Shimmering on the back wall of the throne was a glowing painting, seemingly painted with dots and strokes of magical light. The lights were moving as they told their story, looping endlessly.

This particular painting depicts a night sky with many twinkling stars and clusters, much like the surface of the ceiling in Orion. Occasionally there is a shooting star, and it lands on the painted ground, bursting into a small animal that gleams with the brightness of a star. It runs around, accumulating with other star-animals until the ground becomes too cluttered and they all morph into a long strand of star-glitter, flowing on the breeze as the painting moves the scene horizontally in place. A cluster of glowing rocks appears on the scene and sucks up the star-glitter that was being carried on the wind.

The painting goes dark, then the lights begin again, the strokes appearing as if they are being painted again for the first time. The story continues to play like this, over and over.

Electric Storm, Electric Storm, Electric Storm, Don't Cry Baby
Since the time Selena first ventured forth from her fragile chrysalis darkness had enveloped her. At times small fungi that clung to the walls would give off a gentle glow. The attempt was in vain as their shimmer barely penetrated the depth of blackness. For most, the seemingly aeonian pitch black along with the cool stone of the tunnels would lead into a deep sea of depression and despair. Not so for the young bobcat. For the crepuscular feline, the darkness felt like an eternal twilight that covered her like a blanket. Adaption to the dim lit came easily. She learned to hide her claws so as to not click them against the stony earth. Sleeping places and habits of prey creatures was memorized for easier hunting. The tunnels were slowly etched into her mind so that they became more familiar than that of her coat’s pattern. The only thing that the bobcat was missing was company. When she first stepped into this new life, she found herself facing a large creature with sharp horns and hooves and eyes like fire. While he wasn’t aggressive, he was intimidating. After that brief experience, Selena took pains to avoid other greater gembounds as much as possible. She found that such creatures were unnerving. Unlike herself, she discovered that they had motivations beyond simple instinctual hunting and herd needs. They would find each other simply to talk, to explore, to learn. It was all rather odd. Selena kept to herself, keeping her life simple. Eat, sleep, and avoid anything terrifying. It was monotonous at times, but it was also a safe existence. And for that, it was pleasant for her. Then one day the yellowish orange feline found her paws wondering towards a large opening. Having overheard conversations, she knew the location to be known as “Orion.” It was large and dangerous as crumbling structures laid hidden in the numerous shadows. But it was nice enough to visit when the tunnels felt too cramped. The bobcat had just curled up on a large rock when suddenly light flooded the room. A loud yowl escaped as suddenly her vision was filled with glittering light. Crystals that were hidden just moments before danced before her eyes. It was nearly blinding after a short lifetime cradled in darkness. It was stunning, awe inspiring in its grandeur. More than anything else, it was terrifying as in that moment the feline’s world was turned upside down. Instantly the bobcat was on her feet, fur raised and spark nearly flying. Green eyes widened as she thrashed her head back and forth in hopeless attempt to figure out what had happened. While for those creatures older than her the land was returning to normal, the very idea that the caverns were suppose to be lit was foreign to her mind. "No. No! No no no!" Her mind screamed at her as panic hit. All of her hiding spots, all she had known was erased suddenly. She stood on the strange rock, breathing deeply until the panic subsided. Slowly her fur smoothed out and she was able to take in her surroundings. It was then that she realized the rock she was on was a strange set of stairs. In fact, many similar structures laid scattered around the room. The roof was dazzling in it's brilliance. And there was something else .... Curiosity was not a feature that Selena normally valued. However she found herself drawn to one of the walls. Almost without conscious thought the feline found her large paws moving her slowly towards a back wall. There before her laid a strange image that glistened much like the ceiling did. Then a star shot across it. She gasped, watching the story play out. It was mesmerizing and she found she couldn't pull herself away from it. Speech Thoughts Tags: Notes:

It was leaving through Orion when it heard the yowl, the idea of lights coming on not any different for it. It didn't know the lights had been off. Maybe power fluctuated? It hadn't thought about it. In any case, it wasn't something that even crossed its mind. However, the yowl caught one of the figure's long ears. Turning to catch the sound better, the creature tilted its head listening as a scrambling came after. What had happened? Then there was silence. It turned completely around to look, but it saw nothing. Was it at the location where it had just left its story?

Worried, it made its way back up toward the throne. There, it did indeed find someone watching the story of the star children. The robed figure became caught up in watching the story play out also, leaning against the decayed walls that led up to the throne. It was peering over a rise. When the story had concluded and reset, one of its ears twisted back, as if saddened. Ah, it never liked the end of that one. It was what it was.

