The Start of Something || Plato xx Chara

"Plato!" The loud scream of his mother woke Plato up in a start, spooking Orpheus from his slumber and causing him to give Plato a sharp bit on the ear in retaliation. Plato winced, slowly turning towards his brother with a slight grimace. "Sorry Orpheus, everything's fine, go back to sleep. I just... I just need to take a walk."

Orpheus twitched his ears forward, using his body to ask if his brother was okay. Plato nodded. "Bad dream." He said quietly, as Orpheus barred his teeth in response. The two brothers had been on relatively better terms than they had been the month prior, as Crispus and Orpheus both had to explain to Plato that Orpheus was afraid of losing him and didn't want to see his brother go out of the main entrance. Although Plato still couldn't say he fully agreed with his brothers' thoughts on the matter, he had elected to start going through a different exit to the camp to ensure that Orpheus didn't constantly fear that he was going to lose his brother. He sighed. "No Orpheus, I'm not leaving the camp. Don't worry about me. I just-- I just need some fresh air."

It took many more discussions between the two before Orpheus finally let his brother leave, Orpheus silently using his body to speak to his brother and Plato responding back in hushed whispers as other members of the apprentice den began to grunt and growl at the noise. Eventually, Orpheus let him go despite his worries, if only because the other apprentices were beginning to get angry at the two of them. He padded out into the crisp winter air and let out a short sigh, closing his eyes and letting his shoulder's slump for a moment.

"Just a dream." He muttered, padding further into the camp, away from the noise of any cat sleeping. "Just a dream." He was nearing the entrance now, just about ready to head out when the sound of paws lightly brushing the snow caught him off guard, he turned, only to see Chara looking at him with curious eyes. The snow tiger by this point was near the point of tears as the lioness looked him down.

"What's wrong?" She asked, almost as if she was a dream. Plato shook his head, the tears coming in waves as a slight sob was choked out of his throat. She was by his side in an instant, and in that moment, the snow tiger was convinced she was nothing but a conjuring of his mind. Her fur smelled so sweet in his nostrils as he pressed up against her, her voice like liquid, soothing him quietly and bringing the tempest of emotions in his mind to a standstill. He sighed, once more muttering that it was just a dream that had haunted him. That was when reality slapped him in the face, as Chara responded.

"It was just a dream, whatever it was. I'm here for you Plato. I always will be."

The two felines stood there for awhile, quietly sharing the moment together as the world seemed to come to a standstill. In that moment, Plato could feel something stirring in his gut, though what it was, he wasn't entirely sure. All that he knew was it was a nice feeling, and he didn't want it to go away...

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"Catch me if you can Plato!" Domitius yelled out as he rushed ahead through the melting slush. Chara had asked if Plato was willing to go out for a walk with the two of them, despite the fact that Domitius was being trained by his sister. The snow tiger wasn't much of a sprinter, but after a few moments of thought he raced after the lion, his well muscled body allowing him to leap and bound after Domitius at a much faster rate than he expected. Before long, he found himself catching up to the younger apprentice, overtaking him in a powerful bound that sent them both down the hillside, scrabbling in the dirt as laughter escaped both of their throats. It was loud and throaty and the most fun Plato had had in months, as Chara quickly rushed after them yelling out in worry.

"We're fine, Chara." The lion yelled out as Plato lifted himself off of him. The lion was gangly, but he was growing quickly. Soon enough, he'd be fully grown and ready to join the ranks of gladiators within the empire by the fall. Chara would probably be upset to see him grow up so quickly, but it seemed that many of the members of their empire were beginning to grow up quickly. He let out a short chuckle, giggles still flying from the other apprentice as they both stood there.

"How much longer are you going to be an apprentice anyway, Plato? Don't you think it's time to stop acting like a cub." Chara teased as she made her way down the hill to stand before both felines, her head shacking in mock annoyance at the two.

Plato shook his head, smiling slightly. "Just because I'm about to become a gladiator doesn't mean I can't have fun every now and then." He gently bumped Chara's side. "You can't just work for the rest of your life. You have to enjoy the little things." He smiled again warmly, glad to know that he had become such fast friends with the lioness and her adopted family, even if he hadn't had much to say to all of them. He did, in some small way, consider them all to be family...

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It was another crisp cool night as Plato quietly sat and listened to the wind, . He was going to speak with Zireena soon about completing his final assignment as an apprentice and couldn't sleep, as the next morning would probably mean the coming of the test and his promotion in the summer when the next gathering occurred. He worked his jaw quietly in thought for a few moments, his eyes set on the night sky as he considered his plan for the next day. Zireena was smaller than him, which meant that tricking her to give him the sapphire would be relatively difficult, but that was fine. The extra work was worth it, especially if he was to become a gladiator soon. It'd be worth it.

