The air tastes sour here. It hangs around him with an oppressive warmth he does not like. The coarse hairs along his nape are prickling with uncertainty as he moves deeper through the immense room and towards the chambers. The plump body of @Morganite had served as a mount for an hour or so but when Teyouma gathered enough sense he disembarked from where he had pulled himself. He scrambled across the terrain now on all fours - or, all sixes, as he often utilized his extra limbs for climbing now.

He was this oddity among oddities; an adventitous old brain inside a new body, knowing yet unknowing, recognizing figments of the world while seeing every inch with fresh eyes. A conundrum. Yet he is unafraid. Whether it is because of the calm exuded by the hybrid who found him or simply his nature, the curious world intrigues him more than anything. He wants to know it - understand it - and maybe he will find answers here.

Morgan walked forward with a lazy gait, her head gently swaying, eyelashes brushing the tops of her cheeks as she blinked slowly, lost in thought. She inhaled softly and turned to the primate, looking him up and down, though not in judgement.

"Please excuse my curiosity, but... where did you come from?", she asked.

The hybrid lead the way through the terrain, towards a den where she and her family settled. She turned instead of entering the place, and lead him into a secluded alcove to the side.

The tempo of their strides created a dissonant beat, as their steps were hefty and purposeful while Teyouma's were anything but. He skittered like some kind of spider - true to his species, or whatever remained of that half of himself. He scuttled. It wasn't too unsettling until Morganite's steps diminished and then ceased altogether - they sought out a recess and promptly waited there while Teyouma caught up.

The question they posed wasn't too surprising. What was strange came next - because somehow, he knew the answer. "I come from where we all come from," he said. He had not intended to sound so oblique but there was no getting around that. One ominous statement followed the other. "I was born of the stone, and then.." but this thought he did not finish.

The pause was accompanied by a sensation in his chest which caused him to reach up and press his bird-like hands to his sternum. He tapped there, as if he were clearing his throat or dislodging a wedge of food stuck in his esophagus, and huffed a strained gasp.

He remembered being cut in two; a fist wrapped around his heart, energy flowing in a cascade as it grappled either side, and then ripped through the stone as if it were the pulp of over-ripe fruit -- ! "I think I.. died." Teyouma murmured, his voice lowering as a large measure of dread overcame him. He was in awe.

@Morganite

Morganite blinked again and sat down with a huff, "You did? I'm so sorry... that must have been awful."

She looked away, not really believing the primate. How could one die and be alive again? Unless a stone was revived, but then that would simply make a child.

"Are you hungry?", she asked, rolling over a piece of fruit from where she'd stashed it, wanting to hide some from her siblings in case they decided to steal her food.

"You can have this," she said, tucking her legs underneath herself and settling down with a soft sigh.

@Teyouma II

Maybe it was a fabrication of his freshly functioning brain, but Teyouma really believed he had died and come back - that he remembered it in visceral detail - but that made no sense. It was plausible that his brain was firing in new patterns after his long hibernation and maybe that was the cause of these flashes of feeling, these shadowy images made to manifest in hazy glimpses.

Regardless as to why this happened, here he was, alive and well. Awake. Lost too, in a way. He did not feel inclined to coerce the truth from Morganite or seek out news of changes within the cave system, mostly because he did not know how long he had been asleep. It could have been a single cycle - or it could have been eons.

"You can have this," the hybrid offered; they had discovered a chunk of fruit and had rolled it out of hiding. Teyouma's belly rumbled as soon as he saw the morsel and he grasped it in his talons, holding it close for a second before gasping, "Thank you." How kind this creature was!

"I can't remember the last time I ate," intoned the monkey as he began to nibble on the fruit. "What cycle is this..?" He asked as he munched, but it wasn't the real question he wanted to ask. In truth Teyouma wanted to know what he had missed but it didn't seem like a worthwhile thing to voice; he knew he'd missed a lot, somehow.

