~ We Are Made of Porcelain ~

[Guest SilverTheNicheling]

4 minutes ago, Magnolia said:

(ya know what I think I'll just skip over the weird part because it was a stupid mistake on my behalf and the things I made poor China and Glass do are for my own convenience and are incredibly out of character...ummm let's just say I forgot to change their immunities, and they had multiple sick babies,,, and uhhhh yyyyeah)

(but I fixed the parent's immunities with the console so we good now)

Anyways. Let's get on with our gripping playthrough!!

 

...

 

China and Glass waltz on over to this lovely flowery island for some love time. (and they totally didn't have a sick baby and abandon him)

Meanwhile back on the mainland, disaster strikes. 

"MAMA!!" Dolly screams as a dark and menacing bearyena stumbles out of the shadows. It licks its chops and grins a menacing grin. It comes closer and closer to the child, one huge black clawed paw after the other. Dolly tries to run but finds herself backed all the way to the seashore.

"DOLLY!!" Talenel hears her daughter's cries and comes leaping out of the waves. She knows she would protect Dolly even if it cost her her life. And my unborn baby...Talenel thinks sadly. But she has no time to waste. 

Talenel throws herself in front of the bearyena, pushing little Dolly to the side. She fights with all her strength, but the bearyena is still too strong for her. She shuts her eyes as the bearyena lifts a paw to deliver its fatal blow. Please, Tatata...Talenel prays silently. Don't take me away from Dolly, as much as I miss you already...

Talenel opens her eyes again. She sees no bearyena in front of her. Dolly is still by her side, safe and sound. She shakes herself. Am I dead? Hallucinating? Was this a dream?

But it doesn't take long for her to notice the golden pelted body lying in front of her. Kunopri!?

(heheh please ignore the sickly green baby lol that never happened)

(feeling bad cuz he's pretty)

Don’t worry about it, I’m still enjoying it! Even if the Bearyena made my heart beat so fast...

[bostonlobstah]

1 minute ago, SilverTheNicheling said:

Don’t worry about it, I’m still enjoying it! Even if the Bearyena made my heart beat so fast...

Mine too :c I love Talenel too much to sacrifice her!!!

[bostonlobstah]

But it's what I think she'd do.

[Guest SilverTheNicheling]

5 minutes ago, Magnolia said:

But it's what I think she'd do.

As a mother, yes, she’d probably sacrifice herself just for the sake of protecting her child.

[bostonlobstah]

Ceramic came running over and found Kunopri's body, a whimpering Dolly, and an emotionally broken Talenel. 

"He was so kind to me...and I hardly knew him a day or two..." Talenel wiped away a tear. "He saved my life. And Dolly's...and my baby's."

"It's really a shame. I knew him less than you did. But he seemed like such a nice fellow..."

Ceramic had no more time to speak, for he smelled the bearyena approaching again. Poisoned from Kunopri's venomous stinger, injured from Talenel's attacks, but still eager to fight. And it had a baby with it, too.

"We have to run..." Talenel breathed. "Ceramic, run and fetch your parents."

Ceramic gave a worried glance her way, then darted off.

Now Talenel had only one choice for Dolly. The bearyena could easily come up and snatch her. The only option was...

"Dolly. Do you think you can swim?"

"Maybe...I don't know..."

"You must swim! Swim or you'll die at the claws of the bearyena. I'm practically a fish, I'm sure you've got some of my genes."

Dolly reluctantly splashed into the water. She floundered a little, but Talenel knew that if she stayed on land, the bearyena would be distracted by her.

"I fight better in the water. We just need to lure it a little closer..."

And then, the bearyena came down into the ocean. Talenel fought the beast with all of her strength. She hoped it would be enough this time. And miraculously, it was! The bearyena lay slain as the ocean water lapped all around it, but Talenel was too tired to even pick up its meat. Exhausted, she fell down into the sand. Ceramic and China and Glass came rushing back and did the honors, thanking both Talenel and Kunopri for their selflessness and bravery in battle. A funeral was held for Kunopri, and he was buried as best as they were able.

[bostonlobstah]

The next day brought rainclouds, and with it came the rain. Talenel was feeling miserable; having lost her mate, then a friend, and almost her life. China noticed Talenel's sadness and began feeling badly. Her large ears pricked, and her antennae began to tingle. Something was coming. But this time it felt right.

"W-who's there?" Talenel called out. And then from the grasses...

"Seaweed!"

[Guest SilverTheNicheling]

1 minute ago, Magnolia said:

The next day brought rainclouds, and with it came the rain. Talenel was feeling miserable; having lost her mate, then a friend, and almost her life. China noticed Talenel's sadness and began feeling badly. Her large ears pricked, and her antennae began to tingle. Something was coming. But this time it felt right.

