ORIGIN

Far from Orion Miru had fled as soon as the path was clear. Darkness had lost in the face of fire and light, but she wasn't about to take chances on it returning. Her path had been silent, winding toward the wall and taking the ill-traveled tunnels of luminous green moss.

That road was a dangerous one in its own right, home to a band of gembound who took pleasure in the dismantling of others lives. They would defend their home to the end no doubt- a trait Miru suspected she could take advantage of should a threat larger than herself still be following after. Luckily there was no need for such precautions, and luckier still she got through without being spotted by the denizens of Tunnel N herself.

An expanse of light and radiant energy opened up before the small fox as she entered Polaris, pausing only a moment to take a deep breath of the ozone-tasting air. Already a rush of energy was filtering through her, sinking into the core of her being and pushing aside what had felt like cracks in her psyche. Her magic had failed her before, erupting into one final blast of heat before sputtering out as she and the others had faced the beast of nightmares. It was here that she could recover. Here she could reconnect with the primal force all gembound shared.

Her brief rest concluded, Miru skipped forward to the great light at the center of the room. To get too close would be foolish, but there was nothing wrong with loitering around the edges of its reach, right?

With each step the sensation and imagery of glass reforming filled her mind and with each shard returned a blue glow emanating from beneath her fur grew brighter.

Miru's increasing pace slid to a halt as all at once as a dark figure emerged form behind a rock. Her heart raced, not from fear but just from the unexpectedness of having almost passed the tiny creature without noticing it. The tiny shadow gazed upon her with brilliant pink eyes, innocent harmless. But that impression wouldn't last for long in Miru's mind as she turned her own crimson eyes to gaze into them.

A rush of powerful imagery flooded the glowing fox's mind as her gaze became trapped in the kitten's eyes. Intelligence, Imagination, Infinity. Contained within the pink eyes of this tiny creature was the a possibly destiny greater than any creature she had met before. Wiser than an owl, more majestic than a swan, and holding the capability of unraveling the secrets of reality itself.

The fox took a half step back, her breath cut short even as a chorus of "pretty" rang out around her. Try as she might she couldn't creak contact with those eyes. Who... was this child?

Finally after a moment of initial shock wore off Miru was able to break her eyes free. The impression was still there, but hopefully now she would be able to simply acknowledge it without the surprise. This kitten was certainly someone she needed to keep tabs on.

"Thank you, young one." she spoke in a lowered but respectful tone befitting talking to a child, "Mine is a gift of light, just like you possess the gift of sound and secrets."

The blue glow filtering through her fur continued to intensify as the light of the core shone upon her. This was exactly where she needed to be right now it seemed.

The fox visibly relaxed, her maw turning up in a lighthearted chuckle. Even if destiny weighed heavy in this young one's eyes it was still but a youth. She would have to keep that in mind when interacting with them, it had no doubt been taken aback by her initial reaction.

"That's right!" she praised as she shifted her glow primarily to her tail, waving it back and forth to cause the shadows to move in turn. "Light and shadow are two languages of the eyes. Sound and silence the two beasts that are tamed by the ears."

Her face held its genuine jovial expression as she riddled on, her red gaze flitting about as though she was on stage. "Secrets, then, are the other side of knowledge. The two elemental components of the mind."

Gaze softened again as tail stopped its waving. As seldom as she interacted with the other sentient denizens of the cave it was always so much fun. "Of course I could be mistaken; your strengths may exist elsewhere entirely. With voice that speaks louder than sound, however, I would not be surprised if that is where your gift lies."

The fox closed her eyes and perked her ears, listening with a small nod as the kitten attempted to absorb her tapestry of words. "That is close, young one. Just as shadow is the result of light being hidden from the world and silence the absence of sound affecting reality secrets are what happen when knowledge is hidden from view."

After all, the light from shadow still exists but is blocked by an outside source. Light would cover all were it not for the presence of matter. Silence similarly would not exist were it not for space itself swallowing noise from far away.

"Oh?" she questioned to the kitten's last statement, opening her eyes once more. "Do you not believe in yourself then? Or perhaps you simply could not hear. With your chorus of commentary on my blue sheen mere moments ago I could have sworn I heard your voice pierce the limits of that which can be."

Sure, she could have simply said it sounded like magic, but what fun was there in speech without style? She could tone it down if it caused distress but surely the riddles were good for the development of a growing youth of such potential.

With soft eyes Miru lay herself upon the ground, paws ahead with tail swishing behind ain a slow and steady rhythm. The glow that radiated from her skin was beginning to fade as the flow of magic that had been poured into it had been cut off.

"Perhaps I spoke hastily." her voice reached out with softer force than it had a moment before. "Belief in yourself refers to the trust you hold in your own skill."

He riddling tone had faded almost fully now, the flurry of fun creeping far to close to a potentially damaging state. What tragedy it would be to accidentally hurt a kitten as innocent as this, especially as they had been such a good sport the entire time.

"Within your voice as you called out in heartfelt praise I could hear the twinge of a power held dear to those who call these caves home. Do you recall that moment? Do you recall tapping into a power greater than the self alone?"

She paused a moment lest her impulse to speak in circles undermine the message and intent behind the words.

"It is okay if you do not. You have time to see and time to know. The world is wide and full of secrets just waiting to be brought to knowledge."