The Chrysalis laid a bit in the water, shaking back and forth. Submerged in the cool current that drifted through the tunnel. The chrysalis pulsed with life, small paws pressed up against its hard shell. The tunnels dim light flickered against the waters surface.

A shake, then a crack. A muffled tapping against the rock.

Another firm strike and the chrysalis crumbled before a wolf pup. Rocks flaked into the water. A wolf pups head popped from the small breaking of the chrysalis. Another firm press against its side, the chrysalis gave away. With a small tumble the brown pup splashed into the current. And for a moment the pup laid quiet in the cool water. Shivering. Cold. Purple eyes drifted down the bright ends of the tunnels.

An uncertain shake, the pup shook off his fur. Moving to try to stand upon his paws, dragging the three good paws he had to a dry spot. The tunnel had a whisper of running water. A shallow yet hard breath, holding himself up. Water dripped down his fur. Silence carried in his maw. The brown pup's back left leg remained stiffened out. Then he reached out. A shakey step forward towards something.

---

"Speaking"

Her chrysalis wasn't far away, sitting on top the edge of one of the low rocks. Slowly it cracked before out popped a living cinnamon roll on four legs. A small akita mix crawled out, only to yelp as she went tumbling into the water. What the hell?

She lifted her head as she looked around, huffing in annoyance as she looked around. Unknowing, she activated her magic, sensing the presence of another not too far away. Her ear perked up and she took a few steps coming around the rock to see another on the shore of the water. "Oh uh... hi?" She cocked her head to the side in confusion, one ear flicking down as she did so. "Did you just... hatch too?" Is that what they did?

She glanced back at her broken chrysalis, unsure what really just happened. But her attention soon went back to him, curious to know more about what the hell was happening.

The pup was barely a few pawsteps when he heard a loud beat of another's heart. Thudding against his ears, forcing them to pin against his head. A swift shake of his head as he looked around. Purple eyes scanned around the tunnel, landing on another brown pup. Though.. it wasn't very wolf like. Not like him.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he limped his way towards the female. Being spotted before he could even say anything. A hesitant paw held in the air. Uncertainty filled his veins. Yet he didn't know why.

"Uhm, yeah. Hi.. "

---

"Speaking"

She smiled warmly and waved her tail back and forth slightly, her tail curled over her back as it did a gentle wag. Her eyes were soft and her smile warm as she spoke. "I'm Morana." Her eyes flicked down to his paw, cocking her head to the side for a moment as a flicker of concern flicked across her gaze. "Are you alright?" She took a step forward, clearly not as scared as he was, but more curious than anything. But, even as she moved towards him, she kept her body relaxed, and stopped when about a foot remained between them. Last thing she wanted was to scare him, especially if he was already injured.

There was another one among the tunnel he was in, one of a different kind. Unlike his.. her tail curled around the top of her body. Yet his eyes darted to the darkness of the cave, then back towards her.

The pup introduced herself as Morana. He repeated it, confusingly. Should.. Should he do the same? Is that okay? But she was precisely his age.. it should be fine, yes?

"Morana… Uhm, Cardan."

An uneven adjustment to turn himself around, his leg remaining stiffened. A swift flicker of his tail. Purple eyes rested on hers, but his ears flickered back towards the running stream.

"Uhm, I think so! What about you?"

---

"Speaking"

She cocked her head to the side for a moment, seeming to take inventory of her own body before nodding, a bit of a smile on her face. "I think I'm good, a bit hungry though...." She cocked her head to the side for a moment. "Did you want to try to hunt something? We're both pretty small so maybe if we work together, we can catch something we can share."

Her tail, curled over her back, wagged slightly back and forth, her head cocked to the side slightly with a warm, gentle smile on her lips. Her question wasn't forceful, but simply an offer to help each other out, a hope to find someone who she could explore this strange area with.

Cardan gulped, licking his own maw. Food.. He was hungry too but he didn't really feel like admitting it so soon. The offer seemed to put him in a spot. He didn't really want to stay long, but he was hungry too.

Nor did he know how to hunt. Not sure what they could eat. There was a slight hesitant nod.

"Where, uhm, do you wanna try?"

Where would they try? Could they even do it? Everything seemed so.. large for someone so small. But even his curiosity wanted to know. Even if it meant risking hearing the sounds again.

---

"Speaking"

@Morana

She seemed to think for a moment, flicking her tail over her back as she did so. Hmm. That's a good question. She thought about it for a moment longer before turning her attention back to him. She was just as new to this world as he was, but her survival instincts were telling her that they needed to find something to eat first. Why don't we see if we can catch any scents first?

She lifted her head and tried to take a sniff of the surrounding, but with the area around her, the scents shifting, and the magic pulsing, she wasn't accustomed to how things smelled well enough to distinguish the different prey creatures. Everything was just scrambled together to her nose.

"I.. I don't hear nothin… Maybe we should check down there?"

Cardan tried calling for his sense that overwhelmed him a moment ago. The beating drum. But nothing came to him.

The brown pup carefully lifted his paw to point it downwards to direct. His.. guess would be to find it away from their hatching spots. But he didn't know anything about this place. What even could be eaten. Right now everything seems so scary.

But for the other beside him he tried to keep his fear in his chest.

---

"Speaking"

@Morana

She smiled and nodded at him, trying to keep her face calm and her body relaxed. It was clear to her he was very on edge and she wanted to help relax him. Sure, come on, you can stay behind me if you want. She smiled and aimed to gently push against his shoulder with her own, a way to say she was there for him and that he got this.

Starting to head down away from their hatching sights, she lifted her head to sniff again, wondering if she could find anything around her. She didn't find anything and figured she should try further to the ground. As she sniffed and walked though, she wasn't really paying all that attention to where she was going and suddenly walked over a puddle right as she sniffed in, snorting up a bunch of water.

She stumbled back and coughed, snorting out water and trying to catch her breath from her impromptu waterboarding.