Sorda had done a lot of exploring since they first hatched in Eridanus, but found themself frequently returning to Polaris. Part of it was how just being there seemed to give them more energy. The weird rock creatures fascinated them to no end, though they always gave the golems a wide berth, slightly creeped out by the strange creatures. There was of course the generator- the only thing powering the light in all of the caves. But what peaked their curiosity the most was The Spire- the magic around it was so powerful they could practically feel it, and they found themself wondering again and again what exactly these giant spikes of crystal could do.

Today was like many other days. They rather haphazardly hopped over to the base of the spire- sure, they could walk, but that was SO boring! Hopping around was so much more fun, in their opinion. The little honey buzzard chick craned their neck up to stare at the glowing crystals, feeling their downy feathers stand up as if from static electricity. The little chick looked even more like a puff-ball than usual.

"I wonder what these things do..." They wondered aloud, unaware of doing so, too absorbed in their own thoughts and ideas.

"Words Words."
Thoughts

tags: Open
notes: Chompin time babey

coding by wulf for template purposes

Within Polaris, not far from Sorda, a chrysalis stirred. It wasn't particularly beautiful or ugly. A lump of black quartz, round and sharp. And then, the egg twitched. A leg broke through the chrysalis, pale brown against it's otherwise black surface. A hind leg by the looks of it, with a cloven hoof. Strangely, the leg broke through on the surface of the gem. And then, from another angle altogether, another leg.

The chrysalis shattered unceremoniously, leaving a awkward looking hatching, with limbs and a neck too long for its body. They were tangled, as one might think of vines too intertwined. It blinked, eyes deep as abyss. Thoughts a mystery to any who might gaze upon such a neutral visage, devoid of reason and hosting the horrors of the cosmos. And then the creature let out a single bleat. Its first thoughts, if one could call it that, were food. They wanted food.

They wanted to search for food. They righted themselves, after a messy affair of forcing their legs beneath them. They would look for food. They did not know what food looked like, but their instincts filled them in. They would eat grass. Yes, yes they knew what grass looked like! Their instincts filled them in. It was green and long and stringy. Their search took them on a meandering route around their hatching area, though they were aware of their surroundings to a degree, they weren't quite there. They tripped over rocks and crystals throughout their search, which should've alerted her by their glow. They did not find grass, but they did find moss. It was green and stringy. It was close enough. They bent their neck down, and began to graze upon a rock.

El Poco Loco

A Little Bit Crazy

Was it possible to sneeze inside your Chrysalis?

Probably not, but the kitten found a way.

A burst of magic launched her up into the air, up through the roof of the Chrysalis, high enough to catch the eye of more than one Cave Deer, and then she hit the ground with an "Oomph!" and started to roll. She tumbled head over paws, tumbled and tumbled, between Tupu's legs and tumbled some more, finally coming to an abrupt stop next to Sorda, still dripping wet and covered in shards of her Chrysalis, sitting upright and staring up at the Spire, gasping reverently,

"Snacc!"

Deli

Polaris was chock full of interesting specimen for the canine to pick from, different rocks and feathers hidden in nooks and crannies to crush up and make different colored dyes. And that was what they were doing now - making a normal round through Polaris to restock what dyes they still needed, wandering a little closer to the Spire then usual.

The sound of voices, little ones, caught their ear and they turned, standing up straight. Those were...kids! By the Spire! Deli cocked their head, confused. What were they doing over there? Did they not know that crystal thing was supposed to be kinda dangerous? Oh, probably not, they were too small to understand things. Still, Deli wasn't one to just walk away without checking it out a little.

They raised an ear, intending on heightening their senses to hear what they were saying from here but to no avail. Ah, well, it looked interesting enough to pause for a moment. Grin spreading across their face and a small chuckle in their chest, they started forward, quietly, pausing a few meters behind the kids, just within hearing range. Eyes widened when they realized that one of the kids - no, maybe two - were trying to eat the Spire.

They clamped a paw over their muzzle to stop the burst of laughter from escaping their jaws. Deli crouched down, settling themselves in and watching with rapt attention. Oh, they had to see this one!

---

The little starling was, in addition to the other avian, was rather young. He may be too young to be flapping around everyone, but he wasn't young enough to get not get in trouble. So- he was looking for it. Eyes wide, he fluttered and hopped and pipped into view, beak squeaking as he looked at everything with those dark pupils.

He hadn't seen the Spire. The collection of rock mystified him- much more than bugs or plants dotted around the lands. Its glowing entranced him as he neared it. Floating rocks? Pools of goo? What more could an aspiring little child wish for?

There were others. Cracks of gem snapped his attention to the left and right with new children emerging, already ambling about on their business. Was there always this much activity? Wow. He neared one as it bent to lick at the rock, tittering with delight. "Hello!" His voice was squeaky, interested, before he took notice of the others.

So many! Oh so many, and he didn't even know where to start! And none of them were green, and buggy, and- Oh. Oh no, he just reminded himself of that, didn't he. His beak drew back in discomfort before he righted his brain, approaching more of the beings around him.

There was someone else constructed like him. They were... Farther away, yes, but closer to that rock. Elroy's interest peaked hard at whatever they were doing, and he scuttled on closer, peering up with intense wonder alongside them.

Then they spoke. Elroy- totally all-knowingly- peeped out a, "Silly, it glows!"

@Sorda

Sorda was jolted from their train of thought by the arrival of several other gembound. They were rather bewildered by the sudden appearance of the tiny, seemingly newly hatched kitten.

"Oh, Hello!" They turned to face the tiny black-and-white puffball, who seemed just as amazed by the Spire as they were.

"Snacc?" She must’ve been talking about the Spire. It was a take she hadn’t expected, but a rather intriguing idea nonetheless.

They turned around as they heard a voice behind them, just to see another creature who resembled themself.

"Of course it glows!" They replied indignantly. "But I bet It can do something else too!"

"Wait.." You could practically see the gears turn in their head, "If you ate part of the glowy rock, would you glow too?" It was an exciting idea. If they could glow, they could explore even the darkest parts of the caves!

Without any further prompting they chirped "I’m gonna find out!" and began to circle the spire, looking for a suitably edible chunk of the mysterious glowing blue crystal.


"Words Words."
Thoughts

tags: @Elroy @Un Poco Loco @Tupu @Deli
notes: I love these dumb kids

coding by wulf for template purposes

Un Poco Loco

A Little Bit Crazy

Another one showed up, a bird with pretty feathers, and she looked over for a moment, blinking with too wide eyes, before toppling onto her side and stretching out to try and swat it Elroy's wing.

"Snacc." she reiterated. It was tall, and colorful, so of course it was a snacc. Why else would it be there?

She looked over at Sorda, brow furrowing thoughtfully, before nodding, "I want to glow! Being bright is very good!" at least, she thought so. She'd never been bright before, so how would she know?

"Me too! It looks really tasty!" and with that, she jumped up and missed.

words | @Tupu

♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Tupu didnt seem to react as something bumped into their legs. It took a moment, but eventually its mind made the link. Something hit their back legs! They snaked their neck around back, staring at the small kitten. The kitten called something a snack. Tupu blinked. Snacc? She turned around, and saw the massive floating chunks of the spire, were they smarter, the majesty of it would've filled them with awe. But Tupus basal brain only thought of what Poco Loco had said. "Snacc." She bleated. She took a hobbling step towards the crystal. Then another thing near Tupu spoke. A tiny bird. Tupu hadn't noticed it, but it was there. She just resolved herself to accept it. It said hello, and Tupu tilted her head, doe eyes blinking. "Snacc?"

And yet more things were around Tupu, talking and such. Tupu wasn't quite sure what the tan bird was saying, it was too many words for her brain to process. But they could process one word, and that was eat. The black kitten seemed to agree with the sentiment, and Tupu wasn't one to go against the herd. Caveman brain say eat with tribe. Tupu grunted in agreement, and began looking for a bigger, tastier, bluer rock. She didn't quite see it, so much as tumble over it. She came to a rest, tail in the air and head against the rock.The crystal was warm against her head. She liked it. Food was supposed to be glowy. This is snacc. A good size to fit into her mouth. Without a word, Tupu snapped it up in her teeth, and brought it to her herd. "Snacc," She said, muffled beneath the crystal.

He blinked. Snack? What snack? Was the grass a snack? There was a bit of overstimulation in his little brain, and he sat promptly with his legs sticking straight out from under him, mind muddled with questions. Snack. Was this rock meant to be edible? "I dunno if it's good to eat... What if it doesn't come out?" Maybe they could eat a small peace, but even then it sounded... Uncomfortable. Food had to be grinded up into little chunks, and he couldn't just bite a rock in half!

But, he could grab a smaller piece. Staring up, he looked around him- anything he saw in the ground was much too large. In the sky- large, too, but-

High up. If only he could reach it...

His magic burst out of him as he strained, squinting, trying to drag down a smaller shard towards the main body while he spoke. "Rocks... Aren't meant for eating, but.. Maybe? I dunno. This rock looks special. I- I dunno if I'd wanna eat it, though..."

The children feel ill being around the magical crystal, and even more ill when they pick up pieces in their mouths.

The piece that Elroy brought down sparked and spit with magic, almost as if it refused to be taken from its place among the mass of its fellow glowing crystals; but it wiggled loose, obeying the command of Elroy's magic... for now.