ORIGIN - Fishing for Fallah [Pt.1]

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Fisher had finally, officially, left Maji Walezi. It perhaps would be fitting that the first place he would go would be Orion-- it was where his tower was. Where he had, for a brief moment, though he would live for the rest of his life. It had fallen apart a bit, after he had nearly died... But maybe some day Fallah, Black, that kitten, and whoever else could live together in Orion. It certainly was pretty. The only problem was that inky black flying monster... The King of Shadows. He shook his head, plodding on, until he smelled a strong, sharp scent. One that he couldn't forget, if only for the fact he had been living in a place that carried that exact same scent.

"Cancer!" He squeaked, stopping in his tracks. He glanced at Black, the big black barkfriend that was the only reason he felt safe leaving the sort-of safety of Pisces. "I think my friend is here. He might know where the white cat is, or Fallah. I'm gonna see if he's home," he told the mastiff, his tail wagging softly. He missed Cancer... Sincerely. It was a miracle that he had found his friend in the same place he had once wanted to call home.

The noodle darted forward, tromping right up into the throne room with out an ounce of hesitation. He sniffed around, peering around, trying to find Cancer. Surely he had to be here! "Cancer! It's me! Fisher! You home?" For a moment he forgot all his worries-- his friend. His precious, wonderful friend. One of the few people who understood him, one of the few he thought he would never see again.

private ;; @Black @Cancer

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Black tagged along obediently, trotting alongside and slightly behind his Fisher friend. He listened without speaking, and moved with ease along the familiar rocky floor of Orion. He'd spent some time here--snuffling about, around the throne and the strange building-like structures; he knew the place well enough. And truly, there was no reason to speak. Fisher was the one who knew this stranger, and Black was hardly the sort of gembound to bother with unnecessary words.

He simply followed, his massive head swinging slowly to and fro to keep a pale blue-grey gaze out for any potential danger, his lumbering gait carrying him alongside Fisher like an oversized, clumsy bodyguard.

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If the brown not-prey thing had chosen any other time, he might've missed the chance to see the black panther as he roamed his star-spangled city. Luckily, the leopard had just returned from a hunting trip to Eridanus. He'd spent little time there before catching a large, seed-heavy rat. It had served as a small meal to keep him going before his return to Orion's soft lit throne. It was there that Cancer took a chance to nap- but sleep wouldn't come. Instead, a familiar voice. Fisher!

At the brown boy's call, Cancer rose to his feet, the shift of metal plates ignored as he clambered up and onto one of the walls. Balancing there, he spied the pair and despite Black's prescence, Cancer allowed himself a wide grin.

"Fisher!" He all but purred, taking just a second to shimmy down the wall and onto the streets, trotting over to meet his estranged friend half-way. He bowed down and then settled to lay on the stone floor, getting down to his furry friend's height. He rolled onto his side and reached out, playful with a gentle paw towards the fisher's face. "You brown weasel-rat, where've you been?" His tone was all fondness and glee- it had been a long few weeks since he'd last seen a friendly face like this. Sure, he'd had that run in with Leon, but that had hardly been good times.

For the time being, the leopard found it comfortable to ignore the black dog, though the behavior he was displaying was hardly rude or intentionally ignorant- he was simply excited to see a dear friend, too excited to pay much mind to a stranger.

"Speech"

Tags: @Fisher @Black

The cat came slinking out of the shadows, nearly purring as his eyes sparkled with excitement. For a long moment, the mustelid was just so pleased to see his friend, so happy that they were together again. "Recoverin' from my wound and all. Black came on by to escort me out of that hellhole in Pisces and I decided I would have to go track down some real friends. But I didn't expect to see you here!" He bumped his head into Cancer's paw and wriggled right up into his legs, making a mess of brown and black fur.

"How have you been?" He asked, tone full of hope that things had turned out for the better. There was a slight, nagging, miserable feeling that came from deep down inside of him, but he kept it at bay. He would worry about goodbyes later. Cancer didn't have to know right away that Fisher... It was just... He couldn't... Well. It could wait until later. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy this moment, this time of guaranteed bliss.

He had lived in Cancer's den for long enough that the cat's smell had become a sort of beacon of home, no matter how much it staled over time. Being hit full on with the fresh, sharp taste of the black feline's musk was overwhelming and nostalgic. He just wanted to stay there forever, to get back that single moment where they had felt safe and for once, not alone.

If only things were that simple.

private ;; @Cancer

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Black merely listened, and watched. He hung back, legs straight and motionless on the stone, ears pricked so that they only accentuated the size of his overly-large mastiff head. Pale eyes flicked between Fisher and Cancer, warily alert.

He stayed some distance away, however, not speaking, not interfering. He was ready to burst forward and into action should violence erupt, but so far, despite the black leopard's large size and obvious familiarity with their surroundings, the creature didn't seem liable to attack. In fact, it seemed friendly.

Between watching the two like a silent shadow, Black watched their surroundings, though he didn't turn his head much to do so. He just listened, and watched.

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@Cancer

Fisher wormed his way between Cancer's front paws and the cat hugged him closer as he rolled the pair over. Since his map had shattered, he had little need to worry about the contents of his bag- he'd been hard at work carving a new map on the walls of the Throne. He didn't need that old thing anymore- so without a second thought, he settled on his back with the fisher on his chest, front paws draped around his tiny hips like a blanket of black fur and dark, scarred skin pads.

At the mention of Black, Cancer turned to glance at the dog with a polite nod of recognition- thankful that Fisher had found himself a protector. He grinned back at the brown mustelid, giddy with anticipation to tell him all about his adventures since leaving Pisces behind.

"Oh, you know, the usual- adopted a cub, fought a dragon, survived mortal peril- that sort of thing." He mused almost casually, cheesy grin on his face as he spoke. "Even saw Leon since the fight. Brown bitch was all 'oh woo boo hoo, lets not fight no more, boo hoo', so we're cool as it gets now." He rolled his shoulders in a shrug. It wasn't true- not really- the two were still at odds with each other, but no longer in the murderously hateful way they'd been before. Leon had done no such sucking up, and Cancer had not been the one deciding if they got along- but the truth was there. They weren't enemies anymore. Not friends, surely, but not trying to kill each other over some dumb bitch.

"How's things in the hell hole?" The slur didn't sound right to him. Pisces had been his home, whether he liked the people there now or not. He'd been chased out- but he longed to return and reclaim his seat of power, even if it meant chasing all of his enemies out himself. He had intentions about that, but nothing he planned to bring to fruit any time soon. He might never need to, after all- being on better terms with Leon meant he was better liked by the bear than the bitch who'd betrayed him. She was the only one who hated him now- and that suited him just fine. "Bevy leading things okay? Quix still there?"

"Speech"

Tags: @Fisher

Fisher was swept away by Cancer's exaggerations, listening closely as he snuggled into the deep, coarse fur of his feline pal. It was so much easier just to listen to others than to think, but at the mention of dragon he had a pause. A dragon? Cancer was in Orion... Perhaps he meant the King of Shadows. Had he returned to claim the tower? His eyes wandered off, glancing towards the pillar of stone in the distance.

He was brought back by the leopard prodding him for information about Maji Walezi... Unfortunately, he didn't know anything about any of it. His tail twitched and he settled his muzzle on the cat's chest, listening to the familiar heartbeat. "Uh, yeah. Quix's is still around, Bevy's doing her thing, I guess. I didn't pay much attention to it, honestly. Makyna tried to apologize to me when I left but..." But what? He was easily forgotten. He was more than willing to put the rest of Maji Walezi behind him. Perhaps he was a bit jealous he didn't get quite the show-stopping event that Cancer had had when he was kicked out. It hurt even more to know that Leon had made up to Cancer but hadn't so much as said a word to him about anything. Hell, maybe Leon had forgotten who he was. It just wasn't fair.

