The wind was unending here, but he found a place away from all that wind. He was separated from the beautiful canid for now, taking in everything he could. He would return to them soon, but there was something luring him to this part of the room. A shard of his chrysalis was held firmly between his baby teeth, jutting out from his lips. His first treasure. His birth. He didnt have a safe place to keep his treasures, so thankfully he only had one. Besides, it wasnt like it was in the way there. He got farther down into the gorge, disappearing from sight if odyssey were to look for him. He wanted to find more things to study, but he didnt know why. He placed his right forepaw down then, and something happened. Little mushrooms sprouted from where he stepped and he lifted his paw to look. How strange? He leaned down to sniff the fungus, unsure. He placed his shard down then, now wishing he had something to hold it in, and reached for the tiny mushroom with his teeth, gently plucking it from the ground. It certainly didnt taste like food, so he dropped it near the shard and decided to keep it. Maybe odyssey would know what it was and why it sprouted beneath his paw, but he wasmt ready to go back yet. How was he to carry two treasures anyway? table code © rasta 2015

@macawi @odyssey in case mads wants to throw ody in

Mm. This place was awfully windy, Macawi noted to herself as she trotted along, humming a tune. With winter having come to the Cave, the wind was biting now, but she didn’t mind. Things like cold didn’t bother the little coyote much. She’d learned to ignore most things that might bother others. What was the point in fretting? It’s not like she could control the wind. Her headdress and leather bag bounced along and made jingly sounds, and Tangakwunu – her Bonded Rainbow Spinner – fluttered along the cave above her, chirping merrily. Then Macawi stopped and sniffed the air. Oh! There was another Gembound here. But… where were they…?

The coyote cleared her throat. “Ahem! Hello, wherever you are! Macawi smells you!” She looked around the room, then down into the gorge. “Are you down there?” she asked. “Macawi will come and see.” She padded up to the edge and peered down into the depths. There was a dark-ish shape at the bottom. It moved. “Oh, hello there! Maacwi has found you! What are you doing down there?” Without waiting for a reply, she began to make the trek down to the creature. She was impatient like that, not one to wait for others. It was her way.

"Speech"

Words: 207
@Othello

Although he was protected from the wind, he still couldn't hear the coyote calling out to him. He stared down at the mushroom he created as it laid next to the shard he collected from his birth stone. Wondering if he could do it again, he tilted his head and placed his paw down again, trying to summon whatever had made the last mushroom sprout. To his surprise, another one grew! This one was much larger than the last, with a stout base and a wide top. He didn't expect it to look any different from the last, as that was a blueprint he now understood. Either way, now he was up to three collections, but he didn't find this second mushroom to be of much value other than it's size. Maybe Odyssey would like a mushroom gift since he didn't need it. He hadn't heard the voice before, but when it was finally audible, his head jerked up. He hadn't expected anyone to find him here besides Odyssey, and that definitely wasn't Odyssey's voice. This was a feminine voice, so it peeked his interest. Turning, he wasn't surprised to see that she was a canid like he and odyssey. Illiad wasn't canid, so he assumed mostly canid's ran throughout this cave, although he hadn't been outside of it to explore it much yet. She asked what he was doing down here, so he looked down towards his collection of treasures, specifically the larger mushroom. He still didn't have anything to say, so he turned his unending stare towards her once more, wondering what she would have to say. It was then he noticed the satchel attached to her, and his interest was peeked even more. Did that carry things? It sure looked like it carried things! He wondered where she got it... or if she made it. He wanted one! Then he wouldn't have to figure out how to carry all of this. His stare was on her pack now, studying it. Maybe he could make one himself? speech table code © rasta 2015

@macawi

Macawi grinned easily as the maned wolf stared at her without speaking. She was crazy and weird, so others could be crazy and weird if they wanted to be. She didn’t mind. This included awkward silent stares at her. Like that one Gembound she’d met in Orion… Come to think of it, he’d never told her his name. Huh. Well, he was a cat of some kind, and a silent one at that, so… that was enough of a descriptor for her. This little one… he certainly wasn’t a cat. Actually, he reminded her of… herself, in an odd way. Long legs, skinny form… But he was definitely not a Coyote. Nope, nope, nope.

Oh, well now he was staring at her bag. “Does This One like Macawi’s satchel?” she asked, out of politeness, or something. You know, whatever sane Gembounds did. Her eyes caught the two mushrooms and the sparkly thing by his paws. Hmm… “Was This One treasure-hunting, like Macawi? Coyote is always looking for new things to add to her bag. She tells fortunes, you see. Perhaps you would like your fortune read?” Without waiting for a response, she lowered her body, letting her headdress slip off, as well as the strap of her bag.

