Rift's eyes blinked open in the shining light of the Maw of Mosses. The moss underneath his body was still soft and warm and it smelled fresh and wonderful. He had just changed it yesterday, both for him and Sebastian, so he had slept so well last night.

With a large yawn, he raised his head, his eyes adjusting to the light. He softly stood from his bed and padded out of the gap in the tree roots. The soft aroma and the sweet scents of the flowers around him invaded his nose and he breathed deeply, a soft smile alighting on his face. He stepped through his beautiful, flourishing garden, touching each flower, each fern, each little mushroom dotting the ground with gently affection.

But there was something still stuck at the back of his head. Something that had been forgotten in the past cycle but now came back to him, full aware and deeply disturbing. But he couldn't think about that now, he had just woken up and there were things to do. He had reached the pool just in the trees. He sat down to take a good long lap before turning back to the clearing.

He stepped up to his garden and took a good position. He raised his head and opened his mouth, letting the magic flow through his body. A small jet of water squirted from his mouth and sprinkled into the air. It fell gently across his garden, watering and rejuvenating the plants across the grass, just as he did every morning. He liked to do this before Sebastian woke up - the cub, or, well, the other puma probably didn't much like water.


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

tags: @Sebastian
notes:

Sebastian woke slowly. His golden eyes blinked open blearily, seeing the motes of dust floating through the air. He stood slowly, feeling the moss give beneath his paws. It had taken him some time to get used to the soft moss, but now he found he rather liked it. Rift kept it fresh, changing it out before it had a chance to dry out and die.

The puma dropped his front half, claws digging into the moss as he arched his back and stretched. As he switched, dipping his back to the floor and feeling his bones crack, he yawned, making a sound low in his throat that had been much higher not too long ago.

He straightened up, looking around. Putting his nose in the air, he knew Rift had been there recently. His mouth was dry, so he followed the path he'd long memorized to the lake. The Puma gulped down some of the water, feeling it go from chilled to warm almost as soon as it entered his mouth.

Then, he decided to seek out Rift. Taking a guess, he assumed Rift to be at his garden, and headed that way.

His guess proved correct, and he could see Rift watering the plants. The panther smiled, but waited for the Puma to be done before calling out, "Sleep well?"


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Rift
notes:

Rift turned when he heard a familiar voice and purred when he caught sight of Sebastian. He bounded over to his friend and licked his ear with greeting. "Amazing. The moss is always the best right after its changed. What about you?" He didn't know how much Sebastian liked sleeping in the moss. He knew that he wasn't as big a fan of plants as he was, but he at least knew that he cared. However, Rift knew that his love for nature was...a bit odd, to say the least.

Thinking about it brought the doubt back, the shadow in the back of his mind. His eyes clouded with distraction as his joyful mood tinged with the darkness. Maybe he should talk to Seb about this? The puma was thoughtful, a listener, and he would understand. But should he trouble the younger cat with this?

No, Sebastian was grown up now. As Rift looked at him, he realized that they were pretty much the same size now and they were both almost fully mature. He could rely on Sebastian if he needed to and he did.

He flicked his tail. "Will you walk with me?" He stood and turned away, padding into the trees, his mind distracted with how he was going to ask.

___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Sebastian
notes:

Sebastian smiled as his friend turned to address him. He remained sitting, not wanting to risk trampling his friend's beloved plants, and instead chose to wrap his tail around his paws, the tip beating a happy rhythm.

He was surprised to realize that he had to dip his head so that Rift could reach the part of his ear he usually licked. Obviously, sitting down, he was taller than Rift, but that had never happened before. The Panther turned, and purred as he butted his head against Rift's affectionately.

Sebastian frowned, tilting his head as he took in the expression on Rift's face. Was something wrong? He looked really concerned.

However, before he could speak up, Rift spoke. Concern rolled in the Panther's chest, and he nodded, standing to follow Rift. "Of course."


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Rift
notes:

He felt Sebastian's fur brush against him as he came up to pad beside him. It was comforting. They walked like this now and again and the familiarity gave him more confidence in what he needed to ask. For a while, they walked through Eridanus is relative silence. The whole way, Rift was distracted. Questions, concerns, continuous doubts swirled through his head.

A memory, from long ago, surged strongly into his head. "It's useless, kitty! The plants won't help you. Stop trying, they won't do anything to save you from me!"

He suddenly stopped, his heart beating faster and faster. He didn't know why this was such a scary thing to ask. Perhaps it was that if he voice it, then it would be true. But he had to, he couldn't keep it in.

"I'm a good protector, right?" His voice was quiet and desperation ate at the edges of his tone. "Have I cared for them and loved them enough? Am I right to call myself their guardian?"


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Sebastian
notes:

Sebastian walked with Rift for a while, wondering what had gotten into the tawny big cat. Something was eating at him, that was for sure. A couple times he opened his mouth to speak, to ask what was wrong with him, only to shut it again, not wanting to pull the other from his thoughts.

