Tucked away in one of the winding tunnels of Eridanus's walls, a chrysalis was starting to stir.

The little animal inside had been tucked away here for a long while -- consciousness had started to come in brief lapses very recently, although she herself had no actual sense of the passage of time inside her moonstone prison. But now, she was waking up -- and the stone around her was suffocating in the most literal sense. The red panda -- less a bear and more a weasel, really -- tried to claw at the walls of her little egg.

While not exactly what had been intended for her breaking out of the chrysalis, the pressure of little claws caused it to crack, and then crumble as the red panda found herself teetering awkwardly on the precipice of a small 'cliff' (it was only about four feet off the ground, but still -- scary, for someone so small). Her fur puffed up and she very nearly cried -- only an instinctual sense that crying might draw something bigger to eat her kept her little terror from being overwhelming.


@madhukar

If there was anything Madhukar was glad about, it was the chance to be back in this place.

She'd already visited the buzzy bugs. They'd buzzed. Danced in the air, wiggled and waggled their technicolor rumps around. She loved just... watching them. Seeing where they'd go, what they'd do. She was still questioning the mystery of their hives, their homes. Dangling on trees, constantly filled with life streaming in and out. They really loved those flowers. The kitten only wished she could figure out how to grow some elsewhere for them; she'd been meaning to investigate that for the longest time.

'Later,' she'd assured herself. Later when she felt more whole again. More complete. When she'd rebuilt her strength.

The sound of something cracking caught the kitten's attention. Naturally, she drifted over to investigate, encroaching like a billowing cloud into the space of what she didn't know was a newborn hatchling. She'd see it quickly though; the moonstone on the small ledge was hard to miss. And even harder to miss, now that the whole scene was in sight, was the tiny creature standing on the end of that ledge.

Madhukar padded over to the ledge and stared up at the creature on it. Madhukar often never had good experiences with hatchlings. They came out saying the dumbest crap she'd ever heard, and in the case of 'Twisted', ended up causing Madhukar great and undeserved embarrassment.

So this time, Madhukar was just gonna sit in front of this ledge and see what this new one had to say. And while she waited, she'd mentally trace a path from her left shoulder, across her chest, to her right shoulder. Hopefully the static would follow it.

@Kitty

Kitty watched the other animal approach, and her fur started to prickle. Little claws scrabbled at the edges of the stone, but she didn't have any room to back up. Warily, she eyed a nearby tree -- the bark of it wasn't as close as she'd have liked, and she didn't know if she could trust her little claws to hang on.

Warily, she looked down at Madhukar. Her ears laid flat and she reared up on her back paws, flailing little claws in the air and hissing down at Mad. Making herself bigger ought to work... right? She couldn't maintain the stance for long, though, and fell back down onto the rock, little claws gripping tightly. Her tail dripped over the edge, and she made an alarmed little noise, pulling it back up.

Not very intimidating, on the whole. But still; maybe Madhukar would be cowed?


@madhukar

The instant reaction of the little creature wasn't verbal at all, surprisingly. It was all body language. It came across as... fearful. Backed into a corner and frightened. Madhukar narrowed her eyes for a moment, trying to process whether or not to believe this display. "Noth' t' say?" It wasn't intended to sound like a sassy or smug remark, it was a genuine question. Did the creature just not want to speak or understand? Had this one come out different than say, Twisted, or that other creature hatched in Eridanus who asked her to 'apologize' for something stupid.

Madhukar's tail flicked as the silence continued. She'd let that silence grow until the little one felt the need to break it. If it even could. Madhukar was certain it could. All of them could talk, couldn't they? Right?! Regardless, she didn't mind the quiet. It was a lovely change in pace from the turbulence both inside her mind and out of it that had plagued her for the past few days.

The feline still tried to keep the static up, attempting to direct it from her shoulder to her ear on the opposite side. The display of power might keep the little one from doing or saying anything particularly unsavory. Unfortunately, it was weaker this time, but still there. It didn't really matter to Madhukar how strong it was, as long as it was still going, still having some kind of social effect.

@Kitty

The red panda was cornered, and Madhukar didn't seem to be backing off. With a deep breath, she decided to take a risk -- willing her little legs and tiny claws to work, she ran towards the edge and tried to push her way off, aiming to catch her claws in the tree nearby. Predictably, she was rather short -- unable to get enough springiness in her legs, since they weren't exactly made for this -- and she tumbled the few feet to the ground. Which, coincidentally, placed her right next to the very creature she was trying to avoid.

Kitty's eyes darted around as she tried to back away from Madhukar, baring her teeth. No, no, no -- it wasn't supposed to go like this! Panic was seizing the little creature, but she didn't exactly have much in the way of defenses. Not unless Madhukar got close, or she was brave enough to turn her back to the feline to scurry up the tree. Neither was a pleasant option.

It didn't help that Kitty only barely understood language, and she was certainly too afraid to try and speak.


@madhukar

Still, the creature said nothing. Wow. That was pretty strange. Instead of just... talking like normal, it opted to try to book it? Well okay, that was fine -- or it would've been if the creature hadn't completely blown it. Now it was on the floor beside Madhukar, and all the kitten could do was look down at it with an expression of mild bewilderment. Maybe there was even a little amusement in those summer green eyes as well.

