Still small, but not quite a kitten anymore, Pale ventured through Orion a little lonely and a bit frustrated. She had lost track of Jay some time ago and even her keen sense of smell could not find her path back to her friend. She didn't like being on her own. It made her feel like she wasn't accomplishing something, like she was wasting time. At least when she was with Jay she could make sure nothing happened to her. But now? No, she was alone.

Every so often she found herself looking up. She hadn't noticed the stars of Orion before. The glimmered high above her head, so beautiful, so...eternal. Every day they were the same, every day when she looked to the ceiling she knew she would find the same patterns smiling down at her. It made her feel comfortable, safe even. Knowing that one thing would never chance. That there were things that were reliable, stable, and unchanging.

She found herself gazing again, sitting on a high rock, a soft purr coming from her chest as she admired the stars, tracing patterns with her eyes. All gembounds were made of crystals - perhaps every gembound was simply a crystal in a world of stars? Perhaps all the stars up there were gembounds as well, to one day hatch? If that was true, then they would be great creatures indeed, for in all of Pale's life not a single one of them had broken.

She didn't have much of an imagination, but she imagined that they were connected to the stars and that gave her some kind of comfort.

Pebbleriver had wandered around since her hatching. She'd seen a lot of other creatures around, but always felt a little too wary to actually approach anyone. But on her second cycle now, she's starting to get lonely. So she decided the first creature she saw, she'd walk up to them!

That someone ended up being another cat. She smiled at that and walked up to them without a second thought. If she gave herself time to have doubts, she wasn't sure she'd ever approach anyone. And she was tired of being so lonely! It was time to meet others.

"Hello," she murmured quietly, suddenly really shy. She smiled and hoped the other was friendly. She seemed to be looking up at the ceiling, so Pebbleriver did the same. She hadn't done so before, and immediately wished she had sooner. It was so pretty! Her mouth opened slightly in a bit of shock, and she suddenly couldn't bring herself to stop staring for at least some time.

@Palefur

Palefur flinched when she heard the voice. She turned and found herself faced with another cat whose eyes were staring at the same thing she had been looking at as well. She narrowed her eyes, wondering if what this newcomer saw was the same as what she could see. Her tail flicked with interest. Was this a sign? A sign from the stars that she was right? Had they placed this new believer before her to become an instrument of order?

She started with a smile in return. "Hello," she offered. The smile was a little cold but she was trying her best. She wasn't exactly very emotionally articulate. She moved over so that the rock she was on had more space, space enough for another cat to sit. "Come. Watch the stars with me."

@Pebbleriver

When the cat greeted her in response, Pebbleriver turned her attention back. She noticed the cat shift a little and quickly hopped up beside her, smiling wider than before now. She settled on the rock before looking back up at the stars.

She was silent for a moment until she couldn't take it anymore. "The stars are really pretty, aren't they?" She continued to admire them before turning back to the cat.

"Oh, and I'm Pebbleriver!" She'd never had a chance to tell anyone her name before. She'd never talked to anyone before now. She wasn't even sure where the name had come from. While wandering the area, she had just started to wonder who she was. And it was then that the name just came to her mind, so it must be hers! It was nice being able to tell someone her name. She wondered what the other cat's name was.

@Palefur

When the other cat jumped up next to her, Pale looked back up at the ceiling, but also watched the other cat, trying to gauge her response. From her body language to the way she was speaking to the stars above...no, no, she was getting sidetracked. She couldn't look back up there for now, even thought the stars were pretty, perfect, a wonderful measure of stability and eternity...

By the time Pale realized she was getting distracted again, the cat spoke up and she'd lost her chance of a first impression. She cursed internally but brought her attention back down. One of her ears twitched at the word, in her head wondering why the cat had given herself a name like that. If it was up to her she probably would have called her...Mist or Silver or Cloud. Not Pebbleriver. "I am called Pale. Pebbleriver...it is an interesting name. How did you come to a name like that?" And she also wondered if Pebbleriver had a friend, a companion that had helped her come to a name like that, just as she had Jay. But she doubted it. That would be too much of a coincidence.

