She felt like wandering lately, always in the pursuit of interesting things to encounter, to experience, to effect. She loved making a difference, loved seeing fascinating events roll in front of her. She trotted happily to one of her favorite rooms, to star room, an entirely familiar path, muttering under her breath ideas she would love to play with the next time she'd sit down to tell a story. "....and when the dog came closer to the pretty fish to eat it, it realized it could talk....no no, that's silly, no one would believe that. It realized it could...hum...when it came closer, all of a sudden and out of nowhere, a bear reach out and caught it! But this was no ordinary bear....mm...it needs something else..." She continued in these mutterings till her eyes didn't see the ground in front of her, and she had no idea she'd already reached Orion. "The bear...had fish scales instead of fur on its paws...yes, that sounds good...and was quite mad that the dog was trying to eat its friend....and when the dog--Ah!" She tripped over loose stone that was part of the rubble of a decaying building and fell straight to the ground, dust covering her clean cream coat, dirt getting in her mouth. She spat it out, trying to get the dust from her eye with her knee, sighing. It served her right that she didn't see where she was going. She looked around the room, slowly forgetting the disgrace of falling in admiring the ceiling again. It never ceased to amaze her, how it calmly glittered against the slow march of time, never to change. (tag: Bartos)

Bartos had been hard at work getting to know everything about his new home. Well, it was his only home, as far as he knew. It was the one he'd been born in, the one he'd found his brother in as well as his countless new friends. And it was the one that was host to all the pretty rocks, the ones embedded in the walls and the ones in linear shapes that created unnatural formations, man-made monuments that stood still in the stagnant dust. A monument to creation.

The little cat didn't know much, but he did know that he was entirely enamored with the rocks and gems he found, especially with the buildings, but everybody he asked seemed to know very little about them. There appeared to be no known origin of the structures, only that they had always been here since the very first Gembounds awoke many, many days ago. That wasn't very helpful to Bartos. So, he had resolved to find out where they had come from. Not only that, but to build them himself. If he could learn how to make structures like the crumbling city buildings, maybe he could learn where they came from. But to do that, he had to learn more about the rocks - a knowledge that would come easy to somebody who already held an immense interest in the subject.

He had grown since his emergence, but was still fairly small; his legs had lengthened in adolescence, and his tail puffed out, wavering behind him. His body was considerably lean, but his paws weren't large and clumsy anymore. The extra toe on each foot even made it easier to walk and grip things. Five claws were a lot better than four. The cat wove his way through the street, a chunk of sandstone gripped firmly between his teeth as he did so. He had been working hard on collecting all the different kinds of rocks he could find, so that he could compare them and see what they might be made of. He collected the crumbs of the fragile buildings as well; the material could give some hints towards the level of structural integrity they were capable of, at least in the days before they were weathered by time. His mind had wandered off to all his plans, knowing fully well what he was going to do as soon as he returned to his lair up in the cliffs.

That was, until he heard a voice sound out through the stillness of the air. The cat froze, twitching his tail and pointing his nose in the direction, nostrils flaring with a few quick inhales. Curiosity very quickly consumed the feline as he wove his way towards her, keeping low to the ground - when he found her, she was easy to pick out against the rubble. Her cream fur gleamed in the light of the starry ceiling, and she spoke gentle, quiet; the cat hid behind a rock and observed in awe of her grace, which promptly ended when she tripped over something and tumbled head over tea kettle into the dust.

Bartos flinched and watched still; she had only spat out a mouthful of dust then turned her eyes to the ceiling. Was she okay? Had she gotten hurt? He found himself worrying for the pretty doe, and before he knew it, the cat had bounced out from behind the rock and was scurrying towards her. A friendly prrrroowww rumbled from his chest before he stopped in front of her and dropped the sandstone, snaking his tail back and forth above his back. "ARE YOU OKAY?" He asked, swooping his nose in real close.

Her ear twitched as she heard the skittering in the dirt - it was very easy to pick up on sounds in the silent room, very easy to find others - and lowered her head in time to see a very curious cat almost nose to nose with her, asking her if she was alright. She blinked once, twice, then laughed a little. "Yes, I'm alright," she said, "I only hurt my dignity, is all. Thank you for worrying." She pulled her head back a little to inspect the new friend she had yet to meet, then gasped in enjoyment. "What a curious thing on your face! What is it called? What does it do? Where did you find it?" She smiled widely, her interest piqued. "Oh, but excuse me, where are my manners." She bowed her head as low as she could manage down on the ground, and her eye glanced at the pretty stone it had dropped. "I am a nameless passing storyteller. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Did you, perhaps, find that here? It is very lovely." "This is how I speak."

