prata was beginning to get quite used to the room he'd been born in. he'd met a few other... gembounds, as they called themselves, which he apparently was also! so that was cool. he was scrounging up quite a bit of knowledge! efficient.

oddly enough, he still hadn't explored all of polaris. to his credit, it was an awfully big room for such tiny, boucy legs to get around!

the kitten wobbled along the bank, his gem-eye shimmering brightly as his neck worked double time to sustain his curious nose. suddenly, along the bank in the distance, prata spotted something especially peculiar--a bunch of stuff sticking out of the water? he had to check it out! he wasn't sure why, but it felt like it wasn't supposed to be there like that.

he scampered over on tiny legs, tripping once or twice on the way. but he kept his tail held high until he was a little closer, and then it started to droop. prata felt a little uneasy, but he wasn't sure why. maybe he was.. not supposed to be here. fear struck him like it never had before--anxiety. something in his brain was telling him he ought to leave, or he would die.

but he was frozen. fear and anxiety were growing quick within him, even if he didn't know it, and they enveloped his muscles in a way that made him freeze up. if he didn't move... perhaps he would be safe. he would be okay, as long as he didn't move.

his one eye was dilated in full, and he looked around suspiciously, without moving his head. he spotted... another cat?

well! screw that! his own thoughts were beginning to scare him! he probably wouldn't die here if that other cat was as kind as hael had been! prata bolted towards the other cat-looking-creature, paws scrambling on the ground clumsily. he tripped on his own paws, tumbling and skidding forth to the other cat, letting out an alarmed mewl as he did so.

with a pout, prata sat on the ground, limbs spread out pathetically, not quite ready to try again. at least he had made it without dying, considerably closer to the other cat than he had been before. haha! take that, fate!

notes: @bartos my most blatant title yet also this starter is kind of. bad but i've been sitting on it trying to figure out what else to do for hours and idk QQ

EDIT: forgot to get rid of the roll LMAO.. well... ignore that

"speech" / thoughts
cat by thisisbossi / table by wulf

Polaris was always a fair place to search for gems. It was one of the more popular places for Gembounds to come, with the air so often surging and sparking with thick magic. Bartos didn't have any recollections of any particular stones, but he had a feeling that if he was going to find any lost stones, it would be here.

He had begun his search hugging the wall, making sure to keep a wide berth between himself and any other Gembounds he spotted. He didn't want their company - encountering the wolf pup with the injured paw had been enough social activity for him for a long while. Worse, he didn't want anybody to see what he was doing and question it. Even worse than that, he didn't want to see anybody he might have known. He didn't want them to stop him and ask where he had been. He didn't want to explain what he was doing now, and how his heart ached, and how he vied to restore what he had lost.

Only shards littered the ground, and even they were rare. He imagined that they had belonged to chrysali rather than the actual stones embedded in a Gembound's body. Bartos didn't waste time plucking them and carrying them with him - he didn't have the bag that he had once worn over his shoulder, and he wasn't sure where he would take them. It was hard for him to return to the crevice he once occupied in Orion and he didn't believe he had it in him to reclaim his cave in Pisces. Really, he hadn't gotten far enough to decide where he would bring his treasures once he actually found something. Subconsciously he wondered if his searching was just a way to pass the time while his buzzing mind finally calmed.

Gradually he began to distance himself from the walls, and he spotted the dam where golems occasionally rolled past, awkwardly grinding against one another and shuffling across the ground. They were dangerous things - Bartos had heard of what they were capable of - but their movement had attracted his gaze to the many stones lodged among the dam. Likely prizes that the golems had gathered in their relentless, mindless hunts. Bartos was never the daring sort, but something drew him towards the dam. Maybe he could steal one and evade the golems. He wasn't very fast with his twisted leg, but what consequences would he face - death? Was death really so bad?

So the cat slunk towards the dam, keeping low and hugging rocks as they came into his path. He was intent on stealing at least something, maybe to prove that he was capable of it, but his quest was cut short. A high pitched mewl cut through the air, startling Bartos into jumping. His fur stood on end as his gaze snapped to the source.

A clumsy kitten had spotted him and now lay sprawled on the floor. Bartos leered, frozen in place as he battled with whether or not to abandon his goal and the kitten, or to proceed at risk of getting caught among the golems.

They had all stopped. The golems seemed to hesitate, and then their bodies rotated to face the splayed kitten.

Bartos tensed. "Get over here!" He hissed, backing away behind a large boulder.

prata didn't have much time to sit and grin when the larger cat hissed at him and backed away--was something really wrong? he'd forgotten already his troubles at the edge of the dam just a moment ago. but now he remembered, and this older cat was scaring him.

the larger cat seemed to hesitate as he stepped back--as if something was, in fact, out of the ordinary and wrong here. blood rushed through prata's neck, up to the back of his head, flushing through his ears uncomfortably. he hated the feeling; he was hyper-aware of it, and it made him feel even worse now that he already thought something was wrong.

but it spurred him into action, and after a moment's scrambling prata was quickly on his feet, eyes fixed on the smokey tabby looming above him. he didn't dare speak, not now, as he crept forward on the ground, pupil dilated almost fully and little ears tugged back in the slightest. he followed quietly behind the rock before he heard a resounding thmp, and then another, and then another, in steady succession. he did not dare look behind himself until he had made it safely behind the boulder, tucking up against it and spinning to poke his head out cautiously.

what he saw were... rocks? rocks on two legs, boulders, creeping closer to them, coming straight for him. ohh, no. he'd done it now. prata jetted his head back behind the rock to hide himself, before he realized they probably knew where he was anyway, and he ducked back out for another peek, and then ducked back in to try and forget about it, and then ducked his head back out once more just to make sure. he slipped back and turned towards the larger tabby.

"what are they?" he whispered, terror and curiosity mingling in his hushed voice. he knew he ought to be quiet, but if he was going to die (and he might, he thought), he ought to at least know what killed him.

@bartos sorry for the wait!

"speech" / thoughts
cat by thisisbossi / table by wulf

The fur along his spine lifted as he watched the kitten fumble to his paws, creeping towards him in an attempt to escape the golems. Bartos wanted to hiss at him to hurry, but thankfully, he made it before the golems had reached him. Standing taller, Bartos loomed over the kitten and peered out from behind the boulder, watching the golems as they continued to churn. The kitten did so as well, looking once, then twice, daring to ask what the monsters were that were beginning to pursue them. "Golems. They're piles of rocks that come to life. They take gemstones, so don't let them get you." He instructed. It was foolish for the kitten to have come here.

Then again, it was foolish for Bartos to have come here too, but he supposed it was good that he did otherwise the kitten might not have survived long. The grating sound of the golems echoed all around him, and his long, furry tail snaked above his spine with discomfort. The dam stretched ahead of them, sure to home an abundance of stones that Bartos desired, but he doubted there would be time to run in and grab anything among the masses of golems now awakened. In the back of his mind, the thought of using the kitten as bait acted as the nucleus for a sinister plan to try and steal whatever he could.

But that wasn't him. That wasn't something he would do. Belladonna's darkness still lingered on the fringes of his thoughts. He shuddered, backing away, searching for a form of escape.

"Follow me. We'll get out of here." He said, turning around. The golems were beginning to close in from behind, too. Pursing his lips, Bartos reached for his magic, envisioning a bridge of benitoite emerging from the ground. Instead, the stone in his chest zapped and crackled; a shattering pop emanated from his stone, accompanying a sharp, stabbing pain that bore into his lungs and suffocated him briefly. "Fuck!" Bartos gaped, losing his breath as his legs buckled. So long of dormancy in his magic had not been kind to him.

The cat struggled back to his paws, legs shaking with the residual pain of his failure, eyes darting in a desperate search for a way out. This had turned bad awfully fast, and Bartos was quickly realizing that he wasn't quite ready to die.

as the older cat spoke, prata ducked his head back behind the rock, as if he could hide from the golems there. he didn't reply, but soaked in the information, too afraid to speak well anyway. he lifted himself from a crouch--still hugging the ground instinctually--at bartos' instruction, hugging his legs. fear rushed through him, but he felt strangely calm, focusing on survival rather than his fear.

he trusted this cat to get them out of here, if only out of panic. they would make it if they cooperated.

and at his outburst, prata winced--he didn't know what the other cat was trying to do, but it didn't sound like it'd gone well. unconsciously, prata's tail slipped out in curiosity, and before he knew it it was being tugged sternly. as the kitten felt himself lifted from the ground unsteadily, he let out a bloodcurdling shriek, squirming around in pain and panic. magic swelled in his eye, sending a powerful burst of energy down across his body and in the direction of the golem's "hand".

the golem's grip had been loose, and luckily, that burst sent prata propelling forward, freed from the creature's stone grasp. he skidded accross the ground painfully, pebbles scraping his shoulder as he landed on his side. he wanted to cry from the pain, but he was too in shock--instead, he squirmed back towards bartos, heavy on one side and wobbly, but hurried as he tucked himself beneath the tomcat for shelter.

notes : @bartos

"speech" / thoughts
cat by thisisbossi / table by wulf

The rebound from his failed spell left Bartos dizzy, his head throbbing. He had barely noticed the golem grabbing at the kitten's tail before the child yowled and let loose his own burst of magic, throwing him forward and out of the golem's grip. Bartos straightened up, alarmed by the sound and blinking rapidly as he still struggled to regain composure. When the kitten sought shelter beneath him, Bartos stood even taller, arching his back to make space. He shouldn't have used his body as a shelter. He could have reasonably abandoned the babe. But something kept him grounded, suddenly defensive, and he knew he'd be able to live with himself if he escaped without the kitten.

The golems were crawling nearer. Bartos hissed, the hair on his spine lifting. He had to try something else. His chest tightened with pain, but it was the only option he had, knowing that the kitten wouldn't be so nimble. And even if Bartos tried to escape by running alone, he feared he wouldn't be able to get far either. Squeezing his eyes shut, he hoped to send out another blast of magic. But the previous failure had drained him. Bartos shook his head, his eyes darting in search of escape. "We have to run." He blurted, ducking his head to look down at the kitten. He'd tried his magic and failed. This was their final option; a last ditch effort not to be surrounded by golems and ripped apart.

Without waiting for an answer, Bartos lunged. "Follow me!" He said, hoping that the kitten would do so. He had to be ready. Bartos dove for the golems ahead of them and sprang up, landing atop one mid-sized boulder, then dropped back down, still running albeit with slight difficulty from his twisted leg.

prata wasted no time darting after the older cat, not stopping to respond to his commands. he scittered across the ground speedily, running in a straight line to catch up to bartos. when bartos leapt over the boulder, however, prata knew he could not make it alone--he welled up his magic in preparation for a big leap, his hind legs scrunched up and ready to pounce.

and up he went, but he just barely scraped the upper edge of the boulder, digging his claws into the uneven surface and using his own brute strength to pull himself up. for a moment he was left scrambling, panicked that he wouldn't make it, but after some struggle the kitten pulled himself up onto the top of the boulder and quickly resumed his dash forward, following the older, grayer tabby cat and breathing heavy breaths. he was beginning to feel the effort to escape, but that would not stop a kitten like prata--his survival instincts were unusually strong, and adrenaline was pumping through his young body, keeping him vigilant despite the exhaustion pain in his upper body.

notes : @bartos sorry for the wait!

"speech" / thoughts
cat by thisisbossi / table by wulf