Stranger in a Strange World

[BunnyBud]

@DragonSong
———————————

The sky burned. A jagged purple tear cut through the upper atmosphere above the Draconi Forest, releasing bursts of wild, untamed magic. All of it burnt out before it could affect anything, with the exception of something roughly akin to a meteor. Ice shaped into a rough sphere caught flame as it was caught in the planet's gravity and forcibly yanked down towards the surface.

The hunk of ice evaporated quickly as it plummeted towards the towering treetops, eventually revealing the creature that was held within, that had come through the horrific shred in reality itself, one which had already sealed over with no sign of it remaining. A stony, mantis-like shape tumbled through the trees, snapping branches and knocking through a trunk or two on the way down. It left a deep furrow in the dirt for around ten yards, dragging a trench into the loamy soil.

A loud clicking sound emanated from the creature as it stood, tail lashing behind it and crashing through a poor, unsuspecting fern. An eerie green glow came from the countless eyes dotting it's oblong head, casting a dim light through the surrounding area that illuminated anything nearby. A psychic wave pulsed from it's position, sending out an uncoordinated burst of emotions and concepts that likely caused a squirrel or two to have an aneurysm.

Fear-Confusion-Terror. New-Unfamiliar-Uncertain. Horror-Wonder-Pain.
Panic-Fear-Fear-Terror-Worry-Confusion-FEAR.

[DragonSong]

The forest was in an uproar.

First it was a falling star. Then a flock of starlings, shrieking their fright and confusion as they fled from the tear in the sky. Lanaya was nearly bowled over by the sudden rush of frantic wings as she gathered her day's drinking water from the small stream that ran by her nest.

She couldn't make sense of the birds' warnings, but she didn't have much time to try to process them: within moments she heard the CRACK, like thunder brought to earth. She felt the very ground beneath her feet tremble as something struck earth, hard, and the trees some thirty yards to the east shivered and bent, or broke entirely.

Most rational creatures fled from the sudden calamity, and Lanaya was very nearly one of them--whatever had just happened, it had happened close enough to her home that she feared she may need to flee the old nest entirely.

But then she felt it; it wasn't quite like her birds, hearing their voices in her mind, but it was similar in a way that made her stop and stare in the direction of the disturbance. There were no words, no voice, exactly, but...

Someone was hurt. Afraid.

...Maybe she could help.

"I dearly hope this isn't a horrid mistake," the forest witch murmured to herself as she crept cautiously forward through the trees, following both the lingering signs of the star's path and the edges of that mental presence to the source of the crash.

[BunnyBud]

A spindly gray body shook and brushed dirt and ash from it's sharp, angular frame, quietly surveying it's surroundings. The witch would, as she approached, notice that the light cast upon the area from the creature's eyes only reached around thirty feet away, at the furthest, and if she was schooled enough in animal body language, which she likely was, then she'd see the way it twitched slightly at even the smallest shake of wind through leaves.

Fear-Danger-Enemy. Alone-Uncertain-Worry. Safe-Danger-Wrong? Wrong-Death-Pain. Right-Safe-Live.

The being cast out it's emotions like a net, snaring everything nearby and all but forcing it's feelings into their mind. This wasn't a form of telepathy, per se, something far more primal and visceral. Lanaya would experience it's mind like her own, separated by the thinnest veil of distinction, similar to a vivid nightmare that you know isn't real, but your animal mind cannot comprehend it in the moment.

The creature went through a quick internal debate about it's situation and how worried it needed to be, seeming to settle on the decision that it was better to be safe than to be sorry. It's stalagmite-like appendages clicked against it's arms as it started stalking around, clawed feet leaving deep furrows in the dirt as it examined it's surroundings.

Find-Enemy-Hunt. Ally-Request-Assistance. Seek-Hunt-Discover.

[DragonSong]

"Ah!"

Lanaya stumbled as the second wave of psychic force hit her. It wasn't all the way to painful, not exactly, but it was intense. She forced herself to weather it, feeling the fear and confusion thundering through her body and only able to separate herself from it with a mantra of Not mine, not mine, not mine.

The...creature--she had no other word for it--was clearly terrified. And massive. She eyed the claws warily as she crept toward the edge of the ring of destruction that its arrival had caused.

She stopped with a healthy distance of space between herself and the creature--it didn't look like the sort of entity that could dodge easily between trees, so she made sure to leave herself an easy escape back into the denser forest.

"Hello?" She called out with both voice and mind--she had no idea how else to communicate, so she spoke as she would with her birds, using human language combined with the avian mental equivalent: curiosity, wariness, no harm. "What...what happened? Who are you? What are you?"

No harm. Friend. No harm.

[BunnyBud]

The creature's head didn't move when she spoke, but as she focused her intent towards it, the lit area surrounding it changed. The greenish lights dimmed for around 270° of the ring, growing in intensity in the 90° focused on Lanaya. It's body all but flowed into a different position, rotating above the legs with a horrific sound of stone scraping against stone.

Uatyr could not hear her words, for it had no ears with which to hear. No way to sense vibrations in the air as creatures of flesh and blood could. For, in it's home, there was no air at all. No verdant pastures, no blue skies, no need to hear, or smell, or eat. Every moment was agony. The raking, scraping thickness in the air shredded against it's carapace, unbearable heat pulsing through it in waves. It had no way to sense most things in it's vicinity, so what it could, was agony.

Friend-Ally-Truth? Trust-Assist-Safety? Deceit-Danger-Death.

Taking a few slow steps forwards, it's clawed feet dug into the loam beneath it. Tail lashing behind it in slow motion as if moving underwater, a spike of mental energy slammed into her mind. It was more an intrusion than an assault, an attempt to sense her intentions.

[DragonSong]

Lanaya gave another noise of discomfort, staggering back under the new spike of energy. "Goodness. Ow."

Pressing one hand to her temple, she held the other out toward the creature and did her best to continue speaking with both mind and voice.

"Could you...lower your voice? It is rather...intense."

Mind touch, discomfort. Aid. Help. Want to help. Too much, too loud, softer.

[BunnyBud]

The creature reacted to her stumble, lunging forwards as the glow from it's eyes grew to near-blinding levels. Stopping at the edge of the tree line, it stalked back and forth, making a notable effort to avoid touching any of the greenery.

Regret-Pain-Discomfort. Unknown-Worry-React. Apology-Shame-Accident.

It attempted to apologize, no longer pacing and taking a few steps back to give her room. 

[DragonSong]

Lanaya smiled, sending a pulse of assurance as best she could in the hope it would help translate the expression.

"That's alright. I'm sure you're very upset. That...it seems like you've taken...quite a fall?"

She gestured to the furrow it had left in the earth as she spoke and offered another mental connection: Safe, friend, curiosity. Home? Where is home?

[BunnyBud]

It's rigid, tense posture relaxed slightly from the calming pulse, the creature's hypersensitivity to emotion and psionic energies making it rather easily influenced by what she'd just done.

Home-Away-Gone. Up-Far-Long. Cold-Dead-Safe.

In addition to the concepts, Lanaya would receive a sort of mental image, consisting of the creature's sense of self.

Cold-Danger-Hunter-Friend-Fear-Power-Sight-Strength
UATYR

[DragonSong]

The poor thing.

"There now." She took a cautious step toward the creature. "I'm sorry. I'm not sure...how you got here, but..."

She spread her hands wide, giving it a sympathetic look. It was difficult to parse through the impressions the creature was giving her, but she thought she caught—not a word, exactly. A name?

"Uatyr?" As she said it, she tried to send back the same sensations and impressions it had given her. "Your name is Uatyr?"

She smiled again and laid a hand in her chest. "I'm Lanaya." Feathers in a nest, home among trees, friends in a flock, power from the earth, Lanaya

[BunnyBud]

The creature took a step backwards when she approached, it's tail curling up behind it. The seemingly prehensile appendage uncurled with a loud snap, shearing through a sapling behind it.

