First Light [open to all]

[`Kami]

Isla had to admit, the velvety-black light which graced her sight was one to behold. Light strips of silver and deep crimson accented the sky in the form of highlighted clouds and she marvelled at them. Sight was entirely new to her, having broken out of her birth shell; her second skin, as she saw it. The sunrise was like looking into heavens gates, to the fawny-brown canine. Never had she seen such colour, although she didn't yet know the sights she was to behold as sunrise continued, having only recently broken out of her cocoon.

As the sunrise developed and evolved into pinks, yellows and reds, Isla could merely sit and watch in awe. It was gorgeous, and as the light grew and her surroundings became invisible, such as the green grass in which she stood alongside the tree from which she had come. Soon enough, the light was full with the glow of the sun but Isla still sat and observed her surroundings.

Incredible, she couldn't help but think as she looked about her, taking in the texture of the bark, the expanse of land around her and the wispy clouds in the sky. Everything was amazing, at this point in time and there was nothing more she could imagine doing that sit and watch the world go by.

[Cobalt]

Everything is dark, silent, warm.

She is protected. She is safe.

There is nothing to her but the feeling of her blood softly swirling, pulsing, rushing through the veins of her tiny body. A new sensation has been developing recently, though. Thought. It is starting to come to her, and with it comes the odd sensation of feeling more of her body than just the blood. She has found the ability to shift slightly within her casing, to move tiny furred toes and triangular ears with rounded tips. This is confusing her; her developing mind simply doesn't know what to make of the change from the pulsing darkness that she knows. 

At the moment she feels a need to move. Odd, why should she want to move? She had been still for so, so long before. The entire sensation of "want" is still foreign to her; she has only even begun forming rudimentary thoughts quite recently. Still, she can't yet control her urges, and she is soon squirming within the tight space. Tight? It's never seemed small before, but it certainly does now. Tiny paw-pads are pressing against the walls of the space, tail beating wildly. Tail? She never noticed her tail before, but here it is, beating against the walls of the warm darkness. Her body just wants to be free, against her will. She's not even sure that it can be free, not sure what lies beyond the shell around her, but she's still trying.  Her innards are lurching uncomfortably; is it possible that the space she occupies is swinging? It seems to be, harder and harder, making her squirm even more. 

Snap.

The noise comes from above her, and in that instant another lurch tells her that she is falling. A force slams into the shell surrounding her, but that shell takes most of the impact, leaving her unharmed. Her eyes are struck with a ray of light that shines through her lids, and she jolts in shock. She's never seen anything like this glorious light. Instinctively, her eyes open, revealing beautiful deep red irises. She can see the split in the cocoon, and she reaches for it with her tiny paws. Soon, the shell lays in pieces around the feline. 

The first thing that catches her attention is the bright orb peeking over the horizon, and the amazing colorful rays that it brings upon the land. She could stare at it forever, but her curiosity gets the better of her, and soon she's gazing in awe at the orchard around her.

Around this time, her name comes into her mind.

Zumarra.

She's never been so sure of anything. Zumarra is her name. She is Zumarra. And Zumarra has noticed another creature not far off, who also appears quite interested in the sunrise. She steps toward it, gaze roaming across the soft brown and ivory fur that graces its body. She's looking at her own paws now, at the light fur that covers them, marveling at her aptitude at walking. She stumbles a couple times, being so new to the world, but eventually manages to sit next to the canine. Her scarlet eyes blink quickly. "H-hullo." Her voice is soft, and a tad unsure, but the world feels right.

[Deleted]

"Ack!"

Nerah had only a moment to realize she was suddenly facing downhill before the world tumbled all around her and she ended up in a heap at the bottom of a hill. Fortunately for her, she was far from delicate - sporting a wide, sturdy frame and perhaps more than her share of muscle - and the fall did little more than make her dirty and perhaps give her a minor bruise or two. Nothing to worry about, as far as she was concerned.

The large canine stood and shook dirt and grass from her splotchy white, tan, and brown pelt, and then gazed around at her surroundings. She was back in the orchard, which was what she had been aiming for in the first place. Teleportation didn't come easy to her like it did Silva, her friend and packmate, but she was getting better at it, gradually. Most of the time she even ended up exactly where she wanted to be. This was just one of those weird times where she was close but not precise. That didn't matter, though. In time, she'd be just as good as Silva, and she could help any other absconding creatures that had trouble with the skill.

