Aceus nodded in response no longer afraid but still very confused and lay down crossing her front paws under her chin and closing her eyes. She began to softly purr, mostly satisfied in her thoughts about everything that has come to pass in her short few hours awake.

Astaroth pulled the kitten closer to him with his legs, she was still relatively vulnerable and if something decided to attack while they slept they would try to kill her first, he didn't want her to be far from him since if she was too far something could snatch her without him even noticing, he would never forgive himself. He looked at her and felt an ephemeral feeling of protectiveness, he didn't want her to be taken but why did he want it so bad. He looked up at the ethereal lights above and sighed, he was confused. He decided to sleep on it.

"Speech"
Thoughts
tags: @Aceus @Bartos
notes: here

Much as he thought he had abandoned this place, somehow, Orion had become his home again. But he didn't feel the same sense of belonging here that he had when he'd first emerged. The den he used to occupy was long ago abandoned. The tunnel from which he had emerged with Astraea and Senka had closed. Quintus was here, somewhere, and that offered him some respite but nothing could bring back the normalcy that once gave him comfort. Even Pisces didn't feel like home - it had always felt less so, more like an impromptu refuge. Ever since he had gone away with Astraea he'd felt plagued with anachronism, like he had suddenly been brought back to a time that wasn't his own.

Maybe it was just because this place only ever fed him memories of the worst thing that had happened to him. Hasira's face perpetually stared down at him from the empty throne. The remnants of his ice shackles had long since melted into the rock and dissipated, but he could always remember exactly where they were, and the pain of laying on his broken leg, staring, hoping that someone would lift him from his prison. He remembered Clover as he tried to defend her from the stag. The sound of her voice as he tormented them both. He remembered Clover. She was the only thing he couldn't ever forget, really; even if he'd lost his mind, even if he died and was reborn, he knew that she would persist. Even after she had died.

Aimless wandering no longer kept his thoughts at bay. But he was trying, oh how he was trying to find something to distract himself and keep him occupied. His hunt for various lost gems had, momentarily, been suspended as he began his quest to find his wife's stone. Hers was most important, she had always taken precedence. He felt sickness even thinking that he had put it off for so long. But she deserved to be rescued from whatever crevice she had fallen through and brought out of the darkness, once and for all.

He hadn't expected to find any others here, as Orion of all places had been so still, as if the place still wept for all the evil Hasira had committed. But much to his surprise, as he stalked along the elevated ledge of one of the cliff faces, he caught sight of two forms curled up on the ground. He recognized one of them as the black wolf pup he'd found before, but the other, a tiger, was unknown. Bartos paused. They were asleep, and he really had no interest in waking them, but he knew that they could chase his restlessness if only for a moment. And perhaps, if he stagnated long enough, Senka would find him again. For now he lowered into a crouch, lifting his eyes up to the crumbling streets that stretched beyond, waiting.

@Aceus

[/B]

After a nice nap Aceus stirred in her sleep and awoke to the large 'wolf' curled around her. His protectiveness made her smile.. Although, something was off. She couldn't quite ignore the feeling that something had changed since they had fallen asleep, something was just barely off. She couldn't quite pinpoint what either.

After a few minutes of struggling with herself about what it could be, her constant curiosity got the best of her and she lifted herself out of Astaroths grasp to figure out what was so different that her instincts were bugging her. She found herself face to face with another creature, she gasped in shock. This creature looked much more like Ace than Astaroth did, but not exactly the same. Slightly frightened by this new creature she shimmied back towards her new friend Az trying to wake him.

"Az... Az.. There is someone here..." She said shaking with confusion, not fear because the new creature had not a presence of which would cause the kitten fear. Only of pure confusion and shock. [B] "Az. Awaken... Please?
"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: here
notes: here

Ast---

Astaroth grumbled slightly as he awoke, the cub was pressed up against him "Huh, wha...uuuuh" Astaroth's ears perked up when he heard the cub say that someone was hear, he sniffed the air around him and caught a familiar scent. "Bartos! We were just gonna come looking for you!" He called out amazed at his luck. He looked around, eventually spotting the forest cat on a nearby ledge. He beckoned for the cat to come down and speak to them.

"Speech"
Thoughts
tags: @Bartos @Aceus
notes: here

He hadn't even been watching the pair, but the sound of their sudden movement had caught his gaze. Bartos observed attentively as the tiger cub shifted and took notice of him, apparently frightened by his looming appearance on the ledge. Though he wasn't sure why - Bartos was barely a little bit bigger than the tiger cub herself. Even the wolf pup was quickly becoming larger than he was. He said nothing, waiting for Astaroth to awaken, who soon realized his presence as well and hollered up at him. They were going to come looking for him? Why?

Bartos noticed the gesture, but flicked his tail dismissively. He didn't want to put any more pressure on his twisted back leg than he needed to, and he didn't think the two of them would enjoy watching him take another few long minutes to descend carefully enough not to sprain his limb. "Why?" He asked easily, remaining crouched on the ledge as he looked down at them.

@Aceus

Realizing that this was the Bartos and that the question of WHAT Aceus was could be answered she glowed happily and bounded towards the cat. Glad to explain she started no longer feeling dubious, "Well, I just emerged you see, I'm brand new around here. And Astaroth found me after I came out of this weird chrysalis thing. He named me Aceus and says he is a wolf.. but he doesn't know what I am, that's why we needed you. And oddly enough now you are here. Funny coincidence. So what the heck am I?" She takes a deep breath finally done with her short and quickly told version of the story.

This cat is very interesting looking. And so oddly calm too, as if nothing would bug her. The small devious part of Ace wanted to just bug the hell out of him. Luckily the bigger wiser part of the still very young kitten got the lead in the self argument and she just sat there, eagerly awaiting an answer.

"Speech looks like this."
"Thoughts looks like this."

tags: @Astaroth @Bartos here
notes: here

Astaroth looked up at Bartos, he found it strange that the feline wasn't coming down to greet them, he looked for a way up and quickly bounded up to sit next to the cat. "Yea, what she said, are you ok, your leg doesn't look so good." He saw that the limb looked slightly swollen, like the cat had injured it recently. His paw had looked the same way when he had first emerged, luckily he had figured out how to strengthen it and make sure it wouldn't hurt any more.
"Speaking."
Thoughts.
tags: @Aceus @Bartos
notes: