He stretched.

Opening his eyes, the Cheetah was able to see out of his Crysalis. It was semi-translucent, being amber, and allowed him to peer through it. There was nothing out there to alarm him, to make him worry. So he didn't rush.

Instead, he stretched again, enjoying the awareness of his limbs. He could feel everything, from the tips of his ears to the furthest points of his toes.

And then the Crysalis split and, as though he hadn't just became aware, the Cheetah stepped out of the Crysalis, tiny paws stepping delicately upon the soil.

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

Daydreaming had sent Lyra far away from her family home. She had been the one to leave their little nest first, wandering aimlessly as she wondered and thought and dreamed. There were so many new things to see and so many wonderful things to think. She also wanted desperately to meet someone new, another gembound that wasn't constrained to her little family. Sure, she loved Winter and Kielo and Vesna, but sometimes there needed to be someone else.

But she was terrified. The last time she had seen someone, she had scuttled into the shadows and hid behind a rock until she passed. But she had to be brave now. She would meet someone and they would be nice and they would be friends! It would be nice, to have a friend.

The shattering sound is what got her ears to perk and she looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. She eventually pinpointed it as a cat striding out from the ruins of a crystal, tall and regal. Her first instinct, of course, was to flee, but she steadied herself and her paws worked nervously against the ground. Would they think her weird or annoying? Or would they try and eat her? Or maybe would they be really fun! There was only one way to find out.

She got a little closer, approaching from the side and staying behind boulders and such to keep herself hidden. She wasn't doing a very good job at being stealthy. Her white scales stuck out like a sore thumb, but she, of course, barely noticed. Once she had gotten close enough, she stopped and froze. She couldn't go out there! Meeting someone new? Maybe she should go back to her family...

@Reign

For the first time ever, Reign took a deep breath. The air was full of fresh, crisp scents, and he took it all in. So, this was his home now, was it? He supposed it would do. It wasn't too cold, nor was it too hot.

Rounded ears twitched, picking up on a sound. He turned his head, spotting something white standing out starkly. It was alive, and it was sentient, something told him. Narrowing his eyes, he called out calmly, "I say, what are you doing?"

@Lyra

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

She didn't realize that she could be noticed until the cat turned around and spoke right towards her. She squeaked and scuttled back, diving behind a boulder. Her heart was thumping out of control and every single instinct was screaming at her to run. Run! But she couldn't help but be intrigued. They didn't seem too terrible. Besides, they were brand new, right?

Bashfully, she peeped out from behind the rock, her white head almost glowing against the dark gray and brown stone, ice eyes wide. The other one was very pretty with a golden spotted coat and a glimmering yellow gem against their forehead. They became aware of the pink gem situated at their chest and they felt a little self-conscious. They weren't as pretty as them.

She struggled to find her voice for a moment, but when she did, it was small and almost a whisper. "H-hello..." She didn't manage anything else, too afraid to say anything else.

@Reign

Reign observed as the white thing leaped back behind a rock, seeming rather alarmed. Had he done something wrong? That vocalization that she had made had made it seem so, but yet all he had done was greet her.

He took a deep breath, taking in all the scents as he waited for her to act. And, before long, a brilliant white head peered out from her hiding spot. She was definitely different, with fur that stood out starkly, white like nothing he had seen before.

She returned his greeting, although he had to strain his ears to hear her. However, he responded as easily as though she had been speaking right before him. "Well met. I am Reign; worry not, I shall not hurt you."

@Lyra

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

Lyra was dizzy with fear. She never interacted with anyone besides her family so meeting someone else was just absolutely terrifying. Her ears were pulled back and her eyes wide, trynig to fight against her flight instinct, the words that whoever this was going through her ears in a fractured manor. But what she did take away from this new speech was the word "hurt" and, although it took a moment to understand what it meant, it sent another shiver of fear down her body.

They were going to hurt her! She crouched down, whining softly, and backing away slowly. She wondered if she had inherited her mother's venom. Probably not, she had never really noticed any kind of organ in her body that made venom. Not that she would. She didn't notice that she had a liver or skeleton, so why not a venom-making organ?

Her eyes flitted around, looking for some kind of escape route. She couldn't stick around if they were going to hurt her. Her family weren't fighters. She wouldn't survive very long.

@Reign

Fear was rank in the air. The Cheetah's ears twitched as he dropped his jaw enough to taste the air. The fear, certainly, wasn't his, so it must have been the white beast's.

He cocked his head when she crouched down and whined, wondering what had gotten into her. He had done nothing, yet she seemed terrified. And that didn't feel right - he didn't wish her to be scared of him.

So, slowly, making sure not to make any sudden movements, he lowered himself to lay on his stomach. The cub stretched out his forelegs, resting his head on them, attempting to appear as harmless as he could. "You don't need to fret, I will do you no harm."

@Lyra

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

It seemed that the cheetah's nonthreatening pose got through to Lyra and her ears perked up for just a second, just in time to heat the word 'harm' again, but this time backed up by the word 'no'. So...did they not want to harm her and eat her? Then again, they were about the same size, maybe she was a little bigger. Besides, it was barely hatched! Shouldn't she be the stronger, braver one?

She sat down as well, still a little tense, but daring to raise her head a little, her ears swiveled towards them. "U-um...I'm sorry...I'm not used to talking to strangers..." Her long, feathered tail curled up beside her bashfully and she pawed at the ground with her avian claws. Her nose was twitching as she smelled the scent of the cheetah, remembering this certain scent. Their scent was calm and relaxed, very much like her own scent, heavy with fear. She tried to push down that for the same calmness and it worked a little bit, trying to get as comfortable as them. But still, she couldn't stop that continuous sense of nervousness.

@Reign

From the day we arrive on the planetAnd blinking, step into the sun

To the Cheetah's relief, his attempts seemed to work. The hybid seemed to relax, the fear in the air seeming to fade away. The tenseness in her posture seemed to lessen, although it didn't disappear, and she sat down.

He allowed himself to sit up, careful not to move too quickly, for fear of startling her. His ears perked up to face her, listening as she spoke, and his own, fluffy tail tapped in a calm fashion. "It's no worry," he said. "I can't exactly say that I'm used to it, either, now can I?" he chuckled.

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

There's more to see than can ever be seenMore to do than can ever be done

@Lyra

Lyra watched the cheetah rise a little bit and her eyes watched him, stretched wide. She really wished she wasn't so scared, but there were too many instincts in her screaming that she was in a dangerous situation, despite her knowing that she wasn't. She had to calm down. How was he making it look so easy?

Winter and Vesna and Kielo were the only ones she ever talked to, but they were family. She knew them, she trusted them. The blood she carried ran in them as well. She shared gem and life with them. But this cat? She had only just met them. She didn't know what to do.

The chuckle he let out seemed to make it just a little easier to relax. He was staying light and calm and it started to finally seep into her. Her tail gave a soft thump against the ground as she tried to copy his amusement, but it was a sorry attempt. "Y-yeah, but how are you so calm? Aren't you scared?"

@Reign