By the shore of the frigid ocean, a clump of seaweeds shivered pitifully under the colourless light. It was as if they had been stirred by the wind - but it would be important to mention there was none. The force animating this putrid Bolognese was far more fragile, incomprehensible and arguably more frightening: Life. As it quivered like a babe left behind too early, it found that this life was presently more struggle than it was worth.
It choked on the air in its lungs. Cold. Too cold. Cold. Its insides curled with hunger. Food. I need- Against its better judgement, it continued to breathe. A heart slowed to stability as the body became familiar with its own rhythm. I used to be more than this. But what had it been? What was it now? It had woken up from a pleasant dream, one it could not recall.
Sharp stones dug into its tissue as it twisted upwards, and the creature fell backwards with a gasp-gurgle. A new nervous system pleaded for the sensation to stop, and screamed when it attempted the fruitless task again. It did not collapse a second time, letting the pain flow out of it with a long, low groan. It felt its chest reverberate pleasantly with the noise, and decided to focus on that instead.
Soon it wasn't just the stones that took advantage of its fragility. The air itself seemed to bite and snap at its flesh, the pale light piercing its eyes. It could not blink yet, and it shrunk back against the assault. It seemed that this world regarded his existence as fondly as he did. This world? Yes, there had been more. How many? Too many.
A gust of wind ripped the train of thought away from it, forcing it to fold within itself in a desperate attempt to protect what little warmth it had. It had never been alive before, it knew there was little procedure to the act. The arctic seemed to gleefully snatch what little sense it could gather, so it did only what it was compelled to do: Walk.
It felt as though its mind had been split in two as it watched itself begin to limp forward. The decision had been made for it where it was unable, and it was currently incapable of reflecting on how comfortable it was with that fact. He felt black blood worm its way through him, a peculiar tickle at his outer layers as he felt the nerves sink further back; Or rather, as its skin began to grow further from them. It carved itself from its own clay, a patchwork of shimmering black and matte white - to a distant observer, it might've seemed like he was being unmade instead. The silhouette of its form began to blend with its surroundings as it continued forward, with no real goal.
The Realm was beginning to claim it as its own, and it knew there was no going back.
[ ooc: he walkin'....... open to anything. it is presently vulnerable. ]
Huck had finally set out on his own! Although, it wasn't as though it was on purpose. The circumstances that had separated him from his community had been accidental but Huck liked to think it was a stroke of fate, a sign from the beyond that it was time to start his life of adventuring. So now here he was, running down the cold northern shore looking for his first sign of adventure. Here and there he darted, checking behind rocks and under logs that had drifted up on shore, looking to see if 'adventure' would jump out at him and propel him into an exciting afternoon. But so far he'd only found a few crustaceans, some beach glass and shells, and muddy paws. His pace along the beach had slowed and his gleeful smile had dropped into a disappointed frown. Maybe today wasn't the day adventure would find him after all?
He continued to shuffle along, kicking little rocks and pebbles up with his feet as he moved. His eyes were downcast as he wandered, not keeping track of what was in front of him. It was only chance that he looked up when he did. His footsteps paused as something ahead caught his gaze. Its form was unclear, thought it was difficult for Huck to put into thoughts why exactly. It wasn't blurry or obscured by fog, but this things shape was unusual. "What is THAT?" he said excitedly, his tail starting to wag behind him. Was this it? Was this adventure finally finding him to send him on a journey? He didn't even care anymore about the cold wind that nipped at his fur or the little rumble in his belly that indicated he hadn't eaten for awhile. No, the only thing that mattered now was whatever this thing was in front of him.
His feet picked up again as he came forward in a run, almost gallop one might say, toward the creature. "Whoah!" he said incredulously as he came to a stop not far from it, his eyes peering over it carefully. It's body was like black tar and yet somehow white forms grew out of it like clay sculptures. He wasn't even sure if this thing had fur yet, but it was certainly new and exciting. "What are you?" he asked without any shame, his tail still wagging behind him.
Despite its growing exoskeleton, it shivered feebly against the wind. It took baby steps in multiple senses of the phrase. Birth had always been something to recover from, it recalled dimly, though it had no mother to huddle against nor pleasant emptiness of mind. All was not well, and it could not be, and worse still, it could comprehend this. No covers to hide behind - this was it.
Something barked in this distance. Someone. Weren’t they the same now? It rose its head stiffly, something clicking in its joints. A shimmering gold, like a flame - Warmth. Go near, - Made their merry way towards it, the ease of their run making envy rise under the creature’s skin. This is easy for him. Wait, him? Oh. Gender. Would it be a Him as well?
Too many thoughts, running in its head like a stampede. It didn’t know what it was doing, and the dog seemed to. Something reached for his mind - It blindly grasped for his stability, crawling forward as it did in a miserable attempt to match his energy. Its body snapped unpleasantly, movement more like a rusted, ageing machine than any animal Huckleberry might’ve seen before.
Question, then answer. Hungry. Despite the word being soundless, it still seemed to come out in a dry and desperate rasp.
----
[ ooc: empathy is his favourite spell lol ]
[ on a success: Janus is able to sense the emotions Huckleberry experiences in the next post. It will also, on accident, transfer some of its own - Huckleberry will feel a flash of desperate, starving hunger and thirst. ]
[ on a failure: Nothing happens ]
A word. A feeling. Somehow Huckleberry felt it emanated from this creature though Huck hadn't seen it's mouth open. Where was it's mouth exactly? It's body seemed to be a mixture of black and white mass and he wasn't sure exactly where it's head was yet. And still, he'd felt that word scratch out, like coming out of a dry paper bag. He'd felt it. His own stomach somehow felt empty now and his throat felt sandy and dry, like cracked earth. How long had he been running around out here in the cold air already? When was the last time he'd eaten? He didn't remember being hungry or thirsty until this moment. The cool rush of wind blew wet droplets of seawater into his face and the sound of crashing waves reminded Huck that there was water all around them, but it was undrinkable seawater. The waves lapped against the rocks noisily, the sounds beating like taunting, tempting laughter. Drink me. The sea seemed to say. Drink me. Drink me. But Huckleberry knew better, despite the dryness in his mouth. He swallowed, his throat feeling tough and scratchy.
Thirsty.
Huckleberry could feel it welling up inside him. He hadn't the experience to realize this feeling was coming from the creature in front of him. He was quite tempted to run away, to search for water further inland. His curiosity held him there in defiance of this desperation that had suddenly taken hold of his body. He felt unsure and nervous, a change from his earlier bold confidence as he approached. Yet, he still wanted to investigate. He sniffed the air cautiously, his paws shifting his weight as he padded back and forth in front of the creature. Was it this thing that had spoken? Or just his imagination? He looked it over, trying to figure out the best way to approach it closer. He circled, dipping his head quickly to pick up a long, thin stick that had washed up on the shore. He took it in his mouth and continued to cautiously (but not slowly) step closer to the being.
"What does it eat?" He replied through gritted teeth as he held the stick, his voice inquisitive. If this was hungry, he wondered if there was some sort of food nearby he could sniff out for it. He stretched his body out, using the stick to reach out for it, attempting to poke it gently on the side to see if it was solid or not. "Fish? Clams? Plants? Bugs? I'm good at catching bugs..." His words slurred as he continued to speak through holding the stick in his mouth. "Does it have a name? " He rattled on, barely waiting to see if the thing answered.
ooc. I didn't roll the poking with the stick so feel free to move out the way if not wanting to be poked. It's just a gentle inquisitive poke.
