everything moves in the eye of you

In another universe, there may have been lush grass and foothills stretching towards the infinite horizon. There may have been the whimsical song of birds in the newborn dawn, twittering and chirping announcing their presence. There may have been the soft groans of a mother and weak bleating of a child, so fresh that it kicked feebly against an amniotic sac — looking, for all the world, like a drowned rat rather than a wonder of creation.

But, this was not that universe.

In this universe, the child lounged alone, moonlit gaze traveling to and fro across the mycelia-infested carvings. No mother in sight, no herd to be seen. A simple, woolly little lamb boasting an already-impressive twist of obsidian horns. They would grow as he did.

But, there was no growing to be done yet (even though hunger gnawed at his gut.) Knowledge-seeking first, Throne peered up at the clustered markings, a strange disc-like shape giving forth life — or frightening it away? The crudeness of the shapes lent few answers. It appeared that, maybe, the creatures were running away in leaps and bounds and flights. Other creatures, much smaller than the sharp-toothed ones, knelt beneath the disc — shelter? Perhaps it was they that scared the monsters away, not the tall figure.

Throne ground his teeth against one another once, in thought, and murmured to himself, "away."

The stones around him shifted minutely, and the pebbles scattered.

@Kera

The lanky wolf stretched, and then stepped forward. Her nails clicked against the cave floor as she strode along the tunnel. It was easiest to start her patrols of the caves here, just outside Orion. She knew Orion a little too well, after all, and if something needed her attention elsewhere then it'd be better to be on alert here.

Everything seemed in order, however. Things were more likely to be going wrong in places like Polaris or Eridanus-- but she could never forget what'd happened to her with Blackberry, when she was young. When Blackberry tried to chase her out of tunnel N, and then when Kera attacked her in the same tunnel less than a cycle later.

She often wondered if Blackberry would have been different, if someone broke it up. She wondered if there were people out there who would still be alive, if someone had been patrolling like Kera did. Kera hadn't saved anyone yet, but she could never get rid of the nagging feeling that, one day, she might.

The clinking of stones slowed the wolf down to a halt. Her ears flicked back and forth as she turned to look at the lamb and his black horns. For a moment, Kera rumbled. And then she approached, lumbering on over to sit down next to him.

"Hey kid," she said. "Looking at the carvings?"

... granted, she had no fucking idea what they were, or what they meant. But she was fairly certain she could make something up if the lamb decided they wanted to know. In the meantime, however, Kera bent her head down. "Here," she said.

Her gemstone glittered fuschia against a pale coat, and out formed a banana between the two. It was pristine in every way-- the skin was firm and a perfect shade of luminous gold, glowing softly against the stone floor. The fruit inside was sweet, soft but not in any way mushy. With one large paw, Kera scooted it across to the lamb. "You can eat that if you're hungry-- but you need to bite past the skin."

@Throne

everything moves in the eye of you

Soon after his little blast, Throne's ears pricked with the sound of a scuffling. Paws, unlike hooves, moved quietly and purposefully. Had he a little more sense, the lamb would've gotten up to face whatever approached. Apparently senseless, the youngster simply stayed where he was, casting only a sidelong glance towards his new companion. "I am," he bleated, though it was obvious how fascinated he was - his gaze seemed to be torn away from them to peer at Kera's offering.

A strange, glowing fruit with a fairly attractive scent; a new object to inspect. It was about as long as his forelimb, yet curved. Throne had never seen something so bright. Grinding his teeth together in preparation, he craned his neck and dragged the banana towards himself. "Thank you," he remembered politely, before setting to work on the skin. It was bitter and made him wrinkle up his snout. Only a hint of the sweet fruit inside reached his tongue. Twisting his head downwards, the hide gave way. With a graceful nibble, he hummed. It was clearly delicious.

Once he finished chewing his first bite and swallowed it down to chew some more later, pale eyes set back up towards the carvings. "Do you know what they mean?" His tail flicked, thumping limply against the floor. "I believe it looks like monsters running away from the small creatures, underneath that disc. Protecting or - guarding?" Throne peered over at his sudden new companion with quite a bit of curiosity. He'd said his piece and eagerly awaited Kera's.

When nothing came promptly, the lamb stood up on gangly legs and simply trundled away.

;exit due to inactivity