ORIGIN

Time had passed without any discernible tell as Carcie continued to eek out a simple living in the simple cave he'd been born to. It wasn't that he lacked the thirst and curiosity for adventure, but rather, he felt more comfortable getting a handle of his basic skills here in the comforts of home. This was, after all, his first home, apparently.

And indeed, it had begun to feel so very familiar to him now; he barely doubted their presumptions anymore.

He'd come to accept that he was as they said; Carcino Karkata, born again. He preferred to tack on 'the second' at the end when thinking of it, but he knew his name as his own now and not some falsified title. He'd adjusted.

Adapted.

Adaptation was something Carce was proving to be very good at. Hunting, not so much.

"Oof!" The cub grunted as he landed, chest first, onto the moss-covered ground. The distasteful looking rat he'd been stalking had long since scurried into its hole by the time the leopard cub found his footing again. Irritably, he shook his pelt free of what moss has stuck to it and off he went, prowling towards the other end of the rolling mossy hills, ready to hunker down and wait. Again.

His stomach twisted, thankfully silent, in protest to this plan.

The black cub blinked at the pawsteps approaching. She approached him fearlessly and it took him no time at all to relate to the newcomer; as he sat up, his eyes flew over her form, taking in every detail and similarity. She greeted him with a cheerful voice but his mind didn't register that.

"You're like me!" He declared, voice shrill with excitement and surprise. "I've never met anyone like me before!" He was on his feet and circling her, nose and tail almost brushing as he surrounded her in spiraling length. "I can't believe it, wow!" He was ducking down and bobbing back up in excited prancing steps as he forgot his manners entirely in favor of excited curiosity. "Are you a leopard too? I have spots too, it's just hard to see them on account of my black fur." He was going a mile a minute.

Finally the boy stopped in front of her, body bouncing to line up to face her and with a grin that stretched the corners of his eyes and perked his ears, the cub finally seemed to settle in one place.

"My name's Carcino! It's so cool to meet you, Layla!" So he had heard her introduction, at least.

As Layla sat down, so did he finally. Carce considered her words as she spoke, committing her appearance, voice and name to memory now that he'd settled a bit. He thought her pretty, found it easy to commit her to memory, more so than Blackberry with her biting words. Layla seemed way more friendly. Better yet, she was young which meant she'd only care about him, not Him from the before times.

Snow Leopard. He felt a mild pang of disappointment at first; had the adults not called him just a leopard? Was she different after all? He considered her carefully and how similar she was in almost every detail, from the shape of her spots to the long, streaming tail and shortened face- all the same features he had. Maybe they'd been shortening the name, or maybe the past-him had only mentioned leopard, and never what kind.

He chalked it up to the adults' ignorance because Layla was very obviously the same species, despite their difference in coloration. She questioned that and he shrugged his shoulders, much more relaxed now.

"All of me is dark. Maybe it's 'cause I was born in a dark place." He waved his tail to indicate a shadowing ledge behind the falls, where he'd hatched mere days ago. "But look, see, I definitely have spots like yours." He lifted a leg to show the softer, slightly paler fur around his belly and the faint spots that lined it- some cloudy, some solid, like her own pattern.

"They're more obvious when my fur's wet, though." He sounded cheeky, as if he'd learned this fact quite by accident.

Layla didn't seem fully convinced. She spoke of a friend named Dragon in her birthplace and of traveling to ask him of it. He wasn't sure about leaving Pisces, but the thought of seeing his new friend's home did strike his fancy. Plus, Dragon might actually know something.

Then again, he might also know more than Carcino would care to find out-particularly perhaps of his own past life. If this Dragon was old then he might've met Carcino in the before-time. If he had, then Carcie dreaded the encounter already. Still, there was the good chance of him not knowing at all and Layla seemed excited with the idea.

Carcino stood with a liquid stretch and pawed his way out of the warrens and onto flat stone again before turning to face Layla once more.

"Alright, lead the way! Let's go meet Dragon!" He tried to sound as excited as she was and found it less difficult than he imagined; her positivity was contagious.