ORIGIN

Miru's gaze glossed over as the kitten spoke again, its voice taking qualities of the infinite abyss she had seen in its pink eyes.

Child of mind and child of reality... what threads have the fates spun to tangle you in such a web? Would yours be a path so marked as to tread upon the joys of free will?

Her blank expression revealed nothing of this inner monologue even as the kitten reached out toward her statuesque form.

The chaos of the abyss grips at you, young one, but do you comprehend how? Has your mind authority over your movements or have you been cursed to be destiny’s pawn?

There was no fear of the claws, no reaction save for her steady gaze. Within the kitten's eyes she saw no malice and therefore her trust was absolute.

Luckily with a spark of misfired magic and a cry of pain the kitten's mania appeared to end.

"You may be more correct than you realize in how you connect yourself with magic, but know that it is not a common thing." she spoke soothingly as though nothing had just transpired. "Are you okay, young one? To be used by magic, I imagine, is not a feeling to be envied."

Miru's tail began to swish idly again as she lay before the kitten in observation. Its countenance showed no signs of dismay over its previous fit. In fact the child didn't seem to have even recalled the strange words and stranger actions at all!

She rested in silence as the destined one approached and took a seat. It trusted her? She knew from observations that her mannerisms were not the norm among the cave's inhabitants, that what she considered to be fun might easily label her as an oddity. Perhaps it was that they were new to this world or perhaps the depth of their senses could pierce the barrier of appearance to see her true intentions as benign. Whatever the case might have been she was happy for the company.

The company of Wilder, as the fated eyes wished to be called.

"It is good to meet you, young Wilder. I suppose then that I, in turn, should introduce myself." she spoke, bowing her head respectfully, "I am a lone seeker of fun within this vast world, known to few by any name at all but to myself at least as Miru."

With a deep breath she returned to her relaxed upright lounging position. "All sentient creatures within the caves know how to use magic, though not all kindle the skill" she started, closing her eyes to feel the arcane hum around her. Yes, another demonstration was in order. "Sometimes it hurts to use magic and sometimes magic can produce great wonders, but it is a part of who we are and its mastery has the potential to both express and fulfill the desires within our own hearts."

The cyan glow surged up within her fur at an intensity that surprised even Miru herself. With the light of the spire shining upon her the spell groaned and shifted and swirled out of control, breaking away from her and manifesting itself into a bright ghostly blue flame that hovered in the air between them.

The little kitten's declaration of friendship drew a deep chuckle out of this 'hermit'. She had walked alongside others before and had gathered forces for a common goal, but friendship was not a thing she often sought out for its own sake. Perhaps that was a folly; what fun might she be missing in watching the antics of others as though taking in a performance? How much more satisfaction might she derive from diving in and becoming a part of the play of imagined crisis and manufactured drama?

"Friendship is a lovely thing, is it? Very well then!" she declared with joyful eyes, "On this day I become a friend of Wilder and they in turn a protected friend of mine."

There was a depth to these words, much more akin to a pact being formed than a casual declaration of acknowledgement. For Miru, after all, words were something to be twisted and juggled and toyed with, but never taken lightly.

Just as this declaration was made under the wisp's ghostly blue light though another strange transformation took place in the Wild one. In what almost looked like a seizure the abyss took hold once more, prompting the kitten's possessed voice to ring out about the Spire.

Source of magic, the heart of the world, is it you who speaks through this small vessel? No, surely the Spire would not speak of itself in such confusion. Another being of unknown origin, a mind that sees the light shining in the cosmos and seeks to understand?

Miru's head lowered almost imperceptibly as narrowed gaze locked upon the touched cat. "The light is of the Spire, filtered through its children, but not the Spire itself." she spoke watching the physical form of her new friend move erratically. "As for me, I am simply a holder of light and a seeker of fun. I exist in this world a physical being but like all greater gembound connected to the fabric that ripples under the surface of all."

Tension began to form in the fox's limbs as she prepared for any possible reaction to her next question. She wasn't going to hurt the kitten but when dealing with the unknown like this precaution had to be taken. "Voice who speaks in kitten's tongue, do you claim the title of Wilder? If not then what is it that you seek in this plane?"

Miru slowly stood, head lowered as the possessed kitten drew near. As before her gaze held no aggression, but rather a deep focus on the situation at hand. The voice did not seem to be directly in her friend's control, yet it didn't seem to be completely eldritch in nature either. New to the world yet deeper than conscious thought... could it, perhaps, have been a life that had failed to manifest a body? Had a second consciousness imprinted itself upon Wilder, lashing out as it tried to understand the state it found itself in?

"The spire is important, the source of all, yet its gifts are not exclusive." she spoke in calm voice, eyes unblinking as she locked gaze upon the child.

As rocks rose from the ground it was becoming more and more apparent that this entity was throwing a bit of a temper tantrum. It wanted magic, but could not express to what end. If this continued too much longer they might both be in danger.

"Time is vast and experience deep. Dip your paw into the well of knowledge but do no jump in lest it drag you away to your demise." she continued on, mind racing on how to get the idea across to a creature that may or may not understand her words at this point.

Memories of the hunter of dreams sprang to mind and with it memories of the resonance that it had left in her mind. Could she subject a friend to such a thing though? No, not a chance- at least not in the way it had been used by the monster. She could, however, modify the imagery projected and hijack the resonance to get her point across. Probably. It was worth a try anyways.

Her gaze continued to lock onto those pink eyes as she conjured up deep imagery of the room of howling wings, in which a deadly tornado spun. Upon that image she superimposed the room they were in right now. Landscapes mixed and merged, leaving the impression of crags and crystals everywhere. A great spire of awesome power now shared location with a great swirl of awesomely powerful wind, debris flying all around. Wild, majestic, deadly. This mental image she willed forward into the mind of the possessed kitten before her.

"Be calm, for the beauty you reach for swirls with oblivion beyond comprehension." she spoke once more with a tone close to compassion. "Do not envy the fires of creation lest you wander into them and become undone."

Miru stood firm as the kitten reacted to her words and imagery, though not in the way she would have liked. Was it the spire or the magic that had caused such a violent reaction? With her friend's garbled words there was no way to tell for sure. To be on the safe side though she willed the wandering blue flame to cease its light and sidestepped so that the spire would be out of view if Wilder were to look at her.

Though tempted to continue speaking the fox suspected that any words she might have would be lost upon deaf ears. She couldn't approach much closer than this due to its thrashing and with an oath of friendship leaving them to uncertain fate would be out of the question. Those pink eyes had not seemed to be holders of a fitful and early end though- surely this would not be the conclusion of their story.

For the moment she would stand fast and wait, staring the child down. If they should lose consciousness, she would be able to carry them away- out of the Spire's light and near water to sooth their doubtlessly damaged form. With any luck, however, they would awaken instead and she would know a bit more about how to tread without bringing unintended harm to her friend.