From its place behind the feline, the figure conjured a tiny cat like itself that bounded up to the back of the throne the way the star-animals bounded around in the story. It was ethereal and light blue. It made a mrring noise to announce its approach, nearly the size of the small bobcat herself. As it drew closer to her, it grew smaller. Its face turned upward, toward the painting that had begun again, then back to the bobcat. It twirled in a circle as if to show off.

From its semi-hidden place, the creator lay with its cheek propped in its hand, the other hand controlling the copy-cat with an outstretched finger.

Electric Storm, Electric Storm, Electric Storm, Don't Cry Baby
Tiny little bobbed tail flicked while pale green eyes watched the tiny lights play out. It was intriguing how the little story played out. It had to have some sort of meaning. Typically puzzles weren’t really Selena’s thing; however, she couldn’t shake the strange feeling that this image was somehow important. That she needed to understand what it was the moving image was trying to tell her. But it made little sense to the young feline for which stars alone were a foreign concept. So enchanted was she in the sparking images playing before her that her normal alertness was dulled. It wasn’t until the small blue creature called out that she realized she was no longer alone. She flinched, bumping into the throne as her fur immediately puffed upwards. A few tiny sparks started to form from the slender star shaped prehnite on the back of her neck. Then she realized that the strange blue creature was but a small thing. It was smaller than she herself was and she knew she was small for a bobcat. The sparks stopped and fur lowered slightly as she looked quizzically at the creature. Surely such a small thing couldn’t cause much harm. A flash of memory of a large firey deer entered her mind’s eye. “Is this what it was like for Thomas?” she asked, thinking back to her hatching day. The thought was gone nearly as fast as it had come. The kitten was curious. Selena gave a tiny mew. “Hello?” It was hard to tell if the creature was even real. It almost seemed to simmer with its light blue fur. Almost like a ghost as it seemed to dance. Speech Thoughts Tags: @Game Master CJ Notes:

The painter smiled curiously as the bobcat spooked slightly. Ah, another skittish one, then.
Best the familiar did announced its approach, after all. Unlike the wolf pup, though, this Gembound was a little older and did not go running off. Instead, it simply asked hello. The figure was still from its place on the rise, watching the familiar tilt its head and mew back, unable to use language.

"It cannot speak," it projected its voice softly, waving a slightly glowing blue hand her way. The familiar mewed again, twirling in its place. "It can only make the sounds of its copied form," explained the painter, pointing toward the familiar as it mimicked purring. "It is a conjured familiar. It acts on its own will and sticks close to the Gembound who summoned it," it finished, and the familiar rolled onto its back to stretch out.

For many centuries, its parent tried to development communication within the conjured familiars, but it could not figure it out. In any case, its research did strengthen the familiar's conjuration in general. Though ethereal, it could make limited physical contact, such as picking something up, touching something, or sitting on something. If great force were to try and hit the familiar, however, it would pass through the familiar's form leaving a wisp-like trail.

@Selena

Electric Storm, Electric Storm, Electric Storm, Don't Cry Baby
The sound of a new voice startled Selena as the source of the sound was not from the strange creature before her but instead from a location hidden behind her. She spun slightly, fur puffed once more while trying to keep an eye on the new figure as well as the shimmery blue kitten. Green eyes stared at the robed figure, especially at its glowing blue hand. This creature was powerful, that much was clear. Powerful meant dangerous. She would have to be careful around him, that much was for sure. Not much else was sure though. She couldn’t begin to place who or even what the figure was. Nothing like it existed in the caverns as far as the bobcat knew. And she had not seen magic like this either. That said, as she tended to avoid the other greater gembonds she was honestly not very familiar with what type of magic they would do. Was this strange robbed being good, simply curious? Or was she prey to some strange, elaborate trap? For now, it was hard to tell. Claws scratched lightly at the ground below her, the scrap but a whisper but amplified in the domed cavern. Mental calculations went through her head. With its power, what little it has chosen to display, Selena was clearly no match for. Teeth and claws only go so far. But she could perhaps scare it off. A quick slash towards the face before making her get-away while it was stunned was possible. The escape plan buried itself neatly into her brain just in case the encounter switched tones all of a sudden. Still, as the creature was not overtly aggressive (other than watching her unaware which was kinda creepy and predatorish in her mind), it might be best to continue things in kind. “Did you summon it?” She asked, already assuming the answer. “Why?” Speech Thoughts Tags: @Game Master CJ Notes: