After meeting up with the kind vulture Tacitus was on his own again, wandering about the caves as he searched for more and more answers. Perhaps soon it would be time to head back to Canis but for now he was content with exploring and learning everything that he could. His exploration this time brought him to the wide rushing river where he stood at the side and watched what was going on beneath the surface. Every once in a while he could hear a fish poking its head up or splashing but nothing more than that. To aid with his fish-watching he pulled on his magicka and felt a few mushrooms sprout up around him, compared to the other ones he'd grown these were rather small but they gave off green light just the same. Now he could see much, much better.

So, he sat at the river's edge and surveyed the fish in the water, watching and observing for future purposes.

"speech" / thoughts
owl by mtsofan / table by wulf

@Vivirra

The small marten had set off on her own. Although her mind held many doubts about venturing alone in these caves, her spirit urged her to push on. There were other things that lay beyond, and she simply had to know more about this world she was now a part of.

But alas, without her curiosity driving her, Vivirra would have succumbed to her fear long ago. The darkness was still ever-present, and she missed the warmth of having another being by her side. It almost felt as if the blackness was strangling her as the shadows crept about, waiting to strike. Hopefully this darkness was not all there would ever be.

For now, the one thing that was motivating the young gembound was that sound. She had taken a particular liking to sounds, both the ones creatures made and the ones nature procured on its own. The sound she was currently following was bubbling and gurgling, trickling and flowing. Although the various noises of light breezes, shuffling stone, and rhythmic drips were pleasant, this sound was gorgeous. She simply had to find its source, to find what had created this lovely melody.

As she stumbled blindly through the dark, drawing very near to her target, Vivirra noticed something odd. Mushrooms that cast off a faint glow... a source of greenish light that interrupted the endless shade. Illuminated by this light was another figure that shifted slightly from time to time. Another creature that was alive, although it did not quite look like her this time. In fact, it looked very different. But that didn't matter.

What did matter was getting over there, for more reasons than one. It was definitely the source of her lovely sound, as well as a small light source (which was definitely important), and a new individual for her to interact with. She had hit the jackpot for certain!

However, it did seem like the creature was rather absorbed in whatever it was doing. She didn't want to risk sneaking up on it, because new friends have to make good first impressions. Instead, the kit called out to the animal by the waterside in her soft, childlike voice, "Hello? Who's out there...?"

@Tacitus

Fascinating creatures these water dwellers were with their fins and adaptions for living beneath the surface. He wondered if he could catch one, even briefly, for examination and study. Could he cut one of these open as well? Would they have the same insides as the cave mice and rats? There was only one way to sate this curiosity for sure.

He lifted one foot, readying it to dip into the water but then he lowered it again. Perhaps it would be better to use flight, to fly over the water and then snatch a fish as it splashed on the surface. He shifted his wings, preparing to take flight until he heard a voice behind him. Blinking he rotated his head without moving his body to fix the new creature with a curious blue stare illuminated by the soft green light. After he gave her an owlish blink the loquacious young gembound said, "Salutations, gembound." From the aid of the light and his own natural adaptions he was able to tell that she had a long and lean body, still child-like, with small ears and a pointed little nose. He shifted amongst his mind for the proper word and one seemed to come to mind. Marten. Pine marten. He found that in his older age he was able to put names to things far more easily but that still didn't quench his desire to know more about them, more than just names. "I am the only one here with the exception being for the fish that swim here." He rotated his body around then so he was fully facing her. "I am called Tacitus. What is the name that I should use for you?" He was always interested to see what sort of names accompanied the new creatures that he met.

"speech" / thoughts
owl by mtsofan / table by wulf

@Vivirra

Vivirra was surprised when the creature before her seemed to rotate its head all the way around to face her. Its eyes were wide and blue, and it greeted her in a voice filled with eloquence and wisdom. Whatever this being was, it intrigued her immediately. "Hello there," she replied in a soft tone, ripe with curiosity.

