Fog rolled in, curling around the structures eons old, signalling the coming of a pressure changes swirling over the stars above. Each light dripped down in collected water, drizzling lightly, cold despite the flame that flared through Orion so long ago.

Hard metal gathered at a hard angle in the steps of the Forum. Or- rather, a gem, gleaming with the streaks of wet pooling down at its base and the chips gathered around it.

Its occupant stirred. This... This was a new feeling. The drumming had awoken it- him. Him. He was... Him. He had been adrift in the sea of his own waters, swathed by the deep black of his opaque walls. But, now- now these walls were tight, tight enough to bring in the sound of the thumps of rain growing deeper and deeper in volume and drumming against the thinning confines of the chrysalis.

Perhaps the rain had breathed life into him, or perhaps it was simply time. No matter, his body twisted again in a struggle to feel more of this sensation, to reach out and grab at it with his being. His... Something, all of him, reached and strained against his confines, pressing to feel and experience and taste the sounds that drummed through his muscles.

The sudden lack of pressure generated his first emotion of surprise, an orange claw cracking into the world as his leg shot through the wall. Walls- they were supposed to be permanent. But now his was draining, the fluids flowing out as he struggled to pull his foot back, to put things as they were.

Did he search too hard? Was he not meant to feel the drums, the movement of the air around him? No. No, he had to, and he pressed harder, air filling in the gap he had left and expanding his lungs in deep, greedy breaths. He was alive. The word stuck out- Alive. Living. Breathing and existing in the world, and shards of gem fell away as he felt more and more of the life swirling inside of him.

He could get his whole leg out- then his tail, then the rest of him soon followed as he grasped at the edge of the step, new muscles taking hold in spasms to drive him into more of the oxygen he so desired.

Bleary eyes took in light for the first time, and he gasped at what had returned. Even something so bleak looked so bright for the previously blind, and his downy feathers were dripping now with not the fluids of his egg but the water flowing from the heavens.

He lifted his head up, eyes blinking hard at the rain dropping into them. He gasped once more. He was drunk on air and on the taste of rain on his tongue, letting it slide down in his first drink. This- no, this did not come from heaven. This was heaven.

The bliss was not short-lived, but not even gem eating bugs would be perturbed by the rain for long.

His chrysalis was not thin from the rain. While it was resilient to the bugs, it was a miracle he broke through before they did, despite the few now gathering at the hole and slithering their way in through the slime, grinding at the shining quartz that held the magic of his previous shell.

He paid them no mind. Why would he know to notice them? Dropping his head down, he fluffed up his baby feathers, the rain picking up slightly and providing a shower for his new body. The first feeling of his was extraordinary. The second, though, up his leg...

He startled, squawking and fluttering in a leap and kicked his leg to get the bug away, subsequently launching himself off the step he once held purchase on. Needles of talons dug into his own before ripping off in the tumble. His body, meanwhile, didn't fare too well- he could feel himself bouncing, scrambling to grab onto more rock, finding his place a few steps down from where he came from.

His chest heaved with pants. What was that? That was wrong! The crawling wasn't like rain, was crawling up, was digging in and searching-

He had to leave. Instinct drove him to flap his wings, but wet downy feathers could do nothing in the dark clouds rumbling over Orion. He could do the next best thing, though- He could run. Or, rather- carefully inch himself down to the bottom of the pit he could now see, frantic eyes turning this way and that and cataloging every one of the possible assailants that could come for him. What were they? Why were they? Why did they want to touch him? Panic had set in fully now as he made to the center of the Forum.

He had to make himself room, and he stamped at any bugs coming closer, a wild look in his eyes as more turned their attention to the rock on him.

He was stalling. For what, he didn't know. For a savior? For a lifeline to come down with the water? To find his way out, to find the confidence to flee?

He wouldn't last forever.

They were inching closer, growing braver, and- well. They were nearly over half his size, especially when they reared up and showed their glistening mandibles-

He choked. A shrill voice rang out- was it his? "Get away!" Magic curled around him, over his outstretched feathers, through his raised foot, and everything stopped.

If he could blink in confusion, he could. There wasn't much time for him to think about what had happened, time for him to process the pause that had enveloped over him. Why couldn't he move? Why weren't they moving? He strained his muscles, unable to find connection, stuck staring into the fangs of the monster in front of him.

He was going to die-

No! When the spell broke, he scrambled back, curling defensively over himself as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened. Time had stopped. For- everyone? For him? He could think, though, and... His heart felt like it could beat out of his sternum.

His pauses, his little hops back, were matched in tandem with the bugs coming closer, drawn by the tantalizing source of the magic that just burst through him.

Astéri
seek what sets your soul on fire

Astèri had never been this far away from Attikias before; nor had he ever been in a cave other than the green one they lived in.

Well, he remembers the glowing cave he hatched in—and the fire that surrounded him, that pretty, pretty fire—but the cave of plants was pretty firmly home. After all, the glow-cave had only a bunch of shiny rocks; his home had Attikias and the hut and all the neat trails leading out from it that were fun to explore and come home to Attikias with a neat flower in his mouth or a mouse or a rabbit or something!

He was still working on that last bit, though. Hunting was hard.

But this time, when he was out exploring, instead of the plants and nature and bugs and pollen and stuff that he usually found, (and got all over him—he still didn’t see why keeping his pelt free of that stuff was such a big deal! There were more important things to do—) he found a big tunnel, and promptly went into it without hesitation.

He remembers this tunnel a little, actually! Attikias had taken him down this tunnel with all the string lights and trails and carvings and stuff when he had brought him home; he stares at the neat pictures for a bit, before deeming them not as good as Attik’s carvings. He’s really good at art stuff—Astèri wonders if he can get that good himself someday?

Before his train of thought can wind into another inquiry, the little leopard’s attention is caught by the sight of an entrance he hasn’t gone through before.

It’s pretty, he thinks—not as pretty as fire, which is the prettiest, but the pillars surrounding it are pretty neat, with the cool engravings and white furnishings. The smell coming from it is damp, though, very damp, and Astéri wrinkles his nose. He doesn’t like it when his fur’s all wet… it’s weird and icky and always drives him to curl up next to the firepit in an attempt to get his fur dry as fast as possible.

In fact, he’s about to turn around when he hears a distant, shrill cry—’Get away!’

His heart jumps. He has to help whoever’s in there, right? Even though it’s damp and icky and he thinks it’s raining inside that cave; it’s what Attik would want, right?

That last thought settles it—Astéri sets off in a brisk sprint, all but charging into the cave, running as fast as he can towards the noise. He has to help!

The first thing he registers is—yep, it’s raining. The feeling of raindrops hitting his pelt and soaking into his fur make him wince, but—and this is the second thing he notices while he runs, little kitty tongue already sticking out as he pants with exertion, he’s never run this fast before!—the sight of a little bird running away from a huge swarm of bugs makes him try to run faster.

There’s so many of them! What is he going to do, what is he—

—fire. That’s the answer; fire will scare away the bugs, right?

He charges towards the bugs, shouting out a loud “Hey! Get away from him!”

Then, he takes a big breath and calls on his fire, getting ready to try to protect the small bird.

The heat gathers in his mouth unexpectedly fast, quickly growing hot, too hot for Astéri to handle, and he lets it out in a big huff, seeing the air ripple in front of him as he lets the firey magic flow. This is shortly followed by a hiss as he registers a burn in his mouth—ow, that hurt!—but he can’t help but feel satisfied as he lets the magic go.

Take that, nasty bugs!

@Elroy

Even with how thoughtless they were moving, fear shot through every feather of his body as he watched the bugs advance. His breath was quickening. His heart was pounding in his ears. He couldn't hear- not when they were crawling over him, his entire repertoire of senses sharply focused directly on it.

He couldn't get his body to move.

The cry snapped him out of his trance, wide eyes looking up to the cat that seemed to appear out of nowhere. What- Who? He backpedaled just enough before heat blasts in front of him, the invisible wave of energy taking over the bugs, a few in the direct shot curling up and writhing before turning on their attackers- or, simply, not turning at all.

They have no mind for this. They simply hunger- and they have found a new source.

Elroy whipped his head between the newcomer and the bugs before jumping forward. He ran- and tumbled- to fall under the cat's legs. An 'oof' escaped his beak as he slammed his body to the floor of the forum, wings spread out as if he could grip the rock in pure anxiety- as much as he didn't understand what was going on, he'd take advantage of this situation!

His breath hitched as he let out another shrill squeak, his head pointing to the bugs now crawling slowly towards Astéri. "Bad! Bad thing!"

Well, he's still a kid- and he certainly doesn't like whatever the heck they are.

@Astéri

Astéri
seek what sets your soul on fire

There are so many of the bugs—a crawling carpet composed of their green, iridescent shells, so many that the few he blasts back are quickly replaced with more of the things. The few he’d burnt are quickly replaced by more as they simply crawl over the bodies of their fellows.

The righteousness that was burning through Astéri’s veins just a few moments before is quickly replaced by fear. There’s—there’s just so many of them! They’re coming closer—they’re coming towards him!

The little bird seems to share this fear, too, bolting from the army of wallcrawlers and crashing under his feet. And this—this makes his protectiveness flare higher as he stares the bugs down and realizes just how in danger the two of them are.

“Stay back!” Astéri calls, voice childish and frightened, pulling on his fire once more, inhaling as he pulls the flame in his core upwards and readies another blast of heat. He doesn’t want this bird to get hurt!

That sense of protectiveness, that need to keep the bird safe—it pools in his chest and fuels his flame and when he lets go of the superheated air in his mouth it ripples in the air and burns. There’s a crackling noise as a veritable flamethrower of magic warps and destroys the bugs’ shells, shoving the swarm back for now.

He glares down at the bugs and allows himself a tiny bit of pride. Nobody’s gonna hurt this bird on his watch.

But—even though he’s pushed them back a lot, they’re still coming. There are so, so many of them and Astéri thinks that even if he spent cycles and cycles and cycles in this place, he wouldn’t be able to kill them all.

He has to run. No—he remembers the bird hiding under him and cranes his neck to look down at him, trying to get a better look at him—they need to get out of here.

He’s small—he can ride on his back, right? They don’t have much time to do anything else. “Climb on me!” he says urgently. “I’m gonna get you out of here.”

He’s gonna make sure they’re both safe, no matter what.

@Elroy

His feathers flared at the heat, his eyes widening as he looked from between the legs. He didn’t have the time to contemplate the magic behind it. Instead, his mind was only set on quivering, breathing heavily as they came closer and closer.

If he weren’t in danger, he’d be on his wings and knees to thank the cub. For now, though, he could only stare breathlessly into his savior’s face with his wings hugging his sides. Climb? Climb? Unable to give quick thought to it, Elroy flew into panic and stepped aside to hop on top of Asteri, scrambling while trying not to claw him up too badly. ”Okay-” He huffed, wings flaring down to hold on with his wrists.

He adjusted his weight, before- ”I’m on! Go!” It was a shrill demand, one fueled by the fear the bugs brought to his mind.

@Astéri