It's head cocked to the side when she sent the emotional package back to it, the 90° cone of light narrowing further, until Lanaya was illuminated with brilliant green light, the rest of it's eyes gone completely dark.

Joy-Understanding-Ally. Friend-Gratitude-Happiness.

Feathers-Nest-Home-Green-High-Safe-Flock-World-Strength

LANAYA

[DragonSong]

Lanaya beamed at this strange creature who had arrived so explosively in her world. A tiny part of her marveled at this simple miracle: connection.

"Yes." She affirmed its definition of her name, repeating it back as best she could while pressing her hand to her chest. "Lanaya. Friend. Ally." She blinked, squinted against the sudden narrowing of that greenish light, then gave her head a little shake.

"Are you hurt?" Harm done? Healing, aid offered.

[BunnyBud]

The light dimmed as Uatyr's eyes returned to normal, casting a faint, almost imperceptible green light throughout the area. It walked towards her, it's body contorting bonelessly to let it slip through the treeline without touching any of them.

Safe-Unhurt-Surprise. Gratitude-Offer-Assist. Lanaya-Injury-Pain?

It responded to her question before offering one of it's own, looming over Lanaya.

[DragonSong]

Well.

It was...bigger up close. And apparently moved with much more dexterity than its general appearance implied.

Lanaya tried to keep herself as mentally open as she could, but it was still very strange to communicate the way this creature did. "I'm alright, thank you." Not hurt, curious, confused, gratitude. She looked around at the chaos left in the wake of Uatyr's landing and winced slightly. "Perhaps...we should get you somewhere a little less...open?"

Safety offered, nest, home, this place is vulnerable.

[BunnyBud]

It's movements were highly unnatural, a loud crackling sound coming from it's chitinous, stony exoskeleton as it's limbs snapped back into place.

Enclosed-Everywhere-Alive. Unnatural-Green-Wrong. Thick-Around-Everywhere.

Uatyr shifted anxiously from side to side, making sure to avoid touching trees. It's stalagmite-like lower arms pulsed slightly before opening, spreading into eight-clawed, webbed claws. Reaching downwards, it grabbed a thick branch and raised it up to it's face, before snapping it and returning the claws to their normal, conical position.

Understanding-Gratitude-Relief. Agreement-Follow-Correct.

[DragonSong]

Lanaya flinched when it snapped the branch, taking an instinctive step back. She managed to calm herself quickly and tried for a smile with another friendly pulse of mental assurance—maybe if she kept up like this, the creature might start to understand some of her non-mental cues.

"It's this way then," she encouraged quietly, taking a few steps backward with her eyes still on Uatyr to make sure it followed before she finally turned and began leading it through the trees. Follow, path, learn.

[BunnyBud]

Uatyr was... confused. This weak, fleshy, timid being radiated power, similar to the death-pain-chaos storms that commonly swept across it's home, albeit more contained. It seemed friendly, however, and the reveal of a different material beneath it's expressive upper exterior apparently conveyed happiness.

Following after her, it trodded through the forest, occasionally punching a hole in the ground, or a plant that was particularly affected by the wind. This was more due to curiosity than malice, it's attention split between the path and everything else.

[DragonSong]

The fourth time Uatyr stabbed a hole through a leaf, Lanaya winced and paused, then double back to stand in front of the creature.

"Can you...try to avoid doing that?" Tearing green, sadness, request to halt. She didn't think it was acting out of any real destructive impulse—it seemed to be made of rock or stone of some sort, and that made her think it was simply unused to a world that was so fragile by comparison.

Kneeling, she placed her hand on the green moss beneath their feet and looked up at her strange guest. "This—the trees, the grass, the moss, all the green in this forest...it's alive," she tried to explain. "Alive in a way different from you and me, maybe, but still alive."

Living green, light in the earth, growing, warmth. Lanaya heartbeat, not the same, Uatyr curious, not the same, different life.