ORIGIN

The fawn shook his head gently, shaking his coat out for a moment and eyeing Aster over in thought.

"No," he answered. "I have eaten but not drunk. If you like, we can try to go down to the river, but it may be far. Or I can go get water and come back with some."

He watched Aster consume the rat in crunches, and idly noted the coppery tang of blood in the air. At length he stepped forward, tail flicking, and looked over their makeshift shelter.

They'd done well, really. The rocks blocked most outside view, though it also would block their own escape should they be cornered. "I was thinking... it may be best if we can get you to Eridanus. It is green, there. Plenty to eat, and to drink, and places to hide. Softer ground to lie on. But it is a long walk."

For a moment, Aster only gave an uncharacteristic grunt as she slowly crunched away at the rat, staring off blankly for a few minutes while she chewed methodically on the same chunk of flesh for a bit too long.

She was thirsty. And she would have to get up, eventually, and try to move on three legs. Perhaps it would be good practice, if she somehow got into the habit of breaking her leg every few weeks.

The dog licked her muzzle. "We can.. go to the river," she said thoughtfully as she bent down and took a final bite out of the rat, before pushing herself up. "I.. need a lot to drink."

Pain shot up her thigh when she put the broken leg to the ground, grimacing and lifting it up a few inches off the ground as she began hobbling out of the shelter, moving down towards the river.

She hadn't been to Eridanus yet-- she hadn't seen anything outside of Orion and the Spire. "Have you.. been before?" She asked, looking back. "How... where else.. have you been?"

She was curious-- Pride couldn't have been much older than she was, but he had been around more places than her, it seemed. Though Pride likely didn't stop to stare at things like she did, and he had never broken a limb.

"I'd.. like to go, to Eridanus," the dog decided as she limp-hobbled very slowly along Polaris.

For a long while, he simply walked slowly alongside Aster, ensuring that nothing was coming for them and that she did not fall. As they drew closer to the river, he spoke.

"We can go to Eridanus. Let me go down to the water. If I can bring water up on my fur you should be able to have enough to drink, for... travel. The banks here are steep. In Eridanus there are many little creeks, and they are safer."

Once he reached the bank, however, he pondered. Could he simply... lift water from the river, perhaps? What if he replaced a rock, up here, with water?

Thoughtful he turned, eyeing a skull-sized stone that lay on the ground. He then looked back to the water and concentrated. He had no idea what magicka's limitations were, but thus far he hadn't encountered any, and he saw no reason to start saying "this won't work" now. Pride concentrated, focusing on the stone, the water, on their relative loc--

SPLASH. He startled a little, jerking slightly as the surge of magicka caught him a little off-guard, and as a few stray drops of cold water splashed over his coat. Then he stepped back, blinking, and leaned down to take a sip himself, shifting his body so that Aster could reach.

"I do not need to go down... after all," he said, with a sort of satisfied self-smugness.

Aster came to a stop at the edge of the river, staring down at her wide-eyed reflection in the water. It was hard to see her face, her body, but it was very easy to see the blue of her eyes and gemstone.

"Creeks," she repeated in a thoughtful murmur. "Creeeeeks." She liked this word. This was a good word. She assumed it meant pools of water, a river but not. It was, no matter what it meant, a good word.

A slicked-back ear flicked as she heard the splash of water, distracting her from the word for a moment as she turned her head towards the direction of the sound, staring for a moment. The smell of water, she realised, made her even thirstier. The sound of it splashing onto the ground made it worse.

The dog hobbled forward, bending her head down to begin lapping greedily at the water. Slowly, as she drank, she lowered herself to sit back on her haunches, fairly carefully. Her leg still hurt as she moved it.

"How... far, is Eridanus?" she asked as she lifted her head again, chin wet. "How long... would we be walking...? Would.. we have to stop... along the way?"

He watched her drinking, and felt a vague sense of satisfaction once more. It was pride, he supposed--pride that he was able to perform as he did, to provide a near-stranger with such powerful aid. At her question, he considered.

"It is not that far. Usually I pause while I walk, and eat plants on the way. But it does not take long. With your leg... perhaps longer. We can rest as often as you need."

He shifted, turning to face Tunnel N. "The tunnel is not too long. The air is sweet, and there are mosses you can lay on, if you need to stop."

He glanced back at Aster, and remained calm, though he knew the dangers: a puppy limping crippled through an exposed, brightly-lit area with no escape, with only a fawn for protection, could end very badly. He'd just have to try to urge her to be swift, and hope they could get to safety beyond sooner, rather than later.

Aster gave a faint huff as she leaned down, drinking more of the water and shutting her eyes for a moment. She didn't want to pause while walking, and she didn't want to rest. She just wanted to get to Eridanus and rest there, if she had to.

"I... will be fine," she murmured after a moment, licking drops of water from her jaws. "I want to.. see it. Eridanus."

She shook out her fur briefly and slowly pushed up to all-- threes, looking towards Pride. "Are.. you ready?" She asked slowly, leg lifted a few inches off the ground as she stared unblinking at the fawn.

Pride inclined his head, murmuring a melodic "Yes." Pale fur caught the light with a white glint as he turned, pacing his way elegantly and gracefully off toward the tunnel. He moved slowly, to ensure that Aster could keep up with him.

He would lead her through to Eridanus, and--wait.

He paused. "I was thinking of the wrong tunnel. The one we need is-..." He looked around, and angled toward tunnel I instead. "It is a little further than I was thinking and--still very bright. But we can make it, I think."

Pride moved off in silence after this, leading the way with alert, observant caution.

Aster took a final lap of water before she began limp-hobbling after Pride on three legs, making sure that her broken limb did not touch the cave floor, least she ended up getting herself somehow hurt again.

For a moment she just kept limping onwards as Pride stopped, not pausing until a few seconds after he spoke. She turned her head, staring first at the fawn, and then the direction of tunnel I, blinking very slowly.

"I know that one," she said quietly. It had been the tunnel she used to get here from Orion, but she did not take an interest in Eridanus when she passed it. She had, instead, been absorbed with the carvings.

Regardless, she followed the fawn in silence after this, moving slowly after him.