He quietly let out a short sigh and closed his eyes. Mom, I don't think you're dead, but if you are... Please, allow Sator to give me strength to complete this task. I want nothing more than to make you proud. He thought quietly, wishing his prayers would be answered. His tail wrapping around his paws for a moment, he flicked his ears back, suddenly hearing something behind him. Slowly, he turned, teal eyes blinking as he stood and made his way towards the noise, which was coming from the gladiator's den.

His heart shot up to his throat in that minute as he saw a lioness appear from the corners of the den, making her way forward with tears in her eyes. The snow-tiger didn't know what to say, but in that instant immediately rushed forward to see what was wrong with his friend, fur burning as he silently brushed up against her. She opened her eyes for a moment, the sadness showing within throwing pangs through the male's heartstrings. "Chara," He whispered, but she shook her head quietly for a moment, silencing him.

"I just need to get out of camp." She said softly, tears still visibly streaming from her face.

Immediately, the snow tiger touched his tail to her shoulder. "I'll come with you. You can tell me what's wrong." He whispered softly, hoping he wasn't overstepping his bounds with the lioness, but she didn't say anything as they both padded quietly out of the camp nor did she make a move to say no. After a few moments, she took a short breath and closed her eyes.

"Ever since the battle in Massilia... I've been having doubts towards being a gladiator and my abilities as one." Chara said softly, tears streaming down her face once more. "I don't think I'm doing a good enough job with anything, I've been having terrible dreams and I feel so alone."

Plato's ears fell back, his paw gently touching hers for a moment as he brushed up against her. "You don't have to cry alone anymore." He whispered gently. "I know that the war's caused a lot of problems for all of us... you're not the only one hurting."

They stood there in silence, just like they had all those months ago. Except this time, Plato was there comforting Chara...

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The water was cool against Plato's skin as he waded slowly into the lake alongside Chara, her careful instruction reminding him once more that he was completely capable of going into the water without dying. His fear had slowly subsided over the past few months thanks to her careful teachings. Despite that, he couldn't help but remember the flutter of panic deep within his chest every time his paws didn't have solid ground beneath them. At least now he could get into the water without panicking, but he still wasn't ready to actually start swimming.

He felt his heart pounding a little harder as the golden lioness made her way into deeper water. She was so much more graceful in the water than he was, which wasn't exactly hard, but each time she'd snatch a fish from the lake or dive down to enjoy herself, the snow tiger couldn't help but admire how easy it was for her. He took a step forward into the water, his paw quickly getting entangled in an unseen root underwater, a loud splash erupting from where he was as suddenly water filled his nose and mouth. In that instant, the panic he had manged to push down erupted forth, causing his paws to flail as he tried to find which way was up. In reality, if he hadn't been so panicked, he probably would have realized he wasn't that far from the surface.

Unable to breath, the snow tiger felt his conscious slowly slipping as a sweeping nothingness overcame him. He had no idea how long he was out, but when he came too, all he could hear was Chara yelling in panic at him.

If he had been awake when she had rescued him, he would have known that she had dove into the water and quickly dragged him out onto the rocky shore, her heart seizing in her chest as she looked down at the feline she had come to love while his chest wasn't moving. She had panicked, quickly pressing up against him and trying her hardest to get him to breath, all the while begging with the gods above, praying that they wouldn't take him too soon.

All Plato woke up to was "Plato, I swear to Sator, you need to wake up! I love you too much to loose you too!" Though he wasn't exactly sure if he was dreaming it or not. Everything was so hazy. Was this what it felt like to die? He coughed, pain erupting from his chest as he did so. Nope, he most definitely wasn't dying. He spluttered once more, water splashing forth from his lungs as he continued to cough and convulse for a few moments, his chest tightening each time he took a ragged breath. He had to look so pathetic and disgusting as he sat there, his throat burning as he tried to breath.

He tried to say thank you, but each time he thought he had caught his breath, he'd find himself coughing again. Finally, after what felt like ages, he managed to rise up and press his sopping wet body against Chara's in thanks. All he could remember from that moment was the burst of anxiety that claws in his belly as he whispered the words he had been holding back for so many months. "I love you, too."

Chara must have taken some time to register what he had said, for there was a long silence between the two for a few moments before he felt her ragged tongue brush against his cheek. He nuzzled into her for a moment before pulling away slightly, the pain in his chest still a little too much for his body to stand. "I think I need to see Ruby."

Chara blinked for a moment before everything registered. "Right, you did swallow a lot of water. Come on, I'll get you back to camp safe and sound." She said, standing up and letting him lean on her for support.

He was very grateful for her help as they made their way back to Ice's Camp. It'd be some time before he'd bother with fishing lessons again...