It was finally time. A chrysalis sat in the midst of a cold and wet cave. A crack appeared on the surface. Then another. Then several more. Before long, the chrysalis was destroyed, and a small kitten stumbled out of where they had been tightly cooped up. The kitten was white, easily visible in the dark cavern, with ebony-colored marks on their ears, tail, and paws. Their eyes were a bright turquoise with thin white bands passing through the irises. They took a deep breath as they clumsily staggered about. A waterfall was visible not far away, and the kitten decided it would be better than being in the middle of nowhere. As they approached, a few drops of water splashed them, making them shiver in cold.

The kitten needed to find someone, and soon. They knew nothing of where they were, what they were, or even who they were. They were only certain of one thing. Their name was Sky, and they needed help.

Not too far from the hemimorphite chrysalis, another lay, this one of black onyx. It, too, began to crack and splinter. Before long, a tiny kitten fell out with a squeak of surprise. This kitten had pale gray fur with darker stripes. She looked around curiously before her eyes came to rest on the other kitten nearby. She titled her head and slowly began to make her way toward them. She followed them the short distance to the waterfall.

While Splashy didn't know much about the world she was in now, she did know of one thing. She had hatched near this other kitten, and intended to stay with them. She slowly walked up to them and sat down beside them, pressing her fur against the other. The water sprayed her a bit, something that annoyed her, but she ignored it. She wanted to stick with the other, despite not even really knowing them.

They intended to change that.

@Sky -here u nerd have this

Sky noticed movement out of the corner of their eye. A small female kitten had hatched just a short distance from their own chrysalis. The white kitten turned to face the other, relieved at the thought of someone else being there. They noticed the dark, shiny spikes protruding from the younger feline's head and neck and grew curious. Nothing similar had occurred on Sky, as far as they knew. But it was entirely possible.

Sky took a few steps forward, nearly slipping due to the wetness of the ground. They wanted to say something, but what could they possibly say in a situation like this? Only one thing came to mind.

"Who are you?"

Their voice came out weak, being the first words they had ever spoken. But they didn't care. They were curious, and they intended to change that.

The other turned their head toward her as she sat beside them. They took a few steps, and said a simple question. It was a simple question, certainly. So why did it make her freeze? What could she say? Who was she? "I...uh," they stuttered. They shifted their paws, but soon stopped due to their paws slipping constantly. The last thing they wanted was to fall in the water. "I, I'm..," they continued to stutter. Ok. Let's see, who were they? They had a name, surely. What was it?

They cleared their throat, took a deep breath. "I'm S-Splashy," they whispered, a noise barely noticeable. Or at least, that's how it seemed for her. Well, whatever, at least she said something. "Who are y-you?" May as well ask the same question. She felt embarrassed for her late reply. How long had It taken her to just say two words? Definitely way too long. Surely the other would reply much sooner. She gave a sigh.

@Sky

Sky sat uncomfortably as they waited for the other's response. They lifted their tail slightly so it wouldn't touch the freezing wet ground. When the younger cat finally responded in little more than a whisper, they released a small purr. "That's a, uh, nice name," Sky responded, trying to avoid speaking too loud. But there was still a question unanswered, and that was Splashy's question. Still, Sky hesitated. What if this kitten wasn't as she seemed? Then again, why would such a young cat be intending to hurt them? "My name is Sky."

They stood again, becoming curious again about the spikes on Splashy's neck and head. "So.. what's with the spikes?" they asked cautiously, but they instantly regretted it. Why did they have to sound so rude about it? They didn't want this new friend to instantly become upset with them. It was out of their control now, though. Sky glanced over to Splashy to see their reaction.

Splashy flicked her ear. Was it a nice name? She supposed it was. "H-hello Sky," she murmured. Sky certainly seemed like a better name than Splashy. "Your name is nice as w-well..." She then blinked. Spikes...? Now that Sky had mentioned it, Splashy felt something on the top of her head and back of her neck. Were there spikes there? She hadn't even noticed. "I...I don't k-know," she stuttered, wondering herself what was with the spikes.

She peeked over and looked into the pool. She could see a very faint reflection of herself. On the top of her head, she could see a black spike, pointing towards the back. She turned her head, and saw two more spikes, going down her neck. They were rather thick at the bottom, but then sharpened into a point. She glanced over at Sky.

"Y-you don't have any spikes, d-do you?"

@Sky

Sky was rather surprised by Splashy's response. Had she not known that she had spikes sticking out like stalagmites? Their ears perked at the question the younger one posed to them. They peered at their reflection in the clear water, searching for any sort of oddity to them. When they noticed nothing out of the ordinary, their gaze returned to Splashy. "No, not that I can see."

Sky remembered their initial motives and stood. They assumed the gray kitten likely didn't know much more than them, or at least, she wasn't showing such knowledge. "We should probably find someone who knows what's going on," they meowed, their voice echoing off the cave walls.

Splashy flicked an ear. Was she the only one with spikes? Why did she have them? Why didn't Sky have them? Maybe they had something else? Something that wasn't spikes? She looked over at them, but couldn't see anything. Maybe it was hiding?

She looked over at the other as they stood. She then blinked. "Y-yeah, we should," she murmured. She didn't know a thing about what's going on. Hopefully there was someone nearby who would help them. She looked around. Now that she thought about it, she didn't really want someone else to be there. She liked just being with one other, Sky. But she figured it wouldn't be too bad if there was another...

@Sky

Sky noticed Splashy's reluctance to proceed looking for someone's help. "If you don't want to, we don't have to..," they mumbled, not wanting to force the other to do things she clearly didn't want to. "We can just stay here." Surely someone eventually would come by and find them, right? They sincerely hoped so. The massive waterfall seemed like a notable place, and creatures would surely visit it. Hopefully.

Sky continued to wonder about the spikes coming from Splashy. She had hatched from a chrysalis, just as they had. But then, the shiny spikes couldn't be so unusual. Maybe it was Sky that was unusual. Their hope for another creature to come by strengthened.

Zevruu had started exploring around Pisces when the sound of voices caught his long ears. Cautiously, he began to follow them and soon came upon two cats talking near the waterfall. They were both very young, likely having hatched not long ago. He stood there, watching the two of them for a bit. One was white with black markings, the other a fluffy gray and white, with black spikes protruding from their head and neck.

He thought about going to talk to them, but hesitated. He didn't particularly like talking, but he would talk if necessary. He carefully slunk a bit closer to them so that he could hear what they were saying. He barely managed to catch the white and black one saying something about staying here. Were they waiting for something? Waiting for someone to talk to them? Or just...anything else?

After a deep breath, he slowly walked over to them. "U-uh, hello?" An hello was certainly a way to start he supposed. He shifted his paws, fairly uncomfortable here, but the two looked quite lost and unsure. He had been in and out of many of these caves for a while, and hoped to maybe make them feel a bit more comfortable. "Are you t-two, uh, lost?" That wasn't rude, was it? He sure hoped not...

"Speech" l 'Thoughts' l @Sky