[Terri]

Chari let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.  Finally, finally, Odil was showing some sign of help.  She almost grinned in the darkness as she padded in the direction the Decay Kuhna had indicated, stepping carefully.

She almost cried out as she stubbed her toe on something; she looked down, but there wasn't enough light to make out what the object was.  "Watch out, Odil," she said, glancing behind her.  "There's something on the ground around here.  Walk carefully."

Being rather inexperiences in navigating caves, the Tali didn't know that said object was a stagmite, and that they calcium build-ups would be found all throughout the cave.  She also didn't know that hanging precariously above them were hundreds of stalactites, frozen drips falling from the roof of the cave.  Chari didn't know it, but she and Odil had to be extremely careful.  The slightest tap, or even a sharp sneeze, could send those sharp stalactites down from the cave in a deadly rainstorm.  They had to trod carefully.

Nose to the ground, Chari was vaguely surprised that the scent of Klaud didn't seem to be getting any stronger.  "You sure he came this way...?"

[Jaykobell]

Odilon squeaked as Chari hit her paw. Had it been a rock? A weapon of some sort? What had it been? Worried, the Decay Kuhna rushed over to Chari, looking down at her paw despite the darkness. "A-are you okay?" he meowed, but soon enough the Tali seemed to have let it go to tell him to be careful. Odil nodded simply and kept on following the Tali.

"I'm sure he did..." the Decay male assured her, flicking his ears. "I can smell his trail... but it's just.... faint..." he meowed, sniffling the ground still.

Soon enough, a loud crash was heard from further ahead. A voice, clearly irritated and even slightly scared, cried, "Aah! Where in the world AM I!?"

Capturing the call, Odil's ears pricked. "That's him!" he meowed, running ahead on his own.

[24] [10 -- lvl] [14]

[Terri]

Chari leaned towards the voice, trying to pinpoint its location through the echoes it dispelled into the cave.  Resorting to follow Odil, she padded softly behind him, calling out to Klaud as she walked.

"Klaud?  Are you okay?"  Her voice was fairly loud, bouncing off the walls and ceiling.  And, of course, those dangerous stalactites, which wobbled precariously as the sound waves bounced off their rocky surfaces.  Uh-oh, they had better tone it down a little, or they might find themselves wedged between a rock and a hard place.

[Jaykobell]

Not so far ahead was the missing Pearl Kuhna, bumping around the walls of the cave. Most likely blind at the moment, Klaud kept tripping and crashing into everything that would get in his way, hissing and squeaking. "Aah! Stupid place thing!" the Pearl Kuhna snapped, seeing nothing around him.

"Klaud!" Odil called, and soon after his own cry, Chari's followed suit, alarming the Pearl male.

Stranger to Chari's voice still, Klaud simply caught Odil's, his ears pricked up. "Odil... dude, is that you?" the Kuhna meowed, looking around madly despite the lack of actual sight. "Where are you!" the male shouted, desperately trying to find out where he was.

"We're here, Klaud!" Odil meowed, getting over to the Pearl Kuhna. "There you are..." he meowed, relieved, unaware of the pointy rocks perched above their heads...

[25 -- lvl] [11] [14]

[Terri]

Chari stayed on Odil's heels as he led them towards Klaud's assumed location.  She couldn't help grinning when she caught sight of the Pearl's dim outline--they'd found him before Anakoni had.  Even if the Tali felt no real affection for the Kuhna himself, she was glad that they'd found him, even if for no other reason than it meant they'd beat the Saffron.

She came to a standstill behind the Decay Kuhna, waiting expectantly for the teary reunion that, given the two males involved, probably wasn't going to occur.

In fact, Klaud's bumping around and into thing pretty much sealed that hypothesis.  Somewhere far behind them, Chari registered a faint tumbling sound, followed by a barely audible crash.  Her auds picked up as she twisted her neck around, trying to locate the source of the sound--a futile task in the dark, dank cave.

She had just about discarded the sound as an echo trick when she heard it again.  Slightly clearer this time, closer.  Soon to follow was another crack, then a crash, then another and another.  Chari was becoming increasingly alarmed as the odd sounds made their way closer.  Then she noticed the rock ground upon which she stood was vibrating ever so slightly.  She turned to Odil, her eyes wide.

"[INSERT CHOICE OF PROFANITY HERE]."

[Jaykobell]

The two males were busily talking. Odilon explained to Klaud what had happened after he had ran off, while Klaud countered with his own case, how he had no idea how he had ended up here, and how he had no idea how to exit this cave. Needless to say, the two males were busily talking about their adventure so far.

But then the loud noise interrupted their discussion. Coming face to face with a wide-eyed Chari, Odil started freaking out. Just what was that rumbling and those crashes and and... Aah! Was the cave crumbling down on them!?

The rocks kept on falling down, eventually blocking the path towards the exit. As one was about to hit the female Tali, said pet's hind paw was grabbed by strong jaws, which pulled Chari down through the ground, the rock missing its target by a hair. All that could be heard before vanishing was a faint, "Chari!" coming from Odil.

---

Apparently dragged below the upper level, this level was decorated with a few torches, making the cave more illuminated. Now bright as day, Chari could get a fairly good look at her savior, who happened to be no one other than Anakoni, the Saffron leader of the Tali Clan. "Reckless," he barked, but his voice was not scolding or harsh. Relieved, would be more like it.

[26] [12] [15 -- lvl]

[Terri]

As the rocks kept falling from the cave ceiling, Chari's eyes got wider and wider.  She stared at the two Kuhnas for a moment before whipping around to face the onslaught of rocks, baring her teeth in a menacing snarl.  Threatening a cave-in; how horribly smart she was.  As the rocks came closer and closer, her breath caught in her throat.  On crashed right in front of her face, inches from her nose, and another stalactite came crashing down to her left.  She swung her head back to search for the two Kuhnas in darkness, her eyes desperately scanning the black for her two companions.  In a few split miliseconds, they'd all be buried under tonnes of rock.  Meekly, she faced forward again.  She heard a crack directly above her and flinched, holding her eyes tight shut.  She could hear the whoosh of the rock as it left the roof, falling straight towards her.  In a few heartbeats, she knew, she'd be cleaved clean in two...

Then there was a strong grip on her back paw and she was slipping downwards.  She desperately clawed at the ground, trying to hold her footing, but was sucked away just as she dimly registered her name called out in fear.  "Odil!" she tried to scream back, but her voice bounced off into the oblivion of the crashing stalactites.

She blinked in the sudden light.  It wasn't a lot of light, but certainly more than he'd had a few seconds before.  She gave her eyes a moment to adjust before looking around wildly for the jaws that had saved her life.  Her gaze locked on Anakoni, the Saffron Tali from before.  Her eyes narrowed.  Her intense dislike was battling with the fact that, well, he had just saved her life.  She stayed silent for a moment, sorting out her thoughts.  When she caught his murmured word, though, she exploded.

"Reckless!?  And just what in Xai are you doing down here?"  She snarled.  "You idiot!  What about those Kuhnas?  Do you know you've just condemned them to death!?"  Theoretically, of course.  If Chari hadn't been so worked up, she'd known better than to assume such a thing.  "Who do you think you are?"

[Jaykobell]

It made the Saffron Tali chuckle. Chari made him chuckle. She was so quick when it came to jumping to conclusions, to accuse people without proof. He supposed it was natural coming from a... natural... comrade. "I did not so," the Tali barked, getting up from his spot. "I know this cave well; they were deep enough so there weren't enough stalactites to drown them. It used to be a cave used by a Hollowheart. Most stalagmites and stalactites were destroyed. Their survival depends on their skills to survive in the wild," the Tali explained. If the two Kuhnas had happened to be unable to run away, he had settled two guards, which had been ordered to interfere would the Kuhnas be in deep trouble. "This floor and the one above both lead to a common point, where they seperate; with any luck, your two feline friends were safely rescued and should be waiting for us to come back."

And without waiting for an answer, Koni walked off, heading for the said intersection he had talked about only a few moments ago. "You following?" he asked the female with twitching ears. "If you don't, you'll most likely get lost in here," he warned, heading off once more.

[26] [12] [16]

[Terri]

The explanation was met with silence as Chari stared at the other Tali, her mouth set in a firm downward curve.  Her normally wide, bright eyes were locked into a glare, beading into Koni's yellow pelt.  What exactly was his deal?  Who was he to offer her comfort concerning the two Kuhnas that he had so clearly threatened not long ago?  Chari was having trouble figuring this guy out, a fact that downright infuriated her.

Since she had no other option, she figured he had nothing to lose by following him.  At the moment, he seemed harmless enough.  Padding sofyly after him, she decided to bide her time.

But, knowing Chari, I think it's obvious that she's unable to keep her mouth shut.  When it opened, it wasn't a yell that emitted forth, amazingly enough.  Level-headed speech, but she spoke quickly, as if she was afraid she'd lose her cool if she gave herself time to breath between words.  "Why did you pull me down here?" she asked.  "What do you want with me, with the others?  What in Xai's wrong with you that you feel the need to string us along, twist the knife?"

[Jaykobell]

He could feel very well the deep glare that was burning his pelt. But the Tali did not mind. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. If Chari was well enough to glare at him with such hatred, then it meant that she had survived her fall just right. She should have no problem following him through the maze of the cave, surely.

She was so interesting, intriguing. Yes. A Tali with such a strong character, such courage. She wasn't afraid of blurting out her opinion, and she didn't care about the consequences. She was one for challenges and adventures, as well. What an amazing clanmate she would be, would she be able to relax and listen to him. But obviously, the Prismatic female hadn't taken well to the event which happened earlier. She couldn't understand the need to protect a home, a territory, a family. She seemed too independent to understand these things. But maybe that, if she would be willing to join the Clan... maybe then he could teach her how important it is to stand your ground to defend what you own and love.

"I threatened them so to protect my clan and family. Do you not understand how it is? Maybe you do not have a family to protect, maybe you do. But what would you do, would someone come upon your home and try to take it from you? You would fight for it, would you not? That was the same," Anakoni barked, slithering through the thin parts of the cave with easy, despite his muscular stature; it was obvious he had come here more than once. "Would you join the clan, I'm sure you would understand what it is." Was this a subtle hint asking her to think about it? Maybe, maybe not. Who knew? Most likely only the Saffron Tali himself. He did not reply to her first question; he figured the explanation he had just given would tell her the answer... She was a smart female, most likely she would figure it out, what he meant.

[26] [12] [17]

[Terri]

Her face flared red as he spoke.  The Prismatic Tali hated being wrong, positively hated it.  She'd never been good at admitting she wasn't right.  She just couldn't bring herself to say, yeah, I'm wrong.  To apologize on a topic she had fiercely defended meant backing down, showing her to be weak of will.  In spite of herself, Chari found Koni's words making sense.  She couldn't bring herself to accept that fact, however.  Unable to pick out flaws in his logic, she merely stayed silent for the time being, glaring as if her eyes alone could burn through him, put him in the wrong.  He was, though, right.  Protecting one's family is your first concern, is it not?

Chari herself wouldn't know.  Her inability to obey authority had cursed her young life, forced her out of her parents' control at a relatively early age.  Where the Saffron was preaching about the importance of maintaining a strong family bond, Chari had severed hers purposefully.  Unable to cope with rules, regulations and expectations, she'd fled the responsibility of family.  She had no idea why Koni placed so much faith, so much heart in this clan of his.  She didn't understand.  She couldn't.

But, just for a split second, she caught herself wondering what it would be like.  To have a family, to be part of a group.  To be responsible for and have others responsible for you.  Though her current home at the Realm provided company and a roof over her head, it wasn't the same thing.  There's a definite difference between living with others and co-existing with them.

Shaking her head firmly, she banished such thoughts from her mind.  She had nothing to learn from these barbarians.  She'd cling stubbornly to her original opinion of Anakoni.  Padding along behind him, she let the venom drop out of her voice as she spoke.  "I'm not like you."  Meaning in that in reference to her lack of family loyalty, the young Tali was surprised to find herself looking at the question from a different angle.  Was she like him?  We're the two of them really as far apart as Chari wished?  Ultimately, they wanted the same thing.  They wanted to be left alone in their seperate worlds, without interruption or corruption.  "I'm nothing like you," she repeated, more to assure herself than her companion.  "I couldn't understand."

[Jaykobell]

She was struggling. Stubborn as she was, accepting defeat in a conversation was like taking multiple blows to the face. Who would like such a thing, after all? Getting hurt was no fun; no fun at all. He didn't mind whether he was right or wrong, however; he simply wanted the female Tali to try and understand his way of thinking, so the two could get along better. Yes, she obviously felt no deep feelings for the Saffron Leader, but Anakoni wasn't thinking about this fact, either.

"I certainly hope so," he spoke softly without turning around to look at Chari, his paws continuing their journey towards the reunion point of the cave. "Who would we be, if we were the same? I'm not like you, you're not like me; it is simply logical. We are who we are. Although we can share likes and dislikes, no one is truly the same as another. Even clones are different. So different, can they be called clones, even? Maybe. What do you think?" The way he thought, the way he spoke, he would often bring a snarl out of his opponents. The Tali wasn't afraid of admitting things, even if he was wrong. Such was life, as he saw it. "However. Maybe you understand better than you think. Why were you, and are still, worried about those two little felines? You barely know them, you've barely talked to them, after all; why care for them? Were they not little burdens, walking with you for the simple reason they felt defenseless by themselves? Why did you need to care for them? Grown attached to them? So fast? How intriguing, how interesting."

He expected a loud snarl and bared claws and fangs, along with an ambush. But would the female react offensively, so would the male. He impatiently waited for an answer...

[26] [12] [18]

[Terri]

Chari would have snarled just as Koni had predicted she would if the question hadn't caught her so off-guard.  Instead, she merely narrowed her eyes once more, desperately wanting to shoot something back at him.  Something reached up her throat and held her tongue back, though.  She found herself choking on the words she wanted to spit out, unable to snap and snarl.  Rather frustrated with herself, she simply answered his question straight and honestly.  Though there was still a tad of venom dripping from her smooth, thoughtless words, her tone was nearly civil.  Well, maybe not civil, precisely, but at least tolerable.

"I don't think I am truly attached to them.  I wouldn't care this much, I wouldn't be worrying about them if it weren't for you.  It's more as though I have something to prove than that I feel genuine affection.  I'm not attached to them.  I'm attached to beating you."  She regretted the words the instant they were out of her mouth, not because of how she might appear to Koni, but because of the truth she'd somehow forced herself to think about.  What was it about him that made her speak so honestly?  Bitterly, yes, and full of malice, but she still spoke truthfully.  For some odd, unfathomable reason, she'd admitted to herself that no, she really didn't care about the two Kuhnas.  Perhaps somewhere deep, deep down she did, but that wasn't the reason she was so frantic about their safety.  Was she merely showing off for the scarred Tali leader?

She didn't let her companion see her uncertainty, though, as she continued walking briskly alongside him, her head held high and firm as always.

[Jaykobell]

Aah, a bitter reaction, a harsh truth finally came out of her mouth. Koni wasn't all that impressed by her reply; he had expected it, even. "I see," he barked simply, flicking his tail. "To prove what, exactly?" he then asked Chari, raising his head so their eyes could meet. "Females are the same as males, if that is the case you're trying to prove." Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Who knew? But the Saffron Tali knew what he had just said honest, and that maybe he would get a brighter image from the female Tali by saying his mind. Maybe he was on the wrong track by saying what he had; but, oh well. He would have tried?

He noticed how proud and how stubborn she was. Proud, stubborn, determined... She had everything to join his clan. He needed more fierce fighters like her, more clanmates with such charisma. He needed them, he wanted them. With such strong warriors, the smaller pups would be safer, and their lives would be more secure. A sigh. "I know what you think of me," he finally said, lowering his head a bit. "You think that I'm a self-centered jerk who doesn't care about others, right?"

[26] [12] [19]

[Terri]

Chari's ears twitched as the Saffron offered an explanation for her sense of rivalry.  Though she would have loved to snap something horribly snide back at him, she kept her maw shut.  She didn't think that was the reason, a mere race of the genders.  She didn't have the slightest clue why she had to be better than him, actually; she just did.  She needed to provee that because...well, who knows.  Perhaps it's just an inexplicable part of her nature.  She needs to know she can take care of herself, and she needs everyone else to know that, too.

She did cast him a peripheral glance when he ventured a guess as to her opinion of him.  She seemed to fumble with the words for a moment; what exactly did she think of him?  Rather than entering a deep state of soul-searching and epic growth, she merely snorted.  "How long'd it take you to figure that one out?"  She refused to be impressed by him.  Whatever suggestions he'd toss at her, she'd toss right back.  It'd take more than a sigh and statement of the obvious to turn her head around.

"Ow!" she suddenly complained, cringing noticably.  She turned her head to the floor of the cave where she found a small, sharp rock with a few drops of blood on it.  Dejectedly, she brought one of her paws up to her face and peered at it.  Given the blood on her pad, it's safe to assume that she'd stepped on said rock.