DOVEFEATHER

let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

"This place is wonderful... So huge... It just goes on and on forever! Will it ever end?"

The ripple of white and grey padded on and on through the endless line of ferns. She has fallen into the trench some hours ago, and although she had no idea how to get out, she didn't seem to mind.

"The ferns are bright, vibrant green. They look like paws, stretching up to the tall trees."

She had her head craned up to peer at the shelter of light-dappling plants. Her throat rumbled as though she had eaten bees, the smile on her maw as though she had been given a treat of honey instead.

"I'm sure it means something. I just gotta keep going.

Maybe I will find the roots... The roots of the Mother, the whiskers of the Eyes. Soon... Soon."

words:......... as if im gonna fill this out
tagged:....... @Booker
ooc:............ heck yea
muse:......... 9/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

After his encounter with Blackfeather, Booker had stuck around, taken by the soothing presence of the Monarch and the kitten's gentle strength. It seemed odd, now, to think that he really wasn't much older than the other Gembound - so much had happened in so little time, it was almost overwhelming. Or, well, it would be, if the fog wasn't wrapping up his memories in a tight little bow, keeping them locked away. Still, as he trotted around Blackfeather's chosen home, his head did feel lighter, his leg moving a bit more easily. Maybe there really is something to this All Mother stuff, he wondered. A small spark of curiosity had lit in his mind, something he hadn't felt in much too long, and Booker grinned, clinging onto the emotion desperately - better that than to sink back into the grey. He wasn't good company then, he knew, and the numbat had always been desperate for positive attention. No-one wants you to stare at them for hours, he thought wrly, snorting. And so he scouted, traversing past strange plants and small streams, until finally the tiny Gembound came across what looked to be a deep, dark trench, filled with robust ferns. Cocking his head, Booker hummed, trying to summon up the old swell of adventurous spirit, but it didn't appear. Twitching his whiskers in annoyance, the numbat headed down into the crevice anyway, more out of stubborn determination than his old love of scientific discovery. Tiny paws clutched at pebbles and mud, small enough to climb down the side of the trench without much issue. Coming to the bottom, Booker heard a faint, distant voice, and turned, heading towards it, the spark of curiosity returning. Another child of the All Mother? It certainly looked like Blackfeather, but the numbat stayed back a bit, just in case. "'lo, little one. What are you doing down here?"

DOVEFEATHER

let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

"Oh, hello!"

The kitten froze on her toes, twisting in place to over at the small one. Her ears twitched, tail swishing, and she spoke. And spoke. And spoke.

"I am looking to seek my name... And to understand the world. I was told that the All Mother would give me a sign, a feather, for my name. So I seek it, you see?"

"I was born to see as the Eyes do one day. I will learn to see and--"

"Oh. Do you see? You have... Your eye. Wait, wait. I have this. I can see."

Carefully, the cat lowered to the ground and stretched out her paws before her. Her paws, muddy with the rich soil, still showed white enough that the two dark spots on her legs stood out. As she reached out towards the littler gembound, she began to analyze, the blotches on her leg creating a whole.


"Okay. I see before me one who is small, shaped differently from my sisters. Yet, I see wisdom in him as well. Though he has something strange in one of his eyes, he asks. He asks to know more, and as such, is wise. Though perhaps he cannot see the same, I think he seeks to see and know as I do. A fair thing."

"I would like to share with you."

words:......... as if im gonna fill this out
tagged:....... @Booker
ooc:............ heck yea
muse:......... 9/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

A feather? Definitely part of Black's group, then, Booker thought, sitting down to listen to the kitten, a tiny, indulgent smile on his face. Do you see? You have... your eye. The numbat winced, unconsciously reaching up to ghost tiny fingers over the spikes of gemstone jutting out of where his left eye should be. Still, he'd never known any different, and the little one was so obviously young, she didn't mean any harm by pointing out his rather obvious disability. He blinked when she leaned in closer, tilting his head with an amused grin. The tiny Gembound hadn't met anyone but Baratheon with this kind of enthusiasm, and it was endearing, enough that he started to relax, nodding when she stopped her analysis. "A kind ah-sess-ment, 'tho I wouldn't call myself wise," he mumbled, laughing, ears perked up. It was a wonder how simple interaction like this, with nothing bubbling under the surface, no tension to break loose, could help him keep the fog away. "Share away, little Sister," Booker replied, blinking lazily at the kitten. "I am Booker. Are you a friend of Sister Black-feh-ther?" She certainly talked in that same curiously assured way, though the cat seemed more outgoing than her Sister. "She mentioned the All Mother, too. Said she wanted us to live, grow, an' learn, or somethin'."

