His very creation had been unfortunate. A hunk of rock beneath the rushing waters, not a foot from a pounding waterfall- deep, deep inside a cave. So when it came his time to break from his protective shell, the leopard cub would find his life at risk from the moment of his conception. Tiny black cub pressed his body against the glossy prison walls and soon, he was free- but just as quickly as he could fall free of his shell, the cub was thrusted unceremoniously back in, with quite some force. Water rushed in around him and his safety chamber quickly became a death trap.
The cub moved on instinct alone, and soon found his way to the surface. The water wasn't too deep, and soon his paws found stone. The boy dragged his soggy body above the water, then walked sluggishly, and clumsily, to dry rock. There, he would glance back panting, then proceed to collapse.
As he lay panting on the cool, hard ground, the boy found something familiar about his insane new being- thought. He could remember some things, some fragile thoughts and foggy memories, of being in the rocky shell. He'd had some time to think, once thinking became possible- and in that time, he had come up with a few ideas.
The first would be his title. Be it magic or whispers heard through the water, the boy would know enough language to name himself from the start.
"Carcino Karkata" This would be his name, his title, his being. These funny sounds that held no meaning to anyone else, but everything to him. But the first name didn't roll so easily off the tongue.
"Cancer." Ah, but it was easier said this way. Yes, this would do, for short. Affirmed in his existence, the cub finally pushed himself onto his stomach.
Until this point, he'd kept his vision low. The light bouncing around his new world had been enough reason to squint- but his new eyes were adjusting, and soon the cub could see. The sight which greeted him was beautiful.
Crystals decorated the nooks and crannies of his new rocky, mossy world. Glowing plantlife lit his world, and the crystals, water and mist reflected that light all around. Behind him, roaring in his ears, the waterfall rushed down into a pool of rippling, chaotic water. This was his world.
His world.
Bevy had fled from her hatching grounds and was now incredibly far from home and horribly lost. She had gone for so long, avoiding anyone who might be dangerous, but now she finally thought she had found a place that was safe. Her belly was filled to the brim with tasty bugs, but now she found herself thirsty and she was glad for the noise of rushing water. It was horribly loud, and the dampness made her feathers uncomfortable, but she couldn't fly just yet anyway-- soon. It would be good enough for a drink, anyway, so little Bevy was quite happy to sneak her way along the cold, damp room. Hopefully nothing else would be in such a slippery, dangerous place, and there were plenty of ledges and dips she could hide in, once cut away by the sharp teeth of water and time.
There were so many shiny crystals here. She wanted to climb one of the many ledges and make a pretty nest of crystals and gems and rocks here. Her feathers shook off some dew as she admire the room, hopping along the area and getting a good feel for things. She would find the perfect place just after she got a drink at the noisy, foggy waterfall that would keep her safe from any scary monsters who might be looking for her.
When the bright red bird spotted another huge, scary mammal, her first instinct was to hide. The furry animal looked soaking wet, his jet black pelt glistening in the lights of crystals and glow reflected through mist. He was busy staring around at everything except her, but she didn't dare get much closer. Her feathers ruffling, she snuck over to a small stream that came off of the waterfall and ran through the room, and dipped her beak in for a drink. She knew she had to pay attention to the cat-beast, because everything here was dangerous and awful and she was still quite afraid of things.
After she had finished getting a drink, however, the bird found herself wanting to talk to someone, even if they were dangerous. Nervously, timidly, the little bird hopped a bit closer, and tried out a soft tweet, "Hello?"
[[ ooc;; if it's okay, cancer can meet Fisher a bit later- he hurt his paw so traveling this far out right now would be quite hard on him and unrealistic haha. Once he's better though, then they can meet-- until then, let's see how kitty likes birdies. ]]
Cancer hadn't been paying much mind to the air, but when the little bird hopped into view nearby, he gave the thing a long sideways look. Finally, the bird peeped a hello, and the cat turned his head to actually look straight on at it. At first, his expression was curious.
"Hello." He replied simpy, pushing himself up into a sitting position. After a moment, he cocked his head.
"What are you?" Ah, simple, childish questions. What, who, why- but they wouldn't last. The innocence behind the cub's open wonder would soon fade. At least for now, however, Cancer's horrible attitude remained dorment. So, when he stood, it wouldn't be to attack or harm the little bird, but rather, he'd step lightly over to another portion of the stream and bend to take a drink himself.
The water was cold, refreshing, but something else- something bothersome. His stomach twisted. He was hungry. He turned those eyes on the bird again, but decided in the same instant that things which talked were not food. Then, he thought of how he'd been so well off in the rock- and those eyes turned to the pool, fed by the falls and feeding the stream.
His shell was down there. If he could reach and grab a chunk of it, certainly that could feed him? Yes, yes that seemed logical. So the cub waddled over to the edge of the busy pool and stuck his face into the water fearlessly. Yes, yes, he could see it down there. It wasn't too deep. He could reach it easily.
Cancer brought his head back up with a gasp, then shoved a front paw down there instead.
--post roll edit--
It was to his great surprise that suddenly, the ground beneath him became intangible. Or rather, the boy discovered that wet rocks equaled a severe lack of friction. With a slip and a yelp, the leopard cub tumbled back into the water face-first. He came sputtering and coughing back to the edge of the pool only a second later, but his hopes of finding food seemed silly and impossible now. His shell was just too far down. How dreadfully embarrassing.
The big feline didn't seem to be mean or hungry but healthily curious and so the fluffy bird felt incredibly encouraged. Her black talons tapped on the hard shale, her head tilting as the cat sat down. What was she? "Bird. My name is Bevy," She explained shortly as the cat went over to get a drink, which was fine enough.
The bird was quite good at letting everyone do what they wanted while she watched, quiet and careful. Her brightly colored eyes glistened and shifted colors in the misty light, watching with wonder as the cub had his fill of water and then stuck his paw down in the water...
... Followed shortly by the rest of him. With a squawk of alarm, the chick hopped over to the edge of the shore, peering in after the black leopard. "Oh no!" She cried, afraid that she might not ever see the cat again, but after only a few moments the mammal had scrambled back up on to the edge, coughing water out of his lungs.
"Are you okay?" She asked tentatively, hopping as close as she dared. The edge was slippery, and if the cub fell in again while she was too close he might knock her in with his tail or something-- and this bird did not swim, not one bit.
The little bird- Bevy- was right by his side the moment he could see again. He blinked in her direction, panting, then coughed one last time and sat up proper again. He offered her a toothy smile, then moved to groom the wet out of his fur at last- the motion was instinctive and not very effective. He placed a soggy paw back on the cave floor, then turned his yellow eyes on the fanciful bird.
"I am." He nodded.
"Just wet again. I came from down there." He stepped sideways without lifting his butt, and looked into the water again.
"My rock shell is down there." He'd refrain from informing her that he'd just now emerged. Maybe she hadn't seen.
"You can call me Cancer. I am..." He paused for a moment to think, then smiled thoughtfully.
"I am a Leopard." Yes, that sounded right, he decided. He was a Leopard. Whatever a leopard was precisely, he wasn't sure- but he was it. It was he. The bird was not a leopard. The bird was a bird. Different, but friendly- and his first... acquaintance, in this new, big, colorful world.
Well, she would simply have to do.
ooc: short, sorry x:
Bevy was relieved that the feline was alright, her feathers relaxing back into place aside from one that she quickly fixed with her beak. When she heard that the gembound's egg was down in the waterfall, her vibrant eyes returned to the water's surface, trying to see deep down past the misty, foamy surface. "Really? Musta been scary." Unless he was a fish, and even the chick knew that fish didn't have fur and legs and wandered around on land. Remembering the awful danger she had hatched in, with an awful transparent monster that she accidently stole from, Bevy quickly tried to sway her thoughts from those things.
Happy to finally know the cub's name and that he was a Leopard-- whatever that was-- the tiny bird chirped happily and hopped just a smidge closer. If he wasn't soaking wet she might have cuddled right up into his probably babysoft fur. Instead, she craned her head to look up at him.
"Glad to meet you, Cancer!" She tweeted, ruffling her baby wings free of the condensation that kept building up on them. "I was going to see if I could find a good place to make home on the ledges there. Would you like to help me find a good spot?" She waved towards the sheets of shale that climbed up everywhere to the south, the sheer cliffs that might just house the perfect spot for a nest and a place to put her collection of shinies. It was so noisy here that her less than perfect hearing wouldn't be a disadvantage, and well, this was one of the prettiest places in the whole cave system.
Cancer listened as the bird chirped about finding a home amongst the ledges and he himself looked up at the rocky walls in thought. Yes, that seemed like a great idea! He nodded and walked over to the waterfall's own sheer rockface, stood against it, then turned to look at Bevy curiously.
"There might be ledges up here too... but it's wet. The back wall seems dry, though." He nodded towards the ledges and cliffs of the other wall, way in the back of the cave, overlooking the rest with its towering height. "I can help you find just the right one, if you help me do the same? We can live here together- make the waterfall ours."
He hoped the bird would agree. He didn't want to leave this place, his home, his birthright- and she was too nice a new friend for him to chase off now. She'd been kind so far, and despite her odd little body, he liked her. The gemstone on her breast was pretty, and she spoke with soft song, something he now discovered he liked. Birdsong was almost... romantic, but the cub wasn't sure what that sort of thing was yet. Instead of considering this thought a moment longer, the leopard cub started over towards the back wall, shaking himself once he was some distance from the bird- in hopes he wouldn't spray her directly as he loosed most of the water from his pelt.
[[ ooc;; sorry my replies are taking a while yesterday i had a rough day at work and spent most of my night curled up watching youtube and eating ice cream oops ]]
Bevy tilted her head as the leopard cub pointed out that there were more ledges closer to the waterfall. She supposed that she could nest there, but it would be noisy, wouldn't it? Still, she nodded and hopped along behind him, careful not to get caught in the spray of water shook from the jet black fur. Her red breast feathers ruffled in the faint wind that rode the misty air, her eyes bright as she kept close to the cat's long, fluffy tail.
"It's so pretty here," she chirped over the roar of the cascading falls, her voice high and shrill. "I can't imagine a better place for me to stay. It seems so safe, if not a bit cold... I think I might like the far ledges though, I don't think I could sleep this close to the loud." Hopping forward a bit faster, the small bird flapped her wings and tried to catch up, hop-gliding until she was along side the front paws of her new friend.
"But I won't be that far! Let's find a nice place for you, and I'll visit every morning okay?" She cast her bright eyes up at his strangely shaped face, so defined compared to her small oval, black feathered bulb with a beak. As far as she knew, every creature looked wildly different and that was alright with her. She was unique in her feathers and tiny shape. She was happy he was a kind, compassionate creature, and knowing nothing else she had already decided that she would stick by his side as long as she could.
The bird seemed overjoyed at his agreement to help, and sharing the waterfall with a friendly, tiny, unthreatening thing like her seemed like a perfect plan. He trotted along beside her and even slowed as she hop-fluttered to keep up. He led the way over to the far southern wall, then looked up as he came to a halt.
"Can you climb that? You should find an easy way up, then pick a ledge from there, yeah?" He looked between the cliffs and the bird and started to doubt this plan. Boy had noticed her tiny arms moving to carry her along the ground, but he didn't even think of what they could be used for if those pinfeathers grew out. Birds flying? What a silly thought!
"I think I want to stay closer to the falls though. I know it's wetter over there, but I like the noise." He looked down at the bird, then smiled that awkwardly crooked grin again. "Find anything you like yet?"
Bevy hopped over to the wall and stared up at the ledges, spreading her wings. She tilted her head, and after a moment of looking, the small bird jumped up on to a ledge that was close to the ground, and slowly made her way up as carefully as any tiny chick could.
It was slow going, but soon she was higher than Cancer, and she started to find some spots where the ledges cut deeper into the rocks and made small holes, holes where she might be able to make her nest. Not wanting to go up too high, the birdie made her way across the length of the wall, sticking close to the edge with a wing out for balance.
Post Roll!
Soon she had found a spot that looked good. She glanced down as Cancer spoke, and found herself surprised to find the height feeling safe more than anything. With a small chirp, she slipped into the tiny alcove which was more like a miniature cave. As she nestled into the shady, cool spot she noticed that she could see the waterfall from here, but she couldn't see under the lip. There was plenty of room to spread out-- it was about twice as wide as her wing span and about that deep, perhaps one day she would outgrow it but for now... Scooting forward and popping her head out to look back down at her friend, she knew she was in a good place. No one would ever find her there!
"It's perfect! Oh, it's perfect." She sighed happily and then decided she should head back down. Inching back on to the edge, she hopped down on to nearby ledge, flapping her wings to remained balanced, and step by step she made her way back down. She'd need to find a way to remember where this spot was, but that was alright. She'd think of something.