ORIGIN - The Princess' Tower

Mau had worked for a literal month on this project, and finally, she felt it complete. Crafted from bones and leather strips, she'd made herself quite the tower home. Like a cat tree, it twisted and turned upwards, with ramps and steps and platforms crafted painstakingly out of bone plates, skull fragments and ribs. Each and every level was perfectly aligned, perfectly measured. She'd taken even more time aligning and crafted the rooms in the center, each one with a way in and a way up to the next floor. It certainly wasn't big enough for anyone but herself, and fully grown, she felt confident that she'd be able to call this place home for a very long time. No one could dare break it down or ruin her hard work- Azazel would destroy anyone who tried. Her bird-father, king of bones, was all powerful here, and thus, so was she.

The white cat sat daintily atop her new tower, enjoying the view. About six feet off the ground, she could survey the entire cave. Giggle, the spotted hyena-mom, had her area on the opposite end of the cave, and even that was within sight of the pretty little princess who sat atop her makeshift throne of bones and skin. Yes, this was a good place. She'd chosen the location well and with everything cleaned and finished, she felt confident no one would best her.

Fluffy cat stretched herself out and with a thick purr, settled herself into the comfort of her fur-and-skin lined bed. Yes, this would do just fine... so long as no one disturbed her.

Giggle had watched the little bone tower going up day by day, but aside from a couple of cursory sniffs around it as she made her rounds of Canis, she hadn't bothered with it, much. Every few days she travelled the cave, picking out any bones that called to her, but she'd left the tower alone until now. She wasn't sure who'd been building it--Aza'zel, perhaps, trying to create a new nest?--and every time she'd passed by, nobody had been "home," or perhaps had been sleeping within, she wasn't sure.

Now, though, there hadn't been any activity for a day or two--or so she thought--and every now and then she could see a white figure perching atop it, or moving up and down. It didn't look like a bird, and that sparked her interest. She was pretty sure it was a sapient Gembound--for what rat would build a throne--and so she decided to go over and investigate. What sort of hyena mom would she be if she didn't know the others in her own cave?! Aza'zel would never let her live it down if he knew she'd been watching someone building with bones, and not even gone over to find out who it was.

Down she padded, and then back up the hill, toward the bone-throne that seemed to look down over the whole cave. Once she was nearer to it she stopped, closing her eyes briefly and trying to "see" it before drawing close--as much for practice and for fun as to prevent risking any danger. She pressed her mind into the invisible forest of fungi spread over Canis, projecting her senses through them to the little ivory tower. From here, she curiously inspected it from every direction. It seemed rather... perfect, exquisitely symmetrical and hung here and there with skin.

At the top was a creature that looked at once delicate and tough; refined and predatory; luxurious and brutal. Giggle wasn't sure how that was possible, but she rather liked it; its makeup screamed "cat" to her but not in the hateful way that the stinking lions did. It was a powderpuff of white with what were undoubtedly tiny scythelike claws nestled in the perfect little paws, and with a sense of amusement, Giggle withdrew her mind from the fungi and approached.

She herself was streaked with dried gore, fungus and mud, and her face was a mess of scarring lacerations, swollen and stuck with dried blood. She padded up beneath the throne, until she was a few feet away, and then paused, peering up with tilted head.

The hyena let out a soft chortle before speaking.

"A bone tower, hmm? You should visit my pit, some time. I don't think we've met; I'm Giggle, and I live just across the cave. Are you new to Canis?"

If she is, there's some warnings I ought to give her. Doubt she'd want to get eaten by a deer-bird.

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Roll the bones.

Mau was relaxing lazily, her eyes shut but ears twitching with every sound in the cave. The sound of claws on stone approaching brought her blue gaze down upon the hyena as she closed in. Oh, ew. White princess sat upright suddenly, paw drawn to her chest and hackles raising slightly on her back. Oh, ew!

The hyena below- she knew the woman had lived here for some time, had seen her around but had never bothered to make contact or take a closer examination of the witch- was covered in marring wounds, ugly scars and, oh yeah, dirty, dried blood. The domestic feline nearly gagged. Then, the woman spoke to her and the cat's ears pinned back with disdain.

"Ah, yes, thank you for the invitation, but I think I'll pass, Miss... Giggle." She mewed politely enough, dignified and proper. "I'm not new. Azazel adopted me more than a cycle ago. Without any tasks from him, I've been trying to keep this place clean. This tower is a center point to my master plan, you see." About half way through her explanation, she became prideful, joyously showing off her creation. "It's my Château parfaite."

Aww, the little white puff is disgusted.

Dark amusement ran through the spotted hyena, a brief glint of malice spiking in her eyes. She smirked; there was something ironic about this creature and its chosen habitation, but she'd save commenting on that for later. It was amusing, but she was more inclined to polite conversation with her new neighbor, for the time being.

"I see. He hadn't mentioned you, but then he seems absent often enough. Collecting shiny objects with his raven-friend, no doubt. What do those words mean? What is the tower, the... Shat-oh? And what master plan?" Giggle didn't have a demanding tone; rather, as she curled her haunches under her to sit, she tilted her head with friendly mild interest, the way you'd ask a friend why they were so excited about their gardening. She was curious; what sort of master plan required a little bone-throne? But moreso, she asked for the cat's sake, wondering what had it puffed up so much with pride.

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Roll the bones.