gembound's curiosity is a good thing or bad thing for Pippy. They also didn't know what it was? W-Well then maybe they could have a fair exchange of answers then, although Pippy himself doesn't exactly know what it is himself so perhaps it isn't fair and this Gembound seems to know well what a 'parent' something or other is still he'll go ahead.

"O-Oh! I'm not sure myself... M-Maybe it's called a 'fruit' as it has 'fruit seeds' in it! 'Fruit seeds' are shaped like my G-Gem." he shows his pip formed Gem to them to display what he means correctly, the tiny bat doesn't puff his chest up though as Pippy still was unsure whether he can trust them enough to try and say not pluck his Gem right off his chest.

@Envy

Envy watched as the little bat turned towards them, and began to back away, and Envy's eyes glinted slightly at evident fear. It wasn't exactly a grovel, but Envy was pretty pleased nontheless. They folded their paws, puffing out their chest, and looking carefree. They bared their fangs in a sharp-toothed grin the way of the teeny bat; perhaps friendly, perhaps hungry. Not even Envy was sure, and they liked that.

They cleared their throat, a sound full of self-importance, to give themselves some seconds to consider the question.

"It's when someone who's big and strong takes care of someone who's little and weak," they began, then let out a dismissive grunt, the hair along their spine prickling defensively. "Not that I'd know. Obviously..." the more Envy thought about it, the more they realized that they weren't quite sure on the purpose of a 'parent', either. They had Li, and they'd just... always called her that. But why? Were they calling themselves little and weak?

Of course they were, once. But they'd risen beyond that, now. This here was a new weasel, a weasel destined for greatness.

"A fruit, huh? Never seen anything like that in Orion before." Envy took another sniff, dropping to all fours to pace around the fruit to the exposed softer, sweeter centre. In the process, they drew closer to Pippy. Then the weasel looked down at the bat, gaze lingering for a moment on their gem. They blinked slowly, eyes narrowing. "...Congratulations?"

---

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

tags: @Pippy
notes: here

Pippy did not like how they were looking at her with those eyes, not at all there was something scary about them, and this time it wasn't their size as the reason if anything their size is not too alarming in comparison to the other Gembound she had met. Which is oddly ironic as except for the glowing-flying-thing, in the end, all those big Gembound she did meet were nice and did not wish to bring her any harm. That smile they had with those eyes was a little off-putting too. Though m-maybe they don't realise that they seem scary and is acting what is maybe ordinary to them? Still doesn't help to make Pippy ease up, her shoulders and wings having a lot of tension in them.

Is a parent a big Gembound then or something? Sounds almost like lots of the friends she has made, but from the sounds of it, a 'parent' is with a small one all the time, so they most likely are more friends than 'parents'. Besides even if one does take care of a small Gembound would that 'parent' actually be nice? Her friends are always nice it's why they're her friends after all. She did feel nervous when they said that they wouldn't know about it even though they did know what a 'parent' was despite this she slowly nods to them in agreement not wanting to upset them. Still... Should she have one? Pippy is little, and while she doesn't think she's strong, she doesn't know if she's weak either. But she doesn't want to take up another Gembound's time to watch her 24/7 she'd feel bad actually.

"Y-Yeah would think it'd be Cetus or something." Pippy had to agree on that something this brightly coloured didn't seem to belong in Orion, the green of it for one made it more belong in Cetus really, maybe another Gembound brought it here? Explains why the edges looked jagged really. When they got closer again Pippy out of reflex backed away just a little from them. When their not sincere almost confused sounding congrats to Pippy came it made her ears droop with her eyes downcast a little, she doesn't know why it bothered her, but it did.

"Heh... D-Do you have a Gem?" she nervously tried her best to make perhaps things less awkward and possibly avoid getting them upset with her somehow as Pippy lifted her head up a bit when asking this question.

@Envy

The little bat didn't respond to Envy's statement, which was probably for the best. The weasel left it behind, feeling like pursuing an answer might lead to a topic of information they'd rather sweep under the rug. But the small one did proceed to move onto something else, which caused their gaze to snap from the fruit to the bat in an instant. They noticed then the small one backing away from them, the weasel sniffed, but remained where they were.

"Cetus?" their voice piqued in intrigue, and they once again settled themselves in front of the bat. "That's..." they considered their words carefully, not wanting to seem inexperienced or lacking in knowledge, especially in front of someone so much smaller than them. "...A long way away, right?"

Envy's lilac gaze focused on the other Gembound now, looking hard, smile lingering, although it was more mellowed now. still, their chest remained puffed and proud, their rounded ears pricked.

The little one questioned them then, and Envy gave a nod. A playful glint entered their eye, and they bared teeth again in a mischievous grin. "Wanna see it?" Without waiting for a response the weasel opened their jaws wide, allowing the wary little creature a fine view to the back of their throat, and the glistening crimson marble on their swollen tongue that had been the source of so much grief. The metallic, toxic scent of their breath seeped out, nauseating.

---

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

tags: @Pippy
notes: here

When Pippy saw that they stared right at her now, which made her ears perk back up, wary as to what she may have said; did she upset them? Their eyes were fixed right on Pippy's whole form, and it was very discomforting somehow so much it made her stop in her backing away and remain completely still.

"Y-Yeah Cetus. It's this green place with fog and trees everywhere." Pippy smiled at them a bit, relaxing somewhat still wary for sure but not as bad as before. She tilts her head in wonder when the other can't seem to find their words; do they know what Cetus is? The tiny bat waits for their answer, and when they did Pippy considered their question while rubbing her chin with a wing; is Cetus far from Orion? She isn't quite sure since when Equinox carried her here, Pippy decided then that she needed a nap as one thing after another that took place beforehand she needed the rest. Still with her size just about any other part of the Caves would seem like a long way for Pippy.

"I-I guess it is, for me anyway," Pippy tried to make sure what she says is not specious, so she decides to be as honest as possible although her tone was very unsure, she doesn't know if Cetus will seem far for this Gembound.

Their smile looks less off-putting now, so that's good for Pippy, allowing her wings to ease somewhat too.

Pippy was curious now on that they do have a Gem, but the look on their face got worrying for Pippy making her wings tense up again. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see it now really, the bat is getting a feeling it'll be a bad idea so much, so she shakes her head to say no. But that didn't matter in the end, as the Gembound opened their jaw like how a snake and Pippy leapt back with a yelp, whimpering meekly; w-why are they doing that? A-Are are they going to bite her? Grab her Gem with those fangs? Or something much w-worse than both? Either way, them doing that scared the life out of Pippy.

"S-Stop t-that..." she tried to ask them, she'd rather not see that, but she could see their Gem. Although it was scary, she was a little worried about them in fact what Pippy sees along with their Gem while utterly disturbing it didn't look healthy, like it had been burned or something.

"O-OK I see it, I see it that's enough now." Please just stop, it's scaring her.

@Envy

Cetus, eh? Envy wondered momentarily if they were referring to Eridanus, the jungle room where they'd been tasked with finding Astrea, but the fog that Pippy described didn't ring any bells. Perhaps the weather was subject to change, or perhaps there were a lot more green rooms in the caves than Envy had first thought. They'd said it was far away, after all. Further even than Eridanus or Pisces? those were the only rooms that Envy had explored to any extent. They'd briefly laid eyes on a room filled with lights.

The weasel closed their jaws as the small one protested, eyes narrowing seemingly in thought, whilst a cool smirk lingered on their lips. Obviously they weren't about to eat the little bat, or anything so equally disgusting, but as the fur along their back prickled with mischief, they chuckled a little at the small one's response, feeling intimidating and powerful.

"What, don't you think it's cool?" Envy asked as though betrayed, even though the ghost of a smirk lingered on their face. But the weasel soon moved onto more important matters. "This 'Cetus', place... Is it like Eridanus?" they asked, manner more businesslike, and clearly intrigued.

"And, who are you, anyway?"