"W-who's there?" Talenel called out. And then from the grasses...

"Seaweed!"

I’m certain that this is probably better than what I’m doing with A New Legacy, because I’m not sure how I’m even gonna handle the moving islands chapter.. O.O

Plus I’m terrible at my narrating now.. all I ever have interest are character scripts..

[bostonlobstah]

Talenel dances excitedly around her old friend, finally crying tears of happiness. "Seaweed! It's really you!"

"'Course it is! A peaceful bear always keeps his promises."

"I've missed you so much...you have no idea what I've been through."

"I believe it. You've changed, haven't you?" Seaweed's voice drops. He notices that her fishy muzzle is tinged with silver, and her eyes are full of melancholy.

"I bet I have," Talenel chuckles softly. "You are what gave me happiness, you know...but I've found other joys along the way."

"I can see that," Seaweed glances towards Dolly and nods his approval. "This is your kid, right?"

"Yessir," Talenel smiles. "This is Dolly."

China and Glass and Ceramic overhear the conversation and come running. "Hello, Seaweed. Long time, no see." Glass nods curtly with a small smile.

China is more exuberant, however. "Seaweed! It's so good to see you again." She smiles warmly at her old friend. "Do you recognize Ceramic here? He's a big boy now!" She playfully ruffles her son's mane, and he smooths it back down again. 

"Ah, yes! Ceramic! My how he's grown up! He probably doesn't remember me at all."

"Barely," Ceramic says. "Can't remember the old island much at all...but those acorns Dad cracked open for me...yu-um!" He lets out a laugh. Everyone else laughs too, and Talenel smiles quietly. 

The rest of the night is full of talking and laughing and nuzzling. None of the creatures have ever been so happy in their lives. 

 

[MAТТRESS]

When Seaweed talks, I imagine him talking like Hagrid. Ya know, from Harry Potter. Idk...

[bostonlobstah]

The next day, Talenel is in pain. Her baby is about to be born. China is also moaning because she is almost due as well. 

"Seaweed...I need you..." Talenel fumbles for tufts of grass and yanks them from the soil, weaving them into a nest. She gives birth to a baby girl during the night. She has the powerful claw of her father, and her mother's webbed paw. 

"I will name her Clay," Talenel breathes a heavy sigh. 

"What a pretty little thing," Seaweed exclaims. "Congratulations!"

 

Within the next few days, another baby girl is born to China and Glass. She is nearly a spitting image of China. 

"What should we name her?" China is beaming with pride. "I always wanted a daughter."

"Ahh...how about Porcelain?" Glass smiles at his mate and new daughter.

"No, no, no! Porcelaine! With an E on the end! That makes it more feminine."

"Sure, that's perfect." Glass licks his baby on her purple forehead. 

"She and Clay will make such great friends," China sighs dreamily. 

[bostonlobstah]

A few days later, a bearyena jumps in front of Talenel. She resists every urge to fight it with all of her energy, but instead rams into it once and darts away to make sure Clay and Dolly stay safe. She knows however that Seaweed will be able to protect her and her friends and family. One "GROWWWL!" From Seaweed sends the bearyena packing. They know he'll be back though.

Meanwhile, China and Glass decide they want one more baby. 

"We are getting old, China. You have to face it." Glass stares into China's mesmerizing violet eyes. 

"I know, Glass, and I'm trying to accept it. I think we're ready."

The two decide that they want to have their last child in peace, secluded away from everyone else. 

Little Porcelaine is too young to come with them, so they entrust her into Talenel's, Ceramic's, and Seaweed's care. 

"Stay safe, darling girl," China whispers. She and Glass lick their daughter good-bye. 

"I trust you can keep her safe from harm," Glass tells Seaweed. 

"I sure will!"

"Make sure she plays nice with Clay, and please be a good nurse-mother for her," China tells Talenel. 

"I promise." Talenel smiles playfully. "Stay safe, you two lovebirds."

"Take care of her, too, Ceramic. I love you," She nuzzles her adult son. 

"Love you, Mom. Dad."

(literally ignore the kid in the ocean rip)

[bostonlobstah]

The bearyena comes around Seaweed, but the Friendly Bearyena is hot on his heels. Talenel and the now full-grown Dolly manage to take it down without a scratch. 

"You're quite the warrior, huh Dolly?" Talenel nudges her daughter. "You've got real fighting spirit."

"Well, I had to have got it from somewhere," Dolly responds. "Namely, you." Talenel blushes.

"You saved my life, mom. Remember?"

"Well, I guess...but Kunopri is the one who deserves the highest honors."

"Ku-who?" Talenel is saddened that Dolly can't remember the wanderer that had saved their lives and sacrificed his own in the process.

"Kunopri. He had a venomous tail like a scorpion, and his pelt was as bright golden as the sun. I only knew him for a few days." Talenel recollected the terrifying events leading to his death. 

"I won't forget that day you saved me. You fought like a shark. I don't remember any Kunopri though...maybe he was that sunlight I saw..." There was silence for a minute.

"Do you remember your father?" Talenel asks suddenly, urgently.

"I...I don't know..." Dolly frowns. Talenel's heart sinks. 

"He wasn't much of a fighter, but boy, he sure loved me with a passion," Talenel manages to smile to herself a little.

[bostonlobstah]

Meanwhile, Glass clears a patch of grass around an abandoned nest.

"It's an old nest, but look. It'll last forever." Glass smiles at China as she struggles over to the nest. 

She sits down. "It's full of moss. So soft."

The two sleep side by side in the nest. Early in the morning, a baby girl is born. She is white and bright red. Red like passion, red like blood, red like a bleeding heart. 

"She's gorgeous," Glass is breathtaken. "What do we name her? After something fragile, something that breaks..."

"I know just the name for her, if that's the theme we've been following," China smiles a soft smile, full of love and sadness and joy. "We'll name her Hearts."

Suddenly she gets a tingling feeling in her antennae again. "Do you smell anything, Glass?"

"I'll go investigate."

Glass comes back with a wanderer beside him. He's got an odd face and the strangest paw China has ever seen. 

"This is Donprikir. He'd like to join our tribe."

[MAТТRESS]

I drew a pic of Talenel for you!

I hope you like it!

[bostonlobstah]

AHHH I love it! So cute! Thank you so much!! ❤️

[bostonlobstah]

Ceramic tiptoes towards Talenel, who is sitting by herself. 

"Are you alright?"

"I don't know...I just...I wish I was like before. When I was young like you I loved to swim and play and hunt for seashells and fish...but now? Look at me. I've found Seaweed, and he's made my life so much easier, but...it's just not the same. It never will be." She looks off into the distance at the rolling waves. 

"I...I wish I could relate to you, but...I just, I feel badly..." Ceramic sits beside her, his heart pounding. 

"Oh, you've had your hardships, I'm sure," Talenel says. "You've had to leave your home, you faced death by a bearyena, and I'm sure you miss your parents."

Ceramic nods. But inside he is deathly afraid to admit his feelings for Talenel, after all she's lost. (i would marry talenel too tbh)

Talenel glances his way. Ceramic locks eyes with her for a split second before Ceramic blushes and looks away, biting his lip. But he knows that Talenel understands him. 

"Talenel..." he stammers. "I-I mean, I know your heart is with Tatata...but I want to share something special with you too..." I sound so stupid, he thinks. She'd never love me like Tatata, or Seaweed, or her children, or even Kunopri...

"You...you really do?" Talenel seems intrigued, almost happy. That comes as quite a surprise. 

"Well, ah--yes," Ceramic stumbles over his words. "I'm not going to find a mate out here ever...I just want someone to love me, even if it's just a child of my own..."

"You never know who you'll find out here," Talenel smiles warmly. "That's how I met Tatata after all. He wasn't very hard to find."

Ceramic is still unsure of what Talenel thinks. "Do--do you---?"

Talenel takes a deep breath and closes her eyes like she is deep in thought. What could I say to him? Can I let go of Tatata, just for now?

"Of course." Her words are strong and sure. She knows that Clay and Dolly need a real father, just like she had Seaweed. She knows it would make Ceramic happy. And maybe make her happy too.

Soon Talenel finds out she is pregnant with Ceramic's child. Her heart flutters and jumps for joy. Maybe this is the chance for her to start over, even as she grows old. A new island, a new mate, a new life.

[bostonlobstah]

Meanwhile....

Glass and China clear the grass around Hearts' mossy nest. Donprikir hums and picks berries in the background. 

Glass bends over to pick some grass, but his heart begins to fail. He falls over to his side.

"Glass!" China rushes over to her mate's side, relieved to find him alive and conscious. 

"China..." Glass murmurs. "We need to go home..."

"But our baby...she's too young to walk! And...we are too old to make the journey."

"Donprikir!" Glass calls out, heaving himself back onto his paws. Donprikir stops berry-picking immediately and flaps with his one bat wing to their side.

