[Kitleoh]

Every single nerve in him spoke the truth; he was very far from his destination. If he were to be honest.. he didn't even know there was a volcano in Evelon, which was nothing more than proof of his ignorance. Every paw step was agonizingly painful mentally for Arien. He wasn't wounded in physically, however was wounded at the soul. This place was like one big maze for him, he was truly and utterly lost, and to top it off.. he was hot.
The presence of ash was everywhere. He could smell it, taste it, and saw few specks on the wind every now and then, blowing past like hot flakes of snow. He flicked his tail, and the Albie continued trekking through the Nori, trying desperately to find a way out.
He was now starting to regret being alone.

Arien used his muscles to push his way up a steep, but otherwise low side of a cliff. Not aware of any presence near him, and more unaware of being so close to a 'home' of sorts to other creatures (Who could live here?) he felt there was probably nothing else in this volcanic maze and finally decided to collapse upon the dirt. Or ash, whatever it was. None of it mattered to him. The only thing that did was rest.
"This makes no sense.. it's like this thing doesn't end." He panted out. Arien had not kept track of how long he'd been here.
Then again, he had a tendency to exaggerate anyway.

As the wind made another slightly caress against his body, he savored what little 'wind' was here, he heard a voice riding on it into his now alert ears. Lifting his head, he began to wonder if he was hallucinating, as one would in a dessert. How could he have not sensed something living in this volcano?
Perhaps it was the ash, which seemingly clogged up all of his senses. Arien stood now, and suddenly felt as if he had slightly high hopes. Just maybe he wasn't alone? Maybe he could find someone to help him out of this god-forsaken place after all.

[Kitleoh]

Heart now beating faster, his legs struggled to keep him pushing forward. Whatever was near, maybe it could help him out a bit. Maybe, just maybe, who ever were here, was in just a 'dire' situation as he was. After all, they were in a Volcanic Valley.

Turning the corner, Arien was meet with a creature that ultimately startled him. Jumping back slightly, and even rearing on his hind legs in response to the adrenaline that suddenly shot through him. But once he was able to focus, Arien gawked at this creature in wonder.
What.. was that thing? Some kind of demon? Perhaps it was death itself. Having never seen that before either, he could have easily made that the best guest.
The 'fog' that surrounded it made it seem unreal, a creature of myth. Yet he couldn't help but noticing the more horrifying thing to him. This thing seemed to be some-what cyborg. Even though all of these things were merely conclusions, Arien had the educated guess of one thing. He certainly wasn't 100% 'living'.

Despite it looking menacing, Arien was still completely optimistic. There had been tons of creatures that looked one way, however acted another. Maybe this was one too? Whatever it was.
Finally, he ceased his slightly horrified stare, and broke a smile across his muzzle. Blue eyes shining with curiosity, and hope, he broke the tense ashy air.
"Hello," He spoke steadily, "Are you lost?" He couldn't bring himself to ask, 'Are you lost too?'
He wanted to make sure he wasn't the only person capable of carelessly getting lost in an obviously dangerous place.

[Kitleoh]

How strange to him that this thing seemed shocked. Arien didn't quite get that, but he really didn't know where he was. Smile now turning over as if it were dead, and it were, Arien began to study the creatures features once more. He was big, and after hearing the voice the Albie made the connection of hearing his voice in the wind. What he had said, however, Arien couldn't tell you. His paws were huge, it seemed, and this creature certainly looked threatening. Not being able to tell if this were an organic creature, or a man-made one, he'd have to find a way to guess that as well. Perhaps he was both?
The problem was that he couldn't scent anything. Did the creature have no scent, or was Arien's nose just crippled temporarily by the ash?

As anyone else may have done, Arien sank back slightly when the Khimera approached. After all, he was smaller than it, and it didn't have to try to be intimidating to Arien.
But his ears came up in an exciting twitch, and not being able to control it, his eyes seemed to speak of the surprise he got in the answer.
"You live here? How's that possible?" But he didn't want to seem rude, despite how the question came across.
"Er.. anyway.. I suppose if you live here, I must explain myself. I'm trying to find a village, but it seems I ended up getting lost in this Volcanic Valley. It happens all the time.. me getting lost." Here, Arien made an embarrassed laughter. If he were to have a human age, it would have certainly been late teens, as he seemed to hold that immature nature.
"Anyways, please forgive me for intruding. I'm really not from around.. here."
Certainly, he wouldn't have said 'Evelon.' While he was not from around here, and technically a 'stray' as they were sometimes called, he didn't want to explain. He never did, and never would, tell people the full truth. What would be accomplished by it?

[Kitleoh]

Others lived here too? And a 'master?' By what he was saying, the resulting image in Arien's imagination was far from what it really was. He imagined a nice, kind, human master, with all those cute and colorful pets that ran around, happily at the masters every beck and call. Why he imagined this when a creature such as Thanatos was right in front of him would be a mystery. Perhaps, being a stray, that's what the typical 'master and home' looked like to him.
He'd seen plenty of them through fences, windows, etc. (Though the masters looked kind enough, there was obviously no guarantee they were.)

As the bigger creature halted his approach, not even 5 feet from him, Arien made a smile again. No longer were his defenses up, which could obviously be a huge mistake. Instead, his head was up, eyes shining and a smile back on his face. If he had indeed been able to smell his scent, he indeed would have been more on the defense. However, his mistake was thinking the creature had no scent, as most all creatures would have. The ash worked well with the robotic style of the Khimera body. It made him think that this creature would indeed have no scent at all.

Sure enough, Arien didn't notice any lie. He was too trustworthy, and didn't think much of the evils in the world. Part of his naiveness in still being young.
"Wow, could you?" Gasped out the young Albie, "That would be amazing." Making a content sigh, he quickly trotted after the beast thinking that it were nothing but the truth.
"And it's not kid," He said, getting slightly flustered, "It's Arien. What's your name?"

[Kitleoh]

The young Albie took in the scenery of the Volcano with his eyes, however his mind wasn't comprehending much but the heat. The creature by his side was either really tough, and not bowing down to the heat, or he was used to it. Then again, he did say he lived here in the Volcano.
Logically thinking, he would be used to it.

"Thanatos? That's a.. cool name, actually." He admitted wearily. It did fit, to him, however ominous it sounded. The face, the body, the creature, the name. It all went together quite well, as if carefully laid out for him. Yet, for now, the personality didn't seem to fit. Maybe it was just Arien getting too far ahead of himself, however that didn't seem too right. This guy seemed much more nicer than what his name and looks showed him.
"Guess you really can't judge a book by its cover.." Arien thought ignorantly.
And that's really as far as the conversation went as they continued walking. The silence got only a little akaward, yet refreshing as well. Walking and talking in this kind of heat was just too much for him. He didn't even want to think.
And, unfortunately, he wasn't.

Too tired to get mad at the 'kid' thing again, he just snapped his head up to his new 'companion' of sorts.
At first, he didn't quite get what he meant, until he looked again at where they were. He hadn't noticed even when he stumbled, nearly falling a few times. The encouraging smile he had received seemed to not only be working to keep Arien from suspecting anything, but from even paying attention as well. This wasn't right, but Arien thought it was a miracle he stumbled upon such a godly creature. That's how he saw it, for now.
"Of course," He said confidently, "I made it this far, I'm sure I can keep going."

[Kitleoh]

Determined, Arien followed the beast before him confidently. He hadn't taken notice of the Khimera before now, and truly started to notice some flawed parts on his body. Was it coincidental that he had these scars? Perhaps. But Arien again didn't quite seem to care about the irony of this. The only way to get Arien to notice something was wrong would be if Thanatos wore a huge sign around his neck which would read; "Evil, Keep Away."
But without it, the only thing that was on Arien's mind was food and water.

Though the scars did keep bugging him. If Thanatos wasn't a stray, how on earth did those wounds get so nasty? Did his master just not care for them? The thought made Arien upset. So he must have been one of those masters? How cruel the thought was. Maybe, just maybe, Arien could convince the Khimera to come with him and live alone rather than a cruel master.
'I shouldn't jump to conclusions..' He thought solemnly,  'I didn't even meet his master.. maybe there is some different explanation to this? I'll ask when we're almost out of the volcano.'

Suddenly, his paw caught on a nearby bone of an unknown creature, who suffered a horrid fate for wandering and not properly navigating around the volcano. He made a startled shout in surprise, and jumped forward, nearly bumping into Thanatos.
"G-geeze!" He said, heart racing as he studied the bones. Of course, this wasn't a pleasant sight for him to hold. Arien was an expert at getting lost, and thought how he could have easily suffered the same fate.
"Good thing I meet you, else I would be one of these guys."
Lucky to meet Thanatos? He had no idea what he was talking about.

[Kitleoh]

Perhaps the scars were just battle scars..
That was the conclusion the young Albie came up with. Maybe he protected a lot of others, as he was indeed strong and powerful. The strong usually help the weak, don't they? But all of this seemed a bit strange. Only now was Arien starting to use his head. Wasn't he supposed to be getting help out of the volcano? Was he being lead the wrong way?

"No.." He spoke softly, shaking off his doubt. "He knows this place better than I do," His voice was soft, barely above a whisper as he coaxed himself of any doubt.
"My guess is that.. he's taking me a back way.." A back way? In a volcanic crag? It would be unusual, but probable..

Suddenly, he froze, and his sky blue eyes opened wide at the voice that floated in his ears. Trying to find the source, and now on his defense, Arien looked in all sorts of directions. Yet that's not all he did. His hair stood up, his tail erect, and claws were becoming unsheathed as he bared his teeth slightly. It wasn't too intimidating, as he was still a 'teen' as it were, yet it did prove something. Arien wasn't a cowardly scared little child he made himself out to be. No, it seemed he actually could and would fight if needed be.

Fortunately (Or maybe unfortunately,) the defense didn't last long. Arien quickly saw Thanatos, standing calm it seemed. The brave act diminished from his exterior, though his heart remained strongly defended and paranoid as the calm facade quickly came back. Looking up to the Khimera, he stared hard at Thanatos. For a moment, perhaps it looked as if he were on to something.. yet all he was doing was showing he would be ready to follow his lead into the unknown.
'Though.. where is the voice coming from? And why would someone be defending a place like this?'
"Th-Thanatos," He stammered out, "Where are we going again? And what are we going to do? Who is this talking to us...?"

[Kitleoh]

As soon as a gigantic figure loomed over his head, Arien couldn't help but gawk in utter amazement. He hadn't seen much of Evelon, and certainly did not meet creatures as big as this. Menacing, and seemingly quite defensive of her territory, the young stray knew that he could be killed in an instant without her so much as moving a claw of hers. And here Thanatos was telling him to remain calm.
Gulping nervously and flicking his tail, the Albie couldn't help but think of the worst possible outcome of what Thanatos was trying to do.
Yet Arien didn't know of the secret conversation the two were having. The thought didn't even cross his mind. Why would he be suspicious? He was delusional from the heat and trek, for one, and ashes nearly clogged deep into his senses. Besides, why would anyone stop to think so deeply into things? It certainly didn't help that Arien was a simple minded child-like creature who trusted strangers..

As the Khimera cleverly spoke to the huge dragon like creature, so it seemed to Arien, He thought for a brief moment that she would indeed not let them pass. It was a total shock to see she indeed did.. but not without warning.
"Th-thank you!" He stammered out, staying close to his 'hero' as it would otherwise be called. Perhaps it was strange, him showing politeness to one of the things that was only cooing him along to his fate. But again, Arien knew nothing, and ignorantly thought that she too was just being a kind soul..

"That was very kind of her," Arien admitted gleefully, "But thank you as well. I mean.. I don't think I'd have been able to talk to that thing.. I-I mean her!" He suddenly was flustered, as if she would have heard what he said about her being a 'thing.'
"Er.. so, Thanatos. Do you know how much longer until we get out?"