A small chrysalis lay in the sands of Hydra, like a hidden jewel in the desert. It was made of sapphire, blue star sapphire to be specific. This was the beginning of life for this young gembound, Itri. And it may very well also be the end. Hydra was not a easy place to hatch in.

Itri lay inside of the chrysalis, warm and comfortable. But there was something that urged him to come out. No! He wanted to stay here! But with some reluctance, he pushed against the wall of the gemstone that kept him safe.

Crack! He put more force than was needed, and the chrysalis EXPLODED. Shards of gemstone went flying everywhere, embedding themselves into the sand. The small pangolin fell out into the hot sand, and stayed there. His eyes had caught the sight of another chrysalis.

@Heathen

Heathen

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Survival is awarded to the worthy

From the silence of the sands in Hydra, a pangolin burst forth from their shell; a chrysalis formed from blue star sapphire. One might prophesize that such a thing would be followed by silence as the newly birthed gembound looked around in shock before being devoured by whatever beast had heard their awakening... but that was not the case this time.

There was another chrysalis nearby, its gem obscured by the sand which had piled against its side. A gembound was coming to life within its stone walls, beginning to stretch and push against the barrier. But... it wasn't time yet. The leopard cub within relaxed again as the urge to wake drifted away, leaving the chrysalis still in the sands as silence fell again.

OOC Notes:

@Itri

Hydra was unremittingly hot, no matter the time of day. The sand-filled wind ate at all it blasted into, tousled fur and hide alike. It was a wonder these neonates hadn't been baked by the sweltering heat. They were fortunate that chrysalises provided a great deal of protection; but, no longer. It was time to be upended into this desolate waste.

As either of them slid out into the sand, the grains clung to their newly wet fur and scales. The clatter of gemstone against gemstone rang through the expanse. It cut through the wind in a clear note. Then, the earth began to gently shake.

The vibrations almost oscillated, churning in a gentle rhythm. They moved closer to the emerging Gembound for a while and—! A massive spray of sand at least ten feet high erupted from behind a nearby dune.

Something was coming, drawn to the hatchlings.

@Itri @Heathen

Itri waddled over to the other chrysalis, to see that there was something moving in there. He looked over at his own shattered chrysalis, and then back at this one. There was something in there. Like him? Pangolin? How did he know that word?

But suddenly he felt the heat start to bake his scales, and Itri looked around for some shade. But there was another problem. The started to shake, gently at first, but stronger, and suddenly sand erupted into the air! What was that? Being a pangolin, and quite a reasonable one at that, he tried curling into a ball. But inexperience over ruled instinct, and he was unable to do it. Darn.

@Heathen

Heathen

____________________________________________

Survival is awarded to the worthy

Aparently once silence was broken in Hydra, it would never be silent again.

Something was approaching, having been called towards the newly born gembound and the nearby chysalis by the sound of the pangolin's emerging. Whatever it was that rushed towards them created a cacophony that roused the leopard cub once more, drawing them out and out and... the young cat yowled as the hot sand hit their soft paw pads, clinging to their wet fur as the wind stung their eyes. They plowed right into the pangolin who had come to investigate, sending them flying over the creature and even closer to whatever beast had woken them...

Well, this was quite the wakeup call.

Heathen spun around, trying to get a glimpse of whatever was causing this chaos while searching for... something. Anything. As eager as they were to meet their fellow gembound, right now they just wanted to escape the heat and this rhythmic... ringing? Whatever it was, they just wanted to return to what used to be the safety of their chrysalis. This was certainly not the ideal place to experience one's first moments of life.

There!!! the leopard spotted it, the remnants of a large skull half-hidden in the sand a few feet away. Sand... why was there so much sand? Clinging to them, clinging to the pangolin, flying into their eyes... but now wasn't the time! They gave a quick nudge to the pangolin before bolting for the skull, hoping to hide inside it. Whether the pangolin noticed was none of their concern, but at least they had made the effort.

OOC Notes:

@Itri

Bolting across the sands might've been a harebrained scheme, were it not for the greater distraction of a newborn pangolin attempting to curl up. Their hunter didn't pursue the fleeing cub, but adjusted to make a beeline for Itri. It exploded through the side of a dune, gyrating teeth and pincers gnashing through empty air before it's fifteen feet of length vanished back into the sand.

Not the largest of sandworms, but still a terrifying problem grinding ever-closer.

The skull that Heathen darted into was indeed a sizeable one, belonging to a great horned beast of old—not that either of these younglings would know. It was good temporary shelter from the heat, but would provide little to no protection should the sandworm be drawn to the cub.

Either of them could flee or distract the monstrous predator. It was just a matter of how. It was drawn towards the noisiest of the two...

@Itri @Heathen

Itri watched the chrysalis hatch, revealing a leopard cub. What an unlikely pair, pangolin and leopard. He felt a nudge as Heathen darted away into the shelter of a skull. There certainly wasn't enough room in there for the both of them, and he was pretty sure that his scales were harder than the skull.

The huge sandworm exploded up through the dune, giving the pangolin a good idea of just how dangerous the thing was. Then it vanished back into the sand, and Itri knew that it was coming closer. The teeth looked strong enough the break through his shell, so that meant fighting back, escape, or distraction. Fighting back would be suicide, and he was too slow so that meant distracting it somehow.

Finding a rock, Itri attempts to chuck it as far away as he can. Which should hopefully give him enough time to... do something.

@Heathen

Heathen

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Survival is awarded to the worthy

Heathen reached the skull without an issue, surprising the cub as they peeked out to watch the commotion. It seemed that the pangolin had opted to stay put... and throw a stone. Of course there wasn't much else they could have done considering the situation, but it did leave Heathen heavily questioning what was running through their mind. The cub was sitting safe and sound under a skull in the sand as the worm rushed straight for the pangolin. But why?

Now that they had a little bit of time to think, Heathen paid more attention to the worm and watched to see the outcome of the stone throwing. Realistically they would be much easier to eat than something with a shell, so how was it choosing the target?

The cub felt a faint feeling of loss prick the back of their eyes and they blinked it away. Under any other circumstance, they were sure it would have been nice to have the company... but to potentially watch a life end before it had begun? They weren't sure they were happy to have hatched at all.

OOC Notes:

The sandworm's violent trail shot for the thrown stone. Plumes of desert sand shot up as it ground closer and closer to the surface, before lurching up about ten feet into the air. It twisted in a smooth arc to snap up the pebble. Teeth guttered through the stone.

... it was surprisingly sated by the single pebble.

As soon as it met the earth, the predator drilled its way back beneath the surface and—after a few cursory circles traced around either Gembound—ambled away.

@Itri and @Heathen are safe for now. They may exit, or continue this thread for up to in-character two hours before requiring another danger roll from a GM.

Heathen

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Survival is awarded to the worthy

Well, that was surprising.

The adrenaline that had previously flooded their body faded as the sand worm disappeared below the sand again, tunneling away from them after devouring a pebble. If such a giant monster could be dealt with in such a simple way, the had nothing to fear in the first place! In fact, the little cat trotted out of their hiding place with their head held high as if they had been the one to throw the pebble which satisfied the creature.

Now that there was nothing to distract them however, Heathen finally noticed the heat. It had already dried their previously wet fur, causing the sand to fly from it as a gust of dry wind swept by. The chrysalis had kept them safe from it, nourishing him and somehow keeping him hydrated in the dry environment. But now they would need to fend for themselves.

"This is life!" Heathen exclaimed, voice surprisingly steady for a gembound that had only hatched a few moments prior. They had no knowledge of how they knew the words, let alone what they truly meant... but the message sat somewhere deep in their heart for them to discover later. This is life. Danger meant to find the worthy in a sea of sardines. But Heathen? Heathen would be the shark who faced it and lived, jaws open wide to swallow the unworthy that stood in their way.

They smiled at the pangolin, a toothy grin that showed off their teeth. They were small now, but those teeth would eventually turn their cheerful grin into a cleverly disguised warning. "We are life." They added, meaning to state that they were alive, not life itself, but it would be some time before they fully grasped the concept of conversation. "We are chosen, so we live." They encouraged the pangolin that had hatched with them. Once more their words did not convey the full message, meant to be a battle cry for them both: "We were hatched here for a reason and we have lived because fate chose us as worthy ones, so let's live our lives to the fullest." They would become quite the talker if their big plans didn't lead them to an early death, that was for sure.

Caught up in their own egocentric thoughts, Heathen bounded away without waiting for a response, eager to fulfill their potential.

OOC Notes:

@Itri
Exit Heathen