for the feather sisters!

Every day, the little kitten set out from his little home up in the cliffs to explore more of Orion and harvest more rocks he found, studying the crumbling stone structures in the city. He would analyze their materials, the type of rock used in building them and the infrastructure of small neighborhoods; he would examine the foundations of the broken buildings, the central pillars that some larger ones used to hold themselves aloft, the floorplans of those long since demolished. Bartos was so busy with his studies that he'd rarely considered even leaving Orion - from what he'd heard from others, there was very little in the rest of the cave in the way of buildings. Sure, there were pretty rocks - he'd heard of the glowing blue crystals of Polaris - enough to warrant a small expedition, but he'd been putting it off. In truth, it was easy for him to become so consumed in his investigations that thinking of leaving for even a short period of time felt more like an inconvenience.

The cat had been getting better at finding and transporting new rocks. At first, he'd had to drag them around by his teeth, or bat them along with his broad paws, but that proved to be time consuming and damaging to the materials. He had managed to find a leather pouch attached to a belt that he'd slung over his chest; the pouch would hang just behind his right arm, such that he could easily grab a rock and slip it inside. Sure, the pouch was pretty big and still a bit of a hassle to carry, but it was easier than before. And he was still growing - he would fill it out nicely.

Many times he'd taken notice of the tall tower in the distance, rising up above the low lying, decrepit buildings of the city. He hadn't quite gotten to exploring it because it was still quite a ways from his cliffside home, and he hadn't radiated out that far yet - until today. The adolescent appeared at the front of the tower, snaking his tail curiously above his rump as he looked it over. Now this was interesting - this building broke the typical pattern of a structure being shorter or approximately as tall as it was wide, with a circumference that was relatively proportional to its height. No, this tower was unique - it was perfectly round and climbed meters into the air, looming over the rest of the city. He was almost too stricken by awe to move.

Only he wasn't - he was far too excited to investigate the inside of the building. So Bartos zoomed towards it, only for his attention to be grasped by something else before he could even make it inside. An outcropping of white quartz had grown in a cluster just off the side of the building, dusty and hovering a couple feet above the ground. Bartos stopped in front of it, sucking in a gasp. The white - it was so immaculate, so pristine! He needed a sample of this! So, the cat pawed at it, trying to remove it from the wall, but the cluster was firmly cemented to its base. Maybe he could use his magic... but how? He'd been told to focus. To simply believe, and whatever he needed might happen. So Bartos plopped his paws back on the ground and focused, real hard - harder than ever before. He imagined incising the gem from the wall, imagined cracking the rock and severing it from its base - and slowly, a small segment of the cluster groaned, creaked and slid from the outgrowth. It clattered to the ground, startling Bartos into jumping back.

Owlfeather I think it's time you found some frame of mind

Lost. This was an accurate word.

The kitten had left Eridanus perhaps an hour ago, meandering through a tunnel until she found herself in a new cavern - a place where shimmering quartz were stuck to the ceiling and strange structures littered the area. One of these structures was a round tower that she decided to start heading towards to with her tail practically dragging behind her on the ground, the fur feeling too heavy to even attempt lifting up.

But, approaching it, she stopped with one paw still lifted. A brother, sniffing around a gem similar to the ones that scattered the ceiling. Slowly, she placed her foot down and lowered herself to her haunches. She watched him work in complete silence for a moment, the only sound she created was the soft scuffing of her tail moving back and forth curiously.

As the gem broke onto the floor and the other cat recoiled, both of Owlfeather's ears pricked up. She heaved herself back to all fours, approaching Bartos cautiously, peering at him from a distance. "... Brother?" she said softly.

Startled by the chunk of gem suddenly breaking apart from the cluster, Bartos had jumped back and puffed up his tail, the fur on his spine standing on end. It produced the rather comical image of a young cat transforming without warning into a giant puff ball - until Bartos sniffed and the fur along his body relaxed, flattening against him. He shook his fur and swooped in close to the dislodged chunk, running his nose over it to examine the newly separated treasure. "Cool!" Bartos exclaimed, waving his tail high above his back with satisfaction. He had done that! He had done exactly what he was told to do by others who knew more about magic, and it happened, just like that! That would be a technique that would come in handy later on, for sure.

