Nestled in a crevasse deep within the fallen city, a glittering orb of light lay sleeping softy. Sweet dreams came and went, curious speculation about what lay beyond these pale walls, what made the sounds that could be heard just outside. Sweet dreams that hadn't been acknowledged until now, as the young one drifted in and out of consciousness, slowly but surely bringing herself into being.

And in a state of half-animation she stayed there, suddenly feeling the cramping walls all around her, constricting her. She wanted to see the world in all its glory. The little one stretched out, colliding with the walls of her prison, cold and hard and wrathful. She began to strain, every surface pressing in on her. She wanted to open her maw and take in her very first breath, but there was nothing in here to breathe.

Cold fear clawed at her heart and she opened her mouth to whine. But no sound came out.

Even then, there was no-one there to hear it.

Let down by her failure, the little one tried again, this time desperately. her paws pressed against the sides, her every muscle flexed and strained. she wanted to get out. She needed to get out. Fully conscious now, the darkness was all-consuming and cold. She was afraid, she wanted to be free.

Despair swirled, she stretched and she heaved, struggling to escape. The first sound of her lifetime- the muffled thud of her paws against dark stone. Too thick to breach. Too heavy to move. The little one wanted to see what lay on the other side of these walls, but what if there was nothing? What if this tiny world was all there was? She hated it.

She hated it!

Fear surged through her body relentlessly. What if she could never get out? This wasn't what she wanted for her life. Not forever. Never knowing who she was or what she looked like. Doomed to forever keep pushing, pounding, yet forever held alone behind a wall that might have only been paper thin.

The little one had almost given up. She gave one last push, her limbs aching and weak from pushing and the tiny, cramped space. And there was a shudder.

Hope.

The stone shifted beneath her paws. She just kept pushing, stretching with her entire body until one side of her prison gave way. The wall crumbled, and slimy fluid gushed out, leaving the little one to fall from her chrysalis and into a pile of sharp shards.

The pup gave a tiny squeal; the first time she'd heard her own voice. Shaking and shivering, she coughed fluid from her lungs and trembled, shaking, still whimpering, crying. She looked down at slick golden paws, her vision out of focus and trembling. Deep violet eyes struggled to make sense of the dark world around her. Like in her prison, it was cold out here. Violently cold.

But there was something nearby that welcomed her- a tattered blue cloth lay by her nose. It was ancient and moth-eaten but it felt soft as she reached out her nose to sniff it. The young one braved the cold for a few more seconds, edging forward slowly like a newborn crawling. When she was close enough, the little one disappeared under the fabric, with only her bedraggled tail peeping out. She bundled the makeshift blanket around herself with her paws.

Still shivering violently, the little one's whimpers could be heard.

Zevruu was walking through Orion when a noise caught his attention. It sounded like something was breaking. He continued to listen and soon after, heard a tiny squeal. He was hesitant to check it out, but decided he may as well. By the sounds of it, it was someone who just hatched.

He headed in the direction and soon enough came upon...something. There were shards of a stone, as well as a slimy fluid. There was also a blue cloth. Sticking out from the cloth was a tail. Tiny whimpering sounds were emanating from it. He walked slowly closer and hesitatingly reached out a paw to poke the cloth. He waited for a reaction.

@Kin-kin

A tiny whimper emerged from the cloth as the young one felt the touch of a paw pressing into her side, and the wet golden tail vanished underneath. The sniffling and whimpering stopped, if only for a moment to be replaced by soft scratching sound of claws on stone. The blue cloth moved around, a little bump making its way in a circle. And then a tiny face popped out, small wet nose twitching and ears drooping. Fur stuck to her skin with the moisture.

Slowly she moved for a better look, big purple eyes searching, slowly glancing all around. She opened and closed her mouth as though to speak, but only the sound of chattering teeth emerged. Her mind was blank with fear, and with her paws she bundled the fabric around her chest like a blanket. Gazing up, ears drooping, shivers ran over her. She opened her mouth again.

