He was calming now, because the tiger was calming and no longer roaring and the taste of violence was fading from the air. But he still spoke in circles and vague indications and it was beginning to frustrate him. His tail lashed behind him, displeased, as he slowly got to his feet. Less then an hour ago had been his first time walking, but now he stood on his feet confidently, glaring up at the tiger with no fear. "Not urgent? To me - it is! I have been awake for minutes and I am attacked in the stead of someone else! No chance to defend myself or get any explanation...it's not fair!" It was with a childish whine that he ended his sentence now and he looked away, aware of it, and ashamed.

He sighed and rolled back his shoulder, feeling a pang of soreness over his neck where Rezik had held him down. "...Fine. But please just tell me straight. I'm tired of this vague talk."

But a name? He thought immediately back to the voice in his dream, calling for him. "Kestrel. Kestrel. Please wake up, Kestrel." Was that his name? But he didn't even know who that was. Still, it held some meaning to him, but he would carve his own place, his own identity.

"Kestrel. But you can call me Kass." He stood up to follow wherever Teosar would lead him, hoping that he would finally clear things up for him.

At first, as he padded after Teosar, he was confused. What was he talking about, stones, and life before? He became quite aware of the hard stone underneath his body, skin moving against it as he walked. Was that what he was talking about?

Still, it took Teosar saying it for Kass to realize exactly how dire that situation had been. He would have died, if he hadn’t been saved. He lowered his head a bit, a small bow of respect and thanks. ”I…yes, you’re right. Thank you. For saving me.” He needed to calm down, this tiger was not his enemy.

It all fell into place, then, when a Teosar spoke of past lives and echoes. Shape and body. Gemstone. It clicked, like a puzzle piece previously astray finally completing the picture. He stopped for a moment, physically, ears perked. ”So I’m…someone reborn?” He looked up at Teosar and realized he’d gotten a little ahead and jerked back into motion, stumbling a bit, but feeling Teosar’s large paw halt him before he fell properly. He grunted a small thanks, a little embarrassed, but holding himself higher as he continued to follow.

He followed suit, drinking from the cool river, careful to keep his footing this time, in his own, and when the tiger began speaking again, he looked up and sat, feeling icy water clearing his head.

It was…a lot, but Kass met Teosars lavender eyes with burning fuchsia, hungry for answers. He listened, taking it all in, filing all the information as best he could. Tyrant leaders. Rebellion. Survival. A leader, killed. And he, Kass, was the leader reborn.

He swallowed heavily and shook his head. ”No, I just gotta take a second to process it.” He was quiet for a moment, imagining what would have happened. Someone that looking like him, calico fur, with a kingly glow, facing off in battle with the strange deer creature. A valiant fight, for the rights to freedom. For the right to rebel. And the face of the other splitting open, ending it all with a flash of sharp teeth, and a pain in the neck not unlike before, and everything going dark.

His tongue flicked out to lick at a stray droplet on his muzzle, bringing him back to the present. ”They were enemies - N’Chard and Rezik? How long ago was this? And…you,” he locked eyes with Teosar once again. ”You fought back. Were you and N’Chard…friends?”

The idea of Kass being a separate being from N’Chard, not defined by him, not a clone, came with the bitter thought that yes, he had already been defined by him. The moment he had awoken, stepped out of the deep dream of non existence, and already he had almost lost his chance at life because of N’Chard. Because of the past, of crimes unknown to the masses, and a friendship turned bitter enemies.

But he didn’t blame N’Chard for this. In fact, he felt sad. His life had been cut short by someone he’d once trusted. A coward, as Teosar had called him, that had disliked the thought of freedom for his people.

He shook his head. ”It’s not fair,” he repeated. ”Is it still like that? Are these…Masters still around? Suppressing freedom? How long ago was this, anyways?” It had to have been a while at least, right? That not-dream felt like it had lasted an age.

With a sudden desire to know more about his past life, about who N’Chard had been, how he died, he sat himself down on the stone and leaned back, looking down at the labradorite on his abdomen. He reached a paw to touch it carefully, calling on the magic that he had used before, in a desperate bid against Rezik.

A millennia had passed, then. Teosar was a relic in these caves, as Kass might be a relic given new life. If he wanted to know more, then, about the current times, then Teosar wasn’t the one to ask. That was alright - the information he’d given him already had done so much. It had given him a start to understanding.

The vision, however, gave him something different. He recognized the space - that was the cave he’d been in. That was…that was him. The labradorite. But there were others as well, two others. Black and sea green. He didn’t recognize them, they hadn’t been there when he woke up. And the purring sound, the feline shape…who was that.

Was that the voice he’d heard? Calling his name? Begging him to wake up? Was that the one that had given him new life?

His mother?

As he came out of the vision, he found himself just staring off into the distance. He realized Teosar was looking at him expectantly. He started, shaking himself out of it. ”Sorry, I was just thinking. You’re still hunted, all this time later?” He paused for a moment, an idea sparking in his mind. ”I could ask around for you, if you want? If you’re still hiding maybe…maybe it’s better now. Maybe you don’t have to run anymore.”

He looked down at himself, at his colors. Hopefully they wouldn’t cause too much of a problem, that perhaps the inconspicuous place that his gemstone lay would be enough to keep him relatively safe, if there were others like Rezik that wanted him dead.

But it just wasn’t fair that Teosar had to run, that he spent his whole life running and now, after everyone else was gone, he still felt hunted. He was good and kind, and Kass wanted him to be free.

”No, of course not,” he corrected himself. ”I wouldn’t mention you, just…see if things are still bad, if there’s still even a need for rebels.” He hoped that there was not, that times had changed enough that gembound could live free. But if the Masters were still around, then he doubted that was the case. And the fact that he had been assaulted the moment he’d woken up…a cruel world indeed.

He nodded, relieved that at least he could go about with ease. He would not have to fear being hunted or fear the Masters trying to kill him at every corner. ”I’ll be careful. I want to learn - about the past and the present. But I won’t ask anything that might put me or you in danger. I promise.”

He stood a little taller at the praise Teosar spoke of N’Chard. He sounded like a true leader, a truly good person and Kass felt a rush of pride at having been born from his stone. It solidified his desire to find justice for him, to finish what he started, to live up to his name and his legacy. It didn’t feel like a burden - it felt like a promise.

”I’d like…to carve my own path. There are things I want to do, and someone I want to find. But…if I want to find you, where can I look? I’d like to hear more about the past. About you, and N’Chard. And, of course, if I ever find out if you are safe now.”