Assuming she ever met another.

Nerah shook her head. She would deal with that scenario if it ever came to pass, and try not to think about it otherwise. She was here to meet newborns - canines and felines who fell from the trees in pods just as she had done, once. Lately, she had noticed the trees producing the pods again, and she was eager to welcome the new lives into the world, perhaps guide them if they needed it or watch as friendships and maybe even groups developed. Her tail wagged at the possibility of meeting one of the new creatures today. Perhaps more. She wanted to see what they were like and how they'd react to the world, and perhaps feel once again what it was like when everything was new and fresh.

Movement caught her eye, and she looked up in time to watch a pod drop from a tree. Her tail wagged harder. It seemed she would indeed be making new friends this morning! She trotted toward the place it fell, stopping when she noticed another creature there.

All right, then. Two new friends! And the canine looked just as she had when she was fresh from the pod, at least in regards to coloration. It felt almost surreal, seeing her.

She could see the pod from where she stood, and she watched as the creature within - a feline - tore itself free from it and approached the canine. Nerah sat down and then lowered into a laying position to watch the exchange, not wanting to give either a fright when they noticed her. She had always been large, even when she was newly born, and she knew that a larger size could be intimidating.

[Hound]

A loud crack filled Miri's ears, followed by a sudden sinking in her belly as the tree pod that had housed her for all of her existence split at its bottom and expelled her from its warm hold. As she hit the ground with a soft thump, the newly born pup was bombarded with sensations. The most noticeable of these was a feeling of loneliness. Where once she had been warm and secure, she was now cold with what felt like endless space around her little body. Against her will her eyes cracked open one at a time to behold the dim light of early morning and the orchard itself; this was too much, so the young one clamped her eyes shut again and squirmed backwards against the roots of the Kata-Hal tree that had birthed her. Go back, her thoughts screamed, but the branches of the tree only rustled slightly in response.

Little by little more sounds filled her head. There were rustlings all around and distant squeaks. Although her instincts were demanding that she keep her eyes closed as though to perpetuate the darkness her world had been for so long, curiosity got the better of her and once more she opened her eyes to the landscape around her.

The light seemed to have increased while she'd been postponing her new existence. There were tall branched things in every direction, and more colors than she knew how to name. Turning her head, Miri noticed that she had backed up against one of these branched things, the thing she had fallen from. The Kat-Hal tree. She knew its name just as she knew her own -- it had given her thought and knowledge while she grew within her cocoon so that she might fend for herself. Be brave, the tree seemed to tell her as its leaves brushed against each other in the soft breeze.

But Miri, a pup who more resembled a long-legged bear cub than the canine she was due to her rounded ears and thick light-brown fur, remained pressed against the roots of her tree. Give me a second, she thought with a ragged sigh that shook her small chest.

Instead of the tree's rustling response this time she thought she heard voices nearby. They seemed to be coming from the other side of her tree, so Miri shifted shakily to her legs and edged her forepaws and chin onto one of the roots next to her so that she might see where the voices were coming from.

[`Kami]

Isla had began to lose interest in the light, despite it still appearing incredible to her new eyes. Now, she was taking in the scents which she was surrounded by; noting the grass, the wind and even her own smell were all unique as she still sat motionless. The wind ruffled and dried out her scruffy brown coat and on the breeze, she caught the sound of a muted thud in the near distance.

Turning swiftly around, Isla saw another creature escaping their seed pod like she had an hour or so previously. At first, she was quite interested in the process, but felt suddenly uneasy as the newborn began to walk shakily towards her, mewing a nervous "hello". The fawny canine didn't know how to react. She stood, but lack of practice caused her stand to become a face-plant, forelegs giving out and cheek hitting the dirt beneath her. Quickly, she regained her posture and stood up tall, observing this new company of hers.

