ORIGIN

Kallista had been walking for a while, wanting to be somewhere other than Polaris for a moment. Before she decided where her new...home would be, she wanted to see her options. Polaris seemed like a nice place to be, due to the buzz of energy that was there, but perhaps that was the same thing that drew her away from it. She wanted a place that was quieter, without the buzz of energy that resided in Polaris.

When she looked up, she realized she could hardly see a thing. The room was misty, and she could hardly see any more than a foot in front of her. The thought struck her with fear; how would she know if anyone was approaching? Anyone could attack her here, and she wouldn't even know they were there until it was too late. Her paws suddenly felt rooted to the ground below, and her head swung around rapidly, trying to find out if anyone was nearby. Upon realizing that nobody appeared to be nearby, she relaxed enough to allow herself to move, even if just a little bit.

Kallista began to walk slowly, with small steps, constantly looking around. She tried to walk as silently as possible while keeping her ears pricked, listening for any sounds of movement that would alert her to someone being nearby. For now, she couldn't hear anything, but that could easily change within a moments notice. So she continued to listen, ears straining to hear even the quietest sound.

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Kallista was walking through the room when a voice scared her. With a squeak, she jumped and her head whipped around in the direction of the voice, her eye wide. She could faintly see someone in the mist nearby, and hesitated. They had said they weren't a danger, but could she really trust that? Their voice seemed gentle, but she still hesitated. Besides, they probably wouldn't even want to see her, considering the way her face looked. Many of the burns still had not healed, and the lack of an eye was still very obvious. The socket was closed, with scratches that were only just starting to heal. They would never heal completely, and would be there as a constant reminder.

She took a deep breath as she came to a decision. She would go up to them, but if they showed any signs of hostility, she would run. Sure, they probably knew this place better than she did. She had just gotten here, and with her lack of decent vision, she'd likely trip. But what other choice did she have? She didn't want to just run, and hope they knew she had left-that seemed rude. She snorted lightly at the thought. Any other time, and she would have reveled at the thought of being rude. But things had...changed. She wasn't like how she used to be.

Slowly, with more cautious steps, Kallista began to walk in the direction the voice had come from. She was terrified, and her motions would surely show that. The ever present shake in her paws, the way her head swung this way and that as she tried to see all of her surroundings. When she was close enough that she was just about in full view of the one who had spoken, her eye fixed on them.

She was larger than Kallista, and the thought only made her more wary. She had scars on her chest, which also didn't help in the slightest. Her fur was a golden-brown color, which was very different compared to her own, which was a dusty brown crusted with dried blood in a few places. She stared up at her a few moments, before looking down and trying to hide her eye. She cursed herself for automatically allowing the other to see her eye. She wanted it to be as hidden as possible, even if it was likely too late now. They had probably seen.

---

Kallista continued to hide her face until the other spoke. She hesitated. Her voice and words didn't seen very threatening, quite the opposite, but could she still trust her? She sighed. She didn't particularly have a choice, really. Slowly, she showed her face, looking back up at the other. She had said that she knew there were evils within the cave. Did that mean there was more than one? More than just the caracal who attacked her? The thought filled her with fear, but she struggled to not show it. She couldn't let the other know just how scared she was.

To take and destroy. That certainly seemed familiar. Kallista noticed that hers eyes seemed to cloud over, perhaps at memories. She flicked an ear as she shook in her head and spoke to her. What had brought her here? Many things. She went here to escape, to hide. To live. But she couldn't really do that anymore, could she? Not as well as she used to. She would never be able to walk confidently, to be who she once was. All of that had changed within a single moment.

"I," she paused. What was she going to say to her? "I c-came here to...To find s-somewhere else to live. I can't ever go to P-Pisces again. Not anytime soon. M-maybe one day..." She sighed. She already missed Pisces, but who knows when she'd be able to go back? She missed the ever present sound of the waterfall, even if she had hardly heard it, she was so used to it. Everywhere else just felt...too silent.

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Kallista was silent after she had spoken. She listened to the lioness' words, her tail flicking. So they were from Pisces too. An ear flicked as she continued. She had also had many memories in Pisces-mostly of the silver fox-although she hadn't lost anyone. That much she was grateful for. There was only one she actually cared about, and if she lost him...She shook her head briefly. No. I won't think about that.

When the lioness spoke again, Kallista narrowed her eye. Quiet? Peaceful? Maybe. Could one really be sure of that though? "Yes," she murmured, "it is silent. But as o-one who is used to the constant sound of P-pisces...It seems t-too quiet." She paused for a moment and looked around.

"And...p-peaceful? In this room, t-there is an ever present mist. E-enemies could hide in the mist and come o-out to attack without you ever knowing they're there. How could this place ever be c-considered peaceful?" She continued to look around at the mist. She could barely see more than a foot away, and it made the fur on the back of her neck rise. Anyone could be watching them right now! And with her only having limited vision...Someone could come out and attack and she wouldn't even know. All she could smell and see was the mist.

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