"drip, drip, drip........."



The soundtrack to the creation of his consciousness was humble. The steady tempo of water on the cave wall was in synch to his heartbeat as he explored cautiously with his mind's eye; finding only warm darkness and slick walls. He twisted and turned; this feeling of enclosing space was not a comfortable one, not even to his newborn thoughts.

Clawing feebly at his imagined cage, he split the chrysalis, first with one foot, then the other, freeing himself from incarceration. He split the rest with a last determined push, and was instantly encased in the stifling heat from the surrounding fire. Thorin shivered, the difference in tempature surprising him.

Hopping around, he quickly established a hiding spot; a tiny crevice in the cave wall seemed to call him, an independent voice of instincts from ancestors past. He peered out cautiously, staring warily at the monstrous shaped curled around the nearby spire.

Shaking himself again, Thorin attempted to clear his muddled thoughts, huddling in fear at the back of the small opening.

TENNESSEE

"Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play"

He'd left his tiny home in Eridanus with his Red Rat in tow. How did he get her to follow? Why, with bribes of food, of course! She was always happy enough to listen to him when her belly was full and now they went to catalog everything the saw over the cave in his little homemade book. It was easy enough to make berry dye ink and use feathers for pens, so he sketched and took notes on the creatures he saw. His book was filling up nicely but there was still a lot of work to be done.

Now with his leather book kept in a homemade satchel and his banjo tied across his back he trekked. It wasn't long before he made it to a new area that felt full of magic... and heat. Lots and lots of heat. He mopped a paw across his brow as he sat behind a rock, gazing up at the large black beast. He whistled lowly to himself as he stared upwards. "Now, ain't that a beaut, Daisy-girl?" The rat behind him was staring upwards at the dragon, mouth formed into a silent hiss and eyes glaring. She knew better than to make noise where that thing could hear, she also knew better than to run. Tennessee had done nothing but feed and keep predators away... Perhaps he would do the same now.

Tennesse thought about documenting this dragon in his book but shook his head. He needed a more sheltered spot... An area that the dragon would have a hard time seeing. Perhaps if he were smarter he would have turned and run but he was far too brave and far too full of bravado to do that. He wanted to draw and write, and so he would.

After making sure the dragon wasn't looking at him he turned and dashed for a new area. Daisy took one look at the dragon and followed along, keeping low to the ground as her instincts told her. There, he was near a little alcove where he could watch the dragon and draw. It was still hot and horrible but he could deal with that for a few minutes.

Now, as he pulled out his book he didn't notice the little sparrow... but Daisy did. Tennessee always lead her to food and so she thought that was what the tiny bird was as she stared at it with hungry red eyes. Her teeth bared as she walked forward silently, intent on eating the creature.

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"This is how I talk!"
This is how I think!

421
@Thorin
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6/10

His eyes flickered worriedly back and forth, wide and absolutely terrified.

Thorin hopped back, spreading his down-covered wings to make himself look larger, for all that that did. Unknowing if the creature spoke or not, he went out on a limb.

"Get your own hiding spot!", he angrily chirped, fluffing up his already agitated feathers. His tone, however, didn't match his appearance, as he realized; the creature eyeing him the entire time. Of course it would be his luck to stumble upon such entities, as young as he was, he still mentally shook his head at the self depreciating humor, as true as it was. He shivered, his bravery faltering.

"B-besides.....I'd rather not have you look at me like that, I'm not a snack!"



@Tennessee

TENNESSEE

"Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play"

The Red Rat cared not for the bird's show of bravado and simply smacked her lips hungrily, edging closer as the bird hopped to another limb. The rat bared her crooked, yellow fangs and put her front paws up on the tree. Ruby eyes never leaving the form of the bird. Could she climb? She didn't know but to get the bird she would... Wait. Her gaze turned to the lemur and she let out an annoyed huff to get his attention.

Tennessee waved a dismissive paw, eyes never straying from his work. It wasn't until he heard the small chirp of words that he twitched his ears and finally turned his head to see an annoyed Daisy and a teeny birb up in a tree. The lemur blinked his eyes and gave a small gasp. That creature was absolutely itty-bitty! This place was far too terrible for this fiery cave and its dragon! "Daisy-girl, down!" He said sharply. The rat hissed at him and scratched her dirty claws at the tree bark meaningfully. "That bird ain't food! Leave'im alone, y'hear!" He stood up and waved his paws at the rat which successfully got her to move away from the trunk, after a bit of hissing and biting at the air. "Git! I say! Git!" With a final swat at the air the rat pup moved away and laid down on the ground, sulking and staring hungrily up at the bird.

Tennessee shook his head and peered up at the tiny sparrow. "Sorry 'bout that, Daisy don't mean no harm... She just gets a bit hungry is all." He gave a small chuckle as he looked back at the pup who gave a sharp hiss. "But, anyway you shouldn't be 'ere. That dragon'll have ya fer dinner if he spies ya!" The bird looked awful young... Had he just hatched? Did he need help getting out?

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"This is how I talk!"
This is how I think!

316
@Thorin
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6/10

He blinked, and stared down at the lemur.


"Thanks for calling your......thing off," he started cautiously, still unsure of the red mammalian. How did he show up with that dragon here, anyways?, he wondered to himself, before shaking out of his reverie. This was his chance to escape, he mustn't waste it, even if it did come in an unexpected way. He absent mindedly etched lines in the scarred, charred bark of the branch with his claw before replying.

"B-believe me, sir, I'd be out of here as quickly as I could if I had that chance. I'm not ex-exactly the most experienced at flight, though." He waved his downy wings for emphasis, showing their lack of pinions and primaries as he silently cursed himself for his stuttering. "It's awful hard to go far on foot, when half the rocks are bigger than you."


Flickering his gaze between the dragon softly emitting smoke high above and the tunnel stretching out behind them, Thorin began to estimate; they had a good chance of actual escape. He had been slightly lucky, as the boulders around them formed a natural barrier that acted as a screen from the monstrously huge creature's eyesight.




@Tennessee

TENNESSEE

"Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play"

Tennessee let out a good-natured laugh, one paw slapping his knee in his mirth. "Don't mention it! But that there ain't no 'thing'! She's my pet, her name's Daisy!" At the brief lull in the conversation Tennessee tucked his book into his pack before turning back to the bird. He eyed the tiny little wings with their fluffy feathers before nodding his head. "I reckon it is! Golly! That's a right rotten situation yer in!" However, he had just the situation. "Why don't ya just ride on my shoulder? I'll get ya outta here faster'n green grass through a goose!" That was for truth! He'd slip by that old nasty dragon without it even knowing.

______________________________________

"This is how I talk!"
This is how I think!

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@Thorin
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5/10