“All you must do is reach a paw into the bag without looking and pull out the object that feels right. It costs you nothing; it just a hobby of Coyote’s. Go on, if you want.” She nudged the front of the bag towards the little Gembound, smiling encouragingly.

"Speech"

@Othello -- here's how this works. You can either make Othello refuse having his fortune read (which is fine) or if you want him to pick something from the bag, you can. It can be any number of things, whatever you wanna choose: a leaf, a plant, a mushroom, a rock, a twig, a bone, a small piece of jewelry (nothing too fancy), a feather... w/e you want as long as it's reasonable. Then Macawi will look at it and give Othello some kind of vague "fortune" based on whatever it is.
Words: 257

Oh. What was going on here?

Odyssey had plunged to the ground below the ledges where they typically lurked now in search of Othello. They had requested privacy, for time spent with their Mother was precious time indeed, and Odyssey couldn't allow themselves to be interrupted by the pointed canine. They knew all too well that their Mother would be displeased; Mother had already given Odyssey strict regulations by which they had to follow if they wished to keep this Othello like the pet they treated him as, and Odyssey knew that if they deviated in any small form, Mother would send the maned wolf away from Monoceros. Or worse, she would take his life and present him to Odyssey as no more than the jagged crown of gems as punishment for parting from her expectations. Odyssey coveted their pet like a child adored a stolen puppy, and as such they would do everything it took to protect him from their Mother's wrath.

But now that their lesson was over, Odyssey was bored. Illiad was elsewhere and Odyssey's limbs were aching for play, tail wagging furiously as they dropped to the floor of Monoceros in search of the silvery canine, but to no avail. They spent the next few minutes glossing over the ridges carved into the wall above, searching, and then wandering to the gorge. It was there, at its edge, that Odyssey had spotted him deep among its twisting routes. But he wasn't alone. The instant they spotted the other dog, Odyssey's heart had quaked with jealousy, and Odyssey's paws took them down the descent to where the coyote was now inviting him to rummage around the mysterious sac hanging from her side.

"Who are you?" Odyssey blurted, quickening their pace until they had reached the pair. The red hybrid's bright eyes remained fixed on the coyote while their body sidled up next to Othello, their shoulder pressed possessively against their pet's while their head elevated to gaze with cold and jealous accusation at the stranger. "And what's going on? What are you doing in Monoceros?" They added, narrowing their eyes slightly. Such a stranger so boldly making nice with their pet, this was an act of treason, it was an outrageous overstepping of boundaries - this trespasser - how dare they!

@Othello

The coyote was definitely interesting to othello, and he couldn't help but continue to stare at her satchel, working out in his mind how he could create it. He wasn't sure how, but he'd find a way. Maybe he would have to trade for one. Othello wondered where she got it from or if she had made it, but she spoke then, breaking his thoughts even though it was about the satchel itself. He stared at her, blankly, as if he hadn't heard a word she said... but he did. She continued to speak and Othello then looked down to his small amount of collections. So this macawi collected things too? He began to look towards her when something caught his eye - Odyssey approaching from their side. His head tilted, noticing the resemblance they and the coyote had, then wondering where they had been, but he was then distracted by Macawi once more when she spoke of fortunes. Othello hadn't a clue what she meant, but she invited othello into her satchel and into it he would go, regardless of Odyssey pressing into his side and questioning the coyote. Othello didn't understand what boundaries were, much less that she too was an intruder into Merrymen territory. He buried his head into the satchel, caring little that she mention to use a paw, and grabbed something with his teeth. Pulling it out, he held a turquoise feather and showed it to the coyote. He turned to look at Odyssey then, his tail wagging as he waited almost impatiently to have his fortune told, whatever that was. speech table code © rasta 2015

@macawi @odyssey

Ooo! People could be so rude sometimes! And rudeness was just… Well, it was something the coyote had a hard time dealing with, in all honesty. She could feel her eyes burn bright red as she gazed upon the intruding creature who had interrupted her fortune-telling. Meanwhile, the other canine was burying his face into her bag. That was fine… but this… this rude Gembound! She knew she could come off as rude sometimes, but if anyone ever called her out on it (which they hadn’t yet done), she would definitely apologize! It wasn’t like she was purposefully crazy. One couldn’t help the way one was born, could they? No! No they couldn’t! So! … Well, maybe this… dog-thing couldn’t help being rude then?

Macawi let out a huff and allowed her Magic to flow back into the gem in her cheek, deciding to give this rude being the benefit of the doubt. “Macawi is Macawi,” the coyote said patiently, accented voice lilting slightly. “As for what she is doing here, This One will just have to be patient and see!” She turned to look at the one whose fortune was to be told, and saw that he had pulled out a turquoise-colored feather. “Aha!” she said, tail wagging excitedly. “What a splendid thing you have found, my friend! How pretty!”