"Run, fly to the rest of our tribe. Bring our children here to us."

Donprikir doesn't say a word, but nods nervously and begins to fly away, stumbling and hovering only an inch or two off the ground. 

[bostonlobstah]

Donprikir doesn't really know which way the rest of the tribe went, but he smells a scent from up north. He follows it eagerly. 

"He doesn't know where to go," China murmurs worriedly. "We have to follow him."

"Slowly, though...little Hearts can't move far."

They begin, slowly, painfully, trekking north in hopes of seeing their family one last time.

[bostonlobstah]

Meanwhile, the rest of the tribe is heading north as well. Talenel and the others say their farewells to Seaweed, who had decided to stay near the sea.

 

"I smell acorns," Ceramic smiles and takes a deep, long breath. "Have you had the pleasure of eating an acorn before, Talenel?"

"I don't think so." Talenel laughs. "If I did, it sounds as though I would remember it well."

"Come, up here!" Ceramic calls out. Talenel passes by several nice, mossy nests and ambles over to where Ceramic had cracked her a nut. He holds it out to her, grinning madly. 

"Well, if you insist," Talenel says, taking a bite of the acorn. "Mmmmm. Delicious! Not as good as clams, though..."

"Do you miss the ocean?" Grass asks her. 

"I hate to admit it. But I do." 

"I can take you back there someday." Ceramic tries to cheer her up.

"You know how I am, Ceramic. I'm not as young and spry as you. I could never make it to the ocean before I die."

"You never know," Ceramic nuzzles into her fur. He feels awkward, knowing that he loves her with his whole soul, but not knowing if she truly loves him back.

Suddenly, Donprikir jumps out of the grass. 

"Who are you!" Dolly snaps at him. "Get out of our territory! This acorn tree is ours!"

She's about to ram him, but he cries out "Wait! I come in peace, and with urgent news."

Everyone cocks their heads questioningly and listens.

"My name is Donprikir. I was sent by Glass and China. They are growing old and they wish to see you." He nods his head towards the two nichelings that look the most like Glass and China's children. 

Ceramic looks worriedly at Talenel, then to Donprikir. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" He asks Talenel. 

"I promise. Now go."

Ceramic takes one more longing look at his pregnant mate, then calls out to Porcelaine. "Come along, Porcie."

"Where are we going?" Porcelaine asks her older brother.

"We are going to see your Mama and Papa."

"Isn't Talenel my mama?"

"No, no, sweetie." Ceramic shakes his head sadly. "Your real parents. They left on a trip when you were very young."

"Oh..." Porcelaine sighed, and remained silent the rest of the journey.

[bostonlobstah]

After days of tearing away at tall grass, fumbling across the wilderness, Porcelaine cries out, "Look! I see someone!"

"Mom! Dad!" Ceramic stumbles over to where his parents stood weakly. Porcelaine followed hot on his heels. 

"Oh! A new baby!" Porcelaine comments on little Hearts, who coos happily.

"Porcelaine, my sweet girl! I've missed you oh so much. This is Hearts. I want you to take care of her, Ceramic..."

"Mother, father, please no..." Ceramic begins to cry. Porcelaine watches him, puzzled. 

"I'm so sorry, Ceramic..." Glass searches his son's eyes longingly. "Porcelaine, will you remember us?"

"I--I will," Porcelaine's eyes are wet. She is only beginning to understand everything that is going on.

"My darling baby girls, I love you so much," China nuzzles her children. "Ceramic, I love you too...I want you to teach our children well. I know you can do it."

Ceramic has no words. He embraces each of his parents. Then they fall asleep together, China and Glass to never wake again.

[bostonlobstah]

The three children stand vigil all the next day.

[flower]

3 minutes ago, Magnolia said:

Then they fall asleep together , China and Glass to never wake again.

 

Dang.. that hit me with the sheer force of great writhing and sadness..

[bostonlobstah]

Just now, FlowerMask said:

Dang.. that hit me with the sheer force of great writhing and sadness..

Thank you... :,C

[flower]

Just now, Magnolia said:

Thank you... :,C

No problem :’)

[bostonlobstah]

Finally the trek home commences. Ceramic sees Talenel in the distance and runs up to her. He cries into her fur. 

"Did they...?" Talenel stammers. But she doesn't need to finish.

The whole day is full of tears and embraces. 

That night, Talenel goes into labor. "Ceramic, our baby is coming!"

She stumbles into one of the mossy old nests. 

The next morning, a beautiful baby girl is sleeping peacefully in the nest. 

"She's beautiful! What should we name her?" Ceramic asks. 

(name suggestions please!!)