The creature backed up, seeming absolutely terrified. Madhukar felt... a twinge of sympathy for that, actually. She knew how it felt. Her gaze softened, and her tail curled politely around her paws. Madhukar wasn't going to take change her sitting position. She wanted to help this little one. She'd had to deal with the unkindness and the carelessness of others when she was newly hatched, and Madhukar didn't want to inflict the same pain onto this creature. "Don' wanna hur' you." Ah, but would words do?

Some kind of calming mechanism kicked in, and Madhukar began to purr. Was it for herself, or for the little one? Not even she could tell. Maybe the noise would be helpful. It was the nicest noise Madhukar could make. The kitten opted to forego making another static jump. She was done trying to scare the little thing.

@Kitty

Kitty paused when Madhukar adjusted herself and stopped sparking. Still watching her closely, wary and tense in every limb with her claws unsheathed, but waiting. To see what Madhukar would do. Her words were uncertain in Kitty's mind, like hearing someone say something in your third language, and she didn't move an inch until Madhukar started purring.

It was a nice sound, she noted. One that didn't strike her as being particularly similar to a growl, and naturally put her at ease just a little bit. Cautiously, she reached out with her own magic, trying to make something equally harmless and comforting. A guide or friend, in the same way Madhukar's purring was a natural instinct meant to put her at ease. Nothing rose up, but Kitty wasn't actively fleeing anymore, and her claws slowly started to sheathe themselves.


@madhukar

Incapable of speech, it seemed. Maybe it was better that way. In fact, Madhukar liked it better that way. Speech wasn't exactly her forte either. The hatchling seemed to relax somewhat upon hearing her purr. Madhukar would keep it up then. Slowly, very slowly, Madhukar decided to shift down into a crouching loaf position. She would try to maintain eye contact with the hatchling, keeping her eyes relaxed and her expression calm. Hopefully through body language, she could convey to the hatchling that she didn't intend to be a threat, even if she had the potential to be.

'Your potential is your own,' Emuh's words echoed in her mind. It was almost funny how she was trying to be gentle with this newborn creature. She'd been given access to new and greater power. Her own power, electricity, steadily being morphed and molded by her will, could be deadly with a single strike. She'd learned just how terrible and unstoppable it could be, long before she'd learned its helpful, less deadly properties. This lightning, this immense force, was always within her, carried in the stone that made her physically less capable than most. It made her something of a monster, pint-sized as she was.

From a bird's eye view, it appeared to be just a not yet full-grown cat trying to keep a baby calm. But with the eyes of someone who could see the magic within others, this scene was more like watching a dragon try to be gentle with a mouse. If one catastrophic emotion got in the way, somehow took over, either Madhukar or the hatchling in front of her could wind up dead.

Why had the world given her that responsibility? And what... what torment would it give this little one before her? It was a sad thought, that brought forth a melancholy haze over Madhukar's even expression. Hopefully the thought wouldn't stay for long.

@Kitty

Kitty relaxed a little bit after Madhukar had settled down into position, and then slowly moved to mimic the position. Her tail wrapped around her whole body and she took stock of who -- or what -- she was looking at. They were kind of similar in shape, although not really in color. Then, Kitty took notice of the shadow falling over Madhukar's face, and she tried again.

This time, her attempt at magic was less to mimic a peace offering and more of an attempt at comfort. A little blue orb of light popped up near Kitty's ear, bobbing lazily around in a circle and then towards Madhukar. The red panda watched it and felt a little proud of herself and the glow it emitted before finally saying her first word, as an explanation towards its identity -- "Wisp," said the creature, voice soft and with an edge of caution remaining.


@madhukar

It appeared as though, despite being rendered speechless either by incapability or by fear, this creature could read basic emotions. Madhukar appreciated that. Hers weren't hard to read, often they were expressed in everything she did. In her magic, in her butchered attempt at words, in her posture and her face. Her anger was as frequent as it was genuine. The only thing she didn't really like others seeing were those positive emotions that she was trying to deny to herself. Feeling endeared towards someone. Trusting someone. Being vulnerable and open with those feelings opened up a lot of potential for pain. And Madhukar was not one to easily put her faith in those chances.

"Wisp," she echoed back, failing to stifle a smile from crawling onto her maw. So it could speak, and it could do magic. Madhukar's purring seemed to increase, as if she were letting more of it out. This wasn't something she normally did, but it didn't feel bad to do it. Not this time, not in this situation. It seemed like this hatchling needed Madhukar's calmness as much as Madhukar did.

Since the creature was sharing magic, the feline figured she ought to try sharing as well. She'd been using her static to try and intimidate the child before, it was true, but she hadn't directly said that. Maybe she could spin it like it was something that just happened, and not something to be afraid of. That wouldn't be a complete lie. She couldn't always keep it from happening, and this spell was the least offensive one that she could possibly show.

Madhukar focused on her flank. She tried to generate a spark that would travel from her body to the ground. Zip! A perfect execution. "E-lec-tricity," she said.

@Kitty