The Well

The sky was cloudy today. Looking up, Varzea could see a hint of the sun behind all the gray and white, but not much. She was never a fan of cloudy days, since it made flying harder for her. If only she could see the bright sun, soaring among its warm rays soaking into her feathers…

Varzea’s daydream was interrupted by a shout behind her.

“Hey lil birdie!!!”

Varzea jumped, looking behind to see a dark pink Spacecat hanging from a low branch, a fangy smile on her face.

“O-Oh, hey Rebel! You can just greet me face to face, y’know…” The blue and yellow cat smiled back at her.

“Awwwww, where's the fun in that? Anyways, how have you been?”

Varzea shook out her fur. “I’ve been fine. Eris is still stubborn as always. I keep telling him to try and make friends, but he doesn’t see a point in it. Maybe you could give me a hand sometime…?”

“Yeah, totally, if you don’t mind a little fire.”

“Fire?!”
“Joking!!! But uh, I can try if you want. That’s not why I’m here though.” Rebel hopped off her branch and approached Varzea. “I want to show you something.”

“What is it?”
“It’s uh, something from my childhood, kinda. I was hoping you could answer some questions about it. Can you come with me?”

Varzea stood up. “Yeah, of course! Lead the way!”

Rebel nodded, shifting into her winged form. Then the two cats jumped into the air. As they flew over the forest, Rebel started a conversation.

“Soooo, anybody catch your eye recently?”

“What do you mean?” Varzea gave her a confused look.

The pink cat laughed. “Ya know, romantically! Do you have any crushes? Or anyone got eyes for you?”

Varzea’s face warmed up. “I-uh, I don’t know! I mean, there have been one or two really pretty and nice girls I’ve seen around town, but I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship like that yet…I still have a lot to learn, y’know?”

“Ya, I get that. It’s just been a common topic recently, with Peace and Love Day coming up. Do you have any plans for that? With family or friends?”

“Hmm, I might visit Papa, I’m sure he’s missing me. But I also want to make sure Eris isn’t alone, so I’ll see. You?”

“Oh, I’ll probably just sneak into some random party to steal some food. Maybe bother Proxy and their family.” Rebel looked away for a moment. “I don’t have much to do.” 

“...Are you-”
“Oh! We’re here! C’mon!” Rebel perked up before flying back down into the forest floor. Varzea stored her question in her head and followed.

Upon landing, the cats were standing in a clearing, surrounded by trees and bushes. In the middle appeared to be an aging well, moss and vines trailing along its stone. When Varzea looked into its hole, it was blocked with more stones and plants. This seemed like a very old well, possibly older than Port Borealis. 

“So what’s the deal with this well? It looks pretty old.” Varzea looked to her friend, who was standing a way back. 

“Well, uh,” Rebel looked nervous, trying to find the right words. “It might be where I came from?”
“WHAT?”

“I dunno! The thing is, I don't have any memories from when I was really little! Only a few years back! And the first thing I remember is this well. Whenever I come back here, I feel something weird, like a magical aura. Yet it feels familiar too. Do you think it could be connected to your Sky Warriors?”

Varzea fluttered her wings. “I…I don’t know. While it is true that most Sky Offspring do not have youthful memories, they usually appear next to the Warrior who made them. Do you remember anyone being with you in your first memory?”

“Errrr, I don’t think so. It was just me and the well.”

“I can ask Papa about it when I see him, but I don’t think he’ll know. I know that if he or someone he was friends with made you he would’ve told me. So if it was a Warrior, it was one I’m not close with. I’m sorry, Rebel.”

Rebel flopped on the ground. “It’s ok, I appreciate the attempt. I guess I’m kinda desperate to know if I have any family. I get lonely.”

“Oh…” Varzea came closer to her friend. “If it makes you feel better, I’m really glad you’re my friend. I get lonely too. It’s hard to make friends when you’ve been raised by basically gods all your life. So I really appreciate your company.”

Rebel didn’t say anything, just staring at Varzea. Then, she got up and pulled the other cat into a hug. 

“Thank you.”

“N-No problem! But please loosen your grip, you’re r-really strong!!!”

Rebel dropped Varzea, then ruffled her hair. 

“Man, all that made me hungry. Wanna hit up The Milky Way?” 

Varzea’s eyes lit up “Oh my gosh yes! But you might need to pay, I may have eaten my cloudcoins.”

“Why did you eat your coins!?”

“...I thought they were chocolate.”

“Fair enough. Let’s go.”

With that, the duo flew out of the forest. But neither of them noticed the strange well beginning to sparkle as they left the forest floor…