it had been only a little while since rui had hatched. once he grew strong enough to climb out of the trench (and really, it hadn't been that long) he'd made quick work of the rain forest, establishing himself in a tall, mossy tree. eridanus was a perfect climate for him, and food and shelter was plentiful in the tall trees he called home, but it wasn't long before he found himself wandering into a place of thinning green, of drying soil and eventually, warm red rock.

ocelots travel extensively, daily! though he was a little apprehensive about leaving the climate he thrived in so well, in the end his childish curiosity had gotten the better of him. the young cub found himself traipsing after a small group of cave deer--only for a visit of whatever was out there, he promised the forest behind him. he had a territory to care for, after all! maybe it was only the upper branches of his tree, but.. it was something! it was his home now.

his paws hadn't even grown weary before he reached a large, shaded room, illuminated by shiny spikes that looked a bit like the cube he'd come out of. it was... nice, but it burned his eyes, making him squint. they were too sensitive, made for hunting in the dark, not the bright lights of this room.

at a loss, rui paused his trek to sit down and paw at his sore eyes. his tail whapped in irritation, and he shook his head in an effort to ease the irritation. he'd lost the trail of the cave deer a while ago, but he had confidence he'd know how to get back once he finished his exploration. he dreaded the idea of passing through here another time--just what kind of creature would choose to live here, of all places?

words: 310

tags: n/a

notes: dw about wordcount it's honestly just there so i could spit in the face of float properties

table by wulf. img [xxxx]

Tuck had decided a day or two ago that he needed to go on a collecting expedition. Why? Because he had a perfectly good bag he’d made all by himself and it had nothing more than some seeds he’d plucked in Eridanus in case he came across any sick Gembounds. He was becoming quite the little healer now, and felt it was his duty, as someone who knew a lot about plants and Plant Magic and healing injuries with them, to help those he could. He had come a long way from being the annoying little shit he’d been less than even a month before. So much had happened in that time that he hardly remembered it all.

Now who was this? A small cat up ahead broke him out of his thoughts. Well… it was small compared to other cats he had seen, but it was bigger than him. He had grown used to this over time, and now he didn’t mind so much that other Gembounds were bigger than him. “Hey!” he called out. “Who’re you? I’m Tuck.” He was getting really good at nonchalantly introducing himself to others.

Words: 191 @Rui

with his head buried between his paws, rui was not in a position to notice anyone who wasn't big approaching! which, didn't seem too bad. what he had to worry about were the creatures bigger than him, anyway. at least, that's what he thought--he had never encountered someone smaller than him who could hurt him, yet. just mice and bugs.

and so when he heard a, "hey!" he was rather surprised! he hadn't heard or smelled anything he thought might be bigger than a mouse. the young cub lifted his head and squinted out in front of him for a source of the sound, and then promptly shut them hard again in confusion and pain. the sensitivity in his eyes had yet to wane, but who was talking to him?

"tuck?" he called back, muffled by a paw sliding over his face, then struggling to re-situate on his forehead. he sniffed the air, searching for a scent, a clue as to where the voice was coming from. he wasn't quite old enough to also remember to be wary of strangers; right now, uncovering the mystery was his only focus. confusedly, he tried to unravel it out loud. "where're you at? are you a mouse? i didn't think mice could talk. are you a bird? i've never smelled something like you before."

at that thought, he briefly wondered if he should've been eating so many mice, if they could talk just like he could.

words: 243

tags: @tukluk

notes:

table by wulf. img [xxxx]

Tuck had grown quite used to others not seeing him at first. It had truly bothered him when he had first emerged from his chrysalis, but now it was more a slight nuisance that was almost funny. Being so small meant that if he wanted to, he could probably remain unseen by others forever. But where was the fun in that? He was no longer scared of others, and didn’t even mind being on the ground among them anymore, though he still slept in a tree in Eridanus just for comfort’s sake.

He moved closer to the kitten and then said, “Down here. I’m the tiny monkey looking up at you with a grin on his face. So no, I’m not a mouse or a bird. I’m a marmoset.” He craned his neck to look up at the cat, feeling very amused by this whole thing. And half of his amusement came from the fact that not too long ago, he’d be screeching indignantly about being so small as to be nearly invisible to others. And now he was pretty much fine with it. Funny how the world worked.

Words: 189 @Rui

rui held a paw to his brow in a (hopeless) attempt to shade his vision, and peeled an eye open juuust slightly, only to recoil in pain as light once again shocked his sensitive eye.

perhaps...? he could remedy this. rui tried to work the familiar magic of cloaking himself in shadow, but failed, quickly feeling the magic he'd summoned fizzle out into nothing. "how do you see in here? it's so... painful," he said bitingly, less at the monkey and more at the lights themselves. if he could somehow channel his anger towards those lights, he'd be happy. take that, losers!

before tuck could respond, he growled, and spoke again, though the words were in a friendly tone. "i've never heard of a monkey before. are you from the forest?" he thought it best not to reveal that's where he lived, just yet. "my name is rui. i'm a cat. i eat mice, but i won't eat you. you can talk." his paw slipped off his face, and he ducked his head down and pawed with the other one in attempts to get it to stay.

"why are you hanging around a place like this? why does anyone hang around a place like this? it's terrible," again with the complaining about orion's lighting. as he spoke, rui struggled to place a paw properly over his brow, but it kept sliding down his face--ocelot paws just weren't made to bend like that.

"speech."

words: some of em

tags: @tukluk

notes: sorry for the wait, been super tired

table by wulf. img [xxxx]

Tuck was about to reply to the cat’s words about it being too painful to see. The cat appeared to be attempting to shade his eyes, and Tuck was confused because it was actually pretty dark in here. But before he could say anything, the ocelot spoke again, asking if he was from the forest. The marmoset was really starting to like this cat, and all his talking, because it reminded him of him. He just decided to wait it all out and then answer all of his questions in bulk. Finally the cat was done, and Tuck cleared his throat for a moment before speaking.

“You must have some weird eyes if you think it’s bright in here. It’s actually pretty dark in Orion if you’re not looking up at the stars.” (Tuck thought of the crystals on the ceiling as ‘stars’). “Yeah, I’m from the forest, I live there, in Eridanus! I have a whole tree to myself, and if you try and steal it I’ll beat you up with Magic!” Here, he puffed out his chest before continuing. “If you don’t like it here, why are you here? Why not go somewhere darker that has a roof, like the Forum? Want me to show you where it is? Maybe your eyes won’t hurt in there.”

EDITING AN ENDING:

But the cat never answered. He seemed so annoyed and preoccupied with the "bright" lights that he just sat there, seeming to ignore Tuck for what felt like ages. Eventually, the marmoset got annoyed and bounded off, no longer willing to stay and be ignored by the ocelot.

[Exit Tuck]

Words: 218+ @Rui