Kallista walked slowly along the walls of Pisces. She knew the place well enough that she could walk comfortably, even though she was half blind. She was still trying to get used to the fact that she lost her eye. She could still quite clearly feel the pain, and it brought the feeling of being pinned by the caracal, and the feeling of them scratching her eye out. She gave a shudder at the thought.

For now, Kallista was just trying to get used to it. To continue her life. It would be hard, but she'd manage it. Somehow. Things would never be the same, of course. She no longer trusted anyone, except for Todd. He was the only one she could trust. She had to protect him, make sure the one who had hurt her never hurts him. She would be devastated if he became hurt again. If she had to go up against them again, and that horrible, wretched fire, so be it. She'd do anything to make sure nothing hurts Todd.

She stopped walking when she got to the waterfall, and stared down into it. So much had changed since the first time the cat had seen this waterfall. It was cycles ago, so many cycles. She was a lot older now. A lot more wary. A lot more concerned. A lot more wiser. Or so she liked to think, anyway.

Kallista continued to look down into it. Her face still burned from the fire the caracal had used. Perhaps it would help with her burns? She hated getting wet though. It was necessary, she knew that, but she still didn't like it. Doing it briefly should be good, though. Right? She took a deep breath and ducked her head under the water. The water pulled at her fur a bit, but she ignored it. It made the burns better, so that was good at least.

She pulled her head back up. Her burns didn't hurt as bad anymore, and neither did her eye. Or lack thereof, anyway. She then looked around. Was anyone nearby? Did she want someone to be nearby? Not really.. She sighed. If someone was nearby, they'd likely comment on her one eye, inquire as to what happened. Kallista wasn't sure she was ready for that. It was much too soon for her to really be comfortable. She might not ever be comfortable with talking about it. Oh, well. She had to face it sometime. Perhaps it would be better sooner rather than later.

---

Kallista was just walking along when a voice startled her. She whirled around and saw another gembound. They didn't look anything like the caracal who had attacked her, but them trying to jump up onto her only reminded her of the way the caracal had fought. She yelped and immediately began backing away, hoping the other wouldn't be able to leap up onto her. They could attack her, just like the caracal did!

Kallista was able to avoid being jumped on, much to her relief. But still, they were here, and they had failed. What if that made them angry? The words they had spoke earlier had completely disappeared from her mind, and she could only think about what had happened earlier, when she was fighting the caracal. This other creature could easily still hurt her! She was much bigger and older, of course, but she had also been older than the caracal! If they could have hurt her this badly, who was to stay the one in front of her couldn't do the same?

---

Kallista continued to stare at the other with her one eye wide. Had they noticed it? Would...Would they take the other out? The thought made her chest hurt, as if someone was trying to crush her heart. She sat there, crouched down, for a moment more. That was, until the other spoke.

...Friend? Play? Kallista blinked. They...wanted to play? Play what? And...friend? She had just met this dog! It took a while for the cat to become friends with anyone. And it was only going to be harder after the battle. How could she trust anyone? The only one she could trust was Todd. Would she be able to be comfortable around anyone else now? Or...was she to be forever friendless? Did she even want friends? She sighed.

"I don't...I don't want to be your f-friend." she grunted, staring down at the smaller one. "I don't want to play with you. I don't...I don't w-want to play with anyone." Her tail tip flicked. Had they noticed her eye yet?

---

Kallista, upon seeing that she had probably hurt the other's feelings, sighed. "Look...I...I'm sorry, but I just don't think I could handle being friends with...a-anyone. Too...too much has happened." She stared at them for a while and realized that they had probably noticed her eye. "As...you can p-probably see, I only have o-one..," her voice trailed off.

She cleared her throat and tried again. "I'm not...not going to hurt you. I don't...want to hurt a-anyone." Would she ever be able to insult someone again? She herself could just as easily be insulted as well... She sighed. "Maybe...Maybe I should just go..."

---