Sunbeam Lair Cyberpunk 2099.

Finding herself with some free time, Towhee returned to the place near Arrow Lake where they had met Meerkat’s children not so long ago. She wasn’t much of one for getaways, though it was such a scenic area. Her daughter had chosen well. And now the place held a host of wonderful memories. Towhee relived them as she walked, a smile on her lips.

An interesting smell led her northward, where she stumbled across the mouth of a cave. It reminded her of the ones tucked beneath the caldera. Towhee ventured closer, still sniffing the air, pausing at the entrance of the passageway. She chewed thoughtfully on the inside of her cheek before deciding to venture inside.

The narrow stone bottleneck soon gave way to a huge chamber, lit by natural machicholations scattered in the rocky ceiling. Towhee might’ve described it as breathtaking, especially when she inhaled sharply, her orange gaze roving from one side of the spacious cavern to the other.

Some thirty minutes later, Towhee exited the cave and decided to call for @Fennec. She made sure to keep any urgency out of her voice, despite her excitement over the discovery.

She’s calling for Fen but anyone’s welcome!

Fennec caught Towhee's howl from where she had been stalking the borders of Mereo. The summons wasn't coming from inside the territory, which was strange, but it didn't sound urgent. Fennec cocked her head to try and get a heading, then began trying to find a way through the mountains to where the call originated.

It took a while. She hadn't explored this region for easy paths yet and there were a couple points where her paws, stepping forward, met only sheer rock or empty space. She had to backtrack and wind her way around, scaling the mountains until she'd reached a point where she wasn't sure where to go next.

Fennec nearly lifted her muzzle to call - then stopped and let out a low laugh. Fuck, she'd forgotten how complicated this could get. She'd keep searching the area until she either picked up Towhee's trail or was spotted.

She settled in to wait, intuiting that it would take Fennec longer than a sighted wolf to find her way here. Towhee knew her daughter would be up to the challenge, though she sent up a howl intermittently in the hope of offering further guidance.

Either it worked or Fen found the way herself, as she appeared sometime later. Towhee had taken a seat but jumped back to her feet now, flailing before remembering herself and letting out a shout to hail Fennec closer.

I found something and immediately knew I had to show you. Towhee paused, laughed at herself, then added, Well, you know what I mean. It’s actually a cave—kinda like the ones at the caldera, if you remember them—so it’s pretty dark anyway. But there’s so much stuff inside, you’ve gotta check it out…

“Deep within the mountain range lies a cavern whose reach extend[s] far beneath one of the [shallower] ridges. Large and spacious, the cavern seems to support its very own ecosystem, certain types of plants and animal life thriving here. Some plant-forms here are hard to find elsewhere, making this location a healer’s dream. In some places the ceiling became weak and caved in, allowing for the sun to shine through in the middle of the day and even the light of the moon on particularly clear nights.”

The howls helped and, in the end, she found a trail to follow. She was still pretty frazzled by the time she found the cave entrance and cautiously made her way inside. She liked mountains a bit better than shorelines since at least the ground didn't shift beneath her paws, but it was a close contest. She wasn't sure when, or if, she'd ever get used to living surrounded by them.

She could immediately smell earth and plant life. Definitely not something she associated with caves or mountainsides - at least, not the the degree there was here!

There's things growing in here. How does that even work? She asked, stepping her way carefully around and letting her tail idly brush against the cave wall to her side. It didn't smell like a cave either. There was something open about it, less oppressive and musky. Maybe it was the plants, or maybe it was something else entirely.

With nary a hesitation, Fennec slipped into the cavern, Towhee trotting at her heels. It was no less impressive the second time she gazed around at the expansive grotto. It was so well-lit for an underground space, which probably answered Fennec’s question.

Dropping her eyes to her daughter’s face, Towhee made a mental note to stick close so she could read her lips even as she explained, There’s a bunch of holes in the ceiling, letting in a surprising amount of light. It’s huge in here, by the way. It’s pretty fucking amazing.

And that was why she wanted Fennec to experience it: it would be a sensory smorgasbord even for those of them missing senses. On that note, Towhee cocked her head, wondering what sorts of auditory input she might be missing that Fennec could hear, like the echo of water dripping from the gaps in the ceiling into small pools below.

I was looking around a bit earlier, found a lot of interesting plants and shit. I figured you’d maybe be able to identify them, maybe even have some use for them? And then my imagination really ran away with me. I started thinking about how cool it’d be if you set up an outpost here. I know, I know, Towhee added before Fen could dispute her, smiling and gently nudging a pale shoulder. Was just daydreaming, that’s all.

She could agree on one thing - it was pretty fucking amazing. There was water dripping somewhere and it echoed a bit, but even that was broken by the openings she could now almost sense above their heads. There were insects and somewhere, off to the right, a bird fluttered between two roosts.

No offense, mom, but mountains suck. At least Mereo just has them on the borders. She didn't even like that. It's cool, but getting here was bad enough. I can't imagine dealing with this daily. Plus there was the whole 'an outpost needs wolves' issue that her mom seemed to keep passing over. But Fennec didn't want to harp on it.

It was neat though, and honestly too bad it was set up in this range. If it was anywhere else she'd have snapped this place up just for her solo garden, Bramblepoint style. She nosed through a few of the nearby plants, idly identifying them as she went. One she didn't know, a few she did - and a bunch of them carrying the strong tell-tale scent of herbs. Actual gold-mine. Fuck.

She snickered at Fennec’s diss on mountains, though Towhee couldn’t resist sallying, I mean, if you lived here, you wouldn’t really have to get here, would you? I really feel like this place could be self-sustaining, she marveled, craning her neck to watch the bird flitting near the natural plafond. But what do I know?

She was more than happy to tag along in Fen’s wake, simply watching her experience the lair for herself. Towhee looked on with interest whenever Fennec stopped to nose at this or that plant. When she sidestepped something of particular interest to her mother, Towhee reached out to tap Fen’s hip.

What’s this?

Towhee studied what looked like tree roots thrusting through a fissure in the damp wall. As her eyes drifted downward, she saw that they actually trailed along the floor, stretching out several yards toward a pool of water. The surrounding stone was pale with a slight shimmer. She reached out a paw to run it over the moonmilk, humming thoughtfully at the texture.

Looking toward the wall again, she noticed some purplish flowers nestled in the karst. They were lancepods, not that she would know the first thing about that. Towhee glanced at Fennec, wondering if she’d sensed the blossoms and whether she would be able to identify them.

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Fennec shivered as Towhee said she wouldn't have to leave if she lived there. She couldn't think of many nightmares worse than being trapped in the place she called home. Mereo already felt like enough of a cage - at least it had more than one exit. This cave couldn't be the center of her existence even if it was pretty - and the mountains outside would still need patrolling.

She could hear the enthusiasm in Towhee's voice and wished she could match it. Maybe for you. But I don't like feeling trapped. She answered, a little ruefully.

Still, she could at least enjoy exploring it. She still moved carefully and took her time, both so she could check out more of what was there and so she could ensure the stone she moved to was level and firm. She didn't know how the roots and soil had settled in here but it made her wonder about the structural integrity of some of it.

Fennec had been in caves before, but those had mostly been bare dens. Most of the plants she could identify were those she'd found in the grasslands and forests outside - she had no clue what the things were that Towhee directed her towards.

I'm not sure. It reminds me of mushrooms, or fungus on a tree. It smells different. It didn't have the same dead tang to it. She leaned in close enough to touch her nose to it and was surprised to find it was more liquid than solid - the tip of her nose came away white. She rubbed it on her foreleg. There's some in here I know from my gardens, but a lot I don't. This didn't remind her of any kind of medicine but that didn't mean it wouldn't have some properties that made it useful. Now she wondered if anyone lived nearby and used these caves - it might be worthwhile to find out, just to see about getting a lesson or two on the local flora.

