To and through the heart

Discovery of an internal territory - Crescent Basin.

The Tarriut Lake flows underground towards one of the crescents of the mountain. If one looks hard enough in the Inukpakpok Forest, it is possible to find one of the natural caves which leads deep in to the mountain - and then spirals down in to an underground lake, which spreads beneath the mountain and connects back to the lake.

Having returned from her trip outside of the Spine, Salamander sought out the lake. It's mirrored surface was being pecked at by a light rain, and by the time the woman reached the edge of the lake, the rain had ceased. It left a strange smell in the air. Not an unpleasant one though. And after slaking her thirst with the cool water, Salamander set out to explore. She followed the edge of the lake in a circumference with the hope of studying its entire edge. The lake was an extensive section of the Spine territory and Salamander, being curious of its limits, wanted to figure out how many caches there were situated around it; how many small animal dens she could scout out; and maybe, even, find a good place for her own private den.

During the process of her exploration, Salamander discovered a small pulse of fluid leading out of the lake and down among the crags of the mountain. This would distract her from the mission she had set for herself - but, curious as she was, the woman chose to follow the thin creek line. It wound towards some cliffs of shale, and then seemed to descend among the hills - so she followed it's winding trail, only to stop when the light around her had dimmed. When she finally paused to look around, Salamander realized that the water flowed inside the mountain; the forest had vanished and been replaced by the damn cavern which now surrounded her.

Salamander sniffed the air, refusing to budge another step. There didn't appear to be any forms of life within this cavern - but she was cautious. Taking a few more steps, Salamander squinted in the darkness and tried to listen, using all of her faculties to figure out just where the hell she had ended up. She could hear the river's low thrum, but the darkness of the cavern had her wary.

He could often be found by the lake. The waters were cool and pleasant this time of year as the high summer sun set in and made a nuisance of thick coats not thinned enough by shedding and other natural ways of coping. Today? With the rain lightly falling atop the lake’s once glassy surface, there appeared to be no need for any sort of lounging in the shallows. Instead, he lingered beneath nearby pines and watched lazily as the rain changed the face of the world he knew and transformed it into something cynical.

Chin to his paws, a huff fled his nostrils as he turned his ears towards the rain and watched nothing drift by in the distance. And there. A blur through the gentle storm cut through the murky haze as it padded around the circumference of the place he lingered often. As curiosity would have it, he rose, pulling himself out from beneath the semi-shelter of the trees and ventured out into the fading summer rain.

He followed her, wondering as to what she had seen or as to where she might be heading. He’d not encountered this wolf before, smelled her here and there, but her presence was few and far between. Maintain his distance, as she appeared to be on a mission, he lingered and followed her alongside the stream and eventually found his way within the folds of the mountain above. How on earth had he not noticed this before? He was usually much better about noting every nook and cranny of the land.

She disappeared within the depths of this place and soon lost herself to darkness. Behind her, he could still manage in the dim glow. A few more paces and that would fade for him, but if she did not pause now, she might be lost forever. "This place is marvelous," he commented, disrupting the silence. "Nice find."

A voice from behind rang out, echoing in the empty space, and Salamander turned sharply. Her teeth were bared in a defensive grimace, and her fur spiked upon discovering the wolf at her flank. The stranger was quite a few feet behind her - closer to the entrance to the hollow - but she was spooked, and disliked being followed. Salamander stalked towards him with hungry gait, inhaling the musty scent of the cavern along with his own brand of perfume; and when she recognized Tonravik's heavy scent upon him, she turned dismissive. He was no threat to her. And while the fire-coated woman was irritated that she had been stalked so easily, she would not assault a fellow Spine wolf.

With her tail lashing behind her, Salamander simply turned away - not remarking upon his comments, nor his arrival, and only letting her body language convey her annoyance. But she did slink back towards the dark. The cavern was narrow here, but still large enough for a pair of wolves to stand side-by-side and walk; perhaps if they explored together she would feel safer in the dark. Her ears pivoted, then she turned and looked at him - a blank expression now - and muttered, "Come with me."

Nice avatar!

She turned towards him with a snarl. Kerosene lifted a wolven brow upon his head. He had snuck up on her, but that was large in part to the trickling babble of the stream that wove through the cavern floor and the associated dampness that came with it. Deafened the ears. Deadened the nose. Made this place a heck of a lot easier to sneak up on other wolves, creatures, whatever. Heck. There could have been someone behind him and he wouldn’t have known until they chose to reveal their presence either.

His posture remained as she approached him. Unbothered and undisturbed by her need to scent him out, he took no issue in letting her gather whatever clues she needed to feel more comfortable with him. He’d not encountered her before, but he recognized her as pack. Even as strangers, they were some kind of kin. It was not of any difficulty for him to be amicable.

Satisfied, her posture changed. His head tipped, watching as she continued on her walk through the darkness. Her footfalls paused as her head turned over shoulder and spoke to him. An order of sorts, but the intention was there. He shrugged before continuing along with her, stepping over the stones to stand aside her in this adventure. ”Why not? I suppose if I were to die in this, I’d rather it be with company.” A bit dramatic, but he too was curious as to what lingered within the dark. They pressed on.

Thanks!!

The wolf approached, and while Salamander did not relax entirely, did not grow hostile as their proximity decreased. She sized him up as he moved, trying to study his figure in the dark, and then inevitably gave up when she couldn't really see much in the darkness. When they were side-by-side he spoke, but she remained silent - slipping away from him and leading him down the corridor. With the other wolf at her back, Salamander was a bit tense; she didn't know if she could trust him yet. But, as she began to question her own judgement about exploring this strange corridor, the cave opened up around her. Instead of being two bodies wide, the mountain hall became tenfold that, and further - spanning a great distance all around, with stone teeth rising as spires from the floor to the ceiling and back again. As if she had stepped out of a great beast's very throat. She stopped then, and turned to face her golden companion - a look of utter surprise upon her face.

They slipped into pure and total darkness. Kerosene's movements slowed, testing the earth before him as he carefully avoided rivets and changes in the earth. He did not wish to stumble here. To lose footing would not only be a shame, but it might cause him to lose pace with his pack mate. Instead, he lingered close, letting his fur brush against her own here and there so he would not lose her in this darkness.

Time was difficult to guess here. He had no idea how long it was they walked until they happened upon a vast chamber hiding within the depths of their mountain. The chamber was expansive and lined top to bottom with countless stalagmites and stalactites. "Impressive," he murmured, taken away by the sheer size of such a treasure they might not have found had she not been so bold.

He realized then that he could see again. He stepped past her look of surprised and moved further into the room. The ground was wet. If he stopped to listen he could hear the dripping of water as it rolled down the spiny teeth and pattered on the floor. Algae. He saw it then. A bioluminescent growth that fed this cave with an almost magical quality.

His nose lowered to the ground. Surely something else lingered within these halls.

She was interested in the spikes rising from the ground, at first. Her head bowed to them, and her snout roamed with tiny motions as she sniffed and gathered as much information as she could. But the stone pillars smelled of minerals and that was all; the water flowing by her paws was chilled and clear, but held a strange aroma to it. Salamander was not so bold as to taste it, even if she knew it was fed by the lake outside. The woman followed the sound of the water, watched the pale light catch upon the fluid, and soon enough she was striding through the deep dark of the cave's belly. If the lake had found a way in to this place, surely it had found a way out?

Salamander was dismissive of the glowing plants - not that she'd seen anything so surreal before, she just did not see the moss as being helpful for her goals at the moment - and found her way to the other side of the massive room, weaving between spikes and avoiding a few large pools of standing water (which likely became caught between the rocks during a flood of the lake, or some such event). When she reached the other wall, she began to inspect it as well -- and found multiple corridors similar to the entry.

With a low grunt, she tried to garner the male's attention - and then she lifted her head, trying to find him in the darkness. At least one of these would lead outside again, she was sure. But there were... Four? Or five? Too many, and of varying sizes. They would need to split up and follow different portions of the underground river.

Wet. The ground smelled wet and was riddled with something not quite of soil, but with a richer quality to it. Stone. Wet stone, perhaps, but hidden beneath the taint of age and absence of the sun. This place did not seem as though it would dry. It's dampness painted this place very much alive.

Kerosene moved, slipping between the damp rock and spires to find himself transfixed above a pool that had escaped from the greater lake below. The water did smell different. He couldn't identify why, but he stared into it all the same and continued to sniff. He was not close enough for a whisker to stir the pool's surface, but it rippled all the same. Something lived in there, perhaps?

His attention was captured as the female made a noise. Head lifted, he turned and padded through the cavern to see what she was up to. Several more paths. Interesting. This place had carved far more places than he knew and possibly more than they'd ever be able to discover or explore.

His nosed down each corridor, scenting their differences before settling on one of the many paths. He started into it and then paused, looking towards her. Did she wish to continue this together? Or separate, losing each other to darkness?

The dampness made her wary. There was something dark and sinister about the aroma. For a few minutes Salamander limited herself to a small span of mere feet, sniffing at the walls and the floor, peering in to the dark of the corridor so close to her body. Then, when Kerosene's attention was caught and he drifted towards another route, she chuffed, and followed. Separating in this darkness - in this strange, alien underground - was not a good idea. And as reckless as the fire-woman was, she knew not to do something as foolish as this. The male had chosen, and she would follow willingly.

She moved to follow him. Kerosene proceeded, venturing down the dark hole and slowing his pace a bit as the darkness swallowed him. He stepped carefully, testing the ground before he put his weight on it so as not to run into anything or encounter any sudden pitfalls. He did decent and was only forced to back peddle a few times to avoid any jarring rocks or obstacles.

They proceeded, venturing further until the edges of this hall closed in around him. His shoulders were stuck and if he poked his nose further, he found himself at a dead end. "It stops," he announced before stepping backwards and bumping into her. He grunted, stilled, and waited until she allowed him a bit of space before they returned to their original destination.

That corridor was a bust. Kerosene picked up a rock and set it in front of the entrance, a marker so they'd know not to try that route again.

They moved together at first, and then in a line - with Kerosene in front - until they came to a stop. It did not take long. After some befuddlement and awkward positioning, the pair managed to make their way back out of the corridor, and Salamander watched the male's antics. She bowed her head to inspect the rock he had dropped, and then took a careful step over it, towards another route. Perhaps they could find someone small and strong to dig out the dead-end, but that would be a future endeavor.

"This one?" She mumbled, and shoved her face in to the dark recess of an adjacent hole. After a few inhalations, Salamander thought she could smell water - but the entire cavern was slick and shining with some kind of wetness, so the discovery was useless. Without warning, she began to stride down the corridor - and found that it was uneven.

She was too big to make it very far, as there were some kinks in the route (a partial collapse may have severed this section from the rest, she had no way to know); there was some light from further along, but Salamander could not reach it. She did not want to give up so soon, though - and began to cut away at the blockage with her dulled claws. From over her shoulder, she called down the path to Kerosene - "Dig. This may be the exit." But there was still one more corridor to explore, and the structure in this one was clearly unsafe.

She picked the route this time and looked to him in question. He shrugged. It made no difference which tunnel she chose. Each was just as much a mystery as the next. Unless this path revealed something interesting, they'd likely back track once more and select another. So when she picked this one, he followed, letting her lead the way down her tunnel of choice. It was her exploration. He had no qualms in giving up the reigns.

The footing here was more difficult. Uneven and ragged, he slipped a few times in the dampness of this particular tunnel. The other had been dry. This route was alive and breathing, which suggested there might be something more interesting in these parts. He followed along behind her, navigating to the best of his ability in the dark though he found himself running into her rump here and there as he slipped across the wet slopes.

He realized, after a while, the pathway had illuminated enough for him to see by. While shadowed and not a perfect view, he caught glimpses of Salamander's silhouette and listened as she began to dig within the rubble. Kerosene wasn't so certain this was the right course of action. The promise of an escape was real... but area seemed as though it might have caved in once before.

She said dig. He hesitated a moment before he dug with her, feeling out the earth with his claws.

At first she pulled away at the loose soil near the base of the obstruction, but when Kerosene dove in and began to help, she moved and began to target the left wall. Chunks of dirt and stone broke free, littering the path, and after some work Salamander believed that they'd made some good progress. When she had cleared away enough of the debris (or what she thought would be enough) she could wedge her pale face in to the cavity that they'd both made; it was wide enough to accommodate her narrow skull, but she felt the pinch upon her ears, and withdrew.

"More." The woman muttered, and started up her efforts again - but with one too many swipes, something shook within the soil, so she paused. Had they dug any further, perhaps the wall would have collapsed upon them? So she withdrew, slowly at first, and then with a more deliberate insistence. "Or not."

If one route was a dead end, and the next was potentially a danger to them both - then that left one more. However, Salamander was now too wary to investigate. She turned to peer at the dim entrance, where the cavern narrowed, back the way they had come. "Perhaps it is not safe." Maybe they should leave this place behind, and warn others against further exploration? Although, a cavern such as this could become an asset. She looked to the male again, curious, but cautious, and then her gaze drifted to the unexplored third route. "Shall we continue?"

He helped in her efforts as she moved to work on a different portion of this corridor. The earth was soft enough to move, not solid, and he worked at it slowly. Kero removed a portion of dirt and rubble, waited, and then proceed as he felt appropriate. Wherever he was working, the earth was thicker there and took more time.

She made better progress, tested her hole and decided to abandoned their efforts. Considering the shift of rock he'd head when she attempted to squeeze through, it was probably for the better. He turned with her, following her back to the main cavern. Just as before, he picked up a rock and placed it in front of that last tunnel. They'd gone that way with no success. Those rocks would be their indicators of a dead end.

Her question rose upon the air. He regarded her for a moment before nodding. "We've come this far." Why not try the last? If it was a bust, chances were good they could always return and retrace their steps. If something interesting was on the other side? It couldn't hurt to find out so long as they took this route with equal caution as before.

He nudged her shoulder, prompting her forward. This was her exploration. If the third time was a charm, she should have the honors of discovering it first.

With a grunt and a small nod, Salamander moved ahead of her partner and began to probe the darkness of the last corridor. She did not wait for him this time while he marked the second tunnel - instead, diving straight in to the dark. Soon enough Salamander's fiery coat was swallowed up in the murk, and she did not immediately emerge.

Her shoulders brushed against the cavern walls, and a few times she felt a tight squeeze to her hips, but Salamander would not be dissuaded. It was frustrating enough to have found a dead end, and then to find a possible route to the other side - but have it blocked? Pfft. This had to lead somewhere. Her claws clicked against the stone lining the ground as she walked, and gradually - as she slowed - the sound stopped.

For a few minutes she was silent. The darkness of the stone hallway seemed to swallow her up, sound and all; but, studying the area directly in front of her (since she couldn't really turn around anyways) Salamander thought she saw something. A flickering? More water?

"There is light ahead." She called out - but the sound bounced forwards, echoing in to the adjoining chamber and otherwise being muffled by her own bulk. With a huff, the woman moved on. And with a wiggle, she popped herself free of the stone and was able to turn around. She turned and called in to the cleared hall - "I think I've found another cave." - with the hope that her companion would hear her.

Hopefully this one would lead to the outside world.

She disappeared into the darkness of the last tunnel almost without warning. No sooner had he placed the stone than he caught a swish of her tail as it descended into darkness. He followed, listening to the clicking of her nails against the rocks as she guided them down this narrow path. From time to time his shoulders caught. He was almost too big for this, but if he pawed at the sides of the wall or turned a little more to that angle, he found he could sort of tuck his shoulders in enough to muscle his way through.

He was some ways behind her now. The narrow hallway had delayed his progress, but as soon as he was free he turned his ears and listened for the echo of her toes. Silence. Had she stopped? Had something happened to her while he was grunting his way through the crevices? He took a few paces in the direction they'd been headed and his feet were met with softer earth. Strange. It wasn't what he'd been expecting, but it definitely explained the quiet.

Curiosities rolled through his mind as he ducked, lowering his head so his ears would not scrape against the ceiling. He pushed forward to the best of his ability and in this silence wondered if he'd suddenly gone deaf. Then there was a sound. A muffled and strained something that was so contorted he could not make heads nor tails of it. Was she okay?

With more urgency in his step, he made to move more quickly as he shoved himself between the stone walls. It wasn't until she gave the all clear that he slowed to a more reasonable pace. These walls were starting to chafe at his shoulders. He'd be glad to get through these narrows and into the open once more.

He joined her, pushing his way through to the second room. He immediately noticed the difference in temperature and if he listened closely, he could almost hear the whisper of wind somewhere in the distance. An exit, perhaps? Kero looked to her, inflating his posture into something more excitable as his tail flicked behind him. "Well? What are you waiting for?" he asked with a grin. "Let's see where this thing goes." He walked past her, giving her shoulder a friendly nudge as he continued on.

It didn't take long for her announcement to have its intended result: she could hear him moving quickly, and then he emerged from the corridor. The other wolf very nearly smacked right in to Salamander, but she side-stepped against the wall in time to avoid it; then, prompted by a nudge from the beast and a few swift words, she was turning to follow after him. But he slowed his pace, allowing her to take the first strides through this new secondary room - and towards the flickering on the other side of the cavern.

Salamander did not hesitate. She lurched through the dark towards the farther wall, paying little attention to the uneven terrain in her way. There were a few stone spikes in this cave as well, but far fewer. The scent of water dwindled as she roamed as well. Evidently, the first room was of a more lively composition - but Salamander didn't really care. She was tired of being in the dark, and much preferred the open spaces afforded by the mountain. The sooner they both returned to the surface, the better.

The wall tapered slightly as she followed it, but not as drastically as when they found the three corridors. This section of the cave had a bit more illumination. And suddenly, as she came tumbling along the natural bend in the cave, Salamander was hit with a bevy of familiar scents. Wolves, grass, the wind -- had she found it? In her exuberance her speed increased, and she paid less attention to her footwork; thus when she emerged on to a small plateau, she nearly tripped over the edge.

They were off again, this time venturing through a series of rooms that opened, closed, and then opened up to another one again. They were getting a little more... Alive as they ventured out of this perpetual twilight and entered through to spaces that felt a little more lived in than the others. Were they surfacing and reaching then end? Or were they so lost in the earth that his senses were playing tricks on him?

There was no way of knowing. Not really. Not until they rounded a corner and were suddenly met with a whiff of fresh air. He breathed deeply, taking the air into his lungs and relishing in the sweet scents. An exit. They'd almost found one.

Salamander took off, pressing forward through the corridor. He picked up his own pace, following behind as the neared a circle of light marking their escape. They were almost there and then suddenly they were upon it. He stumbled to a halt behind her as she fell onto a landing and nearly slipped over the edge. His teeth snatched out, looking to catch her tail in efforts to pull her back should she go to far. But she had herself and steadied.

It was only then did he turn to admire the view.

Not quite sure where you intended for them to end up, so I'm keeping it vague. <3

For a moment she thought she would fall to her death. The tunnel had opened out on to a plateau which sloped down one side of the mountain, leading to a sheer cliff, which then dropped in to nothingness - or at least, somewhere that Salamander wasn't about to try and explore. Such details weren't necessary.

She heard a snap from behind her, and the pinch of teeth upon her tail, which made her wheel about and bare her fangs - drawing her tail close. The male must have been trying to help her. But Salamander couldn't help her reaction; she was trained to react to pain and to aggression, after all. Upon setting her sights upon his golden self, the toothy expression faltered, and then slipped away entirely - leaving her blank.

"Guess that was the exit." She commented blandly, as if nothing had happened. Her tail was throbbing but she would ignore it. There was nowhere else to go now, so they'd have to move back through the tunnel system if they wanted to access the territory - unless -

Salamander began to look around, observing the earth. There were thin crevices and ridges which could have supported a wolf, if they were careful enough, and they seemed to wind down towards the borderlands in the north. After her near fall, Salamander chose not to take the risk, and instead turned towards the exit tunnel. With a cant to her head, she ushered him back inside - 'After you' - and would follow soon after.

Okay okay! He'd watch the tail. The last thing he needed was for those snarling teeth of hers to actually land on him, but considering this instance of tail grabbing had successfully prevented her from falling off the edge, he'd happily embrace whatever knee jerk reaction his own action provoked. Better a snarl than a dead pack mate on his hands.

She observed the outside for a bit longer before she gave up on it and indicated he step back so she could make her way back inside. He did so, back peddling enough to allow her room to pass. She slipped by him and Kero decided to take a look for himself. There hadn't been room enough for the both of them, but he was curious to see what she'd seen.

Ahh. A sheer drop with subtle trails carved into the cliff face. And she'd decided it was too risky. The pieces of the puzzle clicked together and he mentally agreed with her assessment. It wasn't worth the risk. Not today. They'd already explored so much.

"Don't think there's a tunnel that leads to a less precarious route in here somewhere, do you?" he asked. There was a part of him that wanted this cavern to prove more useful than a black hole. Besides. There'd been a pack here before Tonravik had taken up her rule. Surely there was something in here they'd found and used to their advantage.

She shifted by him without thinking, and headed on until the walls expanded in to one of the two rooms; then, when she looked back, he was trailing behind. His words made her shrug her shoulders, but in the dim light, it was likely he wouldn't have seen the motion. "The path that we were digging at might, but I'm not testing that theory." As if she'd waste her time trying to dig through a mountain. Their initial digging and testing of the rock had proven that it was quite unstable. "I'd rather get the hell out of here - maybe tell Tonravik about it, or better yet, warn her of its danger." It was a bad place to have around if the Spine was going to house eager children. One could get lost down here, or find its way through and dive off the side like a fool.

He turned back into the tunnel, following as Salamander began to retrace their steps. He padding along and found himself considerably more comfortable in these caverns now that he'd already explored these depths. He walked along more soundly this time as they considered what to do next.

Kero listened as she spoke, surmising about one of their previously abandoned paths. Perhaps that particular trail had led somewhere once upon a time. If it were possible excavate it, the pathway might be a wonderful, marvelous thing. As was, it seemed a bit too unstable to risk anything at all. In this, he agreed with her, nodded, then realized she might not catch the gesture in this darkness and spoke instead. 

"No. Once upon a time maybe, but not now. Still pretty to think these caverns might serve some sort of purpose. Escape route. Cut-through. Short cut. Something." Maybe one day they would explore well enough to discover that sort of thing, but for now he felt their spirit of adventure was satisfied with this sojourn.

He continued, following her back through the rooms and tunnels towards the mouth of the cavern where they'd originally entered. "Mm. Not totally dangerous." He wasn't going to write this location off quite yet. "Maybe not so good for pups, but could you imagine what it would be like to train in the dark?" A spar where one was blinded and had to rely only on their ears, nose and touch? Not every pack had such advantages nor intense options for training.

Training? The thought had slipped her mind. Salamander was not so accustomed to the darkness within these caves, and was unnerved by it. She was also growing less and less interested in lingering - moving towards the other room and the exit just beyond while they spoke - but she would not voice her discontent. Being underground felt alien, it felt wrong, and she wanted to return to the daylight.

"Yes, I suppose this would work for training. Or as a torture chamber - we could toss the bodies off that back ridge." This was just a thought, but Salamander's face split in to a big grin; if trespassers were to see a massive pile of bodies, they'd know to stay clear of the Spine. But her smile faltered - because that would mean less action. "Or just a place to house hostages. They could try and escape out the back but that'd be unlikely, and we could guard the entrance." If they were desperate enough, perhaps they'd dig out that last remaining corridor for them? The woman snorted softly at that thought, but did not elucidate.

Kero laughed. She was quick on her toes and making good time towards the exit. He followed along with her, keeping up as he lingered slightly behind if only because the paths in this place was more suited for one wolf at a time. "Mm. You and I should come back some time. Give it a go." A suggestion. Tonravik was keen on her wolves becoming warriors and this offered a unique training experience.

It was her suggestion of a torture chamber or a house for slaves that gave him reason to grin deeper. "The Spine doesn't keep hostages. Or torture, I don't think." Tonravik seemed very much like a "do or die" sort of wolf. Hostages felt like a waste of resources, no matter how meager they might be. Torture? That was not something he was entirely opposed to, but there were alternative methods for collecting information.

"We can speak of it. Keep the place in mind. I'm sure it will reveal its usefulness with more explorations." He wasn't giving up on this cavern quite yet. Kero was still convinced there was more to these caves. He was not about to write them off as a danger quite yet. To puppies? Yes definitely. To adults? He was certain there was something of their usefulness.

The offer to return made her spine prickle, but it was accompanied by a great swell of pride; Salamander enjoyed fighting, perhaps more than anything else one must do to survive, and she was keen on honing her skills. If this guy thought he could win in a spar, let him try. The girl snorted softly but said nothing on the subject - there was time. And she was far more interested in getting fresh air and being outside of this massive tomb.

When light finally broke through the murk - and even warmth, there was warmth upon her face! - Salamander's pace increased so that she was basically running from the cave mouth. The sun blinded her for a minute, leaving her to wince back and blink, but once she adjusted everything was fine. She turned her head to witness Kerosene's return to the surface, and finally get a good look at her companion.

"I will fight you any day." She proclaimed, her tone almost childish in its level of glee. But this faltered, for she remembered the rules set down by Tonravik; fight to show skill, do not draw blood. It was not her kind of fighting. "But we should report this cave to the boss."