He did not know that naps could be had out of the crystal, which felt like an amazing contrast to the general dreadfulness of the immediate world, but that was the least of his concerns at all. There was surely a word that was not as—as undignified as scared, because he was the opposite of an indignant, yes, he was a very dignified pangolin and such pangolins did not feel scared. How embarrassing would it be to be scared? What did he have to be scared about?
It is not fair, I don’t think, that we wake up and are so scared all the time.
Oh, well. What shame is there to diagnose himself immune to it? What is said, is said, and that is it! It is a solitary concept! Not for him to have!
Fear was not to be shared. Complaining is much more malleable than cowering. Fear means insecurity, and confident, well-meaning boys like him do not cower! And besides, what more can one fear than change? It comes like stone shrapnel against a vein, severe, pumping fervour against cold, unfeeling earth. It cuts and mauls and leaves you there. It changes and changes and expects you to change with it, and if you do not choose to, it will choose for you. How crumby—he just got here! And he has already been knocked about by the crudest of zephyrs and scared witless by some half-scrawled pictures and have nearly been burnt to a crisp by a wolf and her strange, worrisome relationship with fiery things. He thinks she ought to ask around about it before she hurts herself.
What better way to learn than to talk?
If they were not the last. But now he doubts it more than he ever has.Everybody likes Eridanus. And how lovely of a prospect that was. Everybody.
“How keen. Another thing we need—how many things does one thing need to live? I thought the crystal was enough.” He scrambles up, leaning heavily against a wall to push his paunchy body upright. “But perhaps I’ve discovered why I feel so faint, so… dizzy. Hate the word, dizzy. I thought it was the Dizzy Tunnel that gave me such a condition, right behind us, there. Have you been? Dreadful place, don’t go. You say they like—erm, Eridanus, yes, that was it. I’d much rather go there, where it is nice, than… the Dizzy Tunnel. Aptly named, I promise you. I awoke and I said, ‘this is unacceptable! Quite so!’ and I thought that I must name such a horrible place, lest I forget it exists, and then wind myself up in yet another headache—also aptly named—of a dilemma. And so, I said, ‘yes, you will be called the Dizzy Tunnel so I will never forget about it!’ and that was that, I suppose.”
Reservations forgotten, he strides ahead, tail swinging. “Say, have you heard tell of the cave a tunnel over? Also quite dreadful, don’t go—and that is where the Dizzy Tunnel is. A dreadful place in another dreadful place. I have come to think they gather. Me, I was born there, and if I can say any such thing about any such cave, it should be the one I was born in. Oh, you should have seen it—or, rather, no you shouldn’t have—”
And the pangolin did not know, yet, that most everybody—for there was an ‘everybody’ to speak of—has seen and experienced Monoceros. The sweeping rock and terrible, lashing winds. So, he continues on through the tunnel, steps quick and words quicker, of the most interesting banding on the rocks, and the most dreadful of tumbles he took, and the most esteemed Dizzy Tunnel in all its aptly-named glory.
The pangolin, most regrettably, does not know that wolves eat meat, and does not share his sudden craving for insects with six legs and four wings.
The pangolin, most graciously does not recall the tearing teeth and the strong, lithe legs, built for the hunt. Because if he did, he would surely keep from telling the Not-Wind—the Anala—about his tied affairs, all with his neck and back exposed. He would be back in his ball, rolling all the way back to the abject awfulness of the Room of Howling Wind, Monoceros.
But the poor, indecent, pudgy little pangolin—Waffles—was none the wiser. And so, on he walks and on he waffles.

@Anala

ANALA
From a spark to a flame

Anala stood, slowly, as her declaration seemed to spur Waffles into motion. "Not many! The crystal can keep you alive in chrysalis with magic, but outside of it? You need food, water and air! Not much at all!" It wasn't hard, really; your stomach growled when you were hungry, your mouth felt dry when you were thirsty- and your body did the breathing part for you! You just had to stay out of places like Hydra! "I haven't been, but I will keep the Dizzy Tunnel and the winds in mind if I do. " She had been many places in the caves, but few gembound had been through all of them, including herself.

"I'll give you one more to remember though, Waffles." She had been walking, following the pangolin at least until the tunnel's end, but she picked up the pace to catch their eye. "Hydra. It's a massive desert cave filled with terrors." There were dangers in most if not every cave, but despite never visiting Hydra even Anala knew to avoid it. Rumours spread fast in the caves if you knew who to talk to. It was best if Waffles was told now, just in case.

"Oh but we don't need to worry about that now! Just don't go any further than Canis; that's the room of bones." She nodded, a habitual movement to reassure herself. "We're heading away from it, anyway. Eridanus is just through this next cave here, and this one isn't scary! Look at the ceiling, it's beautiful!" She took a long look herself as they approached the entrance to Orion, marvelling over the lights. They were like stars, not that she would know. She would not stop long, however, and she would move to continue their journey toward Eridanus.

OOC Notes: (exit)

@Waffles

It was relieving that Anala did not dislike him any. It was relieving that he had not been eaten yet, as it came to his attention relatively early on that being eaten is most definitely not something he wished to engage in, even just out of his crystal. One of the things that came to him, and he had the fairly-rational inkling that it was quite sharp of him to know. Like he knew words, like he knew blood. Like he knew how dizzy felt. There were things that sneak up on you. Certain little wisdoms that come and fly by like buzzing—
Oh, well, something must buzz in these caves. Another discovery yet to be made! Keep that one in your noggin, won’t you, so there is no forgetting?
“Oh, good. Do keep it in mind, why, it gave me a proper fright. And I hadn’t even figured out what a fright was! Very crumby. Don’t go. Awfully horrible thing to be, dizzy. Hate the word. Hate the word, ’dizzy.’” He trots on, and her voices comes to her again, wispy.
[“...a massive desert cave filled with terrors.”]
“Well, whatever a desert may be. All’s well that ends well, isn’t it? Oh, but the terrors. Oh, crumbs. Terrors. What a terrible word. Oh, but perhaps that’s why it is called ‘terrible’, see, because it is terror--full. How keen. Very keen, don’t you think?” His legs get into the shaking again. “Don’t try to frighten me so, Anala! Me, I can’t be frightened. I am much too important to go around being frightened. And if I am frightened, I can only imagine how you would fare! I may get dreadfully excited sometimes, but that—that is for all great minds! All minds tend to think the same, don’t they? Because I think the ‘Dizzy Tunnel’ is quite awful, and so do you! See, here, we have an agreement!” He stomps his feet back into motion, and he hobbles awkwardly. “So! No more being frightened! It would be a disaster if that were the case!”
[“Just don’t go any further than Canis; that’s the room of bones.”]
Bones?! What cave needs for bones?!
He has bones! He is almost sure that he does, because he certainly does not feel like he has a lack of them, which he assumes is very telling, but also does not feel like he is made of stone like the guard at the entrance. He must have bones, some internal structure. And he is not sure of Anala, because she is quite weird and strange and scary when she blows fire, but she should, shouldn’t she? “You have bones, don’t you? I fear I may also have bones. Why is there a need for bones in the cave? How have they extracted them? I say, it must be a doozy. A doozie, it would be. Quite like that word, ‘doozie’, but much too close to dizzy, no, let me think of another one.” Waffles’ tail shifts, pats at the wall, blindly feeling. “Oh, yes! A feat. It would be quite a feat. Do I pay a fare if I ever find myself there? Which bone do you think I should take out? Which ones do you reckon I have?” It is more a thought to himself, but he still has the gall to act a bit huffy when the response is lacklustre.
“Oh, but no matter what bones I have. I will find that out when I pay my fare, I hope. And I have had quite enough of ceilings! They have been nothing but—” Scary. “Dreadful—”
But when he looks up, oh. So perhaps stars exist in many places. And perhaps she was right. Waffles would proclaim it the most beautiful thing he has ever seen, but he wants to save that title for something truly lovely. Truly the best, and he does not want to waste it so early. So! Perhaps it was the second-most beautiful thing he has ever seen.
“Oh, Anala.” He whispers, stepping out. “They have stolen your fire.”

/exit