[[
this is an AW thread where i'll probably have fisher practice his magic a bunch, expect a lot of me posting at myself a bunch with lots of attempts, if you want to join for just a lil bit and leave again that's cool!

also this takes place post every other thread of fisher's so far, after he's more or less recovered from all the awful stuff that's happened to him lately
]]

The caves were quiet today. Strangely still, as if the world was giving a wide berth to the small child. The cavern named Orion opened before the dark animal, copper eyes flashing in the cold, white light of the false stars. If anyone was there, they were invisible and silent to the rounded ears of the beast that prowled forward.

His hunt had brought him here, and his fur bristled as he entered the quiet, still room. His claws clicked on the hard floor, ruins towering above him like giants. It did not provide him hope for safety, not like the thick, homely mist of Cetus, but it urged him forward. Fear was not something that dwelled in this creature's often, and nor would it make him hesitate if it did.

The beast, long and tapered at each end, walked along with a limp, yet he seemed agile for his weaker paw. His tail lashed with each sharp, bending turn, keeping him upright as he pelted through the large, open bowl of a room.

The tower rose before him with inviting steps, pristine and mammoth. He hesitated, his breath hitching as he saw the tunnel before him. Soon, soon. The watchpost came first, its posture speaking world's to Fisher's eyes. He had to climb it. The tower was a gentle, easy staircase for a creature who bolted up anything that dare reach impossibly high above his low form. It was as if the building was begging to be climbed, and so he came to the room that took up the top of the structure and sniffed around, his ears twitching.

This was it. This would be where he could leave his everything. Who else had the patience to go up so high? He settled down by the top step, overlooking his domain. This would be a safe place for him. He could rest and then explore Tunnel I.

There was one more, small, simple thing.

The tower reminded him of the Spire, and where the blue electric thing held secrets, so would this place. He was sure of it. Fisher would find out every little secret this place had, and claim them for his own.

post roll;;

For now, though, it was time for a rest. His eyes drooped closed and the furious, energetic bundle turned into a soft, limp line of plush fur and gentle, slow breath. Determined to rest quickly, he urged his magic to work, to slow his heart into a sleeping rate. His heart fluttered at the light shock, but ever since he had met that stupid bone bird, his magic had failed him.

And instead, young Fisher found himself unable to drift to sleep.

B-B-B-Be careful making wishes in the dark, dark
Can't be sure when they've hit their mark
And besides in the mean, mean time
I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart
Restless, Fisher rose to his paws. His heart pounded, drumming loudly in his chest, an endless beat. His sharp, brillant orange eyes gazed around the domain bellow him, fires flickering in his intense expression. The world oozed around him, dizziness consuming him. He wouldn't faint again, but that meant he had to get things under control.

I'm in the de-details with the devil
So now the world can never get me on my level
I just gotta get you off the cage
I'm a young lover's rage
Gonna need a spark to ignite
He had to master his element. He had to be ready to fight his biggest enemies when they came for his pelt once more. The world would try to kill him and he had to be ready. Exhaustion pushed aside, the fisher delved back into the room at the top of the tower. There was a lot to look at, but it was fairly dark in the shade.

My songs know what you did in the dark
So light 'em up, up, up
Light 'em up, up, up
Light 'em up, up, up
I'm on fire
There was only one way to light things up, and only one way he knew he could do it. A bit of anger built up in his chest as he let out a loud screech, a noise that sounded like a child crying for help in the dark. His paws trembled as he screamed, his tail fur bristling with his furious energy. Lightning rippled up his fur and then...

All the writers keep writing what they write
Somewhere another pretty vein just dies
I've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see
That you’re the antidote to everything except for me, me
His energy was still weak, but the sparks flew off his fur, scattering across the room like angry hornets, buzzing loudly in his ears. He screamed again, his claws digging into the hard floor of the tower, pushing all the magic he could into the room. He would master his magic, he would be the best there ever was! He would light up the room and he would make the cave his!

A constellation of tears on your lashes
Burn everything you love, then burn the ashes
In the end everything collides
My childhood spat back out the monster that you see
Fisher's fur fizzed on the ends, the smell of burning filling the air. He snarled and tromped around the room, spitting out static at anything he could make out in the shadows, trying to see just what the tower had in store for him. His energy was draining fast, but if he exhausted himself so be it. Maybe then he could sleep, put the restless demons to sleep. The ones that told him he had failed at everything, that he wasn't the best. The ones he refused to listen to.


So light 'em up, up, up
Light 'em up, up, up
Light 'em up, up, up
I'm on fire

Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.
In the dark, dark
Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.
In the dark, dark
The light would bring his monsters out of the shadows, but perhaps it would show him the answers he was looking for...

Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.