DOVEFEATHER

let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

As the kitten listened to the smaller gembound, she hummed away, purring her ears off. Head tilted aside, her golden eyes watched and analyzed. Her mouth parted once more, sharp teeth shimmering.

"Booker. Interesting, so you haven't a sign from Mother? I wonder why. Is it because you're different?"

Pausing only to lick at the black blotch between her paws, the kitten considered.

"Black and Owl found me first, by the Eyes. I am still learning the ways of the All Mother-- I believe I am meant to find my way by Seeing the truth. Black and Owl... I think they already know it, in their hearts. But I must seek it, and find the way to true vision. As the Eyes see."

"Though I agree, living and growing and learning is all very important. Blackfeather follows way of the plants, aspiring to grow towards the tops of the trees as the ferns do. I know she will make it someday, as long as she perseveres and follows the path the All Mother has given her."

"Owlfeather's path is different, but similar..."

Her tail twitched, and suddenly, she sat up and prodded her paw in his direction.

"I wonder what your path will be, Booker."

words:......... as if im gonna fill this out
tagged:....... @Booker
ooc:............ heck yea
muse:......... 9/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

"A sign?" Booker quirked an eyebrow, trying to puzzle out what she meant, before remembering Blackfeather's... well... black feather. "Ah. You mean a feather? No, I haven't had a sign," he admitted uncomfortably. "Is that... bad?" The numbat's ears flicked back, and he chattered absently. Perhaps the All Mother was holding back because of his lost memories? Or maybe I am just different. The tiny Gembound studied the kitten, trying to suss out just what was so different. They both had fur, and ears, walked on four paws, had long tails, and were, obviously, Gembounds. So where was the dissimilarity? It had been a question that long plagued his mind, a kernel of thought that prevailed through the fog, even know niggling at him. He jumped a bit when her paw poked at him, whiskers twitching. Trying to mentally backtrack through whatever piece of the conversation he'd fazed out of, Booker hummed, shrugging. "My path... well. If Blackfeather follows the way of the plants, I s'pose I follow the way of the mushrooms. I can grow 'em, and talk to 'em," he explained, shaking a small forelimb and watching as a cloud of spores escaped from his fur. "If I can connect to 'em long enough, I can control 'em, too. Except the All Mother. She's... special," the numbat added hastily, thinking back to the beam of light that had almost blinded him the first time he gazed upon the Monarch. "But I don't know if that's my path," he mumbled, gaze wandering back to the ferns that lined the trench. "All I know is that I have family to take care of. I think that's my path. To make sure they're safe. Any-thing else, even the lights, would always feel seck-on-dairy." Then, a hesitant smile - he hadn't known this little group of cats for long, had barely met them, but he felt safe sharing at least this much. "I have a brother, and a son. They're... everything. The mush-rooms are my friends, and maybe they are my path, but nothin' is more important than my family."

DOVEFEATHER

let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Purring, purring, always purring. The kitten mumbled as the other spoke, taking in his words to analyze.

"Sign... Feather, yes! Yes. Feather. Mushrooms? Like Owlfeather. Lovely, good, yes. Woah, like dust. On your leg. Is that mushroom stuff?"
"All Mother is special. Family? Hm. Hm. Brother? Son? Friends... But Family first. I see."
"The cat's tail curled around her paws, a barely visible smile curving her whisker-traced lips. Her ears twitched as she began to speak clearly once more."

"Family?"

"Do you think... Blackfeather and Owlfeather are my family? What makes a family? And, can we be friends? That seems like a good thing. If you like, we can share a path for now."
That said, she rose and approached him slowly and steadily.

"I still need to find my sign. I need another eye. Plus... I think we are same in our differences. I know that doesn't make much sense but --"
She reached out gingerly to give him a lick.

"-- I am still learning how to seek the signs to find my path."

words:......... as if im gonna fill this out
tagged:....... @Booker
ooc:............ heck yea
muse:......... 9/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

Booker huffed out a soft laugh at the kitten's enthusiasm, nodding. "Yeah, it's mush-room stuff. They're called spores. They're like... baby mush-rooms," he tried to explain. "'s how you get more mush-rooms, like how we have chrysalis's." As the cat continued on about family, the numbat found himself eyeing her with a tiny, patient grin. She reminded him of Diot, in a way, that same wide-eyed wonder at the world. "I think they could be your family if ya want 'em to. Family is... hm." How to explain something he couldn't even fully comprehend? "It's all these feelin's, like wanting to protect 'em, and to be there when they're happy, or sad," he started, eye glazing over a bit, lost in thought. "And it's forgivin' 'em if they do somethin' they shouldn't've, even if they hurt ya. It's knowin' they didn't mean it, and that they feel those same things, that they want to protect you too." He nodded once, ears flicking, unaware of his own rambling. "It's knowing that no matter how bad anything else is, you'll always have them." He turned to the cat, then, tilting his head inquisitively. "Friends is a good start to family. It can grow, change into those kinds a' feelings, until one day you look around and realize you don't remember what it's like to be alone, anymore." At her offer, the numbat stood, stretching his lame leg in the hopes of getting it to work a bit more. No dice - it stayed motionless. Somehow, it didn't bother him as much, now, not when the little one stepped closer to give him a friendly groom. Booker blushed under his fur, nudging her cheek with a tiny black nose in return, whiskers twitching. "Sharin' a path sounds good to me," he offered, thinking of where, exactly, one could find a feather - and not just any feather, but a feather-as-a-sign. A sign-feather? He shrugged, the movement sending out another plume of spores. "Maybe together we can find you sign for ya, hm?"

DOVEFEATHER

let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

"Spores, huh?"

"Well, I don't know if I'll ever need to know what baby mushrooms are called, but hey. It won't hurt me to know it, huh?"

Her ears twitched as he explained, curly fur twitching as though a bug had landed on her pelt and irritated the spot.

"I quite like this family business. It sounds super good. I think, yeah, I think they are my family. I got to talk to them about this, I think they would enjoy all this. "

For once, she stopped mumbling when someone else was talking, as Booker agreed to friendship and path-sharing-- trailing off when he nudged her cheek. She did not, however, stop purring her whiskers off.

"Oh, I dearly hope so. Black and Owl, they already have names! I can't go forever without a name, and it just wouldn't be right giving myself my own name-- I'm sure Mother has a sign for me somewhere in this place of vibrant green, yes?"

Buzzing with energy, the kitten hopped up on to her toes and nodded firmly, whisking around and slowly making her way along the path. She glanced back at Booker as she walked, apparently eyeing his condition.

"... I See you have a, hum."

She did not pause. Only slowed down as she noticed, blinking at the striped smol man.

"... Does it hurt?"

words:......... as if im gonna fill this out
tagged:....... @Booker
ooc:............ heck yea
muse:......... 9/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

The numbat hummed, eyes twinkling, something settling inside of him at the kitten's unending enthusiasm. She reminded him of himself, before... well, everything that had happened. It had been an adventure and a half - something she would, hopefully, one day experience - preferably without the danger, pain, and possible mental wounds. "I'm sure the All Mother has a sign for ya," he assured, flashing her a patient, almost fatherly smile. The kittens who worshipped the Monarch were certainly an odd bunch, but after his experiences with the infamous "Mother," he couldn't disagree that the gigantic mushroom was certainly powerful... perhaps even worthy of such worship. When the cat took off, so did Booker, keeping up fairly well despite the obvious limp. He tilted his head at her glances, raising his intact eyebrow in befuddlement. At the comment, he coughed out a laugh, whiskers twitching as he finally matched her pace. "Not much," the tiny Gembound answered, humming under his breath. "Gets tired easy. Don't think a lotta the muscle survived, so it's just... weak, at the mo'. Doesn't bother me much," he finally settled on, shrugging. "Coulda gone much worse." He didn't elaborate, gaze growing distant, not wanting to scare the child. After all, it had been terrifying to experience, the fight awful and the memories marred by blood and pain. It wasn't quite bedtime story material, to say the least.