Although the sunbeams filtering in from overhead allowed her to see fairly well, it was still dim in here and Towhee had to squint to catch Fennec’s words. She pursed her lips thoughtfully, a thrum of excitement going through her. This really was a great find, then.

Do you think we could transfer anything from in here to your garden? Towhee mused.

She wondered what types of plants might work well in both a sunbaked, dry canyon and a damp, darkish cave. Fennec said that there were some plants here she recognized, which hopefully meant some existed. Towhee just hoped they weren’t all redundant from her current garden, that there might be something new and useful here they could take back home to plant.

Maybe. I wonder if it would grow. Fennec tilted her head slightly as her expression grew thoughtful. The logistics were 50/50, she figured. Her gardens were fairly low sun, something better for growing herbs in her experience. But some of these plants might need other factors that only this cave held.

If it's in the dirt, I think so. Anything in the rock might be harder. I don't think we could move this - She gestured to the substance on the cave wall. - but some of these other ones, maybe. I wonder if any are poisonous. She might want to come back with something to carry them in. She hadn't thought to bring her pelt with.

It'd be nice if someone lived near here who could tell us. She said with a small sigh. There were ways of finding out, and similar plants tended to have similar properties. She just might have to experiment a bit.

Fennec voiced Towhee’s same concerns aloud, though she seemed to think it was worth trying to transplant some of the ones growing out of soil. She looked where Fen gestured, eyes returning back to the pale woman’s face as she mused about how she wished someone native to the area was around to provide some answers.

Like him? Towhee said abruptly, locking eyes on a coyote she’d just noticed sitting like a statue against the far wall.

Of course, Fennec wouldn’t be able to see him, so Towhee sidled closer to her daughter and gently guided her snout to point at their unexpected company, muttering, There’s a coyote dead ahead, staring at us… and I shit you not, Fennec, he’s holding fuckin’ leaves in his mouth… maybe a fern or something…?

Feel free to PP the coyote if you wish. :)

LOL! I'm gonna cheat and be vague about it <3

Wait, who?

Fennec's head jerked up as Towhee pointed out another presence in the cave, one that she somehow hadn't detected. That more than anything else gave her a sense for the scale of the place. It also showed even more how awful it would be, claiming a massive cave. She and her mom absolutely had this poor creature pinned inside.

Might as well take advantage of it.

She didn't know by scent or sound where they were but she aimed her words in the direction Towhee had pointed her. Her voice wasn't a shout but would be loud enough to carry in here.

Hey, you. You know these plants? We'll let you out, but only after you show me which ones are useful and what they do. She at least kept her tone friendly, implied threat nonwithstanding. She didn't want them getting any ideas and trying to slip around them.

The coyote didn’t last beyond Fennec’s, “Hey, you.” He suddenly lunged deeper into the cavern, skimming along the wall and shooting one last glance over his shoulder before vanishing into the gathering shadows along the far side of the vast space.

Well, fuck me, he just vanished into the back somewhere, Towhee said, staring at that spot as if waiting for him to reappear. Do you think there’s, like, a rear exit…?

She supposed there was no way to know until they explored the cavern for themselves, coming to know its every nook and cranny. That would likely take quite a while: days or even weeks. Hopefully that would help keep Fennec’s mind off other matters along with her gardening.

If you want to keep poking around, I’ll stand watch for as long as you need. That goes for any day, not just today, Towhee offered.

Ugh. Fennec made a small, annoyed sound in the back of her throat at the pointlessness of it, but then let out a breath. There were probably still some useful things to find here, and she didn't need some coyote's help for that. She could take any of the ones she wasn't sure of and see if anyone else knew what they were. Of course - doing that would mean talking to the other healer in Mereo, and that wasn't something Fennec had been interested in doing so far. She just didn't really see the point.

It's fine. I'll look around a bit, see if there's anything worth taking? And then we can go. She wanted to at least make the most of today, but she probably wouldn't come back much. As cool as this place was, she didn't think much here would grow well in the canyon... and the closed in feeling of it made her neck prickle. She didn't think 'cave witch' was something in her future anytime soon.

can be my last <3 ty for the thread!!