Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sun was shining brightly, the breeze was glorious, gently nudging the light puffy clouds and playing in the tree's branches. Art Beat took in a deep breath and let it out with a content sigh. Today was perfect for gathering! Prancing about happily, humming a little tune, the brilliantly-painted doe pulled out her carrier- a very, very large leaf. With her long, slender tail, she gripped the leaf's stem and gently dragged it behind her.

Through the trees she skipped, her keen eyes searching. Her empty leaf now bore numerous and wonderful finds. Empty turtle shells or varying sizes, some filled with berries, others with linseed and flax, bright flowers. A bone or two lay upon the leaf, partnered up with her luckiest find of the year! Three indigo leaves from a dying plant. Unfortunately, it had dropped no seeds, but that was no problem. She rarely used blue anywa--

What was that?

Art Beat's ears shot up when something bright blue caught her eyes. Releasing her leaf, she danced over on light hooves, peering into the weeds. Was that...? The doe gasped, her eyes wide and a big smile spreading upon her lips.

"Wow! What a beautiful egg!" She awed, walking around it, staring at it's amazing blues and yellows. She nudged it gently and gasped in surprise when it wiggled back. "Oh! There's something still in it! Hmm~"

She thought for a moment, then nodded to herself. She had decided.

"Alright. I'll keep it then. After all, once it hatches, it's shell will make me such wonderful blue paint! Hehe!" And with that, the brightly bespeckled doe lightly lifted the Acha egg with her tail and placed it upon her leaf. With her load complete, she grabbed her leaf and headed home.

The sun was just setting when Palette arrived to her abode. A large tree, hallowed by horns and hooves gifted with the ability to sculpt. Inside, wooden walls broken up by multiple crevices and ledges, surrounded a beautifully soft bed of brightly colored pelts and furs. Upon the ledges and hiding the the nooks and crannies were the fruits of her previous trips out; beautifully brilliant feathers, glittering stones, a scattering of skulls and other bones, shells holding berries and seeds. Beside the bed was a large flat rock with another rounder one resting on it. A shallow dip seemed to have been worn into it, and the impression and the base of the round rock were both stained black. It was onto this platform that Art Beat deposited her greatest find; the shining yellow and blue speckled egg.

She had just finished putting away her latest gatherings, when the egg began to rock against the stone. Her ears perked up and her smile brightened, oh how exciting! She placed herself upon her bed and set to watching the brilliant little thing teeter about. Waiting.

The doe had drifted off and it was just now becoming morning when an audible crack roused her. With a yawn, she lifted her eyes just in time to see what had caused it. A large fissure had erupted on the shell. Oh! Another! Muffled noises could be heard! She scooted closer, her nose just a few inches away from the rocking container.

"Come on out little one! There's such a beautiful world to see!"

"Momma? Hehe, oh sweetie," Palette giggled and scooted herself closer and gave the brightly colored little thing a gentle lick.

How sweet! His pelt matched his little egg! Carefully, she nosed off any clinging shell bits and nudged the small creature closer. She'd pick those up later, but for now, the squeaking little babe held her ever fleeting attention.

Hungry? The doe tilted her head curiously. What did little things eat? She raised her head, looking about her den. She had plenty of leaves and berries, but most of those were either hard to find or inedible. Well, then. She stood suddenly, nudging the tiny thing over slightly.

"Stay there. Please don't leave," She said softly before bouncing out of the tree to look for baby-safe foods.

About an hour or so later, the pink-haired doe returned bearing the fruits - literally - of her search; a branch, bearing a few juicy fruits bearing a striking resemblance to the yellow of the tiny babe.

"Hey, look! I brought you some--" Art Beat stopped short, noticing the tiny yellow and blue ball curled up in her bed. She sighed around the branch and set it down gently. "Food.."

She lowered her nose, staring at the curious little thing. Had she been this tiny when she was little? She noticed the scattered rock and toppled bowls. Nosy little thing, wasn't it. He? She? She didn't even know. With a little huff, she picked up the crystal rock in her mouth- pretty thing, it was, but man did it taste odd -and placed it back on the make-shift shelf. She was about to put the shell back when the babe made the most adorable little squeak of a yawn. She turned, he was still sleeping. Suddenly, idea! Baby needs a bed, after all, he was currently hogging hers, and this shell was a pretty good size! She placed the turtle shell in the dip of the rock that she used to make her pigment and, after careful selection- it had to match! -she placed a nice, red pelt in it.

"There, nice and comfy." Gently, she lifted the little thing by the scruff of its neck and placed it in it's new bed.

A groan left Art Beat's throat as the familiar voice roused her from sleep. As she moved farther and farther from her dreams, the little voiced deepened and when she opened her eyes, she saw the intellegant, bright yellow eyes of her adopted son, no longer a tiny babe but a graceful young buck.

"Oh, good morning, Grin. I was just dreaming about you." The doe yawned and offered him a loving smile.

She wasn't the tiny little doe she had once been, raising the little thing had matured her. While she still had her selfish tenancies, she had grown to really careful and love this young Acha. Still, she was sleepy. Art Beat stretched and rolled over, snuggling back in her furs.

"Just a few more moments, you were so cute back then." She grinned and closed her eyes, snoozing.

A squeaky yawn escaped her parted maw and finally, with some struggle, the brightly-speckled doe rose from her comfy bed to beam at her little brother.

"Good morning, Grin! Did you sleep well? I sure did!" She giggled and stepped out into the sun. "Hmm, didn't we have plans for today?"

The doe paused in thought, looking about her wonderful tree-cave. Her eyes flitted over the brightly colored patters her unshaking tail had used to decorate the tree and the rocks around. Runes claiming her territory merged with that of her kid brother's. The paint was dry, cracking, the colors fading... Right!

"We're collecting today! Right!" She giggled and darted back inside, almost knocking Grin over into her bed. Quickly she gathered the shells and containers she needed. With a soft whistle, something white and dark and beautiful slowly stepped out from the bushes; Clean Slate, her giant tortoise, rearing and ready to get to work. Brush and Stroke, her two mongeese, danced out of the bushes behind him and to help.

Carefully, she lifted her biggest shell, the one with a hole kicked out of the bottom, and gently fitted it on Slate's back while the Brush and Stroke deftly secured it with two vines. There! Far more effective than that giant leaf she'd used years ago.

"Ready to go! Let's see, we need... White, black, red, some blue if we can mange to find any..."