Something stirred in the mists.

An odd figure in the distance, just out of view of one's eye. Jagged yet smooth, glimmering with a million-odd greens and blues, encrusted with mud and sticks and stones; it had grown from the earth. From its heart came a tell-tall warm glow. A chrysalis, charged furiously with magicka and pulsing softly in the fog. Whatever had festered within for a cycle and some, it hungered ravenously.

Its first thought, however primal, was of 'food,' a concept it had yet to properly discover and explore. Regardless, it was a good incentive. The creature stirred, circling itself within the mucous fluid of its home. Its long tail got in the way of its blurry eye, a soft murmur of frustration erupting unbidden. As its maw opened, its host spilled into its lungs. Water filled its lungs and suddenly it craved breath. Opening its mouth further presented a new opportunity: true sight, despite the blackening of the edges of its vision.

With a miraculous push, the creature spilled out into the marsh, lying sprawled with its neck fully extended atop some gnarled reeds. Membrane still clung to its minute spikes as it looked up blearily. Milky blue eye not serving too well, the neonate cracked open its mouth, peering into the brightness of the world with its crimson eye. It searched, single eye roving over the landscape. Looking for food.

It had yet to even take its first steps — or, rather, flops. Half of its tail still remained in its shell.

Not far from the monstrous creature that had emerged from its shell was another dark gem rested. At the sound of its sister emerging, it quivered and cracked as well. The thing within wasn't conscious, not yet, not until the sticky, thick, black fluid began to seep out the edges ominously. It dripped slowly from the shell as the black ooze uncovered from the creature's head...or perhaps it formed the creature's head. It was almost identical to the ooze that slowly drained around it. A single red eye on its head blinked open. And just a moment later, the gem fully cracked and deposited the creature on the ground.

It was difficult to tell where the ooze ended and the creature began as it struggled to get itself to move. But it was so sticky and so thick that it could barely move an inch. So it instead just sat there and looked around, its single eye blinking wildly as it took in this new world. So dark and dank and interesting! And there was a thing nearby too that caught the new child's interest as well.

With a horrifying, otherworldly noise coming from its throat, the black ooze-bird creature tried to flop forward towards this thing but found its movements awkward and still hindered by the fluid. It flapped its wings, scattering black liquid on the trees and bushes nearby, but it still couldn't move too well. So it had to be content, for now, just looking at the thing and trying to vocalize with the strange mouth it seemed to have.

Tags: @Phlegethon
Notes:

A cry emerged from the stark silence of the marsh, immediately drawing the creature's gaze toward it. As the sound's source flopped around uselessly, it gave an excited chirp and a low hum. Wobbling side to side, it managed to figure out a system of flopping toward the flailing creature, also spattering ooze and gunk all over the place and leaving a trail in its wake. But, for all intents and purposes, it wasn't enthralled by the idea of a friend, a sibling. That concept hadn't been learned yet.

It hungered.

Sloshing across puddles to get to its prey, the creature gave a rumbling sigh. Tucking its head in and out (it had just figured out it could do that and was rather enthralled by the concept) it waited to get the perfect angle, seemingly inspecting its sibling. But then, suddenly, its neck fully extended in the thing's direction, beak-mouth completely ajar and preparing to snatch up the strange, malformed hallowed caller.

@Sekith

Nox was grazing, ripping up bundles of coarse marsh-grass with her beak, when her skin rippled to the sound of a shrieking call, and close. She had not, recently, been back to the shallow lagoon where she'd left the gems, and as a chorus of odd sounds came after the cry, Nox began to fear that they'd been found.

She wasn't expecting anything as she swallowed her grass and set out towards it, weight causing her to sink deep into the muck. Soft rumbles reverberated, echoing and throbbing from deep within her chest- a sound of curiosity that quivered along her skin in waves of texture. Soon she was slithering down a low bank towards the pond, and as she parted her jaws, she saw two shapes in slick black hues. Nox raised her head slightly, widening her jaws... And let out a gurgle, sudden and startled, as the larger creature's head lurched forward towards another, more familiar shape.

She knew that creatures had to eat, of course, but a dull curiosity drove her forward. Her neck lengthened, head reaching the two smaller creatures long before her body, where she snuffled at them one after the other, opening her jaws to peer. She stared at the strange creatures, gaze flickering over them... and she stared especially long at the larger creature's eye. There was something familiar about it.

Finally she turned, and looked around for the smaller one, its shape bringing back a prickling, writhing texture of discomfort.

She didn't know what to think. Why were they here? Where had these creatures come from?

Upon moving a paw into the shallow pond, she stepped on something- it as like treading on shards of glass. The draconian being's claws curled about the things, whatever they were, and raised them up out of the muddy water. She curled her opened jaws towards them so that she could stare in wonder- the mud dripping off to reveal chrysalis shards of dull black and something that glistened- to her a dark, reddish purple. A familiar colour.

Nox dropped the chrysalis shards.