Suddenly, Rift came to a stop, and Sebastian followed suit. He turned to face his friend, tilting his head, a concerned expression on his face. "Rift?" he asked, worry obvious in his voice.

He was taken aback by Rift's question, and his expression showed it. His ears flattened against his skull, and he took a step backwards. However, the puma's question was quick to make him react, and he stood up tall. "Of course you are! You've been more of a guardian than any Gembound ever has!" he growled stubbornly, narrowing his eyes at Rift as though to try and make him accept what he'd said.


___________________________________________________________

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

tags:
notes:

It warmed Rift's heart to hear his friend say that, but, still, it nagged at his mind. He blinked at Sebastian before leaning down towards the ground. Softly, he whispered, "Grow, young ones."

Nothing happened.

A pit dropped in his stomach, even though he knew that it would not work. He sighed and touched a paw to the ground, spreading the magic into the earth. He didn't have to say anything for the sprout to appear, which then flourished into a tree that grew beside them and rose above their heads. He watched it grow, his paw still on the ground, ever so conscious of his own magic being the thing that made it do so.

He turned to Sebastian, his eyes dark and uncertain. "I-I thought they did that because I asked them to, because they loved me. But I've been forcing it all along. I knew that I needed magic, but I-I thought that it was just to reach the plants' ears. How can I call myself a protector when I make plants do what I want when I want?" His voice suddenly turned to a desperate whimper. "I love plants so much...but what...what if they don't love me? What if I've been doing wrong by them?" He turned his head, not meeting Sebastian's eyes as tears sprung to his eyes. This was so embaressing. He had never meant to break down like this when he asked. He had never known that it had affected him so much, but all the misgivings and uncertainties came pouring back to him and flooded out. Everything that had nudged at the back of his mind, but kept away.


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Sebastian
notes:

Sebastian watched as Rift leaned down towards the ground, whispering to what must have been plants beneath the ground. Unfortunately, they didn't react to his pleas, and the panther felt sadness spread in his chest at the lack of reaction. That must have hurt Rift, he knew.

Thankfully, the second time he tried, the plants reacted. A small sprout grew where his paw touched, before quickly growing into a beautiful tree that flourished above their heads. The puma's head tilted back to follow the bough of the tree as it stretched up high and tall far above them.

Hearing Rift speak, the young feline turned back to his friend, slight smile fading away at the sight of his friends uncertainty. "Rift?"

His face darkened as Rift began to speak, and he shook his head violently. "Rift, you are a protector! You've never done anything but help the plants. The plants, they're glad to help you!"

He drew himself up to try and emphasize his point, shaking his head frustratedly. "Rift! Those plants love you. You've never, ever done wrong by them. Why would they hate you?" He bristled, tail lashing as he tried to get Rift to see his point.

However, he quickly deflated, and he lowered his head to butt it against Rift's affectionately.


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Rift
notes: aww poor Rift :(

As Sebastian spoke, Rift heard him. Every word. Every sentence sunk into his brain and swirled in the doubts and fears. But they did nothing to scare them away. Instead, they inflated them and burned in his chest. He felt uncommon rage boiling in his stomach and his ear twitched with frustration as he started pacing in front of his friend.

How could he say that? He didn't understand! How could he know? The plants didn't communicate with him, Rift knew that at least. It was an attempt at stopping his doubts and it didn't work, not at all. He didn't know why he was getting so angry or why is heart was racing like this, but it was happening and his tail lashed with anger. He growled deep in his throat and he stopped pacing for a second, his eyes flitting to Sebastian. "That's easy for you to say. Fire is not alive, its not a living thing. It's something you can create and control and manipulate at a whim, right? Plants aren't the same, Sebastian. They can feel! I know they can! How do you know that I haven't hurt them? How do you know that what I'm doing is right? I've done so much for the plants, but have they ever done anything for me? No! They do nothing unless I command them to! Doesn't that seem wrong to you?"


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Sebastian
notes:

Sebastian frowned, reading his dearest friend's body language. His ear was twitching as though he were agitated, and the panther found himself turning his head to follow Rift as his fellow big cat began to pace in front of him. What had gotten into the normally placid Puma?

To his surprise, the tawny big cat's tail began to lash, and for the first time, he heard him growl, turning to look at the black cat.

He began to bristle - Rift had no right to speak to him like that! Putting down his fire! Just because he didn't control plants didn't mean he could speak about his fire that way!

"Rift, that's enough!" he growled, rumbling low in his chest. "You
have no right to talk to me like that. Calm. Down."

He took a deep breath, attempting to kill the growl in his throat. "Yes, your plants feel. And? Plants are disturbed every day. We walk on them, some eat them. But they get better, they heal, they're fine. And when that happens, the plants don't benefit at all. But what you do, sure the plants may hurt for a short time, but they benefit from it! They get a boost with growing, they get more plants grown, they get healthier! So if that's wrong, I don't know what's right." he rumbled.


___________________________________________________________

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

tags: @Rift
notes: