ORIGIN - And the hound is howling

The lioness flopped down onto the stone floor with a low chuff. She listened to the pleasant sounds of the waterfall, humming a tune along with it. Slowly, carefully, she rose and inched her way towards the edge. If she fell, would there be an end? Would she fly endlessly? Would she die? All of her questions roamed around, unanswered. Ambrosine knew better than to just... take huge risks. Well, maybe not, but this one was too huge.

Restlessness had pulled Wilder out of her cathedral (her cathedral? She needed to keep reminding herself it didn't belong to anyone) after many cycles of being mostly alone. Fear, perhaps, of another unfortunate fate meeting her, for that's all what seemed to happen whenever she dared to leave her sanctuary. Another awful thing happens and she's sent spiraling.

But she'd pulled a card. A beautiful illustration of a knight, holding a sword high. Reversed. Of course it was.

Keeping that meaning into the deepest parts of her mind, she left and wandered for a while, stretching her legs and cosmic wings, and also telling herself she was patrolling. Making sure nobody needed help.

She was high up on the ridges at the moment, taking a short breather, paws tucked beneath her chest as she looked out into the cold cave before her. It did not take a close or careful eye to notice the white cub, bright against the gray stones. Very very close to the edge of the lagoon...

An urge to help pulled Wilder forward and she immediately slid right from a sitting position to a flying one, as sparkling wings stretched out from her shoulders and carried her in a wide swoop down towards where the cub was standing. A few moments later, she was touching down behind her, making sure to make some noise at least to let her know she was there, so she didn't startle her into falling in.

"Hey," she chirped as she stepped forward, letting the wings fade away. "I would be careful at the edge. The rocks are slippery and the water is very cold."

@Ambrosine

She watched the waterfall cascade down into an endless abyss, and suddenly, all of her questions were answered. She wouldn't fly in midair endlessly because the waterfall wasn't doing so, she probably wouldn't live because it's a very deep fall, aaand... it'd be best if she didn't jump. Her tail swayed from side to side, collecting dirt and pieces of rocks as it went. What was once pale and pristine was now matted and dusty, but it didn't bother her.

Her ears pivoted backwards as a mysterious voice appeared - feminine. Motherly. Ambrosine turned to face said voice, slowly backing away from the edge. She studied the cat whilst ambling towards her, chirping spontaneously. Her gemstone felt quite heavy and made her wobble more than necessary, falling flat on her face and stomach a few times before giving up and just staying there.

tags: @Wilder
notes: srry for the short reply! I'm very horrible at writing characters with absolutely nothing to think about except childish thoughts

She was relieved when the young lion began to step away from the edge and towards her. She watched her toddle forward and realized she was being weighed down by her stone. "Oh! Careful there!" She wasn't going to get to the lion in time to catch her fall, so magic took its place, quickly reaching forward to stop her from tripping. It would feel, to Ambrosine, like something was holding up her body.

Wilder caught up a moment later and looked at the kid, seeing nothing but child-like curiosity in her eyes. The cat quickly glanced around, as if to find chrysalis shards somewhere nearby. How old was this gembound?

The look she gave Ambrosine was warm, though, as she looked back. There was nothing for her to be scared of, or cautious of, from a child. "Hello. I'm Wilder. Do you know your name?" She stepped forward and brushed her tail along her side to try and guide her further away from the edge of the lagoon. Didn't want her to turn and fall off on accident.

@Ambrosine

Ambrosine purred as a sense of safety washed over her from the feline's presence. "Ambrosine," she chirped her name in response. Her nose lifted, twitching as she tried to learn the cat's scent. The cub stayed where she was — on whatever platform was holding her up.

Her tail flicked as she studied the gembound, tilting her head from one side to the other.

@Wilder