It hadn't been long since his hatching, but it left him exhausted from the effort. Walking was a drudgery at this rate, but the fledgling found himself waddling through the cavern on trembling feet. A couple of times he had tripped from the effort before he had to push himself back to his feet before the child was energized with excitement to keep waddling at a quick pace to explore where he so happened to be. There was something about the piles of bones that made him remain in the area of his birth for awhile longer. There was nothing holding him back completely from giving into his lust for exploration, but a little fledgling with a bond for his hatchmate included made him partially reluctant nonetheless. He could have to ask his friend if he ever wanted to explore together this strange world. Isaiah was clueless on where to go first. He had no destination, nor goal in mind given his mind did not even know those terms yet. He just wandered. He eventually wandered towards the western side of his birthplace only to stare dumbly at the lines etched into the wall. He squinted, relying on the illumination of the meager light sources left in the area. He wondered if he could find a better light source, but his mind reached out towards the light in hopes to make the area bright enough in hopes he could grasp the concept better. His gem had a will of its own, but against his thigh, it willed the photons to try to light up the area only to... um, what? The light that remained in the cave had its hue transformed into different shades of colors, and he was pretty darn confused at this predicament. "Isaiah speaking text"

@Niru

### words

loner

@Isaiah

“

i'd been to canis only once before. back when i was such a young cub, a newborn almost. having just met cancer. and in canis, i'd met usui and mau. two cats which were differing in stark opposites. so it was with a lovely surprise that i saw something quite different on this new trek to canis, something bird like. the appearance of the bird and the eye color of the small creature filed away in quick assimilation, remembering vaguely of the only time i'd ever encountered a bird. azazel, was his name, i think. but then, it was hard to remember what type of bird azazel was. but the eyes on the little bird seemed familiar. i approached slowly, announcing my presence with a small clearing of my throat. but before i could say much, instantly he summoned his magic and different colors lit up the wall he'd been next to. i ceased movement to observe this for the moment, grinning slightly as i enjoyed the site. i wondered, what magic did this little love bird have? i could't help but want to squeeze him. but i'd refrain, wouln't want to scare the poor morsel away.

"wow, little bird, that was lovely! say, what kind of magic do you have?"

i asked in a soft, moderate tone. jaded lenses surveyed the little bird from where i stood, in a diagonal angle behind the small creature.

"spoken words"

”

notes

Pellentesque sed dolor tellus. Quisque pharetra erat sit amet lacus accumsan mollis a eu justo. Sed eget nisl at neque dapibus faucibus vel non nibh. Nullam pulvinar, eros sed rutrum aliquet, elit arcu fringilla eros, nec viverra est est in turpis.

♥︎

Isaiah did not know how to react properly to the lack of light that would make the walls visible to the naked eye. he squawked angrily as he flailed his developing wings before he stopped, hearing a sound from behind him. Barely. He was too busy throwing a tantrum about his failure over the colorful lights, but the sight that had snuck up him in the dark-like environment. He fell over in the process as he tried to process this fairly large, hairy thing with some green thing on his chest. "Waaah?" he questioned, blinking before he got back to his feet, his wings folding by his sides. The hairy thing wasn't as fierce-some as the canine giant he had encountered earlier, but it was still large nonetheless. It was smiling though, and the bird frowned, wondering how he should respond as it spoke up. It was in a soft volume, and it wasn't something that would have blown the fledgling away. "Magic?" Isaiah asked, confused. He tilted his head; his golden eyes upon the beast. "What that?" "Isaiah speaking text"

### words

loner

@Isaiah

“

oh, this baby was exactly just that. a baby. without a guide, a mentor. i guess i was among the luckiest, as i'd gotten cancer as a mentor and father. did this little thing need a mentor? a father figure? i couldn't be a father, i was too young! but maybe i could be his brother. if he needed me. who knows, maybe he doesn't need me at all. i observed his little confused face as i continued to grin ever slightly. he didn't even know about his magic yet? i'll inform him!

"magic is what's inside every gembound, little bird. we are all gembounds. i have magic too, mine's different than yours though. here, let me see if i can show you!"

and now, i summoned my own magic, hoping to perform the vibrations to see if he could feel them, but alas, after a few minutes of focusing, nothing came from it. i frowned, looking at the bird with a disheartened expression.

"sorry, i guess i didn't focus hard enough. see, you have to focus on your gem and summon your magic. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. but as you use it more, practice more, you'll have more success rates! exciting, isn't it?

my shoulders sank in a disappointed slump. my frown turned into a defeated grimace.

"sorry i couldn't show you. maybe i'll try again soon."

i said just to reassure myself more so than the little bird.

"spoken words"

”

notes

of course he'd fail D<

♥︎

The beast was kind enough to explain things while the fledgling still half-expected to be gobbled up within a matter of seconds. He looked up to listen although his attention span was short as he looked elsewhere, caught up in the surprise of the lights before he returned his gaze upon the beast. He heard the words -- about gembounds, and magic. It was all new to him, and he steadily grew excited. He had to tell Dustin about this! Eventually, there would be a warning about an example. Isaiah braced himself for kind of magic that might have been fierce against a little one like him. He blinked as he waited, and waited. Nothing exciting had occurred as he stared blankly for a moment until he looked around him to see if he was missing something. "Where magic?" The focused look left the beast's face as it looked disappointed before mentioning that it did not happen at all. He could still hear the words that rumbled from the giant as he tried to grasp the concept of magic, and being a gembound. Ah, that might explain the weird stone glued to his thigh? It itched shortly after he had supposedly tapped into his magic, but he didn't understand that entirely. He honestly just thought of the stone as a nuisance. "I think it would be strong. Very strong! So fierce." he said, trying to comfort the beast. There was something that left a negative impact on him; that he saw this creature sad, and he wanted him happy instead. Being nice would help, right? He didn't feel all that confident in trying to cheer up such a giant beast, but he tried to put in the effort although it might not yield the results he desired. "Isaiah speaking text"

### words

loner

@Isaiah

“

what a charming little lad, wasn't he? i could tell he tried to comfort me in my failing of displaying my own magic to the baby, so i would appease him. i plastered a smile to my face, partially disclosing noxious bridgework as i lowered my head toward the smaller creature.

