The young springbok pranced through the jungle filled cavern of Eridanus. The air was literally buzzing with energy, similar to the times she visited Polaris. To feel that feeling in Eridanus was simply magical to the young antelope. As such, she couldn’t help but to fully embrace the feeling and let it rush through her. As such, Enka found herself skipping happily through the now familiar trails through the large plants and trees that laid hidden in the underground forest.

Suddenly, though, the springbok stopped. Large ears flipped around in curiosity. There was something strange that she was struggling to put her hoof on. It didn’t help that the magical pulsing in the air made it difficult to concentrate like a strange tonic in the air. Enka was nearly drunk in the ecstasy of the magic feel. But there was something else that lingered in the air that caused her to stop and her tail to flick.

"There!" Just barely she caught the faint notes of what was almost a sing-song voice from between the crystalline pools she had wandered too. She laughed at the absurdity of it. So strange things were today. So different! So new! So very curious! Enka just had to explore it and find out more.

But it was so difficult to locate just where the new sound was coming from. Rift, her feline mentor, had taught her much in the way of manipulating flora magic. As such, her body openly embraced the magic that hung in the air. And currently it was dizzying to her. Enka laughed again, springing up into the air. It was as though she had eaten some rotten grapes or one of the strange mushrooms she was warned about. But no matter. She had all the time in the day to figure out the strange feeling that engulfed her and the strange sound that danced in her ears.

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It was a fairly mundane sort of day, and Karma didn’t mind too much, given her latest adventures in magic. Still, she bounded down the earthy paths with a flourish, pausing occasionally to rip out hunks of green foliage before moving on, mouth still full of vegetation. Eridanus seemed more pleasant than her last visit, somehow, though she couldn’t quite shake the strange sensation under her skin. It’d been present in some degree ever since she’d first laid eyes on the spire, and the fawn had learned to regard it with both trepidation and fascination. Traveling deeper into the lush world only served to cement the feeling, and she became more animated despite herself. Surely not today, she thought, surely not here. After all, the world around her seemed alive and happy, not fraught with the same ominous feeling that came before she’d encountered the evil mushroom or the rock… thing. Shuddering slightly at its memory, the fawn took great care to not travel in the vicinity of the large fungus.

Prompted by the unpleasant memory to move away from the Monarch, it wasn’t long before the fawn burst into the familiar clearing surrounding the eyes. To her surprise, this place was already occupied, but as the stranger came fully into view, she found her mannerisms immediately familiar. The stranger seemed silly and full of life, young and carefree. Karma found herself instantly put at ease, and emerged from the safety of the brush, bounding joyfully as she did. “Hey!” she called out, perhaps louder than she’d intended. As she took another excited leap forward, the strange sound of the singing gem caught her ears, and she stopped dead to listen. “Do you hear that? What is it?” rotating slowly as she spoke, she gazed at the world around, trying to pin the direction of the sound to no avail. The stranger’s behavior felt infectious, and she blissfully embraced wide-eyed, childlike wonder.

@Enka

The springbok reared up slightly as suddenly something leapt out from the nearby bushes to land before her. She was quickly put at ease, though, as the something turned out to be a creature quite similar to herself. Long gangly legs, dainty hooves, large flappy ears. Her coloring was different, more browns than creams but similar in colors. Her head ornaments were quite different though. One dazingly blue antler appeared on the stranger’s crown unlike the two small dark horns and the larger green and creamy colored one in the center of her forehead. Other than the tops of their heads, though, they were strikingly similar. Enka had never met another creature so similar to herself and it caused her to pause for a moment in wonder. Was she staring at a reflection of some sort, similar to how the pools of water in the vicinity reflected her image?

That theory quickly proved to be incorrect, though, as the deer greeted her. As far as Enka knew reflections didn’t talk. Therefore, this had to be a new potential friend. How marvelous! The springbok leapt straight into the air a good distance with a cheer of delight. What good fortune! The dizziness in her head was made all the more at joy and it clearly showed.

“Hello! Hello!” She greeted in return as she delicately landed. The green of her horn was aglow, feeling the magic overflowing form her form. It was impossible to direct though and simply channeled through her. She was giddy and joyful and with a new friend before her, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

At the stranger’s words, though, she paused. Ears flapped around in all directions. She had taken note of the noise previously. It was given new importance now that another mentioned it’s presence. The springbok found it quite difficult to really focus on the sound, though, so she simply nodded. “I do. I don’t know what it is, though. It’s new. Much like the air is new. I’ve only felt this in Polaris, not here in Eridanus before. Isn’t it wonderful?” she asked with a flick of her tail.

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Karma’s delicate hooves never stilled as the two interacted, perpetually dancing or prancing or simply pawing in place. She nodded as the stranger described that something in the air that made her skin tingle in the best of ways. “Yes! Is it magic?” She stared directly at the ceiling for a moment, as if that would give her an answer. The fawn dismissed the looming threat of negative thoughts with a shake of her head. Perhaps she would eventually examine the possibility that this wonderful buzzing feeling also meant an increase in nightmares, but for the moment she was unwilling. After all, this was already shaping up to be a fun new adventure, and the fawn was certain that her new companion would be a grand time if they didn’t get attacked. Growing increasingly frustrated with the nagging negativity in a rather rational portion of her brain, she snorted softly. She leapt into motion again, prancing around the perimeter of one of the pools as if motion could dispel the looming sense of dread she felt.

Suddenly, her head shot upright, for that strange entrancing song grew louder and clearer. She looked into the water, confused, before she leapt in excitement at what she saw in the reflection. “Oh! Come and see!” She called out, rearing up to point her nose at a large stalactite in the ceiling high above. From it clung a stunning emerald colored crystal, glittering in the lamp light and perhaps emitting its own light as well. Even in her excitement, it gave her pause, stood stock still to gaze at it in awe. She turned to look at the other after a moment, curious to see if she was just as fascinated by this strange and beautiful thing. Immediately, she thought of her fascination regarding the origin of gembounds, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that this thing was somehow related. It had to be, right? She was fairly certain that this thing was a recent addition to Eridanus, and just at the time when magic in the air was nearly palpable.

@Enka

Enka nodded her head at the doe’s question. They were like a never-ending cycle of energy, each feeding off the excitement of the other. The fur of her rump bristled, the flap of skin and fluff standing on edge. Much like the other cervine Enka found it difficult to stay still. She pranced along after the other around the edges of the two pools of clear waters. What grand fun this all was! This wonderful feeling that tickled her skin and brain, the soft sound in her ears, and the new friend before her.

“Yes, I believe it’s magic. Or something similar to it. Whenever I feel this, it seems to make it easier for me to do magic. Usually. Though right now, not so much,” she replied with a bit of a giggle. For while her horn was still aglow, the magic entered her body and was released without concerns of direction or control. There was no need for it. While more flowers would be nice, she was simply content to enjoy the feeling of the energy coursing through her.

The springbok was dizzy and giddy and overall very pleased with life at this time. After all, since her hatching three cycles ago, life had simply been one grand and pleasant adventure after another. The worst thing that had happened to her was eating a plant that wasn’t quite ripe or struggling to learn a new spell before figuring it out. Her life was simple and easy going and she was well suited for it.

She paused, though, as the doe asked her to come look at something. Curious, she moved to stand next to her. It was difficult at first to discern what it was that the deer was interested in. Was it the water? No, for while she had looked at the water initially, she was now looking up. The rocks? That was nothing new.

Oh! But there was something new there! Enka gave a bit of a gasp as she saw the emerald embedded into one of the rigid columns of stone hanging from the ceiling. It was beautiful, light dancing from it’s many surfaces reflecting the pools below just as much as the water reflected it. “Wow,” Enka breathed. Motionless in only a way that a deer-like creature could stand she stood and simply observed the stone.

“Is that where the sound is coming from?” She asked both her new companion as well as to the world at large. Head tilted so that one of her eyes at the side of her head could peer better at it. She lightly bit her lip as she tried to calculate just how high up it was and how high she could leap up. After all, if she could get closer to the stone it would be easier to tell if that’s where the sound was coming from.