She rumbled a soft greeting, skin still writhing in bewilderment- she still hadn't quite put two and two together.

As the weird little creature continued to struggle forward through the mud, it looked up at its sibling but this concept was lost on them too. They at least recognized the black slime covering this other monster and assumed that they were alike in some way. Either that they were the same creature or perhaps all creatures hatched amid black ooze. Or maybe all creatures were covered in it naturally. Lack an f knowledge gave it no answers.

But, at least, there was something knocking around in its brain. The second the biggercreature lurched forward it snapped. It hurtled out of the way with as much speed as its small, slick body could go. It managed to evade the bite but the force of its thrust had taken up too much energy. It was too young and new for this.

It spotted the third thing, also covered in slime, and thought that, perhaps, this was another creature that wanted to eat it. But it's curiosity was not so easily sated. It flopped forward, having momentarily forgotten about the other baby and instead struggled towards the new one. It opened its mouth and gave a gurgling cry, its single red eye fixed intently on its target.

@Phlegethon @Nox

Unsure of if the smaller creature was safely trapped in its mouth, it threw its head backward and made swallowing motions. When nothing went down its throat, the slick beast cracked open its beak, staring in the direction of where its prey had escaped to. The little bird-like creature had begun to ignore it, struggling instead to a sudden, much larger presence. It, oddly enough, looked familiar. Similar to it and the slime-covered bird.

Mouth cracking wider, it stared at the larger creature in the full light. As it realized just how big the large thing was, its survival instinct kicked in viciously. Tucking its neck into its body, it began to shuffle backward and cower slightly. Let the big thing eat, and it may leave some scraps --- a primal, but well-seeded, thought. A wavering rumble escaped from its throat, mucous slime beginning to vibrate in similar fashion to the large thing.

@Nox

The third of them lay completely motionless in the muck, nearly stepped-on by Nox as she passed. It did not move when she moved by, and it did not move when Phlegethon hurtled by. It had been considering trying to eat the other two small ones, perhaps after one had already eaten the other, and both were tired. But it wasn't sure what this instinct was, or how, exactly, to hunt, or to even eat at all.

And whatever it all meant, the much larger creature was now here, making any attempt far too great a risk.

Silent, nearly (but not quite) completely submerged in the black and muddy water, Hunger lay and simply watched.

Nox lowered her neck down towards the smallest as it flopped towards her, opening her jaws wide in a motion that might send the more experienced creatures of the cave scattering to run and hide. She drew as close as she could, but only peered at it, her red-pupiled eye meeting the eye of the small bird-creature.

She stared for a while- what else could she do?

Finally, though, she roseback slightly and turned her attention on the larger child, which now shied away, its head half-buried in its own gelatinous flesh. She burbled quietly, a low, curious sound that rippled through the muck at her feet. She felt the child's own rumbles- so similar, and yet, so different, conjure strange, fleeting feelings alien to her.

Had she found her own kind at last.

Her throat contorted, changing the low sound onto a gurgling voice. She still hadn't noticed the child hiding somewhere in the murk.

"Can you... ssspeak?"

@Sekith

At first the little thing was a little bothered by the bigger creature opening its jaws. Was it going to eat them like the other big thing was? It let out a strange, soft chirp and stopped moving, until it spied the eye glistening within the dragon's throat. Its own eye stared, unblinking for a moment before it gained a little more confidence. It was just looking at them!

It started to move again, curiously inspecting the much larger creature, reaching forward to touch its slime-covered skin, but all it felt was, well, nothing. It simply merged with the slime covering their own dark hide and was as natural as could be.

It opened its jaws to try and verbalize this equal parts confusion and curiosity, noises warbling in their throat, which came out sounding like "Huuuuuuhhhhh?"

It tilted its head so that it was looking at the dragon-thing, tilting its head as it heard the voice. It didn't quite understand the concept of speech or communication, so it simply opened its mouth again and changed the sound to match that of the larger creature, as best it could. "Can you ssssspeeeeak?" It's voice was higher and more chipper then the dragon's and it was quite obvious that it was simply parroting.

Tags:
@Phlegethon
Notes:

It would not notice Hunger in the murky-black waters, as it simply lay in the water. Not even a sound nor vibration came from it.

The larger creature had fixed its red eye upon Phlegethon --- the name had suddenly manifested from some dark corner of its mind and it felt right --- with a similar rumbling that shook the mire and itself. It shuffled further back in the water, alien instinct unhelpful in this situation; it could not tell what those rumbles meant or what any sort of body language was supposed to be. Words, foreign like its own thoughts, flowed from the rumbling sounds of the larger creature.

Phlegethon further tucked its head into its neck, unsettled by the noise and its apparent lack of purpose. A warning grumble erupted along its slime, despite its generally submissive posture. Its glistening red eye turned toward the strange-bird, call shifting to something a little more fearful (woooooooomomomoooop!); Phlegethon held hope that the creature would escape and still offer a chance to be eaten. It looked tasty.

@Hunger