ORIGIN

If Zhusha was being honest with himself, he was long overdue for a visit to Canis. He hadn't visited the Bonebound since first having dinner with them cycles ago. In fact, he'd been rather derelict in keeping up with all of his acquaintances. Purity and the Queen, too, he'd not seen in a long time. He would add those to his itinerary, then, prioritizing the Maine Coon.

Stepping into the tunnel--he wouldn't risk flying in here, with the myriad reflections to disorient him--Zhusha wondered briefly who had placed the planks on the floor. They'd been awfully considerate--or perhaps they'd done it for a payment of some sort? Would it be worth decorating these? he wondered, eyeing the plain brown wood, then decided the tunnel was bright and confusing enough already. A shame.

A bedraggled cat came into view as he travelled further into the tunnel. Zhusha slowed, a slight frown crossing his face as he tried to figure out what to make of her. A threat, perhaps corrupted by the same magic Purity had delved into? Or someone who had been on the receiving end of a threat? The latter, he decided quickly. She looked too tired and defeated to be anything else.

"Do you need help?" he asked bluntly, still staying well behind her in case she startled. It was more a rhetorical question than anything--clearly, she wasn't doing great and hadn't been for a while, judging from the ribs jutting out. The real questions were of how to help and does she want help.

And what should he do if she didn't? Zhusha wasn't sure.

A pause, and he waited patiently for the cat to respond. Taking into account her condition--the myriad scars all over, the face that looked more tired than anyone he had seen, the look of distracted defeat--Zhusha could hardly blame her for taking a while, and he wondered what in the world had happened to her.

Even her voice, when she spoke, showed the signs of wear. As if she were sick, or a fire had burned it. Though his rigid beak was not all that good at showing expression, Zhusha's concern deepened. At least she had agreed to accept help, though he was not sure how much he could give. Food, at least, he could catch, provided she ate the fish or mice he usually hunted. He had no idea what to do about sickness or how to heal any wounds. Danger was an iffy thing--he could fight, yes, but was he better at it than this cat? Enough to fend off whatever danger she might have faced?

"What do you need?" he asked, stepping closer to a more comfortable speaking distance now that it was clear she wasn't hostile. "I can show you water, or bring you prey," he offered. Pausing for a moment, he added: "Were you harmed by someone?" If they were still around, he would need to keep an eye out in case they turned on others. And perhaps this would be a reason to seek out Purity once more, to keep their promise to one another.

Zhusha nodded briefly before walking forward toward Gemini, gesturing with a wing as he went. "There is both in the cave ahead--this is a short tunnel; we will be there soon." He'd considered going back toward Polaris, too. The river was deeper and accommodated larger fish, but it was also fast-moving with steep banks. He wasn't sure if the cat could safely drink from it, and decided that Gemini's gentler waterfall would be better.

Meanwhile, he focused on his magic, trying to call up something she could eat on the way. Magic was not his strong suit--but this was a relatively simple spell. It succeeded with a small pop, and he offered the banana to Aaliyah. "A snack," he suggested. "Until we reach Gemini."

He considered Aaliyah's words. Zhusha didn't want to trust that it had been long enough ago that they had died by now, or that they were hibernating somewhere. If whoever it was had done this to this cat--then they were dangerous, and the best thing to do was make sure the danger was rooted out.

But there was also plenty of danger in the world, and trying to chase down one person without any sort of clue as to who or where they were wasn't the smartest plan to make it safer. "Can you describe them?" he asked as they walked. "I would like to keep an eye out."

Zhusha nodded at Aaliyah's description, trying to commit it to memory. Similar in appearance--but darker, stockier, and with just as many scars. He hoped he would be able to remember well--it was difficult to visualize someone through only words, and perhaps more difficult to recall it cycles later. There had been rumors going around of a deer teaching people to do something called 'reading' and 'writing': recording words through markings. Zhusha would have liked to attend, but there was one problem: the deer appeared to be affiliated with the Giant Chaotic Monster Organization. That was, the Chaos Forge.

Did Zhusha believe that the monsters had changed for the better, and were now offering help out of charity to the caves? Hell no. But he didn't know Astraea--maybe he was like Giggle, and was a good person who just happened to associate with Nidhogg, Draconua, and the rest of them. He would have to find out more, and possibly think about... alternatives.

But he'd let his mind wander enough. "I'll watch out for this cat," he promised as they approached the Gemini entrance. "Do you have a preference for prey? Fish? Rodents?" Cats ate meat, he was pretty sure. Zhusha himself was best at fishing, but he knew that not all could get past the slimy texture.