"Ah... Aha... Where am I?"

@Zevruu

Zevruu heard another whimper as he poked the bundle. The tail disappeared soon after. He waited a bit longer as whoever was under the cloth moved around, their claws scratching against the stone. A bit later, a tiny face appeared.

He sat down as she began to look around. She tried to speak, it seemed to him, but Zevruu only heard the sound of chattering teeth. He blinked as she bundled the cloth around herself and shivered. He gave a small sigh as she spoke. Was he going to have to speak? He should have known he was going to have to speak. Why'd he even go check this out anyway? He set down the stone by his paw.

"You're in...Orion," he murmured quietly, voice barely audible.

"Speech" l 'Thoughts' l @Kin-kin

The stranger didn't seem so eager, and the little one shivered and huddled down slightly. Shenopened her mouth then closed it again, eyes wide, before lowering it so that she could pull the fabric over her ears. It felt... Nice. She wasn't so cold any more with it around her, especially as she clung to it.

So naturally, the little girl clung to it all the more, hugging it ever closer into her chest.

She strained to hear them, and her vision drifted to the hlowing stone that the stranger had placed onto the ground next to him. It fascinated her; what was it?

Still, despite quietness of their tone, they answered her. She gave a nervous nod. Perhaps this place wasn't so bad after all. The little pup curiously reached a paw towards the stone, wanting to know what it was and why it glowed.

@Zevruu

Zevruu gave a very soft, hardly noticeable chuckle as she clung to the cloth. He wondered where it came from. He blinked as he noticed her gaze turn to his stone. He shifted his paws slightly as she reached toward it, likely wondering what it was and why it glowed. He thought back to how he got it.

"The...It, the stone came from someone. M...Macawi. She, uh, told my f-fortune. Then she made it glow with m-magic," he murmured quietly, voice once more barely audible. He recalled his fascination at seeing Macawi perform her spell. He wanted to perform a spell just like that. Alas, he couldn't. Not yet. But maybe soon...

"Speech" l 'Thoughts' l @Kin-kin

The other one spoke, and the little girl halted mid-reach, her paw hanging in the air as it peeped out from under the blanket. Her ears perked, causing the blanket to twitch slightly, and then she gave a small nod. Whilst her understanding was vague at best, she had some idea of what the other one meant.

They... whoever it was.... Macawi? They'd made it light up. It was... beautiful. The little one had never seen anything glow before, although since she'd only been here a couple of seconds, that wasn't saying much.

The little one didn't really understand fortune telling, either, but it sounded just as fascinating. Her eyes opened wide as though she were begging for more. "That sounds... fun? she struggled to find the right word. She wanted to know more, a little thing wanting to hear a story, but she just couldn't figure out how to show it.

Though, there was something else that piqued her attention; and that was the thought of magic. She didn't know why, but the word gave her a sense of something stirring, deep in her chest. She didn't know what it was, but she felt like she had to. A little thrill of fear ran through her again.

"What is... magic? Can you make things glow, too? Can... I?"

As though in response to her fear, that youthful curiosity and flash of instinct, her fur flushed a pure gold for an instant, as each strand of hair lit up. A delicate, almost unnoticeable gleam of light passed over her for an instant- only an instant- before she dulled again, without even noticing the change.

@Zevruu

"Fun? Yeah, I s-suppose so," he whispered. He still didn't know what to make of the fortune Macawi had told him, cycles ago as it was. He flicked his tail and continued to watch the little wolf. "Yes, I can make things g-glow. W-well, not quite...I..I can make myself glow," he stuttered. He continued to watch the little one and blinked in surprise as she glowed for just a brief amount of time. "And apparently y-you can too."

He decided he may as well do a spell. A different spell than the tiny wolf in front of him did. He closed his eyes and focused on his magic for a bit. After some time, a little ball of light began to appear. He made it move around some and then turned his attention back to the wolf, the orb floating just within sight beside him.

"Speech" l 'Thoughts' l @Kin-kin