The tunnel from Polaris seemed to take forever. The tunnel was particularly long, splitting off part ways to go towards Orion while the travelers kept to the fork going towards Eridanus. It didn’t help that Enka was unable (or at least unwilling) to go her normal bouncy pace. Instead, she walked as slowly and steadily as she could, checking her hoof placement before placing it down. She wanted to go quicker. The springbok calf couldn’t wait to make it to Eridanus. She had so much to show her new friend there! But the pace had to be steady so as to not cause any risk to said friend. The tentacle snake laid cradled between her shoulder blades. With no arms or claws to hang onto, Enka took extra precautions with her. In truth, she was perhaps a little too precarious. But both party members seemed agreeable to the pace.

Slowly, the tunnel exit began to loom in front of them. “We’re almost there!” Enka said with tangible ripple of excitement, her rump twitching and her tail giving a flick.

And indeed, they were soon there. The tunnel opened up into an underground rainforest. Greenery of all types filled their vision. Large rocks scattered the cave floor, covered with lichen and moss of all sorts. In the distance a nearby stream could be heard traveling along. And plants of all sorts appeared to flood the area. Some plants here tiny, barely noticeable. Other plants rose higher than Enka could easily see. It was a strange cornucopia of life.

“Welcome to Eridanus, Khes,” Enka said with a smile, turning her head around as best as possible to look over at her friend to catch her reaction. She hoped that the tentacle snake would enjoy the place as much as she did. Eridanus was home for Enka, a place of both wonder and comfort, mysterious and yet familiar.

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Speech
Thoughts

Tags: @Khes
Notes:

Enka was greatly pleased when Khes confirmed that the cave was pretty. She knew that she thought so. And Rift thought it was pretty too, though she’s not sure he’s really used that term before. But she did hope that her new friend would think that it was pretty as well. Other than Rift, this was her first real friend. So, Enka wanted to share with her and show her everything that was pretty or cool or new.

It was a strange feeling having the snake slither down her leg but she (just barely) kept from jumping back until Khes was safely on the ground. Then dark brown eyes watched as the snake slithered around to explore the various plants nearby. Her tail flicked happily as her friend wandered. At times she almost lost sight of her in the vast undergrowth but Khes always managed to come back into view before too long. That was very reassuring to the young springbok. It became clear now how easy it would be to lose her in this cavern.

“Yes yes, this is my home. Well, further into the caves. There’s a great big tree that I stay at with Rift while he’s teaching me. There’s so much here he’s been showing me! Different ways to use magic and different plants and berries and things! Oh, I was telling you about bananas earlier! Here, try it!”

With that, Enka fiercely closed her eyes and concentrated. It made no difference to the young calf how greatly she was moving from tangential topic to topic. She was excited and wanted to share, and that was all that was important to her at the moment. So, Enka closed her eyes and focused really hard on the banana she had tried once. Her stone horn began to glow, the green veins of the gem becoming more vibrate against the creamy coloring.

Suddenly, puff, a banana appeared between the two of them. It was short for a banana and still slightly green. But a banana it was. Enka opened her eyes and gave a soft cheer in delight. “Yes, it worked!” she cried out with a happy flick of her ears and tail.

“This is a banana,” the springbok announced to Khes in case it wasn’t obvious. She motioned with her head towards the fruit. "I think berries taste better, but that would take a bit of hunting to find."

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Speech
Thoughts

Tags: @Khes
Notes: