The scent of the air had changed drastically. This was Rasts first indicator that they were no longer in the tunnel that they had traveled in for so long. Instead of feeling the cold snow under her paws, she felt grass. Something told her this place was full of living things. When the breeze ruffled her fur, she could hear trees and plants rustling.
"What is this place?" She mewed, standing still for a moment to take in the scent and sound.
"It smells so nice..."
Rast followed him, lagging a little further back but still remaining in contact. The snow leopard was tired. Her aching wounds pleaded with her to stop moving and rest.
But we are so close...
@ocelot
The snow leopard stiffened at the sound of a new voice. Every new voice seemed to startle her. This one told her this was Eridanus. A beautiful place.
Too bad I won't be able to see it. She thought bitterly. The question was asked of what had happened to her. Rast recoiled internally at the possibility of having to answer. Luckily, Ocelot spoke for her. He was not afraid to act as her voice as well as her eyes. For that she was lucky, because lately she felt less and less inclined to socialize.
"I wouldn't mind resting for a little while." She mewed, nuzzling into Ocelots side the best he could.
With that she sat down right where she stood, ready to rest. Ocelot didn't seem stressed by the presence of the bird. The flap of it's wings gave away what it was. Perhaps this place wasn't bad at all...
Hello, my name is Max!
Once again, Rast jumped. The next voice was male, but very excited. He sounded very young.
Innocent. In a way she was happy for this other gembound. She was, however, not happy enough for him to let herself get chased.
"Oh no, I won't be any good at chase... Please don't."
@ocelot @max
Rast couldn't help but smile a little at the visitors optimism. She was glad that even though she denied him a game of chase, he was content enough just having someone to call a friend. It was true, having friends was a very good thing!
"Sure! We can be your friends." She forced herself to remain as cheery as possible despite how tired she was. This gembound was the first to not ask what had happened to her. Perhaps he was simply too happy of a soul to worry about what had happened.
"Oh yes, and if you help us find a shelter maybe you can come and see us sometime!" Rast added hopefully. She was sure that this other creature would be a joy to have around, but the snow leopard was too exhausted to entertain such a happy thing.
@ocelot @max