Nassir walked through Polaris, thinking of different things he had seen. As a cub, someone had been mean to him. He didn't know why. He didn't know why anyone would want to be mean! Did some take pleasure in insulting others? Why? How? He couldn't imagine insulting someone! Just the thought of it made his chest hurt. And later, just recently, he had seen two gembounds fighting. It had been brutal. Why would anyone want to fight? He couldn't imagine why someone would want to.

He had promised from a young age that he wouldn't hurt anyone. He didn't want to. He didn't know what he did want to do though. He had always had the strong desire to protect. But he was only a rather weak panther, not even fully grown yet! What could he do? He sighed. He supposed there were those younger than he-he could protect them. They would need protection, surely. And he would even protect those older than him if he had to! Anyone could need protection.

Nassir would protect everyone. He'd bring peace to the caves. No one would be insulted, because no one would insult anyone. They'd all be nice. They'd all be happy. Why can't everyone just be nice and happy? It seemed like a good idea to him. The black panther continued walking, thinking about all of this. As he walked, he realized he was different. He had...changed. He used to think everyone was kind. That standpoint hadn't lasted long. The first he encountered had been quite mean. And...there was the two cats he had seen fighting. Neither of them seemed very nice, especially the caracal.

He wasn't the naïve little cub anymore. He knew things were different, knew that many could be mean.

And he planned to change that, starting with whoever he encountered next.

@Tukluk

table coded by banshee | for free use!

Oh man. Tukluk had never been here before! And the second he’d even come close to this part of the Origin Cave, he’d felt a surge of Magical Energy course through his body. He felt great, like… like he could do anything! Of course, Tuck already thought he could do anything because he was just like that. He ignored anyone who tried to tell him that some things were impossible, like finding every spell. He’d find them all, he was sure of it! Maybe it would take his whole entire life to find them all, but he would do it!

Woooow! This place was big and bright and there was a huge blue… spike sticking up out of the ground over there! And there was a river, too! Probably best to avoid that, though. He didn’t know how to swim and the quick, strong current would probably drown someone his size in seconds. But… but he would never admit that to himself! He would learn how to swim! Or maybe he could make a boat out of plants or something and he could just use that to get across the river. Hmm… Ooo, and who was that? A big black-furred Gembound over there! Since really none of his experiences with other Gembounds had been too bad so far, he was feeling pretty confident about talking to the cat.

He made his way over to him, calling out, “Hey, who’re you? I’m Tuck!”

Words: 243 @Nassir

Speaking of the next gembound he'd encounter, Nassir heard a voice. Someone was nearby. He looked around and yet...he couldn't see anyone. He looked down, and saw a tiny, tiny monkey. They were very young, and very small. He blinked, and then lay down so he was closer to the monkey, who had called himself Tuck. He regarded the monkey and realized he'd be a wonderful animal in the caves to protect. He was tiny, and surely couldn't fend for himself very well. He chuckled lightly.

"Hello, little one. My name is Nassir, and I am the protector of those who live." Protector of those who live. He realized he quite liked that title. He would protect anyone who needed his help. And in his eyes, that was everyone. Whether or not they thought they'd need help, he would help them. "I am someone that anyone can go to if they need help. I will protect you, watch over you, and make sure no harm falls upon you."

@Tukluk

table coded by banshee | for free use!

Tuck automatically hopped backwards three or four feet when the panther lay down in front of him. It was instinctive, something he had started doing anytime he felt even mildly threatened by anyone. Putting distance between himself and another Gembound gave him some modicum of safety that he clung to when feeling scared. But after just a moment or two of studying the cat, he realized that the bigger male was not intent on hurting him — or maybe was cleverly biding him time. But… Tuck couldn’t let on that he was kind of scared right now, so he quickly ran-hopped back over to the panther and stood there in front of him, studying him.

Tuck made a small sound of annoyance in his throat at being called ‘little one.’ “Hmph,” he began, giving the panther a once-over. “I may be little, but I don’t need a protector! I can protect myself! Watch!” Then the monkey’s burnt-orange eyes glowed bright green as he accessed his Magic, and a Sacchiferous tree branch started to grow out of his back. He coughed and teetered on his paws from the effects of the plant, but he still looked up at the Gembound triumphantly. “See? Now nothing will wanna come near me!”

Words: 210 @Nassir
Link to Sacchiferous tree: /showthread.php?tid=1648

Nassir watched as the tiny monkey hopped away from him. He didn't blame him, he was much larger than the tiny one, even if he wasn't quite full grown yet. When he spoke, the panther blinked, before smiling slightly. "Is that so? Well, you may think you don't need anyone to protect you, but-- what...what is that?" A plant seemed to grow from the tiny monkey, and the scent that it brought made him curl up his nose.

"That is," he coughed,"mighty impressive but you must keep in mind that whatever you may do to deter opponents will also have an effect on you." By this point, he was swaying and was starting to develop a headache. "Also can you...make that go away?"


@Tukluk
"He likes to talk a lot"

table coded by banshee | for free use!

Having proved his point about not needing anyone else’s protection, Tukluk gladly cut his Magic off and let the spell, and the tree branch, die. The plant growing from his back turned brown and crumbled, scattering in pieces to the ground where it no longer produced the effects of its live version. The marmoset grinned up at the panther. “See?” He puffed out his chest triumphantly. “And, yeah, I know that it has the same effects on me. I had to grow poison ivy on my body to defeat a rat a while ago. Then I had a rash for like a week! But I can handle it!”

Feeling rather bold, Tuck looked the panther up and down as if trying to decide if the Gembound was worth his time. “What Magic can you do?”

Words: 135 @Nassir

When the tree died, Nassir let out a sigh of relief. Already his headache was starting to dissipate. When Tuck spoke again, he chuckled. "You fought a rat, hm? And you used poison ivy. Interesting." Upon his next words, he grunted. "I'm afraid my magic isnt too impressive, unlike yours. One day it may be interesting, but i have only one spell at the moment."

He began to look around and his eyes fell upon a nearby small rock. "Watch that rock for a moment, will ya?" He began to focus on it, and after quite a bit of effort he managed to nudge it without touching it. "There. Not much, but it's something at least."

@Tukluk

"He likes to talk a lot"

table coded by banshee | for free use!

Tuck wondered how someone who was obviously older than him had less Magic than he did. Maybe they just didn’t like Magic the way he did? But… why wouldn’t you like Magic? It was so useful! Tuck just couldn’t understand it! He sighed. Oh well. It was their loss, he supposed. At least he didn’t have to worry about competition, seeing as how it seemed multiple Gembounds could have the same spell. After all, Albeon, his raven friend, seemed to have the same spell as this panther. Although… Albeon had used his spell to seemingly pull a fruit off of a branch, and Nassir was using it to push a pebble? So maybe it wasn’t the same spell?

“That’s cool, I guess,” he said to his new acquaintance. “I don’t know what you would ever use it for. But… my friend Albeon has the same spell I think. And he used it to pull down some fruit. But maybe it wasn’t the same spell… I don’t know.” He looked Nassir over. “Besides, you don’t seem like you would eat fruit. You eat meat, right?” Suddenly he was a little nervous. “You’re not gonna eat me, are you? Cos I’ll cover myself in poison ivy again if you try!”

Words: 208 @Nassir -- Nervous Tuck is nervous lmao.

"Not very impressive, is it? Yours is much better, I must admit." Nassir gave a small grin. "It might have been the same spell. I'm sure I could use it to pull down some fruit, if I so chose to. But I...don't eat fruit." He gave a yawn, showing his sharp teeth. At his next words, he paused. "Oh no no no, I have no intention to hurt you, let alone eat you! I want to protect you, after all. What kind of protector would I be if I ate the ones I'm trying to protect?"

"I mean, sure, I may be hungry, but I certainly wont eat you. Don't worry." Nassir then looked around. "I wonder...if there's anything to eat around here." He began to sniff the air, seeing if he could find anything.

He soon was able to smell the scent of a rabbit nearby. It wouldn't be much, but it'd definitely be something. "Wait here. I'm not sure what you could eat...or even if you're hungry..." He then began to focus on the rabbit. He followed the scent and soon came across the rabbit.


@Tukluk
"He likes to talk a lot"

table coded by banshee | for free use!

All this talk of food was making Tuck hungry, although at the same time, he was sort of feeling queasy about the fact that Nassir was hungry too, and needed to go kill another Gembound in order to eat. That sort of put a damper on Tuck’s own appetite, but after the panther left to go find his own food, he decided he would try to eat a little something. Instead of going off to find food, he sat right down where he was and relied on his Magic to feed him — which could be tricky business sometimes. He wanted some sweet and juicy berries to munch on, maybe, but the ones he got were barely ripe, and still had a sour tang to them that made the marmoset pucker his lips while he ate them. Still… it was better than nothing!

… He just hoped Nassir wouldn’t come back covered in blood and rabbit guts or he’d probably throw up his small lunch… Eugh.

Words: 164 @Nassir