"don't you worry, it happens. we all experience failure. but the key is to see the failure as a lesson, rather than an actual failure."

i nodded as if agreeing with myself. i erected once again, cleared my throat and redirected my chin toward the ceiling of the cave.

"let us see if i can try this one more time."

i took a deep breath, summoning my magic once again, hoping the vibrations would do just that, vibrate. and soon, the area around me began to fill with a soft humming noise, distorting the vision as the entire atmosphere seemed to be shimmering in a nauseating motion. i kept the motion up for some time before i released it, breathing with a semi-labored lag as i looked back down at the baby bird, with a more genuine smile.

"did you feel that?"

i asked him, blinking a few times to regulate my vision.

"spoken words"

”

notes

of course he'd fail D<

♥︎

The voices had carried, quiet but earnest, up the hill to the pile of bones. From her place of rest nearby she woke, blinking open bleary eyes and yawning widely. The voices continued.

Giggle listened, stretching spotted legs, tilting her head. They weren't voices she recognized.

Quiet, careful, she stood and padded down the slope to peer at the western walls, and the rocky areas beyond. She often hunted the rats that darted in and out among the stone here. But now there was a different thing alive here. At first she thought it was Aza'zel, but it was smaller, darker--younger? Or simply a different kind of bird? She was unsure, but she could see the cat nearby, a--a lion, one of the smelly cats she instinctively disliked. They weren't fighting--they were only talking, despite the shimmer of magic that came from the cat. She wouldn't interfere, then. She'd observe, for now.

So the hyena simply sat, watching and listening from a distance--visible, should they look her way, but motionlessly unobtrusive in the shadow of the cave.

________________

Roll the bones.

Isaiah found himself grinning when the beast smiled back at him for his shaky attempt at reassurance. He lightly pecked the bridge of the man's nose before falling back to hear out words of wisdom. He tilted his head, continuing to comprehend what was being spoken. "Failure a lesson? Would it be a mean one?" he couldn't help, but bring up. If failure happened during something dangerous, would that be bad? The bird did not like danger, but perhaps it would evade a newborn for the time being. He was spared so far by the many "gembounds" that roamed the area. The beast towered over the fledgling with no problems, and Isaiah was forced to crane his neck in an uncomfortable position to see him from the spot he stood. He braced himself for the impact, and well -- He felt the vibrations beneath his feet as he squawked in sheer surprise, falling over in the process before lifting himself back up again. He had to find his legs again after the ground stopped shaking long enough for him to stand on tranquil flooring once more. Wide-eyed, the little bird bounced up and down as he struggled to find the words to describe this groundbreaking discovery. "This is... um, is...." he frowned, trying to form the right words as his wings fluttered anxiously with gesturing the way a bird might with a fellow fowl. "very, very, very nice?" He still shook with excitement once he found his footing. He wobbled closer towards the beast, missing the view of another in the background. "Isaiah speaking text"

ooc: sorry for the delay :c college work

### words

loner

@Isaiah @giggle

“

i instantly felt explicit guilt for the small creature. here i thought the vibrations were mild, meager little motions and yet it surprised the bird so much, he'd been knocked over and flailing about. i frowned, my eyes wide with remorse.

"oh i'm so sorry little bird! i did not mean to startle or harm."

before i could speak with the little bird much more, the scent of another crept across my nose. something i'd never smelt before, something i've never encountered. perhaps just a creature passing by, or maybe someone coming closer to us, as i did not detect this stench before. i crouched low toward the bird, laying flat upon my stomach as my eyes scoured our surroundings. in this time and place, one couldn't be too careful. being too wary was not something i recognized.

"hush now, do you smell that? take a moment, detect the different stench filling the area."

this was now a lesson of survival. though, i highly doubted a bird could get caught, i just wanted to make sure the little bird knew when to stop and smell, listen and watch, hoping that deep down i was teaching the lad something. something he might remember forever. or was that my pride swelling? either way, it took me a moment to spot a silhouette that i still did not recognize. jaded irises glided up toward the shadowed creature, but i did not call to it. i waited for the new gembound to tell me if he could or could not detect the scent first.

"spoken words"

”

notes

no notes

♥︎

Giggle sat silent and motionless, watching the two speak, young and clumsy; then she watched the lion catch her scent. The lion looked older, but the other seemed--to her eyes--to be a total newborn. Either way, she'd never seen either one of them before.

She was somehow pleased when the lion flattened, his voice dropping, his eyes flicking about in wariness. Pleased to see that he was not an utter fool, oblivious to his surroundings.

Maybe this one has the wits to survive.

She stood, deciding that it was best to make herself seen, rather than wait for them to spot her and perhaps panic. Clearing her throat to announce her presence, and perhaps her intentions of conversation rather than hostility, she padded into the light.

"Hello, young ones," she greeted them, her gaze impassive, her voice raspy and masculine. "Are you new here? ...New, altogether? Do you have--names... yet?"

She drew closer, but not too close to spook them, and slowly sat. Sometimes young Gembound bounced all over her, licking; sometimes they were afraid, and other times curious but polite. Once or twice, she'd even been attacked. She wondered what type these would be.

________________

Roll the bones.

@Isaiah