ORIGIN

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"Hmm...."? She'd been called Pearl before, by the black cat Ji'Bassa, before it attacked her and ran off. It was a pretty name, and she liked it, but she was sure she would only borrow it for now. "Pearl." She nodded.

She watched the crow cast a light spell that she hadn't seen before, gasping in amazement. "Oh! How pretty!" She saw Pounce play with it, and called after it to be careful and not go too far, and as she did so, she saw a glimpse of a rustle in the bushes on the outskirts of the clearing. Were there rabbits around? she wondered, turning to the Eve. "I don't think I know that one! Would you teach me?"

"This is how I speak."

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"It's a little hard," said the crow. Her eyes never left the orb - taunting Pounce with it and only ever pulling it away just as he were about to land on it. As she glanced briefly to Pearl, the orb briefly lost it's dim glow; threatening to wholly go out until the crow's head twitched back towards it and it stablized.

"It's like, um..." Eve hesitated, unsure. "Casting normal lights, y'know? But you have to concentrate on it. It's good for lighting dark places."

She nodded slightly and the glowing orb bobbed up and down a few times before it continued to play with Pounce. It began to glide in front and behind of him.

________________

Running around after the pearl he was listening absent mindedly to their exchange. Only upon their words of teach and concentration did he come to a grinding halt.

'I don't think I know that one! Would you teach me?'

'Casting normal lights, y'know? But you have to concentrate on it. It's good for lighting dark places.'

Teach? Learn how to make light? He wanted to learn! "Light! I will make light! I want to learn! Light like before!?" He spun around to his tall ethereal friend. Smile toothy and wide as he remembered the light he made before. The bolts he sent to the small light critters she had made! If he did it before then surely he can do it again!

Jumping to his right he focused on the glowing pearl. Brows furrowed and tongue stuck out he concentrated. "light....con...centrate....light" He mumbled this over one or three times before shutting his eyes tight. Curling his toes and trying to make his body do SOMETHING!

/roll

Fur bristled something shot through his body, a shiver? No. This wasn't like the time before, this left him feeling tingly. This was MUCH stronger. His light danced from the tips of his fur as it shot out at the pearl, scorching the earth around it. A loud POP'ZCRACK echo'd with his shot of light that came and went in a flash. Quite literally. He stood there wide eyed, mouth open. Stunned and not all to sure if he had done something wrong. He didn't make what they did, instead he destroyed it. This wasn't the light his tall ethereal friend nor Eve made. What ever it was, made him feel tingly, and it was far from theirs.

"Concentrate..." She murmured, frowning slightly. Concentrate the magic? That made sense. She used a lot of magic to make moving apparitions, most of her focus going into their animation and their hold in reality. Making them real according her imagination took most of her concentration, but if she put all of that same magic into one easy orb, then that didn't sound too difficult to achieve.

She took a deep breath and reached for it, breathing and shaping the magic into one spot.

It was a little difficult, as if the magic wanted to slip away from the sphere and escape and turn into other things she was more used to, but she managed it! She created a little miniature sun about the size of her gem right in front of her, going this way and that as she willed. She laughed, feeling proud of herself.

She turned to Eve first, then to little Pounce to show what she had made, and saw it trying to do the same thing. "A-ah! Pounce, wait, you don't-" She started to say, her hold on the tiny orb vanished as her fear for the cub took over. Pounce kept chanting brokenly to concentrate on the light and before she could reach it, an incredible powerful bolt of lightning shot out and struck the Eve's orb with a crack, exploding it. She fell back onto the ground, shaken.

Silence.

Pounce looked at her, horrified, and she had to say something. She smiled wistfully. "You don't have that kind of magic, sweetling."

Slowly, she got up, deliberately hiding any shakiness or cowardice in her long legs. She wasn't- she would never be afraid of Pounce, regardless- regardless of its ability to hurt. Pounce would never hurt her, she thought forcefully.

She leaned over him and nuzzled his ear. "You are a very good caster, my dear. You should be proud."

"I am proud."

"This is how I speak."

________________

Eve gave a relaxed nod as she analysed the little orb Pearl had created, looking towards the black-cat and flinching. She hadn't seen a gembound conjure lightning before - in fact she didn't even know what it was.

She was thrown off her perch as the orb exploded with a sharp squawk and seconds later she found herself trying to flap out of the swamp water. Oddly enough - this had become a regular thing for the crow, and she managed to scramble out, shaking the water off her feathers.

She then moved to fly and land on the deer's back, apparently deeming her a safer perch than the root she was standing on mere seconds ago. She peered at Pearl's black-cat and noted that he looked surprised, if that's what you called it.

She simply rasped out a short croak, at length, as she twisted her head back to fix her damp wing feathers.

________________

Surprised and very unsure, he looked up to his ethereal friend. She was smiling at him. She was not mad, she held no fear. She only explained to him, and it calmed his nerves. 'You don't have that kind of magic, sweetling.'

If he didn't have their kind of magic, what did he have? He couldn't make light critters, he couldn't fashion a glowing pearl. He made light, but it wasn't light exactly. Now that he thought on it, he didnt have a lot of things they had. He had claws, sharp teeth. And no gem? Where was his? Was there something wrong with him? She had leaned over and nuzzled him. Praising him, telling him he should be proud. But he wasn't, he was simply afraid. He had so many questions and he was so nervous now. He didn't understand this magic. He could barely control it. Summoning such strength under just excitement alone. Causing destruction unknowingly when he wanted the exact opposite.

'I am proud'

But she was proud. And that changed his tune in a heartbeat. If she was proud, then everything must be alright. She would make sure right? He would learn, she would teach him! YEAH! He bounced in place, from paw to paw.

