[ Castiel | Blue-Green Water | Crystal Caverns ]
Castiel let out a yelp as he clumsily dropped the gems he had been holding. He grumbled in frustration when they all clattered to the floor, causing dust to fall all over them. Great. He was going to have to clean them. AGAIN. The clumsy Siamese/Snowshoe mix sighed and used his tail to dust them off, before he picked them up again in his mouth carefully and pushed them towards the little pile of gems he had made earlier that he was collecting. He quickly when to the furthest end of the cavern and dug his claws in the dirt, digging for gems. He winced when all of a sudden, one of his claws broke slightly. He frowned when he felt the warm, life-giving liquid start to drizzle down his paws. He lifted his paw to see the nasty, broken claw bleeding profusely. Trembling, he licked off the substance, cringing and coughing in disgust at the metallic taste of the liquid, before continuing his work more carefully. He muttered as he worked, using only his other paw to dig for gems due to his broken claw.
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[Green/Blue-Shadow || Malikai || Crystal Caverns]
No, no, no, he wasn’t spying—not at all! He was just 'people watching’. And who was his subject today? A fine young specimen—around his age— and a Water Triber. The young Shadow Triber was in a frantic search for a Crafter, and when this feline wandered by, he grew ecstatic. So here he was: watching the young tom from a distance, skulking in the shadows that enveloped his ancestry.
The watcher started to approach when the feline dropped some gems he was collecting, but hesitated. Blue eyes fixed on the stranger, Malikai followed his movements until his pale eyes were locked on the tom’s pile of gems. The shiny rocks were glittering brilliantly. Transfixed, the young tomcat followed the tom into the caverns. He paid no mind to the other tom who had started digging, but instead, neared the pile of gems. A wince of pain distracted the feline from the treasure, and his gaze flickered to the Water Triber. He had broken a claw and was carrying on with his work crippled.
♪♬”Hello there!”♪♬ He called out in a singing voice. ♪♬”Need a paw?”♪♬ The Mineral Collector offered with a toothy grin. He was already padding up to the tom as if he was completely unaware that he was trespassing in another Tribe's territory.
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[ Castiel || Blue-Green Water || Crystal Caverns ]
♪♬"Hello there! Need a paw?"♪♬ Castiel had not been expecting to hear another cat's voice within the caves. He let out a startled squeak in surprise, before accidentally getting his paw stuck inside the hole he had just dug , tripping, and then falling onto his back with his paw still stuck inside the hole. He groaned, his eyes half-closed due to fatigue, before he looked upwards to see Malikai. He'd expected him to be a Water-Triber, but when he smelt the strong Shadow-Tribe scent and saw the smiling Blue-Green tattoo across his maw, his thoughts of him being a Water-Tribe member faded away almost instantly. "Um...Don't mind my stupidity..." He muttered in embarrassment, before pulling his paw out of the hole and standing up steadily. "I was just being clumsy back there. Anyhow, what is a Blue-Green Shadow like yourself doing here? Not that I don't mind, though! I actually needed the company and help!" He grinned, trying to show he meant no harm.
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The tall feline just watched with mild amusement as the young feline toppled over, paw still embedded in his excavation site. The tom padded right on up to the stranger, his hazel eyes studying the tom’s trapped paw. Stupid is as stupid does~ He thought with a smile. ♪♬”Oh no trouble at all, frien'! Everybody gets tripped up every now and then!”♪♬ He chirped as the tom jerked his paw from the crevice.
”What am I doing here?” He repeated with wonder. ”Your guess is as good as mine!” The adolescent bounced around his new acquaintance, memorizing his features so he could remember him if he needed it for future reference. ♪♬”The name’s Gale,”♪♬ He introduced himself in his ringing tenor voice. ♪♬”I hope I’m not intruding,”♪♬ That was a lie. He knew he was intruding and he knew just how forbidden it was to trespass into another tribe’s territory. But he wouldn't worry about that at the present moment.
♪♬”Actually, if you may,”♪♬ He sung out the words. ♪♬”You may be of use to me as my company is to you!”♪♬ Malikai shot a wily grin at the brown and white feline.
