In the largest cavern, where something so small could be overlooked in an instant and the mist collected in pools in every dip in the land. The earth hummed distantly, a consistent vibration that the single, lonely neonate had become so used to that it began to make its own noise. Almost equal to the static noise was an uneven, crackle of water, and a tiny little noise from the egg. A chittery chatter came from the chrysalis, which was so dark that it blended into the bark of the tree and in fact, between the mist and darkness, the creature inside was safe from anything dangerous.

Of course, maybe the thing inside was more dangerous than anything outside. Maybe, it had nothing to fear. No, it didn't fear anything! It was a brave little thing, whatever it was, and it was ready to prove that to whatever lay outside! A growl bubbled up from the stone egg, and with a scrambling of sharp claws and a great strain, suddenly the neonate hatched violently. Bits of shattered chrysalis lay at the creatures paws as it gulped the air, chittering nervously along side the distant hum that came from something well beyond the fog.

The long, black creature sniffed and flopped down on his belly, his fur fluffing up every which way. He was quite tired from the effort of hatching, and he couldn't see anything at all. It was all thick white, and besides the gentle noise that echoed through a chamber, the critter just figured he was alone. Which suited him just fine, in fact, he became quite aware that being alone was nice. It was just him and the hum, and he took to licking his paws for a moment in thought. He observed what he could of himself from here, sheathing and unsheathing his claws as a test. He had quite wide paws, which might have been good for walking on the mud. Maybe. He could wiggle himself around and pull his tail into his paws and chew on that, but it didn't taste very good.

He might have stayed there forever if his stomach didn't growl, and spur him on. The thought of fish, no, Fisher, came to mind. He had no clue what a fish was but when he tasted the air again he could smell nasty, murky wetness. Fisher was hungry, but he knew he didn't want anything that smelled like that. He scrabbled to his paws, and thought that the humming was getting louder, and began to chatter more, sniffing and making small, nervous noises to himself.

It wasn't the humming though. This noise was different. He wasn't sure what kind of noise it was, as he only knew the humming, and rustling rush of water. It was more of a pattern, a short succession of noises, all broken up... A sloshy, ploppy noise that was getting closer. Something was crossing the wet, muddy earth.

Fisher, in reaction, backed up his bottom right up to the base of his home tree. He had a good feeling that the tree was safe, all he had to do was get up it somehow... Well, assuming the Odd Noise was dangerous.

Tam was grumpy.

The Cave was always wet to some degree, whether it was water trickling down the walls or pools in the darkness. But here, the water was everywhere. She was currently up to her hocks in mud, though at one point. she had floundered into a sinkhole, leaving everything from her hooves to her belly coated in mud. She had barely managed to pull herself out. Now she was in a thoroughly bad mood, and not just because her pelt was dirty. She hated having to slog through the nearly-pitch-black woods, bumping into trees and tangling herself up in the water weeds. She was cold, too, and shivering miserably. The fawn sneezed, coming to a halt. Where was the tunnel out of this place?

A strange chittering came out of the darkness, somewhere in the distance, and she froze on instinct, trying to stay hidden in the darkness. Was there something out there? So far, she had yet to encounter anything trying to eat her, but it never hurt to be cautious. When nothing charged out of the darkness at her, she sloshed forward, head raised as she tried to sniff out the other creature. Everything smelled so washed-out in this swampy cavern, but she persisted, finally catching a whiff of something new. Curious, she followed the scent, finally finding the source. Curled at the based of a tree was a strange new creature, the remains of it's chrysalis was scattered about it. "Oh!" she said, surprised. It looked strange, halfway between the bear cub and wolf pup she had met in the past. Curiosity won out over caution, and she approached it, lowering her head to be on it's level. "Hel'o," she said to it, giving the creature a smile, along with the question she asked nearly anyone she met: "Who's is you?"

Fisher blinked as an enormous creature came through the misty darkness, slowly and carefully. Had there not been mud that made everything sink and slosh, the young pup might have been able to make out the sharp hooves of the tall creature, who truthfully wasn't too big but was much taller than he would ever be on all fours, he might have been absolutely frightened. As it was, the weird lanky creature was covered in mud and seemed to be interested in talking instead of eating him, so hey. He couldn't see any glint of sharp teeth or claws like he had sheathed into his paws. His tiny round ears flicked up and down. He supposed he could always climb up the tree if need be... This fawn didn't seem like the climbing type, though he wasn't sure why he thought that.


"Ack, erm," Fisher chittered, his tongue clumsy in his mouth. He had never spoke before, but he thought he could do it if he tried hard enough. So who was he? He'd answer that, alright. He coughed a little, his lungs still getting used to the misty air, shook his head, stomped his feet a little, and then looked the stranger right in the eyes as he tried to speak properly. "Fuh-Fee.. FISHER!" He yipped at last, his squrimy body popping into the air with a bounce. His lips pulled back into a grin, eyes closing. "Fisher! Who's is you?" He asked the same way she had, because if there was one thing Fisher was good at, even just being hatched, it was copying noises like the distant hum he had heard even before he broke free of his rocky shell.

A clever part of him, or maybe just the hungry bits of his belly, told him that this big creature might know where food was. He could eat just about anything. Unfortunately, Fisher didn't want to look lost or dullwitted, so he wouldn't ask for food outright. There had to be a better way, besides, he was waiting to know who or what she was.

The funny-looking creature had some trouble speaking at first, which didn't surprise her. Tamelyn herself had had to practice ceaselessly to understand language. Having no older figure around to teach her, she had to rely on learning to talk in a way that sounded "right", at least to her. Even now, she still had trouble. Understanding the cub's plight, she waited patiently for him to find his tongue. When it finally arrived, it was with an explosion of enthusiasm, causing Tam to step back in surprise. She grinned and cocked her head as the pup asked after her own name. "I'm Tamelyn!" she responded happily, tail flicking. As she looked over the cub, she caught a glint of something on his neck. Curious, she leaned in for a closer look.

"You's got a gem too!" she said, surprised. She lifted her hoof to display her own stone. "Kinda like mine..." They were similar in color, though his had a streak of yellow down the center, compared to the flecks of light in hers. Her large, oval ears swiveled forward suddenly as she caught the sound of growling coming from his belly. She giggled. "Wanna find a foods?" She didn't mind taking time to help the new hatchling get situated in the cave. Of course, she also had no idea that this creature was carnivorous. Her plan was to sniff out a patch of plants to browse from.

(I know you didn't explicitly say his stomach was growling, so if you want me to edit I can."

The long legged creature was called Tamelyn. "Tah-...meh-l..lyn?" He tried to wrap his mouth around the very long, wide tongue twisty word. First he had to open his mouth wide after the T into the ah, then put his lips back together to make the hummy M, and then shove his tongue to his teeth to make the L and it was quite hard. "Tah, tah mehl, Tahmelyn'n..." He shook his head and then grinned. "Tahm! Tam. Tam more easy," he chittered softly, seeing if she wouldn't mind the name change, or nickname, because there was no way he wanted to say all those letters.

Fisher's eyes went wide when the deer pointed out the gem on his neck. He tried to wriggle around to see it, or touch it with his forepaws, but he could quite reach. Flopping on his belly, he looked at the tall animal's muddy whole-claw-paw and the pretty gemstone. He hoped his was as nice, but he decided that his had to be the most awesome gemstone of all time and it was so cool that he had it on his back so he wouldn't get distracted by how great it was. Puffing out his chest, he stood up proudly, glad to be an owner of a fantastic gem.

That was when his stomach protested, and protested loudly, over the hum of the cavern room. "Food," Fisher repeated, considering it. Food went in his mouth, and would make his stomach stop. He didn't know how he knew it, but food was something he wanted and wanted now. She was even offering to help him look without him asking, which was fantastic for proud little Fisher. "Food! Yes, I wanna food." The mustelid nodded furiously before testing how well he could walk. His short legs and narrow body wiggled along the ground, and soon he was rushing in little zigzags back and forth. His bright eyes looked up at his giant companion and he barked excitedly, "Let's get Food!" His dark, bushy tail poofed right up, raised high into the sky like a fluffy flagpole. He was so ready to hunt down some food, himself.

[[ ooc;; is all good :3 also fishers are omnivores, though Fisher here prefers meat he should be able to eat whatever they find haha ]]

If he had had trouble with his own name, wrangling hers seemed to be almost impossible for him. He finally settled for a shortened version, using just the first syllable. Tamelyn flicked an ear, considering. She was proud of the sound she had chosen for herself, but she did have to admit it was hard to manage at times. If Fisher wanted to call him something shorter, she wouldn't mind. She watched as he looked for his own gem, but wasn't flexible enough to reach it. At least his was less likely to get dirty where it was.

She giggled at his excited acceptance of her offer to find a meal, watching him as he jumped around. "Fo'ow me." She turned and began picking her way through the marsh, mindful to avoid areas that looked too deep for the pup. She sniffed the air as she walked, trying to discern various scents amidst the dark, foggy atmosphere of the cave. There had to be edible plants in here somewhere...

She stumbled upon a glowing patch of broad-leafed plants by pure mistake, but she'd take it. After a quick sniff to ensure that they were good to eat, she stepped away, gesturing at them with a hoof. "Here's food!" She puffed her chest out proudly, feeling glad that she had helped. As she waited for Fisher to eat, a rustling noise drew her attention, and she turned her head, eyes squinting through the dark. There was a patch of glowing mushrooms growing nearby. Illuminated by it's light, a tiny mouse with a fleck of pearl on it's shoulder was nibbling grass. She didn't think much of it, though. Some of the smaller Gembounds, rodents and insects and whatnot, wouldn't talk to her, even if she chased after them, so she had learned to ignore them.

(Fisher can eat the plants, or go after the mouse if you want to freak out Tam xD)

"Okay! Fo'ow Tam!"

Fisher was happy to follow the deer through the thick marsh. The smoky white fog wrapped around his fur and made it hard to see, but it filled his nerves with an excited energy as he weaved around (or sometimes straight through) puddles. Soon, he was practically coated in the muck of the swamp, but this didn't bother him in the slightest. His wide paws, adapted for traveling on snow, helped him from sinking into the slushy mud too much. He weaved around trees and, when he sometimes lost sight of Tam, he followed the noise of her twig-paws sloshing and plopping in the mud, or if he had to, her smell. She smelled like nothing else in this forest, as if she had been beyond the fog once. The thought that there was more beyond this was thrilling.

As Tam stopped, Fisher almost ran into her hindlegs, but managed to slip between them and out around her front legs into the glowing leaves. He crashed into the leafy plant and thrashed a bit as he got tangled, but he eventually wiggled back out and took a bit old bite of a leaf.

"Plant... Food?" Fisher knew at least that this Food was a plant. Now he had learned that Plants do not taste great. His back teeth turned the green to mush anyway, and the starving baby wasn't about to be picky as he chomped down. He might whine a little, but still. Despite the slightly bitter taste, the mustelid was wiggling with the excitement of having Food! He felt better already, scarfing down a whole leaf quickly.

His nose caught a wiff of that mouse, though. Now that he had scented the creature, his eyes went wide. No, that was Food! There was more food, and it smelled much tastier than leafy plant bits. He looked around wildly, and as soon as he spotted the mouse, without an ounce of hesitation, Fisher sprinted after it.

Post-Roll: The mouse had been put on red-alert when it heard the mustelid crash through the nearby plant, and when the furry bullet rushed at the prey animal it was ready. The mouse squealed and darted for its den in a tiny hole under some tree roots that Fisher would never be able to get at. Whining as he splashed to a stop at the base of the tree, he looked back at the doe.

"Tasty Food run away!" He complained, hoping beyond hope that the deer could explain why his supper had disappeared.

She had expected the other creature to sink into the mud, as she did, but his paws seemed to be good at keeping him high and dry. She was a bit jealous, but comforted herself with the fact that his stubby legs likely weren't half as good at bounding and running as hers were. So, it was fair. She watched as he bit into a leaf, knowing it to be one of her own favorites. She cocked her head, expression puzzled, at his unenthusiastic opinion of the bush. She nodded at his question, feeling a bit miffed. "Is yummy," she said, as if she could make it fact just by saying so.

Suddenly, his attention shifted from the bush to the mouse, and before she could react, he was off after it. "Wait!" she bleated after him, utterly confused. The mouse escaped alive, and he looked back at her, petulant. She stared, aghast, as he called the mouse food. "Mouses aren't food!" she said, drawing herself up. "They're just...there." What a strange creature. Though, come to think of it, when he had smiled at her, his teeth had looked awfully pointed compared to her own. But were there really creatures out there who ate other creatures? She shuddered at the thought. "Were...were you really gonna eat it?"

Fisher's fur puffed up as his new companion cried out. Tilting his head at her, he blinked at the surprised expression Tam had. Did she not smell how tasty it was? But then again, he realized in that small moment that the mouse was just like him but extra tiny. Maybe he wasn't supposed to eat them. It didn't make much sense though.

"Mouses... Not Food?" Tail drooping like he had just been scolded fiercely, the mustelid made his way back over to the bush, albiet slowly. He gave a scornful look at the plant, and then looked back up at the taller animal.

Fisher just did not understand. "Mouses smell like food, though." He wasn't going to say he was going to eat the mouse though. Obviously, if he was going to he would have caught it. Determined to reassure the deer he hadn't messed up, he put on a playful smile.

"I was just, ah, chase! No eat. Wanted to catch. Not Food." The long brown creature grinned, showing off his pointy teeth without thinking, and hopped back to the leafy plant and went back to eating. It wasn't so bad. At least plants didn't run away...?

Tamelyn We'll reel away til the break of day
and dance together til morning!

She felt a little bad for yelling at him, and the way he practically drooped in response didn't help. Still, she could hardly believe that other creatures could be considered food. They breathed and moved, unlike plants. Plants, she didn't feel bad about eating. Of course, egocentrism was found in almost any child, and she was no exception. Just as the pup couldn't understand why she chose not to eat meat, she couldn't begin to fathom why he would eat meat. She gave Fisher a suspicious look as he assured her he only wanted to chase and play with it. Riiiight... She was young, but she wasn't naive.

She watched him as he went back to champing leaves, deep in thought. Suppose she met other animals who ate meat. She doubted Fisher was unique in that. "Were...were you gonna hurt the mouse?" she asked him, her tone somewhat muted. She had never seen anything kill or be killed before, but she knew that the mouse would have been dead if Fisher had caught it. "Hurt it a lot or just...just a little?" Killing just to kill was obviously horrible, but if Fisher thought of the mouse as food, and you needed food to live, maybe he had a right to eat small creatures like the mouse.

She sighed. It was a difficult concept for the young girl to wrap her head around. There was another patch of plants nearby, and she began to crop the leaves. "Mouse didn't smell like food t' me," she said, swallowing a mouthful, "bu' it did t' you. So...we's dif'fwent." She looked back at Fisher. Now, her expression was almost worried. "D'you...d'you think we can't be friends no more?" Tam considered every creature she met to be a friend, and she hated the idea of losing one so soon after gaining them.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa