ORIGIN

Catalyst was freezing. The mountains were cold. Cold, but beautiful. Even so, she had only paused for a brief second upon arriving to Ursa. To watch the lights as they danced. To wonder Mother had chosen such a beautiful home. Even through the cold, Catalyst felt Mother's warm touch. Mother urged Catalyst onward. A yawning tunnel gaped in front of her.

Mother urged her on. Through the tunnels. None of her siblings were here yet, were they? She directed the question at Mother. Mother assured her, siblings were here. Would be here. There was a brief, flitting memory. Not hers. Was it a memory? An experience? A moment, happening right then? There was a life behind it.

She felt a mental push. Mother needed her to move. She was a Harbinger, important to Mother's cause. The dissection of her experience could wait. She stalked through the dark tunnels. Her head turned at the various noises, a rock clattering, or the squeak of a lesser in the dark had her jumping, but Mother assured her the tunnels were safe. And she believed her. Another mouse passed by. Catalyst's legs tensed. She pounced, and knew it went wrong as soon as her feet left the ground.

She slipped on the ice, her balance went off. She saw a pale blur as she fell, and knew she still had a chance. But her teeth did not clamp down on something small and fuzzy. Her muzzle hit rock. Her TEETH hit rock. Catalyst cried out, clawing at her mouth. Nothing broken, but still. It hurt. A lot. Mother dulled the pain. Catalyst hoped Mother had not the awareness to see that.

She knew, instinctively, where to go. Which tunnels to follow. Mother told her. The deeper she got, the more lessers she saw. More of those snow white mice. But these did not fear her. They gazed at her openly, did not move, even as her claws landed near them. They were a part of Mother's family. Even lessers were deserving of her love.

And as she got closer, an odor grew stronger. Rotting, unpleasant. This was Mother's scent. It grew stronger, until she hit a room, where the scent was strongest. As if something had died. Was this her?

"Mother...?" She said, unsure.

@Catalyst

Mother was not here. She could smell her, the strength of Mother's scent in the tunnel. But it was bare. Icy. A talon clicked the ice. She was restless. She wanted to be close. Mother urged patience. And Catalyst, she wanted to do as she said. Catalyst craved the approval. The closeness. The family. To be truly embraced. It hit an instinctive urge deep within. And knowing she wasn't next to Mother hurt.

The thought she wasn't trusted stung more than the cold of the mountains. But the sting fueled a blazing need. A need to prove herself. Mother's reassuring hand comforted her. She was among family in these tunnels. She felt the desire to butt her head against her, but there was only cold stone here.

Catalyst need only follow Mother's commands. She was to make warmth. Make the tunnels more hospitable for gembound like her. She shivered, as with Mother's words, the cold crept back into her awareness. So single-minded had she been on this quest for Mother, for emotional warmth, she'd nearly forgotten herself. Her physical warmth. That wouldn't happen again.

She thought back. Glory had known how to use fire, to make things with heat. Catalyst remembered the warmth of his forge. She would replicate that somehow. But furs were simpler. She'd gather that, then try to find fire. Wherever that might be. Catalyst had her doubts she'd find it in Ursa. After thinking on it, Catalyst nodded. "Yes Mother," She said, her breath fogging in the cold. Her gold eyes blinked once. Slow, as a cat might. "I will look. I will find furs and fire. To keep us warm." She turned to leave, trotting out.

;temporary exit

@Catalyst (for visibility as well) @Morpho