Suspended in animation inside his green garnet chrysalis, Laurel felt the pull of the outside world. He felt it so strongly, it forced his little black eyes open for the first time. So tiny was this golden sparrow that his egg-shaped chrysalis lay nearly invisible in the grasses and ferns of Eridanus. And these same grasses and ferns, trees and flowers, vines and mosses, were what was now pulling Laurel out into the world. The feeling of slow, deliberate movement to reach outward and upward pushed him against his slowly-breaking garnet egg. And then it split cleanly in two — two beautiful, sparkling pieces of forest-green gemstones sitting in the leaf-litter.

Laurel tumbled down to the ground, dripping in amniotic fluid, and filling his tiny lungs for the first time. He lay nestled in the warm grass, feeling blood flow through his veins like water flows through a plant. He could feel every plant around him in a five-foot radius, and the feeling was glorious and euphoric. He was not Laurel the sparrow in that moment. No… In that moment, he was a plant, surrounded by others of his kind. He lay belly-down on the ground, brown wings spread out, cheek pressed into the grass… and he meditated there, feeling the thrumming of life all around him…

Words: 224

The sparkling jewel on her forehead twinkled and shimmered in the light as she made her way beneath the tall trees of Eridanus. She didn't live here but it was nice getting out of Pisces every once in a while to stalk beneath the trees. She didn't know why but these trees always made her feel at home and welcome. Yes, her den had that same effect but there was something primal in the air here.

The lioness breathed in deep, letting the jungle air into her lungs. Refreshing. A lively tune hummed in her throat after her initial breath. Her tawny paws lightly drummed against the earth while her head was thinking of what she could do while she was here. Flowers were always a thing that she needed since the ones at home always tended to wilt and die after a brief period of time. The lioness wished there was a way to preserve them but so far that magick had eluded her.

Instead the lioness just had to find replacements until that spell decided to show up one day. If... it showed up. The lioness shook her head. No need to be pessimistic. Life was good, everything was happy and--

Makyna stopped dead, one paw lifted in the air as she stared down at the earth. It was sheer luck that she hadn't accidentally stepped on the tiny creature on the ground. The gembound in question was a tiny bird, shards of gem lay shattered around it telling her that it was a fledgling. Tears started to pool at the corners of her eyes. Not because she'd almost squished the hapless creature --well, that wasn't most of the reason-- but because it reminded her of Bevy. Bevy had been a tiny bird too and one of her closest friends. It hurt her heart that her friend was no longer in the world.

Clenching her teeth she put on a smile for the tiny bird and lowered herself down to the earth so that she could get a better look. Her brown nose she pushed forward to gently sniff at the avian. It was so young and so innocent... They had all been this way once before the world had stolen that innocence away. Hopefully this one would be able to avoid the heartbreak but she doubted it. Yes, it was nice to hope.

"Greetings, little one, I had a friend once that you remind me of." She smiled past the tears and cooed gently at the bird. "You are just the cutest little thing and you seem quite happy lying in the grass. Tell me, young one, do you have a name?" She highly doubted it but it made her feel better to talk to this bird. It chased away the sadness of her lost friend.

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469
@Laurel
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7/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Singing looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Laurel’s meditation on the plants around him was suddenly, violently cut short. One moment he was feeling the lifeblood of the plants flowing through his own veins, and the next, a very loud… something… was breaking his connection to his friends. His meditative magic backfired, and it felt like a rubber band was stretching inside his mind, and then snapping back into place, yanking away from the flowers and vines and trees around him and coming back to smack him in the brain. But he was still plant-like in his mind and the actions of his body, so he did not jump up like some might at the horrifying sound of another Gembound’s voice.

Instead, he waited and listened, mentally rubbing the spot where the “rubber band” had smacked him, feeling suddenly tired from such a rude interruption to his meditation. He had no idea what the lion was saying, and he didn’t even see her, face-down as he was. Had she stepped on him, he probably would have died instantly, and not even noticed as he was crushed underfoot. In all honesty, it would have been a perfect way to go, content as he had been to meditate with his plants forever. Now he was trapped in a slow-moving body, unable to make heads or tails of what was going on anymore.

Finally, the words stopped, and the little golden sparrow took a very long time to get to his little feet and crane his neck back all the way to look up at the lioness. Some part of him wanted to yell at her for distracting him, but even at his young age, he didn’t have the heart — or the energy — to angrily chirp at someone he didn’t even know. Not to mention that if he couldn’t understand her, then that misunderstanding would probably be mutual, and there really wasn’t any point to yelling gibberish at someone.

