When I'm at the locker and my shirt's buttoned wrongYou tell me to fix itCause you're my best friend

He woke up.

Automatically, he knew he was happy. Why wouldn't he be? Even though he was being pressed in on all sides, that didn't bother him. If he was there, there was a reason. This was his home now.

His tail wagged - well, tried to. It thumped ineffectively against the sides of his Chrysalis, making a muffled sound. And then, the Chrysalis seemed to explode.

The pup flopped out, tumbling head over tail down a small incline. He remained where he fell, sprawled out on his side, tongue lolling from his mouth in a grin, tail thumping happily on the ground.

This was his home now.

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

Best friends tell you you got boogers on your noseBest friends don't laugh when you wear your grandpa's clothesYou're my best friend!

Cuan walked across Polaris, admiring the beauty of the cave, and felt overjoyed. She had been wandering the caves for many cycles- oh, and is that a newly born gembound? She saw the puppy, which seemed to be full of life. Cuan laughed a hoarse laugh, crackly and tired. "Hello small one," She laughed, "What is your name?" @Max

When I'm at the locker and my shirt's buttoned wrongYou tell me to fix itCause you're my best friend

The pup's oversized ears perked up, hearing a tired laugh. He rolled over, baring his stomach, before finishing his roll and clambering to paws that were way too large for a pup his size.

His tail wagged, wagged so hard he swayed from side to side, threatening to topple over. He gave her a great, happy, doggy grin, and woofed, "I'm Max! I have only just met you, but I love you."

@Cuanakrys

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

Best friends tell you you got boogers on your noseBest friends don't laugh when you wear your grandpa's clothesYou're my best friend!

Cuan melted. She rarely heard someone say that they loved her. "I love you too Max!" she quite enjoyed this experience. She watched Max sway, worrying he might topple. She didn't say anything, as she didn't want to scare her tiny new friend, but she did offer a story "Would you like to hear a story?" She hoped he would accept. Telling a story would be nice right about now. He looked like he could appreciate it, right? @Max

When I'm at the locker and my shirt's buttoned wrongYou tell me to fix itCause you're my best friend

Max woofed excitedly, laughing "Yay, you love me! I am loved!" his tail wagged harder, so that he had to dance on his paws to keep from toppling over. Oh, this was fun! He liked wagging his tail! It showed that he was happy, and hopefully it would make others happy.

He perked up when he was offered a story, and bounced excitedly. "Boy oh boy! Yes, I would love to hear a story!"

@Cuanakrys

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

Best friends tell you you got boogers on your noseBest friends don't laugh when you wear your grandpa's clothesYou're my best friend!

Cuan smiled. "Yes!! You are very loved!! And I love telling stories!! Here's one about a bat and a cat!" She loved telling stories, and she was delighted someone wanted to hear one!! Max looked quite happy, so Cuanakrys told her story. "Once upon a time, there was a very lonely gembound, a bat with a crystal jutting out of his head, a blue one. The bat flew around the caves, looking for some friends." Her voice seemed to perk up with every word, like she was getting happier and energetic with her story. "Then, one cycle, the bat flew into something big and hairy! It was a cat gembound! But the cat wasn't mean, and did not hurt the bat! The bat, Klepko, introduced himself to the cat, known as Jepaw." You could tell she was coming up with names on the spot, and she hoped Max would still enjoy the story even with the amount of improv. "Jepaw became good friends with Klepko, and they had lots of fun! They ate together, explored together, and had some adventures, too! But one day Klepko disappeared!!" She said it dramatically, like she expected Max to gasp at this sudden turn. "Jepaw searched over the caves, finally leading her to the spire! Klepko had a wing puncture!! Jepaw saw Klepko, and picked him up. Jepaw fixed Klepko's wing with her animal magic. Then they lived together for as long as time can tell! The end!" At the end of the story, she took a couple long breaths and turned to Max. "Did you like the story?" @Max

Max wagged his tail and lolled his tongue, wriggling as he listened to Cuan begin her story. He danced from paw to paw, whining pleadingly.

"A bat! A bat and a cat! Boy, I love cats!" he didn't know how, but he did. He loved to bark at them and chase them and play with them and boy oh boy! that sounded so fun. He needed to find a cat to play with!

He went still, well, at least, still for him, as he listened to her story, eyes growing wider and wider.

"What was it?" he gasped when she said that the bat flew into something. Then he bounced excitedly, boofing as he laughed, "Jepaw and Klepko! I like them both very much, I do! Boy oh boy, do I like them! I want to meet them some day, and ask them for more stories, I do!" The fact that these two never actually existed seemde to fly, no, soar miles above his head.

"Oh no!" he gasped when she paused, leaning forward and whining pitifully in this throat. Of course, he wasn't quite steady, and this resulted on him falling forward onto his chest, legs going between his legs. It didn't seem to bother him much, as he simply looked up at her and asked "What happened!"

Then, she said its wing had a hole in it. "Oh no! That is not good!" however, to his relief, she said that Klepko was healed. His tail began to wag, and he squirmed on the ground, not caring that his fur was getting absolutely filthy. "Oh boy, oh boy! I liked that story, I liked it a lot! You are a very good story teller you are!"

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

@Cuanakrys

Best friends tell you you got boogers on your noseBest friends don't laugh when you wear your grandpa's clothesYou're my best friend!

Cuan smiled. She enjoyed Max's commentary, and she had enjoyed the compliment. She spun around in a circle and bowed her head. "Thank you Max! It's good you enjoyed the story!!" She turned around and perked her ears, like she had heard something, but then turned back to Max, as though it was nothing important. She never seemed to notice or care that the gembound she was talking to was dirty or noisy of any sort, possibly due to her self-absorption. She then asked Max a question. "Do you want to go find some food?" her stomach growled, as though she where answering her own question. @Max

Max barked excitedly, scrambling to his feet. He was filthy, but that was good! Dirt felt good and smelled good and tasted good, too! And he would know, as some got into his mouth when he fell. He had also tasted some. Dirt was very tasty.

He wagged his tail, dancing from paw to paw. "Yes oh yes! I would love to find some food! I am very hungry, my stomach is being very grumbly!"

@Cuanakrys

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

Best friends tell you you got boogers on your noseBest friends don't laugh when you wear your grandpa's clothesYou're my best friend!

Cuan made a motion to Max. "Come on! I'm going to try and find something good." Cuan walked around for a while, looking very confused. She finally found something that looked good. Some kind of mushroom cluster, that she had heard was edible. She tried some. It tasted a little bitter, and it had not been her favorite meal, but she nodded and turned to Max. "I found some mushrooms! They're a little bitter though." @Max