ORIGIN

Having found a friend in Kerberos, Quix led her large companion towards Orion. Once they passed through the dark tunnel, she found herself bursting into a glimmering room of twinkling stars. A twinkle lit up her pastel blue eyes as she trailed across the ground with silent, muffled shuffles of her furry paws. "Nice ain’t it, Kerby?” she woofed gently. For a moment, she forgot their food mission and milled around instead, absorbing the sights and sounds. Eventually though her heart settled and she refocused onto finding the cave deer. Perhaps big boy should do it instead! She scuttled back to the three-headed dog’s side and, looking up at him, gave him instructions as to how to proceed. "Cave deer larger than me. Four thin legs, unintelligent. They smell like…prey.” Her description was rather lacking but she was certain that Kerberos was smart enough with his three heads, and he’d be able to hunt down this prey. Quix wagged her tail, waiting for the albino boy to proceed.

Quix waited expectantly, a large grin plastered onto her tapered features. The three headed dog opened all mouths rather dramatically and took in the scent. He looked so delightful to her. What if those three heads could sing three different songs at one go? Makyna would be so pleased with her new addition to the Maji Walezi choir even though technically, Kerberos wasn’t a part of Maji Walezi. A few moments passed and he moved through an old building. With wagging tail, the tan girl followed him, little paws thudding gently by his side. Maybe he’d caught onto a scent? She decided to give it a shot too. Inhaling deeply, the fennec fox attempted to pin-point the scent of cave deer. "Cave deer cave deer cave deer” she muttered, like she was trying to conjure up the devil incarnate herself.

Many senses filled the prokaryote user’s nose. Being so familiar to her itty bity friends, coupled with her biological makeup, Quix was able to pick up a decent assortment of prey. Some were faint, others slightly stronger. But all were a distance away. Among the scents was that of a cave deer. She could tell from the juicier way it smelled. Immediately, the fennec lowered her nose to the ground but she wasn’t as good on old trails as a dog was. "Kerberos, I smell it! Cave deer, pick up this scent, over here.” She skipped a couple of steps to the left where a pile of rubble lay. The scent lingered more keenly here, probably due to the cave deer resting or rubbing against it for a bit.

The albino dog came in and picked up the scent. He seemed to light up then and started to drool, a surefire sign to Quix that he had picked it up. "You’ve got it, right, Kerby? You’re awesome” she chipped in earnestly and honestly as he nodded at her. He brought his nose and body low to the ground and as his tail twitched in the air, the girl noticed how intricately designed it was, very much like a snake. The fennec fox briefly wondered if his tail served any function – could it do special things? And took mental note to ask him later. For now, Quix was content and excited letting Kerberos do the work, though she could not just let him be responsible for this could she? With a giggle, she dropped her body into a similar post, rump and tail high in the air while her shoulders and withers were kept carefully angled against the ground just like Kerberos’ were. "I’m a hunter now,” she whispered, making-believe that they were on a great hunt!

She was not quite as great as the dog in sniffing out things but she managed along well enough and was able to stay on trail. On they went, side by side, past a couple of old buildings and they soon found themselves glancing at a small herd of cave deer near the other end. He woofed at her and she nodded firmly at him, fluffy ears plopping up and down. "Slow and steady does it,” she whispered to him in exaggeratedly hushed tones, then slowly cast her magic onto the fattest and largest one, hoping that she could give Kerberos the best of the bunch without him having to struggle too much. tendrils of her magic took hold. Not being able to see the itty bitties though, for she didn't cast that magic, she hurled a mixture of good and bad bacteria at it, weakening the effect. Nonetheless, it worked! The deer began to heave its sides and flick its ears uncomfortably. "That one big boy. I've weakened it. Go for the KILL." She whispered to Kerberos and hung back, letting him get glory for the kill.

The fennec watched as the big furry gembound charged towards the little herd with an impressive growl. The deer immediately scattered but Kerberos was in hot pursuit and brought the sick one down. The girl tensed her muscles, watching in great anticipation as to what Kerberos would do. One head latched onto the deer’s hindleg while another head attempted to snap at the deer’s head/neck but with obvious failure. It was then that he sustained a cut to the face. "KERBEROS GET IT GET IT” she yipped, anxious and feeling worried for his injury. After a while, he was finally done. Albino fur was streaked with crimson as he completed his hunting task. "Good job Kerby!” she yipped and scampered to his side. Alas, all three heads were too engrossed in wanting to shred the meal that her fluffy companion was making a huge mess! The fennec let forth a couple of barks – shrill enough to get his attention but muffled, and thus wouldn’t hurt his ears. The girl waited for all three heads to regard her, whereupon she would look at him crossly and speak. "Three heads but one stomach. Look!” Here, she moved to the shredded remains and using her right paw, indicated two diagonal lines. One spanned from the deer’s rump to the neck, the other was from the flank to the belly and hind legs. The third portion would thus be the chest, fore limbs and belly. "Each head gets one part.” She pricked her ears and looked up at the albino dog imploringly, hoping that the large furry brute would take her suggestion and stop fighting.

Quix tilted her head, perky ears flopping to the side as each head listened to her. She scrunched her face and grinned at each head, nodding approvingly as each muzzle had a share of the meat. Anyway...wouldn't all the pieces end up in the same stomach? She sneaked a peak at his white frame. One body meant one stomach right? Perhaps one day she should do a health check-up on this boy just to make sure that what he ate made him healthy. She felt her tummy grumble at the catch and inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet scent of food. Cave deer were beyond her size and she would be unable to manage on her own so this was a once in a lifetime opportunity presented to her. The fox lifted her pale blue eyes to meet Kerberos' and realized he seemed contented to have each head biting onto a piece each though. In fact, it seemed barely enough to satiate his hunger. Quix nodded to herself with resolution, determined to be contented with delicious bugs for a meal today.

However to her surprise, the middle head suddenly nudged the cave deer's head towards her and commented that there were four mouths and two stomachs. She blinked at him, realizing that Kerberos meant her stomach and mouth combined with his. Realizing he meant for her to have it, she yipped in delight and wagged her tail in thanks...till the damn dog looked towards her ears like it was food and grinned. "Ears no food! Eat deer" she laughed softly and, reaching out with her right paw, brought the severed head closer to her. It looked tantalising. Reaching down, she took a bite and chewed on it happily. As she looked up towards Kerberos though, she realized that orange-nose-floppy-eared still had the bleeding cut on his cheek. "You're hurt," she called out to the floppy-eared and scampered to his side. His head was within her reach as he chewed on his portion that lay on the ground. "Quix help." She attempted to conjure her magic but it didn't work. No matter, she brought her little forepaws onto his cheek and bending forward, flicked her tongue around the wound to clean it with great gentleness and patience.