And from the shadows did a creature crawl, its long limbs connected by thin, dark flesh. As it emerged from the darkness, it seemed less a living beast and more a manifestation of the shadows; its skin was glossy and black, like the darkness had coalesced into a single creature. Its shoulders hunched, its face was short and bat-like, topped with large feline ears - but this was no bat. It was as big as the fisher and it lacked eyes, rendering it completely blind. Its long black teeth glistened in the light, and from the depths of its mouth, an eerie chartreuse glow. From within its chest, one could make out a dim green glow - the location of its stone. This monster, however, was not pleased to have been woken. The lashing of its long tail would speak that much.

When its hiding spot was zapped by the fisher, the bat emerged; it took a running start at Fisher before launching into the air, its long membranous limbs lifting it up until it found a perch on the very peak of the tower. There it settled and emitted a high-pitched call.

Fisher wanted to see the room. He had not wanted to find a horrible beast from hell that looked like Azazel's shadow had come to life and reminded him of the King from Clover's story and he certainly did not like it rushing at him. His whole body felt electrified in that moment, super charged by his fright, but it was just the sensation of emotional shock at such a monster coming to life before his eyes.

The mustelid did what any sensible gembound would do. Screech and frantically try to scramble out of the way. The shadow's wings stretched out around him, and although it did not have feathers he could hear the ruffling, rustling noise of a predator swooping. He frantically tried to roll out of the way, the words of venom and hate screeching in his ears as the tail-- that tail, so long-- flicked in the corner of his eyes.

"'They are mine,' the king hissed, swishing its tail.
'They have always been mine, and so are you.'"

Fisher's lithe, agile body easily twisted out of the way as the giant beast took flight and swooped up to the roof, his weakest paw tucked neatly against his belly. He was starting to get used to keeping it out of harms way even when he thought he needed it, and it was really doing him some good. Last thing he needed was to jam his paw up some more while dealing with...

What was that? Was that the King? But why would the King be sleeping here, of all places? Perhaps it was actually just a Shadow, but Fisher didn't see any bones on a cursory glance. None of it made sense and, for a moment, Fisher just lay on the floor of the tower's high room, panting for breath.

Whatever it was, it could fly and it was big, just like Azazel. And it had attacked him, just like Azazel.

But unlike Azazel, Fisher wasn't going to lose this time.

The Shadow beast had made itself the King of the tower, that was for certain. Fisher's ears rang as the creature made a shrill call into the air, the noise ringing among the quartz clusters that decorated the whole of Orion. Breath finally caught, the narrow brown mustelid found his paws again and crept out on to the edge of the stairs to peer up at the monster.

A bubbling anger had begun to build up in Fisher. This thing had the nerve to attack him, to take his tower for its own. This thing who looked like a Shadow, acted like a King, and flew like that monster bird of bones, Azazel. A quiet desperation build up in the weasel-like gembound, his ears laying back as he backed away into the shadows.

This time, for real, he called upon the powers of his gem. The magick that ran like liquid gold in his veins, the gift of lightning. He wanted to tame it, and that meant not holding back. Whatever this beast was, it wasn't a real gembound. It may have had a gem, but it did not have eyes and it was made of darkness like an evil thing in stories.

By now he was used to his Spires and Towers and Tall Places all having guardians. This one wasn't as scary as the giant yeti. He wasn't afraid, just angry. He would not bow to this creature and he would not give up his new lair to anything that dare fly above him.

As Fisher drew upon his anger, a storm began to form among the white quartz in the sky, filling the ceiling with energy. Fisher felt his strength ebb away, for such a powerful spell would surely take up so much magick, but he was determined. He would show this King of Shadows that he was not going to back down.

Fisher did not learn from experience or stories. Was he even capable of learning at all? The thunder rumbled above, Fisher's eyes glowing hot, vibrant orange as he sank his claws into the stone at his paws. He just had to hit the tower, hit the beast.

A loud crack split the air and Fisher felt his fur puff out more than it ever had. The air was thick with the almost metallic taste of energy, and his ears stung from the loud crack in the air-- a bolt that had jumped from some quartz to the next, but not a single strand managed to make it to the tower, much less the ground. Yet, with that, the storm dissipated, and more so, the tiny mustelid felt all of his strength fade and his vision blur in a hot white mess. He hadn't hit the tower, but his spell had backfired, and now the poor thing was struggling with the weight of his own body.

fwump.

Fisher sure hoped that the King of Shadows would fly off and not try to hurt him, no matter how much he deserved it. Maybe he had managed to scare it, he thought dreamily, laying on his side in the tower.

Batcat had perched itself high upon the tower, swaying its tail to and fro. Its large jaws parted, emitting a long, echoing call. The cry moved through the atmosphere, bouncing off the glossy crystals that lined the roof of the cavern room. It waited there, occasionally glancing down at the fisher. After a moment, the silence persisted. Batcat curled its lips, made uncomfortable by the silence. It shouldn't be the only one here. There should be others. Where were they?