@Morganite

The badger creature shrugged and flopped on her side, front paws flat on the ground, "I don't know. I only know how many I've lived, but I'm not sure about what cycle it is in general. Someone else may have that answer, but not I."

She pulled over another fruit and took a bite, savoring the morsel.

"Have you thought that perhaps you are new?", she asked, looking over at the primate, "That only one has passed since your chrysalis formed? Since you found new life?"

She stretched out her front legs and took another bite, "I am... 6 cycles, I think. If you were curious. If not, then..."

She shrugged again.

@Teyouma II

That was a good point. For all his imaginings it was entirely possible - and plausible - that Teyouma was indeed new. It did not explain his capability of speech, nor how familiar some parts of the cave system felt to him, but perhaps some gembound were ingrained with more knowledge than others. It gave him something to consider and he fell silent with contemplation, chewing slowly on another bite of the fruit.

Morganite could not help him with his initial question but it gave him a point of reference. He gradually began to frown as he tried to remember the last time he had been awake; the hybrid's latest emergence had been quick and simple which made him think he'd done it before.

A single name popped in to the forefront of his mind: Bevy. No image came with it nor any assigned memory, which was confusing too. He knew enough to feel warmth and worry when that name took shape. As Morganite began to nibble on another piece of their own fruit Teyouma cleared his throat and asked, "Does the name Bevy mean... anything? I think they are my... mother."

His wings twitched as if of their own volition, a nagging feeling coursing through his body and nesting at the base of his neck where the dark spines lifted slightly, feeling an invisible chill. "I was sleeping a long time." He adds. His voice is soft and yet full of concern. "Hibernating. The caves... They were asleep with me for a long time. I think I am much older than you."

@Morganite

Morgan shook his head, "I haven't heard that name before. I think... I think perhaps you should talk to one of the masters- not Vargas, he's a jerk. Perhaps the deer master, or the ice phoenix. They'll know more than I."

She listened to him speak and nodded slowly, laying her head on her paws.

"That sounds... interesting," she said, "What do you mean by, 'the caves were asleep with you'? Did they speak to you or something?"

She lay on her side, listening and asking, wondering what Teyouma was on about. She herself had been in her chrysalis for a time, but Teyouma still looked adolescent. He must have hatched when she passed by.

@Teyouma II

It was a long shot that did not pan out, and while Teyouma was depressed by the denial he wasn't surprised. Depending on how long he had been asleep it was possible that his memory of Bevy was just as disjointed and erroneous as the rest of his thoughts. Maybe he had fabricated her somehow upon waking, when his brain had jolted back to a state of coherence. He listened as the other gembound spoke but watched his own wings, flexing them, full of wonder.

When Morganite asked their question Teyouma shook his head and scowled slightly, trying to make sense of it himself before replying. "No. Its just a.. feeling. I got very sleepy and... The feeling of magic you can sense in your own stone, that humming, it got very quiet. I didn't wake up until it got loud again." Loud, like it was trying to yell at him to wake up already. A jolt which made him feel whole again, connected. The monkey creature sighs and shakes his head frantically, rubbing his palm across his face as if to clear sleep away. "Its nonsense. I should try that though - finding a master."

But now the question was, where to start. "Do you know if a master lives in this room, or... Maybe I should track one down somewhere else. Hmm."

@Morganite

"Check Orion," she said, pointing off in the direction of the tunnel leading there, one she'd explored before, "The deer master lives there, and so do the Seven. If you find a white deer, that's Pride, the leader. I heard some of the Bonebound- the group that resides here- talk about them. If you ask Pride to help you find the master, then I'm sure he'll be glad to assist. He might help you find answers as well."

Morgan gave him an apologetic look, "I'm sorry I can't help you find the answers you're looking for. I can take you to Orion, if you'd like. I have to stay here because this is where my family lives, but I can escort you there if you wish."

She sat up and ate the rest of her fruit in a few bites, wondering if the other would accept or not.

@Teyouma II