They traveled quite a ways, the Gembound gently peeping up at the other each time they lowered their head down to check on him. He was real small compared to the other, all-grown-up creature- it might lose him otherwise!

Eventually, they reached their destination, and he watched with fascination as the lightwalker dipped its head in, before turning back to him and making a makeshift waterfall for him. He walked closer, dousing himself in water. Using his beak, he picked the sticky solution off his side, before then poking his beak into the flow and rinsing whatever had stuck to his beak off.

As he finished washing, he turned, realizing that there was a problem. He had been brought here to wash the creature’s slime off, but he couldn’t exactly avoid walking under it. His get-rid-of-light thing would only work for so long. He hesitated, unsure of what to do next.


@Nox

As her throat emptied itself of water, Nox's vision gradually returned- and as the stream reduced to a trickle, the draconian's eye once again revealed itself. she glanced at the little chick beneath her belly, and rumbled with satisfaction as she saw that he was clean. Despite that small comfort though, there was little that she could do to stop it from happening again. They had to get moving; the little one was still under her, and if he couldn't leave, then she had to find somewhere else.

The great beast let out a throbbing rumble of consideration, her skin rippling in thought. "Come. It'ssss a long way to my home. But it'ssss dark," she rumbled finally. It would be a long and nerve-racking walk with the youngster under her, constantly at the risk of being slimed again, and there wasn't much she could do about that. There were no leaves in the area that she could give him for cover, and she couldn't control her slime. But reaching the mist of cetus might mean that he'd be hidden from the light. "I'll keep you ssssafe there."

As a precaution, the draconian creature once again dipped her muzzle in the water until her throat swelled. Then, after a difficult glance down at the little one, she removed her front paws from the mud and began to slowly turn.

"Speech."

@Hikari

The peachick watched as the draconian creature dipped her head in the water again, storing more of it in her mouth. Of course- if he was still in danger of getting slime all over him, she (the creature had started feeling more like a she to him, although he couldn't exactly tell why) would simply just douse him again. Satisfied, he walked deeper underneath the creature, looking up at her underbelly to spot any potential slime trails that might drip on him, and followed.

--Exit Thread.--

Nox allowed her jaws to close for a while as she focused on the walking, trailing the tips of her claws along the ground to ensure she didn't squash the little one. With her strides long and her skin picking up enough of the surrounding sound to guide her, she moved with confidence, and an alien grace, picking her slimy way up the path Towards tunnel H- the quickest way back home.

With soft tremors of the skin at her belly she pinpointed the location of the little bird, and was able to detect that they stayed with her. So long as he kept up, Nox saw no need to adjust her pace, and allowed herself a soft, gurgling sound of contentment. She felt the gem she'd swallowed rattling softly, buried somewhere in her long neck. It brought some discomfort, but was also a point of warmth.

"Speech."

Long strides brought her to the edge of Polaris after some time, and it was here that Nox brought her neck down to check on the peachick. If slime clung to his feathers, here she'd offer the chance to wash it off with the water she carried within her, before raising her head back to full height. They might have rested here before pressing on; not even Nox quite liked the cold that preceded the homely marsh, the ice chilling her slime and threatening to freeze her paws in place if they didn't keep moving.

From here to Cetus, they'd need to take their journey in one, and Nox's skin writhed softly as she worried for the young one beneath her. But she knew she couldn't leave him here. If the lights hurt, then this place would be no home for him. With a soft rumble, Nox signaled that she was to begin walking again. And then she entered the chilly reaches and pressed on into the tunnel, excited to bury herself into the deep marshes of her home once again.

-exit nox-

"Speech."