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Karma giggled along with her when the stranger mentioned her current troubles with magic, though it fed the internal fire of doubt brewing below the surface. If this feeling came with monsters and reduced magical power, they could really be in trouble. Finding it increasingly difficult to dismiss the feeling, the fawn focused on the strange new crystal, trying to dismiss the notion that they should both run away from here immediately. But to where? she asked herself. She’d felt this way in Canis, in Orion, in all the little paths leading to Eridanus. Maybe some of the places she hadn’t been were safe, but she was suspicious.

For a moment, she stood side-by-side with the stranger, looking at the stone. It would be an amusing sight, if observed by an outsider, to see the animated pair suddenly rendered stock-still as they gazed at the ceiling. “The… sound?” she answered, somewhat absentmindedly, so focused on the crystal that the words took a few moments to process. “Oh!” she said suddenly, eyes widening as she put the pieces together, acutely aware that the strange noise was much clearer here. She reared slowly, ears pricked forward, experimenting with the noise. “Wow! I think it is! How strange!”

An idea came to her and her ears flicked excitedly, lithe limbs suddenly prancing in place again. She squinted at the crystal, focused, while her antler grew brighter. The crystal, however, nestled against the stalactite, remained obstinate. Brow furrowed in frustration, the fawn moved around the pool, as if this would bring it closer (it didn’t). This did not help the feelings gnawing at her gut, and she began to glance around nervously despite herself. “Hmmm,” she said, returning back to where she and the springbok had been standing, lifting her gaze back to the pesky crystal. “Do you know any magic that can pull on it?” she said, turning to look at the stranger. “… Or push it?” she added as an afterthought, pensive as her eyes flitted to the crystal’s attachment to the stone. Admittedly, she was eager to dismiss the notion that their magic was dampened, trying to stem the growing tide of panic that grew in the pit of her stomach

@Enka

The question of magic caused some pause in Enka’s thoughts, reminded that someone else was there. How surprising that she had nearly forgotten about the doe! But the crystal was enchanting with the way it shimmered above the two of them. And now, with a task at hand, Enka had found herself very focused on how to find out more about the strange gem.

Enka shook her head. “I work with plants. I can make them bloom, but nothing tall enough to reach that….” A quick inner survey was done of her magic abilities to confirm this fact. She had made some impressive plants grow. She had even made fruit appear on one of them recently when she was particularly hungry for tasty berries. But she had never made a plant that would reach as high as the crystal was. It was a good few feet above where they stood. She would need a giant fern or a small tree to reach that height. The springbok wasn’t even sure if such a thing was possible. Then again, it was possible for Rift to create the den in which she had been welcomed to stay at. Maybe anything was truly possible….

Her mind returned to earlier thoughts. If she could just take a good luck at it…. If she could just get a bit closer to it….

“Oh!” The antelope’s head sprang up to alertness with the cry. An idea reached her. Perhaps she could get a closer look at the crystal. It was worth a try at least, wasn’t it? After all, wasn’t anything possible?

Giddiness at the idea overcame the young one. She turned to the doe with a wide grin on her face. “I’m gonna try to get a closer look at it!” She cried before turning and dashing away from the pools of water and the stone. If a response was given by the deer, she didn’t wait long enough to hear it.

After going a short distance, still in clear view, Enka stopped and turned around to once again face the stone. Deep breath, focus. Leg muscles tensed like tight springs. Ready. Set. Go! The antelope took off bounding back towards the pools. Each time she landed, she pushed off harder against the mossy ground. Higher. Higher. Higher! As she got to the water’s edge, she put as much muscle into the leap as she could.

The antelope sprang into the air with the highest pronk she had ever managed. Closer…closer…closer. Yes! For just a short period of time she got to be eye level with the stone. And oh, how it seemed to sing! Her ears were filled with a strange sound that vibrated her to her very core. The horn of moss agate seemed to almost reverberate with it. For a few short moments she hung in the air, watching the crystal. It was almost like she was floating.

Then with a hard splash she landed in the pool of water. A round of laughter erupted from her. She spun around, prancing excitedly in the shallower parts of the closest pool. “Did you see that! Did you see? I did it! I got right next to the crystal!” Giggles followed in her victory. “I-I” she coughed, trying to stop the giggles so that she could talk. Even so, her fluffy rump stood up and her tail swished excitedly. “I wonder if we can knock it down?”

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Notes: So fun fact! A springbok's "pronk" can get up to 2 meters high for the adults.