Kaimana went from terrors both immediate and existential to being a nice, big ol' loaf munching on some greens. See now this? This was some candy for the soul. Kaimana took a far less shaky breath as the memory faded. Curiosity battled against exhaustion for another crumb. In the end, just the mildest bit of additional curiosity related to the beautiful color and greater magic of the next stone tipped the scales and Kaimana ended up going for it.

Nose the the Alexandrite, eyes closed...

Kaimana's mind fell away. In place of Fornax, she saw instead a meadow: broad, vast, stretching out to a distant, stony horizon. A herd of four horses was cantering easily downhill, and she herself was among them--in this vision she could not see her own body, so there was no telling what sort of horse she looked like. The others, too, were varied: one heavy, feather-legged and head held high; another lanky and swift, a third light, small, and graceful.

The taste of grass was sweet on her tongue, and the birdsong filled her contented ears.

The vision faded.

There was no telling whether this was the stone's most recent owner; but what a pleasant dream it'd been.

@Kaimana

And finally horses, four. Riding peacefully... oh yes, this was absolutely combatting the previous two memories. This was so serene... So it seemed that silence came in two forms in the past. One, dangerous, and the other, tranquil. Balance. Now that was satisfying. Which horse it was, Kaimana hadn't a clue.

Kaimana would go out and collect two more keepsakes to remember the kinder memories in the more magical stones. For the gaur bull, a bundle of grass. For the horses, four hard, flat stones (to represent four sets of cloven hooves). Now that everything was in order, Kaimana was going to take a nap.

Except...

'One more stone...' NOOOOO let her SLEEEEEEEP-- 'ONE MORE STONE!' UUUUGH FINE.

Kaimana picked a stone at random from the weaker magic'd selection. Perhaps this peach-like one. She grumbled and stumbled over to it, placed her nose against its surface, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. 'And after this, that is IT!'

And suddenly her eyes felt strained. No, not just her eyes, but her whole mind! "Ack!" She backed away. 'See? Enough is enough. Go to SLEEP.' Magic was strange, and Kaimana didn't understand it. But maybe it understood her. Her and her need for a nap.

Kaimana decided, at last, that to make up for her troubles, she could search for some soft feathers and plants to freshen up her nest with. Today she had endured pains both past- and self-induced! And for that, she desired compensation!! So she would go out and look.

She wouldn't find the best material, nor would she find the most. So-so. Stagnation and neutrality, as to maintain the balance she had already achieved. That was fine.

Stuffing them into her nest and curling up tight, Kaimana would finally, finally allow herself to rest for the day.

- exit via Moderately Awesome Nap -