Before it could think on the question any further, it felt the air around it begin to grow sharp and static. Pinpricks of electricity would pick up on the sleek, oily skin that covered its body. The energy in the air felt almost tangible - immediately its gaze snapped to the mustelid, the obvious source of this magic. As electricity jumped between the crystal points, Batcat curled back its lips and snarled, fluttering its long, membranous wings. It knew better than to take off in the midst of a storm, however fleeting; before long, it had faded, allowing Batcat to lunge from the tower. It howled into the air again, a high pitched cry that echoed through the room. The beast soared down, circling the tower. It swept in through one of its crumbling windows and glided above Fisher, letting loose another loud cry - a warning - before flying out of the tower and back to the shadows of the surrounding cliff faces.

Exit Batcat

The King of Shadows could be heard above as the storm fell apart, his grasp on magic to weak to wield the power that he could taste. His pelt shivered as he heard the wingbeats, counting them, as the creature carved a wide path around the tower, and after a moment, dove in through the window with another painfully loud and sharp screech.

Fisher did not dare move. He lay there, eyes closed on his side, praying in a way he never had before. He felt so drained. He couldn't fight back, even if he wanted to. His ears rang from the scream of the batcat and he waited for the moment where his world would turn bright, vibrant crimson, but it did not come. Instead, the King of Shadows flew off.

Silence crept in around the fisher cat, like a suffocating mist. Exhaustion took over and he did not argue this time, he had finally had enough excitement in one day. He didn't even curl up or find a more comfortable spot to lay, he just drifted off to sleep.

... Again the mist came to him. He remembered it from his first dream when he was curled up with Tam. The mist and the grey floor.

But this time, his paws took him in a different direction. He hadn't realized they had until the bones appeared. His paws stepped on them, femurs and skulls and teeth and ribs. He walked until there was no grey floor, only the stark white of the aging bones in the crisp, cold mist.

A tower rose before the brown gembound, the only pinch of color in the dream. Even the tower was white, stretching far above into the mist. He stood still, just looking up at it. He half expected the blue to come, or for the King of Shadows or even the vibrant red of the King of Bones to come.

Instead, the mustelid was met with gentle, peaceful silence.

...

The world was still and quiet. It was so unusual for Fisher to feel such peace, but there he was, lost in the world of bones and dwarfed by the shadow of the tower in the mist. Dare he try to climb it? For the first time in the young mustelid's life, he hesitated.

There were no stairs that he could see, as his vision swam the circumference of the round, massive building. His toes clattered distantly on the remains and ashes of the dead, his eyes locked on the object of his desire. It shimmered in an invisible light, covered in beautiful, glistening white crystal.

Timidly, the Fisher approached the Pillar. The walls stretched infinitely to either side as he approached, as soon the bones disappeared. He was on a white floor now, craggy and made of crystals as well. His claws sunk into the cool earth as he closed in, his stepping becoming uneven on the bumpy, sharp floor.

"What are you?" He asked, his voice echoing in his own ears, sounding small and far away.

The thing did not answer. Fisher did the only thing he knew how to do.

zzzzZZT!

The world remained brilliant, but almost dull white. It might have been surprising that the dark brown fisher could handle so much white, but for some reason it was comforting.

The white had not turned blue, nor had it gone blindingly yellow as a weak jolt came from his body and hit the tower. It just remained white, pure, beautiful white. The air rang with a gentle hiss and hum, curious to his ears.

Fisher sniffed and flexed out his claws. He was nervous about climbing this thing, but since it hadn't reacted to the electricity he assumed it would be okay. His butt wriggled and he leaped, his claws sinking into the white spire. His paws hit the tall, cold crystals and immediately sunk into warm fluff.

The tower shifted oddly, a groan rippling through the air.

His claws felt wet and sticky immediately.

To Fisher's instant horror, the crimson returned. It dripped down his paws and down the side of the spire, the thick, rough crystals turning into a monstrous white furred beast. The blood dripped, trickling on to his cheeks as he clung to the thing as it stood, no longer a tower but a horrid fiend.

A ear splitting yowl filled the air, shaking the very mist itself like a fogged snowglobe, rattling the bones that Fisher thought were long gone. His claws sank deeper, and for fear of letting go, he even bit into a mouthful of the thick white fur.

The yeti.

Fisher had made a horrible, terrible mistake.

Gasping, the fisher cat bolted awake. He was trembling, claws sunk into his own tail (thankfully he wasn't bleeding) back pressed against the wall of the tower. It took him too long to figure out where he was, and when he had realized, he couldn't even calm down.

What if the monsters returned? He didn't know of a place in the entire cave system that he was safe... Trembling, the brown mustelid stood up, panting. He felt wide awake now, refreshed almost, but he blood pounded in his ears. He was on top of the Tower in Orion-- he could see the white light from the quartz pouring in through the window.

This was supposed to be his safe place, but no matter where he went the nightmares haunted him. His tail drooped, ears laid back, and he let out a long, big whine. It was hard being just a child in a world like this. He had no idea how long it had been, but...

The sound of something caught the Fisher's attention, and with a jolt of fright the fisher cat scrambled to the back of his den, far from where the entrance of the stairs were.

"Who's there!" He barked, fur bristling. Just in case, he tapped into his magic and built up the best amount of static he could.