Imperia trudged along, their fur matted, eyes dull. It had been so silent in the caves, and they had found themselves longing for company. The loss of Aaliyah had never hit harder. The lights had come back on at some point, though when exactly, they had no idea. All they could remember was the deafening silence that had raged throughout the caves. Everywhere they went, it was silent. No one was around. Occasionally, they thought maybe they had seen a glimpse of movement, but it never happened again when they turned to look.

They continued walking. They tried to think about the last time they had met someone, but it felt like their mind wasn't working. They could barely remember anything. They remembered their name, and they remembered most of what had happened with Aaliyah. And Kin-kin. They remembered her, with her golden fur and cape. They didn't remember much more than that, though. Shaking their head briefly, they focused on something else.

Such as the little crystal wolves. They were everywhere. Some were better made than others, and even had little gems stuck in them. They were made from different materials, some quartz, some pyrite, and citrine. Some glowed, and some looked like they had capes. They walked over to one that was growing from the wall, observing it. It wasn't very well made, but better than some of the others, despite it sticking out from the wall. They turned to another, and this one looked to be the best one of them all. It was majestic and proud looking, and it struck Imperia then that there was only one who could have done this. Kin-kin.

They looked up. Was she nearby? Had she moved on from these? Were they too late? Was she watching them right now? Their fur tingled, but they ignored it. They got up and began to walk around, looking for a place where Kin-kin could be. They opened their mouth, intending to call out, but only a cough came out. They hadn't used their voice in so long, and soon gave up trying. They didn't even know if Kin-kin was there. Some of these looked pretty old, so it was possible she was gone.

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

tags: @Kin-kin
notes: here

Kin-Kin was relaxing in the alcove beneath Orion's glittering tower that she'd chosen for her den so long ago. Although her coat was still somewhat matted and the scars on her left forelimb from her own relentless gnawing were still showing a golden sheen of stubble. She'd been grooming fervently though, and her recent encounter with Tukluk had certainly returned some of her spark.

Even if she met no-one else for a while, the little monkey had definitely taken the edge off of her loneliness. A small yawn escaped her and she stretched out her forepaws ahead of her, tail swishing against the ground. as her glow dimmed in the dark, the wolf's ears pricked, and although she didn't know why, she brightened again, her head raising from her paws. What was that? The sound of fur against stone? The far-off scrape of someone's claws?

The more she focused, the more elusive the few signs seemed to become, but Kin-Kin was suddenly sure that she wasn't alone.

Without hesitation, she crept to her claws, thrusting her blade into her sheath with a small clink of crystal. and then, head down, she crept forward and out of the mouth of her cave.and suddenly... her jaws opened in surprise, a grin flickering across her cheeks. As though she'd willed it into existence, here was another gembound to break the silence, and one that Kin-Kin's heart had for so long ached to see. But the wolf, her pride welling to the forefront, suppressed the grin from her cheeks and smiled coolly, although the blaze that welled from her fur like golden fire gave away the feeling in her heart.

"Hey, a familiar face! It's been a while, ain't it?" she spoke with a lighthearted laugh as her deep purple eyes fixed on Imperia. She gently shook her foreleg so that her sword clinked in its sheath. "It's a good thing I brought this along, eh?"


" speech "

Movement caught Imperia's eye, and they turned only to have their heart catch in their throat. There, in all her golden glory - though she look a little worse for the wear - was Kin-kin. They flicked an ear as they turned to face her, struggling to keep a smile off their face. They settled for a smirk, and walked a little closer.

"It certainly has been a long time." They turned their attention to Kin-kin's foreleg, noting that there looked to be scars on it, before focusing on just the sword in its sheath. "Ha, yes I suppose so. It had been quite a long time since we last fought, hasn't it?" They paused. "It's been a long time since I fought anyone."

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

tags: @Kin-kin
notes: here

Imperia's cool smirk mirrored Kin-Kin's own, just as the barely-masked delight reflected in boht of their eyes. Kin-Kin's tail swished coolly, swishing her cloak, and excitement arose in her chest as she heard Imperia's voice for the first time in a long, long time. "Mmm-hm. Seems the silence hasn't suited either of us." Kin-Kin chuckled once more, settling back on her haunches in a relaxed manner, despite the surface level of carefully cultivated tension. Kin-Kin knew this one's love for battle, and was prepared- even excited- for it. Though she found herself wondering if this time, it was really necessary. After all, they'd greeted one another so calmly, and did the joy of a familiar face really need to be marred by pain?