"Are you ok Eeeeve! Im sorry I m-made you fall!" Moments after he had apologized a low growl floated through the air. He stared down at his stomach, brows furrowing. "I made a sound??" he stared up at his friends, eye wide. His stomach was...growling? Did it want to play?

She felt claws with an insubstantial weight behind them perch on her back and paid it no mind. She actually rather liked the feeling of being relied on, of being somewhat useful. She had the vague idea of carrying around a hurt gem, as long as they were smaller than her.

She was proud of little Pounce apologizing, and she nodded a little in approval. That was very good of it! But as she opened her mouth to compliment it, a growl interrupted her, and whatever sound she was forming spluttered out into a surprised laugh. "Oh, Pounce," she started to explain, laughs escaping her still when she saw its bewildered expression. "You are only hungry, is all."

She glanced with her good eye at the bushes, tilting her head, careful not to move with the Eve on her back. "There are some skittering rabbits around here, I would imagine, for I have heard them. You should chase them, my dear, and see if you can catch one."

Then she turned her head a little bit more so she could barely see Eve. "If you like, while Pounce tries to do so, we can practice our magic? It is entirely up to you, my friend."

"This is how I speak."

'You are only hungry, is all.'

He sat down staring at his stomach. So this is what hungry was? He didn't like it! His tall ethereal friend recommended he chase down some of the skittering rabbits. Maybe they would help? He turned to his new fluffy friends. He would have to catch them first and he was fine with that! He wouldn't even dare to think about using magic. He didn't want to hurt one of the little friends!

Taking off like a bolt he noticed that the small birds, lizards and even rabbits such as these didn't act like how Eve and his tall ethereal friend did. They didn't talk, they were constantly jumpy and they had no gem? Though thinking for a short period of time before he fumbled over his feet and onto a nearby tree, he did not have a gem either? Would he get his later? Was his hidden?

"Come on out friends! I wont hurt you! I just need some help!" Spinning around he could hear some in a nearby bush. The soft rustle of leaves and the faintest of pitter patters of their hearts. All he would have to do is CATCH one and they would help right? Sprinting he fumbled headfirst into the bush and landed on one of the slower rabbits. Without much thought in the commotion he had grabbed hold of the rabbit with his teeth! Walking out from behind the bush he held his friend in his maw. Coming to a stop at the taste of iron on his tongue. Putting them down he backed up.

They did not move, and his eyes widened. There was...red? Red around it's neck where he had grabbed it in the heat of the moment. Small dots of it leading to him, licking his lips he wasn't sure how to feel. It tasted WONDERFUL but what it came from did not make him feel good. He turned to his guardian. Eyes watering, he was at a lost of words. He didn't mean to hurt it. He thought maybe he could catch it. And if he didn't catch it that way, it would have ran off. But this wasn't just a hurt individual. There was no response when he tried to nudge it. He could hear no pitter patter. And he could only smell what was on his lips. It smelt delicious and beckoned him during this time of confusion.

@Clover
@Eve

She turned her head back from Eve and took a deep breath while Pounce was off frolicking. She drew again from her magic, seeing through a briefly half-lidded eye the familiar rise of light from her gem on the other side of her face. She wanted to take this time to practice, just like Pounce, and that's what she would do. Maybe she could make more friends to play with? She let it go as it willed.

With each gentle exhale, little wiil-o'-the-wisps came into being, formless at first, barely exuding any light at all, lazily floating around both her and Eve. One landed on the end of her nose, and she could see her own will forming them into tiny creatures as they moved. She wasn't very specific with most of them, giving only some of them anything resembling defining animalistic features, like hooves or wings. They danced around like little faeries, and the one that flew away from her nose was a tiny deer with little wings, which made her smile.

She heard Pounce speak and vaguely moved her head in its direction, some rustling in the leaves, a jump, quick movement, scurrying away. She opened her mouth to ask if it was going well, but before she could make a sound, a distinct shrill rabbit cry shattered the easy atmosphere of the clearing, tensing all her muscles and making her grow incredibly cold. The little wisps faded away.

"Pounce? Are you alright?" She called, the cold fear clenching her heart.

Stop it, she thought to herself. You knew Pounce needed to hunt. You knew this. This was the inevitable end result. This is what you tell stories about. This is how your friends eat.

She swallowed forcibly. Knowing didn't stop her from the irrational fear of being around death for the first time, however.

"This is how I speak."

Evening

[Image: tumblr_n0sufarvA41tsu8dmo2_500.gif]

Eve rasped out a sigh as she watched Pearl's dancing lights with half-closed eyes, still puffed up on the doe's back. Just watching the little lights she felt warm and sleepy herself, before she shook her head and lifted herself up a little, looking after Pounce.
"If he is hungry I can show him how to hunt mice?" the crow seemed to ask the deer, instead of the big-cat. She sounded rather genuine about the offer as she looked around.

It'd be hard to see mice, of course. Cetus was known for it's thick mist which made it difficult to see - even worse if the lights strewn around the room decided to switch off. This wasn't a problem for the crow, however - especially when she could summon lights to help her fly around with.
It was a problem with hunting, however. The mice would often be startled by sudden light overhead.

Eve looked over to the ground Clover stood on, consideringly. She barely waited for an answer as she fluttered off the doe's back and moved to land on Pounce's head with a light sigh, looking around once more. "I'm sure you already have some instinct," she croaked. "But let's find some rats, yes?"

table by shax

@Viktor

Belladonna

Eve

Vicktor

Belladonna

Eve

Vicktor

Belladonna

Vicktor

Belladonna

Eve