Side Quest 8: Hello, My Name is...

Cassie walked through the halls of the Crystal Caverns, the green and red of her uniform reflected in the myriad of Coloured gems embedded in the walls. She had seen some people out of uniform walking around before, but did not yet feel comfortable unmasking herself, so to speak.

She reached the common room, hoping to find a place to sit and finish planning her upcoming workout session with her client. As she walked in she felt a twinge of recognition when passing one of the other Animamates in the room, and before she realised had spoken a name from her childhood.

“…Brisa?”

Brisa, as Angelite Calico Cat, was holding a small fluffy creature in her arms that appeared to be munching on a bar of chocolate, turned back towards Cassie, recognition hitting her as she replied.

“Yes, can I- Cassie, is that you?” Her cat ears moved down as the creature climbed onto her head. “Y-you’re an Animamate too?” she asked.

Cassie stopped still, shocked that she had been right in recognising this woman considering how long it had been.

"I...yeah, and you too I see?"

"Yeah." She chuckled. "First penpals and now we're magical gem animal warriors. Funny how destiny works, right?"

Cassie laughed, "I guess so, huh." 

Unsure exactly where to go from there she decided to ask the first thing on her mind "By the way, your hair...did you dye it?"

"O-Oh! I'm so sorry!" She picked the creature up off her head and held it out to Cassie. "Can you hold him for a second?" she asked waiting as Cassie obliged before bringing her hand to her brooch, closing her eyes, and transforming back to her civilian form. 

"That should be a bit better." She smiled.

"Oh, sure." Cassie held out her arm for the small creature, unsure what was happening at first but soon understanding as the blue hair shifted back to a familiar colour. "Oh I see, that's pretty neat." She responded with a grin.

Brisa smiled back. "This is Sharky, by the way. My pilik.”

“Your…Pilik?” Cassies responded, questioning.

“Oh, the geodes the Trinity gave us are eggs, and these little guys are what." She carefully took her pilik back. 

"How about we sit down so we can catch up?"

Croc's grin dropped into a slightly concerned expression as she realised the rock she'd left on her bedside table was actually an egg.

 "Oh...oh I didn't realise..." letting out a weak laugh she mentally made a note to wrap it up in something soft as soon as she got back to it. 

"But yeah, let's take a seat..." she moved to a small lounge near where Brisa was standing.

Brisa once again placed Sharky on her head. "So, how have you been?"

Cassie’s eyes followed the pilik as it made a home on Brisa’s head, before snapping back to meet her eyes and leaning back into the lounge.

“Not bad I guess, fighting evil by moonlight and all that.” She laughed a little before continuing, “and yourself?”

“I’ve been better, but Thor’s doing very well. He’s still fast as hell.:

“Thor? Is that the dog you wanted to get?” Cassie asked, somewhat unsure of her old memories.

Brisa laughed, “Not quite, here’s a picture of him,” she brought up a photo of a horse with a lightning bolt pattern on his left flank.

“Oh, ohhhhh, wow that’s awesome, what a beauty.” Cassie responded with a laugh.

“He’s my pride and joy. He’s my partner in all the tournaments and competitions.” Brisa said with a smile.

“You ride competitively?” Cassie asked, looking impressed.

"Mhm!" She nodded and smiled. "Someday I want to teach others how to ride horses. Basically, be an Equestrian teacher."

"That's awesome, I've only ever been horse riding once on holidays. It was pretty cool, but I think the horse did all the work." Brisa laughed.

"If you ever come to our ranch, I can help you! As well as my brothers and sister."

"That would be pretty cool, and I suppose the whole teleporter thing here would make it a lot easier." Cassie said with a grin.

"I guess so." Brisa chuckled. “I was planning on going back home if you wanted to come with. To meet my family. Henry's gotten a lot better at cooking thanks to Kingston helping."

"Oh, that sounds nice but -" just then a beeping sounded, coming from Cassie’s wrist "-I have work soon, sorry." She held up her arm to show the smart watch flashing a little reminder responsible for the noise.

"I haven't yet visited here without being transformed, but I learned I can just put my watch on afterwards without it disappearing if I just want to spend some time here." She explained.

"You don't need to be transformed just to come here. I manage to just tap my pin when I want to come here." Brisa pointed to the pin on her choker. "As long as you have your transformation item with you, you should be okay."

"I know, I just...feel weird about it ya know? There's a lot of people here, and I feel like this is my work uniform I guess?" She chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

"That's alright. Whenever you feel comfortable." Brisa replied with a smile.

"Thanks," she stood up, "by the way, I'm sorry we lost contact. I always enjoyed our letters, but I was an angsty teen dealing with my final year of high school and I guess my priorities were all a jumble." She laughed somewhat awkwardly. "It's nice to talk to you again though, and to actually see you in person for the first time."

"Same here pretty much. And it was great talking to you again too!"

"I'll find you again and maybe we can organise some horse riding - and if you ever want to work out, I can show you some good routines!" She waved as she went to exit the room.

"Bye!" Brisa waved after her, Sharky imitating the gesture with his tail.

Cassie smiled as she left them behind, heading towards the teleporter pads, though it soon dropped off her face as she realised she hadn’t finished off that workout plan, her casual stroll turning into a hurried jog.