I turned on the radio to find you on satellite

Things had been changing in the caves... Or perhaps in Fisher himself. He felt rather lost, which was a particular feeling for someone who knew every inch of the land he stood upon. At times, he even felt lonely, even when he stood between his friends and knew with every fiber of his being that they would be together forever. It drove him crazy, the lull of time and space between action, between violent thrashing himself at the nearest danger.

His body was coated in metal armor as he settled down in a nook in Polaris, wondering if he should try to bring life to Deus' stone. He knew it was possible, but he also did not know if he was the right person. He found himself curled around the shimmering skylit gem, its radiance burning brighter than ever now that he shielded it from the harsh light of the Spire that had taken its glory away so long ago.

I turned on the radio to find you on satellite

Fisher hummed to himself, taking out his pouch of trinkets. He had a great many things from many friends-- the lucky pebble from Makyna. When they were kids, back before the lioness had fallen so deeply and irrevocably in love with Leon or even with Cancer. The shimmering rainbow stone that Arkrael had created specifically for him with her magic, a token of their friendship. The first bark friend he truly appreciated, after sending Deus to her death. A tingle raced down his spine, thinking of Cancer and Arkrael-- two wonderful gembounds that he so desperately wished he could find more room for in his life.

I turned on the radio to find you on satellite

Or, really, wished could find more room in their lives for him. It was a wish, nothing more, and he pushed the distant thought away. He had Fallah and Black, though the pair of them were friendly at the best of times and usually rather stoic the rest of the time. He almost couldn't imagine them more as his family, and that made things... Difficult. Well, for a fisher cat who wanted so much more, anyway. He shook his head and went to the next item in his pouch, something just as precious as the first three stones.

A worn dagger. He had polished it up as best as he could, though he wasn't sure how to make it sharp and he wasn't certain he wanted it to be either. The thing was hard to use without thumbs, and dangerous to put in his teeth, and he took good care not to cut himself with it. The darling White, Black's daughter of sorts, had found it and given it to him especially. He treasured it more than anything-- it was a symbol of their familial bond.

I turned on the radio to find you on satellite

It might be relevant at this point to mention that Aza'zel still hasn't told poor Fisher that his daughter exists, and worse, that she's been kidnapped and no one can find her. Then again, perhaps that's for the best. He would probably go nuts trying to find the poor darling. As it stood, the mustelid thought of Black's daughter and simply felt a quiet urge to have his own family. Like Makyna and Leon had now-- though he did do well to steer clear of Maji Walezi since Pisces still gave him pangs of envy and loathing.

I turned on the radio to find you on satellite

Aside from little Deus here though, Fisher figured he might never get a chance like this again. Part of him thought he would be a lousy father-- but really he just had to make sure Deus Two didn't die, right, and that would probably be good enough. Most of them got on just fine without a father or a mother, and really, unless her stone was defective she'd probably come out a bit more level headed like a proper barkfriend (namely like Black or Arkrael, he imagined) instead of the clumsy, clueless mess she was before.

I turned on the radio to find you on satellite

Fisher honestly wanted to get to know the child, most of all. He wanted to bring her into the world and watch, see how she developed, get to know what she liked and what she didn't like. Perhaps she would remember her past life, and remember him-- hopefully not badly, he had been kind of a dillweed to her but...-- and he could make up for his past failures. He was so close now to erasing those painful moments of his childhood, of righting his wrongs. He had made amends with the gembounds of the Caves, and now he was going to fix Deus, too.

I turned on the radio to find you on satellite

That was the idea, anyway. He was a bit too nervous to try juuust yet, but he waited, quietly, patiently, mulling over his past. His metallic armor glistened in the blue light of the distant spire, hard shell exposed to the world while his soft fluff curled up around his trinkets, enjoying the moment of quiet peace. Nothing could ruin this moment... Could it?

@Black @Fallah @White @Arkrael @Cancer @Diamondfang and anyone else who'd like to stop by, this happens vaguely sometime after Hasira is defeated in the CARNIVORE! thread

Black padded over with a soft woof and a shake of his head. He'd been watching Fisher for a few minutes, and something bothered him. The mustelid--his close friend--seemed morose, lying wrapped in his metal shell and quiet underneath it all. Black did not know how to address this, so the sentence that came out of his drooping maw was probably not very, well, sensical.

"You are thinking too loudly," he declared by way of greeting, his voice rumbling over the click of his claws on rock.

He came close, offering a nuzzle behind the mustelid's ear, and then flopped down nearby. He didn't bother to ask if he was welcome... it didn't occur to him. Black was not socially competent. And anyway, if he Fisher wanted to be alone, he'd say as much, and Black wouldn't take offense. Fisher knew that... probably.

Black eyed the glittering gem that Fisher was curled around, and lay there watching him for a moment. He'd been wondering what his friend planned to do with it, ever since retrieving it; now seemed as good a time as any to ask that, and other questions.

"Tell me of the stone. If you wish," he rumbled at last.

Okay, so it wasn't really a question.

It was sort of a question.

But at least it might prompt answers.

________________

@Fisher

I turned on the radio to find you on satellite

Fisher's ears twitched as he heard heavy footsteps draw close to him. He didn't have to pick up his head to know it was Black-- the gentle woof was enough to tell him it was his friend. He did, however, lift up his copper gaze to meet Black's turquoise, a gentle smile twitching up the contours of his muzzle.

"Oh, sorry," the words stammered out before he really processed what the canine said. He was still out of it, even as Black's cold nose poked at his ear. The dog settled down beside him and he reached out a paw to gently stretch into the floppy, dark folds of his best friend.

He returned his gaze to the stone for a while, until Black suggested he should talk about the gem. The canine was hardly pressing for answers, but Fisher was also aware that his friend deserved to know. It had been so long, and quietly, he had wanted to release the weight on his shoulders.

"Her name is Deus," the mustelid whispered softly, wrapping a paw around the beautiful, shimmering skystone. "I didn't know her very long, and the way we met wasn't ideal." He had often mulled over how to explain to Black and the others, but now the words seemed to click into place. It was finally easy to talk about her.

"It all started back when I was just a baby gem. I had climbed the Spire with Leon, as a dare, to see who could reach the top first. I won, but when I scratched the peak the Spire lashed out with its magic and knocked me down. My paw was badly hurt, then, and Louie... You remember, the fox? He healed me. He's so different now..."

Fisher shook his head. No point in dwelling on how so many of them had changed as they grew up. "Since then, I thought the Spire had... I dunno... Given me powers. No one exactly told us where magic came from, where my electricity came from. I thought it was the Spire so once my paw was healed... I tried to give it back."

The mustelid shifted, clearing his throat. This was the hard part, he supposed. "Deus came running up. She was a lot like you, same floppy face, floppy ears, but covered in thick, thick white and grey, curly fur. She wasn't too bright, either, but she was just so excited to meet new friends. She was friendly, so friendly..."

"And I was impatient. I just wanted to show the Spire that I respected it. She kept trying to horse around, and... I just let loose, on the Spire. That was when that huge white ape came out of the Spire and attacked us." He shivered and glanced away from the gem, deciding instead to look into Black's dull eyes. "I was scared. Deus didn't understand how dangerous it was, so I tried to make a game out of it. I told her to run away from me, hoping she would run away from the guardian too-- but instead she just ran towards the creature. He was so angry, he just hit her once and she went flying. She died."

"I spend so long blaming myself for her death. I told myself, if I ever meet any other canines, any other barkfriends, I would do whatever I could to make up for what I had done to her... But now, Black? I think I can bring her back..."

@Black

Fallah yawned. Fisher and Black had left her side at some point, but she had continued to sleep anyway. Only when she heard Black's voice did she rise. Sleepily, she moved towards them. She was a little late to the party and entered silently.

"... name is Deus."

Fallah blinked, her attention being drawn to the trinkets on the ground. The stone, maybe? From that one day with the monster and...

"It all started back when I was just a baby gem..."

Story time. Fallah padded over to Black, not hesitating to curl into his warm side and rest her head on his back. She listened to Fisher talk, wondering if they had even met when this all happened. She felt like she had known Fisher and Black forever... Fisher spoke of a dog and its demise and his guilt. He said he might know how to bring her back though. Fallah's blue eyes trailed up from the pile to Fisher's face. She looked at him intently for a while, wondering if he was being a dreamer and hoping for something impossible, "... Will you? I am unsure how, but..." she hesitated. she had seen some crazy things before, "... But if I could reform like I did- like we all did once- in my stone, then do you think..." Fallah rolled onto her side away from Black so she could look at his face too, "Do you think it's possible to make this stone heal Deus? How would we... How would you make it do that?"


@fisher @black