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i'm not quite awake yet

The cat had slept in darkness for eternity, but now, light stirred just beyond the shimmering wall between her and the outside. She tried to stretch, only to find herself far more confined than was comfortable. She shifted, trying to make more room, but there was none to be found. Her pale eyes blinked, then opened. The layer of fire opal seemed thinner than it had been. She reached one paw forward, flexing experimentally. Her claws stretched out, opal meeting opal. Cracks appeared, and a breath of air cool, and fresh, and new.

She flexed again. The cracks widened, then opened into gaping chasms. She gasped at the brightness before her. So many lights, so many colors. Everything blurred together into a dizzying mash. She felt like her head was spinning, like she was falling, then she landed in a heap on the stone floor, shards of her chrysalis raining down around her. For a moment, she lay, still dizzy, and a lot confused. As the spinning lights finally began to slow, she lifted her head, looking around at the open space that surrounded her.

just let me dream a while longer

Imperia had traveled off to Polaris, looking for things to destroy, and gembounds to insult. They had walked around for a bit before coming upon a creature beginning to hatch. They sat down and watched, tail flicking, eyes narrowed. Before long, the creature tumbled out.

She appeared to be a cat, like themselves. They stood there for a moment, not really sure of what to do. Part of them told them they should leave-much as they wanted to fight, they didn't exactly want to fight someone who just hatched. But another part told them to stay. Even if they wouldn't fight, they could still insult and be rude to the gembound.

So they sat and waited for the cat to properly get up, or to just say something. For now, they would wait. Wait and watch, see what the creature did.

@Lyrastrae sorry this is short, I didn't have a lot of time to write haha-

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show me the way, teach me to play, this is my new day

Once her eyes finally adjusted, she could tell it was actually still dark, just not as dark as she had been used to. She spent a short time looking at herself, what she was able to see, the faint spots underneath the soft fur, the shimmering crystal dotting her left foreleg, the same crystals that her claws on that side were made of. Having taken stock of her immediate self, she turned her attention to her surroundings.

The colors still blurred together, what colors she was able to see with her newborn eyes, but there was enough light to illuminate the rocky landscape she found herself in, and the shape of another creature that seemed to be staring at her. She blinked, and the other creature came more into focus, soft and furry like herself. She wondered if she might also be like herself in other ways, or if she might be able to show her more about this cave.

The thought made her eager, so she tried to get up and go closer, only to find her legs wobbly and unsteady, and her feet too large to maneuver with. She ended up stumbling, and rolling towards the other, landing in an ungainly heap of feet and tail and very confused fur. However, she was now close enough to the other to see that their eyes were gold, and she decided she liked the color gold. Unsure what to say, she simply resorted to giving the other a toothy, upside down grin, and waving one of her paws at her in greeting.

take my paw, lead me on, guide me to the break of dawn

@Imperia Not a problem at all, and thank you for replying!

Imperia grunted. They watched as the new gembound looked around, and then saw them. She tried to get closer, but landed in a heap of fur. Imperia scowled, and then backed away. They continued to watch, tail flicking, as she waved at them. They considered waving back, but soon thought against it. They didn't want to wave. So they just stayed there, not moving.

Eventually, they got up and began to circle around the other, seeing her from different angles. She was indeed a cat, like themselves. Her fur was a pale ivory color, with light yellow eyes. Her gem was hardly visible, but Imperia could just barely see something that appeared to be a gem. They lifted their paw up and looked at their own. It was on their claws, on their right front paw. They had pink claws, that always seem to be peeking out.

They set their paw down and continued to observe the cat before them. By this point, they had done a full circle around her. Imperia sat in front of her again. They watched for a bit, before deciding to actually say something. "Who are you?"

@Lyrastrae

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i'm just getting started now
She watched the others expression carefully, trying to figure out how everything new worked. The scowl. That was a bad face. She had done something wrong. Waving? Maybe. She wouldn't wave again. That was bad. She remained on her back as the other circled around her. At one point, the other stopped and looked at their own paw, where the shimmer of a gem could be seen.

Lyra smiled at that. They shared something else! They both had shiny rocks in their feet, even those the other cat's gems were differently colored, but that didn't matter at all. Finally, the other completed her circuit and sat down again. They seemed to be thinking carefully, the spoke to her. Who are you?

Words. Words were better than waving. She thought carefully about her answer as she rolled over onto her belly. She didn't know exactly how to answer the question, but she decided to try her best. "I'm me. I mean, I am me. I can't really be someone else, can I?"

if only i knew what it is i'm doing

@Imperia

Imperia Stupid, boring, pointless

Imperia grunted. "No, I suppose you can't really be anyone else than who you are."A flick of a tail, a twitch of an ear. They continued to observe, even though there wasn't much else to look at. They decided to speak again. "Do you have a name?" Well. They didn't particularly care, but they could pretend to. For now, at least. "Mine is Imperia, not that it particularly matters."

Why were they even bothering with this small talk? It was stupid. It was boring. It was pointless. What else could they do? They could do their spell. Burn something nearby. Maybe they'd even burn this gembound! Wouldn't that be something. So what if it was mean? They were bored! Could the cat also do a spell? Could they also burn something? Or was it something entirely different? Well, they mused, there's only one way to find out.

Heat began to emanate from their paws and tail, as well as a few other places. Imperia could feel their fur and skin beginning to slightly burn, but they ignored it. Honestly, they enjoyed the feel. The feel of the heat, the feeling of knowing they could burn anyone or anything who came too close. They wasn't all that close to the cat, so they may not be able to burn her. Not yet, anyway. For now, they just stayed where they were, moving their paws around a bit.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

@Lyrastrae

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lay the scars out one by one
Name... her name. "Call me Lyra." It rolled off like she knew what she was talking about. Her name, yes, that was what it was. "Imperia is a nice name." She actually had no idea, but it seemed the right thing to say.

She wasn't completely dense, and she was learning fast. The other seemed, upset, or maybe impatient. Was it something the big cat had done? Maybe she wasn't being smart enough? A strange smell began to fill the air around them, a sickening smell, of charred fur. Lyra hissed and backed away, frightened of what was happening. "What... what are you doing Imperia? You... you're scaring me. Stop.... please?"

She was scared, her fur fluffed out as far as it would go, eyes wide in panic. What could she do? What was she supposed to do? Suddenly her body began to grow hot, particularly her feet and tail. She yelped in pain, now even more scared. "What's going on!?"

lesson learned, damage done

@Imperia

Imperia It's just a bit of heat
Can't you handle that?

Lyra. So that's what her name was. An interesting name. As the heat continued, Imperia smirked at the cat-Lyra's-reaction. She was scared, just as the caracal wanted her to be. She asked them to stop, but to be entirely honest, Imperia wasn't even sure how to stop! Most of the time, it just wore off after a bit. So they just watched Lyra, seeing her reaction.

Before too long, they heard a yelp. What was that...? After some time staring, they realized that Lyra had also done a spell, and it seemed similar, if not the same, as her own. So she could use a fire spell. She didn't seem to like it though. Imperia chuckled, but it held little emotion."You're using a spell. And if I had to guess, it's the same as mine. Relax, it's not even that bad! It's just a little bit of heat, sheesh. You can handle it, can't you? Or can you not even handle that?" they scoffed. Honestly, could this cat do anything right?

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

@Lyrastrae

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a spark in the night
She whimpered, a pathetic sound coming from as large a cat as she was, even if she was still young. "But... it hurts..." The smell of singed fur was bitter and acrid. "Why... why are you doing this? Why are you acting so... so mean?" The spell finally began to wear off, the pain slowing fading to an aching numb feeling. She gingerly pressed her paws to the rocky floor, finding the coolness of the stone soothing.

"I... I don't think I like you very much," she was mumbling now, afraid to say something out loud to the other creature that was being so horribly bratty to her. "Why did you even come talk to me at all, if you don't like me so much?" The pain receding, now she was feeling angry, even a little betrayed. She had thought the first living thing she met would be a friend, or a guide, but they had turned out to be a... a... a meanie!

going out in a blaze of light

@Imperia

Imperia Why be nice when you can be mean?

"Oh, it hurts? What a shame," Imperia snorted. To be honest, the first time they had done it, it had hurt. Quite a bit, even. But now they had done it countless times, and it was now just a dull ache that was always there. Their paws were burnt, but they ignored it. They wouldn't show that it hurt them. That would be showing that they weak. They most certainly were not weak!

"Why am I acting mean? Why does it matter why I'm acting mean? Why be nice when you can be mean, hm? There's just something so satisfying about being mean! I guess you wouldn't know that, though." They flicked their tiny, stubby tail and gave an evil looking grin.

"Aw, you don't like me? Wow, that hurts. I knew you could be mean! And...why did I come to talk to you? Simple, I enjoy insulting and being rude to others! You really should try it. I could even give you lessons!" they chuckled lowly, one of their claws tracing along a rock nearby.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

@Lyrastrae