Talys did not live in Pegasus, but he visited here semi-regularly. He was three cycles old now, with the general physicality of a lanky teenager -- tall, with elongating hair that still grew in a thick puff around his head, though he'd been toying with different makeshift combs for a while now. He was finally sitting down to make a real set of tools today. He had several things on his list -- a proper knife, a proper comb, and a proper walking stick. Then he hoped to start tangling with clothes, and maybe some bracelets if he was really feeling fancy.

Pegasus had a wealth of resources, though, and so his first move was to find some materials. He'd already set himself up a small place to work, and now he was pacing Pegasus with his makeshift walking stick in search of things he'd need. First order of business -- stuff to make a knife with. He had a pretty solid idea of how to make a reasonably sharp rock already, he just needed to find some that worked well, and some grass to make cordage with.

He found a couple of smooth stones, which were nice, but not in the slightest useful for his purposes. He did start tossing one of the smaller ones in the air as he moved, though, dropping it a few times before he got used to the rhythm of the game.

He stretched a bit, supporting his stick from totally falling with his tail (though he couldn't wrap it totally around), and then grabbed it again. Walking with this had been helpful, but it was rough on his hands, and he was getting taller -- he wanted one that was longer, and that would probably mean smoothing out a thicker limb. He glanced around Pegasus, hoping that there'd been a storm recently -- or at least something big moving around through the trees.

He shook his head slightly and returned his attention to the ground. That's where good rocks tended to hide, and boulders he could try to chip them off of, too.

He had even less luck this time, and dropped his stone somewhere to grip his stick with both hands. He didn't spot any boulders that looked good, either, and he gave a slight sigh. He'd just have to deal with that later -- he'd come back to it, once he'd done other things. In the meantime...

Talys shifted gears, and headed jauntily for the trees. He was looking for a decently-sized limb instead now -- this stick had just been pilfered at random, the first thing he'd seen vaguely large enough, and it was far too thin for what he had in mind. It looked more like Sun-Wukong's than something that would be helpful for him. The trees themselves were distracting, though -- they were beautiful.

There weren't a lot of trees in Leo. Mostly just water and weird rock pillars. Which was fine, he knew how to deal with weird rock pillars and he loved them, but all the green was marvelous. Talys could really understand why James liked this place so much.

He eyed a tree for several moments, considering, briefly, trying to climb it. It struck him that it would probably be a really bad idea, considering his ankles and knees, but he sort of wanted to try it anyway. Maybe he'd get a better limb up there, anyway? He glanced around, and selected a tree with a branch at about chest-height. He set his stick down, and rubbed his hands together before putting them on the limb experimentally, putting pressure on it but no real weight yet. Then, he jumped and tried to lift himself up onto it.

It was surprisingly graceful, even if his muscles strained in protest, and then Talys was clinging to the lowest limb of the tree with a grin on his face. His tail lashed wildly, and he started laughing -- perhaps a bit nervously. Then, careful to keep a hand on the trunk and maintain his balance, he set his sights on the next limb -- they were closer together now, and it wouldn't take so much work to get up as it had before.

His impulsive decision seemed to be paying off, and Talys grabbed onto the next closest limb. This one was low enough that he could just step up onto it, but there was the matter of staying balanced. Most Gembound, especially those with a tail, wouldn't have had trouble with that one, but Talys had poor balance at the best of times and sometimes he overcorrected.

But not today. He started to teeter, his tail lashing, and grabbed the next limb to balance him, before managing to gracefully end up on that one, too. It was more stable, and he was pretty high up now -- he laughed a little more, the light and nervous feeling in his stomach transitioning neatly into excitement. What good was fun if it wasn't a little scary?

Emboldened by his recent success and excited to be in the "easy" branches now, Talys continued his reasonably graceful climb further and further until he was about twenty feet off the ground and eyeing the next branch suspiciously. He wasn't sure if it would support his weight, and it was pretty far away. He glanced down at the ground. Twenty feet was... high. There was a chance, he realized, of being seriously injured from all the way up here. He glanced from the branch back to the ground and wondered, idly, when he'd stop.

Once I get up there, came the headstrong decision, and he lunged for it.

Talys realized once he had already jumped that it was, in fact, just slightly too far. In that moment, he experienced the feeling of weightlessness that you always had when you jumped, and then the sinking feeling of realization when there was no branch under his fingers.

He was falling.

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

death

? just chrysalization but god damnit talys why are you LIKE THIS

---

Talys twisted midair like a cat, trying to grab the nearest branch to slow his fall or stop it altogether. If he hit the ground outright, he'd undoubtedly be injured -- maybe even killed, depending on how he hit the ground. The branch slipped right out from his fingers, and he hit another one hard enough to snap it. Distantly, he realized that it was a pretty damn perfect stick for his purposes. Then the pain of the situation struck him.

Damn, he thought, distantly, and then he hit the ground. He was flat on his back and his head cracked violently against the earth -- his vision swam, and he felt distinctly nauseous. Magic pulsed around him, desperate and angry, and then he was being swallowed up by crystal as darkness consumed him.

Forced to the outside of the chrysalis, there was a chunk of beloved basalt on a length of corded grass.


/exit talys to chrysalis bc he's a fucking idiot

Talys's chrysalis would repair what it could—all of the damage, of course—but, it would leave its mark. As he emerged, weeks from now, he might find his jaw to be a little stiff. A gnarled cluster of diamond would seem to have taken root in his right cheek. It wouldn't be overly large, and wasn't attached further than the skin, but it was just... a strange growth to have.

Rupture - A spiky cluster of the gemstone penetrates the surface of the Gembound.
+ Roll for severity. (6/12) - Minor
+ Roll for location. (Right Cheek)

@Talys

Talys burst out of his chrysalis suddenly, gasping and clawing at the air like he was still falling. Diamond shattered around him and fluid flooded across the ground as he rolled onto his hands and knees, panting loudly as his heart settled. He squeezed his eyes shut until spots were forming in his vision and then opened them again, getting up on slightly shaky knees. He'd thought he was dead, really dead -- gone forever. But his stone had saved him. As his hand came up to touch his cheek, he distantly realized that it had left a mark of its helpfulness. He'd have to remember to not tempt fate too often.

His hand lunged for his basalt necklace, which was thankfully still in place, and he looped it over his head and clutched the rock tightly. He really wanted to find Selenite -- he hadn't seen him in forever. Talys missed him, and this little incident had taught him not to underestimate the value of his life or family.

In the meantime... he looked around, and realized with a bubbling, breathless laugh that his fall had dislodged a stick perfect for his purposes. It had been given some time to dry out, but that was fine -- if anything, it might've even been better for his purposes. Plus, he had plenty of crystal to choose from for his knife. Talys took his time selecting an appropriately large piece that was already able to cut things if it was given enough force and retrieved another piece that he could use to sharpen it further. It wouldn't last long, because diamond was brittle and it would chip easily, but he could use it to carve this staff. Probably not much beyond that, though.

Talys sighed and sat down with his back to the trunk of the tree. His hands had lost their callouses -- those weren't exactly scars, just built up skin, so they'd fallen away in the chrysalis. He'd have to build them back up, which would be a pain, but not impossible. He started to carefully chip away at the knife with the other piece of diamond, carefully taking as much time as he needed. In the end, the job was rough and his hands were sore and he had some shallow cuts on them, but he hadn't totally ruined the blade itself. It would serve its purpose pretty well. On the bright side, it was also a solid exercise in making stone knives, so he could probably make a better one out of something like a rock or a large opal later.