"Still mostly just wet and soggy and cold and lonely. Couldn't take it. This place has always been more my style," he commented lightly, grinning down at Cancer. Sure, he had been born in the mist of Cetus where it was more humid than Atlantis, but after having nightmare after nightmare of the place, he had really outgrown the lands of water.

private ;; @Cancer

Fisher told him what he wanted to know and Cancer eased himself to be more relaxed, a paw absently stroking the musti's back idly. He hummed in recognition at the bit about Makyna- of course she'd apologize to Fisher, but refuse to even consider the same for himself. Stupid bitch. The cat sighed as Fisher continued, chest rising and falling with the breath. What he said next gave Cancer a hint of hope. He liked it better in Orion? Would... could he be persuaded to stay? The black cat rather liked that idea, was fond of Fisher's company.

"You could always stick around, y'know. The city offers us plenty of places to hide from unwanted company." The offer rolled off his tongue too easily, eager to have that sense of familiarity again, that soft and gentle love of a friend that actually understood. He grinned back at the brown thing, toothy and charming. "Your dog can stay too. We'll both protect you."

"Speech"

Tags: @Fisher

Black, like a good bodyguard (or a good dog), was mostly ignoring the two. Not in a rude way, no--he was leaving them to their own devices, letting them have their privacy. Now and again he glanced at Cancer--when Fisher got close to him, or when "your dog" was mentioned--impassively. For the most part, though, he turned his back and let them speak.

He wandered to the side of the throne, instead. He'd been here before, tried to cast magic on it, and failed. Maybe he could sense it, this time? Try to see its secrets, as he had with the wall-carvings?

He lifted one paw to it, one ear cocked back toward the quiet conversation behind him, and just did his own thing while the two spoke.

He felt the faint tingle of magic as it fluttered in his chest, the pulse and throb of arcane energy flowing through him. What would he see? His eyes unfocused, and then closed, and he went rather still, probably unobtrusive, as Fisher spoke to Cancer.

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A sinking filling filled into Fisher's stomach. The butterflies of a crush crumbled into ash and made him feel undoubtedly sick. He adored Cancer. He saw himself and for once didn't hate his reflection: Cancer was everything he understood and lived for. His ideals and desires personified. A small, quiet part of him knew it was wrong.

Worse that that-- he couldn't stay. Even if he didn't blame himself for the worst of things that had happened to Cancer, he had other family to find and reunite. He had promised Black-- that flicker of a promise showed as his vibrant copper irises flashed towards the shadow of a dog, sniffing around the throne. As much as he wanted to... Fallah was more important than his own wants and needs. The baby kitten, too.

"Cancer..." He started, finding his throat dry. How did he say this? He was abandoning him, just as Maji Walezi had. He could always promise to come back, but what if he brought disaster with him? Cancer would be so much better, so much happier, without him... And he knew it. He knew it, and he hated it.

"Right now, me and Black-- we're looking for our friends, a feline named Fallah, and a littler kitten with white fur," he told his friend softly, pain swelling in his chest, making him almost choke on his fur. "I have to make sure they're alright. The cave is going to hell-- if a dragon or a golem or anything got them, I just... I gotta go find them."

... Was that what he really wanted to say? He slipped off of Cancer and felt the cold, dark floor under his paws. "So I can't stay. Besides, I only ever cause trouble, you wouldn't want me around too long." He didn't want to argue this point, so he promptly turned away from Cancer. Better not give him the chance to try and change his mind. He knew he was bad luck. Everything he touched was ruined in the next moment...

"Best to not get too close, yeah?" He remarked in a murmur, before he slunk off over to Black. "Oh, Cancer-- watch out for the King of Shadows. He's got a feline-ish face with no eyes, and huge wings. He's dangerous, and he lives here, I think. He sticks by the tower I bet, but just be careful, okay?"

private ;; @Cancer

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