With a rather on a whim decision, Kallista decided she had to get away from Pisces. The area just filled her with too many memories, and she felt as though she needed a fresh start. Something new to start with. She walked until she came across Polaris, the heart of the caves. This seemed like as good a place as any to start over.

It was very colorful. She swung her head around, trying to take it all in. It would have been a lot easier if she had both eyes, but then again she wouldn't even be here if she had both. Alas, she did not, and she was here. She didn't know for how long. Maybe she'd stay here for the rest of her life. Or maybe go to other places. Places that weren't Pisces. For now, anyway. Maybe one day she'd return to the place she used to call home.

This place seemed silent, as if there was no sound. Maybe that was just because Kallista was used to the constant noise caused by the waterfall in Pisces. This place was also a lot drier. Whenever she took a step in Pisces, it was rather damp, but she had grown used to it. Just as she had grown used to the waterfall. And maybe, just maybe, she'd grow used to having only one eye. But it would take many cycles. She'd gone 6 cycles with two eyes, only to have it suddenly be taken away because someone couldn't control their urges to fight. Her eye narrowed at the thought.

She continued walking. As she walked, she couldn't help but think of Pisces. Of everything that had happened to her there. She had hatched, and went up to that waterfall. She could still clearly remember the day she met Todd. She didn't like him at first, especially considering he had somehow fallen into the pool at the bottom and she had to get him out. He always had a lot of trouble walking then, since the gem on his paw always caused him trouble. It seemed as though it no longer ever bothered him.

Kallista's mind drifted to when she found him later, hurt and injured. He had been so scared then. She had been concerned. The roles were later reversed, when he found her right after her battle. She had been scared and in so much pain, and he seemed concerned. She gave a slight smile at that, before shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts. She had to see if anyone was nearby. See if anyone would attack her. It seemed as though anyone she came across, anyone that wasn't Todd, could attack her.

She walked slowly, head swinging about as she looked for someone. She wasn't sure what she'd do if she came across someone. Would she go up to them? Would she run? Would they notice her first? Her mind swam with the different thoughts of what could happen. What if she came across the caracal again? Would they fight her so soon? Did they realize how much pain they caused her? How much pain had they caused others?

What if she came across someone else they had hurt?

---

words: 537
tagged: @Eira
ooc:
muse: quite a bit tbh lmao

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Name goes here. Quote goes here.

Eira wasn't too far from the little den they'd made, possibly as a result of her recent encounter. After that, she was reluctant to venture more than a good few metres from her partner Kimen, and made sure that no sneaking could be done by patrolling in wide circles, always keeping within view of the cozy hollow where she should probably be resting her aching muscles.

But a true hero never sleeps.

Eira walked, and she walked, and she walked, even though her limbs ached and her wounds were still swollen, encrusted with dried blood. Her once pristine white coat was a mottled mixture of red and charred black. What had healed previously showed through as pink scars. Even as she moved, her head swung from side to side as she tried to see as much as she could. it was in this motion she caught something- or someone- out of the corner of her eye. Almost immediately, she skidded to a halt, her eye narrowed. she puffed herself out and tried to look as big as she possibly could.

"Halt!" she barked, arching her back out behind her, curling it almost around her neck. "State your business! Be you citizen-" -her eye narrowed, a threatening look creeping into her bloodied features- "-or demon?"

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

@Kallista

Kallista had been walking when the sound of someone's voice surprised her. She whirled around and saw another gembound. This one also appeared to have only one eye. She could also see dried blood and what looked like burn marks. Maybe the caracal had fought this one too? She had no idea how many they had fought before.

Her eye narrowed at their words. What was a demon? Certainly she was no demon. Seeing the threatening look on the otter's face scared her, though, and she felt rooted to the ground for a moment. She took a deep breath before meeting the gaze of the other. "I am just simply passing through, I s-suppose. Maybe I'll stay here, maybe not. And I do not know what a 'demon' is, so h-hopefully that will assure you that I am not one. I s-suppose I'm a citizen, albeit a...r-rather new one." That stutter was still there. Would she ever get rid of it? It certainly didn't seem like it.

Kallista looked at the otter some more. A lot of their wounds looked fairly fresh, as if they had happened recently. "What happened to you?" she asked blatantly. She didn't stop to think about whether her words might be considered offensive, or might make the otter just flat out not answer her. Or maybe they would, and would tell her that a caracal had attacked them. She didn't know which she preferred.

---

words: 239
tagged: @Eira
ooc:
muse: like 7/10 or something

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Name goes here. Quote goes here.

The otter listened to the cat's words, and in response, she seemed to slowly relax. She gave the creature a slow and respectful nod as her body uncurled. "I understand," she responded. "Seems as though you've ran into some trouble too. I'm sorry for my... wariness. But we must be careful." Eira took note of their injuries and although she didn't say anything at first, seemed almost concerned, as any guardian of these caves would.

"A demon is... a foul presence in these caves. they can look like you or I, or simply exist. They cause trouble, pain, injuries." Eira tried to explain what a demon was, directly from her mind. She didn't know how she knew this, but she did, ever since she was born in the room filled with howling.

Luckily for Kallista, Eira wasn't easily offended, not quite even seeming to understand the meaning of the term. It might have been clear that she had had little contact with anyone other than her partner Kimen before.

"There was a demon, but I fought it off. Left it with a few nasty wounds and some reconsideration to do," she replied, simply and bluntly. Thinking back, Eira shifted slightly as she hoped that there wasn't any blood left smeared around her mouth. Maybe she even seemed a tad proud of her feat.

If there was, maybe they'd recognize the scent.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

@Kallista

Kallista flicked her ears. As she heard the otter's description of what a demon was, her mind went back toward the caracal. Perhaps they were a demon? By her description, it certainly seemed like it. The thought caused an involuntary shudder. Trouble, pain, and injuries? They had to have been a demon. And considering her next words, if they had indeed fought the same one she fought, then they definitely were.

She continued looking over the otter, looking at all of her injuries. She looked like she had put up quite a fight, and the cat couldn't tell if she had won or not. For her own battle, the caracal had definitely won. She could hardly move afterwards. Some time had passed since then, and she could now walk, but each step hurt. Where her eye once was, there was a dull ache that seemed as though it would never go away. She still had burns on her face, and scratches nearly everywhere. The otter also looked as though she had been burned.

As Kallista continued to observe, she noticed just a bit of blood smeared around her mouth, as if she had bit her attacker. Perhaps she did. She didn't pay much attention to it until she noticed the smell. It seemed as though her battle had been quite recent, and she had just a little bit of her attacker's scent. But a little bit was enough. She immediately recognized the scent of the caracal, and she froze, her one eye wide as she thought back to her own battle. The caracal had to have also attacked the otter!

She stood there, not moving, as the scent only made her think of her battle, the feeling of the burns on her face, of her eye getting ripped out. It brought a fresh wave of pain over her, and she crouched down, eye closed, claws digging into the ground below as she tried to make the pain go away. All thoughts of the otter in front of her was gone as she struggled to get rid of the images of the caracal attacking her.

---

words: 354
tagged: @Eira
ooc:
muse: 7/10

"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...