Twitchy had reached that perfect age—nearly seven weeks of life—where he could survive a few hours alone without spiraling into panic. Kai was experiencing one of the first few joys of a new part, self-dependance- Ironically, something Devin never really experienced in his life. While, the young kit was not comfortable with separation, exactly, but capable of managing it. Kai used these windows to explore sections of the cavern system that were too dangerous to navigate with a kit in tow.
The pressure-sense had become so refined by now that Kai could map entire tunnel networks just by walking through them. Every vibration told a story. Every air current whispered direction and distance. The whole underground world sang in frequencies only predators like World Cats could hear.
And that's how Kai found the carved stone.
It jutted from the hardpack like a tooth, wedged at an angle that suggested either recent disturbance or incredibly precise placement. The moment Kai's claws touched it, something crystallized in his mind. This wasn't just a rock. It wasn't weathered by some random geological process.
Someone had made this. He was convinced.
The stone was roughly the size of Kai's head, dark and smooth except for the surface covered in geometric patterns. Circles within circles. Lines that intersected at precise angles. The carvings were deep enough that even after what felt like countless seasons of erosion, they remained distinct and sharp.
Kai spent an hour working the stone free. His claws weren't ideally shaped for delicate excavation, but patience and determination managed what finesse couldn't. Finally, the stone came loose in a cascade of sediment that filled the tunnel with small dust clouds.
He held it in his front limbs and stared.
The system tried to be helpful.
ARTIFACT IDENTIFIED: UNKNOWN ORIGIN ESTIMATED AGE: 8,000-12,000 YEARS COMPOSITION: METAMORPHIC STONE, NATURAL DEPOSITS NEARBY PURPOSE: SPECULATIVE
But the system's speculation wasn't what mattered. What mattered was that Kai, who had been alive for less than seven weeks, was holding evidence that someone else had been here. Someone intelligent. Someone who had carefully carved meaning into rock and left it behind.
Someone who had wanted to leave a message.
Four more stones appeared over the next week.
Kai found them scattered through the deeper tunnels like breadcrumbs. Each one different. Each one clearly intentional. Each one bearing the weight of being left by something that understood its own mortality and wanted to transcend it.
He brought them all back to the main den, arranging them in a line along one wall. Twitchy watched with the kind of intense curiosity that suggested the kit understood these objects held significance even if their meaning escaped him.
Stone 1 showed concentric circles with a break at the top, like a target with damage. Kai's mind kept offering interpretations. What does this mean, Kai thought to himself. Warning? Threat indicator? Something falling from above?
Stone 2 was crosshatch patterns with deliberate dots at intersections. It felt like a map, though Kai couldn't translate it into any geography he recognized.
Stone 3 spiraled so intricately that staring at it too long made Kai's vision swim. The carving was precise enough to suggest it took hours to complete. Days, maybe. Someone had chosen to spend that much time on a single design, which meant the design was either incredibly important or the carver had time to spare. Maybe both.
Stone 4 showed waves. Not abstract representations but detailed enough that Kai could almost imagine water moving across the stone's surface.
Stone 5 looked like an explosion. Sharp angles radiating from a central point in all directions, aggressive and menacing.
"You were trying to warn someone," Kai said aloud, which was a new habit he'd picked up. Talking to objects that couldn't respond helped organize his thoughts. "You knew you were ending. You wanted someone to understand."
Twitchy chirped, curious about what Kai was explaining to inanimate stone.
"Civilization leaves messages," Kai continued, more to himself than the kit. "That's one of the things that separates it from just survival. Someone survives. They die. It's over. Civilization? Civilization means leaving something behind so others know you existed."
The kit didn't understand the implications, but Kai was beginning to.
The sixth stone changed everything.
Kai discovered it wedged in a natural crevice deeper than any of his previous explorations, close enough to the old eel's territory that he had to move carefully. This stone was different from the others. The erosion patterns suggested it was newer, or had been protected from weathering, or both. The carving was more detailed, showing something that almost looked like intentional representation.
It depicted a creature. Bipedal or quadrupedal, the perspective made it difficult to determine, but undeniably intelligent-looking. And around that creature were other elements. Symbols that matched patterns from the previous stones.
And rising from below in the carving was something with too many limbs. Something in the act of hunting the intelligent creature.
Kai's entire body went still.
He carried the stone back to the den and laid it among the others, suddenly seeing connections where before there had only been confusion.
"Water," he said slowly. "Every single stone has something to do with water."
Stone 1: A gap at the top. Danger descending. Stone 4: Flowing water, obvious and literal. Stone 5: Aggression, force, something moving with overwhelming power. Stone 6: Danger rising from below.
"They understood water could kill them," Kai whispered. "Not just normal water. Massive water. Floods. Catastrophic water."
He moved to the wall and pressed his pressure-sense against it. The stone was solid, but beneath the solidity existed patterns. The traces of water that had once moved through these tunnels with tremendous force. Mineral deposits that marked the height water had reached. Smooth worn sections where currents had torn away rough edges.
The cavern system itself was scarred by ancient flooding.
"They're warnings," Kai said with certainty. "Someone understood that this would happen again. They carved these stones hoping someone smart enough would find them and understand."