Shade had been very slowly making his way through Orion, exploring at his own pace. He was only a cycle old, just born, so some days he ran ‘round endlessly, as you might expect a kitten to do. Of course, he also pooped himself out quite quickly, and then he would have to nap for hours. His fur was mostly clean, as he bathed himself obsessively, but living in Orion meant being covered in a fine layer of dust most of the time. He’d gotten somewhat used to it; in fact, he loved his home in general. It was fairly dark in this part of the cave (not that he even realized there were other parts), which meant it looked constantly like it was time for him to be up and exploring and hunting (as cats were generally more awake at night than during the day). This did mess with his body clock, though, especially since the lights in the cave were not always reliable.

On a particularly dim day, he meandered into the Forum, a large, walled, circular arena with seats rising ever-upward from the center, which was a flat area. Excitedly, he bounded forward, eager to explore this new place and maybe climb to the top of the steps!

Zeno High above within the very roof of the room of stars a sleeping figure began to stir. Though Zeno usually didn't go this high up without good reason he had spent the previous day wandering about the well-lit roof in a expedition reminiscent of some of his earliest days of knowledge-seeking. Between the glowing crystals the ceiling, which looked fairly featureless from the ground, was littered with outcroppings and small alcoves, some of which were large enough for a tiny creature such as himself to rest with a brilliant view of the ruined city below. With a yawn the bat stretched his wings and dropped to the edge of his little hiding spot. Fatigue was still clinging onto his psyche, and as tempting as it would have been to just crawl back up to rest some more he still wanted to make today an active like the day before had been. The small fruit bat leaned over the edge and began to drop, the ceiling behind him retreating with astonishing speed as more and more crystal lights became visible. Any fatigue that might have been hanging on was quickly brushed away by the winds that hit Zeno's face and the sight of the ground rushing toward him. Zeno's usual serene expression was nowhere to be seen, replaced by an uncharacteristic giddiness as a high-pitched screech of delight exited his throat. Within what felt like minutes the bat descended upon the forum at terminal velocity, spreading his wings out at the last minute and soaring down into the pit and up again, shifting at the top of his ascent into a sideways glide that took him at high speeds around the circle. The sheer force of the maneuver took every ounce of his strength but the result was one of the greatest thrills that the bat had ever actually pulled off. Know yourself "Before you try to influence others" Tags: @Shade

Shade hadn’t been exploring this new flat area for very long before some small-ish black thing came whizzing into the area with a terrifying screech! The kitten’s fur stood all on end and he flattened himself into the ground, staring with large orange-yellow eyes at the black creature flew around and around in wide circles. Shade’s pupils were dilated almost to their full extent in fear, adrenaline coursing through his veins, causing a sharpening of senses. But why was his hearing suddenly so much sharper? His own heartbeat sounded so loud in his ears — more than it should have… and he could only hear it when the creature got close to him.

Wait… what? That wasn’t his heartbeat. Shade remained still, confused now. It took him a few more repetitions, but then it dawned on him that he was somehow hearing (faintly) the heartbeat of the bat whizzing past him. How was that possible? Sure, his hearing was good, but not that good. Utterly flabbergasted at this newfound ability, Shade just continued to lie still, staring up at the flying black creature.

@Zeno

Zeno Faster and faster Zeno flew, beating his wings as his flight path took him in an ever-descending corkscrew around the amphitheater. He barely even noticed the small kitten at first- it had been just a fragment of a spec when he had first looked toward the ground and once he was close enough to see most of his attention had been taken up by making sure he didn't crash horribly into the ground. When his path did finally converge on the forum floor the fruit bat tilted upwards once again to cut speed and slowly began to glide toward the front row of seats. Even as he touched down his heart was racing and his mind was sharpened from the adrenaline rush. Breaths came quick and deep and only ten did he have a chance to notice the company he had zoomed in on. "Oh!" he exclaimed loudly as embarrassment began to show on his face, "I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I wasn't expecting there to actually be anyone down here." The other seemed young, a kitten. Despite that it was still quite a bit larger than him. Hopefully he hadn't scared it too much; he'd been careful the last time he'd met a youth but it was a bit late to be cautious of their nerves now. Know yourself "Before you try to influence others" Tags: @Shade

Shade narrowed his eyes as he watched the flying thing descend, glide over to the steps, and land. And then it seemed to notice him for the first time and let out some word-sounds. The kitten ignored the word sounds. He was still focused on the fact that he’d been able to feel and hear another creature’s heartbeat for a few seconds. He’d lost it after only a bit, before the bat had landed, but now he refocused his efforts, this time on purpose. He stared hard at the creature with his yellow-orange eyes, probably looking angry even though he didn’t mean to. He actually felt pretty neutral towards the other Gembound. He didn’t really care about others, it was just that he was trying to feel the other’s heartbeat again…

There it was! He could sense the bat’s heart beating rapidly in his athletic efforts! Unbeknownst to Shade, the kitten’s eyes and Stone were glowing orange as he called forth his magic. He could still see out of his eyes, and only barely noticed a weird glow at his peripherals, so he didn’t stop the flow of magic to wonder why his vision had gone slightly odd. He was busy thinking about what purposes he could use his ability for… like hunting! It would make hunting the little mice and lizards and spiders that scurried around Orion a lot easier if he could feel where they were!

Eventually, the spell exhausted itself and Shade could no longer feel the bat’s heartbeat. He felt a bit disappointed that he couldn’t make it last forever, but he was noticing now that he felt tired. So… using this ability made him tired. He supposed he’d have to be careful. But then again, he was still a kitten, and thought himself relatively invincible. Suddenly remembering that there was, in fact, a living creature that went along with the second heartbeat, his eyes flicked upwards to watch the bat curiously. He wondered if he could maybe try to hunt it. But it could fly… Maybe it wasn’t worth it.

@Zeno -- here, have my word vomit XD

Zeno It was staring at him. Some primal voice in the back of Zeno's psyche started to scream out. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, perhaps it was the fact that this was a creature that ate rodents like him, perhaps it was the sudden realization that as a gemless one he probably looked like fair game to this cat. He'd talked though! Logically he knew that he had talked, and talking was one of the major hallmarks of a greater gembound. This was a kitten though, would they realize that? "Oh Woah, woah!" he exclaimed incoherently as the cat's eye began to glow a bright orange. Was it a fire cat? He'd seen more than one from a distance in the cave and they didn't always seem like the most even-tempered sort. Any attempts his heart might have been making to slow down after ending his exercise were thwarted by the uncertain fear that was rising within. "Not food, not food." His position wasn't particularly advantageous to retreat if he needed to. he could probably dodge and flit near the floor to build speed but it would be difficult until he fully recovered from his dive. Know yourself "Before you try to influence others" Tags: @Shade

It was making more mouth-sounds and Shade sighed. He still didn’t understand words, and attempting to try just seemed like too much work, honestly. But… the other creatures he’d hunted had never made mouth-sounds. Well — they had. But their sounds had been different. More instinctive. These sounds were more calculated, even if the bat was just repeating the same words over and over again…

Maybe it was just making instinctive noises. Shade shrugged internally, not really caring one way or the other. He’d decided he didn’t feel like trying to chase after the bat. Now he was bored again. He yawned, nice and big, showing little baby fangs — and showing the bat that he was bored of its company. Then he curled up, facing away from it, and attempted to fall asleep.

@Zeno

Zeno The cat didn't seem to be responding to his words, but at the same time it didn't seem to be advancing. The primal voice of fear began to quiet down and once more rational thought took hold. This was a kitten, curious by nature as it explored its world. Having seen him as neither a meal nor a toy it had lost interest. A short time passed in silence as Zeno watched, his stamina beginning to return to him. The kitten had made no move to pursue him so he in turn made no move to retreat at this time, instead opting to take a moment to rest his mind as his body recovered. Zeno propped himself up on his wings and relaxed his vision, the images before him still present but no longer commanding the forefront of his thoughts. Breathe, let the form rest. Thoughts will appear, but let the continue on. Worries and stress will arise but... Wait, was the cat alone? Might there be others that were ignoring him right now? The thought was momentary but broke the bat's concentration. Zeno shifted a little as the soft blue light that had started to shine from his eyes flickered and dimmed almost as soon is it had appeared. Know yourself "Before you try to influence others" Tags: @Shade

Had Shade been able to see the bat, his interest would have been piqued again at the other’s glowing blue eyes — even if they only glowed for a moment. As it was, Shade saw nothing, and therefore remained uninterested, and napping. In his half-awake, half-asleep state, he rolled over onto his back and let out a sigh. One ear twitched. He opened his eyes just barely and glanced at the bat. It was still sitting there, though now it seemed to be ignoring him just as he was ignoring it. Shade didn’t care. Let it do what it wanted. He just wanted to sleep. With another yawn, he closed his eyes fully again and started snoring lightly.

@Zeno -- have a shitty short post. It's not my fault. All he wants to do now is sleep.

Zeno As Zeno's heart slowed back to normal the kitten before him rolled over, continuing to sleep. Any hard feelings that might have been present from his entrance were apparently forgiven and the small creature seemed content to be resting on its own. There was no reason to disturb it, it had certainly found a peace all on its own here in this sunken theater. Without a sound Zeno slipped down from his perch, flapping his wings to take to the air once more before he hit the ground. Despite the rocky start this would be a good day, filled with exploration as he planned to plot a course through the buildings. Surely no circuit would match the high dive in terms of excitement, but it would do nicely for having a change of pace. - Exit Zeno - Know yourself "Before you try to influence others" Tags: @Shade