---

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

tags:
notes: here

Pippy honestly hasn't seen the other parts of the Cave besides Cetus and Orion. Even though most of the Gembound he has encountered have been kind to him so far, he refuses to venture out to a new unknown area in the caves until he perhaps can fly by himself. That or learn how to do that unique 'click' thing Zeno told him about as who knows what could get him there could be something out there worse than a glowing-flying-thing. He is hoping someday to find parts of the caves that are warm and cosy, that would be Pippy's ideal home. Well no actually Pippy's ideal home would be one where the tiny bat in a haven that's safe from things like glowing-flying-things or any other large Gembound who would bring harm to him. Just anything that would bring harm to his little body, in general, can that can never reach him even if he's out in the open; that'd be his ideal home.

Pippy covered his eyes with his wing to obscure what this Gembound is showing to him, even if he did ask if they had a Gem he found this gross display of it to be just unnecessary he preferred not to see that. Why couldn't they have just said 'yes I do' or something? He feels he is partially at fault for not being too specific on his earlier question but still what if they did that with the intent of harming him? Pippy recoiled a little when he heard them laugh; at him from the sounds of it.

"N-Not funny...!" Pippy's usually little and gentle sounding voice sounded uncharacteristically harsh and clipped despite the stutter. Some actual offence started to rise above his fear; the fact that him feeling scared was getting laughed at was genuinely hurtful, it's odd they aren't even that large, in comparison to like say Equinox yet this Gembound here still managed to make his fear reach quite the peak. When the question was asked Pippy finally moved his wing out the way of his face and let out a sigh of relief that they finally closed their jaw, no longer seeing a scary display of sharp fangs or anything like that. Still, Pippy did consider their question, especially since they sounded almost upset at his reaction despite the fact that they laughed at him just a second ago. Is it cool?

"...I don't know... Do you think it's cool?" his voice went back to being small and gentle even so, Pippy was pretty bold there surprisingly, to throw a question back like that Pippy inwardly is regretting it a little.

"'Eridanus'? What's that? Is it green too with fog? I do remember Cetus also had... a lot of water, water that was so tainted and dirty that it looked more like mud. D-Did this... 'Eridanus' have that?" Pippy was lucky he and Zeno found such clean drinkable water in Cetus that pool looked like a jewel in comparison to the swamps in Cetus since Pippy chose that stream of water as his at the time water to drink from he never paid any heed to the wetlands in Cetus. Well except when he had to avoid falling into one as some were almost like quicksand, which honestly was something that made the marshes so terrifying that he tried to avoid them like the plague at the time.

"M-Me? Oh! I'm Pippy. Hi." he'd ask who they are, but he worries they may try to answer scarily again like with their Gem, so he chooses not to ask something like that.

@Envy

Envy blinked slowly and innocently at their reaction, clearly upset, although the smirk that lingered on their lips did nothing to aid their cause. "...Maybe a little funny?" they argued, tail flicking slowly from side to side. Slowly though, the smile faded. they looked over the bat closely. "And yeah, I thought it was cool. But then again, anything I do is cool. Wouldn't you agree?" Envy peered down at the little bat- who'd just introduced themselves as Pippy- with a sparkle in their eye. The question, though, was not rhetorical- the sly weasel subtly pushing for a feeling of validation.

"W-well, it's green. lot's of leaves, and trees. No mud, or filthy water. Blech. Sounds gross... But Eridanus is more like a maze. Even though there's no fog, it's hard to see 'cause of all the plants." Envy almost disregarded the idea of ever going to Cetus, but the more they thought about it, the more curious they found themselves becoming. Their curiosity was virtually boundless when it came to exploration, and even though they weren't so sure on the mud, they knew they'd one day have to find Cetus if only to have a quick look.

"Pippy, huh?" there was a long pause. A smile curled over their pointed muzzle. "Let me guess... It's because of your gem, right?" They seemed amused. "The name's Envy."

He wondered if they'd be able to guess why. but found themselves reluctant to ask. they'd started to wonder if a name like Envy was the best first impression to make. Maybe it'd present them as weak. Envy felt themselves begin to bristle at the thought. Nah... It was a warning name, aggressive. It suited them. and it certainly didn't seem weak.

---

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

tags: @Pippy
notes: here