The gem was there, a small little thing, marbled pink and black and generally unremarkable. But it had been there for a while, perhaps a little too long. Perhaps because it grew too close to the Spire. It was nearly touching the blue crystal, a spark of magic every so often jumping out and hitting the chrysalis. Perhaps this was why it waited for so long. But the wait was now over.

A crack. A shiver. Another crack. Pink eyes within opened to darkness. Another crack, crack crack crack and...the chrysalis broke and the tiny black cat tumbled out into the world. The crystal fell apart around her and she was sent rolling towards the Spire. She bumped against it, her nose coming in contact, stopping her movement altogether.

Pink eyes against black were foggy and unfocused. She didn't seem to see anything. She didn't seem to quite be there yet. Her body was working - heart beating, lungs breathing, and her brain working to bring her body around, but she didn't seem to be awake. No, she was still asleep. Or perhaps it was simply the shell of a creature waiting to be filled. Or perhaps the consciousness simply lagged behind.

It took a few moments. Her body worked on its own for a while before she finally managed to awaken. One blink and she was there. It was like a light being turned on. One minute was darkness the next was light. And she was there. And all she saw was magic.

There was no saying how the chrysalis had wound up so near to the Spire--or perhaps it had merely appeared there, germinating, a misplaced and forgotten seed.

As the cat tumbled forth, however, that same magic lashed powerfully around her. It did not hurt--not physically--yet to one so young, so fresh... so inexperienced in magic... it was naturally overwhelming. Its power surged through her mind, and though it left her no different physically, it was most certainly a force that had to be escaped. A force like the drowning sea, impossible to control, difficult to even ride out, to escape unscathed--but she had to, were she to survive.

It was unknown if it had plagued her developing subconscious with nightmares, or whispers, or whips of painful power--but it was here now, and it was unrelenting.

@Wilder

It happened just as she snapped into place. The magic surged into her as her mind surfaced and she choked on it. But it was familiar, so familiar, it had been there through the cycle or cycles or lifetimes or maybe it was forever forever f̷o̶r̸e̸v̴e̸r̸

She reeled and cried out but quickly went silent and simply stared. She stared at the Spire. She let the magicka go deep into her head. She just let it.

Her mouth gaped with...something. There was something there. Something. And her eyes were unfocused. And her eyes were glowing. And her gem was glowing and she was glowing the spire was glowing it was breaking breaking b̵r̸e̷a̴k̶i̵n̴g̷

"T̷͍̫̰̉͑͝h̷̲̞́̈́ḙ̷͆͌̉ ̴̡̃̿̈͝d̶̳̖̜͙͆̉̿ẹ̸̲̓̋̒e̴͙̱͖̅͆p̵̜͇̭̐́ ̸̗͖̞͓͒̀̕d̴͖̉à̷̲̭̫̌ŗ̴͈̠̇̃̀̕͜ḵ̶͍̭́͂̍͝n̵̘̺̏̕͝e̵̗̊̒s̶̯̭̋͠ś̸̡̝̬͓̔,̵̧̀͘ ̴̬͙͒̏̕ţ̴̝̱̳͋̄̅͝h̴̡̨̫̭̽͝e̶̝̹͗̑ͅ ̷̧͗̔ü̸̬͇ń̷͇͝ȩ̷̠̞̈́̀n̸̽͘͜ḍ̶̊̆i̸̢̡͎̼̓̾͝ñ̵͇̈ĝ̸̳̥ ̶̡̛͉͔͚̚͘o̴͖̣̝̘͗̏̚r̴̳͎̘͛̓̈́̃ ̵͉̲̞̗͗̈̚o̶̜̐͆̓n̵͔̊͜e̵̞̾̔́ ̷̡̐̍̚i̷̜̝͋s̷̮̰̐̍̚ ̴͙̍̄̀̄w̴̘̩͔̔̾i̸̢͓̙͂t̷̢̜̪̲̾͆h̵̝̫͈̔͊i̵̺͉̺͘͘ṋ̶͐g̸̺͆͛̅.̸̡͙͖͐ ̵̝̥̻́̃Ẁ̷͇̈́͆͝é̷̦ ̸̤͙̐̎̎̓͜w̷̤̽̍ì̸̙̤͙̇͘͝l̷̢̺̣̄̅̎l̴͉̪̟̫̈̐̈́̕ ̴̯̘͕̼̂͂͒s̷̝̐́̂̐é̷̢̑̄ͅn̷͎̝̬͑̂̾̈ḋ̸͚͔͔͇ ̸̫̫̓ų̴͙̝͒s̴͍̩̬͐̃̉̉ ̶̩͑͋a̶̐̎̓ͅļ̴̣̞̻̃̄l̸̠̜̭͗ ̷̥͒̓͂Ì̶̘ͅ ̶͉̓͌̋ḑ̸͖͊o̷̡̬͂͒̈́͝n̷̗̈'̸̨̹̍t̷̝̙͋ ̵͙͓͗͐k̵̺͈̇̑̔̀n̶̨͓̆͒̑ò̴̧̯͔̾͆̊ẅ̸͔͈͙̋̅̽ ̷͎̫̪̙̃w̸̧͕̟͂͗̀ḣ̷̡̝͔̦́̿͋e̶͇͇̭͌̑r̸̼̟͈̰̔̇̌̚e̷͎̱̮̝̒̅̚ ̴̤̫̜͖̈́͒I̷̢̔͐͐ ̸̡̈́͜ͅa̵̬̬̿̀̆m̵̟͍̮̏̏̈͘ ̶̼͎́̏͘͝ͅá̵̠̔͝ ̷̜̬͙̼̈́̓ṕ̷̨̱͠ą̷̪́̊r̷̢͓͔͑̈́̒t̶̗̎ ̸͇̹͔̠̍̒̅̈ó̶͓̹̖̩f̵̣̰̌̈́̊͘ ̸̻̣̂͂n̶̍͘ͅo̴̰̓̿̚t̵̫̆̾͂ḩ̴̥̊͂̏i̸̥͊̈́̀͆n̷̳͇̯͛̀͌́g̶͇̫͐̎̕.̷̭̳̋̒͐ ̵͉̑Ĭ̷̢̧̺̫̔͑͂ ̸̥͍̊̀̃ǎ̷͖̪̝̊̊͆m̴̩̠̉ͅ ̴̤̎̾̉a̸̛̺̻̓̾̕ ̵̪͚͛p̴̱̼͊̒̊̕ȁ̵̡̗̹̗͝r̴̜͌̄̓̂t̷͚̓͌ ̵̧̩̚ơ̴̡̧̘̻f̷̜̠̓̿ ̸̟͓͊̓n̸̘͉̯͂̏̽o̸̹͐̄̿ṫ̶̹̀́̽h̸̓̾̀ͅĭ̴͇̪ṅ̷̳̐̓̓g̷̹̱̋̇͆ ̴̮̼̊o̷͙͔͑ȑ̶̡̙̋̀ ̸̛͉̪̟̦̏͝ö̵̤̓n̸̼̖͒̓e̵̮̎̅̒͆ ̶̙̱̻͓̂͑͠į̸̖̙͓̏̿ș̸̄̽̒ ̷̤͌̋͝m̵̨̲̗̃́̾̎y̵̢͔͖̏̏̒͘ ̶̛̛̝͒s̵̩̭̽̌́͝o̶̢̊͆͘͝u̶̻̗͉̳̽l̵̫͎̘̉,̴͔̣̬̑̌́͆ ̴̩͉͙͍̔I̵̯̾͛͝ ̸͚̈a̶̧̯̾̈́̏̽m̶̡͊̂.̴̫̎̄̚ ̴̧͕̯̒̐Á̵̜͈͔̱̀̏͘l̷͎̹̏͂͘͠l̶͈̤̐̐͘ ̶̖̮̳̔̏̆ĭ̸̧͋̈́n̷̺̥̒̃͜͝t̶͕͉̉ͅo̵͕̽͋̈ ̸̼͑̓n̵͈̓̓̇̈́ǫ̸̜͈̽͝t̴͈̞̣̆h̷̳̐̇̋i̵͈͕̰͓͛̀̒n̶͈̪͋g̵̡̥͌̀ ̸̰͙͗̚͝ŏ̵͖̱̲̌r̸͕̖͛̈́̆ ̸̘̏̃́͜o̷̱̒̅̐͘ṉ̵̠̯̊͝e̸̡͉͌̅͠ ̷̭͇̋̏i̵͕̦̙̔͒̋s̴̪̤̺̓̀ ̸̛̠̜̈c̶̟͍͆̑o̶͙̫̫͍̐m̶̺̈́i̷̞̩̩͈̎n̸̪͎̟̑͆́g̷̡̖̻̼͒ ̷̏ͅd̵͕̗͇͋͝e̵̠͎̒a̴̲̼̗̍̕ṯ̸̳̕h̶̨̠̤͉̀̒.̵͕̜͔̤̉ ̵̦̹̥̍̊I̵͚͇̯͠t̵̫̤̫̱̾̄̋ ̶̟͎̯͆͜w̴̮͎̅̄̿̽ḯ̵̦̈́̏̌l̷̫̙̘̒l̷̰̠̓͘ ̸̟͉̈́͂̎b̸̬̦̯̰̆ē̴̻̤̗͜ć̴͍̳̲̎̑ŏ̵̭̥̌̽͝m̴̢̺̟̳̀̈́͗è̶̜̙̥̙ ̸̼̄̀c̷̱̿h̴͖̐̃a̶̦͖̩͔͊̑o̵͓̤̟̔s̸͈̗͐͑ ̶͈͔̂́̀w̵̨͔̎ĕ̴̢̚ ̵̡͖͚̆̆w̶̼̩͚̏̈̈i̴͕͓͓͆̋ͅḽ̶͓̟̈́̇͘l̶̥̥̠̪͊̈ ̶͍̿b̵̫͊̾̂͝è̴̺̗c̴̲͕̳͆̌͠o̶̧̳̦͓͗͂m̶̨̪͐͋̎͠e̴̢̿ ̸̢͍̠̮͂̀̈́c̶͈͒ḫ̴̹̻̒̅a̵̼̲̲̾̇ö̸̪̇̚s̷̬̆̕ ̷͈͕̞̈w̸̨̧̯̻̽͝ȩ̴̛̩̮̦ ̵̜̌̃͊w̸̞͝į̵̈̊̄͜l̶̫̤͉̱̃l̸̜͐ ̷̫̎s̸̘̲͌͋̔̽ê̴̢̖̣͊̌͝ņ̸̆̌̒̀d̶̹̭̭̈́͌̎͠ ̶̘͔͉̗̈́̿̕ṳ̵̱͋͐ş̵̧̛̟͑̆ ̴̮̰͍̈́a̶̞͙̤̪͂̏̎͠l̷̺̟̮̃͋͠l̵̘̣̈́̀͆͂ ̸̞͊͜͝I̵͍͑͂͑͝ ̴̩̙̮̯̈́̑̉d̸̯̺͉͌̇͆̂ǫ̷̲͕͐͂̕ṉ̵̡̟̉̎'̵̡̢̲͋̃̾̑t̸̰̙̠͚̐̄͐ ̵̬̠́̕k̷̯̘͂̈́̑n̷̢̫̏̑̄ͅö̴̠̪́w̷̨͍͉̽̔̓̕ͅ ̶̲̼͆w̴̫̼̐̓͗͝h̵̠̩̝̫̐͛e̶̪̰͝ͅr̸̨̩͎̍̾͆e̵̢̛̯͑ ̴̪͚̖̓̈́̈Í̷̡͔̠́̿͠ ̷̫́̑̿̇ͅa̷̼̭͗m̶̞̟͊͘.̴͇̮͑̎͘͝ ̶͓͚̯́̒C̸̬̄o̸̗̮͈̺͌͠m̵̠͘͝ě̶̤̤͚̖͗͛ ̸̘̪̅̌č̸̭̪̼h̵̳͕͓͐̐̂a̸̞̠͙̝̐́͝o̶̹̺͚̽̈́͒̀s̵̻̫̽͋̄͝ ̴̹̼̯̀w̸͓͇̉e̵͎͉͝͝͠ ̶͓̘̍̋ͅw̵̻̔͋͌͜i̵̢͖͇̠͛͐͋̇l̴͙̹̯͉̾l̷̰̺̾̒ͅ ̶̧͉͖̕b̵͔̣̥͈̂̑ë̵͈̘́͒c̵̲͙̟̏͘ǒ̷̜̗̻̻̀m̵͈̆e̸̲̓ ̸̮̭̅̽̚͜ͅc̴̘̳̏h̵͕͌͋̀̌ă̶͇o̸̼͉̱͕̾s̶̬̤͐ ̴͇̼̦͒̃͒ŵ̶̛̱̲̝̽e̴̝̹͙̎ ̵̼̳͎̅̈́̚w̷̗͋͑̈́̾ḯ̴͈͎̗͌̌͜ḽ̵̖̊l̸̠̘͘ ̵̛̞͔̇̔̚s̵̝͕̭̔̂̏͘e̴̺͌̽ṋ̵̥̮̟̓̾̍̚d̷̢̹̝̜́͑ ̸̠̠̉͂̈ų̴͚͂͑͌̽s̸̪̚ͅ ̸̨̦͔̗̃̉͐̓a̵̩̜͚͌ḽ̶͖̊̏̕l̶̡̖͓͑͂̄ ̷̢̺̰̬̽̀̓i̷̗͙̿͒͂ś̶̫̫̘̺̂̀ ̴̪͐̋̕m̶̤̜͆͜͜y̸̛̱̮̗̯̑̚ ̶̬̻̌̍͂s̷͖̞̯̭̈́͌͠ǫ̶̖̞̌̄͝ǔ̴͖̓͛͠ͅl̵̗͈̊͌̔͠,̸̹͑̽ ̶̩̘͎̾I̴͎̥͐̊̑͠ ̸̥̟͉̚̕͝͝a̵̜͎͕̺͑̏̓m̶͔̓͝ ̶̤̑͘a̶̢̛͎̻͌ ̵̨͎̮̹̓p̸̥̈́͗̉̀å̵̛͈̺̞͙̌͝r̷̝̗̥̤̈́t̷̙͍̞͕̎͂̀ ̸̢͚͂͐͛o̴̧̼͖̓́̄f̵́̎̔ͅ ̶͉͔͇͒͋ņ̵̖̺͎̇o̸̻̹̱̹̊̊̏t̴̺̥͆̆ḩ̴̗̌i̶̛̤̣̩͓̿̃n̶̬̏̐͋g̶̫̫̔.̸̢̼͖͊͌̽ͅ ̷͈͂̐̚Ẁ̶̨͈͚͂e̷͍͒̈́̒̆ ̸̨̚w̶͎͕̔̃͠i̷̝͗͐l̶̲̹̕̕l̷̡̩̀ ̷̬̲͊͐b̴̞̉̋ẹ̸̢̥̐̓̀̔c̶͇̜̝̙͐o̸̫͆m̸̬̰͍̹͛ë̴̠ ̴̛̺̒̍̽m̸̭̟͂͛̀̓a̷̪͕̙̍̆g̶̞͚̗͉͒į̵̺͍̿͛̑͗c̶̥͙͎͌́̂͜.̵̖̫͎͑͊ ̵͉̼͒͋́Į̴͍̞̅́t̶̟́̔͘ ̵̡͖̩͔͛̑͝w̶̞̳͓͇̓ḭ̷̿̏͘͠l̸̼̟̫̀̌̃l̴͚̗͉͕͑ ̶͈̐͝b̸͎̘̑ë̵̼́̓c̴̹͑̔̕o̴͓̳̝̓m̵͇͚̈́͘ê̴͉̘̠͔ ̵̤̚͘c̷̬͍͆͆͜h̴̦́̃ą̷̾̅̊͠o̸̼̕s̸̤̫̄͛́ ̶̼̘́̉̊ẃ̸͂ͅë̴̮ ̴͎̎w̴̛̳͝ï̶̢̹̣̀͜l̵͎̰̆̃̍̈́l̷̝̋̒̏ ̵̰̱̓̌͂͝b̷̢̢̗̊̚ė̵͍̔͆͗c̸̹̜͉͉̄͊̈́͌o̵̠̘̤̕m̷̡̯̻̜̈́̍̎e̴̻̎́̓ ̴͍͒̾͗̕c̴̛̲͒̀̈́ͅh̴̯͖͊͂͆ä̶̬̺́̈̚ơ̸͕̏̎s̵̨̗͚̅͋ ̸̯͊̿ͅw̴̡͂͝ę̷̱̣͈͌ ̵͕̞̌w̶̡̱̞͖̾ī̷̢̬̩̭̓̽̿l̷̜̤̺̆̐l̸̲̐̇̄͋ ̶̫̜̎b̶̲͍̀̽̚ė̴̩̦͗ç̷̛̲̣͠o̴̧̢̰͌̿m̴̫͌e̴̳͉̖̳͠ ̵̠̮̺̀͊ḿ̴̳̬͒a̵̡̓g̷̺̗̊i̸͖̎͑c̴̰͔͇̿̅̿̓ ̴̳̰̻͑̃̅̈́į̴̗̏̕͜s̴̱̹̣̆̃ ̶̙̰̦̓ȏ̶̼͍̤n̸̮̳̮͋͊̚e̴̞̯̬͉͛͆̾ ̷̤̓̅̔͝ȉ̸̡̧̦̥s̷̰̗̆͐ ̷̨̦̓̈́͌m̶͇͎̟̍͒͂"

It was throaty and harsh and she just stared. Stared and spoke and darkness fell over her eyes. She slumped forward and there was nothing.

He heard the gentle crack of a chrysalis, and it lifted head from paws abruptly. In an instant he was padding toward the Spire, near which he tended to sleep, regardless; his ears were pricked and his head tilted. He shifted into a trot as he heard a shuffle, and into a lopsided gallop as the new hatchling's cry reached his ears.

As he hurtled into sight, he saw the black kitten, saw it abruptly slump and collapse. He was Void, yes, but he was Guardian too, and instinct--the instinct of a guardian dog--drove his actions. Black bolted up, skidding to a halt beside the kitten. I know kittens. I knew the white one, she-who-nearly-drowned, but she was all right. This one? I do not know. A glance at the Spire, at the shattered chrysalis nearby, told him that it was newly-hatched--as did its odor--but not what had harmed it. He had seen the Spire's magic lash out before at those too close, however, and without a sound he moved to close his jaws around the kitten's head and neck, to lift her and carry her quickly away.

He moved off at a rapid trot, shuffling away from the Spire, taking her nearly to the river's edge. He found cover--an area fairly well-shielded by boulders which had been oddly-arranged as if to shield the denlike area at the center. Here he set her down, and nudged her; he lifted his paw and then rethought poking her with it. His paw was too large, and she was tiny.

He woofed, instead, soft and bass.

"Hello," he half-asked. And then, when there was no instant response, he gave a half-hopeful command: "Awaken."

________________

@Wilder

Her body was tense, too tense, when she was there. And when the dog carried her she was still sense as she slept. But as they moved farther and farther away from the Spire her body relaxed and she sighed without knowing. The cold stone beneath her helped to rouse her and the soft woof of the dog brought her back to reality.

She blinked, her big pink eyes turning to look at the black dog standing before her. It took her a moment to process before her whiskers twitched and she began to move. She struggled to her feet, still a little weak from the newness of her life, and tried to get closer to the dog.

She let out a small squeak, as if trying to communicate. "Wake?" she chirped innocently. "'Lo?"

@Black

That big, pendulous head stared down as the kitten awoke, and his tail began to wag at once, pleased. When it came forward, he stepped down to meet it, lowering his head to nudge it gently.

"Hello," he agreed, more gently. Then, oblivious to the fact that one so young might not yet have a full grasp of language, he spoke further. "I had feared that the black kitten was dead. It was not moving," he told her.

"Yet you are not dead. This is good."

With a heft and a huff, he flopped down quite heavily to lay beside Wilder--as if to offer warmth, should she want it. He lay mostly on his side, his chest and head upright, curled protectively toward the cat. His pale blue eyes remained on her, his pendulous ears pricked with attention.

Not being particularly talkative, however, he didn't speak further, yet--he simply waited, as if for commands or, perhaps, questions.

________________

@Wilder

The kitten eyed the wagging tail of the dog and wondered why it was doing that. Did that mean it was happy? Sad? Was it going to eat her? But the tone of its voice was cheerful. It was happy about something. If he was happy then she was happy! She could feel herself become warmer already, knowing that she had made someone happy, even if that fact had just been waking up.

Deciding to test it, she started wagging her little tail as well. It was awkward and didn't feel natural at all, but she guessed that's just the way it was, not understanding that different species had different habits. So she wagged her tail and looked up at the dog happily.

When he curled onto his side, she didn't curl up against him. Instead, she reared up and placed her front paws against his belly and stared at his face, her head tilting a bit as if questioning something. "Black kitten?" she asked. "Who is Black Kitten?"

She pawed experimentally at the dog's belly. It wasn't very soft, like her fur, but it was warm. She felt a part of her want to sink into the warmth and cuddle against the bigger animal's body but she was too interested in the world around her to want to sleep.

She realized that her tail had stopped wagging. Not wanting the dog to think she was unhappy, she began wagging her tail again. "Not dead," she agreed, merrily. "That good!" She paused and her brows furrowed. The word stuck in her head for a moment. Dead. It was a strange word, tossing it around her head and it made her feel strange to think about it. "Dead?"

@Black

The black dog listened, not at all protesting when the kitten leaned on him. He was, after all, a protector at heart. He offered her his nose, and at the sight of her wagging tail, his own thumped the rock.

He was not entirely sure that it was normal for a kitten to wag their tail, but-... she seemed content, and thus, so was he, in a strange self-repeating cycle of happiness between them. There could, really, be worse things.

"You are a black kitten," he answered steadily, "as I am a black dog." For this was how he saw himself. "Dead, is not alive," he explained, if it could be called an explanation. He puzzled over this, for a moment, expression wrinkled with thought.

"It is when you are too damaged to remain, and your existence is depleted." Yes. There. That was good.

"You are new? You will, perhaps, find another name. Many do." Black considered, for a moment, and then realized that it was now his task--since he had found her--to explain to the kitten... well, everything. Dutiful as ever, he immediately applied himself to this task.

"You have been born into a world beneath the rock, filled with magic. There are creatures that would perhaps harm. And things you must eat to stay living." He looked at her, trying to gauge just what she might eat. What had Mau eaten, when alive..? "Perhaps nuts," he guessed, aloud, for some reason equating the cat's diet with a large pile of walnuts in his mind. "There is magic, too, and there is water, and there are trees. There is light, at times, and in some places; and darkness, at other times, and in other places. We are dark," he explained. "We are black."

It was a lesson in color and shades, at the very least.

________________

@Wilder

The kitten listened intently, drinking all the words up even if some didn't make total sense to her. Her tail stopped wagging again as she tried to focus. "Black kitten? Black dog?" So she was, apparently, Black Kitten and this thing was Black Dog. What a coincidence that they shared such similar names! That made her happy to think about, that she had found someone so similar to her already!

As for explanation of dead, it seemed to quell the strange feeling in her. Too damaged to remain...existence is depleted. Those were big words that she didn't understand but she understood enough that dead was not alive. She felt alive. That was a word that made sense to her. So she was content with his short explanation.

She reached forward with a paw to dab curiously at his nose and found the surface to be wet. She flinched and retracted her paw with surprise but when went back to it. It felt really strange! All smooth and wet and scaly. With her other paw she touched her own nose. They didn't feel very similar. Did that mean that they were actually more different?

She continued to touched different parts of the dog's face experimentally as she listened but then she stopped. She froze. Her eyes widened. Time stopped.

She did not listen to anything else that Black said. The words bounced away while one stayed in place. Her eyes were unfocused and her mouth gaped. Her paw was still in the air, frozen in place.

Magic...magic?...magic...magic!...m̷a̷g̵i̵c̴...

She choked again and a garbling sound came from her throat. "m̶̠̝̘̳͐͊͝a̵̺̓ͅá̷͓̪̥́̚a̴͉̜̝͊͘â̶͈̟g̸̱̉̄̋͠ị̴̺͛̾̀i̴̛͕̅͂̚i̴̞̗͖͑̈́͜į̸̞̦̑ͅì̸̛̲͓̍i̷̺͆̈́̾͋c̶͉̤̦̉͜...." Hissing escaped from her teeth and her claws unsheathed and then retracted again. "ṫ̶̡̲̊ȇ̷̠̤̽͒͝ḻ̸̳͖̓̕l̴̫͎̲͑̓̒̊ļ̷͎͎̼̓̊̚ľ̶̲̞̘̩̌͘l̸̡̤̭̳̊̏ ̸̠̎̇̓̕m̴̭̭̭͖̾e̴̗͊͐ḙ̷͔̲̹̌ë̴̟̟̱́͜e̵͈̳̱̐͌ê̷̲̄e̶̠̟̅͝...."

@Black

Black stared, rather bewilderedly, as the cat made... noises. It sounded rather like it was choking, but it had hissed, and its claws were out.

Very slowly he lifted up one massive paw, and went to plant it exactly on her head, and gently push down. He absolutely did not want the tiny kitten to suddenly go maniac on him and scratch him in the face. His tail, too, stopped wagging.

"Cease," he told her, and then spoke further, regardless of whether she moved away from the paw or what have you. "If you wish to know you do not need to become angry." He glanced at the Spire, wondering if it had, perhaps, attacked her after all; she had been down, as Many had. Perhaps it had damaged her mind, as it had done his..? He looked back to her, brow furrowed.

"It is everywhere. I do not know where it comes from. But the Spire harms. Do not go too close," he warned.

________________

@Wilder