Serek galloped and hopped through the bones and stones. He was inquisitive and curious and restless. He was growing bigger now, bigger then his siblings. Almost half of Mother's height and he was still young. He was starting to get very restless. He wanted to run and leap and gallop away. But at the same time he was afraid of getting too far from Mother. But maybe this one time he would get out, just explore a little bit...

He stumbled when he heard a snap and whipped around, his heart beating. He had stepped on a very thin bone and it had broken under the force of his back hoof. He looked back. Why were his back legs different from his front? Mother didn't have different feet and neither did the Siblings Vinea and Skeena. At the thought of his siblings, guilt fluttered at his chest. He promised to protect the small one, protect from Sibling Vinea. How could he protect so far away?

No, Sibling Skeena would be fine. They were fine. Mother could take care of them. Mother could do anything!

So Serek shook off the fear and surprise of the bone cracking and continued to hop through the bones, enjoying the feeling of stretching his legs and running as fast as he liked without having to wait for the Siblings and Mother to catch up.

"I'm screaming submission"
I don't know if I am dying or living

tags: @Lucifero if you'd like to join
notes: notes here

Malachai

The pup had been exploring.

She was still trying to get used to her too-long legs, and too-big paws. The Maned Wolf struggled to keep her radar-like ears up, seeming to flop over constantly. She'd not seen any other Gembounds who looked like her, although to be honest she'd not met many Gembounds.

Without realizing it, she'd wandered into another Cave. She didn't even notice until there was a sudden, loud crack, and the Maned Wolf had looked around, realizing she was surrounded by... were those bones? The pup had leaned down, sniffing at the bones. They smelled old and musty, but also tingled with Magick, like a Gembound.

The pup looked around, seeing a rather large rock. There was a loud clattering sound, and she struggled to clamber onto the rock, panting as she finally managed to hook her paws on the top...

only to lose her balance, tumbling off the rock onto her back. She huffed quietly, struggling to get her legs under her, before peeking out from around the rock. Spotting Serek, she smiled, and trotted out, calling a friendly, if somewhat squeaky, "Hello!"
"I'm speaking..."
'I'm thinking...'

@Serek

Serek almost jumped when he caught movement in the corner of his eyes and, suddenly, a dog was tumbling down in front of him. He stepped back, his hackles raising as he started to growl. Mother had warned them to be careful. Enemies were everywhere, everything. Many things would want to prey on them, kill them, devour them. This was probably one of them.

But then it greeted him and he stopped growling. It was young, like him. And it didn't sound scary. Sibling Vinea was scary. This was not as scary as Sibling Vinea.

"H-hello?" What did that word mean? He had never heard it spoken before. Perhaps it meant something to the dog. So he stood tall and glared at it, not knowing what he was speaking and snarled, "Hello." His voice was intimidating, warning this dog that if it attacked, he would fight back.

"I'm screaming submission"
I don't know if I am dying or living

tags: @Malachai
notes: notes here

Malachai

Not terribly bothered by her fall, Malachai stood tall, giving the... well, she didn't quite know what it was, a friendly smile. Her tail wagged, and she offered it a good-natured canine smile, jaw dropping slightly, tongue lolling out. "Sorry if I scared you!" she woofed, seeing teh hackles on its back. She was rather surprised to hear it growl, as she'd come to learn that only lean, non-hoofed Gembounds could growl. But maybe that wasn't the hard and fast rule?

Thankfully, it stopped growling, and even spoke back. "Hello!" she chirped back kindly, not picking up on his aggression. "I'm Malachai, but you can call me Mal if you want! Who are you? What are you?"

@Serek

"I'm speaking..."
'I'm thinking...'

Serek stepped back as it got close and was wary of the wide smile it was giving him. Should he trust it? It seemed okay. Besides, even though it had some sharp teeth...very sharp teeth, it didn't seem to be using them for intimidation. It almost seemed to be...smiling at him.

He cocked his head and became very confused at the sudden barrage of speech. He was still learning to listen and was at first a bit confused, trying to figure out what it was saying. It was called Malachai but he could call it Mal. That was weird. Maybe it was like how Mother's name was Giggle but they called her Mother. He hadn't heard before the questions it posed and it took him a few moments to work out what they meant.

"Serek. I am Serek." Yes, that is what his name was, the name he gave to Mother on his first day. But what he was? He had never thought of it before. Mother had never told him and it had never seemed inportant. He had many of the same features as Mother - the spots and ears, the shape and feet. He shrugged. "I am Serek," he repeated, unsure of what else to say about himself.

"I'm screaming submission"
I don't know if I am dying or living

tags: @Malachai
notes: notes here

Malachai

She had scared it, and she felt back. It stepped back, aware from her. She realized her teeth might be frightening it, and so lowered her lips, hiding her sharp fangs. The Maned Wolf took a step back, sitting down on her haunches to try and look relaxed and at ease, hoping it would spread to the... well, she didn't quite know what it was. It was funny looking, that was for sure! Her tail wagged, trying to convey her goodwill.

"Serek? she echoed, before nodding. "That is a nice name!" it was obvious he was young, and having trouble understanding her, and perhaps conveying what he was thinking. So she tilted her head, saying, "You look really cool, Serek! I've never seen anyone like you before!"

"I'm speaking..."
'I'm thinking...'