[Kyrit]

(Pet form is a stand-in)

This was probably a terrible idea. Actually, he’d have to make a correction to that as sands blasted against him, seeming to cut through his fur as if it weren’t even there. This was definitely a terrible idea. The sun was relentless, the sand was searing, and there were no landmarkers that he’d managed to come across thus far. He couldn’t even follow his footsteps back to civilization at this point as the sands refused to retain them for more than five or six steps. By now the only way he even knew where he was going was the sun - rise in the east, set in the west. Briefly he had to wonder though, had he been out here long enough that the sun would now be to the west?

[Kyrit]

The words he’d overheard in a tavern that morning echoed in his head though and kept him continuing on. Wouldn’t it be so cool if there really was a cage cursed to draw in small birds and leave them in a trance so they wouldn’t leave? They said the previous owner left it out in the desert, not wanting anyone to have to suffer the fate of watching birds slowly die over and over as they refused to eat. To Friend though, that sounded amazing. Well, not the watching them die part. It essentially sounded like an unending supply of food! He’d still obviously go hunting, but man it’d be nice to have an easy access snack for when supplies were looking rough. So long as he made sure the birds didn’t suffer it was no different than having actually hunted for them, yeah? A day at most in the cage would be his guarantee, that way they wouldn’t begin to feel the pain of starvation.

[Kyrit]

The troublesome thought though was that this cage was guarded by some sort of monster that kept anyone from coming near. Perhaps the monster was just a mirage though? Then again, the entire cage could have been a mirage, and then what would be do? He’d have been running around this endless sandbox for nothing, without even knowing if he could get out. Water was already running low… so maybe he should just turn back?

[Kyrit]

Just as he began pondering the thought of turning around and doing his best to make it back to civilization, something caught Friend’s sigh. Were those… Footprints? Was he the one seeing a mirage? It took only a few steps before he reached them and leaned down, running a hand across them. The sands shifted through his finger, slightly breaking apart the footprint. It was still there though, even if broken now. Had the wind just stopped without him realizing? A glance behind him was enough to tell him that no, his tracks still didn’t last for much longer than a few steps. Yet ahead of him there wasn’t just one footprint. They were fairly small, but not all that different than his own. Perhaps a jackal or a pack of cinder wolves had passed through not long ago?

[Kyrit]

There wasn’t time to think about it for long. The sands burned the pads of his paws any time he stopped for more than seconds at a time. One thing he did know though was that where there were tracks there might possibly be a source of water not too terribly far away. With that in mind, he set off to follow this unknown set of tracks, willing to trail them as long as it took to either find a place to will up his waterskin or find the source of the tracks that the winds didn’t blow away.

[Kyrit]

Eventually the tracks began to fade with sadly no water in sight, nor sight of the beast that left them. What had just barely come in to sight though was what looked to be some sort of rocky outcrop that stretched as far as he could see in either direction. A dead end. It was much too tall for him to climb, at least not in this heat. It had to have been hundreds of feet high by his estimation. As he drew closer though, it looked as though there was an opening in the structure - a pretty large opening at that. It was over twice his own height and seemed to go much deeper in. Looking closely, it seemed as though there were faint traces of the footprints leading in to the cavern, though they were much harder to make out now.

[Kyrit]

“I mean…. It’s gotta beat being out in the sun,” Friend muttered to himself, as if bargaining with himself that going in would be safe in any sort of way. What if those footprints were some sort of magic? This easily could have been a trap intended to lure in stupid outsiders. Still, he had already followed them and was already there. No sense in not checking it out to see if maybe there was a hidden water source, yeah? If nothing else it’d be a good place to get some rest and cool down before attempting to make the trek back to town, hoping he hadn’t gotten all sorts of turned around.

[Kyrit]

Stepping even just one foot forth into the cavern he could feel the temperature falling. Further and further and it was starting to actually feel habitable. Based on the occasional prints and droppings of various animals he’d also say it looked habitable. There were no obvious signs of any bipedal inhabitants, which eased his mind to some degree. The further he delved the tunnel seemed to just continue to go on and on, often times at a slight downward angle. One fork would lead to another, seeming to lead to yet another. At times he also felt as though he were going back upward.

[Kyrit]

Would he even be able to remember the way he had come from at this point? At each fork he’d made sure to leave a marking, and so far he hadn’t come across any of them again. That was perhaps a good sign, or perhaps a sign that he was getting himself further lost within this maze. For him though, it was a positive sign that he took to continue pressing on. If someone or something had dug this intricate tunnel system there had to be something cool down here, at least in the mind of the adventurous child.

[Kyrit]

It felt like he was at it for hours, but eventually Friend’s footsteps stopped as a sound reached his ears. They gave a small twitch before rotating back and forth, trying to pinpoint it exactly. It’s sounded like a droplet of water falling in to a still pool. And there it was again! It came from ahead and must have been not too far away so he began walking again, his pace quickening until he was almost at a sprint. It didn’t take long before lights came in to sight, in particular some sort of faint glow. This glow he would come to find came from mushrooms starting to speckle the cavern walls as it started to widen.

[Kyrit]

Eventually, there it was. Illuminated by the glowing fungi surrounding it was a decently sized pool of water, droplets of water falling from stalactites above every few seconds almost as if following some sort of rhythm. The sight was absolutely stunning as he stood there in awe, marveling at the light dancing across the ripples created by the falling droplets.

Friend was hesitant to draw near though. There was many a thing he was willing to bravely approach, but water was not one of them at this point in his life. Not after having had a near death experience out on a lake barely a year before. Still… if he was going to even make his way back to town he was definitely going to need to restock his waterskin. As he forced himself to take another step forward he could feel his heart beating heavily in his chest, every ounce of his being screaming to leave. Each step became harder than the last, his body beginning to quiver.

[Kyrit]

Finally he was close enough to see his reflection in the rippling water, able to see his own chest heaving up and down with anxiety riddled breathing. How ridiculous he must have looked, terrified of something as harmless as a pool. Still, as he reached out the waterskin with one hand his other clasped his outreached arm, doing his best to hold it steady. It took a few moments before he was able to plunge the container in to the water, and now he waited with baited breath for something, anything, to attack him from within, to pull him from the safety of land and force him beneath the surface.

[Kyrit]

His eyes closed tightly, not wanting to see what fate would become of him. Bubbles floated to the surface as the waterskin expanded in his grasp, seeming to take an eternity to him. It was mere seconds though, seconds within which he felt a sudden nibble at his hand, causing him to let go of the container and jerk back from the water. A thud filled the chamber as his rear collided with the ground, hands quickly hitting down as well to brace himself as his eyes snapped open.

[Kyrit]

The only thing in sight were a few small fish, now swimming about the waterskin. One even ventured close enough to give it a quick bite, only to decide it wasn’t edible and swim away. All he could do for several minutes was watch on, yet at the same time his vision had lost all focus. The fish eventually lost interest in the waterskin, but he didn’t see. Everything was blurry, it felt like the room was spinning. He couldn’t even feel the ground beneath him, nor could he gasp for air.

[Kyrit]

Then came a voice from behind him, snapping him back to reality.

“Tell me, little one, what are you doing so far from home? Tell me, how did a Tabaxi come to find himself stranded in the desert with no town for miles?”

This was it, right? This was where things came to an end. For real this time. No one would happen upon this tragedy this deep in to the cavern. No one would be there to save him this time.