The pup found himself lying on his back on the dusty cave floor of a very different room than he was used to.

That wasn't a bad thing, of course. He lay there with his mouth open and pink tongue lolling out contentedly, tail swaying left and right gently. He knew the dust and dirt would make his coat filthy, but he could clean it later. For now, he watched the ceiling, mesmerized by the glinting white crystals.

He liked it here. It was quiet and didn't smell as awful as home did. There were no bones in sight - no, the bones seem to have been replaced by shining white rocks in this room, and he was told bones were the best thing. He could still appreicate this room, though.

Bones rolled onto his side, stretching his stubby legs contentedly, before he stood again. He shook his fur out and quickly groomed himself before he continued to trot forward. He liked walking, because whenever he walked, he'd find new things. New things were good, he had decided.

He had already found some new things in this room! Like the lights above, different from lights in Canis, which came from orbs of light that sometimes flickered off. Strange rocks someone could take shelter in, but he believed that was called a 'den.'They were different too, they had rectangles carved into them that you could stick your head in. And... hm. This thing.

He didn't know what it was, so he just stared at it. It was another den-like thing, only there was not much above it. There walls, the back one much higher than the other two, and a strange little elevated platform in the centre.

He had decided not to touch what he didn't know, and so he just sat there, staring at the throne.



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The dog was silent. He craned his neck back to stare blank-faced at the lion, but he was motionless otherwise. He hadn't talked to another creature other than his 'mother,' and he surely hadn't ever seen a creature that looked like this one. Especially with ears that small.

Bones briefly hoped that Usui was talking to somebody else - despite being fully aware that there is no one else around. The puppy's giant ears flickered slightly back before he hesitantly whined, "...No."

He looked between the throne and the cub before he began to scuttle back, perhaps assuming he is getting in the way. He doesn't look too far off planning an escape route. Once back at a distance from Usui, he began to groom himself in an attempt to calm himself.




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"..Bones," muttered the pup. He didn't want to be here anymore in this place with the strange sparkling ceiling and... whatever this statue was.

That said, he didn't want to go through Tunnel J again. He shuddered and continued to lick himself clean, even rubbing his forelegs against his face. As much as he tried to forget this Usui-thing, it's presence kept reminding him of it.

Until a thought crossed his mind - what if it was lost? He opened an eye and glanced over with a tiny whine. He started to wonder where his mother was, and where he came from. Unusual scents clung to the cub - he didn't know anything about it. Nothing was familiar about it.

He whined once more as he remembered his usual policy - 'don't go near what you don't know.' He was a bad rule-follower and a bad son for leaving his mother alone in Canis.


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...Food?

The pup edged forwards. He recalled his mother doing the same thing when he saw her for the first time - she ran off and got food. He got closer. What if it was a trap? He stepped away. He was still for a moment, before he stepped forward once more and craned his neck over to the mouse to sniff it, careful.

It smelled different than the rats of Canis.

He wasn't in Canis anymore, however.

Slowly, he began to eat the mouse, tearing it's gut open first. He ate as much as he could - organs and flesh, though carefully tore the bones away and placed them into a pile. When nothing but scraps of fur remained of the mouse, the puppy was quick to clean the blood off himself - licking his paws and legs, his muzzle, drawing his long legs over his face like a rodent to try and clean the crimson off his face. When he was done, Bones lifted his gaze to Usui.

"Do you like making things?" he asked simply, now turning his attention to the bone pile as he began shifting the little bones with his paws, sometimes dipping his head down to lick blood off them.

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The puppy blinked and carefully sniffed the gem. He hadn't often seen gems; his own was hidden away somewhere deep in his chest, his mothers' hidden under clumps of (filthy) fur. He couldn't see Usui's either, but he was fairly sure it had something to do with the clump of black on his ear. He hadn't seen a lion before, after all.

He was quiet for a moment, nudging the ruby with his paw before he pulled it closer. "What do you use gems for?" he asked. He had plenty of questions already, but he decided this one was the most reasonable.

Perhaps he could give it to someone? How would he even carry it--- he had a long way to go and carrying it in his mouth would get it all dirty.


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