Seeing as he hadn’t understand a word she’d said, but she was smiling at him and looked friendly, he took a few very slow hops closer to her, feeling dizzy probably from the cut-off of his Magic. Without their presence in his mind, he felt rather naked, and hoped the spinning would stop soon so he could attempt to connect to them again. In the meantime, he gave the Gembound a small peep of greeting, hoping that she would at least understand that.

Words: 412
@Makyna

The lioness was completely unaware of the inner torment she brought on the young bird. Outwardly he appeared to be perfectly fine. Even when his head lifted and he fixed her with dark eyes she knew not that she had disturbed its meditating amongst the plants. Makyna only thought that she had woken him from some sort of gentle slumber. It made her think of her own children when they had to wake up. Cadence was always a heavy sleeper but when forced awake she had a legendary temper. It made her smile. Her children had their own little quirks and temperaments that she adored them for.

The lioness laid down on the ground, body curling partially around the tiny bird to shield it from anyone or anything that might come by. From her mouth she let out an answering tweet, a call she'd heard some of the lesser gembound birds give before. It wasn't exactly like his own but she figured that it was close enough that it would strike a chord with him and show that she meant no harm even if she had woken him from sleep. The dark tassel of her tail flicked to and fro as she looked down at the tiny creature. "I bet you don't understand me yet but I bet you will soon. All of the children I've seen hatch they usually all don't understand but eventually they all learn." Her muzzle curled up into a small smile while she wiped away the tears from her eyes with the back of her paw. Sadness shouldn't be something this little one had to experience yet.

The lioness knew these next words would go without comprehension but she didn't mind. Talking chased away the sadness. "How about I sit with you until you feel comfortable on your own? Or if you'd like you could come back to Pisces with me. I bet my children would love to meet you, they're a little older but they still like to play." After her words ended she opened her mouth and whistled this time in the lovely tune of a Caroller. The melody was a lullaby she sometimes sang to her children but in the tones of a bird, the little one might appreciate that more.

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379
@Laurel
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6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Singing looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Laurel was very confused — in a slow, meandering sort of way — when the big furry Gembound lay down and curled around him a little. He was not afraid. He was too calm to be afraid, and too naive as yet to understand that some might want to harm him. Out of curiosity, before she began to speak, he opened himself to the energy of the plants around him again, and the immediately came flooding back into his senses. He relaxed unknowingly into the lioness’ side, which probably made her happy, and allowed his friends — the plants all around him — to take him away.

He was brought back to the Now in just another moment, however, when he heard her speak in a language he understood. So she was speaking a different language… He wondered how she knew how to speak Bird, then… She certainly wasn’t a bird herself. But he said nothing about it. Her next words were in that other language, so for a few moments, he simply lay beside her and focused on the feeling of the blood in his veins, the feeling of the light on his feathers, hearing the pulsing of the water rushing through the green…

She sang a song for him, a soothing melody, one that only caused his meditation to become stronger. He sank further into himself and the feeling of the Green. Soon enough, however, her song ended, as did the spell. He felt the Green slip away, came back into his body. With a small voice, he asked, “Do you… feel it?”

Words: 263
@Makyna

She supposed that her tweeting must have calmed him. The little bird relaxed into her side. With a smile Makyna laid her head onto her paws, watching him through half-lidded eyes. His whole aura seemed to be enmeshing her within its grasp, lowering her stress and sadness about the world. Yes. She was still upset about the issue of her best friend dying but it was hard to keep harboring those thoughts when this little fellow just seemed emit calmness like a mist.

The little bird said nothing for a moment while Makyna sang her wordless tune. The melody seemed to pull her into it, wrapping around her body like a loving robe while she finished the sound. In the middle of the song Makyna's eyes had closed, something that she hadn't even noted until the bird's words entered her ears.

The sapphire blue gaze opened and she focused on the little one cradled in her side. Did she feel it? Feel what? The calmness in the air? The beauty all around them? If so then yes. She felt it in the very depths of her being. "Do you mean the calmness in the air, little one? I feel a tranquility all around us." Her voice, normally loud, was quiet as she didn't want to disturb the atmosphere around them.

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220
@Laurel
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6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Singing looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...