Hello, she replied, unsure of how she could talk or even how she knew what to say, but it came nonetheless. Isla looked into her scarlet eyes for a few seconds, marvelling at another beautiful colour, but she was interrupted by the sound of another cocoon falling. Now she felt quite nervous; was she surrounded by more of her kind? And what was that scent the breeze had fed her a moment before? It had smelled like herself, only quite different. Was there another one nearby? She swallowed down a lump in her throat and began to back away, bumping into the tree from which she had came and letting out half a yelp in fear, shuddering a little and she shrank against its familiar bark

[Cobalt]

Zumarra lets out a short, mewing laugh as the soft-furred canine stands and topples forward. No doubt she herself will do that many times, so she supposes she may as well laugh. "Hello."

[/s] Happiness dances in her eyes at the other creature's reply. Zumarra can see the bewilderment marked clearly in those soft eyes of the canine at her own first word, and she can relate to it. As overwhelmed as she is, her instincts are guiding her to do things she had no idea were even possible. She can speak and walk already, though not very well, and she never would have guessed. And although Zumarra feels confusion upon unsureness upon fear, something inside is pushing her to be bold. As much as the loves the tree that gave her life, as familiar and comforting as it is, there's a sense of adventurousness pushing her onward.

When the crack splits the air, the pale-furred feline jumps a bit, surprised and fearful. It's quite similar to the crack that sounded above her not all that long ago, and the scent that accompanies it can only mean one thing. More creatures. She doesn't know how to react; after all, she didn't completely identify as a creature herself until extremely recently. She can feel the fear again, the same fear that is making the canine she was speaking to back up to what must be her home tree. Zumarra can feel her blood rushing, her new, fluffed fur standing on end. She wants to run to her own Cerasus tree and nestle into the roots, but something inside tells her to resist. She is torn, confused by the twin urges. 

It doesn't matter which she chooses, as Zumarra now proves to herself. When she stands she falls flat onto her muzzle, right into the soft soil of the orchard. She pushes away her fear the best she can and sighs as she sits back up and shakes her head to rid the dirt from her small brown nose. Her scarlet eyes roam the landscape, her young curiosity getting the better of her. The canine behind her wasn't too scary, but she really isn't sure what to expect. She wants to be confident, although she doesn't feel it, and so she makes herself sit straight, tail stiff, and call out. "W-who's there?" It isn't as loud as she was hoping, but it's marvelous enough that she knows what to say. Zumarra isn't sure whether to smile or quiver with fear, but she isn't sure she's capable of either at the moment.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Deleted]

Nerah continued to watch the newborns, her attention diverted for a moment when another crash heralded the birth of another creature. Pods were just dropping all over the place today, it seemed. Silva would have wanted to see this, but Nerah didn't know where the other canine was to go looking for her and bringing her back here. It'd be fine, anyway. She could watch some births later.

She suppressed a laugh at the clumsiness of the newborns, remembering her own first awkward attempts at standing and walking. Amazing how long ago that seemed, now. A whole lifetime away, though her lifetime hadn't been all that long. At least, she didn't think so. It was hard to accurately judge length when there was nothing to base it on.

The newborns were nervous, maybe even afraid. She could smell it as well as see and hear it, and the instinct to comfort them overwhelmed her need to no tower over and intimidate them. She stood - hunching as much as possible - and padded over to the group, sitting nearby.

"Don't be afraid," she spoke to them, tail wagging slowly. "My name's Nerah. I came from a pod like those when I was around your size. Anyway, welcome to the world. Life is an awesome thing. You'll see."

[Hound]

Miri shifted her weight slightly as she leaned on the tree root, cautiously observing as two small furred creatures like herself greeted each other with tentative voices. They seemed as surprised as she was to hear so many bizarre sounds -- perhaps they had been recently pushed from their cocoons too?

Then the smaller of the two creatures tensed and asked 'who's there' in a soft voice. Miri's ears flicked backward to lie against her skull in response, so startled was she that her presence might frighten someone else. It felt as though she had interrupted something with her birth, and this conclusion made her want to slink backwards and hide against her tree's trunk again to pretend that she had never seen anything at all.

Just as she was moving to turn away, a much louder voice boomed out across the landscape. Surprised, Miri launched away from the root suddenly and fell flat on her back with an involuntary yelp. This new position gave her a view of the world she hadn't experienced before -- that of open sky and the branches of the Kata-Hal tree. In fact her first thought was that it was the tree that had spoken, for surely nothing else could be big enough to produce such a loud voice! But the tree was silent now, not even rustling its leaves to tease her for her fear.

