Perseus tentatively stretched a leg up to touch his forehead, wobbling as he did so. He felt the strange smoothness of the base of the spikes, but lost his balance and fell like a guillotine.

Inwardly blushing, he stood and smiled at Baroque. "Yes, please," he mumbled. Percy was happy...

But then something hit him. "H-how m-m-many Gembounds are there? he stuttered, eyes round. "Are we the only ones?!"

Listening, he found himself quite intrigued when the herbivore mentioned something about a God of the sea. Bartos furrowed his brow thoughtfully. He was sure the idea of a God had occurred somewhere in the back of his mind. That was something like what the All Mother was, right? But God of the sea was a new title he found himself unfamiliar with. Regardless, the child had picked the name Perseus and seemed fairly satisfied, so Bartos smiled at the two of them and listened on as Baroque explained gembounds. The child's mistake hadn't gone unnoticed, as Bartos' own name had only been mentioned in passing, but the hybrid made a point of repeating it so Bartos said nothing more on the matter.

They all agreed to go to Pisces, and now Bartos was torn. Should he follow them back there? He had come all the way out here for a reason, and Baroque would be capable of taking care of the child himself, yet Bartos wasn't so sure he liked the idea of giving up companionship for his intended simmering in silence. "There are many gembounds." He answered, gaze settled on the child. "Many different kinds. Some are nice, like Baroque, but others..." Bartos trailed off and furrowed his brow. Was that an appropriate thing to tell a child? "There is a group of gembounds living in Pisces called the Maji Walezi. That's where Baroque and I are from. You'll be able to meet them if you want." He offered.

BAROQUE SONGCAT

The baby fell and Baroque felt himself lurch forward, holding out a paw-- but it seemed like Perseus was alright. Babies always fell like that, didn't they? He couldn't count the amount of times he cried because of his clumsy oversize paws. He straightened back up as Percy had yet another question, opening his mouth... But he didn't get the chance to answer.

Baroque grinned at Perseus, listening to Bartos' wise, well-picked words. The cat was way older than him and knew a lot more, so the grizzly lion was always eager to hear what the smaller cat had to say. His tail twitched as he stood up, turning back towards Pisces.

"Well, what do you say, Percy? Wanna see Pisces, and the rest of Maji Walezi?" He offered, slowly starting off towards Pisces.

Percy leaped with childish delight at the very thought. It was as if some otherworldly forcenter had dispatched these wonderful Gembound to him!

"Yes, please," he answered politely, but his eyes were shining and about as happy as a child could get. "I wanna meet your family!"

Unaware of the impact those words could have, he merrily loped along the tunnel to follow Baroque, wondering if Bartos was coming too for a second. His small mind was fixated on one thing - Pisces.

The child declared his excitement at going to Pisces and meeting their families, and Bartos offered a weak smile. Hawthorne and Wisteria he knew would be more than excited to meet the young one. Clover... He idly wondered if she would be around, sound of mind, to meet the child. It would have been nice if she could, but the threat of Belladonna nagged at the corners of his mind, and he was uncertain if he wanted to subject little Perseus to that in the event that it was her demon controlling her hooves. He did hesitate, but ultimately decided... yes. He would go back with them to Pisces. He could always take another trip some other time, after his leg stopped hurting from all the walking. "Let's get going then," He added, even though he was the one lagging behind.

With a huff, Bartos rose back to his paws and slowly limped after Baroque and Perseus, keeping a steady, albeit sluggish pace.

exit Bartos B)