”You see, I’m in dire need of a crafter. And you, dear fellow, are a Water Triber dwelling in caves and collecting gems! Are you perhaps skilled in the trade?"
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Castiel smiled nervously "The name's Jinx." He chuckled at the tom's cheerful and friendly behaviour. It quite amused him. "You happen to be in luck. I just so happen to be a crafter! I came here to collect some gems for some accessory a friend wanted! What are you in need for to come so far into Water-Tribe territory?" He asked kindly, smiling at the Blue-Green Shadow.
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Jinx... The sound of the name was foreign to him. Fascinating. With a flick of his long tail, the mineral collector began his request. "Here I have two stones." He revealed the amber and the blue topaz stone he found in the caverns a few weeks ago. He had been carrying them in a bundle of leaves secured to his left foreleg. "Here we are," He plopped them down in front of the crafter. "I wish both to be made into an accessory. The amber into a necklace and as for the topaz... I'm not entirely sure..."
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Castiel's eyes widened in amazement at the sight of the gems, before he nodded. "Alright. As for the topaz, do you want it to be made into a tail ring or a bracelet?" He asked, flicking his tail casually. "Also, how do you want the amber made into a necklace? Do you want more gems in it? Or do you just want it plain with the amber attatched to it?" He asked, wanting all the details.
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The pointed feline's head was spinning from all the questions. Malikai was in no way prepared to give such an elaborate description of what he wanted. In truth, Malikai was rather plain and simple minded when it came to things such as this.
"The topaz... well... I'm not entirely sure..." The melody left his voice as he decided to return to his normal speaking tone. "The friend I have in mind to give it to already has a necklace as well as a tail ring... So perhaps a bracelet?" He shook his circular head. "I really have nothing special in mind to be frank with you."
With a flick of his long tail, the tom strolled closer to the water triber, examining him up and down as if he were assessing his abilities to craft his precious stones. "I'll leave the amber up to your creative genius--after all, you are the more artistic out of the pair of us~" And with that, the tom let his long tail slither under the other's chin nonchalantly.
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Castiel paused slightly then nodded "Alright! I guess that would be okay!~" He twitched slightly as he noticed the other tom had started looking him up and down, clearly examining him as he felt the tom's rather plumed, fluffy tail twitch under his chin. His tail swished around boredly, before he nodded. "O-okay, then..." He stuttered, clearly feeling slightly nervous around the other tom, before he stood up quickly and ran into the corner of the cave, finding the spare material he used for making bracelets. The mottled siamese-snowshoe mix darted back to where the other feline was and gently gathered up the topaz and amber, before starting to weave it together deftly. The Blue-Green Water smiled in triumph as he completed his work. And only in 5 minutes! "Well, here you go. It's done." He used his nose to push the bracelet and necklace towards the Shadow-Triber's paws. "It was quite easy to make, but I hope you'll be satisfied with it, no?"
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The Javanese watched intently as the tom threw together some raw materials and began to craft the bracelet. He had to admit that he was thoroughly impressed with the Water Triber's skill.
With shining eyes, the crafter presented his creation and the Shadow Triber plucked it up with a claw for closer examination. It was rather high quality for something done so quickly, and so the tom was pleased.
"Fabulous~~~~" He sung out with satisfied vibrato. "One of these days I'll have to repay you, my friend!" With a swish of his long tail, the adolescent slipped the bracelet on happily; this way he could transport it to its new owner without it getting damaged and still have his mouth free to speak. "I'll keep my eyes peeled for you across the border, Water Triber!"
With that he strolled out the Water Tribe caverns and into the sunlight. He admired the way the sun danced off the topaz bracelet. As he headed back towards Shadow Tribe territory, the tom called over his shoulder, "And if you need any minerals, you know where to find me~~~"
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Castiel watched as the sung a goodbye to him, before he himself bid him a farewell, too. "Goodbye, Shadow-Triber! I'll be sure to remember you!" He sighed as the Javanese cat began walking away, before he muttered to himself as he left. "Spirits, what a strange cat. Oh well, at least he was nice." Before he left to craft some more items.