"Speech" @Kallista

Black ears picked up the sound of paws against stone, the gentle rustle of his fur.

The fox didn't know that it had been years; but he knew that it had been a long time. He'd wandered the caves just as always, with his hind limbs springing along behind him, searching, playing, meeting the occasional new face. He didn't know that he was old. But he was. And as he trotted into the room of lights, the awe and wonder upon his youthful muzzle could have been easily mistaken for one of just four cycles.

It had been so long since he'd come back to his birthplace; Almost thirty cycles, in fact.

But now, exactly three years later, the silver fox had returned home.

He'd missed everyone; he'd travelled far, and learned little. But he'd started to crave company as of late; and think back to the days that once were. There was one face that stuck in his memory, a feline face, with a ruined eye. It was her that he'd missed the most. It took too long for him to wander back to the place that he'd last seen her. And it just so happened to be the place where he was born.

Todd took a moment to look around, committing the sights to memory once again. He felt the magic thrum around his sensitive ears and a distant, old part of him wondered if there were any spells to be found here. He didn't really know, though, what he was looking for. The idea of magic as a physical entity had been long ingrained into childish imagination.

The hunt, half-play, half-mission, was on hold for now.

Soon, Todd was moving on again, towards the Spire- jet black ears softly twitching to the slightest sound.

He was so busy gazing at its glowing, sparking mass that he didn't look down, letting out a startled yelp as he stepped on something sharp. The fox raised his paw and looked around with dismay in his eyes; and found that he'd stepped on the ruined remains of a chrysalis, half-covered by dirt and mosses, yet still glinting purple in the half light.

As he sucked on his wounded paw, there came the startled glint of recognition in his eyes.

"Speech." After meeting the gembounds in Fornax, Kallista returned to Polaris. She couldn't really name why - it almost felt as if something had drawn her there, and she was powerless to resist. She walked slowly, eye looking around everywhere.

It wasn't until she caught a flash of movement, of silver fur, that she realized why she felt drawn here.

There he was - Todd, the one she had been searching of for cycles. He's here. He's alive. It almost felt too good to be true, but no, it had to be him. It just had to!

She nearly ran to him before skidding to a stop, suddenly nervous. Would he remember her? It had been so long...What if he didn't want to see her? She stepped closer slowly, noticing something had happened to his paw. Did he hurt it? She didn't give it much thought before she spoke cautiously.

"Todd...?"

@Todd

"Speech" @Kallista

Todd whipped around at the sound of a voice, removing his slobbery paw from his mouth. In that instant, he almost forgot about the pain. He turned towards the voice, and almost immediately was up on his feet. He almost ran to her, but hesitated- suddenly, for the first time in his life, he was stumped. He stared for a moment, chocolate brown eyes wide. "Kallista?"

And then the joy came rushing in.

It had been so long. He trotted over to her, limping on his cut forepaw, his gem striking the ground with a clink with every step. His hind limbs followed- covered, finally, in luscious silver fur, yet their motions bouncing and jittery, slightly out of his control. He picked up the pace until he was racing, stumbling towards her. He stopped just before her, tail twitching from side to side. The quiet was almost too much to bear.

"Oh, Kallista! It is you! It's been so long!"

And then, forgetting about the pain in his paw, he bounced around her, yelping sounds of happiness. It was as though he had never been gone. "Where have you been? How many spells have you found? You have to show me them!"

"Speech." It wasn't long before he noticed her, and she felt breathless for a moment. It was him! After all these cycles, she had finally found Todd! She watched as he came up to her, noting that he finally had fur on his hind legs, though something still seemed a little wrong with them. But she didn't pay that much attention, because all she could think was that she had found Todd.

And then he was bouncing around her, and she couldn't stop the smile that soon turned into a full-fledged grin. She couldn't remember the last time she had smiled like this. It made all the pain she had gone through to get to this moment - Aaliyah saving her, only to turn her back on her later, the giant crystal spider, meeting Rast and Ocelot and feeling so jealous of them - worth it. This was all she needed. She had Todd back.

"Where have you been?" She watched as he bounced around her. "And..I haven't really learned very many spells, but I've seen some. Including a light spell most recently. Someone made an orb of light appear." She couldn't help but think about how seeing that spell that Mercurius had done had made her think of Todd, and now here he was. Her grin couldn't possibly be any bigger.

@Todd

"Speech" @Kallista

The fox finally came to a halt, panting, his jaws parted, his tongue lolling out, and he grinned in a way that he hadn't for many cycles. In fact, he was smiling so much that it made his face hurt. But that was okay! He kept on smiling the foxish smile, sharp-toothed, pink-tongued, chocolate eyes gleaming.

"I've been a long way," he panted, coming up beside her, with tail whisking from side to side. "I've went to all the places that I went before and more. I know all the caves now! Just not their names. There's one which is very warm, and one which is cold and swampy, and one full of wind and a frightening roaring sound, like a monster! But no matter where I went, I couldn't seem to find anyone."

The fox gave a shudder at the thought of the long, lonely journey that he had taken. For a moment, his mood became oddly gloomy- his heart sank. But just looking at the cat beside him was enough to fill his heart with warmth and cheer him up again. He flopped sideways, wanting to feel the warmth of her fur against him, and aimed a playful headbutt at the undamaged side of her face, and a slobbery lick at her muzzle.

He listened as she talked about the spells she had seen, and although his ears drooped with disappointment as she admitted she hadn't learned any spells, his eyes grew wide and bright with wonder as he thought of the magical orbs of light! "Wow," he breathed wonderingly, gaze growing distant as he imagined it. "That sounds amazing!"

"Speech." Kal could still hardly believe that she had actually found him. She couldn't even name how many cycles it had been since she last saw his silver fur. She listened closely as he spoke, hanging on to every word. Seeing him shudder caused a pang in her heart, unfamiliar but also slightly familiar at the same time. When he flopped sideways and headbutted him, she returned it, still grinning.

"That sounds amazing. Well...except for being alone. She nudged him slightly. "I just came from a cave full of a lot of water. I'd never seen so much before! And...I faintly remember the swampy cave." She had only been there once, before she thought she had lost Todd for good. She didn't particularly like the place.

She chuckled at his amazement. "Yeah, it was pretty cool. It's a shame I never got to learn any spells, though..." Her head lowered slightly, ears against the back of her head.

@Todd

"Speech" @Kallista

"Oh, it was! There was so much to see! So many new places and paths... I just wish I'd had someone there to show it to," the fox said, voice bursting with joy but heavy with time. Any kind of melancholy mood was forgotten, though, as the fox let out a happy little yelp as Kallista headbutted him back.

"Wow, that sounds amazing, too! you'll have to show me sometime. And I can take you all of the places that I've been, too!" But, the fox thought sadly, it'd be sad if Kallista's already seen them all.

The fox's ears lowered slightly as Kallista expressed sadness at having never learned any spells. The silver fox glanced away from her for a moment, then leaned in close to her ear. "Kallista... I have a secret," he whispered. "...I didn't learn any either. Promise you won't tell anyone?"

Then, as he was so close- he nipped playfully at one of her ears before bouncing away, tail flicking above him. He stood with legs placed squarely apart and tail lashing, jaws parted, watching expectantly- if she came closer he'd bounce away- clearly, he wanted Kallista to give chase.

"Speech." Kallista's smile lessened and took on a saddened tint as Todd said he wished he had someone there. She had also been lonely in her traveling - it wasn't until she saw Rast and Ocelot that she realized it, though. She used to think she could just be on her own. Everyone else seemed to have left or betrayed her. But looking at Todd now, she knew he would never do either of those.

Her smile returned at his next words, though. "Yeah - that'd be great. I haven't been everywhere yet, and certainly not the cave full of wind. You'll have to show that to me."

When he said he had a secret, she frowned a little and tilted her head slightly. But when she heard it and he nipped at one of her ears before bounding away, she couldn't stop the laugh from escaping her. Looking at him, she realized he still seemed very childlike. In comparison, her time alone had led her to seemingly mature, and quickly - it hadn't taken long for her to begin to see the worst in others and become wary of them.

But here, with Todd, she could forget that. So without a further thought, she got up and began to chase after him.

@Todd

"Speech"

Todd took on a look of surprise and glee as Kallista said she'd never seen all the rooms. "I'll show you it soon!" he declared. "It's all the way past the room with all the buildings! That's a long way!"

The fox unabashedly let out a shrill cry of joy as the cat gave chase, and then he turned tail and ran, his wounded hind legs barely slowing him down. He left the old chrysalis and its half-buried shards far behind, and tore along a well-worn path by the riverside, only glancing back to make sure he was still being chased- and when he saw Kallista, hot on his tail, the fox let out a shrill giggle and tried to pick up the pace- only to lose control of his hind legs an d flip head over heels.

He came to a crashing halt and skidded onto some soft moss, but was quickly scrambling onto his feet again. "Race you 'round the spire!" he gasped, and without waiting for a response, took off.

@kallista

"Speech." Kallista could still hardly believe that she had finally found Todd. And seeing him, so happy, so full of glee...nothing could be better than this.

She chased after him, hot on his heels, grinning despite the wind rushing past her. Though when he looked behind himself and tripped over his paws, she skidded to a stop, concern etching itself into her face. Before she could say anything, however, he was already back on his paws and racing off toward the spire.

Kallista quickly ran after him, paws thudding against the ground. He had so much energy, it was...refreshing. She couldn't remember the last time she had done something like this. Probably not since the last time she saw him. Now that she's finally found him, after cycles and cycles of loneliness...She's going to make sure he doesn't go out of sight.

As soon as she wins this race.

@Todd