ORIGIN

Cancer eased his way down into Polaris, relatively pleased with himself. The shale plate on his head was coming along nicely, and it had only been an hour or two since he'd left Pisces. Now, he slipped into Polaris proper. The tealy blue light in this area always astounded him, but it made his horns and eyes look almost green, which wasn't such a good thing. The cat certainly didn't mind the color, but on him, it looked awful. The blue glow, however, reminded him of her. It was a nice reminder of what awaited him back home once he was finished.

He would head away from the dam this time, avoiding the golems expertly and heading for the Spire instead. It's energizing pull was enough for any cat to become impossibly curious- and its height posed some level of challenge. I wonder how high I could get before getting tired?

Careful and waiting to avoid much interaction on this trip, the cub hung close to the wall between the tunnel and his destination. If I just take right turns from each tunnel... He glanced about and in turn, felt conspicuous. Anyone could spot him against the glowing background here, like an outline of life against a solid gleaming landscape. Not too keen on getting surprised, Cancer cast out his Red Sense, to get a feel for anyone or anything (besides the mulling golems, but including them in case any had strayed too close) was around...

...and to his surprise, as his stone horns and eyes became red with light, it wasn't a moment's breath before he noticed something unfamiliar, smack center of the cave. A bird, by the looks of it. Not Azazel, too small, not fuzzy enough. Not Bevy, too big, too ruffled. He stared for a moment, then hopefully before the thing noticed him, he'd move to slip away towards the Spire, slinking along as only a cat could while the glow from his eyes and horns ebbed to nothing.

The bird noticed him staring and called back with some kind of retort, but Cancer was already well towards the Spire. He left the bird sitting on its gemstone, opting instead to check out the Spire and its magical pull. The cub had never felt more energetic than now, even when he'd last come to this cave. This Spire really was something amazing, wasn't it? He circled its base once, then came to sit, pulling the tablet from his horns and setting it between his front paws. He wanted to add it in, and to do so would require some patience- the area he'd marked as Polaris was smaller on his rock map than in person, but he figured some scribbled lines would mark the Spire nicely. So he began working at it, as if to pointedly ignore the bird and anything else in the cave around him.

The cub wasn't interested in making friends this trip. No, especially not with a loud-mouthed bird like that. He had enough on his plate to deal with, regarding mouthy birds. Azazel was more than enough for him, thanks. But alas, the bird wasn't done. He could feel its beady eyes boring into the back of his head, so the cat turned to look again after finishing his scribbles.

"Mind your own business, beak-face. I'm busy here." Then he'd go about trying to get the tablet back between his horns again. It wasn't easy, but he'd manage after a single failed attempt that would chip away a part of the edge of his slab, but luckily not too much that it ruined the map itself.

Cancer paid the bird no mind for the first comment. It was a lame retort at best. He had more important things to take care of now. Like getting out of here. Alas, the bird was of no such convenience. It dove into the air and with a mighty stroke of its black wings, it proceeded to topple itself head over tail feathers backwards. The cat watched with wide eyes and a shameless grin as it righted itself.

"Ha! Serves you right, you pesky poultry!" He gave one more laugh before trotting towards the nearest exit. The bird wasn't done. It swooped, screeching at him, that it was his fault and the cat, annoyed beyond reason now, turned one mighty paw up, extended his claws and swiped...

...but overextended, he missed the flurry of feathers and not a second later got an angry bird in the face, talons and wings chaotic and blocking out his vision. The leopard yowled in protest and again swiped to get the bird away, furious now, and in pain. "GET THE HELL OFF ME!"

Cancer brushed his paw over his face the moment the bird was away, wiping the feathers from his fur. The bird screeched about its missing tail feathers and Cancer considered for a moment plucking the rest, to give it a real reason to complain. Then, suddenly, the bird slapped its wings and a mighty gust caught his tablet and it shifted from his horns. As if in slow motion, the cat whirled to catch it. It fell to the ground and a corner piece flew off as a result. The sound of the rock snapping seemed to echo in the cat's ears a moment, then another. He stood still, staring at the broken stone, then he whirled in his own fit of rage.

"YOU STUPID BIRD!" He launched himself at the crow now, aiming claws and teeth to rip and maim- as far as the cat was concerned, this pest was nothing more than mouthy prey now, and he'd treat it as such. Those leopard legs sprung and he reached...

...and claws swiped close enough to brush feathers before the cat landed on the ground again, teeth bared in full force. The leopard let loose a roar of frustration, more adult than any sound he'd made, and it echoed through the cave like thunder. "Look what you did to my map, you stupid, stupid bird!" He paced below, three steps right, another three left, then stood center again. "Get down here so I can bite your nasty head off!" In his anger, this suggestion seemed perfectly fine. Later, he'd feel like a dick for trying such horrible things, but for now, seething, the cat was only concerned with getting rid of another pest, in the only way a cat knew how to.

It never ended! The stupid bird crowed in laughter and Cancer began to pace again, ears pinned back and eyes burning holes up at the annoying creature. It began to taunt him, and that was it. Gears started turning in the cat's brain as he paced. He knew what he had to do. He had to teach this stupid bird a lesson. He would scare that cocky attitude out of it- or kill it trying. Both options satisfied the fury in the cat in that moment.

Cancer turned and ran rather suddenly for the back wall, not some feet away. Limber from his travels, the leap was easy. He pushed off the ground and landed on the wall, but as soon as those legs bunched, he twisted and sprang from the wall towards the bird, showing off that feline ability. He twisted in the air and reached...

...and this time, to his immense satisfaction, his claws met with solid muscle beneath layers of feathers, and down they both went. He landed atop the bird with both from paws, and those claws dug in hard on impact. It stung to fall so far, but the warmth beneath his paws distracted him from the pain- yes, he'd finally caught him!

"Listen up, you dirty carrion-eater!" He snapped as soon as he'd landed. "You've got three seconds to apologize before I bite your stupid head off!" And then, slowly but tensely, he'd count. "One..."