With cautious, wary steps, the young marten drew closer. The gembound before her seemed to be examining her, but not in a threatening manner. Her main focus were those green mushrooms, casting a dim glow that illuminated the vicinity. She quickened her pace, approaching the dim lights and crouching beside them. Their light felt safe and comforting, a much needed escape from the darkness that she was so terrified of. It would be a fruitless effort to try and mask her relief, or rather, her fear of the shadows surrounding her.

Her pine green eyes met his as his body rotated. She found this creature so fascinating, with its big eyes and feathery body. Upon his mention, she glanced at the river and the swift silver figures that darted within it. Their bodies moved like ripples, following the coursing current of the waters that babbled so sweetly. It was mesmerizing.

The kit's attention was returned at the mention of a name. Tacitus, he called himself. It felt nice on the tongue and in the mind. "That's a nice name," she mused to the owl, a soft smile crossing her maw. But her own name still felt like an odd concept that left an indistinguishable feeling in her brain. She frowned ever so slightly. It was Vivirra, she knew that now, but it never felt right.

"My name is Vivirra, but you can call me Vivi if you'd like." Her eyes were bright with intrigue as she looked at the bird, a smile returning to her face. She cast a glance towards the river, which carried dancing reflections of the green glow. She spotted another one of those silvery creatures passing by in an instant. "What are those?" the young gembound asked, returning her gaze to the owl. "Do they have gems?"

@Tacitus

The other creature, the marten, came closer as she was seemingly intrigued by the display of mushrooms before her. Good. A healthy curiosity was always something a creature should have. Curiosity was the friend of learning and if he hadn't had his own curiosity he never would have learned as much as he had already. Even so, there were still a many things that he needed to learn and he intended to do so whenever the opportunity arose. He was not one to let such opportunities slip out of his grasp.

The marten, Vivirra, complimented his name and he gave a little nod of gratitude. "My thanks, Vivirra, but a name is simply a name, a sound upon the tongue that we use to gain another's attention and address them. It can be as trivial or as constant as we please." Tacitus. He'd always been happy with the name that he had found at birth and never had any want to change it, nor had he ever had any want for others to address him as something shorter. Nicknames, shortenings. He didn't understand the enchantment over them. Either call him by the full name or nothing at all, he would return her the same courtesy and not shorten it.

The owl turned his gaze to the river as Vivirra questioned him on what was within it. "Fish. I've never done extensive research on them and I figured today would be a good a time as any to try." At her next question he glanced at her, a bird-like smile playing about his beak. "I am unsure but I would like to see as well." He turned then, body facing the waves as he quickly hooted out, "Please pardon me for one moment, Vivirra. I shall return in a brief moment." With that he took flight, wings carrying him out and over the water.

He swiftly scanned the surface of the dark waves, it was a bit difficult to see and even moreso to try and penetrate the surface of the water. However, he persisted and after a moment his talons flashed out and he hooked a fish. With the small flopping thing in his talons he turned back towards his glowing mushrooms.

In a few moments he had alighted again and had placed the flopping fish in front of the mushrooms with one talon on top to keep it from flopping back into the water. "Perhaps we can see together if they hold gems." He raised one talon, poised to cut the thing open and dissect it. He wondered what secrets it would hold, would it be like the rats in Canis or something entirely different?

"speech" / thoughts
owl by mtsofan / table by wulf

@Vivirra

She paused for a moment, pondering the owl's wise words. "Huh. I never thought about it like that." Names really were just sounds, weren't they? She wasn't even fully sure where she got her name, aside from the fact that it seemed to come to her from some higher level of being. Or perhaps it was something she had known all along. Either way, 'Vivirra,' whatever it meant or sounded like, stood for the collective essence of her being. But if it was just a group of syllables and sounds, did it really have a purpose?

The marten was brought back to reality with a reply from the bird. Fish, so they were called. She wondered why they had that name. What did it mean? Maybe it had to do with the fact that they could breathe water in place of air. And how did they move so fluidly, as if they themselves were the water they breathed? But before she could open her mouth to pose another question, her companion excused himself.

Vivirra watched in awe as Tacitus spread his wings and took to the air. He soared so majestically, gracing the wind like the fish she had seen in the river. Before she could fully admire the way he glided so effortlessly, the owl swooped down to the surface of the water. In an instant, he had snatched a fish, and returned to the air without pause. He was soon before her in a matter of moments, just like he said, with the fish writhing and flopping beneath the grip of his talons.

She let out a small gasp. Wonder seized her mind, and the marten was truly captivated by this bird. "How did you do that? Is your body lighter than the air? Or do your wings shape the wind?" She chattered curiously, unable to hold in her many questions. This world she lived in never ceased to fascinate her.

Her attention turned back to the wriggling fish yet again. She watched how it flopped and wiggled on the stony floor, as if it was trying to hold on to its feeble life. Its beautiful silver scales glittered softly by the light of the mushrooms. She felt a familiar urge as she stared curiously at the creature. It was the insatiable desire to learn more.

Vivirra sat down by the operating site, curling her long, bushy tail around her paws. Her eyes met those of her gembound friend as he prepared to explore the fish's secrets. "Tacitus, do you think it knows that it's about to die? Or does it not think the way we do?"

@Tacitus

The owl seemed pleased with her questions and wonder, chest puffing ever so slightly and that bird-like smile widening at his beak and at his eyes. "It is a thing that is natural to me, something to do with the feathers of my wings among other things." Her he opened one of his wings, allowing her to examine it by the light of the mushrooms if she so chose. "I was not always able to fly and even now I don't know the complete mechanics of how it works, but, like everything else in these caves, I will figure out how it works." There were plenty of other birds around here, lesser and greater, that he could dissect and get to know. "I have vowed to learn about everything there is to know about these caves." A daunting task, yes, but one that he would try his hardest to accomplish.

He lowered his talon towards it, claws curling until it pressed against the aquatic creature's chest. He could feel the steadily pulsating heart there, keeping it alive even as it struggled to breathe. He could feel something within himself then, a certain urge, and then he felt the slight pull of his magick on his talon and the resultant magick made the fish's heart stutter against the claw. For a few moments the fish twitched violently all the while the heart in its chest sped up sporadically and slowed down until finally... it stopped, all by his will and magick. The owl blinked, pleased and in wonderment at his newfound ability. At first he hardly registered what was said as he was so in awe of what he'd done but when he finally heard her he gave his head a shake.

"I believe these creatures are like the lesser gembounds that roam the cave. They think but they don't truly think for the are not truly sentient as you and I are. Thus, the perfect specimens for experiments such as this." With that his claw lowered and he made a clean incision from below the fish's mouth all the way down its ventral side to its anal fin. Then, carefully he pulled it apart to expose everything within. The ribs, the guts, the heart, the swim bladder, everything was exposed and laid bare for them to see. "Fascinating. The anatomy is different than the cave rat's but still there are similarities." Mused to himself mostly but spoken loud enough for the marten to hear and question if she so wanted. The owl rather enjoyed her presence, her questioning gave him a chance to think a little extra on everything.

"speech" / thoughts
owl by mtsofan / table by wulf

@Vivirra

Vivirra drew nearer to the owl as he allowed her to examine his magnificent plumage. She noted the proud smile on his face, and made a mental note to attempt to make him smile like this more often. As he proceeded to explain, the kit went about inspecting the inside and outside of his wings. So the gift of flight had to do with his feathers. How fascinating.

She cautiously nudged his inner feathers with her tiny muzzle, brushing them gently. Surprisingly, although soft, they seemed to have an oddly dry and brittle quality to them. The more she looked at him, Tacitus seemed to be slightly scrawny, albeit a little underweight. That probably accounted for the dryness of his feathers. She stepped back, noticing how the tips of his wings had notched feathers and that their size got smaller the further in they were. "How curious. Your feathers are so complex.