When the doe blinked and laughed, Bartos couldn't help but feel a fizzle of warmth in his chest and a heat rising to his cheeks. Not to mention a butterfly or two that suddenly, inexplicably popped up in his stomach. He pursed his lips and leaned back, plopping down onto his bottom in front of the deer. She explained that she was alright, and the only thing hurt was her dignity - for a brief second, Bartos fretted and scanned her for injury before it clicked that her dignity was just a mental thing. That was like, pride or ego, or something. So she wasn't actually injured. Which was a good thing, because Bartos wouldn't be able to do anything to fix it, really. Tearing him from his thoughts, the doe suddenly pointed out the set of spectacles that sat on the bridge of his nose. Bartos blinked a couple times, having briefly forgotten that he had them on before remembering. "Oh!!! Yeah!! They're my eye-see-ers!" He chattered. "They help me see things up close."

They were helpful for when he was trying to analyze rocks and tell the difference in material and make between them. Especially when some rocks had those cool little flecks of colour or shine to them, and others had just flecks of random other rocks, like an amalgamation of rock. It was easier to tell the difference when he could see them up close. The kitten shifted and nestled his paws together as she went on to introduce herself, a nameless story teller, before asking about the spectacles again. But wait! "Why don't you have a name? Do you want one? I think - I think I have a few rocks that look like you, yes, they're very pretty and light, like you, you remind me of them! It's too bad you don't have a name, because I would name them after you!" He blurted, staring wide-eyed at her and forgetting briefly about her question - also about introducing himself.

"Eye-see-ers? Oh, do you think they could help me see through this side?"She tilted her head to that the cat could see the citrine in her eye socket easier. "I do get a little tired of bumping into things every once in a while, and little Pounce loves to scare me on this side! Its gets most tiresome, but I won't complain to you any longer." She listened while the cat chatted on about her lack of a name, and smiled sweetly, laughing at its enthusiasm. "Of course I do want one! And you do flatter me, my friend. I've been called Pearl before, but its only a name that I'm borrowing, for it doesn't belong to me. I do sometimes wonder what it looks like in person, though!" She leaned in and kissed the little cat's head, her breath fogging the eye-see-ers. "You are very sweet! I'm sure you must have a very good name that I could call you." "This is how I speak."

The cat blinked and stared with wide eyes at the gleaming citrine lodged in the doe's skull. That was definitely the first time he'd ever seen a gem positioned so painfully an inconveniently on somebody. He felt a swell of sympathy for her, but he couldn't think of how his eye-see-ers would be able to give her vision where she lacked an eye completely. While he thought, she went on to explain about how it made her bump into things and Pounce would sneak up on her- "Who's Pounce?" He blurted again, cocking his head. It took a few more seconds before the cat shook it away and adjusted his glasses with his paw. "I don't know if they could help you see out of your gem... But then again, this is the only one I found so far! Next one I find I'll save for you!" He purred.

Her words on the name had left him quiet and pensive again. So Pearl was a name she liked, but it wasn't hers - he didn't understand, but that just meant that she still didn't have a name and she needed one. "Pearl! Hmm, no, it's not pretty enough!" He argued and bit his lip, wracking his brain for something he'd like to call her. It had to be nice and simple, but graceful; Pearl was close, but not quite... The cat pressed flat his ears and bashfully stared down at his paws as she leaned in and kissed his forehead, an involuntary purr vibrating from his throat as a complement to the heat on his cheeks. "B-Bartos!" He stammered, voice quaking with giddiness. "But you can call me Barty, if you want." The kitten huffed and straightened up, grinning.

Okay, but he still needed to find a name for her. Bartos didn't think he was capable of devising a pretty enough name for her on his own, but he did have a collection of objects that did have names - maybe she could pick something from that, and then they would have found a name together! "I have an idea!" He jumped to his paws, wiggling his tail. "Come on, lets go to my home! I live on a cliff on the wall and I have a bunch of pretty things there I want to show you!" Bartos barely waited a second before spinning on his toes and bouncing off in the direction of his den.

(Finished! Also, is it bad that i've headcanoned bartos volunteering to build sets for clover's stories when he's older?)

(( No, its not bad at all! I'm sure he'd make super fabulous sets for her. <3 )) She was a little disappointed by the thought of not being able to see out of it, but she brightened again when it said it would be looking for something that could. She'd never heard of things that could correct eyesight before now, so maybe there was hope! "I would love that, thank you!" She said, grinning with her head tilted and her shoulders close. "Pounce is a child that just woke up recently, so I'm watching after the little thing. Pounce is very energetic and excited at everything, and really very adorable, and has a shocking magic. I left Pounce safe in Cetus for the moment." Her tall ears swiveled straight to the cat. "Bartos! What a lovely name! It sounds very intelligent for such a clever cat like you. And the name Barty is very cute." With a flurry of words, the cat had started to bound away, and she laughed again and stood to follow, hesitating to pick up the sandstone that Bartos had left behind. She mused over the fact that its home was in a cliff - she hoped it wasn't too high up, otherwise she wouldn't be able to climb up. She remembered the last time there was a cat and a cliff involved, feeling a funny mix of emotions at the memory. But this wouldn't be the same! Bartos was the complete opposite of the Ji'Bassa. It'd be fine. "This is how I speak."

