[Redd]

"I'm sorry, did I happen to hurt you?" Lazzi replied, looking slightly concerned. He scuttled over her back and perched up on her head, between her ears.
Koni started off padding down the tunnel. His head was buzzing with thoughts, most were confusing.
"Hey Siff, do you want me to hold that?" Koni asked, pointing at the lanturn.

Lazzi clung to Siff's ear. The howling noise the wind made as it raced through the tunnels, put him on edge. To the small creature, it reminded him of the moaning of a large monster.
He really had to toughen up. Yoru had sent him down here on a mission, and it would be his life on the line if he didn't complete it.

[Essence]

"No I'm fine, I was just poked a bit." She purred softly as she padded after Koni down the tunnel until he spoke again, she set down the Lantern with a 'clank' echoing through the Caverns seemingly endless tunnels. "If you want to sure." She said and she nudgedthe lantern in his direction. "But only if you want to, because I'm fine with carrying it if you don't want to." Siff mentioned with a yawn, showing her small white teeth. She shook a bit wildly for a minute, then stopped when she remembered Lazzi clinging to her soft ear. "Are you alright? You're not flung off anywhere are you?" Siff strained her eyes a bit upward to see if she could make out his tiny shape still on her head in the dark gloom. "And you're alright to, Koni?" She turned her head a bit to look directly at him.

<13>

[Redd]

"Nah, I'm fine carrying it." Koni said, grinning confidently. Koni picked up the laturn with his teeth and neatly flipped it over his head so it was hanging around his neck, making it easier to talk.

Lazzi clung on for dear life when Siff started shaking. Dear Gods, what is this girl trying to do? Lazzi thought to himself.
When she stopped however, Lazzi replied. "Dear girl, you could shake your head like that for hours, yet I will always be fine."
Seriously, the Langerine was a major show-off, despite his small insignificant size.

[Essence]

Siff smiled and nodded briskly in reply, and pushed it greatifully toward him as he picked it up. "Thanks!" She smiled and quickly licked her paw and scrubbed it over her ear, the one that Lazzi didn't cling onto of course. "So, we've been standing around here awhile, so why don't we get going. It might be nightfall soon, but I could go on for hours." SHe anoounced matter-o-factly.

"Oh yeah?" Siff as challengingly as she stared at Lazzi the best she could, seeing as how he was on her ear. "I think I might then." She playfully hissed as she launched herself into the air, twirling and spinning until she neatly landed on the smooth ground of their tunnel. "Just making sure you always will be fine." Siff giggled quietly half to herself. "So, off we go then?" She asked gazing at Koni, then slowly padded into the darkness of the tunnel.

<14>

[Redd]

Koni readjusted the laturn a little, and replied. "Really? I'll take your word for that." His tone was one of slight disbelief and teasing. "Me on the other hand, I am used to walking for days on end."
No, Koniglitch was not vain, he was just teasing her. Why? Because it was amusing for him.

Lazzi groaned inwardly. Oh dear, why did he have to say that? Taking a deep breath, he clung to her ear, as hard as his two limbs and tail could.
When the Cake Kuhna had ended her tirade, he relaxed a little. Not much in fear that the addled headed kuhna would do it again.
"Dear, I will always be fine." Lazzi mumbled, shaking his head woozily. "But yes, lets be off."

[Essence]

"Alright then!" Letting out a joyful grin, she padded off, keeping steady pace. Her tails flicked about as she scanned the tunnel's walls. They seemed - enchanting? Interesting, for sure. Only occasionally did she stop to give her paws or tails a brisk licking before returning on her walk again.

"So, Lazzi, what exactly are you doing here?" Siff tried to strike up a conversation, as it was to silent for her liking. As her stomached growled and broke more silence, she spun on her paws. "You guys want something to eat..? I think I might have something in my bag, if you want." She said, motioning to her bag with a flick of her tail.

<15>

[Redd]

As they walked, Koni glanced in Siff's direction. She seemed to be inspecting the strange walls of the caverns. Koni followed the direction of her eyes and started inspecting the walls himself. They were certainly different. He wondered why they were like that and what they were like that for.

Lazzi started from his doze that he had slipped into while they were walking. Silently he cursed himself for his lack of attention. "Me?" He replied. "Why I am here to search out something. Of what I do not know." He cocked his head trying to remember. "Yes. You must go into Criass Caverns, he said. Why? I replied. To find something, you will know when you see it. He told me."
Koni laughed a little at Lazzi's incredulous speech.
The little green thing glared at him. "What do you think is so funny?"
Koni shrugged, still smiling. "I don't know."

At the mention of food, Lazzi climbed down Siffs face, onto her nose where he was right in her face. "Did you mention you had some food? I would be glad to relieve you of some."
Again Koni was overcoming by a fit of giggles, but hid them more successfully. "Yeah, I'm gettin a little hungry myself. What have you got?"

[Essence]

Occasionally, when Koni would glance over, she'd glance back. Unknowing of whether he noticed really or not. Carefully letting out sigh, she murmured, half to herself "Aren't these caves interesting?" Her pelt prickled, she was excited, and admittedly, interested. Although she had been here many times before, the whole Cavern looked the same, they all had the round tunnels and gleaming walls, and the hard dusty floor, worn flat by many people and pets before them. That was the thing she had found interesting, that so many different people had been here and walked in her same spots before. She sat on her haunches and wrapped her tails around her paws..

Siff didn't hear much of what they where saying, she was far to consumed in her own thoughts to pay much attention. It was a downside to her, but her careful gazes where interrupted, "Huh?!!?!?!" She jumped in her spot, and her ears shot straight up, surprised at seeing Lazzi crawl in front of her face and speak.  "Well...maybe...you'd have to get off my face so I can see more though." She mentioned, and rolled her eyes in a teasing way before shifting to poke the Langerine with her paw.

<16>

[Redd]

As Koni's gaze had fallen upon Siff, he had flicked his eyes away quickly, in case she had caught him looking. Acting like the typical male. To pretend nothing was going on, nothing existed. No feelings, just a mutual friendship. But as the thought raced through his head, he was, if not a little reluctantly, coming to the realisation that perhaps this strange feeling he got when he glanced over at her, meant that he liked her.
'Oh dear... well... I just gotta act cool...' He thought to himself. 'Yes, act cool. Thats what I must do.'
So, instead he purposely directed his gazes into examining the cave walls, and their intricate beauty, only to take sly glances over at Siff when he felt she wasn't looking.

Lazzi however had other concerns. He wanted what ever was in Siff's backpack, and by his tail, he would most certainly get some food. Dodging the paw that was going to take him off Siff's face, he raced along her back, towards the aforementioned pack.
As he crawled onto the pack, he looked towards the Kuhna's head. "I'm off your head now, but by my tail, this pack is hard to open." The Langerine complained.

[Essence]

Siff eyed Lazzi as he crawled off her face finally. "Well you couldn't possibly open it." She retorted, grabbing the leather strap with her front teeth and dragging it. Once it was in more of a position, she unsheathed her claws and hooked her first one on a thin metal circle, then pulled it up. The bag opened, then Siff grabbed the zipper holding it closed, and pulled it open.

She peered inside.

"Yup!" She exclaimed, happy with her discoveries. "There's definitely food in here!" Tossing a sarcastic gaze at Lazzi she dug through more, "Looks good too!" Beckoning Lazzi over more to the opening, she pointed, "Come 'ere and pick what you want."

Her gaze flicked up to Koni.

"You can come up here too and look, if you like. I'm sure there's something you could eat. But you'd have to be quick, or Lazzi will eat it all." In a teasing way, she flicked her tail towards Lazzi, before stepping away from her bag to let the others look.

<17>

[Redd]

"Excellent." Lazzi dug through the bag, eagerly to find what kinds of 'treasure' lay inside. And he was pleased with the result. He had found a large packet of currants. Large meaning about a small handful. Looking quite pleased and self-satisfied, he pulled the small sachet out and began eating it with gusto.

"That small thing? Eat your food." Koni replied. "That I would like to see."
Lazzi bristled indignantly. "I think, again you underestimate me kuhna."
"Hay, calm down, I was only teasing." Koni replied, lashing his tails cheekily.
"I knew that." The small Langerine sniffed, before returning to his food.

Koni gave a small shrug to Siff, before curiously walking over to her bag.
"Watcha got in there?" He asked.

[Essence]

Siff let out a small giggle watching Lazzi rummage through her bag. She watched as he started eating. Opening her bag up wider, she observed. Aside from her food, there was her regular stuff. iPOD, bandaids, etc. She shrugged before turning to Koni and Lazzi, and smirked to herself as Koni teased the Langerine.

After thinking to herself for a minute, she zoned back in. "Huh?" she questioned, before his question registered in her mind. "Oh..right" Sending another glance in her bag, then back up at the Kuhna standing near the sack. "I have stuff, you can look around, I don't mind." She pushed the leather sack with one paw towards Koni, it made a draggling like sound. "I'll eat whatever you don't, so take whatever." Siff said, smiling before letting out a small yawn. She stood, walked in a few circled before slumping down into the ground, wrapping her tails delicately over her paws.

<18>

[Redd]

Koni dug his paw into her bag, and pulled out an orange, and a headphone cord which had become stuck around his unsheathed claw. He frowned slightly, delicately using his free paw to untangle the cord.
With his paw free, he glanced over at Siff. "What's the matter?" He asked, mock-concern lacing his voice, as he playfully teased her. "I thought you could continue all night, but you looked tired to me."
He promptly sat down, using his claws to tear through the thick skin, before he could eat the fleshy insides.
Lazzi scuttled over, after eating his bag of currants. He had disposed of the packaging somewhere, no where he could remember. Now he was slightly drowsy, after the initial fright of earlier today, with his missing partner and then meeting up with these two.
What were these two doing in here again? It was strange to find two lone kuhna, although yes they had company earlier, his short-lived attention span only told him there was always two.
"What were you two doing in these caves before I came?" Lazzi piped up curiously, crawling onto the pack and curling up there.

[Essence]

Siff acknowledged him with a nod as Koni dug around in her bag, pulling an orange out, carefully unhooking her iPOD headphone carefully and putting it back. Siff dug around herself, pulling out a plastic tub with some sort of sliced meat inside. Grabbing the tip of the plastic lid wih her teeth, she maneuvered it open and smirked happily before taking a bite.

"Oh you're funny." She said sarcastically when she was done chewing. "Even great explorers like me need their rest!"

"Hmm?" Siff shifted toward Lazzi, now resting on her bag. "What was I doing?" she pondered, "Well, at first, I was studying the Cavern walls, taking notes and trying to decipher anything that might be there. But I dunno, I have them down in my notebook there in my pack." she reached down to get it, then remembered Lazzi and shrugged. "Then I met Koni here, and we've been hunting for Akails." She sent a glance at the Kuhna sitting opposite her, then back at Lazzi. "We had someone else too, Rave and Toto, but they left."

<19>

[Redd]

Koni smirked back at her. "Ohkay, I was just checking. I did say I would take your word for that. Did I not?"
He got up on his feet and peered at the walls. "I do wonder if they mean anything. Oh, maybe an Akail would know." He said brightly.
He was secretly hoping they could find one soon. He was bursting with excitement to see the outside world, and hopefully make his mark there. He was a Prince of old in his world, and naturally he would think like that.
"Aah, of course." Lazzi remarked. "Well, I'm gonna head off down here. You can catch up when you are ready."
Lazzi trotted off, eager to find what his boss had asked him to get. Sure, he had a short attention span, but when missions where involved, he would never forget. Bad things happened to people who forgot.
Plus, he felt that the two kuhnas needed some time alone.
Lazzi sniggered to himself as he headed off down the hall.