ORIGIN - For the Shadows

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Cadence
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Penelope. She committed the name to memory so that she wouldn't forget, though in all honesty she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to forget this strange gembound. Never before had she seen an animal that looked quite like her. "Er, no problem!" Though "nice" wasn't usually what everyone called her but she would take the compliment where she could. "I'm Cadence Songcat. Nice to meet ya, Penelope."

With the introductions out of the way the tapir began to apologize again and Cadence found herself grinning at the polite mammal. "Penelope, ya gotta lighten up! This isn't my territory, I... actually don't have a territory... or a home, really, anymore." She was certain that Maji Walezi would be no more after the great silence that had overtaken the caves. She tried to tell herself that it didn't bother her but her family and her friends... they could all be gone. One of her ears flicked and she let out a puff of air from her nose, not quite a sigh but rather just an action to try to clear her head. She couldn't think about that stuff now, she had to worry about Numero Uno for the moment and not the catastrophe that could have befallen the caves.

"Anywho! You're in Polaris, er, I guess you coulda guessed that with the Spire comment, eh?" How did she manage to get around? What without friends or a family to help her get places? It was obvious that she wasn't blind since birth, it must have been difficult to adapt. Cadence felt her heart go out to the timid creature and felt the urge to try and do something. "Don't think of me as rude for asking this but... How do you get around? Or how have you gotten around?" Was it that Louie fellow she mentioned? Where was he now? Did she need help finding him? Or was he a casualty of the great silence like her own family was?

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331 | notes | @Penelope

"Speaking"
Thinking...

Yup, awkward. Confirmed by the equally awkward reply from Cadence, but hearing the entire name - Cadence Songcat - was something new to mull over. She did have quite the voice; one that seemed very... songcat-like. The way Penelope's name sounded from her lips pleased the tapir. It compelled her to relay some form of compliment; "You have a pretty name." Honesty. She found her own name quite plain.

The demand that she "lighten up" rose up the embarrassment bar again, but she tried to not let it get to her. After all, neither one had a home, apparently. Being able to relate on that level gave her something else to hold onto, to ground her further. Something she really needed, especially with the questions Cadence then chose to ask. Her eyes dropped, again.

"For a long time, I stayed in one area. Bumping into things, tripping, all of that... it hurts and it seemed simpler to just stay put. One day, Louie and I crossed paths. He did this thing called a... Sense... sensorial? Yeah, a Sensorial Link. With that, he always knew where I was, and I where he was. Sometimes I could see what he saw. Then everything got quiet. The caves, the link - everything. I don't.... I don't know that he's alive, anymore."

Penelope fell silent, her nose twitching a little.

"He was hateful and mean, but I miss him."

"Speech"
Thoughts.
"Telepathy."
@Cadence

Cadence
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The compliment sent a hot wave of embarrassment over the grizzly lioness but she couldn't say that she was displeased by it. She loved hearing good things about herself but still, it left a feeling awkward heat in her pale nose --now turning a healthy shade of red-- and her ears. "Ah well, y'know, it's short for Cadenza." Quickly she seemed to look around self-consciously as if expecting someone to pop out of nowhere and laugh at the real name but that would just be silly. Really, she seemed to be the only one to find embarrassment in the true name but for some reason she felt that if Penelope thought the shortened version was pretty then she would like the real one her mom thought up first. "But don't tell anyone I told ya that." She grinned and quickly blurted out so as not to seem like a selfish attention-hog. "Yours is pretty too!" It was a simple name and in simplicity she found beauty. Not everything had to be showy and flashy all the time to get the point across.

After that whole exchange it seemed as if the question she asked had dropped the tapir's spirits down again. The lionbear was about to apologize for bringing it up with her big, stupid mouth but then the answer came and she shut her mouth so as not to interrupt. It seemed as if Penelope had had a terrible life up until that point. She knew what a Sensorial Link was, her father had done one on she and her siblings to keep tabs on them but now it was eerily silent which lead her to believe that everyone was gone. Everyone except for Baroque and Quintus, her two anchors that had kept her from going insane during the silence that surrounded them.

"I'm sorry." The tides had reversed with her apologizing for asking such a weighted question. Penelope had not had it easy it seemed, especially not with a guide who was a hateful person. "Everyone we love seems to have gone missing in the great silence but... maybe it's a blessing in disguise. I mean... perhaps it gives us all a new start. That's how I try to see things. Look for the positives that life has and try to find the good things buried in the bad... y'know? We're not dead yet!" Ugh, she was awful at this but at least she was trying.

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408 | notes | @Penelope

"Speaking"
Thinking...

"Cadenza?" she repeated, blinking. "Cadenza Songcat... it's such a perfect name."

Penelope heard the next words out of Cadence's mouth, though. Her name? Pretty? Penny snort-laughed and shook her head, denying the compliment entirely. But things became a bit depressing again, and Cadence began to speak once more. Not dead yet, but she didn't feel very far from it. Not that she was ill or actively dying, but death seemed like a tempting embrace. Yet, she felt herself to be a little more distant from the idea than she had been. The current company seemed to share in her awkwardness and some of the loneliness of these caves.

"I'm sorry to hear you're missing others, too. It's... tough being alone. I don't think being blind has much to do with how it feels," she said. Penelope spoke slowly, trying to hold herself together. "Maybe it's the universe's way of... giving me a fresh start on friends. I mean... if you're interested in friendship."

Wow, talk about awkward. If she wasn't feeling it before, she certainly was now. It was this moment she was actually glad she was blind. The possibility of making accidental eye-contact after being that awkward was reduced drastically for her.

"Speech"
Thoughts.
"Telepathy."
@Cadence

Cadence
__________

More heat bubbled to he grizzly lion's nose and ears until she started to paw nervously at her nose and flick her ears with the embarrassment. Though it might sound terrible she was glad that her company couldn't see her because then it would be absolute torture trying to cover up the visual signs of her emotion. Darn white fur, if it wasn't white then it wouldn't be so easy to see the flush of red beneath it. "Thanks..." She mumbled, dipping her head down and finally stopping the pawing of her nose.

"I'm not completely alone," For once, she was glad to take the subject off of her name and the compliments. She wasn't sure how much more of the doting she could have taken before she melted into a flushing puddle. "My brothers, Quintus and Baroque, we found each other during the quiet times and kept each other sane but everyone else..." Mother, father, sister, friends... "They're all gone. I know how you feel." Or maybe they weren't... She hadn't mounted an extensive search of everyone and instead just assumed through the silence that they no longer existed so who knew if her assumptions were completely correct.

When Penelope mentioned being friends the bearlion was caught off guard once more but couldn't stop the smile that peppered her lips, nor the excited twitching of her stub-tail. She tried to play it off coolly though the happiness could easily be heard in her voice from the offer. "Well, I dunno... You have to be completely chill to hang with us and be my friend." Inwardly she was thrilled, who cared if she felt all awkward with all the compliments? She would be more than happy to have Penelope along with her. The poor girl needed some happiness in her life as well as someone that wasn't going to be a jerk when they helped her. Cadence felt she could do those things easy. "Think you could handle it?" Her tone was light and playful as she peered at her fellow gembound with a cheeky grin.

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346 | notes | @Penelope

"Speaking"
Thinking...

In the way Cadence was glad Penelope was blind, for her pale complexion told all, Penelope was glad her skin was blackened. The heat of blood in her cheeks was obvious to herself, but thankfully no one else. She smiled at the bearlion. With a chortle, she gave her best eye roll.

"Me handle it? I feel like I should be asking you that," she retorted. After all, who else was it that forwarded her flashbacks to someone else's mind?

She hoped that this wasn't too good to be true. Louie was mean off the bat, so no hopes were perked up. Still, there was that ever-lingering distrust. Yet, masked under it was the curiosity that was once her childhood. Somehow, after all this time, it was able to emerge in the faintest way. What would become of her in this friendship? Would Cadence Songcat's brothers be as nice or tolerant? She had many questions, but none were the kind she could ask aloud. Only time could provide these answers, now.

"Speech"
Thoughts.
"Telepathy."
@Cadence

Cadence
__________

There it was! A little bit of confidence and sassiness from the previously timid gal. She liked it! Cadence let out a laugh before sidling up next to her and attempting to give the girl a nudge with her side, a gentle one, there was no need to accidentally throw her off balance by catching her off guard. Then again, with her bulk she doubted she could actually do very much harm without physically trying her hardest. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" With that she turned towards the river, giving a nudge in case the tapir wanted to follow. "Come on, Penelope. I came out here to hunt and I'm still hungry so I think a fish would be great." She then walked forward with hopefully her new friend in tow. It felt nice having someone new to talk to and hopefully this would be the start of something great.

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151 | -fade out/exit- | @Penelope

"Speaking"
Thinking...

With the depression temporarily buried, Penelope managed to maintain a smile as she was given a nudge and encouraged to follow behind the hybrid. With a nod, she hurried a bit to keep up, staying close enough to feel the warmth of Cadence's body, occasionally tickled by a bit of fur. Perhaps... just maybe? Things could be okay now.

"Speech"
Thoughts.
"Telepathy."
-exit-

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