She explained Pounce to him - he was a new Gembound, just like Bartos. His mind briefly wandered to thoughts of his brother, Faelon; he hadn't seen the lion cub in a while, and some part of him worried that maybe Faelon had gotten lost while exploring. Was it right to blame himself for losing his brother? After all, Bartos did enjoy his solitude - he loved his brother, but it was also very easy for Bartos to isolate himself without a second thought towards others. For now, he shrugged the idea away and nodded about Pounce, and then he found heat rising to his cheeks as she complemented his name, called him clever and said that his nickname was cute. Oh, she was too kind! And she made him feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside.

This would just make it even more exciting for when they reached his home and he could show her all the pretty things he found. He hadn't even considered the sandstone that he'd left behind, having whirled around and zoomed off, far too eager to take her to his home. Even as he stopped every now and then to glance over his shoulder and check that she was following, it didn't register in his brain that she was carrying his treasure. He only cared about reaching his home for now. The cat had a bit of a one-track mind, but such was the life of someone unable to focus on more than one thing at a time. It worked well in his favor for the most part, allowing him to concentrate on the task at hand - unfortunately, it did make him seem like a bit of an airhead.

Bounding away, Bartos would soon lead her to where the wall of the room began to ascend. The slope was gentle at first, making way for several small cliff faces that would climb the rock. His home wasn't too high up, thankfully; he had found a pathway carved into the wall, narrow ledges that he could easily follow and would take him up to the overhang that he'd made his home. He eagerly followed along the path until it would branch off - one path continued to climb the wall, while the other sharply cut into the opposite direction. Bartos had to jump and pull himself up onto the ledge, but he was sure his doe friend would have no problem.

Following that trail would lead them to where the ledge broadened, revealing an alcove in the wall. Several scraps of litter lay spread across the floor; old cloths, pieces of metal and rock, even terracotta shards. His hoard was stashed in a crack in the far wall; for now, Bartos spun around and gazed expectantly at where his deer friend would be following him, grinning. "This is my home! This is where I live and sleep and keep my treasures, I was born here, see, my chrysalis was on the underside of that cliff above-" Bartos gestured with his nose at the overhang above them, where shards of benitoite remained embedded in the rock. "-and I fell into a puddle of water, there-" He then pointed with his paw at a two-foot deep depression in the ground filled with dusty, stagnant water. "-and I swept up all the pieces and I keep them hidden away in my stash, do you want to see? I have lots of pretty things." The cat huffed, looking brightly up at her.

She had no trouble following the Bartos up the gentle slope, but had extra difficulty when it climbed those narrow ledges in the wall, as she needed much more room than that to be comfortable. Unable to control the inevitable butterflies when dealing with cliffs, she slipped a few times, gasping and almost losing the sandstone, but it wasn't too high up, and she caught herself multiple times. When the Bartos jumped the little gap, she took no more than a high step with her long legs. She gazed around the little alcove, her head ducked down to avoid hitting it on the ceiling. Her persistent glow from her gem lit the tiny room with a soft, dim light, and she watched as the cat told a very short story of how it had woken up and found this place. When it asked to see its stash, she nodded eagerly, carefully putting its pretty sandstone at its feet. "I would, I really would," she said. "I thought you might want this back, by the way. I think I shall make a story about the clever cat and its hoard! What a wonderful story it would make." She looked askance a little, and mused, "I can cast some lights to make it better to see your beauties here if you'd like, Bartos." "This is how I speak."

As soon as he settled his eyes on the doe, he realized that she was clutching the sandstone in her mouth. His eyes grew broader, and for a second he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. Where did she get that rock from? It looked a lot like the one he had found. Did she find another one? Maybe she had stolen the one she found? No, she was too nice, she wouldn't steal! Where did his go? Oh, right, he had dropped it when he ran over to talk to her! So did she pick it up then so she could bring it back to him-? His thoughts were interrupted the moment she had placed the sandstone before him, confirming that she had in fact picked up the rock after he dropped it and promptly forgot about it. "Oh gee, thanks! I musta forgot it!" Bartos purred and darted towards it, swiftly scooping it up in his mouth before whirling around and dancing back towards the crevice that held his treasures.

Behind him, she had started talking and he twisted an ear back to listen to her. "You wanna make a story about a clever cat! Boy, do I know one you could talk about!" He laughed and tucked the stone away before turning back to her, waving his tail excitedly behind him. Was she going to tell the story about him? Was he the clever cat? Oh, probably; Bartos didn't really know any other clever cats around here, and besides, his hoard was most impressive - it was definitely worth telling a story about.

Bartos stared at her and blinked a few times before glancing around the little alcove, too. He hadn't realized that it was dark - the cat's reflective eyes made it difficult to discern whether an area was truly dark or not, and it hadn't really bothered him. But if it was too dark for her, then he definitely wanted her to see. "Yeah! Can you do that? I mean, I'd do it, but I don't really know how." He admitted and scratched at his cheek with an extended claw before looking back up at the doe.