T H O R N

After traveling to Polaris, Thorn had been wandering the caves for a little while and was now backtracking from the tunnels he started from. Rather than retracing his steps back to the misty marshlands of Cetus, he found himself in a completely different room.

Taking his first couple of steps onto Pisces’s stone floor, he instantly knew this place wasn’t Cetus. There were no trees or mist to be found. Instead the leopard cub was greeted with a crisp, cool atmosphere and the roar of rushing water. This place also had a unique smell, just like Cetus and Polaris had different scents from each other. It smelled like water and rock. Sweeping his gaze across the landscape, the first thing he noticed was a grandiose waterfall cascading into the pools below, and from what he could see the whole area actually held a lot of water.

This place…it was so beautiful! Whiskers twitching as if radiating his own curiosity, Thorn bounded down some nearby descending ledges in order to get closer to the waterfall, where he would playfully bat around at the water with his clumsy little paws. Splish splash! The cub had grown fond of water since learning how to swim in the Crystal River in Polaris, which only evolved his affinity for the element.

Padding along the water with a cheerful little grin, he suddenly felt an inexplicable urge tugging at his fur, as if something was dying to escape him. Thorn couldn’t quite understand it, but he didn’t pay it much mind at first. As his happiness continued to rise, he finally couldn’t resist the impulses under his skin and he released the magic from within him. The cub’s spotted pelt spiked once the spell began, and poor Thorn began to panic because he didn’t know what was happening to him!

Quickly canceling the failed spell in his confusion, Thorn yelped and bolted away to try to escape from his magical powers… SPLASH! Unfortunately for Thorn, he had scampered straight into the lake near the waterfall and was now feeling cold water surround him! With this only adding to his fear, the cub coughed and choked from all of the water while he came back to his senses. Well this was embarrassing.

"Speech"

Deep stunning blue eyes watched from a distance. Tucked safely away into her little 'nest' she had created when it had been decided that Pisces is where she would call home. It had originally been super close to all the others, more so closer to Big Bubbi Leon and Big Sis Makyna, but ever since the incident Amaria had taken to her own. Just so things would not go awry again. Her poor heart couldn't take anymore shame she might bright to her dear beloved elder siblings. Alas, those were thoughts for another time. There was a stranger here. A stranger she had never seen before. Excitement was quick to course through her little clouded leopard body and she would have naturally ran right over him. It wasn't until she noticed his spots! Oh those familiar spots!! He was a leopard!

Instantly her head jumped up from where it had been resting atop her paws and her ears pushed forward quickly. she would have jumped right up to her paws, but she dared not. Not if she wanted to iritate her healing ribs. They still hurt, even burned at random times, but they were getting better. It wasn't AS bad. Even if it still hurt to breath at times. A slow, excited grin stretched at her muzzle and the kitten slowly pushed herself up. She would go greet this new cat! No one else seemed to be running at him to do so anyways. With a few steps towards the fellow Leopoard Amaria came to a sudden stop when the other cat suddenly jumped as if surprised by something before he simply bolted right into the water.

Amaria blinked once. Twice. Then laughter resonated through the area. It didn't last long as her ribs quickly protested and she was left to clench an eye shut. Her smile did not falter though and she quickly, but gently, made her way right over to the lake. "Did a bug scare you?" A teasing grin caught her features as she sat herself back on her haunches and watched to see if he would climb his way out of the water or if he would stay there. She wasn't sure what had startled the cub, but it had to be something.

T H O R N

Laughter. Laughter was a sound new to his ears, but it was not an unpleasant one. Quickly looking around to pinpoint the source, his mouth dropped open on impulse once he saw the gembound approaching, so he remained just awkwardly floating there. She looked just like him! Except prettier, way prettier. Thorn, doing his best to suppress his watery coughs, pulled himself up from the water’s edge, his spotted pelt thoroughly dripping and soaking the ground.

All traces of his magic had disappeared, but he no longer worried about that: She. Looked. Like. Him! The stranger spoke to him, teasingly. Glancing up at the fellow leopard’s blue eyes, it took a moment for him to speak. A lot had happened to him all at once, after all. What did she say? A bug? That wasn’t right so he shook his head. “No, not a bug.” He said calmly. “It was…something else.“ The cub tilted his head slightly. What was it that had bothered him? He wasn’t quite sure, but it was gone now. Oh well.

Thorn decided to blurt out what he'd been thinking this entire time. “You look like me!“ He told her, except now that he was face-to-face with the other felidae he could now tell that they weren’t exactly the same, but they were close. Did she look different because she was a female? Perhaps that was the reason. She seemed to be really nice from the radiant smile on her face, and he almost instantly felt himself warming up to the stranger. Thorn, mirroring her actions, lowered himself to his hindquarters and kept his attention on her to see what she would say or do next.

"Speech"

Another soft laugh escaped the clouded leopard as this new leopard finally pulled himself from the waters and spoke. If it wasn't a bug then what had it been? A ghost maybe? That sounded scary yet very intriguing all at once. Oh well, whatever it had been it was no longer there so Amaria would not keep pestering this cub anymore about it. As he exclaimed what she had been thinking a bright smile grasped onto her features as she wiggled in her spot for a moment. It was a normal sign to see that Amaria was growing excited. Yet, for those who knew her, it was not completely right. She dared not tread on those thoughts at this very moment however. She had a new leopard to learn about and become friends with!

"My name is Amaria! I live here with Big Bubbi Leon and Big Sis Maky!" She introduced as she dipped her head in what could be assumed as a mock bow. She would have made it way more flashy if she knew the pose would not have annoyed her ribs into hurting again. "They're always out and about really, so I'm not sure if they're here right now.." She pondered over the two for a moment. They were older than her, so they were always over doing big kid things without letting her tag along. It was alright though. It left her to her own games and explorations.

Turning a smile to this new leopard a thoughtful question pulled at her thoughts. "Are you from here? I mean..." she paused a moment as she just now noticed the gemstones just beneath his eye and she awed over the pretty blue colors. "Did you wake up in this area?" She guessed she could call it that. She wasn't quite sure what a birth meant having only really felt like she had merely woke from a long dream she had been in. She was happy to have awoke at the time she had. If she hadn't there was no telling what could have happened, or if she would have even met her elder siblings. It also left her completely curious about the cub in front of her. Did he wake up close by? Was it somewhere completely different? Did he have siblings or friends that had found him when he hatched? They were all questions she was bubbling with and there was no telling if she could hold them all in for very much longer.

T H O R N

Thorn listened to the other cub attentively, eager to hear what she had to say. Amaria was energetic, carrying a spiritedness that he could see in both her eyes and form. It was even starting to influence him and before he knew it he was mimicking her little bow.

Then, a blink of his heterochromatic eyes. Big Bubbi Leon and Big Sis Maky? The names flowed into his ears, but who were they? Those names were foreign to him, but then again he hadn‘t hardly met anyone else besides her. Did the two she mentioned look like them as well? Thorn leaned over and glanced across Amaria’s shoulder, half expecting to see them behind her as he scanned the landscape.

As she begun speaking again, he reverted his attention back to her, politely perking his little ears so he could better listen to her question. He did notice her looking at the gems on his face, which distracted him. Was he weird? He hoped she didn‘t think he was weird, surely she had a gem too. “Um…” He murmured, lifting a paw to his chin as he collected his thoughts. Thorn understood her meaning but he didn‘t know the names of the caverns by name. At least not yet. “Not from here…There were trees, and fog.” The younger cub tilted his head to the side, remembering the boggy forests and heavy, condensed mist that made it difficult to see. It wasn’t a bad place, no, but truthfully he liked this place a whole lot better.

While Thorn had browsed through his memories, suddenly he spotted Amaria’s gemstone, a matching color to her eyes, right on the end of her tail! Wondering why he didn’t notice it before now, he also remembered that he never gave Amaria his own name. A little bit hesitatingly, he awkwardly tried to throw in the late introduction. “My…name’s Thorn.” He mewed.

"Speech"

Thorn.

It was an interesting name. One that could probably hold more meaning than just those prickly things on plants she always managed to get into when she wasn't paying attention. Though, she knew his name being Thorn was way better than those prickly thorns! With a big grin Amaria noticed he had looked towards her tail and without hesitation sat back on her haunches and dragged her tail around before she grasped it up with her paws and quite literally pushed it towards Thorns face. "My gem! It's blue two. Now there's three of us cats with blue gems!" There was her, and her big sis Makyna who had one on her head. And now this guy! His was on his face and only slightly different than Makyna's.

Once she was satisfied that she had sufficiently shown off her tail gem Amaria released her grip from her tail and allowed to to fall back to it's normal resting position. Now she pondered on where he said he had come from. Oh she had been there. Only once, but even still it was not something to forget. The memories weren't pleasant so she kept the thoughts to herself and instead offered another smile to this new leopard. "Well, it's nice to meet you Thorn!" She began wiggling with excitement. OH how she wished her ribs were not as injured as they were. She was definitely ready to stop having to worry if certain movements would cause her pain or not.

"I'm not sure where everyone is, but do you wanna look around? I can keep you company!" She offered the cub. Her eyes shining with hope and eagerness to have something new to do. Not to mention he was a leopard! Leopards were the best cats ever! She just wouldn't let her big sissy know about all that one! The thought made her laugh. Maybe she would tease Makyna with it later and see what she would say and do. Shaking her thoughts, she waited eagerly to see Thorn's response to her offer.