Bartos nestled down and mouthed the gem until he got a good hold on it with his teeth, then he tried to fumble it into the pouch, using his nose to push the flap open - only the brisk approach of another Gembound had caused him to jump again, dropping the cluster on the ground. He straightened up and whirled around to the source of the voice, pinning his blue eyes on the feline that still lingered some ways away. She called him brother, prompting him to furrow his brow with confusion. Brother? Like Faelon! But she wasn't like Faelon - in fact, she looked exactly like Bartos himself! Did that make her a brother too? Were they automatically brothers because they looked alike? He couldn't tell - other Gembounds were confusing, and he had yet to make the effort to understand them.

"Hi!" Bartos greeted, for a moment devoid of his normal excitement. His attention still primarily lingered on the rock; he wouldn't be able to concentrate on this other cat until he had completed his task. So, Bartos quickly grabbed the rock and stuffed it into his pouch, patting it with his paw before turning to the kitten. He was larger than her, but not by much; he'd have to guess that she was a little younger than him. "Can I help you?" The cat asked, cocking his head. She had interrupted his intended investigation of the tower, so Bartos' first thought wasn't to make friends - it was an assumption that she'd come seeking assistance, and Bartos would help her as best he could so that he could return to his studies as soon as possible.

DOVEFEATHER

let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Dovefeather had Seen her Sister wander far from home, and though she mumbled to herself, she kept enough of a distance not to disturb the fellow kitten.

"My, my. All Mother, this is so far from home. Where are we going? Does she have any idea? I think we're lost, All Mother... Should I Seek the way home?"

The kitten padded along, following the tufts of grey fur until she practically stumbled into her Sister with... Another cat! Another sister!... Except.

"Oh. Oh, I See Mother. He's a Brother, like Booker."

And so the kitten bounded right up, interrupting anything that her Sister might say-- Owlfeather was quiet enough that this wasn't usual for her to do.

"My name's Dovefeather, and this is Owlfeather! It's nice to meet you! I think we're lost, but I'm not sure. Where is this? I have never Seen a place like this--"

"-- I think, I think I shall have to Seek more places like this, Owlfeather. It's so pretty here. Imagine all the sights I haven't Seen. I know the All Mother would love for me to See everything I can."

"... Even if that's not the path to Seeings as She does. I'm on to something, yep!"

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

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

Owlfeather I think it's time you found some frame of mind

The long-haired sister barely had her mouth open when she was interrupted, ears swivelling a little. She turned her head to Dovefeather, blinking. In a way, she was glad. Owlfeather had no clue where she was, after all.

"Greetings-" began the kit.

"I think we're lost..."

Mother's damnation, thought Owl. Surely this brother would know where they were, then, and which way was back to Mother - that is, if she could even fit a word in edgeways from her babbling sister.

She simply nodded along with Dove. Perhaps Mother had her eyes in all the huge rooms like this? Dove would enjoy looking into all of them. Seeing what Mother could see, if it be in her sisters or new brothers like this one.

Owl licked her chest briefly with a sigh, silent.

@Blackfeather @Bartos

Before he knew it, another cat had bounded up to them. Another one! Where did she even come from? They seemed like they knew each other - Bartos could tell from looking between the two, the way they acted towards one another suggested they must have been siblings like Faelon and Bartos. He sat patiently and listened, attention shifted completely to the newcomer as she rambled on and explained their situation, also mentioning a few things that Bartos was completely clueless towards, though he nodded all the same. Like All Mother, and seeing things. The cat merely blinked and shrugged it away, gleaning from her rant a single thing: their need for guidance.

"Well, this is, uh," He paused thoughtfully. "Orion." Yeah. That was the name of the place, he was sure of it. Bartos gave a nod of confirmation. "I'm Bartos! I live here in Orion. Where did you say you were from? And whats All Mother and all the other stuff you said?" He queried, rather curiously at that.

@Owlfeather @Dovefeather