[Jaykobell]

As they moved onward, they reached a room that was a little bit more illuminated. It was still dark, all things considered, but they could see a lot better than in the previous room. The walls became decorated with crystals again, colors popping against the dark stones.

Velius squinted in the darkness; from the entrance to this section, there didn't seem to be a path leading elsewhere. They would either need to backtrack, or it was just further ahead, hidden just well enough by the darkness. He noticed Caraway working on the map, going a bit further ahead to note it all down. If there were any kind of new path, Caraway would advise them.

Braith eyed the room, and although those crystals were certainly distracting with their beauty, there was nothing organic in this room that she could tell. She took the opportunity to shape shift; there was a bright light, and within seconds, the small girl had turned into a large, nine-tailed Yonyuu. Her small cloak rested on her head and shoulders, a tiny hood in comparison to when she wore it as a small human girl.

[Jaykobell]

While Caraway busied himself mapping the section, Velius looked over his shoulder. "Feeling better?" he asked the Yonyuu.

"Much," Braith replied, and her voice was a bit lower when in this bigger form. Velius forgot the Yonyuu wasn't a young creature because of the small, child-like appearance Braith took for a human form. The Yonyuu sounded a lot more mature, and not to mention, a lot more intimidating.

"Good," he said in response; and just in time for Caraway to finish mapping the area. "Are there any new paths?" he asked, wanting to confirm his suspicions from earlier.

"Not ahead," Caraway said, and he turned the map around, "but there's a path to our left, very close to here." Velius blinked at the mention; but it made sense for him to have missed it, if it was that close to them. He had only concerned himself with what was ahead of them.

"Left it is, then," Velius said, but before truly moving on, he asked, "Anything noteworthy here?" When Caraway shook his head, Velius turned and lead the group down the path to the left.

[Jaykobell]

As they walked past, neither man was bothered by the fact they had a large Yonyuu walking alongside them. They did stay in front, however, as Braith's many tails took a rather significant amount of space. That form of hers wasn't a problem, but Caraway did have questions about it; specifically why she had no wings, but nine tails. He had never dared to ask; he had never got a chance to, either.

He continued to map the place, expecting this path to lead to somewhere new and different, and at the ready to take notes. He was disappointed to see the lights getting dimmer again, just like earlier; was this another room with little to no light? How disappointing.

They did reach a somewhat new area, but it wasn't quite what they had been hoping for. Braith's ears perked up, and she looked towards the ceiling. "The Battis from before," she said.

The two men looked at her, and then Velius took a look around. The same large pillars they'd walked around earlier were back just a little ways away. "We're back in the same room from before."

[Jaykobell]

Caraway looked between the two of them. "The large room with the Batti colony and the tall pillars?" Thinking back, it made sense; they had seen three paths from their location last time.

"That one," Velius confirmed. "Looks like two of those three paths lead to the same room." What a disappointing waste of their time. At least if some kind of creature had been nesting there, but there was nothing of value.

Braith audibly complained. "Seriously?" she complained, rolling her eyes. "This is boring," she added, sitting down on the ground, and turning her attention to Velius. "You said coming here would be dangerous, Velius," she reminded him, her orange eyes narrowing just a little.

Caraway wasn't much for dangerous situations, and really, neither was Velius. "That's the story the duck sold to us, wasn't it?" he asked the two of them. "This is uncharted and unknown territory; something dangerous could still be ahead." Because things had been uneventful so far was no reason for them to lower their guard.

[Jaykobell]

As much as he could fight in dangerous situations when he put his mind to it, Caraway much preferred to avoid danger. If they only ended up finding precious, valuable treasure, that would be more than enough for him.

Braith complained a bit more after hearing Velius's answer. "Okay, well," she said, "since this has been pointless so far, I want one of those little crystals growing on the cave walls here." She was eyeing Velius specifically, and her words were no mere suggestions: they were an order.

Velius looked at her questioningly. "I'm sorry?"

"The way you got that moss for Caraway," she clarified, "you can get me a little bundle of crystals, right?"

Velius didn't answer right away. "Braith," he replied, "we're not here to—"

"It's pretty safe to say this place is relatively empty," she interrupted him. "We haven't even had a chance to stop yet! I've wanted to take just a little piece from the moment we walked in here." Velius was rushing through the place, and so far, neither Braith nor Caraway had had a chance to say anything.

[Jaykobell]

It was clear from Velius's face that he had no interest in cooperating with Braith's demands. She could get demanding and capricious at times, but in her defense, she was an amazing fighting force. She also had a certain code of loyalty; if he got her what she wanted, she would cooperate for the rest of the expedition.

With a defeated sigh, he rolled his eye and complied. "Fine," he said, "I'll get you a little thing. What color do you want?"

Braith's face changed from what looked like a pout to a small toothy smile. "As much as you can get from one cluster!" she said excitedly, her tails waging a little.

"Fine," Velius said, and he turned around to head back into the small room they'd just come back from. "I'll be right back."

Her smile got a little bigger as he headed off into the darkness. "Thanks, Velius!" she called out as she waved a paw towards him.

[Jaykobell]

With Velius gone to the other room, Braith and Caraway were left behind together. It wasn't much of a problem; Caraway took this time to review the map, and Braith just kept to herself. Of course, there was only so much time he could spend reviewing the map. He'd charted it, and he'd written the notes; and they hadn't explored all that much of it yet, either.