Upon his remark, she responded in her chattering tone, "That seems like an ambitious goal." It really did. From what she had seen thus far, the caves were a large place. And she had only seen but a fraction of its true size. "But I really hope you achieve it. The caves are such a big and fascinating place. It would be so wonderful to discover all its secrets!"

She watched with wonder in her eyes as the owl's carefully poised talon seemed to trigger something incredible. The fish beneath him began to convulse violently, madly thrashing about. When it eventually stilled, it had stilled for good, dead. Her companion had managed to take the life of this fish with only a tap! He seemed just as mystified by this feat as she was.

When her final questions were answered, she couldn't help but be plunged into thought. Lesser gembounds, so they were called. They thought, but didn't think on the same level as creatures like her and Tacitus did. They were still alive, but did not have the same awareness as she did. Was this why they couldn't communicate in the same way? Before she could open her mouth to ask more questions, the fellow gembound had made his incision into the body of the dead fish.

He split the creature all the way down its body, and continued to open its structure like the pieces of a puzzle. Its bones and guts and all of its organs were fully exposed, on display. It was incredible to see how complex and multi-faceted its body was. All of those pieces and parts making up a whole. It was astounding. It was fascinating. It was... sickening.

The young marten felt a gurgling in her stomach. She felt suddenly queasy, as if her gut had been gripped by an illness. She just couldn't look at the fish any longer and she didn't know why. The little kit turned around quickly, sitting with her back to the owl. Her lunch threatened to make its way back up... good thing she hadn't had any lunch. After suppressing a few dry heaves, she spoke to the owl. "I'm sorry, Tacitus, I don't know what's wrong with my stomach... But I really want to see it..." She whimpered. Her curiosity was unbearable. She had the chance to see how this fish worked and functioned, and it was as if her body would not allow it.

She glanced over her shoulder at the bird. "Maybe... maybe you could tell me what you see? she asked inquisitively. "I want to know how it functions and swims and breathes water. What do all of those parts inside of it do? And does it have a gem?"

@Tacitus

((My goodness this post is LONG))

He nodded his head, agreeing with her. "Most things in life seem to be, from the smallest mouse to the largest gembound. Everything is complex and has its own secrets just waiting to be discovered." Thus why he dedicated his life to such research, he just had to know everything. "My gratitude. My goal is a daunting one but I shall not be undertaking it alone. There is my brother and other like-minded individuals in this cave. We can all collaborate and share our experiences to make the task more achievable." It was the agreement that Gabriel and he had worked on, sharing experiences and expanded their overall knowledge through doing such.

After cutting open the fish he began to dig around within it, bloodying his talons but not caring less about looking --or smelling-- quite gruesome. It was about the time that he reached in to touch the heart, pulling it up and out that he heard the sound of retching from his companion. Head turned quickly and sharply to see what was the matter when he found her with her back turned and issuing apologies. The owlet was more than a bit confused. How could she not stand to look at the fish? It was just a fish and the insides were just that... insides. Everyone had them. It was more than he could understand. Someone feeling ill because they'd just seen something... gross? Was that the word? Everyone he'd met thus far seemed fascinated by the concept of looking inside of a creature so seeing someone with this reaction was more than new. HE found himself curious.

With heart clutched gentle in the talons of his right foot he continued to stare at her back, head tilting to the side questioningly. "Strange. Your mind wants to learn but your body... It seems weak at the concept of seeing the insides. A strange notion to me but it is... understandable." He looked back at the fish supposing that some creatures just couldn't stomach such things but perhaps it could be worked on. "If knowledge is to be obtained you must work on these reactions your body has, control them, do not let them control you. That is how all things work, it is all a matter of self-control." She would just have to build up a tolerance and learn how to force herself to work through what she felt. He did it when he could feel hunger gnawing at his gut just as he did now. He could feel his stomach protesting and begging for the fish but he would not allow himself to stop and eat for now, food would be later. "But that can be worked on later, for now I will relay to you the information you seek." He wouldn't hold back anything from her. If she wanted to learn then he was more than happy to share, he was always happy to find others that were interested in expanding their minds... even if their bodies didn't want it.

He placed the heart on the ground, beside the fish's body before diving in further. A contemplative "hmmm" escaped his beak as he poked about with his blue talon, trying to figure out what each thing functioned as. There were things there that he recognized from the rat but many things were different... "It lacks... lungs. The things that the rats had that I feel aid with breathing but there is a thing here, a long white organ that the rats did not have." He pulled at it and after a few moments of trying to aim with shaky talons he managed to severe it from the body. After picking it up in his talon he turned it over and examined it closely but at the moment he knew not what it did. "My hypothesis is that it must serve some sort of function to underwater breathing or swimming as the land creatures I examined did not have it. However, I will need to study this further to give a definitive answer and confirm my hypothesis." He replaced the whitish organ on the ground before delving deeper into the fish, searching and searching. At first he did not find what he was looking for and was about to relay the negative news to Vivirra but then, nestled in between the intestines and stomach he saw a pale blue gemstone. It was a tiny thing, only about as large as the tips of two of his claws but it was there.

He picked it up carefully and placed it near Vivirra. "Here, I believe that this is the gemstone. It appears that these types of lesser gembound do indeed carry gemstones or perhaps this particular specimen just had one." He turned back to the fish, digging around within the intestines and stomach to see if he could find anything that the creature had ingested.

"speech" / thoughts
owl by mtsofan / table by wulf

@Vivirra

She took a moment to taste his words, mulling them over in her brain. Every single living organism and inanimate object was so diverse and unique. It would take many lifetimes to solve all the mysteries of this world; clearly, one could not do it alone. She would make it a personal goal to try and seek out these like-minded creatures, and learn even more from them. The mention of a brother sparked her interest, but she had other concerns at the moment. No matter, she would just remember to bring up this tidbit later.

In the meantime, the feeling of sickness still plagued Vivirra. Her companion seemed rather confused as to why she felt so ill. She found his description to be quite fitting, yet it still frustrated her that her body responded in this manner. She listened as he spoke again. Self-control. Taking control of these reactions and putting them aside. She could do that, right? Although determined to try it, she was very glad that the owl was willing to simply resort to verbal explanation for now. Her tail waved eagerly.

She listened to the soft squelching of the fish's innards, and while that sound wasn't as particularly disturbing as sight, she decided to focus on Tacitus' voice instead. So the creature lacked lungs for breathing? She wasn't quite sure what a rat was, but she assumed that they worked fairly similarly to herself. But then how did the fish survive without lungs like the rat had? Her question was answered when he described a long, white organ unique to the fish that he supposed was used for underwater breathing.

"That's interesting," she mused in response. "If the fish breathe water with that thing and the rats breathe air with lungs, does that mean we also have lungs because we breathe air too?" She pondered for a moment. "Do you think the fish always breathed water, or did they have lungs at one point?"

Her train of thought was interrupted by a glimmer from the corner of her eye, and she turned to see Tacitus place a tiny gemstone by her side. It was round and incredibly smooth, pale blue in color. She had a very kit-like urge to bat at it and play with it, but she pushed back this less than regal behavior. Instead, she cautiously rolled the fish's treasure towards her, admiring it. Upon further examination, she found herself wondering what type of gem it was.

"Well, even if it is a lesser gembound, it's still a gembound, right?" she questioned. "Which means it has to be bound to a gem. Otherwise the name wouldn't make sense. Of course, names can be as trivial or as constant as we please..." The young marten trailed off after quoting the avian. She was beginning to find that the spoken word was quite easy for her to remember, the sounds of others' voices imprinted in her memory. "I'd like to think that all creatures are bound to life by gems, but maybe we just gave 'lesser gembounds' that name because they we thought they were like us."

@Tacitus