Miri squirmed until she was on her belly again and then to her unstable little legs. The fear of the unknown caused her heart to pound furiously in the cage of her chest, and yet there was something instinctual in her that told her she must figure out where the loud voice had originated from, and listen better to what it was saying. So the pup scrabbled back onto the same root she'd perched upon before, higher this time so she could see behind the tree better. Sure enough a large creature was hunching in the grass over there, tail wagging. That creature was certainly big enough to produce The Voice.

Instead of fear this time, Miri felt a sense of victory. She had found the source of The Voice and it wasn't even that frightening! Perhaps it was the tail wagging -- Miri recognized that inherently as a friendly gesture, though she wasn't sure why.

Don't be afraid.

Miri pulled herself further over the root and tumbled down onto the ground on the other side. The head-over-heels motion got her heart pounding again, but she shook her relatively broad head and got to her feet once more to waddle slightly closer to where the group had congregated. Not too close though, she reminded herself, and plopped down into a sitting position still far enough away that she would be able to escape back to her tree if necessary. She was close enough that she could talk to the group, at least. But what could she possibly say now that she had planted herself among them? Heat rose to her cheeks beneath her thick fur with the embarrassment.

"Um..." Her orange eyes darted from face to face and finally settled on The Voice. No, the stranger had called herself Nerah. Miri knew that she would be even more humiliated if she called Nerah 'The Voice' to her face. "You fell from a tree too?" She squeaked out the question, proud that she could form words she had previously only thought of.

[fleeingbutterfly]

With a tiny wail, a cream colored feline opened her pale blue eyes. As light filtered through to the newborn, she closed her eyes quickly. It was too bright. Too much to take in. It was so different from her tight, dark place that she had spent much time in. It had been safe and warm and not at all overwhelming.

Why now? Why me? The thoughts rang through her mind as she opened her wide eyes once again. Her black rimmed eyes blinked furiously as she attempted to block and allow the light in at constant intervals. Would it work? A cry of success left her lips as she adjusted to everything. As she shifted her head to the side, her nose was tickled by tiny green blades. Grass? How did that word come into her mind?

Delilah. How did that one reach her mind? Delilah. It sounded nice enough. “Delilah,” she said to herself in her soft voice. That was who she was. It was a certainty.

The shock of noise drifted in to her ears. She could hear more of it. Like soft murmurings. Pushing herself to her feet, Delilah set off to find what was making the noise. Perhaps others like her. Looking back at her black tree, Delilah left her Tart Cerasus Tree behind. As her paw touched the ground before her, Delilah marveled at the thick cream colored fur. And then her face hit the floor, where the fresh smell of the grass invaded her nose once again. An irritation flew through Delilah, and it was suddenly let out as air blew through her nose and jaws with a strange noise. Shaking herself, Delilah attempted to walk once again, only to meet the same result.

[ddyyuu]

Darkness. That's all there was for the longest time. Darkness and silence. Evalon had grown far to used to the silence, and the darkness of wherever she was. But there was warmth and the feeling of...comfort?

She'd started to 'think' for the first time in her existence a while ago, time was nothing wherever she was, it was just always dark, always warm, and always silent. About the time she came to thought, she came to know herself as...something. A being. Just about the time she came to thought, she could feel herself. Her toes, her tail, everything that made her, her. Who was she then? If she could think, and knew she was something, then who was she?

The young pup fruit wondered these things for what seemed like forever, trying to figure out who she was, and what she was, all the time wherever she was was getting smaller. Her world was shrinking, thought it was still black. Though she could hear and feel. Something outside her world made her world vibrate slightly, noises of some kind. Time passed and there were much louder noises all of a sudden, like something breaking, her world vibrated with the breaks. Then she heard it.

The snap that shook her entire world.

She had no idea what was going on, the snap and then the sudden violent vibration through her entire world. It startled her, she began to worry and squirmed around, finding her world was much smaller then she thought. The next thing she knew, she stopped again suddenly and violently. Her world it was...cracked?

