His start in life had been confusing and bewildering, but thankfully, all attending parties had parted ways for now, leaving the newly named and hatched Carcino cub to ponder his new role in life. He'd returned to the ledge he'd been born on to collect himself and now the boy felt rested and vaguely reassured.

It was this positioning on the ledge by the falls that granted him the chance to hear the hatching of another. A honk followed the crack. The leopard cub rose to his paws and tip-toed to the edge of his high home.

Below, a bird had hatched, gathering its bearings and footing awkwardly below him. The cub blinked in astonishment at the new being coming into play then began a quick but steady decline down the rocks to greet them.

"Hello!" He mewled, high-pitched voice tentative about greeting another stranger, but hopeful knowing that this stranger was new, like him, and wouldn't remember the... old him.

The cub flinched at the gosling's angry hissing. She wasn't so keen on company but little Carcino felt he had to insist. After all, they were both alone here now.

Maybe she was just scared of him. He was different, after all.

"A friend?" He warbled back, more timid than before; a fear of rejection mixed with hope for a miracle. He felt the hope flimsy but dared to wish the goose would soften its mixed plumage again, not bear those hidden teeth at him again. He kept his own fangs neatly hidden behind a weary smile.

"My name's... He paused, because it still didn't feel quite right. "Carcino." He didn't sound much keen on the name. "You can call me Carcie if it's easier though."

The other gembound wasn't particularly friendly at first but Carcie was quickly seeming to win her over. The tip of his tail swung side to side against the floor in his well-mannered excitement at the thought. Bright eyes and perked ears took in the name and matched it to the creature, its scent, its voice- as loud as it could be. Committed to memory.

"That's okay. I don't care much for it either." He admitted as if not liking ones own name was entirely normal; and for the boy, found by seniors who would come to falsely recognize him as a phantom of the past, it was entirely normal- he hadn't picked it, after all. "Blackberry's a good name though." He offered back, sincerely, because he liked the way the word bounced on his tongue but knew nothing of what it meant.

"I'm sorry that I scared you." The boy hadn't missed the accusation and took responsibility for it entirely, unquestioningly. "My paws are really soft so it's honestly kind of hard to walk noisily." The cub's face curved into a sheepish grin, milk teeth white against black lips and fur.