@Pebbleriver

Pebble's gaze had gone back to the stars before being brought back down as the other cat spoke. Her ears were perked, desperate to catch every word. Pale...A nice name! At the inquiry to her own, she paused a little. Where had she come up with the name? She wasn't entirely certain.

"I'm not sure! I was just walking around one time and I heard a brief little snippet of someone talking! I just heard 'my name is-' before I got out of earshot. But it made me wonder what a name was!" She had no idea who she had come across. She'd been chasing after something - a little mouse - when she heard it, so she didn't stop to find out who was speaking or what was being said.

"I thought about what a 'name' is, and then it just...sorta came to me! So then I started thinking about what my own name is. And out of nowhere, Pebbleriver just popped into my head. So my name is Pebbleriver!"

She paused for a bit, her head tilted slightly as she looked at Pale. "I might shorten it to just Pebble, though. Less to say!"

@Palefur

Pale listened with rapt attention, but not with much interest. She honestly didn't really care how the cat had gotten her name, but she wanted to know if there were others that had been with her. Thankfully, the cat shared her life willingly. The story, though, proved Pale's theory to be false. There could, possibly, be other cats around the caves, but Pebbleriver hadn't met any of them. If she had, then there was more to learn.

Throughout the story, Pale carefully took in everything about Pebbleriver. The way she was sitting, the way she was speaking, the way she described her story, everything she could get. It was a little difficult, she wasn't too experienced with it, but she could definitely get the sense of innocence from her new friend. She had not suffered much and, so far, life had treated her well. She was more feminine then Pale too, and especially more then Jay, but it was possible that she was mistaking this for the innocence she had already noticed. She would have to speak more to her to get a better feel for her character.

All of this she thought of while Pebbleriver was talking. She didn't miss a beat once she was finished. "Interesting. I suppose we all have different ways of coming up with our names." At her comment, though, Pale's tail twitched and she blinked slowly. "No, I like it. It's unique and it has a nice vibe to it." Her gaze betrayed no lies as she tried to crack another warm smile, a little more successful then the last time.

@Pebbleriver

Pebbleriver smiled wide at Pale's comment and her own smile. "Thanks! I like your name too." At this point, she began to lick one of her paws. The fur along the top was starting to get a little messy and she wanted it to be nice and smooth, especially now that she's finally introduced herself to someone!

Once her front paws were done, she turned back to Pale, suddenly curious. "How'd you come up with your name?" Then she started working on the fur around her neck. She was always so fluffy, and it took a while to properly groom herself. But she always kept with it. She has to look her best at all possible times!

@Palefur

Pale watched as Pebbleriver raised a paw, licking down the stray fur that poked out from the top. She didn't need to do the same to herself - her fur was short and one wash a day was enough to keep it clean and straight. It wasn't hard to get another impression from Pebbleriver as she began to groom the fur that didn't even look that bad. Vanity, perhaps. Or simply a sense of style. Either one was more useful information to Pale as she got to know this cat.

Her name wasn't creative, though, not a big story to tell. She shrugged indifferently. "My fur is pale," she answered simply. "That is how I got my name. Perhaps not as creative as Pebbleriver, I should think." But she was more interested in how Pebbleriver through of her fur. It was, perhaps, the most important thing in Pale's mind at the moment. "Sometimes I wish I had fur like yours. A little thicker, especially in cold caves, and maybe a less obvious color then orange."

@Pebbleriver

Pebbleriver paused in her grooming as Pale spoke. Her head tilted slightly as she listened, and her face broke out into a smile as she finished. "Having fur like this is definitely useful," she agreed. "Takes a while to keep it nice and neat, but I'll dedicate whatever time is needed for that! I don't think I could stand to have messy fur." She gave her chest fur a couple more licks before nodding in satisfaction and turning back to Pale.

"I like your fur! And I think orange is a lovely color for you," she purred, her smile growing a little wider as she affectionately bumped her head against Pale's.

@Palefur