Light shown through her world, her world was no longer pitch black, but it looked slightly red from the inside. What was outside her world? What made this light? Would she see what she was for the first time? That still left the question of who she was... She squirmed and kicked hard against her world, wanting to break it more. It broke easily in half, more light pouring through. She squirmed through to the new world, and for once opened her eyes.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she knew her name. Evalon. And the noises, they were there, and much clearer, but she wasn't worried about them at the moment, she was wondering about herself right now. With her eyes open, she could see colors, and how pretty they were! She looked herself over with deep brown eyes, and found her fur was brown as well. She wiggled her toes and wagged her tail, tilted her ears around, such new sensations she wanted to feel everything.

The sounds of voices brought her back to her new world. People greeting each other, and a much stronger voice entered the fray. She looked around for the voices, pricking her ears up to locate them. She found she had fallen on the other side of the tree of these voices. "Hello!" She called, wanting to see who was speaking. She was just repeating what the others said, but at the same time she knew the exact meaning for the word as well, and upon hearing them, she felt she had said the word rather well.

Evalon needed to get up, needed to see where the others were. She was alone now, the hard case that had been her world was gone, was she even safe now? She tried to get up on long wobbly legs, and fell quickly. She tried again, this time being much more careful as to where she placed her limbs and stood. She made a few tentative steps around the tree and saw the group talking, several were just as small as she was, and there was one that was larger then all of them. A guardian perhaps? "Hello?" She asked, taking another step towards the group but lowered her head, wondering if they were okay to near.

[fleeingbutterfly]

Words filtered through Delilah's mind as she lay in the grass, inhaling the crisp scent. The thought to give up and just lay there forever crossed her mind. However, the idea was quickly tossed aside. How would she ever know who was making all of those noises that she was hearing? Her curiosity would never be satisfied. She now realized that she had to know who it was, or what it was that was making the noises. What did the thing look like? Was it like her? Did it have this poofy, almost milky coat? Delilah suddenly wondered what would happen if she licked it. Leaning her head close, she stuck out her tongue, wanting to giggle at the little pink thing that came out. As her tongue touched the soft patch, she dragged it forward watching as her fur seemed to stick closer to her skin.

Words snapped her back to reality, as she heard greetings. At least that was the word that came to mind. "Hello!" She called back, hoping that the thing that was making noise would come to her. Struggling to her paws, Delilah stood once again and walked forward, a successful smile lighting her face up as she took her first steps. However, the floor demanded to feel her face once again, and Delilah obliged. She sighed, how long would it take for her to do this properly?

[`Kami]

Just as Isla was preparing to flee, another entirely different canine approached her. Saying that, she didn't much know what she looked like, but was almost certain this beast approaching she and the feline was very much unlike herself in appearance. Wide eyed and staring, the big female seemed quite amused, as though she had just been laughing, or was perhaps repressing a smile. It wasn't until she spoke, though, that Isla lost her urge to run away and hide. Her voice was more grown up than the one she'd just heard from herself and the feline.. Did everyone have their own voice to speak with? She mused the idea and as she opened her mouth to respond to the big canine, looking intently at the unusual, erratic swirl of colours that twisted through her pelt, she was interrupted by yet another canine.

Head tilted in interest, she noted that this one had a coat colour similar to her own, only it lay smoother on her back; not disorganised and chaotic like Isla's own pelt. Nonetheless, she watched this one with interest; wondering if because she looked the same, whether she'd act the same as Isla might, too? Quietly, hoping she wouldn't be noticed too much, the creamy canine flipped out of her fallen position and onto her feet again; this time remembering her error in balance from before and managing to stand without fault. All of this moving was tiring, she noticed and suddenly worried what would happen if she became too tired, and the frightened puppy eyes returned, directing at the largest, most unusual of the canines, who had assured them everything would be alright.

Nerah, she began, voice a little strained with worry, Why am I so tired? she asked, not understanding the idiocracy of her question but had no experience outside of her cocoon and was truly worried that this life which Nerah spoke of would be cut short as the tiredness became more intense, which she somehow knew it inevitably would. Isla thought she heard another voice at that moment, calling out to the little group which had formed around her, although she was too fraught with worry waiting tensely for the evolved canine's response to realise another was in close proximity.

[Meesh]

A commotion had woken her from her nap.

Silva sprang to her feet, golden eyes looking around in excitement and some concern. Had she missed the pods hatching? The canine was large- nearly a head taller than the newborns would be and only slightly smaller than Nerah. Her fur was jet black, without a single marking to interrupt the smooth black color. Her size and coloring made her appear a bit intimidating at first, but she hoped she wouldn't scare the newborns. The pods had been rocking for days on end now, and Silva was excited to see them.

But what if she had already missed the newborns! Silva followed her nose and ear to where the most commotion in the orchard seemed to be happening. It wasn't too hard to find. A few trees to navigate around, a bush or two to hop over- she supposed she could have just teleported there, being the only animal other than Nerah who could do so- but that wouldn't have the fun of finding the others for herself!

Almost...almost...there! The jet black canine burst into the clearing, tail wagging in excitement. Pods lay scattered everywhere, newborns walking and stumbling about. And over there was her friend Nerah! Silva gave a yip of greeting, walking over and nuzzling her friend in greeting once more. "Hello" she said to the nearest newborn, one with a scruffy brown coat. "I'm Silva. I hope I didn't disturb you guys?"

[Deleted]

The newborns reacted to her and each other with varying degrees of fear, excitement, curiosity, and perhaps a few other sensations she couldn't detect so easily. Despite her assurances, a couple still seemed a bit fearful, but she wasn't worried. If she had met a creature as big as herself while she had been newly born, she may have been just as afraid. She couldn't be sure on that, since it hadn't happened, but it seemed likely.

The word "hello" chorused around her as the newborns greeted each other. She wondered to herself if that was an instinct all creatures shared - to say that particular word as soon as they came into contact with someone. It was what her pack had done, and it was what so many newborns were doing now. A strange thing for instinct to produce, but much better than violence or avoidance.

One of the creatures - a canine that shared her original pelt coloration - addressed her hesitantly, and ten asked if she had fallen from the tree as well. Nerah nodded. "I looked quite a lot like you when it happened, actually." She had no memories of being in the pod, but she did have memories of the pod and the tree itself, and figuring out how her body worked.

A worried voice distracted her from Miri and she turned to the other canine that shared her old pelt color as she asked why she was tired. Nerah thought for a moment before responding. "Birth can be hard work. Once you've slept, you'll feel better." She hadn't been tired during her own birth, but she was pretty sure she had been sleeping the entire time she was in her pod and that's why she couldn't remember being inside it like some other creatures could.

Before she could further soothe the newborns, a familiar shape burst into the clearing. Nerah's tail wagged harder at the sight of one of her oldest and dearest friends, happy that Silva had come in time to see the newborns, after all. She returned the greeting and the nuzzle and watched as the dark-furred canine addressed the newborns. "I hoped you'd find your way here in time. I know you've been looking forward to meeting the young ones as much as I."

[ddyyuu]

Evalon watched the others, listening and came to the conclusion that the group was okay, even the bigger creature. Just as she was taking a step towards the group a newer bigger creature came into the area, the two big ones talked and Evalon took that time to move over to the others. "I am Evalon," She replied, everyone was getting to know each other, she might as well put her name out there. She looked around at each of the other pups and kits and tried to remember their names, listening in to others as they spoke to each other, learning names by just listening. The group was happy though, still nervous but happy, the emotion spread to her and she found her tail wagging a little though she didn't smile or show any sign of emotion otherwise.

She looked up at the sky and watched the colors there, along with the bright orb that was far to bright to look at, but was still stunningly pretty to view. Evalon folded her ears back, blocking out the noises of the others as she enjoyed this moment, the colors were just too stunning. She was afraid they wouldn't last forever, but those around her...they would last wouldn't they? Yes, yes they would she was sure of it, just not the colors in the sky.

But as she sat there, Evalon looked around. The tree and these newborns weren't just a world, there was something much bigger beyond them. In the distance she could make out a fence. Was this just another shell then? As much as the younger pups interested her, she was more curious about the outside of this world. Her worlds were suddenly getting bigger, and joining each other. She looked around at the pups that were still greeting each other then got up on still slightly wobbly legs and walked past the two older dogs and headed towards the gate leading out of the area, glancing back at the group as she reached the gate.

Here she went again, breaking out of one world and into another. Her adventure was only just beginning.