Like a Song on the Wind (open)

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What came first to her was sensation. And with sensation came thought, and with thought came knowledge, and with knowledge came existence. She knew that she existed; she could feel the soft pressure of her encasing around her, and knew that she lived. She knew that she was curled up, contained somewhere soft, and she knew that she had a name: Masafae. A name of beauty, and promise. Masafae, as she knew herself to be, shifted ever-so-slightly so as to make progress on her discoveries. The area she was did not budge well, at all, and so it was fairly solid. For some reason, this seemed mildly strange to her, but it was of no import. She was about to shift again, maybe find some sort of purchase, when the sound happened.

It was very faint, at first, a simple sighing that just barely muffled through the encasing. It grew, however, turning into a loud groaning of strained wood. Mas' ears pricked, curious, but she hardly had any time to react before everything jerked, and crashed down upon something, leaving the poor feline a bit dazed. She could hear faint talking, though muffled like everything else, and she mildly wondered what else there could be. More, like her? Were they free from their entrapments? What all could possibly be outside?

Well, despite her minor and easily dismissed trepidation, there was really only one way to find out. She reached out with her paws, finding the edge of whatever she happened to be encased in, and ever so gently started to push, the pod finally giving way, and letting the feline delicately step free. This, her first real moment, wasn't exactly something she was proud of, standing there a bit confused and bruised, and covered in some sort of plant ichor. She shook herself out, frowning at the mess around her. She would have to find some way to clean up, soon, she decided, glancing around to see about some avenue for that.

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There are others like me, Kota kept thinking over and over again, as he slowly jogged away from the riverbank that he had called home. He kept his pace slow, he had to due to his injury, and stopped earlier than he normally would to take breaks. Even then, it took him only a little more than a day's travel to reach the place of his birth. It was easier than he thought possible to find his steps once more trailing through the gate of the fence that surrounded the Orchard. In fact, he couldn't help but notice the strange structure now, when he hadn't on his first day. It looked nothing like the plants and trees he had seen in the world thus far, and yet, seemed to blend in so naturally. With a curious cock of his head, the blue-grey male continued forward, into the shade of the heavily fruit laden trees, and left the fence behind for further inspection later. The reason for coming here still took precedence.

Kota spent the better part of an hour strolling through the Orchard, stopping every now and then to sniff at an already busted pod. Scent trails criss-crossed over the ground in layers, from feline, reptile, and canine alike. Something told him that this sudden...spawning, was an occasion of sorts. Had his own birth been one such event and he never knew it? Cocking his head again, the broad shouldered feline rounded a particularly large tree, with its pod still hanging and attached, and came upon the sight of what he had been searching for the whole time. Another feline, obviously new to life, but that mattered little to him.

Slinking forward on quick, light steps, despite his stocky frame, the blue-grey male came around in front of the dusty hued feline. His large, fan-like ears flicked forward invitingly, showing no aggression, though his half-tail did flick about anxiously behind him. Meeting the other male, the blue ticked one back by the riverbank, had been a completely new experience and one that came under the wrong circumstances. Kota hoped to rectify that for himself today, as he met another of his species under normal settings.
Kota finally came to a halt once he was directly in front of the other feline, though he kept a few tail lengths between them for respect. Once he was certain he had his peer's attention, he cleared his throat and said,"Uh, hello. My name is Kota, and I, uh...came to meet you...What's your name?"

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Masafae watched the other feline as he padded closer, obviously taking care to not impose, and yet wanting to make sure he was seen. She tilted her head at him ever so slightly as he spike; the words at once natural and strangely foreign. Were those the sounds her kind were meant to make. "Hello," She started, speaking slowly and carefully, minding her sentences closely and taking care to properly enunciate every syllable. "I am Masafae. Did you truly come here just to meet me?" The thought that she would have a personal greeter into this world was... well, laughable.Not that she would reduce herself to such actions. She sat down, very delicately, taking care to not sit in the mess caused by the bursting pod. Mas turned her bright eyes once again to the other feline. "You speak as if you have been here.... well, relatively longer than I have. Not that that means much presently..." She sighed gently, shsaking her head a bit and looking back to Kota. "Have you been outside this place?"

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Kota's large, fan-like ears flicked forward as the other feline began to reply, though her words were slow and measured. He didn't mind, nor give it much thought, since he remembered how confusing and foreign the world had been to him at first. Instead, he nodded along to her introduction, before going still at Masafae's question. It was strangely complex, and one he had not expected. With a cock of his head, his bright blue gaze slid away, to the towering trees around them, as he contemplated the correct answer. Had he come here just to meet her, well no, but that didn't seem like the right thing to say. Thankfully, he was spared from answering right away as the orange-eyed female spoke up again, stating that he seemed to be older than her, though it wasn't hard seeing as she was just born. After a soft sigh, Masafae turned her head back in his direction, and once more presented him with a question. He found the second question much easier to reply to, and explain, so he settled on his haunches before launching into his own response.

"Yes, I have been beyond these trees and to the lands beyond," Kota paused, considering what Masafae might want to hear about the world beyond before continuing. "It is large, so vast in fact that I will not claim to have seen even half of it. But it's beautiful, and full of things to learn and other creatures to meet. Which is the reason I am here."
With a flick of his half-tail, the blue-grey male paused once again to figure out how he should explain himself. It didn't feel right to tell Masafae about the other of their kind that he had met, though only because it would mean he would have to explain the circumstances. And to present the idea of death to one just born...well, that especially didn't seem like the right thing to do. So, he picked a part the pieces of the past few days, and chose that which he figured would be satisfying enough to sate any curiosity his current company might have while still giving his reasons enough evidence to support them.

"There is a place not far from here called a river, and that's is where I have settled since my birth with two friends of mine. Except, they are not like you or me, but a different kind of creature altogether. They are covered in hard, shiny scales, and stand on two legs instead of four. I value their companionship, but...I wanted to know if there were more like me in the world. So I returned to the place of my, and their, birth in search of that, and I found you."

When Kota was done, he shifted his weight nervously, wondering what Masafae would think. In truth, he probably didn't have much to worry about, since the judgement of a newborn could hardly be held accountable. However, being around someone else like him made him self conscious, especially because he would have to explain himself for than usual. Now he understood what Lukasse and Dragonfly must have felt like when meeting him, since they had been born earlier than he and already had at least some things figured out in the world. It was an unsettling feeling, and he hoped to make the best impression he could, but his heart wouldn't stop thumping against his chest like it wanted out and there was a soft ringing in his ears that he had never heard before. Even the dull ache of his leg, where the lizard had bitten him, hardly compared to the anxiety that was building inside him. So, in an attempt to distract himself, the male feline stared at the tree that Masafae's pod had hung from.

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Masafae was quiet throughout the entire talk, listening very intently to what Kota was saying. How much land was out there, given what he had said? It was quite difficult to comprehend. She wondered about the river, about what the area could be like, and what secrets it could hold. She gave off little information in her face, just a few careful, slow blinks, though her gaze sharpened as he shifted his weight gently. Her tail twitched curiously, just a bit, and her head tilted accordingly. "You are nervous," She observed softly, eyes flicking back to his. "And you are hurt." It was a question, really, despite not being phrased as such.

Masafae stretched a bit, twisting gently to look at the tree. It was rather tall, which was unsurprising; it matched all the other trees in the copse. There were other dark pods hanging, but they did not seem to be ripened yet, and so clung furtively to the branches. One branch was a bit cracked, and that was obviously the branch Masafae had fallen from, wooden shards still hanging loosely, a few leaves even still floating lightly to the ground. Masafae sighed- it really was unfortunate that her first action was.... so terribly destructive. But, she supposed, that was the way of life- the fallen pod would be eaten up by the earth, and so nourish the grass and further provided nutrients for the tree, thus allowing more pods to form, and the birth of more.... well, whatever they were actually classified as.

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The stocky, wide chested feline watched the slow, tumbling fall of a leaf from Masafae's birth tree. Every breath he inhaled smelled of life and decay, a strangely comforting mixture that he suddenly realized he missed. The riverbank had been crisp and clean, but here it was shade and soft grass, the constant birth of life and the death that fed it. It's amazing, Kota thought absently, before twisting his ears and head about at the female's words. The first was an observation, and it sent heat rushing over his neck and face. Yet the second seemed like a question, so he gratefully dropped his gaze to the scabs along his leg. With a slow nod, he measured his words carefully, and then explained his injury in even tones.

"I encountered a...lesser being, by the river. It looks kind of like my friends, with scales all over, but it is much longer and walks on four, short legs. I came upon it eating, I think, and spooked it, so it attacked me. It was able to blend in with the plants it was eating though, so be careful if you go there. They could be anywhere."

For some reason, sharing such useful knowledge made the male feline feel a bit more relaxed. He had nothing to fear from Masafae, or so he thought. She hadn't reacted aggressively yet, and he had done nothing to provoke such behavior. And whatever she said or thought of him, he figured he could only change so much. Everyone is different, he had seen that by now. Lukasse had even evolved lately, her body growing in size and shape. All in all, Kota knew that anything was possible, he just tried to make the best of every situation. And since he had instigated, and wanted, this very thing he was doing to happen, he felt like it was his responsibility to make it enjoyable for the other feline.

"Are you hungry, or thirsty, yet? I didn't know that you had to eat and drink on my first day."

The question, and its following statement, was sudden and unexpected, even to Kota. But they had popped into his head as thoughts seconds before they left his maw. And yet they were good inquiries, if he was trying to be a good guide to a newborn.