But there was something else there- the adrenaline running thick through her blood, the pounding of her heart and a craving for the thrill that she'd once felt. Teasing, taunting, laughing, mischief. She despaired for those feelings that ordinary friendship could never indulge.

Kin-Kin nodded with a slight incline of her head, although her deep purple gaze remained fixed on Imperia. "It has," she agreed, a wolfish grin growing strong. Her hackles raised slowly with the promise but- in the back of her mind, there was also despair. Was her first amicable meeting really about to amount to a fight? what it this ended up unintentionally tearing their seemingly-fragile friendship limb from limb? After so long of silence, Kin-Kin didn't think she could bear to be left alone again, especially with the knowledge that she'd brought loneliness upon herself. Kin-Kin forced such silly thoughts to the back of her mind and gave another quiet laugh as she turned her attention back to Imperia. "That's a relief. We'll both be outta shape, then."


" speech "

@Imperia

Imperia flicked an ear, looking over their matted fur. It was much different from Kin-kin's groomed fur, though even she seemed to still be recovering from the silence that had fallen over the caves. "I suppose you could say that." A slight chuckle in return as she watched the she-wolf sit back on her haunches. There was a lot of tension, but they ignored it. Already, they could feel adrenaline coursing through their blood at the prospect of a battle. If had been too long, far too long.

Part of them felt guilty that it was Kin-kin they were going to fight, though. They ignored that part of them. All they were was just a couple of...friends? Were they even friends? They had no idea what to describe their relationship. Surely they were more than just acquaintances. After a moment of thought, they concluded that yeah, they were friends. It was a small friendship, certainly something that could be broken easily, but a friendship all the same.

As Kin-kin spoke again, Imperia shook her head lightly to clear any thoughts and looked back at her, into her deep purple eyes that unwavered from meeting their own. They let out a chuckle again, quiet and barely noticeable, but still there. "That's good to hear. You've already beaten my ass twice, I'd hate for it to happen a third time." Their mind thought back to the times they had fought, and grunted. This time, they were determined to win! If just for their own dignity.

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

tags: @Kin-kin
notes: here

Kin-Kin felt the fur along her back begin to prickle as it stood on end beneath her cloak, and she twitched her head in response to the feeling. She raised a hind paw to itch at the fabric around her neck, still watching calmly, without any indication of the emotional cocktail turning inside. She yawned widely, got to her paws, and stretched with clicks running down her spine.

"Alright, let's see how this goes, huh?"

She chucked in response to Imperia's statement, a look of pride coming into her eyes. Kin-Kin couldn't allow that. Of course not. "Stakes are high for both of us, then," Kin-Kin said, with a swish of her plumed tail. Kin-Kin thought deeply, a smile breaking out onto her face. What would give her the advantage? Kin-Kin remembered a tactic that she'd used time and time again in their previous battles.

A smirk growing upon her face, the wolf focused into her gem and allowed her glow to fade into darkness around her. She breathed deeply...

...but nothing happened.

Opening a single eye, Kin-Kin glanced helplessly at her opponent.


" speech "

@imperia

Imperia snorted, watching Kin-kin. They had to win this battle! They'd do whatever they needed to win. She waited for the golden wolf to do something. She closed her eyes, and seemed to be drawing upon her magic. A moment passed, and nothing happened. They chuckled. "Didn't work, huh?" A grin spread on their face.

They thought for a moment about what they would do. Clearly, magic was not to be relied on in this battle. They'd have to use their strength. Their claws. They crouched down low, prepared to leap and - hopefully - strike the wolf. They leaped, claws out...

And missed entirely. A paw skidded on a piece of crystal from one of the wolves nearby, and sent them falling. A yelp ripped from their throat as they landed in front of Kin-kin. So much for getting a head start.

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

tags: @Kin-kin
notes: here

Kin-Kin only watched, preparing for a while to meet Imperia head on with her foreleg outstretched in readiness to draw her blade. And then... nothing worked. Kin-Kin stared at Imperia for a few long moments, head tilting slowly to one side.

And then she began to laugh, almost hysterically. She couldn't help it; it was just too perfect. Two seasoned fighters, coming together for a final crash... and then nothing quite working. She couldn't stop. Her sides shook for quite some time until her laughs grew raucous and breaths hoarse. "Some seasoned fighters we are, huh?" she gulped her breaths until she managed to hold back her laughter, although her heart still pounded and her fangs were bared in a wild grin. "Let's... heh... let's call that a practice, shall we?"

Kin-Kin took a deep breath, locking the last of her mirth deep inside. She pressed her chin to her chest, drawing in all her magic until her golden glow blacked out. The magic built inside of her until her toes tingled with power... And then, it was gone... her glow petered back in a little flush of light, and the grasp she had was suddenly gone, causing her to drop onto her chest as the energy left her just a void.

In moments, her glow had flickered out again as the magic she'd neglected for so long showed its misuse.

"Ugh... Just another practice," she grunted, trying her hardest to force herself back up onto all four paws, only to sink back down with a groan.


" speech "

@Imperia

Imperia quickly scrambled up after the embarrassing start and gave a huff at Kin-kin's laughter. Tiny tail flicking, they slowly began to chuckle a little. They had to admit, it was quite funny. They both were two seasoned fighters, and yet here they were now. Failure after failure after failure. Luck was not on their side this time.

Imperia waited for Kin-kin to do something, watching as she pressed her chin to her chest. Their fur was bristling, waiting for something to happen. Only, once again, nothing did. However, this time, instead of staying standing, the golden wolf collapsed on her chest, causing the caracal to widen their eyes in alarm, though they tried to hide it. They flicked an ear. "Practice still? Well, let's hope it doesn't last long. I'm supposed to be kicking your ass."

As Kin-kin collapsed again, Imperia grinned. This was the perfect moment to strike! She was down, likely in no position to defend herself! All they had to do was attack! Lifting their paw, their eyes narrowed and their grin widened. But before they brought it down, they hesitated. A part of them didn't want to fight. Didn't want to hurt her. They tried to ignore it, to just attack already, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it.

Slowly, they lowered their paw. "T-this is stupid. Here we are, meeting after -- how many cycles has it been? Too many. And we're fighting again? Can we do anything but fight? Seems like every time we meet, we're fighting. And...well. I'm sick of it." They sat down, eyes boring into Kin-kin where she lay.

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

tags: @Kin-kin
notes: here

Kin-Kin gave a muffled grunt that turned into a dry chuckle soon after. She raised her head, slowly managing to haul herself up onto all four paws. "and I'm meant to be defending my ass!" she retorted with a characteristic grin spreading gradually across her features. As she looked up, Kin-Kin noticed Imperia lowering their paw back towards the ground, and looked towards Imperia's face, her golden head tilting to one side.

Kin-Kin listened to their words, her ears lowering slightly. There was a long pause after, and then Kin-Kin gave a soft huff. "Well, we've never tried... y'know, not to fight." Kin-Kin said, settling back on her haunches with a swish of her tail. Then, she let out a chuckle. "I... Well, I thought you hated me.... And that was part of the thrill." Kin-Kin remembered Imperia's rage at having the golden wolf's ass waggled in her face. She couldn't help a smirk at the memory showing through.

"I never thought I'd see the day when you got sick of fighting. You, Imperia the Fiery! This sword was your doing, my friend. I'd never have found the thrill in the fight if it weren't for your attitude." Kin-Kin's chest puffed dramatically and her chin rose as she spoke, but there was a lighthearted humour to it all. Kin-Kin's deep violet eyes met Imperia's yellow ones, and the wolf couldn't help but feel a strange thrill deep in her belly, as though her body prepared for the fight. and why shouldn't it? they'd never not fought. Kin-Kin had always taken pleasure in tormenting the caracal, but never would the wolf have suspected the intimate bond that their spars had forged between them. Almost as though they shared dances rather than blows, Kin-Kin had felt the power behind each rippling muscle and bore the faded scars beneath her thick fur.

But the pleasure that Kin-Kin had felt during their battles was unmatched.

" speech "

@Imperia