Braith didn't seem to mind. She busied herself cleaning up and stretching. She was open with Velius, but she didn't say much to everyone else. That was part of the reason why Braith and Caraway didn't really know much about one another. "Hey... Braith?" Now was as good a time as any.

The Yonyuu turned to look at him questioningly. "What?"

She was a lot more intimidating as a large nine-tailed fox than as a small child-like human girl. "Um," he said as he hesitated, "I—I was just wondering—"

Noise echoed just beside them, and Velius appeared from the darkness. "There," he said as he approached the two of them and lifted the small cluster of colorful crystals.

Caraway's question — or his attempt to ask one — went right over her head as she grinned. "Thank you!" she squeaked, and she bent down to make the small bag around her neck accessible. "Put it in here so it's safe!"

Velius sighed and complied. "Are you happy now?" She gave an enthusiastic nod. "So let's keep moving."

[Jaykobell]

He hadn't had a chance to ask Braith anything, and she hadn't turned her attention back to him, either. And so onward they went, and Caraway returned to mapping out the area. It wasn't that important for him to know, but curiosity was an annoying itch.

They found themselves walking down a longer path this time around. It was narrower than the others, and it seemed to stretch for much longer than the rest of the connections so far. The others had all been rather straightforward and very open, like walking from one room to another. This actually had a connecting tunnel of sorts, and with it being a little narrower than the rest of the caves, Braith had a harder time squeezing through.

[Jaykobell]

The grunts and sounds she was making made it clear this was uncomfortable for her. "You can change back, you know," Velius pointed out, and although he hadn't looked over his shoulder towards her, he could feel her glaring at him through the darkness.

"Less talking, more walking," she hissed from behind the two. Traveling in her human-like form was like forcing herself to wear clothes that were too tight for her. It was an awkward analogy, but one that worked nonetheless. Why keep yourself constrained willingly when you could be as comfortable as can be?

"Suit yourself," Velius said in reply.

[Jaykobell]

As they continued down the small tunnel, something... wasn't right. Velius took note of it; the air had started to change. Not so much in terms of temperature, but in terms of smell. It wasn't that unbearable or noticeable — at least, if you compared something foul like the farts from that godforsaken Skyllard — but it was definitely in the air.

If it didn't bother Velius much, Braith was on the verge of gagging. Her sense of smell was a lot more developed than these two's, and her nose curled up in disgust when she caught a whiff of the smell. She'd picked up on a small trace of it back in the other room where the Batti colony rested, but now — now it was everywhere around them. She kept her mouth shut and bit her tongue; hopefully, the smell would go away as they continued.

[Jaykobell]

Of course, ignoring the smell or tolerating it was a lot easier said than done. When her nose was so sensitive, it took a lot for her to get over foul odours; it just stuck around and overstayed its welcome. With them walking in complete silence, it was even more difficult to keep her mind off it.

That's when it hit her. "Caraway," she called out from behind him, and she saw him jump in the dark. "You wanted to ask me something earlier?" She didn't care to humor him, but talking would help her think about something other than this disgusting stench.

[Jaykobell]

Caraway was surprised to have Braith speaking to him first. "Oh, um," he mumbled as he took a moment to regain his composure. "Yeah, I mean, we don't really talk a lot," he pointed out.

"So then?" she pressed. "What is it? Out with it." Her replies came out a little bluntly due to her growing agitated from that overwhelming smell. She wasn't in the mood to deal with long-winded explanations; if he wanted to ask something, he could just go ahead and ask.

"Ah, well," he said as he fondled the map a little, "I was just wondering about... well, you." When she didn't say anything, he quickly clarified, "I mean; why do you have nine tails, and no wings?"

[Jaykobell]

Any topic would've been fine. Any question would've been fine. She would've humored him, and she would've answered him. Perhaps not honestly, depending on the subject matter, but she would've given him an answer.

And then he had to go there. The only answer she gave him was her face slowly contorting into a snarl, and her throat growling with rage as she glared at him from behind.

Her change in behavior didn't fall on deaf ears or blind eyes, and Caraway got nervous. "I—I don't mean to say you're weird," he quickly said. "I—I've just never seen a Yonyuu like you before." Not even with that lush red pelt she had; some common breeds carried red fur, but none that matched her shade.

[Jaykobell]

There was silence yet again after his answer, and Caraway wondered if his last words had dug his grave deeper, or if they'd helped him stop digging.

"A Yonyuu like me," Braith echoed through gritted teeth, and her snarl got worse. "That's because there aren't any other Yonyuus like me, Caraway!" she growled, and he yipped in surprise at the tone of her voice. "And that's a good thing."

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed right after she was done talking. "I didn't know it was a touchy subject!" If he had, he would've kept his mouth shut. He did like having his head, and if Braith really wanted, she could find a way to gobble it up in one bite. "We don't have to talk about it!"

[Jaykobell]

At first, she didn't want to drop it. Humans had this fascination with things that weren't like the others. She was a wingless Yonyuu with nine tails, so of course she stood out against the standard breed of their species, which had majestic wings and the only thick, long tail. Every single person she met who had basic knowledge of Yonyuus just couldn't keep themselves from asking.

But while they were having their small banter, Velius had made good progress ahead of them. And even though there was a little ways between them now, both Caraway and Braith heard it when Velius stepped on something crunchy. The smell got worse, and despite the darkness, Velius knew exactly what he'd stepped on. "Shit," he hissed through gritted teeth, a word that fit both the situation and what was on the ground.