She sat and thought about the object for a while. “Hmm… Well, a feather represents the element of Air, which is light, as opposed to heavy. The color… a blue-green, also light, not dark. You pulled out this feather perhaps because the Universe is telling you not to let your problems bother you so much. Although…” Macawi studied the maned wolf for a moment, and smiled. “This One does not seem to be affected by anything to begin with.” She let out a laugh. “Perhaps instead the feather is telling you to maintain your current attitude. Be laid-back, light and airy. Yes?”

Fortune-telling done, she leaned towards the feather. “May Coyote Bauble this for you? You may keep it, as a gift.” She glanced at the annoying other canid. “And you — would you like your fortune told?”

"Speech"

Words: 365
@Othello

While Odyssey stood with their shoulder pressed against Othello's own, they had noticed that the maned wolf had shoved their head into the satchel and furrowed their brow, on the fringe of commanding Othello to retreat and take their head out of the bag because they looked stupid. Instead, it was the coyote that had broken in to answer the flurry of questions Odyssey had thrown her in the first place, and as Odyssey looked up, they had noticed the vivid red colour of her eyes. The fearsome hue had caused a protective surge to lash out from Odyssey's own conniving heart, a sensation that Illiad would be able to feel from where ever the molefox was, and the desire to push the coyote away only grew. "What's a Macawi?" They asked obnoxiously, frowning at the canine.

It must have been her name, but Odyssey wanted to know what kind of a response it would yield. Othello had withdrawn his head, between his teeth a teal feather - its gentle oceanic colour shone brilliantly in the pale light of Monoceros, and seeing their pet's excitement had caused Odyssey's agitation to waver, a wag of their tail slowly mirroring Othello's own. Odyssey shoved their nose in close to sniff curiously at the feather, but the coyote, tricky as she was, seemed to have an answer for that too.

A fortune, or some kind of a reading, which Odyssey regarded with great skepticism. Then again, as she went on to describe the feather and how it related to Othello, the hybrid looked from the maned wolf to the feather to the coyote and found themselves begrudgingly intrigued. When she asked if they would like their own fortune to be told, Odyssey blurted out with an enthused, "Yes!" and stared wide-eyed at the coyote. They had a feeling that they'd have to reach into the bag, but Odyssey didn't want to make themselves look like a fool. They instead waited patiently for instruction, eyes glued with determination to the coyote.

@Othello

Othello couldn't help but ignore Odyssey at this moment, his snide question normally would've caused him to roll his beady, red eyes. But instead, his attention stayed focused on the coyote as she unleashed his fortune. His head tilting, listening as close as a child for story time. At first, the fortune didn't make much sense. He thought about it for a moment, but then the canine carried on, giving him a slightly better response. Laidback, light, and airy? Othello didn't quite know what it meant, but he went with it anyway and nodded furiously when she asked if he wanted it baubled, whatever that meant. He just wanted that feather, really.

Her question was turned to Odyssey when she asked about fortunes again and Othello turned towards his friend, pleading for him to say yes so he can steal whatever he chose later when he wasn't looking. Odyssey confirmed and a real smile pricked at the corners of his mouth, his tail wagging hoping that Odyssey would pick something worthy of being stolen. His shoulder pressed in to the shoulder of his friend, wanting to be close when he picked it but knowing the hybrid would pull away shortly to take his pick. Othello sure was a nosey thing, guaranteeing that he'd be sneaking a peak when Odyssey would pick his trinket from her back.

@macawi sorry it took so long!

Macawi grinned in amusement as she placed her paw gently atop the teal feather, until it glowed with Light. She then looked up at the annoying red creature who seemed… protective over the other. “A Macawi is me, and I am Macawi. It is Coyote’s name.” It was an odd thing when the tiny canid spoke in first-person. Such an act did not come naturally to her, yet she found herself slipping every once in a while. Probably from exposure to those who spoke ‘normally.’ However, this time was no slip of the tongue. She had spoken in first-person on purpose, to make a point. It seemed not everyone in Origin Cave understood her speech patterns.

The Coyote gently pushed the glowing feather back to Othello, then turned to Odyssey. “So. You watched what happened before. As you can probably guess, you must now reach a paw into the bag and pull out an object.” She chuckled. “Your friend here was… a little excited and shoved their whole head into the bag. Normally, it must only be a paw, to keep Gembounds from looking. Feel around in the bag as long as you like and pull out the object that feels right.” Macawi gently nudged the bag towards the red fox-like creature, and waited.

She had a feeling they might outright refuse, because they seemed the type to be grumpy about everything, but she decided to reserve judgment, for now.rk right away. If you let me try again, I might be able to Light the feather for you.”

"Speech"

Words: 251
@Othello