ORIGIN

"Speech" @Kallista

Black ears picked up the sound of paws against stone, the gentle rustle of his fur.

The fox didn't know that it had been years; but he knew that it had been a long time. He'd wandered the caves just as always, with his hind limbs springing along behind him, searching, playing, meeting the occasional new face. He didn't know that he was old. But he was. And as he trotted into the room of lights, the awe and wonder upon his youthful muzzle could have been easily mistaken for one of just four cycles.

It had been so long since he'd come back to his birthplace; Almost thirty cycles, in fact.

But now, exactly three years later, the silver fox had returned home.

He'd missed everyone; he'd travelled far, and learned little. But he'd started to crave company as of late; and think back to the days that once were. There was one face that stuck in his memory, a feline face, with a ruined eye. It was her that he'd missed the most. It took too long for him to wander back to the place that he'd last seen her. And it just so happened to be the place where he was born.

Todd took a moment to look around, committing the sights to memory once again. He felt the magic thrum around his sensitive ears and a distant, old part of him wondered if there were any spells to be found here. He didn't really know, though, what he was looking for. The idea of magic as a physical entity had been long ingrained into childish imagination.

The hunt, half-play, half-mission, was on hold for now.

Soon, Todd was moving on again, towards the Spire- jet black ears softly twitching to the slightest sound.

He was so busy gazing at its glowing, sparking mass that he didn't look down, letting out a startled yelp as he stepped on something sharp. The fox raised his paw and looked around with dismay in his eyes; and found that he'd stepped on the ruined remains of a chrysalis, half-covered by dirt and mosses, yet still glinting purple in the half light.

As he sucked on his wounded paw, there came the startled glint of recognition in his eyes.

"Speech" @Kallista

Todd whipped around at the sound of a voice, removing his slobbery paw from his mouth. In that instant, he almost forgot about the pain. He turned towards the voice, and almost immediately was up on his feet. He almost ran to her, but hesitated- suddenly, for the first time in his life, he was stumped. He stared for a moment, chocolate brown eyes wide. "Kallista?"

And then the joy came rushing in.

It had been so long. He trotted over to her, limping on his cut forepaw, his gem striking the ground with a clink with every step. His hind limbs followed- covered, finally, in luscious silver fur, yet their motions bouncing and jittery, slightly out of his control. He picked up the pace until he was racing, stumbling towards her. He stopped just before her, tail twitching from side to side. The quiet was almost too much to bear.

"Oh, Kallista! It is you! It's been so long!"

And then, forgetting about the pain in his paw, he bounced around her, yelping sounds of happiness. It was as though he had never been gone. "Where have you been? How many spells have you found? You have to show me them!"

"Speech" @Kallista

The fox finally came to a halt, panting, his jaws parted, his tongue lolling out, and he grinned in a way that he hadn't for many cycles. In fact, he was smiling so much that it made his face hurt. But that was okay! He kept on smiling the foxish smile, sharp-toothed, pink-tongued, chocolate eyes gleaming.

"I've been a long way," he panted, coming up beside her, with tail whisking from side to side. "I've went to all the places that I went before and more. I know all the caves now! Just not their names. There's one which is very warm, and one which is cold and swampy, and one full of wind and a frightening roaring sound, like a monster! But no matter where I went, I couldn't seem to find anyone."

The fox gave a shudder at the thought of the long, lonely journey that he had taken. For a moment, his mood became oddly gloomy- his heart sank. But just looking at the cat beside him was enough to fill his heart with warmth and cheer him up again. He flopped sideways, wanting to feel the warmth of her fur against him, and aimed a playful headbutt at the undamaged side of her face, and a slobbery lick at her muzzle.

He listened as she talked about the spells she had seen, and although his ears drooped with disappointment as she admitted she hadn't learned any spells, his eyes grew wide and bright with wonder as he thought of the magical orbs of light! "Wow," he breathed wonderingly, gaze growing distant as he imagined it. "That sounds amazing!"

"Speech" @Kallista

"Oh, it was! There was so much to see! So many new places and paths... I just wish I'd had someone there to show it to," the fox said, voice bursting with joy but heavy with time. Any kind of melancholy mood was forgotten, though, as the fox let out a happy little yelp as Kallista headbutted him back.

"Wow, that sounds amazing, too! you'll have to show me sometime. And I can take you all of the places that I've been, too!" But, the fox thought sadly, it'd be sad if Kallista's already seen them all.

The fox's ears lowered slightly as Kallista expressed sadness at having never learned any spells. The silver fox glanced away from her for a moment, then leaned in close to her ear. "Kallista... I have a secret," he whispered. "...I didn't learn any either. Promise you won't tell anyone?"

Then, as he was so close- he nipped playfully at one of her ears before bouncing away, tail flicking above him. He stood with legs placed squarely apart and tail lashing, jaws parted, watching expectantly- if she came closer he'd bounce away- clearly, he wanted Kallista to give chase.

"Speech"

Todd took on a look of surprise and glee as Kallista said she'd never seen all the rooms. "I'll show you it soon!" he declared. "It's all the way past the room with all the buildings! That's a long way!"

The fox unabashedly let out a shrill cry of joy as the cat gave chase, and then he turned tail and ran, his wounded hind legs barely slowing him down. He left the old chrysalis and its half-buried shards far behind, and tore along a well-worn path by the riverside, only glancing back to make sure he was still being chased- and when he saw Kallista, hot on his tail, the fox let out a shrill giggle and tried to pick up the pace- only to lose control of his hind legs an d flip head over heels.

He came to a crashing halt and skidded onto some soft moss, but was quickly scrambling onto his feet again. "Race you 'round the spire!" he gasped, and without waiting for a response, took off.